they were educators frustrated by the lack of flexible, easily accessible tools for teaching robotics. so they created the multiplo robot building kit, an open source robot building system meant to help people “ learn by doing. ” and, based on the success of their kickstarter campaign, it looks as though the hackers are ready. they reached their original goal of $ 15, 000 in just two days and, by the campaign ’ s end, raised over $ 132, 000. the kit comes with everything you need to build your own robot. they say it takes only about 45 minutes to assemble a robot. no specialized knowledge or soldering required, as the pieces – servos, plates, arms, sensors, control unit – are made to fit easily together. the controller is called duinobot and is compatible with the arduino microcomputer that handles motor outputs and connects to sensors. and people with the knowhow can use arduino ide to give their robots more advanced functions. the robots are controlled with a tv remote. it also comes with simple graphics - based software – also the product of a successful kickstarter campaign – that beginners can use to program commands. a major priority in creating multiplo was its simple, open source hardware. to “ learn by doing, ” builders are encouraged to reproduce the parts and eventually start coming up with their own designs. the kickstarter campaign has ended and contributors start receiving their kits february 2013. initially the team that includes a teacher, two engineers and a robotics specialist wanted to prototype robots. they soon realized that the tools they were using could and should be shared with others. as mentioned in the video, “ there are some other options out there. big corporations with copyright protection ensures that learning robotics is only for the elite. ” so yes, they ’ ve obviously been frustrated diyers in search of simple, affordable, open source robotics. lucky for us, they decided to make it themselves.


today one of my colleagues sent a link to “ how one teacher uses twitter in the classroom, ” the story of university of texas at dallas history professor, monica rankin ’ s use of twitter. the included youtube video has a number of interviews with students describing why this is a such a useful tool. this is a great way to address the multiple modes of interacting with text and a quick way to compare texts. now, we just need something that figures out if those are synonyms that have been used so frequently! guess we ’ ll need teachers for a few months more! i ’ ve been asked to meet with a colleague to discuss what a smart classroom should look like in a school of education today. the jumping off question was “ what kind of smartboard should we get? ” that got me thinking about the way to think about the whole design. the first thing i ’ d want to think about is how to structure the classroom so that the teacher isn ’ t always the center of the classroom. but i know most higher ed classrooms and most k - 12 classrooms still look like the teacher talking and the students listening so how can we rework that model. recommendation 1 : install 2 projectors and 2 good projection spaces that will give us a place for presentations, display of data, and all the things we ’ d do in a one projector classroom. projector 2 gives us a chance for some joint exploration of the ideas of the class. two of the primary ways to accomplish this are using a google jockey and setting up live blogging. right now my favorite tool for accomplishing this is coveritlive. the client gives lots of options for setting up a live blog and managing the session, which can subsequently be posted on the web in the class blog or wiki. that leads to my next recommendation. recommendation 2 : share the knowledge collection tasks with students recommendation 3 : use web 2. 0 tools for collaborating and sharing the class information too often higher ed faculty want to protect their lectures and notes from others who might copy them. but this is exactly counter to the way we expect students to collaborate and develop 21st century skills. by default all of our work is copyrighted. an easy way to demonstrate that collaboration is important and valued is to simply add a creative commons license to everything that is posted. recommendation 4 : use k - 12 standard technologies to prepare future teachers back to purchases … there are a few tools that teachers will encounter as they move into the professional work place. smart boards. i know there are lots of competing interactive white


is posted. recommendation 4 : use k - 12 standard technologies to prepare future teachers back to purchases … there are a few tools that teachers will encounter as they move into the professional work place. smart boards. i know there are lots of competing interactive whiteboard products, but smart boards have become the kleenex of this space. the rich community of educators and the depth of lesson suport from the company puts this one out achead of the others. inspiration and kidspiration. again, there are lots of competing products both free and commercial, but these two have emerged as leaders because of both the community and the company. probes and probeware. laptops. i ’ d rather see every student bring their own, but it may be necessary to offer at least a few in the classroom. recommendation 5 : an annual budget the day this classroom opens, it will no longer be state of the art. a year later it will be laughably embarrassing to call it cutting edge. if we have a commitment to leading with technology then it is essential to look at this as an ongoing investment in the quality of education and that takes a commitment every year. been having a good time this week really being a geek again! my project has been to make my own wii whiteboard as developed originally by johnny lee of carnegie mellon and featured at the 2008 ted conference. this let ’ s you use your $ 40 wiimote, a homemade < $ 10 ir lightpen, and any surface in place of a commercial $ 1000 + whiteboard system. you bring the computer and the projector and here ’ s the rest of the story. the basic idea here is to use the wiimote ’ s infrared camera to point at an infrared light source and relay that information back to the computer via bluetooth. as with so many other projects, the wiimote projects have had most of their development on the windows side and there are many variants of the software around the web. although there are fewer choices, the ones i found did the job just fine. so, what ’ s needed. first, you need to connect your wiimote to your computer via bluetooth. on the mac, that deed is done quite simply through the system preferences. fire up the blootooth control panel and add the wiimote by pressing both the 1 and 2 buttons simultaneously when it ’ s time to have the device discovered. second, let ’ s just try to use the wiimote as a remote mouse. for this task, the best software i found


wiimote by pressing both the 1 and 2 buttons simultaneously when it ’ s time to have the device discovered. second, let ’ s just try to use the wiimote as a remote mouse. for this task, the best software i found was darwiin remote. again, a few little tricks. although the directions tell you to press the software ’ s “ find remote ” button and then the wiimote ’ s 1 and 2 buttons simultaneously, i found it worked more reliably if you do it the other way around. so, press 1 and 2 and your 4 leds will be flashing. press the “ find remote ” button and you get confirmation that the wiimote is all hooked up. one more thing to take care of here. you ’ ll need to open the darwiin remote buttons and define the left click and right click. i used the a and b buttons since that felt most natural. you could stop right here and have a remote mouse and amaze your friends! but let ’ s get to the really interesting stuff! third, you ’ ll need an infrared lightpen to turn the whole setup into an interactive whiteboard. the complete directions can be found on johnny lee ’ s site but there are variations all over the place. the best directions i found were on youtube. this will give you a good grounding in the electronics, even if you are as much of a novice as me! this other youtube video gives a simpler version, but you need to find the right pen. i found it useful for the closeup of the diode. fourth, you need the software to turn that funky ir pen into a true interactive whiteboard tool. that ’ s the wiimote whiteboard software. in this case, the mac version. the simplest way to get this running is to press the 1 and 2 buttons on your wiimote and then launch the software. you ’ ll now be able to calibrate the pen and from there it can be used as a your whiteboard mouse complete with left and right mouse buttons. the biggest hurdles from here are tuning your setup of the projector, screen and wiimote considering all our options. for many years i have been a great fan of webquests. they were really the hot ticket in the wild west days of the web back in the ’ 90 ′ s. however, i think the time has come to move on and here ’ s my reasoning. second, the benefits of webquests in the late ’ 90 ′


hot ticket in the wild west days of the web back in the ’ 90 ′ s. however, i think the time has come to move on and here ’ s my reasoning. second, the benefits of webquests in the late ’ 90 ′ s have largely been overcome in the wake of web improvements. webquests were a great way for teachers to organize resources, but we now have del. icio. us accounts which are far richer and offer tag clouds that encourage broader thinking. we also have wikipedia which predigests a lot of this for us and sends us off to great resources. webquests were a way for teachers and students to become more familiar with the web … ’ nuff said. webquests provide a framework for scaffolding higher - order thinking … uh oh. so now that we are in 2007, webquests no longer really do scaffold higher - order thinking. in most cases, the task is laid out for students right from the start so they are robbed of the higher - order thinking required to solve some problem set out for them and which the resources presented might support them in that thinking. to be fair, i looked at the webquest page and found these exemplars, which still have these problems. tom march, one of the co - creators, tried to move the concept forward with his bestwebquests. com and provides the 7 red flags : warning signs when sifting webquests. the rich resources and search tools available on the web now offer great opportunities for students collect, evaluate, and share resources. we ’ d be much better off helping students find resources that solve problems if the goal is to scaffold higher - order thinking. if any more convincing is needed, just take a look at instant webquests which encourages you to " create a webquest in 15 minutes. " so much for thoughtful curriculum development. but, i do believe ( and taught for many years ) that webquests were a great model for teaching with technology. i still believe that was true only now i think we ’ ve moved on by learning from these. thanks, bernie dodge and tom march! ( btw, both are still doing great work and a look at dodge ’ s blog gives a hint that he might be sharing my point of view … one trick pony! )


welcome to wednesday wanderings! last week, we ventured to arlington cour in devon, england and queen emma ’ s summer palace outside honolulu, hawaii. commenter sarah has won the tote bag with hawaiian treats! today the netherlands celebrates bevrijdingsdag, “ liberation day ”, commemorating when the allied troops freed the lowlands from nazi occupation. from 2002 - 2005, i lived in sittard, a hilly region that slips down between belgium and germany. the nederlanders continue to show their gratitude to the allied forces with liberation day celebrations. my research indicated that the liberating troops were mostly canadians. canadian historical romance author ann lethbridge, http : / / www. annlethbridge. com /, sent me a link to the canadian tulip festival. from its website, http : / / www. tulipfestival. ca /, “ the festival, now in its 58th year, preserves the local heritage of canada ’ s role in freeing the dutch people during world war ii and the gift in perpetuity of the tulip to the city of ottawa for providing a safe harbour for the dutch royal family at that time. the tulips have become an important symbol of international friendship and the beauty of spring. they also have special meaning to people of canada ' s capital region. during the war, the dutch royal family was hosted at government house in ottawa. princess margriet was born at the ottawa civic hospital ; her hospital room declared " dutch soil " and the flag of the netherlands flew on parliament ' s peace tower. ” in honor of liberation day, let ’ s visit some historic places in limburg : - kasteel hoensbroek ( castle hoesnbroek ) is a moated castle with a round tower, square tower, fortified manor, and renaissance interior, demonstrating how the castle adapted over 700 years of history. it became the largest stronghold between the meuse and rhine rivers to protect the trade routes. for more information about kasteel hoensbroek, log onto : http : / / www. castles. nl / ( which features many european castles ) ( belgium barb travels to many fabulous places in the benelux on her blog ) - nearby is the roman city of maastricht. it developed into an important medieval city, serving both flemish speaking and french speaking traders. in 1993, members of the european union signed the maastricht treaty, creating the euro monetary system. as an ancient city, it holds


##astricht. it developed into an important medieval city, serving both flemish speaking and french speaking traders. in 1993, members of the european union signed the maastricht treaty, creating the euro monetary system. as an ancient city, it holds many secrets, including the caves of st. pieter. from the website, http : / / www. maastrichtunderground. nl / en / index2. html ” over the centuries, the mining of marl in the caves of st. pieter has resulted in the formation of a labyrinth with over 20, 000 tunnels. the so - called block breakers as well as various artists have left their marks behind in the form of various texts on the walls, some of which are very old. the caves were not only a source of marl ; they also served as a place of refuge for residents of the city during the many sieges which maastricht has endured over the centuries as well as during world war ii. some of the facilities that were put in place for those who sought shelter here are still visible. “ i ’ ve toured the caves to see the unique carvings. i also attended a christmas eve service in honor of the american soldiers who also celebrated christmas in the caves before the battle of the bulge. hmm, i ’ m now hungry for a stroopwafel ( syrup waffle ) before we return to hawaii. we don ’ t have any castles in hawaii, but we do have the us ’ s only royal palace, ‘ iolani palace. from its website, http : / / www. iolanipalace. org /, ‘ iolani palace, the official residence of hawaii ’ s monarchy, is a marvel of opulence, innovation, and political intrigue. meticulously restored to its former grandeur, this national historic landmark in downtown honolulu tells of a time when their majesties, king kalakaua, who built it in 1882, and his sister and successor, queen lili ‘ uokalani, walked its celebrated halls. i invite you to leave a comment about liberation day, the netherlands, or hawaii. one randomly selected commenter will a special treat from ‘ iolani palace. dank u vel!


“ green ” is a terribly overused and poorly defined term. yet, consumers seem to know that “ green is good ” and some scrutinize where food and fiber comes from and how it is produced. arizona has made great advances in cotton insect pest management. bt cotton is the ultimate green technology which has permitted growers to forego most, if not all, lepidopteran chemical controls and more recently to functionally eradicate pink bollworm. along with bt, whitefly specific insect growth regulators ( courier and knack ) ushered in a new era of “ selective ” pest control beginning in 1996. selective means the target is controlled while most or all other non - target organisms are unaffected, including predators, parasitoids, and pollinators. in 2006, arizona gained access to carbine, a fully selective, lygus - specific feeding inhibitor. one way to stay “ green ” in cotton is to choose selective chemical controls when insecticides are needed for insect control. our guidelines emphasize efficacy and selectivity in chemical controls and are based on over a decade of field research in the arizona cotton system. selectivity can only be assured by this type of direct testing in the field where target and non - target organisms live. poor choices of chemical controls can have negative impacts on a whole range of species that are otherwise important in contributing to the control of primary and secondary insect pests. with lepidopteran pests diminished in importance in our system, whiteflies and lygus bugs remain as the key or primary pests. good management for these pests, including the use of selective controls when indicated by careful sampling and use of thresholds, helps protect against outbreaks of many other secondary pests, saves money, and saves the environment. or, if you prefer … it helps us keep our cotton system “ green. ” to view the related tables with this article, click on this link : http : / / ag. arizona. edu / crops / cotton / files / selectivechemicalcontrolsvf. pdf


ngo dinh diem coup and assassination the regime ' s relations with the u. s. worsened during 1963, and a turning point came in may when a buddhist monk, thich quang đuc, set himself on fire in the middle of a busy saigon intersection in protest at diem ' s policies, photos of which were transmitted around the world and for many people came to represent the failure of diem ' s government. a further number of monks publicly self - immolated themselves, and the u. s. grew increasingly frustrated with the unpopular leader ' s public image in both vietnam and the united states. diem and madame nhu claimed that the communists had infiltrated the buddhist groups, and that the crackdown was in accordance with the agreed - upon anti - communist policy. madame nhu infamously commented that she would " clap hands at seeing another monk barbecue show. " nhu often blamed the cia for infiltrating the buddisht groups and causing turmoil. on orders from u. s. president john f. kennedy, henry cabot lodge, the american ambassador to south vietnam, refused to meet with diem. upon hearing that a coup d ' etat was being designed by arvn generals led by general duong van minh, the united states gave secret assurances to the generals that the u. s. would not interfere. duong van minh and his fellow plotters overthrew the government and executed president diem and his younger brother, ngo đinh nhu, on november 2, 1963. the united states publicly expressed shock and disappointment that diem had been killed. coincidentally, u. s. president john f. kennedy was assassinated just twenty days later. some vietnamese believed it was diem ' s ghost that went for revenge since president kennedy approved the coup. when madame nhu, visiting the united states at the time, learned of the coup d ' etat, she immediately identified the united states as the perpetrator. she later said, " whoever has the americans as allies does not need enemies. " madame nhu went on to predict a dark future for vietnam and that, by being involved in the coup, the troubles of the united states in vietnam were only beginning. bush delays speech on iraq until january by jim rutenberg published : december 12, 2006 washington, dec. 12 — president bush will wait until after the holidays to speak to the nation about a new strategy in iraq, a strategy he said today will be designed to establish a free and self - sufficient country that will


: december 12, 2006 washington, dec. 12 — president bush will wait until after the holidays to speak to the nation about a new strategy in iraq, a strategy he said today will be designed to establish a free and self - sufficient country that will be an ally in the battle against extremists. “ our objective is to help the iraqi government deal with the extremists and killers, and support the vast majority of iraqis who are reasonable people who want peace, ” mr. bush said after an oval office meeting with the iraqi vice president, tariq al - hashemi, the leader of the most powerful sunni arab party in iraq. mr. hashemi, sitting next to mr. bush in the oval office, said he and mr. bush agreed on the overall goal. “ we have no other option in iraq but to achieve that success, ” mr. hashemi said. “ and with the cooperation of with our friends, mr. president and the american administration, we will join forces to achieve that success in the pursuit of peace. ” the iraqi leader acknowledged that his country is enduring great suffering but said, “ there is a light in the corridor. ” neither mr. bush nor mr. hashemi offered a hint on what the new strategy might be, or how deeply they had discussed it. neither man used the word “ victory ” in describing their aspirations, although mr. hashemi said he was confident of washington ’ s commitment to “ the unforgettable, the long - awaited success. ” mr. bush had been expected to speak to the american people about iraq before christmas. but a spokesman for the national security council said today that the talk will now take place after the new year. we can now call him president rashkalnikov now, a reckless, degenerate gambler. when we are clearly losing, not only does he want to send 40, 000 more troops to attack both the sadrists and in anbar province, but he wants to place people who would have no problem breaking up iraq in charge. does bush work for iran? i think the iranians have had their fill of hakim. going to meet bush for permission to overthrow maliki would have been the last straw for me. it ' s all about the best deal going for him. sadr has at least 60, 000 men under arms, and i would bet could raise far more than that if he needed to, including several army units. so what is the plan, go into sadr city and replay stalingrad


for him. sadr has at least 60, 000 men under arms, and i would bet could raise far more than that if he needed to, including several army units. so what is the plan, go into sadr city and replay stalingrad? then fight off the sunnis in ramadi, who, will for no other reason than cussedness, attack our supply lines. so you will have the us trying to hunt down people in their homes, alleys they know like their hands, streets which have been presighted for years. and to add to this madness, they ' re gonna be looking for moqtada sadr. in his home, in the neighborhood named for his family. how much you wanna bet they fail? now, let ' s see, the average us brigade has about 5000 men, maybe one third combat effective so let ' s say we get a full division of americans, and maybe a brigade of kurdish peshmerga that ' s 20k, you may have 7. 000 actual grunts. and you can ' t clean out the base camps because sending pog ' s into sadr city should be called murder. so, in a confined space, with every move tracked by personally loyal servants to sadr, the us will start moving in sadr city. and start dying. because even a 15 year old can hide and kill from a building. and sadr ' s men will outnumber us on the ground, two or three to one, to start with. after a couple of weeks, when you have 100 dead americans, the iraqi army riddled with defections and desertions, the mahdi army will watch the us pull away, with the iraqi government booking flights for london. because sadr will have won a tremendous victory against the failed iraqi government and the us military. his enemies will be dead, discredited or in exile. even if they get the man, the movement wins. and i think he ' s got his hidie holes set. oh, and the resistance will become the official voice of the sunnis, and both will have every reason to make sure kurdistan fails, since it is a threat to them. so for sadr and the guerrillas, it ' s a win - win situation. for bush, it may force him from office. yes, the stakes are that high. maybe you ' re thinking : but what if this works. sadr has at least 58, 000 trigger pullers to start with. they don ' t have


for bush, it may force him from office. yes, the stakes are that high. maybe you ' re thinking : but what if this works. sadr has at least 58, 000 trigger pullers to start with. they don ' t have a long logistical tail in the mahdi army. now, even if every swinging dick in a us division fights, that ' s 15, 000 men. you can see where the numbers are going. now the military thinks sadr can be broken, that they can get partners they can deal with. in 1965, lyndon johnson offered the north vietnamese government a dam on the red river, if they would withdraw from vietnam. uncle ho ignored the order and sent more men down the trail. same kind of thinking in play. countries don ' t like leaders who cooperate with occupiers. they tend to kill or exile them. all this talk of shoving sadr aside, which has been around the green zone for months, is pure idiocy. people always think they can replace an authentic leader with one of their liking. iraqis already don ' t trust hakim, because of that little torture thing in the iranian pow camps, considering the vast majority were shia. and now he ' s conspiring with bush? who outside of his movement, and remember sadr city starts with 2m + people, would trust him? we shall see if they try this. posted by steve @ 1 : 54 : 00 am


research suggests people who make vegetable juice part of a daily diet may be more likely to get recommended daily servings chicago, october 24, 2008 - making vegetable juice a daily habit could be a small step that can lead to big changes in meeting daily vegetable recommendations, according to a new study being presented by researchers from the university of california - davis this week at the american dietetic association annual conference1. with seven out of 10 adults falling short of the daily recommended vegetable intake as put forth by the u. s. dietary guidelines, researchers studied whether drinking vegetable juice could be a simple behavior change to help boost the intake of this critical food group2. and it was. the study looked at three groups of healthy men and women. all three groups received dietary counseling on ways to get more vegetables, but only two of the groups were instructed to consume at least one serving of vegetable juice, in the form of v8® 100 % vegetable juice each day. of those two groups, one drank one 8 - ounce glass of vegetable juice every day and the other drank two 8 - ounce glasses of vegetable juice every day as part of a balanced eating plan. the study found that those who received dietary counseling and consumed vegetable juice were far more likely to meet the daily vegetable recommendations, about two and a half cups ( five servings ), than those who received counseling alone. specifically, more than half of the participants who drank one serving of v8 100 % vegetable juice met the recommendations, as did all of those who drank two 8 - ounce glasses of v8 100 % vegetable juice each day. of those who did not drink any vegetable juice, less than a quarter got enough vegetables. researchers concluded that changing dietary behavior is much more effective when dietary advice is complemented with tangible, real, easy and convenient solutions. " what we found in this study is that drinking vegetable juice seemed to address some of the key barriers to vegetable consumption such as convenience, portability and taste, so individuals were more likely to meet their daily recommendations, " said carl keen, phd, study author and distinguished professor of nutrition & internal medicine at university of california, davis. " furthermore, vegetable juice drinkers reported that they actually enjoyed drinking their vegetables, which is critical to adopting dietary practices for the long - term. " in fact, after six weeks of the study, vegetable drinkers reported they felt " more satisfied " with the ease of getting vegetables into their diet, and that v8 100 % vegetable juice provided an important additional source of vitamins and minerals. a growing body of science indicates vegetables are


of the study, vegetable drinkers reported they felt " more satisfied " with the ease of getting vegetables into their diet, and that v8 100 % vegetable juice provided an important additional source of vitamins and minerals. a growing body of science indicates vegetables are important to promoting good health, including helping to reduce risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and achieving a healthy weight. according to produce for better health, all forms count. " the best type of vegetable is one that you will actually consume, so it ' s important to provide people with a variety of great tasting options and ways to include them in their diet, " said elizabeth pivonka, phd, rd, produce for better health foundation. " that ' s why we encourage people to explore all types of vegetables, such as 100 % juice, fresh, frozen or canned, to get at least one serving of vegetables at each meal occasion throughout the day. " v8 : delivering authentic vegetable nutrition for more than 75 years, the v8 brand has been committed to providing simple, innovative solutions to help consumers increase their daily vegetable intake. today the portfolio of great - tasting, convenient products includes v8 100 % vegetable juice and v8 v - fusion® 100 % juice, a blend of vegetables and fruit juices with a sweeter taste, which provides a full serving of vegetables and a full serving of fruit in every 8 - ounce glass. this year the brand also introduced new campbell ' s® v8® soups, which provide a full serving of vegetables in every bowl. for more information, visit www. v8juice. com. about campbell soup company campbell soup company is a global manufacturer and marketer of high - quality foods and simple meals, including soup, baked snacks, and healthy beverages. founded in 1869, the company has a portfolio of market - leading brands, including campbell ' s, pepperidge farm, arnott ' s, and v8. for more information on the company, visit campbell ' s website at www. campbellsoup. com juli mandel sloves campbell soup company


architects have been talking for years about “ biophilic ” design, “ evidence based ” design, design informed by the work of psychologists. but last may, at the profession ’ s annual convention, john zeisel and fellow panelists were trying to explain neuroscience to a packed ballroom. the late - afternoon session pushed well past the end of the day ; questions just kept coming. it was a scene, zeisel marveled — all this interest in neuroscience — that would not have taken place just a few years earlier. zeisel is a sociologist and architect who has researched the design of facilities for alzheimer ’ s patients. architects, he explains, “ understand about aesthetics ; they know about psychology. the next depth to which they can go is understanding the brain and how it works and why do people feel more comfortable in one space than another? ” this is an admittedly abstract concept. to help explain, architects often tell this story : early in his career, when he was still struggling to find a cure for polio, jonas salk retreated to umbria, italy, to the monastery at the basilica of assisi. the 13th - century franciscan monastery rises out of the hillside in geometric white stone, with romanesque arches framing its quiet courtyards. salk would insist, for the rest of his life, that something about this place — the design and the environment in which he found himself — helped to clear his obstructed mind, inspiring the solution that led to his famous polio vaccine.


the basic shape of east dean church is unaltered from the time of its construction between the middle of the 12th century to the first part of the 13th. the cross shape with the tower at the middle is still there, with the impressive south door with its columns and multiple arches. a north aisle was added in the 14th century and later removed, leaving only the traces of an arch visible in the outside wall. a wooden spire came and went. the tower arches were beefed up with segmental curves at some point, and it is said the tops of the original medieval pointed arches are still visible above the plaster ceiling in the crossing. the basic plan even survived the victorians, who in 1870 brought in not one but two architects. the rector, who was responsible for the chancel, employed the nationally - known ewan christian, but the parishioners, who had to pay for the rest, got john marshall, a local builder who was presumably much cheaper. fortunately, although much of the stonework was replaced or sharpened up, they did not interfere too much. a pair of lovely 18th century gravestones in the churchyard nicely illustrate two contrasting approaches to memorialising death. one is covered with symbols of mortality – a skull, a funerary urn and what looks like a bell. the other has symbols of the afterlife – the rays of god ' s glory, two cherubs and bunches of grapes. it would be lovely to know if the first was erected to the gloomy old pessimist of the village, and the other to the local sunny optimist.


what is a delegate? delegates play an important role in utah ’ s political system. here are some commonly asked questions about delegates. what is a delegate? what does a delegate do? a delegate is someone from your precinct ( neighborhood ) whom you elect to represent your precinct at your party ’ s convention. delegates are important because they elect candidates for your political party ’ s primary ( and in some cases general ) election. what is a precinct caucus? a precinct caucus is a neighborhood meeting where you and your neighbors of the same party affiliation get together and elect delegates and precinct officers. these meetings happen once every two years on even - numbered years. this year, precinct caucuses will be held on tuesday, march 13, at 7 p. m. for democrats and thursday, march 15, at 7 p. m. for republicans. why become a delegate? in utah, delegates have a lot of sway politically. as a delegate you are one of 4, 000 or fewer people ( in some races as few as 80 ) who decide who will be your party ’ s nominee in this year ’ s elections. if a candidate gets 60 percent or more of the delegate vote at convention, he or she is the party ’ s nominee in the general election. if no one receives 60 percent of the vote, the two candidates with the highest number of votes go on to a primary election. who can be a delegate? in order to be a delegate you must - be a u. s. citizen - be 18 years old or older by the date of the general election ( nov. 6 for this year ) - live in the precinct you represent if you are running for a republican delegate position, you must be a registered republican. if you have not already registered as a party member, you can do so at the precinct caucus. what ’ s the difference between a state and a county delegate? there are two kinds of delegates : county delegates and state delegates. county delegates select nominees for county offices and also for legislative offices in districts that are entirely contained within that county. they also attend to county party business. state delegates select nominees for federal and statewide offices and for legislative seats whose districts are in multiple counties. they also attend to state party business. if i ’ m elected a delegate, what will i have to do? delegates serve two - year terms. each year you are asked to attend one convention ( your party ’ s county convention if you are a county delegate, or your party ’ s state convention if you are a state delegate ). in the first


digital audio networking demystified the osi model helps bring order to the chaos of various digital audio network options. credit : randall fung / corbis networking has been a source of frustration and confusion for pro av professionals for decades. fortunately, the international organization of standardization, more commonly referred to as iso, created a framework in the early 1980s called the open systems interconnection ( osi ) reference model, a seven - layer framework that defines network functions, to help simplify matters. providing a common understanding of how to communicate to each layer, the osi model ( fig. 1 ) is basically the foundation of what makes data networking work. although it ' s not important for av professionals to know the intricate details of each layer, it is vital to at least have a grasp of the purpose of each layer as well as general knowledge of the common protocols in each one. let ' s take a look at the some key points. the seven layers starting from the bottom up, the seven layers of the osi reference model are physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, and application. the physical layer is just that — the hardware ' s physical connection that describes its electrical characteristics. the data link layer is the logic connection, defining the type of network. for example, the data link layer defines whether or not it is an ethernet or asynchronous transfer mode ( atm ) network. there is also more than one data network transport protocol. the data link layer is divided into two sub - layers : the media access control ( mac ) and the logical link control ( above the mac as you move up the osi reference model ). the seven layers of the open systems interconnection ( osi ) reference model for network functions. here is one concrete example of how the osi model helps us understand networking technologies. some people assume that any device with a cat - 5 cable connected to it is an ethernet device. but it is ethernet ' s physical layer that defines an electrical specification and physical connection — cat - 5 terminated with an rj - 45 connector just happens to be one of them. for a technology to fully qualify as an ethernet standard, it requires full implementation of both the physical and data link layers. the network layer — the layer at which network routers operate — “ packetizes ” the data and provides routing information. the common protocol for this layer is the internet protocol ( ip ). layer four is the transport layer. keep in mind that this layer has a different meaning in


at which network routers operate — “ packetizes ” the data and provides routing information. the common protocol for this layer is the internet protocol ( ip ). layer four is the transport layer. keep in mind that this layer has a different meaning in the osi reference model compared to how we use the term “ transport ” for moving audio around. the transport layer provides protocols to determine the delivery method. the most popular layer four protocol is transmission control protocol ( tcp ). many discuss tcp / ip as one protocol, but actually they are two separate protocols on two different layers. tcp / ip is usually used as the data transport for file transfers or audio control applications. comparison of four digital audio technologies using the osi model as a framework. tcp provides a scheme where it sends an acknowledge message for each packet received by a sending device. if it senses that it is missing a packet of information, it will send a message back to the sender to resend. this feature is great for applications that are not time - dependent, but is not useful in real - time applications like audio and video. streaming media technologies most common on the web use another method called user datagram protocol ( udp ), which simply streams the packets. the sender never knows if it actually arrives or not. professional audio applications have not used udp because they are typically physical layer or data link layer technologies — not transport layer. however, a newcomer to professional audio networking, australia - based audinate, has recently become the first professional audio networking technology to use udp / ip technology over ethernet with its product called dante. the session and presentation layers are not commonly used in professional audio networks ; therefore, they will not be covered in this article. because these layers can be important to some integration projects, you may want to research the osi model further to complete your understanding of this useful tool. the purpose of the application layer is to provide the interface tools that make networking useful. it is not used to move audio around the network. it controls, manages, and monitors audio devices on a network. popular protocols are file transfer protocol ( ftp ), telnet, hypertext transfer protocol ( http ), domain name system ( dns ), and virtual private network ( vpn ), to name just a few. now that you have a basic familiarity with the seven layers that make up the osi model, let ' s dig a little deeper into the inner workings of a digital audio network. breaking down audio networks audio networking can be


to name just a few. now that you have a basic familiarity with the seven layers that make up the osi model, let ' s dig a little deeper into the inner workings of a digital audio network. breaking down audio networks audio networking can be broken into in two main concepts : control and transport. configuring, monitoring, and actual device control all fall into the control category and use several standard communication protocols. intuitively, getting digital audio from here to there is the role of transport. control applications can be found in standard protocols of the application layer. application layer protocols that are found in audio are telnet, http, and simple network management protocol ( snmp ). telnet is short for teletype network and was one of the first internet protocols. telnet provides command - line style communication to a machine. one example of telnet usage in audio is the peavey mediamatrix, which uses this technology, known as ratc, as a way to control mediamatrix devices remotely. snmp is a protocol for monitoring devices on a network. there are several professional audio and video manufacturers that support this protocol, which provides a method for managing the status or health of devices on a network. snmp is a key technology in network operation center ( noc ) monitoring. it is an application layer protocol that communicates to devices on the network through udp / ip protocols, which can be communicated over a variety of data transport technologies. control systems can be manufacturer - specific, such as harman pro ' s hiqnet, qsc audio ' s qscontrol, or third party such as crestron ' s cresnet, where the control software communicates to audio devices through tcp / ip. in many cases, tcp / ip - based control can run on the same network as the audio signal transport, and some technologies ( such as cobranet and dante ) are designed to allow data traffic to coexist with audio traffic. the organizing and managing of audio bits is the job of the audio transport. this is usually done by the audio protocol. aviom, cobranet, and ethersound are protocols that organize bits for transport on the network. the transport can be divided into two categories : logical and physical. purely physical layer technologies, such as aviom, use hardware to organize and move digital bits. more often than not, a proprietary chip is used to organize and manage them. ethernet - based technologies packetize the audio and send it to the data link and


physical layer technologies, such as aviom, use hardware to organize and move digital bits. more often than not, a proprietary chip is used to organize and manage them. ethernet - based technologies packetize the audio and send it to the data link and physical layers to be transported on ethernet devices. ethernet is both a logical and physical technology that packetizes or “ frames ” the audio in the data link layer and sends it to the physical layer to be moved to another device on the network. ethernet ' s physical layer also has a physical layer chip, referred to as the phy chip, which can be purchased from several manufacturers. comparing digital audio systems the more familiar you are with the osi model, the easier it will be to understand the similarities and differences of the various digital audio systems. for many people, there is a tendency to gloss over the osi model and just talk about networking - branded protocols. however, understanding the osi model will bring clarity to your understanding of digital audio networking ( fig. 2 ). due to the integration of pro av systems, true networking schemes are vitally important. a distinction must be made between audio networking and digital audio transports. audio networks are defined as those meeting the commonly used standard protocols, where at least the physical and data link layer technologies and standard network appliances ( such as hubs and switches ) can be used. there are several technologies that meet this requirement using ieee 1394 ( firewire ), ethernet, and atm technologies, to name a few. however, because ethernet is widely deployed in applications ranging from large enterprises to the home, this will be the technology of focus. all other technologies that do not meet this definition will be considered digital audio transport systems, and not a digital audio network. there are at least 15 schemes for digital audio transport systems and audio networking. three of the four technologies presented here have been selected because of their wide acceptance in the industry based on the number of manufacturers that support it. let ' s compare four cat - 5 / ethernet technologies : aviom, ethersound, cobranet, and dante. this is not to be considered a “ shoot - out ” between technologies but rather a discussion to gain understanding of some of the many digital system options available to the av professional. as previously noted, aviom is a physical layer – only technology based on the classifications outlined above. it does use an ethernet phy chip, but doesn ' t meet the electrical characteristics of ethernet. therefore, it cannot be connected to standard ethernet hubs or switches. aviom uses


a physical layer – only technology based on the classifications outlined above. it does use an ethernet phy chip, but doesn ' t meet the electrical characteristics of ethernet. therefore, it cannot be connected to standard ethernet hubs or switches. aviom uses a proprietary chip to organize multiple channels of audio bits to be transported throughout a system, and it falls in the classification of a digital audio transport system. ethersound and cobranet are both 802. 3 ethernet – compliant technologies that can be used on standard data ethernet switches. there is some debate as to whether ethersound technology can be considered a true ethernet technology because it requires a dedicated network. ethersound uses a proprietary scheme for network control, and cobranet uses standard data networking methods. the key difference for both the av and data professional is that ethersound uses a dedicated network, and cobranet does not. there are other differences that may be considered before choosing between cobranet and ethersound, but both are considered to be layer two ( data link ) technologies. dante uses ethernet, but it is considered a layer four technology ( transport ). it uses udp for audio transport and ip for audio routing on an ethernet transport, commonly referred to as udp / ip over ethernet. at this point you may be asking yourself why does the audio industry have so many technologies? why can ' t there be one standard like there is in the data industry? the answer to the first question relates to time. audio requires synchronous delivery of bits. early ethernet networks weren ' t much concerned with time. ethernet is asynchronous, meaning there isn ' t a concern when and how data arrives as long as it gets there. therefore, to put digital audio on a data network requires a way to add a timing mechanism. time is an issue in another sense, in that your options depend on technology or market knowledge available at the time when you develop your solution. when and how you develop your solution leads to the question of a single industry standard. many people don ' t realize that the data industry does in fact have more than one standard : ethernet, atm, fiberchannel, and sonet. each layer of the osi model has numerous protocols for different purposes. the key is that developers follow the osi model as a framework for network functions and rules for communicating between them. if the developer wants to use ethernet, he or she is required to have this technology follow the rules for communicating to the data link layer, as required by the ethernet standard. because one


as a framework for network functions and rules for communicating between them. if the developer wants to use ethernet, he or she is required to have this technology follow the rules for communicating to the data link layer, as required by the ethernet standard. because one of the key issues for audio involves time, it ' s important to use it wisely. there are two types of time that we need to be concerned with in networking : clock time and latency. clock time in this context is a timing mechanism that is broken down into measurable units, such as milliseconds. in digital audio systems, latency is the time duration between when audio or a bit of audio goes into a system until the bit comes out the other side. latency has many causes, but arguably the root cause in audio networks is the design of its timing mechanism. in addition, there is a tradeoff between the timing method and bandwidth. a general rule of thumb is that as the resolution of the timing mechanism increases, the more bandwidth that ' s required from the network. ethernet, being an asynchronous technology, requires a timing method to be added to support the synchronous nature of audio. the concepts and methodology of clocking networks for audio are key differences among the various technologies. cobranet uses a time mechanism called a beat packet. this packet is sent out in 1. 33 millisecond intervals and communicates with cobranet devices. therefore, the latency of a cobranet audio network can ' t be less than 1. 33 milliseconds. cobranet was introduced in 1995 when large - scale dsp - based digital systems started replacing analog designs in the market. because the “ sound system in a box ” was new, there was great scrutiny of these systems. a delay or latency in some time - critical applications was noticed, considered to be a challenge of using digital systems. however, many believe that latency is an overly exaggerated issue in most applications where digital audio systems are deployed. in fact, this topic could be an article unto itself. a little history of digital systems and networking will provide some insight on the reason why there are several networking technologies available today. in the late ' 90s, there were two “ critical ” concerns in the digital audio industry : year of 2000 compliance ( y2k ) and latency. to many audio pros, using audio networks like cobranet seemed impossible because of the delay — at that time, approximately 5 milliseconds, or in video terms, less time


year of 2000 compliance ( y2k ) and latency. to many audio pros, using audio networks like cobranet seemed impossible because of the delay — at that time, approximately 5 milliseconds, or in video terms, less time than a frame of video. enter ethersound, introduced in 2001, which addressed the issue of latency by providing an ethernet networking scheme with low latency and better bit - depth and higher sampling rate than cobranet. the market timing and concern over latency gave ethersound an excellent entry point. but since reducing latency down to 124 microseconds limits available bandwidth for data traffic, a dedicated network is required for a 100 - mb ethersound network. later, to meet the market demands of lower latency requirements, cobranet introduced variable latency, with 1. 33 milliseconds being the minimum. with the ethernet technologies discussion thus far, there is a relationship between the bit - depth and sample rate to the clocking system. audio is not the only industry with a need for real - time clocking schemes. communications, military, and industrial applications also require multiple devices to be connected together on a network and function in real - time. a group was formed from these markets, and they took on the issue of real - time clocking while leveraging the widely deployed ethernet technology. the outcome was the ieee 1588 standard for a real - time clocking system for ethernet networks in 2002. as a late entry to the networking party, audinate ' s dante comes to the market with the advantage of using new technologies like ieee 1588 to solve many of the current challenges in networking audio. using this clocking technology in ethernet allows dante to provide sample accurate timing and synchronization while achieving latency as low as 34 microseconds. coming to the market later also has the benefit of gigabit networking being widely supported, which provides the increased bandwidth requirement of ultra - low latency. it should be noted here that ethersound does have a gigabit version, and cobranet does work on gigabit infrastructure with added benefits but it is currently a fast ethernet technology. dante provides a flexible solution to many of the current tradeoffs that require one system on another due to design requirements of latency verses bandwidth, because dante can support different latency, bit depth, and sample rates in the same system. for example, this allows a user to provide a low - latency, higher bandwidth assignment to in - ear monitoring while at the


latency verses bandwidth, because dante can support different latency, bit depth, and sample rates in the same system. for example, this allows a user to provide a low - latency, higher bandwidth assignment to in - ear monitoring while at the same time use a higher latency assignment in areas where latency is less of a concern ( such as front of house ), thereby reducing the overall network bandwidth requirement. the developers of cobranet and dante are both working toward advancing software so that av professionals and end - users can configure, route audio, and manage audio devices on a network. the goal is to make audio networks “ plug - and - play ” for those that don ' t want to know anything about networking technologies. one of the advances to note is called “ device discovery, ” where the software finds all of the audio devices on the network so you don ' t have to configure them in advance. the software also has advance features for those who want to dive into the details of their audio system. advances in digital audio systems and networking technologies will continue to change to meet market applications and their specific requirements. aviom ' s initial focus was to create a personal monitoring system, and it developed a digital audio transport to better serve this application. aviom ' s low - latency transport provided a solution to the market that made it the perfect transport for many live applications. cobranet provides the av professional with a solution to integrate audio, video, and data systems on an enterprise switched network. ethersound came to the market by providing a low - latency audio transport using standard ethernet 802. 3 technology. dante comes to the market after significant change and growth and gigabit networking and new technologies like ieee 1588 to solve many of challenges of using ethernet in real - time systems. networking audio and video can seem chaotic, but gaining an understanding of the osi model helps bring order to the chaos. it not only provides an understanding of the various types of technology, but it also provides a common language to communicate for both av and data professionals. keeping it simple by using the osi model as the foundation and breaking audio networking down into two functional parts ( control and transport ) will help you determine which networking technology will best suit your particular application. brent harshbarger is the founder of m3tools located in atlanta. he can be reached at email @ example. com.


mythical creatures series is it a myth? legend? hairless coyote? this creature comes out at night and has a particular interest in blood, so keep your animals inside, especially if you live in puerto rico. what is it? the chupacabra is a legendary cryptid ( a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely ) rumored to inhabit parts of the americas. the name comes from the animal ’ s reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. the majority of alleged sightings take place in puerto rico, mexico, and the united states, especially in the latter ’ s latin american communities. the first reported attacks occurred in march 1995 in puerto rico – 8 dead sheep with puncture wounds in the chest and completely drained of blood. there are many theories about where the chupacabra has come from, including outer space, military experiments on coyotes or a coverup for vampire cults. it is supposedly a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail, but the physical description seems to vary depending where you read it. sometimes it is described as a winged monkey, six to eight feet tall, with long, clawed arms and hideous fangs. some eyewitnesses state the creature is a flying rodent or a species of kangaroo. others says it has a dog or panther - like nose and face, a forked tongue, and large fangs. it is said to hiss and screech when alarmed, as well as leave behind a sulfuric stench. appearances in culture ( there is a lot out there ) - scooby - doo and the monster of mexico - x files : season 4, episode 11 – el mundo gira - dexter ’ s laboratory is for the chupacabras in the episode called “ got your goat ” from the season 2 - a chupacabras appears as a legendary creature in the video game red dead redemption : undead nightmare, where it takes the appearance of a cross between a hyena and a boar - it has been portrayed various times in the anime series negima - the walking dead tv series references the chupacabra in the episode chupacabra when daryl dixon claims to have seen one whilst squirrel hunting, however later in the episode it is revealed that he had eaten magic mushroom - in an episode of jackie chan adventures, the chupacabras only came out at night, and


- 29 new content chapters plus 7 review reading chapters to equal 36 weekly chapters - pronunciation guides - weekly vocabulary introduction - thorough grammar explanations - us state seals and their latin mottos - study of latin derivatives of english words - latin reading and translation exercises - lessons and stories of roman myths, culture, and history - exercises and questions to prepare for nle and advanced placement exam - historic contributions from christopher schlect, historian and academic dean of new saint andrews college if you are a homeschool parent who is interested in teaching your child latin but you were either too intimidated to try it or just did not feel qualified enough, you will love this program! the program is very easy to teach because it is done for you. the dvd lessons are just like having a latin teacher in your home with you. the teacher is very easy to understand and follow along with. you can take the lessons at your own pace and can always pause or back up the dvd to repeat something you didn ' t understand. the teacher ' s guide gives you all of the answers and there are several free resources and teacher helps available on the website. if you have something you don ' t understand you are encouraged to contact calssical academic press and they will help you in solving your problem. there are a few errors in the textbook, but there is this document available on the website under free resources correcting the errors for you. i you are a homeschooled child whose parents want you to learn latin but you think it is going to be boring, you will love this program! the teacher on the dvd is very interesting to listen to and also pretty funny at times. the lessons offer plenty of practice and review to keep reminding you what you have already learned. there are plenty of examples of why latin is important to learn and how it is still alive today mixed with fun and interesting information about roman history and culture. my 14 year old daughter said, " wow, latin is a lot more interesting and fun than i thought it would be! " to see what other crew members had to say click here. i received a complimentary copy of latin alive! book one bundle for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. i received no other compensation.


the preliminary review by the nuclear regulatory commission, ongoing for six years but which became a priority following japan ’ s massive earthquake in march that led to a disaster at the fukushima nuclear plant, found that the reactors are vulnerable to larger earthquakes than previously assumed and need upgrades to withstand the potential tremors. and the regulators suggested that the operators at all 104 commercial reactors review their facilities ’ vulnerabilities to earthquake damage. the industry and regulators say the reactors are safe as is for now, but an associated press report showed that nrc experts were still concerned : after the march earthquake in japan that caused the biggest nuclear crisis since chernobyl, nrc staffers fretted in emails that the agency ’ s understanding of earthquake risk for existing reactors was out of date. in a march 15 email, for example, an nrc earthquake expert questioned releasing data to the public showing how strong an earthquake each plant was designed to withstand. the seismologist, annie kammerer, acknowledged that recent science showed stronger quakes could happen. “ frankly, it is not a good story for us, ” she wrote to agency colleagues. the upgrades needed for the north anna plant and others like it are unclear, but the nuclear regulatory commission will need to take action to ensure the reactors highlighted in the review are protected. or, as peter sinclair wrote after the virginia earthquake, the u. s. could turn its attention to other forms of energy because, “ as of now, no reports of shutdowns, oil spills, or radioactive leaks at any wind turbines. ”


when we speak about russia, one of the first associations that are springing up in our minds, is the impressive kremlin and especially also the emblematic of the russian capital moscow - red square. with its grandiosity these two landmarks in the former colossus of the soviet power embody the rich history of the country. kremlin is the name of the vast complex of stately buildings in the center of moscow. on its territory there are a number of important bodies of state power : the presidency, government and other bodies. the most common before the time of kremlin were the old fortified russian cities and the fortified interior, surrounded by defensive walls with towers. kremlin in moscow has a shape resembling a triangle. about 7 centuries ago exactly there was the russian orthodox church headquarters. undoubtedly the most remarkable is the church of the annunciation. most of its visitors go there to see the most beautiful iconostasis, which is in the country. the interior of the kremlin impresses with its beautiful religious paintings, especially with several stunning, masterfully painted icons. the following is the temple of the three " assumption ", which boasts that it has the largest bell in the territory of the kremlin. the third church is distinguished by its two golden domes and named, ivan the great. furthermore the orthodox cathedrals, is situated near the palace and was in place in which time lived stalin. attractive to tourists is the armament office of which is riched with royal attributes. east of the huge complex is the emblematic red square. the common view there includes the contrasting pictures of the beautiful churches, palaces and the impressive kremlin wall. the size of the square is impressive as it is of about 700 meters, but as the greatest attraction there is the famous temple fair vasilevski. there is no way to confuse its colorful and exquisite colorful domes and shaped bulbs. particularly impressive are its skillful sharp peaks. the main tower of the cathedral, which is something like a thumbnail of the russian church, has an incredible beautiful golden dome. - related searches


study : better tv might improve kids ’ behavior by the associated press published : monday, february 18, 2013, 7 : 24 a. m. updated : monday, february 18, 2013 seattle — teaching parents to switch channels from violent shows to educational tv can improve preschoolers ' behavior, even without getting them to watch less, a study found. the results were modest and faded over time, but may hold promise for finding ways to help young children avoid aggressive, violent behavior, the study authors and other doctors said. “ it ' s not just about turning off the television. it ' s about changing the channel. what children watch is as important as how much they watch, ” said lead author dr. dimitri christakis, a pediatrician and researcher at seattle children ' s research institute. the research was to be published online monday by the journal pediatrics. the study involved 565 seattle parents, who periodically filled out tv - watching diaries and questionnaires measuring their child ' s behavior. half were coached for six months on getting their 3 - to - 5 - year - old kids to watch shows like “ sesame street ” and “ dora the explorer ” rather than more violent programs like “ power rangers. ” the results were compared with kids whose parents who got advice on healthy eating instead. at six months, children in both groups showed improved behavior, but there was a little bit more improvement in the group that was coached on their tv watching. by one year, there was no meaningful difference between the two groups overall. low - income boys appeared to get the most short - term benefit. “ that ' s important because they are at the greatest risk, both for being perpetrators of aggression in real life, but also being victims of aggression, ” christakis said. the study has some flaws. the parents weren ' t told the purpose of the study, but the authors concede they probably figured it out and that might have affected the results. before the study, the children averaged about 1 1 / 2 hours of tv, video and computer game watching a day, with violent content making up about a quarter of that time. by the end of the study, that increased by up to 10 minutes. those in the tv coaching group increased their time with positive shows ; the healthy eating group watched more violent tv. nancy jensen, who took part with her now 6 - year - old daughter, said the study was a wake - up call. “ i didn ' t realize how much elizabeth was watching and how much she was watching on her own,


violent tv. nancy jensen, who took part with her now 6 - year - old daughter, said the study was a wake - up call. “ i didn ' t realize how much elizabeth was watching and how much she was watching on her own, ” she said. jensen said her daughter ' s behavior improved after making changes, and she continues to control what elizabeth and her 2 - year - old brother, joe, watch. she also decided to replace most of elizabeth ' s tv time with games, art and outdoor fun. during a recent visit to their seattle home, the children seemed more interested in playing with blocks and running around outside than watching tv. another researcher who was not involved in this study but also focuses his work on kids and television commended christakis for taking a look at the influence of positive tv programs, instead of focusing on the impact of violent tv. “ i think it ' s fabulous that people are looking on the positive side. because no one ' s going to stop watching tv, we have to have viable alternatives for kids, ” said dr. michael rich, director of the center on media and child health at children ' s hospital boston. - kovacevic : it ’ s about time for these penguins - steelers veteran outside linebacker woodley : ‘ i ’ m good to go ’ - penguins turn game 4 into a blowout victory over the senators - steelers notebook : slimmed - down redman optimistic for 2013 - senators on cusp of ouster against penguins - steelers ’ miller watches, waits while teammates practice - neal, iginla get back on track to lead penguins - pirates outfielder snider certainly proving to be ( big ) hit - pirates notebook : morton could be back in early june - starter liriano impressive again as pirates blank cubs - penguins notebook : morrow sits ; bylsma changes lineup you must be signed in to add comments to comment, click the sign in or sign up at the very top of this page. subscribe today! click here for our subscription offers.


so one of our irc buddies @ johns _ az generously sent out fm transmitter bugs to a whole bunch of us - as a fun group project thing. @ makerdino ’ s already gotten a hackaweek ( and even hackaday ) up about it and i thought i ’ d look into it a bit more ; do some research on the components! here is the schematic provided by @ makerdino, but directly off of the paper that comes with the fm transmitter bug. and based off of tests he ’ s done, it ’ s able to transmit about 30m to his radio, though the paper claims 300m. let ’ s go ahead and start left to right : the electret microphone electret comes from electricity / electron / electrostatic and magnet and is a dielectric material that holds a quasi - permanent electric charge / polarization. - upon finding this out, i asked, aren ’ t dielectrics usually insulators? how can they hold charge? well even though the material as a whole is not a good conductor of electricity, its atoms still respond to electric manipulation. so if you were to put a dielectric in an electric field, electrons would not go through the dielectric, but the atoms would shift away from their normal configurations into ones that worked with the electric field. this is known as dielectric polarization and this polarization creates a subtle, but present, electric field that holds some electric potential. and in fact, dielectric materials are those with high polarizability! a nice example that helped me understand it is how when you place a magnet down in a field of iron filings, the iron filings naturally reorient in a pattern that works best for the magnetic field. so too atoms and their accoutrements. - alright so an electret has this permanently embedded static electric charge. how does it get it? back in the good old days … like 1885 good old days, they would take a polymer or wax that contained polar molecules, melt it, then allow it to resolidify in a powerful electrostatic field. the polar molecules of the dielectric would align accordingly and producing a dipole electret with a permanent electrostatic ‘ bias ’. these days, they use electron beams to botox - style - inject highly insulating dielectric materials so that they keep the electrons in - either on their surface or in their volume. back to the microphone! so the electret microphone is a condense


they use electron beams to botox - style - inject highly insulating dielectric materials so that they keep the electrons in - either on their surface or in their volume. back to the microphone! so the electret microphone is a condenser microphone. because of its electret material, it does not require a polarizing power supply. you might ask why it would require a polarizing power supply if it did not have electret material. this requires a bit of knowledge of how condenser microphones work. firstly, most condenser mics have two plates : a diaphragm and a fixed metal plate. the diaphragm vibrates when struck by sound waves and this changes the distance between the diaphragm and fixed plate. depending on the changes, current changes and the soundwaves translate into their electric counterparts. however, unwanted harmonics may occur as a result of unusually loud signals that cause the diaphragm to hit against a plate. this set up requires a power source that can create the electrical field that these two plates work with. however, with electret microphones, the electret dielectric can replace a plate - whether the diaphragm or the fixed back plate. this allows us to skip having the polarizing power supply as the polar charges on the electret can act as the current inducer. sweet. so what powers the silly thing? well. it actually doesn ’ t require power, but most electret microphones come with a preamplifier circuit which does require power - could be phantom power or even something as small as a 1. 5v cell! and that ’ s the first component hah - more tomorrow! the original patent for electret microphones from 1964!


one of the outstanding achievements of 20th century science was the realisation that the great diversity of nature is based on a handful of elementary particles acting under the influence of only a few fundamental forces. this talk aims to give an overview of the natural forces that shape everything around us and outlines current research and what we believe remains to be discovered. prof. peter kalmus is emeritus professor at queen mary, university of london. at various times he has been president of the physics section of the british association, vice president of the institute of physics, and vice president of the royal institution. a distinguished career has seen him awarded the rutherford medal for his outstanding role in the discovery of the w and z particles, an obe for his contributions to physics and only last week the kelvin medal for his role in the public understanding of physics. dramatic advances in the study of stem cells - the precursor cells of blood, skin, bone and nerve cells - could be used one day to help sufferers from parkinson ' s disease, hepatitis, leukaemia, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. stem cells hold the key to the ability to grow a patient ' s own tissue for repair, and are central to the cloning debate. potentially they could be used to create unlimited supplies of replacement tissue, including nerve, bone, skin and heart muscle, for repairing injuries and for treating disease - potentially saving millions of lives. cloning offers a way to grow a patient ' s own stem cells but, by perfecting such technology, scientists could accelerate efforts to conduct so - called reproductive cloning. professor richard gardner, who is chairing the royal society ' s working group on stem cells and therapeutic cloning provides a rich overview into the how and why of cloning. professor wolpert ' s thesis is that science is not common sense. common sense is misleading - it can make you accept that a seashell on the top of a mountain is proof of a global flood. in this talk professor wolpert gives one scientist ' s view of the culture of science and why the public ' s understanding of that culture is so much in error. his thoughtful analysis concludes that scientific thought is unnatural. as well as a cbe, professor wolpert is a fellow of the royal society and former chairman of the committee for the public understanding of science. in may he was awarded the royal institution ' s michael faraday award for services to the public understanding of science. the common flu of 1918 spread faster than any disease in history, before orsince, and killed more people


public understanding of science. in may he was awarded the royal institution ' s michael faraday award for services to the public understanding of science. the common flu of 1918 spread faster than any disease in history, before orsince, and killed more people in less time than all of the great plagues ofhistory, doing so in the presence of relatively ' modern ' medical science. even last year, approximately 20, 000 people in the uk died from what werethought to be flu - related illnesses. yet even this was not an epidemic - the spanish flu pandemic at the close of the first world war is believed tohave accounted for the deaths of well over 20m people worldwide, including280, 000 in the uk. the last official flu epidemic was 11 years ago, butthe fact that there is no way of guessing when the next one might be is avery serious concern. dr elspeth garman will go through at what we know ofthe different strains of flu virus and outline the progress made in thedevelopment of a cure. ref : ` the origin and control of flu pandemics ' laver and garman, science sep 7, 2001, 1776 - 1777. cryptography, the science of encrypting and decrypting information, dates as far back as 1900 bc when a scribe in egypt first used a derivation of the standard hieroglyphics of the day to communicate today cryptography provides the locks and keys to the information age. it is the technology that enables private emails to be sent and secure business transactions to take place over the internet. simon singh, author of fermat ' s last theorem and the code book, will give a brief history of cryptography and then discuss its impact in the 21st century. he will also bring with him a genuine enigma cipher machine. simon singh completed his phd in particle physics at cambridge. in 1991 he joined the bbc science department and worked as a producer and director with ' tomorrow ' s world ' and ' horizon '. he is also the author of ' fermat ' s last theorem ' and ' the code book ', the latter forming the basis for the popular channel 4 series ' the science of secrecy '. this talk is run in conjunction with blackwellscafe scientifique.


diablo canyon power plant / ap this photo provided by the diablo canyon power plant on friday shows salp, a gelatinous sea creature, at a nuclear reactor intake structure. in japan, it was a monstrous earthquake and tsunami that brought down the fukushima nuclear plant. in california, it ’ s a tiny, jellyfish - like sea creature called salp that ’ s causing problems at the diablo canyon atomic plant. an invasion of salp has prompted pacific gas and electric co. to temporarily shut down a nuclear reactor at diablo canyon, in avila beach, san luisa obispo county, on the central california coast. a giant swarm of the transluscent barrel - shaped organisms this week clogged intake screens that are used to keep marine life out of the seawater that is used as a coolant for the nuclear plant. on wednesday, pg & e officials reduced power output at the unit 2 reactor, then decided to shut it down altogether “ until conditions improve at the intake structure. ” the plant ’ s other reactor, unit 1, had already been shut down earlier in the week for a planned refueling and maintenance outage. “ safety being the number one priority, there was such an influx of salp and you need ocean water to cool the reactors, ” pg & e spokesman tom cuddy told msnbc. com on friday. “ at that point we made a conservative decision to safely shut down the unit. ” pg & e owns and operates the diablo canyon power plant, whose two reactors together produce approximately 2, 300 net megawatts of electricity – enough to serve nearly 3 million northern and central california homes. cuddy said he wasn ’ t sure when the unit 1 reactor would come back online. “ we ’ ll turn the unit on to full power when it ’ s safe to do so – when the salps leave, ” he said. “ the bottom line is we ’ re taking a methodical and conservative approach. ” lara uselding, a spokeswoman for the nuclear regulatory commission, the federal agency that oversees reactor safety and security, said the plant is not in any danger. “ it ’ s not a normal operation condition, but the plant is safe and all the systems operated as designed, ” she said. watch us news videos on msnbc. com salps are tiny, gelatinous organisms that move by contracting, thus pumping water throughout their bodies. they can reproduce and multiply quickly. though salps look a bit like jellyfish, they are actually more closely related to organisms that have backbone


salps are tiny, gelatinous organisms that move by contracting, thus pumping water throughout their bodies. they can reproduce and multiply quickly. though salps look a bit like jellyfish, they are actually more closely related to organisms that have backbones. they typically grow to 1 or 2 inches long and usually do not appear at the coast, says larry madin, a salp expert and research director at woods hole oceanographic institution in massachusetts. “ they ’ re typically more of an offshore living organism, " madin says. he surmises that the swarm at diablo may have been carried in on currents blown by wind. but steve haddock, a scientist with the monterey bay aquarium research institute in moss landing, calif., said salps have been blooming in high numbers along the california coast since at least december. several sightings have been reported to jellywatch, a website haddock runs to track sightings of jellyfish and other marine organisms. other than clogging the cooling system filters of a nuclear plant, the organisms pose no danger, says bruce robison, senior scientist at the monterey bay aquarium research institute. they don ’ t sting, they don ’ t have teeth and they ’ re not poisonous. salps passively feed off tiny organic particles in the water and can reproduce sexually or asexually. “ they can have their population size expand tremendously within a short period of time, which makes them very abundant. in a small space, they can take up all the space, ” robison says. madin said the slimy swarm at diablo would probably go away in a few days, carried off by currents. or, says robison, they ’ ll quickly die off when their food supply runs out. so the best bet, experts say, is for nuclear officials to just wait it out in the short term. " long term, perhaps if their intakes were a bit deeper, it would not be a problem, " haddock said. despite the reactor outage, california is not expected to experience any electricity shortages because it has ample reserves, said stephanie mccorkle, spokeswoman california iso, which operates the state ' s power grid and wholesale markets. it ’ s not the first time that sea creatures have interfered with nuclear plant activity. in 2008, a swarm of jellyfish led to a sharp decrease in power generation at diablo canyon, according to the los angeles times. similar jellyfish problems have cropped up at nuclear plants in the u. s., japan, israel


political fundamentalism can have great appeal. as the morals of our culture deteriorate ; as our economy falters with sustained high unemployment ; as even science becomes politicized ; as political stalemate paralyzes our federal government ; as the obama administration fights with the catholic church over practices repugnant to its core doctrines, unheedful of the constitution ' s bedrock guarantee of freedom of religion ; as the sweeping ppaca legislation was passed on purely partisan lines in a hurried and unseemly fashion ; as federal spending has become unsustainable, people understandably search for answers, for a way out of the mess we ' re in. many yearn for absolutes in politics. although absolutes may be appealing and politically expedient, in reality, answers to complex problems are rarely simple. that is the danger of political fundamentalism gone too far : it can lead to extremism and inflexibility. good politics cannot operate in a highly polarized environment like we see all too often now. when people become extreme, they become intolerant of conflicting points of view. when people become zealots, political absolutism replaces civil dialogue and mutual respect. political opinions become quasi - religious doctrine. while moral and religious principles often deal in absolutes, our democratic system requires compromise. the rightfully revered participants at the constitutional convention in philadelphia were great examples of this principle. this amazing collection of strong - willed men represented states with very different interests. and yet through debate, persuasion, listening, and negotiation, these men were willing to compromise. this same ability to listen and to compromise without sacrificing principle is needed today. sometimes it takes an upwelling of popular opinion to right the ship of state which has listed too far to one side. unlike germany, russia, and other nations, and excepting the american civil war, the united states has avoided violent political upheaval. however, if too many people feel disenfranchised and ignored, and become pessimistic about their own and their country ' s prospects, they will become potential allies for some charming or beguiling demagogue. to avoid the frustrations which can turn into extreme movements, government leaders of all parties must work together to address the huge and difficult issues many nations face today. they must give their citizens an honest appraisal of their national challenges and educate and listen to them. out of this political success will grow continued political and economic stability. recent events have shown wise observers that


room to deny ourselves ; a road to bring us, daily, nearer god — from " morning, " john keble ( 1827 ) edward pusey, like the other major figures of the oxford or tractarian movement ( john henry newman and john keble ), had for some time nurtured a wish to establish religious communities within the church of england. in 1841, marian rebecca hughes took vows in front of him, dedicating herself to the service of god. she went on to found the society of the holy and undivided trinity in oxford, in the building now occupied by st antony ' s college ; but that was not until 1848. by then, newman had formed a religious community in littlemore, in the south - eastern part of oxford, where he was eventually received into the roman catholic church ; and the first religious sisterhood in the church of england since the reformation had also been founded, this time by a committee including gladstone and pusey. from these seeds grew a movement which would have a huge influence not just on the spiritual climate of the age, but on its social history and its culture as well. from the park village sisterhood to the work of lydia sellon plaque on no. 17, park village west. the first sisterhood was in london, as proclaimed on the blue plaque outside no. 17, park village west, near regent ' s park. on march 26th 1845, two young women arrived to take up residence there : a miss jane ellacombe, who became known as sister anne, and a miss mary bruce, who became sister mary. they were soon joined by others, including an older woman, all of them observing a strict routine of worship in nearby christ church, albany street. they aroused great curiosity in the neighbourhood, until a visit from " the notorious dr pusey " confirmed that this " innocent - looking villa was nothing else but a ' puseyite nunnery ' " ( see " ascot priory " ). the sisters were visited there not only by pusey himself, but also by the devoutly religious ( priscilla ) lydia sellon. when the park village sisterhood merged with sellon ' s own devonport sisters of mercy in 1856, the new foundation then became the society of the sisters of mercy of the most holy trinity, with sellon as its mother or lady superior ( see cobb ). 17, park village west — the home of the park village sisterhood. [ click on thumbnail for larger inage. ] although marian hughes and the band of women at park village


sellon as its mother or lady superior ( see cobb ). 17, park village west — the home of the park village sisterhood. [ click on thumbnail for larger inage. ] although marian hughes and the band of women at park village west had dedicated themselves before her, sellon ( 1821 - 1876 ) is generally considered the " true foundress of the women ' s orders which now grace and serve our church " ( " priscilla lydia sellon " ) — perhaps because it had proved difficult to find the right person to lead the park village flock. the daughter of a naval commander who actively supported her endeavours, sellon first committed herself to the life of service in 1848 when she responded to an appeal by the bishop of exeter to help the poor in plymouth and devonport. she became deeply involved in the education of needy children, and her work soon spread into other fields. blessed with good organisational abilities and a great deal of stamina, and guided by pusey, she set up a whole range of institutions. these included a girls ' domestic training school, a boys ' night school, facilities for the starving ( in other words, a soup kitchen ) and a home for the sailors ' orphans. she also worked to improve the lot of female emigrants. almshouses and other such charitable homes followed, and the sisters ' charitable efforts reached beyond plymouth into other towns like manchester and bristol. naturally, sellon ' s fame spread too, drawing the attention of other like - minded women besides those in park village west. all this was a major factor in encouraging the growth of religious orders of both women and men in the nineteenth century ( see kollar, " religious orders " 666 ). sellon ' s ministrations were much in demand, especially during the cholera epidemic of 1849. she also put together a contingent of nursing sisters who went out to the crimea with florence nightingale. in 1864 a mission was established in the pacific, with a school being founded in the sandwich islands ( modern hawaii ). the headquarters of the mission were in honolulu, and sellon, despite increasing health problems, made the long voyage to visit it in person. " it was the first time any anglican sisterhood had ventured into work overseas, " writes peter cobb. nearer home, she responded to the cholera epidemic of 1866 in london ' s east end by setting up a hospital in an empty warehouse. when smallpox swept the same area in 1870, she sent her sisters to help at ascot priory, where they had to erect tents in the grounds


to the cholera epidemic of 1866 in london ' s east end by setting up a hospital in an empty warehouse. when smallpox swept the same area in 1870, she sent her sisters to help at ascot priory, where they had to erect tents in the grounds to care for the huge influx of cases. many of those treated there survived. nevertheless, this forceful and energetic catholic revivalist was not without her detractors. anglicans were wary of the sisters ' black garb and the rituals of their worship. at one point there was a regular " campaign to discredit " her ( kollar, " flowers, pictures, and crosses " ), which even included " scandalous though ludicrous suggestions " about her relationship with pusey ( " priscilla lydia sellon " ). pusey himself spoke out loudly in defence of the controversial sisterhood : " the works of mercy opened at devonport embrace the whole range of which our blessed lord speaks relatively to the day of judgment, " he insisted ( qtd. in " priscilla lydia sellon " ). there was nothing specifically roman catholic about it. sellon too protested her allegiance to the church of england. sellon, who had already suffered two strokes, suffered a third while visiting osborne house, west malvern in worcestershire, and died there in late 1876 aged fifty - five. the times obituary recalled the attacks made on " [ t ] his novel experiment of a community of english sisters " ( qtd. in " priscilla lydia sellon " ) ; but she had had a huge influence : there were over fifty women ' s religious orders within the church of england before the reign was out, supplying " vocations for women which combined spirituality and social utility, " and also providing " a measure of independence from constricting victorian ideologies of womanhood " ( hapke 725 ). this last point is significant, for it suggests that becoming a nun often enlarged rather than narrowed the horizons of these women. as a result perhaps, according to susan mumm, " more than 10, 000 had tried the life by the end of the century " ( xii ). brotherhoods too had multiplied. the work that sellon herself had set in motion continued for many years. in fact, the last two sisters at the ascot priory, which became the sisterhood ' s home, only died in 2004 ( see mosley ). cobb, peter g. " sellon, ( priscilla ) lydia ( 1821 - 1876 ). " oxford dictionary of national biography. online ed


ascot priory, which became the sisterhood ' s home, only died in 2004 ( see mosley ). cobb, peter g. " sellon, ( priscilla ) lydia ( 1821 - 1876 ). " oxford dictionary of national biography. online ed. viewed 2 may 2009. gladstone, w. e. " ' robert elsmere ' : the battle of belief. " reprinted in the spirit of the age : victorian essays, ed. gertrude himmelfarb. new haven & london : yale university press, 2007. 260 - 279. hapke, laura. " sisterhoods. " victorian britain : an encyclopedia. ed. sally mitchell. new york & london : garland, 1988. 725. kollar, rene. " flowers, pictures and crosses : criticisms of priscilla lydia sellon ' s care of young girls. " anglican theological review, summer 2004. viewed 2 may 2009. — — — — " religious orders. " victorian britain : an encyclopedia. ed. sally mitchell. new york & london : garland, 1988. 666 - 7. mosley, brian, " prominent citizens : miss priscilla lydia sellon. " the encyclopaedia of plymouth history. viewed 2 may 2009. mumm, susan. all saints sisters of the poor : an anglican sisterhood in the nineteenth century. woodbridge, suffolk : boydell, 2001. " priscilla lydia sellon " on project canterbury. viewed 2 may 2009. anson, peter. the call of the cloister : religious communities and kindred bodies in the anglican communion. london : spck, 1964. yates, nigel. anglican ritualism in victorian britain, 1830 - 1910. oxford : clarendon, 2000. last modified 2 may 2009


the word penitentiary was first used to mean “ house of correction ” in 1806. so when the lieutenant governor of tasmania ( known at the time as van diemen ’ s land ) decided to consolidate the colony ’ s penal settlements into one location, the inclusion of a penitentiary was fairly novel. in fact, the rise of the penitentiary was part of the reform movements of the era, when reform societies were working to change and improve the lots of people trapped in lives of poverty or crime. the word was originally used to describe an asylum for prostitutes, where the women were not prisoners, but were actually given a safe haven, where they could be educated and reformed, so they could return to society. many of the penitentiaries of this era were tremendously successful. ( the word penitentiary came from the idea of rescuing penitents, those who regretted their lifestyles and wished to change. ) soon, the idea grew from rescuing prostitutes to rescuing anyone who wanted to escape a life on the streets. it is because of this different concept of penitentiary that port arthur had both a penitentiary and a prison — they were not the same thing. it was with the idea of making useful citizens of transported convicts that the penitentiary was created. it was so good at this that charles darwin, when he visited, wrote with admiration of its unparalleled success in creating “ active citizens ” of a “ new and splendid country. ” in the photo of the port arthur settlement below, the penitentiary is the massive building that dominates the scene.


this interview was originally broadcast on may 18, 2011. imagine picking up a nice juicy burger and taking a bite, only to find out that the meaty burger you ' re biting into didn ' t come from an animal — it was grown in a lab. sound far - fetched? the reality of test - tube burgers in supermarkets may be close to becoming a reality. scientists at laboratories around the world are currently working to make meat in labs that will eventually look and taste like the real thing, without any animal parts. science writer michael specter recently traveled to laboratories in the netherlands and north carolina to examine the progress scientists have made in developing in vitro meat. he writes about his trip, and the arguments in favor of lab - made steaks, in the may 23 issue of the new yorker. motivation for lab meat specter explains that part of the motivation for growing meat in laboratories is animal welfare : billions of cows, chickens and pigs would no longer spend their lives force - fed grain and antibiotics or cooped up in factory farms. " there is something inherently creepy about [ growing meat in labs ], " specter tells fresh air ' s terry gross. " but there is something more inherently creepy about the way we deal with the animals that we eat.... they live a horrible life, and they often die quite cruelly. so the idea of being able to eliminate some of that is extremely exciting for a lot of people. " another motivation, specter says, is the positive environmental impact test - tube meat could have on the planet. according to the food and agricultural organization of the united nations, global livestock is responsible for nearly 20 percent of all greenhouse - gas emissions. and as the population grows, he says, more resources will be needed to sustain the agricultural industry. " we have 7 billion people on the planet, and there will be 9 billion [ people ] by 2050, " he says. " those people need food. they need protein — and they tend to eat better as they get wealthier. and better, unfortunately, means eating more like americans — a lot of meat. and a lot of meat means a lot of water, a lot of grain, a lot of grass. and we don ' t have that much room for any of it. " how it works currently tissue scientists are taking stem cells from pigs and putting them in nutrient broth - filled petri dishes, where they rapidly grow. the biggest slab of meat grown so far is about the size of a contact lens and contains millions