h r | 1 | s | 1 0 1 1 | 1 0 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 1 1 0 1 | 0 1 0 | * | 1 | = | 0 | | 1 1 1 0 | 0 0 1 | | 0 | | 0 | if all the elements of s are 0, then the entire set has been received correctly. if there are any ' 1 ' s in s, then there is an error which can be determined by looking at the parity pits that have failed. if r = s will be this matches the third colum of ' h ' which corresponds to the bit that has the error. the ( 7, 4 ) hamming code, while good for demonstrations is not the best choice for practical communications - it has allot of overhead and has a non - standard length. the number of parity bits goes up with the log of the number of data bits. hence, there is less overhead for longer words than shorter words. the hamming code can detect and fix single bit errors, and detect double bit errors. for the ( 7, 4 ) hamming code, the following table ( error correcting bits are in bold ) : decimal binary hamming ( 7, 4 ) 0 0000 0000000 1 0001 0001110 2 0010 0010101 3 0011 0011011 4 0100 0100011 5 0101 0100011 6 0110 0110110 7 0111 0111000 8 1000 1000111 9 1001 1001001 10 1010 1010010 11 1011 1011100 12 1100 1100100 13 1101 1101010 14 1110 1110001 15 1111 1111111 the hamming distance from one valid error correcting set to another for the same data is three. this means that it would take three errors to go from one valid message to another. example : 0100010 ( not valid - correctable ) 0100000 ( not valid - not correctable ) it is left an excercise to the reader to demonstrate this is the case for all 127 possible cases that the minimum hamming distance between any two valid messages is three.


swiss naturalist and geologist born 1807 died 1873 jean louis rodolphe agassiz was the son of the protestant pastor of the parish of motier, on the north - eastern shore of the lake of morat ( murten see ), and not far from the eastern extremity of the lake of neuchatel. agassiz was born at this retired place on the 28th of may 1807. educated first at home, then spending four years at the gymnasium of bienne, he completed his elementary studies at the academy of lausanne. having adopted medicine as his profession, he studied successively at the universities of zurich, heidelberg and munich ; and he availed himself of the advantages afforded by these universities for extending his knowledge of natural history, especially of botany. after completing his academical course, he took in 1829 his degree of doctor of philosophy at erlangen, and in 1830 that of doctor of medicine at munich. up to this time he had paid no special attention to the study of ichthyology, which soon afterwards became the great occupation of his life. agassiz always declared that he was led into ichthyological pursuits through the following circumstances : - in 1819 - 1820, j. b. spix and c. f. p. von martius were engaged in their celebrated brazilian tour, and on their return to europe, amongst other collections of natural objects they brought home an important set of the freshwater fishes of brazil, and especially of the amazon river. spix, who died in 1826, did not live long enough to work out the history of these fishes ; and agassiz, though little more than a youth just liberated from his academic studies, was selected by professor martius for this purpose. he at once threw himself into the work with that earnestness of spirit which characterized him to the end of his busy life, and the task of describing and figuring the brazilian fishes was completed and published in 1829. this was followed by an elaborate research into the history of the fishes found in the lake of neuchatel. enlarging his plans, he issued in 1830 a prospectus of a history of the freshwater fishes of central europe. it was only in 1839, however, that the first part of this publication appeared, and it was completed in 1842. in 1832 he was appointed professor of natural history in the university of neuchatel. having become a professed ichthyologist, it was impossible that the fossil fishes should fail to attract his attention. the rich stores furnished by the slates of


in 1832 he was appointed professor of natural history in the university of neuchatel. having become a professed ichthyologist, it was impossible that the fossil fishes should fail to attract his attention. the rich stores furnished by the slates of glarus and the limestones of monte bolca were already well known ; but very little had been accomplished in the way of scientific study of them. agassiz, as early as 1829, with his wonted enthusiasm, planned the publication of the work which, more than any other, laid the foundation of his world - wide fame. five volumes of his recherches sur les poissons fossiles appeared at intervals from 1833 to 1843 1844. they were magnificently illustrated, chiefly through the labours of joseph dinkel, an artist of remarkable power in delineating natural objects. in gathering materials for this great work agassiz visited the principal museums in europe, and meeting cuvier in paris, he received much encouragement and assistance from him. agassiz found that his palaeontological labours rendered necessary a new basis of ichthyological classification. the fossils rarely exhibited any traces of the soft tissues of fishes. they consisted chiefly of the teeth, scales and fins, even the bones being perfectly preserved in comparatively few instances. he therefore adopted his well - known classification, which divided fishes into four groups - viz. ganoids, placoids, cycloids and ctenoids, based on the nature of the scales and other dermal appendages. while agassiz did much to place the subject on a scientific basis, his classification has not been found to meet the requirements of modern research. as remarked by dr a. smith woodward, he sought to interpret the past structures by too rigorous a comparison with those of living forms. ( see catalogue of fossil fishes in the british natural history museum. ) as the important descriptive work of agassiz proceeded, it became obvious that it would over - tax his resources, unless assistance could be afforded. the british association came to his aid, and the earl of ellesmere - then lord francis egerton - gave him yet more efficient help. the original drawings made for the work, chiefly by dinkel, amounted to 1290 in number. these were purchased by the earl, and presented by him to the geological society of london. in 1836 the wollaston medal was awarded by the council of that society to agassiz for his work on fossil ichthyology ; and in 1838 he was elected a


by the earl, and presented by him to the geological society of london. in 1836 the wollaston medal was awarded by the council of that society to agassiz for his work on fossil ichthyology ; and in 1838 he was elected a foreign member of the royal society. meanwhile the invertebrate animals engaged his attention. in 1837 he issued the ' prodrome ' of a monograph on the recent and fossil echinodermata, the first part of which appeared in 1838 ; in 1839 - 1840 he published two quarto volumes on the fossil echinoderms of switzerland ; and in 1840 - 1845 he issued his etudes critiques sur les mollusques fossiles. subsequently to his first visit to england in 1834, the labours of hugh miller and other geologists brought to light the remarkable fishes of the old red sandstone of the north - east of scotland. the strange forms of the pterichthys, the coccosteus and other genera were then made known to geologists for the first time. they naturally were of intense interest to agassiz, and formed the subject of a special monograph by him published in 1844 - 1845 : monographie des poissons fossiles du vieux gres rouge, ou systeme devonien ( old red sandstone ) des iles britanniques et de russie. the year 1836 witnessed the inauguration of a new investigation, which proved to be of the utmost importance to geological science. previously to this date de saussure, venetz, charpentier and others had made the glaciers of the alps the subjects of special study, and charpentier had even arrived at the conclusion that the erratic blocks of alpine rocks scattered over the slopes and summits of the jura mountains had been conveyed thither by glaciers. the question having attracted the attention of agassiz, he not only made successive journeys to the alpine regions in company with charpentier, but he had a hut constructed upon one of the aar glaciers, which for a time he made his home, in order to investigate thoroughly the structure and movements of the ice. these labours resulted in the publication of his grand work in two volumes entitled etudes sur les glaciers, 1840. therein he discussed the movements of the glaciers, their moraines, their influence in grooving and rounding the rocks over which they travelled, and in producing the striations and roches moutonnees with which we are now so familiar. he not only accepted charpentier ' s idea that


a course of lectures on zoology, by invitation from j. a. lowell, at the lowell institute at boston ; the tempting advantages, pecuniary and scientific, presented to him in the new world induced him to settle in the united states, where he remained to the end of his life. he was appointed professor of zoology and geology in the university of cambridge, u. s., in 1847. in 1852 he accepted a medical professorship of comparative anatomy at charlestown, but this he resigned in two years. the transfer to a new field and the association with fresh objects of interest gave his energies an increased stimulus. volume after volume now proceeded from his pen : some of his writings were popular, but most of them dealt with the higher departments of scientific research. his work on lake superior, and his four volumes of contributions to the natural history of the united states, 1857 - 1862, were of this latter character. we must not overlook the valuable service he rendered to science by the formation, for his own use, of a catalogue of scientific memoirs - an extraordinary work for a man whose hands were already so full. this catalogue, edited and materially enlarged by the late hugh e. strickland, was published by the ray society under the title of bibliographia zoologiae et geologiae, in 4 vols., 1848 - 1854. nor must we forget that he was building up another magnificent monument of his industry in the museum of natural history, which rose under his fostering care at cambridge. but at length the great strain on his physical powers began to tell. his early labours among the fishes of brazil had often caused him to cast a longing glance towards that country, and he now resolved to combine the pursuit of health with the gratification of his long cherished desires. in april 1865 he started for brazil, with his wife and class of qualified assistants. an interesting account of this expedition, entitled a journey in brazil ( 1868 ), was published by mrs agassiz and himself after they returned home in august 1866. in 1871 he made a second excursion, visiting the southern shores of the north american continent, both on its atlantic and its pacific sea - boards. he had for many years yearned after the establishment of a permanent school where zoological science could be pursued amidst the haunts of the living subjects of study. the last, and possibly the most influential, of the labours of his life was the establishment of such an institution, which he was enabled to effect through the liberality of mr john


be pursued amidst the haunts of the living subjects of study. the last, and possibly the most influential, of the labours of his life was the establishment of such an institution, which he was enabled to effect through the liberality of mr john anderson, a citizen of new york. that gentleman, in 1873, not only handed over to agassiz the island of penikese, in buzzard ' s bay, on the east coast, but also presented him with $ 50, 000 wherewith permanently to endow it as a practical school of natural science, especially devoted to the study of marine zoology. unfortunately he did not long survive the establishment of this institution. the disease with which he had struggled for some years proved fatal on the 14th of december 1873. he was buried at mount auburn. his monument is a boulder selected from the moraine of the glacier of the aar near the site of the old hotel des neuchatelois, not far from the spot where his hut once stood ; and the pine - trees which shelter his grave were sent from his old home in switzerland. his extensive knowledge of natural history makes it somewhat remarkable to find that from first to last he steadily rejected the doctrine of evolution, and affirmed his belief in independent creations. when studying the superficial deposits of the brazilian plains in 1865, his vivid imagination covered even that wide tropical area, as it had covered switzerland before, with one vast glacier,, extending from the andes to the sea. this view, however, has not been generally accepted. his daring conceptions were only equalled by the unwearied industry and genuine enthusiasm with which he worked them out ; and if in details his labours were somewhat defective, it was only because he had ventured to attempt what was too much for any one man. to accomplish. it may be interesting to mention that the charming verses written by longfellow on the fiftieth birthday of agassiz were read by the author at a dinner given to agassiz by the saturday club in cambridge, massachusetts, in 1857. louis agassiz was twice married, and by his first wife he had an only son, alexander agassiz, born in 1835 ; in 1850, after her death, he married his second wife, elizabeth cabot cary of boston, massachusetts, afterwards well known as a writer and as an active promoter of educational work in connexion with radcliffe college ( see an article on radcliffe college, by helen leah reed in the new england magazine for january 1895 ). authorities.


unlike some of their american cousins, european cicadas make their appearance annually rather than once every thirteen or seventeen years. this means they are part of the fabric of rural life instead of an occasional noteworthy or horrendous occurrence. perhaps nowhere are they more loved than in the south of france, in the area known as provence. if the rooster, or coq, to use his french title, is the animal kingdom member who is officially symbolic of france, then the cicada, or cigale, is the symbol of provence. jean de lafountaine immortalized him in his " fables ". most english - language fable collections carry the story of the ants and the grasshopper but in the french " fables de lafountaine " it is le cigale who passes the glorious days of summer in song. the cigale is a creature of summertime. appearing near the end of june in provence, he is never heard after mid - september. his song ( and only the males are heard ) may sound monotonous to the uninitiated, but the strident rasp of this tiny lyrist is varied according to the circumstances. like most male singing, it is a sexual call, sometimes reaching around 160 decibels. as a song of love it is languorous and deep. alarmed, it becomes raucous and short. to hear this version, carefully catch a cigale and turn him over on his back. stroke his belly with a blade of grass or a broom straw and he will immediately began to give voice. ” voice ” is perhaps the wrong word to use, as no larynx action is involved. when you have a male on his back as described above, you can actually see the vibrations of the lower chest. this is not sound - producing but sound - modifying ; the actual sound is produced in the hollow stomach of the male. it has been compared to the hollow interior of a guitar. the sound itself is produced by the rapid retraction ( from 300 to 900 times a second ) of a muscle on each side of the " music box ". below 22 degrees centigrade, the resounding sections of this " music box " lose their elasticity. for this reason the males are silent during rain or after sundown. what is interesting about this strident creature is that it is completely deaf, having no tympanic features, i. e. no ears. it depends on its eyes to alert itself to the


males are silent during rain or after sundown. what is interesting about this strident creature is that it is completely deaf, having no tympanic features, i. e. no ears. it depends on its eyes to alert itself to the approach of enemies. if you walk into its field of vision it will immediately fall silent. and it has a very large field of vision : it has a pair of huge eyes with 14, 000 facets as well as three small stemmed eyes on the top of its head. males and females are alike in this respect, which leads to the assumption that the mating call is recognized by vibration in the atmosphere rather than by sound itself. regardless of how the two sexes find each other, they do, and procreation is abundant. each female lays between 300 and 400 eggs, depositing them in the dry twig of almost any type of plant after cutting a slit in the bark with a drill, or " rostre " carried on its lower body. ten eggs are laid at each site. the female dies soon after this, but the larvae later appear at the same slit in the bark by which the eggs were introduced. after tearing its protective envelope, each individual larva remains suspended until it dries in the sun and takes on a protective hardening of its exterior. it then drops to the ground and burrows into the soil. it will spend four years underground, digging long tunnels in search of roots, from which it sucks sap as nourishment. both larvae and adults live exclusively on sap of various plants, which is extracted by means of a facial appendage resembling a large soda straw, functioning very much like a syringe. the larvae undergo several metamorphisms during their time underground. in cold weather they curl up and remain dormant, in hot weather they grow bigger. at this point they are still blind. finally, one fine day in june, they emerge, cling to small twigs while shedding the grub form, and wait for their wings to dry before starting an adult life of several weeks. for the entomologist the cicada is a homopterous insect, having four transparent or nearly - transparent wings. the french say that these wings form a " roof " over the insect when they are folded in rest. the french also say ( and i don ’ t know if this is true or not ) that cicadas of provence are the only ones in the world who do not damage the plants they use for nourishment and egg


wart (? ), n. [ oe. werte, as. wearte ; akin to d. wrat, g. warze, ohg. warza, icel. varta, sw. vx86 ; rta, dan. vorte ; perh. orig., a growth, and akin to e. wort ; or cf. l. verruca wart. ] a small, usually hard, tumor on the skin formed by enlargement of its vascular papillae, and thickening of the epidermis which covers them. an excrescence or protuberance more or less resembling a true wart ; specifically bot., a glandular excrescence or hardened protuberance on plants. fig wart, moist wart med., a soft, bright red, pointed or tufted tumor found about the genitals, often massed into groups of large size. it is a variety of condyloma. called also pointed wart, venereal wart. l. a. duhring. - - wart cress bot., the swine ' s cress. see under swine. - - wart snake zool., any one of several species of east indian colubrine snakes of the genus acrochordus, having the body covered with wartlike tubercles or spinose scales, and lacking cephalic plates and ventral scutes. - - wart spurge bot., a kind of wartwort ( euphorbia helioscopia ). © webster 1913.


today is wednesday, may 23, the 144th day of 2012. there are 222 days left in the year. today ’ s highlight in history : on may 23, 1937, industrialist and philanthropist john d. rockefeller, founder of the standard oil co. and the rockefeller foundation, died in ormond beach, fla., at age 97. on this date : in 1430, joan of arc was captured by the burgundians, who sold her to the english. in 1533, the marriage of england ’ s king henry viii to catherine of aragon was declared null and void. in 1701, william kidd was hanged in london after he was convicted of piracy and murder. in 1788, south carolina became the eighth state to ratify the united states constitution. in 1873, canada ’ s parliament voted to establish the north west mounted police force. in 1911, the newly completed new york public library was dedicated by president william howard taft, gov. john alden dix and mayor william jay gaynor. in 1934, bank robbers clyde barrow and bonnie parker were shot to death in a police ambush in bienville parish, la. in 1945, nazi official heinrich himmler committed suicide while imprisoned in luneburg, germany. in 1949, the federal republic of germany ( west germany ) was established. in 1962, the movie version of “ the miracle worker, ” with patty duke and anne bancroft reprising their broadway roles as helen keller and anne sullivan, opened in new york. in 1967, egypt closed the straits of tiran to israeli ships, an action which precipitated war between israel and its arab neighbors the following month. in 1984, surgeon general c. everett koop issued a report saying there was “ very solid ” evidence linking cigarette smoke to lung disease in non - smokers. ten years ago : during visits to germany and russia on the same day, president george w. bush told wary european leaders “ we ’ ve got to use all means at our disposal to deal with saddam hussein, ” and he denounced anyone who would appease terrorists or ignore threats to europe. golfing legend sam snead died in hot springs, va., four days short of his 90th birthday. five years ago : president george w. bush, speaking at the u. s. coast guard commencement, portrayed the iraq war as a battle between the u. s. and al - qaida and said osama bin laden was setting up a terrorist cell in iraq to strike targets in america. iraqi police dragged from the


s. coast guard commencement, portrayed the iraq war as a battle between the u. s. and al - qaida and said osama bin laden was setting up a terrorist cell in iraq to strike targets in america. iraqi police dragged from the euphrates river a body identified as that of pfc. joseph anzack jr., who had disappeared during a may 12 ambush. jordin sparks was crowned the new “ american idol ” on the fox reality show. one year ago : president barack obama opened a six - day european tour in ireland, where he paid tribute to his irish ancestors before heading to britain. the european union imposed sanctions on syrian president bashar assad over the continuing crackdown on anti - government protesters. pakistani commandos recaptured a major naval base from taliban attackers after a bloody 18 - hour standoff. today ’ s birthdays : bluegrass singer mac wiseman is 87. actor nigel davenport is 84. actress barbara barrie is 81. actress joan collins is 79. actor charles kimbrough is 76. actress lauren chapin is 67. country singer misty morgan is 67. country singer judy rodman is 61. singer luka bloom is 57. actor - comedian drew carey is 54. country singer shelly west is 54. actor linden ashby is 52. actress - model karen duffy is 51. actress melissa mcbride is 47. rock musician phil selway ( radiohead ) is 45. actress laurel holloman is 44. rock musician matt flynn ( maroon 5 ) is 42. singer lorenzo is 40. country singer brian mccomas is 40. singer maxwell is 39. singer jewel is 38. actor lane garrison is 32. actor adam wylie is 28. thought for today : “ sometimes you have to be silent in order to be heard. ” — swiss proverb.


this tip discusses how school leaders can build a strong learning - focused environment in their district or school. high - impact leadership for high - impact schools : the actions that matter most, by pamela salazar, presents specific knowledge and practical strategies for school leaders to reach high standards of excellence. strong learning - focused communities offer professional support and provide learning opportunities and mutual accountability for improving instruction. principals must build a work culture that promotes collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective responsibility for improving teaching and learning. high - impact leaders ask : - when do teachers come together to talk about teaching and learning? - what are the expectations for teachers to continue their professional development? - have we established a culture of questioning and inquiry? - is professional development site - specific and aligned with the needs assessment and goals of the school? - do teachers use assessment results to drive instructional decisions on an ongoing basis? - do teachers have opportunities for looking at student work? - do we see ourselves as a community of learners that can continuously improve through collaboration, assessment of results, and reflection? a high - impact school is a community of practice in which learning, experimentation, and reflection are the norm. there is a sense of common purpose based on a collective understanding of the community served by the school and the staff ’ s capacity to work together toward this common purpose. everyone works together to assure that diverse voices and beliefs are heard and that consensus truly results in what is good for the whole school and every student. high - impact schools are professional learning communities engaged in assessing and improving instructional practice. these schools are equipped to meet the needs of individual students and to accelerate the pace of learning. they do this through a high level of communication about a variety of issues after establishing opportunities for collaboration. these schools value the exploration and improvement of teaching. they recognize and support innovative efforts that contribute to creating a positive climate and culture in the school. collaborative work forms the backbone for developing an aligned educational experience and expands a school ’ s vision and boundaries by involving more people in essential processes related to student achievement and school improvement. high - impact leaders are proactive. they build a supportive learning environment that is healthy and intellectually stimulating. they create an environment characterized by a high level of professional practice paired with a high level of student engagement in the construction of new knowledge. students feel respected and connected and they are engaged in learning. instruction is personalized to increase student contact with teachers. professional development supports collaboration and collegial accountability. the high - impact school dedicates itself to developing everyone ’ s potential talents, center


the next time you pass the former capitol department store on hay street in downtown fayetteville, imagine the u. s. army gleefully burning down the fayetteville observer offices in that vicinity. it happened. the event took place 146 years ago in the concluding days of the civil war. fayetteville, fort bragg and south - central north carolina are replete with civil war history. this year, the united states marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the civil war. the war came to a close four years later in the spring of 1865 in our own backyard. the year 2015 will mark the sesquicentennial of local events. author jim wise in " on sherman ' s trail " describes how the combatants may have surveyed the surrounding fields from the belfry of old laurel hill presbyterian church in scotland county. fort bragg itself was the site of the battle of monroe ' s crossroads. there ' s a driving tour and information about the union army ' s pontoon bridge over the cape fear river in mark a. smith and wade sokolosky ' s highly regarded " no such army since the days of julius caesar : sherman ' s carolinas campaign from fayetteville to averasboro. " union troops of gen. william t. sherman had laid waste to the secessionist hotbeds of georgia and south carolina and were supposed to go easier on north carolina, which was late to join the exodus. however, they had been keeping track of the confederate sympathizers. on march 12, 1865, sherman ' s troops set the torch to the ardently pro - confederate local newspaper. according to one account, the observer office was at hay and anderson streets. union officers sat on a hotel veranda across the street and merrily watched as the observer went up in flames. there ' s an irony there. nowadays, the fayetteville observer takes pride in being the hometown newspaper of fort bragg, the army ' s premier installation. elite magazine has a piece of that civil war heritage, too. fayetteville publishing co. publishes both elite magazine and the fayetteville observer newspaper.


september 11 – national hot cross buns day posted on september 11, 2012 national hot cross buns day five food finds about hot cross buns - a hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun made with currants or raisins and marked with a cross on the top, traditionally eaten on good friday. - in many historically christian countries, buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted on good friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the crucifixion. - they are believed by some to pre - date christianity, although the first recorded use of the term “ hot cross bun ” was not until 1733. - it is believed that buns marked with a cross were eaten by saxons in honour of the goddess eostre ( the cross is thought to have symbolised the four quarters of the moon ) ; “ eostre ” is probably the origin of the name “ easter ”. - others claim that the greeks marked cakes with a cross, much earlier. today ’ s food history on this day in … 1721 rudolph jacob camerarius died. a german botanist, he showed the existence of sexes in plants, and identified the stamen and pistil as the male and female organs. 1777 the battle of brandywine in the american revolutionary war. the british win, enabling them to capture philadelphia. 1851 sylvester graham died in northampton, massachusetts. he advocated vegetarianism, temperance and the use of coarse ground whole wheat ( graham ) flour. he developed the graham cracker in 1829. 1959 congress passed legislation creating the food stamp program. 1961 the world wildlife fund, a conservation organization, was founded.


the negative split is one of my favorite distance running techniques that is sure to help you cut seconds and minutes off of your race times. a negative split is defined as running a later portion or a race at a faster pace than an earlier portion of the race. in essence, you start out slow and speed up as you go, each split is successively less than the one before it ( negative ). but why would you want to do that and how will that make you faster? let ' s start at the beginning. when i began running, i, like many others, believed that you should start fast when you are fresh and slow down as you wear out and become tired. some call this ' banking time '. you are running faster than your goal at the beginning in an effort to bank enough time so that you can run slower later in the race. there is a fundamental flaw to this line of thinking and it has to do with your physiology ( fancy word for body science ). as you might already know our muscles get energy during running from glycogen ( carbohydrates ) and fat stores in your body. glycogen is limited in quantity, and even a well trained athlete will not last long running above 85 % of their max heart rate. they will be running anaerobically and burning a great deal of glycogen and producing lactic acid in their muscles at a rate faster than it can be removed. lactic acid stops your muscles from converting fat into energy. this will cause you to slow way down or even walk. your goal is to use your fat reserves, which are much greater in quantity and will keep you going longer. the negative split running strategy coupled with the right aerobic training you can teach your body to use more fat and less glycogen which will allow you to run for much longer periods of time while burning fat and without running out of glycogen or generating large amounts of lactic acid. so what can you do about it? first focus your training to be aerobic, in the 60 - 75 % of your maximum heart rate range for at least 30 minutes. yes that means running slower when training ; it seems counter intuitive but it works. and the next time you race, instead of going out at full speed and fading in the later miles, start out at a pace a few seconds per mile ( 10 - 15 ) slower than your goal pace for the first few miles, and slowly pick up the pace running each mile a few seconds faster than the


by kris day topping is the absolute worst action you can take under the guise of “ caring ” for a tree. what exactly is “ topping? ” in a nutshell, it is a type of pruning that reduces a tree ’ s size by indiscriminately stub cutting the major branches of a tree. a tree typically ends up looking like a hat rack or candelabra at best. other names for this misguided practice are : stubbing, heading, tipping, or rounding off. pruning trees in this way causes, rather than prevents, hazards – one of the main reasons people claim to do or have this work done. when a tree ’ s crown is cut back in this way, it responds by sending out a flush of growth from the remaining large diameter wood to replace the leaf area lost. this growth is very weakly attached and will become vulnerable to breakage in a short time. additionally, topping weakens trees by creating large wounds for them to seal over. it takes a lot of energy and time to close over cuts of this nature, and most often trees develop decay before the process is complete. so, not only do you invite the risk of new limbs breaking off in storms ( or even just under their own weight ), you also run the risk of having one of the structural branches falling due to rot. while topping is dangerous, unhealthy, and unsightly, the bottom line is that it just doesn ’ t work. if you have a tree whose size or health are of concern to you, do yourself ( and the tree ) a favor and seek the advice of a certified arborist. a healthy tree can outlive many generations of people, but only if it is provided adequate resources and not mistreated. don ’ t top or advocate for topping trees. and please … spread the word.


what is geography? while the word geography is derived from greek and literally means " to write about the earth, " the subject of geography is much more than describing " foreign " places or memorizing the names of capitals and countries. geography is an all - encompassing discipline that seeks to understand the world - its human and physical features - through an understanding of place and location. geographers study where things are and how they got there. my favorite definitions for geography are " the bridge between the human and physical sciences " and " the mother of all sciences. " geography looks at the spatial connection between people, places, and the earth. how is geography different from geology? many people have an idea of what a geologist does but don ' t have any idea of what a geographer does. while geography is commonly divided into human geography and physical geography, the difference between physical geography and geology is often confusing. geographers tend to study the surface of the earth, its landscapes, its features, and why they are where they are. geologists look deeper into the earth than do geographers and study its rocks, the internal processes of the earth ( such as plate tectonics and volcanoes ), and study periods of earth history many millions and even billions of years ago. how does one become a geographer? an undergraduate ( college or university ) education in geography is an important beginning to becoming a geographer. with a bachelor ' s degree in geography, a geography student can begin working in a variety of fields. while many students begin their career after achieving an undergraduate education, others continue on. a master ' s degree in geography is very helpful for the student who desires to teach at the high school or community college level, to be a cartographer or gis specialist, of work in business or government. a doctorate in geography ( ph. d. ) is necessary if one wishes to become a full professor at a university. although, many ph. d. s in geography continue on to form consulting firms, become administrators in government agencies, or attain high - level research positions in corporations or think - tanks. the best resource for learning about colleges and universities that offer degrees in geography is the annual publication of the association of american geographers, the guide to programs in geography in the united states and canada. what does a geographer do? unfortunately, the job title of " geographer " is not often found in companies or government agencies ( with the most notable exception of the u. s. census bureau ). however, more and


looking at the definitions of again and wieder we ' re able to figure out which meanings are identical and which are different. 1 one more time ; on another occasion 1 druckt eine wiederholung aus ; ein weiteres mal, wie fruher schon einmal ; erneut 2 showing that somebody / something is in the same place or state that they were in originally 2 druckt eine ruckkehr in einen fruheren zustand aus ; druckt aus, dass etwas ruckgangig gemacht wird 3 added to an amount that is already there 4 used to show that a comment or fact is connected with what you have just said 5 ( then / there again ) used to introduce a fact or an opinion that contrasts with what you have just said 3 gleichzeitig, andererseits [ aber auch ] 6 used when you ask somebody to tell you something or repeat something that you think they have told you already 6 ( noch, doch ) druckt in fragesatzen aus, dass der sprecher nach etwas bekanntem fragt, was ihm im moment nicht einfallt as you can see there are two meanings of again that aren ' t represented by wieder. in the following sentence you can ' t use wieder in german. the cost is about half as much again as it was two years ago. and again, we must think of the cost. side note : there are also definitions of wieder that aren ' t covered by again ; hence, you can ' t translate wieder to again in every case. last but not least : in some sentences german natives would tend to use a synonym like nochmals where again is used in english. could you say it again, please? - kannst du das bitte nochmals sagen. the last definition is taken from the entry of doch.


it seems like we can find almost everything we need through google maps — even the best place to put a new wind farm or a solar power plant. renewable energy prospectors can now assess potential sites with the click of a mouse using 3tier ’ s high - resolution maps of the earth ’ s solar radiation, wind speeds and hydro power capacities. the company showed off its new seamless, high - resolution solar map of the western hemisphere this week at the international solar power conference. 3tier is working on mapping the entire world with its “ remapping the world ” initiative which it hopes will help developing countries assess their renewable energy resources and “ leap frog ” past fossil fuels. many of the places that need renewable energy the most don ’ t have the resources to synthesize millions of satellite photos. 3tier offers a free look on their web site for consumers and sells comprehensive, custom full site analysis reports, complete with gis data layers to energy developers. 3tier says its new solar maps offers three times the resolution of existing industry standards. and while you might have thought sunlight just beams straight down, 3tier ’ s solar map displays information on global horizontal irradiation, direct normal irradiation and diffuse irradiation so you can tell how much radiation might actually power your panels. the wind energy map also provides a huge amount of detail and clicking through the wind velocity at elevations of 20, 50 and 80 meters quickly illustrates that higher speed winds are higher up in the atmosphere. founded in 1999, 3tier displays its data using google maps, which makes us wonder : what if google were to acquire 3tier? it could be a perfect fit. google. org has made investments in solar and wind energy companies which could certainly make use of high - resolution energy maps. 3tier ’ s maps could perfectly compliment google ’ s recent grant to southern methodist university geothermal laboratory to update a very similar geothermal energy map. and google earth has been adding layers of data about renewable energy for quite some time now. but then again, we ’ re still waiting for google to acquire the earth2tech portfolio of green maps. images courtesy of 3tier.


the heating system of the winter moth when winter comes, many insect species inhabiting cold regions of the world die from cold or lack of food. that is because insects are delicate creatures, but there are some exceptions to this rule. for example, owl moths look like butterflies and at first sight seem very delicate. in reality, however, they are strong enough to survive tough winter conditions. therefore these moths are also called " winter moths ". like butterflies, a winter moth has two wings and a trunk to which these wings are joined. in order for this moth to fly, the temperature of its thorax to which its wings are joined should be 30oc ( 86of ). but the temperature where they live is usually 0oc ( 32of ) and even drops below zero degrees from time to time. how can winter moths survive such cold? what prevents them from freezing when they are motionless, and what enables them to fly in cold weather? this moth species is created together with a special heating system that enables it to live under winter conditions. this system consists of several complementary features. before flight winter moths continuously tense the main muscles that are connected to the wings and make their wings vibrate. the rapid vibrating of the wings leads to an increase in the temperature of the insect ' s thorax. as a result of this increase, the temperature of the thorax may rise from 0oc ( 32of ) to 30oc ( 86of ) or even more. however, this is only one of the features that the moth needs to survive. in order to fly it is not sufficient for the winter moth merely to increase its body temperature. that is because the difference between the temperatures of the insect ' s body and of the atmosphere will result in loss of heat. in the same way as a glass of hot tea cools after a while, the moth ' s body will also cool. therefore it will not help even if the moth keeps its wings vibrating. in order for the winter moth to fly and thus survive, another method is required to maintain the heat it has produced. this need is also met by a special structure that allah created in the moth ' s body. moths are covered with dense scales that reduce heat loss. scientists have determined after research that a moth without scales cools twice as fast as those with scales. these are some of the mechanisms in a winter moth that protect it from cold. the features mentioned above must have existed since this moth species came into being. otherwise, the moth would have died of cold and this species would be extinct


tradition observes that christ was put to death on good friday but thursday is the day that would fulfill the sign of jonah. matthew 12 : 38 - 40 says " the son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth ". so did the lord mean what he said here in matthew 12? three days and three nights in the earth? there are not 3 nights between good friday and sunday morning, the first day of the week when christ arose ( john 20 : 1 ). by looking at the feasts from leviticus 23, we can confirm our answer that the lord is always accurate. in some weeks the jewish feasts could require two consecutive days of rest ( weekly and annual sabbaths ). this helps to determine that christ was crucified passover day, thursday the 14th of nissan. john 18 : 28 shows that some jews had not yet eaten their passover in the hours before early thursday morning. we know that jesus and others had already eaten their passover meal the previous wed. evening. customs or reasons for different times in killing the lamb and the passover meal might come from the translation of leviticus 23 : 5 where " at twilight " literally means " between the evenings ". also pharisee and sadducee disputes on passover customs perhaps were based on past examples of hezekiah, josiah or from the book ezra when passover changes were allowed. we can be sure jesus celebrated the passover meal at the correct time of wednesday evening when the 14th began. a new day was said to begin when 3 stars were visible in the evening. it is helpful to mention that the jewish day begins in the evening unlike our present method of changing over at midnight. the 14th of nissan is the date of the passover meal celebration at twilight wednesday evening. however it is still passover, the 14th during daylight hours thursday. during these daylight hours several events took place as our savior was on the cross. it was the day of preparation ( john 19 : 14 ) when all leaven is to be removed from the house in preparation for the high sabbath of the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. this high sabbath friday the 15th, proceeded the weekly saturday sabbath of the 16th. this study is not to prove what the priests were doing at the exact time jesus was nailed to the cross, but it may be probable that the priests were sacrificing a national passover lamb at the temple thursday the 14th, as the true sacrifice of god was taking place on gol


were doing at the exact time jesus was nailed to the cross, but it may be probable that the priests were sacrificing a national passover lamb at the temple thursday the 14th, as the true sacrifice of god was taking place on golgotha outside the camp. passover and the feast of unleavened bread are sometimes referred to like one feast ( 1 ). however, a 7 day feast of unleavened bread starts the day after passover. the 7 day unleavened bread feast is proceeded by a day of preparation ( passover day ). passover is an evening memorial meal of unleavened bread and roasted lamb celebrated at twilight on the 14th. studying these feasts should also help us understand jesus words about him being the bread from heaven, eating his flesh and drinking his blood ( john chapter 6 ). like our savior, no bone of the passover lamb was to be broken ( exodus 12 : 46, john 19 : 36 ). from exodus 12 : 3 - 6 we read that the jews are to choose their sacrificial passover lamb on the 10th of nissan, the first month of the jewish calendar. nissan 10th was the day after a weekly saturday sabbath, and it is also called palm sunday by christians today. this day christ rode into jerusalem and the people laid palm branches before him, not realizing that he was to be their sacrificial lamb in a few days ( 2 ). isaiah 53 : 1 - 9 predicted that messiah would be the final paschal sacrifice, the final sacrifice for sin. jesus is " our passover " in i corinthians 5 : 6 - 7. jesus is portrayed as this passover lamb in four passages : john 1 : 29, 1 : 35 - 36, i peter 1 : 18 - 19, and revelation 5 : 6. john the baptist called jesus the lamb of god, that takes away the sin of the world ( john 1 : 29, 36 ). believe in this lamb for eternal life. leviticus and exodus give us the best look at the timing of christ sacrifice and how god had revealed this prophecy so many years before ( 3, 4, 5, 6 ) : - nissan 10th — palm sunday ( the 10th actually starts saturday evening till sunday evening ) — jews choose and test the paschal lamb. - nissan 11th — sunday evening till monday evening — the lamb is tested - nissan 12th — monday evening till tuesday evening — the lamb is tested - nissan 13th — tuesday evening till wednesday evening — the


) — jews choose and test the paschal lamb. - nissan 11th — sunday evening till monday evening — the lamb is tested - nissan 12th — monday evening till tuesday evening — the lamb is tested - nissan 13th — tuesday evening till wednesday evening — the lamb is tested - nissan 14th — wednesday evening till thursday evening & mdash. the lamb is killed at twilight on passover ( is not a sabbath ). also called preparation day to rid the house of all leaven for the next day is a high holy sabbath, the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. - nissan 15th — thurs. eve till friday eve — high holy sabbath the beginning day of feast of unleavened bread ( john 19 : 31, leviticus 23 : 6 - 7, exodus 12 : 16 ). - nissan 16th — weekly sabbath. friday eve till sat. eve - nissan 17th — sunday morning — feast of firstfruits — celebrated the day after sabbath — christ arose and is the firstfruits of our resurrection. ( 1cor. 15 : 20 - 23 ). note that the sadducees also disputed the pharisees over the feast of firstfruits day. they could not agree from which sabbath they should count for being the day after the sabbath ( leviticus 23 : 11 ). this argument would arise because two sabbaths occurred in one week. this study can help us tie old testament and new testament together in showing how god has revealed his plan for all mankind through his chosen people and through his son who is the word. on palm sunday many of the jews welcomed jesus saying " blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord " ( matthew 21 : 9 ). just a few days later the crucifixion took place and jesus was killed. in matthew 23 : 13 - 39 jesus had warned the nation of israel of their coming desolation for rejection of god ' s word. one day they will see him again, but not " till you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord " ( matthew 23 : 39 ). all israel will be saved one day when they call on jesus as messiah ( romans 11 : 26, romans 10 - 11 ). he will not come back until they do. maranatha. some translations read " first day of the feast of unleavened bread or day of unleavened bread " in matthew 26 : 17, mark 14 : 12, and luke 22 : 7. by inserting capital letter


maranatha. some translations read " first day of the feast of unleavened bread or day of unleavened bread " in matthew 26 : 17, mark 14 : 12, and luke 22 : 7. by inserting capital lettered words here, unless we are careful, it may confuse passover and the feast of unleavened bread. a passover meal includes " unleavened bread " but is not one of the 7 days of feast of unleavened bread. the use of " first " or " day " would indicate of chief importance. the passover day is the first day of 8 days of feasts which include unleavened bread. an additional comment about john 12 : 1 - 12, in relation to the sign of jonah study may answer another possible question. i had looked at this passage before but originally decided not to include it in the study. john 12 : 1 says jesus arrived in bethany 6 days before passover. some might jump to the wrong conclusion in counting 6 days from the supper in verse 2 which was saturday night as verse 12 makes clear. most likely jesus and his disciples did not travel much on the sabbath and were in bethany before the sabbath began friday evening. friday during daylight hours was the 8th of nissan and 6 days before passover on the 14th. we are not told that they ( martha ) made jesus a supper the evening he arrived. the time of arrival and the time of supper are not stated to occur on the same day. john 12 : 1 - 12 does not contradict my view on the sign of jonah unless one jumps to wrong conclusions on time between verse 1 to verse 12. further detail concerning exodus 12 is needed. exodus 12 : 41 and 12 : 51 are linked together in structure and are referring to nissan the 15th as the day the lord led israel out of egypt. the phrase in verse 41 and 51, " and it came to pass, on that very same day " are both referring to the ending of the 430 years of captivity when the lord led them out and is not saying that he led them out on the 14th. leviticus 23 : 5 - 6 showing the dates of passover and feast of unleavened bread not being on the same date. the word " it " beginning verse 42 seems to refer to it being night when the lord led them out. but verse 42 could be a transition referring to verses 43 - 50 and passover. or the " it " in verse 42 could lead back to verse 27 and "


beginning verse 42 seems to refer to it being night when the lord led them out. but verse 42 could be a transition referring to verses 43 - 50 and passover. or the " it " in verse 42 could lead back to verse 27 and " it is the passover ". either way verse 42 is not contradicting all the events of passover happening in the night on the 14th. exodus 12 : 43 - 50 are viewing some additional regulations for passover, which is on the 14th. it would require some time for all the events of the night and the daylight of the 14th ( ex. 12 : 21 - 39 ) to occur. for example, just to assemble all israel with belongings in preparation to depart egypt may have taken most of the daylight hours. as evening approached and the beginning of the 15th starts, the lord led israel out. an additional comment about the phrase, " this same night " or " that night " in exodus 12 : 8 ; 12. these verses are referring to all the events occurring at night on nissan 14th, from exodus 12 : 6 thru 12 : 31. for passover to have occurred on the closing evening of the 14th, the amount of time required to complete everything would put the majority of events on the 15th at night, and not the 14th. demonstrating again that jesus took the passover meal correctly at the beginning evening of the 14th. ex. 12 : 18 says unleavened bread is to be eaten everyday for 7 days. on the 14th at evening till the evening of the 21st. that is a total of 8 days. however the requirement to eat unleavened bread on the 21st may not be included as the 21st begins at evening. but it is required to eat on the 14th. the word " on " is inclusive for the 14th but " until " the evening of the 21st is not inclusive, as the 21st begins at evening. no leaven is to be found in the house for 7 days. it would be difficult to find leaven for bread on the 21st in order to bake leavened bread because of this. also this is a sabbath and certain restrictions apply. difficult but not impossible as they may have been tired of unleavened bread after a week. thank goodness for a gentile bakery across the street for example! exodus 12 : 15 - 16 at first seems to mean the same day by using the phrase " on the first day ". " on the first day " in verse 15 is referring to passover day as removing leaven from the house


for example! exodus 12 : 15 - 16 at first seems to mean the same day by using the phrase " on the first day ". " on the first day " in verse 15 is referring to passover day as removing leaven from the house. verse 16 is referring to " on the first day " as a holy convocation on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. leviticus 23 : 5 - 6 showing the different dates and john19 : 14 ; 31 ; 42 showing the day of preparation on the 14th for a high holy sabbath on the 15th. the overlapping of the seven days between these two feast makes it somewhat hard to follow. note that in leviticus 23 between verse 5 and 6 a period mark is placed for punctuation. but verse 4 is saying a list of the feast is following. verse 5 and 6 are joined together with the word " and " their meaning should not be separated by a period mark. this shows the 7 days of unleavened bread overlap to include both the 14th and the 15th. this is in agreement with the reading of exodus 12 on these matters. let us not overlook the importance of such a small word as " and ". quartodecimanism holds that jesus partook of the passover meal on the correct beginning evening of the 14th. the following morning, still on the 14th, jesus was crucified on passover day. many jews in jesus day observed a passover meal on the closing evening of the 14th. they did not think jesus was right. you can only believe something when you know it is true. jesus gives eternal life. that is something no other man can give. note : this article is copied from my web page under sign of jonah.


what was the general breakdown of casualties per their cause during american civil war? e. g. bullets vs. artillery vs. edged weapons vs. disease vs. natural death. did that breakdown change in meaningful way between the beginning and the end of the war? you can get a breakdown of the major causes of death here. prior to the 20th century ( possibly late 19th ), the dominant cause of death in war was disease : the troops were in close quarters with unsanitary conditions and inadequate means of handling these. this number was followed by complications related to injuries actually suffered in battle — frequently one would get a small injury and it would get infected and kill the individual even though it would be trivial to heal the wound in better conditions. unfortunately, i cannot give you a specific breakdown of blade vs. bullet ( and i suspect that it would be impossible to do so ), but i will say that, based on the artillery technology of the time, it is fairly safe to say that discerning the difference between bullet and canon shot would be quite impossible. even if you assume that there was a substantial interest in maintaining those records, there would not have been effort made to determine which injuries are post - mortem. bruce catton ' s history and shelby foote ' s history should have the details. i cannot check as my copies are at home. from what i remember, it was pre - battle medical care and unsanitary conditions that killed the most soldiers. the first use of modern rifles with napoleon tactics contributed to the hight number of dead on the battle field.


medieval egyptian counted - thread embroidery introduction : long before blackwork embroidery was being done in europe, a similar style using double - running stitch was being done in egypt. during the mamluk period ( 1250 - 1517 ), this style and the closely related pattern darning became common as cheap methods of decoration for those who couldn ' t afford the silk brocades being made at the time. materials : the ground fabric was usually linen, although silk could be used. it was normally even - weave, ranging from 28 to 60 threads per inch. linen and wool thread were sometimes used, but silk floss was the most common. indigo blue and black were used most frequently, but many other colors were used as well : green, yellow, red, turquoise, dark brown, grey. method : both types of embroidery are based on running stitch, the simplest of all. double - running stitch was called spanish stitch in 16th - century europe, and is often called holbein stitch by modern embroiderers. each stitch is made over or under the same number of threads, usually two, and then a second row of running stitches fills in the initial row, creating a solid line, which is identical on both sides of the ground fabric. a variant of this is sometimes called box - stitch and, as the name implies, is just a series of squares with one stitch to a side, arranged to form the design. both these variants are well - adapted for the inscriptions which are an essential element of all arabic decorative arts. designs can be formed just with the double - running stitch, but there are examples where it outlines a shape which is then filled in with either a solid color, with drawn - and cutwork, or with pattern darning. in pattern darning, the stitch length is varied, most commonly going over or under 1, 3, or 5 threads. in the second row, and in each succeeding row, some stitches change in length, and the rest shift. although the technique is so simple, it produces an incredible variety of geometric patterns. at least two fragments are large enough to be recognized as tunics / shirts, with embroidery around the neck opening and another two bands going down the front. the hems of skirts and sleeves were probably embroidered, as were the various long strips of cloth used as scarves, sashes and turban wraps. there is one surviving example of embroidered scraps being reused to make a doll ' s robe. embroidery may also have been used on household linens. there are


that different liquids can have different weights and densities. you will need : two raw egg 1 ) place one egg in a jar and cover with vinegar. 2 ) place the other egg in a jar filled with water. observe over the course of a leave it and check it out in about a week. just let it soak away in the vinegar. after a week, the egg should be see through but still pretty much egg - shaped. the vinegar completely dissolves away the shell ( which is mostly calcium ), leaving the membrane intact. vinegar is, in fact an acid - acetic acid to be exact. it ' s the same stuff found in tomato ketchup amd brown sauce. that ' s why a coin will become nice and shiny what placed in either of these sauces. some of the vinegar actually enters the membrane of the egg, and since this vinegar takes up more space, the membrane stretches to accommodate it. this is why the egg can look a little bigger. if you shake the egg, you can see the yolk sloshing around in the white. if the membrane tears, the contents will spill out just the same as with any raw egg. if you do this with a hard boiled egg, the shell will dissolve in the same way, and you will be left with a rubbery egg that should actually bounce ( if not dropped from too great a height! ). try soaking a chicken bone in vinegar for several days to a week. if the bone is fresh enough, you should be able to bend it ; even tie a knot in it. this is because most of the calcium has been dissolved, leaving behind other less rigid parts of the bone. 1. balancing clown | 2. oily divers! | 3. flying counters | 4. dancing snake | 5. chromatography | 6. bubbles 7. slime | 8. balloon rockets | 9. under pressure | 10. surface tension 1 | 11. surface tension 2 | 12. surface tension 3 13. find your ' blind spot ' | 14. two eyes are better than one! | 15. some optical illusions 16. and 17. more balancing | 18. dissolve an egg in vinegar! | 19. egg float | 20. some paper airplanes


" we hold these truths to be self - evident, that all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their creator with inherent and inalienable rights ; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. " - us declaration of independence as originally written by thomas jefferson, 1776. " i define equality of opportunity as the following : equality before the law. it is a career open to the talents. no arbitary obstacles should prevent people from achieving those positions for which their talents fit them and which their values lead them to seek. not birth, nationality, colour, religion, sex, nor any other irrelevent characteristic should determine the opportunitiues that are open to a person - only his abilities. equality of opportunity, like personal equality, is not inconsistent with liberty, on the contrary, it is an essential component of liberty. if some people are denied access to particular positions in life for which they are qualified simply because of their ethnic background, colour, or religion, that is an interference with their right to " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. " - milton friedman, " free to choose " " the authors are badly confused about equality. they are hung up on the term ' equality of opportunity. ' jefferson ' s ' equality ' in the declaration is, of course, what hayek called isonomia - equality before the law. philosopher robert nozick called it process equality, which he carefully distinguished from end - state - equality. the authors pursue the latter of those mutually exclusive concepts. " - charles w. baird, review of " the stakeholder society " the struggle for the high school and the debate over its proper role in american democracy would focus once again a question that had recurred throughout american history and that would bedevil the nation in the 20th century. it was in some ways the central problem of modern democracy, for it was nothing less than the meaning of human " equality ". was the good society one which allowed all citizens to develop their natural differences, including their natural inequalities? or was it


in some ways the central problem of modern democracy, for it was nothing less than the meaning of human " equality ". was the good society one which allowed all citizens to develop their natural differences, including their natural inequalities? or was it a society which tried to make men equal? did " equality " mean the maximum fulfillment of each, or did it mean the levelling of all? this question was nowhere more sharply posed than in education, and especially in the high school. - daniel boorstin, " the americans : the democratic experience " all men are by nature... born equally free and independent... not a physical but a moral equality. common sense was sufficient to determine that it could not mean that all men were equal in fact, but in right, not equally tall, strong, wise, handsome, active, but equally men... the work of the same artist, children in the same cases entitled to the same justice. - john adams ' all men are created equal ' says the american declaration of independence. ' all men shall be kept equal ' say the socialists. - winston churchill let our children grow tall, and some taller than others if they have it in them to do so. let a thousand flowers bloom, and if some are prettier than others, so be it. - robert locke we have so many people who can ' t see a fat man standing beside a thin one without coming to the conclusion that the fat man got that way by taking advantage of the thin - ronald reagan you do not make the weak strong by making the strong weak. it is the character of egalitarian measures that they pull down what is above. they never raise what is below. beware dependency on the state. - edmund burke, 1770. those who attempt to level, never equalize... very plausible schemes, with very pleasing commencements, have often shameful and lamentable conclusions. - edmund burke socialists make the mistake of confusing individual worth with success. they believe you cannot allow people to succeed in case those who fail feel worthless. - kenneth baker even if it were proved - which it is not - that the incidence of men of potentially superior brain power is greater among the members of certain races than among the members of others, it would still tell us nothing about any given individual and it would be irrelevent to one ' s judgment of him. a genius is still a genius, regardless of the number of morons who belong to the same race. democracy extends the sphere


would still tell us nothing about any given individual and it would be irrelevent to one ' s judgment of him. a genius is still a genius, regardless of the number of morons who belong to the same race. democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom, socialism restricts it. democracy attaches all possible value to each man ; socialism makes each man a mere agent, a mere number. democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word : equality. but notice the difference : while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude. - alexis de tocqueville a society that puts equality - in the sense of equality of outcome - ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality or freedom. the use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom. on the other hand, a society that puts freedom first will, as a happy by - product, end up with both greater freedom and greater equality. freedom means diversity but also mobility. it preserves the opportunity for today ' s less well off to become tomorrow ' s rich, and in the process, enables almost everyone, from top to bottom, to enjoy a richer and fuller - milton friedman, " free to choose " the urge to distribute wealth equally, and still more the belief that it can be brought about by political action, is the most dangerous of all popular emotions. it is the legitimation of envy, of all the deadly sins the one which a stable society based on consensus should fear the most. the monster state is a source of many evils ; but it is, above all, an engine of envy. - paul johnson there exists in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level, and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom. - alexis de tocqueville everything that i have experienced and everything that i have read about socialist experiments in the field of equality convinces me that, not only is equality of outcome an evil myth, but that all attempts to engineer it, that is, to rig the race, are certain to end where they have ended from the french to the russian revolutions : the guillotine and the gallows. hierarchy is vital to any human project. in a storm, no mass meeting is a substitute for a captain on deck to shoulder responsibility. - eoghan harris, " the irish independent " socialism was always a crappy philosophy based on the stupid idea that we couldn ' t allow anybody


. in a storm, no mass meeting is a substitute for a captain on deck to shoulder responsibility. - eoghan harris, " the irish independent " socialism was always a crappy philosophy based on the stupid idea that we couldn ' t allow anybody to succeed in life becacause if would make the rest of us feel like failures. good riddance to that. - marc coleman, urging a new approach for the left in " the irish independent " my experience of life tells me that equality is a hopeless cause. from the minute you are born, you are unequal to others born on that same day and in the same location, and there is nothing any state directive can do about it. you may be born plain - looking. this is one of the greatest disadvantages in life. to be born handsome is to have a first - class ticket on the journey of life. you may be born to two rather stout parents, in which case you have an inherited genotype which will make you fat however many diets your torment yourself like the ideal of chastity, the ideal of equality is a war against nature, and in wars against nature, nature usually wins. philosophers say that liberty, equality, fraternity - that trio of aspirations still stamped on official french documents - are contradictions in terms. you can never have both liberty and equality : you have to choose. i ' ll take liberty. - mary kenny, " no such thing as equality ", " the irish independent " equality has always been a threat to liberty, since you can never have both. one person ' s " equality " is another person ' s lack of choice. the state which enforces " equality " will trample on liberty. the nation which embraces " liberty " will always be an unequal one, since free individuals will make different and thereby - mary kenny, " the irish independent " it is a terrible misunderstanding of meritocracy to assume it means everyone is somehow ( or could be ) of equal merit, with equal success. innate ability varies, obviously enough. merit varies. all cannot have prizes, though all can do well in some way. no one believes these days that anyone should be held back by some long - discredited idea of knowing your place or getting above your station. we do live in a meritocracy, imperfect though it is, and few people would wish to change that. however, the painful truth is that meritocracy is cruel. it offers no excuses to those who donit do well.


we do live in a meritocracy, imperfect though it is, and few people would wish to change that. however, the painful truth is that meritocracy is cruel. it offers no excuses to those who donit do well. it is even more cruel when teachers and politicians offer false encouragement based on a confusion of meritocracy with socialism. socialism is incompatible with meritocracy. - minette marrin, " the lies they tell children ", " the times " if a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away. - henry david thoreau, somebody had said, that a king may make a nobleman, but he cannot make a gentleman. god may have made men and women, but colt made them equal. there is no principle in the conservative philosophy than that of the inherent and absolute incompatibility between liberty and equality. - robert a. nisbet, " twilight of authority " equality before the law the great aim of the struggle for liberty has been equality before the law. the only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law. - aristotle, " politics v ", c. 322 bc " the most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities. " it is of the essence of the demand for equality before the law that people should be treated alike in spite of the fact that they are different. - friedrich hayek, " the constitution of liberty ", 1960. from the fact that people are very different it follows that, if we treat them equally, the result must be inequality in their actual position, and that the only way to place them in an equal position would be to treat them differently. equality before the law and material equality are therefore not only different but are in conflict which each other ; and we can achieve either one or the other, but not both at the same time. - friedrich hayek if a test of civilisation be sought, none can be so sure as the condition of that half of society over which the other half has power. - harriet martineau, society in america return to politics index, or site homepage.


page 3 of 3 although kilby probably thought of the integrated circuit a bit before noyce both texas and fairchild filed for patents and a long legal wrangle developed between the two. one of the key points of contention was the use of flying interconnecting wires in the kilby diagram - was this really a true integrated circuit? kilby had realised the problem while the patent was being written and added some lines about being able to use any method of interconnection for instance gold tracks laid down on an insulating layer of silicon dioxide. where this additional idea had sprung from is unknown but it certainly placed kilby ' s chip alongside noyce ' s in terms of sophistication. the patent lawyers argued that kilby ' s postscript wouldn ' t work because gold wouldn ' t stick to silicon dioxide and used experts to try to undermine kilby ' s design. the patent was initially awarded to kilby, or rather to texas instruments. then the appeal judge, in 1966 roughly ten years on, reversed the decision and awarded the patent to noyce, in other words to fairchild. by this time it didn ' t make any difference because the two firms had got together to carve up the market between them. they each charged a royalty of between 2 to 4 % which alone eventually earned them somewhere in the region of $ 100 million each. i say " eventually " because when both companies announced the technique in 1959 there were few takers. the reason was the high price of the relatively low component count chips that could be made. it was cheaper to build the same out of discrete components. surprisingly it wasn ' t the mainstream computer industry that initially created the market for integrated circuits. it was the combination of the space race and military electronics which needed the low weight and reliability of integrated circuits at any price. as the price fell and the number of components increased, a trend that continues today. first mainframe computers started to incorporate replacement printed circuit boards using chips in place of transistors and then whole integrated circuit computers were designed. next came the minicomputer and then the microcomputer and we are still waiting to see where it will all end. so what happened to kilby and noyce after the chip? irrespective of the outcome of the patent wrangle they are both generally credited as the co - inventor of the integrated circuit - both were awarded the national ( usa ) medal of science and inducted into the national inventor ' s hall of fame. kilby stayed with ti for some time


patent wrangle they are both generally credited as the co - inventor of the integrated circuit - both were awarded the national ( usa ) medal of science and inducted into the national inventor ' s hall of fame. kilby stayed with ti for some time and his next important project for them was the design of the first pocket calculator. kilby and his team first reverse engineered existing desktop calculators to see how they worked and then designed their own chips to do the same job. along the way they also developed the first led display and the first thermal printing mechanism. the result, the data - math sold for $ 149. 50. kilby was awarded the patent for the pocket calculator. he left ti in 1970 to work for himself as an independent inventor. although he clocked up a number of patents none seem to have made him rich or any more famous. in the mid 1960 ' s noyce was growing increasingly unhappy at fairchild and he and gordon moore left to found intel in 1986. the idea was make computer circuits on silicon and we know where that ended up don ' t we... perhaps the strangest twist to the story is that noyce handed the task of designing the chips for a new desktop calculator for busicom to an engineer by the name of ted hoff. he managed to cram the logic onto a single chip and so produced the world ' s first microprocessor. the trouble was that busicom ' s machine was knocked out of the market place by jack kilby ' s cheaper pocket model and its subsequent clones. as a result busicom couldn ' t pay intel for the design work and so the rights to the chip returned to intel who promptly placed it on open sale as the 4004 - the forerunner of the entire 80x86 line of processors. noyce moved ever more into management but always remained a techie at heart. some of his financial decisions deserve recording, however. he warned his wife not to invest in a " no - future " company down the road at cupertino, i. e. apple, and then went and sank money into osborne computers which made the first portable, well luggable, machine and promptly went bankrupt. but the president of intel could afford to make the occasional small mistake.


by laura ly, special to cnn ( cnn ) - a math homework assignment that asked fourth grade students to tally the number of slaves on a ship has sparked outrage among parents and administrators in manhattan. the assignment was devised by another group of students, after they apparently expressed interest in the transatlantic slave trade. it required fourth graders to calculate the remainder of those not killed by a mutiny aboard the vessel, and to determine the number of times slaves were beaten in one month. “ this is really inappropriate, ” student teacher aziza harding told cnn affiliate ny1 on friday. “ it should not be a homework assignment, and i did not want to make copies of this. ” harding was asked to photocopy the assignment by another teacher, but refused because the questions made her uncomfortable and she thought it desensitized students to the horrors of slavery. the first question read : " in a slave ship, there are 3, 799 slaves. one day, the slaves took over the ship. 1, 897 slaves are dead. how many slaves are alive? " the second question read : " one slave got whipped five times a day. how many times did he get whipped in a month ( 31 days )? another slave got whipped nine times a day. how many times did he get whipped in a month? how many times did the two slaves get whipped together in one month? " the worksheet was created earlier this year by another teacher whose students were studying the history of slavery in their social studies class. during a math lesson, they were asked to create word problems on the same topic. another teacher borrowed the worksheet before leaving for vacation, according to a statement by new york school officials. “ this is obviously unacceptable and we will take appropriate disciplinary action against these teachers, " said connie pankratz, a spokesperson for the nyc department of education. " the chancellor spoke to the principal, and she has already taken steps to ensure this does not happen again. ” adele schroeter, the school principal, said she was appalled and will be meeting with staff as well as families. “ i have already met with the teacher and have arranged for training around this issue for the entire staff at my school, ” she said in a statement. harding said that instead of students getting desensitized to this type of violence, she wanted them to “ have a general idea that wow, this is a terrible thing that happened to a group of people for over 300 years. ” harding, a graduate student at new york university


getting desensitized to this type of violence, she wanted them to “ have a general idea that wow, this is a terrible thing that happened to a group of people for over 300 years. ” harding, a graduate student at new york university, contacted her professor about the incident, then reached out to ny1. the professor, charlton mcilwain, who teaches media, culture, and communication, said, “ when she first explained what had happened to me, i was in disbelief. i said, ‘ i don ’ t believe you, send me a copy. ’ ” he said he understood that teachers were trying to integrate subject matter, but felt the math questions did not provide enough context for the students. “ it completely trivializes the historical significance, pain and violence of slavery. by extracting that experience into math problems, students role play being slave traders. it ’ s part of a much larger story and you can ’ t get that in a math assignment, ” mcilwain said. this comes after a string of similar incidents in schools across the country last year. in january 2012, a georgia elementary teacher came under fire after using slavery references in math problems assigned to 8 - year olds. in march, a teacher in washington was fired after she assigned math problem asking students to calculate how many africans, americans and indians to bake in ovens for thanksgiving. in october, a wisconsin teacher drew criticism for assigning math homework that used a derogatory native american term for women. the math worksheet has drawn reaction from the school and the surrounding community, including a new york state senator calling for the immediate removal of the two teachers who assigned the homework. mcilwain said he does not think firing the teachers is the answer. “ it would be better to have these teachers go through some kind of productive discipline where they can talk with parents, with students, with the community, about why this is offensive and why the topic is important, " said mcilwain. " i hope the dialogue will continue. ” cnn ’ s rande iaboni contributed to this report.


amazing facts about freshwater fish i like to read about marine fish. i also enjoying watching shows like dicovery channel ' s the blue planet series. that tv series in particular provided an amazing looking into the world of freshwater fish. each book and show seems to have a few interesting tidbits of trivia that i ' ve collected into this article. i think some of these facts really are amazing. male goldfish have an unusual trick that they use as part of their courtship display : they swim up to a female and then roll over and urinate over her nostrils. as strange as this seems, it allows the female to assess many things, including the male ' s genetic make - up, thus preventing her from breeding with a relative. parental firemouth cichlids can also recognize their own fry ; remarkably, they will kidnap the fry of others and put these on the edge of their own school of offspring so that they, and not their own young, are in harm ' s way - - a kind of " cichlid shield. " the age at which fish can be considered old varies from species to species. fish such as guppies and african killifish would be lucky to attain 12 months, whereas some of the larger catfish and cyprinids can continue for two or three decades. perhaps the most footloose of fish is the mangrove killifish ( kryptolebias marmoratus ). it makes its home in the smallest of water bodies, ranging from crab burrows to mere root holes in the mud and can move easily between each and every situation with flicks of its body. it can even withstand extended periods of emersion, surviving in damp leaf litter for days on end - - one specimen survived happily for 66 days out of water. admittedly not a pure freshwater fish, but still...


according to the recently released annual survey by the apiary inspectors of america ( aia ) and the agricultural research service ( ars ), more than a third of u. s. managed honeybee colonies — those set up for intensified pollination of commercial crops — failed to survive this past winter. since 2006, the decline of the u. s. ’ s estimated 2. 4 million beehives — commonly referred to as colony collapse disorder ( ccd ) — has led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies : hives are found empty with honey, larvae, and the queen intact, but with no bees and no trail left behind. the cause remains unknown, but appears to be a combination of factors impacting bee health and increasing their susceptibility to disease. heavy losses associated with ccd have been found mainly with larger migratory commercial beekeepers, some of whom have lost 50 - 90 percent of their colonies. a “ keystone ” species — one that has a disproportionate effect on the environment relative to its biomass — bees are our key to global food security and a critical part of the food chain. flowering plants that produce our food depend on insects for pollination. there are other pollinators — butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, and birds — but the honeybee is the most effective, pollinating over 100 commercial crops nationwide, including most fruit, vegetables, and nuts, as well as alfalfa for cattle feed and cotton, with a value estimated between $ 15 - $ 20 billion annually. as much as one of every three bites of food we eat comes from food pollinated by insects. without honeybees, our diet would be mostly meatless, consisting of rice and cereals, and we would have no cotton for textiles. the entire ecosystem and the global food economy potentially rests on their wings. experts now believe bees are heading for extinction and are racing to pinpoint the culprit, increasingly blaming pesticide usage. u. s. researchers have reported finding 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax, and pollen. new parasites, pathogens, fungi, and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods are also part of the equation. three years ago, u. s. scientists unraveled the genetic code of the honeybee and uncovered the dna of a virus transmitted by the varroa mite — israeli acute paralysis virus ( iapv ) — found in almost all of the hives impacted by ccd. researchers have also found the fungus nosema cerana


##ers will produce about 1. 53 billion pounds of almonds this year, up 8. 5 percent last year. to meet the demand, bee colonies are trucked farther and more often than ever before and demand for bees has dramatically outstripped supply. bee colonies, which a decade ago rented for $ 60, cost as much as $ 170 this february in california. few organic beekeepers have reported bee losses, suggesting that natural and organic bee keeping methods may be the solution. in addition, organic farmers who maintain wildlife habitat around their farms are helping to encourage bees to pollinate their crops. “ the main difference between our farm and our conventional neighbors is the amount of wildlife and insect habitat that we have around the edge of our farm, ” said greg massa, who manages massa organics, a fourth generation 90 - acre certified organic rice farm near chico. massa started growing organic almonds six years ago, and works with a small, organic beekeeper in oregon who brings in 30 hives to his farm. massa ’ s farm has a large wildlife corridor which has been revegetated with native plants and covered in mustard, wild radish, and vetch, a favorite of bees and also a good nitrogen source for his rice crop. time might be running out for the bees, but there are simple actions we can take to make a difference. first, support organic farmers who don ’ t use pesticides and whose growing methods work in harmony with the natural life of bees. in particular, buy organic almonds. don ’ t use pesticides in your home garden, especially at mid - day when bees most likely forage for nectar. you can also plant good nectar sources such as red clover, foxglove, bee balm, and other native plants to encourage bees to pollinate your garden. provide clean water ; even a simple bowl of water is beneficial. buy local honey ; it keeps small, diversified beekeepers in business, and beekeepers keep honeybees thriving. in addition, you can start keeping bees yourself. backyard and urban beekeeping can actively help bring back our bees. finally, you can work to preserve more open cropland and rangeland. let ’ s use our political voices to support smart land use, the impact of which will not only result in cleaner water, soil, and air, but also just might help save the humble honeybee.


praise be to allaah and peace and blessings be upon the messenger and upon his family and companions. the muslim student puts his trust in allaah when facing the tests of this world, and he seeks his help whilst following the prescribed means, in accordance with the words of the prophet ( peace and blessings of allaah be upon him ) : “ the strong believer is better and is more beloved to allaah than the weak believer, although both are good. strive to attain that which will benefit you and seek the help of allaah, and do not feel helpless. ” ( saheeh muslim, hadeeth no. 2664 ) among those means are the following : - turning to allaah by making du ’ aa ’ in any way that is prescribed in islam, such as saying, “ rabbiy ishrah li sadri wa yassir li amri ( o my lord, expand my chest and make things easy for me ). ” - getting used to sleeping early and going to exams on time. - preparing all required or permitted equipment such as pens, rulers and setsquares, calculators and watches, because being well prepared helps one to answer questions. - reciting the du ’ aa ’ for leaving the house : “ bismillaah, tawakkaltu ‘ ala allaah, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa billaah. allaahumma inni a ’ oodhu bika an adilla aw udalla, aw azilla aw uzalla, aw azlima aw uzlama, aw ajhala aw yujhala ‘ alayya ( in the name of allaah, i put my trust in allaah, and there is no strength and no power except with allaah. o allaah, i seek refuge with you lest i should stray or be led astray, lest i slip ( commit a sin unintentionally ) or be tripped, lest i oppress or be oppressed, lest i behave foolishly or be treated foolishly ). ” do not forget to seek your parents ’ approval, for their du ’ aa ’ for you will be answered. - mention the name of allaah before you start, for mentioning the name of allaah is prescribed when beginning any permissible action ; this brings blessing, and seeking the help of allaah is one of the means of strength. - fear allaah with regard to your classmates, and do not be affected by their anxiety or fear just before the exam


when beginning any permissible action ; this brings blessing, and seeking the help of allaah is one of the means of strength. - fear allaah with regard to your classmates, and do not be affected by their anxiety or fear just before the exam, for anxiety is a contagious disease. instead, make them feel optimistic by saying good words as prescribed in islam. the prophet ( peace and blessings of allaah be upon him ) was optimistic when he heard the name of suhayl ( which means “ easy ” ) and he said : “ things have been made easy for you. ” he used to like to hear the words ‘ yaa raashid, when he went out for any purpose. so be optimistic that you and your brothers will pass this exam. - remembering allaah ( dhikr ) dispels anxiety and tension. if something is too difficult for you, then pray to allaah to make it easy for you. whenever shaykh al - islam ibn taymiyah ( may allaah have mercy on him ) found something too difficult to understand, he would say, “ o you who taught ibraaheem, teach me ; o you who caused sulaymaan to understand, cause me to understand. ” - choose a good place to sit during the exam, if you can. keep your back straight, and sit on the chair in a healthy manner. - look over the exam first. studies advise spending 10 % of the exam time in reading the questions carefully, noting the important words and dividing one ’ s time between the questions. - plan to answer the easy questions first, then the difficult ones. whilst reading the questions, write notes and ideas which you can use in your answers later. - answer questions according to importance. - start by answering the easy questions which you know. then move on to the questions which carry high marks, and leave till the end the questions to which you do not know the answers, or which you think will take a long time to produce an answer or which do not carry such high marks. - take your time to answer, for the prophet ( peace and blessings of allaah be upon him ) said : “ deliberation is from allaah and haste is from the shaytaan. ” ( a hasan hadeeth. saheeh al - jaami, 3011 ). - think carefully about the answer and choose the right answer when answering multiple - choice questions. deal with them in the following manner. if you are sure that you have chosen the


##an. ” ( saheeh muslim, and the first part of this hadeeth was mentioned above ). - note that cheating is haraam whether it is in foreign language tests or any other tests. the prophet ( peace and blessings of allaah be upon him ) said, “ whoever cheats is not one of us. ” it is wrongdoing and it is a haraam means of attaining a degree or certificate, etc., that you have no right to. the consensus is that cheating is a kind of cooperation in sin and transgression. so do without that which is haraam, and allaah will suffice you from his bounty. reject all offers of haraam things that come to you from others. whoever gives up a thing for the sake of allaah, allaah will compensate him with something better. you have to denounce and resist evil, and tell the authorities about any such thing that you see during the exam, or before or after it. this is not the forbidden kind of slander rather it is denouncing evil which is obligatory. advise those who buy or sell questions or post them on the internet etc., or who prepare cheat notes. tell them to fear allaah, and tell them of the ruling on what they are doing and on the money they earn from that. tell them that the time they are spending in preparing these haraam things, if they spent it in studying, or answering previous exams, or helping one another to understand the subject before the exam, that would be better for them than doing these haraam things. - remember what you have prepared for the hereafter, and the questions of the examination in the grave, and how to be saved on the day of resurrection. whoever is saved from the fire and admitted to paradise will indeed have succeeded. we ask allaah to make us succeed in this world and cause us to be among those who are victorious and saved in the hereafter, for he is the all - hearing who answers prayer. sheikh muhammed salih al - munajjid


international pages > italy search italy genealogy search search the best family history sites of italy brought to you by world vital records. related keywords : italia, genealogica, sicilian, italian inheritance, cadastral records italy, italian succession law background : italy became a nation - state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with sardinia and sicily, were united under king victor emmanuel ii. an era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when benito mussolini established a fascist dictatorship. his disastrous alliance with nazi germany led to italy ' s defeat in world war ii. a democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. italy was a charter member of nato and the european economic community ( eec ). it has been at the forefront of european economic and political unification, joining the economic and monetary union in 1999. persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern italy compared with the prosperous north. languages : italian ( official ), german ( parts of trentino - alto adige region are predominantly german speaking ), french ( small french - speaking minority in valle d ' aosta region ), slovene ( slovene - speaking minority in the trieste - gorizia area ) administrative divisions : 15 regions ( regioni, singular - regione ) and 5 autonomous regions * ( regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma ) ; abruzzo, basilicata, calabria, campania, emilia - romagna, friuli - venezia giulia *, lazio, liguria, lombardia, marche, molise, piemonte, puglia, sardegna *, sicilia *, toscana, trentino - alto adige *, umbria, valle d ' aosta *, veneto religions : approximately 90 % roman catholic ( about one - third regularly attend services ) ; mature protestant and jewish communities and a growing muslim immigrant community ethnic groups : italian ( includes small clusters of german -, french -, and slovene - italians in the north and albanian - italians and greek - italians in the south ) economic overview : italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as france and the uk. this capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less - developed, welfare - dependent, agricultural south, with 20 % unemployment. most raw materials needed by industry and more than