in medieval europe again, as one was sketched by villard de honnecourt in c. 1250. they are claimed to have been introduced to madeira following its discovery in c. 1420 and spread widely in europe in the 16th century. prior to the invention of the sawmill, boards were rived and planed, or more often sawn by two men with a whipsaw, using saddleblocks to hold the log, and a saw pit for the pitman who worked below. sawing was slow, and required strong and hearty men. the topsawer had to be the stronger of the two because the saw was pulled in turn by each man, and the lower had the advantage of gravity. the topsawyer also had to guide the saw so that the board was of even thickness. this was often done by following a chalkline. early sawmills simply adapted the whipsaw to mechanical power, generally driven by a water wheel to speed up the process. the circular motion of the wheel was changed to back - and - forth motion of the saw blade by a connecting rod known as a pitman arm ( thus introducing a term used in many mechanical applications ). generally, only the saw was powered, and the logs had to be loaded and moved by hand. an early improvement was the development of a movable carriage, also water powered, to move the log steadily through the saw blade. a type of sawmill without a crank is known from germany called a " knock and drop " or " drop mill " : " the oldest sawmills in the black forest are " drop sawmills " also referred to as " knock and drop sawmills ". they have all disappeared in europe except for three in the black forest, one of which is in the open air museum in gutach. in these drop sawmills, the frame carrying the saw blade is knocked upwards by cams as the shaft turns. these cams are let into the shaft on which the waterwheel sits. when the frame carrying the saw blade is in the topmost position it drops by its own weight, making a loud knocking noise, and in so doing it cuts the trunk. from 1800 onwards. ” a small mill such as this would be the center of many rural communities in wood - exporting regions such as the baltic countries and canada. the output of such mills would be quite low, perhaps only 500 boards per day. they would also generally only operate during the winter, the peak logging season. in the united states, the sawmill was introduced


regions such as the baltic countries and canada. the output of such mills would be quite low, perhaps only 500 boards per day. they would also generally only operate during the winter, the peak logging season. in the united states, the sawmill was introduced soon after the colonisation of virginia by recruiting skilled men from hamburg. later the metal parts were obtained from the netherlands, where the technology was far ahead of that in england, where the sawmill remained largely unknown until the late 18th century. the arrival of a sawmill was a large and stimulative step in the growth of a frontier community. industrial revolution early mills had been taken to the forest, where a temporary shelter was built, and the logs were skidded to the nearby mill by horse or ox teams, often when there was some snow to provide lubrication. as mills grew larger, they were usually established in more permanent facilities on a river, and the logs were floated down to them by log drivers. sawmills built on navigable rivers, lakes, or estuaries were called cargo mills because of the availability of ships transporting cargoes of logs to the sawmill and cargoes of lumber from the sawmill. the next improvement was the use of circular saw blades, and soon thereafter, the use of gangsaws, which added additional blades so that a log would be reduced to boards in one quick step. circular saw blades were extremely expensive and highly subject to damage by overheating or dirty logs. a new kind of technician arose, the sawfiler. sawfilers were highly skilled in metalworking. their main job was to set and sharpen teeth. the craft also involved learning how to hammer a saw, whereby a saw is deformed with a hammer and anvil to counteract the forces of heat and cutting. the circular saw was a later introduction, perhaps invented in england in the late 18th century, but perhaps in 17th century holland ( netherlands ). modern circular saw blades have replaceable teeth, but still need to be hammered. the introduction of steam power in the 19th century created many new possibilities for mills. availability of railroad transportation for logs and lumber encouraged building of rail mills away from navigable water. steam powered sawmills could be far more mechanized. scrap lumber from the mill provided a ready fuel source for firing the boiler. efficiency was increased, but the capital cost of a new mill increased dramatically as well. by 1900, the largest sawmill in the world was operated by the atlantic lumber company in georgetown, south carolina, using logs floated down the pee dee river from as far


efficiency was increased, but the capital cost of a new mill increased dramatically as well. by 1900, the largest sawmill in the world was operated by the atlantic lumber company in georgetown, south carolina, using logs floated down the pee dee river from as far as the edge of the appalachian mountains in north carolina. a restoration project for sturgeon ' s mill in northern california is underway, restoring one of the last steam - powered lumber mills still using its original equipment. current trends in the twentieth century the introduction of electricity and high technology furthered this process, and now most sawmills are massive and expensive facilities in which most aspects of the work is computerized. the cost of a new facility with 2 mmfbm / day capacity is up to can $ 120, 000, 000. a modern operation will produce between 100 mmfbm and 700 mmfbm annually. small gasoline - powered sawmills run by local entrepreneurs served many communities in the early twentieth century, and specialty markets still today. a trend is the small portable sawmill for personal or even professional use. many different models have emerged with different designs and functions. they are especially suitable for producing limited volumes of boards, or specialty milling such as oversized timber. technology has changed sawmill operations significantly in recent years, emphasizing increasing profits through waste minimization and increased energy efficiency as well as improving operator safety. the once - ubiquitous rusty, steel conical sawdust burners have for the most part vanished, as the sawdust and other mill waste is now processed into particleboard and related products, or used to heat wood - drying kilns. co - generation facilities will produce power for the operation and may also feed superfluous energy onto the grid. while the bark may be ground for landscaping barkdust, it may also be burned for heat. sawdust may make particle board or be pressed into wood pellets for pellet stoves. the larger pieces of wood that won ' t make lumber are chipped into wood chips and provide a source of supply for paper mills. wood by - products of the mills will also make oriented strand board ( osb ) paneling for building construction, a cheaper alternative to plywood for paneling. additional images wood from victorian mountain ash, swifts creek a sawmill in armata, on mount smolikas, epirus, greece. a preserved water powered sawmill, norfolk, england. see also - " lumber manufacturing ". lumber basics. western wood products association. 2002. retrieved 2008 - 02 - 12. - ritti, grewe & kessen


, epirus, greece. a preserved water powered sawmill, norfolk, england. see also - " lumber manufacturing ". lumber basics. western wood products association. 2002. retrieved 2008 - 02 - 12. - ritti, grewe & kessener 2007, p. 161 - ritti, grewe & kessener 2007, pp. 149 – 153 - wilson 2002, p. 16 - c. singer et at., history of technology ii ( oxford 1956 ), 643 - 4. - charles e. peterson, ' sawdust trail : annals of sawmilling and the lumber trade ' bulletin of the association for preservation technology vol. 5, no. 2. ( 1973 ), pp. 84 - 5. - adam robert lucas ( 2005 ), " industrial milling in the ancient and medieval worlds : a survey of the evidence for an industrial revolution in medieval europe ", technology and culture 46 ( 1 ) : 1 - 30 [ 10 - 1 ] - peterson, 94 - 5. - oakleaf p. 8 - norman ball, ' circular saws and the history of technology ' bulletin of the association for preservation technology 7 ( 3 ) ( 1975 ), pp. 79 - 89. - edwardian farm : roy hebdige ' s mobile sawmill - steam traction engines - in - time timber supply chain optimization http : / / www. mjc2. com / real - time - manufacturing - scheduling. htm - grewe, klaus ( 2009 ), " die reliefdarstellung einer antiken steinsagemaschine aus hierapolis in phrygien und ihre bedeutung fur die technikgeschichte. internationale konferenz 13. −16. juni 2007 in istanbul ", in bachmann, martin, bautechnik im antiken und vorantiken kleinasien, byzas 9, istanbul : ege yayınları / zero prod. ltd., pp. 429 – 454, isbn 978 - 975 - 8072 - 23 - 1 - ritti, tullia ; grewe, klaus ; kessener, paul ( 2007 ), " a relief of a water - powered stone saw mill on a sarcophagus at hierapolis and its implications ", journal of roman archaeology 20 : 138 – 163 - oakleaf, h. b. ( 1920 ), lumber manufacture in the douglas fir region, chicago : commercial journal company - wilson, andrew


theodore simon was born on july 10, 1872 in dijon, burgundy, france. during much of his early life, he was fascinated by alfred binet ' s work and constantly read his books. his interest in psychology continually increased, especially as the need for clinical experience in the field decreased. in 1899, he became an intern at the asylum in perray - vaucluse where he began his famous work on abnormal children. this drew binet ' s attention, who was at the time studying the correlation between physical growth and intellectual development. binet came to the asylum and continued his work there with simon. this research led to simon ' s medical thesis on the topic in 1900. from 1901 - 1905, simon worked in various hospitals, from sainte - anne to dury - les - amiens. 1905 is the year during which simon and binet made public their famous binet - simon intelligence scale, the first intelligence measuring device ever devised. it premiered in l ' annee psychologique, a journal founded by binet in 1895. throughout his life after this point, simon always remained critical of immoderate and improper use of the scale. he believed that its over - use and inappropriate use prevented other psychologists from achieving binet ' s ultimate goal : understanding human beings, their nature, and their development. the scale was revised in 1908 and again in 1911, but simon kept it the same after binet ' s death in respect for one of history ' s greatest psychologists and simon ' s true idol. after 1905 until 1920, simon worked as the head psychiatrist at st. yon hospital. in 1920, he returned as medical director at perray - vaucluse until 1930. from there, he moved to act as medical director until late 1936, when he retired. throughout his life ( starting in 1912 until 1960 ) he was also an editor for bulletin of societe alfred binet. he died of natural causes in 1961. wolf, t. h. ( 1961 ). american psychologist, 16 : 245 - 248. | this article about a psychologist is a stub. you can help wikipedia by expanding it. |


wikipediaread full entry the shells are long, narrow, and parallel - sided. this shape resembles a closed, old - fashioned straight razor ( a cut - throat razor ), or a closed jackknife ( pocket knife ) and sometimes these clams are known as razor shells or jackknives. the shells in these species are fragile and can easily be damaged when digging for these clams. ensis species live in clean sand on exposed beaches. they are capable of digging very rapidly ; see the description under the atlantic jackknife clam. some clammers catch jackknives by pouring salt on the characteristic keyhole - shaped breathing holes. the clam then tries to escape the salt by coming up out of its hole, and at this point it is possible to gently grab the shell and pull it out of the ground. thirteen species are currently recognised : - ensis arcuatus ( jeffreys, 1865 ) – razor shell - ensis californicus dall, 1899 - ensis directus ( conrad, 1843 ) – atlantic jackknife clam - ensis ensis ( linnaeus, 1758 ) - ensis goreensis ( clessin, 1888 ) - ensis macha ( molina, 1782 ) - ensis magnus schumacher, 1817 - ensis megistus pilsbry & mcginty, 1943 - ensis minor ( chenu, 1843 ) – jackknife clam - ensis myrae berry, 1954 - ensis nitidus ( clessin, 1888 ) - ensis siliqua ( linnaeus, 1758 ) – pod razor - ensis tropicalis hertlein & strong, 1955 - s. gofas ( 2010 ). " ensis schumacher, 1817 ". in p. bouchet, s. gofas & g. rosenberg. world marine mollusca database. world register of marine species. http : / / www. marinespecies. org / aphia. php? p = taxdetails & id = 138333. retrieved april 26, 2010.


- year published : 1851 - language : english - country of origin : united states of america - source : melville h. ( 1851 ). moby dick. london, england : richard bently. - flesch – kincaid level : 9. 8 - word count : 910 melville, h. ( 1851 ). chapter 70 : the sphynx. moby dick ( lit2go edition ). retrieved may 18, 2013, from melville, herman. " chapter 70 : the sphynx. " moby dick. lit2go edition. 1851. web. < >. may 18, 2013. herman melville, " chapter 70 : the sphynx, " moby dick, lit2go edition, ( 1851 ), accessed may 18, 2013,. it should not have been omitted that previous to completely stripping the body of the leviathan, he was beheaded. now, the beheading of the sperm whale is a scientific anatomical feat, upon which experienced whale surgeons very much pride themselves : and not without reason. consider that the whale has nothing that can properly be called a neck ; on the contrary, where his head and body seem to join, there, in that very place, is the thickest part of him. remember, also, that the surgeon must operate from above, some eight or ten feet intervening between him and his subject, and that subject almost hidden in a discolored, rolling, and oftentimes tumultuous and bursting sea. bear in mind, too, that under these untoward circumstances he has to cut many feet deep in the flesh ; and in that subterraneous manner, without so much as getting one single peep into the ever - contracting gash thus made, he must skillfully steer clear of all adjacent, interdicted parts, and exactly divide the spine at a critical point hard by its insertion into the skull. do you not marvel, then, at stubb ’ s boast, that he demanded but ten minutes to behead a sperm whale? when first severed, the head is dropped astern and held there by a cable till the body is stripped. that done, if it belong to a small whale it is hoisted on deck to be deliberately disposed of. but, with a full grown leviathan this is impossible ; for the sperm whale ’ s head embraces nearly one third of his entire bulk, and completely to suspend such a burden as that, even by the immense tackles of a whaler, this were as vain a thing as to


##s, has moved amid this world ’ s foundations. where unrecorded names and navies rust, and untold hopes and anchors rot ; where in her murderous hold this frigate earth is ballasted with bones of millions of the drowned ; there, in that awful water - land, there was thy most familiar home. thou hast been where bell or diver never went ; hast slept by many a sailor ’ s side, where sleepless mothers would give their lives to lay them down. thou saw ’ st the locked lovers when leaping from their flaming ship ; heart to heart they sank beneath the exulting wave ; true to each other, when heaven seemed false to them. thou saw ’ st the murdered mate when tossed by pirates from the midnight deck ; for hours he fell into the deeper midnight of the insatiate maw ; and his murderers still sailed on unharmed - while swift lightnings shivered the neighboring ship that would have borne a righteous husband to outstretched, longing arms. o head! thou has seen enough to split the planets and make an infidel of abraham, and not one syllable is thine! ” “ sail ho! ” cried a triumphant voice from the main - mast - head. “ aye? well, now, that ’ s cheering, ” cried ahab, suddenly erecting himself, while whole thunder - clouds swept aside from his brow. “ that lively cry upon this deadly calm might almost convert a better man. - where away? ” “ three points on the starboard bow, sir, and bringing down her breeze to us! “ better and better, man. would now st. paul would come along that way, and to my breezelessness bring his breeze! o nature, and o soul of man! how far beyond all utterance are your linked analogies ; not the smallest atom stirs or lives on matter, but has its cunning duplicate in mind. ”


- capital ( adj. ) - early 13c., " of or pertaining to the head, " from old french capital, from latin capitalis " of the head, " hence " capital, chief, first, " from caput ( genitive capitis ) " head " ( see capitulum ). meaning " principal " is early 15c. of letters, " upper case, " from late 14c. a capital crime ( 1520s ) is one that affects the life or " head ; " capital had a sense of " deadly, mortal " from late 14c. in english, a sense also found in latin. the felt connection between " head " and " life, mortality " also existed in old english : e. g. heafodgilt " deadly sin, capital offense, " heafdes þolian " to forfeit life. " capital punishment was in blackstone ( 1765 ) and classical latin capitis poena. capital gain is recorded from 1921. capital goods is recorded from 1899. of ships, " first - rate, of the line, " attested from 1650s. related : capitally. - capital ( n. 1 ) - early 15c., " a capital letter, " from capital ( adj. ). the meaning " capital city " is first recorded 1660s ( the old english word was heafodstol ). the financial sense is from 1610s ( middle english had chief money " principal fund, " mid - 14c. ), from medieval latin capitale " stock, property, " noun use of neuter of capitalis " capital, chief, first. " ( the noun use of this adjective in classical latin was for " a capital crime. " ) [ the term capital ] made its first appearance in medieval latin as an adjective capitalis ( from caput, head ) modifying the word pars, to designate the principal sum of a money loan. the principal part of a loan was contrasted with the " usury " - - later called interest - - the payment made to the lender in addition to the return of the sum lent. this usage, unknown to classical latin, had become common by the thirteenth century and possibly had begun as early as 1100 a. d., in the first chartered towns of europe. [ frank a. fetter, " reformulation of the concepts of capital and income in economics and accounting, " 1937, in " capital, interest, & rent, " 1977 ] also see cattle, and cf


corn yields throughout the corn belt were spectacular in 2009. was it environment or genetics? you need the right environment to fully express genes. how could a late planting season and a cool, wet summer contribute to tremendous yields? genetics is made up of base genetics, comprising more than 99 % of total genetics, plus traits. environment is everything that isn ’ t genetics. it includes soil type, organic matter, fertilizers, diseases, planting date, population and row width. we have no control over weather — one of the most important factors. corn likes cool, wet summers. cool temperatures also reduce leaf disease. plants live longer and keep adding dry matter, improving yields. however, wet, cool conditions late can cause diplodia and gibberella ear rot. use disease - tolerant, faster - drying hybrids with open husks that tip ears over at physiological maturity to help reduce ear diseases. two years ago i met an iowa farmer who consistently gets high yields, even in tough years. his average yields for the past three years were 185, 232 and 243 bushels per acre with conventional hybrids on about 500 acres. many of the 30 tips that follow relate to his operation. some relate to what i ’ ve learned in more than 40 years as a plant breeder, and as a consultant for farm progress companies on the corn illustrated project. 1. overall condition. your equipment doesn ’ t have to be new, just ready to go. 2. planter checkup. check over your planter annually with a dealer - provided checklist, or have your dealer do it. 3. upgrades. if you have an older planter, upgrade planting units if possible. 4. fleet checkup. don ’ t lose planting time because a dealer must repair the tractor, and no other tractors will pull the planter. 5. consider field guidance. auto - steering can make planting more relaxing. 6. utilize fall tillage. that can help stalks break down in conventional systems. don ’ t overdo tillage. 7. apply p and k. fertilize in the fall where applicable. apply before tillage. 8. use manure where feasible. manure contains micro - nutrients along with 9. know manure analysis. the iowa farmer applies 10 to 12 tons of cattle manure per acre after soybeans in a corn - soybean rotation. that supplies 60 to 70 pounds of n per acre. 10. seek guidance. work with a local agronomist who understands your soils. 11. use


cattle manure per acre after soybeans in a corn - soybean rotation. that supplies 60 to 70 pounds of n per acre. 10. seek guidance. work with a local agronomist who understands your soils. 11. use n - serve. this farmer applies 90 to 100 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in the fall when possible, with n - serve. 12. take n credit. if you apply, say, 15 gallons of 28 % n, about 45 pounds of n per acre, with herbicide, take credit toward total n. remember soybeans add 30 to 40 pounds of n. 13. starter fertilizer. the iowa farmer uses 3 gallons of 3 - 18 - 18 as starter. he ’ s seen a 10 - bushel - per - acre advantage for starter. 14. plant early. be ready to go when the soil is ready. this farmer starts in april if soils are right. 15. run your own test plot. replicate the hybrids two or three times. use the company ’ s newest and best, and compare to the best hybrids of the previous year. if newer hybrids are 5 % to 10 % better, it ’ s time to move on. 16. consider conventional seed. this farmer planted most of his acres to conventional seed. he figures you need 10 to 15 bushels per acre more at $ 3. 50 - to $ 4 - per - bushel corn to pay for traits. he hasn ’ t seen that increase. 17. understand traits. remember that traits protect yield, they don ’ t increase yield. 18. conventional herbicides. they ’ re required if you raise non - gmo corn — it can be a good thing! 19. identify worst weeds. for this farmer, it ’ s wooly cupgrass. he ’ ll try balance flex this year on two - leaf corn. 20. double - check rates. for example, balance flex contains a safener. it can affect rates. 21. control perennials. applying glyphosate in roundup - ready soybeans every other year helps. 22. watch timeliness. be timely on herbicide applications. even small weeds compete. 23. conventional approach. use the best granular insecticide available. soil - applied insecticides also help control secondary pests. 24. secondary insect control. with triple - or quad - stacks, cruiser or poncho 250 seed treatments are included. highest rates of these products are suggested for rootworm larval control on conventional corn.


seattle — may 16, 2002 — fred hutchinson cancer research center scientists report a finding in the common fruit fly that may open new paths for understanding some of the key genetic missteps that lead to cancer in humans. the discovery also could offer a better testing ground for anti - cancer drugs. susan parkhurst, ph. d., and miriam rosenberg, both of fred hutchinson ' s basic sciences division, describe in the may 17 issue of cell how a gene called sir2, long studied in yeast and worms, has a counterpart in fruit flies that plays a dynamic role in the genetic regulation of early development. " because of the important role of the sir2 gene to basic life functioning, this gene has been the focus of laboratories worldwide, " said parkhurst, a member of fred hutchinson ' s basic sciences division. " this finding represents a major step in understanding what the sir2 gene does in a complex, multi - cellular system and further establishes the fruit fly as an important animal model for the study of cancer genetics in humans, " she said. cancer is a disease of genetic mistakes. errors in the dna blueprint that cause single genes or entire chromosomal regions to switch off at the wrong time or turn on inappropriately can result in uncontrolled cell growth and malignancy. understanding the mechanisms that turn genes on and off during normal development is crucial for decoding — and ultimately correcting — any flawed and potentially fatal operating instructions within cells that may lead to cancer and developmental defects. until now, the sir2 gene, short for " silent information regulator no. 2, " has been known to act as a silencer, quieting large regions of the genome for extended periods to shut down the production of proteins that are no longer needed in the course of early development. for the first time, parkhurst and colleagues report that in drosophila, or fruit flies, sir2 appears to play a dual role. it also acts as a repressor gene, turning off the short - term expression of specific gene products throughout the complex cellular choreography of normal growth. " these results support the idea that in higher organisms, the mechanisms of silencing and dynamic gene regulation — once believed to be separate functions governed by separate genes — in fact represent two sides of the same coin, " said parkhurst, a developmental biologist. while sir2 has been studied extensively in yeast, analogous versions of the gene exist in many higher life forms as well. human cells, for example, have seven such silencing genes. because some of


" said parkhurst, a developmental biologist. while sir2 has been studied extensively in yeast, analogous versions of the gene exist in many higher life forms as well. human cells, for example, have seven such silencing genes. because some of the key genetic components of sir2 ' s gene - silencing pathway in lower organisms are identical to those in humans, scientists can exploit the power of yeast and fruit fly genetics to study complex human processes, from early development to cancer growth. " it appears that sir2 in higher organisms, including humans, can get the right gene to shut on or off at the right time. this is crucial for maintaining the integrity and normal functioning of cells, " said parkhurst, also an affiliate associate professor of zoology at the university of washington college of arts and sciences. mutations, or defects, in sir2 result in disastrous effects. in lower organisms, for example, such genetic errors have been associated with a shortened life span. in the parkhurst lab, sir2 mutations have been linked to drastic developmental defects and foiled gender assignment, taking a significant toll on equality of the sexes, at least as far as the fruit fly population is concerned. " we noticed that flies with sir2 mutations weren ' t too happy, " said rosenberg, a graduate student in the parkhurst lab. " there were far too few males in the fly stocks. " " in the absence of sir2, there ' s the wrong kind of gene expression for the sex chromosomes present. a female can express as if she ' s a male, and vice versa. that can lead to all kinds of problems. in flies, it leads to death, " parkhurst said. in humans, inappropriate gene silencing is thought to account for various sex - linked genetic disorders, in which the affected genes are located on the x chromosome. such developmental abnormalities, which nearly always affect males, include xeroderma pigmentosum ( a rare, inherited skin disease that causes extreme sensitivity to sunlight and increased risk of skin cancer ), color blindness and hemophilia. malfunctions in gene silencing also have been implicated in several human cancers, including acute myelogenous leukemia, colon cancer and several forms of breast cancer. sir2 is an attractive drug target because it has been found to modulate the function of p53, an important tumor - suppressor protein which, when defective, can increase cancer risk in humans. one drug under investigation at fred hutchinson, called splitomicin, is a potent inhibitor


because it has been found to modulate the function of p53, an important tumor - suppressor protein which, when defective, can increase cancer risk in humans. one drug under investigation at fred hutchinson, called splitomicin, is a potent inhibitor of gene silencing. it works by interfering with sir2 ' s ability to cloak the chromosome in proteins that shield it from factors needed for activation. the compound is highly specific, halting the function of sir2. such precision is an attractive feature in drug design because it increases a drug ' s effectiveness and decreases its side effects. fred hutchinson researchers scientifically reported the drug ' s discovery last december and the center has filed patent protection for it. in the cell paper, parkhurst and rosenberg report that the drug, which already has been shown to reverse global gene silencing in yeast, also works in fruit flies. " with fruit flies, we now have a multi - cellular model system that is more complex than yeast that will allow us to study all of the functional components of the pathway that are required for the drug to work, " parkhurst said. " now that we know the drug works on fruit fly sir2, this opens up all kinds of possibilities that we wouldn ' t have thought to try before. " for example, this finding now hints at the drug ' s potential for treating diseases that result from the faulty regulation of a single protein, such as certain forms of leukemia. fred hutchinson researchers also have found the compound to be effective in sensitizing human cells to dna - damaging agents, a finding that could be exploited to increase the effectiveness of cancer chemotherapy, since many anti - cancer drugs inflict dna damage. another potential clinical application may be activating silent tumor - suppressor genes, such as p53, to fight cancer growth. in addition to treating certain cancers, silencing inhibitors such as splitomicin may be effective against sickle - cell anemia, which arises from defects in the gene for the adult form of hemoglobin. sufferers do, however, possess a normal version of the fetal hemoglobin gene, which gets silenced early in life as part of normal development. reversing the silencing of fetal hemoglobin could potentially compensate for the lack of functioning hemoglobin in those with the disease. likewise, parkhurst envisions using sir2 inhibitors to compensate genetically for various certain sex - linked conditions. the splitomicin used in parkhurst ' s laboratory was developed by fred hutchinson researchers antonio bedalo


##lobin in those with the disease. likewise, parkhurst envisions using sir2 inhibitors to compensate genetically for various certain sex - linked conditions. the splitomicin used in parkhurst ' s laboratory was developed by fred hutchinson researchers antonio bedalov, m. d., ph. d., a research associate the clinical research and human biology divisions ; dan gottschling, ph. d., a member of the basic sciences division ; and julian simon, ph. d., a member of the clinical research division. grants from the national institutes of health supported this work. to obtain a copy of the cell paper " drosophila sir2 is required for heterochromatic silencing and by euchromatic hairy / e ( spl ) bhlh repressors in segmentation and sex determination, " contact kristen woodward in fred hutchinson media relations, ( 206 ) 667 - 5095. # # # fred hutchinson cancer research center the fred hutchinson cancer research center, home of two nobel prize laureates, is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the development and advancement of biomedical technology to eliminate cancer and other potentially fatal diseases. fred hutchinson receives more funding from the national institutes of health than any other independent u. s. research center. recognized internationally for its pioneering work in bone - marrow transplantation, the center ' s four scientific divisions collaborate to form a unique environment for conducting basic and applied science. fred hutchinson, in collaboration with its clinical and research partners, the university of washington academic medical center and children ' s hospital and regional medical center, is the only national cancer institute - designated comprehensive cancer center in the pacific northwest and is one of 38 nationwide. for more information, visit the center ' s web site at www. fhcrc. org.


discussion about a core curriculum brings to light some fundamental differences in thinking about education and learning. a core curriculum is a set of educational goals that focuses on making sure that all students using it will learn set material tied to age / grade level. the design of the curricula are based on things that do not have much relevance to a homeschooler : grade levels, learning divided into discrete subjects ( math, science, history, etc ), testing goals and classroom management needs. recently the idea of a national core curriculum has been receiving a lot of attention. the core knowledge sequence / common core state standards is a national initiative to create a standard path of education across the states, in part to make sure that students across states have similar academic skills, in part to simplify the production of text books and in part to create a “ level ” playing field for future job prospects. a recent periodical ( american educator, winter, 2010 - 2011 ) calls the core curriculum an idea whose time has come. the article subtitle reads ” how a core curriculum could make our education system run like clockwork. ” the article goes on to state : a curriculum sets forth that body of knowledge and skill our children need to grow into economically productive and socially responsible citizens. a common curriculum — meaning one that is shared by all schools — is what binds all the different actors together ; instead of going off in radically different directions and inadvertently undermining each other, teachers, administrators, parents, textbook writers, assessment developers, professors of education, and policymakers all work in concert. a common core curriculum — meaning one that fills roughly two - thirds of instructional time — leaves teachers ample room to build on students ’ interests and address local priorities. in countries with a common core curriculum, the benefits are many : - teachers need not guess what will be on assessments ; if they teach the curriculum, their students will be prepared. - students who change schools are not lost, so time is not wasted on review and remediation. their new teachers may have different lesson plans and projects, but the core content and skills to be mastered in each grade are the same. - textbooks are slim, containing just the material to be learned in a given year ( not hundreds of incoherent pages trying to “ align ” to different states ’ vague standards and different notions of proficiency ). - teacher preparation programs ensure that candidates have mastered the curriculum, and ways to teach it, before they become teachers. - teachers across the hall, across town, and ( thanks to the internet


different states ’ vague standards and different notions of proficiency ). - teacher preparation programs ensure that candidates have mastered the curriculum, and ways to teach it, before they become teachers. - teachers across the hall, across town, and ( thanks to the internet ) across the country are able to collaborate on developing and refining lesson plans and other instructional materials. in other words, a core curriculum is there to help teachers, schools, test companies, textbook manufacturers create an infrastructure for traditional, school based education. the idea of a core curriculum in the presented format doesn ’ t make sense for homeschooling. one of the benefits of homeschooling is that the learning process can be tailored to the learner. a curriculum guide uses a variety of sources to create a philosophical framework for education. the choices for what get taught and when are based on sociology, politics, educational theory, developmental psychology and the needs of a large institutional system. what has gotten lost along the way is developing a system of learning that benefits the individual. instead of tying learning to a chart, you can personalize your child ’ s learning. a curriculum is a terrific place to find ideas and to help organize your thoughts and plans for learning, but don ’ t let it define your family ’ s homeschooling. look at two different aspects of education : the learning process & the materials / opportunities. - let ability and comprehension determine the pace of the subject material - assist the learner with taking control of the learning process - spend as much or more time on understanding logic, critical thinking, problem solving, etc as on fact acquisition - learn to examine and evaluate the structure creating the information base being used for learning - teach how to evaluate learning as it is in progress so that the learning process is continually developed - build learning experiences so that the learner can apply previous knowledge and processes to current learning. - don ’ t limit learning to the contents of a textbook or syllabus. let the learner follow the ideas and information. - expand the resource base - wider variety of materials, different formats, different interpretations, different sources, different foci. - build learning communities that challenge ideas and create opportunities to talk about ideas & learning - make the most of the community learning opportunities let me start by saying that i agree there is a set of foundation knowledge that makes learning easier. however, people have taken a very large step from the idea of basic skills, ideas and facts to a k - 12 guide detailing what should get taught when. for example, the folks at the


is a set of foundation knowledge that makes learning easier. however, people have taken a very large step from the idea of basic skills, ideas and facts to a k - 12 guide detailing what should get taught when. for example, the folks at the core curriculum site have stated : the more you know, the more you are able to learn. in one sense, this is a truism. in another, it ’ s just wrong. this is a misinterpretation of how learning works. yes, the larger your knowledge base, the more information you have for processing new experiences and ideas. however, a knowledge base is much more than facts. the most critical part of the knowledge base is the ability to process and integrate information in a way that gives you a framework to evaluate new information. programs that focus on facts first, thinking later takes away one of the most valuable learning skills - the ability to put information in context. many educational program will focus on a parts to whole style of instruction. first we ’ ll teach the basic components, then we ’ ll show how it all goes together and makes sense. others insist that whole to parts is the only way to go. we have to show the ideas as larger concepts, and then we will take it apart and look at what went into it. the assumption in the whole / parts debate is that one method is significantly better than the other. the decision about how to approach a topic and where to start shouldn ’ t be set in stone. how much experience does the learner have with the subject? if the ideas are completely new, it is worth taking some time to help the learner get an idea about the larger picture. does the learner have previous understanding of a similar situation which will make decoding this one more straightforward? does the learner see the link between the two situations. instead of worrying about parts and whole, we can focus on finding ways for the learner to determine which learning approach will be best for this situation. the approach will differ from person to person based on learning styles, experience and the materials available. one complaint about asking kids to think critically is that we are really asking them to guess how to figure things out. wouldn ’ t it be much simpler to just give them the steps and the facts and go from there? yes, it would – if your goal is the ability to recall and return a set of preprocessed information. however if your goal is for a student to be able to assess unfamiliar ideas and information and to determine a


group 14 - fuji quick snap camera - this page is dedicated entirely to the fuji film quick snap outdoor camera. this camera, which was first introduced in 1986, was a bench mark for other companies. competition and environmental needs lead to the development of the modern quick snap outdoor camera. our objective was to gain intrinsic knowledge on the inner workings of the quick snap camera. how was it manufactured? why was it done this way? how does it work? does the camera seem recyclable? in order to meet this objective, we initially observed our product and made some basic speculations as to the number of components and their function. - after that, we completely disassembled our camera. the disassembly was fairly smooth, and no tools were needed. the snap fits on the camera allowed us to just pry the camera apart. the rest of the inner pieces were pretty easy to remove. keep in mind this is a disposable camera and these parts were not made to endure much. once the camera was completely disassembled, we could evaluate each piece to see how it was made, what it was made from, and what each part ’ s function was. this is all listed below. - we then proceeded to put our camera back together with the goal of having it be functional again. however, whether or not our camera truly works properly will be unknown since we had to use all of the film in order to get it into the film cartridge. without doing this, the film would have proved to be an obstruction. - to conclude the project, we took what we learned to make a few suggestions and deductions on our product. these are listed in the after assembly section. overall we found our product to be well made. it was apparent that fuji made this design with their budget and the environment in mind. on the back of the outer casing of our camera was a warning for electric shock. after opening our camera we realized that there was no power source, and concluded that fuji used this casing for various styles of camera. this is smart since it saves them money ; they have fewer molds to make. also, fuji is working to perfect the “ inverse manufacturing ” process which means that they either re - use or recycle all of their parts. the camera, although simple, had a lot of thought behind it. the fuji quicksnap camera outdoor is the most basic fuji model consumers can buy. this camera has no flash, no special lens, but only the latest in


their parts. the camera, although simple, had a lot of thought behind it. the fuji quicksnap camera outdoor is the most basic fuji model consumers can buy. this camera has no flash, no special lens, but only the latest in technology for film, the iso 800. obviously technology has advanced since then, but this camera was the first of its kind. this camera was built for people that don ’ t want to pay for extra features they don ' t need. this lightweight simple to use camera comes with 4 easy steps right on the cardboard cover. - buono, christa - technical researcher, after assembly - harrison, cassandra - cad drawings - heiermann, adam - presentor, disassembly, assembly - robinson, alex - group leader, presentor - wells, michele - technical researcher before disassembly section - the purpose of this product is for the consumer to easily capture images. the consumer takes their 27 shots, then brings it to a place that develops photos, and in as little as an hour they have their pictures! this product was designed to be simple and easy to use. along with function ability, the disposable camera was made so that it could be sold at an inexpensive price. this way it targets most consumers. these features allow the disposable camera to compete with the digital world. consumers who are concerned about breaking their digital cameras, or who can ' t afford one can easily turn to the disposables. - since this camera is so inexpensive we have to believe that all of the energy conversions are mechanical. also, since there is no flash feature there is no need for electrical energy. when the consumer advances the film, they transfer their energy to the wheel which in turn mechanically transfers its energy to another device in the camera. however, since we have yet to disassemble the camera, it is hard to know for sure what exactly happens. - we received a completely brand new camera and it worked perfectly. to use the camera, all we had to do was advance the film wheel, point and shoot. when you advance the wheel it makes a clicking sound. when you push down on the button to take the picture it makes a click sound. it was simple and easy to use and appeared to have no issues. - by knowing the basics of how a camera works, we can make an assumption on how many components make up the camera. we know there must be the advancement wheel, the film, the two outer casings which make


appeared to have no issues. - by knowing the basics of how a camera works, we can make an assumption on how many components make up the camera. we know there must be the advancement wheel, the film, the two outer casings which make the camera, a track for the film to follow, the lens, a shutter, the button, a device that transfers the kinetic energy from the wheel to the film, and a device from the button to the shutter. overall we can approximate about 14 components. this is making the assumption that each of the inner " devices " are composed of at least 2 parts each. - by looking at this product we can tell that it is mostly made out of plastic. the basis of the camera is made of a thick black plastic while the lens and the view finder appear to be made of a clear plastic. also, there is a cheap cardboard cover over the camera that serves the purpose of aesthetics, advertisement, and liability protection. before beginning, check to ensure the film count reads " 0 ". this will guarantee the film is enclosed in the canister and will not interfere with the disassembly. - note : only human hands were used as tools for this disassembly. there was no need for anything else. disassembly procedure table | step number | | process | | level of difficulty | | image | | 1 | | pry open the film canister housing and remove the canister. | | easy, this is the only action a film processor has to perform. | | 2 | | unsnap the outer cover from the inner shell. | | medium, you must unsnap four snaps at the proper timing or it will reseat itself. | | 3 | | remove the lens. | | easy, with the outer cover removed, there is nothing holding the lens in place. | | 4 | | slide out outer viewfinder lens. | | easy, with the outer cover removed, this is also not secured. | | 5 | | remove the viewfinder casing. | | easy, it slides off. | | 6 | | slide out the inner viewfinder lens. | | medium, even with the covering removed there is an obstruction. | | 7 | | slide off the counter wheel. | | easy, this is not restrained. | | 8 | | slide off the advance lock. | | easy, this is also not restrained now. | | 9 | | slide off the shutter trigger. | |


slide off the counter wheel. | | easy, this is not restrained. | | 8 | | slide off the advance lock. | | easy, this is also not restrained now. | | 9 | | slide off the shutter trigger. | | medium, as you remove this the torsional spring will be removed as well. | | 10 | | push out the film advance wheel. | | medium, this is restrained by the rear casing. | | 11 | | pry the rear housing open. | | hard, this has a factory adhesive and is not supposed to be opened in this manner. | | 12 | | slide out the spindle. | | easy, with the back open, this is not restrained. | | 13 | | pop the lens holder off. | | medium, this require a light pressure and confidence to not break it. | | 14 | | slide the shutter and shutter spring off. | | medium, this is tough to get at, once you find the angle it comes quite easily. | - the marking on the plastic casing indicates that the product is made of polystyrene. this is plausible since ps is naturally colorless by nature and can be used in molds of fine detail. however, we found sustainabilty report from fuji saying that polyethylene was a material that they used. this too is possible since this is commonly used and is very similar to ps. this is why we listed thermoplastics for all of our plastic parts. | part number | | part name | | quantity | | function of part | | part material | | manufacturing process | | image of part | | 1 | | outer cover | | 1 | | protection | | thermoplastic | | injection molding | | 3 | | lens | | 1 | | focus the image | | thermoplastic | | investment casting | | 4 | | lens holder | | 1 | | hold and protect the lens | | thermoplastic | | injection molding | | 5 | | shutter | | 1 | | controls exposure | | thermoplastic | | injection molding | | 6 | | shutter spring | | 1 | | close the shutter after exposure | | music wire | | extruded and then machined | | 7 | | outer viewfinder lens | | 1 | | along with the inner lens, provides the user a view of what they are capturing | | thermoplastic | | investment casting | | 8 | |


into hole. | | 5 | | place the shutter trigger back in. | | medium, it has to be adjusted to fit the tension spring back in. | | 6 | | reinsert the tension spring. | | hard, this is the hardest part of either the disassembly or assembly. | | 7 | | slide the advance lock back into position. | | medium, this requires some alignment of the torsion spring. | | 8 | | reinsert the inner and outer viewfinder lenses. | | easy, they just slide in. | | 9 | | place the counter wheel back on its peg. | | easy, just set it on. | | 10 | | reattach the viewfinder housing. | | medium, you have to properly align the components then slip it on. | | 11 | | place the film advance wheel back into position and snap the rear casing back into position. | | easy, just line everything up and snap. | | 12 | | place the lens back into position and snap the outer cover back in place. | | easy, snap snap and the camera is reassembled. | | 12a | | reinsert the film canister. | | easy, just push into place and close. | - the only major modification to the disassembly steps was to wait until the end to resecure the back casing. this provided additional working room while performing the other steps. - after completely dissassembling the fugi quick snap camera and evaluating each piece we now have a clearer view as to how this camera works. first, the consumer has to advance the wheel so that the film will be in its proper place. when you spin the wheel, the gear design embedded in the bottom part aligns with the gear pattern in the film cartridge. spinning the wheel advances the film into the cartridge. not only does this gear - the product works first by the user looking through the focus lens and centering the object that they wish to take the picture of. pressing the button releases the spring loaded shutter allowing the film to be exposed to the image for a short period of time. after the user has taken the picture, to prepare the next piece of the film they need to turn the winder which in turn, winds gears that move through the holes along the top of the film. this places the next piece of film ready for exposure. while turning the film advance wheel the gear it connects to turns another gear which will then turn the counter to keep


in turn, winds gears that move through the holes along the top of the film. this places the next piece of film ready for exposure. while turning the film advance wheel the gear it connects to turns another gear which will then turn the counter to keep track of the amount of exposures that are left. - analysis could be used to design and test the product in many fields such as stress, material, force, and ergonomic. stress is a very important component to test for this product since it will be carried to many different places by the user. it will be handle frequently as well as put in backpacks, purses, and suitcases during travel. the housing must be able to support the film inside and protect the pictures taken by the user. the material is must also be tested for its ability to with stand alot of handling and rubbing from other objects. the material must be able to with stand a varity of temperatures given it will be taken mostly on trips which involve climate changes. the force analysis will test the cameras abiliie to withstand froces being placed on various places of the frame. - they are reverse of one another. we still used the same set of tools. we were not able to put the product back together because the back of the camera was broken off since, when the film is developed it is released from a small hole in the bottom, therefore the store never needs to open it up to take out the film. the back of the camera was snapped off during the disassembly process so the group would be able to view the inside parts. fujifilm usa the manufacturer of our product. wikimedia international organization responsible for wikipedia and other projects. mediawiki the software that drexel uses to host this wiki. template the template supplied as a base, included a brief tutorial on writing wiki.


this problem has many valid solutions. one of them works a little like your description, but instead of slicing the polygons at " random " locations you can do it purposefully in a way designed to minimize the amount of computation. here is the basic algorithm. its input consists of any plane sweep direction, a polygon p of nonzero area, a target area a between zero and the polygon ' s area, and a nonnegative threshold t ( in units of area ). its purpose is to split p with a line perpendicular to the sweep direction into two parts, one to the right of the line and the other to the left of the line, such that the difference between the righthand area and the target area a is no greater than t. let l be any oriented line perpendicular to the sweep direction. define f ( l ) to be the area of p found at the right of l, minus a. in these terms the task is to find a zero of f. because f is unlikely to be differentiable, but is continuous, use either a bisection method, the secant method, or - - my favorite - - brent ' s method. all are simple and guaranteed to converge. use t for the convergence tolerance for the argument. that ' s it. let ' s consider what goes into coding this. the root finding is routine - - you can use a generic chunk of code for it - - so the gis work comes down to coding f. doing so requires 1. splitting the polygon by a line. 2. computing the area of the piece ( s ) to the right of the line. both operations are implemented in almost any vector - based gis. if not, you can replace the line by a very large rectangle representing the half - plane to the right of the line. step 1 becomes 1 '. clip the polygon to the rectangle. that is a really basic operation. to get started with root finding, you need to find an interval in which the zero of f is guaranteed to lie. this is easy : project the polygon ' s envelope ( " bounding box " ) into the direction of the line sweep. the projection is the interval you want. this question has a long history. i implemented this algorithm for arcview 3. x long ago and described it many times in the old esri user forums. google huber split polygon site : forums. esri. com for discussions, links to code, enhancements and variations ( such as splitting


1 ) a small rodent with long hind feet and a long furry tail. 2 ) born in rural tennessee, this historical figure later went on to be a us representative. at age 49, he was among the 189 defenders who died defending the alamo. 3 ) a natural body of water, surrounded by land, with no currents or waves. because of this lack of regular movement, water temperature remains fairly consistent throughout. 4 ) light yellow and flecked with black, ice cream named by this flavor is actually a custard loaded with egg yolks. 5 ) the essence of a living thing that supposedly crosses over to the afterlife. 6 ) a person, usually homeless, who travels and looks for work. 7 ) eggs from chickens with reddish - brown feathers. this variety of egg tends to be more expensive than others. 8 ) a fully mechanical device that may or may not resemble a human being. 9 ) an aquatic mammal with a hooked dorsal fin, a friendly demeanor and a squeal that humans can hear. 10 ) the phrase formally recognized by the national weather service to describe conditions that are a combination of sun and clouds. 11 ) what you drive on in a city. 12 ) an outdated term for a product that is no longer in use. let me see the answers - - i must know more! let me try the other quiz


very efficient algorithms exist to draw cubic bezier curves. in fact, these algorithms are so efficient that other types of curves are often converted to bezier curves. for example, it is possible to approximate a 90 degree circular arc with a bezier curve. recall that a cubic bezier curve has four control points. derive the coordinates of the four control points of a bezier curve that approximates this circular arc. this approximation should touch and be tangent to the arc at both endpoints as well as the midpoint. hint : find control points such that the midpoint of the bezier curve ( t = 1 / 2 ) lies on the midpoint of the circular arc. let p0, p1, p2 and p3 be the four control points of the bezier curve. p0 and p3 must be coincident with the endpoints. thus, p0 = ( 0, 1 ) and p3 = ( 1, 0 ). p1 and p2 must be chosen so that the curve is tangent to the arc. the tangent to the arc at ( 0, 1 ) is ( 1, 0 ) ; thus, p1 must have the same y coordinate as p0. similarly, the tangent at ( 1, 0 ) is ( 0, 1 ), and thus p2 must have the same x coordinate as p3. since the arc is symmetric, the best approximating bezier curve should also be symmetric. thus, p1 = ( a, 1 ) and p2 = ( 1, a ). the final unknown a can be found by requiring the midpoint of the bezier curve to like at the midpoint of the arc, ( sqrt ( 2 ) / 2, sqrt ( 2 ) / 2 ). using the midpoint subdivision rule, we arrive at the following : p0 p1 p2 p3 ( 0, 1 ) ( a, 1 ) ( 1, a ) ( 1, 0 ) 1 / 2 ( a, 2 ) 1 / 2 ( 1 + a, 1 + a ) 1 / 2 ( 2, a ) 1 / 4 ( 1 + 2a, 3 + a ) 1 / 4 ( 3 + a, 1 + 2a ) 1 / 8 ( 4 + 3a, 4 + 3a ) seting 1 / 4 ( 4 + 3a ) = sqrt ( 2 ) / 2 and solving for a we get a = 4 ( sqrt ( 2 ) - 1 ) / 3 =. 552. + 6 points for getting the end


seting 1 / 4 ( 4 + 3a ) = sqrt ( 2 ) / 2 and solving for a we get a = 4 ( sqrt ( 2 ) - 1 ) / 3 =. 552. + 6 points for getting the endpoints right. + 6 points for getting the tangent contraints right. + 4 points for noticing the symmetric and reducing the problem to a single unknown. + 4 points for knowing the correct subdivision rules, for being able to evaulate the bezier curve at the midpoint. certain errors resulted in the following deductions : - 2 for formulating the problem correctly but making a math error in the final answer. there were lots of answers that we almost right. most of these received 14 points. they were wrong in that they did not satisfy the constraints that the curve should go through the endpoints and touch the midpoint. one common solution was to compute the intersection of a 45 degree downward sloping line with the y = 1 and x = 1 lines and setting p1 and p2 to the points of intersections. several bisected the 45 degree angle and computed the intersection of a line through the origin at 22. 5 with the x = 1 and y = 1 lines, and used those intersection points as the control points. another common error was to use a quadratic bezier curve ; or to use subdivision rules that reduced to the quadratic case. another approach was to reduce the problem to hermite interpolation by setting the endpoint and tangent conditions. this can be made to work, but you must find a way to constrain the curve to go through the midpoint. a clever approach was to try to set the tangent of the bezier curve at the midpoint to have a slope of - 1 and try to find separate bezier curves for top and bottom part of the arc.


the canadian lynx the canadian lynx stands about 30 - 40 cms tall, and ranges in length from about 90 - 110 cms. they weigh anywhere between 10 - 20 kgs. the lynx has characteristics that stand out, such as its amazing triangular shaped ears with black tufts at the end. the lynx usually has thick light brown or grayish colored fur which helps to keep it warm during cold winters. they have large paws which assist them in moving fast through the snow. the canadian lynx inhabits canada, and also the northern united states and alaska. | these cats are too small to hunt people, but will hunt domesticated cats and birds, etc. the lynx is a carnivorous animal, meaning that it only feeds on meat. the lynx feeds on the snowshoe hare wherever possible, and will feed solely on these if given the opportunity. their sharp claws and teeth aid them in their hunt, and they can bring down animals as large as a deer. the lynx is also known to store food for later consumption, and they do this by covering the carrion ( dead animal ) with snow. they are agile creatures, and can climb trees with ease. they will use their position in a tree as a vantage point, spotting potential prey. once spotted, they can leap from the branch and pounce on their prey. after the lynx has bought down its prey, and ready to feast it may be interrupted by animals such as the wolverine. the wolverine will growl and snare at the lynx, and the lynx will not contest with the wolverine, leaving its fresh kill for the other animal. amazing fact : the canadian lynx will cover its prey with snow for later feeding. further information on the canadian lynx : e - mail email @ example. com to add your canadian lynx related website.


invite people to consider events and possibilities from the vantage point of either the past or the future, in order to change assumptions about what is possible in the present. people have a tendency to believe that however things are now is how they will always be, and perhaps how they have always been. many of their assumptions maintain the status quo, blocking possibilities of doing things differently. for example, there is a phrase among quakers when faced with a stick - in - the - mud member : " there won ' t be a change on that until there ' s been a few good quaker funerals. " this belief itself can prevent change from taking place. people may respond by aiming deliberately low for what they see as achievable instead of what they really want, by questioning the value of collaboration, or being generally pessimistic. time shifting is one way of opening up new possibilities. occasionally time shifting may also be helpful in confronting unwarranted optimism, e. g. " if we build it they will come. " by envisioning the future and how to get from here to there, that assumption too may be unpacked, to be replaced with realistic preparation. instructions & variations : time shift methods may engage the whole group together, or invite individual contemplation and / or research ( see subgroup and whole group ), that then affects the whole group field and the individuals. there is also a spectrum of structure from telling stories, to providing incomplete stories and inviting people to complete them, to asking people open - ended questions. a more structured method such as scenario planning requires significant research to create credible possibilities distinct from the assumptions people have in the present. the company that is currently the leading practioner of this method is global business network. their method involves identifying driving forces, then constructing stories about how these forces could interact to produce different outcomes. for example, michael raynor worked with the canadian institute for chartered accountants to come up with four scenarios, based on positive and negative predictions of two factors ( market volatility and key economic metrics such as housing and oil prices ). if you provide incomplete stories about the future or past, you can then invite people to respond by stepping into the gap between what is known and what might or might not happen. for example, you can explain a situation, and then offer several possible outcomes, asking people at each item whether or not they think that particular outcome will happen. in working with incomplete stories people become invested in learning more and exploring possibilities that expand existing horizons. if


, you can explain a situation, and then offer several possible outcomes, asking people at each item whether or not they think that particular outcome will happen. in working with incomplete stories people become invested in learning more and exploring possibilities that expand existing horizons. if you ask a personal, future - looking question, like " how do you think your job life will change? " many people cannot leap directly to a novel or useful answer. in contrast, asking " what happened in the last five years that was surprising? " primes people to realize that quite dramatic changes have happened in the past and helps them have more expansive ideas about the future. this principle is the basis of appreciative inquiry, which deliberately investigates the best experiences of the past in order to create the most desirable future. time shifting is quite commonly used for groups working on their vision. " imagine it ' s 5 years from now and all your dreams for this organization have come true. what ' s happening? look around and tell us what you see. " a classic version during the early stages of a forming intentional community is to have people imagine that they ' ve already moved in and are welcoming a visit from a grandchild or close friend, showing them around ; or that they are writing a letter describing the community to their cousin who ' s never visited. while use of this pattern for visioning is appropriate, it can often be applied productively on other occasions too. joanna macy and other practitioners of the the work that reconnects have developed many fine exercises based on explorations in what they call deep time, which takes a view of experience encompassing generations ( sometimes across thousands of years, as when they work on nuclear issues ). for example, in their exercise double circle ( see coming back to life, p. 146 ), participants sit in two concentric circles ( inner circle faces out, outer circle faces in, forming pairs ). one circle imagines they are seven generations in the future, having survived the crises of the past era, while the other " younger " circle continues to think from a present - day perspective. the younger circle interviews their distant elders, asking questions such as : - " what has your experience been? " - " how did you meet the challenges? " - " what helped you keep your resilience through so much loss, chaos and change? " - " what did people learn from living through all that? " as tom atlee describes, " imagineering embraces any use of imaginative narrative to realize, create, or catalyze in


in the average healthy human being alcohol is metabolized by the liver at the rate of about one standard drink ( 0. 6 oz ethanol ) per hour. in people who frequently engage in heavy drinking alcohol tolerance develops. changes occur in the brain and the liver which work to adapt them to the steady presence of alcohol. when alcohol tolerance develops people need to drink much more alcohol to get the same effect as they used to. reverse tolerance occurs when a heavy drinker develops liver damage and the liver no longer produces as great a quantity of the enzymes needed to break down alcohol in the body as it did before. since people with a lot of alcoholic liver damage can no longer metabolize alcohol very well, these people can get very intoxicated on small quantities of alcohol - - much smaller quantities than are needed to affect the person who rarely drinks. this phenomenon is known as reverse tolerance. the way that reverse tolerance can develop over a lifetime is illustrated by the curve in figure 1. as we can see from figure 1, tolerance in an adult who has never had a drink of alcohol in his / her life remains steady. once a person begins to drink alcohol on a regular basis the dose response goes down - - in other words the same dose of alcohol produces less intoxication than it used to. saying that the dose response to alcohol goes down is exactly the same as saying that alcohol tolerance goes up - - and vice versa. dose response and tolerance are mirror images of each other. as long as a steady consumption of alcohol is maintained, tolerance will tend to increase and dose response will tend to drop. if liver damage begins to occur, however, tolerance will begin to drop once again and dose response will tend to increase. when there is sufficient damage to the liver there will be considerably less tolerance and considerably greater dose response to alcohol than there was before the person ever took their first drink. it is important to note that most heavy drinkers do not develop liver damage or reverse tolerance. the majority of heavy drinkers will not suffer liver damage and hence will not develop reverse tolerance. one should be very careful not to confuse reverse tolerance with the healthy tolerance reversal which occurs when a heavy drinker does a period of abstinence from alcohol or a period of moderate drinking. when the amount of alcohol to which the liver is exposed on a daily basis is greatly decreased, liver enzymes begin to return to normal levels and alcohol tolerance ( as well as dose response ) tends to return to levels similar to those before the subject began drinking heavily. the essential difference between reverse


the liver is exposed on a daily basis is greatly decreased, liver enzymes begin to return to normal levels and alcohol tolerance ( as well as dose response ) tends to return to levels similar to those before the subject began drinking heavily. the essential difference between reverse tolerance and healthy tolerance reversal is that reverse tolerance is caused by damage to the liver which is often irreversible. in healthy tolerance reversal the liver is actually becoming more healthy than it was during the period of heavy drinking - - and the reason why the tolerance is dropping is that the excessive and unhealthy levels of liver enzymes associated with heavy drinking are now returning to normal and healthy levels. in reverse tolerance many of the cells needed to produce these enzymes have died and that is the reason why less of the enzymes are produced. in healthy tolerance reversal the liver cells are going back to producing normal levels of these enzymes rather than the excessive levels which they produced during the heavy drinking period - - no cells die when healthy tolerance reversal takes place. a period of abstinence may not necessarily return tolerance to the same levels as before the person ever took a drink of alcohol, however, an abstinence period significantly reduces tolerance from the levels it was at during the time of heavy drinking. figure 2 illustrates the course of healthy tolerance reversal in a typical individual. how much time is needed for healthy tolerance reversal to take place? there is not an exact answer to this. tolerance will start dropping as soon as heavy drinking ceases, but experts say that it takes a month or two for the full effect of healthy tolerance reversal to take place. for more information about alcohol tolerance please visit our web page what is alcohol tolerance?


bad ideas never die. the automobile was invented by karl benz in 1885 and the airplane by the wright brothers in 1903. just three years later the first flying car story appeared. and in the 98 years since then, flying cars have received copious coverage in the nation ' s media. in 1945, ted hall introduced his flying car, a development that was received by a wildly enthusiastic public. roads would become obsolete, traffic jams a thing of the past. every major aircraft manufacturer hoped to cash in on hall ' s invention. the lucky buyer was convair. in july of 1946, convair introduced hall ' s flight of fancy as the convair model 118 convaircar. company management confidently predicted minimum sales of 160, 000 units a year. in spite of the hype, only two convaircars were ever built. in 1949, moulton taylor introduced the aerocar, a sporty runabout with detachable wings and tail. the aerocar received a tremendous amount of publicity at the time. the ford motor company considered mass - producing it, figuring they could sell 25, 000 a year. bad ideas never really die. in its november 9, 1998 issue, fortune devoted a two - page spread to the aerocar. " people dream of this, " said the aerocar ' s current owner. " they want to get off the highway and get lost in the clouds. " as recently as august 2, 2002, the new york times carried a major story ( nearly a full page ) on the taylor aerocar. " a car with wings, " said the times " is many a flyboy ' s dream machine. " then there ' s paul moller who has spent four decades developing the m400 skycar. today, $ 200 million, 43 patents and three wives later, his dream has still not taken off, although it has received extensive coverage in the wall street journal, the new york times, forbes, investor ' s business daily and two big stories in usa today, including one just last month. convergence captures the imagination, but divergence captures the market. today we have many types of airplanes ( jet planes, prop planes, helicopters ) and many types of automobiles ( sedans, convertibles, station wagons, minivans, sport - utility vehicles. ) no flying cars though. why divergence and not convergence? because convergence requires compromise and divergence satisfies the evolving needs of different market segments. an automobile needs to be heavy enough to stay on the highway ;


, sport - utility vehicles. ) no flying cars though. why divergence and not convergence? because convergence requires compromise and divergence satisfies the evolving needs of different market segments. an automobile needs to be heavy enough to stay on the highway ; an airplane needs to be light enough to take off from a runway. no flying car will ever be as drivable as an automobile or as flyable as an airplane. the autoboat, another convergence concept that has been floating around for decades, suffers from the same disease. " drives like a boat, floats like a car, " is the consumer ' s verdict. convergence has become an obsession in the high - tech and consumer electronic industries, especially at microsoft. " has william h. gates become the captain ahab of the information age? " asked the new york times. " mr. gates ' white whale remains an elusive digital set - top cable box that his company, the microsoft corporation, is hoping will re - create the personal computer industry by blending the pc, the internet and the television set into a leviathan living - room entertainment and information machine. " in 1999, microsoft pumped $ 5 billion into at & t and secured a contract to install its tv software in as many as 10 million at & t set - top boxes. not a single box made it to the top of a television set serviced by an at & t cable system and since at & t is now out of the cable business, the contract is just another convergence dead end. irreconcilable differences will always doom such convergence concepts. television is a " passive " medium ; the internet is an " active " medium. a couch potato will never put up with the complexities of interactive tv and an internet junkie will never surf the net with an awkward box designed for another purpose. like automobiles, different market segments demand different products. yet the press, the pundits and virtually the entire high - tech community is solidly behind the convergence concept. who could possibly doubt that one day it will all happen? any student of history, that ' s who. " those who cannot remember the past, " wrote george santayana, " are condemned to repeat it. " divergence is more than a theoretical concept ; it ' s a law of nature. in his book the origin of species, charles darwin credits divergence for the millions of species that now populate the earth, like the many branches of a tree that diverge from a single trunk. " the great tree of life " was his metaphor


in his book the origin of species, charles darwin credits divergence for the millions of species that now populate the earth, like the many branches of a tree that diverge from a single trunk. " the great tree of life " was his metaphor for the creation of species. darwin ' s genius was in recognizing that species like cats and dogs might have a common ancestor, but that they had " branched off " or diverged in response to environmental changes. over time, the differences between each species becomes exaggerated. in darwin ' s terms, " nature favors the extremes. " the computer might have had a common ancestor ( the mainframe ), but today we also have midrange computers, network computers, personal computers, laptop computers, tablet computers and handheld computers. the computer didn ' t converge with another technology. it diverged in response to consumer demands. television might have had a common ancestor ( broadcast tv ), but today we also have cable tv, satellite tv and pay - per - view tv. also analog and digital tv. regular and high - definition tv. standard ( 4 / 3 ) and widescreen ( 16 / 9 ) formats. television didn ' t converge with another medium. it diverged in response to consumer demands. the telephone might have had a common ancestor, but today we also have cordless phones, headset phones, cellphones and satellite phones. also analog and digital phones. the telephone didn ' t converge with another technology. it diverged in response to consumer demands. companies today are pouring billions of dollars into such convergence concepts as smart phones, smart gas pumps, smart homes, smart watches, smart clothing, smart refrigerators, smart toilets and smart appliances. this is a tragic waste of time and money. companies would be more innovative, more profitable and more successful if they would focus on the opposite idea : divergence. but don ' t count on it. as you can see, bad ideas never die.


bringing design to software © addison - wesley, 1996 profile 10. hypercard, director, and visual basic profile author : terry winograd when donald schon ( chapter 9 ) speaks of an artist, such as a sculptor, who is engaged in a conversation with the medium, we can imagine the picture clearly. the sculptor molds clay or chips stone, and then she looks at and feels the sculpture to see what it has become. creative designing lies in the interplay between intention and the surprise at what emerges. everyone who has written interactive software has experienced the same interplay. the programmer writes some code, runs it, and sees how it behaves and feels. the results are partially expected, partially surprising, and they feed into the next cycle of design. the ability to shape and reshape software requires a capacity for rapid prototyping - for turning an unarticulated idea into a working prototype quickly enough to be able to change it, to listen to it, even to throw it out and to go on to another. in this activity, the nature of the programming language and environment can make a large difference - perhaps as large as the difference between modeling in clay and sculpting in stone. the goals and possibilities are varied, and they are reflected in prototyping tools that are suitable for different prototyping cultures, as described by michael schrage ( chapter 10 ). in the organizational process of design, it matters whether the prototypes are done as a program or as cardboard or video mockups. some prototyping purposes are effectively achieved with highly refined pixel graphics ; others are better served by scanned - in pencil sketches. sometimes, functionality is a key issue in the prototype ; at other times, the prototype needs only to be a facade that demonstrates a look and feel. current software design - practice relies heavily on software systems that were created to enable rapid prototyping. hundreds of such systems are available on dozens of platforms, each with its own features and problems. some are called authoring tools, others prototyping languages, and others development platforms. what they share in common is a focus on making it easy for designers to build, and then to experience, interfaces and the programs that lie behind them. three of these systems are profiled here, to illustrate schrage ' s points about how prototyping tools affect both the activity and results of prototyping. bill atkinson and his team developed hypercard at apple computer in 1987, as the next step in the path that apple had proclaimed in


illustrate schrage ' s points about how prototyping tools affect both the activity and results of prototyping. bill atkinson and his team developed hypercard at apple computer in 1987, as the next step in the path that apple had proclaimed in the slogan for the macintosh : the computer for the rest of us. hypercard ushered in a new capacity of programming for the rest of us, promising to enable every macintosh user to become an application designer. since hypercard was given away free with every macintosh system, it quickly became a widespread standard ( an example followed by later products, such as mosaic, as described in profile 5 ). hypercard ' s card - stack metaphor was appropriate for many new applications, and led to a proliferation creative programs that exploited its novel interface techniques. hypercard ' s primary place in software design, however, is due to its utility as a general scriptable interface builder, providing direct - manipulation creation of interfaces that are based on standard graphical user - interface elements, such as icons, buttons, text fields, and scrolling windows. the writers of hypercard applications range from sophisticated interaction designers to schoolchildren. in fact, hypercard is now one of the most popular and widespread programming environments for students from elementary school through college. hypercard ' s programming language, hypertalk, differs from conventional programming languages in using englishlike constructions, such as " put the number of this card into card field xyz. " this format makes hypertalk more approachable for novices, but is awkward for experienced programmers. the stacks ( as programs are called ) that have been built in hypercard range from juvenile exercises to sophisticated exploration games, such as spelunx ( cyan, 1991 ) and earthquest ( earthquest, 1991 ). it is impossible to show a typical hypercard screen, since hypercard ' s facilities to draw artwork onto cards have been used to produce every look imaginable. figure 10. 4 shows a demonstration stack that comes with the hypercard application, and is typical of one widespread style of hypercard use. > > > > > > insert figure 10. 4 about here < < < < < < figure 10. 4 hypercard appointment book this simple application demonstrates several of hypercard ' s commonly used facilities for prototyping, such as text fields, buttons, icons, and the ability to create cards with a graphic look that mimics print conventions. ( source : by permission, apple computer. ) the hypercard culture emphasizes ease of use, and encourages simple, playful designs


such as text fields, buttons, icons, and the ability to create cards with a graphic look that mimics print conventions. ( source : by permission, apple computer. ) the hypercard culture emphasizes ease of use, and encourages simple, playful designs. although some hypercard prototypes have a high degree of sophistication and polish, many are immediately recognizable as hypercard by their use of common icons, buttons, clip art, and other standard visual elements. hypercard ' s limitations, such as slow execution and limited support for use of color, have been ameliorated in later versions and successors, such as supercard, but the overall niche remains the same. for applications requiring complex computation, portability to different environments, and efficient performance, the hypercard prototype is discarded after testing, and the final code is written in another programming environment. macromedia ' s director represents a point at the opposite end of the user spectrum from hypercard. director was designed for use by sophisticated multimedia developers, and rather than being bundled free, it costs several hundred dollars. its appeal lies not in its ease of use, but rather in the sophisticated results that can be produced by users who are willing to learn complex mechanisms. in particular, it can be used for animations that are well beyond the capabilities of most other software - development languages. the metaphor of director ( as its name suggests ) is that of the stage or of an animated film. a director application is built around a score, which represents a carefully coordinated and timed sequence of activities by a cast of characters. the basic programming structures offers frame - by - frame animation of the kind used in producing movie cartoons. by using director ' s scripting language, lingo, the designer can synchronize sound and motion in sophisticated ways. in contrast to hypercard ' s aim to be usable on even the smallest macintosh, director emphasizes high - quality graphics, animation, sound, and video, and hence requires relatively high - end hardware. although director does provide support for standard macintosh interface elements, such as buttons and text fields, it encourages designers to produce more open - ended and graphically original interfaces, making use of high resolution graphics, video, and animation ( figure 10. 5 ). > > > > > > insert figure 10. 5 about here < < < < < < figure 10. 5 director prototype this interface for exploring a music collection was designed by students in the program in interaction design at the utrecht school of the arts. it includes many active elements, such as the icons


5 about here < < < < < < figure 10. 5 director prototype this interface for exploring a music collection was designed by students in the program in interaction design at the utrecht school of the arts. it includes many active elements, such as the icons and menu items, and also the 3 - dimensional data display, which can be rotated and modified by direct manipulation. ( source : courtesy of the utrecht school of the arts. ) for specialized applications, such as a multimedia information kiosk, director is suitable for a final product. in many other cases designers use it to give a polished demonstration of what an application might look like, concentrating on the interface without trying to implement all of the functionality. since lingo was developed as a supporting language for animation, rather than as a regular programming language, it is not well suited to performing sophisticated computation behind the interface. visual basic was developed for microsoft ' s windows operating system, which positioned it for a market different from the hypercard users on the macintosh. instead of aiming for every schoolchild and home - recipe - book creator, visual basic was designed for professional system developers, who are competent programmers but are not user - interface wizards. visual basic is designed to enable a programmer to create interfaces using the facilities of the windows environment with relative ease. visual basic is built around a simple, conventional programming language ( a variant of basic ), in conjunction with a direct - manipulation interface builder. the designer can create and place standard interface elements, set and modify their properties, and associate them with programs that operate when they are invoked by a user of the interface. a typical visual basic application does not have the flash and originality of many hypercard stacks or director prototypes, but instead operates within the normal interface conventions for windows applications ( figure 10. 6 ). the programming environment makes it easy for the designer to convert a visual basic project into an executable file that can be distributed and run by users who do not have the visual basic system, on any computer that runs windows. > > > > > > insert figure 10. 6 about here < < < < < < figure 10. 6 application built in visual basic this prototype for a workflow system makes use of standard windows visual elements, such as a toolbar, buttons, tables, and checklists. ( source : courtesy of action technologies. ) the visual basic culture emphasizes software engineering and programming values : efficiency of execution, straightforward logical design, and minimal use of machine resources, such as memory. the focus is not on making it beautiful, but


. ( source : courtesy of action technologies. ) the visual basic culture emphasizes software engineering and programming values : efficiency of execution, straightforward logical design, and minimal use of machine resources, such as memory. the focus is not on making it beautiful, but rather on making it work. the integration of visual basic into the windows system makes it possible to deliver end - applications that use visual basic interfaces and perform sophisticated computation, without incurring high computational costs. in this sense, we might think of visual basic as less of a prototyping language and more of a development language - many of the interfaces built with it are intended directly as products, rather than as footholds in the software design process ( see chapter 11 ). robert arnson, daniel rosen, mitchell waite, and jonathan zuck. waite group ' s microsoft visual basic how - to. publishers group west, 1990 ( second edition in press ). danny goodman. the complete hypercard 2. 2 handbook ( fourth edition ). new york : random house, 1993. jason roberts. drector demystified. berkeley, ca : peach pit press, 1995. terry winograd. environments for software design. communications of the acm, 38 : 6 ( june 1995 ), 65 - 74.


schools ' chemical hygiene officers there have been several state - funded chemical clean - outs for high schools. schools with chemicals on the state banned - chemicals list should have them properly disposed of as soon as possible. for private chemical disposal services, there are several companies certified to transport hazardous waste. for information on specific companies, consult the safechemri listserv to find out who other chemical hygiene officers have used in the past. you may want to call several companies to compare costs. common mistakes made in the utilization of acid storage cabinets - incompatible storage of concentrated nitric acid ( oxidizer ) with glacial acetic acid ( a - incompatible storage of concentrated nitric acid ( oxidizer ) with ethyl alcohol or acetone ( flammable, but not acids ). - storage of multiple bottles of the same reagent ( epa regulations allow storage of no more than one year ’ s supply of any one hazardous chemical ). - storage of acids in bottles with glass stoppers instead of vapor - proof screw - on plastic - storage of bases in acid cabinets ( mixing concentrated acids and bases results in an extremely exothermic reaction ). - storage of concentrated acids with concentrated ammonia ( also a base ). acid and ammonia vapors mix and form a white coating of ammonium chloride on everything in the cabinet. - storage of acid bottles without appropriate secondary containment such as plastic - use of a metal cabinet to store acids. corrosive acid vapors are best contained by a cabinet made out of coated wood or plastic laminate


a rational diet for bodybuilders in the 1970s, weight lifters — now called bodybuilders — bragged about eating a dozen egg whites every morning to help them get enough protein to build muscles. on tv, you would see them devour slabs of meat, stacks of toast, and giant milkshakes in preparation for the first workout of the day in late morning. in the 1980s and early ' 90s, protein supplements in the form of powders, gels, and pills skyrocketed in popularity. things have changed. many of the next generation of musclemen are now told flatly by nutritionists and bodybuilding experts that well - balanced meals will offer enough protein for all but the most intense exercisers. unfortunately, few are listening. what is protein? proteins are complex organic compounds that are the main component of the body ' s muscles, tendons, ligaments, and organs. proteins are made up of amino acids. the human body needs about 20 amino acids to make its proteins. of these 20, the body can make only 13 ; the remainder, the essential amino acids, must come from food. foods that supply all the amino acids needed by the body are called complete proteins. these foods include meats, poultry, milk, eggs, and fish. amino acids are also found in plants, but plant proteins are not complete. no plant proteins offer all the essential amino acids our bodies need. if a person ' s diet has more protein than the body needs, the excess protein is used for energy or stored as fat. the amount of protein required each day depends on a person ' s age, health, and diet. two to three servings of protein - rich food will meet the daily needs of most adults. it is true that those who exercise need more protein to maintain or build muscles, but just modestly increasing portions of meat, poultry, pork, fish, and certain vegetables will provide virtually all athletes with enough amino acids. about 15 percent of your daily calories should come from protein ; 12 percent if you are an older adult. bodybuilders need 20 percent of their calories from protein. fat intake should be no more than 30 percent of your daily calories and no more than half of that should be from saturated fat. egg whites and milk lead the way in having high - quality, biologically available protein, followed by meat, fish, and poultry. red meat is not the bugaboo it once was — partly because grocery stores and other specialty shops now offer extremely lean products


and milk lead the way in having high - quality, biologically available protein, followed by meat, fish, and poultry. red meat is not the bugaboo it once was — partly because grocery stores and other specialty shops now offer extremely lean products ( 30 percent fat ). in fact, most nutritionists — and even the american heart association ( aha ) — say that lean red meat is an acceptable part of most diets. be aware that some " lean " meats, such as mutton, are fatter than other meats, such as beef. many restaurants do not use lean meat, so experts suggest asking questions before ordering. the lean cuts of meat include flank steak, london broil, and extra - lean ground beef. in addition to containing large amounts of protein, lean red meat is an excellent source of iron and zinc. for poultry, take the skin off and don ' t fry it. removing the skin removes most of the fat. fish is not only high in protein, but also very low in saturated fat ( the " bad " fat ). if you eat locally caught fish, however, check with your department of health to see if any kinds should be avoided because of toxic pollutants. go for variety try different ethnic recipes, which offer a wide variety of ways to cook meat, chicken, fish, and vegetables. here are some suggestions : burritos with lean meat ; beans and rice ; pasta salad with low - fat dressing ; and vegetable lasagna made with low - fat cheese. whole grains, legumes, vegetables, seeds, and nuts all contain both essential and non - essential amino acids, too. and, according to the aha, you do not need to consciously combine these foods as " complementary proteins " within a given meal. overall, nutrition experts say that a varied and balanced diet of meats, vegetables, dairy, and grains is best.


an attitude of gratitude on thanksgiving day posted by paul cacciatore on november 24, 2011 “ gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. it turns what we have into enough, and more. it turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. it can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ” — melody beattie today, many of us will celebrate a national day of thanksgiving with family and friends. you know the drill — eating turkey, mash potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin or apple pie ; watching football ( your pick of green bay packers vs. detroit lions, miami dolphins vs. dallas cowboys, or san francisco 49ers vs. baltimore ravens ) ; and napping, after which the whole cycle begins anew. why be grateful? within this traditional celebration, it is all too easy for us to lose sight of the real meaning of the holiday ; that is, to give thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon us in our daily lives. yesterday, i overheard two adults speaking about thanksgiving in a grocery store line. one individual said to the second in a serious tone : “ what do i have to be thankful for? ” at first blush, it seems like a fair question when you consider the following : - the u. s. is currently engaged in two major armed conflicts. as of november 22, the total number of americans killed in afghanistan and iraq is 4, 984, and the number of wounded is over 47, 000. the conflict in afghanistan hit the 10 - year mark in october. in contrast, the u. s. forced the unconditional surrender of nazi germany and the imperial empire of japan in 3 years and 8 months, thereby ending world war ii in august 1945. - the u. s. is experiencing the worst economic downturn since “ the great depression ” of the 20th century. - the bipartisan u. s. congressional “ super committee ” failed to reach agreement on $ 1. 2 trillion of federal budget spending cuts over the next ten years, as part of congress ’ ongoing theater of the absurd in which its utter and total failure is “ spun ” as success. - the u. s. congress ’ approval rating, based upon a recent new york times poll, sits at an all - time low of 9 percent. by comparison, former president richard nixon ’ s final approval rating after the watergate scandal and upon his resignation was