ask your eye doctor if this type of therapy is right for you. because the dry form of amd can change into the wet form, it is very important for patients to monitor their eyesight carefully and see their ophthalmologist on a regular basis. for patients with the wet form of amd, early diagnosis and treatment are critical to save as much vision as possible. early diagnosis can help expand treatment options and increase the likelihood of preserving eyesight. several options are available to treat the wet form of amd, but not all are appropriate or successful for all patients. these treatments include : - photodynamic therapy - combining the use of a cold laser with a light - sensitive drug to destroy abnormal blood vessels. the drug is injected into the arm and travels to the unwanted vessels in the eye. this helps avoid damage to healthy retinal tissue. - laser therapy - the use of high - energy lights to destroy actively growing abnormal blood vessels. the cole eye institute is also testing several experimental treatments for amd for patients who qualify for these studies : - anti - angiogenesis medications - there are several drugs that prevent the growth of abnormal blood vessels currently being tested. - surgery to remove abnormal blood vessels and blood - the surgeon may use a genetically engineered enzyme called tissue plasminogen activator ( t - pa ) to dissolve any blood clots under the macula. - macular translocation - this new procedure may be performed if there are abnormal blood vessels directly under the center of the macula, where a laser beam cannot be placed safely. here, the surgeon rotates the retina away from the abnormal blood vessels to an area that is healthy, thus preventing the formation of scar tissue and further damage to the retina. then, laser therapy is used to treat the abnormal blood vessels. what can i expect after macular surgery? after the surgeon removes the abnormal blood vessels or moves the retina, an air bubble is placed in the eye so the retina can heal properly. the patient must remain in certain positions ( e. g. upright, laying down or sitting to one side ) for several days following macular surgery, until the body has absorbed the air bubble. once the doctor can examine the eye after macular surgery, they may order another angiogram to make sure there are no additional areas of blood leakage. if any problem areas are observed, the doctor may perform additional laser treatment. as the eye continues to heal over the next three to six weeks following macular surgery,


another angiogram to make sure there are no additional areas of blood leakage. if any problem areas are observed, the doctor may perform additional laser treatment. as the eye continues to heal over the next three to six weeks following macular surgery, you are treated with eye drops to reduce inflammation, keep the eye comfortable and prevent infection. once the eye has healed, you are fitted for glasses and any necessary low - vision aids. can surgery help if i ' m legally blind? depending upon the cause of legal blindness, it is possible that surgery may help. if recent bleeding or leakage under the retina has resulted in legal blindness, surgery can be considered. can i have surgery if lasers were used as a prior treatment? because bleeding or leakage may occur beneath the retina even following the laser treatment, it is possible that surgery can help. are there any side effects? rare complications may include infection, elevation of pressure in the eye ( glaucoma ) or damage to structures in the eye including the acceleration of clouding of the lens ( cataract ). in very rare instances, retinal detachment or severe loss of vision may occur. i have other medical conditions. can i still have surgery? as long as you can maintain a face - down position for several days following the surgery and you are not prone to excessive bleeding during surgery, other medical conditions or age should not be a factor if you are considered an appropriate candidate for surgery. your cole eye institute vitreoretinal specialist will work closely with your other doctors to be certain that your other medical conditions are treated and controlled as best as possible before, during and after surgery. you can also call 216. 444. 2020 or 1. 800. 223. 2273 ext. 4 - 2020 to schedule an appointment with a cole eye institute ophthalmologist.


house mouse : mus musculus the house mouse ( mus musculus ) is a brownish mouse with a long scaly tail and large, naked leaf - like ears the house mouse is not native to florida, but now occurs throughout the state, often in habitats associated with humans. in addition to houses, they may live in groceries, factories, or agricultural buildings where grain is stored. they may also live outdoors in old fields, pastures, or road sides. they may be a pest as they get into food, and gnaw in walls or clothing. as the weather grows colder, mice may become more active and seek indoor shelter. control of mice may be done by an exterminator or by the property owner. mice may be trapped with glue boards or snap traps. the poison quintox is also an effective control, and is not dangerous to other animals or neighborhood pets if they eat a poisoned mouse. quintox should not be eaten directly by people or pets. perhaps most effective is cleaning up debris, and mowing nearby overgrown areas. messy areas give mice food and shelter, and allow the mice to breed and spread. additionally encouraging predators, such as barn owls in the area, may decrease mice densities. you can receive technical assistance for mouse problems by contacting your nearest fwc regional office.


for immediate release : may 21, 2012 for more information, contact : ethics and the early childhood educator informs and guides teachers through tough decisions new edition will help early childhood educators use the naeyc code of ethical conduct washington — the national association for the education of young children ( naeyc ), the nation ’ s leading professional organization for those working with and on behalf of young children from birth through age 8, is pleased to announce the publication of ethics and the early childhood educator : using the naeyc code, 2nd edition by stephanie feeney and nancy k. freeman, with peter j. pizzolongo. based on the updated naeyc code of ethical conduct, the new edition of ethics and the early childhood educator informs and guides those who work with children and families through difficult professional decisions. readers will learn about professional ethics and the code and its use through real - world examples and thought - provoking questions that clarify key points about ethical conduct. the book includes - the text of the naeyc code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment, - an introduction to the study of morality and ethics, - the history and rationale for the development of the naeyc code and its two supplements, - strategies for identifying and addressing ethical dilemmas, - specific chapters addressing each of the four sections of the code, and - approaches for promoting awareness and use of the code. the second edition also includes new cases that reflect current thinking on the value of addressing ethical issues in early childhood education on topics including family engagement, assessment, and accountability. “ our many years of experience in the field and studying ethics as it applies to early childhood education has convinced us of the importance of early childhood practitioners ’ commitment to ethical behavior, ” said stephanie feeney and nancy k. freeman, authors of ethics and the early childhood educator. “ we hope that reading this book will help early childhood educators to recognize the moral dimensions of their work, support their efforts to shoulder their professional responsibilities, and guide their efforts to do what is right for young children and their families. ” the authors ' experiences in the field have included teaching early childhood educators about ethical responsibilities and how to address ethical dilemmas in the workplace. dr. feeney is professor emerita of education at the university of hawaii at manoa, where she directed undergraduate and graduate early childhood education programs for many years. dr. freeman is an associate professor of early childhood education and director of the yvonne and schuler moore child development research center at the university of south carolina in columbia. peter pizzo


crying is a perfectly natural, healthy response to strong emotions. as adults when we experience sadness, despair or even anger, we can well up and use our tears as a way to release our emotions. it ’ s well recognised that to suppress these emotions is unhealthy and can lead to a plethora of psychological issues. as parents it can be distressing to hear our children cry. the sound of my daughter ’ s crying breaks my heart and makes me feel almost panic - stricken. but we need to bear in mind that, as with adults, crying is a healthy way to express and release strong emotions. and we need to be careful how we react to the cries of our children, based on their developmental level. a baby cries primarily as a way to express needs. if a baby is hungry, thirsty, cold, wet or lonely they will cry to let their caregivers know. it ’ s the only way they have to communicate. and as such it is important that we acknowledge this expression of need and respond appropriately. we ignore a baby ’ s cries at our peril, with the danger of missing something seriously wrong, or damaging the relationship between caregiver and child. but as a child grows and learns more appropriate and mature ways to express themselves, crying becomes less of a communicative tool and more of an emotive one. a toddler or child may cry through frustration, anger, pain, tiredness … any number of emotions. now parenting becomes less about responding to a need, and more about recognising the feeling behind the crying. of course we should always try to find out why our child is crying, and whether we need to do something about it. but often it will be the case that there is nothing we can do, or they ’ re crying because of something we ’ ve denied them. and in these cases it ’ s important we don ’ t try to stifle our child ’ s cries. we need to recognise that our child is experiencing an emotion and that ’ s it our job to be there with them while they experience this, without trying to tell them to stop crying, however distressing it may sound. here ’ s my tip : if your child cries and it ’ s obviously through experiencing an overwhelming emotion, be there with them. they need to know it ’ s ok to express themselves, and that you accept their feelings. strong emotions are scary for children ; the worst thing you can do is tell them to stop or send them somewhere to deal with


4. 3 physical basis so far, the motivation for the gclf as a standard candle is almost totally empirical rather than theoretical. the astrophysical basis for its similarity from one galaxy to another is a challenging problem, and is probably less well understood than for any other standard candle currently in use. because globular clusters are old - halo objects that probably predate the formation of most of the other stellar populations in galaxies ( e. g. harris 1986, 1988b, 1991 ; fall and rees 1988 ), to first order it is not surprising that they look far more similar from place to place than their parent galaxies do. methods for allowing clusters to form with average masses that are nearly independent of galaxy size or type have been put forward by fall and rees ( 1985, 1988 ), larson ( 1988, 1990 ), rosenblatt et al. ( 1988 ), and ashman and zepf ( 1992 ) under various initial assumptions. other constraints arising from cluster metallicity distributions and the early chemical evolution of the galaxies are discussed by lin and murray ( 1991 ) brown et al. ( 1991 ). none of these yet serve as more than general guidelines for understanding why the early cluster formation process should be so nearly invariant in the early universe. after the initial formation epoch, dynamical effects on the clusters including tidal shocking and dynamical friction, and evaporation of stars driven by internal relaxation and the surrounding tidal field, must also affect the gclf within a galaxy over many gyr, and these mechanisms might well behave rather similarly in large galaxies of many different types. recent models incorporating these effects ( e. g. aguilar et al. 1988 ; lee and ostriker 1987 ; chernoff and shapiro 1987 ; allen and richstone 1988 ) show that their importance decreases dramatically for distances 2 - 3 kpc from the galaxy nucleus, and for the more massive, compact clusters like present - day globulars. in addition, recent photometry ( grillmair et al. 1986 ; lauer and kormendy 1986 ; harris et al. 1991 ) extending in close to the centers of the virgo ellipticals has shown no detectable gclf differences with radius. the implication is therefore that today ' s gclf resembles the original mass formation spectrum of at least the brighter clusters, perhaps only slightly modified by dynamical processes. many qualitative arguments can be constructed as to why the gclfs should, or should not, resemble each other in different galaxies, but at the present time these


a new research center, led by engineers and scientists at the johns hopkins university, plans to address these fears by creating new tools to gauge risks associated with hazardous waste sites and by developing new ways to clean up harmful pollutants. the u. s. environmental protection agency recently approved a five - year $ 5. 2 million grant to launch this new center for hazardous substances in urban environments, based at johns hopkins. the funds will support research and allow center participants to provide technical help to community groups, state, municipal and local environmental regulators and industry representatives in the northeast. researchers from four other institutions the university of maryland, morgan state university, the university of connecticut and the new jersey institute of technology will participate in the new center and share in the epa grant. " before we applied for this grant, we asked regional epa officials about the most serious challenges they faced, " said ed bouwer, a johns hopkins professor of geography and environmental engineering who serves as the center ' s director. " one of the top issues they mentioned was urban livability making sure that people in cities have air, water and soil that will not expose them to toxic substances. the other big issue was brownfields abandoned lots and buildings that may contain hazardous materials. if you can redevelop these properties, you can create jobs and improve the tax base. so the cities and states have an economic incentive to promote new construction on the brownfields if the environmental concerns can be addressed. "


story url : http : / / news. medill. northwestern. edu / chicago / news. aspx? id = 208820 story retrieval date : 6 / 19 / 2013 8 : 52 : 09 pm cst sports drinks saw annual sales of $ 3. 9 billion, a year - over - year 14. 9 % increase since spring 2011, but some experts question their health benefits and many agree that sports drinks are only beneficial to training athletes. some believe they may even harm consumers who drink them unnecessarily. the british medical journal ’ s head of investigations, deborah cohen, published an article on sports drinks and marketing hydration. after examining over 170 articles from gsk, a uk company that produces sports drink lucozade, and the marketing behind physical training and sports drinks, she concluded that sports drinks are mostly a combination of water, sugar and salt. even though a yale rudd center for food policy & obesity study found that 27 % of parents think sports drinks are healthy for their children, the same study also reported the nutritional value of the beverages. common sports drinks contain sugar and sodium amounts similar to those in some junk foods. the rudd center looked at 38 sports drinks and found the average sodium content to be 120 milligrams per 8 ounces. that ' s not much less than a small movie - theater popcorn, which starts at 210 milligrams per serving. the median sugar amount was 14 grams in 8 ounces of liquid, similar to the sugar in one serving of red vines ' cherry vines candy, which has 16 grams of sugar per serving. cohen ’ s study examined the promotion of sports beverages. “ some of the risks of sports drinks come in the guidance that has been given out by sports organizations who are sponsored by drinks manufacturers, ” said cohen. “ people have been told to drink far more than they need and this has resulted in them drinking too much. ” she found that many of the marketing campaigns behind these drinks play on preventing dehydration. sports drink companies push their audience to replace lost electrolytes such as potassium and sodium. but too much hydration results in the blood ’ s sodium level rapidly decreasing and fluid shifting into the body ’ s cells, a condition known as exercise - associated hyponatremia ( eah ), according to a report in the national center for biotechnology information. there have been 16 recorded deaths and 1, 600 people who have taken critically ill during competitive marathon running due to a drop in their serum sodium, cohen said


##tremia ( eah ), according to a report in the national center for biotechnology information. there have been 16 recorded deaths and 1, 600 people who have taken critically ill during competitive marathon running due to a drop in their serum sodium, cohen said. despite eah - related illness and deaths, sports drink companies continue to push thirst - related marketing campaigns. this year, gatorade and the national athletic trainers ’ association declared the first annual national recovery day for high school athletes. “ children were told to “ drink 16 - 24 ounces of fluid with sodium for each pound of body weight lost during exercise following a workout or game, ” said cohen. “ but where is the evidence to support this? ” some case studies have found that consuming sodium, which is present in many sports drinks such as gatorade and powerade, is necessary for athletes in training. a case study from the human performance laboratory ’ s department of kinesiology and health education at the university of texas at austin suggests that sodium should be consumed after two hours of exercise. but another report, published in the journal of athletic training by the national athletic trainers ’ association, inc., suggests that drinks containing sodium are needed only if the athlete has missed meals, is active for more than four hours or performs in extremely warm temperatures. the paper recommends adding 0. 3 to 0. 7 grams of salt per liter to avoid symptoms such as muscle cramps or hyponatremia. cohen ’ s investigation found that sports drinks containing these added sodium levels are unnecessary for the average person. “ i think sports drinks are fine, as long as you see them for what they are : drinks made of sugar, water and salt, ” said cohen. “ for the ordinary person going out for a run, they ' re not going to help you knock an hour off your marathon time or make you perform better in the gym, ” she said.


depaul professors help bring the civil war to life may 15, 2012 depaul faculty experts in history and art history have joined forces to curate a website exhibiting civil war - era art drawn from chicago museum collections. the website, the civil war in art, was established to mark the civil war ’ s 150th anniversary and provide a resource for teachers. the terra foundation, one of the most generous sponsors of american artwork, enlisted associate professor margaret storey from the history department and associate professor mark pohlad from the history of art and architecture department to create cohesion among the many collections the website features. “ the idea behind the site was that lots of people or institutions from around chicago would donate art, including the art institute, the newberry library, the dusable museum, the chicago public library, the park district and the chicago history museum, ” pohlad says. “ our job was to organize and editorialize these works of art. “ we were also there to make it all feel like one coherent collection, ” storey adds. “ each of these contributors would send text about their items. some were only interested in the pieces as art and some were more interested in history. we had to bring the two worlds together. ” the site contains a stunning array of works from the pre - war era, the civil war era and post - war pieces dating into the mid - 20th century. the art provides new insights into the impact the war had on the national psyche. each piece has been scanned in detail, allowing up - close looks at rare works. “ the site allows teachers and their classes to see things that are not usually available because many of these items are not in a holding library or museum, ” pohlad says. “ it ’ s a virtual world where students can make a more intimate connection with the art. ” in addition, the site provides lesson plans secondary teachers can use to teach social studies through the arts. though chicago rose to its greatest heights after the civil war, the city has many connections to it, storey says. “ the people who built chicago after the fire lived through this war, ” she says. “ they collected the art and built the monuments throughout the city for a reason — because the war was so cataclysmic for the union and because it was so meaningful to the country that came out of it. chicago played an enormous role in that war, and people who lived here talked and thought about it a lot. it impacted their culture in ways we really don ’ t understand when we drive


it was so meaningful to the country that came out of it. chicago played an enormous role in that war, and people who lived here talked and thought about it a lot. it impacted their culture in ways we really don ’ t understand when we drive by grant ’ s monument on lake shore drive. ” artwork of note storey and pohlad singled out several pieces of note in the collections, including an image of an african - american soldier carved into a whale ’ s tooth, a children ’ s game where players act out scenes of secession and illustrations of war images by famed artist winslow homer. “ winslow homer ’ s ‘ a sharpshooter on picket duty ’ is my favorite, ” storey says. “ homer was known for candidly portraying the front at home. sharpshooters were morally ambiguous figures. they were prized as experts who were valuable for both armies, but because they picked people off, they collapsed the fiction that war wasn ’ t murder. people felt uncomfortable with that. homer ’ s drawing is so active and conveys the predatory nature and the fine skill of this person. ” “ my favorite is a tiny statue of abraham lincoln by daniel chester french, whose best - known work is the sculpture of a seated lincoln at the lincoln memorial in washington, d. c., ” pohlad says. “ it ’ s a very quiet piece, but it ’ s also quite powerful. ” as important as the website was, the project served as an important opportunity for two depaul departments to come together. “ it ’ s wonderful to break down these silos, ” pohlad says. “ it ’ s natural for art and history to be together. ” “ it ’ s an interesting and unique site in that it tries to present both artwork and historical work, ” storey adds. “ that ’ s what made it very challenging to do, but also what made it special. ”


mobile network technology for smarter cars february 22, 2011 as you are about to drive into an intersection, a piercing alarm and a flashing red warning light cause you to hit the brakes hard. you narrowly avoid a serious collision with a car running a red light. today, a relatively few cars equipped with expensive radar - and camera - based collision - avoidance systems could give you this warning. but if a coalition of automakers backed by the u. s. department of transportation has its way, much cheaper warning systems would be installed in all new cars before the end of the decade. the key is replacing expensive sensors with cheap and ubiquitous global positioning system ( gps ) and wi - fi wireless technology. cars are full of electronic sensors and computers that monitor all phases of vehicle operation. gps, already present in cars with built - in navigation systems and inexpensive to add to others, can provide data on precise location, acceleration, speed, and direction. wi - fi provides an easy way to broadcast the data so other cars in the vicinity can use the information. a car equipped with the system broadcasts data 10 times per second using a wifi variant known as dedicated short - range communications. other cars in the vicinity pick up the broadcasts and feed the data to onboard computers, which use the information to calculate the relative position of other cars and figure out which pose potential hazards. " we use low - cost automotive gps, " says joseph stinnett, a research engineer with ford motor active safety, who demonstrated the system in a mostly empty parking lot at washington ' s robert f. kennedy stadium. " since we are just locating two vehicles relative to each other, the gps positioning is quite good. if we wanted to position the vehicle on a map of the earth, we would have three to five meters of error. but positioning relative to another vehicle, it ' s actually sub - one meter. " that ' s good enough for the critical task of resolving which car is in what lane. in the real world, it will take some sophisticated software to make the system work effectively. on a crowded highway, a car might be receiving signals from dozens of vehicles within wi - fi range at any time. the software has to filter out information from irrelevant carsfor example, those heading in the other direction on a divided highwayto focus on those that pose a potential threat. with 1, 000 or more signals arriving every second, that takes a fair amount of processing power. fortunately, processing, like gps and wi - fi, has gotten very cheap. meanwhile, high prices continue to


on those that pose a potential threat. with 1, 000 or more signals arriving every second, that takes a fair amount of processing power. fortunately, processing, like gps and wi - fi, has gotten very cheap. meanwhile, high prices continue to pose a major barrier to adoption of existing systems, effectively limiting their use to high - end cars. for example, a relatively limited radar - based blind - spot monitoring system is part of a package that adds more than $ 3, 000 to the price of a ford taurus. of course, existing systems have one huge advantage : their radar and computer vision sensors don ' t depend on other vehicles being similarly equipped to do their job. but the gps plus wi - fi approach only works if all nearby vehicles are broadcasting data. a car in your blind spot that isn ' t sending out position information is as invisible to your computer as it is in your mirrors. that ' s why the members of the third - generation vehicle safety communications consortium - - ford, general motors, daimler, volkswagen audi. kia hyundai, toyota, nissan, and hondaare working with dot and thenational highway traffic safety administration toward requiring installation of the systems once they become cheap and reliable enough. widespread use of the system could provide additional benefits. existing systems for monitoring traffic flow mostly rely on loop sensors embedded in the pavement. they are expensive to install and maintain, generally limiting their useand the availability of real - time traffic reports - - to a few major roads. monitoring the wi - fi broadcasts of passing cars, though it would raise some privacy issues that must be addressed, could provide much more extensive data at much lower cost.


once every two years mars ’ orbit brings it close to earth allowing it to shine its biggest and brightest to the naked eye and telescope – and on the evening of march 5 the red planet will reach its closest approach to earth for 2012. only 62. 6 million miles will separate our two worlds as it just passes official opposition – when mars is directly opposite the sun from us only two days before on march 3. step outside on any clear night - about a half hour after local sunset and look towards the east. mars is easy to spot as yellowish - orange light, shining brighter than anything else in that part of the night sky, except for the moon. by the way, if you are having problems positively identifying mars, then you will find the full moon conveniently sitting next to it on march 7 – both rising in the east around sunset. by local midnight you will find mars shining high in the south. the entire month of march, until end of april is your best bet in terms of observing the red planet through a telescope as the planetary disk will be big enough under high magnification to catch surface details on it. – after which you will have to wait until 2014 to get a better, bigger view. while this opposition wont be the most favorable because of the smaller apparent size of mars due to its farther distance, through a small telescope, the dark surface markings and north polar ice cap should be visible. larger telescopes ( at least 6 inches ) using high powers of 200x magnification might help reveal the occasional white equatorial cloud bands and moving dust storms. while the best way to explore mars in your backyard is through a telescope, the unaided eye can reveal its true colors. its entire surface today is covered in a fine dust that is rich in iron oxide, meaning mars is red and rusting. even from 62. 6 million miles away we can see the color of the planet, which is half earth ’ s size, as the light from the sun reflects off the martian deserts. now how cool is that? andrew fazekas, aka the night sky guy, is a science writer, broadcaster, and lecturer who loves to share his passion for the wonders of the universe through all media. he is a regular contributor to national geographic news and is the national cosmic correspondent for canada ’ s weather network tv channel, space columnist for cbc radio network, and a consultant for the canadian space agency. as a member of the royal astronomical society of canada, andrew has been observing the heavens from montreal for over a quarter century and has never


national milk producers federation statement on usda bse announcement from jerry kozak, president and ceo of nmpf america ’ s dairy farmers are encouraged that the on - going surveillance and inspections performed by federal authorities continue to ensure that bovine spongiform encephalopathy ( bse ), or mad cow disease, does not enter the u. s. food supply. the u. s. department of agriculture ( usda ) announced tuesday that a bse - infected animal was detected in california, in a dairy cow that was presented at a rendering plant. three previous cases of bse have been discovered in the u. s. in the past nine years. although details about the age and origins of the animal are being withheld pending further investigation, nmpf offered the following points about the issue : - milk and dairy products do not contain or transmit bse, and animals do not transmit the disease through cattle - to - human contact. the infectious prions that transmit bse are found in neurological tissues, such as brains and spinal cords. - the united states put regulations in place in 1997 to prohibit ruminant protein from being used in animal feed. this applies to all cattle, dairy and beef alike. - non - ambulatory animals – those that cannot walk – are not allowed to be processed at facilities where meat animals are handled. this regulation helps ensure that animals that are unwell are not entered into the food supply. the national milk producers federation, based in arlington, va, develops and carries out policies that advance the well being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. the members of nmpf ’ s 31 cooperatives produce the majority of the u. s. milk supply, making nmpf the voice of more than 32, 000 dairy producers on capitol hill and with government agencies.


you are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘ combinatorics ’ category. sometimes sequences of numbers are defined recursively, so that given the previous terms of the sequence we can find the next term. a classic example of this is the sequence of fibonacci numbers, where every two consecutive terms determine the next term, and so if we are given the first two terms, we can calculate the whole sequence. however, if we wanted to, say, calculated the 1000th fibonacci number, we ’ d have to start out with the first two, add them to compute the 3rd, add the second and third to compute the 4th, and so on, to slowly build up every single fibonacci number before the 1000th in order to get there. it ’ d be much nicer if we had a formula for the fibonacci sequence. that way, if we wanted the 1000th fibonacci number, all we ’ d have to do is plug 1000 into the formula to compute it. of course, the formula is only useful if it takes less time to crunch it out than it does to do it the brute - force way. a method of finding closed formulas for sequences defined by recurrences is the use of generating functions. generating functions are functions which “ encapsulate ” all the information about a sequence, except you can define it without knowing the actual terms of the sequence. the power of generating functions comes from the fact that you can do things like add and multiply them together to create generating functions of other sequences, or write them in terms of themselves to find an explicit formula. once you have an explicit form for a generating function, you can use some algebra to “ extract ” the information from the function, which usually means you can find a formula for the sequence in question.


| 1. | | the rearing of children. | | 2. | | the methods, techniques, etc., used or required in the rearing of children. | | 3. | | the state of being a parent ; parenthood. | | 4. | | of or concerned with the rearing of children : good parenting skills. | this summer as our friends came and went on visits to our rhode island home i was continually amazed at how different we all parent and use our parenting skills and i start to look at how me and my husband are as parents as well, and then i laugh... because i think that we all look around and listen to each other and think " is that how you do it? " or " that ' s not how you do it! "... and hanging out in the summertime is when you really see it all playing out before our very eyes! no nannies, just mom and dad and the kids, and usually at whit ' s end ( we really need a vacation at the end of summertime! ). between my husband and myself i was the one that wanted children, and i give them a terrific amount of love, but my husband... he is a really good ' parent ', although anyone we know would tell you differently, he knows how to act like a grown - up with the kids, and i think that is something of a gift to them. there is a new book out ( and i haven ' t read it yet, but i will! ) by richard bromfield called ' how to unspoil your child fast ' and what i have read about it so far he has some good things to say like " a child who perpetually pesters her parent is searching for a limit she needs to grow straight "... somehow i can really relate to that, he goes on to say that many parents today are afraid to pick up the reigns of parenting - - in a recent review of the book i read in cookie magazine, nell casey adds that, " many of us are tempted to fulfill our children ' s needs almost before they occur to them " i read that and i thought to myself i saw that a lot this summer with my friends and myself. i have a friend that is a young single mom and she said to me today of her 6 month old daughter who she is trying to understand... " i ' ve been calling the shots now for 24 hours and it ' s working so far " i


| burns pinon ridge reserve set in the morongo basin of the western mojave desert, the burns pinon ridge reserve is a dry, boulder - strewn landscape of shallow canyons and ridges of sculptured granite. three floristic regions meet at the site : transverse range, sonoran desert, and mojave desert, creating a diverse mixture of flora and fauna characteristic of both deserts and mountains. habitats intermingling at the reserve include pinon - juniper woodland with elements of joshua tree woodland and montane chaparral, desert wash, and freshwater seep. at least 153 vertebrate species cross paths here, including desert and coast horned lizards, desert and dusky - footed woodrats, mountain and gambel ' s quail, and three rare species : townsend ' s western big - eared bat, california mastiff bat, and the federally and state - threatened desert tortoise. research opportunities are enriched by other natural lands throughout the desert, such as the joshua tree national park a few miles away. two other nrs reserves for desert research are the philip l. boyd deep canyon desert research center, less than an hour ' s drive to the south, and the jack and marilyn sweeney granite mountains desert research center, two and one - half hours to the east. reserve restoration includes removal of exotic plant species. a preliminary vegetation study has been conducted to establish a possible longterm monitoring site for assessing the impact of global climate change on plant distributions. the site is used by university field courses in desert ecology, field zoology methods, natural history, biology of deserts, field ecology, botany, environmental ethics, freshwater biology, and others. special research of national significance - census of small mammals. - inventory of insects. - census of avifauna. - monitoring and inventory of bat species. - north american carbon program : http : / / nacarbon. org / nacp determining california ' s carbon budget - physiological, demographic, competitive and biogeochemical controls on the response of california ' s ecosystems to environmental change


people of northwest public radio tue february 21, 2012 bailout reminds greek village of wwii europe is still a continent that looks over its shoulder at a long and sometimes dark past. that extends even to the protracted greek bailout negotiations, where germany ' s dominant role has scratched at some historical wounds. germany occupied greece during world war ii, committing atrocities that some older greeks can ' t forget. this history defines the pretty village of distomo in central greece, where nazi soldiers killed 218 men, women and children in june 1944. panagiotis sfountouris, 74, says he ' ll never forget that day. he was just 6 years old when he and his younger sister escaped death by hiding in a relative ' s basement. when they returned home, they found their parents shot dead and their 2 - year - old brother gutted by a bayonet. " i ran to the balcony and screamed, ' they ' ve killed my father and my mother and our little niko! ' " sfountouris recalls. " nothing moved in distomo, nothing at all. we saw dead people everywhere. when it started getting dark, we got scared all over again. my uncle came to get us, and we spent the night hiding in the mountains. " sfountouris still cries when he talks about the family he lost. he now runs a gas station in distomo and says he has to buy nearly all of his products from germany. many goods sold in greece are imported from germany, a fellow european union country. sfountouris says he will never trust the germans. " they ' re not going to change, " he says. " i mean, can someone put on different clothes and pretend to be someone else? i just hope these people don ' t end up being worse. " until the debt crisis, greece and germany actually had a happy relationship. greeks studied and worked in germany, and germans spent summer holidays in greece. but as austerity crippled the greek economy and germans wanted more belt - tightening, greeks felt besieged. many residents of distomo are open to europe and even to germany. but the town is mainly known for the nazi massacre — it even took germany to court over war reparations, though it lost. there ' s a monument for the dead atop its highest hill, and residents recently remodeled an old elementary school to house a new museum. nikos bouras, who works at the town hall, often unlocks the museum for visitors. it


. there ' s a monument for the dead atop its highest hill, and residents recently remodeled an old elementary school to house a new museum. nikos bouras, who works at the town hall, often unlocks the museum for visitors. it ' s chilly inside because distomo doesn ' t have money for heat, and voices echo. near the entrance, there ' s a portrait of a distraught young woman whose family was murdered. " it ' s a characteristic image of the time, " bouras says. " this picture was called the distomo mother. her name was maria pandiska. this picture has gone all over the world and is part of our activism here. " bouras, who is 37, is aware that this history molds his opinions of germans today. he says he ' s concerned that the european union, led by germany, is robbing greeks of their sovereignty in exchange for billions in bailout loans. this has caused him to lose faith in the euro, the eu ' s common currency. " i personally don ' t think it would be such a disaster to go back to the drachma, " he says. " i ' m sure it ' s better than abdicating our national dignity. " austerity measures in exchange for bailout loans have hit distomo residents — like all greeks — hard. bouras ' salary has been cut, and so has sfountouris ' pension. with youth unemployment at almost 50 percent in greece, the town ' s youngest residents are concerned, too. vassilis pandiskas and andreas kallermenos, both 17, say they worry about their future in greece because of the debt crisis and the harsh austerity measures that have stalled the economy. " we won ' t have jobs, i ' m sure of it, " kallermenos says. they think europeans look down on greeks but that greece nevertheless belongs in the european union. " the europeans are difficult, but i don ' t accept that we don ' t belong with them, " says pandiskas, whose great aunt maria is the woman pictured in the distomo mother. he says he grew up hearing gruesome stories of the distomo massacre but that he doesn ' t hate germans. ioanna gamvrilli, who is also 17, wants to be a civil engineer though she fears she ' ll never get a job. but she doesn ' t blame germany for greece ' s debt crisis. she


- roadmap to resouces - tutorial pdf - subject review - podcast - estuaries - what is an estuary? - economy and environment - ecosystem services - water circulation - estuarine habitats - adaptations to life in the estuary - monitoring estuaries - the future why are estuaries important? disturbances to estuaries why are estuaries important? the economy and environment healthy estuaries are critical for the continued survival of many species of fish and other aquatic life, birds, mammals, and reptiles. all of the animals pictured above live in the rookery bay national estuarine research reserve. located on the gulf coast of florida, rookery bay represents one of the few remaining undisturbed mangrove estuaries in north america. ( images : rookery bay nerrs site ) estuaries are important natural places. they provide goods and services that are economically and ecologically indispensable. often called nurseries of the sea ( usepa, 1993 ), estuaries provide vital nesting and feeding habitats for many aquatic plants and animals. most fish and shellfish eaten in the united states, including salmon, herring, and oysters, complete at least part of their life cycles in estuaries. estuaries also help to maintain healthy ocean environments. they filter out sediments and pollutants from rivers and streams before they flow into the oceans, providing cleaner waters for marine life. estuaries provide critical habitat for species that are valued commercially, recreationally, and culturally. birds, fish, amphibians, insects, and other wildlife depend on estuaries to live, feed, nest, and reproduce. some organisms, like oysters, make estuaries their permanent home ; others, like horseshoe crabs, use them to complete only part of their life cycle ( sumich, 1996 ). estuaries provide stopovers for migratory bird species such as mallard and canvasback ducks. many fish, including american shad, atlantic menhaden and striped bass, spend most of their lives in the ocean, but return to the brackish waters of estuaries to spawn. estuaries are often the economic centers of coastal communities. estuaries provide habitat for more than 75 percent of the u. s. commercial fish catch, and an even greater percentage of the recreational fish catch ( national safety council ’ s environmental center, 1998 ). the total fish catch in estuaries contributes $ 4. 3 billion a year to the u. s. economy ( anep, 1998 ). estuaries are also important recreational areas. millions of people visit estuaries


like people, garden beds benefit from snuggling under a warm blanket when the weather turns frosty. but in this instance, the blanket isn ' t stamped " woolrich. " organic matter is a garden ' s cold - weather cover of choice, and the easiest and most effective way to provide it is to sow a cover crop. cover crops are plants grown not to be eaten or admired, but to be cut down and dug back into the soil to enrich it. there are different crops for different climates, but all pay off big : beds over - wintered with cover crops start spring leaps and bounds ahead of uncovered beds. winter cover crops are an ideal way to add organic matter because they replenish soil nutrients depleted over the growing season, suppress weeds and disrupt their growing cycles, and build organic matter and soil integrity. they protect the life in the soil once harsh weather sets in, and at the same time regulate soil temperature and moisture. grass crops such as oats and rye have an additional benefit, explains vern grubinger, vegetable and berry specialist with university of vermont extension. " late in the growing season, they take up available nitrogen in the soil that would otherwise be lost to leaching since the garden crops are no longer growing and taking up nutrients. and they help prevent soil erosion caused by winter winds and water from rain and snow melt. " what ' s more, " cover crops add variety to your rotation, " says tom kaspar of the usda agricultural research service ' s national soil tilth lab in ames, iowa. a grass cover crop is good for breaking up pest and disease cycles. and grasses germinate easily and consistently. oats : soil saver and mulch in one fall - planted oats don ' t survive the winter in colder locations, but they ' ll absorb and store nutrients into the fall and then protect bare ground with the dead mulch they leave behind. " for northern gardeners, in zones 6 and below, oats are the easiest winter cover crop to use, since they reliably die back, leaving a residue the next spring that does not require a lot of tillage to incorporate, " advises grubinger. " in fact, in a ' no - till ' or ' low - till ' garden, oats are ideal, because the residue can just be raked aside or spaded in before planting crops. " for the gardener who hopes to avoid spring tillage or who doesn ' t want to wait for a just - killed cover to


' garden, oats are ideal, because the residue can just be raked aside or spaded in before planting crops. " for the gardener who hopes to avoid spring tillage or who doesn ' t want to wait for a just - killed cover to decompose before planting the next crop, oats are the answer. sow them early enough - - 6 to 8 weeks before hard frost is expected - - so plants can put on ample biomass before the mercury drops. sow seed at a rate of about 1 1 / 2 pounds per 1, 000 square feet. winter rye : hardy weed warrior " rye and buckwheat provide weed control by outcompeting weeds for resources such as sunlight and water, " says molly hamilton, extension assistant at north carolina state university. " and they produce toxic chemicals that inhibit germinating weed seeds and seedlings. " winter rye is the answer for gardeners who want a hardy cover crop to start late in fall and grow over winter, even when temperatures are barely above freezing. don ' t sow it too late in the season, since extreme cold may prevent seeds from germinating or kill young seedlings before they ' ve had time to toughen up. broadcast rye seed at about 2 pounds per 1, 000 square feet 2 to 4 weeks before the first frost. rye ' s thick tangle of roots and tough stalks adds fibrous organic matter to soil, too. work it in and let the bed sit for about 3 weeks before planting a spring crop. annual ryegrass : nitrogen booster a less hardy cousin of rye, annual ryegrass forms a dense mat of nitrogen - scavenging roots that can reach 3 to 5 feet underground, helping to break up compacted soil. seed annual ryegrass at least 40 days before the first killing frost. if ryegrass sets seed, it can become a problem ; turn it under in late spring before it goes to seed. legumes : plant food aplenty winter legumes give your garden the nutrient recharge it craves in the off - season, providing an essential dose of nitrogen. for southern gardens, crimson clover and winter peas are favorites. vetch - - particularly hairy vetch - - is often bred for winter hardiness, so it ' s a common choice in the north. what ' s more, a 2008 study by cornell university found hairy vetch to be a prolific nitrogen producer, with some studies finding a " nitrogen fertilizer replacement value " of around 80 pounds of nitrogen per acre. using


choice in the north. what ' s more, a 2008 study by cornell university found hairy vetch to be a prolific nitrogen producer, with some studies finding a " nitrogen fertilizer replacement value " of around 80 pounds of nitrogen per acre. using hairy vetch means you ' ll need less fertilizer, which saves money. winter legumes can be mowed or incorporated after flowering. sow about 50 days before the first killing frost. seed hairy vetch at a rate of about 1 / 2 pound per 1, 000 square feet ; smaller - seeded crimson clover should be seeded at 1 / 4 pound per 1, 000 square feet. mix ' n ' match many gardeners like to mix grass and legumes for biodiversity and biomass. grains grow more quickly and protect slower - growing legumes. oats, which die back over the winter and yield a sheltering mulch, work well combined with peas. rye and hairy vetch team well together, but sow the two early enough to allow the vetch to establish. beds nourished by cover crops give spring plantings a strong start. fall - planted oats pull nutrients from the soil for crops to use in spring. if your last fall crop isn ' t ready to be harvested in time to plant cover crops so that they ' re safe from frost, simply sprinkle clover seed in between the rows of the growing vegetables. the clover will fill out and nourish the ground after harvest.


fractures of the heel bone, or calcaneus, can be disabling injuries. they most often occur during high - energy collisions — such as a fall from height or a motor vehicle crash. because of this, calcaneus fractures are often severe and may result in long - term problems. the calcaneus is the most frequently fractured tarsal bone. tarsal bone fractures account for about 2 % of all adult fractures. of these, 60 % are calcaneus fractures. the heel bone is often injured in a high - energy collision where other parts of the skeleton are also injured. in up to 10 % of cases, the patient can also sustain a fracture of the spine, hip, or the other calcaneus. injuries to the calcaneus often damage the subtalar joint and cause the joint to become stiff. this makes it difficult to walk on uneven ground or slanted surfaces. the severity of a fracture usually depends on the amount of force that caused the break. there are many types of calcaneus fractures, including : stable fracture. this type of fracture is nondisplaced. the broken ends of the bones meet up correctly and are aligned. in a stable fracture, the bones usually stay in place during healing. displaced fracture. when a bone breaks and is displaced, the broken ends are separated and do not line up. this type of fracture often requires surgery to put the pieces back together. open fracture. broken bones that break through the skin are called open, or compound. these types of injuries often involve much more damage to the surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments. open fractures have a higher risk for complications and take a longer time to heal. closed fracture. with this injury, the broken bones do not break the skin. although the skin is not broken, internal soft tissues can still be badly damaged. comminuted fracture. this type of break is very unstable. the bone shatters into three or more pieces. the calcaneus can be injured in a fall, twisting injury, or motor vehicle collision. a simple twisting injury may result in the calcaneus being cracked. the force of a head - on car collision may result in the bone being shattered ( comminuted fracture ). different causes can result in similar fracture patterns. for example, when landing on your feet from a fall, your body ' s weight is directed downward. it drives the talus bone down into the calcaneus. in a motor vehicle crash, the calcaneus is driven up against the talus


example, when landing on your feet from a fall, your body ' s weight is directed downward. it drives the talus bone down into the calcaneus. in a motor vehicle crash, the calcaneus is driven up against the talus. in both cases, the resulting fracture patterns are similar. the greater the impact, the more the calcaneus is damaged. the most common symptoms of a calcaneus fracture are : - heel deformity - inability to put weight on the heel or walk in some minor calcaneus fractures, the pain is not enough to stop you from walking, but you may limp. this is because when you walk, the achilles tendon acts through the calcaneus to support your body weight. if the calcaneus is deformed following an injury, the muscle and tendon cannot generate enough power to support your weight. your foot and ankle will feel unstable, and you will walk differently. it is important that your doctor knows the circumstances of your injury. for example, if you fell from a tree, how far did you fall? it is just as important for your doctor to know if you have any other injuries or medical problems, such as diabetes. your doctor also needs to know if you take any medications. after discussing your symptoms and medical history, your doctor will do a careful examination. he or she will look for other injuries and for areas where the skin is damaged or punctured. your doctor will check to see if there is a good blood supply to your foot and if the nerves to your foot are working properly. to determine whether you have injured any other areas of your body, your doctor will examine the rest of your injured leg, your other leg, your pelvis, and your spine. other tests that may help your doctor confirm your diagnosis include : x - rays. this test is the most common and widely available diagnostic imaging technique. x - rays create images of dense structures, like bone, so they are particularly useful in showing fractures. computed tomography ( ct ) scan. after reviewing your x - rays, your doctor may recommend a ct scan of your foot. this imaging tool combines x - rays with computer technology to produce a more detailed, cross - sectional image of your body. it can provide your doctor with valuable information about the severity of the fracture. studying ct scans helps your doctor plan your treatment. he or she will often show you the images to help you understand the nature and severity of your injury. in planning your treatment, your doctor will consider several


valuable information about the severity of the fracture. studying ct scans helps your doctor plan your treatment. he or she will often show you the images to help you understand the nature and severity of your injury. in planning your treatment, your doctor will consider several things, including : - the cause of your injury - your overall health - the severity of your injury - the extent of soft tissue damage because most calcaneus fractures cause the bone to widen, the goal of treatment is to restore the normal anatomy of the heel. in general, patients whose normal heel anatomy is restored have better overall outcomes. recreating normal anatomy, however, most often involves surgery. surgery is associated with a higher risk of complications. your doctor will discuss the treatment options with you. if the pieces of broken bone have not been displaced by the force of the injury, you may not need surgery. casting or some other form of immobilization may be an option. this will keep the broken ends in proper position while they heal. you will not be able to put any weight on your foot until the bone is completely healed. this may take 6 to 8 weeks, and perhaps longer. if the bones have shifted out of place ( displaced ), you may need surgery. timing of surgery. if the skin around your fracture has not been broken, your doctor may recommend waiting until swelling has gone down before having surgery. keeping your leg immobilized and elevated for several days will decrease swelling. it also gives skin that has been stretched a chance to recover. this waiting period before the operation often improves your overall recovery from surgery and decreases your risk of infection. open fractures, however, expose the fracture site to the environment. they urgently need to be cleansed and require immediate surgery. early surgery is also often recommended for an avulsion fracture. although uncommon, a piece of the calcaneus can be pulled off when the achilles tendon tears away from the bone ( avulsion ). for this type of fracture, early surgery can decrease the risk of injury to the skin around the achilles tendon. surgical procedure. the following procedures are used for various types of calcaneus fractures. - open reduction and internal fixation. during this operation, the bone fragments are first repositioned ( reduced ) into their normal alignment. they are held together with special screws or metal plates and screws. - percutaneous screw fixation. sometimes, if the bone pieces are large, they can be moved back into place by either pushing or pulling on them without making a large


they are held together with special screws or metal plates and screws. - percutaneous screw fixation. sometimes, if the bone pieces are large, they can be moved back into place by either pushing or pulling on them without making a large incision. special screws can be placed through small incisions to hold your bone pieces together. bones have a remarkable capacity to heal. the more severe your injury, however, the longer your recovery may be. patients with more severe fractures are also more likely to suffer some degree of permanent loss of function, regardless of treatment. whether you have surgery or not, your rehabilitation will be very similar. how long it takes to return to daily activities varies with different types of fractures. it depends on the severity of the injury. some patients can begin weight - bearing activities a few weeks after injury or surgery ; some patients may need to wait 3 or more months before putting any kind of weight on the heel. - early motion. many doctors encourage motion of the foot and ankle early in the recovery period. for example, some patients are instructed to begin moving the affected area as soon as their pain allows. patients who have had surgery are instructed to begin moving the affected area as soon as the wound heals to the doctor ' s satisfaction. - physical therapy. specific exercises can improve the range of motion in your foot and ankle, and strengthen supporting muscles. although they are often painful at the beginning and progress may be difficult, exercises are required in order for you to resume normal activities. - weight - bearing. when you begin walking, you may need to use a cane and wear a special boot. it is very important to follow your doctor ' s instructions for walking on your foot. if you place weight on your foot too soon, the bone pieces may move out of place and you might require surgery. if you have had surgery, the screws might loosen or break and the bone may collapse. this may not occur the first time you walk on it, but if the bone is not healed and you continue to walk on your foot, the metal will eventually break. there is a range of complications with calcaneus fractures. minor complications include : - small or temporary areas of delayed wound healing - nerve irritation around the incision - tendon irritation caused by the screws - joint stiffness - chronic pain major complications include : - blood clots - failure of the wound to heal - collapse of bone - arthritis ( with or without surgery ) smoking affects both bone and skin healing, so it is important to


the screws - joint stiffness - chronic pain major complications include : - blood clots - failure of the wound to heal - collapse of bone - arthritis ( with or without surgery ) smoking affects both bone and skin healing, so it is important to tell your doctor if you smoke. some surgeons will not perform surgery on a patient who smokes because of the increased risk of serious complications. even without surgery, your bone may take longer to heal if you smoke. additional surgery is usually required in cases of infection or difficult wound healing. if all methods of solving the problem have failed, amputation may be considered. if your injury is minor, such as a crack in the bone with little muscle damage, you may be able to resume normal activities 3 to 4 months after surgery. if the fracture is severe, however, it may take 1 to 2 years before recovery is complete. despite the best efforts of the doctor and patient, normal foot and ankle motion is rarely regained after a severe fracture. a patient who is not very active might tolerate a foot that is not normal. on the other hand, a patient whose job or recreational activities require a lot of walking or climbing will notice limitations much more. common problems that may persist after recovery include : - skin irritation. footwear can irritate the skin or tendons in the affected area. - altered gait. in some cases, the arch of the foot has not been restored, or the achilles tendon has not been attached at its normal distance from the ankle. full subtalar joint motion is rarely regained in these cases, and this changes the way the patient walks. patients may have problems walking on uneven ground, such as grassy surfaces or hills. - pain. if the calcaneus remains deformed, the patient may experience continued ankle pain and limited motion. even if the heel anatomy is perfectly restored, the patient may still have discomfort. this can happen because of the injured soft tissues or limited range of ankle and subtalar motion. although relatively uncommon, pain can be caused by irritation from the plates or screws. a simple shoe modification may help chronic problems. you may need to wear a heel pad, lift, or shoe cup, as well as special shoes with extra depth in the toe compartment. sometimes, another major operation is required. if the bone has healed in a deformed position, or if the subtalar joint becomes arthritic, the joint may need to be fused. the goal of this procedure is to help the talus and the calcan


is required. if the bone has healed in a deformed position, or if the subtalar joint becomes arthritic, the joint may need to be fused. the goal of this procedure is to help the talus and the calcaneus grow together and form one bone. fusion also means that no more motion can occur between the two bones. if the bone is badly deformed, the surgeon may attempt to correct some or all of the deformity along with fusion of the bones. these surgeries usually require several months for recovery. experts are still debating over the best treatment method for calcaneus fractures. as is usually the case, no single method works the same for everyone. patients whose x - rays show completely normal heel anatomy often still have fracture symptoms after surgery. on the other hand, the calcaneus can look quite deformed on an x - ray, but the patient may have few, if any, symptoms. there have also been studies that compared results in patients whose fractures were treated with and without surgery. some studies show a significant benefit of surgery, while other studies show less benefit for certain patients. as a result, experts continue to work to improve the outcomes of these injuries. some new developments include : - using smaller incisions for reducing and fixing the fracture - defining which treatment method works best for which type of fracture - defining which treatment method works best for different types of patients ; for example, smokers or people with diabetes - inventing better plates and screws the american academy of orthopaedic surgeons 6300 n. river road rosemont, il 60018


the legislative assembly, the unicameral legislative body for mexico city, just passed a marriage equality bill 39 - 20. the mayor is expected to sign it. mexico city has been a regional leader in lgbt rights, passing a civil unions law and other lgbt - positive legislation in recent years. the los angeles times says : the bill calls for changing the definition of marriage in the city ’ s civil code. marriage is currently defined as the union of a man and a woman. the new definition will be “ the free uniting of two people. ” the change would allow same - sex couples to adopt children, apply for bank loans together, inherit wealth and be included in the insurance policies of their spouse, rights they were denied under civil unions allowed in the city. … argentina ’ s capital became the first latin american city to legalize same - sex civil unions in 2002 for gay and lesbian couples. four other argentine cities later did the same, and as did mexico city in 2007 and some mexican and brazilian states. uruguay alone has legalized civil unions nationwide. buenos aires lawmakers introduced a bill for legalizing gay marriage in the national congress in october but it has stalled without a vote, and officials in the south american city have blocked same - sex wedding because of conflicting judicial rulings. … city lawmaker victor romo, a member of the mayor ’ s leftist party, called it a historic day. “ for centuries unjust laws banned marriage between blacks and whites or indians and europeans, ” he said. “ today all barriers have disappeared. ”


© 2008 pandora ’ s aquarium by jackie and kristy being a victim of sexual violence leaves you vulnerable on many levels. in addition to the emotional ramifications a person faces after experiencing trauma, there are possible physical consequences that stem from unwanted sexual contact. often in the aftermath of sexual abuse or rape, many survivors are left with an incredibly frightening question … did i contract a sexually transmitted infection? what is an sti? a sexually transmitted infection is defined as : an infection that can be transferred from one person to another through sexual contact. sexually transmitted infections are most often spread by oral, vaginal or anal contact ; however they can also be contracted after skin to skin contact. there are a wide variety of sexually transmitted infections that can occur during the course of unprotected sexual contact. while it is not possible to go through an entire list, we have compiled a few helpful resources for anyone dealing with stis. american social health association ( std / sti fact sheets, in pdf format ) your total health ( facts and health guide for common stis ) std. co. uk ( information, resources and articles ) the stigma of having an sti seeking medical attention can be difficult for many survivors. the trauma and shock of sexual violence often leaves us unable to acknowledge that there is a need to seek medical attention. other times, fear or feelings of shame or embarrassment may prevent us from reaching out for medical assistance. while some people choose not to have an evidentiary examination following a sexual assault, it is important to ensure that your physical well - being is taken care of. there is a cultural element of shame and secrecy surrounding sexually transmitted infections and diseases. as a result, many people fear getting tested. it can be particularly intimidating for survivors of sexual violence, who may already be struggling with stigma or intense feelings of shame over what they have endured. survivors who are scared of being reproached by their doctor for contracting an sti might avoid visiting the doctor and wait for the symptoms to go away. even if you do not have any physical symptoms of an sti, it is really crucial to be tested after experiencing a sexual assault. some stis do not display symptoms for a long time so it is impossible to know for sure if you are infected unless you are tested. all stis are treatable and many are curable, but if left untreated, some can result in more serious or long - term medical problems. what happened was not your fault ; please don ’ t let embarrassment be a health risk for


all stis are treatable and many are curable, but if left untreated, some can result in more serious or long - term medical problems. what happened was not your fault ; please don ’ t let embarrassment be a health risk for you. being tested can give you peace of mind, or enable you to take the necessary steps to ensure that you ' re as healthy as possible. as upsetting as it is to find out that you have contracted an sti following sexual assault, that knowledge allows you to take some control in taking care of your own health. you may have some very real fears regarding sti testing. while it ’ s an understandable reaction to feel embarrassed and intimidated by the situation, it is important to try and remind yourself that you have done nothing wrong. you deserve to have your health taken care of. - ask questions ahead of time. call a health care provider to find out some information on sti testing procedures. sometimes it can be reassuring when you know what to expect. - find a doctor whom you feel as comfortable as possible with. - if you can, let the nurse or doctor know that you are a survivor. this can help them to be more supportive and sensitive to your needs. - take a trusted and supportive friend along. if you ' re not comfortable with them being in the room, it can still be comforting to have someone waiting outside. finding out you have an sti discovering that you have a sexually transmitted infection can be devastating because it brings a social overhead other viruses don ' t. the stigma associated with a diagnosis of an sti can have emotional effects, regardless of whether any symptoms are present. finding out that you have an sti may raise strong emotional issues, especially in the first few weeks or months after a diagnosis. some people initially feel embarrassment, shame, anger, or depression. struggling to accept in addition to dealing with the emotional ramifications of the actual sti, we are left to cope with the knowledge of how we got it. it can be overwhelming to learn that you have contracted an sti from sexual assault. it ’ s absolutely not your fault that you have contracted an sti. when speaking with medical professionals, they are often quick to site safe sex practices. there can be an element of shame in knowing that this was not an option for you. it can also be too overwhelming to tell your doctor how you contracted the sti so you may sit there in silence and feeling humiliated. many of us have felt shame for having “ something wrong ”


in knowing that this was not an option for you. it can also be too overwhelming to tell your doctor how you contracted the sti so you may sit there in silence and feeling humiliated. many of us have felt shame for having “ something wrong ” with us. it ’ s very difficult to live with the knowledge that there ’ s something wrong with you because of something that someone else did. if the sti you contract is not curable, it can take some time to come to terms with the idea that it ' s not only something that you have to live with forever, but a permanent reminder of what you ’ ve been through. sexually transmitted illnesses are often connected to the genital area, which can compound feelings of stigma or shame, particularly after the trauma that survivors have already experienced to their bodies. in addition, the knowledge that you have contracted an sti can prompt anxiety or fear that other people will be able to tell that “ something is wrong ” with you. please know that you don ' t need to carry a stigma or suffer for life. as overwhelming as it is right now, stis are manageable and it won ' t always be a prominent issue in your life. living with an sti living with an sti can be traumatising in itself - on top of having to deal with outbreaks, and not feeling well, it can bring up reminders of your assault, as well as the fear of discrimination and rejection. often times the shame may feel so great that it hinders our desire to be honest with our sexual partners. it takes a lot of courage to be able to tell others about your sti, especially a new partner. while fear or anger may make it challenging for you to tell a partner, you might discover that stis don ' t affect your intimate relationships as much as you originally feared. this issue is very personal for the both of us. a personal perspective by jackie : when i first began to get outbreaks on my mouth i was in complete denial. i just couldn ' t accept that i had an sti. because they are visible they tend to be a very painful and shameful reminder of my rape. the outbreaks are more likely to occur during stressful periods, which is one reason they occurred so frequently after my rape. having people make jokes about the sores on my mouth only made it worse. topical medicines were never strong enough to prevent an outbreak and taking medication for the rest of my life wasn ' t anything i was comfortable accepting. i was resistant to


rape. having people make jokes about the sores on my mouth only made it worse. topical medicines were never strong enough to prevent an outbreak and taking medication for the rest of my life wasn ' t anything i was comfortable accepting. i was resistant to lose control over yet another aspect of my body. eventually it became evident that it was necessary to take medication. it did a great deal to prevent outbreaks, allowing me the healing time i needed to find acceptance over the situation. after about three years i stopped taking medication on a daily basis and now combat the infection with a very strong ( and expensive! ) topical medication. it isn ' t easy when i have an outbreak, but i now can see that it isn ' t happening because i did something wrong. i know to be gentle with myself and reach out for the support that i need. a personal perspective by kristy : when i found out that i had contracted an sti from my rape i was completely mortified. i heard the words ‘ no cure ’ and thought my life was never going to be the same. it made me feel a little bit sick to think that i had something in ' common ' with a rapist, and i felt dirty and ashamed. i was also very angry – as if being raped hadn ' t been intrusive enough, i now had to deal with permanent consequences that were no fault of my own. one of the most difficult things for me was telling my boyfriend at the time. it was an uncomfortable conversation and i was sure that he would be disgusted with me. it would have been easy to keep my shame to myself, but i was never given the opportunity to decide if i wanted to put my body at risk, and i felt better knowing that i had done the right thing. making a conscious decision to practise safe sex helped me to separate myself from the person who gave me this illness. it ' s very difficult to come to terms with having an sti from rape, and i held all of those feelings inside for a long time. sometimes it still feels like i ' ve been permanently tainted, but there are steps that i was able to take to minimise the effects it has on my day - to - day life. it ' s not something i share with people i meet on the street, but i no longer feel quite as ashamed about it. the people who care about us are going to be understanding and supportive.


look at this painting. it tells a powerful story. where is your attention focused? now look away and see if you can describe the landscape that surrounds the frightened horse and hungry lion. nine out of ten of you will not be able to recall the rock outcropping, evergreen shrub, or dramatic sky that frames this scene of pure terror. like the startled horse focused on the crouching lion, you were probably focused on this pair of animals compressed into the painting ’ s lower right corner, which barely makes up 1 / 5th of the the painting. this is but one example of the human mind ’ s typical bottom - up reaction to attention found in the book, “ rapt – attention and the focused life ” by winifred gallagher. she explores the basic premise : what we think about we bring about. do we approach life from a restrictive, negative viewpoint, or a more worldly and open positive mindset? rapt offers many interesting insights on how green marketers tell their sustainability stories, and how those stories are received by the public. “ when you feel frightened, angry, or sad reality contracts until whatever is upsetting you takes up the whole world – at least the one between your ears. life seems like a vale of tears, the future looks bleak, and the only memories that come to mind are unpleasant. the best explanation for why bad feelings shrink your focus is that in a potentially ominous situation, homing in on and reacting to any trouble quickly is more important than taking your time to get the big picture. ” when you think about it, the bottom - up grip the reptilian, fight - or - flight, brain has on your attention is confounding. it ’ s surprising but true that … - you ’ ll work harder to avoid losing money than you will to gain the same amount. - you ’ re likelier to notice threats than opportunities. - you ’ ll spot an angry face in a crowd of cheery people much faster than a cheery one in an angry crowd. - you ’ ll process and remember negative material better than the positive sort. - you ’ ll spend more time looking at photographs depicting nasty rather than nice behaviors. - you ’ ll react to critical words more slowly and with more cogitation than to flattering ones. - you ’ ll listen longer to complaints about yourself than to compliments. - even when you sleep, most of your dreams are the bad kind. - on your birthday, you ’ re up to 20 percent likelier to have a heart


ones. - you ’ ll listen longer to complaints about yourself than to compliments. - even when you sleep, most of your dreams are the bad kind. - on your birthday, you ’ re up to 20 percent likelier to have a heart attack, perhaps prompted by stress caused by fears of aging or disappointed hopes. rapt explores the phenomena that the main reason why we ’ re wired to pay attention to unhappy and frightful emotions is that they attune us to potential threat or lose, which makes us solve the problem to survive. rapt is also about the positive, top - down approach to attention. the book points out that if fear and sadness warn us of danger and loss, joy, curiosity, and contentment invite us to reach out and explore the world. for green marketers, which do you think is the best approach to creating a sustainable movement? “ horse frightened by lion ” is a famous painting by 18th century artist, george stubbs. according to winifred in her book, rapt, “ stubbs knew that a ‘ high - value ’ idea or emotion is as compelling as a flash of lightening or volley of thunder, and it biases the competition for your attention so thoroughly that everything else fades into the background. ”


one of america ’ s largest labor uprisings, and the biggest armed civil insurrection since the civil war, started ninety years ago — and there ’ s an excellent chance you ’ ve never heard of it. thousands of west virginia miners, thoroughly sick of horrid working conditions and the coal companies ’ efforts to prevent them from organizing, squared off against forces led by sheriff don chafin at a ridge called blair mountain. the ensuing “ battle of blair mountain ” deserved its moniker, for it was a battle in every sense of the word — a five - day armed struggle along a fifteen - mile front, in which dozens died and hundreds were injured, complete with the deployment of air power. ( pilots hired by the sheriff dropped bombs on the miners ’ positions, and the army air force flew surveillance. ) the miners nearly broke through the coal companies ’ enforcers, but finally disbanded and headed to their homes when the presence of the u. s. army tipped the balance against them. some of them faced indictments for murder, conspiracy, and treason afterward. appalachian history has a more detailed post on the affair, which is well worth reading ; the battle of blair mountain is also the subject of a recent book by robert shogan. what i find most striking about the story is the fact that it ’ s largely unknown. i ’ m ashamed to admit that until a few years ago i ’ d never heard of it myself, despite the fact that i ’ m a history aficionado who ’ s lived most of his life in appalachia. how in the world has one of the largest and most important civil uprisings in the nation ’ s history — planes took to the air against american citizens on our own soil, for crying out loud — been such a neglected historical subject? is it because it happened in a region that most americans either ignore entirely or ( if they think about it all ) treat with contempt and disdain? i hope the answer is not so simple as that, but i ’ m not optimistic. these days blair mountain is a battlefield again, but the modern - day battle of blair mountain is over preservation. a few years ago blair mountain was placed on the national register of historic places, but it was subsequently removed. it needs to be reinstated. the site is threatened by surface mining, which would destroy this historic landscape and the archaeological resources it contains. let me pause here to state that i ’ m not opposed to the coal industry ’ s very existence, as some people are. at the same time, though, i don ’


, which would destroy this historic landscape and the archaeological resources it contains. let me pause here to state that i ’ m not opposed to the coal industry ’ s very existence, as some people are. at the same time, though, i don ’ t think it should be immune from criticism. discussion about coal shouldn ’ t be a zero - sum game in which any critique of the industry automatically means that you ’ re against fossil fuels or gainful employment. i stress this because i don ’ t want readers to take my endorsement of efforts to preserve blair mountain as a denunciation of coal or coal miners. my attitude toward the coal industry is mixed ; i ’ m glad that it provides jobs to people of this area, and as an energy source it ’ s indispensable. ( a popular bumper sticker in my neck of the woods reads, don ’ t like coal? don ’ t use electricity. ) at the same time, though, i ’ m also aware that it ’ s a problematic industry that has created and continues to create a great many problems. appalachia ’ s relationship to coal reminds me of what jefferson said about america ’ s relationship to slavery : “ but, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. ” at the end of the day, this is about a specific place that ’ s very special. blair mountain is an important historic site, and should be designated as such and protected. check out the friends of blair mountain website and see what all the fuss is about.


a new study indicates the wetlands that support the kenai river system are drying up - - but at a much slower rate than other developed areas of the state and the lower 48. the study, which was commissioned by the u. s. environmental protection agency and conducted by the u. s. fish and wildlife service, analyzed total wetland acreage in the lower kenai river area between 1950 and 1996. it was done in order to determine what effects development in the kenai, soldotna and sterling areas has had on the wetlands that support the kenai river watershed. fish and wildlife researchers jonathan hall and sheila kratzner looked at aerial photographs and maps from 1950, 1977 and 1996. using advanced measuring equipment, they were able to map and compare the data to determine how much wetland acreage was lost. the results are both an indication that the river is in good shape and a warning that wetland loss in the watershed is real, according to phil north, the epa ' s kenai watershed coordinator. " we have lost a significant portion ( of wetlands ) so far. it ' s not major yet, but we ' re moving in that direction, " he said thursday. the study was confined to an area encompassing 149, 459 acres between skilak lake and the mouth of the kenai. of that area, roughly 32. 1 percent is classified as wetlands or deepwater habitats ( lakes and streams ). this compares to just 5. 5 percent of land in the lower 48. the report concludes that between 1950 and 1996, a total of 707 acres, or 1. 7 percent, of wetlands within the study area was lost. north said that ' s not nearly as high as other areas, like anchorage, but it does represent a threat to the stability of the river system and the community in general. " this is our warning that we ' re not immune from affecting the river, " he said. north added that anchorage has lost more than 50 percent of its wetlands during the past 50 years. " and the salmon are struggling in their streams, " he pointed out. according to the study, most of the wetlands lost have been filled for either residential developments, roads or industrial uses. the study shows how the sources of wetlands loss have changed as the peninsula has developed. between 1950 and 1977, 54. 9 percent of wetlands loss was the result of road construction and industrial development. during that same time, residential wetlands loss accounted for just 18. 9 percent of the total. however, as development trends began to shift from infrastructure


once again, if you are only planning on building a ` ` small ' ' beowulf ( less than or equal to 16 nodes ) you don ' t have to worry too much about power as most homes and businesses have circuits that can provide 1500 - 2000 watts ( 15 - 20 amps at 120 volts ) without blowing a fuse or breaker. obviously you should check ( thinking about other things, like a monitor and room lights, that might also be on the circuit ) but you are likely ok. with any more nodes than this, you are likely to need multiple circuits. you will also very likely need to have the room wired to obtain them, as ( unless it is already a computer equipment room or a ex - machine shop or something ) most rooms don ' t have multiple circuits already installed - they can actually be a bit dangerous in a home where somebody might mistakenly assume that because the lamp went off when they switched off a breaker it means that the next receptacle over is actually dead. anticipating that some of the folks who read this are expectant hobbyists or amateurs when it comes to electrical engineering, it seems like a good idea to learn a bit about electricity at this point. after all, electricity is one of those areas where what you don ' t know can kill you. fairly easily, actually. be scared. let ' s discuss how electricity gets around11. 6. electricity is typically delivered to your home or office as a 60 cycle per second ( hertz or hz ) alternating voltage from a step - down transformer ( from a much higher voltage ) outside the building. in general, it will come in as either two - phase ( home ) or three - phase ( y, office ) with each phase at 120 ( rms ) ac volts above ground. by the time this 120 vac gets to where it is going to be used, it often has dropped to only 110 vac because of the resistance of the distribution wires, hence its generic name of 110 vac. to get a 110 - 120 vac circuit, one connects a line with one of the phases through a fuse or circuit breaker to the black wire of a standard cable. the white wire is connected to a grounded stake or sometimes the plumbing. the bare copper ( ground ) wire is also connected to the grounded stake, but should never be used to deliberately carry current according to most electrical codes. to get a 240 vac circuit, one runs one 120 vac phase on the red wire, and the opposite phase ( of a two phase supply


to the grounded stake, but should never be used to deliberately carry current according to most electrical codes. to get a 240 vac circuit, one runs one 120 vac phase on the red wire, and the opposite phase ( of a two phase supply ) on the black wire of appropriate cabling. both are colored to indicate that either wire will provide 120 vac with respect to white ( current carrying ground ) or copper ( safe ground ) or with respect to your delicate and easily damaged human body in contact with just about anything connected to the ground. so don ' t touch them if there is the faintest chance that they are ` ` hot ' '. don ' t touch the white current carrying wire either - under certain circumstances it can carry enough voltage to kill you. kill you? did i just say that? i did. electricity is very dangerous and will kill you in a heartbeat11. 7. electricity can also start fires very easily, and fires can also kill you dead. the best way to get your beowulf ' s space wired is by a certified professional who knows your local codes and is a lot less likely to come up with something that produces a blast of sparks when the breaker is thrown. if you have three phase ( y or wye, which is fairly commonly provided to businesses or industries but not common in homes ) electricity, you can get a ` ` sort of ' ' 240 volt circuit out of it by running between any two of the three phases. the phase difference is only 120 instead of 180 so one ends up with only 208 vac or so between the wires. this is enough to run most 240 vac devices simply because the manufacturers aren ' t fools and know that y / wye supplies are fairly common. this is also true for a lot of computer equipment that requires 240 vac ( like some racks or uninterruptible power supplies ( ups ) or some big - iron computers ). the thickness of the wires used to distribute the electricity and the length of the run from the primary distribution panel dictate how much current you can safely pull through a circuit. as a general rule ( according to most local codes ), 14 ( for up to 15 amps ) or 12 gauge wire ( for up to 20 amps ) is used in household dwellings to move electricity up to 100 feet. 10 gauge carries up to 30 amps ( for e. g. air conditioners or the like ). 8 gauge up to 40 amps. the smaller the gauge, the thicker the wire


in household dwellings to move electricity up to 100 feet. 10 gauge carries up to 30 amps ( for e. g. air conditioners or the like ). 8 gauge up to 40 amps. the smaller the gauge, the thicker the wire, the more it can carry without getting too hot. to go farther than 100 feet, one typically goes up a size ( or more ) of wire. from this you can see that if you have a ` ` large ' ' beowulf, you will almost certainly need multiple circuits in the room ( typically 20 amps each ) and in many cases these circuits will have different phases. this means that if you are foolish enough to connect a black wire from one circuit to the black wire of another circuit, you could be basically shorting out 208 - 240 vac. amazingly enough, this happens ( sometimes inside racks or computers that have more than one plug that manufacturers somehow assumed would always be plugged into the same circuit ) with predictably spectacular results. this is just one of many reasons to have reliable fuses or circuit breakers in each and every line. once the electricity has made it to the room, there is no real difference between installing a bunch of receptacles in the wall for each circuit or just one or two and plugging power strips ( with appropriately heavy gauge supply wires ) into them, and the latter is likely more scalable and convenient. just don ' t overload the circuits themselves and avoid thin extension cords and the like. electricity ` ` likes ' ' to run over nice, fat wires and really hates it when it ' s squeezed down into a thin, scrawny wire. it responds by making those thin wires hot, which wastes energy, drops the voltage at the appliance, and can be dangerous. you may want to think about uninterruptible power supplies ( ups ) and power conditioning. in my area, the power goes off fairly frequently for tiny little times like ten seconds. this is just enough to cause all of your kitchen clocks and coffee makers to reset, and is plenty long enough to hard - crash your computer ( s ) as well, which is most annoying if you ' ve been running a calculation for a day or two ( or longer! ) and have to start over. almost any kind of ups can keep a computer up through these short outages. more expensive ups can provide a degree of power conditioning and surge protection, which is also useful when you have many nodes and want maximal hardware reliability. some of them


over. almost any kind of ups can keep a computer up through these short outages. more expensive ups can provide a degree of power conditioning and surge protection, which is also useful when you have many nodes and want maximal hardware reliability. some of them also have other clever or desirable features, like the ability to control them and cycle the power remotely via a serial port connection or the like. this can sometimes save one a trip into the cluster in the middle of the night or can allow you to reboot while on your ski vacation in europe, if that sort of thing is worth it to you ( the bells and whistles aren ' t cheap ). so fine, you ' ve got your space, it has room, the floor will hold all your systems ( and you and your desk and your stereo ), you ' ve got electricians running one 20 amp circuit in for each 16 nodes ( or thereabouts ). there ' s just one last major problem to worry about. you ' re delivering a lot of power to the room to run all those machines. when they ' re done with all that energy, they give it up as heat. every watt that goes in to your computer room has to come out in a steady state. believe me here, i ' m a physicist. think of your 16 node beowulf as a 1600 watt space heater or 16 100 watt light bulbs, and you won ' t go far wrong. 1600 watts is the rate at which energy is being delivered into the room11. 8. if you don ' t remove all that energy at the same rate, it will build up. as it builds up, the room will get hotter and hotter until the temperature difference between the inside of the room and the outside of the room is big enough to drive all the heat out through the walls. this may or may not happen before all your computers melt or catch on fire and turn into an expensive little puddle of metal and epoxy. or just break, which is actually more likely but not as impressive. the former can happen, though - as you may discover the hard way if you are foolish enough to put 128 nodes ( or approximately 13, 000 watts ) into a small, closed room with no kind of thermal kill switch and the air conditioning fails. once again, most rooms in most houses or office buildings can probably handle as many as eight nodes with their existing air conditioning arrangements. in my house, for example, my office gets a bit warm during the summer with five nodes ( two with monitors )


once again, most rooms in most houses or office buildings can probably handle as many as eight nodes with their existing air conditioning arrangements. in my house, for example, my office gets a bit warm during the summer with five nodes ( two with monitors ) for around 700 watts, plus a couple of lights ( 150 watts more ) plus a couple of warm bodies ( 200 watts more ). 1000 watts in a 10 foot square room with a door and the house air conditioning set in the low seventies keeps the office temperature in the high seventies, but i can live with that and so can my nodes. sixteen nodes, of course, would be intolerable unless i added a window air conditioning unit ( or unless i spread them out throughout the house ). once again, you ' ll have to work this out for however many nodes you plan to have, but if you have more than a very few nodes you must work it out. a useful true fact is that air conditioning is usually bought in ` ` tons ' ', but any sane measurement of power being delivered to a room will be in watts ( or maybe kilowatts ). so, marylou, what ' s ton? a ton of air conditioning removes enough heat to melt a ton of ice at the melting point ( 0 c ) in 24 hours. to calculate the power this represents is a pain in the butt, however straightforward11. 9 and the result is that one tone of air conditioning can remove almost exactly 3500 watts continuously from a room. so, in an ideal universe we could run perhaps 32 nodes per ton of available air conditioning ( to stay a bit on the safe side ). a 128 node beowulf might need four tons of air conditioning ( depending on the actual power required by the nodes, which may well vary ). however, reality might well be less than ideal - if your machine room is considerably cooler than its ambient surroundings, or has a large sunny window, or has a lot of electric lights, you may not be far enough on the safe side. heat can flow in to the room from any of these sources and 1 square meter of sunny window can let a lot of heat into a room on a hot and sunny day. i ' m tempted to expound on the additional power needed by all that air conditioning, but that depends on the efficiency of your air conditioning unit and the temperature of the outside air and all that. a reasonable estimate is that you ' ll have to buy a watt of air conditioning power for every three to five watts of power consumed