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The Idea of robots taking over society is age old dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, The idea that technology is going to create a permanent underclass of workers is even older dating back to the Luddite movement in the 19th century. Ideas such as this have recently made a comeback with much prominent public intellectuals such as Steven Hawking warning about the dangers of AI research and Internet intellectuals such as CPG grey taking a more direct stand in his video “Humans need not apply” which claim major job losses will happen as soon as 2020.
This has led to the rise of a new Futurism movement which rejects the optimism of futurist movement of old and instead replaces it with a cold cynicism. This movement was born due to concerns voiced by public intellectuals, Nurtured by the Internet intellectuals but is fed by startup hype. The start-up’s culture of framing everything as a disruption of existing industries has created an environment ripe for the creating of fake headlines. The creation of a better drug locker which can dispense drugs electronically becomes “New drug locker will replace chemists”. An expensive machine which can perform basic surgeries for five times the price and twice the risk becomes “Surgeon automated: Is your job safe ?”. The most blatant case of this was Thernaros as a company which claimed to have been able to execute a whole battery of tests which previously took weeks instantly using a drop blood. The company has recently collapsed as it was exposed as a scam but not before the futurist media had managed to run away with it.
The typical futurist article is High on buzz-words, low on data but filled with hype and taking the claim of start-up founders at face value with a little scepticism. The topic might be about anything from a bee to asteroids but the gist is always your going to lose your job thanks, this awesome new technology. These articles almost never show the data you need to establish how economical this technology this instead simply saying costs will come down soon but they are big in imagining the possibilities.
Like many religions, Futurist’s believe that the coming event sometimes called the disruption can’t be avoided and that there is only one path to salvation for the people BIG. BIG stands for basic income guarantee a welfare reform idea dating back to 1960’s which proposed replacing conventional means-tested welfare with block grants to every person residing in a country for a certain amount. Proponents claimed that it would save money by drastically cutting administration costs and if a correct tax structure was implemented it would eliminate welfare cliffs which plague most western welfare systems today. This idea has had a resurgence of popularity within the futurist movement.
They have however replaced most of the arguments of old with the idea that a massive outbreak of unemployment is around the corner due to automation and the only way to allow people to survive will be a massive wealth transfer which BIG will facilitate. Most futurist plans for BIG are completely unfeasible as they either claim double digit year growth rates from immediate implementation of the policy or plan to triple government spending in most western countries due to ridiculous amounts suggested. The majority of the future demographic is composed of urban liberals who feel mistreated in the workplace and unsatisfied with their income and place in life.
Futurist rarely ever provides any sort of economic proof for their claims instead dismissing it as a failed science while shamelessly plagiarising their ideas. They dismiss statistics and the productivy paradox with statistics and conspiracy theories about the suppression of real unemployment. They have all the hallmarks of the economically illiterate left mixed in with tech worship making their proposal even more ridiculous due to a reliance on a ridiculous future that it’s not going to happen.
5 thoughts on “The problem with futurology
1. There is such a thing as skeptical futurology. I’m aware the overinflated headlines are bullshit and of the white papers that get buried which are never going to happen. I read /r/futurology for the “green links”; I find bleeding edge tech to be inspirational. If you stick to the “green links” and stay away from all the others you get some great articles on tech that is happening now.
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That sounds like me. Does that make me a bad person?
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Latest in Science
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Electronic glasses auto-focus on what you're looking at
A distance meter adjusts the glycerine-based lenses in just 14 milliseconds.
They're not very pretty, but prototype eyeglasses from University of Utah scientists could make progressive lenses obsolete for older people. Using electronically activated lenses and infrared distance meters, they can focus automatically on whatever you're looking at, whether it's far or close up. Once perfected, the device could eliminate the need for multiple pairs of reading or driving glasses for folks with presbyopia or farsightedness.
Age-related far- or nearsightedness happens when the lenses in your eyes can no longer change focus between objects. As a result, many people between their 40s and 50s have to wear progressive-lens eyeglasses divided into small focal zones depending on object distance. One company called Deep Optics has pursued an auto-focusing solution using see-through liquid-crystal lenses, but is still working on a practical prototype. Google is also working on an auto-focus contact lens with startup Novartis, but recently said that it wouldn't be testing them anytime soon.
To make the lenses adjustable, the University of Utah team placed glycerine -- a thick, clear liquid -- within membranes on the front and back. The chunky frame, meanwhile, holds electronics, a battery and an infrared distance meter. When you look at something, the meter gauges the distance and sends a signal to a mechanical actuator on the rear membrane. Within 14 milliseconds, it switches focus from one object to another, giving you clear vision without the need to look up or down.
Users can upload their prescriptions to the glasses by pairing them with a smartphone over Bluetooth. That means that, in theory, you could keep the same pair of glasses forever, even if your eyesight changes. You'd need to recharge them like a smartphone, but that could be less of a hassle than packing multiple pairs around. "Most people who get reading glasses have to put them on and take them off all the time," says research lead Carlos Mastrangelo. "You put these on, and it's always clear."
The current prototype, which first debuted at CES 2017, is obviously something nobody would want to wear in public. The goal now, then, is to make the whole package smaller and lighter via some serious miniaturization. The team has created a startup company to commercialize the smart glasses and, hopefully, get them on the market in as little as three years.
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Lesson 8 vocabulary
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The flashcards below were created by user graceburns9 on FreezingBlue Flashcards.
1. Bethrothed
Adj. Engaged to be married.
n. A person to whom one is engaged to be married.
2. Blasphemy
n. An act or statement that shows disrespect or irreverence toward something considered sacred.
3. Cadence
n. A rhythm marked by a regular beat.
The rising and falling of the voice in human speech.
4. Canon
n. A rule or principle that provides the norm for judgement.
The works of a writer accepted as authentic.
5. Denouement
( A French word now part of our vocabulary.) n. The outcome of a series of events.
The final resolution following the climax of the plot of a work of drama or fiction.
6. Edict
n. A statement or command having the force of law.
7. Enamor
(Usaully used with of or with) v. To inspire with love; to captivate.
8. Insenate
adj. Lacking sensation or awareness.
Lacking sense or ability to reason.
Brutal; lacking feeling.
9. Renegade
n. A person who deserts one group or cause for another; a traitor.
A person who rejects lawful behavior.
10. soliloquy
n. A speech in which a character's thoughts are given verbal expression.
11. Stricture
(Usaully plural) n. A strong criticism.
Anything that restricts or limits.
12. Triumvirate
n. A group of three, especially one possessing great power or eminece.
13. Usurp
v. To seize and hold power or authority in an illegal or unjust manner.
14. Vestment
(often plural) n. An outer garment, especially one indicating a role, rank, or offive.
15. Votary
n. A person who is devoted to a cause or organization, expecially one of a religious nature.
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Lesson 8 vocabulary
2011-11-30 19:28:38
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Thomann's Cool Online Guides: Bassoons
7. History
The bassoon is the largest instrument in the woodwind family. Its closest cousin is the oboe, as they both have a double reed, but the bassoonist also has a crook or ‘bocal’ on which to place the reed before connecting it to the instrument. The bassoon’s conical bore has thick walls that are usually made out of maple, and it is these, together with the reed, that give the instrument its distinctive sound - a humorous, bright and bouncy staccato, but also a dark and sonorous singing quality.
The forerunner to the bassoon was the dulcian. Although there are numerous similarities between the two, such as the double reed and metal crook, there are also some important differences. The main one is that the dulcian was usually carved from a single piece of wood, whereas the bassoon is made from four separate joints - the bell, long, tenor and butt joints - which enables the maker to achieve much greater accuracy when boring out the wood. The dulcian existed independently alongside the bassoon for some years, and is still played today by early-instrument specialists.
Reproduction Dulcian
The bassoon’s invention is frequently attributed to Martin Hotteterre, as it is he who supposedly created the four-part system in around 1650. By adding a couple of keys, the natural range was extended down to B flat, and fifty years later, the bassoon had gained another two keys (and still later three), thereby increasing its chromatic capabilities. It is this instrument that was used for the music of Bach and Vivaldi, the latter composing no fewer than thirty-seven bassoon concertos!
Technical and musical demands increased over the years, and the instrument continued to develop, with more and more keys being added to stabilise the tuning - there are up to twenty-eight keys on a modern instrument. There are, however, two different systems - the French and the German. The German system, which is the most well-known format, was developed mainly by Johann Heckel who fashioned the singing tone quality for which the bassoon is revered today, and it is his model that German system instruments rely on. Please note that this article deals only with ‘Heckel’ or German system instruments. The French system or ‘Buffet’ is substantially different to the Heckel, and is generally not used in England or Germany. French bassoon is played in niche ensembles and in many European orchestras, but opportunity for the student or amateur is very limited.
At the start of its life, the bassoon was used primarily to play bass lines. If a wind instrument, or sometimes a male singer were carrying the melody, a bassoon would join the basso continuo (cello and keyboard) to augment the sound. As the instrument’s abilities developed, the bassoon was also employed to play solo lines. The bassoon’s role in a modern orchestra does not differ so much from this basic model - it forms a bass for the wind section, just as the cellos do for the violins, but it is also frequently employed as a soloist, as in Dukas’ ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ and Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’ for instance. Its expressive dark sound is particularly popular with film music composers.
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Bassoons overview
Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 Upgrade Roland SH-01A gray Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 Varytec LED Theater Spot 100 3000K Digitech SDRUM Strummable Drums Boss Katana Mini Fender Standard Telecaster MN BB Kala Spruce Mahagony Sopran Ukulele Arturia KeyLab Essentials 61 Stairville Octagon 20x6W Tourpack 4 Darkglass Alpha Omicron Bass Distortion Arturia KeyLab Essentials 49
Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 Upgrade
to the product
169 €
Roland SH-01A gray
to the product
399 €
Toontrack Superior Drummer 3
to the product
329 €
Varytec LED Theater Spot 100 3000K
to the product
327 €
Digitech SDRUM Strummable Drums
to the product
219 €
Boss Katana Mini
to the product
98 €
Fender Standard Telecaster MN BB
to the product
599 €
Kala Spruce Mahagony Sopran Ukulele
to the product
77 €
Arturia KeyLab Essentials 61
to the product
249 €
Stairville Octagon 20x6W Tourpack 4
to the product
949 €
Darkglass Alpha Omicron Bass Distortion
to the product
269 €
Arturia KeyLab Essentials 49
to the product
199 €
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Wireframe Tool for Great User Experience
User experience design (UX design) has become increasingly important as websites and applications have evolved to become more and more complex over the years. One of the well accepted tools in user experience design is wireframe, or sometimes known as storyboard/storyboarding. In the filed of software development, wireframing enables the simulation of user experience through the creation and presentation of simple screen mock-ups. Wireframe are simple enough both for creation and understanding, which facilitates the communication of design ideas between development team and stakeholders, making it an ideal choice in identifying user experience issues and exploring solutions.
1. Step 1 - Begin with a storyboard
Create a storyboard for a specific usage scenario.
2. Step 2 - Draw the first 'scene' with wireframe
The left hand side of the wireframe editor provides you with all the widgets you may want to apply in your wireframe.
3. Step 3 - Continue by adding more wireframes
A storyboard is composed of a sequence of wireframes. Repeatedly add wireframes to your storyboard to form a screen flow. You can also mark the finger gestures like tab, slide, pinch for a better representation of user actions.
4. Step 4 - Play the storyboard with stakeholders, and collect their feedback
Give stakeholders a feel of how the system will function, what they will see and how they will interact with the system to achieve their goals by presenting storyboards as slideshows. By the end of the presentation, collect the feedback from the stakeholders and revise your development plan for a better software with better user experience.
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What we do in our daily lives is based on our thinking, what we have learnt from others or what we have learnt through experience or observation.
Sometimes there are conflicting theories about what is best or what works in a particular situation. Moreover, what works in one situation or for one condition might be ineffective or even dangerous in another, or when combined with other measures.
Our thinking and execution may overlook the impact of external factors which may contribute to what is observed. For example, the domain of healthcare, there are gaps in knowledge, theories about how something might work better and ideas for improvement. It is not only on Healthcare domain, it happened in all the domains.
The professionals of all the domains are not ready to take risks, there is need of research.
Organized and controlled research enables researchers to test and compare different theories and approaches, explore different methods and learn from other people's experience. It also enables them to rule out or at least consider external factors which might influence their results.
Ads-e-Park is also learnt through their experience that there is need of research for their consistent travel on their service and involved their team to carrying out research is that for a lot of studies, the findings can be recorded numerically and then statistically analysed in order to determine whether the findings are significant.
The advantage of many qualitative studies is that they permit an in-depth investigation into a particular aspect of human experience. They give people the opportunity to explain in their own words how they feel, what they think and how they make sense of the world they live in.
Genealogy Research
Online Market Research
Quantitative Research
Qualitative Research
Social Security Research
Data Analysis.
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Impact of Teaching Others
disseminationMatt Sena is a BrainWise champion, and a member of the BrainWise Board of Directors. He is inspired in his work by thinking about the following formula, given to him by a former professor:
●Think about how many new people you impact in a year when you teach a BrainWise class, hold a BrainWise workshop, or counsel individuals and families.
●Next, think about the impact they will have on at least one other person — perhaps it’s the person with whom they have their primary interactions, or a friend or family member in need of support.
●Multiply that person by one or more, because there could be a generational effect, where children teach other siblings, or parents teach their children, spouse, or other family members. Then you will have an estimate of how many people you can impact in a year.
●Then times that estimated number by the years you teach or provide counseling – and then think about your impact on others.
This formula is guaranteed to jump start any bad day!
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Can You Get Pregnant from Precum? Shocking Myths Revealed
Relationship Between Pre-cum And Pregnancy
Precum, also known as pre-ejaculate, is a clear viscous fluid that is released by men during the early stage of sexual intercourse. Its composition is quite similar to semen but has different chemical content. It is also produced in sizable quantity and can amount up to about 5 ml depending on the individual.
Precum does not come from the testicles but from some two glands found along the urethra called Cowper’s glands and gland of Litter. This fluid is produced during sexual arousal, early stages of sexual intercourse and even masturbation. Some people argue that this fluid contains spermatozoa and can cause pregnancy while others think otherwise. This discussion will tend to seek answers and solve this confusion of pre-ejaculatory fluid and pregnancy.
Human spermatozoa are produced in testes through a process called Spermatogenesis. This process is unique in that it takes place in an environment which has a temperature slightly lower than that of the normal body temperature, about 2 degrees Celsius lower than 37 degrees Celsius, which is considered the normal body temperature of humans. This is the reason why human testes hang – to control temperatures that favor production of spermatozoa through contraction and expansion of scrotum. This process only takes place in the testes and not in precum producing glands, an apparent reason why this pre-ejaculatory fluid itself is free from sperms hence the difference in chemical composition.
The primary purpose of precum is to clean and lubricate the inside of urethra. It also forms a favorable environment for the passage of sperms. Spermatozoa never survive in acidic conditions, and therefore precum tends to neutralize the acidity nature of the urethra making sperms survive during their journey to the vagina.
Although this fluid is free from any sperm and cannot cause pregnancy itself, there are situations where sperm remains in the urethra after previous ejaculation and hence the possibility of them mixing with each other. Leftover sperm normally settles at the tip of the penis during arousal and may be carried by this precum into a woman’s body. This is the point where the pre-ejaculate together with unprotected vaginal penetration can cause pregnancy. Immediately the sperm in pre-ejaculate finds its way into the vagina; it can lead to fertilization of ovum even if withdrawal takes place before ejaculation.
Several studies have been conducted concerning the possibility of precum causing pregnancy, but almost all have failed to give convincing findings. The study carried out in 2011 has stood out to be the best of all. In this 2011 study performed to determine whether pre-ejaculatory fluid carries motile spermatozoa and if it poses a pregnancy risk, it was found that precum samples could contain sperm.
In this study, a total of 27 male adult participants were involved and were instructed to pre-ejaculate through masturbation at different intervals. A total of 40 samples were taken, and their precum was studied immediately after they were released. Results show that out of the 27 participants, 11 produced pre-ejaculatory fluid with semen. Of these eleven cases, ten produced a reasonable amount of sperm that was motile. This study is believed to be successful, unlike previous studies because of promptness with which the samples were examined, within two minutes of production. It is believed that if samples stay after the two-minute timing, they are likely to dry up hindering the possibility of accurate microscopic analysis.
The result also shows that slightly over 30% of the participants produced sperm in their precum, which had a higher probability of fertilizing an egg. This does not necessarily mean that they could make a woman pregnant every time they produced the pre-ejaculatory fluid. The whole process depends on different conditions, and it varies in different men. It only means that at that particular time, they had sperm in their urethra that mixed with the precum. Since it its production is in small quantities as compared to ejaculate, it may carry with it less sperm, and so the possibility of causing pregnancy may be rare.
It is believed that if a man urinates after ejaculation, the flushes out and kills out any sperm left over that remains in the penis and that in this case pregnancy would not happen. This is a myth and has been scientifically discarded to be untrue. Though it is believed that urine is sterile and acidic in nature, it does not have damaging effects on sperm. Remember that the primary function of precum is to neutralize the acidic effect in the urethra and consequently does the same on urinal effects, making the environment safe for the survival of spermatozoa.
It is now clear that precum itself does not contain spermatozoa. However, there is a risk of leaked motile sperm in pre-ejaculatory fluid hence the possibility of causing unintended pregnancy.
It is highly recommended that you continue practicing safe sex by wearing a condom before any genital contact to reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy and contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STD s). This is considered as the safest and most trusted means of protection.
Withdrawal as a means of preventing pregnancy has also been practiced by many people, but again you cannot be 100% guaranteed that it can work for you. One thing you should remember is that during pre-ejaculation there is a feeling similar to that of orgasm, a point where the sexual excitement is at its peak. This excitement is sometimes difficult to control and most men never realize when precum is being discharged. It requires a lot of timing and self-control.
Use of contraceptives is also a recommended way of preventing unprecedented pregnancy. In this way, a woman will feel safer and will indulge in sexual intercourse without any worry of sexual aftermaths.
My opinion is, never trust pre-ejaculate. It will mess you up. Since it can lead to pregnancy, though on rare occasions, be smart and take precautionary measures before indulging in sexual intercourse. In this way, you will be safe and free from unnecessary stress.
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Military Technology- Vehicle Camouflage
In recent years, especially after the 2006 Lebanon War, military strategists and engineers have been working feverishly to find some way of reducing the effect of Anti-tank guided missiles or ATGMs. Many of these systems use infrared imaging or radar to track the target and as the missiles themselves are very difficult to destroy in flight, hiding the tanks' IR and Radar signature seemed like the way to go .
Saab Barracuda and Fibrotex have both made multi-spectral camouflage systems that seek to hide or disguise the visual/near Infrared, thermal and radar signature of the tanks. They also use heat transfer materials to hide the heat that accumulates on the tank in the day.
Saab's Mobile Camouflage System (MCS) seeks to hide glossy materials and flat surfaces with a three dimensional textiles with appropriate colors and infrared signatures in line with the environment of the area of operations. The 3D nature of the system is also hoped to have an effect on laser targeting and ranging systems of land and air based threats. The most recognizable part of a tank is the turret and main gun and the MCS seeks to camouflage the distinctive outline of these structures with contour disrupters. The radar camouflage hopes to diminish or eliminate the detection by synthetic aperture radar, but I think that is wishful thinking for the most part.
Danish Leopard 2 tanks
The Fibrotex system, seen here on IDF tanks, is similar, but uses a network of tiles rather than a textile cover. They state that it is effective in hot and cold environments, wet or dry conditions.
Israeli Merkava Tanks with Flexible Camouflage System
This is a German Leopard 2 tank in Afghanistan, it is painted in a disruptive, digital pattern designed to camouflage the tank, at least at distance. Once again, I am not sure how effective this would be on a 50 ton vehicle that makes about as much noise as sending a school bus through a chipper shredder. I have heard some rumours and that the paint used has some thermal qualities that are intended to lower its IR signature, but so far no proof of that has surfaced.
History's Greatest Fortifications- Krak de Chevaliers
In 1095, Pope Urban II declared a Crusade for the Holy Land. This was the beginning of 8 major wars and countless smaller ones that consumed the Mediterranean for three hundred years. The First Crusade conquered much of modern day Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and parts of Turkey. The land was divided and new countries based on the European feudal system were developed. One consequence of this was the construction of large and advanced castles and fortresses to guard the Holy Land and the pilgrims and trade which gave it life.
The greatest of all Crusader castles was the Krak de Chevaliers, in modern day Syria. It guarded the main mountain pass leading to the Muslim city of Homs. It sits atop a 650-meter-high hill along the only route from Antioch to Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea. Crusaders captured the site in 1110 and handed it over the Knights Hospitallers, an order of militant monks. The Hospitallers upgraded the defenses constantly and it is today the one of the best surviving examples of Crusader architecture.
The Krak de Chevaliers was invested several times and did not fall until 1271, shortly before the collapse of the Crusader States in the Holy Land.
Many of the greatest defensive architectural ideas are seen in the ruins of the Krak. It has what is known as keep-centric construction, where the keep, the last bastion of the castle is in the center and can be reached from all the other defensive areas. This allows the defense to be continued even of the outer wall is breached. Notice the angled walls on the outer towers. This makes them immensely strong, less likely to be seriously damaged by siege engines of the day. It would also give the walls strength to avoid being undermined by enemy engineers or damaged in an earthquake, a common occurrence in the Middle East. The outer wall is close to 100 feet thick on the south side. It has seven guard towers that are more than 30 feet in diameter.
The Krak de Chevaliers was besieged by the two greatest Muslim Generals of the Crusades period, Nur-ad-din and Saladin. Both failed to take it. Its archectural success were copied by Edward the I of England who saw the castle while on the Ninth Crusade in 1272 and copied it in his many castle on England and Wales.
Range report- Winchester Model 74 .22LR
I went out to the range the other day and took along Pap's old Winchester 74 .22. I wasn't there to do any serious shooting, but decided to take some photos of the targets and show them to you, my adoring audience.
The Winchester 74 is a semi automatic rifle, chambered in the .22LR rimfire cartridge. It has a 24"round barrel and is loaded from a gate on the right side of the buttstock. The tubular magazine holds 14 cartridges. They were produced from 1939 to 1955 and more than 400,000 were made.
All targets were at 25 yards, all shots from the standing position
Well to be honest, this is all error on the part of yours truly, I think due to the light weight of the rifle, I was holding a little high at first. I realized my error and tried to correct my stance at the end.
Here I corrected my stance and let a little lead fly, with improved results.
Once I got used to the rifle, I was able to put rounds on target in rapid fire from a standing position. Overall, this is a great little rifle and would be wonderful for rabbit or squirrel hunting. You know, if you are hungry. Hopefully I will have a chance to take it to an outdoor range soon and see what it can really do at 100 yards from a sandbag and bench. I expect great things from it.
I would like to thank the Buffalo Bill Museum and Winchester Club of America in Englewood, CO for some help on the specifics of the '74.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Warhawk Air Museum (again)
A glider fuselage
Early P-51C Mustang before the distinctive bubble canopy and ventral intakes were added
The pilot was an Ace four times over
Wing mounted .50 caliber machine guns
Fairburn-Sykes Commando dagger
1916 "Double Date" Luger
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Guns I Wish I Had - Part 4 - AKS-74U
Some might think that the AK series are ugly, inaccurate rifles that are only fit for Communist conscript armies and terrorists.
Well, I don't have a good argument against those charges, actually.
But I like them. The AK series are rugged, reliable, and accurate enough for field use.
This brings us to the latest gun I would like you nice people out in internetland to buy for me: The AKS-74U. (Avtomat Kalashnikova Ukorochennyj)
The AK-74 is a AKM assault rifle chambered in the 5.45x39mm cartridge. The 5.45mm was developed after the Vietnam War, when it was seen that more of a lighter cartridge with a flatter trajectory was superior to fewer of a heavy cartridge. Whether or not this is the truth is still hotly debated today.
The AKS-74U was intended as a weapon for armored vehicle crews, artillerymen, truck drivers and anyone who would be overly encumbered by a full size rifle. The AKS-74U is mostly the same as its larger brother, it has a simpler sights and a shorter forearm, as well as a folding metal stock. The main difference is the very abbreviated barrel. The barrel is 8.3" long and is fitted with a special muzzle brake with an internal expansion chamber that is intended to increase the reliability of the weapon. The brake also is meant to allow unburnt powder to dissipate inside, before it has a chance to make a large muzzle flash, destroying nightvision and letting enemies zero in on your position. The 8.3 inch barrel was not simply adopted because it was shorter, though. The length allowed the 5.45mm cartridge to achieve the muzzle velocity of the older M43 7.62x39mm AKM, which the designers felt would give it sufficient killing power.
One problem of making a shorter automatic weapon is that the original weapon was developed to cycle the bolt with a certain amount of pressure. Shortening the barrel lowers the amount of gas pressure in the weapon and makes malfunctions much more likely. Also the AKS-74U loses a great deal of velocity from the full size AK-74 from 2,952 fps to 2,411fps. This resulted in a decrease in effective range from 625 to 350 m. Although I would guess that making a offhand shot on a man sized target at 350m with this weapon would be a nice shot.
This is the "Special Forces" variant of the -74U, it is fitted with a sound suppressor and the BS-1 "silent" grenade launcher. The BS-1 was developed specifically for the AKS-74U and fires a high-explosive dual purpose (HEDP) grenade. The grenades for the BS-1 are launched by blank cartridges and the rifle is cycled manually in this mode of operation.
Why do I want this gun? It is not very accurate, extremely loud, fires a weird little bullet, etc. To be honest, I want this gun just because it looks cool. To be sure, it is an assault rifle with the effectiveness of a submachine gun, but it is much more compact than most weapons with its level of power and probably more reliable than almost any similarly sized AR-15 variant.
Update-- ACUPAT
I found some more info on the Army's quest to find a more effective universal camouflage pattern. I discussed the Army's ACUPAT or Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) a few weeks ago. For those of you who were late to class, this is the ACUPAT:
There have been many people who say that the ACUPAT is absolute crap, and some of them are soldiers who have worn the ACU in Iraq and Afghanistan and unlike the rest of us armchair general types, actually know what they are talking about. Congress, never wanting to be left out of something they have a chance of screwing up, have also made their braying voices heard.
The result of 4 or more years of talk on this has produced the following: a new set of modified camouflage patterns intended to at least partially replace the ACUPAT.The UCP-D is regarded as the best of these new options, and has been tested by Natick Labs and of course, roundly disparaged by the military and the Internet crowd. To me it looks like it might be a step in the right direction, at least as far as what is needed in Afghanistan, which is much more wooded in many areas than most of Iraq. It is also worth noting that, in general, the only new equipment that is liked by soldiers is equipment that has not yet been issued to them. I don't have any pics of these newer patterns out in the real world, but hey, who needs real world testing right?
UCP Delta
The main difference between the current ACUPAT and UCP Delta is the addition of a lot of a color known as coyote brown, which is the main color of new gear being issued in the USMC. Coyote brown is very useful because it blends in a very wide variety of terrains, from jungle mud, to sand, to rocks, or tree trunks. For that reason the Marines have begun to issue their plate carriers (armor), pouches, and other gear in coyote brown. The idea is that they can use those items with either their woodland or desert uniforms.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Some years ago, in Colorado, if memory serves, this guy, Marvin Heemeyer, was pissed at his whole town over some zoning issue or such, and built this monstrosity. It is a Komatsu bulldozer with steel and concrete armor, multiple cameras protected by 3 inch thick bullet resistant plastic attached to two monitors, and firing ports. He had mounted a Barret M82 .50 caliber rifle in the rear, and had 5.56 rifles, a Ruger Mini-14 on the right and a FN FNC in the front.
Well, as crazy fuckers tend to do, this dude went on a rampage, tearing the whole town apart, especially the businesses of his hated enemies from the town council. Eventually, he got the killdozer (as it came to be known) stuck in the foundation of a building he had demolished and while the police waited for the Colorado National Guard to get there with anti-tank weapons, he shot himself in the head with his .357 magnum.
The Other Guns of Russia -MSP
This is the MSP( Malogabaritnyj Spetsialnyj Pistolet), from our friends the USSR. The MSP is a break action, double barrel pistol, similar in some respects to a derringer. This gun was adopted by the KGB and Soviet Army in 1972. It is only intended for close range, and would likely not be accurate beyond 5 meters. It is a fairly unique weapon, firing internally silenced 7.62x38mm bullets. The ammunition is known as the SP-3.
Internally silenced ammunition?
Well, the idea is that almost all of the sound that a firearm makes is caused by hot gases escaping from the barrel. A conventional suppressor traps these gases long enough for them to cool and slow down. The MSP uses ammo with a special strengthened case and a gas-sealing piston that pushes the bullet and then locks the powder gasses within the case. This has its drawbacks, and the Sp-3 cartridge only generates velocities of about 600 feet per second, which would severely limit its range and penetration. The gun has a single action trigger and is cocked with a rather strange front cocking mechanism, which sets the internal hammers. Once the pistol is loaded and the breach is closed, the shooter pulls down the lever to cock the pistol and then releases it.
The MSP has no projections or controls to snag when drawing from within a coat or holster. Absent from the design are any form of extractors or ejectors, and spent cartridges are removed by pulling out the small clip that binds them together.
The MSP has little military value as it is only useful at conversational distances, and it is mostly regarded as an assassins' tool. It was replaced by the much more conventional and effective PSS pistol.
Warhawk Air Museum (more)
North American T-28 Trojan, 1950's training aircraft
They had a great collection of propaganda posters from WWII, I think they are really one of the most interesting things about the war. Even people born years after the war have their attitudes influenced by these very insidious weapons.
I love aircraft nose art of WWII, and I am beginning to believe there is a conspiracy to hide the awesome (read: naked girls) ones from us.
Also great art from a bomber crewman's leather jacket.
F86 Saber- Korean War era jet fighter
WWII era Seebee bulldozer (Navy Construction Battalion)
Once again I would like to thank the staff, volunteers, and contributors of the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho for all their dedication.
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Bible in Basic English
Genesis 24
The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Return to Index
Chapter 25
And Abraham took another wife named Keturah.
She became the mother of Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah.
And Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. And from Dedan came the Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim.
And from Midian came Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the offspring of Keturah.
Now Abraham gave all his property to Isaac;
But to the sons of his other women he gave offerings, and sent them away, while he was still living, into the east country.
Now the years of Abraham's life were a hundred and seventy-five.
And Abraham came to his death, an old man, full of years; and he was put to rest with his people.
And Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, put him to rest in the hollow rock of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, near Mamre;
The same field which Abraham got from the children of Heth: there Abraham was put to rest with Sarah, his wife.
Now after the death of Abraham, the blessing of God was with Isaac, his son.
Now these are the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar the Egyptian, the servant of Sarah:
These are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their generations: Ishmael's first son was Nebaioth; then Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam
And Mishma and Dumah and Massa,
Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:
These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names in their towns and their tent-circles; twelve chiefs with their peoples.
And the years of Ishmael's life were a hundred and thirty-seven: and he came to his end, and was put to rest with his people.
And their country was from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt: they took their place to the east of all their brothers.
Now these are the generations of Abraham's son Isaac:
Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramaean of Paddan-aram, and the sister of Laban the Aramaean, to be his wife.
Isaac made prayer to the Lord for his wife because she had no children; and the Lord gave ear to his prayer, and Rebekah became with child.
And the Lord said to her, Two nations are in your body, and two peoples will come to birth from you: the one will be stronger than the other, and the older will be the servant of the younger.
And when the time came for her to give birth, there were two children in her body.
And the first came out red from head to foot like a robe of hair, and they gave him the name of Esau.
And after him, his brother came out, gripping Esau's foot; and he was named Jacob: Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
And the boys came to full growth; and Esau became a man of the open country, an expert bowman; but Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.
Now Isaac's love was for Esau, because Esau's meat was greatly to his taste: but Rebekah had more love for Jacob.
And Esau said to Jacob, Give me a full meal of that red soup, for I am overcome with need for food: for this reason he was named Edom.
And Jacob said, First of all give me your birthright.
And Esau said, Truly, I am at the point of death: what profit is the birthright to me?
And Jacob said, First of all give me your oath; and he gave him his oath, handing over his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave him bread and soup; and he took food and drink and went away, caring little for his birthright.
Genesis 26
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Powerful Strategy Games to help you Children Think
Young people need to consentrate! I don't know in regards to you, however it seems to me that numerous people base their decisions on feelings in lieu of thinking. I'll admit i always would prefer to eat chocolate to vegetables, while vegetables certainly are a healthier choice. Why don't you consider you?
You may give your child a lead in your life by teaching those to focus. Particularly, they must choose the following thinking skills:
Logic - email address particulars are based upon reasoned thinking
Brainstorming - taking a look at all choices
Consequences - investigating the outcome of an choice
Linear Planning - a few steps ultimately causing an objective
Logic is the greatest approach to make healthy choices. May method of a problem can help bypass the sentiments as well as the troubles they are able to bring. Although you may ultimately opt with your feelings, no less than you may have considered a reasoned and wise solution. Children who play Checkers rapidly discover that someone who can think logically will beat someone who simply moves pieces randomly.
Brainstorming teaches the crooks to think in the evening normal expectations. What may look obvious being a short term goal might be a bad decision long term, and vice-versa. There may also be a less complicated or better method of achieving that goal. An antique example could be the sport of Chess. In 1858, Paul Morphy played a sport against two opponents working together. His sixteenth move in the game saw him lose his queen, which may normally be considered a terrible move. However, he won the experience on his following move!
Consequences are the most essential thinking skills children can buy. Although one choice might appear more pleasing, we have to take into account the results of this step before making a conclusion. Boxes is a simple two player pen-and-paper game where each player takes turns to attract a line between two dots with a piece of paper to make boxes. Children soon learn that putting a line within the wrong place can earn their opponent many boxes. This can be something I learned hard way as I played against my son at some point! Children need to take into account the consequences of every line they draw, just like they may should take into consideration every decision they cook down the road if the results might be much more serious than losing a casino game.
Linear planning is yet another important long lasting strategy skill. Many people have goals, including financial independence or having good relationships using family, but they are not aware of tips on how to achieve them. Linear planning will help split up what seems to be an unachievable goal into a combination of manageable, small steps. Tower of Hanoi Card Game is based on the puzzle of the name, where three piles of disordered cards should be assembled, as a way, according to simple rules. While it might seem unachievable when you initially consider the cards, you can always 'do the impossible' by employing logic to evaluate the results of any move and breaking it down into a few smaller, achievable goals. My eleven years old son can complete the Tower of Hanoi Card Game in under 10-20 minutes, nevertheless it is taking him lots of practice to do this.
As children learn problem-solving skills like Logic, Brainstorming, Consequences and Linear Planning, they're getting yourself ready for their future. Though there are many commercial games available, free strategy games like Checkers, Chess, Boxes and Tower of Hanoi Card Game might make learning these skills fun. Is not that worth considering for the child's future?
Check out about mobile card game see this resource
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Gerd Causes
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Thursday, September 27, 2012
A friend showed me this link:
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Democracy in the US Constitution
Republicanism in the US Constitution
"We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government." – James Madison
Even before the constitution was created, one of the most striking features of colonial politics was that in almost every colony, the people had some democratic input in how they were governed. This was noteworthy because for the most part, Europeans hadn’t paid this idea anything more than lip service since the Ancient Greeks and Romans; most monarchs and leaders cited their lineage or divine right to rule for legitimacy as opposed to any official show of popular support. Indeed, “taxation without representation” had been the rallying cry against the British crown. A great challenge facing the framers of the Federal government, therefore, was determining how to incorporate representation into the new system. How much representation should the people have? How direct should this input be?
The political norms of the day were very different from the political norms of our day, and as such so were the debates on this issue. Today, debates on this subject usually are between a fully inclusive direct democracy on one hand, and an indirect republican system on the other. This summer, I arguedthat an indirectly representative republic was superior to a directdemocracy. This was primarily because the people are highly fallible, meaning that they too need a check on their power (just like the people they elect). As I wrote in the above entry, “too many people are too ignorant, too preoccupied, too intolerant, too fickle, and too apathetic to be entrusted with complete, direct, and immediate control over how the government should operate.” Did the framers agree with me?
Having just shed the tyranny of an unelected monarch, most of the framers deeply distrusted the idea of giving the people no input at all (with Hamilton, who disdained the uneducated masses, admired the British Crown, and argued for a monarch with lifetime terms who could appoint Congressmen himself, once again as the strong outlier). But they were also highly wary of giving the people too much power – indeed, far more wary than I am. This was primarily due to the context of the times. No level of democratic input in a nation as large and diverse as the colonies had never really been tried before. Many were skeptical that so many diverse peoples from faraway localities could function together peacefully in one democracy. Granting power to the people was seen as a novel and dangerous concept, an “experiment” as Madison called it, and one which the framers were hesitant to overdo.
But beyond the simple problem of overcoming social norms, the wisest of the framers expressed many of the same logical concerns with direct democracy that exist today. In Federalist No. 10, James Madison discussed the problem of faction, and explained how he’d devised mechanisms within the new government to mitigate this problem by checking factions against one another. This was accomplished partially by keeping the people’s representation indirect. In all three branches, the people voted on those who would make decisions for them, rather than on the policies themselves. Furthermore, there were checks on just who they were allowed to select. In the executive branch, the Electoral College served as a check on the power of the strong states, and a defense of the people in the smaller states. In the legislative branch, the people voted directly for the House of Representatives, but the Senators were selected by the state legislatures (although this has since been amended to make them direct too). And in the Judicial Branch, the judges were to be appointed by those elected by the people in the other branches. Additionally, all three branches had age requirements, further limiting the options available at the people’s disposal. In each arm of the federal government, the people got a say. But in each arm, this say was indirect, because middle-men representatives of the people’s input made the actual decisions.
That the framers chose to include some democratic input was revolutionary, progressive beyond their times, and commendable; it does not mean that it was or is a good idea to have majority rule decide everything. And once again, the framers were in nearly unanimous agreement with me on the need to check popular input. Observe:
"The fundamental article of my political creed is that despotism, or unlimited sovereignty, or absolute power, is the same in a majority of a popular assembly, an aristocratic council, an oligarchical junto, and a single emperor." -- John Adams, Letter to Thomas Jefferson [November 13, 1815]
-- Thomas Jefferson
“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!” – Benjamin Franklin
“A republic, if you can keep it.” – Benjamin Franklin (when asked what type of government the convention had formed).
So or the most part, the Framers agreed with me here too. They distrusted direct democracy to handle many national matters. They knew that the opinions of the populace were often fickle, radical, overly emotional, irrational, shortsighted, uninformed, and too easily swayed by misinformation. Modern polling proves that this is still the case today by highlighting the ignorance, contradictions, and indifference most American citizens; how much more of a problem would this have been in the 18th century, then, when the people were largely uneducated? The framers recognized that 51% agreement is far too low of a bar to justify the use of force. They worried openly about the possibility of a “tyranny of the majority”, in which the most powerful factions took away minority rights. For this reason, they intentionally implemented a constitutional republic, rather than a democracy. Each of the three branches has some democratic input; this is just. But they also intentionally made that input indirect; this is prudent. They placed checks on the power of the people just as they placed checks on the representatives they elect, and they were right to do so.
Obviously, the framers were not sufficiently progressive to extend the vote to anyone beyond land-owning white males. But I’m not grading the framers alone; I’m grading the US constitution as it stands today, amendments included. And with those amendments considered, the underlying truth is that our nation is clearly a democratic republic, rather than a pure democracy.
Federalism in the US Constitution
(Author’s Note: With school starting I’ve hit a bit of a lull in my blogs recently, and during the school year I’d like to transition to more of an as-it-happens-reaction format. Before we get there, I’d just like to tie up some loose ends in regards to my analysis of the US constitution’s strengths and weaknesses. These blogs are less fun to write, because they’re much less opinionated and much more fact-oriented; I’ve already proposed how I think the constitution should read, and now I’m merely analyzing how it does read. Nevertheless, I think this is important for establishing the constitutionality of policy going forward, so just tune me out if you’re tired of the topic. I’ll revisit three issues I discussed in the abstract, applying them to the American constitution specifically. Those issues are Federalism, the directness of Democracy, and the concentration of power. As you can tell from the title, this post will deal with federalism.)
When I advocated for Federalism this summer, I cited five main advantages that it provided:
1. It enhances political efficacy by giving each individual a larger say in how he is governed.
2. It maximizes the number of voters who get their way.
3. It allows the law to be custom tailored to fit local nuances and practical realities.
4. It enables regional governments to serve as laboratories of democracy.
5. It separates the government’s power without reducing it on sum, enabling it to perform necessary functions without concentrating too much power in one place.
To make a long story short, the framers pretty much agreed with me on these points. There was some disagreement on which powers were federal and which were state, and those (like Hamilton) who felt federal power should be virtually unlimited felt the federal government should always trump. But within their specified scope, the autonomy and individuality of the state governments was never seriously questioned during the convention. And in the final result, the constitution clarified the distinction between state and federal power rather bluntly in the 10th amendment:
Like much of the constitution, this is trampled on today, but in theory that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Additionally, each of those states retain the ability to erect subsidiary governments at the local and town level, which all of them did and all of them do today. The people were left free to choose not only who would run the country, but also who would run their town council, or (eventually) their schools. These latter decisions were deemed much more important in people's daily lives, because they were supposed to have more power over local affairs than the federal government did. Federalism is an integral part of the US constitution, which is a very good start.
However, I do wish there were substantially greater limits on state power than there are. I just finished a friggin’ dissertation on why enumerated powers are a superior protective device for liberty than open-ended powers are. Unfortunately, the state governments were not designed with enumerated powers, and as such, they can be dangerous to liberty even when they operate in legal ways. The constitution granted state government expansive powers limited only by explicit constitutional constraints (particularly those in the Bill of Rights). The Supreme Court has taken it upon itself to determine which of these rights are “incorporated,” for the state governments, and which limits apply only to the Federal.
As a libertarian, I’m obviously for full incorporation, because additional restrictions on the state governments are fine by me. Ideally, I’d go even further; I’d have the state powers be enumerated too. I don’t like the “do whatever you want, so long as it’s not banned” approach for state governments any more than I like it for national governments, since I don’t want states to oppress people either. However, I also recognize this system was politically unavoidable at the time of ratification, and for the time being, it still is. People still enjoy the ability to pass virtually any law they want at the local level. Sometimes these laws are oppressive and morally imperialistic and backwards and highly illegitimate, but supposing they don’t violate the limits placed on those powers (bill of rights, due process clause in the 14th amendment, habeas corpus, etc.), I have to admit they are at least constitutional.
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How far do you agree with the view that Mametz Wood is the key to this collection? You should consider both subject matter and style.
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How far do you agree with the view that Mametz Wood is the key to this collection? You should consider both subject matter and style. While some of the themes presented in Mametz Wood also appear elsewhere in Sheers' poetry, I do not agree that it is key to the collection as it is not wholly typical. The most significant theme presented in Mametz Wood is the idea of loss, which is portrayed to some extent in almost all of Sheers' poetry. This poem, however, is different as far as subject matter is concerned in that it deals with the loss of life during the war and the subsequent loss of national identity. Other poems in the collection are more concerned with the loss of love and the breakdown of romantic relationships, the most notable examples being Marking Time, Keyways and Valentine who explore the struggle for personal rather than collective identity. The poem which is most similar in subject matter to Mametz Wood is Joseph Jones. Mametz Wood, written as a response to the tragic Battle of the Somme, discusses the 'wasted young' and 'twenty men buried in one long grave'. ...read more.
Another poem in the collection which can be linked to Mametz Wood is Flag, which also explores the loss of national identity for the Welsh. In Mametz Wood the loss of national identity is conveyed through the references to the dead soldiers and how 'the earth stands sentinel, reaching back into itself for reminders of what happened', symbolising the confusion of the Welsh people. It continues with a simile stating that this is 'like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin', suggesting that the invasion and defeat from foreign countries opposing them during the war has damaged their national pride. As the title suggests, the poem Flag uses a flag to symbolise national identity and begins with a quote by Christopher Logue stating, 'Each man had a liver, a heart a brain and a Flag', emphasising its importance. The lack of national pride is conveyed by stating that they are 'hung up like wet washing' and that 'occasional sun has ghosted the paint to a bad photocopy'. The use of the word 'ghosted' hyperbolically suggests that national identity has ceased to exist in Wales and the flags are merely a reminder of how they used to be. ...read more.
The poem nostalgically remembers their wedding day and them spending the night together. Sexual imagery such as 'I held the bow of your hip' is used, which is fairly typical of the collection. Another key difference between the poems is that Keyways is written in first person whereas in Mametz Wood the narrator is a third party. Mametz Wood is key to the collection to some degree, as themes such as loss and national identity are frequently presented in Sheers' poetry. Conversely, the struggle for personal identity due to loss, particularly following breakdown of a relationship which is likely to be due to Sheers' own experience of marital difficulties is more typical of the collection. As Sheers uses a variety of linguistic structures in the collection, including Haikus, long and short stanzas and poems keeping to a strict format such as in Calendar it is arguable that there is no typical style. The language and style used in Mametz Wood, namely the long sentence structure and natural imagery is very typical, is frequently shown elsewhere in the collection and is, in my opinion, more key to the collection that the subject matter. Page 1 of 2 Marilyn Wilkinson ...read more.
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Both "Bookends" and "Long Distance 2" derive from the death of the mother and how this affects both Harrison and his father, but this is where they also differ. "Bookends" shows the difference between Harrison and his father, and how they deal with her death together and how it affects their relationship directly after his mother's death.
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Also the phrase 'nervously joked' conveys the general mood of the survivors, who are on the flight, which is uncertainty and fear. My third example is from line 8 which says ' they found seats and wondered if their bags would fit' I think this phrase discreetly shows atmosphere as
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Whale Sharks
Government of Gujarat is going to undertake a comprehensive study to explore reasons behind the sudden increase in the number of whale sharks around the coast from Veraval to Sutrapada. The move has been made possible by the mapping of the rescue of these creatures along the coast.
SC Pant, who serves as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), explained the details of the study. Mr. Pant said that analysis of the data showed that most of the whale sharks rescued were from the region between Veraval and Sutrapada.
The study will try to find out why these slow-moving whale sharks are largely found in this area. Is it the composition of the water, availability of food or some other reason which suits their habitat?
The model of rescue and release of these white sharks with the help of Forest Department officials and the local fishing community has been very successful in Gujarat and is now being adopted by Maharashtra.
A seminar was also held on the same subject was held in Maharashtra State and was attended by top forest department officials from Gujarat.
Meanwhile, the government is contemplating giving compensation to fishermen who had their nets damaged by whale sharks. It was stated by the Fisheries Commissioner, Ram Shankar Naik, who was the Chief Guest at the International Whale Shark Day celebrations.
The event was organized by EGREE foundation that is a joint initiative of the Indian Government and the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP). The event took place at the JNTUK Alumni Auditorium on Sunday.
Gujarat serves as an example of protecting whale sharks by banning sale and export of meat. Fishermen are also compensated for nets left at sea by fishermen when they found the shark in their net.
Whale Sharks are found in the tropical oceans like Sri Lanka, Maldives, Philippines, and Mexico. These are very docile creatures and never attack divers. They feed on plankton and happen to be the largest non-mammalian vertebrate. Despite being harmless, they are hunted for their highly prized fins and meat.
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Other Vegan Views articles
Feeding the World by Harry Mather, Vegan Views 89 (Summer 2001)
During the 20th century world population doubled more than once, but advances in agricultural technology generally kept pace with the population increase. The prairies of North America which were developed during the 19th century managed to produce huge surpluses by using large inputs of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The enormous improvements in transport mean that where famine occurs or natural disasters strike, aircraft fly-in quantities of food from other, sometimes very distant, countries.
Despite the population explosions, the world still produces enough food to provide everyone in the world with an adequate diet. Yet millions may starve every year and many more are undernourished. Wars and other armed conflicts which flare up in many countries disrupt agriculture and uproot populations. In many countries, big landowners seeking increasing profits drive out poor farmers who were producing enough for their own survival, resulting in a drift of people into abject poverty onto the streets of big cities. Many poorer countries are burdened with foreign debts and have to export food to pay off the debts (or merely the interest on the debts), because food is the only thing that they can produce in sufficient quantity.
There is no shortage of food worldwide. Therefore it is not necessary to increase the production of food. If some people are short of food, it must be because the food is not reaching them. Very often, the poor could produce their own food but no land is available to them. Land is bought in poor countries by wealthy corporations in Western nations to grow bananas, cocoa, melons, peanuts, flowers, etc and also crops that could be grown at home, to sell in the rich countries. Subsistence farmers are then forced into becoming labourers paid very low wages and unable to feed their families.
Richer countries should be producing more of their own food and if we turned vegan, production would be much more efficient, because a greater area of land is needed to produce food for meat eaters than that needed to feed vegans. Cattle are fed grain and provide only one tenth of the food that would be provided by feeding that grain direct to humans. The affluent nations import feedstuff from poor countries in order to maintain their food animals.
But there are other ways, simple ways, of making food available to the poorer peoples without having recourse to high tech solutions such as Genetic Engineering, from which large corporations are hoping to make huge profits and these simple solutions can be operated and controlled by the local people.
One example is the mucuna bean which is transforming food production in Central and South America. Not only is this 'magic bean' easy to grow without herbicides and pesticides, it even helps to regenerate poor soil. Another solution was provided by the Leaf Protein Project. There is an abundance of green leaves in plants which cannot be digested by humans because it is bound in cellulose. In the mid-20th century N.M.Pirie devised a simple way of making green leaves readily available for humans. Processing the leaves only needs simple equipment - a centrifuge (think of a domestic juice extractor) that quickly separates out the bulky material, leaving a paste which is allowed to ferment. The product is not only rich in protein but also in essential minerals such as iron and vitamins such as vit. A, the lack of which leads to blindness in many poor countries.
The leaf protein can be taken as a food supplement or incorporated into local dishes or made into cakes. In many cultures, women are in charge of food production and this work brings empowerment for them and sometimes a cash income.
This simple process has not been taken up by any large company, because the equipment is too simple and they would not make any money out of it, but a dedicated group of volunteers formed the FIND YOUR FEET organisation to spread the idea to local people in several needy countries, with the result of greatly improved nutrition where it has been used. This work is also supported by VEGFAM, a charity that works like Oxfam to relieve victims of flood, drought and other emergencies, but following vegan principles. During 2000, Vegfam supported projects in Botswana, Mozambique, India, Ethiopia/Eritrea, Tazhikistan, Ghana and Mali, providing vegetable foods, seeds, seedlings, trees, pumps, piping, water carriers, tools and training.
About Vegfam...
The Overseas Aid Charity for Vegetarians & Vegans is
(British Registered Charity No. 232208, Inland Revenue Ref XN8555)
The Fragile Environment of Developing Countries cannot support TWO populations
Humans and their Food Animals.
For over 30 years VEGFAM has provided short and long-term Relief to People who have been the victims of Drought, Flood, Cyclone or War in over 40 countries. Our Supporters control how much of their Donation goes on Administration since VEGFAM operates three separate Funds for the use of Donors/Testators the particulars of which are:
GENERAL DONATIONS paid into a/c No 65023307 00 will be apportioned (by % shown) between
PROJECTS (91%) a/c No 65023323 00
Administration Expenses (7%) a/c No 65023310 00
Office Building Fund (2%) a/c No 65023336 53
The Co-operative Bank plc, 242 High Street, EXETER, Devon, EX4 3QB, Sort Code 08-92-90. (Midland Banks a/cs retained for use by existing Donors). Postal cheques, IMO's, MO's and PO's to Lydford address, please.
USA the American Vegan Society has agreed to take U.S. dollar donations and make them available to VEGFAM in British Currency. Please make your cheque payable to AVS. Donations will go to VEGFAM's General Donations accounts unless you specify it is all for PROJECTS. The American Vegan Society, 501 Old Harding Way, PO Box H, MALAGA, N.J. 08328-0908 (Phone (609) 694 2887 Fax (609) 694 2288).
Australia VEGFAM has a PROJECTS Donations account at Westpac Banking Corporation (Sydney Office), 341 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. BSB & a/c no. 732-000 74-8282.
Tel/Fax Lydford (01822) 820203 [if you are outside the UK: +44 1822 820 203] or (01550) 721197 for more details - Covenant Forms/Bankers Order Forms etc (& self catering visitors accommodation) or write (SAE appreciated) to: VEGFAM, The Sanctuary, Nr Lydford, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 4AL, UK. Website: www.veganvillage.co.uk/vegfam Email: vegfam@veganvillage.co.uk
Related Vegan Views articles...
Cross-reference: Third world + Famine Relief
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A Basic Introduction to Iridology for Human & Animal Health
Horse-eye-closeup-0bby Dr. Kim Bloomer
The sparks that lit the fires: What were the circumstances that pushed the early practitioners toward natural healing in general and iridology in particular? What did they have in common and how were they different?
What generally pushed all the early practitioners into natural health in general was their own ill health or that of a close family member – it’s certainly what has pushed me into natural health! Because traditional care was either writing them off as lost causes or it wasn’t helping to improve their health (as in my own health and that of my dogs), they sought out natural alternatives to see if they could become well once again. Some were already practicing medical doctors where others later became medical doctors in order to be able to practice their natural modalities with more credibility and authority due to the laws against natural health.
Hungarian physician Dr. Ignatz von Peczely, who is considered the true discoverer of iridology, after being imprisoned during the Hungarian Revolt of 1846, learned that his mother became very ill. He was able to help heal her through the use of homeopathics. That led to others seeking his help for their own physical ailments. In order to better help them, he recalled that as a child, according to iridology literature (which may or may not be a myth) how he had broken an owl’s leg in order to free himself from its claws. He saw a black streak appear in the owl’s iris after breaking its leg. He nursed the owl back to health after which the black streak was still there but now surrounded by white lines. That incident is supposedly what sent him into the study of the eye and how to diagnose ailments according to what he found within the iris of the eye. Because of the authorities “leaning” on him about practicing medicine with one physician accusing him of being a “quack“, he then decided to go to school and become a medical doctor. He continued to research and further develop the art of “iris diagnosis” as it was then called.
Other practitioners such as Emmanuel Felke and Joseph Angerer were pastors who had a desire to help people be well. Felke originally was studying medicine along with theology but after being a minister for a while he decided to pursue helping the sick to become well. He then went on to study naturopathy and iridology. Angerer on the other hand remained a minister but studied a wide variety of subjects becoming proficient and a leader along with Felke in the natural therapies and iridology. He was reminiscent to me of Father Knappe, the father of water/nature cure. Like Peczely he was a political prisoner for a short time. He was severely persecuted by the Nazi medical association prior to his imprisonment and forced to serve in the German army medical corps during World War II where he was captured and imprisoned by the Russians. He was later able to have his own natural health establishment reinstated and continued on with his work, becoming one of the great iridologists of his time as was Felke.
Another Pastor, Nils Liljequist was a normal healthy child who after being vaccinated at the age of fourteen, later developed malaria and its associated symptoms. Amazingly as he dedicated himself to the study of iridology, he noticed the color of his eyes was changing which he believed was a result of all his treatment medications. When he later broke his ribs he thought he noticed iris color change once again. He healed himself after years of suffering with homeopathy and natural therapies. When he became a pastor he furthered his study of the eyes then used this knowledge to help his parishioners with natural remedies to help heal them.
Another that he was imprisoned by the Russians during World War II as was Josef Deck. His entire career after completing his studies in naturopathy, were devoted to iris diagnosis. After his release he conducted extensive research into iris diagnosis.
Dr. Henry Lindlahr, considered the father of naturopathy in the United States and Dr. Bernard Jensen, considered the father of iridology in this country, both served to open doors for the naturopathic approach to health here. Dr. Lindlahr published six volumes on iridology that included other natural diagnostic methods, which served to place the practice of naturopathy within the scientific realm. Dr. Jensen however was the true pioneer in iridology in the USA. All of these men either had family members who had suffered severe illnesses or they themselves suffered them. And typically conventional medicine was not getting them well which began their lifelong endeavor into natural healing and health.
Iridology was used as a diagnostic method to help guide them into the correct methods, remedies and natural healing modalities to use in order to help their patients get and remain well. Their differences were primarily walks of life – they came from all different backgrounds but were led to pursue similar paths in the healing of others. They all had a passion for helping people be well using what God has provided us in nature. They studied the window to the soul, the eyes, saw the connection to the “whole person” and no matter the obstacles thrown their way, pursued and developed the analysis tool of iridology.
Others have taken up this same approach and mantra for using iridology as an analytical tool to help animals with their own health challenges. One such person is Dr. Mercedes Colburn who has mapped out the equine, canine and feline irises. She has a new book out about Canine/Feline Iridology along with her previous book on Equine Iridology. An iridologist working with your holistic veterinarian can help pinpoint the health imbalances in your animals in a non-invasive way. This will leave your animals far less stressed and afford your veterinarian the ability to prescribe your natural remedies more accurately or your veterinary naturopath to guide you more effectively in making your own decisions for the health of your animals.
Iridology is a great analytical tool for both animal and human health. While the study of it is long and intense, reading and learning about it can help you not only be empowered to make better informed decisions for your animals, but it can also help your natural animal and human health practitioners make better and more accurate health assessments.
Below is a handout that can help you understand what to expect should you seek out an iridologist for your own health or that of your animals.
Client handout:
Iridology is the study of the iris, the colored portion of the eye. It is used primarily as an analysis tool for health practitioners, but it can be learned and utilized by anyone. It is known that the iris reflects the specific organs and systems within the entire body. By looking at the iris we can learn to recognize or “read” and understand the meaning of the patterns that are located on the iris of the eye.
Iridologists do not diagnose any diseases using iridology. Rather, they analyze the different areas in the body that are potentially weak or strong. They also do not prescribe medicines or natural remedies. Rather we may make suggestions for a nutrient, vitamin, herb or food that can be helpful or has been helpful to others with similar weaknesses.
An iridologist must also ask permission from you client before looking into your eyes because they contain very personal information about you. Your eyes will give them the questions to ask you. Remember, iridology is merely a tool used to assess the different weaknesses or strengths within your body, but it does not give specific solutions or diagnoses. Iridology is most often used by natural health practitioners that include chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopaths, homeopaths, nutritionists, acupuncturists, and colon hydrotherapists.
You should come away from your consultation with an understanding of what possible physical factors have contributed to your health complaints, what past suppressions may have set up your current condition, what lifestyle and emotional factors may have been contributors, what areas of your body may need support to regain vitality or balance, and what you can do to prevent illness. An iridologist will not use iridology to diagnose any specific disease or illness. They will also not use it to prescribe or treat any specific disease or illness.
Specifically regarding your iris, tight or “close” fibers typically represent a body that has a strong resistance to disease. A loose weave in the fibers represents a genetic inheritance towards less resistance, deficiencies, and less or slower ability to recover from particular illnesses. The equation that will help you to remember this is Density=Resilience or the body’s ability to resist disease.
Iridology recognizes only two true eye colors: brown and blue. Any mixture thereof is called a mixed iris. Your eyes will be examined up close with a magnifying lens, an iris camera, or a slit lamp to determine what your true iris color is. Color will tell an iridologist a great deal about your overall constitution. For example someone with a true blue iris indicates a genetic potential for lymphatic congestion while a person with a true brown iris may indicate a potential for blood anomalies such as anemia.
1. Tart-Jensen, Ph.D.,D.Sc. 2007. Through the Eyes of the Masters: a history of iridology. Natural Reader Press, LLC. Birmingham, AL. http://www.naturalreaderpress.com
2. Smith K. 1996, 2000. Iridology: a handbook. Austin. Serenity Enterprises, Inc. http://www.serenityenterprises.net
About the Author:
Dr. Kim Bloomer is a certified animal naturopath and a proficient blogger and writer on natural pet health. She worked in traditional veterinary medicine for many years and continues to do extensive research into natural health care for dogs and cats. Author/co-author of three books, host of Animal Talk Naturally, and Co-Founder/President of the American Council of Animal Naturopathy.
Dr. Kim offers well pet consultations via phone or email: www.drkimbloomer.org
DISCLAIMER: All information contained here is intended for educational purposes only. It is not provided in order to diagnose, prevent or treat any disease, illness or injured condition of the body or pets. The author accepts no responsibility for such use. Anyone or their pets suffering from any disease, illness or injury should consult with their physician or veterinarian.
Photo Attribution: By Adamantios (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHorse-eye-closeup-0b.jpg
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Thursday, 26 July 2007
The Queensland Palm Katydid
The Queensland Palm Katydid (Segestidea queenslandica Rentz) is a large insect with females (the larger of the sexes) measuring around 9 cm (3.5 inches) from the head to the tip of the forewings. Males are a bit smaller. They are known from rainforests around Cairns and Kuranda and the Daintree River area of far north Queensland where they are relatively common. So it is rather surprising that the species was unnamed in the scientific literature until recently (see Rentz, below). The fact that such a large insect, one of the largest of Australian katydids, can go unnamed for such a long time is an example of just how poorly studied the Australian insect fauna really is. I had known about the existence of the insect since the early 1980’s and had been collecting information on its biology and distribution since those early collections.
This katydid is peculiar in some respects. Males are very rare. in fact, only one is known. Females are fairly common and many rainforest folk are well aware of the species. Study of captive females reveals that the species is parthenogenetic, that is, females can produce eggs that hatch without the mother ever having been mated. The species has been raised through several generations in the Museum of Victoria, Melbourne, without any males ever being produced.
Another oddity associated with this species is its food. It feeds only on palm leaves. It has mandibles that are unique and appear to be modified for this purpose. Other members of the genus occur throughout the Pacific and some cause major economic damage to Coconut Palms. This species feeds on a variety of palms and because of its size and appearance is an excellent zoo animal and easy to raise in captivity.
Females need to descend from their perches in palms to deposit eggs in the ground. This is when they are easily seen and subject to predation. Eggs hatch in late autumn and the juveniles (nymphs) seek small palms for feeding. Lawyer Palms (Calamus spp.) are usually chosen because the leaves are tender and there is an abundance of seedlings in the rainforest. The nymphs are protectively coloured (see photo) and resemble bird droppings with their white, mottled pattern. As they mature they ascend palms and change their colour to mottled brown and after the final moult, the adult dark brown colour is achieved.
The Queensland Palm Katydid recently was featured on the TV show Totally_Wild where its biology and habits were noted.
Rentz, D. C. F., Su, Y. N., Ueshima, N. 2006. Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: The Mecopodine Katydids Part 2 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Mecopodinae; Sexavaini) Queensland Palm Katydid. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 132(3): 229-241.
1 comment:
Camera Trap Codger said...
Having seen the pinned specimens, I will assert that this is a princely katydid, indeed.
But what about its song? If all reproduction is asexual, maybe it doesn't need one?
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Orpheus and eurydice
Orpheus and Eurydice [(awr-fyoos, awr-fee-uhs; yoo-rid-uh-see)]
In classical mythology, Orpheus was a great musician, and Eurydice was his wife. The music of Orpheus was so beautiful that it could calm the wildest animal and even make stones rise up and follow. When Eurydice died, Orpheus went to the underworld, played his lyre for Hades, ruler of the dead, and asked that Eurydice be sent back to Earth. The god was so moved that he agreed to let her return, on one condition: that Orpheus go ahead of her and not look back until they had reached the Earth again. Orpheus led Eurydice up, but at the last moment, when he had come out of the underworld and she was about to leave it, he could resist no longer and turned to look at her. She vanished, and he had lost her forever. He spent the rest of his days wandering about, playing his lyre, and singing. In the end, he was torn to pieces by crazed followers of Bacchus, the god of wine.
Read Also:
• Orphic
[awr-fik] /ˈɔr fɪk/ adjective 1. of or relating to . 2. resembling the music attributed to ; entrancing. 3. pertaining to a religious or philosophical school maintaining a form of the cult of Dionysus, or Bacchus, ascribed to as founder: Orphic mysteries. 4. (often lowercase) mystic; oracular. /ˈɔːfɪk/ adjective 1. of or relating to Orpheus […]
• Orphism
[awr-fiz-uh m] /ˈɔr fɪz əm/ noun 1. the religious or philosophical system of the Orphic school. 2. (often lowercase). Also called orphic cubism. Fine Arts. a short-lived but influential artistic movement of the early 20th century arising from analytic cubism and the work of Robert Delaunay and having as conspicuous characteristics the use of bold […]
• Orphrey
[awr-free] /ˈɔr fri/ noun, plural orphreys. 1. an ornamental band or border, especially on an ecclesiastical vestment. 2. gold embroidery. 3. rich embroidery of any sort. 4. a piece of richly embroidered material. /ˈɔːfrɪ/ noun 1. a richly embroidered band or border, esp on an ecclesiastical vestment
• Orpiment
[awr-puh-muh nt] /ˈɔr pə mənt/ noun 1. a mineral, arsenic trisulfide, As 2 S 3 , found usually in soft, yellow, foliated masses, used as a pigment. /ˈɔːpɪmənt/ noun 1. a yellow mineral consisting of arsenic trisulphide in monoclinic crystalline form occurring in association with realgar: it is an ore of arsenic. Formula: As2S3 n. […]
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Birkhoff (crater)
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Normal birkoff.jpg
Clementine mosaic
Coordinates 58°42′N 146°06′W / 58.7°N 146.1°W / 58.7; -146.1Coordinates: 58°42′N 146°06′W / 58.7°N 146.1°W / 58.7; -146.1
Diameter 345 km
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 156° at sunrise
Eponym George Birkhoff
Mosaic of oblique Lunar Orbiter 5 images, facing west
Most of the interior of Birkhoff, facing west, also from Lunar Orbiter 5
Birkhoff is a giant lunar walled plain that is located on the far side of the Moon, in the northern hemisphere. This formation is an ancient impact site that has been heavily eroded, and the surface reshaped by multiple craters in the interior and along the rim. The outer wall is bordered by the craters Carnot to the south, Rowland along the west rim, and Stebbins to the north. Just to the northeast is van't Hoff.
What remains of the perimeter is now a rugged sloping rise along the inner wall, and the rim has been worn down until it is level with the irregular external terrain. The rim is pock-marked by small craters of various dimensions. Within the crater are several craters that are notable in their own right. Along the northwest inner rim is the eroded Birkhoff X, while due south in the southwest floor is Birkhoff Q. The later is joined by a low ridge to the double crater formation of Birkhoff K and L in the eastern half of the crater. In the northern interior are the smaller but relatively young Birkhoff Y and Z. The remainder of the floor is flat in places, with rough sections and many tiny craterlets.
Satellite craters[edit]
Birkhoff Latitude Longitude Diameter
K 57.8° N 144.3° W 58 km
L 56.6° N 144.8° W 37 km
M 54.7° N 144.8° W 23 km
Q 56.6° N 150.8° W 43 km
R 57.5° N 153.0° W 27 km
X 62.1° N 149.7° W 77 km
Y 59.9° N 146.6° W 25 km
Z 61.3° N 145.3° W 30 km
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Blue Economy adds another dimension to the deep sea
It’s only been recently that scientists have been able to research the deep sea and uncover some of the mysteries that lie in its depths. Dr. Cindy Lee Van Dover, Harvey Smith Professor of Biological Oceanography and chair of the Division of Marine Science and Conservation at Duke University, is one of the scientists who has had the opportunity to go where few have gone before.
Watch video:
“I’m an explorer at heart. I look at a map and think: where have we not been?” said Van Dover during an WEP On-Air interview at KAUST this past January.
Van Dover describes herself as a deep-sea ecologist, explorer, submarine pilot, and author. Her work has taken her across all the world’s oceans to depths as deep as 4,000 meters. “I grew up not far from the coast and I would see these animals that were different from me, like crabs,” she said. “I wanted to know why they had all those legs and how they used all those different shaped appendages. As I got older I kept thinking about deeper water and what creatures were out there.”
From Darkness to the Ocean’s Hot Springs
Just a few decades ago, the deep ocean was still an unexplored mystery. It was believed that the seafloor was all the same: dark, cold and uninhabited by any creatures. But with new technology, scientists like Van Dover have learned there is a whole new world in the depths.
“They discovered these hot springs on the seafloor which could be size of a football field, an auditorium or a small classroom,” Van Dover said. “They are little islands and surrounding them is a desert-like area.”
These hot springs are found in all the oceans with a seafloor spreading system. In order for a hot spring to exist, you need a combination of magma and seawater. In the areas where the ocean floor is spreading (such as at the mid-ocean ridges), the molten magna rises and superheats the cold ocean water around it which causes the hot springs.
The hot springs are similar to an oasis in the desert. Van Dover says she has found many new species within them and each species has different adaptations in order to survive. “Many live in extreme environments and in some cases, noxious chemicals, but they have worked out physiologies to prevent them from being killed by the toxic environments that they live in,” Van Dover explains. “You have to be a detective — a sleuth — to figure out what they are doing down there.”
Dr. Cindy Lee Van Dover during her WEP On-Air interview
In her book, “The Octopus’s Garden”, she talks about the mysteries of the deep sea and some of her discoveries. One of her favorite creatures is giant tube worms. “Some people think they are ugly, but I can’t understand it. I think they are the most beautiful animals in the world,” she said. “Tube worms live in hot springs and have an exquisite design. They can be as tall as me and quite big around. The creatures have no mouth, and no digestive system. They live in close proximity of bacteria and are feeding off of that.”
The Emersion of The Blue Economy
The deep sea and the research around it is booming due to advances in technology. Engineers have figured how to get researchers down to the seafloor either using submarines, robots or remote controlled gadgets. Before, only a few countries had access to the seafloor, but Van Dover says it’s now easy to get an off-the-shelf vehicle that can take you down 4,000 feet.
While new technology is allowing scientists to learn more about the animals in the deep sea and the possible biological and mineral resources, it has also created a stir in non-scientific areas. Industries too are interested in what the seafloor offers and want develop “The Blue Economy.”
“In the deep sea, we think of The Blue Economy as trying to develop industries in water that is 4,000 or 5,000 meters deep. The principle interest right now is the minerals and the metals,” Van Dover explained.
Currently, the interest in this new economy is in mining, but industries are also investigating the genetic resources that could exist on the seafloor. The big question is whether we need to use these resources in the deep sea when we still have resources on land.
“Whether it will be environmentally sustainable and really blue — or really green — is still a question that needs to be answered,” Van Dover said. “More science needs to be done to understand what the impact would be on the sea environment and the animals that live there.”
There are three minerals that currently are of interest in the deep waters: Manganese nodules, cobalt crust and seafoam massive sulphide deposits formed by black smokers. These are a source of rare earth elements such as yttrium, dysprosium and terbium which are used in ICT hardware and renewable energy technologies. The primary metal of interest is copper.
No one is mining yet in the deep sea but two licenses have been issued. One is in the Red Sea and is in Papua New Guinea.
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What is the plot of A Song Flung Up to Heaven?
1 Answer
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Noelle Thompson | High School Teacher | eNotes Employee
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The common elements of plot are as follows: exposition, inciting incident (conflict), rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. These can certainly be found within Maya Angelou's A Song Flung Up to Heaven. I will take each in turn.
The exposition of the story is in the early 1960s when Angelou returns to America from Ghana in order to be part of the Civil Rights Movement here. Angelou has been hired to coordinate with and write for Malcolm X. The inciting incident (which some people call the conflict) is the assassination of Malcolm X, as it makes Angelou's life take an unexpected turn. This starts the rising action of the plot where Angelou tries her luck as a singer in Hawaii (to no avail) and then comes back to California working as a surveyor in the poorest areas of Los Angeles where she learns about poverty and anger. Unrest brews in the population Angelou surveys until riots break out.
We smelled the conflagration before we heard it, or even heard about it. . . . Burning wood was the first odor that reached my nose, but it was soon followed by the smell of scorched food, then the stench of smoldering rubber. We had one hour of wondering before the television news reporters arrived breathlessly.
Angelou eventually moves to New York and decides, after talking with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to be a spokesperson for the movement of Civil Rights. Echoing the original inciting incident of the book, the climax happens when Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated. Again, Angelou describes her resulting depression: "Depression wound itself around me so securely I could barely walk, and didn’t want to talk." The falling action is, ironically, the most positive of the book. After feeling the devastation of King's death, Angelou is courted as a writer by James Baldwin who wins her over and Angelou begins writing as her profession. The rest is history.
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Brain Wave Critical Essays
Poul Anderson
Anderson’s Brain Wave is an interesting attempt at extrapolation in which he introduces one unusual circumstance (Earth escapes a force that has inhibited intelligence) and works out the logical consequences. One reason the novel succeeds is the author’s ability to show the human trauma of such an increase in intelligence. People riot, abandon work, go insane, form odd cults full of fear and hatred, and wish for the “good old days.”
Although the novel shows such trauma, Anderson counters it with positive scenes. People create a starship, oppressive governments are challenged, many stay at their jobs, small towns experiment with various methods of government and work, and language and gestures become more sensitive and more universal. Anderson seems to say that people always will face new challenges, but they can overcome them, given time and patience. As he once said, “To hell with fatuous optimism and fashionable despair. Given guts and luck, we may prevail. Win or lose, the effort is infinitely worth making.”
A key feature in this novel, common to much of Anderson’s work, is the thorough handling of science, not surprising given Anderson’s formal training in physics. In Brain Wave, Anderson discusses neural impulses. He assumes that faster and more intense electrochemical reactions in the neurons would produce a dramatic rise in intelligence. He also spends time exploring the idea of an electromagnetic force...
(The entire section is 463 words.)
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© P. Barden, H.W. Herhold, D.A. Grimaldi
A lateral view of the newly described species Linguamyrmex vladi.
Scientists have discovered that while monstrous dinosaurs roamed the earth, the insect world contained its own fearsome creature - a 'hell ant' with a reinforced metal horn on its head.
A number of extinct insects have been given the sinister 'hell ant' moniker - including the Haidomyrmex cerberus, which had curious L-shaped mandibles.
But researchers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology have revealed a new hair-raising creature found inside amber, dating back 99 million years.
According to the study, the hell ant, known as Linguamyrmex vladi, hunted and defended itself in ways which differ dramatically from modern ants.
© P. Barden, H.W. Herhold, D.A. Grimaldi
View hell ant's head and thorax.
The insect, which turned up in amber mined in Myanmar, displayed rather terrifying 'weaponry' around its head.
This included a clypeal horn, or paddle, probably reinforced by metals such as calcium, zinc and iron, usually held in the bodies of insects.
It's thought the fortified horn was used together with scythe-like mandibles to "pin and potentially puncture soft-bodied prey."
Dr Phillip Barden, lead author of the study, told RT.com that the reinforcement of the horn would have stopped it from being damaged as the ant's fast-snapping jaws slammed closed.
"The paddle-horn does appear to contain either increased density or metal reinforcement, as suggested by X-ray imaging,"he said.
"As the mandibles would snap closed to capture prey, the reinforcement would prevent the scythe-like mandibles from damaging the paddle-like horn."
The ferocious looking ant is likely to have died out during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene period (K-Pg period).
"The exact cause of their extinction is unknown, however it is interesting to note that hell ants are known from three fossil deposits worldwide - Myanmar, France and Canada, ranging in age from 99 to about 78 million years ago," Barden added.
"While these ants most probably went extinct sometime around the K-Pg boundary, along with non-avian dinosaurs, 65 millions years ago, they nevertheless appear to have been widely distributed and existed for at least 20 million years or so."
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From the History Commons Groups blog:
9/11 Experiments: The Force Behind the Motion
Published on Mar 3, 2016
Why can't the experts demonstrate the force behind the motion?
Investigating 9/11 and Naming Suspects
Posted on February 27, 2016 by Kevin Ryan
Interview with Charles & Mary Ann Strange
Interview published 20 February 2016
MP3 & Link to Show Notes:
For the undying 9/11 MORONIC STEEL = AIR ARGUMENT
Published on Jan 26, 2016
Tye’s video: -- AE911Truth:
Debunker Debunked: Blacksmith Unwittingly Proves Controlled Demolition-AE911Truth Statement
Auckland University of Technology
January 10, 2016
Emory International Law Review, Forthcoming
United Airlines Held an Exercise So Realistic That Its Personnel Had to Be Reassured That the 9/11 Attacks Were 'Not a Drill'
A United Airlines Boeing 767
United Airlines personnel were subjected to a surprise training exercise 12 days before 9/11 in which they were led to believe that one of their planes had crashed. The exercise was so realistic that some of them ended up in tears or became physically sick. Consequently, on September 11, 2001, when two United Airlines planes were hijacked and then crashed, the manager who organized the exercise apparently thought his employees had mistaken reports about the terrorist attacks for part of an exercise and therefore told them, "This is not a drill!"
Furthermore, United Airlines had previously conducted other exercises that were based around scenarios resembling aspects of the 9/11 attacks, which may have caused its employees to be confused on September 11 over whether the crisis that day was real or simulated. The scenarios included hijackings and planes crashing into buildings.
Terrorism in 2015: Following a False Flag Formula
In 2015, there were 385 terrorist incidents around the world according to Wikipedia. Of these, 94% were attributed to Muslim perpetrators or occurred in Muslim countries surrounding the world’s most resource-rich region. The geographic pattern behind these and previous attacks suggests that terrorism is more a function of the need to seize resources than it is about religious or political beliefs. The terrorist events of 2015 continue to fuel speculation that most terrorism is government-sponsored and focuses on achieving political objectives.
Most of the terrorist attacks in 2015 were attributed to groups located in the relatively small region of southwestern Eurasia that has been the focus of competition for resources among the world’s superpowers. The political will to drive seizure of those resources requires Western governments to generate a fear of terrorism in their own societies so that “responses” can happen without interference from the public. Maintaining the fear is what appears to be the primary objective behind the fewer, better publicized, attacks in Western countries.
Since 9/11, terrorist acts in Western countries have exhibited a formulaic set of common features that suggest the government might have been involved in the crimes. Here are ten such features.
1. Evidence against the accused is usually composed of hearsay claims or dubious documents that originate with military or law enforcement sources.
2. The hearsay evidence typically includes vague accusations that the suspects were in contact with, had “links” to, or made recent pledges of allegiance to, terrorist leaders.
3. The documentary evidence includes things like passports conveniently left at the scene or social media postings that imply a commitment to terrorism.
4. There is an overly obvious attempt to associate the terrorists with Islam.
5. The suspects are usually dead by the time the first reports come out.
6. People who knew the accused often say they had absolutely no idea that their friend/neighbor/family member was involved or interested in terrorism in any way.
7. The testimony of eyewitnesses is ignored as authorities provide contradictory stories that quickly become the official, media-driven accounts.
8. Eyewitnesses often describe the attackers as armed and outfitted like highly trained, and well-supported, special operations soldiers.
9. The attacks usually coincide with military or law enforcement exercises that mimic what happens.
10. The incidents are used to justify rapid military attacks against countries of strategic interest before any investigation is conducted.
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Wednesday, June 11, 2014
June is PTSD Awareness Month
Amended from Amanda Flener’s September 2012 blog
Published in the May/June MOPH Chapter 1000 Newsletter
What does PTSD look like?
"I'm fine, how are you?"
Many years ago, a certain veteran I know thought PTSD didn't exist. He believed it was weakness. It was in one's mind. It was imaginary. Those were irrational beliefs that started in his early Army days. Superiors would drill into the soldiers that they were strong and they could handle anything. They were tough. Thought they couldn't be beat. PTSD was in the mind of the weak. It wasn't real. PTSD was for cowards. PTSD was for sissies.
Needless to say, when obvious symptoms of nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety crept in, a soldier programmed with the above nonsense would deny it. Denial. A human's most effective and most important defense mechanism. Denial is the soldier saying, "I'm good. No problems. Can't complain." He picks up and carries on. Or does he? Does a warrior battling these inward emotions and issues really think that he's alright? Maybe he really does or maybe he has a war within his very being. Likely he is struggling with the real plague of PTSD symptoms and that programming of "Suck it up soldier."
"I'm fine" is such a typical response. Americans mutter this incessant chat without even thinking about it. It seems innocent enough, yet it is affirms a stereotypical aspect of our society. We're good. We're well. We maintain appearances and a Persona that we are whole, healthy, successful, and without problems. Most people utter the usual, "Hi. How are you?" without ever wanting or caring what the addressed party has to say or how they truly are. They expect a thoughtless, "I'm fine. How are you?" in return with none other than a "Doing well" type response.
For starters, I don't ask one how he or she is unless I truly want to know or I care. I think I began thinking this way sometime during my first year of graduate school when I was studying Clinical Psychology and we were challenged to be more aware and genuine in our interactions.
If someone asks me, "How are you?" He or she should likely back up for an atypical response. "Tired" may be a likely response if I sense that someone is in a hurry or simply uttered the phrase without conscious concern. However, if you sincerely ask me, "How are you?" you might want to sit down for a more sincere answer. On the rare occasion a stranger or acquaintance asks how I am and I reply with a quick and hurried, "Fine." I back up and internally shake myself. I really do. I ask myself, "Are you fine today? Perhaps. If not, I that's how I shake myself back into a greater awareness of how I am. Now we'll get back to PTSD.
Now, maybe you can see how PTSD is an invisible illness.
People with PTSD can often hide or mask their symptoms. They can recede into their own homes and personal lives, avoiding interaction when they don't feel like dealing with people or the world. They can learn great (or so they think) coping skills, like denial, so it appears that they are fine.
However, when one wants to really conquer PTSD and conquer his symptoms of the illness without it dictating life as he knows it, a few things have to change. The hardest part is acknowledging that PTSD exists and it is real and it is happening to you or your loved one. Not covering up or making excuses leads to a greater acknowledgement of the illness and symptoms. Unfortunately, I think about all the years that we simply covered up or made excuses for the ugly symptoms and actions resulting from PTSD. Looking back, it didn't do anyone a favor. Now we make the covert overt. We acknowledge it. We talk about it when we can and we are more honest. A doctor or mental health professional cannot help what they don't know about. Your family cannot be encouraging or supportive if they don't know the honest truth about what is going on. Your spiritual network, church, or confidants can't lift you up in prayer and thoughts if they are not aware of the situation.
Few people are discerning enough to take an "I'm fine" response and decode when you are actually not "fine" and offer the help and support that is essential in making progress with PTSD or other aspects of your life. It is essential to open up.
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The comparative characteristic of the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom of Gre
Тема « The comparative characteristic of the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: political system, geographical position and education».
«Сравнительная характеристика Российской Федерации и Соединенного Королевства Великобритании и Северной Ирландии: политическая система, географическое положение, образование».
Автор Резникова Ирина Сергеевна 10 «А» класс, 13.09.1995, г.Москва,
Руководитель работы Гаджимурадова Наиля Алиджановна,
учитель английского языка
Reznikova Irina 10th grade student of gymnasium № 1538, and started their research under supervision of their English teacher, Nailya Gadzhimuradova.
Every individual follows a specific purpose or interests when making a choice in a certain direction. My interest in selecting the project topic was dictated by the desire to become familiarized and study the notion of political system relatively to a specific nation. She sets the following goals:
deepen the knowledge of studied topic in the course of training and research work, project and research stages and organization of process at every stage.
development of creative abilities in the course of project preparation.
The following tasks were also put forward in the work:
Give a comparative characteristic of political systems of Russia and the United Kingdom in the form of conclusion;
Study and compare geographic location and education in Russia and in the United Kingdom.
Prepare a comparative table with basic formats of two nations.
2.The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland……………………4
2.1. GOVERNMENT. Parliament and the Monarch………………………………5
2.1.1. The British Parliament and the Electoral System…………………………..6
2.1.2.The House of Commons. The House of Lords………………………………7
2.1.3. Political Parties……………………………………………………………..8
2.2.1.The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland……………….9 Island of Great Britain……………………………………………….10……………………………………………………………………10……………………………………………………………………11…………………………………………………………………….12 Ireland………………………………………………………….13 in Britain………………………………………………………..15
2.3.The Russian Federation…………………………………………………….18
2.3.1.Political system……………………………………………………………19
2.3.3. The federal device of Russian………………………………………………21
2.3.4.The government……………………………………………………………22
2.3.6.Geographical position……………………………………………………….25
2.3.7.Education in Russia ………………………………..…………………….26
Every individual currently needs political knowledge and culture irrespective of his professional association, since he must interact with other people and the government while living in the society.
Mass political competence is also required for the society as a whole, because it prevents the same from antihuman and economically ineffective forms of state and public organization. Therefore conscious forming of political culture as an art of joint living of individuals in the state is the matter of care for the whole modern society and an important condition of its welfare.
Politics represents one of the most important functions of human activity. Every individual in any case is contacting with the political world: coming to a governmental establishment or addressing a public organization, working, studying in school or university, entering a party or voting during elections.
Studies of policy, political entities and processes and comprehension of the sense of political events represents a difficult but exciting task. This issue is especially actual at present, when Russia and countries of Eastern and Western Europe are going through the period of major changes in all sphere of public life and changes in sociopolitical system as well. Political systems of Russia and the United Kingdom are presented as the main topic in my work. This theme is the most widely discussed in columns of newspapers and magazines and on TV, since policy exists together with the state and the state is the main element of the political system. Political systems in the majority of countries have already been
formed but there are also countries where forming process is continuing. This is a topic that will be always opened because there will always be differences in matters concerning political system organization.
Project and research method was used during preparation of my work. Its goals were:
Studying theoretical material on this topic, including issues of geographic location and education;
Analyzing each country separately and summarizing studied materials in the form of conclusion;
Application of interdisciplinary ties for the project, because the issue raised in the study is associated with several subjects: English, geography, social science, history and informatics.
Project preparation in presentation form.
Developing: development of creative abilities in the course of project preparation.
The following tasks were also put forward in the work:
Prepare a comparative table with basic formats of two nations.
The United Kingdom of
Great Britain
Northern Ireland
Parliament and the Monarch
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of State, The monarch reigns with the support of Parliament. The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely. Everything today is done in the Queen’s name. It is her government, her armed forces, her law courts and so on. She appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. Everything is done however on the advice of the elected Government, and the monarch takes no part in the decision-making process.
Once the British Empire included a large number of countries all over the world ruled by Britain, The process of decolonization began in 1947 with the independence of India, Pakistan and Ceylon. Now, apart from Hong Kong and a few small islands, there is no longer an empire. But the British ruling classes tried not to lose influence over the former colonies of the British Empire. An association of former members of the British Empire and Britain was founded in 1949. It is called the Commonwealth. It includes many countries such as Ireland, Burma, the Sudan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth, and so the Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand.
The Queen is very rich as are other members of the royal family. In addition, the government pays for her expenses as Head of State, for a royal yacht, train and aircraft as well as for the upkeep of several palaces. The Queen’s image appears on stamps, notes and coins.
Parliament consists of two chambers known as the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government of the country, and they only meet together on symbolic occasions
such as coronation of a new monarch or the opening of Parliament. In reality the House of Commons is the only one of the three which is true power. It is here that new bills are introduced and debated. If the majority of the members are not in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and finally to the monarch to be signed. Only then it becomes law. Although a bill must be supported by all three bodies, the House of Lords only has limited powers, and the monarch has not refused to sign one since the modern political system began over 200 years ago.
The British Parliament and the Electoral System
The House of Commons plays the major role in law-making. It consists of Members of Parliament (called MPs for short), each of whom represents an area in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. MPs are elected either at a general election, or it a by-election following the death or retirement of an MP.
The election campaign lasts about three weeks. The election is decided on a simple majority — the candidate with the most votes wins. An MP who wins by a small number of votes may have more votes against him than for him. Many people think that it is unfair because the wishes of those who voted for the unsuccessful candidates are not represented at all. The British parliamentary system depends on political parties. The political parties choose candidates in elections. The party which wins the majority of seats forms the Government and its
leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chooses about 20 MPs from his or her party to become the Cabinet of Ministers. Each minister is responsible for a particular area of the government. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and «Shadow cabinet». Leader of the opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons.
The House of Commons
The House of Commons is made up of 650 elected members, known as Members of Parliament (MPs). The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker, a member acceptable to the whole House. MPs sit on two sides of the hall, one side for the governing party and the other for the opposition.
Although there is some space given to other than government proposals, the lion share of parliamentary time is taken by the party in power. A proposed law, a bill has to go through three stages in order to become an Act of Parliament. These are called readings.
When the Lords agree, the bill is taken to the Queen for Royal assent. All bills must pass through both houses before being sent for signature by the Queen, when they become Acts of Parliament and the Law of the Land.
The House of Lords
The other House of the Parliament is the House of Lords. The House of Lords has more than 1,000 members, although only about 250 take an active part in the work of the House. This House consists of those lords who sit by right of inheritance and those men and women who have been given life peerages which end with the life of their possessors. Members of this Upper House are not elected.
The chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor and he sits on a special called the Woolsack. The members of the House of Lords debate a bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons. Changes may be recommended, and agreement between the two Houses is reached by negotiations. The Lords main power consists of being able to delay non-financial bills for a period of a year, but they can also introduce certain types of bill. The House of Lords is the only non-elected second chamber in the parliaments in the world, and some people in Britain would like to abolish it.
Political Parties.
Political parties first emerged in Britain at the end of the 17th century. The Conservative and Liberal Parties are the oldest and until the end of the 19th century they were the only parties elected to the House of Commons. The main British political groupings are the Conservative and Labour Parties and the Party of Liberal Democrats. The Conservative Party is the ruling party, the Labour Party — the opposition to the Conservative — and the party of Liberal Democrats is called «conservatively oriented». Social Democratic Party was formed in 1981 and made an alliance with the Liberal Party in 1988.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) occupies the territory of the British Isles. It consists of four main countries which are: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Their capital are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
The UK is an island state: it is composed of some 5.500 islands, large and small. The two main islands are: Great Britain (in which are England, Wales and Scotland) to the east and Ireland (in which are Northern Ireland and the independent Irish Republic) to the west. They are separated by the Irish Sea.
The UK is one of the world’s smaller countries (it is twice smaller than France or Spain), with an area of some 244,100 square kilometers. The UK is situated off the northwest coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north and northwest and the North Sea on the east and is separated from the European continent by the English Channel (or La Manche) and the Strait of Dover (or Pas de Calais).
The population of the United Kingdom is over 57 million people.
English is not the only language which people use in the UK. English is the official language. But some people speak Scottish in western Scotland, Welsh — in parts of northern and central Wales, and Irish in Northern Ireland. The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The upright red cross is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of SL Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
The Island of Great Britain
Great Britain is the name of the largest island of the British Isles and it is made up of England, Scotland and Wales, it does not include Northern Ireland. Geographically, the island of Great Britain is subdivided into two main regions — Lowland Britain and Highland Britain. Lowland Britain comprises southern and eastern England. Highland Britain consists of Scotland, most of Wales, the Pennines, and the Lake District. The Pennine Chain extends southward from the Cheviot Hills into the Midlands, a plains region with low hills and valleys.
England is separated from Scotland by the Cheviot Hills, running from east to west.
The chief rivers of Great Britain are: the Severn, flowing along the border between England and Wales, tributaries of which include the Avon. The swiftest flowing river in the British Isles is the Spey.
There are many lakes in Great Britain. On the northwest side of the Pennine system lays the Lake District, containing the beautiful lakes which give it its name.
The largest cities of Great Britain are: London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh. The most important ports are: London, Liverpool, Southampton, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff.
Of the four parts which make up Great Britain England is the largest, the most industrial and most densely populated part of the United Kingdom. Over 46 million people out of the population of the UK live in England.
The greatest concentrations of population are in London, Birmingham and northwest industrial cities. The coasts of England are washed by the North Sea, the
Irish Sea, the English Channel and the Strait of Dover.
It is interesting to note that the sea has been important in the history of England. It was a good protection against the attacks of outside peoples. Fishing has always been an important industry; especially in the east The sea also has a great effect on England’s climate.
There are many rivers in England. The longest is the Severn (388 km): the most important is the Thames (354 km). The rivers are of great importance for communication and especially for carrying goods.
England is mostly a lowland country. There are upland regions in the north and the southwest, but the rest of England is almost flat.
Northern England, Midlands and South England — each part of England is different Lake District-in Northern England with its lakes, mountains and valleys is a favourite holiday resort. On either side of the Pennines the plains of Yorkshire and Lancashire stretch to the sea. Swift rivers that flow down from the hills into valleys are called «dales».
In South England between Highlands lie Lowlands. In this part of England are found some of the oldest British settlements and traces of ancient monuments such as Stonehenge. London is the chief city of South England.
Although Scotland takes up one third of the territory of the British Isles, its population is not very big. It is the most northern part of the island of Great Britain and is not far away from the Arctic Circle.
That is why it is not densely populated: its population is a little over 5 million people. The Cheviot Hills mark the boundary between England and Scotland.
Apart from this land link with England, Scotland is surrounded by sea.
Scotland includes the Hebrides off the west coast, and the Orkney and Shetland Islands off the north coast. It is bounded by the North Sea on the east.
Scotland is divided into three regions: the Highlands, which is the most northern and the most under populated area with a harsh climate, the Lowlands, which is the most industrial region, with about three quarters of the population, and the Southern Uplands, with hills, which border on England.
The Highlands of Scotland are among the oldest mountains in the world. They reach their highest point in Ben Nevis (1343 m). Many valleys between the hills are filled with lakes, called lochs. The best-known is Loch Ness where as some people think a large monster lives. The most important city here is Aberdeen which is the oil centre of Scotland, Ships and helicopters travel from Aberdeen to the North Sea oil rigs. Work on an oil rig is difficult and dangerous.
Scotland had been an independent state and was forcefully joined into the UK after a long struggle for its independence in 1707.
One of the things that people associate with Scotland is the kilt.
Another constituent country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is Wales. The Welsh call their country Cymru, and themselves they call Cymry, a word which has the same root as «comrader». The population of Wales is over 3 million people. About 75 per cent of the people of Wales live in towns and urban districts.
Wales is a highland country of old, hard rocks. North Wales is a country of
mountains and deep valleys. South Wales is a land of high hills and wide valleys. The pride of Wales in scenery is Snowdonia, the region of high mountains. Snowdon is the highest mountain in England and Wales.
Except for coal, mineral resources are limited, and include gold, silver, lead, and copper. South Wales is more developed: coal-mining, steel production, electronics, electrical engineering and chemicals can be found here.
The capital of Wales is Cardiff, the largest city of Wales. Cardiff is situated near the mouth of the Taff River. It is an important industrial city and a port it is also an administrative and educational centre.
The second largest city in Wales is Swansea where mainly steel production can be found. Since World War II there has been intensive development in the metals industries especially in the south and southeast.
The Welsh people, especially in rural areas, are fond of folk music, singing, poetry and drama. Welsh literature is one of the oldest in Europe. There are many choirs in Wales, the standard of singing is high and the love of good music is widespread.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is the smallest part of the United Kingdom. It occupies northeast of the island of Ireland, only one-sixth of its territory. Northern Ireland contains six of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster and that is why the name «Ulster» is sometimes used as equivalent to Northern Ireland. Its capital city is Belfast.
For seven centuries Ireland was a colony of Britain. Due to the colonial policy of British imperialists the Irish nation was forcefully partitioned. As a result of
hard struggle of the Irish peoples for independence the larger part of Ireland (26 counties) gained the status of a British dominion in 1921. Much later, in 1949 it was officially proclaimed an independent state, the Irish Free State or Eire. The industrial northeast was retained by Great Britain us its smallest component. But the progressive forces of both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are for the reunification of the country, against social deprivation which is at its worst among catholics.
If one asks an Irishman away from home what he misses most about Ireland, he will probably tell you the greenness. Irish poets put it in a different way when they call Ireland the Emerald Isle. Is the grass really greener in Ireland? The winds usually blow in from the Atlantic Ocean and make the air and soil warm and damp. Grass grows well in such a climate and it makes the island look so beautiful.
There are low hills and peaks of rocks in the northeast, while the northeast sector of the island is a plateau. The Mourne Mountains in the southeast slope down to Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles. The rivers of Ireland are short, but deep. The largest river is the Shannon.
The population of Northern Ireland is about 1.5 million people. 53 per cent of the total population live in urban areas. The whole economy of Northern Ireland is closely integrated with that of Great Britain. It has its roots in three basic industries — agriculture, textiles and shipbuilding. The largest industry is agriculture conducted for the most part on small family farms. It occupies about 72 per cent of the land area.
Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland is the leading industrial centre and a large port. Its chief industries are the production of linen and other textiles, clothing, shipbuilding, engineering.
Education in Britain
Great Britain does not have a written constitution, so there are no constitutional provisions for education. The system of education is determined by the National Education Acts.
Schools in England are supported from public funds paid to the local education authorities. These local education authorities are responsible for organizing the schools in their areas and they themselves choose how to do it.
Let’s outline the basic features of public education in Britain. Firstly, there are wide variations between one part of the country and another. For most educational purposes England and Wales arc treated as one unit, though the system in Wales is a little different from that of England. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own education systems.
Secondly, education in Britain mirrors the country’s social system:
It is class-divided and selective. The first division is between those who pay and those who do not pay. The majority of schools in Britain are supported by public funds and the education provided is free. They are maintained schools, but there is also a considerable number of public schools. Parents have to pay fees to send their children to these schools. The fees are high. As a matter of fact, only very rich families can send their children to public schools as well as to the best universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge.
Another important feature of schooling in Britain is a variety of , opportunities offered to schoolchildren. The English school syllabus is divided into Arts and Sciences, which determine the division of the secondary school pupils into study groups: a Science pupil will study Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Economics. Technical Drawing, Biology, Geography: an Art pupil will do the English Language and Literature, History, foreign languages. Music, Art, Drama. Besides these
subjects they must do some general education subjects like Physical Education, Home Economics for girls, and Technical subjects for boys, General Science. Computers play an important part in education.
The National Education Act of 1944 provided three stages of education: primary, secondary and further education. Compulsory schooling in England and Wales lasts 11 years, from the age of 5 to 16. After the age of 16 a growing number of school students are staying on at school, some until 18 or 19, the age of entry into higher education in universities and Polytechnics. British university courses are rather short, generally lasting for 3 years. The cost of education depends on the college and speciality which one chooses.
The British system of education has a very long history, but in the recent years there have been many changes in it. British education was traditionally decentralized, but now the Education Reform Art has led to a compulsory National Curriculum for pupils aged 5 to 16 in state schools. The Act aims to give parents a wider choice of schools for their children. Thus they have the right to express a preference for a school.
Boys and girls are taught together in most schools. Non-selective comprehensive education is available for children of all abilities. Most children receive free education financed from public funds, though 7% of children attend private fee-paying schools. Some of those private schools, called, confusingly, public schools, are very well-known, like Eton or Harrow.
Around half of 3 and 4-years-olds in Britain receive nursery education and many children attend preschool play groups, mostly organised by parents. Compulsory primary education begins at the age of 5 and has several stages. Children usually start their school career in an infant school and move to a junior school or department at 7. In some schools they move to middle school at the age
of 8, 9 or 10. These three stages form the primary school, covering the following subjects: English, Maths and Science, History, Geography, Music, Art and Physical Education. At 7 and 11 old children’s progress is measured against attainment targets for each subject.
The secondary level includes the children from 11 to 18. Here they build on the knowledge they have acquired at primary school and also start to learn a modern foreign language. At the age of 16 they can get General Certificate of Secondary Education qualifications on the basis of examinations and course work. After that they can leave school and go to one of the Further Education colleges, most of which are work-related and vocational.
If pupils succeed they can continue studying for two more years, concentrating on three subjects, and then at 18 they take the General Certificate of Education Advanced level exams. These exams are the main standard for entry to university education and to many forms of professional training. There is also a Certificate of Pre-Vocational Education for those who stay at school till 17. Those who plan to take it have vocational courses to prepare them for getting a job.
The next stage is higher education. All British universities enjoy complete academic freedom. There are 79 universe oldest of which are Oxford and Cambridge. These two universities, existing since medieval times, are actually composed of many colleges, each of those having their own staff and offering their own course programmes. Over 90% of students receive awards covering tuition fees and maintenance.
Political system
Russia is federal presidential-parliamentary republic with large powers of the President.
The political system of Russia is defined by the Constitution agreed by referendum on the 12th of December.
The head of the state is the President of Russia elected by nation for 6 years (till 2008 — for 4 years). According to the Constitution, he is granted with numbers of major powers: supervises over foreign policy, is the Supreme Commander of Armed forces, appoints the Chairman of the Government with the consent of the State Duma, makes decision on Government resignation. Under the offer of the Chairman of the Government appoints to post of Vice-Premiers of the Government and federal ministers, and also dismisses them. The President heads Security Council, appoints and dismisses General Headquarters of Armed forces. He has the right to offer nominee on a post of the Chairman of the Central Bank (not a part of the Government) to consideration of the State Duma. In case of aggression or direct threat of aggression the President has the right to declare the martial law on all territory of the country or in separate territories, but he must tell about his decision to Parliament immediately. The President is granted the right to issue Decrees; obligatory for execution in all territory of Russia (Decrees should not contradict federal Laws). Possesses also variety of other powers.
The President can be released from a post with decision of Parliament after the State Duma promotes any charge in high treason or fulfillment of other grave crime and give their positive conclusions of the Supreme and Constitutional courts. The legislation is carried out by the Parliament — consisting of two chambers: the Federation Council (upper chamber) and the State Duma (lower chamber).
The Federation Council consists of two representatives from each subject of the Federation. Till year 2000 they were directly governors and speakers of regional parliaments. Then (up to the present) – representatives are appointed by them. The State Duma consists of 450 deputies elected by voting from Party lists for a period of 5 years (till 2008 — for 4 years).
Executive power is carried out by the Government. The system of federal authorities includes the federal ministries, federal services and federal agencies.
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Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System
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In the normal osmosis process, the solvent naturally moves from an area of low solute concentration (high water potential), through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration (low water potential). The driving force for the movement of the solvent is the reduction in the free energy of the system when the difference in solvent concentration on either side of a membrane is reduced, generating osmotic pressure due to the solvent moving into the more concentrated solution. Applying an external pressure to reverse the natural flow of pure solvent, thus, is reverse osmosis. The process is similar to other membrane technology applications. However, key differences are found between reverse osmosis and filtration. The predominant removal mechanism in membrane filtration is straining, or size exclusion, so the process can theoretically achieve perfect efficiency regardless of parameters such as the solution's pressure and concentration. Reverse osmosis also involves diffusion, making the process dependent on pressure, flow rate, and other conditions. Reverse osmosis is most commonly known for its use in drinking water purification from seawater, removing the salt and other effluent materials from the water molecules.
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Halogen Oxides in the Troposphere
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Presentation on theme: "Halogen Oxides in the Troposphere"— Presentation transcript:
1 Halogen Oxides in the Troposphere
measurements, distributions, and impacts Lecture at the ERCA 2008 Grenoble, January 14, 2008 Andreas Richter Institute of Environmental Physics University of Bremen Bremen, Germany ( )
2 Overview Introduction Reminder: Stratospheric Halogen Chemistry
Some Tropospheric Halogen Chemistry Polar Ozone Depletion Events Salt Lakes The marine Boundary Layer Halogen Emissions from Volcanoes BrO in the free Troposphere Iodine and Particle Formation Iodine in the Polar Troposphere Summary
3 Halogen Oxides in the Troposphere
4 Stratospheric Ozone Chemistry
Chapman cycle O2 + hν → O(3P) + O(3P) O + O2 + M → O3 + M O3 + hν → O2 + O(1D) O + O3 → 2 O2 => too large ozone columns! Catalytic ozone loss (HOx, NOx) XO + O3 → XO2 + O2 XO2 + O → XO + O2 net: O3 + O → 2 O2 => good agreement with measurements Halogens can also act as catalysts sources: anthropogenic (CFCs, CH3Br) natural (CH3Br) sinks: reservoir species (e.g. HCl, ClONO2) sedimentation => slow ozone depletion at high altitudes, mainly through Cl F all bound in HF Br and I more reactive but much lower concentrations Cly ~ 3.5ppb, Bry ~ 16ppt, Iy < 1ppt
5 Stratospheric Ozone Hole
at very low temperatures. PSCs can form they consist of ice, HNO3, H2SO4 at their surface heterogeneous reactions take place inactive halogen reservoirs are converted into reactive forms rapid non-linear ozone loss in the lower stratosphere in polar spring at low temperatures ClO dimer cycle ClO + ClO + M → ClOOCl + M ClOOCl + hν → ClOO + Cl ClOO + M → Cl + O2 2(O3 + Cl → ClO + O2) net: 2O3 → 3O2 ClO - BrO cycle O3 + Cl → ClO + O2 O3 + Br → BrO + O2 ClO + BrO → Cl + Br + O2 net: 2O3 → 3O2
6 Halogens and tropospheric Ozone
X, Y = Cl, Br, I Release: by photolysis of X2 or XY HOX, XONO2, XNO2 organic halogens Main Sinks: XO + NO2 → XONO2 XONO2 → XO + NO2 XONO2 + hν → X + NO3 XONO2 + H2O → HOX + HNO3 Cl + RH → HCl + R O3 + X → XO + O2 XO + hν (+O2 + M) → X + O3 Ozone loss with HO2 and CO: O3 + X → XO + O2 XO + HO2 → HOX + O2 HOX + hν → X + OH OH + CO ( + O2) → CO2 + HO2 net: CO + O3 → CO2 + O2 Ozone loss at high BrO: 2(Br + O3 → BrO + O2) BrO + BrO → 2 Br + O2 BrO + BrO → Br2+ O2 Br2 + hν → 2Br net: 2O3 → 3O2 Ozone loss with cross-reactions: X + O3 → XO + O2 Y + O3 → YO + O2 XO + YO → X + Y + O2 net: 2O3 → 3O2 IO + IO also possible BrO + ClO is faster than BrO + BrO
7 Release of Halogens from Salt Deposits / Salt Aerosols I
Release with Br only: Br2 + hν → 2Br 2(Br + O3 → BrO + O2) 2(BrO + HO2 → HOBr + O2) 2 HOBr → 2HOBraq 2(HOBraq + H+ + Br - → Br2, aq + H2O) 2 Br2, aq → 2 Br2 net: 2O3 + 2HO2 + 2Br - + 2H → Br2 + 4O2 + 2H2O O3 and HOx needed! Release with Br and Cl: BrCl + hν → Br + Cl Br + O3 → BrO + O2 BrO + HO2 → HOBr + O2 HOBr → HOBraq HOBraq + H+ + Cl - → BrClaq + H2O BrClaq + Br - ↔ Br2Cl - Br2Cl - ↔ Br2,aq + Cl - Br2, aq ↔ Br2 net: BrCl + O3 + HO2 + Br - + H → Cl + Br2 + 2O2 + H2O acid catalyzed (also works with BrCl instead of Br2) Autocatalytic Release – one Br less into condensed phase than out! => once started, Br2 will increase exponentially until reservoir is empty, O3 is gone or loss processes exceed production: Bromine Explosion
8 Release of Halogens from Salt Deposits / Salt Aerosols II
Comments: autocatalytic release works only for BrO uptake of HOBr and release of Br2 and BrCl have been observed in the lab from dry salt crystals, aqueous salt solutions, aerosols, and halide ice surfaces over ice, release does not depend on pH but on temperature start-up needed for initial Br2 release in the condensed phase, HOI can also have similar reactions as HOBr in the presence of NOx, N2O5 can be taken up and halogen nitrites (XNO2) be released (works in the dark) in the presence of NOx, halogen nitrates (XONO2) can also be taken up and lead to release of X2 and XY without acid catalysis higher oxides are of atmospheric relevance for Iodine only sea water content: ratios [Cl] / [Br] = 660, [Br] / [ I] = 15000
9 Ozone Depletion in the Polar Boundary Layer
Each spring, episodes of severe ozone depletion (ODE) are observed in both hemispheres at the surface: Over sea-ice, full depletion is the standard situation, at some coastal stations (e.g. Barrow) they are frequent, at others (e.g. Ny-Ålesund) rare. At coastal stations, ODEs are linked to air parcel origins over sea-ice ODEs are usually correlated with low temperatures. Snow No snow Figure courtesy W. Simpson
10 The link between Ozone Depletion and Bromine
During ODEs, filterable bromine is much enhanced Barrie L. A., et al., , Ozone destruction and photochemical reactions at polar sunrise in the lower Arctic atmosphere. Nature 334, 138–141, 1988 with long-path DOAS, up to 20 ppt of BrO could be detected close to the ground during ozone depletion events in Ny-Ålesund Hausmann M. and Platt U. Spectroscopic measurement of bromine oxide and ozone in the high Arctic during Polar Sunrise Experiment J. Geophys. Res. 99, 25399–25413., 1994
11 Ozone Depletion in the Polar Boundary Layer
Vertical extension: the vertical extent of the ozone depletion varies but usually coincides with the arctic inversion layer over Antarctica, elevated layers of depleted ozone have been observed as result of upward transport of depleted air masses from the ice BrO is often located close to the ground, but some DOAS measurements of BrO layers at larger altitude have also been reported Time scales: ozone depletion at coastal sites often occurs very rapidly but this is frequently linked to change in wind directions models predict ozone depletion to take many hours recently, observations on the Polarstern showed much faster O3 depletion without change in wind direction
12 Satellite Observations of Polar BrO
UV absorption spectroscopy of scattered sun-light Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements several satellite instruments: Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) (1996 – ) and Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric CartograpHY (SCIAMACHY) (2002 – today) OMI (2004 – today) GOME-2 (March 2006 – today) BrO events cover large area each spring in both hemispheres individual events can be followed for several days largest values are observed along the coasts and over sea-ice the same areas are covered each year high altitude snow covered regions (Antarctica, Greenland are not affected
13 Time Series of BrO Columns April, NH
14 Time Series of BrO Columns September, SH
15 SCIAMACHY: Arctic Boundary Layer BrO Events
16 SCIAMACHY: Antarctic Boundary Layer BrO Events
17 A BrO Explosion Event March /April 2007
Case Study: GOME-2 BrO columns large plume of elevated BrO forms plume “lives” for more than 10 days long-range transport from the Arctic towards Hudson Bay plume evolution not in line with general wind pattern => is this transport or chemical evolution? => is this typical or an unusual event?
18 What are the Active Surfaces?
The source of halogens are sea salt, but how are they released? photolysis of biogenic precursors (too slow, not enough ?) sea salt aerosol (not enough Br ?) from first year ice (still salty) from snow-pack (salt deposited by aerosols) from frost flowers (highly saline quasi-liquid layer) from Br enriched aerosols formed from frost flowers or wind blown snow
19 The Link to Sea Ice zenith-sky DOAS geometry from backward trajectories, it is evident that enhanced BrO and reduced O3 is found when air masses had contact with new sea ice this has been shown for both hemispheres correlation is best if first year sea-ice is used stratosphere free troposphere boundary layer Frieß, U. et al., Dynamics and chemistry of tropospheric bromine explosion events in the Antarctic coastal region, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D06305, doi: /2003JD004133, 2004
20 The Link to Frost Flowers
Frost flowers form on fresh ice at very low temperatures They offer large surface area and high salinity Areas of potential frost flower coverage (PFA) can be computed from sea-ice measurements, meteorological data and a simple model PFA correlates very well with areas of enhanced BrO if 1 day of transport is accounted for and enough light is available This indicates correlation between frost flowers or conditions necessary for frost flowers and BrO BUT: So far no direct evidence for a role of frost flowers in Br release has been produced! Kaleschke, L. et al., Frost flowers on sea ice as a source of sea salt and their influence on tropospheric halogen chemistry, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L16114, doi: /2004GL020655, 2004.
21 Observed Changes in Sea Ice Extent
Sea ice extent in the NH has been declining since start of measurements 2007 has set another dramatic record this mostly affects summer, but also other seasons the trend is expected to continue as the Arctic gets warmer
22 Link to Climate Change? Ingredients needed for BrO explosion:
low temperatures as temperatures increase in the Arctic, the region and time favourable for bromine explosions will change fresh ice as multi-year ice coverage decreases, the probability for frost flowers / first year ice will increase sunlight as cloud cover changes, so will photochemistry a trigger ??? O3 depletion in turn also effects radiative forcing locally with a potential for positive feedback
23 The Link between Bromine and Mercury
total gaseous mercury (TGM) is also depleted when ozone is depleted this has been observed in both hemispheres (above: Neumayer Station) reaction with BrO and HOBr is thought to be the main pathway Ebinghaus, R., et al., Antarctic Springtime Depletion of Atmospheric Mercury, Environ. Sci. Technol., 36(6), , 2002
24 Effect on Mercury Chemistry
Mercury in the atmosphere: most mercury is of anthropogenic origin (> 70%, mainly combustion) it is in the form of gaseous mercury Hg(0) Link between mercury and bromine: reaction with BrO or HOBr can oxidize it to Hg(I) and Hg(II) which can deposit onto snow and ice => depletion of gaseous mercury importance of GEM depletion: re-evaporation of Hg(0) is possible => no net effect if not, mercury is injected into polar ecosystem during snow melt => bio-accumulation
25 Polar Mercury Chemistry
Steffen et al., A synthesis of atmospheric mercury depletion event chemistry linking atmosphere, snow and water, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 7, 10837–10931, 2007
26 Salt Lakes salt lakes provide liquid and solid surfaces with very high salinity measurements found extremely high BrO concentrations (up to 200 ppt) at the Dead Sea and also high BrO (up to 6 ppt) and ClO (5 – 15 ppt) at the Great Salt Lake in Utah and at Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) it is thought that the same heterogeneous release processes act for Br as in the polar BrO explosion (uptake of HOBr) IO was also found at the Dead Sea, possibly related to bacterial emissions rapid and strong ozone depletion is observed in air masses with high BrO as saline soils cover more than 2% of the Earth’s surface, this might be a significant source of halogens in the troposphere climate change induced desertification might even increase that
27 BrO Observations at Dead Sea
OMI BrO July 2005 BrO [ppt] pollution peak O3 [ppb] NOx[ppb] SO2 [ppb] wind speed figure courtesy of T. Kurosu, SAO wind dir. Matveev V. et al., Bromine oxide–ozone interaction over the Dead Sea. J. Geophys. Res. 106, 10375–10387, 2001
28 Halogens in the marine Boundary Layer
oceans cover most of our planet large concentrations of sea-salt aerosols are present in the MBL they are depleted in Cl and large aerosols also in Br while small particles are often enriched in Br there is indication for reactive chlorine from different measurements (mist chamber measurements, hydrocarbon clock) but results are highly variable there is indication for reactive bromine but again results are variable and point at rather low concentrations (< 1ppt) in some regions, biological sources might be more relevant (=> see discussion on iodine later) even at low concentrations, reactive halogens have an impact on ozone levels in the MBL and also on hydrocarbons => everything is still highly uncertain
29 Halogen-Sulphur Interactions
cloud droplet formation depends critically on the availability of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) sulphate aerosols formed by SO2 can act as CCN one major source of SO2 is biogenic dimethyl sulphate (DMS) BrO can interfere with sulphate production in two ways: A: removal of DMS BrO + DMS → Br + DMSO Br + O3 → BrO + O2 net: DMS + O3 → DMSO + O2 => reduction in DMS => reduction in SO2 available for new particle formation B: increased uptake of SO2 oxidation of SO2 by HOCl (mainly aerosols) and HOBr (mainly cloud droplets) => reduction in SO2 available for new particle formation
30 Halogen-Sulphur Interactions
BrO in the marine boundary layer can have an impact on cloud processes and thus climate large uncertainties remain in the details of the chemistry von Glasow R. and Crutzen P. J. (2004) Model study of multiphase DMS oxidation with a focus on halogens. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 4, 589–608.
31 Halogen Oxides and Volcanoes
volcanoes emit large quantities of hydrogen halides eruptive emissions can reach the stratosphere, but no indication for enhanced Cl or Br degassing emissions remain in the troposphere and appear to have very large BrO concentrations (up to 1 ppb), probably formed in the plume by photochemistry and recycling on aerosols SO2 BrO Bobrowski, N. et al., (2003), Detection of bromine monoxide from a volcanic plume Nature, 423,
32 BrO and ClO Release from Volcanoes
ground-based MAX-DOAS measurements at Soufriere Hills volcano (and others) show tight correlation between SO2 and BrO emissions the ratio SO2 / BrO was about 1000 at Soufriere Hills, smaller elsewhere this corresponds to a global estimate of 146 Tg yr –1 of sulphur emissions corresponding to a source strength of the order of 30,000 t Br yr -1 volcanoes could be a significant source of BrO in the troposphere! SO2 BrO ClO SO2 Bobrowski, N. et al., (2003), Detection of bromine monoxide from a volcanic plume Nature, 423, Lee et al., High ClO and ozone depletion observed in the plume of Sakurajima volcano, Japan , Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L21809, doi: /2005GL023785
33 BrO Release from Volcanoes: Satellite View
Nyamuragira: 1.41°S, 29.20°E Summit elevation 3,058m satellite measurements from GOME and SCIAMACHY offer global coverage sensitivity is decreasing towards surface but large at plume altitude large eruptions can be measured with good relative accuracy no evidence for BrO enhancements found in any case Afe, O. T., et al., BrO Emission from Volcanoes - a Survey using GOME and SCIAMACHY Measurements, Geophys. Res.Lett., 31, L24113, doi: /2004GL020994, 2004
34 BrO Release from Volcanoes: Satellite View
GOME SCIAMACHY => no indication for 1:1000 BrO / SO2 emissions during large volcanic eruptions => BrO emission / production limited to degassing Afe, O. T., et al., BrO Emission from Volcanoes - a Survey using GOME and SCIAMACHY Measurements, Geophys. Res.Lett., 31, L24113, doi: /2004GL020994, 2004
35 The Mystery of BrO in the free Troposphere
satellite geometry since GOME satellite measurements of BrO columns became available in 1995, it was clear that they are larger everywhere than expected from stratospheric BrO alone this is interpreted as indication for about 0.5 – 2 ppt of BrO in the free troposphere balloon borne and ground-based measurements confirmed this finding some SH DOAS measurements show less BrO stratosphere free troposphere boundary layer van Roozendael, al., : Intercomparison of BrO Measurements from ERS-2 GOME, ground-based and Balloon Platforms, Adv. Space Res., 29(11), , 2002
36 BrO in the free Troposphere
ground-based and satellite measurements can be made consistent if a tropospheric background is assumed sources are not clear but could include photolysis of organohalogens release from sea salt aerosols emissions from volcanoes export of polar BrO import from stratosphere even such small BrO amounts have a large (5 – 40%) effect on ozone levels in the free troposphere => still under investigation MAX-DOAS geometry stratosphere free troposphere boundary layer with tropospheric BrO no tropospheric BrO N. Theys et al., Retrieval of stratospheric and tropospheric BrO columns from multi-axis DOAS measurements at Reunion Island (21 S, 56 E), Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 4733–4749, 2007
37 Iodine in the marine Boundary Layer
long-path DOAS geometry phytoplankton and macroalgae emit alkyl iodides (CH3I, C3H7I, CH2Cl I, CH2I2) and I2 photolysis produces I which then attacks O3 largest emissions are expected in biological active regions (coastal regions at low tide when seaweed is exposed, upwelling regions, polar regions) IO could be observed during day and OIO and I2 mainly at night more recent measurements in the Bay of Maine found IO, OIO and I2 during daytime also IO Carpenter L. J. et al., Coastal zone production of IO precursors: a 2-dimensional study. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 1, 9–18, 2001
38 Iodine and Particle Formation
during periods of high IO, large particle concentrations are observed low tide and solar illumination needed, I2 or CH2I2 as precursors new particles formed through iodine oxides (IO, OIO, I2O2,I2O3, ...) very large concentrations needed => hot spots? this could be a relevant mechanisms for new particle formation in addition to sulphate CCN particle concentration time of day low tide O’Dowd C. D. et al., A dedicated study of new particle formation and fate in the coastal environment (PARFORCE): overview of objectives and achievements. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 8108, 2002
39 Polar Iodine Oxide MAX-DOAS measurements in Ny-Ålesund (Arctic) and Neymayer station (Antarctica) indicate enhanced IO concentrations in Polar Regions long-path DOAS measurements at Halley Bay, Antarctica showed large IO concentrations highly correlated with BrO sources of IO could be photolysis of iodocarbons produced by phytoplankton recycling of IO on aerosols? at these concentrations, IO dominates O3 loss uptake of IO could also trigger Br release and start bromine explosion A. Saiz-Lopez et al.,Boundary Layer Halogens in Coastal Antarctica, 317, Science, 348, 2007
40 Satellite Observations of Antarctic IO
satellite measurements confirm presence of IO in spring in Antarctica extended area close to Halley Bay seasonality agrees with ground-based measurements spatial distribution differs from that of BrO no detectable signal in the Arctic different release mechanisms must be involved (biological sources?) Halley Bay measurements may not be representative for Polar Regions in general IO BrO Schönhardt, al., Observations of iodine monoxide (IO) columns from satellite, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 7, , 2007
41 Summary halogen oxides play an important role in many aspects of tropospheric chemistry in contrast to the stratosphere, they are mainly of natural origin regions with large halogen oxide concentrations are the polar spring boundary layer, salt lakes, volcanoes and the marine boundary layer halogen oxides reduce ozone levels, at high concentrations dramatically, e.g. during ODEs in Polar Regions bromine converts gaseous mercury to particulate form which can lead to bioaccumulation bromine potentially reduces new particle formation by H2SO4 iodine can form new particles at high concentrations => many of the mechanisms and explanations shown are still highly uncertain!
42 Overview on Tropospheric Halogen Chemistry
von Glasow, R. and P. J. Crutzen, Tropospheric Halogen Chemistry, Holland H. D. and Turekian K. K. (eds), Treatise on Geochemistry Update1, vol. 4.02, pp , 2007
43 Some References von Glasow, R. and P. J. Crutzen, Tropospheric Halogen Chemistry, Holland H. D. and Turekian K. K. (eds), Treatise on Geochemistry Update1, vol. 4.02, pp , 2007 Platt U. and G. Hönninger, The role of halogen species in the troposphere. Chemosphere, 52, 325–338, 2002 Simpson et al., Halogens and their role in polar boundary-layer ozone depletion, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, , 2007 ( pdf) Wayne et al., Halogen oxides: radicals, sources and reservoirs in the laboratory and atmosphere, Atmos. Environ., 29, , 1995
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Thursday, March 31, 2016
War of the Worlds -- Second Invasion
The possibilities of a second Martian invasion, probably taking place around the time of World War I. Assuming (over optimistically) that the Martians are able to fortify themselves against Earth's germs, that still leaves them with the element of surprise shot, and up against an enemy that now has poison gases of their own (chlorine, phosgene, and mustard), gas masks and protective clothing, Fighting-Machines of their own (tanks and armored cars), several flavors of flying machine (airplanes and zeppelins), long-range and quick-firing artillery pieces, recoilless guns, submarines, and all-big gun (Dreadnought-type) battleships.
The biggest handicap the Martians will face is that it takes many hours to break out of their cylinders, during which time humans can blast them with explosives of some sort. They could also position a cannon or machine gun right in front of the screw, to fire directly into the cylinder as soon as the screw falls out and slaughter the occupants. About the only thing the Martians could do is land in the most out-of-the-way places they can find, hoping that the human defenders won't have time to reach and attack the cylinders before they are opened. But under the new conditions, the humans have bombing aircraft to quickly attack the invaders wherever they land, and until the cylinders are opened, their occupants can't even shoot back. Landing on small, distant islands also leaves them vulnerable to fire from naval artillery.
It's believable that the second wave would be more heavily equipped than the first, given that those planning the invasion would have expected the first wave to establish a beachhead in England that would then be reinforced with further supplies and personnel. Possibly more powerful fighting machines, and construction tools to allow for setting up a long-term base on Earth.
You could have an ongoing battle starting up between the Martian Second wave, and the rest of the world's nations (United against this new threat) all in a WWI-esque setting. Humans would have advanced enough to put up more of a fight against the original book Martians, (Gas masks, howitzers, machine guns, land mines, rifle grenades, biplanes, ect. ect.) and we can see huge land/sea/air battles between the desperate humans and the entrenched Martian foes.
They'd need to land in a rather remote and isolated area to avoid being blown up before they're ready to move.
The Black Smoke poison gas the Martians use is a simple asphyxiating agent, so ordinary gas masks are sufficient protection against it. This takes away the Martians' biggest advantage, as the Black Smoke was more decisive than the Heat-Ray in their campaign of conquest. Against hidden and entrenched artillery, the Martians now have no choice but to advance into the humans' line of fire and take their licks until they can bring their Heat-Rays to bear.
We know absolutely nothing about the flying machine the Martians have, including its speed, range, and whether or not it is armed. If the Martians don't expect aerial opposition, they might content themselves with a relatively slow device that Earth's biplane fighters could successfully engage. (Remember, Mars is running low on resources, so they'd probably scrimp on their war preparations whenever they think they can safely get away with it.) Antiaircraft guns will also be a factor now, when the flying machine attacks cities and ground forces.
Some say that the Martians learned their lesson about engaging warships with the "Thunder Child" incident, and thus would now automatically fire on all warships at long range. But maybe they DIDN'T learn their lesson. The third Fighting-Machine had disappeared by the time the smoke cleared, so we don't know whether it walked away or got caught in the blast radius of the Thunder Child. Add to that the fact that the flying machine only turned up AFTER the battle, and we can see that the Martians might not have had any witnesses to tell them what happened.
It may not matter, anyway. The Thunder Child steamed in close before firing to presumably make every shot count, but with battleship-sized guns, she could also have fired on the Martians from miles away. And here's another thing to remember: pre-dreadnought battleships had only two to four battleship-sized guns, while carrying large numbers of smaller guns of various calibers. Capital ships of the Dreadnought era carried anywhere from eight to ten or even twelve guns of the largest type, relying almost entirely upon them during combat. That means that they would be far better suited to a long-range duel with the Fighting-Machines than the Thunder Child and her contemporaries were.
Physics doesn't always favor the technologically-advanced, either. Energy beams like the Heat-Ray have a major weakness against projectile-firing weapons of older type: they can only fire straight ahead. Indirect fire is impossible to them; a beam of light will only bend if it is near a black hole, and if the Martians wind up near one of THOSE, human weapons will be the least of their worries. Mortars, heavy artillery and howitzers, naval gunfire, and even (against personnel caught outside of their machines) bows, javelins, and slings can all be used to lob lethal fire at unseen targets.
Finally, if the Martians hang around near coastal regions or near large rivers, submarines could give them fits. The subs could sneak in underwater, possibly at night, surface, and feed the Martians a few shells from their deck guns before they even know they're around, then submerge and sneak away when the alarm is sounded.
War Between Worlds - Preview a Scenario from Alien Invasion
Tim Cox on a Scenario from Alien Invasion
As with the two previous books in The End of the World series, working on the new scenarios for the Alien Invasion book was a great experience that promised a wealth of variety. Each of the five scenarios presents a totally different take on the premise of an extraterrestrial attack. There are a lot of planets across the galaxy, after all. With such a diversity of potential alien types and invasion methods, it’s impossible for me to pick a favorite scenario. That would be like comparing giant ants and shape-shifting reptilians (not to put too fine a point on it). Still, at the risk of offending our future or secret alien overlords, I’ve always found the War Between Worlds scenario to be particularly fun.
At the onset of this scenario, Earth becomes the target of a sudden attack by, surprisingly enough, the Martians. Thanks in part to a considerable language barrier, the reasons for the invasion and the aliens’ intentions are an utter mystery. Yet the appearance of the aliens and their craft are also bewilderingly familiar. Out of all the scenarios in Alien Invasion, this is the one that likely offers the most instantly recognizable antagonists.
War Between Worlds includes a number of elements that you’re sure to find familiar. Small Grey aliens, flying saucers, abductions, and ray guns have been staples of science fiction and Hollywood movies for decades. As the Player Characters will discover in the most unpleasant way, these concepts are so persistently popular because they’re all based in truth. That these tropes are so familiar, even cliché, makes the revelation of their reality even more shocking. Fleeing from a Grey armed with a heat ray might be an almost surreal experience for PCs. Plus, I’m quite amused by the idea of a terrifying sprint away from something you might have found comical on paper.
In actuality, there is certainly a fair degree of comic absurdity in an invasion of chrome saucers and Martians straight out of a 1950s comic book. The dichotomy between this almost laughable situation and the horror of your hometown suffering rampant destruction by the Martians should make for some interesting and memorable gaming moments. Fittingly, there’s a noticeable undercurrent of dark humor that runs through the whole scenario, which Game Masters can, of course, play up or down as fits their game and their group.
PCs are likely to recognize many aspects of the Greys, including their technology and their behavior, from pop culture books and movies—not that this familiarity is very comforting in the midst of a destructive alien invasion. Still, some PCs might find their knowledge of UFO lore and sci-fi films coming in handy as they struggle to survive the Martian attack. Of course, this lack of distinction between character knowledge and player knowledge is one of the great things that sets The End of the World roleplaying game line apart from other RPGs. If a player knows something (or thinks he knows something) about the threat the PCs are facing in the game, he is encouraged to make full use of this knowledge. Whether or not his knowledge turns out to be accurate is another matter entirely.
On the surface, War Between Worlds seems like a fairly simple scenario, and in some ways this is true. The Greys, hailing from Mars, launch an all-out attack on Earth without warning. It is, perhaps, the classic alien invasion. Flying saucers destroy monuments and abduct hapless citizens, while heat rays and atomizing beams decimate our military defenses. However, any PCs who survive long enough might learn some surprising truths behind the Greys’ aggression, and those who live into the post-apocalypse will—spoiler alert—encounter an even more dangerous enemy.
War Between Worlds offers you and your friends the chance to experience a familiar situation and threat from an entirely new perspective. Whether you’re able to find some grim humor in the nature of the alien threat or react with sheer horror to the rampant destruction, I hope you all—players and GMs—enjoy the scenario as much as I did.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Inner Earth - Hollow Earth
Hollow Earth Expedition Earth Drill
Fat Dragon Games is proud to present our first official Hollow Earth Expedition model set, the Earth Drill. This model measures 11″ long and features fully rendered surface detailing, realistic tread and drill assemblies with all art in full color and 300dpi for maximum detail. This is a must have for any serious Hollow Earth Expedition fan (how else are you going to get to the Hollow Earth?)
The role playing game Hollow Earth Expedition features a fictionalized Thule Society's attempts at infiltrating the Hollow Earth. The source-book, Secrets of the Surface World, further expands the efforts of Nazis to discover and use occult relics.
Explore one of the world’s greatest and most dangerous secrets: the Hollow Earth, a savage land filled with dinosaurs, lost civilizations, and ferocious savages! Players take on the roles of two-fisted adventurers, eager academics and intrepid journalists investigating the mysteries of the Hollow Earth. Meanwhile, on the surface, world powers and secret societies vie for control of what may be the most important discovery in all of human history.
Set in the tense and tumultuous 1930s, the action-filled Hollow Earth Expedition is inspired by the literary works of genre giants Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The subterranean action is powered by Ubiquity, an innovative roleplaying system that emphasizes storytelling and cinematic action.
Hollow Earth
During the eighteenth century, Halley's Hollow Earth theory was adapted by two other famed mathematicians, Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), a Swiss, and John Leslie (1766- 1832), a Scotsman.
Symmes was able to impress two influential men who would take his cause further. James McBride, a wealthy Ohio man, wrote articles supporting the concentric spheres version of the Hollow Earth. He lobbied a U. S. senator from Kentucky to support a bill fund- ing a proposed expedition to explore trade routes in the southern hemisphere (where McBride hoped the expedition would continue on to the open pole). The senator he had lobbied, Richard M. Johnson (1790-1850), later became vice president of the United States under Martin Van Buren (1782-1862). In 1828, President John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) indicated that he would approve funding for the expedition. However, when Adams left office in 1829, his successor, Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), stifled a bill funding the proposed expedition.
What became known as the Wilkes expedition, named after its commander, Charles Wilkes (1798-1877), launched in 1838. When the expedition was completed in 1842, they had effectively mapped a landmass where Symmes had envisioned a large hole in the earth. The world's seventh continent, Antarctica, was officially recognized for the first time.
One of the more interesting variations on the Hollow Earth theory during the late nineteenth century was expounded by Cyrus Read Teed (1830-1908). In The Cellular Cosmogony, or The Earth, A Concave Sphere, Teed claimed a civilization inhabited the concave inner surface of Earth. Dense atmosphere pre- vents viewing across the surface. The Moon, according to Teed, reflects the larger, uninhabitable surface of Earth.
Hollow Earth theories continued to be promoted by enthusiasts even as explorers reached the North and South Poles during the first decade of the twentieth century. The open poles theory was further undermined when aviator Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957) became the first to fly over the North Pole (1926) and the South Pole (1929) and reported nothing but unending whiteness. In 1959, a U. S. submarine journeyed beneath the polar ice cap and actually surfaced at the North Pole, based on precise calculations. Since then, year-round research stations have been built on several sites at both poles. No large holes have been found.
Hollow Earth enthusiasts continue to believe. Teed's Concave Earth theory, for example, was tested during World War II (1939-1945) by a Nazi scientist. He aimed a camera at a 45-degree angle into the sky from an island in the Baltic Sea, hoping to catch an image of a British fleet on the other side of the concave Earth. The experiment was unsuccessful.
Delving Deeper Beckley, Timothy Green, ed. The Smoky God and Other Inner Earth Mysteries. New Brunwick, N. J.: Inner Light Publications, 1993. Bernard, Raymond. The Hollow Earth. Mokelumne Hill, Calif.: Health Research, 1963. Gordon, Stuart. The Encyclopedia of Myths and Leg- ends. London: Headline Books, 1993. Michell, John. Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions. San Diego, Calif.: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984.
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
Etymology of 'Deity' (God)
ashtile (youtube)"Deity has no link with the word 'two' it comes from the Latin 'divus'. Your etymology is rubbish as usual as you give no proof."
ashtile (Elizabeth) My etymology is so advanced that brainwashed book smart fools like yourself do NOT know how to THINK!
"Deity has NO link with TWO?" ROFL -
Now we know you're a FOOL! Deity represents GOD or nature which is dualistic in nature thus comprised of both day and night. One DAY (DEA) is made and divided into TWO. DEITY is 'deitas' or 'divus' which 'di' means once again DIOS, the TWO, like 'diagonal.' DIVUS means 'divine nature' again we have DIVINE which meaning and relating to GOD, and 'divine' is like DIVIDE like when you slice a pie and get two halves. The Latin DIVUS means DEUS which also means GOD, it gives words like DEUCE or DOS meaning TWO! DIVUS or DEUS has the same etymology as ZEUS and Jesus for that matter and comes from ancient Greece from the ancient Goddess known as DIONE, which gives us our modern words of DIA like Dianna which is why Indiana is the State of the CROSSROADS! This is why they called her princess "DI" (DIE). And yes, Indian means INDIOS! This is also why we have TWO DICE (DI) the DUOS (DEUCE).
Di is a numerical prefix meaning "twice," "two" or "double." Dai is Welsh for David, which means "divide" which is why King Davids people were divided! The whole story of King david is about division. He was young and small and then faced a giant Goliath, and he then decapitates his head off. Decapitates is again from 'Di' and is in the form of 'De.' Words with the prefix of 'DE' represent the DEath, DEcline, DEception, DEceiver, DEvil, DEcember, DEcay, DEmon etc., and represent the second half of the year when things begin to fall and die. DEmon is when the night MOON is out thus DEmon is the DEity of the MOON. Our Day comes from 'DEA' or DEity and this is why our DAY begins at midnight when the MOON is the fullest, and our day consists of both night (darkness) and day (lightness). The word "dia" means "apart," "through," "across" and also means the "bright sky." Dia gives us words like "diagonal" and "diameter," again the meaning of TWO or deuce (DOS). We also have a dialect in language meaning two (dios). Dio is the italian word for God.
The word "para" also means to separate and means "two," as in paranormal, paradox, paragraph, parallel, parents, parables, parade etc.. A parade celebrates the end of one season into another, the old year into the new year. So, para means TWO which gives us our word 'PAIR," or a couple (coup).
The word "bi" also means "two," which gives us words like bipolar, bisexual, biannual, bias, bicentennial, bicycle, biangular, biweekly, bimonthly, bilateral, and the best known word from "bi" is Bible, or the TWO BULLS. Bi also gives us "bye" to separate and leave from one to another. The prefix of "bi" means "half," "twice" and "semi." So, "semi" can be use just like "bi" as in semiannual (biannual).
Di - (Two) = 2
Divorce = 2 (Split apart)
Divide = 2 (split apart)
Disciple = 2 (follower #2)
Dialectic = 2 (separate)
Diameter = 2 (across)
Disobey = 2 (not obey #1)
Disorder = 2 ((order #1)
Diffuse = 2 (to split)
Disperse = 2 (to scatter apart)
Distrust = 2 (Trust #1)
Divert = 2 (to change from 1 to 2)
Bi - (Two) = 2
-Binoculars - pair of identical mirror-symmetrical telescopes
-Binocular vision - (TWO) both eyes are used together
-Bicentenary is the TWO-hundredth anniversary
-Biannual - TWO times in one year
-Bicycle - TWO Wheels
-Bilateral - TWO sides
-Bilateralism, Political & cultural relations of TWO states
-Bisexual - TWO sexual choices
-Bipolar - TWO poles! North-South Poles - Disorder (di)"diagnosis"
-Bisection - Human brain has TWO sections or halves
-Bipedal - Animal with TWO feet
-Bible - Two Bulls
Bi - (Two) = 2
Biology means 'bio' life and ology means the study of. The 'bi' of bio means TWO!!! Almost all life on earth requires TWO things in order to create it, and that is a MALE & FEMALE the biological SPERM from the MALE (1) and the Egg from the FEMALE (2). The sperm and egg fuse together (TWO) form a Zygote which means (zygoun) "to join" from TWO! Fertilization is between TWO haploid cells, the ovum (female gamete) and a sperm cell (male gamete). Then the zygote DIVIDES in TWO to form more cells that will DIVIDE in TWO.
Bias - Again means TWO - To favor ONE (#1) over the Other (#2). Like a racial bias.
A bias is also a diagonal (across forming TWO) line of direction (TWO) like cutting on the bias. Bias is also a slight bulge or a greater weight on one side (#1) verses the other side (#2) of the ball or bowl.
Biography - Is a detailed description, account or depiction of someone else's life, meaning they are #2, and you are #1. Bio (life) + graphia (record, account) a graphic script.
Bi means TWO and I would say that almost every if not every word that starts with 'bi' has a relationship with TWO, cutting in two, slice, dice, across the two, etc.
Ashtile - Like I said ALMOST ALL if 'NOT ALL' words that begin with 'bi' means TWO. You assumed that some words did not mean TWO, when in fact they did. I could make a LIST 10 times longer than a list you could make of 'bi' words that don't mean TWO. Actually, you make yourself sound dumb as you TRY to explain away how these things do not mean TWO. You said Diagonal does not mean TWO, when in fact when you cut something diagonally, you have TWO sections or halves, period! Biology = Bi+ology actually. I am correct 100% and we could take a POLL and vote to see who is more logical, my logic vs your excuse of the meaning. Biology is about LIFE and life needs TWO (male + female) PERIOD not to mention that the CELLS split in TWO! YOu are DEAD WRONG AGAIN! Bible means the TWO BULLS, period!
Bible means the TWO BULLS, period! Does 'papyrus' or 'papuros' sound like Bible to you? The Bible was named after the Canaan Phoenician city of Byblos, which is Gebal (BALL), and Gabriel is the MOON angel, thus the Moon Horns. This is why the other word for papyrus, is βύβλος 'bublos.' Did they worship papyrus or the BULL? lol (Jeroboam) "Here are your gods (Two Golden Calves), Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." (Bible = Bi = 2 + Bulls). Moses took the (Ox) blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said: 'Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD (Yahweh) hath made with you in agreement'."
- Torah AGAIN we have the red fire torch of the TAURUS BULL, the Ox, the 'TOR' (Toru).
- Tanakh - Ankh is the symbol of life, it is the cross section of the thoracic vertebrae of a BULL (Ox). "T" + the ANKH.
-Bible - Two Bulls
This is why they have the shroud of Turin for Jesus, look at a picture of it, you will notice the 'horns' on the head of the bearded man (Jesus), which is the ancient Horned One (Cernunnos), and this is why the etymology of Turin tells us the secret of 'TUR' which is the TAURUS Horned Bull, and this is exactly why the city of Turin has the logo or the seal with the BULL, and of course the horns of the Moon Crescent which is the symbolism (Bull).
Zeus was also the BULL who carried the Phoenician Goddess Europa away! The whore that rides the beast!
(חֵטְא הַעֵגֶּל) "The Sin of the Calf." Aaron made the Golden Calf because it represented the God(s) of Israel, Yahweh, and thus Yahweh is the Moon Bull God, and the Gold represents the golden Sun. Aaron said "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." Notice the plural of GODS. At this time of chronology according to the Bible, the israelites were not told to NOT make a graven image yet.
And just to school your ignorance more! I will not BAN YOU, I will not let you off and get away so you can not face TRUTH!
- Bill means BULL! With TWO EL's (ll). lol
- Bison means BULL the Bos Bison - 'boubalos' "buffalo" or "wild Ox" - Taurus is the 2nd House (TWO) Aurochs, Bovinae (Bos) split hoof (divided in TWO).
- Bibulous - To consume alcohol "absorbent, like a sponge, saying is "two drunken gentlemen holding each other up!" NOTICE: Bi-BUL (BULL) - It's made from TWO words also. - 'imbibe' "to soak into" Dionysus was the God of intoxication (OX), he was the BULL or the Ox! 'Di' = "apart" (TWO) because he was the Slain God. he is son of Zeus, the BULL! the 'Dios' is genitive of the name of Zeus. Dionysus is related to satyrs, centaurs. Jesus and his WINE!!! lol
- Bite You "bite the Bullet" on this one!!! To Bite, means to clamp with TWO objects, the upper and lower jaw.
BOW (Bios) - Ox-bow or ox-yoke, the crescent BOW of the MOON. Moon Goddess & her BOW and light arrows.
Dia Di.jpg
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Szczepan Machnik
Szczepan Machnik voted up Chris Kervin's answer
Renewable Energy resources are those that will not run out, such as solar power, whereas non-renewable energy sources are those that only have a limited supply, such as fossil fuels. As a general rule, renewable energy sources are also sustainable, with no (or very little) carbon dioxide production, which is great for the environment.
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Fish of the Great Barrier Reef
The fish of the Great Barrier Reef represent every color of the rainbow; since there's more than 4,000 different species swimming off the waters of the Queensland coast, there's plenty of variety beneath the surface. And fish are just the beginning of what you'll see at the Great Barrier Reef. This living natural marine marvel, whose structure is formed by a rainbow of corals, also provides a home for sharks, manatees, seabirds, and tiny creatures not seen beyond these waters—all members of the Great Barrier Reef food web.
Many of the interesting Great Barrier Reef facts involve the marine life. Scientists and experts estimate that nearly eight out of the the ten Great Barrier Reef animals are only found in these Australian waters. Endangered species, including the green sea turtle and sea cows, also called dugongs, make a home here. Other Great Barrier Reef animals pass through the waters on their way from Asia or Antarctica., including humpback whales. The warmer tropical waters attract these spectacular animals between May and September who come to give birth or build up strength for their time in the colder climates. Dwarf minke whales, much smaller than their humpbacked cousins, are most common in June and July. Great Barrier Reef diving adventures also give you the chance to see various species of dolphins and killer whales swimming among the Great Barrier Reef plants.
While whales and other large marine mammals sit at the top of the Great Barrier Reef food chain, they're not the only creatures that command attention. Many species of sharks in the Great Barrier Reef swim in these waters. Great whites are the most commonly known—even though attacks on people are extremely rare. There are more than 130 species of sharks and rays here. The gray nurse sharks swimming among the Great Barrier Reef plants have been listed as endangered, while great whites and whale sharks are threatened species. If you're really interested in seeing the various sharks up close, choose one of the Great Barrier Reef cruises with a trained naturalist on board. Someone who knows these waters well can take you to the best places to see sharks up close, but at a safe distance.
Sharks are just the beginning of what you'll see with an up-close look at the what's swimming among the Great Barrier Reef plants. Thousands of species of fish, turtles, and other interesting denizens of the deep live here, too. Beneath the clear waters, the world of Great Barrier Reef fish is as colorful as anything you'll ever see. It doesn't take a lot of time or energy to see this world. All you have to do is strap on a snorkel. As long as you can swim and you have a mask, you'll have the chance to enjoy some Great Barrier Reef snorkeling.
The vast array of natural wonders that lie deep beneath the surface are worth exploring. No matter what you decide to pack into a Great Barrier Reef vacation, you should plan to spend some time off the shores of the mainland. The fish of the Great Barrier Reef, along with the sharks, and corals, look like nothing you'll find on the surface.
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Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan is the passage immediately south of mainland South America. Located between the continent and Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn to the south, the strait is the biggest and most important natural passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean.
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Process Analysis & Design
What is it ?
Process analysis is a technique that allows a clear understanding of a company's business processes to be gained.
Once the baselining has been completed, the processes can be redesigned or in some cases eliminated altogether.
How/Where is it used ?
Process analysis is one of the most important techniques/tools available to an organisation. It can provide the starting point for any business improvement project, and should always precede any systems implementation. Any business wanting to make critical changes by introducing new systems should use process analysis to instigate these changes. Once the project has been agreed it is the starting point for process redesign.
Advantages/Disadvantages of its use
Process analysis provides an opportunity to produce a detailed and accurate picture of an existing process, highlighting the issues and problems. Process redesign allows for a new, improved process to be built. It is a vital part of any new systems implementation and provides the foundation for building a successful business. Care should be taken to ensure that the analysis does not take a disproportionate amount of time for the benefits which may be gained. Any project involving use of the technique needs to be closely monitored and controlled to ensure the business benefits are delivered.
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Mercy Global Concern
Submission from MIA Global Action to Irish Citizens' Assembly
Reports: August 18, 2017
The Citizens' Assembly is a random selection of 100 people, representing the Irish electorate, who together consider important issues facing Ireland’s future. At the end of the discussion, they send their recommendations on a specific topic to the Houses of the Oireachtas (The Irish Parliament) for further debate by our elected representatives.
On the weekends of 30 September- 1 October and 4 - 5 November, the Citizens' Assembly will discuss the topic: ‘How the State can make Ireland a leader in tackling climate change'.
MIA-Global Action took the opportunity to make a submission on this critically important issue.
The Link Between Climate Change and Plastic Pollution....
"What does plastic pollution have to do with climate change? They both have their root in fossil fuels." Anna Cummins, 5 Gyres Institute.
Plastics are mainly made from fossil fuels like oil and natural gas that release toxic emissions when extracted from the earth. The link between climate change and plastic is that it will cost billions if not trillions of dollars, to mitigate and repair the damage caused by both!
Interestingly up to this point there has been no global conference to discuss and take action at international level, on the severe damage plastic is causing in the oceans and seas to marine life, nor to the environment. From scientific evidence we know that every year at least a million seabirds and hundreds of thousands of marine mammals die a horrific death, because they ingested or got tangled up in plastic.
Conscious of this and the widespread environmental damage we are causing, Pope Francis in his encyclical: ‘Laudato Si – On Care For Our Common Home’ said: “Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change.” (Paragraph 202)
A very positive step is the grassroots movement to hold manufacturers and retailers more responsible for the single or one-use plastic they wrap around food and other products. One example is the campaign currently gaining momentum to encourage the McDonalds fast food franchise with 36,000 restaurants in over 100 countries, to make the change from a single-use plastic straw to one that is environmentally friendly. This one action could pave the way towards eliminating plastic straws altogether, as other businesses will quickly follow their example.
According to Meghan Miller from the campaign group ‘SumOfUs’ the number of straws used daily in the USA, is enough to wrap around the circumference of the earth two and a half times! Given that it can take up to 200 years for one plastic straw to decompose, the scale of the problem and the damage caused is monumental and growing.
Suggestions for the Irish Government to take....
1. The Government must ban single-use plastic i.e. straws and wrapping used for fruit, vegetables and meat, by introducing a ‘plastic tax’ ASAP. The money collected should be directed to research, to eliminate single-use plastic production.
2. Organise a National and a European wide conference to highlight the negative consequences of using plastic, with a view to replacing it with bio-degradable products.
Thank you to everyone in the Citizen’s Assembly, for your commitment to finding ways to ‘truly do Justice’, on the critical issue of how Ireland could take the lead in tackling climate change.
Messages to: Denise Boyle fmdm - Team Leader MIA Global Action
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*Filw/tas), a physician of Amphissa in Locris, who was born about the middle of the first century B. C. He studied at Alexandria, and was in that city at the same time with the triumvir Antony, of whose profusion and extravagance he was an eye-witness. He became acquainted with the triumvir's son Antyllus, with whom he sometimes supped, about B. C. 30. On one occasion, when a certain physician had been annoying the company by his logical sophisms and forward behaviour, Philotas silenced him at last with the following syllogism :--"Cold water is to be given in a certain fever; but every one who has a fever has a certain fever; therefore cold water is to be given in all fevers ;" which so pleased Antyllus, who was at table, that he pointed to a sideboard covered with large goblets, and said, "I give you all these, Philotas." As Antyllus was quite a lad at that time, Philotas scrupled to accept such a gift, but was encouraged to do so by one of the attendants, who asked him if he did not know that the giver was a son of the triumvir Antonius, and that he had full power to make such presents. (Plut. Ant. 28.)
He may perhaps be the same physician, of whose medical formulae one is quoted by Celsus (De Med. 5.19. p. 89) and Asclepiades Pharmacion (ap. Gal. De Compos. Medicame. sec. Gen. 4.13, vol. xiii. p. 745), and who must have lived in or before the first century B. C. (See also Gal. l.c. p. 542; and De Compos. Medicam. sec. Loc. 4.8, 5.3. vol. xii. pp. 752, 838.)
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Incredible Lessons I’ve Learned About Tips
Common Issues That Dogs Have During the Summer
Dogs are great as pets but we should know that it is important that we are able to have some knowledge on how to take care of their health so that they would be in a good condition. There are a lot of people who would want their dogs to spend a lot of time outdoors during the summer so that they could have a lot of fun. The heat would surely be uncomfortable during the summer for a lot of people. We should know that dogs would surely feel uncomfortable during the summer especially when they are under the sun outdoors as they would have a lot of fur that would add to the heat that they are feeling. It is important that we should be able to keep our dogs in a place where they can be comfortable as they are prone to a lot of health problems if they would be kept in a place that would be too hot for them for a long period of time. Dogs would feel comfortable outdoors during the summer heat as they could get some cold breeze from the wind but you should also look for a place where they could get some shade so that the scorching heat from the sun would not be able to affect them. We should make sure that our dogs are properly hydrated during the summer as it would be bad if they would get dehydrated. Make sure that you are able to put a bowl of water under a shaded area so that you would be able to give them some water that would not be too hot.
There are a lot of dogs that would develop ticks and mites during the summer that is why it is important that we should have their medication ready so that their condition would not become much worse. They may get the ticks from rolling all over the ground as they would spend most of their time outdoors. Your dogs would badly need a way to cool themselves off that is why we should know that giving them a bath regularly would be able to help them keep a good temperature in their body and it could also be something that can make them feel more comfortable. Dogs would surely feel bad if they are too hot that is why we should know that giving them a cold water would surely be able to help them feel comfortable and relaxed during the summer heat.
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Soviet Union
Soviet Union
E. Soviet Union
1. The consequences of the Russian Civil War
a) The Great Famine (1921) † Ukraine
b) Kronstadt Mutiny (1921)
-- > Changes: Lenin’s Economic Thinking
2. The New Economic Policy † Profits / Kulaks (small landowners)
3. The Union of Soviet Socialists’ Republics (1923) † USSR
a) Federation
b) Party
c) The Communist International (Cominterm) † Leon Trotsky (there could not be a communist party in Russia until all the individuals were liberated), Permanent Revolution
d) Secret State Police † NKVD
4. The Rise of Stalin
a) Stalin † Peasant raised to be a clergyman, active in communist party. Stalin got arrested. He was in control of the communist party. As general secretary, he could appoint people where he wanted. Perfecting communism in Russia. Stalin rewrote The Revolution.
b) Stalin vs. Trotsky † Trotsky held power over Red Army and Cominterm. Trotsky was exiled and found in Mexico (1940s). † Recovery meant no world-wide revolution coming / socialism in one country.
5. The First Five Year Plan (1928-1932) † Collectivization / Kulaks
a) The Ukrainian Famine † Gulag (Plenty of food, but Stalin took the food and sold it).
6. The Second Five Year Plan (1932-1938) † Industrialization / Rewards, individualistic rewards -- > New Social Class Structure (Stalin wants to make Russia an industrialized nation in 5 years). “Apperatichiki”
7. The Great Purge and Stalinism † 1936-1939 / Quotas / NKVD = Terror / Propaganda / Army 90-95%
F. Nazi Germany † Fahrerprinzip / NAtional Socialische
1. The Rise of The Nazis
a) The Great Depression
I. Hindenburg & von Papen
II. 1931-1932 Election (Nazis and Communists 75%)
b) Hitler Comes to Power (Article 48: Rule by decree, wants the Nazis to achieve 51% of the voting) / Chancellorship (Jan. 1933)...
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Students Researching Chemicals in Fly and Bee Brains
Andrew Brodsky '11, Steve Chaponis '10 and Jonathan Chaponis '10
Although the brain of a fruit fly or a honey bee might seem too small to be very active, chemicals do rage underneath the surface tissue. For example, octopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in learning and memory processes of Drosophila melanogaster (common fruit fly) and Apis mellifera (honey bee).
Octopamine synthesis, however, requires tyramine β-hydroxylase (Tβh), an enzyme important to the development of invertebrates. This summer, Andrew Brodsky ’11, Jonathan Chaponis ’10, and Stephen Chaponis ’10 are researching TβhR, a gene with structural similarities to Tβh. With Associate Professor of Biology Herman Lehman, they will investigate the possible function of TβhR.
Tyramine acts as a precursor to octopamine, and Tβh is the enzyme that catalyzes the hydroxylation of tyramine to octopamine. Hydroxylation is a chemical process that introduces one or more hydroxyl groups (-OH) into a compound, thereby oxidizing it. But they already know about Tβh’s performance in these organisms – they want to learn more about TβhR. To do this, they will carry out a process known as in situ hybridization (ISH), in which they will synthesize an RNA strand, or “probe,” from a specific DNA sequence that is complementary to TβhR’s coding mRNA. The probe hybridizes, or pairs, with a target sequence of mRNA at an elevated temperature. After the students accomplish this task, they will introduce an antibody that will attach to the probe paired with TβhR’s mRNA sequence. Finally, a color development substrate will be added to attach to the antibody. This will alert the students as to where the gene transcript for TβhR can be found. Knowing the location of TβhR can help them determine its worth and what it does for the production of octopamine.
While most of their project consists of working together on the in situ hybridization, they each have responsibilities outside the realm of their collaborative work. Jon Chaponis will examine the location of TBhR in the brain and upper digestive tract as well as in the larvae of fruit flies. Andrew Brodsky will spend time dissecting honey bee’s brain and using ISH to scrutinize micron-thick cross sections. Stephen’s goal is to devise a method using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, an analytical chemistry technique that will enable him to quantify octopamine and tyramine in Drosophila brains. This technique would be especially useful for determining the amount of octopamine in brains with varying amounts of TβhR.
Brodsky, who is considering dental school after Hamilton, says that he has always been a “science-y” kid and feels that biology is so much more than just biology – usually it embraces chemistry and physics as well. Stephen Chaponis suggests that chemistry also integrates psychology. He and his brother, Jon, plan to attend medical school.
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Parenting worries? Work anxiety? Sometimes they can actually help (really!).
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If you're always trying to fight stress, you're going about it all wrong, according Stanford psychologist Dr. Kelly McGonigal. Her new book The Upside of Stress, focuses on how stress can actually be good for you and how to get good at stress. We often hear about how deadly stress is for our hearts, blood pressure, and overall well being. But it turns out that stress might only be toxic when people believe it's harming them.
In one study that McGonigal cites in her book, high levels of stress increased participants' risk of dying by 43 percent, but the risk only applied to people who also thought that their stressful lives were harming their health. Those who reported stress, but did not feel it was hurting them, actually had the lowest risk of death of any in the study—even lower than those who reported less stressful lives.
Other research has suggested that the same may hold true for the connection between heart disease and stress, says McGonigal. It all boils down to stress mindset, a term coined by Dr. Alia Crum that means the way we perceive stress. In short, we need to stop thinking of it as the enemy. "The message that a stressful life is toxic makes you feel like there's something fundamentally wrong with you for experiencing stress or there's something fundamentally wrong with your life," says McGonigal.
The upside of stress is a concept most people understand at some level, especially the idea that we grow from adversity or that going through something difficult can bring us closer to people we care about, says McGonigal. Stress can also help us engage with challenges and perform better in trying situations. "If you talk to people about the benefits of stress, most people know it exists," she says. "But it's not what they're thinking about in moments of stress."
The trick is to remember a few simple mind resets when you find yourself in stressful situations. These exercises, recommended by McGonigal, can help you turn stress from something negative into something positive that benefits you:
1. Reframe your anxiety as energy. While most men experience stress in the form of anger, women more commonly feel anxiety as a result of stress. We feel physical symptoms, like sweating, heart pounding, and that adrenaline rush. When you experience those symptoms, it's important to remind yourself that your body is working with you, not against you. Research shows that feeling anxious can actually help you perform the task at hand better—even though many people believe the opposite to be true, says McGonigal. So the next time you feel your palms sweating before a big presentation, tell yourself that your body is ramping up to help you stay more alert and do your very best.
2. Remind yourself that you're not alone. When you find yourself awake at night, feeling overwhelmed by chronic worries, such as financial problems or a difficult health diagnosis, think of others who are going through the same struggle. "When stress feels isolating, it becomes toxic," says McGonigal. Focusing on others faced with similar obstacles will serve as a reminder that your life is not uniquely screwed up. And that extra moment can create a little breathing room between you and your stress.
3. Lend a hand. The next time you feel overwhelmed by stress, try this simple trick: Do something nice and unexpected for someone else. By turning your attention away from yourself and onto something bigger, you can reduce anxiety and increase hope and courage, says McGonigal. It's called the tend and befriend response, and that feel-good energy can give you a better perspective.
When it comes to lending a hand, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. You can walk a friend's dog or simply smile at your barista when you drop a few extra dollars in the tip jar. The most important part is that you do something nice, unexpected, and outside of your regular responsibility. "It's more likely that you'll get that warm glow boost of hope and self confidence when it's something that feels like you chose it," says McGonigal.
4. Pay attention to how others worry. Pay attention to how your friends and family deal with anxiety. When someone is anxious about an upcoming job interview, remind him or her that stress shows how important the opportunity is. By sharing this perspective, your friend may do the same for you the next time you feel worried (or you might be able to do it for yourself).
5. Reflect on your growth. Dwelling on a situation that didn't go as planned can cause major stress. In situations like these, it's a good idea to think about what you've learned. Use it as an opportunity to reflect and grow. Approaching stress with this mindset has two benefits: In the short-term, it takes some of the negativity out of the worry you're feeling. In the long-term, it has the power to change how you'll handle tough situations next time. "It's easier than people think because you don't have to be 100 percent committed," says McGonigal. "Even being aware that you're trying can make a difference."
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March 1998
March 3, 1998
On December 7, 1987, David Burke, a fired airline employee, followed his ex-boss onboard a Pacific Southwest Airline jet with his mind set on revenge. He shot the man in mid-flight and caused the plane to crash, killing all forty-three people onboard including himself.
March 4, 1998
The De Haviland Comet was one of the most innovative aircraft ever designed - a modern appearing jet aircraft built in the early 1950's. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the Edsel of the aviation world. Major design flaws caused the aircraft to break up in mid-flight, resulting in numerous fatal crashes that permanently grounded the Comet. The first of these fatal crashes occurred on March 3, 1953 when a Comet failed to takeoff leaving Karachi, Pakistan. It collided with a bridge and caught on fire, killing all 11 passengers and crew.
The really quite rude GROWCOTTSmiler writes: "Don`t let fact get in the way of a good story will you! The aircraft weren`t permanently grounded and the only reason for the structual failures was down to an until then unknown phenomenon refering to a certain type of metal fatigue. The lessons learnt from this aircraft paved the way for comercial aviation today. You claim to be all for free speach, at least make sure it`s accurate and not misleading! By the way, I`m not a spotter, just an aircraft engineer."
March 5, 1998
The Apollo space program, scheduled for its first launch on February 21, 1967, started in tragedy. On Jan. 27, 1967, astronauts Gus Grisson, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were executing a dress rehearsal when fire was smelled in the command module. Caused by a spark due to faulty electrical wiring, the fire burned the inner walls of the capsule, releasing toxic smoke. It took technicians five minutes to open the complex escape hatch, only to find that the astronauts trapped inside had already suffocated.
March 6, 1998
In December, Alan Hall, 48, reported to police in Fairfield, California, that he had been Bobbittized by a woman in revenge for Hall's having killed a friend of hers 14 years ago. (Hall served time for voluntary manslaughter.) Then, two days later, Hall admitted that there was no other woman and that he had done it himself for unstated reasons. (You have to wonder what sort of reason anyone would have to do that sort of thing?)
March 8, 1998
"Tell the police officers that I'm sorry." That's how 19-year-old Moshe Pergament began the suicide note found on the seat of his car after he was shot to death by two police officers. The note went on to say that he wanted to die. The 19-year-old from Manhasset Hills, lured police to pull him over on the LIE by weaving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed. And when they did, he drew what turned out to be a fake gun and taunted the cops who had no choice but to shoot him. It turned out that Pergament had 6-thousand dollars in gambling debts amassed during the baseball season. The teen, who lived with his parents, was a student at Nassau Community College.
March 10, 1998
Following the battle of Midway, on June 7, 1942, one of the American survivors pulled out of the ocean was Ens. George Gay, the sole survivor of the torpedo bomber, Torpedo 8, which was shot into the sea by Japanese anti-aircraft guns. He survived for another 55 years, dying in 1996. At his death, Gay's ashes were scattered over the grid reference off Midway where his shipmates fell, forever reuniting Torpedo 8's aviators.
March 11, 1998
Something to ponder:
If asked to name the color of death and mourning, Europeans will choose black. Chinese, other Asians, and many other groups will pick white. Black signifies darkness and the absence of light. It also recalls the silence in the middle of the night. White recalls the color of the bones and the paleness of the corpse. The difference is not perfect because Europeans fill their graveyards with white tombstones. White doves also appear as motifs in the European sepulchral arts. Catholics and High-Church Anglicans recognize purple as the color of mourning. Priests wear purple or violet robes at funeral masses for the dead, recalling Christ's passion, crucifixion, and resurrection.
March 14, 1998
A 20-year-old man was killed in Melbourne, Australia, in January when the brick wall of a garage collapsed; the wall had a basketball backboard attached, and the man had held onto the rim after a slam-dunk, bringing the backboard and the wall down on top of him.
March 16, 1998
The Mackay-Bennett was a cable repair ship that served as a funerary vessel for the victims of the Titanic. Two days after the Titanic sank in 1912, the Mackay-Bennett sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia with a sad cargo: blocks of ice, embalming fluid, and stacks of empty coffins. When crewmen reached the disaster site on April 20, 1912, they were staggered by what they saw: "As far as the eye can see, the ocean was strewn with wreckage and debris, with bodies bobbing up and down in the cold sea," wrote a crew member. Two weeks later, the ship was back, bearing 190 bodies pulled from the North Atlantic. Most went unclaimed and were buried there. Even in death, class barriers were preserved: the bodies of first-class passengers were unloaded in coffins, second and third class in canvas bags, and crewmen on open stretchers.
March 17, 1998
On September 9, 1845, the Irish newspapers first reported the potato blight which was to create the "Great Irish Famine". The nation of Ireland had become dependent on the potato as the main ingredient in their diet. When a fungus destroyed the potato crop, over a million people starved an additional million survivors left the island, many destined for America. Incidentally, there is still no cure for the fungus which caused the blight.
J. writes: "You mentioned the potato blight. I thought you'd like to know that the very same blight that starved so many Irish resurfaced in Western New Tork not too long ago. Also, there is now a treatment for it, but it is hideously expensive. (And sadly, it is widely said that the famine never had to cause so many deaths in the first place. The English could have provided food - but didn't.)"
March 18, 1998
On September 25, 1978 a Cessna 172 collided with a Boeing 727 at 2600 feet as it approached Runway 27 at the San Diego Airport. The collision dealt a fatal blow to both planes, and they crashed into a residential district of San Diego, killing 137 passengers/crew plus 7 San Diego residents. According to data culled from the cockpit voice recorder, only 17 seconds elapsed between the collision with the Cessna and the fatal crash. The final words of the captain a split second before impact were "Mom I love you!".
March 20, 1998
In one of the more ridiculous examples of human ingenuity out of action, the Oregon State Highway Division decided it would be a great idea to dispose of a smelly whale carcass that had washed up on the beach by dynamiting it so that seagulls could scavenge the remaining small chunks of blubber. A large crowd and film crew was on hand to record the event as the whale carcass was detonated in a huge bloody blast. However, cheers of excitement that rained out just after the explosion soon gave way to screams of disgust as the crowd was pelted by whale gore that rained all over the area. Some of the chunks were dangerously large and crushed cars parked nearby. However, although everyone was covered with some blubber, no one was seriously injured in the event. (The Exploding Whale)
March 21, 1998
Sherwood Anderson's short stories made him a literary giant. In later years, he confessed he could only write "when I am slightly under the influence of strong drink." In 1941 - after swallowing a toothpick at a cocktail party - he died of peritonitis on an ocean liner bound for Brazil.
March 22, 1998
In La Hambra, California, mutilated body parts of a missing 12-year-old have been discovered entombed in chunks of fresh concrete that oozed blood. Police arrested seven people Sunday for investigation of murder in the death of sixth-grader Juan Delgado, last seen Tuesday and reported missing Thursday. The seven people lived near the suburban lawn where one of two concrete blocks was apparently dumped on the grass overnight and found Saturday. Capt. John Rees listed off the evidence recovered from a tool shed that ties the seven people to the grisly murder. ``Cement bags. Plastic bags. Cutting instruments. Blood,'' Capt. John Rees said. An autopsy determined the cause of Juan's death was asphyxiation, Rees said. Investigators believed the two recently poured chunks contained about 80 percent of one body. Police were called to a home Saturday by a resident who saw blood oozing from a 200-pound chunk of concrete about the size of a five-gallon paint can. ``There was blood oozing out of the bottom of the block onto the curb and flies orbiting about,'' Rees said. ``If you looked really close you see some tissue, but you couldn't see what the tissue was.'' A second concrete block containing body parts was discovered later Saturday less than a half-mile away, near another home in this suburb 20 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
March 24, 1998
John Jacob Astor was the wealthiest of the Titanic's privileged class. He was travelling with his pregnant young wife, 18-year-old Madeleine, when seabound disaster struck. Astor attempted to secure a seat in the lifeboat occupied by his wife but he was turned away. He accepted his fate like a gentleman and his badly crushed, frozen body was recovered from the Atlantic on April 22, 1912. It is believed that a falling smokestack may have struck him.
March 25, 1998
When King Pedro of Castile was a young prince, he fell in love with Ines de Castro. His father, fearing political complications trumped up by a charge against Ines and had her beheaded. Pedro waited until he had become king after his father died, then had the hearts torn out of the assassins and ordered Ines's body exhumed. Her corpse was dressed, placed on the throne, and officially crowned queen. All the dignitaries were forced to pay homage by kissing her hand and treating her like a living monarch. Pedro died in 1369.
March 27, 1998
An agency of the International Chamber of Commerce in London reported in January that a total of 51 people on ships were killed in 1997 in attacks by pirates. The prime areas of concern were near Indonesia, India, the Philippines, and Brazil.
March 28, 1998
A man died in February, 1998 shooting himself in the head while trying to prove to his wife that a pistol was "unloaded" police said. Angela Lalli told police that she and her husband were taking the 9mm pistol and several other items to sell at a flea market in neighboring Ft. Smith, Arkansas. She asked if the gun, which was on the pickup truck's dashboard, was unloaded, and he told her it was, police said. Lalli released the magazine to show her the empty chamber. However, police said that when Lalli pushed the loaded magazine back into place, a bullet went into the chamber. "Just joking, he put it to his head and pulled the trigger" the police spokesman said. "The vehicle went into the center median...then went back onto the pavement, flipped two or three times and landed upright". Lalli died later at an area hospital. His wife was treated and released, authorities said. Police are considering the shooting as an accident.
March 30, 1998
The cry of "Witch!" began innocently enough when a West Indian servant named Tituba began teaching the native occult arts of palmistry, fortune-telling, and a black magic to excitable young girls in Salem, Mass. The group of about 10 girls, ranging in age from 9 to 20, became so adept at the rituals that they were pronounced "bewitched" and pressured to name those responsible. "For sport," the girls accused certain men and women of bewitching them. Their word was rarely qustioned. If the accused had an alibi, the girls swore that the accused's "specter" had afflicted them. Almost 150 "witches" were arrested, but only 31 were tried in 1692. All 31 (6 of them men) were sentenced to death. Nineteen were hanged, 2 died in jail, and 1 man was slowly pressed to death under heavy stones. None were burned. By May 1693, all such trials had ceased , and the untried witches were released.
March 31, 1998
On the night of December 7, 1993 Colin Ferguson, a paranoid schizophrenic who had an intense hatred for many things but especially the white race, took revenge for imagined grievances by pulling out a gun in a New York commuter train and walking calmly from person to person, shooting them in the head. A panic broke out among the passengers as they struggled to get away from the madman. Eventually, three men wrestled him to the floor and ended the massacre. Six people were dead and 19 more were injured. Incredibly, the obviously mentally ill Ferguson insisted upon acted as his own attorney, thus dooming his trial. His psychotic ravings and illogical arguments resulted in a sentencing of over 300 years in prison.
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How Virtual Reality Gear Works
Virtual Reality Tracking Systems
Tracking devices are intrinsic components in any VR system. These devices communicate with the system's processing unit, telling it the orientation of a user's point of view. In systems that allow a user to move around within a physical space, trackers detect where the user is, the direction he is moving and his speed.
There are several different kinds of tracking systems used in VR systems, but all of them have a few things in common. They can detect six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) -- these are the object's position within the x, y and z coordinates of a space and the object's orientation. Orientation includes an object's yaw, pitch and roll.
• Electromagnetic tracking systems measure magnetic fields generated by running an electric current sequentially through three coiled wires arranged in a perpendicular orientation to one another. Each small coil becomes an electromagnet, and the system's sensors measure how its magnetic field affects the other coils. This measurement tells the system the direction and orientation of the emitter. A good electromagnetic tracking system is very responsive, with low levels of latency. One disadvantage of this system is that anything that can generate a magnetic field can interfere in the signals sent to the sensors.
• Acoustic tracking systems emit and sense ultrasonic sound waves to determine the position and orientation of a target. Most measure the time it takes for the ultrasonic sound to reach a sensor. Usually the sensors are stationary in the environment -- the user wears the ultrasonic emitters. The system calculates the position and orientation of the target based on the time it took for the sound to reach the sensors. Acoustic tracking systems have many disadvantages. Sound travels relatively slowly, so the rate of updates on a target's position is similarly slow. The environment can also adversely affect the system's efficiency because the speed of sound through air can change depending on the temperature, humidity or barometric pressure in the environment.
• Optical tracking devices use light to measure a target's position and orientation. The signal emitter in an optical device typically consists of a set of infrared LEDs. The sensors are cameras that can sense the emitted infrared light. The LEDs light up in sequential pulses. The cameras record the pulsed signals and send information to the system's processing unit. The unit can then extrapolate the data to determine the position and orientation of the target. Optical systems have a fast upload rate, meaning latency issues are minimized. The system's disadvantages are that the line of sight between a camera and an LED can be obscured, interfering with the tracking process. Ambient light or infrared radiation can also make a system less effective.
To learn more about gear used in virtual reality systems, check out the links on the next page.
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Alternative Fuel Overview
in Fuel
Alternative Fuels Defined
The fuel sources we know of include kerosene, gasoline and diesel. Alternative fuel defined is the option of other fuel sources other than the traditional fuel selections we know of mentioned above.
Alternative Fuel Selections
Ethanol: Ethanol is an alcohol fuel. Ethanol is primarily produced from grain.
Blends: Blends are what we refer to as transitional fuel. This form of fuel is a mixture of traditional fuels (such as gasoline or diesel) with alternative fuels. Examples of blends include E85 or B20.
E85: an alcohol fuel blend typically contains up to 85% ethanol mixed with gasoline or some hydrocarbon. In undenatured ethanol, the blend is contains less ethanol, approximately 70% to a little over 80%. E85 is becoming more common in the U.S., especially in the Midwest. Corn is generally the primary source material for ethanol fuel production such as E85 and B20.
B20: is petroleum diesel blended with pure biodiesel. It can be used in unmodified diesel engines.
Natural Gas: Natural gas is by-product that comes from of oil drilling and coal mining. It is possible to harvest natural gas from natural gas fields.
Propane: Propane is basically liquid petroleum gas. Propane is a by-product of natural gas and the fining of crude oil.
Hydrogen: There are two ways to derive hydrogen for consumption as a car fuel. The first is to refine petroleum. The second is by passing electric current through water, which is referred to as electrolysis.
Electricity: Electric current is already being widely used in hybrid vehicles.
Biodiesel: Biodiesel is generally made from vegetable oil or animal fat. It is commonly used as a replacement for diesel fuel or it can be used as an additive.
Biomass: This is produced primarily from vegetation. Biofuels like biodiesel and ethanol all fall under biomass.
P-series: This is a clear or colorless liquid fuel, which is designed to be used as a flex-fuel for vehicles.
There is some discussion on incorporating liquid nitrogen, compressed air or nuclear power with modern automobiles. The goal is to create a fuel with less emissions are harm top our environment. We'll see what the future holds.
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Bond Mejeh produces automotive related articles for Quick Cash Auto, a cash for cars service. Quick Cash Auto not only buys pre-owned vehicles of any year, make or model, but they also provide numerous articles about vehicle repair and automotive news.
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This article was published on 2010/03/28
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Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS)
This disease was made famous and named after Lou Gehrig, who was a famous baseball player for the New York Yankees, winning 6 World Series Championships with the team and playing in 2,130 consecutive games, a streak that remained intact until Cal Ripken, Jr. later broke it. During the later half of the 1938 season Lou Gehrig noticed his performance was beginning to slow down and his physical abilities were suddenly lessened, he was quoted as saying "I tired mid-season. I don't know why, but I just couldn't get going again." The following season on May 2, 1939 Lou Gehrig made the decision to not play the game anymore due to his decrease in performance and progressing physical debilitation. He began to trip over curbs, fumble baseballs, even stumbling while running the bases in practice. He then went to see Charles William Mayo of the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and after six days of testing, on June 19th, Gehrig's 36th birthday, he was confirmed to have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. On June 21st the Yankees announced his retirement and that Independence Day in front of 62,000 fans and reporters, Gehrig gave his famous "The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech, which is remembered to this day. It is because of Lou Gehrig's notoriety and fateful end that the awareness of this disease is remotely as high as it is today.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease. In the Greek language "amyotrophic" means no muscle nourishment, "lateral" means the part of the spinal cord where the portions of the nerve cells that control the muscles are located, and "sclerosis" means the scarring and hardening of the nerve cell region. Lou Gehrig's disease is a progressive neuromuscular condition characterized by weakness, muscle wasting, fasciculations and increased reflexes. Approximately 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with the diease each year and about 20,000 Americans currently have the disease. The annual incidence rate is one to two cases per 100,000. The disease is most commonly diagnosed in middle age and affects more men than women. It usually presents with problems in dexterity or gait resulting from muscle weakness. Difficulty in speaking or swallowing is the initial symptom in the bulbar form of the disease. Over a period of months or years, patients with ALS develop severe, progressive muscular weakness and other symptoms caused by loss of function in both upper and lower motor neurons. This loss of function and degeneration leads to the death of the motor neurons. Once the neurons die, the brain looses the ability to control muscle movement. Individuals that are in the later stages of this disease may become completely paralyzed when these neurons die. Sphincter control, sensory function, intellectual abilities and skin integrity are preserved. Patients become completely disabled, often requiring ventilatory support and gastrostomy. Death usually occurs within five years of diagnosis and is attributed to respiratory failure or cachexia. The etiology of the disease is unknown. Current research is focused on abnormalities of neuronal cell metabolism involving glutamate and the role of potential neurotoxins and neurotrophic factors. New drugs are being developed based on these theories. Current management involves aggressive, individualized alleviation of symptoms and complications.
There are a variety of diagnostic tests that are performed to test for ALS. A blood test is used to check for the enzyme creatine kinase and also to detect familial ALS. The enzyme creatine kinase leaks out of damaged muscle in an individual. Familial ALS shows when ALS is present in two or or more of an individuals blood related family members. A cerebrospinal fluid examination is another test used by examining the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding an individual's brain and spinal cord. An electromyogram is a test that can indicate that motor nerves are not functioning but sensory nerves are normal; this is a sign of ALS. A magnetic resonance imaging exam is normally done on an individual's brain and spine so that doctors can rule out other conditions. A muscle biopsy is performed to determine whether the individual has a muscle disorder or whether or not they have ALS. The nerve conduction study measures the electrical nerve impulses and the functioning in an individual's muscles and nerves. The last test is a respiratory test that is used to determine if an individual's condition affects the muscles that controls their breathing.
Symptoms -
Initial Symptoms
• Difficulty Breathing
• Difficulty Swallowing
• Weakness in the Neck Causing the Head to Drop
• Muscle Deterioration, Leading to Paralysis
• Speech Problems
• Cramping
Secondary Symptoms
• Inability to Retain Saliva
• Muscles Spasms and Contractions
• Swelling in the Extremities
• Loss of Speech
• Fatigue
• Dramatic Weight Loss
There are no known cures for ALS, but there are a few medications which hinder the progression of ALS. A FDA approved drug exists called Riluzole that slows the progression of Lou Gehrig's Disease. Riluzole does not stop the deterioration process but it has shown signs of prolonging life and slowing the fatal symptoms. Diazepam has been prescribed to keep the elasticity in muscles to allow for everyday tasks to be completed. Some doctors prescribe amitriptyline, which assists a patient in swallowing saliva.
There are alternative measures that can be utilized to reinforce the quality of life after diagnosis. A nutritionist is typically assigned to the patient to keep a healthy diet that will not hinder the performance of medications as well as to keep the weight loss to a minimum. Wheelchairs and braces may also be used to help strenghthen and reinforce weak limbs and neck. Breathing machines are common because the muscles used in breathing are affected immensely and generally cause a patient to suffocate. Physical and occupational therapy is also recommended for patients to help them learn how to use wheelchairs and braces. These assistive devices can be used to help the patients strengthen and reinforce weak limbs and neck. Speech therapy is another treatment used for patients to teach them how to speak more clearly and also how to use computers to communicate. Mental health care is another treatment used for patients with ALS. This is used to assist patients who are becoming depressed about losing their muscle functions. Family support is also provided so that the patient's family can connect with different ALS support groups.
Although there is no cure, there are newly developing therapeutic treatment methods that can cause the effects of ALS to be significantly slowed by a drug that would prevent aggregation of a ubiquitous enzyme.
Most patients are not diagnosed with ALS until their fifties. From then, there is a steady progression in loss of control over one's body and movements. The life expectancy after diagnosis is three to five years, with 20% of all patients living longer than five years.
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Worried? Sometimes for no clearly defined reason? Occasional worry and anxiety are perfectly normal emotions. We are all affected in different ways by varying circumstances and thus have diverse areas of our lives that can cause us concern. Despite these differences, individuals who regularly feel anxious tend to have certain traits in common e.g. the fear of failure or of being alone.
There are occasions when we find it difficult to identify the root cause of our anxiety. We become aware that we are feeling anxious, despite the fact that there has not been an adverse change in our circumstances; one that would naturally cause us to worry.
We can become anxious about an approaching event e.g. starting a new job and having to meet many new people. Conversely anxiety can also have it's foundations in our past e.g. regret over something that we have done or said.
Anxious thoughts are often not linked to what has actually happened,
what is happening, or what is likely to happen in the future. Instead it is based on perception.
This section contains the following topics:
- Signs of Anxiety
- Anxious Thoughts
- Changing Anxious Thoughts
- Anxiety a Live Long Challenge
- Panic Attacks
- Coping with Panic
- Dealing with Panic
Related Information: Depression
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( => ( => ( => CYCLADES [pageid] => 1760074 ) =>
The CYCLADES "computer network (French pronunciation: "[siklad]) was a "French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of "packet switching, and was developed to explore alternatives to the "ARPANET design. The network supported general local network research.[1]
The CYCLADES network was the first to make the "hosts responsible for the reliable delivery of data, rather than this being a centralized service of the network itself. "Datagrams were exchanged on the network using transport protocols that do not guarantee reliable delivery, but only attempt best-effort. To empower the network leaves, the hosts, to perform error-correction, the network ensured end-to-end protocol transparency, a concept later to be known as the "end-to-end principle. This simplified network design, reduced network latency, and reduced the opportunities for single point failures. The experience with these concepts led to the design of key features of the "Internet protocol in the ARPANET project.[2][3][4]
The network was sponsored by the French government, through the Institut de Recherche en lnformatique et en Automatique (IRIA), the national research laboratory for computer science in France, now known as "INRIA, which served as the co-ordinating agency. Several French computer manufacturers, research institutes and universities contributed to the effort. CYCLADES was designed and directed by "Louis Pouzin.[5][6]
Conception and deployment[edit]
Design and staffing started in 1972, and November 1973 saw the first demonstration, using three hosts and one "packet switch. Deployment continued in 1974, with three packet switches installed by February, although at that point the network was only operational for three hours each day. By June the network was up to seven switches, and was available throughout the day for experimental use.
A terminal concentrator was also developed that year, since "time-sharing was still a prevalent mode of computer use. In 1975, the network shrank slightly due to budgetary constraints, but the setback was only temporary. At that point, the network provided "remote login, "remote batch and "file transfer user application services.
By 1976 the network was in full deployment, eventually numbering 20 nodes with connections to "NPL in London, "ESA in Rome, and to the European Informatics Network (EIN).
Technical details[edit]
CYCLADES used a layered architecture, as did the Internet. The basic "packet transmission like function, named CIGALE, was novel; however, it provided an unreliable "datagram service (the word was coined by Louis Pouzin by combining data and telegram). Since the packet switches no longer had to ensure correct delivery of data, this greatly simplified their design.[7]
— Louis Pouzin[3]
The CIGALE network featured a "distance vector "routing protocol, and allowed experimentation with various metrics. it also included a time synchronization protocol in all the packet switches. CIGALE included early attempts at performing congestion control by dropping excess packets.
The name CIGALE—(French pronunciation: "[siɡal]) which is "French for "cicada—originates from the fact that the developers installed a speaker at each computer, so that "it went 'chirp chirp chirp' like cicadas" when a packet passed a computer.[8]
An end-to-end protocol built on top of that provided a reliable "transport service, on top of which applications were built. It provided a reliable sequence of user-visible data units called letters, rather than the "reliable byte stream of TCP. The transport protocol was able to deal with out-of-order and unreliable delivery of datagrams, using the now-standard mechanisms of end-end acknowledgments and timeouts; it also featured sliding windows and end-to-end flow control.
By 1976, the French "PTT was developing "Transpac, a packet network based on the emerging "X.25 standard. The academic debates between datagram and "virtual circuit networks continued for some time, but were eventually cut short by bureaucratic decisions.
Data transmission was a state monopoly in France at the time, and IRIA needed a special dispensation to run the CYCLADES network. The PTT did not agree to funding by the government of a competitor to their Transpac network, and insisted that the permission and funding be rescinded. By 1981, Cyclades was forced to shut down.
The most important legacy of CYCLADES was in showing that moving the responsibility for reliability into the hosts was workable, and produced a well-functioning service network. It also showed that it greatly reduced the complexity of the packet switches. The concept became a cornerstone in the design of the Internet.[2][3][4]
The network was also a fertile ground for experimentation, and allowed a generation of French computer scientists to experiment with networking concepts.[1] Louis Pouzin and the CYCLADES alumni initiated a number of follow-on projects at IRIA to experiment with "local area networks, "satellite networks, the "Unix "operating system, and the message passing operating system "Chorus.
"Hubert Zimmermann used his experience in CYCLADES to influence the design of the "OSI model, which is still a common pedagogical tool.
CYCLADES alumni and researchers at IRIA/INRIA were also influential in spreading adoption of the Internet in France, eventually witnessing the success of the datagram-based Internet, and the demise of the X.25 and "ATM virtual circuit networks.
See also[edit]
1. ^ a b Kim, Byung-Keun (2005). Internationalising the Internet the Co-evolution of Influence and Technology. Edward Elgar. pp. 51–55. "ISBN "1845426754.
2. ^ a b Bennett, Richard (September 2009). "Designed for Change: End-to-End Arguments, Internet Innovation, and the Net Neutrality Debate" (PDF). Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. p. 11. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
3. ^ a b c Pelkey, James. "6.3 CYCLADES Network and Louis Pouzin 1971-1972". Entrepreneurial Capitalism and Innovation: A History of Computer Communications 1968-1988.
4. ^ a b Pelkey, James. "6.4 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) 1973-1976". Entrepreneurial Capitalism and Innovation: A History of Computer Communications 1968-1988.
5. ^ "The internet’s fifth man". Economist. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
6. ^ "Say Bonjour to the Internet’s Long-Lost French Uncle". Wired. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
7. ^ "A Technical History of CYCLADES" Archived 2013-09-01 at the "Wayback Machine., Technical Histories of the Internet & other Network Protocols (THINK), University of Texas, 11 June 2002
8. ^ Gillies, James and Robert Cailliau (2000). How the Web Was Born: The Story of the World Wide Web. Oxford University Press. p. 38. "ISBN "978-0-19-286207-5.
Further reading[edit]
External links[edit]
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Total Number of words made out of Haemin =56
Haemin is a 6 letter medium Word starting with H and ending with N. Below are Total 56 words made out of this word.
Also see:- Words starting with Haemin
5 letter Words made out of haemin
1). anime 2). amine 3). minae 4). hemin
4 letter Words made out of haemin
1). haen 2). main 3). hame 4). mane 5). mean 6). mien 7). mina 8). haem 9). mine 10). ahem 11). amen 12). amie 13). nema 14). amin 15). name
3 letter Words made out of haemin
1). hin 2). mae 3). him 4). nam 5). nah 6). nae 7). man 8). men 9). nim 10). hie 11). ham 12). hae 13). aim 14). ain 15). ane 16). ani 17). hem 18). hen
2 letter Words made out of haemin
am an hi ai ne ah ae eh hm in ma he ha me en em mi na
Haemin Meaning :- Same as Hemin.
Note There are 3 vowel letters and 3 consonant letters in the word haemin. H is 8th, A is 1st, E is 5th, M is 13th, I is 9th, N is 14th, Letter of Alphabet series.
h, ha, hae,
n, in, min,
h ah eh mh ih n
n in mn en an h
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Total Number of words made out of Pterin =59
Pterin is a 6 letter medium Word starting with P and ending with N. Below are Total 59 words made out of this word.
Also see:- Words starting with Pterin | Words ending with Pterin
5 letter Words made out of pterin
1). inter 2). print 3). nitre 4). niter 5). repin 6). tripe 7). ripen 8). trine 9). inert 10). inept
4 letter Words made out of pterin
1). pine 2). pint 3). pirn 4). ripe 5). trip 6). rein 7). tier 8). tire 9). rent 10). tine 11). rite 12). tern 13). pier 14). pein 15). pent 16). peri 17). nite 18). pert
3 letter Words made out of pterin
1). rip 2). nip 3). rin 4). net 5). ten 6). pet 7). tie 8). ire 9). tin 10). tip 11). ern 12). ret 13). nit 14). pie 15). pin 16). per 17). pit 18). pen 19). rei 20). rep
2 letter Words made out of pterin
re pi et in en pe ne ti it er
Note There are 2 vowel letters and 4 consonant letters in the word pterin. P is 16th, T is 20th, E is 5th, R is 18th, I is 9th, N is 14th, Letter of Alphabet series.
p, pt, pte,
n, in, rin,
p tp ep rp ip n
n in rn en tn p
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Sixteenth Century Finishing Tools - ITALY
Comparative Diagram 1 - diving dolphins c. 1522 vs an imprint from binding IB21254a
I found this nearly identical imprint by searching the internet for raffigura una coppia di delfini che si tuffano in una fontana. Google found some research oriented pages at the web site of the Angelo Mai Public Library in Bergamo (Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai). It was not the first time I have come across their pages which are a mine of information. Unlike many other online Library sites they have gone further in their description of bindings, with enlargements of important details including clasps and individual motifs. This diving dolphin motif is found on a binding that could not have been made before 1522! This was a shock as I was thinking that the IB21254a binding was made much earlier, i.e. 1486. How could these imprints be so similar if they were more than three decades apart? At first site I thought they may even be from the same tool, they were in different states of preservation and lighting and differences in application can cause a lot of differences in the look of an imprint, the hooped curves of the outer hooks liked too much the same to not be the same... I need to compare these two imprints in a way where exact scale was not a factor, in as much as I could not be sure of the exact size of the Angelo Mai example. Ten specimens linked together equalled 147 mm, this gives an approximate size of 1.5 cm, this is close, and anyway if these imprints were the same size but from a different tool we needed to find another way of proving they were or were not different.
green lines
Comparative Diagram 2 - green lines test.
My green lines test showed up some differences that could not be explained simply by size differences, thus armed with this psychological advantage I proceeded to the next test. Why is physchology important? I you look at two very similar imprints and you are convinced they are the same, they will appear to you as the same, even if they are not.
click to enlarge
Comparative Diagram 3 - diving dolphin imprint differencs.
(click on this image to see an enlargement)
In Comparative diagram 3, I point out the principal differences in these imprints. By dragging a horizontal line from point 'a' which starts at the top of the lower fountain plume, towards the side of the dolphin we see that in each case the line arrives at a different part of the dolphin. Example 'b' is the most convincing. a line drawn across the top of the lowest plume , in one example it is well above the top of the dolphin heads while the other is not. The arrow from 'c' points to the gap between these details, there is less gap in the Angelo Mai example. Finally the arrow from 'd' is pointing to the gap between the fountain belt and the fountain plumes, there is no such gap in the Angelo Mai examples while it is clearly visible in the IB21254a examples (Thomas Aquinas. Super primo libro Sententiarum Petri Lombardi Venice : by Antonius de Strata, de Cremona, 21 June 1486).
click to enlarge
Comparative Diagram 4 - diving dolphins - various examples
(click on this image to see an enlargement)
In Comparative diagram 4, I have altered the color and contrast of the IB21254a examples (Thomas Aquinas. Super primo libro Sententiarum Petri Lombardi Venice : by Antonius de Strata, de Cremona, 21 June 1486) so that the details are more visible, also I have added a third example that also comes from the Angelo Mai collection, this is from 1532, and proof that the diving dolphins motif was a favorite of the Italian bookbinders for many decades. However this Diagram may be misleading as we do not know when the binding shelfmarked IB21254a was made, it may not be contemporaneous with the 1486 printing date. Nor do we know if the binder of the 1522 example was using an old tool from his father's collection. One distinction that I have noticed that may be useful in sorting out these different examples, is the in the so called fountain. It appears to have two layers of spray plumes. I show this in Comparative Diagram 5, below marked with green arrows, Some examples have short plumes with only 2 lobes while others are larger plumes with three lobes. There are of course many other differences such as the dolphins bill or mouth which is sometimes distinctly open. Anthony Hobson (1989 p. 174) claimed that the French Andrelini example was made by a tool imported from Italy and that the imprint was indistinguishable from stamps found in Rome, Venice , and Milan. However once we progress away from the medieval method of using rubbings to identify imprints, a clearer vision of the situation evolves. Modern methods yield a far greater precision. So far in our investigations we have not found any Italian examples that match the Andrelini example, nor have we found any two Italian examples that were identical. Still we will continue to search, on the next page I propose yet another example from the Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai.
click to enlarge
Comparative Diagram 5 - diving dolphins - plume variations
(click on this image to see an enlargement)
about the author VIRTUAL BOOKBINDING
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Silicate of sodium and aluminium, containing sulphur. It is a feldspathoid of the sodalite group.
Crystal system Cubic.
Appearance lt occurs as aggregates of crystals, which are sometimes microscopic, sometimes about a millimeter, or even several millimeters in size. The aggregates are. however, thick, their color tending toward dull violet. due to the presence of sometimes numerous minerals of the same group such as sodalite, nosean, and haiiyne. Calcite is also frequently encountered in the form of bright patches or light. even whitish veinings. It is frequently found associated with pyrite.
Physical properties it has a hardness of 5-5.5. The density is about 2.38-2.45 g/cm“, but may be higher in the aggregates used as an ornamental material, due to an abundance ct foreign minerals. The refractive index is about 1.50.
Genesis It is a contact metamorphosed, metasomatically altered limestone.
Occurrence it is mainly found in Afghanistan and Chile. Other sources are the Soviet Union (Siberia), Burma, Aflgola, Canada (Labrador), and the United States (California). It is also found in Italy in limestone blocks ejected by Vesuvius.
Lapis lazuli
The name of the gem is derived, through the medieval Latin lapis lazulus, from the Arabic word lazward, from which the word azure comes; but according to the description of Pliny the Elder, the ancient Romans called it sapphirus, The name sapphirus was. of course, subsequently applied to the blue variety of corundum. Scientifically speaking, lapis lazuli is a "rock," because it consists of an association of minerals: lazu_rite and variable quantities of calcite, pyrite, and other teldspathoids of the sodalite group, such as hauyne and nosean.
Appearance it has a uniform, massive or sometimes granular appearance, with fairly distinct crystals. it is semiopaque or opaque. with a surface that can take a good polish-—lil1.e iades, for example. It is a strong but lively blue. sometimes with a hint of violet. It often contains grayish or off-white patches or veins, consisting of distinct, interwoven crystals which are minutely fringed at the edge of the patches, interpenetrated by and interwoven with the minute crystals of blue. The presence of white patches reduces the gem's value. The most highly prized varieties are those which are uniformly colored, preferably without a violet tinge. It often contains minute, scattered crystals of pyrite. which do not detract from its value. It is made into spherical or curved beads and even faceted, polyhedral ones, in which t.he flat facets can take a very good polish. It is also fashioned into carved gems, boxes, mosaics, small ornaments, vases, and figurines, the largest of which may be tens of centimeters in size. At one time, it was much used for sealstones. The Egyptians used it for their cylindrical seals.
Distinctive features The particular, very attractive color and speckling with minute crystals of pyrite give lapis lazulian unmistakable appearance. As for the physicat properties, the density of gem-quality material is very variable due to the presence of pyrite and other foreign minerals. but in any case, it is much higher than that ofthe mineral lazurite. It is normally between 2.? and 2.9 g/cma, but can be as much as 3.0 g/cma. On contact with a minute drop of hydrochloric acid, lapis lazuli immediately gives ofl an odor of hydrogen sulphide (like the smell of rotten eggs).
Occurrence The best quality lapis lazuli comes from Afghanistan, where it has been mined since remote antiquity. The ancient Egyptians probably obtained their supplies from there. It is also found in Chile, but usually with numerous light patches and veins. Much smaller quantities come from the Soviet Union (Siberia), Burma, Pakistan, Angola, the United States. and Canada.
Value It is one of the most valuable semiopaque ornamental materials, worth about the same as good quality turquoise and the better iades (excluding imperial jade)-
When it contains light veins of other minerals, the value diminishes. but not excessively, as the effect is still very
Sirnulante and synthetics It was and is much imitated by glass. sometimes containing minute specks of metal To simulate pyrite, by stained chalcedony, and by a deep blue sintered aggregate of minute grains of synthetic Spinel (plus the usual metal fragments to simulate pyrite). A product has recently appeared on the market which is extremely homogeneous. very deep blue with a violet tinge and scattered with minute fragments ot pyrite. This is called synthetic lapis lazuli, although it does not correspond exactly with the natural stone in chemical composition. Furthermore. as the pyrite consists or ground tragrnents. it never displays the characteristic crystal form. The white patches in low quality lapis lazuli are sometimes colored blue and this practice is not always easy to detect. Natural stones are sometimes impregnated with paraffin to improve surface polish and heighten the color. This is the same procedure often used with poor quality turquoise. but the effects are not so far-reaching. perhaps because lapis lazuli is much less porous.
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Childhood Obesity Still A Growing Trend - | Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas
01/06/04 - Lufkin
Childhood Obesity Still A Growing Trend
by Stuart Burson
The numbers are startling. Eleven percent of our children nationwide are considered obese. You may not think that's too much, but here in Texas, that number jumps to thirty-five percent. The number of kids considered obese has also increased by sixty-one percent over the past ten years.
"The reason it has increased is primarily due to our lifestyles. Our lifestyles are totally different than they were ten or even twenty years ago. Children are less physically active. They're eating more fast food. Families don't tend to eat as a family unit every evening, they're all on different schedules." says registered dietitian Amy Mcleod.
Despite these alarming numbers, Amy says there are some things parents can do to help reverse this trend.
"They can bring their children in to see a registered dietitian. Because if they can do that, if they can schedule an outpatient program like we have here at Woodland Heights. That's a great opportunity for the children to come and really learn as a parent and a child."
Amy also suggests getting involved with the school districts concerning what our kids eat there. But despite the popularity of diets these days such as the Atkins or Southbeach diets, Amy does not recommend them for kids.
"It would not be advisable to put a child on a diet such as the Atkins diet, primarily because it's restricting major food groups such as carbohydrate. And children should really be on a well-balanced diet and should not have any one particular food group restricted."
Simply put, healthier meals, and more exercise can make a big difference in our young people's lives, and help avoid future health problems down the road.
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Not Found
Suprascapular Neuropathy in Horses
This syndrome describes the physical appearance of the horse’s shoulder. It is not a diagnosis in itself, because there are a number of potential causes. The most common cause is injury to the suprascapular nerve.
All cases have atrophy of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles that cover the scapula. This results in the scapular spine becoming prominent; in severe cases, the muscles virtually disappear. The atrophy is unusual in that it is often profound and very localized, which are hallmarks of an injury to a single lower motor nerve. The nerve involved is the suprascapular. Although the site of damage is rarely documented clinically, most cases involve trauma to the cranial shoulder at the point where the nerve is exposed to potential compression as it courses over the cranial aspect of the scapula. The severity of damage determines the degree of atrophy and the chances of recovery. If nerve function is severely compromised, the shoulder joint becomes unstable (it is a synarthrosis with no true collateral ligaments, relying on the surrounding muscles to support it) and the joint “pops out” sideways as the horse bears weight. This subluxation does not appear overtly painful to the horse, but if the joint cannot be stabilized, it may have significant implications for the longterm health of the joint and the horse’s athletic career.
Therapy is aimed at maintaining muscle health during the period of nerve recovery and maximizing neurogenesis. Horses should be restricted to stable rest or a very small paddock. Complete immobilization may negatively impact the nerve and muscles, but activity probably hastens joint degeneration. A surgical procedure to remove part of the scapula over which the nerve courses has been described, aiming to provide optimal conditions for nerve recovery. This should be considered, but its usefulness is open to debate. Muscle stimulation, under the guidance of a trained physiotherapist, will help to limit muscle fibrosis and may encourage nerve regeneration. The vast majority of cases seem to be a result of neuropraxia or axonotmesis (based on clinical observations and rates of recovery), and function is recovered with time. However, this process can take many months, and frequently some loss of muscle bulk will remain. The prognosis seems most affected by duration of injury before diagnosis, degree of atrophy at diagnosis, and willingness of the owner to perform time-consuming physical treatments for many months.
Other causes of sweeney include disuse atrophy (which does not appear focal and is rarely severe), brachial plexus injury (which usually disrupts a number of nerves; atrophy is not focal but observable in a number of muscle groups), and caudal cervical disease resulting in spinal nerve radiculopathy (in which a number of motor nerves are also affected so that other muscles atrophy). Careful assessment of the muscles involved and radiography of the neck and shoulder will aid differentiation. Scintigraphy is useful for rapid screening of the proximal limb and cervical and thoracic vertebra for damage that may have an adverse effect on prognosis.
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Charles Lindbergh's historic solo flight
Charles Lindbergh, born in Detroit, Mich., was an airmail pilot in 1927.
That year, he decided to seek a $25,000 prize offered by hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first pilot who could fly from New York to Paris nonstop.
According to, Lindbergh designed the monoplane Spirit of St. Louis that he flew on the historic flight on May 20, 1927. He left from Long Island, New York, and landed in Paris 33.5 hours later.
He had traveled more than 3,600 miles. When he landed he was welcomed by 100,000 people.
He became a celebrity and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross from President Calvin Coolidge.
He met and married Anne Morrow, the daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
On March 1, 1932, their 20-month-old son, Charles Lindbergh Jr., was kidnapped from their home in New Jersey. The couple paid a $50,000 ransom but their son's badly decomposed body was found in nearby woods on May 12.
Three years later the couple moved to England, then France.
Carpenter Bruno Hauptmann was arrested for kidnapping and murder of baby Lindbergh. He was convicted and was executed in 1936.
Charles Lindbergh died in Maui, Hawaii, in 1974.
The Spirit of St. Louis is in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
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Prevent The Flu With Vitamin D
Vitamin D is likely your best bet to prevent the flu. Let me explain. Research has shown that supplementing with Vitamin D reduced the flu dramatically. In fact doctors now believe that the reason the flu is seasonal (in the winter time) is that our Vitamin D levels drop during the winter due to lowered levels of sunlight.
Did you ever wonder why there is a flu season? That is, “Why do flu viruses cause a problem only in the winter time?” Our friends in public health would say that in the winter time (in northern climates) humans tend to be closer together in the winter. We’re huddled together inside because its cold outside. Being in closer proximity allows the flu, which is communicated primarily by touch and sneeze, to travel from one person to another more readily. It makes sense that being in closer proximity would increase flu incidence a bit.
But does it explain the fact that the flu is seasonal? Researchers have found another more viable explanation which involves vitamin D. It is only recently that the medical community has come to appreciate the prime importance of vitamin D in our health. My first exposure to Vitamin D in high school biology (or was it nutrition?) was that vitamin D deficiency caused rickets. When vitamin D was deficient calcium could not be absorbed and the bones got weak. We now know that Vitamin D does much more than promote calcium absorption. Vitamin D has been found to impact the expression of over 200 genes in the human body. Among other things Vitamin D enhances your immunity to infection. It does so by stimulating the production of a substance called cathelicidin in white cells. Cathelicidin is anti-microbial. It helps the white cells to kill invaders, be they a virus or bacteria.
Okay, so what if Vitamin D helps stimulate our immunity? What’s that got to do with the flu?
That still doesn’t explain anything about the flu happening in the winter time. But yes it does, and here’s why. Vitamin D is synthesized when sunlight hits our skin. In northern climates there is less sunlight during winter (November through February in most places). There is also a corresponding drop in the population’s vitamin D levels during the winter time. According to John Cannell, M.D. roughly 70% of the US population has Vitamin D levels that are too low (below 35 ng/ml). Lack of sunlight in the winter time further aggravates this deficiency. How important is sunlight for Vitamin D production? A young white adult will manufacture 20,000 IU of Vitamin D within minutes of full body exposure to sunlight. And again, in the winter time we have less sun light, and consequently our body makes less Vitamin D.
But this still doesn’t prove the Vitamin D – flu virus connection, does it? Here’s where the researchers come in with what they believe is the beginning of the proof of a Vitamin D-seasonal flu connection. John Aloia and Melissa Li-ng published their research in an article entitled “Epidemic Influenza and Vitamin D” in the journal Epidemiology and Infection (October, 2007). The authors studied 208 women over the course of three years. The women were randomly divided into two groups of 104 each. One group received 800 IU of Vitamin D and the other received none (a placebo). The groups were followed for two years to see how many women got the flu. The group taking Vitamin D had 8 cases of the flu. The group not taking Vitamin D had 26 cases, or more than 3 times the number. During the final year of the experiment the women who had been taking 800 IU of Vitamin D had their daily dose increased to 2000 IU. The third year there was only once case of the flu in the group receiving the Vitamin D.
Another group of researchers published their findings in an article that appeared in the medical journal Nature Medicine in April, 2006. The article was entitled “Fighting Infections With Vitamin D”. The authors begin by noting that in 1903 Niels Finsen received the Nobel Prize for discovering that sunlight cured tuberculosis. This sunlight therapy cured and/or improved 95% of cases. The reason was unknown at the time. Now we know that Vitamin D stimulates the immune systems production of anti-microbial substances. The authors go on to say that our current recommendations for Vitamin D intake are based on what is required for bone health. Research findings suggest that the optimum Vitamin D intake to insure a strong and healthy immune system is more than that.
How much Vitamin D should you take for a strong immune system?
There are two answers. The first is that ideally you should have your Vitamin D levels tested. The ideal range for Vitamin D (calcidiol) is 35 to 50 ng/ml. Many commercial labs report a “normal” Vitamin D level as being anywhere between 8 to 72 ng/ml. So rather than getting a “normal” back from the lab, you need to see that the number is between 35-50 ng/ml. If you don’t want to test your Vitamin D level, and you do not get a lot of sun exposure, take 800-2000 IU of cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) per day. Vitamin D3 is found only in animal sources. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is available from plants. Be careful that your Vitamin D supplement does not contain too much Vitamin A. For instance cod liver oil contains 1,200 IU of Vitamin D and 14,000 IU of Vitamin A per tablespoon. Taking a 2000 IU dose of cod liver oil per day gives you too much Vitamin A, and Vitamin A can be toxic.
What about Vitamin D toxicity? What is the danger?
Vitamin D toxicity is not common. The best way to assure against toxicity is to have your Vitamin D levels checked periodically. Joh Cannell, M.D. of The Vitamin D Council reports that it would take 100,000 capsules of 1,000 IU Vitamin D to approach the lethal dose of Vitamin D in a 150 pound man. Research has demonstrated that taking 4,000 IU of Vitamin D for up to six months has no ill effects. If you make a concerted effort to get sunshine exposure, you can drop your intake of supplemental Vitamin D to 800 IU daily.
To learn more about health and nutrition, visit
Dr. Harlan Mittag is a chiropractor in St. Louis Park and Minneapolis, MN and owner of Mittag Holistic Chiropractic. He is a chiropractor, nutritionist and acupuncturist who specializes in the treatment of natural pain and natural pain remedies. A graduate of Stanford University and Northwestern College of Chiropractic, he has had a clinical practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the past 25 years.
Article Source:,_D.C.
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The embracing Sky Father and Mother Earth and the Heavenly Ropevine
Meotoiwa, “husband and wife cliff”, Futami, Mie, Japan 夫婦岩、三重県二見町 Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Meoto* Iwa (夫婦岩), the Husband-and-Wife Couple or the Wedded Rocks, are a couple of small rocky stacks in the sea off Futami, Mie, Japan. They are joined by a shimenawa (a heavy rope of rice straw) and are considered sacred by worshippers at the neighbouring Futami Okitama Shrine (Futami Okitama Jinja(二見興玉神社). According to local lore and Shinto beliefs, the rocks represent the union of the creator kamiIzanagi and Izanami. Although the above Meioto Iwa rocks are the most famous ones, there are many other meioto iwa rocks to be found elsewhere in the Japanese landscape, see More Unfamiliar Glimpses of Japan’s page on “Meioto iwa on husband and wife rocks“.
Such iconography and the idea of a Creator-Couple or Cosmic Couple are rampant throughout the ancient prehistoric world, and particularly widespread among the tribes of the Austro-Asiatics, the ISEA-Austronesians as well as the Polynesians.
Separation of the heavens and Earth. This map shows the distribution of the story of the separation after the watery serpentine darkness of chaos from the South and West Pacific up to the northwest through China South Asia and then the Middle East and ending in northern Europe.
Stephen Oppenheimer writes about the mythical belief at p. 321of his book “Eden in the East: The Drowned Continent of Southeast Asia”:
The story of creation with Sky Father locked in close and dark sexual union with Mother Earth, is found in a band stretching from NZ to Greece. The locked-couple picture is seen at its fullest in a little understood string of islands, the Lesser Sundas of eastern Indonesia. And in the surviving megalithic societies of Sulawesi, Maluku and the Nusa Tenggara, a concept of Father Sky and Mother Earth, who were previously locked in a tight embrace remains central to cultural beliefs. According to the Mappurondo faith of the Torajas of Sulawesi, Heaven, as in other megalithic groups of the archipelago, is called Langi; Mother Earth is Padang or Pngkapadang. These names are cognate with Rangia and Papa of the Maoris. Langi appears as a sky god further west among the Donggo of Sumbawa, but this time as the primary god of a trinity that includes a water god Oi and a wind god Wango. In the mountainous island of Flores there are myths telling of Mother Earth and Father Sky who were previously bound together by a sacred vine. The vine was chewed up by a dog. As a result the lovers flew apart and were permanently separated. Accordingly to the people in Western Flores, the proof of this is seen in the behaviour of the bamboo, which bends towards the earth as if it is still pushed down by the weight of the sky on his over. Throughout this region the ideas of the duality of godheads and the duality of their sex are explicit in the architecture and arrangement of houses. In the highlands of Flores each village has two sets of shrines, one phallic and the other box-like to represent the two sexes. Menhirs and dolmens also take in the respective gender symbolism in this area.
Also it is just interesting to note that just as are found in the highlands of Flores phallic and box-like couple shrines, such paired shrines can also be found in highlands of Nagano in Japan.
What does the heavenly rope vine symbolize and what is its origin? Below we explore some possible ideas and explanations for the celestial ladder twine.
The straw rope tying the husband and wife together is a visual metaphor recalling the myth from Flores Island (an island arc extending east from Java island of Indonesia). As mentioned in the excerpt from “Eden in the East” above, a rope twine used to tie the Sky Father and Earth Mother together until a dog chewed up the vine, causing the two to fly apart, a mythical explanation for the separation of Sky and Earth.
In Ayahuasca, shamanism, and curanderismo in the Andes, Steve Mizrach examines the concept of a otherworldly “soul vine”, a concept that seems to have diffused to the Americas from the Altai-Siberia or Mongolia. In Brazil, there is a term ayahuasca that comes from the Quechua, meaning literally “the vine of souls,” — it is also called “the visionary vine” or the “vine of death.” The folk term refers to the botanical species of liana known as Banisteriopsis Caapi , which is also known as Yage among the Indians of Brazil. The Andean shaman uses Yage, “the vine of souls,” to contact the dead as well as to divine the location of water.
Mizrach draws a connection between the vine as a connector between the Underworld with passages of water [perhaps similar to the proverbial River of the Dead or River Styx?]:
The yage is used to help the shamans achieve shamanic flight and to ascend the heavens up the Milky Way as well.
Schultes reports that indigenous shamans using Yage in the Andes claim to feel a “rushing wind” pushing upwards which then they realizes is the torrent of “water” forcing them up the Milky Way. (Schultes 1992.) After ascending the Milky Way, they are then able to talk with those ancestors who were also able to ascend to the “celestial Paradise.” As a mortal, however, the shaman cannot remain, but while in his ‘spirit body’ he may ask questions of the heavenly beings, who may know antidotes for sorcery he has not otherwise been able to counteract. There seems to be the mythic belief that rainbows and the Milky Way are diurnally related phenomena. A shaman trapped in the underworld may not be able to return unless he can find the “rope” of the Milky Way.”
The Ladder-to-Heaven documents a ladder made of reed or vine among the South American tribes (the Nivalke, the Mataco, the Tupi, Sikuani and the Chorote). For eg., the Chorote of Gran Chaco identify
“a hummingbird named Sen as the hero of the primeval ascent. In the early days of the world Sen began shooting arrows one after the other until he had a long chain extending from heaven to earth. Shortly thereafter, a spider came along and spun a web alongside the arrow chain thereby creating a rope-like structure reaching to heaven. It was along this rope that Sen and the other Chorote heroes, as birds, ascended to heaven…
“Suddenly, from up there, where the stars come out, a ladder descended. It was made from the same kind of reeds that the Indians used for the shafts of their arrows.
Suddenly a ladder made of reeds appeared; it reached from the sky down to the ground.”16
The Shipaya also envisaged the ladder-to-heaven as composed of reeds.”
In Myth in History: Mythological Essays, Peter Metevelis (p. 255) tabulates the countries that possess:
• a myth of ropeway access to the Upperworld as including Iceland, India, China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Melanesia, North and South America, and Polynesia;
• a myth of a vine to sky rope as including Indonesia, Philippines and North and South America
In the case of the Japan Iwato myth, the straw vine appears as a boundary marker that marks off where the entrance to the Underworld or Heavenly River is, and it is used to quickly fence off the entrance after Amaterasu emerges from the Iwato cavern thus preventing the Japanese sun goddess from returning to the Underworld. This myth is said to be closest to the myth found in the Indo-Iranian Vedic literature — of Usas, the Dawn woman and heralder of the rising sun, who is hidden in a cave on an island in the middle of the Rasa stream at the end of the world, according to Michael Witzel in his Vala and Iwato The Myth of the Hidden Sun in India, Japan and beyond.
This idea of a rope-ladder is also found among the Australian aborigines, the Tungus shamans of Manchuria who refer to the celestial rope as a “road” to heaven. Close by in Central Asia, the Tibetans have a myth that closely resembles Japanese heaven-and-earth cosmology:
The earliest version of the legends of Tibet’s first king dates to the fourteenth century, but elements of the story are found in songs of a divine being from the sky onto the sacred protective mountain of the Yarlung Valley tribe. This was King Nyatri Tsenpo, who descended from the summit of Mount Yar-lha-sham-po to be greeted by twelve tribal chieftains or sages. They acclaimed him as teir king and gave him his name, “Neck-Enthroned Mighty One,” by hoisting him onto a palanquin supported on their necks. In some versions of the narrative, the mountain is represented as a ladder–a tree trunk with seven or nine notches cut into it, each representing a level of the heaven worlds. According to legend, the first king and his six descendants, known as the “Seven Heavenly Thrones,” returned each night to their divine home in the sky. Upon death, they were said to have returned permanently to the heavens, having no need for earthly tombs. Their travel to heaven worlds was by means of the mu rope or “sky-cord” attached to the crown of the head. This is the Tibetan version of the primordial connecting rope or ladder between earth and heaven common to many shamanic myths. A Mongolian source of the same legend states: “When it was time to transmigrate , they dissolved upwards, starting from the feet, and, by the road of light called Rope-of-Holiness which came out of their head, they left by becoming a rainbow in the sky. Their corpse was thus made an onggon (saint, ancestor and burial mound) in the country of the gods.” Mortality finally came to the kings of Tibetwhen the sixth successor after Nyatri Tsenpo, brandishing his sword in battle, accidentally severed his mu rope–another example, like the relationship between waking and dream, where material and immaterial intersect without losing their individual properties. Thereafter, the kings were buried in earthly tombs.
The ancient mu rope signifiying the connection betwen earth and heaven maintains its presence in numerous Tibetan folk and religious practices. The rainbow-colored wings attached to the headdress of spirit mediums (lha-pa) represent, according to Bellezza’s practitioner interviewees, the link between the medium and the possessing deities as well as the belief that after death, superior spirit-mediums dwell in the palaces of the mountain gods. In popular rituals of birth and marriage the primordial bond between heaven and earth is expressed in the form of a multicolored string attached to the crown of the head… As Tucci notes, “The connection between heaven and earth is a primeval article of faith for the Tibetan.”
Dreamworlds of Shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism: The Third Place by Angela Sumegi
There are many other variants of this ladder to heaven that Peter Metevelis identifies, including spider spun webs (Nicobar, Micronesia, Polynesia, Africa, North and South America), iron chain from heaven (Greece, Korea); Heavenly being’s hair (Germany, Australia), Earth’s navel-string (Indo-China and Mongol-Turk). The strong similarities of many points of mythology between Mongol myths and Japanese ones are compared and highlighted at Shamanic connections 4) Mongolians.
From South Asia to East Asia, however, the most closely related ideas to the rope or vine-ladder-to-heaven are those of the Churning Rope and Churning Rod and its role in the Ocean of Milk and the production of the Elixir of Immortality Indian tale, as well as the East Asian Cosmic Pillar and the Dancing Cosmic Couple around it, viz. Izanagi and Izanami as well as the Miao Cosmic Couple and Pillar article for more on this.
* Meoto suggests Indo-European influences from the Black Sea area, if not migrating lineages from the area, as it recalls Maeotis, the body of water mentioned in the Pseudo-Hymn Seneca, Oedipus:
“… the fierce lands of the Zalaces have felt it, and those wandering tribes whom neighbouring Boreas smites, and the nations which Maeotis‘ cold water washes, and they [i.e. the Skythians] on whom the Arcadian constellation looks down from the zenith and the wagons twain.” — Seneca, Oedipus 401 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.)
Lake Maeotis was the ancient name for the Sea of Azov, the body of water which was connected to the northwestern corner of the Euxine (Black Sea); also called the Maeotian Lake or Maeotic Lake by the ancient Greeks; approximately 14,000 square miles (36,260 square kilometers) in area.
David Braund’s article Map 84 Maeotis discusses at length the location of Maeotis, the associated terms, archaeological settlements, burial landscapes and Maeotae or Maiotai peoples.
The Wikipedia article Maeotae states that the best attested tribe among the Maeotae was the Sindi, and that there are speculations among scholars that the Maeotes and the Sindes may have been Indo-Aryans, connected with the Mitanni rulers of Assyria one millennium before Herodotus.
Among Russian scientists, archeologists, historians and ethnographers in the Soviet period however, it was concluded that Maeotae is one of the names of the tribes called норода Adyghe people (Circassians). In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (in the article Adyghe people) they are described thus:
«The Kuban tribes (Adyghe people) are usually referred to by the ancient writers under the collective name Maeotae».
In Russia in 1998 published a book with the title “Maeotae, the ancestors of the Adyghe (Circassians)
Last but not least, we return to the cradle of all mankind, Africa. Whether the celestial rope as a heavenly ladder, road or path to and from heaven, originated from Africa or is found there as a result of back migrations, we do not know … but African sacred traditions of the Dinkas speak of heavenly path or rope that men once traversed freely to and from heaven to converse with the gods, but which collapsed or was destroyed in primeval times as a result of an accident, after which Heaven has been separated from Earth.
For further reading, see The Ladder to Heaven which has many more examples of ropes or ladders connecting earth to heaven.
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Protect Kids, Or Just Their “Virgin Ears”?
In the movie A Christmas Story, after young Ralphie says something that sounds sort of like “fudge” within ear shot of his dad, his mother attempts to pry out where he had heard such a word. As the narrator, (Ralphie as an adult), says, he had heard his father say it a thousand times. Of course all of us don’t have parents that “use obscenities as an artist uses an easel”. However, I doubt there is one of us that didn’t hear the “f-word” as well as other cuss words on an hourly basis throughout middle school and high school. I might have even been in elementary school when I first learned of the versatility of that word that Ralphie actually said instead of fudge. Frankly, there are few words thrown around as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb so easily. I’m bad. I’ve probably used it as each in one sentence.
So the MPAA has given the movie Bully an R rating because of foul language. The fear is that some people think it might be disturbing for a middle school kid to hear vulgarity. I can appreciate it when a parent doesn’t want their kid exposed to anything nasty or bad for them. But, and it’s a big but; has everyone forgotten what it was like in a middle school locker room before or after gym class? The language truly is an art form in there! There is a one up-man-ship that occurs in there that escalates the foul language to new levels. I KNOW that hasn’t changed in the past 50 years.
Another thing to consider is the real danger kids are witnessing for themselves in school, and I don’t mean bad words. Oh, if it were only bad words! If it was, then they can just look back at their school days as the good old days. The bullying situation, like so many other things today, continues to escalate. I hear so often that bullying has always been around. Of course it has. That’s like saying that fighting and drug use has always been a part of school. The issue though is a matter of degrees. In the 1960’s or 1970’s a fight consisted of a few exchanged punches before the participants were separated. It would have been shocking if someone pulled a knife or a gun. Escalation comes in various forms.
When true bullying occurred in school years ago it was either handled at the student level between mutual friends or dealt with by the principal with corporal punishment or something else. (For better or worse, teachers or principals have had some of their powers to reprimand removed.) I don’t recall a circumstance where the victim of bullying went home, picked up several loaded weapons and came back to school and opened fire on their classmates. Read the news. It’s a different world out there. More escalation.
When I was in school I didn’t know of any “out” homosexuals. They were there I’m sure, but people kept it to themselves. I’m certainly not saying that was a good thing, only stating it as a fact. If someone threw a gay slur on a ball field for example it was meant to enrage or get under someone’s skin, but not because it was believed to be true. That didn’t make using the “other f-word” ok; only less painful when it was directed at someone who was straight. Thankfully, many kids can be more open today, but with that openness comes the fact that when a gay slur is directed at an out homosexual, it is as inflammatory as using a racial epitaph. It has a more direct meaning. It’s much more personal, and so the strength of the word is escalated. (If a white kid calls another white kid the “n-word”, it’s just stupid. If it’s directed at an African American kid, the meaning takes on a power that needs to be halted.) If we were talking about racial slurs or anti-Semitic slurs being tossed about in schools to taunt one another, we wouldn’t be hearing things like, “that’s OK, people have said that forever. It’s just a part of growing up”.
Something else that wasn’t present in the good old days was the internet. As with many valuable tools, the bully can find a way to use it for his/her bad deeds. So we now have “cyber-bullying”. If for example, a young woman was accused of being a bit too loose, previously the word may have spread by mouth as far as the doors exiting the school. Certainly not good, but today with the advent of social media, gossip spreads farther and faster than would have been imaginable in the 1970’s. I know of a circumstance in high school where a young lady allowed her boyfriend to photograph her topless with a Polaroid camera. The picture ended up on a bulletin board, which of course caused tremendous embarrassment. Today, that same picture taken on a digital camera would be passed around so quick it would make your head spin. It would be on the internet within the hour and perverts the world over would have something else to view. That’s a clear escalation and similar in type to the episode that caused Tyler Clementi to jump from the George Washington Bridge to his death at 18 years of age.
My point of course is that just because bullying has been around forever, doesn’t mean it is the same bullying we remember. It also doesn’t make it right. Racism has been around forever. So have a number of other things that shouldn’t be ignored. One way the differences in the bullying today could be demonstrated to the masses would be if someone had the wherewithal to make a documentary about it; filming real participants and victims in action. Fortunately that task has been completed and it shows some very graphic language and violence. It’s REAL! I recognize some parents don’t want their kids exposed to this, but think about this for a minute. Your kids ARE exposed to this everyday. Perhaps you need to see it to realize what it is they see while they are “safely at school”. Forbidding them from seeing a movie that shows what they probably already know is not the problem. By stopping them from seeing Bully, you are a major part of the problem. Both you, as concerned parents, and the MPAA need to start being part of the solution. Stop freaking around and let the freaking freaker you call your kid, see the freaking movie.
Phil Hicks
About MetroDC PFLAG
Our Mission:Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays promotes the equality and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons, their families and friends through: Support to cope with an adverse society Education to enlighten an ill-informed public Advocacy to end discrimination.
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Everyone Brave Is Forgiven
Everyone Brave Is Forgiven
作者 : Chris Cleave
※ ※ 無庫存
定價 : NT 560
售價79折, NT442
The instant New York Times bestseller from Chris Cleave—the unforgettable novel about three lives entangled during World War II, told “with dazzling prose, sharp English wit, and compassion…a powerful portrait of war’s effects on those who fight and those left behind” (People, Book of the Week).
London, 1939. The day war is declared, Mary North leaves finishing school unfinished, goes straight to the War Office, and signs up. Tom Shaw decides to ignore the war—until he learns his roommate Alistair Heath has unexpectedly enlisted. Then the conflict can no longer be avoided. Young, bright, and brave, Mary is certain she’d be a marvelous spy. When she is—bewilderingly—made a teacher, she finds herself defying prejudice to protect the children her country would rather forget. Tom, meanwhile, finds that he will do anything for Mary.
Set in London during the years of 1939–1942, when citizens had slim hope of survival, much less victory; and on the strategic island of Malta, which was daily devastated by the Axis barrage, Everyone Brave is Forgiven features little-known history and a perfect wartime love story inspired by the real-life love letters between Chris Cleave’s grandparents. This dazzling novel dares us to understand that, against the great theater of world events, it is the intimate losses, the small battles, the daily human triumphs that change us most.
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I Need Help Regarding Paragraph Structure
I was talking to a fellow writer who found a tid bit about paragraph structure. The source was from a teacher of professional writing at the University of Oklahoma, Dwight V. Swain. I have one book of his called Techniques of the Selling Writer, which is still in print. I definitely recommend this book. The tid bit didn't come from the above mentioned book. But Jim Butcher, author of the Dresden Files, definitely used this technique in the first book of the series. It is:
A fictional paragraph ends on the fact beat, leaving the emotional note for the start of the next paragraph.
Has anyone heard or seen this?
Below is a link to an episode of a side story, just improvisational writing. There are two versions of it. One uses the above technique. The other does not. Please read the two versions and vote on which one FEELS better. The claim is that this structure provides emotional connection to the reader. Thanks.
Episode 1: Graywolf
[poll id="8"]
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kremezi mar19 mainphoto.jpg
Photo by Aglaia Kremezi
The Jamón serrano of the Cyclades is called loza in Kea, and louza in Mykonos, Syros, Tinos, and other islands. The word clearly originates from the Italian lonza (cured pork loin). The Cycladic islands were under Venetian rule for some time -- some islands from the 13th to the 15th centuries, and others until the 17th century or even later. Despite their colonial history, some islands were never occupied by the Ottomans, as the rest of Greece was.
By the late 15th century, Kea was dominated by pirates and almost deserted by its inhabitants. It was later repopulated by people who fled from other islands -- my maternal grandfather's family probably came from Patmos, as my mother's maiden name, Patiniotis, suggests. Others came from the mainland, while many of the 16th century settlers on Kea, Andros, and other islands of the northern Cyclades were Arvanites. I find it fascinating that Venetian food habits, alien to this ethnic group, have survived on the island to this day.
Poor islanders sold their loza to the wealthy to support themselves. To this day, loza is a rare delicacy in short supply. One cannot just walk into a local butcher's shop and buy loza; you have to order it in advance early in the winter. Some Kean families, like my neighbor Zenovia, still make their own to last them until late spring.
Besides the loin, parts of the ham are also used to make loza. The meat is cut into long strips that can fit into the pig's large intestine, the casing that protects the meat during the smoking and drying. Today, in fact, the most sought after part of the pig on our island is the large intestine. Getting pork meat is not a problem, but it is the pig's intestine that determines how many pieces of loza a family can make.
Zenovia's Preparations
The rocky hill on the northern side of our property belongs to the Stefa family. On top of the hill is the house where elderly Flora Stefa lives. Her son, Tasos, built his house down by the bay at Otzias, but keeps his animals -- a couple of cows, sheep, goats, a pig, and some chickens -- on his mother's land.
The sheep and goats graze around our property, and from the window next to my desk I often exchange glances with Taso's beautiful brown, gray, or dappled goats as they nibble the meager sprouts between the steep rocks. They obviously wish that they could climb the dry stone wall that separates them from our garden. Each day, Tasos yells in his unique way at the top of his lungs to let the goats know it is milking time; the goats return faithfully, and our dogs just as regularly bark and go crazy.
Zenovia, Taso's wife, is one of the best cooks on the island, and I often consult her whenever I have questions about the authentic Kean way of doing things in the kitchen. After seeing the Atzakas family butcher its pig, I was really looking forward to learning from Zenovia how to prepare different kinds of cured pork.
Taso and Zenovia's relatively new house at the beach has no covered porch from which to hang the pig. Instead, they make the short trip to his mother's home where they butcher the spring lambs and kids, the pig, as well as the occasional milk-fed veal, in a large garage-like space that Tasos constructed for that very purpose. The long, tin-roofed room has a fireplace on the far end, while the hooks for hanging the slaughtered animals protrude out next to the entrance.
When I arrived one afternoon in February, Zenovia, her sister, and a friend were preparing the stuffing for the sausages at the near side of a long table set in the middle of the room. At the far end, next to the blazing fireplace, the complacent men were sitting and drinking raki, the local moonshine. Their work, the slaughter and butchering, was done. Now relaxed and somewhat inebriated, they were teasing the women with sexual innuendos as the sausages were filled.
To make the sausage stuffing, Zenovia uses bits of leftover meat from the loin and the ham, after the prime pieces for loza have been cut and trimmed. While grinding the meat, she adds fat -- about a quarter to a third of the mixture should be fat, she said. She flavors the stuffing with homemade strong, red wine, salt, pepper, and ground allspice, adding plenty of thrymbi (wild savory). Thrymbi (called throumbi in other parts of Greece) is gathered from the hills all around the island, and tastes like a cross between wild thyme and mountain oregano. It is the herb of choice for Keans. The sausages are briefly macerated in wine, and then hanged to smoke for two to three days.
kremezi mar19 loukanika.jpg
Photo by Aglaia Kremezi
For the low smoky fire, maintained about three feet from the sausages, Zenovia adds copious amounts of almond shells. Each garden has a few almond trees, and with her almonds, Zenovia makes the most wonderful traditional flourless cookies. She adds the woody stems of thrymbi to the fire, as well as the onion skins that she has been collecting for months because they produce lots of smoke, she tells me.
In Mykonos and other smaller islands, the sausages are dipped in salty brine and air-dried in the wind during the cold, yet sunny winter days. Mykonos is a particularly arid island, and their precious quantity of wood is not wasted for smoking meats.
The pieces of meat destined for loza are generously salted for a day or two, and then most of the salt is washed off in a wine bath. Meanwhile, the large intestine is thoroughly cleaned and soaked in wine. Pepper, ground allspice, and thrymbi are sprinkled all over the meat, which is then carefully packed into the large intestine. It is a particularly difficult job, as the casing tears easily.
kremeze mar19 loza.jpg
Photo by Aglaia Kremezi
Zenovia, needle and thread in hand, sews the torn spots of intestine carefully, fitting it tightly around the meat. Finally, pieces of string are passed through one end of the meat, and lozes (plural of loza) are hung over the fire to smoke for three days. They are ready to eat after about a month, as they need to hang in the wintry sun a few hours each day until they are firm and dark, Zenovia instructed me.
Paspalas (pork confit) and Tsigara
Well-prepared Paspalas are the Kean equivalent of duck confit. The ribs, and other large pieces of fatty meat, are boiled in well-salted water until tender. The water is then drained off, and the meat is briefly sautéed in its own fat. Pieces are cooked with greens and vegetables, often together with other meats, like the local veal, to flavor winter stews.
kremezi mar19 tsigara.jpg
Photo by Aglaia Kremezi
Zenovia makes the most wonderful fresh fava and lettuce stew with paspala, finishing the dish with avgolemono - the typical Greek egg and lemon sauce. Yannis, in his tavern in Hora, the island's main town, uses paspala for the eponymous Kean dish, a kind of rich scrambled eggs that combines pieces of pork confit with tomato sauce and eggs.
Tsigara, the smaller pieces of meat and fat that are prepared exactly like paspalas, take their name from the verb tsigarizo (to fry or sauté). Kept in a jar and submerged in lard, tsigara are the equivalent of modern-day flavoring cubes, but with an incomparable richness and depth of flavor.
Tablespoons are added to all sorts of greens, vegetables, and pulses, all through the winter, transforming already good dishes into delicacies. They are also used to make glynokouloures (flat breads flavored with glyna, as pork fat is called on Kea). Islanders, even those who have forsworn the use of lard in the mistaken belief that it is worse for your health than butter and margarine, dreamily describe the sublime flavor tsigara adds to baked or fried potato dishes.
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the williamite war
Mallow Castle, County Cork, Ireland
Mallow Castle is a 33-acre site composed of gardens and parkland on which three buildings sit: the remains of a 16th-century fortified house (pictured above), a 19th-century mansion to the north, and the ruins of a 13th-century castle to the east. The fortified house is a long rectangular three-storey building, with two polygonal towers on the north-west and south-west corners. It is early Jacobean in style, featuring high gables, stepped battlements, and mullioned windows. The wings of the house project from the center of the south and north walls, with the entrance in the north wing. The design of the house was to provide a field of fire around it entirely.
The 16th-century fortified house is believed to have been built by Sir Thomas Norreys before his death in 1599. Following his death, his niece Elizabeth and her husband Sir John Jephson inherited the house, with their family remaining in Mallow for almost 400 years. It was placed under siege by Richard Butler, Lord Mountgarret, in 1642 during the Irish Confederate Wars and did not fall. It was captured in 1645 by James Tuchet, Lord Castlehaven. The house was badly damaged by fire during the Williamite War and subsequently abandoned by the Jephsons. The Jephsons built the new mansion house on the site of the older castle’s stable block.
James Fort, Kinsale, Co. Cork, IrelandPhotograph by Balazs B
Construction of James Fort commenced in 1602 over the ruins of an earlier medieval fort known as Castle Ny-Parke that had been occupied by Spanish forces during the Siege of Kinsale the previous year. The fort was named after James I of England and VI of Scotland. As with Charles Fort on the other side of the harbour, James Fort was occupied by Jacobite forces during the Williamite War in Ireland and was was captured in 1690 by Williamite forces, after being damaged by an explosion of gunpowder stores.
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Basics of the operating system
The following are basic concepts to keep in mind throughout your design work on the Amiga:
Design for the Novice
Designing for the lowest common denominator does not mean your application is doomed to mediocrity. In most cases it just means pondering a little longer on how to solve a problem or present a procedure so that almost anyone can grasp it easily. Even power users appreciate it when you give them simple solutions for such things as hard disk installation or navigation through procedural steps. Conserve your user's energy for creative tasks.
Conserve the user's energy for creative tasks.
Let the System Work for You
In general, if the system will do something for you, let it. For example,GadTools provides pre-programmed gadgets for use in your application. If one of these gadgets suits your needs, use it instead of coding your own. Two other examples of using this built-in support are:
If the system will do something for you...let it.
The Amiga's Resources
Remember that the Amiga is a multitasking system. Any time you allocate a part of the system for your use, you prevent other tasks from using it.
Try your best to economize your use of shared resources. If possible, only obtain a resource when needed and free it as soon as you are done. This applies to just about every computing activity your application can perform. There are only limited amounts of RAM, serial ports, printers and disk drives for all applications to share.
Your application should provide controls that allow the user to temporarily suspend usage of any non-shareable resource it may use, such as the serial or parallel device. For example, a MIDI application should allow the user to suspend serial port usage so he can switch to a terminal package and download a new sample without having to exit the MIDI application.
Speech and Sound
Speech and sound can be excellent ways to provide feedback to the user, especially if the user is visually impaired or if your application includes lengthy processes during which the user might walk away from the system.
However, a significant number of users may be hearing impaired, so don't use sound and speech as the only cue. Use it in conjunction with other cues such as position, size and rendering.
Sounds can be annoying. Provide a means for the user to turn off sound [and/or] speech.
Provide a means for the user to turn off sounds [and/or] speech.
It may be a good idea to provide additional controls so the user can modify the speech or sound in your program. Consider this if speech/sound is integral to the application. If they are secondary, you may just be over-complicating the controls in your program.
Closing Down the Workbench
If your application needs more memory than is available, it may attempt to close Workbench.
If your application does this, it should allow the user to re-enable Workbench from a menu item if more memory becomes available. A preference setting should also be made available so the user can specify that Workbench should always be closed (or not) on entry to the application.
If your application closes Workbench, it must reopen it again before exiting.
Defining Your Basename
A basename is a short, one-word name that you assign to your application. It's usually (and preferably) the same word as the name of your program's executable - the word a user types into the Shell in order to run your program.
All user-accessible names from your program should be built from the basename. These include such things as ARexx ports, public screen names, and configuration settings names.
For example, a database program called MondoBase may have the basename of MBase. Users running the program from the Shell would type MBase on the command line. The program may open on a public screen named MBase.1 with an ARexx port of the same name.
Basenames should be logical to the user, easily remembered and short. Making it too short, however, could raise the likelihood of conflicts with other programs. If MondoBase's basename were simply M, it could conflict with MusicBoard's basename.
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England’s OTHER Patron Saint: Edmund The Martyr
When we think of the Patron Saints, we think of St George (England), St David (Wales), St Patrick (Ireland) and Saint Andrew (Scotland). But what about Saint Edmund The Martyr? England has a second Patron Saint and though his day is barely marked today, he was once as important as Saint George is today. Who is he? Why have few people heard of him? Why did his cult as England’s Patron Saint cease?
About Saint Edmund
Also known as “Edmund the Martyr”, we don’t know a great deal about the man. What we do know comes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle written some 80 years after the events. According to the report, he was king of East Anglia and had several times fought alongside King Alfred against Viking incursions.
When Guthrum’s Great Army arrived in the area, Edmund organised his own army. It is said that the Vikings captured Edmund, demanding that he renounce Christ and become a vassal of Guthrum. Edmund refused on both counts. He died on 20th November AD869, either in battle or as an execution, hence why we celebrate that date as his Patron Saint’s Day. Some sources say he was bound to a tree executed by a firing squad of arrows and then beheaded. Later writers would make claims about Edmund’s parentage, giving greater legitimacy for his reign that he may not have had, but as most contemporary evidence about him was destroyed, this cannot be verified.
Edmund the MatyrWhy Was He Patron Saint of England?
His cult began soon afterwards, centred on what is now Bury St Edmunds (hence the name). In the early 10th century, Athelstan visited the area and was surprised to see the locals had not only interred Edmund’s remains, but had made him a local saint. He officially permitted the founding of a religious community to promote his memory and his Sainthood.
It would take over a century for his cult to go national. He was adopted as a symbol of growing national identity in England. There was also respect for the piety of those who would rather die than deny Christ. Many Catholic saints ended their days this way. King Canute (or Cnut) founded the stone abbey at Bury St Edmunds in 1020 that would see his cult popularity rise. As his national popularity grew, so did the abbey’s wealth.
Evidence of his importance as an English symbol grew throughout the 11th and 12th century after which it began to wane. Most interestingly, the nobles who would lead the revolt that would eventually pen Magna Carta met on St Edmund’s Day to formulate their plan.
Why is He No Longer the Patron Saint of England?
Around the end of the 12th century when England, along with its European allies, Crusaded in the Holy Lands. At that time, Edmund’s popularity gave way to a much older saint. Born in modern Turkey and probably of Greek descent, Saint George quickly became prominent. It is said that Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) visited Saint George’s grave on the eve of one of his biggest battles.
Richard the Lionheart simply adopted Saint George as his personal Patron Saint and the protector of his army. There was no clear national movement, and it would take several centuries for Edmund to fade from the public conscience. Even as late as 1348, Edward I carried Edmund’s banner alongside that of St George. A period of cataclysmic change in England first had his bones removed to France (during Henry VIII reign) and then the destruction of his shrine (during Cromwell’s Protectorate).
Today, Edmund’s bones are in Arundel Castle in Sussex. Campaigners have twice tried to remove Saint George and restore Saint Edmund as England’s Patron Saint. As recently as 2013, a Parliamentary e-petition was considered and rejected. The argument is that Saint George most likely never visited England whereas Edmund born, fought and died there.
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Noahidism or Noachidism is an ideology based on the Talmudic "Seven Laws of Noah" and on their traditional interpretations within Rabbinic Judaism.
"Seven Laws of Noah"
Supposedly, according to the Talmud, these laws were established as a covenant by God with Noah after the Flood and apply to all of his descendants (all humans). Later, God supposedly established a separate and more detailed covenant with the Israelites under the leadership of Moses at Mount Sinai.
The seven Noahide laws as traditionally enumerated are:
1. Do not deny God.
2. Do not blaspheme God.
3. Do not murder.
4. Do not engage in illicit sexual relations.
5. Do not steal.
6. Do not eat of a live animal.
7. Establish courts/legal system to ensure obedience to the law.
Freemasonry and Noahidisim
Freemasonry has been claimed to be related to Noahidisim but this has been criticized.[1]
Alleged non-Jewish obligations and Jewish promotions
According to religious Jewish laws, non-Jews are not obligated to convert to Judaism, but they are obligated to observe the Seven Laws of Noah.
This may be interpreted as a form of Jewish supremacism.
The punishment for not following the laws are debated. The Talmud lists capital punishment as the penalty for many crimes for "the sons of Noah". A controversial aspect is which religious beliefs are considered "idolatry" and thus forbidden for non-Jews.
Jewish religious groups have been actively promoting Noahidism to non-Jews.
The Chabad-Lubavitch movement has been the most active in Noahide promotion. In 1991, they had a reference to these laws enshrined in a Congressional proclamation: Presidential Proclamation 5956,[2] signed by then-President George H. W. Bush. Recalling Joint House Resolution 173, and recalling that the ethical and moral principles of all civilizations come in part from the Seven Noahide Laws, it proclaimed March 26, 1991 as "Education Day, U.S.A." Subsequently, Public Law 102-14 formally designated the Lubavitcher Rebbe's 90th birthday as "Education Day, U.S.A.," with Congress recalling that "without these ethical values and principles, the edifice of civilization stands in serious peril of returning to chaos," and that "society is profoundly concerned with the recent weakening of these principles, that has resulted in crises that beleaguer and threaten the fabric of civilized society."[3]
In March, 2007, Chabad-Lubavitch gathered ambassadors from six different countries to take part in a gathering to declare, in the name of the states they represent, their support of the universal teachings of Noahide Laws. They represented Poland, Latvia, Mexico, Panama, Ghana, and Japan. They were part of a special program organized by Harav Boaz Kali.[4]
In 2016, the Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef stated that Jewish law requires that the only non-Jews allowed to live in Israel are Noahides: "“According to Jewish law, it’s forbidden for a non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel – unless he has accepted the seven Noahide laws.”[5]
The Noachide set-up is above all a legal system which will eventually develop courts and judiciary with the power to impose capital punishment for grievous infringements of the Noachide Laws. One death penalty offense under the Noahide rabbinic legal system is "idolatry." Since Maimonides ruled that Christians are idolaters, it is not difficult to see that the 102nd US Congress, and the numerous churchmen who promote submission to the "Noachide" Laws, wittingly or unwittingly, have laid the groundwork for the execution, at some future date, of authentic Christians, individually by trial or en masse. Conversely, Maimonides rules that all gentiles who are not followers of the Noachide Law are liable to death. Hilchot Melachim 8:10 states that any gentile who does not accept the Noachide laws should be slain, though this only applies when Judaics have "undisputed authority over eretz Israel."
Michael A. Hoffman II, 2008, Judaism Discovered: A Study of the Anti-Biblical Religion of Racism, Self-Worship, Superstition and Deceit.[6]
A yefat toar (gentile sex-slave captured by a Jew as war booty) who does not desire to abandon idol worship after twelve months should be executed. Similarly, a treaty cannot be made with a city which desires to accept a peaceful settlement until they deny idol worship, destroy their places of worship, and accept the seven universal laws commanded Noah's descendants. For every gentile who does not accept these commandments must be executed if he is under our undisputed authority.
Maimonedes, 1180, Mishneh Torah, Law of Kings, Halacha 9.[7]
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Water before eating or water after eating! At last I learned the truth!
Вода перед едой или вода после еды! Наконец-то я узнал правду!
Water (hydrogen oxide) is a binary inorganic compound with the chemical formula H2O. The water molecule consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen, which are connected by a covalent bond. Under normal conditions, it is a clear liquid that does not have color (with a small thickness of the layer), smell and taste. In the solid state, it is called ice (ice crystals can form snow or frost), and in gaseous form, water vapor. Water can also exist as liquid crystals (on hydrophilic surfaces). It is about 0.05% of the Earth's mass.
Digestion - mechanical and chemical processing of food in the gastrointestinal (digestive) tract is a complex process in which digestion of food and its assimilation by cells takes place. During digestion, food macromolecules are converted into smaller molecules, in particular, the decomposition of food biopolymers into monomers. This process is carried out with the help of digestive (hydrolytic) enzymes. After the processing described above, the food is absorbed through the intestinal wall and penetrates into the body fluids (blood and lymph). Thus, the process of digestion consists in the processing of food and its assimilation by the body.
Water is a necessary component in our body to maintain health, efficiency and youth. Water is useful and necessary, and its proper use will help prevent a number of diseases and help live long and healthy. We need to drink water before meals for an hour - half an hour, and after eating in two - an hour and a half , since water and all drinks dilute the gastric juice intended for digestion of food and it does not completely digest remain substances that begin to rot and cause various diseases!
Studies in the field of the benefits of water for the human body have been conducted for many years, but so far scientists have not been able to determine when it is more useful to drink: before meals or after ?
Water before meals helps to satiate the body and reduce the number of calories consumed during meals. Simply put, filling the stomach with water, you eat less food. And using clean water with food, instead of other cold drinks with lots of sugar, you save your figure from excess calories.
A glass of water before meals cleans the body of toxins , maintains the normal lymphatic system and speeds up metabolism, and also effectively cleanses the stomach and intestines.
Water saturates the body with moisture . After sleep, our body is dehydrated, which is why it is important to drink water before breakfast. And yet, a glass of water before meals will help to speed up the metabolism and will give an energy boost for the whole day.
Water helps digestion. For a long time it was believed that water prevents good digestion of food. However, recent studies have shown that water is just helping this process. In addition, water after eating makes it possible for the body to quickly digest useful substances.
Remember that drinking water is useful and necessary, and when it's done, it all depends on you. Getting enough water every day, you will always be in good spirits, good mood and well-being.
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
Prophet Muhammad In Hindu Scriptures
The advent of Prophet Muhammad is mentioned more than once in the Hindu scriptures.
By Jamal Badawi
Muslim Intellectual — Canada
Thursday, 07 December 2006 00:00
Courtesy Of "On Islam"
Hindu scriptures are divided into three basic categories: Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas. There are differences about the age of those scriptures; some people believe that they go back almost 4,000 years.
One of the amazing prophecies in these Hindu scriptures is the one on the tongue of Maharshi Vyasa, a Hindu saint, that states that the land of Arabs will be corrupted by the evil doers — maybe a reference to the pre-Islamic pagans; and that Mahamad — a slight adulteration of the name Muhammad — will come and guide those who went astray. He will be circumcised, bearded, eloquent; he will create a great revolution; he will announce the call for prayers; he will eat of the meat of lawful animals but not of the swine; and he will fight against irreligious nations. All these descriptions meet Prophet Muhammad (Vidyarthi).
Bhavishya Purana, one of the most important Puranas, includes another prophecy that states that in a foreign country a spiritual teacher whose name is Muhammad will come; he will be a dweller of Arabia; he will gather a large force to fight or kill the devil; and God will protect him from his opponents. Prophet Muhammad Mentioned In The Upanishad Some Hindu scholars consider the Upanishads scripture to be superior to the Vedas, because they impart divine knowledge and teach how the human soul can get nearer to its Maker and Master.
The Muslim testimony of faith is mentioned in the Upanishads.
The most important prophecy in it is the one that mentions the coming of Prophet Muhammad by name, and the Muslim testimony of faith — there is no God but Allah — is repeated more than once in it.
As a result of the clarity and explicitness of that prophecy, some Hindus actually enter into Islam, which has led some Hindu scholars to claim that perhaps this prophecy was written by a Hindu pundit who converted to Islam. But this is refuted because this prophecy was referred to in some of the ancient Hindu books that predate the advent of Islam or Muslims to India (Vidyarthi). In the Allo Upanishad, the following description of God is given: the name of the deity is Allah, He is one, the King of all the world, He is the Magnificent, the Greatest of all, the Best, the Most Perfect , the Holiest of all, the Nourisher of the whole world, the Manifester of the earth and the space, and the Lord of all creation.
He created the sun, the moon, the stars, and the heavens. He is the Nourisher of all the birds, beasts, animals that live in the sea and those that are not visible to the eye. He is the remover of all evils and calamities, and Muhammad is the apostle of Allah.
Prophet Muhammad Mentioned In The Vedas The third basic category of Hindu scriptures is called the Veda. In the Atharva Veda, it is mentioned that the praiseworthy among people shall be praised; it is known that the name Muhammad in Arabic actually means "the praiseworthy."
It also states that the promised prophet will be a camel rider, which is interesting because Indian prophets were forbidden to ride camels. Prophet Jesus, according to the New Testament, rode on an ass but not on a camel, but it is well known that Prophet Muhammad rode a camel.
The seventh mantra also speaks about someone who is going to be a guide to all people, and Prophet Muhammad always emphasized that he was not sent to a particular people, like Israelites alone or Arabs alone, but to the whole world.
The sixth mantra speaks about some of the brave people who vanquished without a battle and that the number of their opponents was 10,000, which could be a reference to the battle of the allies or the trench that took place during Prophet Muhammad's time. The number of the people who put a siege around Madinah were indeed 10,000, and they were vanquished without a battle because God sent a hurricane that finally, after a long siege, forced them to leave.
In the Rig Veda, it speaks about a person who is described as truthful and trustworthy, powerful and generous who will be famous with 10,000. All these are the characteristics of Prophet Muhammad, and the number 10,000 could be a possible reference to the number of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad who entered Makkah victoriously. Works Cited Vidyarthi, Abdul Haq. Muhammad in World Scriptures. New Delhi: Adam Publishers, 1990.
Dr. Jamal Badawi is a professor of management and religious studies, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Anti-Semitism = Islamophobia
By Lesley Hazleton
Posted on March 8, 2011
Courtesy Of "The Accidental Theologist"
This past weekend, I spoke to a Hadassah meeting – the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. The subject, of my choosing, was “What’s a ‘nice Jewish girl’ doing writing so much about Islam?”
The easy answer to the question I’d self-imposed was “Why not?” A perfectly reasonable answer, perhaps, but not with bigots like Peter King about to begin his witch hunt this week in the form ofcongressional hearings on the alleged “radicalization” of American Muslims.
The real answer is that it’s precisely because I’m Jewish that I find myself writing so much about Islam these days. Because as a Jew, I know the dangers of prejudice. And I can smell it a mile off. When I hear someone talk about “the Jewish mentality,” I know I’m listening to an anti-Semite. How else stereotype millions of people that way? Just as when I read someone like Ayaan Hirsi Ali talking about “the Muslim mentality,” I know — no matter how pretty she is, how soft-spoken, and how compelling her life story – that I am listening to an Islamophobe.
So it’s particularly painful, let alone absurd and self-defeating and dumb, to see that some Islamophobes are Jewish. And equally painful – and absurd and self-defeating and dumb – to see that some Muslims are anti-Semitic.
I have no statistics to say what proportion of Jews are Islamophobic or what proportion of Muslims are anti-Semitic (though I could doubtless make some up and throw them out there with such an air of authority that they’d be repeated ad infinitumuntil they achieve the status of “fact”). But the Muslim Brotherhood, for all the changes it has undergone, still distributes The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. And while anti-Zionism does not necessarily mean anti-Semitism, there is a clear overlap, with a venemous hatred finding its outlet in what is now the more acceptable form of anti-Zionism.
So we need to be clear. We badly need it.
“Islam” did not attack the US on 9/11; eighteen people with a particularly twisted and distorted idea of Islam did. “The Jews” do not shoot Palestinian farmers in the West Bank; Bible-spouting settlers with a particularly twisted and distorted idea of Judaism do.
We have to be able to see that the anti-Semitic trope of “the Jews” trying to take over the world is exactly the same as the Islamophobic one of “the Muslims” trying to take over the world.
Because Islamophobia is, in essence, another form of anti-Semitism, and vice versa. And it’s in the direct interest of both Jews and Muslims — of all of us — to stand up and confront both forms of prejudice.
Because I was not a Socialist.
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Because I was not a Jew.
The CIA and The Western Media
An Empire Of Lies
By Jonathan Cook
March 25, 2011
Courtesy Of "Another World Is Possible"
Last week the Guardian, Britain’s main liberal newspaper, ran an exclusive report on the belated confessions of an Iraqi exile, Rafeed al-Janabi, codenamed “Curveball” by the CIA. Eight years ago, Janabi played a key behind-the-scenes role -- if an inadvertent one -- in making possible the US invasion of Iraq. His testimony bolstered claims by the Bush administration that Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein, had developed an advanced programme producing weapons of mass destruction.
Curveball’s account included the details of mobile biological weapons trucks presented by Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, to the United Nations in early 2003. Powell’s apparently compelling case on WMD was used to justify the US attack on Iraq a few weeks later.
Eight years on, Curveball revealed to the Guardian that he had fabricated the story of Saddam’s WMD back in 2000, shortly after his arrival in Germany seeking asylum. He told the paper he had lied to German intelligence in the hope his testimony might help topple Saddam, though it seems more likely he simply wanted to ensure his asylum case was taken more seriously.
For the careful reader -- and I stress the word careful -- several disturbing facts emerged from the report.
One was that the German authorities had quickly proven his account of Iraq’s WMD to be false. Both German and British intelligence had travelled to Dubai to meet Bassil Latif, his former boss at Iraq’s Military Industries Commission. Dr Latif had proven that Curveball’s claims could not be true. The German authorities quickly lost interest in Janabi and he was not interviewed again until late 2002, when it became more pressing for the US to make a convincing case for an attack on Iraq.
Another interesting disclosure was that, despite the vital need to get straight all the facts about Curveball’s testimony -- given the stakes involved in launching a pre-emptive strike against another sovereign state -- the Americans never bothered to interview Curveball themselves.
A third revelation was that the CIA’s head of operations in Europe, Tyler Drumheller, passed on warnings from German intelligence that they considered Curveball’s testimony to be highly dubious. The head of the CIA, George Tenet, simply ignored the advice.
With Curveball’s admission in mind, as well as these other facts from the story, we can draw some obvious conclusions -- conclusions confirmed by subsequent developments.
Lacking both grounds in international law and the backing of major allies, the Bush administration desperately needed Janabi’s story about WMD, however discredited it was, to justify its military plans for Iraq. The White House did not interview Curveball because they knew his account of Saddam’s WMD programme was made up. His story would unravel under scrutiny; better to leave Washington with the option of “plausible deniability”.
Nonetheless, Janabi’s falsified account was vitally useful: for much of the American public, it added a veneer of credibility to the implausible case that Saddam was a danger to the world; it helped fortify wavering allies facing their own doubting publics; and it brought on board Colin Powell, a former general seen as the main voice of reason in the administration.
Did the headline-writer misunderstand the story as written by the paper’s reporters? No, the headline neatly encapsulated its message. In the text, we are told Powell's presentation to the UN “revealed that the Bush administration's hawkish decisionmakers had swallowed” Curveball’s account. At another point, we are told Janabi “pulled off one of the greatest confidence tricks in the history of modern intelligence”. And that: “His critics -- who are many and powerful -- say the cost of his deception is too difficult to estimate.”
Unfortunately, there is something depressingly familiar about this kind of reporting, even in the West’s main liberal publications. Contrary to its avowed aim, mainstream journalism invariably diminishes the impact of new events when they threaten powerful elites.
We will examine why in a minute. But first let us consider what, or who, constitutes “empire” today? Certainly, in its most symbolic form, it can be identified as the US government and its army, comprising the world’s sole superpower.
Traditionally, empires have been defined narrowly, in terms of a strong nation-state that successfully expands its sphere of influence and power to other territories. Empire’s aim is to make those territories dependent, and then either exploit their resources in the case of poorly developed countries, or, with more developed countries, turn them into new markets for its surplus goods. It is in this latter sense that the American empire has often been able to claim that it is a force for global good, helping to spread freedom and the benefits of consumer culture.
Empire achieves its aims in different ways: through force, such as conquest, when dealing with populations resistant to the theft of their resources; and more subtly through political and economic interference, persuasion and mind-control when it wants to create new markets. However it works, the aim is to create a sense in the dependent territories that their interests and fates are bound to those of empire.
In our globalised world, the question of who is at the centre of empire is much less clear than it once was. The US government is today less the heart of empire than its enabler. What were until recently the arms of empire, especially the financial and military industries, have become a transnational imperial elite whose interests are not bound by borders and whose powers largely evade legislative and moral controls.
Israel’s leadership, we should note, as well its elite supporters around the world -- including the Zionist lobbies, the arms manufacturers and Western militaries, and to a degree even the crumbling Arab tyrannies of the Middle East -- are an integral element in that transnational elite.
The imperial elites’ success depends to a large extent on a shared belief among the western public both that “we” need them to secure our livelihoods and security and that at the same time we are really their masters. Some of the necessary illusions perpetuated by the transnational elites include:
That we elect governments whose job is to restrain the corporations;
That we, in particular, and the global workforce in general are the chief beneficiaries of the corporations’ wealth creation;
That the corporations and the ideology that underpins them, global capitalism, are the only hope for freedom;
That consumption is not only an expression of our freedom but also a major source of our happiness;
That economic growth can be maintained indefinitely and at no long-term cost to the health of the planet;
And that there are groups, called terrorists, who want to destroy this benevolent system of wealth creation and personal improvement.
These assumptions, however fanciful they may appear when subjected to scrutiny, are the ideological bedrock on which the narratives of our societies in the West are constructed and from which ultimately our sense of identity derives. This ideological system appears to us -- and I am using “we” and “us” to refer to western publics only -- to describe the natural order.
The job of sanctifying these assumptions -- and ensuring they are not scrutinised -- falls to our mainstream media. Western corporations own the media, and their advertising makes the industry profitable. In this sense, the media cannot fulfil the function of watchdog of power, because in fact it is power. It is the power of the globalised elite to control and limit the ideological and imaginative horizons of the media’s readers and viewers. It does so to ensure that imperial interests, which are synonymous with those of the corporations, are not threatened.
The Curveball story neatly illustrates the media’s role.
His confession has come too late -- eight years too late, to be precise -- to have any impact on the events that matter. As happens so often with important stories that challenge elite interests, the facts vitally needed to allow western publics to reach informed conclusions were not available when they were needed. In this case, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are gone, as are their neoconservative advisers. Curveball’s story is now chiefly of interest to historians.
That last point is quite literally true. The Guardian’s revelations were of almost no concern to the US media, the supposed watchdog at the heart of the US empire. A search of the Lexis Nexis media database shows that Curveball’s admissions featured only in the New York Times, in a brief report on page 7, as well as in a news round-up in the Washington Times. The dozens of other major US newspapers, including the Washington Post, made no mention of it at all.
Instead, the main audience for the story outside the UK was the readers of India’s Hindu newspaper and theKhaleej Times.
But even the Guardian, often regarded as fearless in taking on powerful interests, packaged its report in such a way as to deprive Curveball’s confession of its true value. The facts were bled of their real significance. The presentation ensured that only the most aware readers would have understood that the US had not been duped by Curveball, but rather that the White House had exploited a “fantasist” -- or desperate exile from a brutal regime, depending on how one looks at it - for its own illegal and immoral ends.
Why did the Guardian miss the main point in its own exclusive? The reason is that all our mainstream media, however liberal, take as their starting point the idea both that the West’s political culture is inherently benevolent and that it is morally superior to all existing, or conceivable, alternative systems.
In reporting and commentary, this is demonstrated most clearly in the idea that “our” leaders always act in good faith, whereas “their” leaders -- those opposed to empire or its interests -- are driven by base or evil motives.
It is in this way that official enemies, such as Saddam Hussein or Slobodan Milosevic, can be singled out as personifying the crazed or evil dictator -- while other equally rogue regimes such as Saudi Arabia’s are described as “moderate” -- opening the way for their countries to become targets of our own imperial strategies.
States selected for the “embrace” of empire are left with a stark choice: accept our terms of surrender and become an ally; or defy empire and face our wrath.
When the corporate elites trample on other peoples and states to advance their own selfish interests, such as in the invasion of Iraq to control its resources, our dominant media cannot allow its reporting to frame the events honestly. The continuing assumption in liberal commentary about the US attack on Iraq, for example, is that, once no WMD were found, the Bush administration remained to pursue a misguided effort to root out the terrorists, restore law and order, and spread democracy.
For the western media, our leaders make mistakes, they are naïve or even stupid, but they are never bad or evil. Our media do not call for Bush or Blair to be tried at the Hague as war criminals.
This, of course, does not mean that the western media is Pravda, the propaganda mouthpiece of the old Soviet empire. There are differences. Dissent is possible, though it must remain within the relatively narrow confines of “reasonable” debate, a spectrum of possible thought that accepts unreservedly the presumption that we are better, more moral, than them.
Similarly, journalists are rarely told -- at least, not directly -- what to write. The media have developed careful selection processes and hierarchies among their editorial staff -- termed “filters” by media critics Ed Herman and Noam Chomsky -- to ensure that dissenting or truly independent journalists do not reach positions of real influence.
There is, in other words, no simple party line. There are competing elites and corporations, and their voices are reflected in the narrow range of what we term commentary and opinion. Rather than being dictated to by party officials, as happened under the Soviet system, our journalists scramble for access, to be admitted into the ante-chambers of power. These privileges make careers but they come at a huge cost to the reporters’ independence.
Nonetheless, the range of what is permissible is slowly expanding -- over the opposition of the elites and our mainstream TV and press. The reason is to be found in the new media, which is gradually eroding the monopoly long enjoyed by the corporate media to control the spread of information and popular ideas. Wikileaks is so far the most obvious, and impressive, outcome of that trend.
An important question is: how will our media respond to this exposure, not just of our politicians’ hypocrisy but also of their own? They are already trying to co-opt the new media, including Wikileaks, but without real success. They are also starting to allow a wider range of debate, though still heavily constrained, than had been possible before.
The West’s version of glasnost is particularly obvious in the coverage of the problem closest to our hearts here in Palestine. What Israel terms a delegitimisation campaign is really the opening up -- slightly -- of the media landscape, to allow a little light where until recently darkness reigned.
This is an opportunity and one that we must nurture. We must demand of the corporate media more honesty; we must shame them by being better-informed than the hacks who recycle official press releases and clamour for access; and we must desert them, as is already happening, for better sources of information.
We have a window. And we must force it open before the elites of empire try to slam it shut.
This is the text of a talk entitled “Media as a Tool of Empire” delivered to Sabeel, the Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre, at its eighth international conference in Bethlehem on Friday February 25.
The Biggest Threat Facing U.S. Is Fast Creeping Ignorance
It's reached epidemic levels in government. Isn't wanton ignorance among those we trust with nuclear policies, war, famine, jobs, the national debt and more, a concern?
By Stephen Pizzo
March 25, 2011
Courtesy Of "Alter Net"
I am old enough to remember the days when what Americans were told to fear most was "Creeping Communism."
There were even hearings. There was a blacklist. There were arrests and even a couple of executions.
In the end all communism turned out to be creeping toward was its own extinction.
We may not be as lucky with the new creep we're facing today: Creeping Ignorance.
As a story from AlterNet put it, "3/4ths of Senate GOP Doesn't Believe in Science: The Tea Party and its allies had made it unacceptable to the GOP base to be anywhere except pandering to the anti-science crowd." (Full Story)
The Right, which hated and feared commies and their (largely imaginary) infiltration into government, not only don't seem to care about creeping ignorance in government, but have come to embrace this new breed of government infiltrators.
The explanation for this embrace is simple as the minds of the infiltrators: science, and for that matter any other factual analysis, tends to flatly contradict many of the Right's most cherished fictions, such as:
• The more you cut taxes the more tax revenue flows into federal coffers.
• History proves America is a Christian nation.
• Climate change is either not happening at all or, if it is happening, it has nothing to do with our use of fossil fuels. ("I personally believe that the solar flares are more responsible for climatic cycles than anything that human beings do. ..." - Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin)
• Slashing regulation of business and high finance is good for business, good for the nation and good for the American public.
• If the rich are allowed to keep more of their earnings they will share it with everyone else, (trickle down.)
• School science classes should be "fair and balanced," like Fox News, when teaching the origins of life on earth by teaching the biblically-inspired "creationist" version alongside Darwin's scientific theory of evolution.
• President Obama "may not have been born in America" as he claims.
• President Obama is "a secret Muslim."
And the list of Creeping Ignorance goes on and on, growing longer with each passing month. Michelle Bachmann believes that the founding fathers "didn't rest until the put an need to slavery." She also believes the first shot "heard around the world" that started our war of independence was fired in New Hampshire. It wasn't. Did she care? Nope. Pointing out that it was fired in Massachusetts was, to her and her kind, just further proof of how the mainstream media picks on conservatives.
So, where are the hearings on Creeping Ignorance in the halls of Congress? I mean, I remember the time, not so long ago, when it was held as a matter of national policy that "a mind is a terrible thing to lose." It seems to me it's reached epidemic levels in federal and state government. Shouldn't someone hold hearings? Isn't wanton ignorance among those we trust with nuclear policies, war, famine, jobs, the national debt and more, a concern?
If there were hearings they could begin by taking a page from the popular Jeopardy quiz show:
Question: "They were the first major documents enshrining human rights since the Magna Carta."
Answer: "What's the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights?"
Question: "The US Civil War was fought over it."
Answer: "What was slavery?"
Question: "A process used by researchers to prove theories."
Answer: "What is the scientific method?"
Suspects should put under oath and asked directly:
"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of any group that believes, or claims to believe, such things as that the US government was behind the 911 attacks or that President Obama was born in Kenya?"
And so on. Each suspect would be grilled until it could be established that this member of Congress was or wasn't a certified ignoramus.
Now, I'm plenty glad that Creeping Communism turned out to be a -- excuse the pun -- red herring. But I am not at all convinced that Creeping Ignorance will be as benign a threat to the US.
For the nation that has, for a couple of centuries, been not only a beacon of freedom, but also a beacon of knowledge and science, Creeping Ignorance at the heart of our government threatens to turn us into a nation only Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter, et al., could love: one big festival of stupidity.
Stephen Pizzo is the author of numerous books, including Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans, which was nominated for a Pulitzer.
Politicians Instigate Islamic Witch Hunts
March 28, 2011
Courtesy Of "Red and Black"
A video has surfaced on YouTube. It shows a mob hurling verbalized hatred at Muslim families attending a benefit for a women’s homeless shelter in California.
Led by elected Republican officials, the crowd mourned the state of America and the perverted nature of Islam. Silent Muslim American families walked to their minivans, strapped their children into car seats and drove quickly past the rabid crowd.
Recently, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) held Congressional hearings investigating the threat of “homegrown Islamic terror.” He feels this is a looming threat brewing in mosques and Muslim Student Associations across America.
In December, an FBI undercover agent attempted to infiltrate a mosque in Orange County, Calif. His open references to jihad led worshipers to contact the FBI and report their own agent.
Republican State Sen. Gerald Allen proposed a ban on Shariah law given in the Quran for the state of Alabama. But when questioned by a local paper, Allen couldn’t define “Shariah law” and his bill actually plagiarized the definition given on Wikipedia.
These politicians are forsaking their duties to the American people to chase down a unicorn. By putting Islam on trial, they fuel hate and promote ignorance.
American Islamic groups regularly condemn terrorist attacks.
It is ludicrous for our politicians to investigate a nonexistent framework for Islamic terrorism when there are many other problems in America.
What has happened to us?
Elected politicians tell us Islam is an anti-intellectual religion of sexual perversion and jihad.
This, when the Muslim scholars of the European “Dark Ages” paved the way for the Enlightenment.
And jihad — often translated “holy war” — actually refers to the struggle for purity, justice and knowledge, in addition to political struggle.
Even the most level-headed of the Religious Right would consider these four goals lofty.
The ideological spectrum of Islam is as vast as the spectrum of Christian beliefs: there are fundamentalists, moderates, progressives and feminists.
There are Muslims fighting both for and against human rights, just as there are Christians who do both.
Instead of investigating an imaginary network of terrorists, why not examine the underground sex slave trade in America?
Why not examine Sovereign Citizen — a white anarchist group — which gorges itself on a diet of supremacist literature and scams gun stores to increase its arms stockpiles, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
One member, Kevin Harpham, just this year planted a bomb along the route of a Spokane, Wash., MLK Day parade route.
Why is it that Muslim Americans can’t buy fertilizer for their lawns without their names going onto a federal database, but supremacists can stock up on 20 assault rifles at a time?
Why do we gaze with suspicion at Georgia mosques, when Atlanta is vying for its title as child prostitution capital of America, according to the FBI?
Why do our politicians continue the Islamic witch hunt?
Because we — the American people — let them.
We stereotype and judge, until Muslims become automatic suspects in America.
Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the “Ground Zero Mosque,” said Osama bin Laden was “created in America.” When you consider how our politicians have treated Muslims in America, you have to wonder — maybe he’s right.
— Jake McBride is a sophomore from Columbus majoring
in mathematics
Possibility Of Arming Libyan Rebels
By Laura Rozen
March 30, 2011
Courtesy Of "Yahoo News"
Not long into the enforcement of the no-fly zone in Libya, a military stalemate appears to be taking shape. Forces loyal to Muammar Gadhafi continue to hold key towns against incursions by Libyan rebels--and the fragile international coalition that has been carrying out airstrikes over the past 11 days in order to protect Libyan civilians from attack is now at odds over whether the Libyan rebels require more direct military assistance.
Coalition members are discussing a range of options, including increased NATO close air support to aid the rebels engaged in direct combat with Gadhafi's forces and efforts--in all likelihood carried out covertly--to arm and train the rebels. In an exclusive report for Reuters, Mark Hosenball writes that Obama has issued a secret presidential finding authorizing covert U.S. support for the Libyan rebels--a move that will almost certainly raise the stakes in Libya for the United States and its coalition partners, while making it harder to assure the ambivalent U.S. public that the conflict in Libya will produce a quick resolution.
Despite the reported finding, the White House, for its part, insisted that "no decision" on arming the rebels had yet been made.
"We're not ruling it out or ruling it in," White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement Wednesday. "We're assessing and reviewing options for all types of assistance that we could provide to the Libyan people," in consultation, Carney added, with "international partners."
And talk of direct military assistance to the rebels has some Washington lawmakers and policymakers uneasy. They are leery of wading directly into a Libyan civil war, as opposed to the more limited kind of humanitarian intervention that President Barack Obama outlined in his speech to the nation on Monday. Then, the president stressed that the United States was intervening in order to avert a massacre of Libyan civilians that would have "stained the conscience of the world."
But now statements from the administration seem to signal a shift in thinking. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking at a conference on Libya in London Tuesday, said her reading of the UN Security Council resolution 1973 on Libya allowed for the arming of the Libyan rebels. At the same time, she insisted that the United States had not yet made any decision to do so.
A senior European diplomat, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing discussions, said Thursday that his country endorses a similar interpretation of the UN resolution--but added that his government favors "tipping the balance" decisively in favor of the Libyan opposition.
Former U.S. officials who have worked on Libya said they suspect that any plan to arm and train the rebels would be carried out covertly. Such initiatives would likely take shape via neighboring Egypt, the officials said—thereby bypassing the consensus-driven command structure of the NATO-led coalition that assumed command of Libya military operations Wednesday.
"I think that if we do arm the rebels, we will never hear about it," one former U.S. official who worked on Libya said, requesting anonymity in order to share her views frankly. "The Libyan rebels have said they want training by the Egyptian military. They say they don't want Americans on the ground. The Egyptian military will give them stuff, some of which they've bought from us, it will be called technical assistance, that is how it's going to happen."
"The Egyptians really are already in there training," the former official said. She noted Egypt has made a point of keeping its role quiet--but that the United States is likely already aware of it.
Other analysts noted the years-long U.S. effort to train the security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan--and wondered, given that ongoing effort, just how coalition members might manage to effectively arm and train the Libyan rebels in a relatively short time frame.
"I don't know how you do it effectively," said former State Department Middle East official Joel Rubin. "Look at the lessons learned of our experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, in training their security forces, how challenging and multi-year [a task] that is. We have been providing less complex weaponry to those forces than would be required to militarily-dislodge Gadhafi from outside. So I think one has to really recognize that that is the kind of effort that would be required to arm the rebels."
"It does feel like we are watching a stalemate develop," Rubin, now with the progressive National Security Network, added. "And I hate saying that ... We might see a divided Libya." Under this scenario, Rubin explained, Gadhafi would be entrenched in the capital Tripoli and the western part of the country, while the rebels would hold Benghazi and eastern Libya.
But Rubin also stressed that the military situation on the ground will play an important role in "shifting the dynamics inside of Tripoli, which is really going to be the ultimate determinant of Gadhafi's fate. Not fighting in Misrata."
Western officials and analysts also noted that Gadhafi regime insiders have been placing phone calls to western embassies and intermediaries, with the aim of opening up negotiations to secure a cease-fire arrangement or exit plan for themselves or Gadhafi.
Experts say that such calls are probably getting a thorough hearing. Even the governments in the coalition that have pushed hard against Gadhafi have said they would be amenable to a deal that could ensure Gadhafi leaves Libya.
"There has to be an escape valve," Rubin said.
The former U.S. official also noted reports Wednesday that Musa Kusa--Libya's foreign minister and former longtime intelligence chief --was in Europe. That seemed to indicate, in the official's view, that negotiations for a ceasefire, or an exit plan for Gadhafi associates, may be under way.
But the UK Foreign Office said that Kusa had defected. "He has told us that he is resigning his post," the UK Foreign Office said in a statement, according to the BBC.
(A former Libyan army soldier shows new Libyan rebel recruits how to use the AK-47 at a training base in Benghazi, eastern Libya: Hussein Malla/AP)
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Tuesday, October 29, 2013
What's a Thesis?
A thesis starts with an idea, your own idea.
A thesis starts with an idea, the writer's own idea.
Whether a writer is composing a speech or an essay, there is one thing that the writer should not forget to add, and that is the thesis statement. But, what exactly is a thesis statement?
A thesis statement is a writer's claim or position on the narrowed topic at hand.
Seems simple enough, right?
Let's break it down.
Who Writes a Thesis Statement?
A thesis statement must stem from the writer of the speech or essay, since a thesis statement is the writer's own claim or position on the narrowed topic at hand. A paraphrase, summary, or quotation cannot be a thesis statement because none of those things would be the writer's claim or position on a topic. A fact, statistic, or dictionary definition cannot be a thesis statement because those would not be the writer's own claim or position on the topic.
What Makes a Thesis a Thesis?
According to Osborn, Osborn and Osborn in Public Speaking: Finding Your Voice, a thesis statement "summarizes in a single sentence the central idea of your speech" (117). Jean Wyrick, in Steps to Writing Well, states "The thesis statement declares the main point or controlling idea of your entire essay" (pg. 31). In other words, a thesis statement is the writer's own claim or position on the narrowed topic at hand.
When Does a Writer Compose a Thesis Statement?
A writer should compose a thesis statement after a sufficient amount of prewriting, including any required research. Prewriting helps a writer narrow a topic to a manageable size: Remember, a thesis statement is a comment on the narrowed topic at hand. Composing a thesis after a sufficient amount of research helps a writer answer a research question and make an educated claim about a topic or choose a position on a topic before drafting an essay.
A thesis statement should be well-thought out and clearly stated before the writer moves from the prewriting stage of the writing process to the outlining stage of the writing process. At any time, a thesis can be edited or changed to reflect greater clarity or a change in the writer's position or claim. However, starting with the clearest idea possible will greatly help the writer maintain unity, coherence, and clarity within the speech or essay.
Where Does a Thesis Go?
A thesis statement generally appears near the beginning of a speech or essay; it introduces the reader or audience to the writer's claim or position on a given topic.
In a basic five-paragraph essay or short speech, the thesis appears at the end of an introduction, following an "attention-getter" or "lead-in." It may appear, again, in the conclusion. In a narrative speech or essay, a thesis statement will often appear only in the conclusion, after the story has been told.
Why Do I Have to Have a Thesis?
The thesis statement helps a writer maintain unity in an essay or speech. Any idea that does not support the thesis should not appear in the essay or speech.
Furthermore, the thesis statement also has an effect on the audience. The writer uses the thesis near the beginning of the speech or essay to offer the reader or listener a glimpse of what the essay or speech is going to prove. The body of the speech or essay proves the claim or position of the thesis, and the conclusion reiterates the claim or position. When a writer omits the thesis from the introduction, the audience might be confused about the point of the evidence offered in the body. A reader or listener might begin to ask, "What's your point?"
How Do I Write a Thesis?
How a thesis statement is worded is very much related to the topic and purpose or the speech or essay. For example, if the purpose of an essay is to inform, the thesis will indicate a position about the topic that is informative. For a persuasive or argumentative speech, the thesis will indicate that the writer will be offering evidence in support of a claim. A narrative thesis is generally a statement that sums up a life lesson or piece of wisdom or insight that was gleaned during the event depicted in the narrative.
No matter the mode of an essay or speech, however, a writer should never forget the thesis statement, the writer's claim or position on the narrowed topic at hand.
Want to read more about writing essays? Try
An Overview of the Writing Process
Avoid Unintentional Plagiarism
Myths about Writing Essays
Before Writing Your Blog
Want to learn more about writing essays? Try my complete online essay writing course on Udemy.com called "Quality Paragraph and Essay Writing." Use the coupon code link to get 50% off the regular price of the course. Receive a certificate of completion when you've finished!
• Osborn, M., Osborn, S. & Osborn, R. (2012). Public speaking: Finding your voice (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
• Wyrick, J. (2011). Steps to writing well (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
An Overview of the Writing Process
Sometimes writing a paper can feel an awful lot like "Chutes and Ladders."
Writing is a process, but not necessarily a linear process.
Instead of thinking about the writing process as a series of rungs in a ladder that lead to a final essay, think of the writing process as a successive set of cycles.
I don’t recommend trying to say “successive set of cycles” five times fast, but I do recommend reading this essay to get a better idea of what I mean by it.
Steps and Sub-Steps
The steps in the writing process include prewriting, outlining, drafting, and revising. Each of these main steps includes several sub-steps. For example, prewriting also includes choosing and narrowing a topic, creating a preliminary thesis statement, and defining a purpose and audience. Outlining includes finding the best evidence, planning for order and flow, and logically dividing a preliminary thesis into preliminary topic sentences. Some writers edit and draft concurrently, and others draft and research concurrently. Revising may require additional editing for grammar, mechanics, and usage, but it is mainly a cycle of ensuring an essay has unity, coherence, and clarity.
Clearly, the writing process is never as clear cut as the term “writing process” implies. There are moments and situations where crossing back, across, and forward to additional “sets of cycles” might be necessary.
• Prewriting usually leads to outlining, but if a writer struggles with the outline, he or she may need to do more prewriting to clarify his or her own position on the topic or to better determine the purpose of the essay.
• Outlining leads to drafting, but a weak draft, a draft that includes too few details, may require more prewriting or a more detailed outline.
• A completed draft leads to revising, but after revising, a writer may need to redraft entire sections of the paper, which would call for additional prewriting, or outlining, or research.
Steps of the Writing Process in Action
Here is an example of the writing process in action. The hypothetical writer, “Hannah,” has an expository essay assignment due in her composition class next week. Where does Hannah begin?
First, Hannah prewrites in order to generate ideas about a topic. She uses the processes of freewriting and looping to help her decide to write an expository essay about how to make pine needle tea. Her audience is her classmates, and after a brief conversation with many of them during a break from class, she learns that none of her classmates have ever heard of making pine needle tea. She knows she will be writing for people who will need to understand basic information in order to understand her how-to essay.
Armed with a knowledge of her purpose (to inform), a narrowed topic (how to make pine needle tea) and the level of knowledge of her audience (basic), she begins to compose a preliminary thesis statement. She begins her thesis with her topic, and then she makes a statement about her topic, all within the same sentence. “Making pine needle tea,” she writes, “is a simple process, and taking the time to learn to make this tea will yield a safe, delicious, and nutritious hot beverage.”
Once Hannah has her preliminary thesis statement, she places it at the top of an outline and figures out how to divide the support for the thesis into logical topic sentences. She decides to make her first body paragraph an explanation of the tea’s nutritional benefits, the second paragraph about gathering pine needles, and the third paragraph about preparing the needles and making the tea. Her first topic sentence is “Pine needle tea has many nutritional benefits.” Her second topic sentence is “Gathering pine needles is easy, not to mention inexpensive.” Her third topic sentence is “Preparing the pine needles for tea takes about thirty minutes, but is well worth any time spent.”
Hannah looks back at her thesis and realizes she has forgotten to include supporting details for her idea that making the tea is safe. She rewrites the topic sentence for the second body paragraph as follows: “Pine needle tea is safe to drink as long as the preparer is knowledgeable about gathering the proper ingredients.”
Next, Hannah outlines how she will support each topic sentence. She adds expert information about the tea’s nutritional benefits to the outline for her first body paragraph. She adds a step by step explanation and description of pine needles as support for her second paragraph. For her third paragraph, Hannah adds a step by step explanation of how to prepare the pine needles and brew the tea.
Finally, Hannah drafts her essay, turning all of the support she jotted onto her outline into paragraphs. She adds transitional words and phrases between paragraphs. She adds attribution and citations for all of her expert testimony and nutritional information. Lastly, she adds a lead-in and a conclusion that summarizes her main points.
Hannah rereads her draft to look for opportunities for revision, and she realizes her second paragraph is weak. When it comes to safety, she thinks, none of her classmates are going to believe the tea is safe right away. She realizes she needs more expert testimony. She then adds additional expert testimony about the safety of the tea to the outline for her second paragraph, and then she adds the information to her essay with proper attribution and a citation.
While rereading her paper she also notices that the ending of her essay is abrupt and not very memorable. She revises her introduction and conclusion to make them more interesting so that they capture and keep a reader’s attention.
Once Hannah is happy with her revised essay, she proofreads it one last time to look for grammatical and mechanical (punctuation and capitalization) errors. She corrects the title of her paper for title case, corrects two sentence fragments, changes an instance of the second person “you” to the third person “people,” and changes the spelling of “they’re” to “their.” She formats her essay according to the MLA style guide provided by her university, and she turns in her paper.
Following the steps in the writing process can help ensure a writer completes an essay that has unity, coherence, and clarity. Each step, however, should not be thought of as a rung in a ladder that leads to a completed essay. Each step is actually a set of cycles, a cycle of reading, thinking, revising, and rethinking, that gets a writer from idea to exceptional essay.
Want to learn more about writing essays?
Try my complete online essay writing course on Udemy called "Quality Paragraph and Essay Writing." Use the coupon code link to sign up and get 50% off the regular price!
Want to learn more about the three qualities of writing? Try
Friday, October 11, 2013
Avoid Unintentional Plagiarism
Plagiarism is theft, whether intentional or not. Don't be a thief!
Don't be an intellectual thief: Cite your sources!
Plagiarism is intellectual theft, the act of taking someone else's words and ideas and passing them off as one's own. Plagiarism can be either intentional or unintentional. Unintentional plagiarism differs from intentional plagiarism in that the plagiarizer plagiarizes without knowing he or she has done it.
Whether a specific act of plagiarism is intentional or unintentional, however, is generally difficult to prove, and the punishment for academic dishonesty at a college or university will generally be severe. In the professional world, an employee or writer who plagiarizes could be fired or even sued.
So, how does a writer prevent unintentional plagiarism? A writer avoids unintentional plagiarism by taking careful notes from sources, using attributed source content only where necessary to support a main idea, and by carefully adhering to the required documentation style guide.
Avoid Plagiarism by Taking Careful Notes from Sources
"Taking careful notes from sources" means writing a full source description even before writing down your first summary, paraphrase, or quotation from the source. Jot down the author or authors, publication date, title, publication information, publisher information, editor information, page numbers, DOI number, call number, URL, and any other identifying information for that source. In addition to reminding you to check your source for authority and timeliness, writing down the source description information guarantees you will be able to cite your source both in the text of your paper and at the end of your paper in your bibliographic entries. If you need additional information, writing down a full description will allow you to find that source, again.
Furthermore, when you jot down supporting statements from a given source, be sure you can match that information with the source, not just the author, but the specific article and page or even the paragraph number. That guarantees you will be able to ethically cite the source in the text of the paper and attribute the words or ideas to the original author. Whether using a quotation, summarizing, or even paraphrasing someone else's words, those words or ideas must be cited. The rule is "If you can't remember where you found it, don't try to use it." Therefore, you should always make sure you can remember where you found something so that you can use it.
Avoid Plagiarism by Using Attributed Source Content Only Where Necessary to Support a Main Idea
When writing, you should use source content only when that source content supports one of your own main ideas. A paragraph in a literature paper, for example, that simply reports information about a poet seemingly has no purpose other than to fill space. The entire paragraph would be source content, and every sentence would need attribution and in-text citations.
On the other hand, a writer who starts with his or her own idea has a much easier time getting to the point, and a much easier time avoiding plagiarism. For example, a paragraph that begins with the original main idea that a poet lived a difficult life and therefore wrote difficult poetry might need only one or two pieces of source evidence that support the idea that the poet lived a difficult life. In the rest of the paragraph, the writer could point out the similarities between the poet's life and her poetry. Of course, if the entire idea came from someone else, passing this idea off as one's own would still constitute plagiarism. The writer has to ask himself or herself, "Did I know this or think this before I read it someplace else?"
As stated above, words and ideas that belong to someone else must be pointed out to the the reader of a paper when and where they occur, not just at the end of the paper on a bibliographic page. Let me say that, again: Within a paper, a writer must point out the specific words or ideas that came from someone else. Quotation marks and transitional words like "According to" and "So and So states" become exceptionally important, as do parenthetical citations. Those shortened citations will all match up to the longer bibliographic descriptions on the bibliographic page at the end of a paper.
Carefully Adhere to the Required Documentation Style Guide
Some common documentation styles include Turbian, American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), Chicago Style, and Associated Press (AP). Whenever a writer, whether a professional or student, creates a document that includes research, the writer will adhere to the guidelines set forth by the appropriate or assigned style guide in order to effectively and consistently cite sources. If you are unsure which documentation style to use, ask your professor or publisher.
An Example of How to Avoid Plagiarism
Take a look at the following process as an example of how to ethically cite your sources and avoid plagiarism:
1. Sarah decides to write a paper about the dangers of allowing pre-adolescent children to play "Grand Theft Auto V."
2. Sarah has seen the game and knows that it is violent. She jots down a topic sentence on her outline that states, "Parents should not allow pre-adolescent children to play 'Grand Theft Auto V' because exposure to this violent video game can cause children to behave more violently." In order to support her point she needs more scientific information about children's behavior after exposure to this type of content, so she does some research.
3. Sarah comes across a journal article that supports her hypothesis that when children play violent video games, they exhibit more violent behavior. She write down all of the information she can about this article.
Authors: Craig A. Anderson, Nobuko Ihori, Brad J. Bushman, Hannah R. Rothstein, Akiko Shibuya, Edward L. Swing, Akira Sakamoto, Muniba Saleem.
Date: 2010
Publisher: American Psychological Association, Published in Psychological Bulletin Vol. 136, No. 2, pgs. 151–173
DOI: 10.1037/a0018251
4. Sarah take a few notes from the article, and then she comes across the exact result she wants to use to support her topic sentence. She writes it down exactly as it is stated in the article, and she makes sure to place quotation marks around it and record the page number where it was found: "Regardless of research design or conservativeness of analysis, exposure to violent video games was significantly related to higher levels of aggressive behavior" (pg. 16).
5. She chooses to draft her paragraph as follows using the APA documention style because the paper is for her Introduction to Psychology class:
Parents should not allow pre-adolescent children to play "Grand Theft Auto V" because exposure to this violent video game can cause children to behave more aggressively. That the game contains violent content is undeniable. The game's rating makes it clear the game is only for mature players with its "M" for mature rating. Unfortunately, not all parents understand that exposure to this violence within the game can affect their children's behaviors. In a research study published in Psychological Bulletin in 2010, the researchers found that "Regardless of research design or conservativeness of analysis, exposure to violent video games was significantly related to higher levels of aggressive behavior" (Anderson et. al., p. 16). The suggestion that parents not allow children to play "Grand Theft Auto V" is not merely an opinion, but rather, this study's results show that the game can change children's behaviors.
6. At the end of the paper, Sarah creates an APA references page and includes the following complete documentation details for her source. The entry is formatted according to her school's APA style manual. Notice that the name she uses in her in-text citation matches the first name listed for the article.
The required elements for the references page includes the following: Authors (up to 6 & et. al.). (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, Vol(Issue), page number. doi:
Anderson, C. A., Ihori, N., Bushman, B. J., Rothstein, H. R., Shibuya, A., & Swing, E. L. et. al. 2010). Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in eastern and western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin 136 (2), 151-173. doi:10.1037/a0018251
The final references page entry looks like the following:
Sample APA References Entry for A Journal Article with Multiple Authors
No matter which style guide a student or professional writer uses, however, one thing remains the same: It is never ethical to take the words or ideas of another person and use them as though they were one's own. Plagiarism, whether on purpose or on accident, is theft, and it will be dealt with as such. Always be sure to take the proper precautions to be sure you aren't committing this dishonest act.
Want to learn more about writing essays?
Copyright Amy Lynn Hess. Please contact the writer for permission to reuse.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Using Anti-Plagiarism Software as an Assignment Requirement
When used properly, anti-plagiarism software can
be a useful tool for students and faculty.
When used properly, anti-plagiarism software can be an effective way to reinforce research and documentation skills.
The Higher Education Plagiarism Conundrum
In a 2011 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Toward a Rational Response to Plagiarism,” associate professor Rob Jenkins explains the higher education composition class conundrum. He writes of students that in grade school they learn to copy, summarize, and paraphrase. "Perhaps in high school," he continues, "they're exposed to concepts of research and documentation. But many students, when they arrive on our campuses, have not yet mastered those concepts or come to understand fully the difference between what they did in middle school and what we're asking them to do” (para. 10 – 11). Teaching students to copy, summarize, and paraphrase without proper documentation is a trend we have to address as educators, and we have to address it in a way that doesn’t turn us into Jeremy Bentham-esque or Orwellian “plagiarism police.”
There isn’t a whole lot we can do about intentional plagiarism, but for those students willing to learn, we can certainly help them learn to avoid unintentional plagiarism.
Responsible Remediation
To remediate missing skill sets, educators can lecture on the topic or use research and documentation bridging exercises and in-class demonstrations. Students can be taught to take proper notes and create annotated bibliographies, for example. Students can complete rough drafts and outlines in class. However, the best way to ensure educators responsibly remediate research and documentation skills outside the classroom is to put the onus of academic honesty on the students.
Just as Jenkins has stated, students rarely come into composition classrooms already fully aware of what constitutes plagiarism, let alone how to avoid it. Beyond lectures and explanations, students will need to look critically at their own writing in order to fully comprehend the breadth and scope of plagiarism and proper use of source content. Plagiarism isn’t just using quotations without citation, but how much source content is used, how it’s used, and how even ideas – not just words - that do not belong to the student writer must be cited both in the text of the paper and on a bibliographic page.
The Use of Anti-Plagiarism Software as an Assignment Requirement
Outside the classroom, students can continue to learn research and documentation skills by submitting their papers to anti-plagiarism software tools. This software, such as Turnitin, SafeAssign by Blackboard, or Grammarly, should be presented to the students for use as a tool to make their writing better, not a tool educators use to "catch them."
I, for one, am not willing to sit like The Elf on a Shelf in a plagiarism panopticon and watch in wait for my students to forget to include a citation. Furthermore, I do not want my students to feel as though the writing assignments I give them are traps I am using to ruin their academic careers.
When the use of such software is required, it’s essential that the students submit the papers themselves. They can then review their own reports and look closely to be sure they have used an appropriate amount of source content and cited it both in-text and on a bibliographic page. When repeated throughout a term or a semester, it then becomes part of the writing process, a skill in and of itself. Checking a paper for unintentional plagiarism becomes second nature. Faculty need only see the source content report when they deem it essential or when a paper is suspiciously outside a student’s writing ability. Otherwise, students take full responsibility for any mistakes and revise to make the paper better, more ethically sound, before anyone else reads the paper.
Anti-plagiarism software can be an extremely useful tool for both educators and students. They can help the teacher meet course goals and learning objectives for research and documentation. They can help students realize that checking papers carefully for plagiarism is part of the writing process. Most importantly, when presented properly, these tools remind the students that in the end, it is their responsibility to avoid plagiarism and to write their papers with academic honesty.
Jenkins, R. (2011). Toward a Rational Response to Plagiarism. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Toward-a-Rational-Response-to/128611/?sid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Part II: The Use of Narrative Assignments in Introductory Literature Courses
What do you do when no matter what else you have done, no one is doing what you want them to do? Well, the best thing to do is to try to do one more thing. I did that, and I can vouch for doing it.
As I stated in Part I: The Use of Narrative Assignments in Introductory Literature Courses, using a narrative, or chronological format, as the main assignment requirement in the study of literature has "saved" my classes and my sanity. As suggested by Sheridan Blau in his book The Literature Workshop: Teaching Texts and Their Readers, using the narrative essay assignment in lieu of the argumentative or expository essay assignment has given the students the chance to explore their own thinking and analytical processes, making the papers rich and exploratory. But, how do we get students to do it?
An Experiment in Reading a Short Story
The first step is to slowly introduce to the students the idea that there are things they need to do, actions they need to complete, in order to understand a poem or story better. Reading is a great start, but it isn't enough for deeper analysis. I emphasize that lesson many times throughout the course, integrating analytical actions into class time leading up to the narrative paper assignment: They must engage with active reading. The course becomes a lot less lecture and a lot more workshop.
For example, on the first day of class, I hand out a worksheet called "An Experiment in Reading a Short Story." When we begin the poetry unit, I hand out a worksheet called "An Experiment in Reading a Poem." The worksheets prompt the students to read a (very short) story or poem three times and complete different actions each time they read it. They are then given permission to discuss the work with one another, ask questions, and even complete research, given time.
At the end of the process, I ask the students for ideas about additional actions they could take to understand the story or poem better. If we complete the workshop early, we complete the actions they think would be appropriate to understanding, or I introduce preplanned activities.
Narrative Paragraphs
The second step is allow students the chance to practice explaining their actions in writing, actions they have decided to complete on their own. I set this up as a short writing assignment completed as homework so they can get the hang of reporting their step-by-step analytical reading processes. Their narrative paragraphs generally follow the format of the "An Experiment in Reading" worksheet. They write about each of their consecutive readings, in order. I ask them to write about what they did, what they learned by doing it, and how what they did and what they learned helped them understand something deeper about the story or poem. For my students, non-majors, it's more important that they can tell me what they did to understand the story better than it is for them to understand the "expert" take on the story. Many of the students, however, will use "complete literary research" as one of their actions, often including expert interpretation in their paragraphs without being asked to do so.
To help the students a bit, I also provide them with a list of action verbs based on actions we practice completing during workshop.
Narrative Essays
From narrative paragraphs we move on to the narrative essays. Writing the essay, working through the reading and writing processes, is a big "step three," but students, if steps one and two have been successful, can tackle this paper effectively.
Students complete a paragraph or two per reading of a story or poem, then create a narrative frame to add context to the essay. I ask them to weave a research question (based on a literary theory and prompted during the second read) into the introductory paragraph and answer the question in the conclusion of the paper. In this way they cannot possibly complete the essay until they have completed enough analysis to have worked themselves into answers to their research questions. The process requires them to think deductively and come to an interpretive conclusion by the end of the paper. Again, each paragraph must cover three things: what the student did to understand the story better, what he or she learned by completing the action, and how the action and what was learned helped the student understand the deeper meaning of the story better.
So, what do you do when no matter what else you have done, no one is doing what you want them to do? You focus on the doing, asking and answering again and again, "What did you do to understand the story or poem better."
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Happy St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick's feast day was placed on the universal liturgical calendar in the Catholic Church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding[2] in the early part of the 17th century, although the feast day was celebrated in the local Irish church from a much earlier date. St. Patrick's Day is a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland. The feast day usually falls during Lent; if it falls on a Friday of Lent (unless it is Good Friday), the obligation to abstain from eating meat can be lifted by the local bishop. The church calendar avoids the observance of saints' feasts during certain solemnities, moving the saint's day to a time outside those periods. St. Patricks Day is very occasionally affected by this requirement. Thus when March 17 falls during Holy Week, as in 1940 when St. Patrick's Day was observed on April 3 in order to avoid it coinciding with Palm Sunday, and again in 2008, having been observed on 15 March.[3][4]
The New York parade has become the largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the world. In a typical year, 150,000 marchers participate in it, including bands, firefighters, military and police groups, county associations, emigrant societies, and social and cultural clubs, and 2 million spectators line the streets.[7] The parade marches up 5th Avenue in Manhattan and is always led by the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment. New York politicians - or those running for office - are always found prominently marching in the parade. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch once proclaimed himself "Ed O'Koch" for the day, and he continues to don an Irish sweater and march every year up until 2003, even though he is no longer in office.
The parade is organized and run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians.[citation needed] For many years, the St. Patrick's Day Parade was the primary public function of the organization. On occasion the order has appointed controversial Irish republican figures (some of whom were barred from the U.S.) to be its Grand Marshal.[citation needed]
The New York parade is moved to the previous Saturday (16 March) in years where 17 March is a Sunday. The event also has been moved on the rare occasions when, due to Easter falling on a very early date, 17 March would land in Holy Week. This same scenario arose again in 2008, when Easter fell on March 23. The festivities went ahead on their normal date and had record viewers.[36] In many other American cities (such as San Francisco), the parade is always held on the Sunday before 17 March, regardless of the liturgical calendar.
Anonymous said...
Do you guineas really care about St. Patricks Day? Come on!!
Anonymous said...
This is why colleges have started banning Wikipedia as a reference tool!
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Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Of Takins and Penguins
By Esther Inglis-Arkell
Why This Strange-Looking Animal Has A Nose Like A Penguin's Foot
This weird-looking thing is a Sichuan takin. It’s what happens when you let a bunch of sheep loose on the mountain ranges of Tibet for a few thousand years. It has a huge schnoz for the same reason the penguin has a unique set of feet. Find out what these unique animals have in common.
A takin weighs over six hundred pounds and has horns like butcher’s hooks. It would probably be a lot scarier if its nose didn’t look like it was wearing a bigger, plusher version of itself as a nose-cozy. These animals have giant schnozes, and when scientists looked into the matter they found that the noses have something in common with an animal as unlike the takin as it is possible to be.
Penguins spend their days placing their bare feet directly on ice, without those feet freezing off.
Although there are fish that manufacture a kind of “anti-freeze” in their blood to keep from freezing solid, penguins don’t have the same internal chemistry. Instead both penguins and takins have internal plumbing. By constantly circulating blood through their feet, penguins can keep their feet a couple of degrees above freezing. The real problem is what happens when that blood comes back into the body.
Heating it up again will drain the penguin of energy, and fast. So before the penguin’s blood rushes from their feet back into their body, it passes very close by the network of other blood vessels going out into the feet. These outgoing vessels are full of warm blood which cools down, and transfers its heat to the incoming blood. The cooled blood keeps the feet just-barely-warm-enough, while the incoming blood is warmed enough to not slowly drain the penguin of both heat and energy.
The takin, meanwhile, is insulated with hooves and hair. It doesn’t really have to circulate much of its blood in an area that’s exposed to the cold. However, it is vulnerable to the cold in a different area – its lungs. Taking in huge lungfuls of oxygen-poor, freezing-cold air could drain the takin of its energy or its body heat, or both. When scientists looked inside the takin’s giant nose, guess what they found?
Again, there was a network of blood vessels. The blood in these vessels kept the takin’s nose at a tolerably warm temperature. More importantly, it heated the incoming lungfuls of air, keeping the takin as warm as possible.
These two animals have little else in common. Their closest tie is that they both live in a cold climate. But this one tie produced a remarkably similar system. Each animal cooled down its outgoing blood, and used it to warm up incoming blood or air. Each animal came up with, essentially, a heat-recycling system – an internal plumbing that keeps as much heat as possible circulating inside the body and exposes as little heat as possible to the outside environment.
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Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Group lists America's 10 most endangered rivers
By the CNN Wire Staff
June 2, 2010 7:17 a.m. EDT
The list and accompanying report from American Rivers highlights the threats facing each waterway and urges the public to act to protect them.
Topping the list is the Upper Delaware River, which divides northeast Pennsylvania from southeast New York state and provides drinking water for 17 million people across both states. Natural gas drilling in the area threatens the river as a clean water source, the group said.
Gas drilling is also threatening the Monongahela River in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia, the group said. The river, which is ninth on the list, provides drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people and is home to some of the East Coast's best fishing, whitewater boating, and wildlife, the group said.
Both the Upper Delaware and the Monongahela sit on an area called the Marcellus Shale, which lies beneath large parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia at a depth of 5-8,000 feet, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The shale is believed to hold trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. It has long been considered too expensive to access, according to the department, but recent technological advances and rising natural gas prices have rekindled an interest in drilling beneath the Marcellus Shale.
American Rivers says the natural gas extraction involves injecting chemicals into the ground, creating untreatable toxic wastewater. It urged the Delaware River Basin Commission not to issue new permits for gas drilling in the area until there can be a thorough study of its impacts, and it urged Congress to pass the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2009.
Along the Monongahela, American Rivers urged the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission and state authorities to prohibit pollution associated with the drilling.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says the wastewater from the drilling is treatable, and that disruption of water quality is "often rare and generally temporary."
Except when it's not... -Splashdown!
For more on America's most endangered rivers, CLICK HERE.
1 comment:
1. Words are so cheap, aren't they! A person (DEP, for example) in authority can stand before a microphone or sit in a chair on a TV set and answer questions from a so often clueless or worse, corporate influenced, interviewer and speak gobbleygook that sounds like legitimate knowledge and truth. We are conditioned from birth to accept what authority figures tell us. What is happening all around us in regard to gas drilling is causing many people, thank goodness, to question authority at last. But I would say that for every questioning person there must be thousands of non-thinkers. We read, we hear, over and over, even from (gasp!) NPR and CNN, that our water supply is not being seriously affected by gas drilling, inspite of countless examples of people who have been affected by water contamination due to gas wells- people who can't even brush their teeth with their own tap water or take a shower without opening a window for fear of methane explosion. We must all develop our thinking, suspicious capacities and use them every day!
Great blog, Splashdown! Keep up the good work!
Cattle Drinking Drilling Waste!
SkyTruth: Upper Green River Valley - A View From Above
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int vfprintf(
FILE * __stream,
const char * __fmt,
va_list __ap)
vfprintf is the central facility of the printf family of functions. It outputs values to stream under control of a format string passed in fmt. The actual values to print are passed as a variable argument list ap.
vfprintf returns the number of characters written to stream, or EOF in case of an error. Currently, this will only happen if stream has not been opened with write intent.
The format string is composed of zero or more directives: ordinary characters (not %), which are copied unchanged to the output stream; and conversion specifications, each of which results in fetching zero or more subsequent arguments. Each conversion specification is introduced by the % character. The arguments must properly correspond (after type promotion) with the conversion specifier. After the %, the following appear in sequence:
• Zero or more of the following flags:
• # The value should be converted to an "alternate form". For c, d, i, s, and u conversions, this option has no effect. For o conversions, the precision of the number is increased to force the first character of the output string to a zero (except if a zero value is printed with an explicit precision of zero). For x and X conversions, a non-zero result has the string `0x' (or `0X' for X conversions) prepended to it.
• 0 (zero) Zero padding. For all conversions, the converted value is padded on the left with zeros rather than blanks. If a precision is given with a numeric conversion (d, i, o, u, i, x, and X), the 0 flag is ignored.
• - A negative field width flag; the converted value is to be left adjusted on the field boundary. The converted value is padded on the right with blanks, rather than on the left with blanks or zeros. A - overrides a 0 if both are given.
• ' ' (space) A blank should be left before a positive number produced by a signed conversion (d, or i).
• + A sign must always be placed before a number produced by a signed conversion. A + overrides a space if both are used.
• An optional decimal digit string specifying a minimum field width. If the converted value has fewer characters than the field width, it will be padded with spaces on the left (or right, if the left-adjustment flag has been given) to fill out the field width.
• An optional precision, in the form of a period . followed by an optional digit string. If the digit string is omitted, the precision is taken as zero. This gives the minimum number of digits to appear for d, i, o, u, x, and X conversions, or the maximum number of characters to be printed from a string for s conversions.
• An optional l or h length modifier, that specifies that the argument for the d, i, o, u, x, or X conversion is a "long int" rather than int. The h is ignored, as "short int" is equivalent to int.
• A character that specifies the type of conversion to be applied.
The conversion specifiers and their meanings are:
• diouxX The int (or appropriate variant) argument is converted to signed decimal (d and i), unsigned octal (o), unsigned decimal (u), or unsigned hexadecimal (x and X) notation. The letters "abcdef" are used for x conversions; the letters "ABCDEF" are used for X conversions. The precision, if any, gives the minimum number of digits that must appear; if the converted value requires fewer digits, it is padded on the left with zeros.
• p The void * argument is taken as an unsigned integer, and converted similarly as a %#x command would do.
• c The int argument is converted to an "unsigned char", and the resulting character is written.
• s The "char *" argument is expected to be a pointer to an array of character type (pointer to a string). Characters from the array are written up to (but not including) a terminating NUL character; if a precision is specified, no more than the number specified are written. If a precision is given, no null character need be present; if the precision is not specified, or is greater than the size of the array, the array must contain a terminating NUL character.
• % A % is written. No argument is converted. The complete conversion specification is "%%".
• eE The double argument is rounded and converted in the format "[-]d.ddde±dd" where there is one digit before the decimal-point character and the number of digits after it is equal to the precision; if the precision is missing, it is taken as 6; if the precision is zero, no decimal-point character appears. An E conversion uses the letter 'E' (rather than 'e') to introduce the exponent. The exponent always contains two digits; if the value is zero, the exponent is 00.
• fF The double argument is rounded and converted to decimal notation in the format "[-]ddd.ddd", where the number of digits after the decimal-point character is equal to the precision specification. If the precision is missing, it is taken as 6; if the precision is explicitly zero, no decimal-point character appears. If a decimal point appears, at least one digit appears before it.
• gG The double argument is converted in style f or e (or F or E for G conversions). The precision specifies the number of significant digits. If the precision is missing, 6 digits are given; if the precision is zero, it is treated as 1. Style e is used if the exponent from its conversion is less than -4 or greater than or equal to the precision. Trailing zeros are removed from the fractional part of the result; a decimal point appears only if it is followed by at least one digit.
• S Similar to the s format, except the pointer is expected to point to a program-memory (ROM) string instead of a RAM string.
In no case does a non-existent or small field width cause truncation of a numeric field; if the result of a conversion is wider than the field width, the field is expanded to contain the conversion result.
Since the full implementation of all the mentioned features becomes fairly large, three different flavours of vfprintf() can be selected using linker options. The default vfprintf() implements all the mentioned functionality except floating point conversions. A minimized version of vfprintf() is available that only implements the very basic integer and string conversion facilities, but only the # additional option can be specified using conversion flags (these flags are parsed correctly from the format specification, but then simply ignored). This version can be requested using the following compiler options:
-Wl,-u,vfprintf -lprintf_min
If the full functionality including the floating point conversions is required, the following options should be used:
-Wl,-u,vfprintf -lprintf_flt -lm
• The specified width and precision can be at most 255.
• For floating-point conversions, if you link default or minimized version of vfprintf(), the symbol ? will be output and double argument will be skiped. So you output below will not be crashed. For default version the width field and the "pad to left" ( symbol minus ) option will work in this case.
• The hh length modifier is ignored (char argument is promouted to int). More exactly, this realization does not check the number of h symbols.
• But the ll length modifier will to abort the output, as this realization does not operate long long arguments.
• The variable width or precision field (an asterisk * symbol) is not realized and will to abort the output.
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List of bad carbs
Written by gregg miller | 13/05/2017
List of bad carbs
Everyone's favourite bad carb (a heap of potato crisps image by bluefern from
Carbohydrates come from a variety of foods, and some of these are so unhealthy that they should be excluded from the average diet. Many low-carbohydrate diets exist that extol the virtues of weight loss by avoiding bad carbs, and while these approaches can be very effective, the Department of Health and Human Services points out that carbohydrates are an essential nutritional component for healthy living. Understanding a little bit about how carbs work in the body can help you make better choices about what to eat and what to leave on the store shelves.
Simple Carbohydrates
List of bad carbs
Not every carb is bad. (rotini multicoloured pasta image by Scott Patterson from
There are two types of carbs. The complex variety provide long-term energy as they slowly break down in your system. They also include fibre which helps digestion while making you feel fuller after eating. On the other hand, simple carbohydrates provide a quick energy spike but then leave you tired and hungry. This actually prompts you to eat even more food. With these factors in mind, it is important to know how to meet your body's needs while still reaping the benefit of a low-carb lifestyle. The first step is to know how to identify those simple carbohydrates that are bad for you.
List of bad carbs
Never a good choice (sugar image by Randy McKown from
Most people realise that eating candy and other sweets is not good for you, but what they don't know is that carbohydrates themselves can be broken down into sugars. Stay away sugar itself in its natural forms--including brown and icing sugar. Soft drinks and candy are also foods that contain large amounts of sugar and should be avoided. Sweet syrups like corn and maple-flavoured syrup are loaded with bad carbohydrates.
Refined Foods
List of bad carbs
Whole wheat would be better choice. (Bagel image by Yvonne Bogdanski from
These are primarily refined grain products that quickly elevate the blood sugar but don't provide the long-term energy that complex carbohydrates do. Foods to avoid in this category include white bread, pasta (excluding whole wheat), bagels, pastries and cereals.
Vegetable Carbohydrates and Grains
List of bad carbs
The potato. Evil villain or innocent vegetable? (potato image by dinostock from
Most vegetables are essential elements of a healthy diet, but some do contain unwanted carbohydrates. Potatoes are notoriously bad, especially in the form of crisps and French fries. Other bad carbs in this category include white rice, sweet potatoes, corn, peas and beets.
List of bad carbs
Whole grain goodness (bread image by Simone van den Berg from
Potatoes deserve special mention because they are the one source of carbohydrates that everyone tries to avoid. They serve as a good example because two of the refined forms are very prevalent in our food culture--potato chips and French fries. The potato in its natural form is an innocuous vegetable with many redeeming nutritional qualities, but the more it is processed, the worse it becomes.
A rule of thumb when determining what a bad carbohydrate is: think about how far the product in your hand has come from its original form. Carbohydrates are an important ingredient in any healthy diet, and by avoiding heavily processed foods and sweets, you can have a good nutritious lifestyle and remain fit.
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Definition of Picture
1. Noun. A visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface. "A movie is a series of images projected so rapidly that the eye integrates them"
2. Verb. Imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind. "Did he picture his major works over a short period of time?"; "I can see a risk in this strategy"
3. Noun. Graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface. "His pictures hang in the Louvre"
4. Verb. Show in, or as in, a picture. "The face of the child is rendered with much tenderness in this painting"
Exact synonyms: Depict, Render, Show
Category relationships: Art, Artistic Creation, Artistic Production
Generic synonyms: Interpret, Represent
Specialized synonyms: Illustrate, Map
Derivative terms: Depicting, Depiction, Depictive, Picturing
5. Noun. A clear and telling mental image. "The events left a permanent impression in his mind"
Exact synonyms: Impression, Mental Picture
Generic synonyms: Image, Mental Image
6. Noun. A situation treated as an observable object. "The religious scene in England has changed in the last century"
Exact synonyms: Scene
Generic synonyms: Situation, State Of Affairs
7. Noun. Illustrations used to decorate or explain a text. "The dictionary had many pictures"
Exact synonyms: Pictorial Matter
Generic synonyms: Illustration
Derivative terms: Depict, Pictural
8. Noun. A form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement. "The film was shot on location"
9. Noun. The visible part of a television transmission. "They could still receive the sound but the picture was gone"
Exact synonyms: Video
Group relationships: Telecasting, Television, Tv, Video
Generic synonyms: Visual Communication
10. Noun. A graphic or vivid verbal description. "The pamphlet contained brief characterizations of famous Vermonters"
11. Noun. A typical example of some state or quality. "She was the picture of despair"
Generic synonyms: Exemplification, Typification
12. Noun. A representation of a person or scene in the form of a print or transparent slide; recorded by a camera on light-sensitive material.
Definition of Picture
1. n. The art of painting; representation by painting.
2. v. t. To draw or paint a resemblance of; to delineate; to represent; to form or present an ideal likeness of; to bring before the mind.
Definition of Picture
1. Noun. A representation of anything (as a person, a landscape, a building) upon canvas, paper, or other surface, by drawing, painting, printing, photography, etc. ¹
2. Noun. An image; a representation as in the imagination. ¹
3. Noun. A painting. ¹
4. Noun. A photograph. ¹
5. Noun. (informal) A motion picture. ¹
6. Noun. (dated informal) (qualifier "the pictures") Cinema (qualifier as a form of entertainment) ¹
7. Noun. A paragon, a perfect example or specimen (''of'' a category). ¹
8. Verb. (transitive) To represent in or with a picture. ¹
9. Verb. (transitive) To imagine or envision. ¹
10. Verb. (transitive) To depict. ¹
¹ Source:
Definition of Picture
1. to make a visual representation of [v -TURED, -TURING, -TURES]
Medical Definition of Picture
1. 1. The art of painting; representation by painting. "Any well-expressed image . . . Either in picture or sculpture." (Sir H. Wotton) 2. A representation of anything (as a person, a landscape, a building) upon canvas, paper, or other surface, produced by means of painting, drawing, engraving, photography, etc.; a representation in colours. By extension, a figure; a model. "Pictures and shapes are but secondary objects." (Bacon) "The young king's picture . . . In virgin wax." (Howell) 3. An image or resemblance; a representation, either to the eye or to the mind; that which, by its likeness, brings vividly to mind some other thing; as, a child is the picture of his father; the man is the picture of grief. "My eyes make pictures when they are shut." (Coleridge) Picture is often used adjectively, or in forming self-explaining compounds; as, picture book or picture-book, picture frame or picture-frame, picture seller or picture-seller, etc. Picture gallery, a gallery, or large apartment, devoted to the exhibition of pictures. Picture red, a rod of metal tube fixed to the walls of a room, from which pictures are hung. Picture writing. The art of recording events, or of expressing messages, by means of pictures representing the actions or circumstances in question. The record or message so represented; as, the picture writing of the American Indians. Synonym: Picture, Painting. Every kind of representation by drawing or painting is a picture, whether made with oil colours, water colours, pencil, crayons, or India ink; strictly, a painting is a picture made by means of coloured paints, usually applied moist with a brush. Origin: L. Pictura, fr. Pingere, pictum, to paint: cf. F. Peinture. See Paint. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Picture Pictures
Lexicographical Neighbors of Picture
picture (current term)
picture book
picture books
picture box
picture card
picture dictionaries
picture dictionary
picture element
picture frame
picture frame vertebra
picture framing
picture gallery
picture hat
Literary usage of Picture
"THE RIVER'S END MOTION picture Has fee %uie premier Never in all history has a picture been released under such auspicious circumstances. ..."
"See Building moving Moving picture acting \ I Scenario writing; a talk on the art of the movie-author. JE Brady. Woman's HC 44:21 Mr 47 Acting for the ..."
3. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1883)
"tion that a microscopic image is for many reasons not strictly a picture in his sense. The direction for generalization to such images is indicated but, ..."
4. A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (1905)
"IV picture-BOOKS IN WINTER S UMMER fading, winter comes — Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs, Window robins, winter rooks, And the picture story-books. ..."
Other Resources Relating to: Picture
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Garden Reuse-its: Frost
Saturday, 28 September 2013 00:00 Written by R.S.N.
Plastic is the bane of the environmentally conscious. Finding ways to save money is becoming a national sport. Combining the two with the ability to extend growing seasons is a recipe that can make almost anybody happy. One way to accomplish that is by combining reuse-it’s like soda bottles, old shirts, and Craigslist freebies to expand the growing season and protect vegetable gardens.
Soda bottles excel as mini greenhouses to counter cool spring temperatures and autumn frosts. Seeds and seedlings go out in garden beds and planters as normal. Bottles with the bottoms removed are placed over the plants neck-up, nestled just slightly into the ground or pressed in a couple of inches if wind is an issue. If manpower is available and inclined, the lids can stay on overnight and be removed in the morning. Otherwise, small holes can be punched or drilled around the middle of the bottle to allow for airflow.
With the bottles over the plants, not as much rain will get through. Also, baby plants may very well be shooting roots out to the sides near the surface. The most vital part of roots are on the extreme tips, so caution should be used in placing jugs. If plants are going out with the intention of extending the season with mini greenhouses for more than the first couple of weeks, consider “planting” a ring of cardboard, thick fold of paper, or even rings of other soda bottles right at the surface. Plants will be inclined to grow downward once they hit those and the soda bottle cloches can go outside the rings, eliminating the risk of root damage. Milk jugs can also work but due to the darker plastic, more light will be filtered out so they’re better for overnight.
The effectiveness of the mini greenhouses can be increased by reusing a few other items. Black plastic trash bags or garden liner, old ratty green military blankets, dark tarps that have been ripped, and any other dark material laid out beside and around the plants and jugs will absorb solar energy. They will help warm the soil faster and help hold heat through the first part of the night.
Heat sinks
Bottles filled with water will absorb the sun’s rays. Water’s properties means it will hold onto the heat it collects, releasing it slowly through the night. Painted a dark color they will absorb even more heat. If left clear, light will be able to pass through them. It’s most effective when water-filled bottles are under a cover with the plants – a white sheet or clear shower curtain propped up with dowels or even clear and white plastic trash bags with old wire hangers bent to prop them up off the plants. The outer shell helps insulate the plant and warmed bottle from the chillier outside temperatures. Any container can be used this way: milk jugs, cans, even old jars with chipped threads or rims. Just leave enough room for water expansion in the heat of the day and during hard freezes.
Row covers
Floating row covers have multiple uses. They can prevent cross pollination if trying to avoid hybridization and they can limit insect infestations. The same can help protect delicate flowers from heavy storms if plants are small enough. Tents can be constructed over plants to avoid setting back harvests because fruit hasn’t yet set as well.
One of the greatest benefits of row covers is frost protection. Clear painting drop cloths, white sheets, transparent one-use ponchos with a hole that was repaired, white trash bags, old curtains, and even discarded mesh from storm doors and windows can be used to create a row cover. Plastics create the most effective mini greenhouses. All of them can be propped up with any spare lumber, old baseball bats, spare tool handles, faulty umbrella handles, or canes from around the house, plus antennas and chunks of automotive parts from the local junkyard. Pallets collected from Craigslist and pruned tree limbs can also be hacked apart and used as framework and supports.
They are made even more effective against frost protection by using them with bottles of water that have been sitting in the sun. Bottles also mean pinning isn’t absolutely necessary for the row covers – the bottles sit on the edges during the day, then are tucked inside under the edges in the evening. Moving the bottles isn’t necessary for clear plastics, but true cloth row covers will limit the amount of sunlight that reaches those bottles even though they don’t overly bother the plants’ abilities to photosynthesize.
White shirts and pillowcases can also be used in conjunction with black-painted bottles, with the heat sink placed near the stem and roots of the plants, some sticks, dowels, stakes, or bent wire hangers used as supports, and the cloth draped over them.
Cold frames
Jugs, bottles or jars can be used to turn any section of yard or raised bed into a cold frame. Clear or pale green bottles are most effective because they allow light to penetrate through the sides. A mix of bottles where every-third or every-fifth bottle is painted a dark color or covered with dark material will increase the amount of heat absorbed through the day while leaving areas for light at low angles to penetrate and give young plants a boost. Thick layers of mulch can also help insulate the ground and roots from light freezes, but bottles have to be placed so at least half of them stays exposed to absorb solar energy.
If one side of the frame is somewhere it wouldn’t block much light, anyway, such as near a building or under a shrub, darker bottles can line that side, absorbing light from the other side and heating the water inside the bottles more, which provides more warmth to disburse later.
Tall juice jugs and 2-liter soda bottles tend to be most effective because they’re taller. They trap more air inside and can be used longer and for more plants as seedlings grow, and are tall enough to keep lettuces and small cabbages going throughout winter in some of the milder regions of the country.
The frames are easy to construct. Select a section of yard or garden bed, fill jugs with water, and “plant” them neck-down to form a level wall. The bottles will need to stick up at least six or eight inches for most seedlings. Small spaces – three and four-foot squares or 2x6-foot rectangles – tend to be easier to work with. Once the bottles are level, the cold frame cover is constructed.
For ease of managing plants and watering, it should be maneuverable. Dowels, yard sticks, or pruned tree limbs can be tied or screwed into a square with an X cross section, then covered with an old, translucent shower curtain (try to avoid blue and red because they’ll reflect away more of the light wavelengths that plants make the most use of; green is fine as long as some light will pass through).
Clear plastic or re-purposed glass or windows are most effective, but floating row covers are regularly used to extend growing seasons and are lightweight, puckered cloth. It’s most important that plant leaves not touch the cloth, because they’ll be exposed to frosts and also susceptible to water damage. Once the top is constructed, it can be laid so it sits on the soda bottle “ledge” that was formed, then braced down with a couple of bricks, another few water-filled soda bottles, or simply tied in place.
Plants under cold frames constructed of plastic won’t be getting much water and plants under row covers aren’t available for pollination, so they’ll require checking on.
Non-bottle material sources
Shower curtains, painter’s drop cloths, and other material can be found at low or no cost at websites like Freeecycle and Craigslist, and at Goodwill or Salvation Army. If there is a sorting depot nearby, stop in and introduce yourself. Most thrift stores poke through donations and discard items that are in poor condition, so white dress shirts with stains on the collars and sleeves, white sheets and white pillow cases with holes, and mildew shower curtains may be available for free. If they have your name and number, most would be willing to pass them along since they would just be discarded, but it takes some regular checking and friendliness to make the contacts.
Thrift stores, flea markets, and websites like Craigslist or trader sites can also be good places to score aquariums that can be hacked apart for cold frame panels, cribs and playpens that can have the bottoms removed and be flipped over as framing, and for old shelving that can also be used in constructing the cold frame cover.
Local window repair shops will either have or know where chipped, cracked and imperfect pieces of glass can be obtained, usually for less than purchasing them new. Also stay aware of the neighborhood and rehabilitation of downtown homes. Renovations commonly mean newer, more efficient windows, which means somebody is getting rid of the old ones. Sliding glass doors and storm doors can also make good cold frames – and be stacked up to eventually build a “real” greenhouse. Construction and renovation companies can also be good sources for clear plastic and white drop cloths and painting drapes.
Plastic bottles in the garden and elsewhere
Soda bottles are pretty useful, sadly. Since they’re safe for storing grains and beans in reasonable portion sizes, diverting them to the garden may not be a top priority. Tall, clear plastic bottles are best for the cold frames, but milk jugs will also work. Some light will penetrate the slightly transparent versions. The opaque jugs will block more light at the low angles the sun travels in winter, leaving the frame only receiving strong light in the midday hours. Tall “Arizona Tea” type jugs can also work.
Water bottles with short caps that aren’t appropriate for food storage can be used as heat sinks around plants, but will work best if set up in trios and foursomes – the skinny bottles will lose heat faster and be less effective than larger bottles, something that holds true for peanut butter jars and jelly jars as well. Water from the bottles that were used as heat sinks can be doled out to the garden during warmer, dryer seasons, but water from milk jugs should not be consumed by humans or animals because of leeching potential.
Garden Reuse-It’s
As we all try to be a little more self-sufficient, growing becomes a major focus. We can grow more by extending our growing seasons a little. Reusing items that would otherwise be thrown away can be a great way to accomplish that goal without also extending the costs of preparedness. We just have to look at things in a new light.
The PL forum has an entire topic thread on re-purposing items. “Reusing things for prepping” can be found under the “General Preparedness Discussion” category. Additional garden tips are available there, as well as other ways to make use of everyday household goods and “trash” in new and creative ways. Pop over to share in the collective knowledge and share your own tips.
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Anorexia Nervosa
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• Download(s) : 223
• Published : April 10, 2011
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Title : Anorexia Nervosa
Specific Purpose : To inform my audience about anorexia nervosa and its impact of having it. Central Idea : To inform my audience about anorexia nervosa and the effects of having it. Introduction:
i. Introduction of anorexia nervosa
ii. The symptoms of anorexia nervosa
iii. The effects of having anorexia nervosa
(Transition: Now, let’s start with the introduction of anorexia.) Body:
i. Introduction of anorexia
A. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that causes people to intentionally starve themselves or severely restrict their food intake.
B. Anorexia usually occurs at the time of puberty and involves extreme weight loss.
C. People who have this disorder have a fear of becoming overweight even though they are 15% below the average weight. (Transition: After knowing the introduction of anorexia, let’s move on to the symptoms of anorexia.) ii. The symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa
A. Being secretive around food and not seeing or wanting to talk about having a problem with eating or weight loss.
C. Restricting food or types of food, such as food that contains any kind of fat or sugar. (Transition: After knowing the symptoms of anorexia, let’s discover more about the effects of having anorexia.) iii. The effects of having anorexia
A. People suffering from this disease, after an extended period of time, suffer from an abnormally slow heart rate and very low blood pressure. This causes the heart muscle itself to change. The chance of heart failure rises as heart rate and blood pressure decrease.
B. Because of the lack of calcium in a person's diet, since they are not getting enough food in general, there is a great risk of reduced bone density, which is known as osteoporosis. This results in very dry and brittle bones which makes...
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• Topic: Reiki, Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata
• Pages : 4 (1297 words )
• Download(s) : 263
• Published : March 23, 2006
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What is the history of Reiki?
Reiki's tradition and history is oral and generally passed from Reiki Master to student during training. Some of the writings tell the story of how Dr. Mikao Usui, a Japanese Christian educator, discovered the ancient healing art in Japan in the late 1800's. His revelations paved the way for its emergence in the United States and the rest of the world. There are stories about the life and work of Dr. Usui or "sensei"(teacher) as he is affectionately called. Recommended readings for the history of Reiki include: "Reiki Fire" by Frank Arjava Petter and "Reiki, The Healing Touch" by William Rand. Based on ancient Buddhist and Hindu teachings, Dr. Usui evolved a system of healing through study, research, and meditation. He practiced and taught this method of natural healing using the laying on of hands. In the traditional Reiki lineage, he trained Chujiro Hayashi to continue his work after his death. Dr. Hayashi then opened a clinic and school in Tokyo where he trained his successor, Mrs. Hawayo Takata, who brought Reiki to the mainland of the U.S. Between 1945 and 1970, she was the only living Reiki Master in the world. Between 1970 and 1980, she trained twenty-one Reiki Masters. Mrs. Takata's granddaughter, Phyllis Lei Furumoto, is the currently the Grand Master of the Usui System of Natural Healing (Usui Shiki Ryoho).
What can Reiki treat?
Reiki is a particularly gentle technique because it is non-invasive and non-manipulative. Treatments can be used to facilitate physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. Treatments can be done on oneself, others, animals, plants, etc. Reiki treatments can be used for nearly all conditions, with little or no side effects (some clients may experience light-headedness, sinus drainage, increased gastrointestinal activity, etc.) Reiki treatments usually take an hour to an hour and one-half, but short treatments can also be effective. Sometimes they are given on a table (such as a...
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When the push comes to the shove, what kind of constipation would you prefer?
Beware false friends. These are words that look very similar in two different languages but have different meanings.
When a Portuguese friend of mine first arrived in Australia she had absolutely no knowledge of English (and even now she cannot distinguish between “shits“, “shirts” and “sheets“), she was feeling ill so she went to a doctor complaining of “constipacão“. She was very happy to be given medication for this, but could not understand why for the next few days she did not get better – and she kept having to run to the loo.
What went wrong? Well, while “constipacão” does indeed mean “constipated” in Portuguese as in English, it has another meaning in popular usage in Portuguese, hence the false friend:
• constipacão a common cold
• pegar uma constipacãoto catch a cold
• constipado 1. constipated; 2. suffering from a cold
• constipar1. to constipate, cause a constipation; 2. to catch a cold.
My friend had the flu, and she had been given laxatives.
cold-156666_1280If in doubt, a safer word to use in Portuguese for a cold is resfriado (related to frio, which means cold in temperature, and resfriar, to cool again)
• peguei um resfriado I caught a cold
• ele está resfriado – he has a cold
Resfriado can also mean chilled, iced or frozen, while resfriamento is the act or process of cooling: hence coluna de resfriamento, a cooling tower.
I suppose in a future post I will have to study constipation in the other Romance languages.
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Symbiosis International University Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts
Postmodernism: Literature and Philosophy
What is postmodernism? Can postmodernism be described as a consistent philosophical position? How does the question of postmodernism relate to other significant questions of contemporary intellectual life? Can the human subject master its own destiny? Can meaningful claims to truth still be made? What is the relationship between subjectivity, sexuality, discipline and power? Is there a possibility of ethics in our "postmodern" condition? And finally what are the implications of postmodernism for interaction among different cultures, specifically interaction between Western culture and its others? The aim of this course is to understand the significance and the origins of these questions. We will also investigate the relationship of postmodernism to feminism and postcolonial theory. The initial focus of the course will be to survey the philosophical origins of 20th Century intellectual movements. In this context, we will read the works of some postmodern thinkers Jean-François Lyotard, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari and Kafka. We will then investigate the relationship between postmodernism and knowledge particularly in philosophy of science. Finally, we will move to the question of the relationship between postmodernism and feminism and read the works of Seyla Benhabib, Judith Butler, and Sandra Harding.
Course Objectives
• To familiarize the students of the general traits of postmodernism as a contemporary movement in literature, philosophy, anthropology and politics.
• To respond to the challenge and possibilities posed by postmodernism
• To understand modernity and its relation to postmodernism
• To acquaint oneself with some of the prominent thinkers of postmodernism
Course Outline
S. No. Topic Hours
1. Course Introduction
Background and context of 20th Century Continental philosophy: Phenomenology, Existentialism, Hermeneutics, Psychoanalysis, Structuralism, and Critical Theory/Marxism
8 hrs
2. Postmodernism in Literature
Jorge Luis Borges
“The Library of Babel”
“On Exactitude in Science”
“Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote”
3. Postmodernism in Philosophy
Jürgen Habermas
“Modernity—An Incomplete Project” (P 3-15)
Jean-François Lyotard
The Postmodern Condition“Answering the Question: What Is Postmodernism?” (P 71-82)
David Harvey
The Condition of Postmodernity“Modernity and Modernism” (P 10-38) “Postmodernism” (P 39-65)
4. Major postmodern voices
Jacques Derrida
Of Grammatology“…That Dangerous Supplement” (P 141-164) Writing and Difference “Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences” (P 278-293)
Michel Foucault
The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences“The Human Sciences” (P 344-387)
The History of Sexuality, Volume 1“Right of Death and Power Over Life” (P 135-159)
Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari
A Thousand Plateaus“1933: Micropolitics and Segmentarity” (P 208-231)
Toward a Minor Literature“What Is a Minor Literature?” (P 16-27) What Is Philosophy? “What Is a Concept?” (P 15-34)
5. Knowledge in/of the world: Postmodern applications
Paul Feyerabend
Against Method“Introduction” (P 1-32)
6. Feminism
Seyla Benhabib
Feminist Contentions: A Philosophical Exchange“Feminism and Postmodernism: An Uneasy Alliance” (P 17-34)
Judith Butler
Feminist Contentions: A Philosophical Exchange“Contingent Foundations: Feminism and the Question of ‘Postmodernism” (P 35-58)
Sandra Harding
Feminism/Postmodernism“Feminism, Science, and the Anti-Enlightenment Critiques (P 83-101)
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Science Project:
Growing Bacteria
4.0 based on 59 ratings
• What are bacteria?What is mold?What is fungus?
• How do bacteria reproduce?How do molds reproduce?
• How successful was your sterile technique?Did anything grow out in dish #2?If your sterile technique was perfect, you should see nothing growing in this dish.
• How does the control compare to the dish that was exposed to the air?What does this say about the air quality in your kitchen?
• How do your other dishes compare with one another?
Although they are too small to see, bacteria and mold spores fill the air and come to rest on most surfaces.Although some bacteria and molds cause disease, most organisms you encounter every day are generally harmless unless conditions favor their growth. When you see adults cleaning surfaces in the kitchen that appear to be perfectly clean, the adults are really making sure that there are no bacteria, mold spores or crumbs that could feed these organisms.
This experiment is similar to others often performed using Petri dishes.However, this experiment provides you with the opportunity to practice sterile technique.Surgeons and scientists who do tissue culture practice sterile technique because the introduction of molds or bacteria could hurt the patient or destroy the culture that the scientist is growing.
Bacteria are simple one-celled organisms that reproduce by dividing into two. Molds are similar to bacteria, but they reproduce by generating seed-like spores.One common mold is Mucor mucedo.
• One can of condensed tomato soup
• Six small custard cups, ramekins or desert dishes.Any dish will do as long as it has a small top no more that 3-4 inches in diameter.
• Saran Wrap
• Six rubber bands
• Kitchen tongs
• One small saucepan, one large saucepan and one large frying pan that you can boil water in
• Camera
1. Fill the large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.Place the custard cups and tongs into the boiling water.Simmer for twenty minutes.
2. Open the can of tomato soup and pour it into the small sauce pan. Add ½ can water and stir.Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer very gently for 20 minutes.
3. While the tomato soup is simmering, fill the large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.Place the custard cups, tablespoon, and tongs into the boiling water.Simmer for twenty minutes.
4. Fill the frying pan with water and bring to a boil.Reduce the temperature so that it is simmering gently.
5. Cut six squares of Saran Wrap big enough to fit into the frying pan.Be careful not to get the Saran wrap tangled on it.Gently drop the full sheet you cut into the simmering water.It will immediately shrink.Add all squares to the water.You may have to cut additional squares to use in case the Saran Wrap gets tangled.
6. Make sure that you have a tray next to the stove that has adequate room for all six of the custard cups. Write “Dish #1,” “Dish #2,” “Dish #3,” “Dish #4,” “Dish #5” and “Dish #6” on six 3 x 5 cards.Set the cards down individually with the writing facing up.
7. Remove the tongs from the boiling water by hooking the handle of a spoon or fork through the handle of the tongs.Carefully rest the tongs so that they are lying flat across a clean glass.Do not let the tongs touch the table or anything else.Do not touch any part of the tongs except for the handle.The object of this step is to keep the tongs sterile until they cool enough for you to handle comfortably.
8. Once the tongs have cooled, use them to remove the tablespoon from the water.Place the tablespoon across the glad just as you did in step 7.The object here is to keep the spoon sterile while it cools enough for you to comfortably use.
9. Using your sterile tongs, carefully remove one custard cup from the boiling water and set it on the tray.Using your sterile tablespoon, add two tablespoons of soup to the dish.When you set down your tablespoon or tongs, be sure to set them down across the glass to minimize contamination.
10. Using your tongs, remove one square of Saran Wrap from the water and place it across the desert cup you prepared in step 9.Set down your tongs across the glass.Secure the Saran Wrap in place using a rubber band.This is dish #1.
11. Remove a second custard cup from the water and add soup just as you did in step #9.Wait 30 minutes before covering the dish with Saran Wrap just as you did to dish #1 in step 10.This is dish #2.
12. Remove a third custard cup from the water and add soup just as you did in step #9.Since you have very clean hands, get a brother, sister, parent or friend to stick a dirty finger across the tomato soup.Immediately cover the dish with Saran Wrap and secure with a rubber band just as you did in step 10. This is dish #3.
13. Repeat step 9 with dishes #5 and #6.For dish # 5, run a finger across the kitchen floor before introducing it to the tomato soup. Immediately cover dish #5, just as you did in step 10. For dish #6, sprinkle a few break crumbs across the tomato soup and cover promptly.
14. Create a table with seven columns so that you have one column for the date and one for each of your six dishes. In the far left column, you will enter the time and date.Write down your observations for each dish. Continue making observations twice a day for a week.
Terms/Concepts: Bacteria; Microbiology; Bacterial growth; Sterile technique; Bacterial reproduction; Mold spores; Mucor mucedo
• Oetting, Judy and Tad Herr. Germs (Rookie Readers) Children’s Press (2007)
• Cole,Joanna, Jon Speirs, and Bruce Degan. The Magic School Bus Inside Ralphie:A Book About Germs. Scholastic Paperbacks, 1995
• DiConsiglio, John. There’s a Fungus Among Us:True Stories of Killer Molds. Children’s Press (2007).
• Viegas, Jennifer. Fungi and Molds (Germs! the Library of Disease-Causing Organisms). Rosen Publishing Group (2004)
Author: Cy Ashley Webb
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Cooling with waste heat
03 April 2011
Posted by Chris Smith.
Even in the UK air conditioning is becoming more and more popular, and in parts of the world with a less temperate climate it is a huge use of energy, along with other forms of cooling for fridges and server farms adds up to a huge amount of power use. At the same time a large amount of potential work is wasted from low grade heat from industrial processes, and for that matter the sun is being wasted.
Series of air conditioners at UNC-CH.One way of taking advantage of this is an adsorption chiller. These work by having 2 chambers covered with silica gel which attracts water molecules onto its surface a bit like a sponge, so dries out the air. One of these is opened to whatever you want to cool which is covered with water. The water evaporates in one place cooling it, and then condenses on the silica gel allowing more water to evaporate. Eventually the gel becomes saturated, at which point you use the other chamber to adsorb the water. Meanwhile the original chamber is heater to 70-80°C drying it out, and the water is recondensed on a cooler surface and recycled.
These can cool water or air down to about 4°C using a tiny fraction of the electricity of a conventional cooler, but they are normally at least 4-5 time larger so are often impractical or uneconomic to use widely.
Peter McGrail and his team are working on replacing the critical silica gel, they are constructing materials made up of metals in organic molecules which can be engineered to self assemble into very open structures with a huge surface area, should mean that the material can absorb 3-4 times more water than the silica gel weight for weight. Plus the strength of the water molecule binding to t the surface can be tuned. Allowing them to optimise this to the temperature of the waste heat you are using and how cold you want to cool to making the process much more efficient.
This opens up the possibility of cooling computer server farms with waste heat from a power station, or even having air conditioning powered by the heat of the sun.
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TOEFL : Theme
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for TOEFL
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Example Questions
Example Question #13 : Content Comprehension
The key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and defying though he look, he has a helm which he obeys, which is the idea after which all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own. The life of man is a self-evolving circle, which, from a ring imperceptibly small, rushes on all sides outwards to new and larger circles, and that without end. The extent to which this generation of circles, wheel without wheel, will go, depends on the force or truth of the individual soul. For it is the inert effort of each thought, having formed itself into a circular wave of circumstance, ó as, for instance, an empire, rules of an art, a local usage, a religious rite, ó to heap itself on that ridge, and to solidify and hem in the life. But if the soul is quick and strong, it bursts over that boundary on all sides, and expands another orbit on the great deep, which also runs up into a high wave, with attempt again to stop and to bind. But the heart refuses to be imprisoned; in its first and narrowest pulses, it already tends outward with a vast force, and to immense and innumerable expansions.
Passage adapted from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essay X: Circles (1841)
What is the main idea of the first two paragraphs in the excerpt above?
Possible Answers:
We should not strive to be remembered since most likely we will be forgotten in time anyways
We know knowing about reality as such
Everything changes and is in flux
Mankind alone is permanent
Our heart is stronger than our mind
Correct answer:
Everything changes and is in flux
The correct answer is "Everything changes and is in flux." Emerson himself says "Every thing is medial."
"Mankind alone is permanent" INCORRECT: man, who built the large, granite towers passed sooner than his work.
"We should not strive to be remembered since most likely we will be forgotten in time anyways." INCORRECT: Emerson is not writing about what should happen, but only what actually is happening.
"Our heart is stronger than our mind." INCORRECT: Emerson does not discuss the heart until the third paragraph; this answer is both incorrect and out of scope.
"We know knowing about reality as such." INCORRECT: This is the second-best answer and is tempting since the "old gives way to the new." However, Emerson's larger point is that everything changes, and not that our knowledge of the world is tainted because of that.
Example Question #1 : Theme
Adapted from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
The bolded passage above is an example of ______________.
Possible Answers:
A simile for the narrator's desire to investigate the mysteries of the natural world
A metaphor for the narrator's painful life experiences occurring in adulthood
A metaphor relating the narrator's memory to a flowing mountain river
A theme representing the harmony between man and nature
A symbol of the narrator's idyllic childhood
Correct answer:
In this passage, the narrator compares the forming of his passion for discovering "secrets of heaven and earth" to the flow of a mountain river. Because the comparison uses "like," it is considered a simile.
Example Question #15 : Content Comprehension
Excerpt from the London Morning Advertiser, October 24 1851
We can infer that the reviewer form the London Morning Advertiser views Herman Melville's book as
Possible Answers:
A masterpiece of fiction
Well intentioned, but not executed very well.
Philosophical, but not very interesting.
Interesting, but not very philosophical.
Decent, but nothing special.
Correct answer:
A masterpiece of fiction
The reviewer sees Moby Dick as having a style that is "always good," and it combines this with philosophical musings.
Example Question #16 : Content Comprehension
The narrative is constructed in Herman Melville's best manner. It combines the various features which form the chief attractions of his style, and is commendably free from the faults which we have before had occasion to specify in this powerful writer. The intensity of the plot is happily relieved by minute descriptions of the most homely processes of the whale fishery. We have occasional touches of the subtle mysticism, which is carried to such an inconvenient excess in Mardi, but it is here mixed up with so many tangible and odorous realities, that we always safely alight from the excursion through mid-air upon the solid deck of the whaler....
... We part with the adventurous philosophical Ishmael, truly thankful that the whale did not get his head, for which we are indebted for this wildly imaginative and truly thrilling story. We think it the best production which has yet come from that seething brain, and in spite of its lawless flights, which put all regular criticism at defiance, it gives us a higher opinion of the author's originality and power than even the favorite and fragrant first-fruits of his genius, the never-to-be-forgotten Typee.
--Horace Greeley, quoted in New York Tribune, November 22 1851
What does Horace Greeley mean by odorous?
Possible Answers:
Well-meaning but not particularly interesting
Factual and data-driven
Worthy of adulation
Having a bad smell
Deeply mystical
Correct answer:
Having a bad smell
The tangible realities are those that belong to the whale industry. The whale industry's realities are those that are negative. The only answer that fits is that which smells bad. Incidentally, this is the primary meaning of odorous.
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ZocdocAnswersDoes Lupus Erythematosus target one part of the body?
Does Lupus Erythematosus target one part of the body?
I am a 22 year old female who was diagnosed with lupus. Right now my arms hurt a lot but will my legs hurt in the future?
The full name for lupus erythematosus is actually systemic lupus erythematosus meaning that the the disease by its very nature affects more than one area of the body i. e. it is systemic. In fact, part of the usual diagnostic criteria are that multiple sights are affected. So not only can multiple muscle sites be affected such as the arms and legs, but frequently the skin, kidneys, heart, nervous system, GI tract and the blood. The overall course of the disease is usually determined by the extent of kidney involvement, with worsening renal functioning portending a worse prognosis. Depending on how severe your disease you may experience involvement of many organ systems may become involved over the course of your life. Despite, this not everyone has involvement of all the organ systems listed above. About 4 out 5 people will have involvement of the skin with slightly more having muscle involvement as you do. The same amount typically have kidney involvement, and a much smaller percentage, 1 out of 3 have GI involvement. Finally, half will have involvement of the nervous system. To prevent these complications it is important to be under the medical care of a physician trained to treat lupus. A rheumatologist can discuss the best ways to treat your symptoms and answer more of your questions. Good luck!
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Revolutionary Revelations and That's No Lie
In words befitting George Washington's birthday today, Jack D. Warren cannot tell a lie.
So, being the Honest Abe that he is, Warren, a Washington expert at the University of Virginia's The Papers of George Washington project, is 'fessing up about the most famous line uttered 250 years ago by George himself: "I cannot tell a lie."
Never happened.
Warren, 33, an assistant editor for The Papers project, knows just about everything regarding Washington; the project has published 31 volumes of Washington documents and an additional 54 are planned. "Washington is kind of a mythic figure, but the real Washington," Warren says, "is just as fully interesting as the myths about him."
And, by George, Warren is out to bust a few myths, sleuth the truth and fill in folks on things we never knew about the Big Daddy of our nation.
So, if you're ready to gorge on George, read on. But first, dig out the gent on the greenback and have it handy as a visual aid. (Hint: It'll be something you can sink your teeth into--wooden, you know.) Now, to the skinny:
* George was a tightwad. You know the story about him flinging a silver dollar across the Rappahannock River? Not. Washington was never one to throw away money. In fact, he often whined about low wages throughout his military career, saying he served "for the shadow of pay."
* Washington was stern and forbidding, known for sometimes being a pain in the neck. His legendary temper led to Alexander Hamilton resigning as Washington's most trusted military aide because Hamilton was chided by his boss for being 10 minutes late for a meeting.
* The father of the father of our country was Augustine Washington, a tobacco planter who "was a man on the make, looking to get ahead with real estate deals," Warren says.
* George's mother, Mary Ball Washington, was widowed when George was 11. She never remarried and as a single-parent mom raised five kids on her own--something uncommon during that era. Mary, who died in 1789 of breast cancer--the year her son became president--was known for being a "stubborn, complaining, determined, tough old mother." Says Warren: "George couldn't do enough to please Mary as far as Mary was concerned. There was not a great deal of love lost" between the two.
* Washington never chopped down his father's cherry tree.
* Washington never prayed on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge, one of several stories fabricated by Mason Locke Weems, a contemporary and biographer of Washington's who fibbed about George to inspire young people.
* He had few friends. "Washington didn't know Jefferson very well," Warren says. "Washington and Adams, his vice president, had no contact at all during the Revolution. Washington's personal friends were mostly people in the neighborhood in Northern Virginia where he lived."
* James Craik, Washington's personal physician, was George's best friend. The two served in the French and Indian War and were constant companions during the Revolution. Craik named one of his sons George Washington Craik.
* The Marquis de Lafayette (born Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier), a French nobleman who served in the Continental Army in the Revolution, "became like a son to Washington" and once smuggled a Spanish jackass--as a gift for George--out of Spain. Unfortunately, the ship sank before it reached the Colonies. (Lafayette later named his son George Washington Lafayette.)
* Washington was "the strong, silent type," Warren says. "He wasn't a talker because he was self-conscious about not being particularly well educated. He couldn't read French or Spanish. He went nowhere, college-wise"--unlike Jefferson, who attended William and Mary; John Adams, Harvard; and James Madison, Princeton.
* Washington was a towering hunk of a man at 6 feet, 2 inches at a time when the average height for a man was 5 feet, 4 inches.
* He was a graceful dancer, an important attribute for a gentleman.
* In spite of his big nose and a face scarred from smallpox, Washington was considered quite attractive and even caught the eye of Abigail Adams upon noticing him for the first time in 1775 when George was a delegate to the Continental Congress. "It was definitely his carriage," Warren says about Washington's appeal. "He occupied his height. When he walked into a room, he didn't have to say 'I'm here.' He arrived."
* Most people referred to him as "The General."
* In letters, he referred to his wife, Martha, as "Patcy."
* Martha burned all of George's letters, a fairly common thing for the wives of public men to do, which "doesn't mean Martha was covering up any kind of scandal," Warren says. Besides, Washington "was much too conscious of his reputation."
Los Angeles Times Articles
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Recommended locations
Location location location…
Hydraulic ram pumps use the water hammer effect to take a larger flow of low pressure water and convert it to a smaller flow with higher pressure, in order to accomplish this the water source must be flowing or at least be able to flow for example hydraulic ram pumps are not compatible for use in a water well because the water is stationary.
Suitable locations for a ram pump
In almost every other situation a hydraulic ram pump will function, streams, rivers, and even lakes if located near a hill top or valley are well suited for ram pump use. The idea is to funnel the flow of water through the water pump, the faster the flow and the higher the source the Farther and higher your ram pump will be able to move water. Generally four feet of fall is the bare minimum to operate a hydraulic ram pump. It is not uncommon to see a water ram pump lift to heigths of over one hundred feet and several hundred yards distance from a twenty foot fall.
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What is it?
This small, battery-operated device shows you when the International Space Station (ISS) is overhead. A white light begins to glow five minutes before it approaches, and fades out after the ISS is no longer visible.
What problem does it solve?
It’s easy to forget that there are astronauts orbiting Earth at all times, and difficult to tell when you can see the space station passing by.
What was my role in it?
I created this, including a circuit board that I designed to work with readily available hardware modules, and built its firmware and software.
How does it work?
The hardware is an 8-bit embedded AVR microcontroller (Arduino Pro Mini) that’s connected to a NRF24 wireless network chipset. That network, similar to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, is used to connect to a general-purpose NRF24 base station via protocols that I made for this purpose. The base station is a Raspberry Pi that uses a combination of shell scripts and PHP to request (and cache responses) from the Open Notify ISS API.
The Arduino Pro Mini is connected to a circuit board that I designed in Eagle, acting as an adapter for the NRF24 that allows me to quickly prototype devices like this. It has a minimal amount of power regulation ICs and allows for future expansion.
My firmware is designed to allow as much battery life as possible from its limited, 800mAh battery. It uses interrupts and timers to let as much time as possible be spent with the wireless chipset and main microcontroller in low-power sleep mode.
I like this as an ambient, daily reminder that a lot of people working on difficult, small tasks can do amazing things, such as make a massive space station that orbits Earth at all times.
How was it made?
Open Notify API
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Light and Life [Part 3]
*Starting from this section - the sharing is mostly derived from a program named Friendly Comparative Religion (Phase 1), a seminar "Does God Exist?" and reading of a book "The Elegant Universe" and also from few discussions and readings. Any misinformation or inaccuracy is highly appreciated to be corrected.
Insya Allah, in this part I will try to relate some of light's characteristics with Allah's attribute and how Quran is proven to be an unbeatable ancient book with a long line of continuous scientific accuracy. Not a single inaccuracy so far and will never be. We acknowledge that Allah is capable to bless some of His power to His creations - such as love of a mother, caring of a father, wisdom of a leader and many more. Starting from this section, I'll try to build a logical correlation that eventually will lead us to the fortification of our Iman. Insya Allah. As this knowledge had done this to me, I hope it will also do the same to you.
Of Light and Its Curious Self-Introduction to the World
[Source] Hai!
Photons. These small packets of energy decorate electromagnetic waves. Various spectra. Before 17th century, most scientists thought light travels at any distance at no time at all. Before, it is the public view that light was emanated from our eyes. Like the laser ray of Cyclops of X-Men, or the Psybeam of Alakazam. Later, they thought light as a type of waves, and should be traveling in a medium. Thus, they postulated a medium called ether. See how light make itself known to the world. And it's just about its speed only.. Subhanallah.
Galileo Galilei -1667
Until 1667 Galileo succeeded in postulating with scientific proof the speed of light. Galileo was known for his brilliant scientific approach. His method was quite clear. He and his assistant used lamps. Can be covered and uncovered. With two lamps far from each other with calculated distance, Galileo uncovered the lamp on his side. When his assistant saw the light, he uncovered his lamp. By measuring the elapsed time and distance - in which speed is equal to distance traveled over time, he concluded that the light was 10 times faster than the sound at least. His conclusion: "If not instantaneous, it is extraordinarily rapid".
Ole Roemer - 1675
While observing Jupiter's moon, he realized that the moons' orbits appeared differently relative to the distance of Earth and Jupiter. If Earth was closer, the moons' orbits appeared to speed up, and vice versa. He thought, there was no way that the orbital velocity of the moons varied because the distance between Earth and Jupiter, the change must be because of the extra time taken by light - led him to induce a calculation including Jupiter's distance and accepted diameter of Earth that time to calculate the speed of light = 200,000 Km/sec.
James Bradley - 1728
This English physicist used stellar aberration to estimate the speed of light. How? Stellar aberration is the ratio of the speed that the earth orbits the sun to the speed of light. You see the light tonight -that point. Tomorrow - oopss already there, sort of. Change in apparent position of the stars due to the motion of Earth around the Sun. He knew the speed of Earth, he knew the angle of aberration - he calculated and this was what he got. 301,000 Km/s. Cool..
Hippolyte Louis Fizeau - 1849
I don't really understand his method. French. He used a rapidly rotating toothed wheel and a mirror 5 miles away. He shone a light between those teeth and measured the time the light reflected back in the tooth. With varying the speed of the wheel, he calculated the speed of light 313,000 Km/s.
Leon Foucault - 1862
French also, he used the same method as Fizeau, but he calculated more accurately. He included the difference of angle between the point where the light started to shine and the point it hit back. He got 299,796 Km/sec.
[Source] Who wins?
Today, the well-accepted speed of light is 299762.458 Km/sec. In the vacuum. So, what does Quran say about this? I mean. The speed of light - is a very important thing for us. For me, and human history I guess. Since we live, light is the first thing we see. And light had involved very deeply in human affairs spiritually, physically, psychologically, and biologically. Well, Alhamdulillah, my personal search went a bit well. Allah led me to some readings and discussions. Weee...
299762.485 Km/sec = c. That is the speed of light. There is something special about light. It's speed is constant, even relatively. For example - if I'm moving towards you 2 m/s, and you are stationary, you'll see that I'm moving 2 m/s towards you. And if I'm moving 4m/s but you move away from me 1m/s, you'll see me moving towards you 3m/s. But, light acts a little bit different. If you stay stationary, you'll have light moving to you with velocity c. If you move about 290000km/s, weirdly light will move relatively with the same c towards you. Suppose to be normal, light should appear to move around 1000km/sec towards you, just as the first example of me and you, but that is light. It is unique and special.
“The velocity c of light in vacuum is the same in all inertial frames of reference in all directions and depend neither on the velocity of the source nor on the velocity of the observer” Second Postulate of Special Relativity Theory, Einstein
Known, light is the fastest moving thing in this world, so far. But, there are some info which may interest you.
1. There is one more theoretical particle, known as tachyon which has the ability to move through warped dimension of space and time. Like star wars - the 'jump'. It moves faster than light, theoretically still.
2. In the early universe, the explosion and expansion also move faster than light.
3. Light only born around 400,000 years after the Big Bang. Nice shot heh?
Light has been given the privilege to decorate our sky.. :)
I have got some ideas lately. Just now, I'm reading, alone. Suddenly Jeng Jeng Jeng, I don't know if it was my granny's or foreign guests from Batu Caves. Haha. So, I got the ideas, to smooth my opinion in this matter. What matter? You know, I have read "The Lost Symbol" written by Dan Brown. I just think that perhaps the one he described in the book as soul, isn't soul at all. Quran said that soul is a matter of Allah, and I take it seriously. Days after I read the book, weeks though, I think and try to have other alternatives instead of believing that they actually managed to weigh a soul. There are so many mysteries in this world, why Allah chose soul as his affair? There must be some reasons. You can't weigh soul. Perhaps I deliberately close my eyes to science, as some people would call, but my faith in Quran is stronger. I've seen science facts been distorted. But, I'm not saying that this fact has been distorted. It's just, maybe the thing they weighed to the extent of using almost 200 hundreds ill-to-death persons isn't soul. I think it's something else. What is it?
And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious (Allâh) (i.e. this Qur'ân and worship of Allâh), We appoint for him Shaitân (Satan devil) to be a Qarîn (an intimate companion) to him. Quran, 43:36
Every individual among the sons of Adam has a jinn who has been appointed to be his constant companion (qarin). Ibn Mas`ud reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says: ‘There is not one of you who does not have a jinn appointed to be his constant companion.’ They said, ‘And you too, O Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘Me too, but Allah has helped me and he has submitted, so that he only helps me to do good.’” (Reported by Muslim) Source
So, what do you say? Haha.. Let us leave the soul matter to Allah, not to 'touch' anything. By the way, Dan Brown has been a bit careless lately. With the Apotheosis concept, and the pluralism of Freemasonry brotherhood, better be more careful. It sounds pretty obvious though. With some stress in noetic science. Hm. Wallahu A'lam. Anyone who has another alternative, tell me. Still, I don't want to believe the thing they weighed was the soul, I would rather believe it was qarin, a Djinn. Weight losses after the subjects died, were weight of Qarin leaving the bodies. I would like to believe that. No way I'm going to believe they actually manage to weigh a soul. Although this thing filled my mind few weeks. Heh. After all, it is just my opinion only.
1 comment:
1. This is a nice one, Asif. I've always being fascinated by the facts regarding light. Anyway, I would like to share a page which hopefully be beneficial...
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Ignoring object types when writing a Comparator class
+14 votes
Why is it that we are willing to assume that the array being passed into the sort method is of the same data type as the Comparator? When writing a class that implements a Comparator the book does not consider the fact that an array of different type could have been passed in, eventually leading to an exception. They claim that we can assume the array is of the same type that we have written the Comparator for to avoid the exception. However, we spent the effort to check object types when writing .equals methods! It just feels unsafe, but I could just be paranoid.
asked Sep 8, 2015 in Fall 15-16 by Jeffrey Prior (100 points)
2 Answers
+6 votes
Best answer
The issue of ensuring that the data types of a collection match the data types required by a certain class (like a comparator) is a bit tricky in Java... and is solved by the use of "Generics". e.g. new ArrayList<String>
The book is sidestepping around the issue of Generics... probably because it doesn't want to complicate the general design principles (which are sound) with another discussion of a (rather complex) Java language feature.
For example, ArrayList is a "generic" type in Java that can be "parameterized" by the type of data that it stores (in this case String).
Similarly, the real Java library has Comparator be a generic type, that can be parameterized with the type of data that it compares as well. So you'd have your concrete custom comparator class implement Comparator<String> and then it could sort String[] (or if you wanted, List<String>). And you could have another custom comparator that compared PotteryOrder objects that implements Comparator<PotteryOrder>.
I can't explain everything about Generics here, but it's easy to find more information online... just Google around!
answered Sep 10, 2015 by Forrest Stonedahl (3,438 points)
selected Sep 10, 2015 by Jeffrey Prior
That makes sense. Clearly a much more in depth issue that the book is not willing to delve into for our purposes. It just seemed too careless after we spent time and caution comparing objects in a .equals method. I may have to check it out. Thank you!
–1 vote
The book doesn't give the complete implementation of the comparator class, it gives the two, int and String and explains that we could add more methods for other data types. I realise that this may not be what you are asking but if you look at the example on page 69 the compare method takes the arguments Object; since every data type is an Object; it is the highest class of all the classes and all classes by default inherit the Object class. It takes the Object type and uses the instanceof to check what type of object it is, goes on to cast the other one and compare. The example in the book is just to indicate elegant software development, and expects one to borrow the skill and apply them to 'real' projects we are venturing into.
answered Sep 8, 2015 by Nelly Cheboi (100 points)
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Who were the Pharisees?
The name “Pharisee,” often gets a lot of bad press because of Jesus’ criticism, which we will shortly examine. Historically, they proved to be great people; the gentle Hillel, who taught the “Golden Rule,” was certainly one of its best examples of Pharisaic ethics and piety. The same could be said of numerous other great teachers of the 1st-2nd century. Their wisdom can be found in the ancient Jewish tract of “Pirke Avoth,” The “Ethics of the Fathers.”
Some of their wise aphorisms include:
Moses received Torah at Sinai and handed it on to Joshua, Joshua to elders, and elders to prophets. And prophets handed it on to the men of the great assembly. They said three things: (1) “Be prudent in judgment, (2) “Raise up many disciples,(3) “Make a fence for the Torah.”
Simeon the Righteous was one of the last survivors of the great assembly. He would say: “On three things does the world stand: (1) “On the Torah, (2) “and on the Temple service, (3) “and on deeds of loving kindness.”
Antigonos of Sokho received [the Torah] from Simeon the Righteous. He would say, (1) “Do not be like servants who serve the master on condition of receiving a reward, (2) “but [be] like servants who serve the master not on condition of receiving a reward. (3) “And let the fear of Heaven be upon you.”
There are hundreds of examples found in this wonderful work and I would encourage you the reader to study these texts if you really wish to understand who the Pharisees were.
But were all those who purported to be Pharisees such noble souls? Not quite. For the record, there were Pharisees who obviously did not excel in the area of religious ethics—much like we see in the Haredi world today! This should not come as a great surprise to any of us because it is a lot easier to be observant of Halacha minutia than it is to be an ethical human being. Various moral lapses within both the Haredi and Hassidic communities painfully illustrate that developing an expertise in Jewish law is absolutely meaningless unless it engenders personal piety in the sphere of human ethics. The human face demands we treat all people with respect and dignity–this was the great lesson of Hillel, who taught: “What is hateful unto you, do not do to your fellow man.”
Now back to our original topic…
“Pharisee” probably comes from the Hebrew word prš meaning “expositors.” They were among the very first individuals who championed biblical interpretation (Jastrow). However, it is also possible the name prš might also mean “separate,” “detach.” Thus the Pharisees were probably the separated ones,” whose commitment to Jewish law and ritual set them apart from everyone else. However, Pharisaic piety pales in comparison with the Essenes whose scrupulous observance of the purity laws make the Pharisees seem almost “secular.”
The Pharisees began as an essentially a lay group that originally made up one of the Hasidim of the Maccabean era. By during the time of the Maccabean revolution was over the Pharisees opposed the priestly kings of the Hasmonaean dynasty. By the time John Hyrcanus I usurped the High Priesthood, the Pharisees objected to his attempt to be the High Priest—even though they had no qualms about him serving as a national leader (See Josephus, Antiquities, XIII, 288-298). Apparently, their objection took a violent path and as a result Jannaeus condemned 800 Pharisees to die on the cross.[1]
Some of the oldest and best descriptions of the Pharisees come from the Jewish historian Josephus, who mentions that they were one of three distinctive groups that flourished during the reign of John Hyrcanus I. According to Josephus’ description, the Pharisees differed from the Sadducees (the priestly party) and the Essenes and believed that there were many laws of the Torah had been orally handed down “from the fathers but which were not recorded in the laws of Moses,” which had to be observed; moreover, that there is a delicate interplay between fate and free will, and that every soul is imperishable, with the souls of the good ultimately passing into another body (resurrection) and the souls of the wicked condemned to suffer eternal punishment.[2] As lay leaders, they proved to be very popular with the masses, who observed the tradition in accordance with their interpretation.[3]
Other ancient and rich descriptions come from the New Testament where the Pharisees condemn Jesus for criticizing the teachings of the Pharisees of his time (Mark 7:13). One of the best criticisms of the Pharisees can be seen in Matthew 23, where Jesus accuses the Pharisees of transforming the ethos of the Torah into an intolerable burden and hardship upon the people. The reduction of the biblical ethics found in the Decalogue and the tendency to create “fences around the Torah,” made Judaism too much of a burden for people to observe.
At this point, it is important to ask whether this critique of the Pharisees was indeed warranted or not. Are there rabbinic traditions that might even substantiate Jesus’ attack on Pharisaic piety? Consider the following ancient rabbinic texts:
The Mishnah in Sotah 3:4 reads: “A foolish saint, a wicked man with cunning, a woman who is a religious hypocrite (perushah) and the wounds of the Pharisees [makkô perûšîm], these wear out the world.” What exactly is meant by the “wounds of the Pharisees,” is somewhat unclear but whatever it is, the expression is clearly derogatory. Basically, these people are singled out because they separate themselves from the ordinary folk, whom they believed did not observe the laws of ritual purity like they did.
According to the Talmud in tractate Sotah, King Jannai1 is recorded as saying to his wife’, ‘Don’t be afraid of Pharisees and the non-Pharisees; fear only the hypocrites who ape the Pharisees; because their deeds are the deeds of Zimri (see Num. 25:14) but they expect a reward like Phineas’.
It may well be that Jesus was speaking specifically about this class of Jewish leaders who delighted as appearing to the masses as “pious folk,” but in reality has little and no regard for the people whom they were supposed to care for.
It is interesting that in practice, Jesus follows a view of Shammai with respect to divorce (Mat. 19:3-9); Shammai believed that divorce should never be given frivolously, unless the person has defiled the marriage through infidelity.
Compare this with the concluding Mishnah of tractate Gittin (9:10)
B “since it is said, Because he has found in her indecency in anything (Dt. 24:).”
C And the House of Hillel say, “Even if she spoiled his dish,
D “since it is said, Because he has found in her indecency in anything.
E R. Aqiba says, “Even if he found someone else prettier than she,
F “since it is said, And it shall be if she find no favor in his eyes (Dt. 24:1).”[4]
Another important area where Jesus differs with the Pharisees was with respect to the Sabbath; in Mark 2:27, Jesus asserts that the Sabbath exists for the good of humankind, not vices versa—therefore, healing is permitted on the Sabbath. Curiously, the Mishnah eventually taught that the Sabbath may be violated for the sake of saving a human life. I am inclined to think that this change in the Halacha may have been due to Jesus’ teaching about the Sabbath that champion human life over the ritual observance of the holiest day of the week. Preserving human life must forever remain more important than any ritual.
Lastly, it is worth noting that the rabbis who rebuilt Judaism after the fall of Jerusalem seem to have avoided associating themselves with the name “Pharisee,” embarrassment on the part of these direct heirs of the spiritual legacy of pharisaism. Perhaps those who witnessed the destruction realized that ritual without ethical excellence is much like a body without a soul. It seems to me that Jesus’ critique of the pseudo-Pharisees of his time could have struck a deep chord. The Temple was not destroyed because its priests failed to properly observe the laws of ritual purity and piety–but because of the sin of “causeless hatred,” and only an attitude that stresses “causeless” and “indiscriminate love” will ultimately pave the word toward its Messianic destiny. I sincerely believe that Jesus, Hillel, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, and numerous others, all tried their best to convey this timeless lesson to the post-destruction era…and now you know the rest of the story!
[1] Antiquities of the Jews xiii, 380–83; The Jewish War i, 96–8.
[2] Josephus, The Jewish War ii.162-163, 3.374; Antiquities xiii, 171-173, XVIII, 166.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 487.
1. Anders Branderud December 24, 2009
A logical analysis of the earliest manusscripts (including the logical implications of the research by Ben-Gurion Univ. Prof. of Linguistics Elisha Qimron of Dead Sea Scroll 4Q MMT) of “Matthew”, implies that Ribi Yehoshua was a Perushi (Pharisee). Ribi Yehoshua was called a Ribi and only the Perushim had Ribis.
It is essential for any Christians reading your blog to know: “No one can follow two polar-opposite masters — the authentic, historical, PRO-Torah 1st-century Ribi from Nazareth and the 4th-century (post-135 C.E.), arch-antithesis ANTI-Torahapostasy developed by the Hellenists (namely the Sadducees and Roman pagans who conspired to kill Ribi Yәhoshua, displaced his original followers and redacted the NT).” (quote:
It is mitzwah to make havdalah between Ribi Yehoshua and the counterfeit anti-Torah Jesus.
Anders Branderud
• Yaredyahu February 21, 2017
Excellent work.
2. Yochanan Lavie December 28, 2009
I heard a Karaite explanation that Pharisee comes from Parsi, i.e. Persian. It reflects the rabbinic traditions from Persian Babylonia and according to the Karaites, undue influence from Zoroastrianism. I don’t think they’re correct in their etymology, but it’s an interesing take.
3. Dan Weisberg December 2, 2012
Excellent article, thank you Rabbi!
It appears that the populist Pharisees that Josephus describes eventually became an ossified, elitist class disconnected from the people. This would explain Yeshua’s (Jesus’) discontent with them.
This also explains why they subsequently decided to drop the word “Pharisee”, rebranded themselves as Rabbis, and reconnected with the Jewish people who were traumatized and leaderless after the Temple’s second destruction.
> Karaite explanation that Pharisee comes from [...] Persian. It reflects the rabbinic traditions from Persian Babylonia and according to the Karaites, undue influence from Zoroastrianism.
A Persian influence would explain the Pharasaic belief in resurrection which appears to have originated in Zoroastrianism. However Karaitic scholar Nehemia Gordon states the term Pharisee comes from Hebrew and means “separated ones”.
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Fluid, Electrolyte and Acid-Base Balance
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Presentation on theme: "Fluid, Electrolyte and Acid-Base Balance"— Presentation transcript:
1 Fluid, Electrolyte and Acid-Base Balance
2 Body Water Content Infants have low body fat, low bone mass, and are 73% or more water Total water content declines throughout life Healthy males are about 60% water; healthy females are around 50%
3 Body Water Content This difference reflects females’: Higher body fat
Smaller amount of skeletal muscle In old age, only about 45% of body weight is water
4 Fluid Compartments Water occupies two main fluid compartments
Intracellular fluid (ICF) – about two thirds by volume, contained in cells Extracellular fluid (ECF) – consists of two major subdivisions Plasma – the fluid portion of the blood Interstitial fluid (IF) – fluid in spaces between cells Other ECF – lymph, cerebrospinal fluid, eye humors, synovial fluid, serous fluid, and gastrointestinal secretions
5 Fluid Compartments
6 Composition of Body Fluids
Water is the universal solvent Solutes are broadly classified into: Electrolytes – inorganic salts, all acids and bases, and some proteins Nonelectrolytes – examples include glucose, lipids, creatinine, and urea Electrolytes have greater osmotic power than nonelectrolytes Water moves according to osmotic gradients
7 Electrolyte Concentration
Expressed in milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L), a measure of the number of electrical charges in one liter of solution mEq/L = (concentration of ion in [mg/L]/the atomic weight of ion) number of electrical charges on one ion
8 Extracellular and Intracellular Fluids
Each fluid compartment of the body has a distinctive pattern of electrolytes Extracellular fluids are similar (except for the high protein content of plasma) Sodium is the chief cation Chloride is the major anion Intracellular fluids have low sodium and chloride Potassium is the chief cation Phosphate is the chief anion
9 Extracellular and Intracellular Fluids
Sodium and potassium concentrations in extra- and intracellular fluids are nearly opposites This reflects the activity of cellular ATP-dependent sodium-potassium pumps Electrolytes determine the chemical and physical reactions of fluids
10 Extracellular and Intracellular Fluids
Proteins, phospholipids, cholesterol, and neutral fats account for: 90% of the mass of solutes in plasma 60% of the mass of solutes in interstitial fluid 97% of the mass of solutes in the intracellular compartment
11 Electrolyte Composition of Body Fluids
12 Fluid Movement Among Compartments
13 Extracellular and Intracellular Fluids
14 Continuous Mixing of Body Fluids
15 Water Balance and ECF Osmolality
To remain properly hydrated, water intake must equal water output Water intake sources Ingested fluid (60%) and solid food (30%) Metabolic water or water of oxidation (10%)
16 Water Balance and ECF Osmolality
Water output Urine (60%) and feces (4%) Insensible losses (28%), sweat (8%) Increases in plasma osmolality trigger thirst and release of antidiuretic hormone (ADH)
17 Water Intake and Output
18 Regulation of Water Intake
The hypothalamic thirst center is stimulated: By a decline in plasma volume of 10%–15% By increases in plasma osmolality of 1–2% Via baroreceptor input, angiotensin II, and other stimuli
19 Regulation of Water Intake
Thirst is quenched as soon as we begin to drink water Feedback signals that inhibit the thirst centers include: Moistening of the mucosa of the mouth and throat Activation of stomach and intestinal stretch receptors
20 Regulation of Water Intake: Thirst Mechanism
Figure 26.5
21 Regulation of Water Output
Obligatory water losses include: Insensible water losses from lungs and skin Water that accompanies undigested food residues in feces Sensible water loss of 500ml in urine Kidneys excrete mOsm of solutes to maintain blood homeostasis Urine solutes must be flushed out of the body in water
22 Influence and Regulation of ADH
Water reabsorption in collecting ducts is proportional to ADH release Low ADH levels produce dilute urine and reduced volume of body fluids High ADH levels produce concentrated urine Hypothalamic osmoreceptors trigger or inhibit ADH release Factors that specifically trigger ADH release include prolonged fever; excessive sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea; severe blood loss; and traumatic burns
23 Mechanisms and Consequences of ADH Release
Figure 26.6
24 Disorders of Water Balance: Dehydration
Water loss exceeds water intake and the body is in negative fluid balance Causes include: hemorrhage, severe burns, prolonged vomiting or diarrhea, profuse sweating, water deprivation, and diuretic abuse Signs and symptoms: cottonmouth, thirst, dry flushed skin, and oliguria Prolonged dehydration may lead to weight loss, fever, and mental confusion Other consequences include hypovolemic shock and loss of electrolytes
25 Disorders of Water Balance: Dehydration
Figure 26.7a
26 Disorders of Water Balance: Hypotonic Hydration
Renal insufficiency or an extraordinary amount of water ingested quickly can lead to cellular overhydration, or water intoxication ECF is diluted – sodium content is normal but excess water is present The resulting hyponatremia promotes net osmosis into tissue cells, causing swelling This leads to nausea, vomiting, muscular cramping, cerebral edema, disorientation, convulsions, coma and death
27 Disorders of Water Balance: Hypotonic Hydration
Figure 26.7b
28 Disorders of Water Balance: Edema
Atypical accumulation of fluid in the interstitial space, leading to tissue swelling Caused by anything that increases flow of fluids out of the bloodstream or hinders their return Factors that accelerate fluid loss include: Increased capillary hydrostatic pressure Increased blood pressure, capillary permeability, incompetent venous valves, localized blood vessel blockage, congestive heart failure, hypertension, high blood volume
29 Disorders of Water Balance: Edema
Increased capillary permeability Due to inflammation Decreased blood colloid osmotic pressure Hypoproteinemia Forces fluids out of capillary beds at the arterial ends Fluids fail to return at the venous ends Results from protein malnutrition, liver disease, or glomerulonephritis
30 Edema Increased interstitial colloid osmotic pressure
Blocked (or surgically removed) lymph vessels cause leaked proteins to accumulate in interstitial fluid Interstitial fluid accumulation results in low blood pressure and severely impaired circulation
31 Electrolyte Balance Electrolytes are salts, acids, and bases, but electrolyte balance usually refers only to salt balance Salts are important for: Neuromuscular excitability Secretory activity Membrane permeability Controlling fluid movements Salts enter the body by ingestion and are lost via perspiration, feces, and urine
32 Sodium in Fluid and Electrolyte Balance
Sodium holds a central position in fluid and electrolyte balance Sodium salts: Account for 90-95% of all solutes in the ECF Contribute 280 mOsm of the total 300 mOsm ECF solute concentration Sodium is the single most abundant cation in the ECF Sodium is the only cation exerting significant osmotic pressure
33 Sodium in Fluid and Electrolyte Balance
34 Sodium in Fluid and Electrolyte Balance
Changes in plasma sodium levels affect: Plasma volume, blood pressure ICF and interstitial fluid volumes Renal acid-base control mechanisms are coupled to sodium ion transport
35 Regulation of Sodium Balance: Aldosterone
Sodium reabsorption 65% of sodium in filtrate is reabsorbed in the proximal tubules 25% is reclaimed in the DCT When aldosterone levels are high, all remaining Na+ is actively reabsorbed Water follows sodium if tubule permeability has been increased with ADH
36 Regulation of Sodium Balance: Aldosterone
The renin-angiotensin mechanism triggers the release of aldosterone This is mediated by the juxtaglomerular apparatus, which releases renin in response to: Sympathetic nervous system stimulation Decreased filtrate osmolality Decreased stretch (due to decreased blood pressure) Renin catalyzes the production of angiotensin II, which prompts aldosterone release
37 Regulation of Sodium Balance: Aldosterone
Low aldosterone cause Na excretion and water will follow it High aldosterone levels will cause Na absorption. For the water to be absorbed ADH must also be present Adrenal cortical cells are also directly stimulated to release aldosterone by elevated K+ levels in the ECF Aldosterone brings about its effects (diminished urine output and increased blood volume) slowly
38 Regulation of Sodium Balance: Aldosterone
39 Cardiovascular System Baroreceptors
Baroreceptors alert the brain of increases in blood volume (hence increased blood pressure) Sympathetic nervous system impulses to the kidneys decline Afferent arterioles dilate Glomerular filtration rate rises Sodium and water output increase
40 Cardiovascular System Baroreceptors
41 Maintenance of Blood Pressure Homeostasis
42 Atrial Natriuretic Peptide (ANP)
Is released in the heart atria as a response to stretch (elevated blood pressure) Has potent diuretic and natriuretic effects Promotes excretion of sodium and water Suppressing ADH, renin, aldosterone release Relaxes vascular smooth muscle Reduces blood pressure and volume
43 Mechanisms and Consequences of ANP Release
44 Influence of Other Hormones on Sodium Balance
Estrogens: Are chemically similar to aldosterone Enhance NaCl reabsorption by renal tubules May cause water retention during menstrual cycles Are responsible for edema during pregnancy Estrogen increase production of angiotensinogen.
45 Influence of Other Hormones on Sodium Balance
Progesterone: Decreases sodium reabsorption Acts as a diuretic, promoting sodium and water loss Glucocorticoids Have aldosterone-like effects Increase tubular reabsorption of sodium and promote edema Glucocorticoids causes vasoconstriction in arterioles and increase secretion of angiotensinogen.
46 Regulation of Potassium Balance
Relative ICF-ECF potassium ion concentration affects a cell’s resting membrane potential Hyperkalemia decreases the resting membrane potential Because more K+ moves into the ICF Hypokalemia causes hyperpolarization and nonresponsiveness Because more K+ moves into the ECF
47 Potassium balance Potassium ion excretion increases as
K concentration in the ECF rises Aldosterone is secreted Hyperkalemia directly stimulates aldosterone secretion pH rises
48 Potassium balance Potassium retention occurs when pH falls
Because hydrogen ions instead of K are secreted in exchange for sodium. Hypokalemia causes muscle weakness, and even paralysis Hyperkalemia and hypokalemia can: Disrupt electrical conduction in the heart Lead to sudden death
49 Regulation of Potassium Balance
K is also part of the body’s buffer system Shift of the hydrogen ions in and out of cells leads to corresponding shifts in potassium in the opposite direction Interferes with activity of excitable cells
50 Tubular Secretion and Solute Reabsorption at the DCT
51 Tubular Secretion and Solute Reabsorption at the DCT
52 Regulatory Site: Cortical Collecting Ducts
Less than 15% of filtered K+ is lost to urine regardless of need K+ balance is controlled in the cortical collecting ducts by changing the amount of potassium secreted into filtrate Excessive K+ is excreted over basal levels by cortical collecting ducts When K+ levels are low, the amount of secretion and excretion is kept to a minimum Collecting duct cells can reabsorb some K+ left in the filtrate
53 Influence of Plasma Potassium Concentration
High K+ content of ECF favors entry of it into principal cells and them prompts them to secrete K+ Low K+ or accelerated K+ loss depresses its secretion by the collecting ducts
54 Influence of Aldosterone
Aldosterone stimulates potassium ion secretion by principal cells In cortical collecting ducts, Na+ is reabsorbed, and K+ is secreted Increased K+ in the ECF around the adrenal cortex causes: Release of aldosterone Potassium secretion Potassium controls its own ECF concentration via feedback regulation of aldosterone release
55 Regulation of Calcium Ionic calcium in ECF is important for:
Blood clotting Cell membrane permeability Secretory behavior Hypocalcemia: Increase membranes permeability to Na Increases excitability Causes muscle tetany
56 Regulation of Calcium Hypercalcemia:
Decreases the membrane’s permeability to Na Membranes become less responsive Inhibits neurons and muscle cells May cause heart arrhythmias Calcium balance is controlled by parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcitonin
57 Regulation of Calcium and Phosphate
PTH promotes increase in calcium levels by targeting: Bones – PTH activates osteoclasts to break down bone matrix Small intestine – PTH enhances intestinal absorption of calcium Kidneys – PTH enhances calcium reabsorption and decreases phosphate reabsorption Calcium reabsorption and phosphate excretion go hand in hand
58 Regulation of Calcium and Phosphate
Filtered phosphate is actively reabsorbed in the proximal tubules In the absence of PTH, phosphate reabsorption is regulated by its transport maximum and excesses are excreted in urine High or normal ECF calcium levels inhibit PTH secretion Release of calcium from bone is inhibited Larger amounts of calcium are lost in feces and urine More phosphate is retained
59 Influence of Calcitonin
Released in response to rising blood calcium levels Calcitonin is a PTH antagonist, but its contribution to calcium and phosphate homeostasis is minor to negligible
60 Regulation of Anions Chloride is the major anion accompanying sodium in the ECF 99% of chloride is reabsorbed under normal pH conditions When acidosis occurs, fewer chloride ions are reabsorbed Other anions have transport maximums and excesses are excreted in urine
61 Acid-Base Balance Normal pH 7.35 – 7.45
Alkalosis or alkalemia – arterial blood pH rises above 7.45 Acidosis or acidemia – arterial pH drops below 7.35 (physiological acidosis)
62 Sources of Hydrogen Ions
Most hydrogen ions originate from cellular metabolism Breakdown of phosphorus-containing proteins releases phosphoric acid into the ECF Anaerobic respiration of glucose produces lactic acid Fat metabolism yields organic acids and ketone bodies Transporting carbon dioxide as bicarbonate releases hydrogen ions
63 Hydrogen Ion Regulation
Concentration of hydrogen ions is regulated sequentially by: Chemical buffer systems – act within seconds The respiratory center in the brain stem – acts within 1-3 minutes Renal mechanisms – require hours to days to effect pH changes
64 Chemical Buffer Systems
65 Strong and Weak Acids
66 Chemical Buffer Systems
One or two molecules that act to resist pH changes when strong acid or base is added Three major chemical buffer systems Bicarbonate buffer system Phosphate buffer system Protein buffer system Any drifts in pH are resisted by the entire chemical buffering system
67 Bicarbonate Buffer System
A mixture of carbonic acid (H2CO3) and its salt, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) (potassium or magnesium bicarbonates work as well) If strong acid is added: Hydrogen ions released combine with the bicarbonate ions and form carbonic acid (a weak acid) The pH of the solution decreases only slightly HCl + NaHCO3 = H2CO3 + NaCl
68 Bicarbonate Buffer System
If strong base is added: It reacts with the carbonic acid to form sodium bicarbonate (a weak base) The pH of the solution rises only slightly NaOH + H2CO3 = NaHCO3 + H2O This system is the only important ECF buffer
69 Phosphate Buffer System
Nearly identical to the bicarbonate system Its components are: Sodium salts of dihydrogen phosphate (H2PO4¯), a weak acid Monohydrogen phosphate (HPO42¯), a weak base HCl + Na2HPO4 = NaH2PO4 + NaCl NaOH + NaH2PO4 = Na2HPO4 + H2O This system is an effective buffer in urine and intracellular fluid
70 Protein Buffer System Plasma and intracellular proteins are the body’s most plentiful and powerful buffers Some amino acids of proteins have: Organic acid groups (weak acids) –COOH (carboxyl) R-COOH ---RCOO- + H+ Groups that act as weak bases –NH2 (amino) R-NH2---R-NH3 Amphoteric molecules are protein molecules that can function as both a weak acid and a weak base
71 Physiological Buffer Systems
The respiratory system regulation of acid-base balance is a physiological buffering system There is a reversible equilibrium between: Dissolved carbon dioxide and water Carbonic acid and the hydrogen and bicarbonate ions CO2 + H2O H2CO3 H+ + HCO3¯
72 Physiological Buffer Systems
During carbon dioxide unloading, hydrogen ions are incorporated into water When hypercapnia or rising plasma H+ occurs: Deeper and more rapid breathing expels more carbon dioxide Hydrogen ion concentration is reduced Alkalosis causes slower, more shallow breathing, causing H+ to increase Respiratory system impairment causes acid-base imbalance (respiratory acidosis or respiratory alkalosis)
73 Renal Mechanisms of Acid-Base Balance
Chemical buffers can tie up excess acids or bases, but they cannot eliminate them from the body The lungs can eliminate carbonic acid (volatile acid) by eliminating carbon dioxide Only the kidneys can rid the body of metabolic acids (phosphoric, uric, and lactic acids and ketones) and prevent metabolic acidosis The ultimate acid-base regulatory organs are the kidneys
74 Renal Mechanisms of Acid-Base Balance
The most important renal mechanisms for regulating acid-base balance are: Conserving (reabsorbing) or generating new bicarbonate ions Excreting bicarbonate ions
75 Renal Mechanisms of Acid-Base Balance
Acidic blood Lost bicarbonate ions Gained hydrogen ions Alkaline blood Reabsorbed bicarbonate ions Lost hydrogen ions
76 Renal Mechanisms of Acid-Base Balance
Hydrogen ion secretion occurs in the PCT and in the collecting ducts Hydrogen ions come from the dissociation of carbonic acid
77 Reabsorption of Bicarbonate
Carbon dioxide combines with water in tubule cells, forming carbonic acid Carbonic acid splits into hydrogen ions and bicarbonate ions For each hydrogen ion secreted, a sodium ion and a bicarbonate ion are reabsorbed by the PCT cells Secreted hydrogen ions form carbonic acid; thus, bicarbonate disappears from filtrate at the same rate that it enters the peritubular capillary blood
78 Reabsorption of Bicarbonate
Carbonic acid formed in filtrate dissociates to release carbon dioxide and water Carbon dioxide then diffuses into tubule cells, where it acts to trigger further hydrogen ion secretion
79 Generating New Bicarbonate Ions
Two mechanisms carried out collecting ducts cells generate new bicarbonate ions Both involve renal excretion of acid via secretion and excretion of hydrogen ions or ammonium ions (NH4+)
80 Hydrogen Ion Excretion
Dietary hydrogen ions must be counteracted by generating new bicarbonate The excreted hydrogen ions must bind to buffers in the urine (phosphate buffer system) Collecting duct cells actively secrete hydrogen ions into urine, which is buffered and excreted Bicarbonate generated is: Moved into the interstitial space via a cotransport system Passively moved into the peritubular capillary blood
81 Hydrogen Ion Excretion
In response to acidosis: Kidneys generate bicarbonate ions and add them to the blood An equal amount of hydrogen ions are added to the urine
82 Ammonium Ion Excretion
This method uses ammonium ions produced by the metabolism of glutamine in PCT cells Each glutamine metabolized produces two ammonium ions and two bicarbonate ions Bicarbonate moves to the blood and ammonium ions are excreted in urine
83 Ammonium Ion Excretion
84 Bicarbonate Ion Secretion
When the body is in alkalosis some cells of collecting ducts : Secrete bicarbonate ion Reclaim hydrogen ions and acidify the blood The mechanism is the opposite of the bicarbonate ion reabsorption process Even during alkalosis, the nephrons and collecting ducts excrete fewer bicarbonate ions than they conserve
85 Respiratory Acidosis and Alkalosis
Result from failure of the respiratory system to balance pH PCO2 is the single most important indicator of respiratory inadequacy PCO2 normal levels fluctuates between 35 and 45 mm Hg
86 Respiratory Acidosis pH below 7.35 PCO2 levels above 45 mm Hg
It is the most common cause of acid-base imbalance Occurs when a person breathes shallowly, pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, or emphysema
87 Respiratory Alkalosis
pH above 7.45 PCO2 below 35 mm Hg Respiratory alkalosis is a common result of hyperventilation
88 Metabolic Acidosis pH below 7.35 Bicarbonate ion levels below 22 mEq/L
Is the second most common cause of acid-base imbalance Ingestion of too much alcohol, excessive loss of bicarbonate ions, accumulation of lactic acid, shock, ketosis in diabetic crisis, diarrhea, starvation, and kidney failure
89 Metabolic Alkalosis Blood pH above 7.45
Bicarbonate levels above 26 mEq/L Typical causes are: Vomiting of the acid contents of the stomach Intake of excess base (e.g., from antacids) Constipation, in which excessive bicarbonate is reabsorbed
90 Respiratory and Renal Compensations
91 Respiratory Compensation
Metabolic acidosis has low pH: Bicarbonate level is low Pco2 is falling below normal to correct the imbalance The rate and depth of breathing are elevated
92 Respiratory Compensation
Metabolic alkalosis has high pH: High levels of bicarbonate Correction is revealed by: Rising PCO2 Compensation exhibits slow, shallow breathing, allowing carbon dioxide to accumulate in the blood
93 Renal Compensation To correct respiratory acid-base imbalance, renal mechanisms are stepped up Respiratory Acidosis has low pH Has high PCO2 (the cause of acidosis) In respiratory acidosis, the respiratory rate is often depressed and is the immediate cause of the acidosis High bicarbonate levels indicate the kidneys are retaining bicarbonate to offset the acidosis
94 Renal Compensation Respiratory Alkalosis has high pH
Low PCO2 (the cause of the alkalosis) Low bicarbonate levels The kidneys eliminate bicarbonate from the body by failing to reclaim it or by actively secreting it
95 Developmental Aspects
Water content of the body is greatest at birth (70-80%) and declines until adulthood, when it is about 58% At puberty, sexual differences in body water content arise as males develop greater muscle mass Homeostatic mechanisms slow down with age Elders may be unresponsive to thirst clues and are at risk of dehydration The very young and the very old are the most frequent victims of fluid, acid-base, and electrolyte imbalances
96 Problems with Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance
Occur in the young, reflecting: Low residual lung volume High rate of fluid intake and output High metabolic rate yielding more metabolic wastes High rate of insensible water loss Inefficiency of kidneys in infants
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Partial Articular Sided Tendon Avulsion (PASTA).
The rotator cuff is a group of 4 muscles that originate from the scapula and surround the humeral head (ball of the ball and socket joint) and stabilise it (hold it in the joint). These muscles are the Suprasinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor and Subscapularis.
These rotator cuff tendons can become torn either as a single traumatic event or as a consequence of repetitive injury. The tears may extend through the whole tendon (full thickness) or only part of the way through (partial thickness tear). A partial tear may start on the outer surface of the tendon under the acromian (a bursal sided tear) or on the articular surface (a Partial Articular Sided Tendon Avulsion).
Risk Factors:
Age related degeneration of the tendon.
With age the rotator cuff tendons change becoming weaker and more vulnerable to both sudden and vulnerable to both sudden and gradual injury.
Repetitive overhead activities.
Activities such as plastering or painting ceilings and sports such as tennis result in repeated stress on the rotator cuff tendons which may predispose to damage to the tendon and the development of tears.
Sudden unanticipated resisted contraction of the shoulder muscles.
Fall or Injury.
Falls particularly on the elbow or arm may result in a single event sufficient to result in a PASTA.
Shoulder (Gleno-Humeral Joint) Dislocation.
A dislocation of the shoulder may be associated with a rotator cuff tear at any age but the likelihood of a tear occurring increases with age. PASTAs are more likely to be associated with dislocations in younger individuals.
Signs and symptoms:
These are often very similar to rotator cuff tears in general.
The pain is typically felt over the upper arm rather than the shoulder itself. It is often persistent and recurrent and worse when lifting the arm out to the side (abduction) or in front (elevation). With a PASTA pain is frequently the predominant feature.
It may be painful to lie on the shoulder at night.
The arm may feel weak particularly when lifting the arm above shoulder height.
There may be a clicking or grinding sensation within the shoulder.
Diagnosis and Investigations:
Your surgeon should listen to the account of your symptoms. The shoulder is usually examined to identify any pain and weakness.
The diagnosis may be apparent on the basis of the history and examination. However, it may be difficult to distinguish the extent of tendon damage from irritation to a complete tear. Further imaging is usually undertaken.
Typical investigations include:
X-Rays (Plain radiographs)
Ultrasound scan.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) with contrast (an Arthrogram). PASTA tears are typically not well visualized on plain MR imaging.
The pain associated with a rotator cuff tear may settle with rest and avoidance of exacerbating activities.
Rehabilitation may reduce the pain associated with a tear and improve the function of the shoulder.
Anti-inflammatory medication may help relieve the pain.
Injections of corticosteroids (steroid) may improve pain.
Link to additional information on steroid injections.
If non-operative management does not improve the level of pain and function surgery may be indicated. This would typically involve an arthroscopic repair of the damaged tendon.
Shoulder surgery typically involves significant rehabilitation. It may take at least 6 to 12 months for pain to settle and full function to recover. Dedication to the rehabilitation recommended programme is likely to influence the outcome of surgery.
Following surgery it is likely immobilisation in a sling will be required from 4-6 weeks. It is typically 3 months before resistance work is commenced and it may 5-6 months before a return to contact sports. The long term outcome is typically good with improvement in pain although there may be some limitation of strength and range of movement.
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Lawn Fungus
Fungal problems are the most common cause for lawn diseases. Although some fungal diseases don't destroy a lawn, they can easily ruin a lawn's appearance, causing a homeowner embarrassment, expense and frustration. Once a fungus starts taking a section of grass, it can easily spread to an entire lawn, stealing moisture and nutrients that are essential for grass to grow. Although a lawn fungus can be hard to diagnose, there are a few basic symptoms suggesting a problem. Common signs of a lawn fungus include spots on leaves and leaf discoloration.
Fungi are microscopic thread-like organisms that are spread by spores that are either waterborne or airborne. Functioning as seeds, these spores create infections if an environment has favorable conditions and a host is weak or vulnerable to being attacked. Disease results when the fungus (pathogen) is on a susceptible grass under the right environmental conditions.
Dollar spot is a lawn fungal disease that gets its name from the infected lawn spots that look like dollar coins. This fungus shows cob-webbing spots in morning hours that turn brown later in the day. It thrives on lawns that are dry and undernourished. Fairy ring has symptoms of green circular areas that seem to be growing faster than other parts of a lawn. It's a fungus that is typically the result of excess rainfall and is found mostly in the Pacific Northwest. Brown patch, also known as summer patch, kills a circle of grass that's as wide as 2 feet in diameter, according to Great Landscaping It causes grass thinning and discoloration in infected areas.
Many people think their lawns are suffering from a fungal disease when their discolored, dried-out lawn patches are actually the result of dog urine burns. Sometimes when a dog urinates on a lawn it creates small spots of brown dead grass that resemble a lawn fungus. If brown areas become green when watered heavily, it's a dog-urine burn rather than a lawn fungus.
Usually the growth of a fungal disease is linked with caretakers not properly performing certain management practices such as giving grass enough water at the right times. Fungal diseases can be connected with planting the wrong type of grass or failing to provide sufficient sunlight to a lawn. Maintaining good soil aeration is important, in addition to timely fertilization using proper amounts and balanced nutrients. It also helps to keep records of herbicides, mowing height, fertilizer treatments, watering frequency and other activities.
Warning and Types of Fungicides
Because fungal lawn diseases can become resistant to fungicides after using them repeatedly, it's beneficial to use different types of fungicides. There are three main types of fungicides: contact, systemic and penetrant fungicides. Contact fungicides need to be applied only once and remain on a plant, killing spores. Systemic fungicides are applied to leaves, but move throughout a plant. Penetrant fungicides are a preventative treatment for stopping pathogens from growing.
Keywords: lawn fungus, grass fungus, lawn fungi types
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April Aims to Educate People on Emergency Phone Calls
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COLUMBIA - In addition to answering emergency phone calls, the Columbia Joint Communications Department spent April educating the community on what it means to dial 9-1-1.
"It's a chance for us to remind folks what actually happens during a 9-1-1 call, what we kinda expect of you, kinda what we need from you, and what happens if you hang up on a 9-1-1 call," Operations Manager Brian Maydwell said.
The department receives about 80,000 emergency calls each year, and anywhere between 5,000 and 6,900 calls each month. Maydwell said many of the calls the department receives are accidential pocket dials or calls made by children. This is a situation the police department finds problematic.
"It ties up all of our officers. Every one of those calls has to have an officer look at it," Sgt. Joe Bernhard said. "Depending on what it is and what information we have there will be two or three officers going to that call."
A main cause of these accidental calls are stemming from children playing with old cell phones. Unless the phone's battery is removed, or the phone is completely powered down it can still make 9-1-1 calls.
The appropriate times to call 9-1-1 are in situations involving immediate danger to your life of property, and when you call be prepared to answer some questions.
"While you are actually giving answers to the 9-1-1 call taker the dispatcher across the room is probably dispatching police, fire or EMS," Maydwell said. "It's a simultaneous event."
For any concerns you might have, but are not an emergency contact the authorities at (573) 442-6131.
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No More Epidemics
A severe and prolonged global pandemic could kill 180-360 million people and hit global GDP by as much as 5-10% in the first year.
Be Prepared! Global Pandemics Primer (Bank of America Merrill Lynch)
Everyday, humans all over the world are exposed to countless viruses and bacteria (pathogens). Usually our immune systems and modern medicine deal with these threats effectively. When one of these pathogens starts infecting an unusually high number of people, we call it an epidemic.
Epidemics happen frequently, but the viruses and bacteria often only cause minor symptoms—a seasonal flu outbreak, for example. When particularly dangerous pathogens such as Ebola or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) enter the human population, and are left unchecked, they can spread with devastating effects.
Today, modern disease surveillance methods can detect outbreaks at an early stage, and modern communications and management structures allow organizations to quickly support frontline efforts in communities. Yet, despite these advances, we are still unprepared, as the recent Ebola epidemic has demonstrated. While the science and the know-how to detect outbreaks exists, there is still a worrying lack of leadership and coordination for epidemic preparedness and effective response to dangerous outbreaks. More action is needed from the United Nations and governments to ensure the global community is better prepared against the threat of epidemics and is able to respond effectively and decisively when they do happen.
Join the No More Epidemics campaign and help us meet this challenge.
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How Henrietta Lacks Changed Medical History
The unsettling story of Henrietta Lacks begins with an everyday occurrence: a trip to the doctor's office. The 30-year-old African-American's 1951 diagnosis of cervical cancer would change her life, and the damaged cells taken from her body without permission would alter the course of medical history. At a time when health-care reform is a key concern for the White House and millions of Americans, Lacks's story is a potent reminder of the injustices that were perpetrated by the health-care industry on the poor and uneducated not long ago.
Raised by her grandfather on a tobacco farm in Virginia, Henrietta Lacks was the granddaughter of slaves. She gave birth to her first child at 14 and later married the father of the baby, who happened to be her first cousin—not uncommon at the time. Shortly after Henrietta turned 30, she felt a knot in her lower stomach that she knew meant something was wrong. But with a husband and a house full of kids to take care of, Lacks could ill afford to worry for long; her family also had little money for a doctor's visit, and at the time, many hospitals offered African-American patients substandard treatment.
Months later, after the birth of her fifth child, the knot was still there, so Lacks finally asked her husband to drive her to Johns Hopkins hospital, the only medical facility nearby that saw "colored people" for free. There, the doctors diagnosed Lacks with stage I epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix, which would require her to have radiation treatments a few times a month. During her first two-night stay in the hospital, doctors sliced several pieces of tissue from her cancerous tumor and placed them in a dish in the hopes of growing and studying them. Neither Lacks nor her family gave permission for her cells to be taken.
George Gey, then the head of tissue-culture research at Johns Hopkins, had been trying to grow malignant cells outside the body for nearly three decades, hoping to determine what caused cancer and ultimately how to cure it. Most cells died quickly in the lab, and the few that did survive failed to grow. But Gey was determined to grow the first immortal human cells—a continuously dividing line of cells that all descended from one original sample, cells that would replenish themselves and never die. Lacks's damaged cells turned out to be the answer to his prayers. Her cancer cells grew unlike any the doctor had seen before, doubling in number every 24 hours. Excited by the findings, Gey began to alert his peers that he was sure he'd found the first immortal cells. And then he began sending Lacks's cell culture, named "HeLa" to avoid using Lacks's name, to any scientist who was interested in using it for cancer research. He sent the cells to Texas, India, New York, Amsterdam—anywhere researchers might find them useful.
But neither Gey's excitement nor research helped Henrietta Lacks. Six months after being diagnosed with cancer, she was dead. She was taken back to her hometown of Clover, Va., and buried in a plain wooden box in an unmarked grave. It would be years before her family would realize that her living cells, which survive to this day, had birthed a multimillion-dollar industry selling human biological materials and had contributed to the study of cancer, had helped in developing the polio vaccine, and had allowed scientists to determine the effects of the atom bomb. They also led to important advances in in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping. HeLa has been bought and sold by millions of researchers in the decades since, likely earning hundreds of millions of dollars for the medical industry. Johns Hopkins maintains it never benefited financially from the sale of the cells.
Neither did the Lacks family. Most of Henrietta's children died with only limited knowledge of what had actually been done with their mother's cells, and today few of her grandchildren or other relatives can even afford to have insurance of their own, according to a new book by Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Some 60 years after doctors committed what today would be an unconscionable violation of medical ethics, there's still only limited information on how often the practice of taking samples without consent was done to patients of poor backgrounds and limited education. But Henrietta Lacks certainly wasn't the only African-American mistreated by the American medical establishment. Books such as Harriet Washington's Medical Apartheid have documented many cases of blatant misuse of medical practices on unknowing and unsuspecting black patients in the name of furthering science and discovering cures.
It might seem as though this kind of disturbing and unethical practice would be limited to another, less-enlightened time, such as the '30s and '40s, which is when the granddaddy of all medical injustices, the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study, began. But some evidence uncovered by Washington's book suggests that black orphan children were used as test subjects as recently as the '80s in New York: tests to determine the effectiveness of some AIDS treatments were given to the children without adult consent.
In a just world, Henrietta Lacks's descendants would have health care given to them free for the rest of their lives, like the victims of the Tuskegee study. But instead her case stands as yet another example of the medical establishment's mistreatment of poor and minority Americans, the aftereffects of which linger to this day.
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Save Paper, Save Trees
Paper is a very important material used in our daily life. It is used in variety of ways. Whilst among many uses, the paper is chiefly used for the purpose of writing and printing.
The word paper derives from the Greek word ‘Papyrus‘ (Egyptian writing material) which was formed from beaten strips of papyrus plant.
Paper is made of cellulose pulp, derived mainly from wood, rags, and certain grasses processed into flexible sheets by deposit from an aqueous suspension.
Uses of Paper:
Paper can be used in various ways, such as for communication, storing information, cleaning, construction, representing a value, packaging, and personal use etc.
Paper making products:
Paper gives us lot of useful products. Here a list of common products made from paper is:
• Books
• Notebooks
• Report cards
• Greeting cards
• Menu cards
• Paper-bags
• Paper money
• Medical chart
• Bandages
• Envelopes
• Tarpaper
• Sand paper
• Wrapping papers
• Paper boats
• Paper airplanes
• Newspaper
• Magazines
• Catalogs
• Wallpaper
• Photographs
• Playing cards
• Stickers
• Telephone directories
• Disposable items
• Stationery
• Table -cloths
• Grocery-bags
• Kites
• Tissue paper
• Bank notes
• Tickets
• Cheque
• Security voucher
Why recycle paper?
Paper recycling is the process of collecting, processing, reusing and recovering the waste paper and remaking into new products rather than throwing it away in the trashcan which in turn, conserves raw materials and energy that needs to make new products.
Did you know if each individual save one sheet of paper per day, then 40,000 trees are saved per year.
Saving paper, in turn, saves trees, saves energy, saves water, chemicals utilized in making of paper, and also reducing garbage.
We should start the process of recycling the waste material from home first rather than what others are doing outside and continue it as it helps to control waste disposal problems, and also saves money that they would otherwise have spend for disposal.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that recycling of paper causes 35% less water pollution, and 74% less air pollution than making new paper and paper products.
Industrialized making of paper is de-stabilizing our earth’s climate and reusing and recycling of paper can help to stabilize and conserve our environment to a great extent.
Recycling is the only key to cut down the amount of waste, to reduce pollution, to save renewable energy, to save trees, and to save money. But before we thinking about recycling anything, the very best thing we can do for health and well being of our planet to use less resource in our daily life.
Recycling of paper could save seventeen trees, causing reduction of 587 pounds of air pollution, 15,644 liters of water, in turn, reduces 58%of air pollution, 4077 kilowatt of energy, thereby reducing energy requirement by 64%, 1042 liters of oil, reducing oil pollution by 64% and oil requirement by 45%. About 55% of municipal waste is paper and paper products before recycling. Recycling one ton of newspaper reduces 3cubic meters of landfill.
Millions of people buy newspaper daily and simply throw away in the trashcan after reading it out without knowing the fact, that it takes 24 trees to make one ton of newspaper.
Recovered paper must be clean for successful recycling. It should be free from contaminants, such as food, dirt, plastic metal, and other kinds of trash, as contaminated paper makes the process of recycling quite difficult. Contaminated paper which cannot be recycled must be composted, burned for energy or land filled in order to reduce the bulk of garbage around us.
Reduce, reuse, and recycle is a simple and great way to cut down the amount of paper use. Practicing these 3R’s also helps in saving our energy and protecting our environment.
It is important to realize our responsibilities how to make our planet green and better place for our future generation to live in. Concerted efforts need to make in this direction before it is too late. By adopting the following ways helps to reduce the paper consumption, which in turn, saves trees and reduces the greenhouse gases emission.
• Companies can save significant sums on printing costs by publishing reports electronically rather than on paper.
• Use mobiles or e-mails for communication purposes instead of sending letters.
• Create best out of waste also helps to control and manage waste better thereby, reducing the impact on our environment as well as our health.
• Use durable items rather than disposable items, as it stays longer and can also save money and minimize the amount of waste. Repair the things rather than buying new items also reduces the amount of waste.
• Use both sides of paper for printing.
• Recycle newspaper by turning them into something useful, instead of discarding it away. It also reduces the amount of materials going into landfills.
• Send get well soon cards and greeting cards on special occasions over the Internet.
• On average, 16% of the money we spend on packaging which ultimately ends up as rubbish. So avoid over packaging goods.
• Use coffee mugs for your tea or coffee instead of paper cups at work place.
• Use unbleached or uncolored paper in bulk to reduce packaging.
• Buy paper that has minimum chlorine content.
• Stop printing whenever possible.
• Reduce font size while printing.
• Books, which you need no longer, and are in a good condition, donate to the library. These in turn, raise the money for the library to buy new items.
• Get and pay your bills online rather than through the post.
• Let your child to use white/black board for writing rather than paper. This way they can rub off what they do not need which in turn; lot of papers can be saved.
• Watch the news on television, or you can read the news online instead of buying newspaper. This helps to kill paper waste instead of trees.
• If you wish to create an eco-friendly atmosphere in the office, then go paperless.
• Use cloth napkins in place of paper napkins, as they are more hygienic and also minimize the paper waste.
• Place your orders by phone, e-mail or online.
• Keep recycling bins on the roads; at the railway station, or bus stand where people can drop off the waste materials, or you can directly deliver it to the recycling center.
• Use cloth bags instead of paper bags to carry the items you buy.
• Use unused side of paper for jotting down the notes before dropping it in the recycling box.
We are using and wasting paper almost without care, and without realizing that how severe the consequences could be. It is need to think – “AS YOU SOW, SO SHALL YOU REAP“. Let’s do our part to save our mother earth from getting it more spoiled and make it greener, cleaner, and better place for future generation to enjoy.
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Help Finding Good Scholarship Essay Examples
There are many places to begin your search for scholarship essay examples. And with the use of the internet, there are several sites that you can use to get ideas of what to write and what to avoid in your essay. The essay is the most important part of your scholarship application, so you want to make sure you give the best impression you can. Here are some tips to help you find essay examples to assist you.
Online financial aid resources can provide you with scholarship essay examples that can help you write a very appealing essay. They will have information and tips about what you should write and what not to write in your essay. They also have examples of other essays that may be required for college admission.
Talk to your high school counselor, or your college adviser. They can give you some essay examples, and you can have them proofread your essay once you are done writing it, these professionals will have insight into what the admissions officers are looking for in an essay. And it is always a good idea to have one or two people read over your finished essay in order to make sure there are no grammatical errors.
Use the internet to find various sites that will help you in writing your essay. They provide essay examples, along with tips to help you design your scholarship essay outline. Having an outline can make the writing portion of the essay go a lot smoother. And you will be able to write a better essay, which will increase your odds of winning the scholarship you are applying for.
You can also check with your local WorkForce career center. This is the same place that you would go if you needed file for unemployment. WorkForce offers more than just unemployment benefits, they offer certain types of job training, employment help, and college admissions help. They will have scholarship essay examples that are specific to the type of essay you need to write. The more tailored made your essay is the better your chances are for winning your scholarship.
The more scholarship essay examples you read, the better prepared you will be to write your own essay. The essay portion of your application is the most important. The essay is the first impression and quite possibly the only time you will have the opportunity to give an impression of who you are. And that impression is only as good as the way you write your essay.
Jimmer Jenkins has been in the field of writing for a long time and maintains a website with scholarship essay examples in hopes of helping students get money for college. You can find other good college essay examples there as well.
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Essay Paper Writing: Building An Introductory Paragraph
In general, an essay is structured in three parts — an introduction, the body, the conclusion. Think of the introduction as a single paragraph designed to introduce the thesis statement. Often persons build an introductory paragraph before having developed an effective thesis statement indicating less than the most effective organization of thinking about the topic of a paper! In this article, using an example thesis statement, the development of an introductory paragraph for an actual essay assignment is described.
In a cultural diversity class the author had an assignment to write an essay to “…review a current article that discusses or illustrates the portrayal of some aspect of cultural diversity in U.S.society.” One current article which appeared to meet the assignment directions concerned black officers in the U.S. military — it illustrated an aspect of cultural diversity in U.S. society. So the general topic of the proposed essay became “A review of a current newspaper article that discusses black officers in the U.S. military illustrating an aspect of cultural diversity in the U.S.” This statement of the general topic of the proposed essay serves as the basis for the first sentence in the introductory paragraph. The first sentence of the example introductory paragraph might be something like “The media addressing some aspect of cultural diversity that was selected for this paper is a newspaper article discussing black officers in the U.S. military.” Notice how this sentence clearly states what is the general topic of the essay which IS the main point of the introductory paragraph. Also notice how words from the assignment directions are used in this sentence — communicating to the essay evaluator that the writer is paying attention to the assignment directions.
For the example essay paper assignment, one thesis statement developed was “Regarding black officers in the U.S. military, the author in this essay presents performance examples of these officers, then describes programs in the U.S. military to promote black officer candidates, and then explores challenges still facing black officers in the U.S. military.” Notice how this statement begins with communicating the general topic of the paper followed by the presentation of three main points to be addressed in the essay using action verbs (presents, describes, explores) to identify what the author intends to do with each main point in the essay. For the most effective organization of thinking for an essay, stick with focusing on three and only three main points. This thesis statement becomes the last sentence in the introductory paragraph. So the statement of the general topic is the basis for the first sentence and the thesis statement is the last sentence in an introductory paragraph — what’s between these two sentences?
Although there are many resources available via the Internet describing how to build paragraphs, this author uses a simple four-sentence method for constructing a basic paragraph. In a basic paragraph, first sentence, often labeled the “topic sentence,” states what is the main point of the paragraph. Second sentence provides some evidence that demonstrates or supports the main point. Third sentence describes for the reader how the writer understands the information provided in the second sentence DOES demonstrate or support the main point stated in the first sentence. Since the first three sentences DO communicate the main point of the paragraph, provide evidence to support or make that point, and explain how the evidence provided DOES support the main point according to the writer’s understanding, then by the end of the third sentence, the point of the paragraph HAS BEEN MADE. Therefore, sentence four is designed to communicate to the reader that the point of the paragraph has now been made AND introduce the reader to the main point of the next paragraph. This four-sentence structure may be used to develop the three main paragraphs in an essay (and any subparagraphs for the main paragraphs) as well as developing the introductory paragraph.
Using this four-sentence structure to build the introductory paragraph, start the paragraph with a statement that clearly communicates the general topic of the paper. The topic statement developed for this example assignment as indicated previously is “A review of a current newspaper article that discusses black officers in the U.S. military,” so a possible first sentence might be “The media addressing some aspect of cultural diversity that was selected for this paper is a newspaper article discussing black officers in the U.S.military.” Notice how this sentence clearly communicates up-front to the reader what is the general topic of the essay and it clearly communicates to the essay evaluator the author’s understanding of the assignment!
Following the four-sentence process for paragraph development, the second sentence is expected to provide some information that illustrates or supports the point stated in the first sentence. For this example essay assignment, the located newspaper article that discusses black officers in the U.S. military IS the support or evidence to present in the second sentence — and the article located, via some online research is titled “After 60 years, black officers rare” by L.C. Baldor, published in The Times Herald, 7/28/08. So the second sentence of the example introductory paragraph might be something like “In the newspaper article ‘After 60 years, black officers rare,’ the author of the article indicates that although ‘Blacks have made great strides in the military since it was integrated 60 years ago, but they still struggle to gain a foothold in the higher ranks [in the military]’.” Of course, at the end of this sentence is expected a “citation” to show the source of the information presented in the second sentence — like (Baldor, 2008, ¶ 1). Please note the role of a citation is to point the reader to the related reference that is expected on the “References” page at the end of the essay — and note the citation consists of last name of the author, year of publication of the article, and, in this case, a number indicating the specific paragraph in the article where the cited information may be located (because this online article did not provide page numbers). What to notice in this second sentence is how the information presented in the sentence directly supports or MAKES the point stated in the first sentence, BUT, don’t leave it up to the reader to make that connection on his or her own — in the third sentence, communicate explicitly to the reader how YOU, the writer, understands the information in the second sentence demonstrates the point stated in the first sentence.
So the third sentence in the example introductory paragraph is expected to clearly communicate to the reader how the information in the second sentence does support the main point of the paragraph as stated in the first sentence. For this example, a third sentence might be something like “This information clearly indicates the selected newspaper article presents some aspect of cultural diversity, that aspect being blacks in the U.S. military still struggling to achieve higher ranks.” Notice how this sentence communicates explicitly to the reader the writer’s understanding of exactly how the information presented in the second sentence supports the main point stated in the first sentence. At this point, the main point of this paragraph HAS BEEN MADE.
All that remains to be added to complete this example introductory paragraph is the fourth sentence, and for the “introductory” paragraph, the fourth sentence IS the thesis statement, which has been developed already! So the completed example introductory paragraph is:
The media addressing some aspect of cultural diversity that was selected for this paper is a newspaper article discussing black officers in the U.S.military. In the newspaper article “After 60 years, black officers rare,” the author of the article indicates that although “Blacks have made great strides in the military since it was integrated 60 years ago, but they still struggle to gain a foothold in the higher ranks [in the military]” (Baldor, 2008, ¶ 1). This information clearly indicates the selected newspaper article presents some aspect of cultural diversity, that aspect being blacks in the U.S.military still struggling to achieve higher ranks. Regarding black officers in the U.S.military, the author in this essay presents performance examples of these officers, then describes programs in the U.S.military to promote black officer candidates, and then explores challenges still facing black officers in the U.S.military.
Notice the four-sentence structure of this introductory paragraph. Notice how the general topic of the essay is clearly stated in the first sentence and notice how the supporting evidence in the second sentence and the explanation of how that evidence does support the general topic of the essay leads the reader to the statement of the thesis — the last sentence in the introductory paragraph. Notice how the last sentence in this introductory paragraph (the thesis statement) communicates to the reader a clear outline of what the reader may expect in the essay, thus providing the reader an opportunity to develop an initial structure of thinking in his or her own brain to use to build an effective understanding of the main points the author of the essay intends to communicate to the reader.
This same four-sentence paragraph structure may be used to develop the expected three “main” paragraphs in the example essay (one main paragraph for each of the three main points in the thesis statement) as well as any subparagraphs for each main paragraph. Using the example introductory paragraph developed in this article, might the reader have developed an effective understanding of the four-sentence basic paragraph structure illustrated to create the expected three main paragraphs for this essay example? Try it!
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This point can be practically seen in the following areas:
(9) Teachers welfare: It is no longer news that
(c) Their salaries are increased at astronomical manner.
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Research Paper Topics – Write What Interests You
While browsing the internet for research paper topics, you may find yourself stuck and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available to you. How will you be able to avoid information overload? Which research topics will you explore? What will you write about?
Materials Needed
• clean sheet of bond paper
• pencil
• marking pen
• post-it note
• a wall or anything you can post notes
Step 1. Make a list.
Step 2. Identify which ones are measurable.
Using a marking pen, write those words legibly and large enough to be seen from a distance on small (2.5×3″) post-it notes. Post these words or phrases on a wall, a blackboard, whiteboard, or anything to hold your post-it notes. Leave it there for a while.
Step 3. Ponder the words or phrases on the wall.
Pause for a few minutes and ponder the words or phrases you have posted on the wall. Bring together related words by removing them from the wall and putting them close together. This will be the themes of your research paper. Each theme should have at least three words or phrases in it. Ponder which theme is most relevant to your field.
Step 4. Select from the group of themes.
Which theme appeal to you most? Select one and isolate from the rest.
Step 5. Identify the cause and effect from the words or phrases in the theme.
Step 6. Explore your research topic.
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The online dictionary defines an essay as; ‘(a) a short literary composition on a literary subject, usually presenting the personal view of the author, (b) something resembling such a composition.’
The online dictionary goes on to define a dissertation as; ‘a treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research, usually a requirement for an advanced academic degree.’
– They all reflect in some way the author’s point of view.
– They are all based on some form of research.
– They are all discussing some form of topic or subject matter.
– They can all be used as a means of academic testing.
– Essays are generally shorter than dissertations and theses.
– Essays are usually used to explore an argument or to provide more information on a particular subject. Thus you’ll find that most essay questions start with ‘who, what, where, how or why’. They are looking for a conclusion to be drawn by the author, following an assessment of research that is already available.
– Dissertations are usually looking for the author to find new evidence to draw a conclusion about a specific subject matter, as the definition states, to ‘advance a new point of view’. This means that dissertations are looking to add to the research pool on a specific subject, not simply discuss research that is already available.
Do you need help with proofreading your essays? Then use the professional student proofreading service from Words Worth Reading Ltd
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Easy Scholarship For Average Students – 5 Easy Scholarships That Require Essays Only
If you are picky on the type of scholarship program you wish to be a recipient of, chances are, you might not be able to qualify for any at all. Not a lot of scholarships programs today were made for average students or those who never got straight A’s in their report card. However, just because you were never an Einstein prodigy back in high school doesn’t mean you are no longer eligible for college scholarships. Thankfully, you can apply for an easy scholarship– you know, scholarships that are not dependent on the applicant’s academic record in his/her previous school.
The sponsors of most scholarship programs today often judge a person’s eligibility by weighing their academic standing or their income report. The sad thing about this method is that, students who neither fall under these two crucial categories are often overlooked and in most times, never qualify for scholarships at all. The purpose of an easy scholarship is to provide average students with the chance to attend college despite their low grades in high school. Simply put, you need not be a genius to win a college scholarship. Being yourself is enough to qualify for an easy scholarship.
Some scholarships today award students with a cash prize that can go as little as $500 to as high as $8, 000. Moreover, some scholarships such as these are easier to apply for than other known scholarships. You could win a scholarship program by simply writing an essay or joining the school’s sports team. For other scholarships, you only need to register for the program and wait for the government or the sponsors to pick your entry among other applicants.
There are scholarship programs that accommodate students not through their academic standing but by making them pass an essay and instead of going through their high school records, the sponsors go through the content of their essays instead. If you have a knack for writing, applying for programs such as these could mean your chances of qualifying for a scholarship is higher– that is, if you have always been an average-level student in high school or in your previous school.
• The Ayn Rand Institute provides a $10, 000 award and scholarship for those who can pass the best essay about Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead.
• If you have great interest in music, the School Band and Orchestra Magazine Scholarship awards students with a scholarship. In order to qualify, simply write an essay about how music has made an impact in your life, among other topics.
• The SPAACSE wants to know what you think about space travel. If you can write that down in an essay, you might just win a $1, 000-dollar grant.
• The OP Loftbed Scholarship is sponsored by a company that sells loft-beds. If you can tell them how you hope to use loft-beds in your college dormitory, you might win a $500 scholarship prize.
• Last but not the least, The Calgon Take Me Away to College Contest rewards about $8, 000 to students who can answer two-questions in essay type format. This contest is open to the ladies only.
If you find academic scholarships too tough to pass, applying for an easy scholarship would be a better alternate option to receiving free money for your college education. More importantly, the requirements for scholarships like these are easy to comply with, so you need not worry about taking entrance exams or passing other documents.
Let me share something else with you…
There are literally Hundreds of Easy Scholarships [] and grant programs available that are like getting Free Money!
I am constantly searching high and low for this kind of information and have found one site where you can get all the Scholarship and Grant information you need in one place.
Save yourself the headache of trying to do it all yourself and let people who have been in your shoes already help you out!
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The Bridge to Other Side of the Digital Divide – Crossable?
There has been a movement for quite some time to close the digital divide. The issue, originally, was the great disparity between people of means who had good access to technology and the restricted access of those of little means. Now, according to articles from The New York Times, NPR, and The Digital Divide Institute, the divide has taken on a different nature. New studies show that minorities and people with little means have begun acquiring increasing access to technology but their technological use is much different than that of ethnic majorities and people with means.
The haves tend to seek out more online news and more communities of people who share their interest or the same profession. They tend more to be creators rather than simply consumers. In addition, they usually have access to faster internet and stronger download speeds. They understand the difference between scams and good information. The haves know how to search for information effectively, they know how to use the Internet effectively, and they understand the Internet. They are those who strive to continue learning. The challenge, now, is making sure access is equal and proportional. To work with after school programs, summer camps, and volunteers from the other side of the divide,in order to introduce kids, and anyone who is interested, to other areas of the internet, areas that could be more productive and give them more opportunities in life. In addition, inexpensive or free classes for those who do not understand media and/or want to learn could make leaps and bounds in closing the divide. This will help because many who do not use technology or do not use it efficiently do so out of ignorance, fear, and lack of assistance.
Closing this digital divide, or at least building a strong sturdy bridge across it, is important because as a society we need a collective culture. As a society, as a country, a collective culture is important because a collective culture makes us stronger, it makes a better society, it makes a safer society, it makes a more productive society.
For the sake of our country and our communities we must do all we can to close this digital divide.
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AskDefine | Define birthday
Dictionary Definition
2 the date on which a person was born [syn: natal day]
User Contributed Dictionary
• a UK: /ˈbɜːθ.deɪ/, /"b3:TdeI/
• a US: , /ˈbɝθ.deɪ/, /"b3`TdeI/
1. The anniversary of the day on which someone is born or something is created.
date of birth
See also
Extensive Definition
Birthday is the name given to the particular date each year on which many people in many cultures celebrate the anniversary they were born. It is often marked by a birthday party and/or friends when gifts are given to the person celebrating the birthday. It is also customary to treat people specially on their birthday, either generally acceding to their wishes, or subjecting them to a rite of transition.
It is thought the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia but was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire. Such celebrations were uncommon previously so practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays. Because many Roman soldiers took to Mithraism, it had a wide distribution and influence throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity. The Jewish perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various rabbis.
The celebration of birthdays is not universal. Some people prefer name day celebrations, and Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate either, considering their origins to be pagan festivals along with Christmas and Easter. Some adults loathe celebrating it as it reminds them that they are getting progressively older.
Birthday cake
The birthday cake is traditionally highly decorated, and typically covered with lit candles when presented, the number of candles signifying the age of the celebrant. The person whose birthday it is makes a silent wish and then blows out the candles. If done in one breath, the wish is supposed to come true (but only if the person keeps the wish to himself or herself). "Trick" candles have also been used to play practical jokes on the birthday boy or girl. These candles do not go out when blown upon, making it difficult to get the wish associated with blowing out all of the candles. It is also common for the "birthday boy" or "birthday girl" to cut the initial piece of the cake as a newlywed couple might with a wedding cake. If the knife touches the bottom, or when withdrawn from the cake comes out with pieces of cake adhering to it, the birthday boy or girl may have to kiss the nearest person of a different sex.
Birthday cakes date back as far as the Middle Ages when the English would conceal symbolic items such as gold coins, rings and thimbles inside their cakes. Each item was associated with a prediction. For example, a person finding a gold coin in a birthday cake would supposedly become wealthy; a person discovering a thimble would never marry.
A birthday is considered a special day for the person, and so the person will often get special treatment from friends and family. This is especially true for children, who eagerly anticipate their own special day. In addition to parties, people often receive gifts on their birthday. Birthday parties for children often include fun games, which are relevant to the local culture, or the visit of a magician to entertain. Typical birthday party decorations include balloons, streamers and confetti. There are also traditions of surprise parties. Not all traditions are equally generous. In certain circles, the birthday boy or girl is expected to treat their party guests; this varies depending on the local culture and may involve party gifts or other nice gesture. In some cultures, the birthday at which the youngster reaches the legal age for alcohol consumption may be celebrated with a party at which free or abundant alcoholic drinks are available.
In most English-speaking countries it is traditional to sing the song Happy Birthday to You to the honored person celebrating a birthday. The Happy Birthday song tune is thought to be the most frequently sung melody in the world. Similar songs exist in other languages such as "Lang zal hij/zij leven" (and several others) in Dutch, "Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück" in German, "Feliz Cumpleaños" in Spanish, "Sto lat" in Polish, "Lá Bhreithlá Shona Duit" in Irish, "Joyeux Anniversaire" in French, "Tanti Auguri a te" in Italian and "Iyi ki dogdun, Mutlu Yillar Sana" in Turkish. This happens traditionally at a birthday party while someone brings a birthday cake into the (often darkened) room. Druze is a religion which celebrate this event
Special birthdays
Notable birthdays can include:
• When the most significant digit changes, for example one's 1st, 10th, or 100th birthdays.
• Certain coming-of-age years often accompanied by an increase in legal privileges and responsibilities; in Western nations these often traditionally happen at ages 13, 16, 18 and 21.
• One's platinum birthday is the birthday when the age matches the concatenated numeric value of the month and the day. For example, somebody turning 43 on 4/3 would be celebrating their platinum birthday. This time-honored tradition originated in east central Minnesota. (This, however, is not advantageous if you were born on, say, December 15, as very few people live to age 1,215.)
• One's Beddian birthday is the day when the age one turns is the same as the last two digits of one's birth year. For example, people born in 1954 would celebrate their Beddian birthday when they turned 54 in 2008. This birthday is named for a NYC firefighter, Bobby Beddia, who noted this coincidence days before he was killed in a seven-alarm blaze near Ground Zero.
• In most legal systems, one becomes a legal adult on a particular birthday (often 18th or 21st), and at different ages gains different rights and responsibilities — voting, certain drug use (for example, alcohol, purchasing tobacco), eligibility for military draft or voluntary enlistment, purchasing lottery tickets, vehicle driving licences, etc.
• Many cultures have one or more coming of age birthdays:
• Jewish boys have a bar mitzvah on or around their 13th birthday. Jewish girls observe a bat mitzvah on or around their 12th birthday, or sometimes on or around their 13th birthday in Reform and Conservative Judaism.
• In Latin America the quinceañera celebration traditionally marks a girl's 15th birthday.
• Some girls and a few boys in the United States have "sweet sixteen" birthday parties.
• In the United Kingdom 18th and 21st are traditional coming of age birthdays.
• Many Filipino girls celebrate their 18th birthdays with a cotillion and debutante ball, commonly known as a debut.
• The birthdays of historically significant people, like national heroes or founders, are often commemorated by an official holiday. Some saints are remembered by a liturgical feast (sometimes on a presumed birthday). By analogy, the Latin term Dies natalis 'birthday' is applied to the anniversary of an institution (such as a university).
Official/Alternative birthdays and name day
While it is uncommon to have an official holiday for a republican head of state's birthday, this can become a permanent posthumous honour, especially in the case of a so-called father of the fatherland, for example George Washington (best known as Presidents' Day; also celebrated in the US is Lincoln's Birthday)
In cases where a mythical figure's actual birthday is unknown, it is common for a particular date to be substituted.
People born on leap day (February 29), which occurs only during leap years, often celebrate their birthday in other years on February 28, or March 1 (the first day they have, measured in whole years, a new age).
In some Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as France, Hungary, or Greece, it is common to have a 'name day'/'Saint's day'. This is celebrated in much the same way as a birthday, but is held on the official day of a saint with the same Christian name as the birthday boy/girl; the difference being that one may look up a person's name day in a calendar, or easily remember common name days (for example, John or Mary); however in pious traditions, the two were often made to concur by giving a newborn the name of a saint celebrated on its birthday, or even the name of a feast, for example, Noel or Pascal (French for Christmas and "of Easter"). In some countries, name days are celebrated with much more elaborate festivities than birthdays; in the past, birthdays often were not celebrated at all in those countries.
In school, a half-birthday or other unbirthday is sometimes celebrated for those whose birthdays do not fall on a school day (especially for birthdays falling during holiday and vacation periods).
All racehorses traditionally celebrate their birthday on (that is, calculate their age in years from) 1 August in the Southern Hemisphere, and on 1 January in the Northern Hemisphere.
Birthday gift symbolism
A birthstone is a gift of a precious material (jewelry, mainly gemstones; themselves traditionally associated with various qualities) that symbolizes the month of birth (in the Gregorian Calendar).
Tanzanite was added to December by the American Gem Trade Association in 2002. Most organizations do not recognize tanzanite as a December birthstone, however, and the AGTA's move to make it a December birthstone has generally been viewed as a marketing ploy.
The birthstone seems to originate from Biblical times. The Breastplate of Aaron, referred to in Exodus 39:10-14:
11 in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald;
The precise list of birthstones however can be found in Revelation 21:19-20 where the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem are listed, in the order of the Roman calendar:
Birth flowers
Just as there are alternatives with birthstones, there are also alternatives with birth flowers. For example, October is often listed as Calendula (Marigold) , but is also occasional noted as being rose or camellia.
Technical issues
A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone of the place of birth. Thus people born in Samoa at 11:30 PM will record their birthdate as one day before UTC and those born in the Line Islands will record their birthdate one day after UTC. They will apparently be born two days apart, while some of the apparently older ones may be younger in hours. Those who live in different time zones from their birth often exclusively celebrate their birthdays at the local time zone. In addition, the intervention of Daylight Saving Time can result in a case where a baby born second being recorded as having been born up to an hour before their predecessor (but the time the clock is changed back is such that the second of twins does not have an earlier birthday).
Birthday stones
See also
birthday in Azerbaijani: Ad günü
birthday in Czech: Narozeniny
birthday in Danish: Fødselsdag
birthday in German: Geburtstag
birthday in Spanish: Cumpleaños
birthday in Esperanto: Naskiĝtago
birthday in French: Anniversaire
birthday in Western Frisian: Jierdei
birthday in Korean: 생일
birthday in Indonesian: Ulang tahun
birthday in Italian: Compleanno
birthday in Hebrew: יום הולדת
birthday in Dutch: Verjaardag
birthday in Japanese: 誕生日
birthday in Norwegian: Fødselsdag
birthday in Norwegian Nynorsk: Fødselsdag
birthday in Central Khmer: ពិធីខួបកំណើត
birthday in Polish: Urodziny
birthday in Portuguese: Aniversário
birthday in Kölsch: Jebootsdaach
birthday in Quechua: Wata hunt'ay
birthday in Russian: День рождения
birthday in Simple English: Birthday
birthday in Slovak: Narodeniny
birthday in Slovenian: Rojstni dan
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Lifestyle: Advertising
From Knowing a Little, to Knowing Everything; The impact of Big Data on Advertising
What and How?
In an era of information, internet, smartphones and Google, one of the most interesting and impactful new tool companies have on the tips of their fingers is the science of data collection namely, Big Data. It consists in collecting, classifying and analyzing data coming from multiple platforms and to transpose them into facts and statistics. This process can be applied to many fields, but the one field that has been significantly influenced by this new phenomenon is the world of Marketing and Advertising. Changing the process of advertising drastically, marketing agencies have to reinvent themselves to produce campaigns that are extremely targeted and precise.
Now able to know and predict the buyer’s intentions, companies have access to information they never would have had before. Social networks are good examples because they offer personal information. What music you like, what social class you are in, approximate income, your habits, things you like and more. Able to know you on a more personal level, companies can assemble campaigns that will engage you, attract you, and connect with your values and beliefs. The analytic aspect of Data collection, is where the marketing agencies are challenged. From the dawn of time to 2003, humans generated around five Exabytes of data. In 2012, global data grew to 2.7 Zettabytes, which is 500 times more data than all data generated prior to 2003 in only 10 years. This constant flows of data, coming from all those different platforms are hard to analyze due to the substantial amount there is. Companies have to invest in sophisticated programs that use complex algorithms to classify all the data. Once the data are analysed, marketers needs to come up with campaigns that are innovative and will target as precisely as possible their consumers.
Big Data, Good or Bad? CLICK here to know more.
big-data An IBM Study :
How do you convince me?
Additionally to the complexity of producing effective marketing strategies, advertisement is also evolving in a brisk way. The mediums by which we consume content has significantly changed passing from fix televisions to a multi-screen reality. With Television, laptop, smartphone, tablet and screens of all sorts, commercials have become somewhat optional. Big data comes into play in a form of online advertisement commonly called pop-ups.
”Commercial web publisher make space available on their web pages for banner and display advertisement. Typically, when a user opens such a web page, the browser reaches out to an online ad exchange network and request an ad unit to serve to that user. The ad exchange broad cast the information enriched with behavior data specific to the user. The information is compared between advertisers to determine which ad is significant to that user. Then bids are made by companies and the higher bidder wins”.
In other words, in order to decide which ad will get the slot on the web site, the exchange board analyse the behavior the user had prior to opening that page. Your research on Google, the web sites you browsed, your Facebook profile and many more are taken down and classified. As an example, if you wrote on your Facebook profile that you just bought a pair of boots, chances are the boots ad won’t be selected to advertise on the page.
Dirty Advertising
Many different marketing techniques are used in relation to big data. The analysis of word is one of those techniques. Based on the traditional marketing technique called ”Weasel Word”, agencies use words that have a positive connotation and that have an upbeat phonetic when pronounced. That way, the customer’s focus is diverted. With data the company use the same technique, but with words that are often employed by their target consumers. Browsing on social media, marketers are able to draw a pattern of word choice in the collected data of their actual customers. They will then use those words in their commercials to engage the buyer. Another technique that is used is the ”Plain Folks” technique which consist in making the product appear to be for ”ordinary” people. Like the cliché example of a regular family eating cereals in the kitchen, companies combine big data by analysing the social class the buyer is part of. That way, they can reproduce their target buyer’s environment and convince them that they can and should have that product. Even favourite colors, book or food can be used in an advertisement even if it has nothing to do with the product. A lot of the tactics that are used are made to act on a subliminal level and that is precisely where advertising is effective.
The concept of ”mind share” is at the core of advertising and is another facet of the unconscious effect it has on consumers. Often we claim that claim that we immune to advertising, or that it does not ”work” on us, right? Well that is precisely what agencies want you to believe. The more confident one is about his/her control over marketing, the more this person is in fact affected. Mind share is the idea that certain brands are able to associate themselves to a concept, an event or even beliefs and values. The more you see that advertisement, the more chances you have to buy it. This will happen not because you will consciously think that because you have seen it everywhere you need to buy it, but because you will automatically create a link. If I was to write on a shopping list to buy some Tide, you will most likely know that Tide is a detergent and you will probably see the bright blue yellow and orange of their packaging. You will also find the item pretty fast in the isle of the supermarket and probably one commercial of the company will come to your mind. All this because of a combination of being seen everywhere, having catchy slogans, good commercials and the effective use of advertising techniques.
mindshare Want to know more? CLICK HERE
On a business level, big data is about to change a lot and will provide companies with an effective tool that will help them achieve new summits. Is big data good or bad, the question stays ambiguous for now. Advertisement will get more and more targeted, but where will it stop? For some, data collection has become an issue of privacy since companies use personal information about them. For others, it is a question of evolving into a more intelligent model of consumerism and allowing people to shop more effectively.
Digital Marketing
Agencies Adaptation to Big Data
Advertising Techniques
For More Info : Oral Presentation – Big Data
Word document – Big Data
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autisticcrpdWith increased awareness about autism, you’d think that there would be more understanding about it. Not so. When speaking with parents and educators, I’ve found that old myths die hard. It does make a kind of sense. Yes, there is more awareness that the disorder exists. There is some understanding of common symptoms. But many people go through life without knowing someone up close and personal who is on the autism spectrum. The portrayal of autism we see in movies and television shows is often superficial and incomplete.
Let’s take a look at common misunderstandings and the truth about people on the spectrum.
Myth: Children with autism don’t care about having social relationships.
Fact: Children with autism want very much to have friends. However, they often lack the skills and social awareness to make friends or to maintain friendships. It’s difficult, for example, for people with autism to look people in the eye when talking. In Western cultures, this is often interpreted as a lack of respect. But people with autism find it difficult to process what they are trying to say and what they are observing in another’s face at the same time. In order to stick to their train of thought, they need to “look” inward.
Another symptom that gets in the way of social relationships is their difficulty reading social cues. When talking about something that interests them, they may not notice when another person is bored or irritated or upset so they don’t respond as would normally be expected. They need help to develop those sensitivities and to learn how to respond appropriately.
Myth: Children with autism are savants.
Fact: Yes, some people with autism have a rare, special skill. I’ve known more than one person with autism, for example, who can tell you the day of the week you were born if only given your birth date. Others have the ability to play piano by ear or the ability to learn complex mathematical formulae even though they can’t cross the street safely or decide what is appropriate to wear given the weather. The fact is that only about 10 percent of people with autism have savant skills. The other 90 percent are like the rest of us, with a wide variety of talents and skills.
Myth: Children with autism aren’t emotional.
Fact: Yes, they are. One teen I know was called “Spock” by his classmates after the Star Trek character who always put logic before emotion. What they didn’t understand was that the name was actually appropriate. He was so frightened of how big his emotions were that, like Spock, he had to contain them by overcompensating with logic. Often kids with autism have difficulty managing their emotions. They may over- or under-express what they are feeling in an attempt to cope. Or they may misread the situation or what is being said and respond inappropriately.
Myth: All children with autism have flapping, rocking, spinning behaviors.
Fact: The rocking and flapping behaviors that are common in children with autism who are also cognitively limited aren’t always present in kids who are on the high-functioning end of the spectrum. It is unknown why some kids with autism engage in these behaviors. It may be a way to self-soothe or cope. It may be a feature of the brain chemistry. Kids with high-functioning autism often have learned to control the impulse or to do it in ways that are less socially embarrassing.
Myth: Children with autism are not creative.
Fact: They are not always creative in ways that others expect. It’s true that many people with autism have difficulty with imaginative play or fantasy stories. But they can be enormously creative around their special interests. After all, it takes creativity to come up with new applications for computers or new ways to solve mathematical problems, for example. People with autism can be highly inventive.
Myth: Children with autism aren’t successful in school.
Fact: It depends on the degree of autism. Remember, it’s a spectrum. Although 75 percent of kids with autism also are cognitively limited, the other 25 percent have average to genius intelligence. Tapping that intelligence can be challenging. Learning styles and behaviors may be incompatible with regular education.
Some students with autism have difficulty with transitions. Some have high interest (and are therefore highly successful) in some subjects but struggle with others. Some find the mechanics of handwriting so difficult that they give up trying on tests or in class assignments that require written work but can succeed if allowed to use a laptop. These are problems to be solved, not reasons for school failure. Special education supports can be provided to help them succeed.
Myth: Children with autism are rigid.
Fact: Some are. Some aren’t. The apparent need for routine, rules, and structure is a way for people who struggle with knowing what is required of them to stay safe. As children on the upper end of the spectrum develop social and practical skills and become more comfortable in being who they are, they can become less reliant on their rules for managing life.
Child drawing photo available from Shutterstock
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