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0.020176 | <urn:uuid:6ecedbf6-ec9d-42c0-8f6f-a1751e44b747> | en | 0.931509 | BENNETT, Charles Edward, (1910 - 2003)
BENNETT, Charles Edward, a Representative from Florida; born in Canton, St. Lawrence County, N.Y., December 2, 1910; attended the Tampa schools; J.D., University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., 1934; lawyer, private practice; member of the Florida state house of representatives, 1941; United States Army, 1942-1947; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-first and to the twenty-one succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1949-January 3, 1993); chair, Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Ninety-sixth Congress); was not a candidate for renomination to the One Hundred Third Congress in 1992; died on September 6, 2003, in Jacksonville, Fla. | http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000371 | dclm-gs1-221010002 | false | false | {
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0.022063 | <urn:uuid:9c204e87-714b-4dd4-ac66-3dbba1390d31> | en | 0.879732 | August 2007 Native American Law Top Blawgs
1. Covers gaming, jurisdiction, land use, treaties and tribal law. By Professors Timothy Pleasant and Deena DeGenova.
5. By the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
8. Covers aboriginal law in Canada. By Davis LLP. | http://blawgsearch.justia.com/topblawgs/2007/august/categories/native-american-law | dclm-gs1-221020002 | false | false | {
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0.074186 | <urn:uuid:bf8b7f23-db1a-4b9a-9e0f-28e390ccea68> | en | 0.99155 | December 12, 2006
All good things must come to an end...
I know that the title says all good things must come to an end but there was a little bit of scarcasm in that...I cannot wait for this semester to be over! I'm really excited for my classes next semester (even though two of them will be the same but one level higher). I think that it's also the idea of having a fresh start and being able to work my butt off if I choose to and get really good grades. I'm not doing terrible or anything now but I think that if I really wanted to, I could be doing better than I am now and I should really try for that. It will be a great relief to not have any writing classes for the next year and a half since writing is definitely not my strong point. I'm more of a math and science person and I've found that if I have homework that's like math problems, I actually enjoy doing it and do it. That can make a huge difference in how much you learn in a class. I also get to take spanish which shouldn't be too difficult since I could have tested up but chose to stay in the beginners class. That's very exciting for me right now because I'm looking at my study abroad options for next year and it looks like Spain is going to be my destination. Anyway, it will be a great relief at 10 next Wednesday when all of my finals are done and I can go home for a break.
My Birthday!
It will officially be my birthday in 6 hours and minutes and I'm really not that excited. It doesn't make it too fun that 22 hour quiet hours will be starting tonight and so I won't even be able to make noise. I mean, I guess there's nothing really too exciting about turning 19 anyway. What else can I do now? I'll probably end up spending my whole day locked up in my room studying for my Calc 2 final on Thursday. That's definitely something to look forward to. When I turned 16 my friends threw me a surprise birthday party which was a lot of fun. I mean come on, at 16 you can drive, 17 you can see R movies in the theater, and at 18 you can do pretty much anything you want (with the exception of drinking that is of course). Maybe I'll buy myself a pint of ice cream and celebrate with that. I guess the fact that I'll be just one more year older is always cool. Plus, it will be the last day of classes for the semester so there's really nothing to complain about there. Maybe it's not such a bad way to bring in the break after all.
My new room
I know that dorms aren't supposed to be anything glamorous or anything but why do they have to be this bad? My roommate and I went on cleaning frenzie's today and man did I find some disgusting stuff. I live in Pioneer and since it's such an old building, it can be expected to have some problems. We've had some pretty nasty stuff though which makes me wonder if it can possibly be up to building codes. I've had cockroaches crawl out of my clothes in the closet, there have been mice and many other unidentifiable insects. Then when you add no carpet, no air conditioning and no working heaters, it's a recipe for disaster. Today however, we rearranged all of our furniture and I have to say that it makes things not so bad. I got pretty lucky to have such a large room so there's a lot more that we can do in it. It's kind of an odd shape though; just one of those random room (which I guess is what most of Pioneer is-random rooms) that is filling up whatever space was left over. Even though I may complain about it now, I'll look back on it in a few years and laugh. This is one of those great college experiences that everyone should have.
December 11, 2006
learning to play the geetawr
Just a few weeks ago I had sudden inspiration to to learn how to play the guitar so I decided that that's exactly what I was going to do. I had never really played anything on the guitar but after my weekend at castaway, listening to everyone play, I made up my mind to do it. Fortunately it's my birthday this week on Wednesday and I didn't really have anything that I wanted so I just asked my parents to get me a guitar (a cheep one- they definitely wouldn't get me a nice one and there would be no point in getting an expensive one anyways). Just this week my friend started to teach me some chords and stuff about playing. This probably isnt' a good idea considering finals are coming up and I should be devoting all of my time to studying but I guess that it's good to have a short break so you don't burn out. Now I just can't wait for this weekend when I'll finally be able to go home and get my guitar and play the 7 chords that I know. I think that a lot of the learning has to be done by yourself and is very time consuming. I'm really looking forward to it all though.
December 10, 2006
Loser with a capital L
I know that it's pretty pathetic but last night I went to bed right after I got home from the basketball tournament at ten o'clock. I mean what college student goes to bed at ten on a saturday night? No one! But I was sick all day and had only gotten like five hours of sleep the night before (due to some hall fire drills at 1:30 in the morning-thanks guys!). That was definitely what I needed and now I feel amazing today. College has really taken its toll on my body and I need to start sleeping more and all that good stuff so that I don't get mega sick. Especially for being one that's never had a very good immune system, it probably isn't a good idea to be eating dorm food, not exercising, and not sleeping. That's one deadly combination right there. Maybe taking a night off every once in a while isn't such a bad idea after all. I mean, it still isn't that exciting but how good it makes you feel is definitely worth it.
Weekend Fun
So the reason why I was so inspired to write about basketball yesterday was because I was working at a basketball tournament when I did it. After yesterday, I don't want to go to another basketball game for a very long time. I was asked by my sister's boyfriend to go and sell admissions tickets for his tournament at the Hopkins high school. The day didn't start out too bad but as time went on things got much worse. Numerous people were complaining about the price and taking it out on me. Of course no one understood that because it was a private tournament and they had to rent out the facilities at the school, that the prices naturally had to be higher to cover the costs for them. For the very last game, Hopkins was playing and since it was in their hometown, they had tons of fans show up. The one thing that really set me off most was when girls would come up to me with their designer handbags and UGG boots on and complain to me that they had to pay $3 more and how rediculous that was. Rediculous??? What's rediculous is that they have a $300 bag in their hands and there was tons of money in their wallets yet they still felt the need to complain. Those people made me sick (and I almost let them know that a few times but I bit my tounge). Eventually it got to the point where kids would just walk right past me and say that they weren't going to pay and walk right into the game. How in the world am I supposed to control that? I obviously couldn't use physical force. The day did have its few ups though. I got free food from the concessions stand, got paid, and I got to use the wireless internet in their high school. Even though it really sucked at the time, I'd have to say that it turned out okay in the end.
December 9, 2006
beam splits.jpg
Although I have always tried new sports and been willing to play almost anything, basketball just hasn't been one of the things that I really enjoy doing. I grew up always playing in my drive way with my dad and brother and sister but that just didn't convince me. I tried it out for one year in the fifth grade and decided that it just wasn't for me. Actually, I guess it was probably more because of the fact that I had to pick between basketball and gymnastics and there just was no competition between the two. It's kind of odd that I chose to do the things that I do because my sister had always been really involved with basketball and I was always at her tournaments watching. It had always been something that was present in my life but it just wasn't interesting to me. Looking back on it today, I'm very happy with the decision I made. I learned so many different things from my involvement with gymnastics and through the different people I met. I feel like being in such a demanding sport made me more dedicated to whatever work it is I do. I've learned how to just suck it up and keep on going even when I'm in pain or don't like what I'm doing. I feel like this has had a very positive effect on my school work and my job experiences. For example, this summer I worked as a waitress and absolutely hated it but stuck it out until I left for school. I was also able to meet a lot of people outside of my core group of friends (most of whom were involved with basketball). Overall, I would have to say that I learned many things from my experience in gymnastics that I would not have been able to learn anywhere else in my life.
December 7, 2006
The Good Old Days
Picture 213.jpg
Although I love being in college right now and this stage of my life, I've realized today that I miss being young. That's not to say that I would go back in time if I had the chance, there's just one thing in particular that I wish that I could have back-my nights with my parents. Every night before bed I would take a bath and then put on my warm pajamas. After I was all ready I would sit in the living room with my parents before I went to bed. Some nights we would play board games by the fireplace and other nights we would just sit and watch the news while eating popcorn. I love the feeling of being warm and comfortable (I doubt that anyone doesn't) but it just brings back so many great memories for me. I also remember that I would often end up falling asleep in the rocking chair and my dad would carry me all the way up to my bed. I took advantage of this and sometimes pretended to be asleep but he still carried me up (even though he could obviously tell I was faking it). I was very fortunate to have such a great childhood and I hope that someday I will be able to provide my children with great memories like these.
My Birthday
In less than one week it will be my birthday. I don't feel as excited this year as I normally do (maybe because I'll be spending all day finish a paper and studying for finals). I think that it's not the same either when I'm away from my family and friends whom I've always celebrated with. It's almost like I have nothing to look forward to about it. I won't gain any new privledges and I really didn't want anything from my parents. When you're a little kid, you have all sorts of toys and games and endless presents on your list, this year, I asked for an underarmor shirt and some winter boots between my birthday and Christmas. I don't really need anything and those are things that I would buy myself anyways to use but this way I won't have to spend my money on them. Another reason why all of the fun will be sucked out of my birthday is that the day before we will be starting 22 hour quiet hours in the dorm. That means that we can only be making noise from 4 to 6 pm. I guess that we'll just have to find somewhere to go out. That way, I'll be able to have a break from all of the stress of finals as well.
December 5, 2006
Racism in the US
So I was thinking about our discussion we had in class on last Friday and despite what some of the people were arguing, I think that america today should take action to make up for past actions of our ancestors. This isn't to say that all white citizens are racist or oppress African Americans but the fact is that actions from the past still have their continuing effects today. I read an article about how after the GI bill was passed and the soldiers were returning home from the war, many were trying to buy homes and start families. Because of the new availability of home mortgages, many were able to actually own their homes instead of always having to rent. This however did not apply to the majority of African Americans because the banks refused to give them loans. Their inability to buy a home affects their children and grandchildren and so on. Think of how many people inherited their parents' home. For most families, their house is there largest investment and if African Americans are never given the opportunity for that investment, they are eternally at a disadvantage to someone who is.
December 4, 2006
There's no place like home
I've been starting to get very anxious about finding housing for next year. I know that it seems kind of early but most apartments fill up by december for the following school year. I don't even know if I'll be able to live in an apartment; it might have to be back to the dorms for me, or at least for fall semester. I've be seriously considering studying abroad spring semester next year so that means that I'll have to find somewhere that I can live one for one semester. I really don't think that apartments offer half year contracts unless you can find someone else to sublease with you which is rediculously hard. I really do want to get out of the dorms next year. I mean...who likes the 20 year olds living in college dorms? Oh well, I guess that if worse comes to worse, I know there's a place that I can stay even if it's not ideal. Something will work out and even if it sucks, being abroad will more than make up for it.
bell hooks
The bell hooks article was, in my opinion, one of the more interesting articles that we read. I am becoming more interested in issues dealing with racism after taking a class a race relations this year. I feel that there are a lot of problems in our society because of racism that are just ignored and therefore, allowed to continue. hooks wrote about her struggles in different school situations and the lack of care her professors displayed toward her. This wasn't strictly based on race, but more on the fact that they had no passion to teach and didn't really care whether or not the students actually learned anything. I feel like this is a lot like many of the professors here at the U. They just throw the information at you and don't care if you actually gain knowledge or not. They're here for their own purposes and that is their main priority. I don't really understand why the U is supposed to be such a highly rated school if it's not one that's going to benefit the students and teach them.
December 3, 2006
I don't understand what's happened to my body since I've gotten to college. Normally I catch every bug that goes around but I've been fairly healthy since I've been here. I thought that it was starting out terribly when I was sick for like a week straight in the second or third week of school but since then, I haven't caught anything. I find this very odd because overall, I have had much more unhealthy habits since coming to school than I've ever had in my life. I eat dorm food every day, exercise a very small fraction of what I used to, sleep very little every night and am under a great deal of stress. This just doesn't add up to me. The only one thing that I can think of that would benefit me is that I walk to my classes outside in the fresh air. Otherwise at home I was rarely outside in the winter time other than to walk to my car and back. Maybe after this week though things will roommate has been very ill for almost two weeks straight and there's a good chance that I could catch it. I guess I'll see what happens in a few days.
December 1, 2006
I thought that if I worked all summer and saved up my money, I wouldn't have to get a job while I was going to school. It seems now like I might have to rethink that idea. I mean, I still have a lot of money in the bank but that's all for tuition next year. I think that I need to find something part time just to have spending money and be able to go out occassionally. I really dont know where all of the money I had went. It's kind of pathetic. I guess all of those little trips everywhere, $5 here-$10 there, really add up and now it's starting to leave its mark. I think that another big hit for me was shopping for Christmas presents for my family and friends. I've always been one to enjoy giving to others so I tend to go all out when it comes to this time of the year. I would rather spend my money getting other people gifts than wasting it buying myself something that I really don't need.
So I'm getting really nervous for finals week. I've never had to take finals test before so I have no idea what to expect. This fear isn't helped by the fact that my econ teacher told me to start studying already because it was going to be pretty tough and also that my calc 2 final is going to be mostly on the one section that I didn't understand. I also have a research paper to do (an ethnographic study) and I still don't have all of my interviews done yet. I know that it could definately be a lot worse but coming from having to do nothing before to this is a huge jump. I'm spending all of my weekend on homework and probably every night next week as well. Hopefully I'll be able to study well also so that my first semester of college won't be a total bomb. | http://blog.lib.umn.edu/bues0035/laurensblog/ | dclm-gs1-221070002 | false | false | {
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0.050117 | <urn:uuid:c65e94e1-7e1a-4cea-896a-573d670b6ae8> | en | 0.92131 | Search for content in message boards
Hezekiah Ellis of Henrico/Goochland VA
Replies: 2
Hezekiah Ellis of Henrico/Goochland VA
Posted: 4 May 2012 11:19PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi! I was just looking at a number of Family Trees on Ancestry for Hezekiah Ellis, and I believe many have posted some incorrect information. Living in Henrico at the same time...also relatively the same age...were Hezekiah H Ellis, son of Caleb, and Hezekiah Ellis, son of James. Hezekiah (no middle initial) married Mary Brown. Many have Hezekiah H marrying Mary Brown. Hezekiah H married Eliza Jane Henley, not Mary Brown.
Hezekiah and Mary (Brown) Ellis had children Obediah, Robert, Elizabeth P, and John Henry. They also had two older daughters married/dead by the 1850 census.
I hope this helps to straighten things out. It's crazy how these Ellis brothers named their children the same names! Makes things quite crazy!
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0.03188 | <urn:uuid:70f0ce41-f0e3-4d36-acd7-989555e85b3e> | en | 0.982268 | Cocktails Wiki
Bartenders Fighting Vodka
Wagnike2 August 31, 2011 User blog:Wagnike2
Vodka drink-949
Generally, you would assume that it would be a bartenders' primary mission to sell as much liquor as possible. However, this doesn't seem to be the case as bartenders recently seem to be fighting against the forces of vodka. Many bartenders and owners are starting to blame vodka for it's lack of pairing possibilities with food. They see vodka and in some regards gin as more of "get-hammered" drinks. Toronto cocktail expert Jen Agg recently wrote a blog called "Vodka is Stupid," in which she railed against the liquor. She stated “A vodka martini ought to be renamed ‘I like being drunk,’ because that is its only purpose."
What do you think about this rage against vodka? Do you think it's silly elitism by cocktail drink creators and bartenders? Why do you think they are even concerned about what liquor they are selling? Please share with us your thoughts and opinions.
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0.065743 | <urn:uuid:ca0bf00f-eef8-44c7-b908-a3b52956e25f> | en | 0.973233 | “I want to be happy… normal. I want to learn what it’s like to wake up in the morning and not feel sad.”
Italian, 24, leo
MY STUFF: 1 - 2
music player codey
viwan themes | http://dia89.tumblr.com/tagged/top_5_female_characters | dclm-gs1-221480002 | false | false | {
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0.02679 | <urn:uuid:c6584d34-8eca-4c3c-acd9-83f48739c652> | en | 0.799962 | [proh-lawg, -log] /ˈproʊ lɔg, -lɒg/ Show IPA
noun, verb, prologued, prologuing.
nouns 5 verb 1
an introductory speech, often in verse, calling attention to the theme of a play.
the actor or actress who delivers this.
any introductory proceeding, event, etc.:
Appetizing delicacies were the prologue to a long dinner.
verb (used with object)
to introduce with or as if with a prologue.
Also, prolog.
1250–1300; Middle English prologe, prologue (< Old French prologue) < Latin prōlogus < Greek prólogos. See pro-2, -logue
prologuist, prologist, noun
prologuelike, prologlike, adjective
unprologued, adjective
5. preamble; beginning, opening; prelude.
PROLOG or Prolog (ˈprəʊlɒɡ)
a computer programming language based on mathematical logic
[C20: from pro(gramming in) log(ic)]
Prolog or Prolog
prologue or often (US) prolog (ˈprəʊlɒɡ)
1. a. the prefatory lines introducing a play or speech
b. the actor speaking these lines
2. a preliminary act or event
3. in early opera
a. an introductory scene in which a narrator summarizes the main action of the work
b. a brief independent play preceding the opera, esp one in honour of a patron
vb , -logues, -loguing, -logued, -logs, -loging, -loged
4. (tr) to introduce or preface with or as if with a prologue
[C13: from Latin prologus, from Greek prologos, from pro-² + logos discourse]
prolog or often (US) prolog
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
Prolog definition
Programming in Logic or (French) Programmation en Logique. The first of the huge family of logic programming languages.
Prolog was invented by Alain Colmerauer and Phillipe Roussel at the University of Aix-Marseille in 1971. It was first implemented 1972 in ALGOL-W. It was designed originally for natural-language processing but has become one of the most widely used languages for artificial intelligence.
It is based on LUSH (or SLD) resolution theorem proving and unification. The first versions had no user-defined functions and no control structure other than the built-in depth-first search with backtracking. Early collaboration between Marseille and Robert Kowalski at University of Edinburgh continued until about 1975.
Early implementations included C-Prolog, ESLPDPRO, Frolic, LM-Prolog, Open Prolog, SB-Prolog, UPMAIL Tricia Prolog. In 1998, the most common Prologs in use are Quintus Prolog, SICSTUS Prolog, LPA Prolog, SWI Prolog, AMZI Prolog, SNI Prolog.
ISO draft standard at Darmstadt, Germany ( or UGA, USA (
See also negation by failure, Kamin's interpreters, Paradigms of AI Programming, Aditi.
A Prolog interpreter in Scheme. (
A Prolog package ( from the University of Calgary features delayed goals and interval arithmetic. It requires Scheme with continuations.
["Programming in Prolog", W.F. Clocksin & C.S. Mellish, Springer, 1985]. | http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Prolog++ | dclm-gs1-221490002 | false | false | {
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0.13269 | <urn:uuid:25850ce5-5a44-4243-81cf-55d52ef92936> | en | 0.97537 | marriage counseling
Handling Difficult People
Kerry got into it with his brother-in-law again. Somehow this happened with some, almost predictable, regularity about twice a year. Each time was painful for them and for the witnesses. Yet, it seemed doomed to repeat itself.
It started innocently enough. Chuck was looking at the news headlines when he opened his email. “Boy,” he said, “there go the American apologists again. Why won’t they just be proud of who they are? Why are we always afraid to speak up? Why can’t we take some strong steps with people who put us down?”
What Motivates Mass Murderers?
Wait! Don’t rush to say, “Silly question, Dr. Deb. Mass murderers are crazy. That’s all.” Let me explain why I pose the question “What Motivates a Mass Murderer” by asking you another question: Would you rather be able to take control of your life or would you rather think that your own life is in the hands of whim and chance?
The more you understand human nature, the more control you have over things that come your way. Here’s a list of things that you can get control of that you never thought possible just by learning what motivates a mass murderer:
Getting Unspoiled
At three years of age, Ron was a terror. He basically got what he wanted, not by crying for it, but by waging war. He could not be grabbed fast enough to discipline. He stuck his tongue out at his mother when she tried to teach him right from wrong. He sassed her by poking his rear end out of his pants and laughing before he ran away. At five, he was kicking his parents if they tried to discipline him. They gave up. They told themselves, “He’ll grow out of it.” That was a big mistake. Why would he grow out of it?
Turn Arguments to Your Advantage
Calista and Ben were bickering again.
“I think going to a beach for a week would just be so boring,” Ben said, concerning their vacation plans. “Not only would I be bored but you would be, too. You think you just need to lay out in the sun and do nothing, but I know you; you’d get bored so quick. And then what? We’d be stuck on an island with little to do or we’d give it up and lose the rest of our deposit.”
“Not at all,” Calista argued. We would have plenty to do. We could rent bikes. That would be so much fun.
Marriage Counseling: Getting Your Partner to Take Responsibility
It’s amazing how many people can’t seem to apologize. Here are some reasons I’m speculating that this happens:
Marriage-Friendly Marriage Counseling
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Who's on First: Handling Mixed Messages pt. 2
In the last post, I set up a typical example of mixed messages. (By the way, in psycho-jargon, these are called “double binds” and they were discussed extensively way back by Gregory Bateson. Analytical people will enjoy Bateson.) Mary Lou, who delivered the mixed messages may have had an ulterior motive to doing so and I did not discuss that in that post. I also left open how Lloyd, her husband of 20 years, ought to handle the problem.
Let’s look at the ulterior motive possibility.
Who's on First: Handling Mixed Messages
By the good fortune of technology, we can enjoy Abbot and Costello’s famous routine, “Who’s on first. What’s on second, and I-Don’t-Know is on third.” Those guys are still funny today.
It’s just not so funny when you’re married to someone who is sending mixed messages. In fact, it’s downright frustrating. But that may be exactly the point. Let me explain with a story.
“Be honest with me,” Mary Lou pleaded with Lou. “Did I do something wrong?”
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0.04001 | <urn:uuid:45bd79fd-f392-479e-b6ce-4e3324962163> | en | 0.934823 | Ocean Health
Loons and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
How are these key predators faring after 250 million gallons of oil poured into waters they depend on?
Explore this expedition
Read reviews
The facts
Why the research is important
Why the research is important
Loons are remarkable birds. They can dive more than 200 feet (61 meters) deep to catch their prey.
Animals that are high up in the food chain—like loons, which eat fish and shrimp—can tell us a lot about what’s going on in their environment.
Researchers are studying the Gulf of Mexico’s loons to look for signs that spilled oil is working its way through the food chain. They already know that a loon’s body will absorb and store larger amounts of toxins like petroleum than it is able to expel, so if oil has entered the food chain of the Gulf, the loons’ bodies will provide evidence of it.
Chronic exposure to petroleum can harm loons and other species and may lead to death from starvation, disease, or predation. This could be especially dangerous for the Gulf loons—if this research shows that they return to the same location every year to feed and molt (as we know loons that winter on the Pacific Coast do), they will be exposed to toxins from the oil spill for years.
Common Loon
Loons may prove very sensitive to the Gulf oil spill’s lingering effects.
Local people are also, of course, still recovering from this huge environmental disaster. Many boat captains lost their livelihoods when the spill devastated the Gulf’s fishing tourism. Earthwatch researchers have involved some of these captains in the boat-based loon surveys, introducing them to a very different aspect of their valuable coastal community while also providing them with work. By joining us, you too will get to know this community—and have a hand in protecting it for years to come.
About the research area
Port Sulphur, Louisiana, United States, North America & Arctic
Daily life in the field
This is a summary:
The Scientists
Director, Center for Loon Conservation at the Biodiversity Research Institute
ABOUT Jim Paruk
Why Loons? “To me, loons embody the essence of wilderness,” Dr. Paruk told Earthwatch. “They have a lot of spunk, and in contrast to, say, a goose or a swan that eats mostly plants, loons are hunters; they are apex predators. It’s a tough life being at the top of the food chain. I’m drawn to those aspects of a loon that symbolize wildness, independence, and freedom.”
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Developing countries' participation in the World Trade Organization, Volume 1
Author:Michalopoulos, Constantine; Collection Title:Policy, Research working paper ; no. WPS 1906
Date Stored:2003/07/30Document Date:1998/03/31
Document Type:Policy Research Working PaperLanguage:English
Major Sector:(Historic)Economic PolicyReport Number:WPS1906
Sub Sectors:(Historic)TradeSubTopics:Trade and Services; Economic Theory & Research; Labor & Employment Law; Poverty Assessment; Economic Conditions and Volatility; Country Strategy & Performance; World Trade Organization; Decentralization
Volume No:1
Summary: In the 1960s and 1970s developing countries viewed UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade & Development) rather than the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade) as the main institution through which to promote their interests in international trade. But beginning with the Uruguay Round in the mid-1980s, their attitude changed, many more of them became members of the GATT, and a significant number played an active role in negotiations. The author analyzes developing countries' representation and participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) as of mid-1997 to determine how developing countries can effectively promote their interests and discharge their responsibilities under the rules and agreements of the new organization. He concludes that although many developing countries are actively participating in the new process, more than half of the developing countries that are members of the WTO participate little more than they did in the early 1980s and have not increased their staffing, despite the vastly greater complexity of issues and obligations. Institutional weaknesses at home are the main constraints to effective participation and representation of their interests at the WTO. To make their participation more effective, he recommends that the developing countries establish adequately staffed WTO missions based in Geneva; failing that, pooling their resources and representation in Geneva; and being sure to pay their dues, which are typically small. He also recommends that the international community place higher priority on programs of assistance in support of institutional development of poorer countries aimed at enhancing their capacity to participate in the international trading system and the WTO -- and that the WTO review its internal rules and procedures to ensure that inadvertently they do not make developing countries participation more difficult.
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0.91726 | <urn:uuid:8abb7569-a22f-4e86-a1bc-0c3df4e49c0d> | en | 0.887751 | 1. 5 things to know: LHC and Higgs Boson
Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider believe they may have identified the elusive Higgs boson, otherwise known as the “God particle”. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, here’s some background info to help you understand why this is some pretty exciting stuff.
Large Hadron Collider
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0.099069 | <urn:uuid:2c69153b-d06d-4e42-81d7-4ae3a4a00e10> | en | 0.932562 | From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Atomist)
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Atomism (from Greek ἄτομον, atomon, i.e. "uncuttable", "indivisible"[1][2][3]) is a natural philosophy that developed in several ancient traditions. The atomists theorized that nature consists of two fundamental principles: atom and void. Unlike their modern scientific namesake in atomic theory, philosophical atoms come in an infinite variety of shapes and sizes, each indestructible, immutable and surrounded by a void where they collide with the others or hook together forming a cluster. Clusters of different shapes, arrangements, and positions give rise to the various macroscopic substances in the world.[4][5]
References to the concept of atomism and its atoms are found in ancient India and ancient Greece. In India the Jain,[6][7] Ajivika and Carvaka schools of atomism may date back to the 6th century BCE.[8] The Nyaya and Vaisheshika schools later developed theories on how atoms combined into more complex objects.[9] In the West, atomism emerged in the 5th century BCE with Leucippus and Democritus.[10] Whether Indian culture influenced Greek or vice versa or whether both evolved independently is a matter of dispute.[11]
The particles of chemical matter which chemists and other natural philosophers of the early 19th century found experimental evidence, were thought to be indivisible, and therefore were given the name "atom", long used by the atomist philosophy.
However, in the 20th century, the "atoms" of the chemists were found to be composed of even smaller entities: electrons, neutrons, and protons, and further experiments showed that protons and neutrons are made of quarks. Although the connection to historical atomism is at best tenuous, elementary particles have thus become a modern analog of philosophical atoms, despite the misnomer in chemistry.
Philosophical atomism is a reductive argument: not only that everything is composed of atoms and void, but that nothing they compose really exists: the only things that really exist are atoms ricocheting off each other mechanistically in an otherwise empty void. Atomism stands in contrast to a substance theory wherein a prime material continuum remains qualitatively invariant under division (for example, the ratio of the four classical elements would be the same in any portion of a homogeneous material).
Indian Buddhists, such as Dharmakirti and others, also developed distinctive theories of atomism, for example, involving momentary (instantaneous) atoms, that flash in and out of existence (Kalapas).
Greek atomism[edit]
In the 5th century BC, Leucippus and his pupil Democritus proposed that everything is composed of fundamental and invariant atoms, in order to reconcile two conflicting schools of thought on the nature of reality. On one side was Heraclitus, who believed that the nature of all existence is change. On the other side was Parmenides, who believed instead that all change is illusion.
Parmenides denied the existence of motion, change and void. He believed all existence to be a single, all-encompassing and unchanging monism, and that change and motion were mere illusions. Parmenides explicitly rejected sensory experience as a path to understanding the world, favoring pure reason. He argued against the existence of void, equating it with non-being (i.e. nothing).[12][13]
In response, Democritus provides a reductive account of changeable figure, order and position as the aggregates of irreducible unchanging atoms.
Geometry and atoms[edit]
Element Polyhedron Number of Faces Number of Triangles
Fire Tetrahedron
Tetrahedron 4 24
Air Octahedron
Octahedron 8 48
Water Icosahedron
Icosahedron 20 120
Earth Cube
Hexahedron (cube) 6 24
Geometrical Simple Bodies According to Plato
Plato (c. 427 — c. 347 BC), were he familiar with the atomism of Democritus, would have objected to its mechanistic materialism. He argued that atoms just crashing into other atoms could never produce the beauty and form of the world. In Plato's Timaeus, (28B – 29A) the character of Timeaus insisted that the cosmos was not eternal but was created, although its creator framed it after an eternal, unchanging model.
The rejection of atoms[edit]
Later ancient atomism[edit]
Epicurus (341–270) studied atomism with Nausiphanes who had been a student of Democritus. Although Epicurus was certain of the existence of atoms and the void, he was less sure we could adequately explain specific natural phenomena such as earthquakes, lightning, comets, or the phases of the Moon (Lloyd 1973, 25–6). Few of Epicurus's writings survive and those that do reflect his interest in applying Democritus's theories to assist people in taking responsibility for themselves and for their own happiness—since he held there are no gods around that can help them. He understood gods' role as moral ideals.
His ideas are also represented in the works of his follower Lucretius, who wrote On the Nature of Things. This scientific work in poetic form illustrates several segments of Epicurean theory on how the universe came into its current stage and it shows that the phenomena we perceive are actually composite forms. The atoms and the void are eternal and in constant motion. Atomic collisions create objects, which are still composed of the same eternal atoms whose motion for a while is incorporated into the created entity. Human sensations and meteorological phenomena are also explained by Lucretius in terms of atomic motion.
Atomism and ethics[edit]
The exile of atomism[edit]
Indian atomism[edit]
The Indian atomistic position, like many movements in Indian Philosophy and Mathematics, starts with an argument from Linguistics. The Vedic etymologist and grammarian Yaska (c. 7th century BC) in his Nirukta, in dealing with models for how linguistic structures get to have their meanings, takes the atomistic position that words are the "primary" carrier of meaning – i.e. words have a preferred ontological status in defining meaning. This position was to be the subject of a fierce debate in the Indian tradition from the early Christian era till the 18th century, involving different philosophers from the Nyaya, Mimamsa and Buddhist schools.
In the pratishakhya text (c. 2nd century BCE), the gist of the controversy was stated cryptically in the sutra form as "saMhitA pada-prakr^tiH".[20] According to the atomist view, the words (pada) would be the primary elements (prakrti) out of which the sentence is constructed, while the holistic view considers the sentence as the primary entity, originally "given" in its context of utterance, and the words are arrived at only through analysis and abstraction.[21]
Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, the atom (anu or aṇor) is mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 8, Verse 9):
kaviḿ purāṇam anuśāsitāram aṇor aṇīyāḿsam anusmared yaḥ sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam āditya-varṇaḿ tamasaḥ parastāt
There has been some debate among scholars as to the origin of Indian atomism; the general consensus is that the Indian and Greek versions of atomism developed independently. However, there is some doubt on this, given the similarities between Indian atomism and Greek atomism and the proximity of India to scholastic Europe, as well as the account, related by Diogenes Laertius, of Democritus "making acquaintance with the Gymnosophists in India".[22] The atomist position had transcended language into epistemology by the time that NyayaVaisesika, Buddhist and Jaina theology were developing mature philosophical positions.
Will Durant wrote in Our Oriental Heritage:
Nyaya–Vaisesika school[edit]
The NyayaVaisesika school developed one of the earliest forms of atomism; scholars date the Nyaya and Vaisesika texts from the 6th to 1st centuries BC. Like the Buddhist atomists, the Vaisesika had a pseudo-Aristotelian theory of atomism. They posited the four elemental atom types, but in Vaisesika physics atoms had 24 different possible qualities, divided between general extensive properties and specific (intensive) properties. Like the Jaina school, the Nyaya–Vaisesika atomists had elaborate theories of how atoms combine. In both Jaina and Vaisesika atomism, atoms first combine in pairs (dyads), and then group into trios of pairs (triads), which are the smallest visible units of matter.[23]
Buddhist school[edit]
Jaina school[edit]
Islamic atomism[edit]
Atomistic philosophies are found very early in Islamic philosophy and was influenced by earlier Greek and to some extent Indian philosophy.[24][25] Like both the Greek and Indian versions, Islamic atomism was a charged topic that had the potential for conflict with the prevalent religious orthodoxy, but it was instead more often favoured by orthodox Islamic theologians. It was such a fertile and flexible idea that, as in Greece and India, it flourished in some leading schools of Islamic thought.
Asharite atomism[edit]
The most successful form of Islamic atomism was in the Asharite school of Islamic theology, most notably in the work of the theologian al-Ghazali (1058–1111). In Asharite atomism, atoms are the only perpetual, material things in existence, and all else in the world is "accidental" meaning something that lasts for only an instant. Nothing accidental can be the cause of anything else, except perception, as it exists for a moment. Contingent events are not subject to natural physical causes, but are the direct result of God's constant intervention, without which nothing could happen. Thus nature is completely dependent on God, which meshes with other Asharite Islamic ideas on causation, or the lack thereof (Gardet 2001). Al-Ghazali also used the theory to support his theory of occasionalism. In a sense, the Asharite theory of atomism has far more in common with Indian atomism than it does with Greek atomism.[26]
Other traditions in Islam rejected the atomism of the Asharites and expounded on many Greek texts, especially those of Aristotle. An active school of philosophers in Spain, including the noted commentator Averroes (AD 1126–1198) explicitly rejected the thought of al-Ghazali and turned to an extensive evaluation of the thought of Aristotle. Averroes commented in detail on most of the works of Aristotle and his commentaries did much to guide the interpretation of Aristotle in later Jewish and Christian scholastic thought.
Atomic renaissance[edit]
With few exceptions, much of the curriculum in the universities of Europe was based on Aristotle for most of the Middle Ages (Kargon 1966). Scholasticism was standard science in the time of Isaac Newton, but in the 17th century, a renewed interest in Epicurian atomism and Corpuscularianism as a hybrid or an alternative to Aristotelian physics had begun to mount outside the classroom. The main figures in the rebirth of atomism were René Descartes, Pierre Gassendi, and Robert Boyle, as well as other notable figures.
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) was an advocate of atomism in his 1612, Discourse on Floating Bodies (Redondi 1969). In The Assayer, Galileo offered a more complete physical system based on a corpuscular theory of matter, in which all phenomena—with the exception of sound—are produced by "matter in motion". Galileo identified some basic problems with Aristotelian physics through his experiments. He utilized a theory of atomism as a partial replacement, but he was never unequivocally committed to it. For example, his experiments with falling bodies and inclined planes led him to the concepts of circular inertial motion and accelerating free-fall. The current Aristotelian theories of impetus and terrestrial motion were inadequate to explain these. While atomism did not explain the law of fall either, it was a more promising framework in which to develop an explanation because motion was conserved in ancient atomism (unlike Aristotelian physics).
René Descartes' (1596–1650) "mechanical" philosophy of corpuscularism had much in common with atomism, and is considered, in some senses, to be a different version of it. Descartes thought everything physical in the universe to be made of tiny vortices of matter. Like the ancient atomists, Descartes claimed that sensations, such as taste or temperature, are caused by the shape and size of tiny pieces of matter. The main difference between atomism and Descartes' concept was the existence of the void. For him, there could be no vacuum, and all matter was constantly swirling to prevent a void as corpuscles moved through other matter. Another key distinction between Descartes' view and classical atomism is the mind/body duality of Descartes, which allowed for an independent realm of existence for thought, soul, and most importantly, God. Gassendi's concept was closer to classical atomism, but with no atheistic overtone.
Corpuscularianism is similar to atomism, except that where atoms were supposed to be indivisible, corpuscles could in principle be divided. In this manner, for example, it was theorized that mercury could penetrate into metals and modify their inner structure, a step on the way towards transmutative production of gold. Corpuscularianism was associated by its leading proponents with the idea that some of the properties that objects appear to have are artifacts of the perceiving mind: 'secondary' qualities as distinguished from 'primary' qualities.[27] Not all corpuscularianism made use of the primary-secondary quality distinction, however. An influential tradition in medieval and early modern alchemy argued that chemical analysis revealed the existence of robust corpuscles that retained their identity in chemical compounds (to use the modern term). William R. Newman has dubbed this approach to matter theory "chymical atomism," and has argued for its significance to both the mechanical philosophy and to the chemical atomism that emerged in the early 19th century.[28] Corpuscularianism stayed a dominant theory over the next several hundred years and retained its links with alchemy in the work of scientists such as Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton in the 17th century.[29][30] It was used by Newton, for instance, in his development of the corpuscular theory of light. The form that came to be accepted by most English scientists after Robert Boyle (1627–1692) was an amalgam of the systems of Descartes and Gassendi. In The Sceptical Chymist (1661), Boyle demonstrates problems that arise from chemistry, and offers up atomism as a possible explanation. The unifying principle that would eventually lead to the acceptance of a hybrid corpuscular–atomism was mechanical philosophy, which became widely accepted by physical sciences.
Atomic theory[edit]
Atomic theory controversy[edit]
Dalton's atomic theory remained controversial throughout the 19th century.[32] Whilst the Law of definite proportion were accepted, the hypothesis that this was due to atoms was not so widely accepted. For example in 1826 when Sir Humphrey Davy presented Dalton the Royal Medal from the Royal Society, Davy said that the theory only became useful when the atomic conjecture was ignored.[33] Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie in 1866 published the first part of his Calculus of Chemical Operations [34] as a non atomic alternative to the Atomic Theory. He described atomic theory as a 'Thoroughly materialistic bit of joiners work'.[35] Alexander Williamson used his Presidential Address to the London Chemical Society in 1869 [36] to defend the Atomic Theory against its critics and doubters. This in turn led to further meetings at which the positivists again attacked the supposition that there were atoms. The matter was finally resolved in Dalton's favour in the early 20th century with the rise of atomic physics.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
1. ^ ἄτομον. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
2. ^ "atom". Online Etymology Dictionary.
3. ^ The term 'atomism' is recorded in English since 1670–80 (Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 2013, "atomism").
4. ^ Aristotle, Metaphysics I, 4, 985b 10–15.
6. ^ Gangopadhyaya, Mrinalkanti (1981). Indian Atomism: History and Sources. Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press. ISBN 0-391-02177-X. OCLC 10916778.
7. ^ Iannone, A. Pablo (2001). Dictionary of World Philosophy. Routledge. pp. 83,356. ISBN 0-415-17995-5. OCLC 44541769.
8. ^ Thomas McEvilley, The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies ISBN 1-58115-203-5, Allwarth Press, 2002, p. 317-321.
9. ^ Richard King, Indian philosophy: an introduction to Hindu and Buddhist thought, , Edinburgh University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-7486-0954-7, pp. 105-107.
10. ^ The atomists, Leucippus and Democritus: fragments, a text and translation with a commentary by C.C.W. Taylor, University of Toronto Press Incorporated 1999, ISBN 0-8020-4390-9, pp. 157-158.
11. ^ Teresi, Dick (2003). Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science. Simon & Schuster. pp. 213–214. ISBN 0-7432-4379-X.
12. ^ Andrew G. van Melsen (1952). From Atomos to Atom: The History and Concept of the Atom (Phoenix Editions. ed.). Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-49584-1.
13. ^ Bertrand Russel (1946). History of Western Philosophy. London: Routledge. p. 75. ISBN 0-415-32505-6.
15. ^ Lloyd, Geoffrey (1970). Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle. London; New York: Chatto and Windus; W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 74–77. ISBN 0-393-00583-6.
16. ^ Cornford, Francis Macdonald (1957). Plato's Cosmology: The Timaeus of Plato. New York: Liberal Arts Press. pp. 210–239. ISBN 0-87220-386-7.
17. ^ Lloyd, Geoffrey (1968). Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of his Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 165. ISBN 0-521-09456-9.
18. ^ Lloyd, Geoffrey (1970). Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle. London; New York: Chatto and Windus; W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 108–109. ISBN 0-393-00583-6.
19. ^ Taylor, C. C. W. (1999). The Atomists, Leucippus and Democritus: a text and translation with commentary by C. C. W. Taylor. Toronto; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-4390-9.
20. ^ Bimal Krishna Matilal (1990). The word and the world: India's contribution to the study of language. Oxford. Yaska is dealt with in Chapter 3. ISBN 0-19-562515-3.
21. ^ McEvilley (2002), 317–320
22. ^ Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers, ix, 35.
24. ^ Saeed, Abdullah (2006). Islamic Thought: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 978-0415364096.
25. ^ Michael Marmura (1976). "God and his creation:Two medieval Islamic views". In R. M. Savory. Introduction to Islamic Civilization. Cambridge University Press. p. 49.
26. ^ Shlomo Pines (1986). Studies in Arabic versions of Greek texts and in mediaeval science 2. Brill Publishers. pp. 355–6. ISBN 965-223-626-8
27. ^ The Mechanical Philosophy - Early modern 'atomism' ("corpuscularianism" as it was known)
28. ^ William R. Newman, “The Significance of ‘Chymical Atomism’,” in Edith Sylla and W. R. Newman, eds., Evidence and Interpretation: Studies on Early Science and Medicine in Honor of John E. Murdoch (Leiden: Brill, 2009), pp. 248-264 and Newman, Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006)
29. ^ Levere, Trevor, H. (2001). Transforming Matter – A History of Chemistry for Alchemy to the Buckyball. The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6610-3.
30. ^ Corpuscularianism - Philosophical Dictionary
31. ^ Lancelot Law Whyte Essay on Atomism, 1961, p 54.
32. ^ Brock(ed), W.H. (1967). The Atomic Debates. Leicester University Press. p. 1.
33. ^ Davy(ed), J. Collected Works of Sir Humphrey Davy. Bart. p. 93 vol 8.
34. ^ Brodie, Sir Benjamin Collins (1866). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. pp. 781–859 vol I56.
35. ^ Brock(ed), W.H. (1967). The Atomic Debates. Leicester University Press. p. 12.
36. ^ Brock(ed), W.H. (1967). The Atomic Debates. Leicester University Press. p. 15.
• McEvilley, Thomas (2002). The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies. New York: Allworth Communications Inc. ISBN 1-58115-203-5. | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomist | dclm-gs1-221650002 | false | false | {
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0.054561 | <urn:uuid:22428b4c-8323-4cfb-9a36-1fd3ba3a4e46> | en | 0.920022 | Evolution of the horse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This image shows a representative sequence, but should not be construed to represent a "straight-line" evolution of the horse. Reconstruction, left forefoot skeleton (third digit emphasized yellow) and longitudinal section of molars of selected prehistoric horses
Skeletal evolution
The evolution of the horse occurred over a period of 50 million years, transforming the small, dog-sized,[1] forest-dwelling Eohippus into the modern horse. Paleozoologists have been able to piece together a more complete outline of the modern horse's evolutionary lineage than that of any other animal.
The early ancestors of the modern horse walked on several spread-out toes, an accommodation to life spent walking on the soft, moist grounds of primeval forests. As grass species began to appear and flourish, the equids' diets shifted from foliage to grasses, leading to larger and more durable teeth. At the same time, as the steppes began to appear, the horse's predecessors needed to be capable of greater speeds to outrun predators. This was attained through the lengthening of limbs and the lifting of some toes from the ground in such a way that the weight of the body was gradually placed on one of the longest toes, the third.
History of research[edit]
Indigenous modern horses died out in the New World at the end of the Pleistocene, about 12,000 years ago, and thus were absent until the Spanish brought domestic horses from Europe, beginning in 1493. Escaped horses quickly established large wild herds. In the 1760s, the early naturalist Buffon suggested this was an indication of inferiority of the New World fauna, but later reconsidered this idea.[2] William Clark's 1807 expedition to Big Bone Lick found "leg and foot bones of the Horses", which were included with other fossils sent to Thomas Jefferson and evaluated by the anatomist Caspar Wistar, but neither commented on the significance of this find.[3]
The first equid fossil was found in the gypsum quarries in Montmartre, Paris in the 1820s. The tooth was sent to the Paris Conservatory, where it was identified by Georges Cuvier, who identified it as a browsing equine related to the tapir.[4] His sketch of the entire animal matched later skeletons found at the site.[5]
During the Beagle survey expedition, the young naturalist Charles Darwin had remarkable success with fossil hunting in Patagonia. On 10 October 1833 at Santa Fe, Argentina, he was "filled with astonishment" when he found a horse's tooth in the same stratum as fossil giant armadillos, and wondered if it might have been washed down from a later layer, but concluded this was "not very probable".[6] After the expedition returned in 1836, the anatomist Richard Owen confirmed the tooth was from an extinct species, which he subsequently named Equus curvidens, and remarked, "This evidence of the former existence of a genus, which, as regards South America, had become extinct, and has a second time been introduced into that Continent, is not one of the least interesting fruits of Mr. Darwin's palæontological discoveries."[3][7]
In 1848, a study On the fossil horses of America by Joseph Leidy systematically examined Pleistocene horse fossils from various collections, including that of the Academy of Natural Sciences and concluded at least two ancient horse species had existed in North America: Equus curvidens and another, which he named Equus americanus. A decade later, however, he found the latter name had already been taken and renamed it Equus complicatus.[2] In the same year, he visited Europe and was introduced by Owen to Darwin.[8]
The original sequence of species believed to have evolved into the horse was based on fossils discovered in North America in the 1870s by paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. The sequence, from Eohippus to the modern horse (Equus), was popularized by Thomas Huxley and became one of the most widely known examples of a clear evolutionary progression. The horse's evolutionary lineage became a common feature of biology textbooks, and the sequence of transitional fossils was assembled by the American Museum of Natural History into an exhibit that emphasized the gradual, "straight-line" evolution of the horse.
Since then, as the number of equid fossils has increased, the actual evolutionary progression from Eohippus to Equus has been discovered to be much more complex and multibranched than was initially supposed. The straight, direct progression from the former to the latter has been replaced by a more elaborate model with numerous branches in different directions, of which the modern horse is only one of many. George Gaylord Simpson in 1951[9] first recognized the modern horse was not the "goal" of the entire lineage of equids,[10] it is simply the only genus of the many horse lineages to survive.
Detailed fossil information on the rate and distribution of new equid species has also revealed that the progression between species was not as smooth and consistent as was once believed. Although some transitions, such as that of Dinohippus to Equus, were indeed gradual progressions, a number of others, such as that of Epihippus to Mesohippus, were relatively abrupt in geologic time, taking place over only a few million years. Both anagenesis (gradual change in an entire population's gene frequency) and cladogenesis (a population "splitting" into two distinct evolutionary branches) occurred, and many species coexisted with "ancestor" species at various times. The change in equids' traits was also not always a "straight line" from Eohippus to Equus: some traits reversed themselves at various points in the evolution of new equid species, such as size and the presence of facial fossae, and only in retrospect can certain evolutionary trends be recognized.[11]
Before Odd-toed ungulates[edit]
Restoration of Phenacodus
Phenacodontidae is the earliest family in the order condylarthra which is believed to be the ancestor to all odd-toed ungulates. Phenacodontidae contains the genera Almogaver, Copecion, Ectocion, Eodesmatodon, Meniscotherium, Ordathspidotherium, Phenacodus and Pleuraspidotherium. The genera lived from the Early Paleocene to the Middle Eocene in Europe and were about the size of a sheep, with tails making slightly less than half of the length of their bodies and unlike their ancestors, good running skills, convenient if a predator approaches it.
Eocene and Oligocene: early equids[edit]
Its limbs were decently long relative to its body, already showing the beginnings of adaptations for running. However, all of the major leg bones were unfused, leaving the legs flexible and rotatable. Its wrist and hock joints were low to the ground. The forelimbs had developed five toes, of which four were equipped with small proto-hooves; the large fifth "toe-thumb" was off the ground. The hind limbs had small hooves on three out of the five toes, while the vestigial first and fifth toes did not touch the ground. Its feet were padded, much like a dog's, but with the small hooves in place of claws.[12]
Approximately 50 million years ago, in the early-to-middle Eocene, Eohippus smoothly transitioned into Orohippus through a gradual series of changes.[13] Although its name means "mountain horse", Orohippus was not a true horse and did not live in the mountains. It resembled Eohippus in size, but had a slimmer body, an elongated head, slimmer forelimbs, and longer hind legs, all of which are characteristics of a good jumper. Although Orohippus was still pad-footed, the vestigial outer toes of Eohippus were not present in the Orohippus; there were four toes on each fore leg, and three on each hind leg.
In the late Eocene and the early stages of the Oligocene epoch (32–24 mya), the climate of North America became drier, and the earliest grasses began to evolve. The forests were yielding to flatlands,[citation needed] home to grasses and various kinds of brush. In a few areas, these plains were covered in sand,[citation needed] creating the type of environment resembling the present-day prairies.
Restoration of Mesohippus
In response to the changing environment, the then-living species of Equidae also began to change. In the late Eocene, they began developing tougher teeth and becoming slightly larger and leggier, allowing for faster running speeds in open areas, and thus for evading predators in nonwooded areas[citation needed]. About 40 mya, Mesohippus ("middle horse") suddenly developed in response to strong new selective pressures to adapt, beginning with the species Mesohippus celer and soon followed by Mesohippus westoni.
Mesohippus was slightly larger than Epihippus, about 610 mm (24") at the shoulder. Its back was less arched, and its face, snout, and neck were somewhat longer. It had significantly larger cerebral hemispheres, and had a small, shallow depression on its skull called a fossa, which in modern horses is quite detailed. The fossa serves as a useful marker for identifying an equine fossil's species. Mesohippus had six grinding "cheek teeth", with a single premolar in front—a trait all descendant Equidae would retain. Mesohippus also had the sharp tooth crests of Epihippus, improving its ability to grind down tough vegetation.
Miohippus ushered in a major new period of diversification in Equidae.[15] While Mesohippus died out in the mid-Oligocene, Miohippus continued to thrive, and in the early Miocene (24–5.3 mya), it began to rapidly diversify and speciate. It branched out into two major groups, one of which adjusted to the life in forests once again, while the other remained suited to life on the prairies.[citation needed]
Miocene and Pliocene: true equines[edit]
The forest-suited form was Kalobatippus (or Miohippus intermedius, depending on whether it was a new genus or species), whose second and fourth front toes were long, well-suited travel on the soft forest floors. Kalobatippus probably gave rise to Anchitherium, which travelled to Asia via the Bering Strait land bridge, and from there to Europe.[16] In both North America and Eurasia, larger-bodied genera evolved from Anchitherium: Sinohippus in Eurasia and Hypohippus and Megahippus in North America.[17] Hypohippus became extinct by the late Miocene.[18]
Merychippus, an effective grazer and runner
In the middle of the Miocene epoch, the grazer Merychippus flourished. It had wider molars than its predecessors, which are believed to have been used for crunching the hard grasses of the steppes. The hind legs, which were relatively short, had side toes equipped with small hooves, but they probably only touched the ground when running.[15] Merychippus radiated into at least 19 additional grassland species.
Protohippus simus
In North America, Hipparion and its relatives (Cormohipparion, Nannippus, Neohipparion, and Pseudhipparion), proliferated into many kinds of equids, at least one of which managed to migrate to Asia and Europe during the Miocene epoch.[19] (European Hipparion differs from American Hipparion in its smaller body size – the best-known discovery of these fossils was near Athens.)
Pliohippus pernix
Mounted skeleton of Hagerman horse (Equus simplicidens)
The famous fossils found near Hagerman, Idaho were originally thought to be a part of the genus Plesippus. Hagerman Fossil Beds (Idaho) is a Pliocene site, dating to about 3.5 mya. The fossilized remains were originally called Plesippus shoshonensis, but further study by paleontologists determined the fossils represented the oldest remains of the genus Equus.[21] Their estimated average weight was 425 kg, roughly the size of an Arabian horse.
Modern horses[edit]
Skull of a giant extinct horse, Equus eisenmannae
The genus Equus, which includes all extant equines, is believed to have evolved from Dinohippus, via the intermediate form Plesippus. One of the oldest species is Equus simplicidens, described as zebra-like with a donkey-shaped head. The oldest material to date is ~3.5 million years old from Idaho, USA. The genus appears to have spread quickly into the Old World, with the similarly aged Equus livenzovensis documented from western Europe and Russia.[23]
Molecular phylogenies indicate the most recent common ancestor of all modern equids (members of the genus Equus) lived ~5.6 (3.9-7.8) mya. Direct paleogenomic sequencing of a 700,000 year-old middle Pleistocene horse metapodial bone from Canada implies a more recent 4.07 Myr before present date for the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) within the range of 4.0 to 4.5 Myr BP.[24] The oldest divergencies are the Asian hemiones (subgenus E. (Asinus)), including the kulan, onager, and kiang), followed by the African zebras (subgenera E. (Dolichohippus), and E. (Hippotigris)). All other modern forms including the domesticated horse (and many fossil Pliocene and Pleistocene forms) belong to the subgenus E. (Equus) which diverged ~4.8 (3.2-6.5) million years ago.[25]
Pleistocene horse fossils have been assigned to a multitude of species, with over 50 species of equines described from the Pleistocene of North America alone, although the taxonomic validity of most of these has been called into question.[26] Recent genetic work on fossils has found evidence for only three genetically divergent equid lineages in Pleistocene North and South America.[25] These results suggest all North American fossils of caballine-type horses (which also include the domesticated horse and Przewalski's horse of Europe and Asia), as well as South American fossils traditionally placed in the subgenus E. (Amerhippus)[27] belong to the same species: E. ferus. Remains attributed to a variety of species and lumped as New World stilt-legged horses (including E. francisci, E. tau, E. quinni and potentially North American Pleistocene fossils previously attributed to E. cf. hemiones, and E. (Asinus) cf. kiang) likely all belong to a second species endemic to North America, which despite a superficial resemblance to species in the subgenus E. (Asinus) (and hence occasionally referred to as North American ass) is closely related to E. ferus.[25] Surprisingly, the third species, endemic to South America, and traditionally referred to as Hippidion, originally believed to be descended from Pliohippus, was shown to be a third species in the genus Equus, closely related to the New World stilt-legged horse.[25] The temporal and regional variation in body size and morphological features within each lineage indicates extraordinary intraspecific plasticity. Such environment-driven adaptative changes would explain why the taxonomic diversity of Pleistocene equids has been overestimated on morphoanatomical grounds.[27]
According to these results, it appears the genus Equus evolved from a Dinohippus-like ancestor ~4-7 mya. It rapidly spread into the Old World and there diversified into the various species of asses and zebras. A North American lineage of the subgenus E. (Equus) evolved into the New World stilt-legged horse (NWSLH). Subsequently, populations of this species entered South America as part of the Great American Interchange shortly after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama, and evolved into the form currently referred to as "Hippidion" ~2.5 million years ago. Hippidion is thus unrelated to the morphologically similar Pliohippus, which presumably went extinct during the Miocene. Both the NWSLH and Hippidium show adaptations to dry, barren ground, whereas the shortened legs of Hippidion may have been a response to sloped terrain.[27] In contrast, the geographic origin of the closely related modern E. ferus is not resolved. However, genetic results on extant and fossil material of Pleistocene age indicate two clades, potentially subspecies, one of which had a holarctic distribution spanning from Europe through Asia and across North America and would become the founding stock of the modern domesticated horse.[28][29] The other population appears to have been restricted to North America. One or more North American populations of E. ferus entered South America ~1.0-1.5 million years ago, leading to the forms currently known as "E. (Amerhippus)", which represent an extinct geographic variant or race of E. ferus, however.
Genome sequencing[edit]
In June 2013, a group of researchers announced that they had sequenced the DNA of a 560–780 thousand year old horse, using material extracted from a leg bone found buried in permafrost in Canada's Yukon territory.[30] Prior to this publication, the oldest nuclear genome that had been successfully sequenced was dated at 110–130 thousand years ago. For comparison, the researchers also sequenced the genomes of a 43,000 year old Pleistocene horse, a Przewalski's horse, five modern horse breeds, and a donkey.[31] Analysis of differences between these genomes indicated that the last common ancestor of modern horses, donkeys, and zebras existed 4 to 4.5 million years ago.[30] The results also indicated that Przewalski’s horse diverged from other modern types of horse about 43,000 years ago, and had never in its evolutionary history been domesticated.[32]
Pleistocene extinctions[edit]
Digs in western Canada have unearthed clear evidence horses existed in North America until about 12,000 years ago.[33] However, all Equidae in North America ultimately became extinct. The causes of this extinction (simultaneous with the extinctions of a variety of other American megafauna) have been a matter of debate. Given the suddenness of the event and because these mammals had been flourishing for millions of years previously, something quite unusual must have happened. The first main hypothesis attributes extinction to climate change. For example, in Alaska, beginning approximately 12,500 years ago, the grasses characteristic of a steppe ecosystem gave way to shrub tundra, which was covered with unpalatable plants.[34][35] The other hypothesis suggests extinction was linked to overexploitation of naive prey by newly arrived humans. The extinctions were roughly simultaneous with the end of the most recent glacial advance and the appearance of the big game-hunting Clovis culture.[36][37] Several studies have indicated humans probably arrived in Alaska at the same time or shortly before the local extinction of horses.[37][38][39] Additionally, it has been proposed that the steppe-tundra vegetation transition in Beringia may have been a consequence, rather than a cause, of the extinction of megafaunal grazers.[40]
In Eurasia, horse fossils began occurring frequently again in archaeological sites in Kazakhstan and the southern Ukraine about 6,000 years ago.[28] From then on, domesticated horses, as well as the knowledge of capturing, taming, and rearing horses, probably spread relatively quickly, with wild mares from several wild populations being incorporated en route.[29][41]
Return to the Americas[edit]
The indigenous peoples of the Americas did not have a specific word for horses, and came to refer to them in various languages as a type of dog or deer (in one case, "elk-dog", in other cases "big dog" or "seven dogs", referring to the weight each animal could pull).
Coat color[edit]
The ancestral coat color of E. ferus was likely a uniform dun, consistent with modern populations of Przewalski's horses. Pre-domestication variants including black and spotted have been inferred from cave wall paintings and confirmed by genomic analysis.[43]
See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
1. ^ Legendre, Serge (1989). Les communautés de mammifères du Paléogène (Eocène supérieur et Oligocène) d'Europe occidentale : structures, milieux et évolution. München: F. Pfeil. p. 110. ISBN 978-3-923871-35-3.
2. ^ a b Academy of Natural Sciences - Joseph Leidy - American Horses
3. ^ a b Academy of Natural Sciences - Thomas Jefferson Fossil Collection - Ancient Horse Fossils
4. ^ Horse breeding and management, James Warren Evans 1992
5. ^ Knell, Simon J.; Suzanne Macleod; Sheila E. R. Watson; Museum revolutions: how museums and change and are changed Routledge, 2007, 385 pages ISBN 0-415-44467-5, ISBN 978-0-415-44467-5
6. ^ 'Filled with astonishment': an introduction to the St. Fe Notebook,
Barlow, Nora (ed. 1945) Charles Darwin and the voyage of the Beagle. London: Pilot Press, p. 210
7. ^ Darwin, C. R. (ed. 1840). Fossil Mammalia Part 1 No. 4 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Richard Owen. London: Smith Elder and Co. p. 108–109
8. ^ Academy of Natural Sciences - Joseph Leidy - Leidy and Darwin
9. ^ Simpson, George Gaylord (1951): Horses. Oxford University Press; New Impression edition. ISBN 0-19-500104-4 (1971 reprint)
10. ^ The notion of a goal would contradict modern evolutionary synthesis,
11. ^ a b c Hunt, Kathleen (1995). Horse Evolution. TalkOrigins Archive. Retrieved 6 June 2010 See also downloadable pdf version
12. ^ MacFadden, B. J. (2005). "EVOLUTION: Fossil Horses--Evidence for Evolution". Science 307 (5716): 1728–1730. doi:10.1126/science.1105458. PMID 15774746. edit
13. ^ a b MacFadden, B. J. (1976). "Cladistic analysis of primitive equids with notes on other perissodactyls". Syst. Zool 25 (1): 1–14. doi:10.2307/2412774. JSTOR 2412774.
14. ^ Prothero, D.R. and Shubin, N. (1989). "The evolution of Oligocene horses." The Evolution of Perissodactyls (pp. 142–175). New York: Clarendon Press.
15. ^ a b Fossil Horses In Cyberspace. Florida Museum of Natural History and the National Science Foundation.
16. ^ MacFadden, B.J. (2001). "Three-toed browsing horse Anchitherium clarencei from the early Miocene (Hemingfordian) Thomas Farm, Florida". Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 43 (3): 79–109.
17. ^ Salesa, M.J., Sánchez, I.M., and Morales, J. (2004). "Presence of the Asian horse Sinohippus in the Miocene of Europe". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 49 (2): 189–196.
18. ^ Waring, George H (2003). Horse Behavior (2nd ed.). New York: Noyes Publications/William Andrew Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 0-8155-1484-0. Retrieved 6 June 2010
19. ^ MacFadden, B.J. (1984). "Systematics and phylogeny of Hipparion, Neohipparion, Nannippus, and Cormohipparion (Mammalia, Equidae) from the Miocene and Pliocene of the New World". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 179 (1): 1–195.
20. ^ MacFadden, B. J. (1984). "Astrohippus and Dinohippus". J. Vert. Paleon 4 (2): 273–283. doi:10.1080/02724634.1984.10012009.
21. ^ equus
22. ^ Jens Lorenz Franzen: Die Urpferde der Morgenröte. Elsevier, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, München 2007, ISBN 3-8274-1680-9
23. ^ Azzaroli, A. (1992). "Ascent and decline of monodactyl equids: a case for prehistoric overkill". Ann. Zool. Finnici 28: 151–163.
24. ^ Ludovic Orlando, Aurélien Ginolhac, Guojie Zhang, et al. (2013). "Recalibrating Equus evolution using the genome sequence of an early Middle Pleistocene horse". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature12323.
26. ^ Azzaroli, A. (1998). "The genus Equus in North America". PalaeontographItal 85: 1–60.
28. ^ a b Vila, C.; et al. (2001). "Widespread Origins of Domestic Horse Lineages" (PDF). Science 291 (5503): 474–7. doi:10.1126/science.291.5503.474. PMID 11161199. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
29. ^ a b Jansen, T.; et al. (July 2002). "Mitochondrial DNA and the origins of the domestic horse". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99 (16): 10905–10910. doi:10.1073/pnas.152330099. PMC 125071. PMID 12130666. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
30. ^ a b Erika Check Hayden (26 June 2013). "First horses arose 4 million years ago". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2013.13261.
31. ^ Jane J Lee (26 June 2013). "World's Oldest Genome Sequenced From 700,000-Year-Old Horse DNA". National Geographic.
33. ^ Singer, Ben (May 2005). A brief history of the horse in America. Canadian Geographic Magazine. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
34. ^ LeQuire, Elise (2004-01-04). "No Grass, No Horse". The Horse, online edition. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
35. ^ Guthrie, R. D. (2003-11-13). "Rapid body size decline in Alaskan Pleistocene horses before extinction". Nature 426 (6963): 169–171. doi:10.1038/nature02098. PMID 14614503. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
37. ^ a b Buck, Caitlin E.; Bard, Edouard (2007). "A calendar chronology for Pleistocene mammoth and horse extinction in North America based on Bayesian radiocarbon calibration". Quaternary Science Reviews 26 (17–18): 2031. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.06.013.
38. ^ Solow, Andrew; Roberts, David; Robbirt, Karen (May 9, 2006). "On the Pleistocene extinctions of Alaskan mammoths and horses". In Haynes, C. Vance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (19 ed.) (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) 103 (19): 7351–3. doi:10.1073/pnas.0509480103. PMC 1464344. PMID 16651534.
39. ^ Guthrie, R. D. (2006-05-11). "New carbon dates link climatic change with human colonization and Pleistocene extinctions". Nature 441 (7090): 207–209. doi:10.1038/nature04604. PMID 16688174. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
40. ^ Zimov, S. A.; Chuprynin, V. I.; Oreshko, A. P.; Chapin, F. S.; Reynolds, J. F.; Chapin, M. C. (Nov. 1995). "Steppe-tundra transition: a herbivore-driven biome shift at the end of the Pleistocene". The American Naturalist 146 (5): 765–794. doi:10.1086/285824. JSTOR 2462990.
41. ^ Warmuth, V.; Eriksson, A.; Bower, M. A.; Barker, G.; Barrett, E.; Hanks, B. K.; Li, S.; Lomitashvili, D.; Ochir-Goryaeva, M.; Sizonov, G. V.; Soyonov, V.; Manica, A. (2012-05-07). "Reconstructing the origin and spread of horse domestication in the Eurasian steppe". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109 (21): 8202. doi:10.1073/pnas.1111122109. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
42. ^ Luís, Cristina; et al. (2006). "Iberian Origins of New World Horse Breeds". Journal of Heredity 97 (2): 107–113. doi:10.1093/jhered/esj020. PMID 16489143.
43. ^ Pruvost, M.; et al. (November 2011). "Genotypes of predomestic horses match phenotypes painted in Paleolithic works of cave art". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 (46): 18626–18630. doi:10.1073/pnas.1108982108.
External links[edit] | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_evolution | dclm-gs1-221670002 | false | true | {
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0.06333 | <urn:uuid:7e660dcb-5fb1-4057-be25-5ea72ba07fdc> | en | 0.979629 | The Mercy Thompson Series
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The Mercy Thompson Series is a series of urban fantasy novels written by Patricia Briggs that follow the adventures of Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson, a Native American shapeshifter who was raised by Werewolves. The series is set in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state in an alternate world in which Werewolves and certain types of the fae have been forced to reveal themselves to the public. The series follows Mercy, a VW mechanic by trade, as she learns her true nature and is caught up in the affairs of the local werewolf pack, led by Adam, the Alpha who lives next door, and the local vampire seethe, a member of which she has befriended.
Silver Borne debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list,[1] dropping to No. 6 in the second week,[2] and No. 11 in the third week.[3]
Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson/Hauptman, the daughter of a Blackfeet Indian(from whom she inherited her powers) and a white teenage mother. Mercy is a mechanic and a "walker" — a Native American shapeshifter who transforms into a coyote, sees the spirits of the dead, and has an inborn resistance to most magic (vampire or otherwise). She bought her moderately-successful and beloved auto repair shop from Zee, a member of the fae who is glamoured to appear as an old man, who was forced to reveal himself to the public. She loves adventure and is a major daredevil.
Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of the Tri-Cities werewolf pack. He lives next door to Mercy, and at the opening of the series, they have a playfully antagonistic relationship. Adam operates a well-known security firm and is divorced with one child; a teenage daughter named Jesse. His first wife was selfish, only caring about Adam for the power he gave her over the pack. It's eventually revealed that, in order for Mercy to live in the Tri-Cities without danger from the local pack, Adam claimed her as his mate in name only prior to the beginning of the series, though his feelings had always been more than friendly... apparently even during his unsuccessful marriage. Adam is a dominant wolf, and fourth in line for the title of the Marrok. He is described as having an aura of power and sophistication, as well as being "hot". As an Alpha werewolf, he does not like people getting overly close to any females close to him, including his pack, Jesse, and, later in the series, Mercy. He is over 60 years old, and as such sometimes displays outdated chivalrous behavior, such as avoiding swear words in front of Mercy. This only serves to encourage her to provoke him.
Jesse Hauptman, Adam's teenage daughter. She, at the beginning of the series, divides her time equally between Adam's ex-wife, and Adam, though by the end of the fourth novel, "Bone Crossed", she becomes a permanent resident. Jesse is a very outgoing and optimistic girl with a tendency to dye her hair unusual shades to receive a reaction from her father.
Stefan Uccello, a vampire who is also Mercy's friend. He owns a VW bus decorated like the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo (despite the canonical Mystery Machine being a Chevy van). Stefan was alive during Renaissance Italy and is known as the "Soldier" amongst other vampires. Stefan remains the only vampire in the series to search for a way to live in harmony with humans. His feelings for Mercy are a point of conflict in the series, though he shows great affection to her at various points in the series.
Samuel Cornick, Son of the Marrok, who knew Mercy while she was growing up and tried to marry her when she was only sixteen. He comes to live with her, but their on-again, off-again romantic relationship is one of the core elements of the early series. He has graduated from medical school various times (due to his long lifespan) and works at Kennewick General Hospital.
Bran Cornick, The Marrok, is the Alpha werewolf of all the werewolf packs in North America. He took Mercy in when she was a toddler and helped raise her. It is because of him and Mercy's foster parents that she knows more about werewolves than she has to. Bran and his sons are hundreds of years old, and Bran has a nearly unique ability to hide his dominance, appearing completely inconspicuous when he chooses to. He claims not to be able to read minds, though he can and does send telepathic messages on occasion.
Zee, aka Siebold Adelbertsmiter (Adelbertkrieger), is the fae who previously owned the garage Mercy runs. He is a Metallzauber (though he calls himself a "Gremlin"), a fae with an affinity for metals. He moved to the United States from Germany long before the term "gremlin" came into being.
Darryl, a werewolf who is Adam's second in the pack and mated to a werewolf named Auriele. He is a mixture African American and Chinese bloodlines, and a lead scientist at a research center.
Warren, a homosexual werewolf (who is dating Kyle, a well-known divorce attorney) and one of Mercy's closest friends as well as Adam's best friend. He is also Adam's third in the pack, though he is dominant enough to be his second if he thought the pack would accept it. Homosexual werewolves often don't survive long as werewolf culture lags several centuries behind human culture, so it speaks highly of Warren's survival and fighting skills that he is quite old. (As werewolves do not age, his exact age is unknown, but probably over a century). Adam was one of the first Alphas to allow a homosexual werewolf into his pack, and Warren's loyalty to Adam is unquestionable as a result. He looks and sounds like a Texan cowboy, which is his actual former occupation.
Ben, a werewolf exiled from London for being a suspect in a series of brutal rapes that placed unwanted and unneeded attention on the London pack. Adam accepted him into his pack, and he was soon initiated as an official member of the Tri-Cities pack. Ben is described briefly in "Moon Called" and "Blood Bound" as being a sexist character. It was only later in the series that we discover that he was abused as a child, which could possibly be the cause of his prejudice against women. By the end of the third novel, "Iron Kissed", Ben proves to be a different person than he portrays, and confides in Adam about how he wants to be friends with Mercy, but doesn't know how to, as she is female.
Kyle Brooks, a human and a divorce attorney. Kyle is one of Mercy's closest friends as well as Warren's boyfriend. Due to a pack rule forbidding werewolves from disclosing their nature to non-spouses at the beginning of the series, Mercy is the one to tell Kyle about werewolves in the first book. By the second book, he comes to accept Warren and his relation to the pack.
As of March 2013, there are seven books in this series, and the seventh book titled Frost Burned is the most recently published.[4] Briggs has announced plans to publish nine installments in this series.[5] [6]
It was announced on Patricia Brigg's website on September 8, 2010 that she had taken a journey to a town called Mary's Hill, a place rich with Native American history. It helped her as she wrote the sixth Mercedes Thompson book, River Marked. River Marked was released in March 2011.[4][7]
Moon Called (2006)[edit]
The story begins when a fifteen-year-old teenage werewolf named Mac comes to Mercy's garage looking for work. One night Mercy sees Mac struggling with two people, one of whom is a werewolf. She saves Mac, killing the werewolf while the other man gets away. She learns Mac's real name is Alan MacKenzie Frazier and he had escaped from some rogue werewolves who had kidnapped him for some vague drug experiments. Mercy calls Adam for help and he takes Mac to his home. Later that night Mercy is awakened by a car speeding away. She opens her front door to find Mac dead on her doorstep. She rushes to Adam's house to find Adam badly injured and fighting with another werewolf in his wolf form. Mercy shoots the other werewolf. Adam's daughter Jesse has been kidnapped by the rogues. Mercy returns Adam, and Mac's body, to the Montana enclave of the North American werewolves, where she was raised.
In Montana, she meets up with Bran and Samuel. Samuel, a doctor and more dominant than Adam, helps him recover. Samuel returns with them to the Tri-Cities. They take refuge at the house of Adam's "third", Warren. Once there, Mercy and Samuel find some vampire involvement in the events that had taken place at Adam's house. They seek the help of Stefan, local vampire and friend of Mercy. Stefan takes them to the vampire clan "seethe" to meet their leader, Marsilia. After a short confrontation with Marsilia, Samuel is bitten and they flee. During the encounter, Mercy learns that walkers have a natural immunity to vampire magic.
Returning home, Mercy is attacked by three werewolves. One of them, David Christansen, was a friend of Adam when they were both still human. Christansen and his group split off from the rogue werewolves over the amount of bloodshed. Christansen tells Mercy the rogue group is led by Gerry, a member of Bran's pack. Gerry is trying to prevent Bran's plan to go public about the existence of werewolves (the Fae revealed themselves to the mortal world several years ago.) By kidnapping Jesse, Gerry hoped to blackmail Adam (who also opposes going public) into fighting Bran for leadership of all North American werewolves. Mercy, David and his group rescue Adam and Jesse from the rogues, in the process killing all the rogue werewolves. During the rescue operation Samuel kills Gerry, in the process learning that Gerry's true motive was to save his father from Bran. Gerry's father, a recently turned werewolf, is unable to cope with his new killing nature. Bran, as leader of all werewolves, would be responsible for destroying Gerry's father before he became an insane killer.
The end of the book leaves Mercy confused over her developing feelings for Adam and her rekindled feelings for Samuel. Her relationship with Samuel was part of why she left the Montana enclave in the first place.
Blood Bound (2007)[edit]
In Blood Bound we learn that Mercy is somewhat resistant to some magics such as vampire compulsion or werewolf pack control. Because of her magic resistance, vampire friend Stefan calls upon her to help him deliver a message to a visiting vampire who has failed to pay the proper respects to Stefan’s seethe. Stefan is fearful that the visiting vampire has some type of magic that can compel him to do things he wouldn’t ordinarily do and that Mercy is hopefully immune and will be able to report back to his seethe should anything happen to him.
Stefan takes Mercy to a hotel in her coyote form to see the visiting vampire. There things go wrong when they find that the vampire is a sorcerer controlled by a demon and he has killed everyone in the hotel. The vampire puts Stefan in a trance like state and makes Stefan believe that he has killed a human too, but Mercy is not affected by it. She saves Stefan and herself by biting the vampire.
She awakes at her house with Samuel and Stefan attending her. Stefan again asks for her help so that she could testify what had happened in front of his vampire Marsilla. Stefan takes her to his seethe along with Warren and Ben as Mercy's escorts. They testify while sitting on a magical chair which senses truth. Though Stefan is spared from punishment, he is asked to destroy the possessed sorcerer-vampire. He chooses another vampire, Daniel, to help him.
Adam sends Ben and Warren to help Stefan but bans Mercy from joining them. After some days they find Warren badly injured outside a club with Stefan, Daniel and Ben missing. The next day Mercy finds Adam and Samuel missing too. Meanwhile, Marsilia asks for her help and assigns one of her strongest vampires, Andre, to assist her. As a "walker", she is able to see and talk to ghosts. With the help of ghosts and some research on her part she finds the sorcerer's lair. She and Andre go into the lair to find that Daniel is dead, but Ben, Samuel, Adam and Stefan are alive and imprisoned. Mercy is badly injured in the fight to kill the sorcerer-vampire.
Mercy finds that Andre was the vampire that turned the sorcerer's, but Andre is left unpunished by Marsilla. Marsilla wants Andre to turn another sorcerer for her personal gains. Considering Andre responsible for all of the sorcerer's actions, she finds his lair with the help of ghosts and kills him. Stephan and another vampire, Wulfe, cover her crime from Marsilla by framing the cadre of humans Andre kept home for feeding purposes.
At the end of the book, Mercy is still confused by her feelings for both Adam and Samuel and, complicated by Stefan who has feelings for her as well.[8]
Iron Kissed (2008)[edit]
In Iron Kissed we find Mercy at a crossroads in her relationships with the two men in her life, Samuel and Adam Hauptman. Both are dominant werewolves, although Samuel has no pack and Adam is the alpha of the Tri Cities werewolf pack. Mercy must decide which one she loves more because Adam has declared his feelings for her and her lack of definitive response is weakening the pack.
When her mechanic mentor, Siebold Adelbertsmiter (AKA Zee), calls upon her to repay a favor to the Fae, she is grateful for the distraction. There have been several unsolved murders on the Fae reservation and the magic which the fae can call on without incurring the wrath of the Gray Lords has been insufficient in finding the perpetrator. Mercy is called in to use her nose to see if she can find an identifying scent of the murderer.
She does and completes her task only to receive a call that Zee has been accused of murder himself. Zee is a surrogate father figure for Mercy and the possibility that he will be a scapegoat spurs her into finding out who is the real murderer. This investigation triggers a whole set of terrible consequences for Mercy.[9]
Bone Crossed (2009)[edit]
Bone Crossed begins with the arrival of Stefan, Mercy's vampire friend, on the floor of her living room, flayed, starved, and barely recognizable. He warns her that Marsilia, the Mistress of his seethe, is aware of her involvement in the death of one of her get, Andre, and tells her to run. The Mistress has had a pair of crossed bones placed on her door, magicked so they can't be removed, as a sign to other vampires and minions that she is a traitor. While Stefan is recovering, he accidentally floods Mercy's mind with his, reliving the deaths of his menagerie, and Adam brings her into the pack to snap her out of it. The vampires place a magical trap in Uncle Mike's, the fae tavern, that kills one of the pack, though she is revived. The wolves need to negotiate peace with Marsilia, and Mercy needs to get out of town.
Amber, a friend of Mercy's from college shows up to ask Mercy if she will come to their house to investigate her son's claims that there is a ghost in the house. Mercy discusses it with Adam, Samuel, and Bran who tell her that there is only one powerful supernatural creature in Amber's home city of Spokane, the vampire Jim Blackwood, called The Monster. They believe that he will not notice her, so she will be safe there. Unfortunately he is one of Amber's husband's biggest clients, and he has an invite to the house, including dinner the first day she's there. In the two nights she is at the house, he bites her and exchanges blood with her twice, claiming her as one of his "sheep," of which she learns Amber is another. The second night she wakes in the middle of the night to find that Stefan is there, and Amber's son Chad is in a room full of frost, frozen to his bedclothes, and not breathing. They save Chad and advise the family to run, heading back to the Tri-Cities. Stefan exchanges blood with Mercy to claim her from Blackwood.
When they get back two more rebellious vampires from the seethe, not made by the Mistress and not easily disposed of because of who their maker is, come to Stefan separately to ask him to help them remove Marsilia. He refuses, keeping his word to the Mistress. Shortly after both have made their requests Marsilia summons the wolves, and Mercy to a 'meeting' to discuss peace. At the meeting she questions Bernard and Estelle, the rebellious vampires, with an old chair that tells truth. She then questions Mercy and Stefan, her questions proving that he is no longer hers: this makes his testimony that of a third party, and she uses it to have Estelle killed and Barnard returned to his maker.
Almost immediately after that, Amber's husband, Corban, appears, tasers Mercy, and brings her to Blackwood because The Monster has Chad. He has killed Amber, but keeps her corpse around to do chores. Mercy, Chad, Corban, and a tree fae called Oakman are kept in cages under the house. Blackwood has the talent that he can absorb the power of whatever he feeds on. The Oakman allows him to be active in daylight, and Mercy's walker blood will allow him to command ghosts. Stefan finds her, and she convinces him to save Chad, on the condition that should she survive he will be forgiven for the two people he had killed in Blood Bound. The fae walking stick shows up and Mercy gives it to the Oakman on his request. She escapes her cage, and while she is fighting Blackwood, the fae throws it at the vampire's back, staking him. They return to the Tri-Cites, where Stefan learns that Marsilia did not kill his people, but merely cut his ties to them so that he would think them dead. He agrees to return to the seethe.
Silver Borne (2010)[edit]
Mercy receives a call from Tad, Zee's son, asking if she has spoken to Phin, the bookstore owner who had lent her the book on the fae. Phin left a disturbing message on Tad's phone. She goes to investigate but does not get a lead. Meanwhile, she goes on a date to a bowling alley with Adam when she starts to hear voices in her head. Mercy doesn't understand what is going on, freezes Adam out and Adam takes her home.
When she comes back to her trailer, she receives a phone call from Samuel. She goes to the hospital and discovers Samuel has crashed his car into the bridge in an attempt to drown himself but was saved by the other driver. Samuel's internal wolf, referred to as "Sam" by Mercy, has taken control because he doesn't want to die, although Samuel does. Mercy hides this fact from the rest of the pack because werewolves whose wolves become dominant are killed.
Mercy and Sam go back to the house and the next day she takes him to her garage. Gabriel and his family are there cleaning the garage and Gabriel's sisters fawn over Sam. While Zee, Mercy and Gabriel are in the garage, the family is held at gun-point by a bounty hunter who has a "warrant" out for a werewolf. Mercy disarms the man, and calls her cop friend Tony. They come to the conclusion that the warrant was a fake, unbeknownst to the bounty hunter. Gabriel's mother forbids Gabriel from working at the garage anymore, because she does not want him involved with the problems that seem to follow Mercy around. Bran calls Mercy, and Mercy tells him that she cannot talk to him about Samuel, because she knows that werewolves, whose wolf is in charge are to be put down by the Marrok or the Alpha. Charles, Samuel's brother, tells Mercy that even though Samuel's wolf is not violent, the human personality will eventually disappear, leaving only the wolf behind. As one cannot exist without the other, the wolf will die. He tells Mercy to try to find something that will bring Samuel back to them.
Later, Mercy and Sam go to the bookstore where they meet Phin's great-great-great-great-great-great fae grandmother. Mercy is suspicious of as she does not answer any direct questions so Mercy hides the fae book at Kyle's house. After hours, she and Sam break into the bookstore and they see past a glamour that had been cast around the store. The store has been destroyed and there is blood in the air. They go to the basement where they are ambushed by a fae. Sam destroys the fae. As she is driving home, she is blinded by the sound of Adam yelling her name, and her mate bond had been broken. When she gets to her house, she realized that her house was destroyed. She runs to the pack who are shocked that she is alive. Adam had believed that she was in the trailer when it exploded, and he ran in to save her, followed by Ben. Adam, who was in such despair, had broken the bond with his heartbreak. Both were seriously burned, although Adam received most of the burns and was taken to the hospital.
When she gets to the hospital, she realizes that Adam is shifting to wolf because he was spooked by the doctor. She runs in, and when Adam realizes that she is alive, shifts back to human, which was very painful because he transititoned twice, and received very bad burns which were not healing because of the shifts. Everyone realizes that Sam the wolf is in control, but the situation called for Samuel, and he shifted back to help Adam. After questioning, Ben and Mercy realize that Mary Jo saw that Mercy had left the trailer with Sam, and that she had seen the fae looking to blow up the trailer and didn't stop it. Ben was angered because she knew that Mercy wasn't there, and still let Adam run into the burning trailer. She had had verbal altercations with Mercy because she was coyote.
On the way home, Ben told Mercy to find out who was out patrolling with Mary Jo, because Adam would never send just one. Once Adam goes back to bed, when Mercy is downstairs with Daryl, Jesse and others from the pack. She receives a phone call from the Fairy Queen who has kidnapped Gabriel and brought him to her world. Mercy put the call on speaker phone, so the pack can hear. She has Mercy promise not to tell the pack, or the fae what is going on. She offers a trade. Gabriel for the book, which is otherwise known as Silver Borne.
On a Sunday morning, Daryl and his wife are fixing breakfast when Mary Jo comes down and spats words at Mercy again. Mary Jo tells Mercy that Adam is too good for Mercy, and also too good for Mary Jo who is a fireman. She believes he deserves better. Mercy then finds out that Henry was the person who was out with Mary Jo the night before. Adam comes in, revealing that he had heard it all. Mary Jo then tells Mercy and Adam that it was Paul and Henry who was talking to Mercy through the pack bonds on the night of the bowling alley disaster. Adam reveals that Paul had challenged Adam for the Alpha position. Mercy tells Mary Jo that this was Henry's plan. Henry came into Adam's house the night before. Before Adam could ask why Henry was not guarding the trailer, Henry pretended to be shocked when the trailer was on fire. He let Adam run into the trailer and get hurt so that Paul could challenge Adam while hurt.
Before the fight between Adam and Paul begins, Mary Jo challenges Paul to hurt Henry and try to make for the wrong she has done to Adam. Mary Jo almost dies but weakens Paul foe the next fight. The fight between Adam and Paul is brief. Adam wins, and tells Paul to thank Mary Jo, because he would've killed Paul if Paul came at him with full force. Henry then trys to challenge Adam, but before he can get the words out, he is shot through the throat by Mercy and her gun.
Later, after Zee is informed by Daryl, since Mercy is unable to tell him herself, he locates Phin's great-great-great grandmother. He tells Mercy to come meet him at the garage and not to bring wolves, because she is deathly afraid of them. Mercy and Jesse go, but Sam tags along. Mercy tells him to wait in the car, while she and Jesse go in. She meets Alicia who is Phin's fae grandmother. Later, Samuel in human form enters and Alicia has a panic attack. Turns out that Samuel met her many centuries ago. She had a special gift to create items from silver. Her father who was an evil fae abused her badly and forced her to make an object of power for an evil fae. He would torture her with fae hounds, who can kill people by staring at them. Eventually, the father's power to control the hounds faded and he manages to get the werewolves to attack her but they kill the father. Samuel nursed her back the health and became in love with her, but was not able to tell her who he really was and therefore left her alone. Now, Mercy realizes that Samuel still loves Alicia, whose real name is Ariana, which is Welsh for Silver. This gives Samuel a reason to live. The five of them follow a trail to Gabriel and they enter the Fairy Queen's realm. Zee stays behind to hold the opening up, but can only do so for an hour. He tells them that once the opening closes, the time in the realm does not match the real world, and five minutes can be considered three days.
They enter and find that the Fairy Queen is holding humans under thrall, which is forbidden by the Gray Lords. They locate Gabriel and Phin, who is still alive but was tricked by the Queen. She decides to play a game, and Ariana has to hold a shifting fae for 3 minutes. Every 3 minutes, she will free one of the 6 (which includes Phin, Jesse, Samuel and Gabriel) in the group, with Mercy being last. The fae shifts from fire, to ice, to smoke, to her father, to the werewolf, but the last shift is the hellhound, and she lets go, leaving Mercy trapped in the realm.
The Fairy Queen tries to thrall Mercy with the choker that the other humans are wearing, but she realizes it does not work. The black witch that she has under her thrall places a spell on her, and she wakes up and realizes that she told the Queen everything about the book and where it was hidden. Her bond with Adam has been broken by the Queen. When Mercy is within her head, she hears Bran talk to her. He shows her how the pack works, and helps her locate the bond with Adam. She re-bonds with Adam, and Adam now knows how to find her.
Later, it is revealed that although it only seemed like a few days to Mercy, it was actually one month. Bran was trying to locate Mercy in the realm but had no luck, until the walking stick appeared in his hand. This was how he was able to reach her in the realm. It is shown that Samuel and Ariana have begun a relationship, and Adam and Mercy have rekindled their flame.
River Marked (2011)[edit]
Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about herself, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shape shifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.
Frost Burned (2013)[edit]
Mercy goes shopping on Black Friday and while out the pack goes missing. She rescues the remaining pack members and their families before harm can come to them. Meanwhile those responsible turn out to be not whom anyone suspects. Mercy learns about her coyote powers. Zee leaves the fairy world to help Mercy. Mercy borrows Marsilia's fancy car which turns out to be not so fancy once Mercy is done with it. New Vampires arrive at Marsilia's request.
Night Broken (2014)[edit]
Adam's ex-wife shows up, on the run from her boyfriend. Mercy soon learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.
Comic adaptation[edit]
Dabel Brothers Productions published in 2009 a series of comics featuring Mercy called Mercy Thompson: Homecoming. The four part series was illustrated by freelance illustrator Francis Tsai and Amelia Woo, and later released as a collected TPB by DelRey. It features an original prequel story written by Briggs and Dabel Brothers Managing Editor David Lawrence.[5]
The first Mercy Thompson novel Moon Called is currently being published as a 8-issue comic series from Dynamite Comics, and scheduled to appear in two TPB collections.
A press release on October 2, 2008 from Publishers Weekly revealed that 50 Canon Entertainment has optioned the right to at least the first three Mercy books. 50 Canon is the production company of Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and purchases prices are reported to be in the mid six-figures.
Moon Called has been called "excellent... thoroughly satisfying" by Kim Harrison and said "expect to be spell bound" by Lynn Viehl.
"A new and dazzling world of werewolves, shape-shifters, witches and vampires."
—Lynn Viehl, USA TODAY bestselling author of the Darkyn series.
"Plenty of twists and turns... kept me entertained from its deceptively innocent beginning to its can't-put-it-down end."
—Kim Harrison, USA TODAY bestselling author of Every Which Way but Dead
1. ^ "Best Sellers: Hardcover Fiction". New York Times. April 10, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
2. ^ "Best Sellers: Hardcover Fiction". New York Times. April 15, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
3. ^ "Best Sellers: Hardcover Fiction". New York Times. April 23, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
4. ^ a b
5. ^ a b "Mercy Thompson: Homecoming Preview". Dabel Retrieved 2009-02-05. [dead link]
6. ^
7. ^ "Book Review & Giveaway: River Marked by Patricia Briggs". The Book Smugglers. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
8. ^ Briggs, Patricia (2007). Blood Bound. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-441-01473-6.
9. ^ Briggs, Patricia (2008). Iron Kissed. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-441-01566-5.
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0.912947 | <urn:uuid:0814b927-5863-4137-b70b-89911e8db387> | en | 0.945651 | Not the same as the neurosis hypochondriasis , the condition of being a hypochondriac. These delusions occur in those suffering from mental disorder, particularly endogenous depression and some schizophrenic disorders. The sufferer believes he/she has a disease when there is no evidence for it. The belief is often also held that the illness, (e.g. cancer or venereal disease) is a punishment for past sins.
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0.436176 | <urn:uuid:14173d23-b54a-4428-baa7-42d9ba599e5d> | en | 0.985139 | Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Because This War Can't Last Forever
Chapter 1
by horsie890 0 Reviews
Chapter 1
He should have known this would happen. They couldn't stay forever.
Tomorrow, he thinks to himself, will be the end of it all. The life I've lived so far, everyone I know- it will all be gone tomorrow.
As he hears the others arriving, though, these thoughts begin to melt away. The five of them exchange quiet greetings, and he listens as the sounds of three tuning guitars begin to echo around the room. Just an hour from now the space will be filled with more people like them. They will be surrounded by their families and closest friends, if only for a few short hours.
He hears his brother's quiet, strained voice beside him, asking where does he think she is, and why isn't she here yet, and does he think she's even coming? No sooner does he smile and nod than the questions are answered. She walks through the door and spots them on the stage, giving a small smile before finding her seat. She begins talking to a few of her friends, and he hears the nearly inaudible sigh of relief next to him.
The sound check goes quickly and smoothly, as always. They take the stage and he stands there, looking out over the crowd. He checks the microphone one last time, tapping it lightly to ask for silence in place of their low chatter. The first few chords fill the room with their soft sounds, and he begins to sing. At first there is not much of a response; most of them sit there, smiling at each other, whispering quietly, but not moving. Then one man gathers his courage and crosses the room. This single act encourages them all, and within seconds the floor is filled with couples dancing to their slow music.
All the while she sits far away from them. He knows why. She only wants to dance with one person, and that person is standing about six feet to his left. Eventually someone asks her, and she hesitantly stands to accept the offer. Out of the corner of his eye he can see the forlorn look on his brother's face, because he wants to be the one asking her.
But all of them know they need to be there, to give their friends a few hours of escape from the gloom of their imminent departure. And he knows his brother is willing to sacrifice his last chance to spend time with her, because the music couldn't happen if one of them were missing. But it's a hard sacrifice to make.
He takes a quick, solemn glance back at the younger man, seeing the sad look in his eyes. This only makes him want to protect his little brother more. He's certain he will have to keep the younger man safe, for her. For all of them.
And suddenly it's all over, and the crowd begins to dissipate. Some of them are already on their way to the front lines. He and his friends pack everything up and load it into their cars, planning to meet at the bar since they don't have to leave until morning. He stands there, next to his four closest friends, and takes it all in for one moment before turning to leave. Three of them follow, but his younger brother lingers. He knows it's because of her. She's standing there and jokingly asking why they didn't dance, and he asks with a small laugh if she still wants to even though there's no music.
He smiles and leaves them, knowing his brother will come eventually. He has no choice.
He orders another round of drinks for them, even though he's almost certain they don't need any more alcohol. His suspicions are confirmed when his best friend knocks a drink over and stares at it with wide eyes, bringing laughs from everyone nearby. His own laughter is cut short when he sees his younger brother's face, though; it's obvious he hasn't given any of them a second thought since the dance ended. He's shared a few drinks and jokes with them, but it's all been halfhearted because his mind is a million miles away. And he knows his younger brother is thinking of her.
He places an arm around his shoulders and tries to reassure him, saying they won't be gone forever, the war can't last much longer, and besides, it's not like anything will happen to them. His brother looks at him with that same calm smile he always has, but the worry still remains in his eyes. They gather their other three friends and he talks to them animatedly, making plans about what they'll do when they return. Because this war can't last forever.
They make toasts to everything they can think of, drinking nonstop just for the sake of it. And they will have no regrets about what tomorrow will bring. Tomorrow isn't going to come...not yet. It won't come until they're rested and ready, and as far as they're concerned tonight will last forever.
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0.036986 | <urn:uuid:58787941-2fd7-4d7d-9bba-ef69bbc4ad32> | en | 0.902804 | want a sugar cube?
fuck yeah finnick odair man
i'm working on it calm yo tits
since the world is seriously lacking in things relating to mr. odair, feel free to submit while i basically just blog and reblog anything related to this wonderful trilogy.
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0.037579 | <urn:uuid:70567d40-0d5e-4e5a-b903-d71650a5374e> | en | 0.969514 |
Top Encouraging Quotes
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Terry Prachett
My parents went crazy when they found out that I had gotten the part in Conversations With My Father! I'd never given acting a thought. They were proud of me and very encouraging.
David Krumholtz
I remember him watching me through the crack of a door singing with a hairbrush. I was in front of his mirror. I think he wanted me to sing. He would get me on the table and make me sing sometimes or play the piano. He was very encouraging on that front.
Lisa Marie Presley
Both parents were very encouraging - especially my father. My father thought the sun rose and set with me. Neither one had a musical background or any musical talent. They liked classical music, but neither could carry a tune.
Gordon Getty
All Encouraging Quotes
The environment on set is very encouraging.
Michael Shanks
56% of people like this quote
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0.019873 | <urn:uuid:170734b9-53e9-4b0f-821c-0723aedf3bea> | en | 0.952272 | Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday: 16 January 2011
Welcome Preppers and Survivalists,
Peak Oil
The first article I would like to highlight, this week, is from John Greer, over at The Archdruid Report.
Why should you read this article?
Mr. Greer explains, using a financial metaphor, the cognitive dangers that we are facing as cheap oil runs out. This lack of understanding about the dangers in our thinking will cause "us" (you, me, my/your family and friends) hardship because the folks that run stuff (that includes "us") still don't understand the dangers we are facing as oil becomes more expensive.
The Archdruid Report - Energy Funds, Energy Flows
I'm still sceptical about "Peak Oil," but I'm becoming more open to this possible disaster because of new information from Wikileaks.
Guardian - WikiLeaks cables: Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil ...
Deflation or Hyperinflation
Recently, Nicole Foss and Golzalo Lira, from The Automatic Earth and Golzalo Lira respectfully, had a live debate about what's coming down the road, financially.
It doesn't matter because we can't predict the future.
We build up stores in potable water and water filters; food and gardening supplies; firearms, ammunition, repair parts, and cleaning supplies; and bandages and medical knowledge, for a reason, because the future is uncertain.
With that said, Charles Smith wrote an article, at Of Two Minds, that you might be interested in reading.
Of Two Minds - How Confident Are You in a Hyperinflationary Future?
Originally, this blurb about Mr. Smith's article was going to be a rant about 'How we aren't getting financially prepared for the coming hyperinflation.' then I realized 'It doesn't matter because investing isn't about prepping. We prep for a wide range of disasters, just not one specific disaster.'
Hopefully, You Get The Point
This post was very different from the "normal" Wednesday post. This posts focuses on the "mind's eye" of the prepper/survivalist.
There is a reason for this.
I believe that the way we think predetermines our success or failure.
If you believe there will be a disaster (and you believe you can do something to reduce the disaster's effect), you will do something about it. If you don't, you won't.
Yeah, I know. The thought/where I was going isn't complete, yet.
"Rearden Metal Lives!"
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0.01898 | <urn:uuid:01787a6a-5807-498a-a2d7-2b9f4ee5821f> | en | 0.947874 | Dior “Muguet” Dress
muguet dress dior
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Dior had an original idea to celebrate the French worker’s day: revealing the Dior “Muguet” Dress, as “one of Monsieur Dior’s favourite flowers, the Lily of the Valley, traditionally brings good luck in France on May 1st“.
As explained on Dior Mag,Lily of the Valley “was Christian Dior’s favorite flower, as much for its symbolism as its aesthetic. Superstitious to the last, the couturier used to have sprigs of it sewn into the linings of his dresses for luck on the day of a show. In incarnations couture, printed, embroidered or woven, it was an all-seasons flower, giving its name to certain looks and was the central theme of the spring-summer 1954 collection. Muguet de maiwas a lingerie ensemble from 1949 and, from organdy evening dresses to sable wrap jackets, many looks, both winter and summer, were named for the couturier’s emblematic bloom. Two years after the Muguet collection of 1954, the flower became a perfume: Diorissimo “.
An elegant glimpse by Dior.
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0.033013 | <urn:uuid:03a58b33-22b1-475b-b93b-556789157ffe> | en | 0.946364 | July 2007 | Case Studies | DC Solutions
Bean There, Returned That
Tags: Warehousing
A new materials handling system helps L.L. Bean meet its 100-percent satisfaction guarantee and offer many happy returns.
Building its business around high-quality outdoor equipment and clothing, L.L. Bean's sales channels include seven retail stores, one dozen outlet stores, the Internet, and its nearly 100-year-old catalog.
But it's not just the product that Bean built its reputation on—it's also the retailer's 100-percent satisfaction guarantee.
The roots of that guarantee trace back to 1912, when Leon Leonwood Bean designed the Maine hunting shoe and advertised its benefits to hunters by distributing a three-page flyer. While Bean quickly sold 100 pairs of shoes, the majority of customers returned them when the rubber bottoms separated from the leather tops.
Determined to make his customers happy, Bean refunded their money, fixed the problem, and forged ahead. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, L.L. Bean continues to guarantee its products, allowing customers to return any item that doesn't measure up. It also works hard to make the returns process as quick and easy as possible, and lives by the philosophy, "everything must go right."
While that kind of service makes customers happy, it also presents myriad challenges to the company's logistics operations. L.L. Bean shipped 48 million units last year, of which six million were returned.
During the holiday season, the returns department braces for an 18-fold increase in volume. On its busiest day last year, the department processed 47,000 individual returns.
Reaching Higher
L.L. Bean places such a high priority on returns that it established a special reverse logistics center at its distribution campus in Freeport, Maine.
The facility, which measures 135,000 square feet, houses a staff of 500 processors who handle customer returns and exchanges. About 85 percent of returned items include a refund request, while 15 percent require an exchange. Returns services also include repairs.
In 2006, L.L. Bean decided that the reverse logistics center's 15-year-old materials handling and processing systems were in line for an upgrade.
"Every year we look for ways to improve our processes," says Barb Wood, senior manager, returns operations for L.L. Bean. "Last year, we focused on the material flow."
One method the company considered was to centralize package opening upon receipt. As the concept moved into the pilot stage, L.L. Bean sought feedback from its reverse logistics center employees.
That's when the process began to "morph into something more," says Wood. "We decided to try the idea of dedicating single employees to handle each account every step of the way, eliminating non-value-added steps in the process."
With this fairly detailed homegrown solution in the works, L.L. Bean looked for a partner that could provide the equipment needed to get the job done, along with the engineering expertise to implement the processes.
"We considered three different vendors," says Wayne Steele, L.L. Bean's industrial engineering supervisor, "and selected VARGO Companies."
VARGO Companies is comprised of three strategic companies located in Ohio, California, and Texas, and specializes in system integration, software solutions, and materials handling equipment.
It set itself apart from the other vendors L.L. Bean considered because it presented a solution that would increase the retailer's flexibility to meet the challenge of flowing product to 160 processors, and ensure minimum work-in-process. VARGO developed a simulation model that spelled out, in detail, how the system would work.
"VARGO's methodology was different than other vendors we considered," says Steele. "The intelligence within the equipment was higher, and the documentation was in place to back it all up."
L.L. Bean approached VARGO with well-defined objectives. "The company knew what it wanted, but wasn't sure how to get there," says Carlos Ysasi, vice president of systems engineering for VARGO.
Controlling the River
L.L. Bean's most pressing challenge was controlling product flow.
"A river of product was rushing in the door, and the company had no control over how it was delivered to the processors," says Ysasi. "So VARGO took control of the product flow to provide L.L. Bean the right amount of product at the right time."
VARGO's solution incorporates a dual-loop system controlled by flow meters and proportioning dividers. Automatically delivering product avoids delays caused by processing workloads, and ensures that all workstations receive product on time.
At the center of the process are VARGO's dynamic workflow control system and product distribution conveyors. As returns come in the door, "spreaders" convey them to workstations. Automatic speed control transfers product via a "waterfall" that cascades product from one conveyor to another.
Using an expected workforce-staffing estimate for each product loop, the system automatically measures product volume in each loop, and quickly adjusts to workforce changes.
L.L. Bean achieves this optimized work-in-process distribution by monitoring workflow and estimated workforce to ensure the product-processing loops are continually in balance.
Now, as a product comes in the door, one associate can handle it from the time it is picked off the conveyor belt to be scanned, processed, and prepped, to the time it is sorted to a tote and placed back on the conveyor for reintroduction into L.L. Bean's inventory.
Sticking to the Schedule
L.L. Bean scheduled the implementation for the time of year when the volume of returns is low, and finished just in time for the peak holiday season.
"We used a phased-in approach to replace the old system," says Steele. "We were able to stay on track with the planned schedule, and the physical install took a total of three months."
"While returns were still being processed with the legacy system, we were installing the new system, and training employees for the switch," says Ysasi. "It was a complicated transition but we made sure to keep communications open between both teams."
Today, 80 percent of returns can be processed with one touch to reduce re-handling, a big change from the old days.
Within the first few months of using VARGO's system, L.L. Bean's productivity jumped. Employees who formerly processed 16.5 units per hour now handle 18 per hour, a number that Steele expects will increase during peak season.
Cost savings have been high as well—the simple act of shaving seconds off processing each return leads to hundreds of thousands of dollars in labor savings. By eliminating two handoffs, the company also has improved merchandise operations and maintained "first in, first out" returns processing.
The improvement that pleases Barb Wood the most, however, is the reduction in injury rates.
"We've brought injuries down by 50 percent," she says. "The employees have been very happy with the system, a change that is usually tough on them. They are excited about their new work space and process improvements."
In addition, L.L. Bean is pleased with the ROI it expects from the new technology. While it costs about $14 million annually to run the returns department, the company considers it money well spent because keeping customers happy pays off in spades.
The key to the success of the new returns processes is that Bean listened to its employees.
"Our returns center employees led us to this solution," Wood points out. "The solution appears very simple, but the intelligence behind it is what makes it work."
In the future, L.L. Bean may add a third loop to its two new ones. But for now, the company is as satisfied as its customers with the new returns system.
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0.31619 | <urn:uuid:69e6911c-ba3e-450b-a198-bd83c15bc0ae> | en | 0.919142 | What is the output frequency of the Netgear WGT624? By any chance, is it 2.4 GHZ?
5 pts.
Whenever my cordless phone (2.4 GHZ) rings, my wireless connection is broken. Could the telephone and the router be on the same frequency?
ASKED: April 29, 2009 4:23 PM
UPDATED: May 2, 2009 8:43 PM
Answer Wiki
The short answer is YES.
The wireless router uses 2.4GHz (see the specs on the manufacturer’s website – http://www.netgear.com/Products/RoutersandGateways/SuperGWirelessRouters/WGT624.aspx?detail=Specifications) and so does your phone (from what you said).
As the previous answer says, your best choice is to get a different phone. DECT would be my choice, as this uses different frequencies, and is almost totally immune from interference, so they will co-exist happily. (and throw the old phone away !)
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• Denny Cherry
You can also try using the features of the phone to move it to a different channel within the frequency. This may help.
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0.047405 | <urn:uuid:e0e58eb5-2566-41c1-97a5-2cf4f8659586> | en | 0.969406 | Thursday, April 9, 2009
Cranes and snow buntings
The hawk flight at Whitefish Point is starting to pick up - as well it should, after having been so slow for such a long time. A good many raptors could be seen hanging in the air over the point today, although very few of them showed any determination in crossing the bay. The redtails certainly seem to require tail winds to even think about crossing.
The majority of Sandhill Cranes today had no such qualms about crossing the bay. Throughout the day, small groups of about 5 to 15 birds would come up to the point and cross, for a total of 142.
Only in the last hour of the count, between 4 and 5, did I see a couple of groups hesitate and eventually turn around. These birds probably spent the night on Whitefish Point.
After the count, I stopped briefly at the harbor, where a group of Snow Buntings was hanging out.
These birds are getting close to breeding plumage.
1 comment:
genesgalore said...
don't forget to look way above you, that is: way above your head. itsy bitsy teeny dots of raptors. | http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/04/cranes-and-snow-buntings.html | dclm-gs1-222310002 | false | false | {
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0.306385 | <urn:uuid:1d85b81b-8139-4d42-bd9c-9f6c7edad682> | en | 0.869019 | It catches my eye Basically what the title says anything that catches my eye <3
Just been feeling artsy lately <3 Drew this on my iPad using Procreate and my fingers :3 So if you see me scratching on my iPad this is probably what I’m doing xD
In case anyone is having a bad night:
Here is the fudgiest brownie in a mug recipe I’ve found
Here are some fun sites
Here is a master post of Adventure Time episodes and comics
Here is a master post of movies including Disney and Studio Ghibli
You’ll be okay, friend <
im jealous of people who can have fun colored hair and look good
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0.080968 | <urn:uuid:5f36e6b6-f743-4d44-9c23-506f91ae2127> | en | 0.933871 | Category Archives: Food
Meat and sustainability
Watchful | Rising Damp
Meat can be a part of a sustainable lifestyle.
There are two important issues when it comes to sustainable meat production:
1. Minimise the use of land that can be used to grow food crops directly for humans. It’s the extra inputs and processing required for meat production and the inefficient use of land that makes meat environmentally unfriendly.
2. Minimise greenhouse gas emissions. Some kinds of meat production generate higher greenhouse gas emissions than others.
With that in mind, here are seven tips on how to be kind to the planet without missing out on meat!
1. Eat less meat
Toasted tomato, avocado, cucumber & hummus sandwich | SweetOnVeg
The environmental impact of meat is generally higher than for other food sources. Some startling facts:
• Half of the world’s crops are grown to feed animals
• The meat industry contributes about 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions
• 30% of the all land and 8% of the water we use is devoted to raising livestock
• Producing 1 kilogram of animal protein requires about 100 times more water than producing 1 kilogram of grain protein
• For every kilogram of meat protein that is produced, 6 kilograms of plant protein is fed to livestock
• The US livestock population consumes seven times more grain than the human population. That’s enough grain to feed 840 million people on a plant-based diet
• The average American eats twice the recommended daily allowance of protein
2. Avoid beef and lamb
Cow Butt | St0rmz
Ruminants, including cattle, sheep, goats and camels produce methane, a greenhouse gas twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Each cow produces much more greenhouse gas emissions than a car. In New Zealand, a small country that gets most of its electricity from hydro-power, about half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions come from sheep and cattle.
3. Choose grass-fed beef
Cow on the hilltop | BinaryApe
If you aren’t ready to give up beef, choose grass-fed beef.
Animal welfare is an obvious reason for choosing grass-fed beef over feedlot beef. I can’t read a cows mind, but it’s hard to imagine that a cow would choose to spend the last several months of its short life in an overcrowded feedlot being fed food that makes it sick and would eventually kill it – if the unfortunate beast lived long enough! That’s what happens in a feedlot.
Aside from the ethical issues, grass-fed beef is likely to come from marginal land that isn’t suitable for cropping. Providing the land is not over-grazed, this is more sustainable than keeping cattle in feedlots and feeding them food that should be produced for people – not livestock.
Critics make the valid point that marginal land is not productive enough to meet our insatiable demand for beef. That’s true. We eat too much beef! If we want to live sustainably, we need to eat less. Period.
4. Choose organic or biodynamic
Organic Sausage Stand | ajleon
The overall environmental impact of organic or biodynamic and free range meat is generally lower than for conventionally produced meat. There are benefits in relation to carbon emissions, soil erosion, biodiversity and air and water pollution.
Organic food is more expensive and organic production systems seem to produce less food per hectare than conventional systems. This has led to some concern that organic food can’t feed the Earth’s growing population. Nobody really knows.
However, a major reason that organic food is more expensive is because the ‘real’ cost of production is incorporated into the price. In conventional systems, food is cheaper, but someone else is paying for the environmental impact. ‘Someone else’ may include taxpayers, people living downstream or future generations.
To put this in economic jargon, in organic systems, many production costs are ‘internalised’, whereas in conventional systems, many costs are ‘externalised’. If we want our economic system to work better, we need to make the polluter pay. That is, we need to correct a ‘market failure’ and ‘internalise the negative externalities’.
5. Choose chicken, turkey or pork for lower greenhouse gas emissions
Angry chicken | Stewart Black
Chicken has the lowest emissions of conventional meats. Turkey and pork also have relatively low emissions.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Comparison of total greenhouse gas emissions from alternative protein sources: EWG Meat Eaters Guide.
6. Choose free range pork and poultry
The main reason we choose free range meat is because of concerns about animal welfare.
Most pigs are raised in factory conditions and never see the sun until they are sent for slaughter. On some farms in Australia - and in other countries – female breeding pigs (sows) are confined to metal stalls that are so small the animal can’t turn around. When the piglets are born, their teeth are clipped, tails cut off and they are castrated without pain relief. The young are removed before 4 weeks of age and the sow is impregnated again.
It’s a similar story for battery hens. In some countries, there is little regulation around what ‘free range’ actually means. Fortunately, when it comes to chickens, there’s an easy way to tell if the birds are being looked after… If there are too many chickens in a given space, chickens peck each other to death. To manage overcrowding, some free range farmers de-beak their birds. Whether you are buying meat or eggs, find out if your ‘free range’ provider de-beaks their birds. If they do, the pens are overcrowded. Buy from someone else.
7. Choose wild-caught game meats
Deer in the Woods | kretyen
Free-living game can provide a sustainable source of meat.
People have created environmental conditions that have led to a boom in the population of some native species. For example, the population of deer have increased because we’ve killed off their predators. Kangaroos in Australia have benefited from the increased supply of grass and grain on land cleared for agriculture. Sustainable harvesting of wild game can supply us with meat and reduce ‘total grazing pressure’. Reducing grazing pressure has the added benefit of making conventional meat production more efficient.
Providing the method of hunting is right for each species, hunting game can also be good from an animal welfare viewpoint. Sometimes these species suffer from starvation due to overpopulation, especially over winter or due to drought. Also, unlike farm animals, game live natural lives.
And what is more, hunting feral animals can provide food and help reduce the impact they have on the environment. In Australia, culling wild feral camels has been proposed as a method for reducing their impact on the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. If we can find a way to get camels out of the outback and on to dinner plates we’ll be helping the environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and accessing a new, sustainable source of meat. A win-win-win!
And a bonus tip!
8. Roadkill…
Kangaroo Sign | Bloody Nick
Well. It’s not my thing, but I’ve met a ‘vegetarian’ who wouldn’t say no to fresh roadkill. Enough said.
Creative Commons Licensephoto credits: Rising Damp, SweetOnVegSt0rmz, BinaryApe, Ajleon, Stewart Black, EWG, USDAgov, Kretyen, Bloody Nick
Pretender #2 Nude Food lunchbox
Creative Commons Licensephoto credit: iapia
Nutrition Australia have partnered with a company that makes plastic school lunch boxes to promote Nude Food Day. Here’s my take…
The idea behind Nude Food Day is that it promotes good nutrition and environmental awareness. Parents are encouraged (ie forced) to send their kids to school with lunch boxes filled with natural, unprocessed foods that are not wrapped in disposable packaging – a “rubbish free lunch”. Even Jamie Oliver is behind the campaign.
On the face of it this might seem like a good idea. Many kids probably eat too much processed junk, and cutting down on unnecessary packaging and waste is a worthwhile goal? Right? Of course.
The company promoting the event sells an extensive range of plastic food containers that is “constantly expanding”. Seriously. The range is amazing:
• The Rubbish Free Lunch Box. A polypropylene lunchbox that holds all your lunch requirements with separate storage areas and portion sized plastic snack pods. It comes with a handy-dandy plastic “Sandwich Seatbelt” and removable plastic divider.
• The Mini Rubbish Free Lunch Box that is perfect for a “portion controlled lunch” [presumably this version is for fat kids].
• Lunchbox 1. A “traditional, one compartment lunchbox” with “brightly coloured rubber highlights”
• The Food Box. A multi-purpose lunchbox with rubber highlights and a built-in fork!
• The Meal Box, with built-in fork, leak proof dressing pot and microwave vent. Perfect for hot meals or salads on the go.
• The neoprene insulated Cool Skin that keeps your lunch chilled and fresh.
• A polypropylene and LDPE 500 ml drink bottle.
• An adorable and cuddly “Buddy Bag” made from “fur-like fabric” with insulated storage and a bonus plastic drink bottle
• Double Snack Tubes. Ideal for separating and stacking snacks. Made from polypropylene and available in four cool colours.
• The Cutlery Pod, with a pair of plastic chopsticks, one plastic knife, one plastic fork and a plastic spoon housed in a hygienic and secure plastic pod.
• The Banana Mover. Saves our favourite fruit from bruising! It comes with two removable plastic pieces and adjusts to fit any size or shape of banana!
• The Muffin Mover. Air tight and hugely popular.
• The Ice Melt Bottle and Chill Out Sock…
• The Ice Puck…
• Gel Ice 3-pack…
You get the picture. The list goes on…
These products look totally awesome. If I was back in primary school, I’m pretty sure I’d want the full set! Any kid that brings in a faded hand-me-down Tupperware box and a drink bottle wrapped in an old tea towel is going to lose their street cred for sure!
Banana Mover
The Banana Mover. How on Earth did we transport bananas before these beauties were invented?
Kids are also told that if they use these new, cool and trendy “eco-friendly” products they can “save the planet”. The cheeky name and nude cartoon characters add to the appeal. You just gotta have ‘em!
Save the Planet
Who knew it could be so easy?!
This is what I think is really going on here…
This is the kind of marketing that drives “pester power”. Kids will buy into the message and nag their parents into purchasing items they don’t need. Marketing to children is all about creating pester power and these guys do it well.
There are two kinds of pester power. “Persistence nagging” and “Importance nagging”. Persistence nagging is frequent begging – we see it playing out in the supermarket all the time. Importance nagging is where the company selling the product plays on any guilt the parents might have about the way they raise their kids. The company selling these products is using both approaches to drive sales. If you don’t buy these products your kids will hate you and you’ll be forced to feed your kids junk food and squished bananas. Bad parent!
Importance nagging is why the company is using schools, Nutrition Australia and a trumped-up green message to promote their brand and their product to kids and parents. Endorsement by teachers, nutritionists and a celebrity chef for a range of plastic lunch boxes – Brilliant!
If the message from these authority figures hasn’t convinced you to rush out and by them yet, maybe some heart-felt recommendations by real mums will clinch the deal?
Many sets of lunch boxes have been sent to mum bloggers to encourage them to say nice things about the products – and presumably stay on the mailing list for more free stuff next year! Some examples are here, here, here, here and here. It looks like the company might also be working hard planting posts and replies in forums to generate hype. This marketing tactic is called “buzz marketing”.
Let’s get real here. This is a clever way of marketing plastic lunch boxes to kids – not saving the planet.
Nude Food Day might have started as a well-intentioned way of encouraging good nutrition and environmental awareness, but in reality it’s now a sponsorship deal.
School should be a place where kids are protected from advertising and consumer messages. Let’s encourage kids to eat natural foods with minimal packaging. Let’s also teach them to distinguish between advertising and reality.
The trouble with biodiesel
Walmart’s Grease Fuel Trucks
Biodiesel is often promoted as a clean, green, renewable substitute for regular diesel or petrol. Unfortunately, the green credentials of biodiesel aren’t much better than for ethanol.
The difference between biodiesel and ethanol
Biodiesel and ethanol are both ‘biofuels‘. However, biodiesel and ethanol are not the same thing. Ethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting sugars. Biodiesel is made from plant oils and animal fats that have been chemically treated with a small amount of methanol.
The problem with biodiesel (and ethanol) is that it is impossible to produce very large amounts of biodiesel without clearing very large amounts of land or converting land used for food production into land used for fuel production. When biodiesel is made from plants grown specifically to produce fuel (and most is), biodiesel is likely to drive up food prices and incur all the attendant problems that go along with land clearing for agriculture – habitat destruction, soil erosion, water quality decline, carbon emissions, etc. Bummer.
On the plus side, biodiesel generates lower emissions of some air pollutants, including hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and possibly nitrous oxides and particulate matter. Also, we can produce small quantities of biodiesel using waste cooking oil and waste fat from meat production (tallow). And one day soon it may also be possible to produce large quantities of biodiesel on small amounts of land using algae fed from sewage, but as with cellulosic ethanol, the technology for mass production of algae oil is still being developed.
P3212577 | joyosity
When biodiesel is made from used cooking oil or tallow, overall greenhouse gas emissions are greatly reduced compared to diesel or petrol. However, less than 1% of biodiesel is made this way. Most biodiesel is produced from soybean, sunflower and rapeseed (canola) oil. Other food plant sources include castor beans, coconuts and oil palm – the same plant often blamed for the destruction of orang-utan habitat. When biodiesel is made from crops the overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is relatively low and may actually be higher than regular diesel.
So, whether or not you should switch to biodiesel depends on the source of the oil. If the oil comes from old cooking oil or tallow you’ll be reducing your greenhouse gas emissions by up to ninety percent. Fantastic!
However, if your oil comes from sunflower or canola the greenhouse gas reductions are much less. What is worse, you might also be contributing to pushing up food prices and encouraging conversion of land from forest to cropping. That’s bad news for people, forests, orang-utans and carbon emissions. For example, CSIRO in Australia found that biodiesel produced using palm oil grown on cleared forest will produce emissions that are between 8 and 21 times greater than for regular diesel. Ouch!
Palm oil protest | Greenpeace Finland
photo credits: Walmart StoresjoyosityGreenpeace Finland
The trouble with ethanol
What is ethanol?
Ethanol is an alcohol fuel usually made by fermenting sugar or starch in wheat, corn, sugar beet, sugar cane and other crops. Yeasts feed on the sugars, creating ethanol and carbon dioxide. The ethanol is then concentrated by distillation. Ethanol is seen by many as a replacement for oil and other fossil fuels because it is a renewable energy supply that can reduce reliance on oil imports.
The (purported) benefits of ethanol
1. Lower transport-related carbon emissions: When crops are harvested and ethanol is burned in an engine, CO2 is released into the atmosphere – just as it is when oil and other fossil fuels are burned. The difference with ethanol is that as new crops grow, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and the overall concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere stays the same. When fossil fuels are burned, the CO2 stays in the atmosphere and the concentration of CO2 continually increases, contributing to global warming.
2. Energy security: Because crops for ethanol can be grown over and over, ethanol has the potential to reduce dependence on oil imports and replace dwindling oil reserves.
Unfortunately, there are some serious drawbacks with ethanol. Some of these are listed below.
10 reasons why ethanol fuel is bad for you and the environment
1. Lower fuel efficiency: Ethanol has less energy than gasoline. At higher blend levels (including E85) fuel efficiency will be noticeably lower than for gasoline.
2. Agricultural subsidies: Although the price at the pump may seem favourable compared to gasoline, this is partly due to incentives and subsidies paid by governments to farmers, especially in the US and Europe. Not only does this mean that ethanol is effectively subsidised by taxation, the subsidies distort markets and hurt farmers in the third world who can’t compete on the world market.
3. Deforestation and habitat destruction: Increasing demand for ethanol crops increases demand for agricultural land. Clearing forests to make more cropland destroys habitat and releases large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
4. Higher food prices: The land needed to make enough fuel for one car could be used to feed seven people. Ethanol producers buy grain in the same global markets that supply grain for food. Increasing the demand for agricultural land and grain increases the price of food worldwide, and this has a disproportional impact on the poorest people in society.
5. Increased use of pesticides: As with most modern farming systems, farmers that grow crops for ethanol rely on pesticides that can contaminate soil, water and air.
6. Increased use of artificial fertilisers: To increase yields, farmers use artificial fertilisers made from non-renewable petroleum, natural gas and phosphate minerals.
7. Soil erosion and declining water quality: Land clearing and cultivation exposes soil to wind and water erosion. Soil, fertilisers and pesticides are washed into waterways where they can affect ecosystems and contaminate water used for drinking, crops and stock.
8. Greenhouse gas emissions: As well as emissions from land clearing and the manufacture of fertilisers and pesticides, there are also emissions from farm machinery. The distilling process also uses a lot of energy. At present much of the energy to distil ethanol comes from coal-fired power stations. The overall reduction in greenhouse gases from using ethanol is relatively small and might sometimes be negative.
9. Ethanol can only be a small part of the solution: It takes about ten acres of corn to supply enough fuel for one car. It would take the whole land area of the United States to make enough ethanol to fuel all cars in America today.
10. Increased water use: Irrigation to grow crops comes from groundwater or streams and this adds to the overall environmental and social impact of ethanol by reducing water available to ecosystems, food farmers and town drinking water supplies.
So the catch is that ethanol isn’t very good at lowering carbon emissions or improving energy security – but it does cause a lot of problems. In some ways, mining of oil has been replaced with mining of soil and water. And the risk of oil spills has been replaced by the risk of denuded soils, declining water quality and soil fertility. It’s no surprise that ethanol from grains has been called “subsidized food burning”.
Fortunately, it might not be all bad news for ethanol. In this post, we only looked at ethanol from grain and sugar. It might soon be possible to efficiently manufacture ‘cellulosic’ ethanol made from crop residues, wood chips and fast-growing energy crops (like switch grass). If it becomes viable, cellulosic ethanol looks like it might be much more sustainable than ethanol from grain and sugar crops.
Another ‘renewable’ liquid fuel source gaining popularity is biodiesel . Biodiesel is a replacement for normal diesel fuel that is made from vegetable oils or animal fats, including used fats from cooking.
We’ll take a look at both cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel in future posts…
UPDATE: New post – The trouble with biodiesel
Creative Commons Licensephoto credit: swanksalot
Green pretender #1 Bag-in-a-bottle milk
I’ve just learned about a couple of new milk packaging options that are available in the UK and the US – the GreenBottle(TM) and eco.bottle(TM). And let me tell you – I’m not impressed.
Facebook | GreenBottle
These ‘bag-in-a-bottle’ products are promoted as environmentally-friendly alternatives to cartons and plastic bottles. They have a biodegradable coated cardboard shell, with an LDPE (#4 symbol) plastic bag filled with milk inside the shell. When you’ve finished the milk, the cardboard can be separated from the plastic and they can be recycled separately, or the cardboard can be composted.
Sounds great, right? But here’s the thing: despite the ‘green’ and ‘eco’ labels in their names, these products are not much better for the environment than the cartons and plastic bottles already available in your supermarket. In fact they may be worse!
Why the ‘bag-in-a-bottle’ concept is bad for you and bad for the environment…
• Bag-in-a-bottle milk costs more than milk sold in other kinds of packaging.
• Bag-in-a-bottle relies on the consumer to separate the plastic and cardboard components.
• It takes more energy and more greenhouse gas emissions to make a bag-in-a-bottle than in takes to make a HDPE plastic bottle.
• The LDPE bags are not accepted by many kerbside recycling programmes. Many will end up in landfill. HDPE is recyclable in most places.
Another reason why bag-in-a-bottle is not-so-green is that there is a more sustainable alternative – the milk bag! Milk bags have been available in Canada and other parts of the world for decades and have recently become available in the UK. They are nothing more than LDPE plastic bags filled with milk. Users put the bag into a reusable plastic jug, snip or pierce the bag and pour. When the milk is finished, the bag can be recycled and the jug can be reused indefinitely. Mega-popular youtube demo below:
Why milk bags are the best choice…
• Milk in milk bags is cheaper than milk in all kinds of bottles.
• The energy and materials used to create the bag is much less than for all kinds of bottles – about 75% less materials than HDPE bottles.
• The jug that holds the bag can be used over and over, and then recycled.
• No separation. Milk bags don’t need the disposable cardboard shell, just the bag. They take up much less space in landfill than any alternative liquid packaging.
But I can’t get milk bags in my area…
Of the conventional bottles available in most stores, HDPE (#2 symbol) is the most environmentally-friendly choice. They have a low carbon footprint and can be recycled in almost all kerbside recycling schemes. PET bottles (#1 symbol) are also readily recyclable, but they have a higher carbon footprint than HDPE bottles. The main problem with laminated cartons, which are made of a mix of plastic and different kinds of paper, is that they are more difficult and more expensive to recycle than HDPE and PET bottles and can’t be recycled in many kerbside programs. | http://letsnotpretend.com/category/food/ | dclm-gs1-222440002 | false | true | {
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0.97631 | <urn:uuid:e36846f8-d252-4221-acc9-ace77ca6e9dd> | en | 0.941017 | Here is a small keyterms guide to aid you in the various terminology dealing viruses and other harmful programs on the Internet.
A virus is a malicious program that reproduces itself and is capable of causing harm to files or other programs on a computer. Most viruses require human assistance to spread from computer to computer. A virus is loaded onto your computer by a hacker without your knowledge and runs against your wishes turning your computer into a zombie.
A worm is a malicious program that replicates itself until it fills all of the storage space on a drive or network. A worm is considered to be a sub-class of viruses and unlike a virus, a worm does not require the assistance of humans to travel from computer to computer. One example of a worm would be for a it to send out a copy of itself to everyone in your e-mail address book and then replicate itself again to send itself out to everyone listed in each of the receiver's address book and so on and so on creating a chain effect.
A Trojan Horse is a malicious security-breaking program that appears to be a benign and legitimate program, but it is designed to have destructive effects on a computer and may open a backdoor. Unlike a virus, a Trojan Horse does not replicate itself. One example is a free game that someone could download, but it actually is a Trojan horse that holds viruses and worms that invade your computer. It is named after the large wooden horse that the Greeks used to win the Trojan War. They climbed into the horse and entered the town of Troy disguised and leaped out to surprise the opponents. The computer form has the same effects and actions.
A blended threat is a combination of all the characteristics of viruses, worms, Trojan Horses, and malicious code to cause an attack. By using multiple methods of attack, blended threats can cause widespread damage and spread quickly.
An antivirus is computer software used to remove computer viruses, as well as many other types malware. The first antivirus software was designed to combat computer viruses, but most modern antivirus software can protect against a wide range of malware, including worms and Trojan horses.
A hacker is an individual who gains unauthorized access to a computer system for the sole purpose of stealing and corrupting the data found there.
Malware is short for malicious software, computer software that is designed specifically to damage or disrupt a system or computer, such as a virus or a Trojan Horse.
Spyware is computer software that is installed onto a computer without the user's consent to take partial control over the computer and "spys" on their personal information such as Internet habits or even worse--their passwords that they enter on the computer.
Adware is advertising-supported software that plays, displays, or downloads advertisements. A example of this are pop-up ads that happen when certain web sites open a new window to display annoying advertisements.
Welcome to
Virus Hunters! | http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01692/terms.html | dclm-gs1-222460002 | false | false | {
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0.109194 | <urn:uuid:e1e5ed9d-b7a6-48b0-a546-1f9e3f7d7ec2> | en | 0.673051 |
Bug#628135: ITP: haskell-xss-sanitize -- Library to sanitize HTML and prevent XSS attacks
Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
X-Debbugs-CC: debian-devel@lists.debian.org
X-Debbugs-CC: debian-haskell@lists.debian.org
Package name: haskell-xss-sanitize
Version: 0.2.6
Upstream Author: Greg Weber <greg@gregweber.info>
URL: http://hackage.haskell.org/package/xss-sanitize
License: BSD
Description: Library to sanitize HTML and prevent XSS attacks
This library is able to parse strings that contain HTML code and check
for the presence of potentially malicious tags that could trigger XSS
(Cross-Site Scripting). It can be used in a Web application when using
HTML code coming from an untrusted party.
Moreover, this library is also able to check for unbalanced tags and
tries to fix them (even though it could produce invalid HTML).
Rationale: it's a dependency for the new version of gitit.
Thanks, Giovanni.
Giovanni Mascellani <mascellani@poisson.phc.unipi.it>
Pisa, Italy
Web: http://poisson.phc.unipi.it/~mascellani
Jabber: g.mascellani@jabber.org / giovanni@elabor.homelinux.org
Attachment: signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature
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0.154407 | <urn:uuid:d6c4d532-e253-49b5-b51e-4265c922ba12> | en | 0.966362 | Literature Annotations
Day, Sarah
Free Will
Genre Poem
KeywordsAbandonment, Child Abuse, Children, Family Relationships, Illness and the Family, Mental Illness, Poverty, Society
When at last the authorities came / to lead away her children, she turns around and retreats "inward to the recesses of her mind." This woman doesn't care what happens to the children because she has lived in her own world for a long time, but nobody noticed. The neighbors saw her trash stack up, they smelled "the stench of fetid scraps" in her house, but they continued along their merry way, oblivious to what was happening. [30 lines]
Sarah Day, who teaches creative writing at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, is one of Tasmania's finest younger poets. This poem evokes the pain of child neglect caused by a mother's mental illness. As in the real life situation, the children are absent; in this case, taken away, as well as being absent from their mother's consciousness.
The poem also speaks to our ability to ignore what is happening around us. The neighbors, too, seem to have gone about their business in their own little worlds, while the children's mother gradually decompensated.
PublisherPenguin Australia
Place PublishedMelbourne, Australia
Annotated by Coulehan, Jack
Date of Entry 01/27/00 | http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1607 | dclm-gs1-222510002 | false | false | {
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0.100093 | <urn:uuid:73f43c8d-95f2-4d6d-939c-6de8d93c92a1> | en | 0.956261 | Malware Wiki
658pages on
this wiki
Date Discovered 1974
Place of Origin
Source Language
Platform OS 360
File Type(s)
Reported Costs
Rabbit was a program that appeared in 1974. It is likely the third self-replicating program, after Creeper and Reaper.
When Wabbit is executed, it copies itself and sends it twice through the ASP input jobstream. Overtime, so many copies of Rabbit would be running that it would clog the system, making it run slow and making it more difficult to remove the program.
The computers where the Rabbit program was run were slowed down and clogged to the point of being nearly unusable. Cleaning the systems was a long, complicated process. The creator of Rabbit was discharged.
Other FactsEdit
Little information is available on this program. The one first-person account of this program comes from Bill Kennedy, who seems to confirm that a Rabbit program was conciously coded. All other accounts of the program read like urban legends, or read like the Rabbits were not conciously coded, but rather caused by some mistake in the way the operating system handles a program crashing.
Classification for this program is difficult, mostly because there is so little information on Rabbit. "Rabbit", "Wabbit" or "Rabbit job" seems to be generally agreed on as a term for a program that creates multiple copies of itself on a single host computer. It could also probably be described as a worm, as Kennedy's account of Rabbit describes the computer environment in which he witnessed it as "three 360's lashed together", but gives no indication of whether Rabbit infected all three of them.
There was allegedly a hack called "Rabbits" on the Burroughs 5500 computer at the University of Washington Computer Center in 1969. There is no explanation of what kind of "hack" it was, meaning it could simply be a command typed a certain way or a bug in a program. If it was a conciously created program, then it would probably predate Creeper as the first self-replicating program.
Bill Kennedy. The Risks Digest, Volume 6: Issue 53, Two old viruses. 1988.03.29
Jerry Leichter. The Risks Digest, Volume 6: Issue 54, Old viruses. 1988.04.04
The New Hacker's Dictionary, Wabbit.
Start a Discussion Discussions about Rabbit
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0.025561 | <urn:uuid:fd21957e-1468-4a04-b6e3-ce30f4f282cc> | en | 0.962854 | Marvel Movies
Thomas Logan
2,981pages on
this wiki
Thomas Logan
Appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Status Deceased
Actor Aaron Jeffery
Thomas Logan was Victor Creed's and James Howlett's biological father.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Thomas Logan was John Howlett's groundkeeper, and secretely Elizabeth Howlett's lover. When John, who's had enough of Logan's immoral behavior, wants to fire him, Logan shoots the man, in front of James Howlett's very eyes. The boy, enraged, activates his latent mutant power and attacks the man, stabbing him in the chest with his bone claws. Before dying, Thomas reveals him that he's his real father, so making Victor see James as his little brother and take care of him.
Character traits
Thomas Logan was a short tempered and violent man, often drunk. He usually beats his son, Victor, and secretly hates his master, John Howlett. As a revenge on him, he seduced his wife, giving to the unaware John a son not of his own.
Behind the scenes
To be added
Start a Discussion Discussions about Thomas Logan
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0.08589 | <urn:uuid:ee5e25b0-f069-4672-950b-bf669789adee> | en | 0.953777 | Showing Cuddly Animals, Cuddling Animal Rights Activists
The Times helps animal-rights groups into the mainstream. And bonus stupidity from actress Cameron Diaz.
The liberal Times advocates law and order when it comesto corporate criminals, but when it comes to anti-corporate radicals, it softens up.
The front page of Wednesday's food section was dominated by Kim Severson's "Bringing Moos and Oinks Into the Food Debate." The entire top half of the page was dominated by photos of cuddly farm animals.
Severson romanticized the property crimes of animal-rights activist Gene Baur, founder of Farm Santuary, the main focus of the piece.
"The first farm animal Gene Baur ever snatched from a stockyard was a lamb he named Hilda.
"While some groups, like the Animal Welfare Institute, work with ranchers to codify the best methods of raising animals for meat and eggs, most, like Farm Sanctuary and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, ultimately want people to stop using even wool and honey because they believe the products exploit living creatures.
Severson patted PETA and other radical groups for becoming less radical in their rhetoric. One can't quite imagine the Times doing the same to an anti-abortion activist who, say, no longervandalized abortion clinics.
"But all of these believers have learned that with less stridency comes more respect and influence in food politics. So they no longer concentrate their energy on burning effigies of Colonel Sanders and stealing chickens. They don't demonize meat - with the exception of foie gras and veal - or the people who produce it. Instead, they use softer rhetoric, focusing on a campaign even committed carnivores can get behind: better conditions for farm animals."
"Certainly, concerns over health and food safety, and a growing interest in where food comes from among consumers and chefs, has made animal welfare an easier sell.
"Technology has helped savvy activists deliver their message, too - specifically mass e-mail, easily concealed cameras and the ability to quickly distribute images online, like footage of slaughterhouses and the 2004 spoof 'The Meatrix.'
"They have also learned to harness the power of celebrity in a tabloid culture, courting as spokespeople anyone famous who might have recently put down steak tartare in favor of vegetable carpaccio.
"'I think there is a shift in public consciousness,' said Bruce Friedrich, vice president of international grass-roots campaigns for PETA. 'When Cameron Diaz learns that pigs are smarter than 3-year-olds and she's like, "Oh my God, I'm eating my niece," that has an impact.'"
(Whether or not pigs are smarter than Cameron Diaz is left for readers to decide.)
"The image makeover has been so successful that a 2006 survey of 5,000 people ages 13 to 24 showed that PETA was the nonprofit organization most would like to volunteer for, according to the market research firm Label Networks. The American Red Cross was second."
Severson eagerly ran down how animal rights groups have gone mainstream, without any dissenting voices accusing the groups or local government of regulatory overreach: "Beyond image polishing, animal rights groups also learned how to marshal resources and set up a classic 'good-cop, bad-cop' dynamic to put farm animal welfare on legislative agendas. The Chicago foie gras ban was passed because the nation's largest animal rights groups coordinated their strategies, according to several who were involved. A Chicago alderman, Joe Moore, read an article about the fight over foie gras between the chefs Charlie Trotter and Rick Tramonto and proposed a ban. Word spread quickly among local and national animal rights groups, some of whom Mr. Moore invited to play a leading role."
Severson did note PETA's radicalism, if only to make other groups look relatively more mainstream. "PETA uses more than half of its $30 million budget to poke the meat and fast-food industry in the eye with shock-based educational campaigns. PETA protesters have handed out Unhappy Meals filled with bloody, dismembered toy animals and miniature KFC buckets filled with packets of fake blood and bones.
"As factions in the animal rights movement continue to grow and splinter, sometimes using violence to make their point, the Humane Society, which is 30 years older than PETA, has emerged as the reasonable, wise big brother of the farm animal protection movement. The arrival of Wayne Pacelle as head of the Humane Society in 2004 both turbo-charged the farm animal welfare movement and gave it a sheen of respectability." | http://mrc.org/articles/showing-cuddly-animals-cuddling-animal-rights-activists | dclm-gs1-222770002 | false | false | {
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0.121485 | <urn:uuid:d79d59f5-2e6f-445c-9e14-0be02b8423c9> | en | 0.95374 | Thursday, September 19, 2013
Achilles Last Stand
No cheeseburgers today.
No fuck its either.
I HAD a bitch and a half, but after some very kind words from my friends AND a massage that was absolutely heaven sent, I am a way more calm person.
Which is good.
Because the person upsetting me wanted just upset.
And attention.
Which is why I'm not gonna bitch about it.
I'm not giving in.
So....instead of a super sweet dessert today, we're going in another direction.
College football.
Now, I am not at all trying to be patronizing, but I know that many of you aren't from around here, and what you know as football is something completely different.
And that is TOTALLY cool!
BUT...just in case you were HERE!
So yes.
A game.
Much like NFL football, except with some different rules, and theoretically, no one gets paid.
At both types of games (pro and college) there are tailgaters.
What's tailgating? Surely this can not be the only place on Earth where we get together in the parking lot of an arena several hours prior to kick off and eat grilled foods and drink a ridiculous amount of booze?? Well, just in case, CLICK HERE.
And you guys are in luck because I unearthed my Game Day recipe book!
I promise, you will dig it.
We shall first start with this one...
Autumn Chowder
2 bacon strips, diced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 medium red potato, cubed
1 small carrot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 cup water
3/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 cup milk
2/3 cup frozen corn
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cold water
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp; remove to paper towels. Drain, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings. In the drippings, saute onion until tender. Add the potato, carrot, water and bouillon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are almost tender. Stir in the milk, corn and pepper. Cook 5 minutes longer. Combine the flour and cold water until smooth; gradually whisk into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Sprinkle with bacon.
Provides a good base for all of the beer, wouldn't you say?
And now some completely unrelated food for thought...
I'm going to bed.
1. I thought tailgating (in that sense) was just following people around and not the full barbecue in the parking lot thing. Good to hear you aren't getting angry too. Most people who piss you off do it only for a rise. Don't give them that, and they go away.
1. Well, its that too...but here we have a couple of meanings!
And I am all over that. I can only imagine how crazy it must make people when they don't get to you!!
2. That's right -- don't feed the beast. Good for you!
3. Oh man...I haven't heard Achilles' in years! What a killer track!
Don't let that person piss you off. I've been a little perturbed lately but nothing good comes out of letting someone get to you.
Autumn Chowder? Yes please! I'm a casual NFL fan but I never got into the college game (prob. b/c I never went to a real college!)
Hope you have fun tailgating!
1. Thanks for stopping by! And try the chowder! Delicious!
4. Oh! You're talking about college handegg. Yeah, that makes sense.
I'd eat that chowder. I don't think I'd make it. I mean, I'd probably add a lot more bacon if I did, and we're allowed to do that and stuff, but it'd end up being a big ol' bowl of bacon bits with some sides.
1. RIGHT...I LOLed at the handegg. Hard.
And bacon with sides is NEVER bad. EVER.
5. Achilles Last Stand, one of Bonzo's best drum tracks ever, but most people don't realize how technically difficult that piece is. Harder then hell to play.
Enjoy your football and tailgating and such!
1. Glad you enjoyed it!
And with the weather around these parts this weekend, I don't think I will be doing a whole lot of tailgating. I am not a soggy kind of girl and while I enjoy the rain, I do not enjoy making food in a parking lot surrounded by drunks in the middle of it!
6. I like that chowder, what are the differences in college football rules and fuck other peoples negative waves girl.
1. You know, its funny you should ask about the differences. I watch more pro than college and I never remember the differences and every time I watch a college game and something dumb happens (because most of the differences are just that...dumb)I get all mad and my husband calmly explains that it is a college game. I usually end up then taking a nap. One of these days, when I figure out what they are, I will tell you. Just know that in my opinion, they are dumb.
And know the story. Ain't nobody got time for that! | http://noreallyyoucaneatit.blogspot.com/2013/09/achilles-last-stand.html | dclm-gs1-222860002 | false | false | {
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0.135436 | <urn:uuid:50a0f74f-93b6-4c4f-8abb-e3a0acae6427> | en | 0.980591 | Fuck Everything, Honestly.
radiosilence95's picture
So, this entire journal is just me spewing my self-induced misery all over the place to complete internet strangers...yeah. First off, my mom is a bitch. Overstatement? I don't think so. She still drags my sister and I to church, so we decided to make some not-so-subtle statements. When everybody else is up and singing and praisin' the lord, we remain sitting, slumping in our chairs and texting nonchalantly. During the sermon we sit there in a daze or pretend to be falling asleep, or we whisper amongst ourselves and giggle. I don't really give a fuck if it's "disrespectful," even though there's nothing there to disrespect, because you know what? I've been disrespected. My mom disrespects my beliefs by dragging me to church. When I'm sitting there, I feel uncomfortable. I feel wrong.
So after the sermon she walks out in a huff of holy anger, my sister asks if she's pissed, and she says no in a way that makes it pretty damn obvious that she is. It's completely unfair that she throws these fucking tantrums because we've strayed from the family tradition of blind faith. She leaves it alone eventually though, and things return to normal. So we go to a nice restaurant, my sister makes a comment about the bread being holey, chuckles because it's a pun (holey, holy, we just got out of church, hahaha), and then my mom snaps, "I'm surprised you'll eat it then, if it's so holy."
She said it in such a bitchy, contemptuous way that I kinda just wanted to smack her in the face. Who the FUCK guilt trips their twelve-year-old daughter for that sort of thing? How fucking immature and insensitive can you be? At this point it feels like there's a subtle battle of wits and wills between my mom and us when it comes to religion. Fucking fuck, it pisses me off. All these fucking stupid snide little remarks that we shoot back and forth when there's not even a real conversation going on about it. And you can't have a logical conversation with a Christian. You just can't. Sorry if you're a Christian, but really.
So, school. I dropped AP U.S History because I don't need it and the teacher holds our hands the whole way and the class is full of immature sophomores. Now I have early release, so I get out of school at one thirty, which is awesome. I still wanna snap at all of the kids in my World Lit class. On Friday some douchefucker threw a shoe across the room while we were watching a really interesting documentary about the Congo, the shittiest country in Africa, because the teacher stepped out of the room for a second. He thought he was so. Fucking. Hilarious. Fuck people. Seriously.
Judd is still an asshole. The only lengthy conversation we've had involved him telling me he has to appear in court for trespassing. He and some of his friends went on some rich asshole doctor's property to get pictures of spirit orbs and the doctor has them caught on camera. So that's another thing to add to his list of criminal activities. I think we're done. Unless he has an epiphany and cools it with the partying, the group is over. I brought up the possibility of bringing back Monday night dinners, but Katie has a job, Haylee shows no interest, and Judd is just...not around.
It's occurred to me how utterly alone I am. In school, there are always people around, but they're just...there. To talk to, to laugh with. At the end of the day, it's just me. Sometimes I feel it, other times I don't. Mostly I just feel empty. I can't return to my counselor because my mom would demand to know why I need her again, we'd have to reopen my case and everything. I don't want to explain anything to her.
I had an extended weekend because today's Labor Day, so I asked Brittany to hang out. It fell through. Of course it fell through, right when I needed her the most. She made it seem promising that we could do something. I texted her when I was free and...she never responded. She left me hanging the entire fucking weekend, keeping my hopes up. She couldn't take five seconds to say, "Sorry, I'm too busy." So a couple minutes ago I asked her if she had time to do anything, and she said no, sorry.
What the fucking fuck. If you knew you were going to be busy and I asked you to hang out, don't fucking say that you can probably do something. Just tell me you're busy so I don't sit around like an idiot waiting for nothing. I kept my entire schedule clear thinking Brittany would randomly be like, "Heya! Wanna come over and cuddle while we watch Dr. Who reruns?" Not really that, but you know what I mean. I could've invited myself to Jayme's and smoked a pack while eating pizza rolls. I could've even reunited with Victoria now that she broke up with her boyfriend, maybe gone to her house and played with her five cats.
But no. Brittany always comes first. I understand that she sucks at planning things, but come on. I think this is the first time in the year that I've known her that I've been genuinely mad at her. The anger faded the instant she apologized and fed me a list of excuses, but still.
I think I just really suck at relationships. Not romantic relationships, though I'm sure I'd suck at those too. Friendships, family, everything else. I just can't get close to people, and when I do it seems to turn into a mess because I'm investing all of my trust and joy into one person. I can't approach any of my friends and say, "I'm feeling kinda down lately, I need your help." I'm so convinced that they'd let me down. I've tried in the past, opening up to people. Most of them would rather talk about themselves. Or they give generic, half-hearted reactions. So I don't talk about myself with other people. I let them talk about themselves because it's just easier that way.
I'm sorry this journal is long and self-pitying and ridiculous. I promise my next one will be more awesome.
elph's picture
Knowing a bit about your academic ambitions...
I'm sure that you likely picked up this erroneous construction from some poorly educated teacher:
"She still drags my sister and I to church..."
But... you're not alone... it's quite common... and I truly do not know how this construction became so "super correct"... and, yet, with no justification!
Where did it come from?
If you were the only one dragged off to church (sister is sick... maybe), would you have said:
"She still drags my sister and I to church..." ?
Of course not!
Take a look at Me, Myself, or I? at this URL:
Anyway... please don't be offended! Otherwise, your writing skills are sure to give you an edge when you start composing those (obligatory?) essays for university applications!!!
On that church thingy... I'm on your side. But it is truly counterproductive to debate the issue with an adult... particularly with one's mom!
Practice deception!
Be the "good" daughter; you'll find that such skill will often come in very handily. :)
Get to work on those applications...
radiosilence95's picture
Yeah, I know that grammar
Yeah, I know that grammar rule. I've known it since third grade. I wrote this in a hurry, and I was upset, so grammar wasn't exactly a top priority.
If I practice deception, if I play the role of the "good" daughter, what does that accomplish? I should just bend to my mother's will, let her believe she has control over who I am and what I believe? Then she'll think she's won the battle. She'll think I've had a change of heart and she'll think she was right all along. And if she thinks she's right about my religious struggles, then she might think she's right about my sexuality. The two go hand in hand.
elph's picture
You will not be able...
...to "educate" your parents. It's too late. Pressing the issue will be your net loss.
Much more valuable is learning how to achieve the best possible out of a difficult situation. You view this as compromising your dignity: Not so! It may be distasteful to you... but ultimately you're the winner... but not on your terms (as you now see them)... and not now...
In case you don't see it... I'm on your side!
Persevere! One more year and a new life awaits... practice begins now.
Tycoondashkid's picture
maybe try to keep your distance from her for a bit
and you're right don't be the "good" daughter and bend to her whims but also don't go to the opposite extreme either that is a very bad idea
radiosilence95's picture
Addressing both of you.
I suppose there really is no point in kicking and screaming when I only have one more year left. I've explained my feelings to her and I guess that's the best I can do. It sucks though that she refuses to see that what she's doing is only making me more anxious to leave. I'll let her drag me to church, but only because we always go out to a nice restaurant afterwards :P
elph's picture
Spoken very wisely! :)
It's tough, I know all too well!
But I have a feeling that you've got the right attitude.
Just "tough it out" another year! :)
btw... on that "...and I" as a direct object. I've often wondered why that frequent error occurs only after an "and" (i.e., a plural direct object). The article I linked to doesn't notice this... :(
I've written them asking this question! No response as yet... and don't know whether one will be forthcoming or not.
Tycoondashkid's picture
yeah i agree
its the best course of action
Bosemaster42's picture
It's hard enough having to sit through church every Sunday. Eventually, you'll have the choice of whether or not to go. I assume, of course, you will abstain when the time comes. Until then, it's best to grin and bear it.
It'll become even more of a drag if your at odds with your mother over the whole 'going to church' thing. I didn't want to deal with that shit either, which is why I couldn't wait to be confirmed and be done with it.
I have'nt attended a Mass since then, and I'll only attend out of respect for funerals. Don't worry, freedom is near.
radiosilence95's picture
I'll bear it, but I won't be
I'll bear it, but I won't be doing any grinning. I couldn't make it any clearer that I want nothing to do with my mother's religion, and she knows deep down that this is something that won't change. I think she's just doing this because she knows I'm slipping away, she knows my freedom is near, and that terrifies her. So she clings to what little authority she has left, which means shoving me into the pews just to remind me that I'm not out of the house yet. Twisted, but that's my little psychoanalysis of her behavior.
Bosemaster42's picture
Ok. Grimace and bear it. Your right, to your mother, you're still a little girl in her eyes. She knows you'll be leaving for school, so she is likely scared of losing you from the house. No control=nerves. She's doing what she 'thinks' is best for you regardless of your feelings. That's a Mother for ya! | http://oasisjournals.com/2012/09/fuck-everything-honestly | dclm-gs1-222900002 | false | false | {
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0.087729 | <urn:uuid:935035c3-2084-4f31-a48e-a78fec3a2cd1> | en | 0.938232 | A Comparison of an “S” Corporation and a Limited Liability Company
Originally published in the Fall 2008 e-mail newsletter of NJEntrepreneur.com
By Louis Zambrio
When choosing a business entity to start a business there are many factors to consider when determining which entity is the best fit for your company and its goals. Some factors to consider are the ease of formation, taxation, need to raise future capital and limited liability. For small businesses, the two main choices are the “S” corporation and limited liability company (“LLC”). The LLC has become the entity of choice recently among business owners and attorneys, but that does not necessarily mean it is the right choice for your business. You need to determine your business’ needs and goals before choosing the type of entity to form. Before comparing the two entities, a basic understanding of each business entity is important. Of course, you want to avoid the common mistakes made by small businesses.
The “S” Corporation
An “S” corporation is formed as a standard corporation however after it is formed, an election is filed with the Internal Revenue Service electing to be taxed under Subchapter “S” of the Internal Revenue Code. The “S” corp. status allows the corporation to avoid the double taxation imposed on a standard “C” corporation, and instead allows it to be taxed as a partnership. Under the partnership taxation rules all income or losses derived from the entity “passes through” to the owners’ personal tax returns, which should generate a lower tax rate than the corporate income tax rate. Another benefit of an “S” corporation is that the owners are protected by limited liability of the corporate entity. For example, if the corporation is sued or goes bankrupt, the only liability an owner will have for such debt is the amount of money invested in the corporation; unlike a partnership or sole proprietorship where a owner would have unlimited personal liability for the debts of the entity and could lose a lot more than just their investment. Owners of a corporation are called shareholders.
However, along with the benefits of an “S” corporation election comes some strict rules:
1. An “S” corporation can only have a shareholder that is a U.S. citizen or resident;
2. An “S” corporation cannot have more than 100 shareholders;
3. Profits and losses are allocated based on proportion of ownership;
4. Corporations or other business entities cannot be shareholders; and
5. An “S” corporation can only have one class of stock.
The Limited Liability Company
The limited liability company is a hybrid entity that combines the limited liability of a corporation with the “pass through” taxation of a partnership. An LLC may have various forms of management, from a member-managed, where the members manage the business of the LLC, to a manager-managed, where an outside manager would manage the business affairs of the LLC. Furthermore, profits and losses may be allocated any way that the members desire, it does not have to be based on the amount of capital contributions contributed by each member. An LLC may also have multiple classes of membership interests. Each class of membership interests may have different rights. For example, a common interest may have full rights as a member, while a class A interest may have limited voting rights and preferential distribution rights. Also, an LLC may not subject to the strict recordkeeping rules of a corporation depending upon what is agreed to in the operating agreement among the members. Owners in an LLC are called members.
Comparison between an “S” Corporation and an LLC
An LLC and an “S” corp. may sound very similar; however, there are a number of significant issues that differentiate the two entities from one another. They both provide limited liability to their owners; and they both have a “pass through” method of taxation.But that is where the similarities end. Each entity has a tradeoff that a business owner will need to decide which is more important. This is where a good corporate attorney can help an owner decide which is the better entity for his or her business. Below is a chart outlining the differences between the two entities:
The LLC is a more flexible entity with many more options. It does not have to comply with the formalities of a corporation, such as board meetings, shareholder meetings and the election of directors, which are just a few of the formalities a corporation must follow. Below are specific aspects on certain topics affecting the two entities.
An “S” corporation is corporation for all purposes other than taxation and, therefore, it must comply with a state’s general corporate laws which impose certain formalities for a corporation, such as recordkeeping procedures, voting and meetings. A corporation is managed by its directors and officers, with no ability to alter the management structure. Profits and losses are split based on the number of shares of stock owned by each shareholder compared to the total number of shares outstanding.
On the other hand, the LLC members have greater choice in the management of the LLC; they can use a member-managed style, which is similar to partnership, or a manager-managed style, which is similar to a corporate structure. They are not bound by the same formalities as the corporation. Furthermore, the Operating Agreement provides members with the ability to designate how profits and losses will be distributed among the members. Allocations of profits and losses do not have to be based on capital contributions, but can be agreed to by the members.
One significant advantage of an “S” corporation over an LLC relates to employment taxes. A member of an LLC is considered to be self-employed by the government; therefore, he/she must pay a self-employment tax, which includes Social Security and Medicare payments. Members generally make quarterly estimated tax payments if they expect a gain during the year.
However, if a corporation pays a salary to a shareholder, they are subject to standard employment taxes, just as if they were a regular employee. This requires the corporation to file employment forms with the state and federal government, which may amount to a lot of paperwork throughout the year. But, by filing periodic payroll taxes, the “S” corporation may save some money on employment taxes, but as the owner you have to offset the time consumed in making the periodic reports with the money saved from paying the employment taxes. At this point, you should consult your accountant to determine the amount of savings to the corporation compared to the reporting requirements. This factor should be reviewed with your accountant before making a final determination.
The LLC is a relatively new entity but is also a very hot entity that people are using more frequently as it becomes more understood. It offers the limited liability of a corporation, “pass through” taxation of a partnership and the flexibility to mold it to your particular situation. The “S” corporation is still a viable business entity, but is used less often since the advent of the LLC. The major attraction to an “S” corporation is the potential savings for employment taxes, but in the long run, the savings may not be so significant based on the paper work. Either way, for a small business both entities are a good choice to start your business. A good corporate attorney should be able to help you navigate through the pitfalls that are associated with each entity, because every situation is different and requires a thoughtful consideration before choosing an entity.
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Lawyers on IMDB suit: 'It's going to be an uphill fight' (Entertainment Weekly, 10/19/2011) | http://olenderfeldman.com/resources/a-comparison-of-an-s-corporation-and-a-limited-liability-company | dclm-gs1-222930002 | false | false | {
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0.020903 | <urn:uuid:a32f4ea1-b2ad-4b68-8c07-ad1f9884d662> | en | 0.935231 | Stride by Stride
Hello! My name is Taylor. Running is for everyone and every level. This is a place for people to share the joy of running and get advice. Happy tumblin' and runnin'!
"10 mental tricks for better running"
Ten mental tips to be a better runner from Runner’s World:
Deciding between the remote control and your running shoes? It isn’t easy to get out the door without a clear reason to run. “If you can’t answer, Why am I doing this?, you won’t last long,” says Rick Lovett, a running coach and coauthor of Alberto Salazar’s Guide to Road Racing. He suggests keeping a training log that includes your goals and the reasons you run, whether that’s to reduce stress, or for friendship or better health.
"You have to be organized in order to be good at several things," says Rice. By penciling in your run for a certain time, you arm yourself with the necessary energy to get through it. That said, adds Mintz, be prepared with a backup workout plan if something unexpected comes up.
ENERGY SOLUTION: Listen to your iPod while you answer those last few e-mails at work, or on the drive home turn off the news and put in your favorite CD. You’ll be more likely to lace up as soon as you get home. “Out of all the things an athlete can do to get energized before a run,” Mintz says, “music really lights up the biggest part of the brain.”
On those days when your mind starts ticking off the negatives—Everything went wrong today. I’m really beat—stop your internal debate and “manage the moment,” says Mintz, who suggests countering such thoughts with positive ones: Yes, but I’ll have more energy after I run.
ENERGY SOLUTION: As tempting as it can be to give in to the negatives, he says, push your body to go through the motions of your running routine: Grab a quick shower or cup of coffee, put on your gear, do some jumping jacks to get your heart rate up, step outside. “The beginning of the run is always the hardest,” admits Rice. “But once I get myself out on the pavement, I’m always better for it.”,7120,s6-238-267—13996-2-1-2,00.html
1. mihomi98 reblogged this from openrun
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Passion is defined as devotion to a cause greater than oneself, a personal mission of service and tireless diligence in its furtherance. The true person of passion uses life’s energy to seek truth, goodness, justice, and beauty.
Passion draws others to you because it generates contagious positive energy. Others respect those with passion, passion to live, and passion to love.
People with passion are persuasive, and communicate self-confidence because people are always more persuaded by the depth of our beliefs and emotions than by any logic or knowledge we advance.
[+/−] Feedback | http://peacehealth.org/careers/leadership-model/attributes/Pages/passion.aspx | dclm-gs1-223020002 | false | false | {
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0.038821 | <urn:uuid:250a81d2-f0f5-4d30-bec2-075504770671> | en | 0.935195 | Epic Photos of Lasers Slicing Through the Night Sky
European Southern Observatory photo ambassador Yuri Beletsky shot a series of epic photos showing astronomers shooting powerful laser beams into the night sky. The photo above showing a laser beam pointed at the center of our galaxy was voted as last year’s Picture of the Year over at Wikipedia.
You can find full-res versions of these photos over on the ESO website.
Yuri Beletsky’s ESO Photos (via Fotografia 101)
Image credits: Photographs by Yuri Beletsky/ESO
• Ndt
All we wanted was sharks with fricken laser beams strapped to their heads, and this is what we get? I hope, at the very least, these observatories are ill-tempered.
• will hall
No explanation of the purpose? here we go…
On earth, the resolution of telescopes is limited by astronomical ‘seeing’. This is basicly the tiny air currents in the atmosphere that distort the path of light rays coming from the star/galaxy being observed. The laser creates a virtual star on the sky. By monitoring the distortions on the virtual star the system can determine the distortions to the rays of light coming from the real stars. The mirrors in these large telescopes are lined with many small actuators which shift the shape of the mirror slightly to correct for the distortions created by the atmosphere, allowing the telescopes to resolve details otherwise only visible by space telescopes. The whole system is known as adaptive optics.
• Anonymous
It’s missile command!
• Retor
Impressive stuff. Is the laser really that visible?
• Onefaller
brilliant. thank you for the excellent explanation.
• Dumb
Yeah, these lasers are that visible. They look like a skinny light sabre in person.
• Picrthis
Better be careful shining a powerful Laser in the Sky like that, the FAA is going to come after you LOL :)
• roger skillin
Yes they are, even the one i have at home is that visible outside at night
• anon
Unless the FAA exists and has any power outside of America I highly doubt that.
• Picrthis
Ahhh but the FAA and the FDA think they do have authority over the whole world, just ask Wicked Lasers about all the demands they have made to them. :)
• anon
Fortunately thinking they have authority is pretty meaningless. Wickedlasers got around their demands by utting a sticker on their wares, easy enough. Naturally America is the country with the most demands relating to wickedlaser products. /rollseyes.
• Picrthis
You do get I was laughing posting these comments, Right? I just thought it was funny seeing a laser beam in the sky like that and thought the US Gov would freak over it, and then cry because they wouldn’t listen to their cease & diss order. LOL :)
As for WL the stickers do nothing, they still confiscate them whenever they can in commerce transit.
• Hamyhaxxor
Some alien is going to be flying through our galaxy minding his own business, until BAM! He is fucking blinded, slams into an asteroid, gets pissed off and fucks up these guys with giant laser pointers.
• Picrthis
Yea that is going to be real bad, when the alien’s start firing their lasers beams back at us, because ours are like to toys compared to those death rays they have. :) LOL
• Theslickerybeast | http://petapixel.com/2011/11/18/epic-photos-of-a-laser-slicing-through-the-night-sky/ | dclm-gs1-223040002 | false | false | {
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0.035962 | <urn:uuid:a156c84d-86eb-4436-9ea2-5113b9a4cbc0> | en | 0.817411 | Search tips
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author:("stapels, Bart")
1. Human adipose tissue macrophages display activation of cancer-related pathways
The Journal of Biological Chemistry 2012;287(26):21904-21913.
Obesity is associated with a significantly increased risk for cancer suggesting that adipose tissue dysfunctions might play a crucial role therein. Macrophages play important roles in adipose tissue as well as in cancers. Here, we studied whether human adipose tissue macrophages (ATM) modulate cancer cell function.
Therefore, ATM were isolated and compared to monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) from the same obese patients. ATM, but not MDM, were found to secrete factors inducing inflammation and lipid accumulation in human T47D and HT-29 cancer cells. Gene expression profile comparison of ATM and MDM revealed over-expression of functional clusters, such as cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction (especially CXC-chemokine) signalling as well as cancer-related pathways, in ATM. Comparison with gene expression profiles of human tumour-associated macrophages (TAM) showed that ATM, but not MDM resemble TAM. Indirect co-culture experiments demonstrated that factors secreted by pre-adipocytes, but not mature adipocytes, confer an ATM-like phenotype to MDM. Finally, the concentrations of ATM secreted factors related to cancer are elevated in serum of obese subjects. In conclusion, ATM may thus modulate the cancer cell phenotype.
PMCID: PMC3381151 PMID: 22511784
Adipocytes; cytology; Adipose Tissue; metabolism; Azo Compounds; pharmacology; Cell Line, Tumor; Chemokines; metabolism; Disease Progression; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; methods; Inflammation; Macrophages; cytology; metabolism; Neoplasms; metabolism; Obesity; metabolism; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Phenotype; macrophages; obesity; cancer; adipose tissue; chemokines
2. p16INK4a deficiency promotes IL-4-induced polarization and inhibits proinflammatory signaling in macrophages
Blood 2011;118(9):2556-2566.
The CDKN2A locus, which contains the tumor suppressor gene p16INK4a, is associated with an increased risk of age-related inflammatory diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, in which macrophages play a crucial role. Monocytes can polarize towards classically (CAMφ) or alternatively (AAMφ) activated macrophages. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the acquisition of these phenotypes are not well defined.
Here, we show that p16INK4a-deficiency (p16−/−) modulates the macrophage phenotype. Transcriptome analysis revealed that p16−/− bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) exhibit a phenotype resembling interleukin (IL)-4-induced macrophage polarization. In line with this observation, p16−/− BMDM displayed a decreased response to classically polarizing IFNγ and LPS and an increased sensitivity to alternative polarization by IL-4. Furthermore, mice transplanted with p16−/− bone marrow displayed higher hepatic AAMφ marker expression levels upon Schistosoma mansoni infection, an in vivo model of AAMφ phenotype-skewing. Surprisingly, p16−/− BMDM did not display increased IL-4-induced STAT6 signaling, but decreased IFNγ-induced STAT1 and LPS-induced IKKα,β phosphorylation. This decrease correlated with decreased JAK2 phosphorylation and with higher levels of inhibitory acetylation of STAT1 and IKKα,β. These findings identify p16INK4a as a modulator of macrophage activation and polarization via the JAK2-STAT1 pathway with possible roles in inflammatory diseases.
PMCID: PMC3677739 PMID: 21636855
Animals; Bone Marrow Transplantation; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; deficiency; physiology; Cytokines; biosynthesis; Genes, p16; I-kappa B Kinase; physiology; Inflammation; genetics; Interferon-gamma; pharmacology; Interleukin-4; pharmacology; Janus Kinase 2; physiology; Lipopolysaccharides; pharmacology; Liver; metabolism; pathology; Macrophage Activation; drug effects; Macrophages; drug effects; physiology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Phosphorylation; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Radiation Chimera; STAT1 Transcription Factor; physiology; STAT6 Transcription Factor; physiology; Schistosomiasis; immunology; Signal Transduction
3. The Elongation Complex Components BRD4 and MLLT3/AF9 Are Transcriptional Coactivators of Nuclear Retinoid Receptors
PLoS ONE 2013;8(6):e64880.
Nuclear all-trans retinoic acid receptors (RARs) initiate early transcriptional events which engage pluripotent cells to differentiate into specific lineages. RAR-controlled transactivation depends mostly on agonist-induced structural transitions in RAR C-terminus (AF-2), thus bridging coactivators or corepressors to chromatin, hence controlling preinitiation complex assembly. However, the contribution of other domains of RAR to its overall transcriptional activity remains poorly defined. A proteomic characterization of nuclear proteins interacting with RAR regions distinct from the AF-2 revealed unsuspected functional properties of the RAR N-terminus. Indeed, mass spectrometry fingerprinting identified the Bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) and ALL1-fused gene from chromosome 9 (AF9/MLLT3), known to associate with and regulates the activity of Positive Transcription Elongation Factor b (P-TEFb), as novel RAR coactivators. In addition to promoter sequences, RAR binds to genomic, transcribed regions of retinoid-regulated genes, in association with RNA polymerase II and as a function of P-TEFb activity. Knockdown of either AF9 or BRD4 expression affected differentially the neural differentiation of stem cell-like P19 cells. Clusters of retinoid-regulated genes were selectively dependent on BRD4 and/or AF9 expression, which correlated with RAR association to transcribed regions. Thus RAR establishes physical and functional links with components of the elongation complex, enabling the rapid retinoid-induced induction of genes required for neuronal differentiation. Our data thereby extends the previously known RAR interactome from classical transcriptional modulators to components of the elongation machinery, and unravel a functional role of RAR in transcriptional elongation.
PMCID: PMC3677938 PMID: 23762261
4. Impaired alternative macrophage differentiation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from obese subjects
Visceral obesity, a chronic, low-grade inflammatory disease, predisposes to the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and its cardiovascular complications. Adipose tissue is not a passive storehouse for fat, but an endocrine organ synthesizing and releasing a variety of bioactive molecules, some of which are produced by infiltrated immune-inflammatory cells including macrophages. Two different sub-populations of macrophages have been identified in adipose tissue: pro-inflammatory “classical” M1 and anti-inflammatory “alternative” M2 macrophages and their ratio is suggested to influence the metabolic complications of obesity. These macrophages derive primarily from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). We hypothesized that obesity and the metabolic syndrome modulate PBMC functions. Therefore, alteration of the monocyte response, and more specifically their ability to differentiate toward alternative anti-inflammatory macrophages was assessed in PBMC isolated from lean and obese subjects with or without alterations in glucose homeostasis. Our results indicate that PBMC from obese subjects have an altered expression of M2 markers and that their monocytes are less susceptible to differentiate toward an alternative phenotype. Thus PBMC in obesity are programmed, which may contribute to the inflammatory dysregulation and increased susceptibility to inflammatory diseases in these patients.
PMCID: PMC3655375 PMID: 22192929
Adipose Tissue; metabolism; Adult; Cell Differentiation; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; complications; metabolism; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Inflammation; etiology; metabolism; Inflammation Mediators; metabolism; Leukocytes, Mononuclear; metabolism; Macrophages; cytology; metabolism; Middle Aged; Obesity; complications; metabolism; Phenotype; obesity; macrophages; polarization; inflammation; gene expression
5. 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 deficiency in bone marrow-derived cells reduces atherosclerosis
The FASEB Journal 2013;27(4):1519-1531.
11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type-1 (11β-HSD1) converts inert cortisone into active cortisol, amplifying intracellular glucocorticoid action. 11β-HSD1 deficiency improves cardiovascular risk factors in obesity but exacerbates acute inflammation. To determine the effects of 11β-HSD1 deficiency on atherosclerosis and its inflammation, atherosclerosis-prone apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE-KO) mice were treated with a selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor or crossed with 11β-HSD1-KO mice to generate double knockouts (DKOs) and challenged with an atherogenic Western diet. 11β-HSD1 inhibition or deficiency attenuated atherosclerosis (74–76%) without deleterious effects on plaque structure. This occurred without affecting plasma lipids or glucose, suggesting independence from classical metabolic risk factors. KO plaques were not more inflamed and indeed had 36% less T-cell infiltration, associated with 38% reduced circulating monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and 36% lower lesional vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Bone marrow (BM) cells are key to the atheroprotection, since transplantation of DKO BM to irradiated ApoE-KO mice reduced atherosclerosis by 51%. 11β-HSD1-null macrophages show 76% enhanced cholesterol ester export. Thus, 11β-HSD1 deficiency reduces atherosclerosis without exaggerated lesional inflammation independent of metabolic risk factors. Selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitors promise novel antiatherosclerosis effects over and above their benefits for metabolic risk factors via effects on BM cells, plausibly macrophages.—Kipari, T., Hadoke, P. W. F., Iqbal, J., Man, T. Y., Miller, E., Coutinho, A. E., Zhang, Z., Sullivan, K. M., Mitic, T., Livingstone, D. E. W., Schrecker, C., Samuel, K., White, C. I., Bouhlel, M. A., Chinetti-Gbaguidi, G., Staels, B., Andrew, R., Walker, B. R., Savill, J. S., Chapman, K. E., Seckl, J. R. 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 deficiency in bone marrow-derived cells reduces atherosclerosis.
PMCID: PMC3606528 PMID: 23303209
atherogenesis; glucocorticoids; inflammation
6. Hepatic glucose sensing is required to preserve β cell glucose competence
The Journal of Clinical Investigation 2013;123(4):1662-1676.
Liver glucose metabolism plays a central role in glucose homeostasis and may also regulate feeding and energy expenditure. Here we assessed the impact of glucose transporter 2 (Glut2) gene inactivation in adult mouse liver (LG2KO mice). Loss of Glut2 suppressed hepatic glucose uptake but not glucose output. In the fasted state, expression of carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) and its glycolytic and lipogenic target genes was abnormally elevated. Feeding, energy expenditure, and insulin sensitivity were identical in LG2KO and control mice. Glucose tolerance was initially normal after Glut2 inactivation, but LG2KO mice exhibited progressive impairment of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion even though β cell mass and insulin content remained normal. Liver transcript profiling revealed a coordinated downregulation of cholesterol biosynthesis genes in LG2KO mice that was associated with reduced hepatic cholesterol in fasted mice and reduced bile acids (BAs) in feces, with a similar trend in plasma. We showed that chronic BAs or farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist treatment of primary islets increases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, an effect not seen in islets from Fxr–/– mice. Collectively, our data show that glucose sensing by the liver controls β cell glucose competence and suggest BAs as a potential mechanistic link.
PMCID: PMC3613916 PMID: 23549084
7. Macrophage polarization in metabolic disorders: functions and regulation
Current Opinion in Lipidology 2011;22(5):365-372.
Purpose of review
To discuss recent findings on the role and regulation of macrophage polarization in obesity and atherosclerosis.
Recent findings
Macrophages infiltrate the vascular wall during atherosclerosis and adipose tissue during obesity. At least two distinct sub-populations with different functions, the classically (M1) and the alternatively (M2) activated macrophages, have been found in these tissues. Reciprocal skewing of macrophage polarization between the M1 and M2 states is a process modulated by diet, humoral and transcription factors, such as the nuclear receptor Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor gamma (PPARγ).
Recent literature highlights the importance not only of the number of infiltrated macrophages, but also their activation in the maintenance of the inflammation state. Identifying mechanisms and molecules able to modify the balance between M1 and M2 represents a promising field of research.
PMCID: PMC3565956 PMID: 21825981
Adipose Tissue; immunology; Animals; Humans; Inflammation; immunology; Macrophages; cytology; metabolism; Metabolic Diseases; immunology; macrophages; obesity; atherosclerosis; nuclear receptors
8. Impaired Expression of the Inducible cAMP Early Repressor Accounts for Sustained Adipose CREB Activity in Obesity
Diabetes 2011;60(12):3169-3174.
Increase in adipose cAMP-responsive element\x{2013}binding protein (CREB) activity promotes adipocyte dysfunction and systemic insulin resistance in obese mice. This is achieved by increasing the expression of activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3). In this study, we investigated whether impaired expression of the inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER), a transcriptional antagonist of CREB, is responsible for the increased CREB activity in adipocytes of obese mice and humans.
Total RNA and nuclear proteins were prepared from visceral adipose tissue (VAT) of human nonobese or obese subjects and white adipose tissue (WAT) of C57Bl6-Rj mice that were fed with normal or high-fat diet for 16 weeks. The expression of genes was monitored by real-time PCR, Western blotting, and electromobility shift assays. RNA interference was used to silence the expression of Icer.
The expression of Icer/ICER was reduced in VAT and WAT of obese humans and mice, respectively. Diminution of Icer/ICER was restricted to adipocytes and was accompanied by a rise of Atf3/ATF3 and diminution of Adipoq/ADIPOQ and Glut4/GLUT4. Silencing the expression of Icer in 3T3-L1 adipocytes mimicked the results observed in human and mice cells and hampered glucose uptake, thus confirming the requirement of Icer for appropriate adipocyte function.
Impaired expression of ICER contributes to elevation in CREB target genes and, therefore, to the development of insulin resistance in obesity.
PMCID: PMC3219947 PMID: 21998402
9. The novel antibacterial compound walrycin A induces human PXR transcriptional activity
Toxicological Sciences 2012;127(1):225-235.
The human pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a ligand-regulated transcription factor belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily. PXR is activated by a large, structurally diverse, set of endogenous and xenobiotic compounds, and coordinates the expression of genes central to metabolism and excretion of potentially harmful chemicals and therapeutic drugs in humans. Walrycin A is a novel antibacterial compound targeting the WalK/WalR two-component signal transduction system of Gram (+) bacteria. Here we report that, in hepatoma cells, walrycin A potently activates a gene set known to be regulated by the xenobiotic sensor PXR. Walrycin A was as efficient as the reference PXR agonist rifampicin to activate PXR in a transactivation assay at non cytoxic concentrations. Using a limited proteolysis assay, we show that walrycin A induces conformational changes at a concentration which correlates with walrycin A ability to enhance the expression of prototypic target genes, suggesting that walrycin A interacts with PXR. The activation of the canonical human PXR target gene CYP3A4 by walrycin A is dose- and PXR-dependent. Finally, in silico docking experiments suggest that the walrycin A oxidation product Russig’s blue is the actual a ligand for PXR. Taken together, these results identify walrycin A as novel human PXR activator.
PMCID: PMC3435511 PMID: 22314385
Anti-Bacterial Agents; toxicity; Cell Line, Transformed; Cell Survival; drug effects; Computational Biology; Computer Simulation; Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A; biosynthesis; genetics; Gene Expression; drug effects; Hepatocytes; drug effects; metabolism; Humans; Naphthols; toxicity; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Protein Binding; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship; RNA, Small Interfering; administration & dosage; genetics; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Receptors, Steroid; drug effects; genetics; Rifampin; pharmacology; Transfection; Walrycin A; Pregnane X Receptor; Nuclear Receptor; CYP3A4; Ligand Binding Domain; Xenobiotic
10. Coordinated Regulation of PPARγ Expression and Activity through Control of Chromatin Structure in Adipogenesis and Obesity
PPAR Research 2012;2012:164140.
The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is required for differentiation and function of mature adipocytes. Its expression is induced during adipogenesis where it plays a key role in establishing the transcriptome of terminally differentiated white fat cells. Here, we review findings indicating that PPARγ expression and activity are intricately regulated through control of chromatin structure. Hierarchical and combinatorial activation of transcription factors, noncoding RNAs, and chromatin remodelers allows for temporally controlled expression of PPARγ and its target genes through sequential chromatin remodelling. In obesity, these regulatory pathways may be altered and lead to modified PPARγ activity.
PMCID: PMC3444001 PMID: 22991504
11. Effects of the New Dual PPARα/δ Agonist GFT505 on Lipid and Glucose Homeostasis in Abdominally Obese Patients With Combined Dyslipidemia or Impaired Glucose Metabolism
Diabetes Care 2011;34(9):2008-2014.
We evaluated the metabolic effects and tolerability of GFT505, a novel dual peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor α/δ agonist, in abdominally obese patients with either combined dyslipidemia or prediabetes.
The S1 study was conducted in 94 patients with combined dyslipidemia while the S2 study was conducted in 47 patients with prediabetes. Participants were randomly assigned in a double-blind manner to GFT505 at 80 mg/day or placebo for 28 (S1) or 35 (S2) days. Primary efficacy end points were changes from baseline at week 4 in both fasting plasma triglycerides and HDL cholesterol in the S1 group and 2-h glucose upon oral glucose tolerance test in the S2 group.
In comparison with placebo, GFT505 significantly reduced fasting plasma triglycerides (S1: least squares means −16.7% [95% one-sided CI −∞ to −5.3], P = 0.005; S2: −24.8% [−∞ to −10.5], P = 0.0003) and increased HDL cholesterol (S1: 7.8% [3.0 to ∞], P = 0.004; S2: 9.3% [1.7 to ∞], P = 0.009) in both studies, whereas LDL cholesterol only decreased in S2 (−11.0% [ −∞ to −3.5], P = 0.002). In S2, GFT505 did not reduce 2-h glucose (−0.52 mmol/L [−∞ to 0.61], P = 0.18) but led to a significant decrease of homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (−31.4% [−∞ to 12.5], P = 0.001), fasting plasma glucose (−0.37 mmol/L [−∞ to −0.10], P = 0.01) and fructosamine (−3.6% [−∞ to −0.20], P = 0.02). GFT505 also reduced γ glutamyl transferase levels in both studies (S1: −19.9% [−∞ to −12.8], P < 0.0001; S2: −15.1% [−∞ to −1.1], P = 0.004). No specific adverse safety signals were reported during the studies.
GFT505 may be considered a new drug candidate for the treatment of lipid and glucose disorders associated with the metabolic syndrome.
PMCID: PMC3161281 PMID: 21816979
12. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ɣ activation induces 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 activity in human alternative macrophages
11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) catalyses the intracellular reduction of inactive cortisone to active cortisol, the natural ligand activating the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a nuclear receptor controlling inflammation, lipid metabolism and the macrophage polarization state. In this study, we investigated the impact of macrophage polarization on the expression and activity of 11β-HSD1 and the role of PPAR therein.
Methods and Results
11β-HSD1 gene expression is higher in pro-inflammatory M1 and anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages than in resting macrophages (RM), whereas its activity is highest in M2 macrophages. Interestingly, PPARγ activation induces 11β-HSD1 enzyme activity in M2 macrophages, but not in RM or M1 macrophages. Consequently, human M2 macrophages displayed enhanced responsiveness to the 11β-HSD1 substrate cortisone, an effect amplified by PPAR -induction of 11β-HSD1 activity, as illustrated by an increased expression of GR target genes.
Our data identify a positive cross-talk between PPARγ and GR in human M2 macrophages via the induction of 11β-HSD1 expression and activity.
PMCID: PMC3428270 PMID: 22207732
11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1; biosynthesis; genetics; Cells, Cultured; Cortisone; metabolism; Enzyme Induction; Genes, Reporter; Humans; Hydrocortisone; metabolism; Inflammation; enzymology; genetics; immunology; Interleukin-4; metabolism; Macrophages; drug effects; enzymology; immunology; PPAR gamma; agonists; genetics; metabolism; RNA Interference; Receptors, Glucocorticoid; metabolism; Thiazolidinediones; pharmacology; Time Factors; Transfection; 11beta-HSDI; PPARgamma; human alternative macrophages; inflammation; GR
13. Genome-Wide Profiling of Liver X Receptor, Retinoid X Receptor, and Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor α in Mouse Liver Reveals Extensive Sharing of Binding Sites
Molecular and Cellular Biology 2012;32(4):852-867.
The liver X receptors (LXRs) are nuclear receptors that form permissive heterodimers with retinoid X receptor (RXR) and are important regulators of lipid metabolism in the liver. We have recently shown that RXR agonist-induced hypertriglyceridemia and hepatic steatosis in mice are dependent on LXRs and correlate with an LXR-dependent hepatic induction of lipogenic genes. To further investigate the roles of RXR and LXR in the regulation of hepatic gene expression, we have mapped the ligand-regulated genome-wide binding of these factors in mouse liver. We find that the RXR agonist bexarotene primarily increases the genomic binding of RXR, whereas the LXR agonist T0901317 greatly increases both LXR and RXR binding. Functional annotation of putative direct LXR target genes revealed a significant association with classical LXR-regulated pathways as well as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathways, and subsequent chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) mapping of PPARα binding demonstrated binding of PPARα to 71 to 88% of the identified LXR-RXR binding sites. The combination of sequence analysis of shared binding regions and sequential ChIP on selected sites indicate that LXR-RXR and PPARα-RXR bind to degenerate response elements in a mutually exclusive manner. Together, our findings suggest extensive and unexpected cross talk between hepatic LXR and PPARα at the level of binding to shared genomic sites.
PMCID: PMC3272984 PMID: 22158963
14. Farnesoid X Receptor Deficiency Improves Glucose Homeostasis in Mouse Models of Obesity
Diabetes 2011;60(7):1861-1871.
Bile acids (BA) participate in the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis acting through different signaling pathways. The nuclear BA receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) regulates pathways in BA, lipid, glucose, and energy metabolism, which become dysregulated in obesity. However, the role of FXR in obesity and associated complications, such as dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, has not been directly assessed.
Here, we evaluate the consequences of FXR deficiency on body weight development, lipid metabolism, and insulin resistance in murine models of genetic and diet-induced obesity.
FXR deficiency attenuated body weight gain and reduced adipose tissue mass in both models. Surprisingly, glucose homeostasis improved as a result of an enhanced glucose clearance and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity. In contrast, hepatic insulin sensitivity did not change, and liver steatosis aggravated as a result of the repression of β-oxidation genes. In agreement, liver-specific FXR deficiency did not protect from diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance, indicating a role for nonhepatic FXR in the control of glucose homeostasis in obesity. Decreasing elevated plasma BA concentrations in obese FXR-deficient mice by administration of the BA sequestrant colesevelam improved glucose homeostasis in a FXR-dependent manner, indicating that the observed improvements by FXR deficiency are not a result of indirect effects of altered BA metabolism.
Overall, FXR deficiency in obesity beneficially affects body weight development and glucose homeostasis.
PMCID: PMC3121443 PMID: 21593203
15. Farnesoid x receptor deficiency improves glucose homeostasis in mouse models of obesity
Diabetes 2011;60(7):1861-1871.
Bile acids (BA) participate in the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis acting through different signaling pathways. The nuclear BA receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) regulates pathways in BA, lipid, glucose and energy metabolism which become dysregulated in obesity. However, the role of FXR in obesity and associated complications, such as dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, has not been directly assessed.
Research Design and Methods
Here, we evaluate the consequences of FXR-deficiency on body weight development, lipid metabolism and insulin resistance in murine models of genetic and diet-induced obesity.
FXR-deficiency attenuated body weight gain and reduced adipose tissue mass in both models. Surprisingly, glucose homeostasis improved due to an enhanced glucose clearance and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity. In contrast, hepatic insulin sensitivity did not change, and liver steatosis aggravated due to the repression of β-oxidation genes. In agreement, liver-specific FXR-deficiency did not protect from diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance indicating a role for non-hepatic FXR in the control of glucose homeostasis in obesity. Decreasing elevated plasma BA concentrations in obese FXR-deficient mice by administration of the BA sequestrant colesevelam improved glucose homeostasis in a FXR-dependent manner indicating that the observed improvements by FXR-deficiency are not due to indirect effects of altered BA metabolism.
Overall, FXR-deficiency in obesity beneficially affects body weight development and glucose homeostasis.
PMCID: PMC3121443 PMID: 21593203
FXR; bile acids; obesity; glucose homeostasis; insulin resistance; energy metabolism; triglyceride metabolism; bile acid sequestrants
16. Dynamic hydroxymethylation of deoxyribonucleic acid marks differentiation-associated enhancers
Nucleic Acids Research 2012;40(17):8255-8265.
Enhancers are developmentally controlled transcriptional regulatory regions whose activities are modulated through histone modifications or histone variant deposition. In this study, we show by genome-wide mapping that the newly discovered deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) modification 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is dynamically associated with transcription factor binding to distal regulatory sites during neural differentiation of mouse P19 cells and during adipocyte differentiation of mouse 3T3-L1 cells. Functional annotation reveals that regions gaining 5hmC are associated with genes expressed either in neural tissues when P19 cells undergo neural differentiation or in adipose tissue when 3T3-L1 cells undergo adipocyte differentiation. Furthermore, distal regions gaining 5hmC together with H3K4me2 and H3K27ac in P19 cells behave as differentiation-dependent transcriptional enhancers. Identified regions are enriched in motifs for transcription factors regulating specific cell fates such as Meis1 in P19 cells and PPARγ in 3T3-L1 cells. Accordingly, a fraction of hydroxymethylated Meis1 sites were associated with a dynamic engagement of the 5-methylcytosine hydroxylase Tet1. In addition, kinetic studies of cytosine hydroxymethylation of selected enhancers indicated that DNA hydroxymethylation is an early event of enhancer activation. Hence, acquisition of 5hmC in cell-specific distal regulatory regions may represent a major event of enhancer progression toward an active state and participate in selective activation of tissue-specific genes.
PMCID: PMC3458548 PMID: 22730288
17. Circadian control of epigenetic modifications modulates metabolism
Circulation Research 2011;109(4):353-355.
A new study in Science reveals how circadian epigenetic modification of DNA drives diurnal gene expression in mouse liver and is required for the maintenance of lipid homeostasis.
PMCID: PMC3368825 PMID: 21817162
18. EMBO workshop on immunology and metabolism
EMBO Reports 2011;12(5):386-388.
Recent findings have identified roles for the immune system in what had been considered prototypic metabolic diseases, while metabolic control has emerged as an important determinant of immune function. Giovanna Chimini, Lee Leserman, Diane Mathis and Philippe Naquet organized the EMBO Workshop on Immunology and Metabolism, which took place in January 2011 at the Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy in Marseille, France. The meeting brought together around 100 scientists to discuss interactions between metabolism and inflammation, and was sponsored by Sanofi-Aventis and the CIML.
PMCID: PMC3090031 PMID: 21494247
Allergy and Immunology; trends; Metabolic Diseases; immunology; Metabolism; immunology
19. Bile acid metabolism and the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes
Current Diabetes Reports 2011;11(3):160-166.
T2D is a growing health problem world-wide, but the currently available strategies for therapy and prevention are insufficient. Recent observations indicate that bile acid homeostasis is altered in T2D. Bile acids are metabolic regulators that act as signaling molecules through receptor-dependent and -independent pathways. The most prominent signaling molecules mediating bile acid signaling are the nuclear receptor FXR and the membrane receptor TGR5. Both are implicated in the regulation of lipid, glucose and energy metabolism. Dysregulation of these pathways might contribute to the development of T2D and associated metabolic complications. Interestingly, data from studies with bile acids or bile acid sequestrants indicate that the manipulation of bile acid homeostasis might be an attractive approach for T2D therapy. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms of bile-acid-mediated metabolic control that might be of relevance in the pathogenesis of T2D.
PMCID: PMC3338411 PMID: 21431855
Animals; Bile Acids and Salts; metabolism; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; metabolism; physiopathology; Dyslipidemias; metabolism; physiopathology; Humans; Obesity; metabolism; physiopathology; Bile acids; T2D; FXR; TGR5; bile acid sequestrants; obesity; dyslipidemia; NAFL
20. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha gene level differently affects lipid metabolism and inflammation in apolipoprotein E2 knock-in mice
Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptorα (PPARα) is a ligand-activated transcription factor which controls lipid metabolism and inflammation. PPARα is activated by fibrates, hypolipidemic drugs used in the treatment of dyslipidemia. Previous studies assessing the influence of PPARα agonists on atherosclerosis in mice yielded conflicting results and the implication of PPARα therein has not been assessed. The human apoE2 knock-in (apoE2-KI) mouse is a model of mixed dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The aim of this study was, using homo- and heterozygous PPARα-deficient mice, to analyze the consequences of quantitative variations of PPARα gene levels and its response to the synthetic PPARα agonist fenofibrate, on NASH and atherosclerosis in apoE2-KI mice.
Methods and results
Wildtype (+/+), heterozygous (+/−) and homozygous (−/−) PPARα-deficient mice in the apoE2-KI background were generated and submitted to a western diet supplemented or not with fenofibrate. Western diet-fed PPARα−/− apoE2-KI mice displayed an aggravation of liver steatosis and inflammation compared to PPARα+/+ and PPARα+/− apoE2-KI mice, indicating a role of PPARα in liver protection. Moreover, PPARα expression was required for the fenofibrate-induced protection against NASH. Interestingly, fenofibrate treatment induced a similar response on hepatic lipid metabolism in PPARα+/+ and PPARα+/− apoE2-KI mice, whereas, for a maximal anti-inflammatory response, both alleles of the PPARα gene were required.
Surprisingly, atherosclerosis development was not significantly different between PPARα+/+, PPARα+/− and PPARα−/− apoE2-KI mice. However, PPARα gene level determined both the anti-atherosclerotic and vascular anti-inflammatory responses to fenofibrate in a dose-dependent manner.
These results demonstrate a necessary, but quantitatively different role of PPARα in the modulation of liver metabolism, inflammation and atherogenesis.
PMCID: PMC3327645 PMID: 21474829
Analysis of Variance; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; pharmacology; Aorta; drug effects; metabolism; pathology; Apolipoprotein E2; genetics; metabolism; Atherosclerosis; drug therapy; genetics; metabolism; pathology; Disease Models, Animal; Fatty Liver; drug therapy; genetics; metabolism; pathology; Female; Fenofibrate; pharmacology; Gene Expression Regulation; Gene Knock-In Techniques; Heterozygote; Homozygote; Humans; Hypolipidemic Agents; pharmacology; Inflammation; drug therapy; genetics; metabolism; pathology; Lipid Metabolism; drug effects; genetics; Lipids; blood; Liver; drug effects; metabolism; pathology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Mice, Transgenic; PPAR alpha; agonists; genetics; metabolism; PPARalpha; fatty liver disease; atherosclerosis; inflammation; lipid metabolism; murine model
21. Human atherosclerotic plaque alternative macrophages display low cholesterol handling but high phagocytosis because of distinct activities of the PPARɣ and LXRα pathways
Circulation Research 2011;108(8):985-995.
A crucial step in atherogenesis is the infiltration of the sub-endothelial space of large arteries by monocytes where they differentiate into macrophages and transform into lipid-loaded foam cells. Macrophages are heterogeneous cells which adapt their response to environmental cytokines. Th1 cytokines promote monocyte differentiation into M1 macrophages, while Th2 cytokines trigger an “alternative” M2 phenotype.
We previously reported the presence of CD68+MR+ M2 macrophages in human atherosclerotic plaques. However, the function of these plaque CD68+MR+ macrophages is still unknown.
Methods and Results
Histological analysis revealed that CD68+MR+ locate far from the lipid core of the plaque and contain smaller lipid droplets compared to CD68+MR− macrophages. IL-4 polarized CD68+MR+ display a reduced capacity to handle and efflux cellular cholesterol due to low expression levels of the nuclear receptor Liver X Receptor (LXR)α and its target genes, ABCA1 and ApoE, caused by the high 15-lipoxygenase activity in CD68+MR+ macrophages. By contrast, CD68+MR+ highly express opsonins and receptors involved in phagocytosis resulting in high phagocytic activity. In M2 macrophages, Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated receptor (PPAR)γ activation enhances the phagocytic, but not the cholesterol trafficking pathways.
These data identify a distinct macrophage sub-population with a low susceptibility to become foam cells, but high phagocytic activity due to different regulatory activities of the PPARγ-LXRα pathways.
PMCID: PMC3319502 PMID: 21350215
Cell Differentiation; physiology; Cells, Cultured; Cholesterol; metabolism; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Humans; Leukocytes, Mononuclear; metabolism; pathology; Macrophages; metabolism; pathology; Orphan Nuclear Receptors; metabolism; physiology; PPAR gamma; metabolism; Phagocytosis; physiology; Plaque, Atherosclerotic; metabolism; pathology; Atherosclerosis; macrophages; nuclear receptors; cholesterol
22. Bone Marrow p16INK4a-Deficiency Does Not Modulate Obesity, Glucose Homeostasis or Atherosclerosis Development
PLoS ONE 2012;7(3):e32440.
A genomic region near the CDKN2A locus, encoding p16INK4a, has been associated to type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic vascular disease, conditions in which inflammation plays an important role. Recently, we found that deficiency of p16INK4a results in decreased inflammatory signaling in murine macrophages and that p16INK4a influences the phenotype of human adipose tissue macrophages. Therefore, we investigated the influence of immune cell p16INK4a on glucose tolerance and atherosclerosis in mice.
Methods and Results
Bone marrow p16INK4a-deficiency in C57Bl6 mice did not influence high fat diet-induced obesity nor plasma glucose and lipid levels. Glucose tolerance tests showed no alterations in high fat diet-induced glucose intolerance. While bone marrow p16INK4a-deficiency did not affect the gene expression profile of adipose tissue, hepatic expression of the alternative markers Chi3l3, Mgl2 and IL10 was increased and the induction of pro-inflammatory Nos2 was restrained on the high fat diet. Bone marrow p16INK4a-deficiency in low density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice did not affect western diet-induced atherosclerotic plaque size or morphology. In line, plasma lipid levels remained unaffected and p16INK4a-deficient macrophages displayed equal cholesterol uptake and efflux compared to wild type macrophages.
Bone marrow p16INK4a-deficiency does not affect plasma lipids, obesity, glucose tolerance or atherosclerosis in mice.
PMCID: PMC3293804 PMID: 22403661
23. Telomerase Activation in Atherosclerosis and Induction of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Expression by Inflammatory Stimuli in Macrophages
Telomerase serves as a critical regulator of tissue renewal. Although telomerase activity is inducible in response to various environmental cues, it remains unknown whether telomerase is activated during the inflammatory remodeling underlying atherosclerosis formation. To address this question, we investigated in the present study the regulation of telomerase in macrophages and during atherosclerosis development in LDL-receptor-deficient mice.
Methods and Results
We demonstrate that inflammatory stimuli activate telomerase in macrophages by inducing the expression of the catalytic subunit telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). Reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays identified a previously unrecognized NF-κB response element in the TERT promoter, to which NF-κB is recruited during inflammation. Inhibition of NF-κB signaling completely abolished the induction of TERT expression, characterizing TERT as a bona fide NF-κB target gene. Furthermore, functional experiments revealed that TERT-deficiency results in a senescent cell phenotype. Finally, we demonstrate high levels of TERT expression in macrophages of human atherosclerotic lesions and establish that telomerase is activated during atherosclerosis development in LDL-receptor-deficient mice.
These results characterize TERT as a previously unrecognized NF-κB target gene in macrophages and demonstrate that telomerase is activated during atherosclerosis. This induction of TERT expression prevents macrophage senescence and may have important implications for the development of atherosclerosis.
PMCID: PMC3025413 PMID: 21106948
Inflammation; Telomerase; Macrophages; Atherosclerosis; NF-κB
24. LDL Receptor Knock-Out Mice Are a Physiological Model Particularly Vulnerable to Study the Onset of Inflammation in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
PLoS ONE 2012;7(1):e30668.
Background & Aims
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) involves steatosis combined with inflammation, which can progress into fibrosis and cirrhosis. Exploring the molecular mechanisms of NASH is highly dependent on the availability of animal models. Currently, the most commonly used animal models for NASH imitate particularly late stages of human disease. Thus, there is a need for an animal model that can be used for investigating the factors that potentiate the inflammatory response within NASH. We have previously shown that 7-day high-fat-high-cholesterol (HFC) feeding induces steatosis and inflammation in both APOE2ki and Ldlr−/− mice. However, it is not known whether the early inflammatory response observed in these mice will sustain over time and lead to liver damage. We hypothesized that the inflammatory response in both models is sufficient to induce liver damage over time.
APOE2ki and Ldlr−/− mice were fed a chow or HFC diet for 3 months. C57Bl6/J mice were used as control.
Surprisingly, hepatic inflammation was abolished in APOE2ki mice, while it was sustained in Ldlr−/− mice. In addition, increased apoptosis and hepatic fibrosis was only demonstrated in Ldlr−/− mice. Finally, bone-marrow-derived-macrophages of Ldlr−/− mice showed an increased inflammatory response after oxidized LDL (oxLDL) loading compared to APOE2ki mice.
Ldlr−/− mice, but not APOE2ki mice, developed sustained hepatic inflammation and liver damage upon long term HFC feeding due to increased sensitivity for oxLDL uptake. Therefore, the Ldlr−/− mice are a promising physiological model particularly vulnerable for investigating the onset of hepatic inflammation in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
PMCID: PMC3266276 PMID: 22295101
25. Visfatin is induced by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma in human macrophages
The Febs Journal 2010;277(16):3308-3320.
Obesity is a low grade chronic inflammatory disease associated with an increased number of macrophages (ATM) in adipose tissue. Within the adipose tissue, ATM are the major source of visfatin/PBEF/NAMPT. The nuclear receptor Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPAR)γ exerts anti-inflammatory effects in macrophages by inhibiting cytokine production and enhancing alternative differentiation. In this study, we investigated whether PPARγ modulates visfatin expression in murine (BMDM) and human (RM, M1, M2, ATM) macrophage models and preadipocyte-derived adipocytes. We show that synthetic PPARγ ligands increased visfatin gene expression in a PPARγ-dependent manner in primary human macrophages (RM) and ATM, but not in adipocytes. The increase of visfatin mRNA (3-fold) was paralleled by an increase of protein expression (30%) and secretion (30%). Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) experiments and transient transfection assays indicated that PPARγ induces visfatin promoter activity in human macrophages by binding to a DR1-PPARγ response element. Finally, we show that PPARγ ligands increase NAD+ production in primary human macrophages and this regulation is dampened in the presence of visfatin siRNA or by the visfatin-specific inhibitor FK866. Taken together, our results suggest that PPARγ regulates the expression of visfatin in macrophages leading to increased NAD+ levels.
PMCID: PMC3183437 PMID: 20608974
Animals; Base Sequence; Blotting, Western; Cells, Cultured; Enzyme Inhibitors; pharmacology; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; drug effects; Humans; Leukocytes, Mononuclear; enzymology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Molecular Sequence Data; NAD; chemistry; Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase; genetics; metabolism; PPAR gamma; agonists; metabolism; RNA, Messenger; metabolism; nuclear receptors; adipocytokines; visfatin; inflammation; macrophages
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0.042841 | <urn:uuid:0466cd1e-c96d-48d2-87f2-51e6cf39f4c5> | en | 0.961202 | Could Europe’s most troubled countries end up better off than the US and Japan?
A more dynamic future for the euro zone? Berenberg Bank / The Lisbon Council
As European leaders bicker today over how to help Greece get back on its feet, one report says Greece and other troubled euro-zone countries are at least doing something right. The Lisbon Council and Berenberg Bank said in a study (pdf) just out that euro-zone countries hardest hit by the crisis were shaping up the fastest by aggressively slashing fiscal deficits and improving competitiveness. The current recession has obscured their progress, but if they can get through the financial crisis—which for some of them, is a big if—they’ll be in good shape.
Many eurozone members are going through a wave of sweeping structural and fiscal reforms while the region as a whole is strengthening its governance structure. At the same time, other even more heavily indebted major economies such as the US and Japan are not. If the eurozone gets through the current acute crisis and stays on the reform path, it could eventually emerge from the crisis as the most dynamic of the major Western economies.
The study measured a number of factors including fiscal adjustments, changes to labor costs, swings in external accounts, as well as growth potential, competitiveness, and fiscal sustainability. Topping the list of countries who have made the most progress in these areas were Greece, Ireland, Estonia, Spain and Portugal—all countries, save for Estonia, who have also gotten external assistance and had little choice but to reform.
Faring less well on the survey were Austria, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands. While these countries have required less reform, they have also done very little to improve their long-term outlook, said the report.
All the same, it warned, belt-tightening won’t do any good if all it achieves is to strangle the country, as is the risk with Greece:
…the exceptional progress which Greece has made in slashing its structural fiscal deficit as well as its unit labour costs has not prevented an additional dramatic surge in Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio. For the sake of Spain and Portugal, Europe urgently needs to learn the lesson that fiscal shortfalls caused by an unexpectedly deep recession need to be tolerated and should not trigger further rounds of austerity.
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0.022784 | <urn:uuid:0c2b19c7-3033-4fd1-8691-335424072c92> | en | 0.948292 | OpinionSyndicate content
Quebec's Maple Spring shows grassroots movements can force social and environmental change
Photo: ForgetTheBox.net
Dear Ontario teachers: Don't let McGuinty get away with this
I know you're angry right now. You should be. That your bargaining process has been interrupted by the reprehensible actions of the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives in Ontario should outrage you and all Ontarians who support you.
I want to acknowledge your pain. Having never had a student wet himself beside me, having never had to separate a fight where girls' hair is strewn across the floor, having never had to explain why the Merchant of Venice doesn't suck, having never had to stop myself from swearing for more than a few days at a time ... I know that what you do I could never do. What you do, most people can't do. Even with the shitty teachers lumped in, the service you give to the community deserves to be acknowledged, honoured and celebrated.
Racism and violence, past and present: Understanding the Wisconsin shooting
Yesterday morning the orgies of the lone gunman took hold in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a town in the dragnet of Milwaukee. He targeted a Gurdwara, the religious home of the local Sikh community. The gunman entered the Gurdwara, and as if in mimicry of the school shootings, stalked the worshippers in the halls of the 17,000 square foot "Sikh Temple of Wisconsin."
Police engaged the gunman, who wounded at least one officer. The gunman killed at least seven Sikhs, wounding many more. He was then killed. A few hours after the shooting Ven Boba Ri, a committee member of the Gurdwara told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "It's pretty much a hate crime. It's not an insider."
The local police smartly said that this is an act of domestic terrorism.
Unions are key to fighting inequity for all workers
The people who have been occupying financial districts in Canadian and American cities are motivated by anger over the glaring economic unfairness that exists in our society. The labour movement welcomes what these young people camping outdoors in tents are saying -- because we have said the very same thing for many years.
International Stop the Tar Sands Day: A guide to the disaster
Photo: Evolve Love/Velcrow Ripper
Looking into the crystal ball: 2011 predictions from the CCPA
Happy new year rabble readers! As we round out another decade, thoughts turn to the future, and our partners at the The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives have weighed in on the issues facing Canada in the years ahead. They flag the economy, social unrest, drift, democracy, dirty oil and corporate Canada as things to watch in 2011 and beyond.
Hugh Mackenzie, CCPA Research Associate
The Ontario ombudsman's G20 report confirms the denial of our civil liberties
That's what the Ontario ombudsman's Andre Marin's report sounds like to me.
As a peaceful protester during the G20 demonstrations, I saw and experienced Toronto as a police state where the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms no longer applied. While the mainstream media couldn't tear the cameras away from burning cruisers, police officers were conducting illegal searches, used excessive force and the provincial government quietly withdrew our rights.
Lukewarm feds finally sign UN declaration for indigenous peoples
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been adopted by the Canadian government, and First Nations people are waiting to see some progress.
I don't think we should hold our breath.
The indication is that the government adopted the declaration under duress and hopes it will just go away. It most likely will fall into the black hole, like all the other studies and expressions of goodwill in the past.
The announcement came on Nov. 12, when everyone was either taking a holiday or getting ready for the weekend. In Ottawa, Friday afternoon is the time to make unpopular or troublesome announcements. For instance, this is when the prime minister customarily announces Senate appointments.
Canada and the next world financial crisis
How will the next financial crisis erupt? (Or perhaps we should describe it as a further chapter of the ongoing financial crisis.) It's like figuring out which piece of tinder will ignite after a sizzling heat wave. We know it's bad out there, but just where will the next spark hit? What follows is one of many- potential financial crisis scenarios that Canada could face.
How corporate greed and corruption could lead us to another crash
Photo: flickr/Quinn Dombrowski
This is the third installment of an investigative series looking at the safety and conduct of Canadian banks. Please read part one and part two.
Are you ready for the Western world's economy to crash -- again?
More banks will go under. Many tens of thousands of people will again be thrown out of work. Billions of dollars in "investments" will disappear into thin air.
I believe it's not a question of "if" financial markets and the economy will crash again, but "when."
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0.098975 | <urn:uuid:e6d6d0ad-aee7-4747-a2d0-d0eb94947140> | en | 0.900595 | Take the tour ×
I'm currently re-configuring HAProxy using 1.5dev-17. What I'd like to do is return a 404 error when there is no backend to use for a particular request.
Our current configuration uses the default_backend to route to our django app servers, but when there are a whole lot of probing requests (like a pen-test) that match none of the other configured backends, our django servers grind to a halt as they try to serve these invalid requests, eventually returning a 404.
I'd like to serve the 404 from HAProxy rather than delegating to the django backends. I'm currently achieving this with a hack:
frontend www
default_backend nomatch
backend nomatch
errorfile 503 /var/www/http/404.http
And within the 404.http file I set the 404 status code in the headers. This works, but feels very wrong. Is there a better way of achieving this with HAProxy? Or should I use a regular backend and just let that handle responding with a 404?
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1 Answer
After wanting something similar this is the same thing I came up with. It felt wrong but it works very well in practice and is much cleaner than trying to blacklist particular urls. Just be sure to leave a comment so no one comes across it thinking it's incorrect.
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| http://serverfault.com/questions/496460/serve-404-from-haproxy-when-no-acls-match/501366 | dclm-gs1-223370002 | false | false | {
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0.03011 | <urn:uuid:115e68a4-2a2a-4b0f-9ca2-c18a7b5d552a> | en | 0.946521 | Imposing Preferences
Meta-debate is what happens when we debate about matters surrounding the debate. At it’s best meta-debate may help clarify and focus the real debate when it happens. It may lead to healthy debate. But it is not the debate itself, because the real points of disagreement are not in focus.
“Imposing preferences,” is a classic example of one item we should agree to dismiss as unhelpful meta-debate. To put it another way, Christians on all sides of the culture-and-fundamentalism conflict (which focuses mainly on the styles of music used in worship, along with clothing styles and forms of entertainment) ought to agree that the debate is really not about imposing preferences. Here’s why.
A loaded term
The phrase “imposing their preferences” is heavily freighted. “Imposing” suggests an illegitimate exercise of authority or raw power over unwilling victims. “Preferences” implies that what is being “imposed” is nothing more than personal taste. It’s as though congregational worship is a pizza buffet where random individuals insist that pizzas must be topped only with meat and cheese, not veggies or—perish the thought—fungi. The random preference-imposers make such a stink that even though 99% of those present either love mushrooms or don’t care about toppings at all, the rules of the few oppress all.
But is the debate really about whether random minorities of Christians should bully their churches into conforming to their tastes? Is this scenario really part of the debate (vs. meta-debate) at all?
Let’s take a closer look at “imposing preferences.”
Serious Ministry in a World of Amusement
Whatever Happened to Worldliness?
More than one phenomenon is occurring.
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0.087004 | <urn:uuid:b6e8543b-9ab5-4c9e-8df1-aa2285c0ab7b> | en | 0.842725 | 1. Skip to navigation
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1. Baby Toys (0-12 mo.)
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Animal Adventure Learning Table
Ages 6-36 Months
Animal Adventure Learning Table
Cause and effect
Recognizing how one event can cause other things to happen helps children comprehend what they hear and read.
Numbers and counting
Children learn to count and compare sets of objects and identify numbers as standing for specific quantities.
Musical instruments
Children identify and name familiar instruments and explore ways to make music with their different sounds.
Understanding words that name opposites like first and last, up and down gives children ways to describe the world, fostering language development and comprehension.
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Requires 3 AA batteries (Batteries included).
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0.018561 | <urn:uuid:0c907cef-f643-4b96-baee-272293459ba3> | en | 0.945113 | The pebbles of academia
I have just been awarded a certificate for successful completion of the Conflict of Interest Commitment training (I barely passed). Lately, I have been totally swamped by administrative duties and have had little time for actual research. The experience reminded me of something I read in this NYTimes article by Tyler Cowen
Here are some of the pebbles of my academic career (past and present): financial conflict of interest training , human subjects training, HIPAA training, safety training, ethics training, submitting papers online, filling out copyright forms, faculty meetings, center grant quarterly meetings, 2 hour oral exams, 2 hour thesis committee meetings, big project conference calls, retreats, JSM, anything with “strategic” in the title, admissions committee, affirmative action committee, faculty senate meetings, brown bag lunches, orientations, effort reporting, conflict of interest reporting, progress reports (can’t I just point to pubmed?), dbgap progress reports, people who ramble at study section, rambling at study section, buying airplane tickets for invited talks, filling out travel expense sheets, and organizing and turning in travel receipts. I know that some of these are somewhat important or take minimal time, but read the quote again.
I also acknowledge that I actually have it real easy compared to others so I am interested in hearing about other people’s pebbles?
Update: add changing my eRA commons password to list!
Tags: Rant humor
When dealing with poop, it’s best to just get your hands dirty
I’m a relatively new dad. Before the kid we affectionately call the “tiny tornado” (TT) came into my life, I had relatively little experience dealing with babies and all the fluids they emit. So admittedly, I was a little squeamish dealing with the poopy explosions the TT would create. Inevitably, things would get much more messy than they had to be while I was being too delicate with the issue. It took me an embarrassingly long time for an educated man, but I finally realized you just have to get in there and change the thing even if it is messy, then wash your hands after. It comes off.
It is a similar situation in my professional life, but I’m having a harder time learning the lesson. There are frequently things that I’m not really excited to do: review a lot of papers, go to long meetings, revise a draft of that paper that has just been sitting around forever. Inevitably, once I get going they usually aren’t as difficult or as arduous as I thought. Even better, once they are done I feel a huge sense of accomplishment and relief. I used to have a metaphor for this, I’d tell myself, “Jeff, just rip off the band-aid”. Now, I think “Jeff, just get your hands dirty”.
Sunday data/statistics link roundup (5/27)
Computational biologist blogger saves computer science department
People who read the news should be aware by now that we are in the midst of a big data era. The New York Times, for example, has been writing about this frequently. One of their most recent articles describes how UC Berkeley is getting $60 million dollars for a new computer science center. Meanwhile, at University of Florida the administration seems to be oblivious to all this and about a month ago announced it was dropping its computer science department to save $. Blogger Steven Salzberg, a computational biologists known for his work in genomics, wrote a post titled “University of Florida eliminates Computer Science Department. At least they still have football" ridiculing UF for their decisions. Here are my favorite quotes:
Well, his post went viral and days later UF reversed it’s decision! So my point is this: statistics departments, be nice to bloggers that work in genomics… one of them might save your butt some day.
Disclaimer: Steven Salzberg has a joint appointment in my department and we have joint lab meetings.
Just like regular communism, dongle communism has failed
Bad news comrades. Dongle communism in under attack. Check out how this poor dongle has been subjugated. This is in our lab meeting room. To add insult to injury, this happened on May 1st
Tags: humor
I don’t think it means what ESPN thinks it means
Given ESPN’s recent headline difficulties it seems like they might want a headline editor or something…
Sunday data/statistics link roundup (1/29)
1. A really nice D3 tutorial. I’m 100% on board with D3, if they could figure out a way to export the graphics as pdfs, I think this would be the best visualization tool out there.
2. A personalized calculator that tells you what number (of the 7 billion or so) that you are based on your birth day. I’m person 4,590,743,884. Makes me feel so special….
3. An old post of ours, on dongle communism. One of my favorite posts, it came out before we had much traffic but deserves more attention.
4. This isn’t statistics/data related but too good to pass up. From the Bones television show, malware fractals shaved into a bone. I love TV science. Thanks to Dr. J for the link.
5. Stats are popular
Fundamentals of Engineering Review Question Oops
The Fundamentals of Engineering Exam is the first licensing exam for engineers. You have to pass it on your way to becoming a professional engineer (PE). I was recently shown a problem from a review manual:
When it is operating properly, a chemical plant has a daily production rate that is normally distributed with a mean of 880 tons/day and a standard deviation of 21 tons/day. During an analysis period, the output is measured with random sampling on 50 consecutive days, and the mean output is found to be 871 tons/day. With a 95 percent confidence level, determine if the plant is operating properly.
1. There is at least a 5 percent probability that the plant is operating properly.
2. There is at least a 95 percent probability that the plant is operating properly.
3. There is at least a 5 percent probability that the plant is not operating properly.
4. There is at least a 95 percent probability that the plant is not operating properly.
Whoops…seems to be a problem there. I’m glad that engineers are expected to know some statistics; hopefully the engineering students taking the exam can spot the problem…but then how do they answer?
Dear editors/associate editors/referees, Please reject my papers quickly
The review times for most journals in our field are ridiculous. Check out Figure 1 here. A careful review takes time, but not six months. Let’s be honest, those papers are sitting on desks for the great majority of those six months. But here is what really kills me: waiting six months for a review basically saying the paper is not of sufficient interest to the readership of the journal. That decision you can come to in half a day. If you don’t have time, don’t accept the responsibility to review a paper.
I like sharing my work with my statistician colleagues, but the Biology journals never do this to me. When my paper is not of sufficient interest, these journals reject me in days not months. I sometimes work on topics that are fast pace and many of my competitors are not statisticians. If I have to wait six months for each rejection, I can’t compete. By the time the top three applied statistics journals reject the paper, more than a year goes by and the paper is no longer novel. Meanwhile I can go through Nature Methods, Genome Research, and Bioinformatics in less than 3 months.
Nick Jewell once shared an idea that I really liked. It goes something like this. Journals in our field will accept every paper that is correct. The editorial board, with the help of referees, assigns each paper into one of five categories A, B, C, D, E based on novelty, importance, etc… If you don’t like the category you are assigned, you can try your luck elsewhere. But before you go, note that the paper’s category can improve after publication based on readership feedback. While we wait for this idea to get implemented, I please ask that if you get one of my papers and you don’t like it, reject it quickly. You can write this review: “This paper rubbed me the wrong way and I heard you like being rejected fast so that’s all I am going to say.” Your comments and critiques are valuable, but not worth the six month wait.
ps - I have to admit that the newer journals have not been bad to me in this regard. Unfortunately, for the sake of my students/postdocs going into the job market and my untenured jr colleagues, I feel I have to try the established top journals first as they still impress more on a CV.
Tags: Rant humor
Getting email responses from busy people
The SI Rules
Here are examples of SI emails just to get you started:
Example 1
Subject: Is my response to reviewer 2 ok with you?
Body: I’ve attached the paper/responses to referees.
Example 2
Subject: Can you send my letter of recommendation to
Keywords = recommendation, Jeff, John Doe.
Example 3
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0.16568 | <urn:uuid:2311021e-ab7e-4d1c-a734-5851741c58c1> | en | 0.79126 | Take the tour ×
I thought that I could just use jQuery's .append() and add them to the head, but that doesn't seem to be working for my external scripts (Knockout.js).
Here's my code that runs when the page loads. It seems to be working for the stylesheet, but not for the external scripts.
if (window.jQuery === undefined || window.jQuery.fn.jquery !== '1.8.0') {
var script_tag = document.createElement('script');
if (script_tag.readyState) {
script_tag.onreadystatechange = function () { // For old versions of IE
} else {
script_tag.onload = scriptLoadHandler;
} else {
// The jQuery version on the window is the one we want to use
jQuery = window.jQuery;
function main() {
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
$("head").append("<script type='text/javascript' src='http://knockoutjs.com/js/jquery.tmpl.js'></script>");
$("head").append("<script type='text/javascript' src='http://cloud.github.com/downloads/SteveSanderson/knockout/knockout-1.2.1.js'></script>");
$("head").append("<link href='style.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' />");
// Then it appends the necessary HTML code [...]
Here's my test environment where you can see my current code in action with Firebug.
Here's what I'm seeing in Firebug after the page loads:
enter image description here
EDIT: It looks like it's having issues with the Knockout.js scripts in my code, so I'll look into those. Thank you for the comments and answer regarding dynamic scripts. I learned something :)
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Have you tried appending it to the body? – mgibsonbr Nov 19 '12 at 17:54
That didn't seem to work, either. – Jon Nov 19 '12 at 17:55
Check this answer to a related question. I don't know why it would be different, appending through jQuery or using vanilla JavaScript, but apparently it is. I've had success with the latter, never actually tried the former... – mgibsonbr Nov 19 '12 at 17:59
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4 Answers
up vote 4 down vote accepted
Have you tried jQuery.getScript() ? It basically loads a script from the server and then executes it.
$.getScript("yourScript.js", function(){});
share|improve this answer
Is 'yourScript.js' the external ones in this case? – Jon Nov 19 '12 at 18:00
Yes, you can load external ones. – alemangui Nov 19 '12 at 18:00
Hmm, this still doesn't seem to be doing it. Maybe I have an error somewhere else in my code. – Jon Nov 19 '12 at 18:02
You probably won't see it in the document's <head>, but I believe you can use it, can't you? – alemangui Nov 19 '12 at 18:04
@Jon See this comment api.jquery.com/append/#comment-58013597 – dualed Nov 19 '12 at 18:08
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Try to add scripts this way, I have seen that issue before in some browsers.
var script = document.createElement( 'script' );
script.type = 'text/javascript';
script.src = script_url;
$("head").append( script );
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You should use something like AngularJS if your application is this complex. Otherwise you are reinventing the wheel.
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According to this jQuery API pages comment here, this behavior is perfectly normal, as jQuery cleans up the DOM after you
Your code is executed (if URL is correct, and XSS is not blocked) whether you fetch it by $.append()ing it or use $.getScript().
However, loading your site gives me at least three two solid errors. You might want to work on those.
The errors:
ReferenceError: $ is not defined
Line 54
TypeError: jQuery is undefined
Line 7
share|improve this answer
Errors? I put in three alerts to see how far the code was getting. That could've been it. – Jon Nov 19 '12 at 18:15
@Jon I updated the answer with the errors, though I think it's odd that you don't see them. – dualed Nov 19 '12 at 19:00
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0.100064 | <urn:uuid:05412eec-bec0-4f13-8339-a789f8cdb9e0> | en | 0.958164 | Stargate: Continuum
9,939pages on
this wiki
Stargate: Continuum
Stargate continuum11
Directed by
Martin Wood
Produced by
John G. Lenic
Written by
Brad Wright
Richard Dean Anderson
Ben Browder
Michael Shanks
Amanda Tapping
Christopher Judge
Claudia Black
Music by
Joel Goldsmith
Released date(s)
July 29, 2008
Running time
94 mins
SG-1/Atlantis canon
Preceded by
Stargate: The Ark of Truth
Followed by
Stargate: Revolution
Stargate: Continuum is the second Stargate film to be released on DVD following the end of Stargate SG-1. It is written by Brad Wright, directed by Martin Wood, and stars Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge,Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, with Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson and a special appearance by Richard Dean Anderson. Continuum was released as a Region 1 DVD on July 29, 2008. British Sky One broadcasted the film on August 12, 2008, followed by the Region 2 DVD release on August 18, 2008 with the Region 4 DVD release on August 6, 2008.
Stargate Continuum Trailer(00:00)
Stargate Continuum Trailer.
Anubis 1996Added by Anubis 1996
The PlotEdit
SG-1 plans to go to the Tok'ra homeworld, where SG-3 and Major General Jack O'Neill have sent the last of the Ba'al clones for a symbiote extraction. The Free Jaffa Nation has an entire fleet to prevent Ba'al from escaping. Vala Mal Doran decides to bring in an X-699, which she claims is a precaution. However, Colonel Cameron Mitchell takes it away from her. They invite Major General Henry Landry to join them, who declines saying that he has to go through some paperwork.
Tokra Planet
The Tok'ra homeworld.
TokrakreeAdded by Tokrakree
When they arrive at the Tok'ra homeworld, SG-1 and O'Neill listen to the Tok'ra chant all of the crimes Ba'al committed during his reign, a list that lasts for three hours. During that time, Dr. Daniel Jackson notices that Vala has disappeared, but assumes that she did not want to watch the extraction, as she went through it herself whilst she was a host to Qetesh. Eventually, Ba'al is taken out of stasis and escorted to the extractor. There, he approaches the team and gloats that he is merely the last clone, and that the real Ba'al has a failsafe plan in the works.
Con Activated Naquadah Bomb
Ba'al activates a Naquadah Bomb on the Archilles.
TokrakreeAdded by Tokrakree
Back in 1939, somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean, the freighter Achilles is traveling on a zig-zag course to avoid German U-boats. Captain Mitchell (Cameron Mitchell's grandfather) asks Bosun to check the cargo after the ship starts to shake. Bosun approaches the container, only to be vaporized by the unstable vortex of an incoming wormhole. The "real" Ba'al, along with a few Jaffa, secures the vessel and massacres the crew. Ba'al and the Jaffa depart through the Stargate and leave behind a bomb to destroy the ship, as well as the Stargate. However, a mortally wounded Mitchell is able to drop the bomb into the ocean before it detonates. At some point shortly after that, Mitchell dies.
Teal'c disapears
Teal'c disappears in front of the team
LordqazAdded by Lordqaz
Back in 2008, Daniel becomes concerned over Vala's disappearance, as no one had seen her leave: it was as if she vanished into thin air. Then, just as Teal'c begins to talk, they see him disappear also. Many of the Tok'ra then begin to disappear. O'Neill confronts Ba'al about this, but he frees himself and uses the extractor to kill O'Neill. Mitchell then kills Ba'al, firing on him with a FN P90 Personal Defense Weapon. Mitchell, Jackson and Colonel Samantha Carter are able to reach to the Stargate, as the skyline of the Tok'ra homeworld vanishes. However, just as they enter the Stargate, the wormhole briefly changes purple/pink before turning blue again.
The team goes through the gate, only to find themselves in a dark room, covered in ice and frost. After the gate deactivates, Carter notices that the temperature is rapidly dropping. They try to discover where they are and Jackson soon finds lifejackets which indicate that they are in the cargo hold of the Achilles, the ship that carried the gate from Egypt to the United States in 1939 to prevent the Nazis from getting their hands on it. However, the ship is now in the Arctic, meaning that the ship never reached the United States. Mitchell eventually manages to blow a hole in the ice using C-4. They manage to escape the ship before it sinks into the ocean. However, in the process, Jackson gets frostbite on his lower left leg, and is unable to walk. Jackson tells the rest to leave him behind to get help.
Mitchell and Carter wonder what happened to the timeline.
Mitchell and Carter speculate what happened. Carter suggests that Ba'al must have altered the timeline and created an alternate one in which the Stargate Program never existed. They are eventually found by three figures, which turn out to be Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Wood and one other. They take Carter and Mitchell to the U.S.S. Alexandria, which had picked him up Jackson earlier. He was treated, but unfortunately had to have his leg amputated.
The submarine takes the team to Alaska to be debriefed. The team explains the Stargate program, but nobody seems to believe them. Eventually after five days, they get frustrated and demand a halt to the questioning. The team then meets with Major General Henry Landry, who seems to agree with them. They propose that they should change the timeline back to how it's supposed to be. Landry promptly refuses the request. Eventually the team is separated and provided with new identities, as in this timeline Carter was killed on a space mission, Jackson resides in Egypt due to being ridiculed because of his theory that the pyramids were landing sites for alien ships, and Mitchell doesn't exist since he is a literal Grandfather Paradox.
What happened
The team wonders what will happen next.
A year later, Mitchell repairs his car and drives to Auburn, Kansas to visit the house he grew up in, only to find that a farmer has lived there for 35 years. Carter is frustrated with the fact that she can't work in any scientific areas. Jackson gets a prosthetic leg and enters a book shop and sees the alternate Jackson's book "The Truth About the Pyramids", which is selling at a 70% discount. He later finds a way to call his alternate self in Egypt, and tells him not to give up hope. Jackson's double promptly hangs up on him. Soon after, Carter notices an Al'kesh flying above her. The rest of the team are made aware of the event and are called to Washington D.C.
Meanwhile in another part of space lies a massive fleet of Goa'uld Ha'tak vessels and a sovereign flag ship, which turns out to be Ba'al's. There, he has Qetesh as his queen and Teal'c as his First Prime. He has managed to defeat the other System Lords and has made himself the ruler of the galaxy. Teal'c brings in Apophis, whom Ba'al had ordered him to capture with a promise that the Jaffa would eventually be free. Ba'al executes Apophis. Later, Cronus informs Ba'al that he has scouted Earth and discovers that the planet has billions of Humans but no defenses against the Goa'uld armada. The fleet jumps into orbit above the planet.
In Washington, the team are reunited and meet up with President Henry Hayes and Lt. General George S. Hammond in an underground bunker. The team warns them that the scout ship will send a fleet and that they have no chance to defend themselves and will all be either killed or turned to slaves. Hayes informs them that the Navy wasn't able to recover the gate under the Arctic, but did find the Beta Gate in Antarctica, and sent it to McMurdo Air Force Base. A team has also almost drilled to the Antarctic outpost, where they would be able use the Drone weapons to destroy the fleet. However, they must commandeer a space ship and fly to Taonas to grab the Zero Point Module and gate back to Earth, power the control chair and wipe out the fleet. However, they must act quickly, as they detected the fleet just exited hyperspace and spread out over the planet.
Siege (1)
The massive Goa'uld fleet arrives over Earth.
Kwoosh..xAdded by Kwoosh..x
System lords
Left to Right: Ra, Camulus, Yu, Cronus, and Nirrti
Ba'al meets with Cronus, Nirrti, Yu, Ra and Camulus to decide the fate of Earth. Qetesh and Nirrti propose to wipe out the Tau'ri to the brink of extinction. However, Ba'al has other plans. In private with Qetesh, Ba'al has his Jaffa bring a Satellite phone he had in stais and he calls President Hayes, and claims that they come in peace. After the other System Lords leave, Qetesh's suspicion gets the better of her and she betrays him, and she drives a sword through his chest. She asks him how he knew exactly how to defeat his enemies and how he knew about the untouched Earth. Teal'c enters and Qetesh orders to attack the Antarctic base. Eventually, Teal'c notices Qetesh's intentions and Qetesh kills Ba'al and tries to kill Teal'c with a kara kesh, who manages to escape.
Back on Earth, Hayes hears the news that the Antarctic base has been bombarded. The team, who are in a flight of F-15s are ordered to turn around, as the plan has failed. Qetesh later orders the Goa'uld to bombard the Earth. Teal'c escapes on a cloaked Al'kesh with a few Jaffa and sees the sovereign ship exit into hyperspace. Teal'c plans to reach the planet Qetesh plans to reach before she does, which contains Ba'al's time-machine. They go down to Earth to find a Stargate.
Siege (2)
Ha'tak vessels bombarding Earth.
Kwoosh..xAdded by Kwoosh..x
Con Hatak Bombarding Washington DC
Washington DC being destroyed by Ha'tak bombardment.
TokrakreeAdded by Tokrakree
The Ha'tak vessels starts firing on all major cities, including Washington D.C.. Hammond receives a communication and hears that "the Russians have the other one." He relays the message to the F-15s before Washington is wiped out. The F-15's KC-10 tanker is destroyed by Ha'tak weapons fire. The fighters head towards Russia. However, on the way there, they encounter a squadron of Death Gliders. They are unable to shake them and are about to be destroyed when Carter detects a group of six Russian MiGs coming straight at them. Jackson explains their identity over the radio to the MiGs and ask for assistance; the MiGs destroy three of the six Gliders and engage the remainder.
Con Alkesh extended shields
Tea'lc's Al'kesh with extended shields around the Russian Stargate facility.
TokrakreeAdded by Tokrakree
Con Portable Stargate DHD
Tea'lc uses a portable DHD to power the Stargate.
TokrakreeAdded by Tokrakree
The Russians have managed to retrieve the Stargate from the wreckage of the Achilles and stored it in a bunker near a major city (possibly Moscow), which is being bombarded by weapons fire. SG-1 arrives and notices that the Russians can't find a way to power the gate, as main power has been lost during the bombardment. An Al'kesh lands above the bunker and Teal'c and two Jaffa exit. The two teams encounter each other which results in a standoff. Mitchell, Jackson and Carter realize that they are after the same thing, namely to stop this from ever happening. They form a truce and decide to work together, as Teal'c is passionate about the Jaffa becoming free. They activate the gate using a small Goa'uld device that powers it, and go through the gate before a Ha'tak destroys the complex.
Baals Time Machine
Ba'al's time machine utilizing solar flares.
TokrakreeAdded by Tokrakree
They arrive at a solar observation outpost on the planet Praxyon, which was how Ba'al was able to alter the timeline. The outpost receives information from hundreds of satellites orbiting stars and monitoring their solar flare activity. Carter just has to find a star that can take them back to 1939 and stop Ba'al from ever altering the timeline.
Mitchell prepares to hold off Qetesh's forces.
However, several Jaffa come through the Transportation rings. Mitchell, Jackson and Teal'c easily kill them all, but more waves of Jaffa keep coming down. Eventually Carter finds a suitable star, but the problem is that the flare will take them to 1929 instead. They decide to take it. However before they can dial the gate, Jackson is shot and killed by staff blasts. Mitchell orders Carter to dial the gate but just as she is finished dialing she is shot as well and Teal'c is shot shortly thereafter. Mitchell steps through the Stargate and gates to Earth in 1929.
Teal'c and Qetesh in the Time Travel Chamber
Anubis 1996Added by Anubis 1996
Immediately Qetesh rings down and sees a dying Teal'c, who after a brief conversation with Qetesh says "I die free," and subsequently activates an explosive device, killing himself, Qetesh and the Jaffa, as well as destroying the entire outpost.
Back in 1939, Captain Mitchell orders Bosun to investigate the cargo. There, he hears the chevrons encoding. At that point, a bearded Cameron Mitchell tells Bosun to stay down and hands him a Thompson submachine gun. They take cover and watch the gate activating. They easily kill the Jaffa the second they step through. The real Ba'al arrives seconds later, only to discover his Jaffa have all been killed. Mitchell then shoots him in the head, killing him. A last Jaffa, with the explosive device, steps through and he too is killed. The timeline is restored. After the gate shuts down, a confused Captain Mitchell shows up and Cameron Mitchell explains himself away as a "friend of the family" and that its "a long story."
Mitchell and Mitchell
Mitchell standing along his grandfather.
KamikashiAdded by Kamikashi
Last of the Goauld
Last Ba'al symbiote dies.
TokrakreeAdded by Tokrakree
Back in the present of the now-restored timeline, SG-1, completely oblivious of the previous events, watch the extraction proceed without incident. When it is done, which happens quite fast, much to Mitchell's surprise, Jack O'Neill says he'll buy lunch and he and Carter walk away talking about the plans for the new Lunar Base. Back on Earth, Daniel wonders what Ba'al meant by his failsafe, but they decide not to dwell on it. The final shot shows a close-up of a picture in Mitchell's locker, which has his alternate self standing alongside his grandfather.
1929; 1939; Achilles; Achilles Communications Officer; Africa; Alaska; Alexandria; Al'kesh; Alternate timeline; Ancient Technology Activation gene; Andrews Air Force Base; Antarctica; Antarctic outpost; Anubis' mothership; Arctic; Asia; Astrophysics; Atlantic Ocean; Atom; Auburn; Australia; Ba'al's host; Boston; Bra'tac; C-130; C-4; Cake; Cassidy: Cheyenne Mountain; China; Chulak; Control chair; Corn; Death Glider; DEFCON; Dial Home Device; Drone weapon; Duck; Earth's Moon; Egypt; E-mail; Europe; Extraction Ceremony; F-15; F-16 Fighting Falcon; F-302 fighter-interceptor; F-4; First Prime; FN P90 Personal Defense Weapon; Free Jaffa Nation; Frostbite; Goa'uld; Goa'uld grenade; Grandfather Paradox; H&K MP5A3 submachine gun; Ha'tak; Hypothermia; Intrepid; Kalashnikov AK-47; Kara kesh; Kassa; KC-10; KC-135; Carolyn Lam; Kim Lam; Bill Lee; Locator beacon; McMurdo Air Force Base; MiG; Cameron Mitchell's grandmother; Minnesota; Morse code; NASA; Nazi; Non-disclosure agreement; Charlie O'Neill; Oval Office; Praxyon; Rice Krispies; Russia; Satellite phone; SG-3; SG-9; Shikra blade; Shol'va; Solar flare; Solar observation outpost; Sonar; Sovereign; Space shuttle; Special Forces; Stargate dialer; Staff weapon; Symbiote extractor; System Lord; Taonas; Tel'tak; Thompson submachine gun; Time travel; Titanium; Tok'ra; Tok'ra homeworld; Transportation rings; The Truth About the Pyramids; U-boat; United States Army Corps of Engineers; United States Navy; Vietnam War; Washington D.C.; White House; World War II; Wormhole; X-699; Zat'nik'tel; Zero Point Module; Zipacna
Notable QuotesEdit
Mitchell: Sure you don't want to come along sir? Might never be another one of these.
Landry: As tempting as it is I'll be doing paperwork the whole time you're gone. Besides one general looking over your shoulders is plenty.
Jackson: Yes. Speaking of Jack...
Landry: He went ahead with SG-3 to officially hand over the prisoner.
Carter: I guess he knows who we're dealing with.
Teal'c: Such precautions are unnecessary. Half of the free Jaffa fleet stands guard over the Tokra home world to ensure that the execution of Ba'al takes place as planned.
Vala: You know better than anyone, Muscles. This is an extraction, not an execution.
O'Neill: Never, in the history of boredom, has anyone been more bored than I am right now.
Carter: C'mon sir, it's only been— woo.
Jackson: It's almost over. The crimes they're listing are starting to sound familiar.
Mitchell: I keep wondering what Daniel was going to say.
Carter: When?
Mitchell: Back on the ship he got all excited and he said "Do you realize what this means".
Carter: Well obviously that Ba'al had gone back in time and stopped the ship that was carrying the Stargate from ever reaching the United States.
Mitchell: By sending it to the North Pole?
Carter: Yeah apparently.
Mitchell: Carter, that is a terrible plan.
Carter: But you have no problem with the fact that he went back in time.
Mitchell: I'm just saying, why not sink the damn boat.
Carter: I think the bigger problem here is that Ba'al has rewritten history.
Landry: I take it that in your timeline you're not a discredited wackjob living on the fringes of society.
Jackson: That really depends on who you ask.
Ba'al: Apophis. Last of the System Lords to stand against me. What have you to say to your sovereign?
Apophis: May your reign last days and your death years.
Ba'al: That's actually rather good. Isn't it? Had you planned to say that when you walked in— or was it just off the top of your head?
Mitchell: Teal'c?
Teal'c: How do you know my name?
Mitchell: I can do better than that. You're from Chulak. Your best friend goes by the name of Bra'tac and you're the first Prime of— Jackson, who's mark is that?
Jackson: Ba'al.
Mitchell: What'd he promise to win you over?
Teal'c: The freedom of my people.
Mitchell: Give him credit for knowing which button to push.
Teal'c: Ba'al is dead. Slain by his queen.
Jackson: Oh don't tell us. Qetesh.
Teal'c: Indeed.
Jackson: Why?
Teal'c: That is none of your concern. Allow us passage through the Chappa'ai and your lives may be spared.
Mitchell: Or: you tell us what you're up to and your lives will be spared.
Teal'c: My only concern is my mission.
Mitchell: Which is?
Jackson: To avenge Ba'al's death. Final task of a First Prime.
Teal'c: Indeed.
Mitchell: That sounds great. We'll help out. Right guys?
Carter: Sure. Why not.
Jackson: I'm not busy.
Mitchell: Let's do it.
Teal'c: I do not require your assistance.
Gate Logo
Stargate Wiki has 61 images related to Continuum.
• Major Paul Davis' Service Dress Uniform was incorrectly prepared with rank cloth shoulderboards on his coat's epaulets instead of metal pin-on rank insignia. His coat is also missing his brushed metal name tag, a mandatory item (again) only since October 2002 and therefore absent for the first 5 seasons.
• When Teal'c dials the gate in Russia using the handheld device to power it, he sticks the device to the inner ring of the Stargate. When the Stargate starts dialing, the inner ring does not move, although the sounds of dialing can be heard.
• When the Stargate activates on the Achilles (both times) the container it is in has a circle disintegrated on both sides of the event horizon. Stargate canon clearly states that the vortex only shoots out one side. Though this could be explained by a strudle formation in the rear of the gate. This would be consistent with the timeframe of the device's activation.
• Daniel says that Charlie O'Neill died eleven years ago (which would make it 1997) when in reality it was fourteen years ago (1994).
• After the "One Year Later", when Colonel Samantha Carter is shopping in the grocery store, she picks up a box of "Frootees" according to the front, although "Rice Krispies" can clearly be seen on the side, as well as several boxes of Life cereal.
• Shortly before Vala Mal Doran disappears in the beginning of the movie, the jacket she is wearing is the only one without two buttons on the right side of the collar.
• While Carter theorizes that SG-1 was spared from the time changes by being en route through a wormhole, the time changes actually began before they entered the Stargate (and interestingly, caused them to do so). This conflicts with previous examples of time travel in the Stargate universe, in which an alternate reality is generally created, separate from the parent timeline "Moebius, Part 1", "Moebius, Part 2", "2001", "2010", "The Last Man", "Time". One exception being in the SG-1 episode "1969" in which a seemingly stable time-loop was maintained.
• Colonel Cameron Mitchell gates back to 1929, but we do not see where the Earth gate is at this time. It had only been dug up in 1928, so how Mitchell exits the gate at the Earth end of the wormhole is a mystery. Although in the film it is shown that the Stargate was pulled to a standing position and was possibly left like that while they studied it so he would have been able to exit the Stargate without incident.
• After Qetesh stabs Ba'al, she refers to him having kept her at his side for 50 years, but in "Family Ties" Vala's father Jacek is a key character and speaks of Vala's much more recent childhood. However, it is possible that she was 'at his side' for some years before she took Vala as a host. If this is correct, it would lead to an interesting prediciment in the idea that Qetesh might have been forced by Ba'al to leaving her original host and taking Vala as her next host. Qetesh's original taking Vala as a host is a mystery, so the alternate timeline Qetesh taking Vala as a host would have happened differently.
• In the credits, Amanda Tapping and Ben Browder are listed as Lt. Colonel but according to Joe Mallozzi both had already been promoted to a 'full bird' Colonel after the events of Stargate: The Ark of Truth.
• Similarly, in the credits Don S. Davis's character is listed as 'Major General George S. Hammond,' however in the film his three (not two) general stars are clearly visible, suggesting his actual rank is that of a Lt. General.
• The Jaffa's accuracy with the staff weapon has never been exact. However in the scene on the ship when the Jaffa attack, not one shot of all the Jaffa misses. This could be due to the unsuspecting ambush nature of the attack on the boat crew from the 1930s unfamiliar with the staff weapons fire or it could be due to Ba'al recruiting Jaffa from that time period that are dedicated more to their training for combat.
The CastEdit
An alternate, unused, cover for the film.
JaymachAdded by Jaymach
Main article: Stargate: Continuum soundtrack
The Stargate: Continuum soundtrack was released on August 12, 2008.
1. SCI FI Weekly "Continuum character made to suffer", John Sullivan, May 26, 2008.
External linksEdit
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For the task of churn modelling I was considering:
1. Compute k clusters for the data
2. Build k models for each cluster individually.
The rationale for that is,that there is nothing to prove, that the population of subsribers is homogenous, so its reasonable to assume that data-generating process may be diffrent for diffrent "groups"
My question is, is it an appropriate method? Does it violate anything, or is it considered bad for some reason? If so, why?
If not, would you share some best practices on that issue? And 2nd thing - is it generally better or worse to do preclustering than model tree (As defined in Witten,Frank - classification/regression tree with models at the leafs. Intuitively it seems that decision-tree stage is just another form of clustering, but idk if it has any advantages over "normal" clustering.).
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5 Answers
There is a method called clusterwise regression that solves similar problem (first clusters data and then builts predictive models). See for example this.
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I looked it up here: tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00273170701836653 and found following in the abstract: "n some cases, most of the variation in the response variable is explained by clustering the objects, with little additional benefit provided by the within-cluster regression models. Accordingly, there is tremendous potential for overfitting with clusterwise regression". Doesn't really seem promising. – Ziel Oct 12 '12 at 13:26
Ok, but they do not say that it always fails. I have never used that method, I only know that it may be combination of supervised and unsupervised approach but there is a small number of papers that use this method. – Miroslav Sabo Oct 12 '12 at 13:30
In addition, most applications that I found are about marketing and finance so maybe it is suitable especially for this kind of data. – Miroslav Sabo Oct 12 '12 at 13:39
It does seem very intuitive for the field of marketing - churn,cross/upsell. – Ziel Oct 12 '12 at 13:50
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I'm dealing with similar problem these days. I have hundreds of feature to build classifier. After trying different models (ex: random forests, gradient boost, etc...), I still got low precision/recall. So I'm trying to do some clustering then build classifiers in different groups. My concern is, just like Anony-Mousse says, how can I gain more information from the classifier if I use all the information in clustering? So here's what I gonna do next:
1. Use some features (less, according to prior knowledge) to do clustering.
2. Use other features (more) to train classifiers.
I think it may also helps to reduce complexity, wish it helps.
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Two points that are too long to be a comment:
• pure clusters (i.e. containing cases of one class only) are no problem per se: so called one-class classifiers model each class independent of all others. They can perfectly deal with this.
• However, if the data clusters in a way that the classes are quite separated, i.e. the clusters are rather pure, this means that a very strong structure exists, a structure that cluster analysis is able to find without guidance by the class labels. This means that certain types of classifiers such as nearest neighbour methods based on the same distance measure used by the cluster analysis are appropriate for the data.
• The other possibility, situations where the clusters are not pure, but a combination of cluster and classification methods can do well is appropriate for trees. The tree will do the part of the clustering (and pure nodes are not considered a problem.) Here's an artificial example, a 2 cluster version of the XOR-problem:
XOR cluster
• another way to include the cluster information without running the risk of having pure clusters would be to use the clustering as a feature generation step: add the outcome of the cluster analysis as new variates to the data matrix.
• You ask whether it is bad for some reason: one pitfall is that this appoach leads to models with many degrees of freedom. You'll have to be particularly careful not to overfit.
• Have a look at model-based-trees, e.g. mbq's answer here I think they implement a concept that is very close to whar you look for. They can be implemented as forest as well: e.g. R package mobForest.
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Well, if your clusters are really good, your classifiers will be crap. Because they have not enough diversion in their training data.
Say your clusters are perfect i.e. pure. You can't even properly train a classifier there anymore. Classifiers need positive and negative examples!
Random Forest are very successful in doing the exact opposite. They take a random sample of the data, train a classifier on that, and then use all of the trained classifiers.
What might work is to use clustering, and then train a classifier on every pair of clusters, at least if they disagree enough (if a class is split into two clusters, you still cannot train a classifier there!)
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The purpose of the clustering is not to find "pure" clusters, i.e. ones that are awesome in discriminating my target variable. The purpose of the clustering is finding groups homogenous in the "other" area. To give an example: I think that in churn there are "quality-only" customers and "cost-optimizining" customers. I don't think I should assume that relevant features for classifiation are same in both groups so i want to build separate model for each group. Of course I don't have explicit "quality" and "cost" groups, hence the idea for clustering to derive such groups first from data. – Ziel Oct 12 '12 at 14:37
Any kind of extra imbalancedness and correlation in the data can harm. See, a classifier may want to discern "quality only" and "cost optimizing". If he only gets one group, he cannot make use of this distinction. – Anony-Mousse Oct 12 '12 at 15:12
Maybe I explained it poorly. "Quality only" and "cost optimizing" are latent, unobserveable. Maybe they dont even exist, its a hypothetis. For the sake of explanation let's say they do. Say that for QO group relevant variables for discrimination are X1-X5. For CO group relevant variables are X6-X10. It's no use throwing both groups in one classifier, because you dont have an observable dummy "QO vs. CO". You will get some average betas for X1-X10, not suitable for either group. So the idea is to do clustering and find relevant groups, that may be govern by diffrent data generating process. – Ziel Oct 12 '12 at 15:31
But only if you do a two-level approach, first classify by the clusters, then evaluate the cluster classifier. Otherwise, the constant classifier is useless. Then you are putting all the burden to the clustering. – Anony-Mousse Oct 15 '12 at 16:57
You can of course do this, but chances are that your clusters aren't that good, and that you are better off with a proper ensemble, of "overlapping" classifiers. Just like RandomForests does. – Anony-Mousse Oct 15 '12 at 23:35
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Building $k$ clusters and then $k$ corresponding models is absolutely feasible. The pathologic case noted in the comments wherein the clusters perfectly separate the outcome variables would pose difficulties for classifiers is a theoretical problem, but one which I think is unlikely (especially in a high dimensional case). Furthermore, if you could build such clusters, you could then just use those clusters for prediction!
In addition, if the process begins with $N$ samples, the classifiers can only use $N/k$ samples. Thus, a more powerful approach would be to use the clusters in building a single classifier that incorporates the heterogeneity in the clusters using a mixture of regressions. In model-based clustering, one assumes the data are generated from a mixture distribution $Y_i \sim N(\mu_i, \sigma_i^2)$ where $i=1$ with probability $\pi$ and $i=2$ with probability $1-\pi$ and $\mu_1 \neq \ \mu_2$ and $\sigma_1^2 \neq \sigma_2^2$. A mixture regression is an extension that allows one to model the data as being dependent on co-variates; $\mu_i$ is replaced with $\beta_i X_i$, where the $\beta_i$ have to be estimated. While this example is for a univariate, Gaussian case, the framework can accommodate many data (multinomial-logit would be appropriate for categorical variables). The flexmix package for R provides a more detailed description and of course a relatively easy and extensible way to implement this approach.
Alternatively, in a discriminative setting, one could try incorporating cluster assignments (hard or soft) as a feature for training the classification algorithm of choice (e.g. NB, ANN, SVM, RF, etc.)
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0.049078 | <urn:uuid:fd0ae848-f5d6-4c67-98f4-c7a49279a7e8> | en | 0.804985 | Drew Joined Feb 12, 2013
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0.018414 | <urn:uuid:d7dd83ff-5f12-430c-bdf4-efea08949823> | en | 0.950211 | The Uncomfortable Truth About Educated People And Unprotected Sex…
Remember me? Ha! That was a rhetorical question. I already know that you don't.
…is that none of us really want to admit that — despite our (occasionally) expert and (always) intimate knowledge about AIDS rates, unwanted pregnancies, what unwanted and unprepared for pregnancies can do to our bank accounts, what 9 pound 8 ounce babies do to perfectly nice and pretty vaginas, how single parents (mothers especially) are ostracized, Ron Mexico, bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis, papillomavirus, pelvic inflammatory disease, syphilis, trichomoniasis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, the ubiquity and silliness of Valtrex commercials, Jim Jones, the fact that Magnum condoms really aren’t any bigger than regular ones, The Red Pump Project, killer p*ssy, limbo p*ssy, stripper p*ssy, Delta p*ssy, killer Delta stripper limbo p*ssy, whiskey d*ck, wack d*ck, crack d*ck, deprived d*ck, parking lot d*ck, “too nondescript to really count against my number” d*ck, keeping the numbers down, drunk sex, ex sex, sad sex, “I don’t really want to have sex with you, but I’m going to have sex with you anyway†sex, “your o face is too goofy for us to have sex again” sex, the Tuskegee experiment, Antonio Cromartie, Nas’ “You Got a House In Virginia” diss directed at Cam’ron in “Zone Out”, Eazy-E, Ol Dirty Bastard’s incoherent verse on the live MTV version of “America Is Dying Slowly”, dental dams, the utter ridiculousness of the female condom, the medieval-ness of Rape-Ex, Magic Johnson, the spaceship Magic Johnson takes to Jupiter once a month to pick up his HIV drugs, the joke that Flavor Flav looks exactly how we all thought Magic Johnson was going to look by now, The Corner, the occasionally absurd and always misleading stats that seem to come out annually about Baltimore’s infection rate, the prominence and prevalence of strippers, stripper culture, and young kids with names that have basically doomed them to be strippers, female ejaculation, the inane argument that female ejaculation doesn’t exist, the faux reliability of the pull-out method, and, most importantly, the fact that we know that we’re smart enough, educated enough, and thoughtful enough to know better — many of us (and my “many” I mean “most”) still have had unprotected sex, are currently having unprotected sex, and don’t plan on discontinuing the unprotected sex any time soon.
—The Champ
here’s 8 of them
i’m sure i’m missing a few.
—the champ
scared sh*tless: nine things that every grown man is afraid of
1957 - monolith monsters, the (poster)
its been 25 years since a midnight viewing of the monolith monsters shook the young champ so much that he refused to walk on pebbles and anywhere else where swarms of rocks were present. this extreme b*tchassness ended six months later when i entered first grade, and realized that the pebbles near the swings where were all the cute girls hung out at recess.
most men have similar stories, where they learned how to deal with what scares them after realizing that visible fear is the most surefire female repellent. fear never goes away though, just what it is that scares us. pebbles, poodles, and puddles eventually change to police, prison rape, and burnt p*ssy.
as another example of the commitment to fighting crime, here’s nine things that every man is scared to death of.
1. committing to the wrong person
although the idea of hell usually includes some combination of pitchforks, sulfur, and soulja boy cd’s on loop, most men consider the idea of being in a long-term relationship with the wrong person as even worse.
obviously, women have this same fear, but since most of us feel that “being in a faithful relationship” is the antithesis of our latent nature, we feel like we have to “change” more than women do for a relationship to work. its almost like we have to alter a portion of our dna. because of this, finding out that we made a huge commitment (ie: marriage, home ownership, dual bally’s memberships etc) with the wrong person makes us feel like we’ve taken two l’s instead of one.
and divorce? and child support? shiiiiiiiiit. just seeing those words probably induced chills on half the vsb’s reading this.
2. getting a “one trillion” in life
*from wiki*
used to denote a (basketball) player who has played one (or more) minutes without recording any other statistic. the term takes its name from its appearance in a box score, as it reads as one followed by twelve zeros – the conventional american rendering of “one trillion.”
because the box score shows that you basically made the exact same contribution to the game as the popcorn venders, this is one of the most humiliating things that can happen to a ballplayer.
there aren’t many things that scare a man more than the prospect of getting a “one trillion” in life, dying and leaving no evidence whatsoever that you were even alive
3. having an extremely unattractive daughter
while we’d love a mud duck daughter just as much as a cute one, this scares us because we all remember how the ugly girl in school was (mis)treated, and we wouldn’t wish that on our worst enemy.
with that being said, we’d still rather deal with this than the prospect of…
4. having an early “developed” and hotpants daughter
basically, we just hope that any daughter we have will be a nerdy tomboy with a cute face who doesn’t grow breasts or booty until she’s 22.
there's a reason she's the vsb's favorite cp3
there’s a reason she’s the vsb’s favorite cp3
5. being wrongly accused of a crime
because of the helplessness you’d feel, and the fact that it could eventually lead to this…
6. prison rape
“I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that – but prison is no fairy-tale world. He never said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for awhile – prison life consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Andy would show up with fresh bruises. The Sisters kept at him – sometimes he was able to fight ‘em off, sometimes not. And that’s how it went for Andy – that was his routine.”
lets just say that we’d all love to go through our lives without morgan freeman uttering those words about us
7. getting “b*tched” or made to feel helpless in front of your woman
for those unsure of what i’m referring to, just watch this scene again
8. knocking up a jump-off
an unexpected pregnancy is bad enough, but an unexpected pregnancy from the hoodrat applebee’s waitress you met at the cut-rate is enough to send any sane man to an insane asylum. seriously, thinking about sh*t like that makes you want to invest in kevlar rubbers. or, you know, actually start wearing them
9. the “unfaithful”
for those who’ve never seen this movie, the “unfaithful” occurs when you’re in a seemingly happy relationship, with a seemingly happy and content woman, and she cheats on you with a jim jones doppleganger. i know cheating hurts women too, but because many of you all expect men to cheat anyway, most of you have support systems and sh*t already in place as well as the “he was a dog” perfunctory fall back.
when a woman cheats though, the guy is out there by himself. no support systems, and he doesnt want to even tell anyone about it because the prevailing thought will be “well, if he was taking care of stuff in the bedroom, it wouldn’t have happened”
this usually leads us with one option: murder
i’m sure i’m missing a few. is there anything else that puts a universal chill down the spine of men (or women)?
also, besides the idea of another solo diddy album, what in particular scares you?
the carpet is yours and sh*t
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0.364284 | <urn:uuid:1125a449-6718-48d3-8ce8-d580e498cc1d> | en | 0.974644 | Critter cam makes a great gift
I got a remote wildlife camera several years ago for a gift and it turned into a 24/7 hobby.
The camera has allowed me to track wildlife migrations, know weather changes like when snowstorms hit during the night, and even which neighborhood dogs came by the yard.
My Moultrie game camera has served me well for the number of years during its 24/7 use. I'll admit, buying the six D batteries for it has been an expense. I've gone to rechargeable batteries but they don't hold the charge as long as regular batteries. I can get a couple of weeks out of new batteries.
You can get remote wildlife cameras from $80 to $500. Usually a mid-priced one at about $149 will serve you well.
It might be the gift you are looking for if the person you are shopping for is a avid hunter or wildlife and bird watcher. Yup, some people set them up near their bird feeders so they don't miss anything while they are at work during the day.
This buck came by the camera a few nights ago.
I don't hunt
but we got one last year to watch our campsite during the night.
Very interesting to see the visitors we have during the night hours :D
Campsite cam
Zimo - what did you get roaming around the campsite. I was thinking of doing this, too, on campouts.
I could watch my cats and the neighbor's dog eat all my catfood.
Apple users, run the Gig of RAM your PC needs to have and read the dumb tech white papers, wrinkle your forehead and buy more food and toilet paper with the difference. The internet is a piece of junk anyway and your cats know this.
Was thinking of using one to capture the nighttime thief in the neighorhood. But have the flash or the noise, the thief would likely steal the cam. :-(
So the problem is how to secure it.
cable lock
Some cameras have a case and hole for a cable? - Zimo
web based
How do you think your set up compares to a computer based camera- like a webcam.
It would be the ZimoCam.
I really like the Sawtooth Camera- | http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2012/12/13/outdoors/critter_cam_makes_a_great_gift | dclm-gs1-223860002 | false | false | {
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0.018928 | <urn:uuid:06cd8e23-244f-4c0d-999e-add77d369dcb> | en | 0.948654 |
Play associated audio
Something violent is happening in the night sky, right now. And scientists studying the phenomenon said yesterday that with a pair good binoculars or a telescope you can see a star in its final throes causing a spectacular explosion called a supernova.
Even though the star is 21 million light years away from Earth, the explosion is the closest and brightest astronomers have found in decades. Today will be its brightest night.
Reuters reports:
The detection so early of a supernova so near has created a worldwide stir among astronomers, who are clamoring to observe it with every telescope at their disposal, including the giant Hubble Space Telescope.
The star is located in the Pinwheel Galaxy, and you can spot it, weather permitting, above the Big Dipper. USA Today says the best time to catch it is just after sunset, before the moon brightens the sky.
The paper also explains a bit of the science behind what's going on:
The supernova belongs to the widely observed "Type 1a" group, born from runaway thermonuclear combustion in an ancient "white dwarf" star, the burned-out stub of a normal star that attains a weight 1.38 times heavier than the sun, then blasts itself apart. Type 1a blasts are 10 to 50 times brighter than other supernovas, and the light from the single exploding star is brighter than the light from an entire galaxy.
If such a blast had occurred in our own Milky Way galaxy, the light would probably be visible during the daytime. "In some senses, this is the largest, nearest thermonuclear explosion we can see," [astronomer Peter Nugent of the Energy Department's Lawrence Berkeley (Calif.) National Laboratory] says.
Reuters put together a video with an animation of what's going on:
The BBC spoke to Mark Sullivan, the leader of the team that made the discovery. He points out the last time they saw an explosion like this was in 1972 and before that in 1937 and 1898.
"Whilst it looks more or less like just another bright star, unlike its companions this supernova will soon fade away, and after a few days it will only be visible with larger telescopes," Sullivan told the BBC.
Update at 10:23 a.m. ET. How To Watch:
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has put together this video on how to spot the supernova using binoculars:
Update at 4:11 p.m. ET. What This Means For Science:
This afternoon, All Things Considered's Melissa Block spoke to Peter Nugent, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist who discovered the star.
We'll post their conversation here later. But here are a few highlights from it:
-- To put the distance in context, Nugent said they find one to two supernovas a night. Most of them are about one to four billion light years away and some of them are are as far as eight billion light years away. 21 million light years is practically next door by those standards.
-- Nugent says the best time to view the supernova is actually next week. Peak brightness is today, but next week the full moon will be gone and it will be much brighter.
-- Nugent says there are two things everyone should know about supernovas: Beyond helium, supernovas produce almost all the elements in the universe. The second thing is that this type of supernova — Type 1a — is used by scientists to measure how far things in the universe are. The light that supernovas emit is pretty much the same for all of them, so they are a good "standard candle" or constant. This kind of measuring also helps scientists understand how fast galaxies are moving away from each other.
-- Nugent added that there are a couple of things this supernova in particular can help with. First, because they found it in its early stages, it might be able to tell them why and how they explode. Specifically it might shed light on the companion stars that help these stars explode. (The Reuters video above, by the way, does a great job at explaining that aspect of it.) The second thing scientists can learn from this supernova is that it might help them better calibrate their cosmic measurements.
Game Director Shifts From Grand Theft Auto To Iranian Revolution
A blockbuster video game director is working on a game where you don't shoot back. It puts the player inside the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and it's a financial and personal risk to the game makers.
How Plastic In The Ocean Is Contaminating Your Seafood
Is Sen. John Cornyn Conservative Enough For Texas?
Cornyn's voting record ranks him as the second most conservative Republican in the Senate. But some on the right feel he was insufficiently supportive of Sen. Ted Cruz's effort to defund Obamacare, and now he faces a primary challenge from Steve Stockman, a Houston-area House member.
Game Director Shifts From Grand Theft Auto To Iranian Revolution
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| http://wamu.org/programs/all_things_considered/11/09/08/look_up_its_a_star_in_the_midst_of_a_violent_bright_death | dclm-gs1-223870002 | false | false | {
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0.01911 | <urn:uuid:078a4263-8696-4cd8-a205-d4c73f1c2575> | en | 0.975843 | Tulsa Couple Arrested For Child Abuse - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports
Tulsa Couple Arrested For Child Abuse
Posted: Updated:
Heidi Benjamin Heidi Benjamin
Scott Bolden Scott Bolden
A Tulsa couple is behind bars accused of child abuse.
19-year-old Heidi Benjamin and her live-in boyfriend 24-year-old Scott Bolden were arrested Wednesday after paramedics were called out to their home, 6911 E. Marshall Pl., to treat the woman's 18-month-old daughter.
The toddler was found unconscious.
Police were notified after paramedics discovered bruises on her chest, stomach and both legs, as well as, a head injury.
Neither could explain how she got those injuries. The girl's mother said they did not call for help until the child was unresponsive and they couldn't revive her.
Doctors say the injuries could not be caused by normal childhood activities and were intentionally inflicted by an adult.
Both are being held on $100,000 bond.
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0.022016 | <urn:uuid:7c3de00a-6c3d-48e4-b628-5d2946dc6b98> | en | 0.955181 | Worth Of Stay-at-Home Mom VS Stay-at-Home Dad
"This article may contain a product sample and/or outside link. See website policy for additional details."
The particular hot debate involving stay-at-home moms and working-out-of-the-home mothers regarding which makes a more suitable mom has gone on for decades. Typically the meandering disagreement generally ruffles feathers of women who really feel passionate about the choices they’ve made. Nevertheless, almost nothing gets the “Mommy Wars” even more fired up than the heated up topic involving just how much a stay-at-home mom may be worth in means of financial value.
The limited thinking that stay-at-home mommies happen to be nothing more than professional cookie bakers plus nose wipers is utterly absurd. We are much more and play a multi-dimensional purpose in the home. Moms possess never-ending jobs of being full-time cooks, housekeepers, janitors, psychologists, chauffeurs, laundry operators, financial managers, plus more. Is it any wonder the Gallup survey reported stay-at-home mothers fare a whole lot worse compared to employed moms at just about every degree in terms of unhappiness, frustration, in addition to depression? We are over worked!
How Much Is a Stay-at Home Mom Worth?
So, in the event that we performed each one of these positions within the workforce just how much would we end up being compensated? Salary. com seems to have helped place an actual dollar amount upon all those things moms carry out. The company surveyed over 8, 000 mothers to determine precisely what their top 10 most time-consuming jobs are along with the amount of time each week they devote to each one. Based on this information, they concluded the average stay-at-home mom juggles a 94. 7 hour work week! Taking into consideration overtime and implementing salary data provided by employers, an average stay-at-home mom’s 2012 total earnings would be $112, 962. I could merely wish to collect such a wonderful paycheck! If you glance at the infographic down below you will see the base salary of a stay-at-home mom is ONLY $37, 022 with the majority of the annual pay out originating from overtime in the amount of $75, 941.
Progressively more men are making a decision to hang up their workforce uniforms ultimately deciding upon the conscious determination to remain home and raise children. In fact. a report revealed the number of males who noted being full-time stay-at-home fathers leaped FOUTHY-SIX percent over 2011. Nowadays, it’s far more socially acceptable for men to become stay-at-home dads and fathers are actually taking on the role of primary caregiver at home, implementing the wife to be the sole breadwinner. Role reversal is not uncommon anymore.
How Much Is a Stay-at-Home Dad Worth?
Just as Salary.com calculated the worth of a stay-at-home mom, the company also did the same for a stay-at-home dad by surveying greater than 1, 800 dads this year. They estimated Dad’s money making potential using the Dad Salary Wizard, a powerful interactive program making it possible for dads and their loved ones to be able to price the position of being a father. Dads revealed which 10 tasks they dedicate the most time engaging in – from Computer Operator to Day Care Teacher to Facilities Manager – and just how much time they spend doing each activity. Using its comprehensive earnings data, Salary. com calculated Dad’s earning power (based on the national base wages of the jobs) would be $61,814. The figure was reached by taking into account that the average stay-at-home dad juggles a 52.9 hour work week. View the infographic for the comprehensive breakdown.
The Comparison
Exactly where am I going with this? Should you do a comparison of the worth of sahms as opposed to sahds you will notice a dad’s basic salary is in excess of four thousand more annually. Why? Furthermore, a stay-at-home mother works 41 more hours than a dad! What? I’m certainly not attempting to begin a war of the genders here, yet a little something smells incredibly wrong! This is my personal conclusion. Men are still highly valued above women regardless of what the position is and females have got to work two times as hard and long even at jobs they’re prone for being superior in. Either the analysis is grossly flawed or simply modern society hasn’t progressed as much as we would like to believe!
Point To Remember
Perhaps the point to remember is, no matter whether you’re a working out of the home mom or dad, or a stay-at-home mom or dad, the worth you hold is without a doubt priceless within your family home. Each and every one of us has a valuable part to perform. Attempting to place a financial number upon everything that we do is much like endeavoring to count the leaves on all the trees within the world—-it’s impossible and infinite!
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About Michelle J
Michelle is the author of A Happy Hippy Mom, a website devoted to pure and simple living. She is an eco-mom, parent of three wonderful kids ( ages 5, 16, and 25), wife, freelance writer, and social media nut! With the motto, "never pay retail," Michelle is an avid deal hunter and loves a bargain. Always striving to stay within a modest budget, she enjoys sharing hot finds. making a dollar stretch, and helping her readers save money as well as reducing their carbon footprint. You can find her on Google+.
1. 1
Larry says:
This comparison is not really a true comparison. It is almost saying if dad stays home he does nothing once moms returns from work and by the way he does nothing on the weekend. Clearly the study assumes a mom does everything and dad does only what he absolutely has to. Why else would they assume that a sahm works 7 days a week while a sahd only works 5.
A SAHD who works 7 days a week!
2. 2
ahappyhippymom says:
I agree Larry it is a sad comparison! The whole thing is a bad stereotype and that’s what I was trying to get at. Except I do believe men are valued more in this society and women still have to prove they can do the job by working harder and longer for less pay.
3. 3
Brett Daniels says:
My wife and I are both stay at home parents. She stayed home in the beginning when our son was born and instead of going back to work outside of the home, she was able to turn her old position in to a work from home postition. I am lucky enough that I’ve always worked from home, but it’s safe to say that being a stay at home/work from home parent is extremely challenging, it doesn’t matter if it’s the mother or father staying home. It’s hard to put a price on what one would be worth because it’s truly a priceless, exhausting, and sometimes thankless job and it is very much under rated. My wife and I just read a book called “The Barefoot Executive” by Carrie Wilkerson, barefootexecutivebook.com, it’s an awesome book and definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re a stay at home/work at home parent.
4. 4
Carole says:
Interesting , my husband stayed at up for only 6 months with our first daughter… after, I stayed at home with our second daughter and I’m doing it again with our son :). I don’t think one is better then the other, honestly, it’s whomever is a better fit at the time.
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0.332746 | <urn:uuid:9f15eb08-3acb-48a7-b59f-f742e46bfb0c> | en | 0.960905 | Email Friend | Print Article | | Share Share
July 7, 2009
Obama explains why he backs Chavista thug Zelaya
Rick Moran
This is just about what we'd expect from a college student elevated to running the presidency.
Here's Obama's explanation for why we want to reinstall a Chavez stooge in Honduras, as reported nicely by ABC's Jake Tapper:
"America supports now the restoration of the democratically-elected President of Honduras, even though he has strongly opposed American policies," the president told graduate students at the commencement ceremony of Moscow's New Economic School. "We do so not because we agree with him. We do so because we respect the universal principle that people should choose their own leaders, whether they are leaders we agree with or not. "
The president's remarks came in the midst of a speech in which discussed "America's interest in democratic governments that protect the rights of their people" and supported Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's call for judicial reforms in his country.
How noble! How brave!
How utterly foolhardy and ridiculous.
Tapper, one of the few journos who "gets it" with regard to the situation in Honduras, shows why Obama needs to grow up:
The military removal of Zelaya as president - and the appointment of Roberto Micheletti as interim President by the Honduran legislature - came after Zelaya attempted to rewrite his nation's constitution to end term limits to continue his rule, despite the fact that term limits in the constitution is one of eight "firm articles" that cannot be changed.
After the Honduran Legislature refused to call a constitutional convention to rewrite the constitution, Zelaya called for a referendum to do so, which the Honduran Supreme Court and Attorney General declared unconstitutional. Zelaya, allied with leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez , fired top military commander Romeo Vásquez Velásquez for refusing to carry out the referendum. Every branch of government sided against Zelaya and Congress began discussing impeachment proceedings. Acting on orders from the Honduran Supreme Court, soldiers arrested Zelaya on June 28 and sent him into exile in Costa Rica.
That is the reality of the situation. Obama has taken the stand that Zelaya was elected. He has since been impeached which begs the question of why Obama is selectively applying a standard to Zelaya that is no longer relevant?
Instead of being noble and practicing self abnegation when it comes to US interests, why can't Obama do what we elected him to do and stand up for those interests instead of denying them out of some stupid, naive, notion where he believes we are going to be applauded for shooting ourselves in the foot?
Bragging about acting contrary to your nation's interests will no doubt be met with approval by the world's leftists. In the meantime, a perfectly legitimate change of government has occurred that bolsters US interests and Obama is fighting it, putting himself on the same side as the Castros, Danny Ortega, and Hugo Chavez.
Pretty good for a college kid. Disaster for a US president. | http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/07/obama_explains_why_he_backs_ch.html | dclm-gs1-224080002 | false | false | {
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0.02025 | <urn:uuid:e44b4865-1ebd-4b55-98e3-2bcce1341351> | en | 0.971776 | Monday, May 21, 2012
Mailbox Monday: May 21, 2012
How was everyone's weekend? Mine was great! I got lots of stuff done, while also getting some quality time with friends. Such a winning combination!
This week, only one book in the mailbox, but one that I am really excited to read!
From Random House:
1. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
What did you get?
1. I can't wait to see what you think of this one!
2. Doesn't look like Harold has a smooth path before him, but a bumpy if green ride. Enjoy!
3. this looks like a fun book! i had a great weekend too, although i spent most of it trying to recover from my trip to chicago. why is it that it always feels like you need a vacation from your vacation?
4. I got this one, too, and am really excited to read it! The premise is so interesting.
5. I got that too and can't wait to read it!
6. This one is new to me. I hope you enjoy it.
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0.229452 | <urn:uuid:dd6a7646-c8d5-4ce0-9e64-cafa94ede8da> | en | 0.96172 | Galaxy Nexus
There are 4944 comments
FAHammond says:
I'm seriously getting real tired of Apple doing the same crap. It's pissing my off. They're just afraid of competition. Well, if you can't beat 'em, sue 'em and get their products banned.
Who says the iPhone isn't for porn? This is all just a bunch of legal masturbation.
XiaDix says:
Companies will always be scarred that someone will out innovate them. Without Jobs, maybe Apple has something to worry about.
StarrWulfe says:
Sorry-- but I gotta do it.
F*** Apple right now. Whatever happened to innovating and flanking your competition? Instead, your just gonna sue everyone into oblivion? OK. I get it, but even ol' Steve Jobs himself said it was ok to swipe an idea from your competitors, as long as you INNOVATED upon it.
I hope Samsung stops supplying parts to Apple based on this ruling. I hope Google turns around and sues Apple for using patents in their portfolio too-- the Nexus is their developer's device after all (and I was planning to get one this summer!)
Keep it up Apple. I was totally thinking about getting a Mac Mini this fall. Not anymore. Also my laptop will be up for replacing next year. I see an ASUS Windows 8 machine in my future now... Not because it's any better-- I love OSX... But I can't morally support your products any longer.
You aren't content enough with having the largest e-content store on the planet (iTunes) or having the most popular laptops in the world (macbook pro) or having the most popular music players (iPod touch and nano) or even with just having the most popular brand name and richest company in the world (Apple Computer Inc)
Everybody wants to rule the world, I know-- but we used to be cheering your stock prices, and your philanthropic endeavors. Now instead of seeing you use the cash stockpile to lower the price of iPads for poor schoolkids, you use it to sue the hell out of your competitors and stifle innovation.
And shame on these judges too-- Since when did these guys get degrees in engineering anyway? How are they to tell the difference in things like UI chrome and tooling, and so on? I suspect they can't and just go with what a layman would see as far as similarities and differences.
The bottom line however is how shafted the average consumer is now. Myself for example-- I need an unlocked smartphone that will work in whatever country I find myself. Google makes it really easy to buy a Nexus on their website UNLOCKED and just use it... Plus the Nexus is a good phone at a cheap price--and its always getting the latest goodies from Google. Does Apple do this? Nope. In fact, because of kowtowing to their carrier partners here in Japan, I cannot buy an unlocked Apple anything in this country. I have an iPhone 3Gs that has been paid for and out of contract for a year. +SoftBank won't unlock it at all.
Guess who just became the Microsoft for this generation?
hman104 says:
So much for free enterprise, why cant we all just sell what we want?
anisali01 says:
as much as this sucks this is the world we live in now.
you have a product. i create a better product.
i shut down your better product in the market
so for the little time i have i can sell more devices than you even if your better product doesnt stay off shelves for too long.
its just a way for apple to increase sales
i dont have anything to sell in my AT&T store because of the shipping of some phones
now all i have is an iphone so if i want to make some commission i HAVE to sell the iphone. its all a corporate game of candyland haha
Vihaan says:
Samsung provides hardware for the iPhone, Apple sues Samsung and Google for infringement. Does that mean the Apple is partially suing itself? This whole business is absurd.
pengwin#ac says:
Totally. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
fivegear says:
That saying what goes around comes around... I sure hope it hits home for Apple and they get theirs after all this. If you can't innovate, SUE!!
chetmiester says:
While Apple is not the only fool in this game, they are the subject of my comment. Apple trying to find a legal opportunity to keep Samsung out of the market says quite a few (bad!) things about Apple.
1) We are sitting on our laurels and our latest gen phone really isn't that much different from the first version. We can't handle competing with true innovation.
2) Our company is a 'closed system'. All Apple, only Apple, eat, live, breath Apple. Why can't the world just follow our lead?
3) By taking this fight to a courtroom, Apple has announced to the world that the Samsung is a better phone. It's very much like a child saying "We are at my house so we play by my rules (so I can win all the time)". Guess what, Apple, it's not your house.
When blatant, obvious thievery of ideas, design or even specific (trademark?) features occurs. Please, take your game to the courtroom. We all want to play fair and stealing something is (and always will be) stealing. Stealing is wrong.
When a competitor comes out with a product that puts your face in the dirt. Get up. Wash your face. AND GO BACK TO WORK.
Apple, quit being a child.
navyet3 says:
There comes a point in time where stupidly is so apparent that it is just a joke to read or watch. I can understand the concept of protecting your patent, but how long has the Nexus been out? Did Apple need all that time to look at the Nexus and try to find something that they could go to court on?
I think Apple should just get fined for being a bitch about it. Just saying!
Dareoth says:
This is incredibly messed up. The courts protecting a falling company that chooses to litigate instead of innovate. Still, Google and Android will roll on and roll by.
jedisrus says:
I totally understand why patents exist but it is time for reform. The business model is not the same now as it was back when the patent system was conceived. I really doubt that more money is generated for a company by suing over a patent than is lost in the process.
I know for me I get a little miffed at the company that causes a delay in the product getting to market.
paulmike3 says:
Google: Innovate
Apple: Litigate
Thanks for the contest!! :)
dandinnj says:
so obvious the suits are apples thoughts of the only way they can win the smartphone showdown
SandyXs says:
Patent wars are not good for consumers because variety of products in the marketplace start to diminish.
gsp33d says:
These baseless lawsuits by tech companies (Apple, Samsung, Oracle, blah, blah, blah) are really getting old. Not mention tying up the world legal system. Any company that files one of these types of lawsuits should be fined if the suit is found to be baseless and without merit! Apple seems to be leading the way here with these ridiculous lawsuits...and should be fined for wasting everyone's time!
TankMech says:
Apple is just scared cause Android got it right. So really there is no patent infringement, cause its on an android platform and properly made.
Sometimes I wish I was a lawyer for Apple.
nsxdemon03 says:
Gotta love how patent law works (smirk)
chenryd says:
This is really messed up man....
abearsuit says:
Its only going to hurt apple in the long run. People who want this phone are going to get it by any means since its been out for so long and with many vendors still having stock. It only means that apple will be blamed for stock issues.
amateurhack says:
I'm not interested in the new phone, so even if you really like my comment, give it to someone more deserving.
Remember the Apple vs Microsoft "look and feel" patent case? That's one that apple lost, and deservedly so. Never mind all the other software that came before MacIntosh that did the same things, Apple was just being a snot-nosed brat then, and that's what they are doing now.
They really don't care about moving technology forward, and they hate the fact that consumers have choice, or even want choice. Apple wants to be Big Brother, and they have paid billions to lawyers to learn all the legal tricks to make it happen. Everntually we will rebel, and people will stop going to Apple because they will be tired of giving up their freedom just because apple's stuff "just works."
Software patents, in my opinion, should work like copyright law. And hardware patents should mean something more than it looks similar.
pank says:
Keep in mind that this is coming from somebody who actually has and loves apple computers... I jumped ship just under 2 years ago to Android and have no plans of going back to iOS. These lawsuits have quite honestly put a really bad taste in my mouth.
I understand Apple should protect it's patents but some of these so called patents are complete BS. It's just a bunch of fat lawyers making money of these lawsuits and in the end "us" the customers are getting the very very short end of the stick.
You want to hold up imports of one of the greatest new phones at customs? Really, can't even believe that happened. It's just disgusting if you take the time to look at the amount of completely bogus claims/active lawsuits out there right now.
johnatthebar says:
Patent law here is a mess. The US is granting patents for freaking anything - making innovation increasingly difficult. Only the players with billions can afford to risk making a product, on their own, from their own ideas, only to find out that someone else patented the 'press-able power button' and now Joe Small Company has to shut it down.
Something must change here and it will require a major overhaul, but getting it done will be hard with companies such as Apple (but certainly not just them) spending endless amounts of money to protect their building monopoly.
Angry! Smash!
A patent pool is what is needed.
That way research pays but products can still be issued.
Enforced in Europe by being unable to sell a phone in the EU if you don't belong to the pool.
Sorted !
mxrider says:
our patent system is in serious need of being reformed.
moiguti says:
In before the deadline... This just demonstrates how Apple truly fears competition, instead of embracing and innovating better products, they resort to this. Jelly Bean and the Galaxy Nexus are true examples of how competition and ingenuity are pushed to the next level. Remove the barriers, let's get creative, and may the best one win (Android :p).
stereotada says:
i want one please!
Rinsterber says:
For the love of god....can we just shoot the lawyers? Pick me and I will look into the legality of it!
Ruffroc02 says:
Apple reminds me of a scorned woman in the child support system. Google used their good idea to make a better idea and it hurt them. Instead of being a man about the situation and making a better product which is called competing, they want Google to hurt and feel their pain. They sue Google overall these patents to try to take their money away so they can be hurt too cause Apple "lost so much money." And just like the court system they have it to Apple. The court system need to realize that some technologies can't be avoided and Apple needs to be reminded of the word competition.
edge252 says:
Apple is just upset that some people don't love them.
They're like a stripper with daddy issues.
duplissi says:
well i want one!
i think this is pretty low of apple to do, its not about damages at all.. its about trying to force market share.. this just smacks of intense greed.
sumyunguy says:
would love to win!
jrels619 says:
Patent litigation is stifling innovation. In the end, the consumers are the biggest losers.
djomla43 says:
stupid patent lawyers,grown men acting like immature kids :D
crying around who copy who..we are the ones who came short in there stupid shit game..
Fifow says:
Glad to see how other people are getting fed up with this patent nonsense too.
Oh and pick me! :D
jfs101 says:
So Apple, Just because I'm not going to buy an iPhone because I don't like it doesn't mean that you have to go sucking sour grapes and throwing fits so I don't buy a phone I actually like. And better yet, might get for free from AC!!!
stockguy says:
This is ultimately hurting both companies reputation. If they just made the best devices that consumers want instead of trying to sue other companies to stop making devices we'd all be better off. At the rate this is going I'm surprised someone hasn't patented the ability to breathe and started suing people...
TeTraQ says:
This is embarrassing for Apple because it shows it's their only way to fight back. My hope is that because it's a Nexus device, Google will flex some muscle and fight back one way or another.
das0527 says:
When my son is old enough I'll punish him for bad grades & speeding tickets by making him read all these articles about this patent bullshit. I'll also ground him for life if I ever catch him using an Apple product.
And if I need a good, scary story to tell around the campfire when I take the lil' guy camping I'll tell him about the miserable experience of Android updates and why the Nexus devices are so kickass. God, after dealing with the Rezound's MIA ICS update I would LOVE to trade my Rezound and all its bullshit for a Galaxy Nexus.
kingofthe718 says:
maybe apples end game is to sue android into firing its employees so they can then hire them and actually be ahead of the curve for once.... just a thought.
Now give me nexus lol
Ricky Babalu says:
Screw Apple.
Sirhill says:
I remember people talking about how Apple planned to spend all that money that they were sitting on, I guess that has now been answered. They have planned to spend it all on lawyers instead of making their product better.
Sirhill says:
sliver007 says:
suing over patents is something every single business is doing, this case just gets more attention on blogs. Nevertheless, I doubt there will be any winner in the end
truly the patent system is messed up. whats even worst is how they are being used,as a tool to stop completion.
huneyu says:
one day, apple will say apple(fruit) copied them.
Stychill says:
i really wish i could win this phone, would definitely make good of a terrible week
GH0 says:
The patent system is in terrible need of reform, but you know what is in greater peril. Elephants, and because we aren't talking about elephants, this post is irrelephant.
(Get it? :D )
But seriously, it is a pain. Just because something operates in a similar way or because something looks the same, it undermines everyones ability to innovate. Especially with case design (cough iPad vs Galaxy Tab).
Rezyy says:
Come on guys... Its complete non sense! Are you guys in grade 3?
ta3943 says:
Apple seriously needs to quit cock blocking..
terrycanfly says:
Apple has never invented anything. They take open source content, name it apple, patent it then file law suits against anything that is considered a competitor. They then cross there fingers and hope they win the case. Apple should be forced to pay for damages done by wrongful accusations. That would stop them from filing so many cases. They have only won a handful out of hundreds upon hundreds. And they shouldn't be granted patents for software components that have been open source for years.
mangmang says:
I want it
sub0scorp says:
Apple is downright scared , there is no true innovation in this company, especially after steve jobs. They want to secure themselves by launching lawsuits to.make people believe their products are propreitory when they are not..this is just stupid, samsung should do something and boycott apple.
Hope to get a nexus :-)
SenenCito says:
The most interesting thing about all this is that since ics, Android has become its own thing and very different from an iphone. No one I know would ever mistaken one other the other.
Apple is just grabbing straws by grabbing at little details
sunnyson says:
Screw apple. And it's a freaking patent based on siri. Google voice came out way before siri. This is crap.
pensfan71 says:
All these lawsuits are getting absurd. Apple makes good products. They don't have to resort to this. Apple says they invented everything? Its funny.
osdlge says:
you would have thought after the ruling with motorola other judges would smarten up
Griffspen says:
I will take one.
I think the real losers here are the consumers. The average smartphone buyer doesn't give a shit who has a patent on what. Apple, in my humble opinion, is just being greedy and people who desire to be future owners of Samsung phones are the ones who are going to miss out. I think a funny thing too is, if somebody wants a Samsung Android smartphone, but can't get one due to this injunction, are the likely to buy an iPhone, or a different Android phone?
Schoolbob says:
I am really tired of all of this nonsense. Choice is always better for the consumer.
ahigdon says:
patent shenanigans sucks. almost as much as apple
lriggins2 says:
they get a little competition and run crying to mommy.... pathetic!
cacaman says:
Apple U Suck!
91_z28_4me says:
Apple, your business practices are bad
(V) (V)
and you should feel bad!
alsip1023 says:
It's all completely ridiculous! The sad part is that Apple is dumping more money into these stupid lawsuits than we all make combined! Apple fan boys keep buying Apple products. Apple takes this money and files suit against every phone and tablet manufacturer. Everyone loses...
Pick me and I'll proudly sport the Galaxy Nexus everywhere! Might even make it a point to drop by the local Mac store weekly, get out my Galaxy Nexus, and proceed to bust a move to some old school "U Can't Touch This" (MC Hammer)! Imagine the possibilities!!
mbk17 says:
This should be either sorted through soon enough, or Samsung will get it re-approved by the courts.
But I do agree that this is pretty sad on Apple's part.
Apple should attack by innovation, instead of by lawsuits. I know for a fact that there are smart people in Apple who hate that this is happening (the lawsuits against other companies).
xtyc says:
agree it makes apple look bad. how can they sue a business.partner? weird. don't they need Samsung?
thanthalin says:
These lawsuits do nothing but piss off the consumer and galvanize the masses against Apple even more. I believe that this will ultimately be Apple's slide in the mobile phone world. I know that I will never buy an iphone now due to this childish crap. I had considered it in the past but now it is a absolute that I will never own one.
yopete525 says:
What a joke... this is more ridiculous than the meat dress lady gaga wore in australia
bump. in for contest.
plkevlar says:
This only shows how much better android is the ios, I bet if Google and or any android device manufacturer owned these patents this would never happen to apple. Android devices have to be taken off the market for apple to get some sales again. AND I REALLY WANT A NEXUS :) THIS OLD DINC WITH A SMASHED SCREEN IS KILLING ME!
sethoscope1 says:
This patent nonsense needs to stop soon. Trolls.
Vudumedic says:
It's absolutely insane that they would rather spend time arguing back and forth rather than working to come up with something to make us want to spend our money with them. Apple you want our money give us something we are willing to spend it on. Obviously those who go to Android for the most part are not potential Apple customers that are being stolen away.
TheAshaman says:
I wish they would stop with this stuff...
colecoyates says:
"can all the nerds just get along?"
I love how apple is mad just because the andrgoid phones are way better, they have to try to mess it up. But they won't. IPhones suck and apple knows It but they just can't lose.
No Apple flavored Jelly Beans on my Nexus.
Wilddogge says:
Honestly, at the end Apple will be mostly remembered by his patent nonsense than their products. Apple may have good products but his practices make me avoid them at all cost. To me this looks like a defensive move out of fear. ANDROID FOREVER! :D
nrf says:
This just in: Apple Awarded Patent for Patent Litigation Process, Vows to Pursue Entities who Attempt to Sue Using Same.
mikec8785 says:
This is just ridiculous. I hope this is the tipping point where Google comes in and helps the OEMs because this is a case where it is pure Google rather than Touchwiz. These patent wars do nothing but hurt the consumer and the reason why this system needs to be fixed. Innovate with products rather than in the courtroom.
frozencloud says:
This is just getting quite sad. Rather hearing more about Apple adding new features that sway in new customers their way, they do this. I rather hear them announce some changes to the boring pages with 16 icons. We never hear anything new over Imore other than the random rumors. And iOS6 is pretty much like iOS5+. I love both platform, I own an android phone and the iPad. But this constantly lawsuit is just unacceptable. Just because one company have money, one shouldnt waste it like this.
ksjmh13 says:
It all SUCKS, just let the consumer pick the phone they want and let it be done. Greed is the root of all evil.
markbyrn says:
My Galaxy Nexus loves the buttery smooth goodness of Jelly Bean. Even Apple knows how good it is when they're desperately trying to put the rectangle patent kabosh on it. Hope Apple enjoys losing that 100M bond when the final ruling comes in. BTW, I have both the Galaxy Nexus and an iPhone 4S - never once I have confused the two.
ksjmh13 says:
sRedwolf says:
If Apple hates it then I definitely want one.
doo_s4 says:
nexus forever!!!!! woohooo!!!
dj86 says:
I am so sick of all of the patent non-sense. Cant we all just get along! Plus I really want a Nexus 7!
Stagger0 says:
The whole idea behind patents was to create fair competition, and have an available database where people could find stuff already made, and improve upon it. What the injunction is doing is basically saying that Siri and this Voice Search are exactly the same, and it doesn't have any form of improvement. This type of ruling leads smaller developers to become worried they may infringe on patents in their apps. There is no way a small company has time or can be able to afford their own patent lawyer either.
A CTO I used to work under told me the idea of patenting software bothered him. "We are patenting a certain combination of 1's and 0's. If that's "fair" then most mathematics, physics, and naturally discovered properties should be patentable as well."
jeditribe says:
These patent rulings is mainly to give manufacturing party hard time. In other words is bull! Galaxy Nexus with Jelly Bean would be nice. Now isit Jelly Bean or Jellybean?
jeditribe says:
Neither of them have anything original to actually complain about. It's not like their designs are truly original. It's like they added a link and said, "we invented links." A bunch of greedy kids is all they are! And we just end up in the middle of their stupid little games.
RamboDroid says:
It's so messed up Apple forced the courts to do a cavity search for any contraband on Lloyd!! Poor fella.... (Humor...even poor humour will get us thorough this.)
droid747 says:
I would love it for apple to get sued and in the settlement, the judge declares apple is no longer allowed to bring lawsuits/patent claims ever again because all of these lawsuits are getting out of hand. Also, the pattent system needs a serious overhaul done like yesterday.
Jomix24 says:
All this patent infringement is nothing new. There's a movie about the man that invented the intermittent windshield wiper which is the way the wipers are on all cars nowadays. He went back and fourth to court with every major car manufacturer for years until it was finally settled. There's a movie about it (FLASH OF GENIUS). Hopefully Apple doesn't end up doing this to every flagship phone that comes out within the net few years.
koolin says:
screw patents. Google take these fools down.
mnor says:
apple is killing innovation with this lawsuit crap.
big_time2 says:
Wow, this is awesome. Count me in.
jayboogie31 says:
Apple is just upset because they are not the big dawg anymore! so they do what already rich people do.... sue other people! Stop being babies and get back to what you used to be good at Apple,making new technology! stop building on one product... make something extraordinary! go android!!!
achavess says:
I hate the way apple does business. They already have more money than Fort Knox, what do they want to accomplish? If I can´t get an Android phone I´d rather cook my balls in lava than by an Iphone. I´d rather use my Nokia 6120...
Also, if I can´t get an Android , I´ll ship it from somewhere else!!
Zusiris says:
Over it..... Bring on the next phone.
drm5 says:
International patent disputes are getting just plain silly. I realize that intellectual property and ingenuity need to be protected... but cmon... there are only so many ways to build a phone and/or interface. I guess this is what happens when there are billions of dollars in sales at stake.
The timing on this judgement is especially douche-y.
jc_17 says:
apple is so stupid!! they do all this sues because they know they are lagging behind android.. i'm never going back to apple and i'm glad i have an android now and couldn't be happier
EDIT: they also keep sending me emails after unsubscribing from them, which is really annoying
UnfocusedHTC says:
Apple needs to get over them selves and make a quality product instead of trying to shut everyone else down through lawsuits.
kart38 says:
I need this to replace my Droid Charge!!
cozzy123 says:
Apple is absolutely ridiculous. Apple is just asshurt because android is pummeling them in marketshare. I guess because they absolutely failed in the computer industry when it came to marketshare now they are just pissed off that when they actually produced a popular product its getting pounded yet again. Apple will always play second fiddle to the likes of Microsoft and Google as well as any other tech companies in the future they decide to compete against.
When losers lose they will try anything to take the other guy down. Right now they are in the biting, scratching, and leg holding part of this fight until someone in the judicial branch grows some balls and starts throwing out all these ridiculous suits.
Congress needs to get off its lazy ass and pass some legislation to straighten this stuff out so tech companies can spend more money on research and developement and less on lawyers.
bdm2569 says:
This whole this is because Apple knows that they can't compete on a level playing field with Google. They had the upper hand but lost it and now they have to salvage things by stopping the competition from being able to even sell their products. Ridiculous!
steveapos says:
All this patent business has bothered me for a long time. I don't know who Apple bought or who they paid off, but they've managed to make a mockery of the patent system. At this point I'd say the system is completely FUBAR. The fact that Apple claims to be innovative, but is nothing more than a talented team of decorators, in my opinion, is just appalling. They claim other people ideas and inventions as their own by fancying them up and convincing the courts that it was original thought. The courts are even worse than Apple for turning a blind eye to ideas and concepts that have been in existence far before Apple's use, yet still awards them the patent. Its a disgrace to engineers everywhere and stifles actual innovation. Apple needs to try creating something on their own before asking for a patent, yet again if they did that we'd never see them in court again. Oh, and winning a Nexus would be fantastic.
lawyers are such B.s. now-a-days you can sue anybody for anything even if it wasnt your idea or patent. you know this world is going to the s***s when this happens
joevarm says:
It is all nonsense...we just want good phones!
Legellan says:
This is all the more reason to hate Apple. I'll take a Galaxy Nexus please!!!!
ljredeye says:
It would be so perfect, in a perfect world, that if Apple wasn't picking on poor defenseless Google, they'd be going after iron-wall Microsoft. If only...
stere0xide says:
The only innovation I've seen Apple create in recent times is in the "creative" ways they've hindered further innovation. Every possible excuse is thrown into the court cases, anything remotely similar to one of their so called "innovations".
Well done Apple, you've pushed the envelope for design. Now every manufacturer is choosing to go with safer less, litigation prone design. But then again the patents they have at hand can pretty much point at anything as "copied" or "infringing" design.
Well done Apple, you've made law firms a tonne of cash..
stere0xide says:
Ninjarogue says:
When two tribes go to war.... A point is all that you can score.... Let''s not make war... Let's make love!
Come on lawyers throw away your suitcases and get a life!
mr al says:
when Apple get scared that they're gonna lose sales they bring in their lawyers
Apple, samsung make your screens, you sue them, they lose money, they charge you more for the parts. who wins here = nobody
Ya Boi D says:
Samsung and Apple need to squash their beef and just continue to make state of the art smartphones. #simple
whycry says:
I'm in. I hate lawyers :)
meddem says:
this patent trolling sucks. Apple claims patents for most of the new devices. the most of them are by far better than the i-products
mrbanks says:
Apple is on some bullshit. Fuck Apple sorry for the cuss words but this just stupid, they need to make better crappy Ishit phones. oh and pick me the wife needs a galaxy nexus
Deolarte says:
To apple:
1,2 google's coming for you.
3,4 you can hide no more.
5,6 better stop your tricks.
6,7 or Steve jobs will die again. * :-)
8,9 If you give up it will all be fine
10,11 a I choose now, but remember you won't end up in heaven.
ccole22653 says:
This is ridiculous. Makes me ashamed to see this low greedy attitude coming from an american company...this system of patents needs to be reworked.
purpletarzan says:
Its really just sad. At first I was angry but then I realized that this is all they can do. They're already way behind in terms of hardware and Jelly Bean just blew them out of the water. This is their death throw. Poor apple.
Nothing infuriated me more than what CrApple did to stop the shipments of the One X and EVO LTE. Eventually, I got my EVO LTE but not without that bump in the road. If ya got a spare Sprint Galaxy Nexus layin' around, I'd love nothing more than to flip CrApple the bird as I rock Jelly Bean 4.1 and stick it to the man!
kylosma says:
It's really just a waste of money and time. If your product is supposed to be superior to the rest, just leave the rest be and simply just focus on your product. No need to be filing all these lawsuits, just let customers enjoy whatever cellphone they wish to purchase.
fantlash says:
Companies like Apple want a monopoly and that is no surprise. If the possible loss as a result of the infringement is less than 0.2% of your net profits, you shouldn't be allowed to file a patent suite because the infringement isn't causing sufficient harm. This would stop the large players from having to build these "patent arsenals" while still protecting smaller companies from someone rolling over their business.
nola_man says:
I wanna win. Apple and there lawsuits just show you how afarid they are about everything. When it comes down to it the reason why we have these cool phones is cause everyone is one uping everone else. If all these lawsuits were to win and the baned happen we would all have an old nokia green screen phone. hahaha snake was awesome. pick me.
bnddycl says:
Someone should just pattent a pattent against idiotic pattents...
mike31082 says:
What's this nonsense about anyway? Because a device looks similar to the iPhone? Now Apple is trying to patent the aesthetics of a device, like anyone could mistake an Android device for an Apple device?
It's just getting out of hand.
"posted from my iPad" :-)
Linsman says:
This completely ruins innovation and only hurts the end user. I can't believe this still goes on these days and how the system hasn't realized how much it is hurting consumers.
deuter says:
So many pages too much to read ... I'm sure that I will not win cause I'm from Poland and postage will be too expensive but anyway I'll share my thoughts but .. in Polish cause my english is not that advanced so .. its twisted isn't it? and I still have hope to win ~~ :
Jak dla mnie ta sprawa jest totalnie popieprzona , jeszcze trochę to dojdzie do tego że apple opatentuje to że logo producenta jest prezentowane podczas uruchomienia telefonu , totalny absurd który nie przysparza im klientów tylko psuje im wizerunek , kiedyś to była firma rewolucyjna z ogromną inwencją twórczą masą genialnych pomysłów a teraz powinni przeistoczyć się w kancelarię adwokacką.
Rozumiem patenty ale slide to unlock ? no trzeba być geniuszem żeby na to wpaść o really ?
Ogólnie sytuacja pokręcona nie dająca nikomu żadnych korzyści
i czekam z utęsknieniem na galaxy nexusa i może polski oddział androidcentral ?;>
iPhoneSuks says:
The patent system needs a serious overhaul because this is ridiculous.
Apple is like "Android stole from iOS"
Everybody with a functional brain is like "Obvious troll is obvious -_-"
jfcass says:
this patent system is so messed up and just stifles innovation.
rashidamal says:
"Lawyer: See your honor,if i step away 10 feet and squint at both of them side by side, this fridge looks a whole lot like the ipad!!!
Gudge: Granted.This Fridge too is banned!!!"
Borrowed that from a friends page.....
ne wayz...this is what i guess is gonna happen in coming years.....
bluefalcon13 says:
So, and sign me, and and I hope I win. Once upon a time I was sipping the apple cool-aid, and but with crap like this, it makes me want to throw my work's I phone issued to me out the Window. If apple can't compete then gtfo of the market....... Seems Google has them scared.
tjg294 says:
Patent office is severely understaffed and underfunded. They give out patents too freely which lead to companies taking advantage. Believe me, I'm an expert because I once read an article about this.
jholt1 says:
Apple = Crybaby. It's great that they came up with multi touch, it's sorta the same as the recipe for Coke. I love Coke, I love Apple,competition makes things better like Dr. Pepper and Android!
corydunbar says:
At some point some higher power needs to step in and just say "quit it kids. Apple stop picking on the little kids and building up fake confidence. Because the more you poke the beast of Google the more you're instigating a fierce retaliation. Do be upset when he does retaliate."
Mustang46L says:
I'm just so tired of this patent crap..
bogdaryl says:
This is just pure nonsense, why is it apple's mission to do this? Are they truly this afraid of the competition. We should all be allowed to choose what we wanna use. And by the way I would really love a new phone.
mikedez says:
I'm so sick of this patent crap from apple! If we wanted an iPhone we would have bought one. I didn't and I never will so they didn't lose anything! Let people chose with their wallet!
sillyguy49 says:
As long as lawyers can make money, this patent BS will always have to be dealt with.
cflusche says:
This is just freaking great. I've been saving up to buy a Galaxy Nexus for forever it seems. Now I won't be able to buy one because they're going to stop selling them as soon as Apple posts their $96 million bond. Why does this stuff always have to happen to me? Shame on Apple for this mess! Now I'll have to settle for some piece of junk phone.
AndroidCentral - if you really want to help someone out, throw that free Galaxy Nexus my way. It may be the only way I'll ever get one. Please, and thank you!
Reminds me of a guy I met in France who was suing Ricky Martin over the world cup song Go Go Go allez Allez Alles because the 3 notes in the go go go part were the same as the 3 notes in a song he had written.
This makes almost as much sense.
Mjoelnir says:
Competition is good for product development and advancement. And honestly, how can you mistake an iPhone accidentally for an Android device or vice versa?
kenyee says:
We really need a "loser pays all fees incurred by winner" system in the US like the rest of the world.
And we need real tech people involved in the patent office so stupid obvious patents aren't allowed. I've been called in before as an expert witness in a case against RIMM and the patent trolls are using all kinds of stupid stunts to extort money. I'd count Apple as a troll :-P
djaboo83#AC says:
just because Apple had an "IDEA" that benefits the world doesn't mean the whole concept of the meaning of a "Touchscreen Phone" is going to violate (copy and paste the iPhone UI) all their patents.
Me personally I'm an Android user Forever...
uofmike says:
1 comment for 1 gnex... seems fair
npco543 says:
None of this is going to change any time soon, unfortunately. Apple has enough money to continue down this path of litigation for decades, and they have enough blind devotees to continually grow their war chest. The patent office has abdicated their responsibility and left the courts to determine if a patent should or should not have been granted in the first place.
Welcome to corporate America 2012.
Where's my phone?
sannyo says:
This patent stuff is just all about BIG MONEY. Because of the technology is so advanced and basically really hard to build new HW. This happening because of the Samsung sold a lot of devices, Apple try to compensate his loss with patent money.
Anyway, the whole situation it's kinda ridiculous, it's like bakeries are suing each other because of the other bread has rounded corners and same size too, not to talk about the ingredients. WTF ?
securifirm says:
The whole patent system needs to be reworked because of stuff like this. I think I'm going to patent the idea of folding toilet paper a certain way to while taking a crap. Complete BS!!
Ginge says:
So sick of Apple's policy...go go Android.
skel4877 says:
Samsung and Google will be in deep trouble since there isn't another device released with jelly Bean...... Apple is just hatin
First "Obamacare" stands in this country, now the Patent system in the United States is failing, this, my friends, is just another example why this First rate nation we live in, will soon be a Third world nation in Fourty years.
Broken patent system, broken government, broken judicial system. What is next? Someone claims patent infringement on mandatory healthcare tax and the government buys them out only to be sued and upheld by the courts system for a patent that never existed. Your honor, "If you squint with only 1 eye, it looks like an iPad, therefor, they copied my idea"
Apple is simply greedy money money money yeah right they care about the public only care about their wallets
kilen71 says:
Apple ... blah blah blah ... Google ... blah blah blah ... Patent ... blah blah blah ... Search ... blah blah blah ... Banned ... Blah blah blah. This patent nonsense is really messed up!!!
RayJr says:
This is Totaly APPLE being scared
harryg27 says:
Apple needs to stop being the bully on the playground. They need to get over themselves and realize they won't always be on top. You could ask any "average" iPhone owner about this stuff going on and they would have no idea. It's sad, really, that only us Android guys care.
Jungolok says:
This patent war has got to stop. Its destroying innovation
In any company it's always about one thing and one thing only and that is ......................drumroll please.................... MONEY!!!!. When a company's bottom line is being threatened that is when they start taking action. As Android grows more and more the more we will see apple attack them in full force. It just makes me laugh how apple thought android wouldn't be much of a competition when they first started and now they can't sue android for every little thing fast enough.
danuff says:
As someone that develops Apple applications, I also think that this is a bunch of bulls*it. Apple is scared that someone else is going to make a product BETTER then them, and that people will finally see through the "vail" that the company has put over its customers and they (the consumer) may even think that the rival product is actually BETTER then theirs.
Looking at the device itself (via the picture) I do not see ANY reason why Apple would wanna ban the device anyway.
Apple's lawyers are making a KILLING from these lawsuits. Who wins in the end - NOBODY and the end user is the one getting screwed while the lawyers are getting rich.
What a shame. Apple, you aught to be ASHAMED of yourself.
I'm probably just saying that which has been said before, but these patents are being used as an anti-competitive measure. Apple has been (ab)using the patent system to stifle one specific area of competition: Google and their OEMs.
I don't know the ins and outs of patent law or these specific patents Apple's using for the injunction. What I do know is that Apple is selling an incredible amount of devices, making money hand over fist and show no signs of slowing down. Also obvious is that Google is doing what Google knows best, innovating an iterating at breakneck speeds.
Most obvious of all: me wanting a free Galaxy Nexus.
Danrarbc says:
Software patents need to expire a 2 years. Or go away altogether.
At the 2 year mark most software is already old and a new version replaced it. A one or two generation advantage is more than enough in this field.
dklimah says:
Apple wants to through money around? Sure, go ahead. Pay up, sucka...
All these patent lawsuits scream to me is that Apple does not have faith in their own product. A company wins these things by pushing out the best possible product at a reasonable price to gather the most income. Apple is everything but that and to see they are suing just about anything that moves these days and actually won this injunction is just absolutely pathetic. I would say pathetically laughable but this entire case is just so sad.
ehernandez says:
An apple a day........doesn't really do much!
SAVJR says:
It's about as messed up as one winged tooth fairy trying to collect Easter eggs on Christmas.
aristarchus says:
I really don't get how there isn't "prior art"for the design... like a window, or a computer screen. Apple didn't invent the window. Whatever, something seriously needs to bare some about patents.
NeoHoneyTea says:
Frigging ridiculous Apple! Why don't you waste that time and money on producing better products than tainting awesome products like the gnex! Grow up!
onewomanarmy says:
If your product was superior enough, would you need to worry about little things like search functions?
Make the best product and don't control the snack out of it - bet it wouldn't matter that there are some similarities between your product and others.
Just sayin.
hjkimbrian says:
i have no respect for these patent trolls
ehupp01 says:
Stop the nonsense!!
abc1234 says:
Toby says:
Completely redonkulous!
andha1101 says:
You can patent anything. The crazy thing is you don't even need a working prototype. If by chance someone invents something that may have something resembling your so called patent, then you can sue them.
xmi says:
I'm a grad student and researcher myself. Whatever we "find out" can be either patented or publicly published. To patent something, we really get some very strict controls, we cannot just get patents for "everything".
Why isn't it the same with software? Why is this happening only in the USA? Whoever granted those patents must be really ashamed. I really hope that this comes to an end soon... and I can talk about this to my kids in the future "just" as an anecdote...
bobbyyyu says:
i have to upgrade from this og droid pick me!
antonove says:
Patents have gotten out of hand but at the end its just business. Whoever sells the most phones and makes the most money wins and companies do whatever they feel like is effective. Although this does make me really start to hate Apple. I used iPhones for the past 2 years and when I wanted to switch to a One X, I couldn't because Apple banned it for a short while. DidIs it stop me from buying what I wanted? no. It just made me even happier when I switched from an iPhone. Apple, you're not banning these products because they are stealing from you, you're banning them because you have nothing better. It just reassures people that an iPhone isn't a good choice right now. -happily typing this on a One X..
random1204 says:
I can't believe this is even allowed. It's really...just a testament to how people need to step up and say something to the patent office, because frankly, these things should not have even been available to be patented. I'm sorry, but swipe to unlock? Why is that still an issue? That's like patenting a button press to turn something on. Completely ridiculous. And after all this, I might even sell my Macbook Pro. I love the design to death, but the OS is nothing special, and with Apple continuing their attack on Android, I'm so close to ridding myself of their products.
libra68 says:
Foyt20 says:
In to stick it to Apple.
warfare13 says:
Absolutely mad, should be just thrown out.
dreitzell78 says:
Totally ridiculous. I was thinking about going to the nexus after I get tired of my Thunderbolt. Seems to be great with updates and pure google. Would love to get one before they are banned! Pleaseeeeee, and thank you!
SpenceJonas says:
After the Google I/O, this just makes me laugh. Google's taking new strides while Apple just plays the lawyer game.
natenins says:
My 2-year Sprint upgrade is TOMORROW and I was planning on upgrading my NS4G to a GNex then I wake up to see this news. Not a fan. I know it won't likely affect my ability to buy the phone, but it's disheartening nonetheless.
Gunnyman says:
I'm shopping for an Android tablet today. Freaking Apple can't compete anymore so they sue. Just like the patent Troll TiVo.
donate_life says:
noname2062 says:
I really wish manufacturers would be able to solve these patent issues w/out bring in lawyers. Everyone looks like a bunch of crybabies in the end. Thanks for the contest Phil! Good luck everyone
somedud says:
it is good and powerful device. it is worth to go against ridiculous and not wise low.
peng1can#AC says:
Got in just under the Wire! I'd be more eloquent, but I have no time! Patent lawsuits suckered!
Lurehendi says:
This issue not only shows that there is a serious problem with the current patent system, but also that Apple is so afraid of the competition that it goes to any length to sabotage them.
Ricom1 says:
Free Nexus...and here's my post!
BrandonJD says:
I think Apple is scared, With Samsung now the biggest seller of Smartphones, They feel threatened. What I don't get, is why are they being cowardly and Suing Samsung, when they know who they really want to go after is Google? If you want to eliminate competition through litigation, at least be up front about who you really want to fight.
Apple is slipping, their OS is growing stale, and people are tiring of tiny screened phones. And instead of innovating better solutions, they would prefer to just stifle the competition. It is like the thermostat lawsuits levied at Nest by Honeywell. Instead of innovating yourself to be more compelling to the consumer, you just sue the ones that are.
kraski says:
Patent stuff stinks. But, if it wins me a Nexus, I'm not going to be too unhappy.
geo-droid says:
It is amazing that the battle are about patents, rather than which device is the best in the market. Imagine if all that money to patent lawyers went to engineers to design more cool stuff!
Dronnok says:
Enough is enough with all this patent war BS. Clear abuse of the current patent system. If Apple could patent the way of wiping your ass, they would probably have lawyers taking everyone to court for violating their patent. Lunacy I say, LUNACY!
cbarretopy says:
I like both google and apple. I like google more actually.
About the apple claim, i think there are many reasons why apple may be doing this: to protect their IP, because they are afraid of the competition, etc. and we can argue that they are doing this because X or Y reason, but we probably wont never know the real reason. The only thing we can do is hope that the justice do the right thing.
thelastred says:
Before their was an iphone a patent was filed to protect innovation.If a company would come with a good idea they would patent and make money off the patent or the idea by sharing it . Now that apple entered the game they made sure that patents are here to handicap innovation which bothers me. thanks to apple everyone is sue every one to ban phones tablets and etc. Which to me is stupid and also apple sues for the stupidest things. i hate patents for that main reason because they stopped innovation.
andrew53517 says:
This really is getting out of hand...Almost to the point where the government needs to step in. Ugh, either way Apple deserves to pay for all the trouble their causing.
roninksb says:
Wow. The phones are not alike at all. Its ridiculous in the extreme. I thought Apple would rather compete than litigate. Oh well, vive la difference!
dcbelcher says:
Me wanty please. Need something that roams outside of U.S.
jbschweitzer says:
Quiet longtime reader. Saw this with two minutes to spare. :)?
fryandim81 says:
Apple is just jealous, and scared!
Combatexpert says:
This has gotten out of hand especially since the patents are so simple and I can't believe that they would stop sale of a phone because of supposed patent infringement of slide-to-unlock feature or of a word prediction for a touchscreen keyboard.....well there is nothing I can do about it. Well you can't say Apple only does this because every company sues others for pointless patents, but I doubt many actually lead to a total ban of a product in a country. I know Apple has won one against HTC for a patent that lets the device to identify text or numbers to pull up a relevant menu or action and this patent is also in question. Better just wait this out and let's see what happens.
jonvinyl says:
I am going to patent the ability to touch a ridiculous is that? Give me the the Galaxy Nexus, please for Sprint!!!
cjtraas says:
I guess if you can't win in the marketplace, sue 'em!
cesar1080 says:
Oh Apple, First the Galaxy Tab, now the Nexus. What next Tim Cook runs off with my mom?
Stychill says:
...give me android...currently a blackberry user...
vblok0910#AC says:
This is how much I now hate apple I am going to sell my brand new ipad3 I just bought, I want nothing to do with apple anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
steppek says:
Did I get in??
a_f says:
Apple should patent the form of an Apple so they can tax people when they eat aples...
dcbelcher says:
I'd love a Galaxy Nexus
jrpetersjr says:
What I think has happened is that Apple had a huge plan for the iphone and that it was a 7 year plan. When android came into the picture they panicked and they had to change there plans and instead of increasing the rate at which they innovate so they decided to try to slow down the competition. It's really sad and it's taking away the good things about apple, competition and technology in general. Apple was known for innovation but that it's slowly going by the wayside. Competition breads innovation but that's going by the wayside. Technology has been growing at a crazy rate but patent trolling is changing that.
mayimbe27 says:
this is ridiculous its getting out of hand, Apple cant take the competition i guess is to much for them
What about the notification bar that Apple clearly stole from Android!?!?
werxone says:
A cellphone company likes to patent every "new" feature of their phones even though their features happen to look exactly like features that have been on older phones. Thats garbage, patents are ruining the advancement of cell technology.
Love Divine says:
This is whack, yo.
bulvine420 says:
is it to late? apple cares about the bottom dollar not the tech and all these suits show this. Yo apple why not stop making the same product every year and come up with some new innovations instead of suing everyone.
cptrainbow says:
The whole patent thing is absurd. Apple has decided to try to corner the market by just suing anyone who threatens them, rather that the path that every other company is taking, which is actually trying to innovate. Apple is welcome to just hang out further and further behind, but that's no excuse for them to hold everyone else back with them.
arturodelac says:
dking9101 says:
The "Appleseed" cult of Steve Jobs must be stopped!
acWoodcarver says:
It is getting out of hand, but I'm glad you are doing your part!
mELIANTE says:
The worm in the Apple is just squirming because Google Now just beat the hell out of Siri! Patent war, schmatent war! I bet Google lawyers are having a field day going through all the Motorola folders. :)
yanicmb says:
I guess apple just can't be satisfied with their billions
bhameyedoc says:
When will Google tire of this and not let Apple include ANYTHING Google on their devices? That would be nice payback.
All these lawsuits stifle innovation. Apple needs to come up with some new ideas instead of filing lawsuits. It's not like they haven't stolen anything from Android!
8track says:
The only reason why Apple keeps attacking every company it comes across that has even the smallest similarity to their products is because they know they're going downhill. With the iPhones and iPads being overrun with higher powered, bigger screened, more functional Android devices, it's only a matter of time before either Apple gives up or the other companies do. But let's take a second to think here; Apple is up against some major names here like GOOGLE AND SAMSUNG AND MOTOROLA! I remember when the Galaxy Nexus was announced. It was considered to be the completely lawyer proof from Apple because the engineers made it so Apple could NOT do anything with their patents. So apparently Samsung lied to us OR Apple is pulling something out of their ass to be on top again... OR someone from Apple dug so deep into the construction and design of the Galaxy Nexus that they found a function and patent that is so similar to that of something on the iPhone that they are only using that one thing as a defense. Whatever the case is, Apple knows they're in trouble. Their devices are not worth the ridiculous amount of money they're priced at and people are starting to realize that.
I'm going to be honest here for a second, there was a time were i had an iPod touch and a MacBook pro. This was before I saw the light. Once I bought my T-Mobile G1 after I got out of Air Force Basic training, I was instantly hooked and I saw the differences immediately. Since that day, I've sold all my Apple products, I started promoting anything Google and Android (on a personal level), and have rooted more phones I can think of. However, I've only owned 3 Android phones, the HTC G1, the HTC G2, and the HTC One S (Which is got about a week ago). A lot of my friends with Android devices see what I can do with mine and instantly want me to root theirs and put a killer ROM on it (most of the time, it's cyanogenmod).
So let me part with these last words: Apple sucks and is becoming a very hated company for a lot of people, not including Android and Google fans. The Galaxy Nexus is a fantastic phone and a great way to stay up to date with the latest Android version without having to really do anything to it. Sooner or later, someone is going to have to give, and I don't think it's the dessert bearing company that will. Over and out!
Fuck you Apple.
cnn888 says:
must admit, these days and age making money/profit for company is number one. this goes with (whatever the basis is) filing an injunction against apple's competitor (in this case patents infringement). from apple's point of view, it is their right and/or duty to protect their investment, make a huge profit plus killing those that come in their way. but from customer's point of view, it is just another great marketing ploy by samsung. true they can't sell the banned product the US soil, but does it really stop people of getting from neighboring countries, say Canada, Mexico, etc? is it so hard for people to get it? by doing this, it's like Apple is announcing to the world:"HEY, Samsung/Google has got a better phone/product than ours. Check them out, we are suing them for being better than us."
just my opinion though....
TVsIan says:
You know, it's annoying but not TOO bad when they just demand royalties for patent infringement. It's really awful when they actually prevent a product from being sold. I was considering getting a new iPhone on an extra line that I have if the next version sounded interesting, but I think I'll stick with Android.
njgill05 says:
Oh Apple, you used to be a company I respected, not a bunch of whiny baby losers who can't actually innovate anything other than design so you have to sue your competition into the ground. Just be happy with your millions of sheep followers and leave the rest of us who actually like functionality alone.
schnoid says:
I admit, I'm not the biggest apple fan, but I do on occasion like to wander into an apple store and try out their new devices. I used to dislike apple only because their devices were sub-par for their price point. Now I have a whole new reason to dislike apple. I was at the mall yesterday and looked at the apple store and walked right by. People like me may not have bought an iphone or ipad before, but maybe an apple tv or some other product would've been possible. Now I'm going to go out of my way to find alternatives to apple products even if I was thinking about getting one before. Stupid move apple. You just look desperate.
KRoberts says:
Why are there all these small patents about how you search? Lock screen patents, The way you swipe, I mean come on!!!!!!! They're all the damn same kind of phone. It's like Nike suing Reebok because they have laces in their shoes. These lawyers are damn idiots blinded by money and small ass power trips, over cell phones. Grow up!!!!
Patents are going to be harder and harder to protect. The future is unfolding far too fast; for them to stay relevant. This is revolutionizing our world in ways that I believe travel parallel to Moore's Law, exponentially hurtling us quicker towards Singularity.
nitman118 says:
sometimes i wonder, apple and google have soo many patents yet no nobel, they could sure get one for peace if they stop their patent wars........
gorgalis says:
I read somewhere that Apple is suing God for claim He created the Apple and the Bible is actually referring to an iPad in Genesis, not an Apple. That's just a rumor though.
tada1096 says:
boo apple, they are stating to loose the cell phone game so this is their plan. so how about a phone sent this way to replace my dinc :)
demonmz says:
Apple are afraid, and they should be. They prefer playing the dirty game and attacking companies for stupid patterns so they are the only ones who sell their overpriced pieces of shit, whereas they should be in the battlefield and fighting properly. Except for their app database, Apple are nothing. And with the ever growing play store, they will soon be annihilated. Robots are meant to rule, not fruits.
haggman7 says:
Apple is just scared of the Nexus 7 because it packs a serious punch and they're now trying to cripple Google's flagship.
I'm new here, by the way! Signed up just for this contest! Wish me luck!
miwaca says:
I don't blame Apple as much as I blame these judges...
Ace4 says:
Tired of this crap, don't care
williamj1 says:
Agree, this whole case is just getting ridiculous. Aside from Apple, I think we need to start questioning whoever controls patents, for granting Apple such ridiculous, general patents like Autocorrect.
rivas741 says:
Apple sucks! They always sue if someone has something better than them!
bp240 says:
Apple is no longer confident enough in their product to win over the general public fair and square. The fact that they need to play games behind the scenes(unknown to a large amount of smartphone users who generally don't find out anything online about their phones) in order to keep their phone's sales up and unharmed by competition is pathetic.
SeifEddine says:
Well at first it was nice seeing them compete but I think they are getting sillier by the second especially Apple side with absurd accusations maybe the only way they can stop the fast growing Android market, banning such a "HIT for the iPhone" phone is a win for Apple
cubez says:
I don't really care as long as it doesn't interfere with shipments.
kmarutha says:
APPLE-start to innovate
robotaholic says:
These are the things Apple came out with at WWDC: An address bar in Safari that also serves as a search bar!, being able to attach images to email in the native email app, and they finally got turn by turn navigation...
Um, Android has had all these things literally for years and years. In fact that means that most cell phone mfg companies, actually most of the whole world!
Who's copying who Apple!
And by the way, Siri is a retarded gimmick! Even its voice is lame as hell- | http://www.androidcentral.com/apple-wins-preliminary-injunction-against-galaxy-nexus-were-giving-one-away-right-second?page=17 | dclm-gs1-224130002 | false | true | {
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0.01882 | <urn:uuid:8685f3cc-bb0d-4179-960b-0df5b0bc5286> | en | 0.911561 | How to replace the thermostat in a 1986 toyota mr2?
1. Remove the bolts that hold the thermostat housing onto the intake manifold of the MR2 with an adjustable wrench and pull up on the thermostat housing to remove it from the intake. The housing is still connected to the hose. Lift the thermostat hou
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1. Place a jack under the transmission cross member and jack the front of the MR2 off the ground. Place a jack stand directly behind the A-arms on the frame and lower the Toyota onto
1. Install a reverse backing system. The reverse backing system alerts the driver of the MR2 to the distance of objects when driving in reverse. The system consists of a central control
1. Loosen the lock bolt with a ratchet and loosen the belt tensioner until the belt is loose enough to remove. The Toyota MR2 uses multiple drive belts rather than a serpentine belt
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The President and CEO of Toyota Motor is Akio Toyoda. Mr. Toyoda is the grandson of the founder of Toyota, Kiichiro Toyoda. He is 54 years old and received his ... | http://www.ask.com/question/toyota-mr-s | dclm-gs1-224210002 | false | false | {
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0.029486 | <urn:uuid:66348608-3306-436d-bd7b-703e255041a0> | en | 0.944343 | Dealing With Arthritis
Page 2 of 2
Who is prone to developing osteoarthritis?
Although there is no simple rule to determine whether a man will or will not get this condition, there are risk factors that increase the chances of developing OA.
These include:
• being over the age of 45
• being overweight
• having certain hereditary musculoskeletal conditions such as defective cartilage and malformed joints
• having joint injuries caused by sports or physical activities
• Certain diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout, can also increase the risk of developing OA.
When should you see a doctor?
If you have joint pains, don't just tough it out. The reason is simple: if you have osteoarthritis, the condition will worsen with time. It is far easier to treat it early, rather than wait until the pain becomes crippling.
As a rule, if a joint becomes painful continuously or sporadically over a period of two weeks, or if the pain limits your daily activities, see a doctor.
What are the treatments for OA?
For most people, treating arthritis simply means using topical pain relievers, taking over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen, or taking prescription drugs such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Your doctor may also prescribe steroid injections, special analgesics or powerful painkillers such as COX-2 inhibitors.
While there is no cure, there are many things you can do to reduce and manage the pain without drugs (and thus avoid their side effects; for instance, COX-2 inhibitors recently made headline news for increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke).
These include exercising regularly, using low-impact and joint-friendly exercises such as walking and aquatic exercises that focus on strengthening muscle tone and flexibility. Shedding extra pounds can also help reduce the stress on your joints.
Recently, studies have shown that nutritional supplements can help improve joint health. Natural ingredients such as glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, yucca roots, sea cucumber, and other herbal extracts found in Anchor Health's Joint Solution Extra may help men suffering from joint problems. Glucosamine is an amino acid that is believed to help in the formation of cartilage and joint lubricants. Chondroitin is part of the building blocks of cartilage, whereas yucca roots and sea cucumber may have anti-inflammatory properties.
beat the pain
Osteoarthritis has been recognized for thousands of years. With the improvement in medicine and the availability of natural alternatives, however, you no longer need to suffer from this "old age" disease.
Special for readers: Try Anchor Health's Joint Solution Extra risk-free with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
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0.147263 | <urn:uuid:7774f9a9-e4a6-4bd8-a3a6-dd711413583c> | en | 0.779176 | 1. NOOK Sample
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You've Reached the End of Your Sample
What Nurses Know and Doctors Don't Have Time to Tell You
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0.462999 | <urn:uuid:a8f56bdf-1575-42ea-a5af-5c1e4acedb07> | en | 0.92017 | Galaxy cluster Abell 2029
Dark energy
In the 1990s, scientists studying exploding stars called supernovae in far-flung galaxies discovered that the Universe's expansion is accelerating, not slowing as theorists predicted. This discovery led them to the conclusion that some unknown process was causing the Universe to speed up, and they named it dark energy.
Image: A Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the distant galaxy cluster Abell 2029. Astronomers use images like this to better understand dark energy's effects. (credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/S.Allen et al.)
Watch and listen to clips from past programmes TV clips [2] Radio Programmes [2]
Galaxy cluster Abell 2029
A mysterious process speeds up the Universe's expansion.
About Dark energy
In physical cosmology and astronomy, dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe. Dark energy is the most accepted hypothesis to explain observations since the 1990s that indicate that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. According to the Planck mission team, and based on the standard model of cosmology, the total mass–energy of the universe contains 4.9% ordinary matter, 26.8% dark matter and 68.3% dark energy.
High-precision measurements of the expansion of the universe are required to understand how the expansion rate changes over time. In general relativity, the evolution of the expansion rate is parameterized by the cosmological equation of state (the relationship between temperature, pressure, and combined matter, energy, and vacuum energy density for any region of space). Measuring the equation of state for dark energy is one of the biggest efforts in observational cosmology today.
Adding the cosmological constant to cosmology's standard FLRW metric leads to the Lambda-CDM model, which has been referred to as the "standard model" of cosmology because of its precise agreement with observations. Dark energy has been used as a crucial ingredient in a recent attempt to formulate a cyclic model for the universe.
Read more at Wikipedia
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0.023956 | <urn:uuid:5110892f-f379-47d2-8a54-7655f7e65409> | en | 0.942272 | Proverbs 14:1-6 (The Darby Translation)
View In My Bible
1 The wisdom of women buildeth their house; but folly plucketh it down with her hands. 2 He that walketh in his uprightness feareth Jehovah; but he that is perverted a in his ways despiseth him. 3 In the fool's mouth is a rod of pride; but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. 4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean; but much increase is by the strength of the ox. 5 A faithful witness will not lie; but a false witness uttereth b lies. 6 A scorner seeketh wisdom, and there is none [for him]; but knowledge is easy unto the intelligent.
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0.031485 | <urn:uuid:24d3f7b1-6b43-429f-bcc2-4d8231166cf0> | en | 0.980573 | Where I Come From: Why I'm A Demon Deacon Fan
This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.
Everyone's story is different. Some come out of the womb wearing the colors of the school they'll root for the rest of their lives. Some grow up rooting for one team and end up going to their rival school bleeding those colors. Still others find themselves cheering in other ways. For me, it's as unique a story as any, but is one that I wouldn't trade for anything looking back.
Find my story after the jump, and feel free to share your story in the comments.
I wasn't always a Wake Forest fan. I know Jake was. I know both Riley and Bart were. But I came late to the party. I grew up with two teams--Valpo (yes, that Valpo), and Xavier. I lived in Cincinnati and you were really a fan of one of five teams down there: Huggy Bear's Cincy Bearcats, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State...or Xavier. Family friends worked there and I was drawn to the school. And a funny thing happened; when Skip Prosser was there, they really were a fun team to watch. Skip was always active in the community and it didn't seem like you could go to a function in Cincinnati without him being there. And boy was he quotable.
Now we fast forward a few years. I'm up in Cleveland, I still hate Ohio State (and most other teams to be quite honest), but I was always an ACC fan. It was just the coaching, the players, the style of play, the history. And as it came down to pick a school, it was Xavier and Valpo, but then I took my trips.
When I made my way into ACC country and found myself in Winston-Salem (with Skip at the helm), I fell in love. With the campus, with the school and, of course, with the Demon Deacons. I wasn't as well-versed in the history, but damned if I hadn't read Muggsy Bogues's autobiography at least 3 or 4 times by then...oh and did I mention Chris Paul was there?
So on my official visit, after the tour was all said and done, my dad and I met Ron Wellman, Wake's athletic director. My dad talked with him about small school success on the big stage and Wellman gave us tickets to the game that night. The Joel was rocking. And in my head, that was the school I wanted to go to.
As a basketball fan first, there was no beating the ACC. And that's still the case despite what anyone will tell you otherwise. And the second I set foot on campus, it was over. I was locked in. The same way I was locked in with the Cubs from birth (that was an instance where I was given Cubbie blue as soon as I could wear shirts) and the same way I identified with Cleveland sports when I made Northeast Ohio my home.
My passion for Wake has only grown since. I played catchup on the history, with the help of every book I could find, a wonderful community of Wake fans, talking with spectacular ACC writers when I wrote for The Old Gold and Black, as well as just being there and making experiences and memories of my own. And although there are ups and downs, rainy days and sun, I'll always love Mother So Dear.
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0.018782 | <urn:uuid:a88f02f7-1d24-4f2c-a626-079df4986b5f> | en | 0.958041 | ’66 Nova SS
Dennis Hellebusch
Washington, Missouri
Since The General never produced a Nova convertible in 1966, Dan Yates from St. Louis, Missouri, decided to build one. He took a four-door sedan as the donor car and installed a frame extension to keep the body from folding in half. Next, he installed a windshield and convertible top from an older Nova convertible and spent the next five years on his creation, which took over 5,000 hours to complete. Underhood is a 350hp 327ci that’s mated to a Turbo 400 and pushed by a set of 4.11:1 cogs out back. | http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/featuredvehicles/1210chp_1966_chevrolet_nova_ss/ | dclm-gs1-224520002 | false | false | {
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0.043657 | <urn:uuid:171eeb6d-1baf-402e-b8a6-f498b519f94a> | en | 0.926945 | Moon: Oxygen, Oxygen Everywhere, But We’ll Need Hydrogen To Drink
Posted by on Oct 30, 2009 in Blog, Ice Water, Moon, Solar Essay | 3 comments
The discovery of water within the lunar soil earlier set off a buzz amongst the space geek community.
While Luna’s revelation inspired dreams of interplanetary conquest, the fact is that the Moon’s soil is far too dry for us to use as a fountain, let alone for watering crop.
Instead of digging through 10 million tons of soil in order to get 10,000 liters of water, it might be easier (and cheaper) to simply ship tanks of hydrogen instead.
Unmanned space craft could help open up the lunar frontier by steadily seeding Luna with thousands upon thousands of hydrogen tanks upon it’s surface.
Since about 40% of the lunar soil is composed of oxygen, future explorers could extract it from the Moon dirt, and then mix it with hydrogen dropped off by previous unmanned rockets.
(Image Credit: Crystal Links- Lunar Mining)
Water can then be heavily filtered and recycled, allowing humanitiy to establish independent lunar outposts without the need of frequent supplies.
As a bonus, future settlers could use the spare hydrogen and oxygen to also create rocket fuel, which could help reduce the cost of missions elsewhere (whether it’s Mars, Ceres or even the moons of Jupiter).
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Mars: A Paradise For Plants (But Not Animals And People?)
Posted by on Aug 13, 2009 in Blog, Mars, Plants And Animals, Solar Essay | 1 comment
Update (12/23): Credited image (full of microscopic life) below.
Regardless of whether or not you believe that the red planet is the future of humanity, one thing is probably certain–whether it takes a decade or a millennium, humanity will probably settle upon that dusty crimson world.
If humanity ever does gain the necessary technology to terraform Mars into a habitable world (air pressure and temperature wise), we may discover that although the red planet makes an excellent habitat for terrestrial vegetation, it may make an extremely poor one for colonists and animals.
One of the key ingredients for animal life on our planet is oxygen. Without it, most creatures would experience a short (but painful) death, leaving the insects to rule the planet.
Thanks to the laws of photosynthesis, plants are able to produce a large enough volume of oxygen to enable animals, space geeks and people to thrive upon planet Earth.
Most of this oxygen however does not come from land plants, such as trees, grass, etc., but rather from a single celled organism called Phytoplankton which contributes between 70% and 90% of the worlds oxygen from the ocean.
Diatoms through the microscope
Image Credit: Prof. Gordon T. Taylor, Stony Brook University, USA (via NOAA Photo Library)
While land plants do contribute their fare share of oxygen for our planetary survival, they may not be as effective on Mars which receives half the amount of sunlight as Earth (which could easily translate into less oxygen for our lungs).
Although Mars currently lacks large oceans like its bigger bluer brother, the red planet does contain an abundance of water that if melted could flood the planet.
While this may make it an ideal candidate to host Phytoplankton within Martian waters, it may not be a realistic scenario considering that the red planet could contain an abundance of perchlorate within its soil, which is deadly to most terrestrial life forms.
Image: Soil samples from “Snow White” trench, taken on July 8, 2008, were found to contain perchlorate after analysis in the Phoenix Mars Lander’s Wet Chemistry Laboratory. (Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University)
If Phytoplankton were to even survive within future Martian oceans, humanity would probably have to find some way to heavily filter out perchlorate from the soil in order to prevent it from contaminating the future “red” oceans of Mars.
Although these two dilemma’s may not be enough to discourage humanity from creating an eden out of this crimson world, the lack of a sizable moon may present a unique challenge for our rowdy species.
On Earth, the Moon (via gravitational tugging) helps our oceans distribute oxygen rich water to stagnant areas critical for some organisms to survive.
Image Credit: How Stuff
Without a strong gravitational pull future Martian oceans could eventually become stagnant overall, making it extremely difficult (if not impossible) for certain species to survive, which could limit which animals we could bring thanks to the circle of life.
Even though these three challenges may prevent humanity from turning Mars into a second Earth, it probably would not be enough to prevent the masses from settling this planet.
While large forests may be able to survive on the planet due to a (future) rich atmosphere of COs, humans may have to be content living within biospheres along with their animal friends (pets and pigs alike).
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Are Traditional Space Elevators The Wrong Way Up?
Posted by on Apr 10, 2009 in Blog, Solar Essay, Space Elevator, Technology | 1 comment
After being first envisioned by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, then perfected by Yuri Artsutanov, Jerome Pearson and Brad Edwards, the space elevator has captured the imaginations of thousands of individuals who believe it’s humanities best hope for colonizing the solar system en masse.
This radical space concept led to the creation of two startups (LiftPort and Blackline Ascension), as well as support from NASA who (despite their skepticism) is offering $4 million in prize money towards successful teams/companies (thanks in part to their Centennial Challenge).
Despite the momentum that the space elevator community has built up over the years, their dreams of a 100,000 km “beanstalk” stretching into the heavens may not come to pass as the earliest plans for a structure coming into being hover around 2030.
Rather than spend decades perfecting carbon nanotubes and power climbers (key ingredients if a traditional space elevator is to become a reality), it may be better to focus on Skyhooks (aka orbital space elevators) instead.
Instead of grasping the Earth’s surface from either a seaport or a mountain top, a Skyhook would hover 150 km above our home world, giving it several advantages over its earth bound cousins.
While a traditional space elevator would require a massive counterweight at the end (i.e. an asteroid or a large space station), a Skyhook would only need a light counterweight at the top of the structure, which might be feasible with today’s technology (not to mention this economy as well).
A Skyhook would also be much shorter than their traditional brethren, spanning a length of no more than 4,000 km compared to 100,000 km for a traditional space elevator. Even if a Skyhook’s cable had to be fashioned from carbon nanotubes (which may not be needed as Kevlar and/or Spectra might be sufficient), it would be much easier to fashion due to its shorter length.
Last but not least, Skyhooks would probably not need to beam power to their transport climbers from below, a feat that may be extremely difficult for traditional space elevators (especially 100,000 km away!). Instead, climbers transporting cargo on a Skyhook could be powered by miniature nuclear reactors or via solar power from the rays of the sun.
Although Skyhook’s have a significant advantage over their earth bound friends, their Achilles heal lies in the fact one would need to construct a rocket/jet hybrid capable of “breathing air” when flying through our atmosphere, and later on switching to rocket engines when they reach the edge of space.
Fortunately the British are in the process of developing a new craft called Skylon (by Reaction Engines Limited) which may help remove that hurdle, making the construction of a Skyhook possible.
While space elevator enthusiasts may still opt to construct their terrestrial beanstalk in an attempt to link heaven and earth, it may be wiser to focus their efforts on Skyhooks instead–especially now that companies like Lockheed Martin may seriously pursue building a Skyhook which in the end could help open the final frontier to the masses.
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One Solar Space Power To Rule Them All?
Posted by on Dec 10, 2008 in Asteroids, Blog, Callisto, Ceres, Mars, Moon, Solar Essay, Titan | 7 comments
Image Credit: Loony Tunes
While every nation probably has their own “road map” for conquering the final frontier, there are no less than five critical locations (ranging from asteroids to dwarf planets to even moons) that a space faring nation must secure if they desire to remain (or become) a solar space power in our star system.
First Stop: Luna
Although the lunar surface may lack water (at least in abundance), its white regolith can be “easily” converted into breathable oxygen, allowing our species to survive beyond our earthen cradle without the need to constantly borrow air from our home world.
Often seen as free on planet Earth, oxygen in space will be literally worth its “weight” in gold, and any nation that can find a way to inexpensively produce lunar oxygen will have an advantage later on over its rivals (and may even be able to sell the precious gas for a profit).
Since micro-gravity has a way of eroding bones and muscles, destroying immune systems, weakening hearts and strengthening deadly bacteria, asteroid miners may prefer to live lunar side (with frequent trips to mine these NEO’s), than to spend the majority of their time floating next to a space rock in micro-gravity.
Even though a space faring nation (both current and aspiring) could develop a sustainable presence around the Moon (and nearby space rocks) due to its resources and location, it may be wise to travel beyond Earth’s orbit towards more promising worlds (in order maintain its status a future space power).
Next Stop: The dwarf planet Ceres
While the dwarf planet lacks any resources of its own, Ceres is suspected of hosting more “fresh water” than Earth itself, which would enable future asteroid minors to potentially grow their own food off world without depending on frequent supplies from Earth.
Third Stop: The Martian moon called Phobos
Since the sunlight on Mars is much stronger than in the asteroid belt, a future mining corporation could use the Sun’s rays to melt asteroid metals en mass before exporting them towards Earth (and Luna).
Even though a future miner could always counter the effects of micro-gravity with various drugs and electronic shocks, it may be wiser to settle upon the red deserts below as Mars’s gravity is approximately 38% Earth norm.
In order to reduce the cost of transporting personal (and equipment) to and from the Martian surface, a future space power may need to construct an “orbital space elevator“ on the near side of Phobos.
Fourth Stop: The Jovian moon Callisto
Even though Mars and the Moon may have “celebrity status” throughout our solar system, neither of the worlds has a global magnetic field to protect their spheres from the wrath of the Sun.
Callisto on the other hand is not only protected by Jupiter’s magnetic field, but it orbits just beyond the gas giant’s radiation belt, enabling future colonists to raise families (and pets) upon this world without fear of growing a third eye ball.
While Callisto may not have any immediate value outside of being a midway point between the inner solar system and Saturn, establishing an outpost here would enable a future space power to “easily explore” its brother Ganymede.
Although Ganymede’s orbit takes it into the heart of Jupiter’s radiation belts, a properly shielded colony could use Ganymede’s global magnetic field to raise an abundance of crops with the help of bees (instead of relying upon ants who may not need a magnetic field to pollinate our green friends).
Last Stop: The methane moon called Titan
Even if humanity finds a way to harvest the helium-3 locked away within Luna’s crust (not to mention the atmosphere of Uranus), the cost of mining it m
ay put it out of reach for most interplanetary commercial spacecraft.
One way to guarantee that a future space power has the neccessary fuel to maintain its fleet (at least inexpensively) is to establish outposts near Titan’s methane lakes (which may contain an abundance of methane/ethane within them).
What about the other worlds?
Although their are plenty of other interesting worlds ranging from the burning crust of Mercury to the frozen wasteland of Neptune’s moon Triton, these worlds may not attract that much interest in the future (at least as far as we can tell right now).
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Uranus: One Planetary System To Fuel Them All?
Posted by on Nov 26, 2008 in Blog, Energy, Solar Essay, Uranus | 0 comments
Orbiting almost 3 billion kilometers away from the Sun, Uranus is an ice giant that gathers little attention from the creatures that currently rule Earth.
Except for being used as the butt of astronomy jokes, the lopsided wonder gathers little press (if any at all), often being overlooked by both Saturn and Neptune.
Although the blueish-green giant may lack large lunar children like Titan and Triton (not to mention a set of dazzling rings), Uranus may be the key that enables humanity to not only conquer the outer limits of our own solar system, but perhaps enable us to reach the next one as well.
Even though Uranus contains a considerable amount of methane (located in the stratosphere), many scientists suspect that the cold ice giant may contain up to 16 trillion tons within its atmosphere, which may make it a prime target energy corporations (not to mention space faring nations of the future).
Often seen as the future of fusion power, Helium-3 could be the fuel that allows interstellar ships to trek through the dark void in between the star systems.
While scientists suspect an abundance of Helium-3 on the Moon, sifting through millions of tons of lunar regolith may not appeal to many people–especially as one would have to compete with other lunar businesses (like tourism) who may have other uses for the white “soil” beneath their feet.
Since claiming land (or atmosphere) on Uranus would be nearly impossible (unless one is able to set foot on the Uranian core), an orbiting space station would be free to collect the precious element, without the need to haggle neighbors with lawyers (or petition the government to take away property via eminent domain).
Despite its massive size when compared to Earth, Uranus’s gravity is only 89% Earth norm (at least at the top of the atmosphere) which means that humans may be able to create floating space stations within the atmosphere of Uranus, without the fear of being crushed by its gravitational forces.
Although other gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn also have an abundance of helium-3, respectively, their deep gravity wells and strong winds would make mining the resource from the atmospheres incredibly dangerous (if not suicidal).
While Uranus’s heftier brother, Neptune would also be a potential source for helium-3, its violent winds may also dissuade would be helium minors from sending robotic probes beneath its icy blue clouds.
Uranus’s wind speeds on the other hand are a lot more tolerable, which may enable robotic probes (as well as future explorers) to travel beneath its clouds without the fear of being torn apart by Earth sized hurricanes.
Although it may be a century (or two) before we see humanity develop the technology (as well as the political will) to eventually reach this distant ice giant, it may not be surprising to see Uranus become the OPEC of the solar system, providing enough energy to not only keep lights on, but also to propel our species towards the next star system.
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Melting Asteroid Metals With Martian Sunlight
Posted by on Oct 29, 2008 in Asteroids, Blog, Mars, Solar Essay, Video | 2 comments
(Hat Tip: Gizmodo and Dark Roasted Blend)
Whether or not we head to the asteroid belt before Mars, one thing is clear–while we may have the means to land upon and (hopefully) sift the metal from “the rubble” (or useless rocky material), we probably will be unable to inexpensively melt the metals on site.
Even though lasers are always an option, future colonists may not be too thrilled with using extra power to melt down the space metals, as that would only add to the overall cost of shipping the material elsewhere.
While some may be content to pass the cost onto the customer, it may be cheaper (and wiser) to ship the metals to the red planet in order to have the metals melted down via Martian sunlight.
Since Martian sunlight operates at half the strength of Earth’s, the solar furnace would probably have to be slightly altered to achieve the same strength as its bluer big brother.
Although some may suggest that the future asteroid mining industry could simply ship the metals to Earth, it may be wiser to divert the route towards Mars, as the red planet orbits about 100 million kilometers closer (at Aphelion) than Earth.
Martian colonists would also have the advantage of utilizing the crimson worlds two orbiting moons, allowing mining fleets to melt their metals upon either Phobos or Deimos without having to land on the Martian surface (which has a fairly steep gravity well).
Either way, Mars may play a critical role in our quest to colonize the solar system (which may make it a prime spot for future real estate).
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songisover writes:
To the reviewer: Since you commented that the concert was too short a couple of questions: How long was the concert and what songs did they not play? May these songs been sung as hits by Michael Mcdonald. Maybe thats why they didn't sing them. I would have known this myself but I was in Indy at Dave Matthews (a much better concert). Cmon Lex Luther's Mom a retort please
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Cool_Dad3 writes:
in response to TEAPartierOne:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
How does the Iraq invasion of Kuwait have anything to do with the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq? You do realize that they are separate conflicts, don't you?
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Sherlock007 writes:
in response to elkaybee:
This racist screed from Mr. Richards should not have been published. He has a right to speak and write of his inhumane beliefs, but I really wish the C&P had not given him a podium.
Well the C&P has given YOU a podium...what's the difference? Just because people don't agree with progressive socialists they get attacked. This man's letter may have raised your liberal hackles but so what. He and everyone else have their own opinions...the LEFT will never shut up the RIGHT. Liberals are so didn't forget to play the race card.
Basically this man is correct...won't be long and what he stated will be fact.
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0.098656 | <urn:uuid:09e1f3b8-f7ac-46f1-8c69-6dac52dd6f4e> | en | 0.792326 | JavaScript Toolkits & AJAX
Modern web applications often feature specialized effects accomplished by JavaScript code written using client-side toolkits. Writing in JavaScript directly is tedious and error-prone. One significant problem is dealing with browser differences. What client-side toolkits do are: As can be expected, there are quite a few such toolkits, for example: Dojo, Prototype, MochiKit, Google Web Toolkit, AJILE, Echo, jQuery, MooTools, qooxdoo, Rico, Scriptaculous, YUI. The main thing to reiterate about these toolkits is summed up well, perhaps somewhat crudely, in MochiKit Logo, in that these toolkits make JavaScript programming palatable.
AJAX is an acronym for Asynchronous Javascript And Xml. The most important point about AJAX is that it uses JavaScript to make Asynchronous server-side activations without a browser reload. An asynchronous server-side activation proceeds while the browser remains available for normal event handling. Using AJAX allows web applications to behave more like standard graphical user interface applications.
When information is sent back from the server side activation, it is the job of the JavaScript handler to decide what to do with it. Often it is displayed as a whole within an element. There are many circumstances in which it is useful to send back structured information, whose parts can be identified and used. The X in AJAX signifies that XML information can be sent back and that JavaScript can parse the XML components and use this as the structured response. In reality it is much more common and simpler to retrieve and process information in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format. We'll see that later.
JavaScript Debugging
JavaScript used in any setting is difficult to debug. For simplicity, I will stick to the Firefox browser. Modern Firefox browsers have a number of built-in tools available through the Tools → Web Developer menu. There are a number of built-in features and others can be installed via plugins. The oldest tool was the Error Console which could be used to discover errors in JavaScript code.
One common debugging need is to ensure that some portion of code is actually being executed and to print out some information at that point. A technique which would work for any browser, is to insert a statement:
alert( "SOME MESSAGE" )
to ensure that execution, in fact, reaches the point in the code that you think it does. The alert function can print the values of simple scalar variables, but it chokes on complex JavaScript objects. The other issue of alert is that it blocks further execution and must be commented out to proceed further.
The Firebug JavaScript debugger offers an array of features which significantly enhance the debugging capabilities. It also has a Console tab which, once enabled, shows information about the AJAX activations. Furthermore, you can insert logging statements like this into your code:
if (window.console) console.log( ... )
The "if (window.console)" means "if the browser has a console." It is necessary to avoid errors if the browser used does not have a console installed. Console logging has advantages over alert calls because control is not stopped for the console.log calls. Furthermore, the console.log can print the contents of JavaScript objects, something which alert cannot do directly. The FireBug Console can accept and filter a variety of messages sent via either: console.log,, console.debug, console.warn, or console.error. Additionally Firebug provides an HTML tab which displays JavaScript-generated code not visible by viewing the source code.
Installing jQuery
The jQuery home page is:
Running jQuery requires only one JavaScript file. The version used in this document is 1.10.2 and the file used is this (which can be downloaded from the link):
This file is in the minified form, as identified by the presence of the ".min" in the file name. The jquery file is also available in normal form, jquery-1.10.2.js. The minified form, compared to the normal form, has all possible whitespace characters removed from it making it unreadable, but making it download faster. Furthermore, web servers can compress and transmit this minified file in a format which modern browsers can accept. Here is the comparison:
full (v.1.10.2) jQuery file: 266.8 KB
minified (v.1.10.2) jQuery file: 90.9 KB
compressed, minified (v.1.10.2) jQuery file: 32.0 KB
In general, you would make this file available from your site, perhaps in a dedicated script directory named js. Loading the jQuery file requires the script tag like this:
An alternative is to use the file hosted on Google using this:
<script type="text/javascript"
jQuery Plugins
A jQuery plugin is simply a jQuery-based JavaScript file which extends the functionality of jQuery by adding other general features. Often such plugins also require additional support CSS files. Once loaded, the plugin functionality is activated by one or more lines of additional jQuery code statements which activate functions defined in the plugin.
jQuery Preliminaries
The jQuery package has the advantage of being usable without having to modify the HTML and so jQuery JavaScript code can be introduced through script sections and external script files and avoid the insertion of JavaScript code into the element handler attributes (onclick, onsubmit, onchange, etc). For this reason, the jQuery-based JavaScript files can often be loaded just before the end of the body tag, making the script loading concurrent with the browser's application of style rules to the document, and thereby reducing the latency of the web page loading.
JavaScript controls browser features according to the heirarchical Document Object Model (DOM). The top of the DOM window object, representing the entire browser. The subobjects of window are these: JavaScript also uses the special variable this to identify the object itself.
jQuery employs these special JavaScript variables and makes them into jQuery entities using the $(..) wrapper. In particular, the heart of jQuery code uses the structure:
function() {
What is being expressed is that, when the document is ready, call the function to effect certain actions within. JavaScript and client-side toolkits make heavy usage of anonymous functions which do something when an event takes place.
The "$" used is actually the special jQuery object from which everything else is based. This seems odd, but $ is actually a legal identifier character in JavaScript, and thus $ by itself is a legal identifier, along with $x, x$, $x$y, etc. Php, of course, also uses "$", but in a very different way. In general JavaScript variables usually stick to letters, digits and underscores.
When jQuery is loaded, $ is synonymous with the variable jQuery, and so we could just as well use the following, although, as we'll that "$" is used frequently and so is a great notational convenience.
function() {
The jQuery activation region is usually written in this compact code style:
$(document).ready(function() {
It may look a bit too compact, but the crunched syntax "})" actually works well with many JavaScript source code formatters and helps to keep the indentation levels lower. The activation region structure syntax can be further simplified as follows, although I avoid doing so:
$(function() {
JavaScript event attribute names all start with "on":
onready, onclick, onsubmit, onchange, ...
jQuery simply removes the on prefix, and thus we get
which is equivalent in pure JavaScript to:
document.onready = function() { ... }
Typical jQuery code assigns event handlers to elements within the document like this:
$(document).ready(function() {
// code to handle the event on element(s) specified by identifier
In some cases, we can simplify the presentation or reuse the event handler function and write the code using a named function. The function definition can occur after the event handler definition because it is not called at the time it is specified in the event handler. Furthermore, the definition is outside the activation region.
$(document).ready(function() {
function myHandler() {
Identifying elements by CSS-style expressions
To use jQuery in its intended manner without the JavaScript event handler attributes, the HTML code must identify that key elements in the same manner that would be done in order to apply style rules to the elements. The most basic identifying attribute is, of course, the id attribute, but any element or group of elements which can "selected" by a style rule, can be acted upon by jQuery code.
An element's id attribute is commonly used in JavaScript in conjunction with the expression:
var elt = document.getElementById("elt_id");
The jQuery equivalent is the expression:
var jquery_elt = $("#elt_id");
The "#elt_id" is actually a perfect choice for the designator because it exactly matches CSS syntax used to identify the element. jQuery makes CSS-style element identification a theme for its usage. For example, using the expression
we can effect changes to all elements in the document which define:
As you would expect, these expressions identify the elements you would expect:
$("h3") all h3 elements within the document
$(" li") all li elements within an <ol class='foo'>...</ol> block
Handling an onclick event
A very common situation is to activate some JavaScript code when the user clicks a button or hyperlink. The way jQuery expresses this is by the code:
$(document).ready(function() {
$("#clicker_id").click(function() {
The JavaScript onclick event is turned into the jQuery click function. As is done with "onload", the argument passed to the click function is a function which will be executed when the onclick event happens.
In the case of hyperlink clicking and form activation through submit buttons, jQuery usually wants to "take control" and so we must prevent the default behavior. This is done very easily by returning a false value from the function:
$(document).ready(function() {
return false; // prevent default behavior
JavaScript JSON notation
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a JavaScript notational format for expressing structured object literals. The most commonly used format is that of a JSON map:
var obj = { "x": 222, "y": "hello" }
We can eliminate the quotes around the keys in most circumstances, i.e., this is OK:
var obj = { x: 222, y: "hello" }
Key access is available both in array-style as obj['x'] and object-member-style as obj.x for a given key x. JSON notation embraces all things considered object literals, including lists which use the bracket [ ] syntax. Here are some other examples:
var a = [ 12, "hello", 15 ] (an array)
var b = { z: [ 22, 33 ] } (an object with array value)
var c = [ {x: 12, y: "aa"}, {x: 17, y: "bb"} ] (an array of objects)
From which we can use the following expressions:
a[2] (=15), b.z[1] (=33), c[0].x (=12), c[1][y] (="bb")
Beware of using a terminal comma in JSON maps and lists:
{ x: 11, y: 12, } and [ 12, "hello", 15, ]
Acceptance of this terminal comma is, unfortunately, browser-dependent (IE will typically choke on it).
Common jQuery operations
jQuery has functions corresponding to all attribute settings in JavaScript. The advantage is that they are easier to use and more consistent than the Javascript equivalents. For example:
$( ... ).html(...) // corresponds to ".innerHTML"
$( ... ).val(...) // corresponds to ".value"
$( ... ).css(...); // corresponds to ".style" usage
$( ... ).attr(...); // corresponds to access of any attribute
html and val functions
The html and val functions take one or no arguments with this prescription: The "html" function is used for most block elements with start and end tag pairs: paragraph, header, table cell (td, th), span, div, li, etc. The "val" function applies to all form elements including those which use the value attribute (textfield/password fields, checkboxes, radio buttons and selection lists) as well as the content of textareas, even though textarea uses start and end tag pair.
css and attr functions
The css and attr functions are used with one or two arguments. To set, for example, the background-color property of an element to red, we would do this in pure JavaScript:
document.getElementById("my_elt").style.backgroundColor = "red"
The "backgroundColor" JavaScript property name is an adaptation of the equivalent background-color style property. The transformation is necessary to avoid the misinterpretation of "-" as an operator. In contrast, the jQuery equivalent expresses a more direct usage of CSS properties.
$("#my_elt").css("background-color", "red");
We can use a JSON map to provide multiple style property settings within a single css call, e.g.:
background-color: "red",
color: "white",
font-weight: "bold"
The attr function can be used to get/set any element attribute whatsoever. For example, to disable an element, we would use this:
$("#my_elt").attr("disabled", true);
Used with one argument we could read the current attribute value:
var isDisabled = $("#my_elt").attr("disabled");
Other jQuery functions
jQuery has many, many convenience functions which control the behavior of elements in complex ways, many through controlled animation effects. For example, these:
show/hide (make elements appear/disappear)
toggle (alternatively show/hide)
animate (change CSS properties in a timed manner)
fadeIn/fadeOut (make elements appear/disappear through animated fading)
addClass/removeClass (add/remove a class name to an element)
If you are interested, take a look at the possibilities at
Iteration over elements
jQuery provides the each operator which permits iteration over any structure with multiple elements, applying a function to each element. For example, it can be used to iterate over a JSON array:
var some_array = [ "hello", "there", "world" ];
$(some_array).each(function(index,value) {
/* do something with (index,value) of array entry */
This code employs the idea of turning the JavaScript element, some_array into a jQuery object, $(some_array); it is a similar process used in other cases such as the jQuery objects $(document) and $(this). We can also iterate over multiple elements identified through CSS, e.g., given a list of numbers:
<ul id="nums">
we could compute the sum as follows:
var sum = 0;
$("#nums li").each(function(index,value){
sum += parseInt($(value).html());
jQuery AJAX
jQuery relies on the general $.ajax method:
$.ajax( parameter_map )
The entire set of ajax map keys in the jQuery docs, but these are the most common values: The key elements are these:
url: ...,
data: parameter-map,
success: function(data){ /* data is the content generated from url */ }
The $.ajax activation initiates a server-side call to the url, sending parameters by what is specified in the parameter-map. When the server-side activation is complete, the output generated by the url appears as the parameter data in the success function, and we can use this data to change the content of the webpage through JavaScript code.
Convenience functions
The methods $.get (for GET activations) and $.post (for POST activations) are simplifications of the $.ajax method. For example, the call
$.get( url, parameter-map, function(data){ ... } );
is actually this:
"url": url,
"type": "get",
"data": parameter-map,
"success": function(data){ ... }
Both $.get and $.post accept up to 4 parameters:
$.get( URL, parameter-map, success-function, dataType);
Unnecessary arguments can be dropped or replaced by null, for example, if there are no parameter:
$.get( "some-url", function(data){ /* do something */ })
One very common usage is to have the server pass back structured JavaScript information as a JSON object. In order to recognize this retrieved data, we could use this type of call:
$.get(URL,params,function(data){/* data is JavaScript*/}, "json")
Again, jQuery provides a convenience function $.getJSON which automatically generates an equavlent to the previous statement more simply:
function(data) { /* treat data a JavaScript variable */ }
Validation and Form Plugins
Two jQuery plugins of great utility are these:
1. The jQuery Form plugin which provides convience methods for generating AJAX form activations through jQuery. Its home page is found at
2. The jQuery Validation plugin provides a rich methodology for creating client-side form validation. Its home page is In contrast to server-side validation, the form will not be submitted to the server if the field values do not satisfy the validation criteria.
jQuery form plugin
The jQuery form plugin offers several convenience functions for AJAX form submission. This plugin is loaded by one JavaScript file (assuming version 3.36.0):
after the main jQuery file has been loaded. To understand what the form plugin functions provide, let us imagine the submission of a form
<form id="some_form" action="SOME_ACTION" method="SOME_METHOD">
<input name="SOME_NAME" ... />
We could do an AJAX submission of this form as follows:
url: $("#form").attr("action"),
data: $("#form").serialize(), // form's parameters
type: $("#form").attr("method"),
success: function(data) {
/* whatever we want to do after completion */
The jQuery serialize function captures the form's named parameters with their values as a parameter map. As a convenience, the jquery form plugin simplifies this by automatically capturing the url, data and type values from the form. We can replace this call by the following:
$("#form").ajaxSubmit(function(data) {
/* whatever we want to do after completion */
Used in this way, the single parameter is the value of the success function. If we want the return data to be JSON type, then we must rewrite as follows:
success:function(data) {
/* whatever we want to do after completion */
dataType: "json"
A final step is to set up so that the form is submitted this way when it is submitted. We could do so explicitly as follows:
$("#form").submit(function() {
$(this).ajaxSubmit(function(data) {
/* whatever we want to do after completion */
return false; // avoid default submission behavior
However, the form plugin gives a simpler way to do so:
$("#form").ajaxForm(function(data) {
/* whatever we want to do after completion */
Once again, the single function parameter is the success function. The JSON datatype would reflect change similar to above:
success: function(data) {
/* whatever we want to do after completion */
dataType: "json"
jQuery validation plugin
This plugin which is available at provides client-side form validation. It is loaded by one JavaScript file (assuming version 1.11.1):
after the main jQuery file has been loaded. Once loaded, the simplest activation method is via the statement:
The functionality of this plugin is quite complex. These "submission requirement" properties of form fields can be delivered in one of two ways:
1. through class specifications
2. through a map passed into the validate activation call
Validation via class specifications
There are certain class names predefined by the plugin which can be used. The most common is the required class, which, if present, say, in the textfield:
<input name="SOME_NAME" type="text" class="required" ... />
will dissallow form submission until this field holds a non-empty value (when trimmed). This class can also be used for selection elements to force the selection of a choice with non-empty value. Another useful predefined class is email which forces a textfield to hold a syntactically valid email address.
If the field value is considered invalid, form submission is disallowed and a special error message
<label class='error'>THE ERROR MESSAGE</label>
is added adjacent to the field. If so desired, you can control both the content and the positioning of this error label relative to the applicable field.
The plugin permits us to add our own validation classes as "methods". For example, if we add this:
function(value, element) {
return value.match(/^\s*[1-9][0-9]*\s*$/);
"Must be positive integer."
It is to be applied as follows
<input name="SOME_NUMBER" type="text" class="posint" ... />
In this case the value obtained in the field must return true from the boolean specification
requiring that the field value match a certain regular expression. If the validation fails, the last argument fills the associated error label.
validate activation specifications
Other field specifications can be provided to the validate initialization function as follows:
var validate_info = { ... };
For example the element
<input name="foo" type="text" class="required" ... />
must be non-empty when trimmed. What if we want the field length to be at least 4? Instead of creating a new method as above, we can proceed as follows:
var validate_info = {
rules: { foo: { minlength: 4 } }
We use the rules key to make further specifications about individual fields within the form where minlength is a keyword known by the plugin.
Limitations of client-side validation
Using client-side validation does not obviate the necessity for server-side validation. There are three issues
1. Client-side validation is turned off if the browser has JavaScript disabled.
2. Some errors cannot be detected prior to submission. An example is when the form adds a record into the database in which one of the fields must be unique. If there is a conflict, it can only be detected by the server actions.
3. The data can still be submitted explicitly through the form's action URL without explicitly doing so through the form, event if the POST method is required. Thus client-side validation can effectively be bypassed, although doing so would represent an unintended, probably malicious usage.
Despite these limitations, client-side validation is very useful because it can provide a "rich" level of error feedback, often permitting a more primitive server-side error reporting if necessary. In situations where malicious submission is not an issue or can have no serious effects, client-side validation can replace server-side validation.
Validation and Ajax form submission
Without further specification, a validated form will be submitted in the usual way, not as an AJAX form submission. How can we the validation and form plugins, so that a validated form does an AJAX submission? Unfortunately the following code will not work:
$("#some_form").ajaxForm(function(data) {
/* after AJAX call completion */
The reason is that the validate call effectively "takes control" of the form making the ajaxForm call be ignored. To rectify this problem, we need to add a specification to the validate call:
var validate_info = {
submitHandler: function(form) {
$(form).ajaxSubmit(function(data) {
/* after AJAX call completion */
$("#some_form").validate( validate_info );
The submitHandler function in validate is passed the JavaScript form element. We must explicitly make the ajaxSubmit call using the jQuery equivalent, $(form).
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Better mousetraps: How inventors plan to change football
Working in garages or big labs, hundreds have tried to ‘improve’ the game. Few have succeeded.
By Jesse EmspakCorrespondent for The Christian Science Monitor / January 29, 2009
Collision: Carolina Panthers’ Dan Morgan, left, brings down New England Patriots’ Sammy Morris.
Chuck Burton/AP
Football is mostly a game of throwing, running, and tackling – all human feats. Players use strength and strategy to propel the ball across the goal line. What could make it better?
Skip to next paragraph
According to some inventors, plenty. Technology, they say, can make the game faster, more fair, and less dangerous for players. The National Football League (NFL) is slow to adopt certain changes, but these plucky tinkerers push on, driven by a desire to solve problems, a love of the game, and hopes that their designs gain a few more yards each year.
Take the chains that have been used for decades to measure a first down. Super Bowls have been decided by inches, depending on how far the ball was advanced on certain plays. That leaves a lot of room for human error, says Alan Amron, a professional inventor from Woodbury, N.Y. He is the brains behind motorized squirt guns.
Surveyors get very accurate measurements using gyroscopes and laser beams, he says. Why not apply that to football?
The result was an electronic version of the familiar sticks. Instead of just a chain, the sticks are equipped with a gyroscope and laser beam combination that, he says, gives a much more accurate measure of the first-down line.
This isn’t his first shot at improving football. Mr. Amron’s company, First Down Laser Systems, proposed using low-power lasers to project the first-down line on the field back in 2003, allowing players to see the same thing as TV viewers. The NFL rejected the idea, citing cost and safety concerns.
Amron’s sticks will soon go before the NFL competition committee. Even with the support of broadcast commentator and former player Pat Summerall, the new invention isn’t a done deal.
“They’re still discussing instant replay every year,” Amron says. Replay was introduced more than 30 years ago.
Football uses a lot of equipment, so it seems particularly prone to patents. A search reveals hundreds, most of which never made it to the field. For instance, a patent was granted in the early 1970s for special goal posts that would light up when a field goal was scored.
Priya Narasimhan focused on the ball. She’s a rabid Steelers fan and professor of electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. One day, she was watching her team when the referee made a tough call on a pass that she thought was completed beyond the first-down marker.
“Would it be possible to accurately track the ball in flight?” Ms. Narasimhan wondered. “I was thinking, if the ball could talk [it could] say ‘I landed here, then somebody nudged me.’ ”
Even with instant replay, she says, there’s often uncertainty, especially if the ball is concealed in the scrum of players.
A tracking device inside the ball could tell referees and viewers whether it had reached the first-down line when it was caught, eliminating the guesswork.
She and a group of students, one of whom was a running back for Carnegie Mellon’s football team, designed a ball that uses small accelerometers. Devices on the sidelines then track the ball via GPS and gather data on its speed and bearing. The acceleration of the ball in a given direction can show whether a player had fumbled it or not.
Some researchers are trying to increase safety by enhancing helmets to collect data on injuries players suffer. Plastic helmets were introduced in the 1950s, and the basic design has been the same ever since. But now some college trainers are using the Helmet Impact Telemetry (HIT) System to measure the force of a hit to a player’s head. | http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Pioneers/2009/0129/better-mousetraps-how-inventors-plan-to-change-football | dclm-gs1-224790002 | false | true | {
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Upon reading the terms of the Affordable Care Act, I am wondering how much the insurance companies paid President Obama and the Democratic Party to pass this bill.
As I read the information provided, a family with a modest income who could afford to pay for only the Bronze Plan would have a $5000 deductible for both medical and drugs. That is basically no medical insurance for the average family. The premiums collected from that family and the tax payers will be clear profit and the family will have less money available to pay for normal medical costs. Additionally, the plan will pay for only three primary care visits per year at a cost of $6O per visit to the family. The premium for the family will be from $100 to $700 per month. The way I see it, the only winners in this law are the insurance companies.
Hopefully, the medical insurance I now have won’t be so adversely affected by this stupid law that I will lose benefits.
Lindon Sparks
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Famous Joe's
$10 For $20 Worth Of Famous Joe’s Legendary Mexican Food | http://www.desertdispatch.com/articles/family-15129-insurance-medical.html | dclm-gs1-224880002 | false | false | {
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It's time for city to take on a fight for its residents
Oct. 22, 2013
Public Forum:
Despite public outcry from the affected residents, Mayor Steve Ponto and the city council are bending over backward to accommodate the private interest group proposing to develop a "dump" site within a quarry surrounded by developed residential areas on the east side of Brookfield. As proposed, this enterprise would result in a five to seven year stream of loud, dangerous, dirty "dump" trucks driving about residential roads.
As I see it now, we have three factions:
1. An ever-growing number of residents in the area supported by citizens citywide who oppose having an active "dump" in a residential area.
2. City government that does not have the will to fight. It is not about developing a park. It is not about constructing multifamily housing. The issue is allowing the operation of a "dump" site in the middle of a developed residential area for five to seven years, or longer.
3. The special interest wants to operate a "dump" in a residential area for one reason — to maximize their profits.
What could city government do to prevent the development of a "dump" in the middle of an established residential area?
1. Clearly identify the issue. The special interest group wants to develop an active "dump" site in a location where there clearly should not be a "dump."
2. Obtain competent legal counsel willing to fight to support current efforts to stop the development of a "dump" site.
3. Actively lobby the governor and other state officials to rescind Wisconsin statute 85.193, which is supportive to special interests wishing to develop "dump" sites wherever they please, circumvents local government and was not supported by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Fight the statute in court.
4. To the extent allowed by other existing laws, establish weight limits on the affected residential roadways, establish restrictive times of operations in an area zoned residential, conduct random inspections with mandatory cessation of operations until remediation is completed, impose severe fines for "dumping" anything other than what is allowed by statute, initiate strict traffic enforcement with regard to load limits, speed and unsecured loads, etc.
Think about what our elected city officials are doing for the affected residents. Think about what the city could do. Think about which residential neighborhood could be adversely impacted by the next group of profiteers.
Dennis Waller
Suburban News Roundup
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Multiple Sclerosis Webcast
Am I Losing My Mind?
Medically Reviewed by Ed Zimney, M.D.
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Now, I recently had some progression in my MS. Most of our listeners know that I have multiple sclerosis as well, and it involves my taste buds. I stopped tasting salt in my food, and I have to tell you, as a chef, that's not the greatest symptom in the world. But I suppose that's really more of a sensory symptom than it is a cognitive one. So much of what our brain does is to process sensory information. So I guess I'm asking Dr. Fuchs how do you determine what is a true cognitive symptom in MS?
Dr. Fuchs:
You just brought up a really interesting example because this inability to taste salt is sort of an invisible symptom of MS just like a lot of cognitive symptoms are. You're fully aware of it, but anybody looking at you wouldn't guess in a million years that you had trouble tasting salt. And the other thing I would bring up about it is how much that symptom affects you depends on who you are. So, as a chef, this could be something quite devastating. Yet to somebody else, maybe it's not such a big deal. So it really kind of highlights how individually MS impacts people.
So much of what the brain does is process sensory information. The brain's job is to make sense of the world. And so what we look at is is the brain doing that job? Now, if we just take the salt example, your brain still knows what salt is, it could see it, it could touch, it remembers kind of what it tastes like. You know what salt is for, you know how to use it. You even know how to play jokes with it. You could substitute it for sugar in a little container and have somebody have a nasty surprise later. So all of these things your brain can still manipulate the concept of salt even though you can't get that exact input in. So I think what I'm trying to emphasize is that a lot of people focus on what their brain can no longer do, and they forget all the things that the brain is still doing, and it's really quite amazing. But how do I know if something is a true cognitive symptom of MS versus is it a symptom of depression? Again, it kind of depends on the person and what their normal function is and what all the other different parts of the brain are doing. And by looking at that all together, we can start to tease out where the problem is coming from.
Now, I'd like to make our listeners aware of my relatively new blog site here at HealthTalk. In fact, I'll be writing a piece about that loss of taste soon, for posting. If you enjoy these monthly programs, we certainly encourage you to pop in a couple of times a week and see what's new and give us your thoughts as well. We have a place where you can add some comments, and we have a lot of folks who comment to each other there. You can reach the living with MS blog site from the MS home page. Dr. Vartanian, many of our listeners will detect a more serious tone in tonight's program. I usually try to keep our programs light, as many of us with MS kind of live by a code that's if I didn't laugh, I'd cry. But cognitive issues are a little different, and we're trying to respect that tonight. For instance, tell me about the brain's ability or disability to understand something like sarcasm, for instance, if we are experiencing MS issues with cognition?
Dr. Vartanian:
Trevis, it's a great question, I think. We ought to ask questions like that more often because humor and sarcasm, for instance, are things that are pretty central to most of our lives. So sarcasm in particular, I'm not sure that sarcasm as kind of a subset of a kind of humor really has been studied. But certainly humor has been studied in terms of localization, and it fits with what one would expect. So humor sort of broadly or generally seems to be functioning on the right side of the brain in right-handers, and so that would mean the left side of the brain in half of the left-handers and probably predominately in the frontal region, the frontal lobe on the right. And this makes sense because historically we see that there are these unusual changes in personality that have occurred in some other diseases, disease states, in which there are people who have an addiction to telling jokes, or to saying inappropriate things or inappropriate laughter, and those seem to localize within the frontal lobes and predominantly within the right frontal lobe. But this is a big territory. Even when you say the right frontal lobe, we're not talking about something small. And so really it would require a lot of hits, I think, in terms of demyelinating lesions in order to cause a defect in humor or sarcasm.
Now, I have a friend called Kate who only seems to have cognitive symptoms from her MS. She was diagnosed about five years ago. Dr. Fuchs, is this an uncommon type, if you will, of MS?
Dr. Fuchs:
I would say it's sort of unrecognized and, in fact, Kate, maybe like other people I have seen might have gone around for quite a while thinking, "Gosh, what is going on? Am I just going nuts? Am I overly stressed? Why can't I focus at work?" And somebody like this might go to the doctor who might just pat her on the head and say, "Well, honey, I think you're just a little depressed. Here's some medication," which in reality may be part of the problem and could be quite helpful. But it may be years before somebody would get around to doing an MRI or looking into this a little further, and even at that point they may or may not see something conclusive for MS. There are lots of reports of people whose first symptoms of MS were cognitive and, like Kate, probably went unrecognized for quite a while.
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1. Life
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Government Shutdown American injustice
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This weeks United States Federal government shutdown is a disgrace. The financial growth of our mighty nation is being undermined by greedy politicians. These politicians fear losing their creamy business models melting away in a new economy of internet based information. The old price gouging tactics of corrupt medical insurance systems that catered to an exclusive client base leaving millions out in the cold, and a global economy that was abused by the wealthy to evade taxes and payment of fair wages to their employee base, has given way to an unmasked display of injustice.
The Average American that is the oil of the economic wheel has seen that there is in fact a better way. President Obama inherited a giant sloth of debt and disfunction. He has opened new doors to a growing equitable system for the middle class. These middle class working Americans are holding up the country. When Obama entered the Presidency the middle class was being ground down losing their marginal livings to corrupt employers. These corrupt employers have gobbled up independent small businesses and returned mass market junk for market consumption. Who wants to buy this junk? Creating built in obsolescence, hoping to inflate consumer purchasing by providing cheap underserving products. Excessive lights, bells and whistles have created a loud noisy environment that is unhealthy and detrimental to all veins of society. Itunes music all begins to sound the same. The actual beauty of the music is drained away for a mundane list of tunes that are not remarkable.
Our food supply is being destroyed with sugars and fillers added for profit, lacking in real nutrition causing disease and mental illness. Poisons added to increase profit by enabling a longer shelf life are despicable practices that Americans have allowed by their very own purchasing habits. The taste of food has turned to cardboard. Food has been contaminated by toxins from our environment. Food storage systems allow for meats and vegetables to be stored for months before they arrive, posted as fresh food at our markets.
Unhealthy foam braziers, shoddy shoes, disposable clothing have created skin ailments and endangers our lungs. Natural products are so expensive that only a select few can afford the real deal. Cancer has become rampant due to all these mounting attacks on our body's defense mechanisms.
An oil based economy has polluted our world environment and made the average American person a carbon hog. All the while those at the top of the business model get richer and less compassionate. Look at these Congressional leaders, fat cat paychecks that pay even when they shuck their constituent responsibily. While the working family goes unpaid for days, weeks, months? Risking housing, food and lifestyle stability. It seems the fool who follows the rules and does the right thing is being trampled by a few greedy leaches at the top. The unfounded response to the prospect of affordable healthcare for ones family shows that silent majority at work. Obama is right Americans need decent healthcare at affordable rates. Americans also need to be educated in real choices. We are being lead to slaughter by corporate greed. Stop buying toxic products and start demanding healthy alternatives. Like what? Reducing our reliance on oil, in food, fertilizers, clothing, and transportation, selecting whole foods for your bodies, and demanding that if we buy something it isn't going to need replacement in a short time. I cite the Iphone, when dropped as often happens to phones they easily shatter. Why would anyone accept this? Why does everyone want to wear the same ten tee shirts or shoes?
I frequently hear commercial jets squealing, whining and rattling over my house on their way to the airports nearby. Instead of tightening up the bolts they are just left to fall apart due to vibration over time. Railways just ride the ancient infrastructures instead of improving by creating sound mufflers, and state of the art railcars. Busses are still spewing large amounts of toxins as they rush by to meet the stressed time schedules.
The blame seems to fall on the individual for driving a car, or buying these mass produced over processed products. Even when an entrepreneur devises a new product that could revolutionize the consumer it gets squashed by big business. Toxic soaps, cosmetics, and baby formula are a common state of American industry.
Education is threadbare to the point of shame. Our youth don't even know that they are being sold a bad batch of goods. This trend has gotten so immeshed in our society even grandparents find themselves out voted when offering common sense. Generations raised on processed foods, toxic personal products and plug in air freshners. Why clean it when you can sell one more toxic product to the ignorant masses, just spray it away. I wish I could just spray away our disfunctional government. Perhaps some well placed rat traps would eliminate the poison that has crept into our American society. What a disgrace we have become to our future. Our children deserve better than this. When will the family leaders wake up and smell the fruit trees? Our government officials should all be fired so we can start over with an honorable group of true grassroots leaders that know their neighborhood.
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Write for us | http://www.examiner.com/article/government-shutdown-american-injustice?cid=rss | dclm-gs1-225110002 | false | false | {
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0.038121 | <urn:uuid:9a457002-567e-4014-a6be-374acf01a8b7> | en | 0.960566 | Horror Fiction
Horror: it’s not just for illiterate zombies anymore. Discuss your favorite horror authors, books, comics, and more.
Carrion Comfort
So I started the thread on "Drood" awhile back and now I'm currently reading "Carrion Comfort" from Dan Simmons, same author. This was his second novel, and its really good. I'm about 160 pages into it and its a fairly thick book, running at about 750 pages. Its a book about the nature of violence, and explores how anyone can commit truely horrible acts of violence towards others, using the "Holocaust" as the pinnicale of mankind's most violent act.
CardinalIron - 06/10/2011 - 3:41am - 1 comment
Stephen King
Anyone have any favorits? I have so many I think ive seen and read them all. Hes my favorit writer ever..Welcome To Rose Red
Krissy31 - 06/06/2011 - 11:13pm - 4 comments
Horror novels and their movies
Curious what books have you guys read and later saw the movie of. Did you enjoy one over the other? Are there any books/short stories still to be made into a movie you think would make a good one in the right hands? I've read "The Exorcist" and "The Omen". Both good books and good movies. More recent books I've read were "The Ruins" which I liked more then the movie. I've been trying to branch out of Stephen King which I've read a ton of and even he outgrew the horror genre quite some time ago. One writer I've not read a lot of is Clive Barker.
CardinalIron - 05/24/2011 - 2:45pm - 6 comments
Dead of the Night
I recently self-published a horror novel I wrote called "Dead of the Night". It's a new take on an old sub-genre favorite, that sub-genre being zombies. These zombies are sort of a hybrid of zombies and vampires, and I hope I've delivered these ghouls in a way that's fresh and exciting to readers. It's influenced by everyone's favorites from the genre *i.e. Night, Dawn, Dead Alive, Return, etc.*, and, as biased as I may be, I think the characters and story are engaging, and it moves at a quick enough pace to keep you engaged until the end.
traumahound00 - 04/19/2011 - 12:41am - 2 comments
RE: Horror Fiction
Steven King will always be my favorite author, and there are a lot of great writes out there. Who directed In The Mouth Of Madness, and what was the name of the movie that Johnny Depp played in, where he was on the hunt for the pages of a book of the devils power ? There was another movie where he was a writer, he became upcested with the story , started killing people and buring them in the corn field, it was a good movie but I don't know the name of it. With all the technology today, do you think you could go back to enjoying radio tv ?
skilight - 03/26/2011 - 2:52am - 4 comments
horror authors
Anonymous - 03/13/2011 - 9:23pm - 12 comments
Greetings from Necon E-books!
Just a quick shout on behalf of the whole Necon E-books crew:
I want to introduce us to the buried.com web community. We're an E-book publishing company that grew out of the 30-years-strong Necon Convention, founded by our publisher, Bob Booth. Our fearless leader, along with his fearless cohorts, believes, "Necon E-Books is committed to ensuring that the very best titles of the horror genre -- both classics from 'The Golden Age of Horror' and new titles which lack a mass market push -- don't get left behind in the digital revolution."
neconebooks_kelli - 01/29/2011 - 8:38pm - 2 comments
Battle Royale
The book I'm reading right now is a Japenese translated book titled Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. It is about a group of students who are sent to an island to fight until all but one of them is dead. They kill each other, and it is a government run program experiment. It's similiar to the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, if you've read it, although Battle Royale was published first.
Similarly, if you haven't read the Hunger Games, I highly suggest that you get right on it. Both books are full of gore and blood. Amazing reads.
rainbowgirl21 - 01/22/2011 - 4:12pm - 2 comments
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0.088725 | <urn:uuid:f9ba453a-8ef8-47dd-96f1-9c6fa22c1ac2> | en | 0.955697 | WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2006
Evolution, not revolution. That seems to be the maxim of Yuke's. For, as Alan Partridge once said, "We evolve, but we don't... revolve."
So while Smackdown vs Raw 2006 is better than last year's outing, the improvements are more tweaks, prods and licks of paint rather than huge changes to the game's foundations, in the same way as SvR 2005 was largely a spruced up version of the previous year's game.
Whether that's a good or bad thing is kind of up to you.
But first, what is new? There're the additions to the roster, of course.
There's Carlito, the Caribbean native who wanders down to the ring with an afro, an apple and a Hawaiian shirt, which isn't a stereotype in any way.
There's the improbably-muscled Chris Masters. There's Heidenreich, but Heidenreich is rubbish. And there're loads of others though, sadly, the game comes just too early to include the awesome Ken Kennedy. Such is life.
There's a management mode and there are new match types, like Bar Brawl (in which two wrestlers beat each other up in a pub, for no apparent reason, and you can't even get a nice Lambrini) and Buried Alive.
There are also new stories for season mode. And, most importantly, there are several adjustments to how the game actually plays.
The biggest change, and the one that we voiced concerns about back in PSM2 66, is the stamina meter.
Pull off a few power moves - slams, suplexes off the top rope - or just run about a lot without stopping, and you'll suddenly find your big, hard wrestling Adonis collapse to his knees with exhaustion, like Paula Radcliffe busting for a slash.
Then you'll have to retreat to a safe distance and hold down Select for a few seconds until you've recovered.
Now, you can look at this in one of two ways - as a realistic (insofar as WWE and realism go together, in other words, about as much as Bernard Manning and salad) interpretation of competitors getting their breath back, or as an annoying intrusion.
It depends how accurate a recreation of the 'sport' you're after. Us? We'd say that this is meant to be a game not a bleedin' simulation. It's not Madden, it doesn't need to be 100% faithful to the subject. Ho hum.
Other new tweaks are basically simple improvements to what was already a very solid control system. Once your momentum meter is full, you can opt to use your finisher there and then, or store it up for later.
Store it, and it's likely to be less powerful because your wrestler will be a bit more knackered - but so will your opponent so, although it'll be less powerful, it could have more impact.
Escaping submission moves won't always simply involve hammering at buttons like before - sometimes, you'll have to stop a marker on a power bar, in a Tiger Woods style.
Of course, the more exhausted your man - or woman - the more difficult this becomes. And there's a neat section right at the start of every bout, in which you can stare down or test your strength against your opponent by tapping buttons in a Bemani fashion.
So there you have it. It's last year's game, basically, with minor improvements in gameplay, a dodgy stamina system and some astounding presentation.
The character models are ridiculously impressive, especially during each wrestler's opening sequence when they're given the opportunity to flex their muscles and generally show themselves off. The poseurs.
It's excellent, and if you're a wrestling die-hard, you'll want to get it. But if you're not, we can't honestly say that this is different enough to last year's outing - which itself was hardly radically different to the previous year's - to be a must-have.
It's a good, solid beat-'em-up but, to keep us interested, a revolution really is in order next time.
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2006 is out now for PS2 and will be released for PSP on 9 December
'Still the top wrestling game you can buy, but not without its faults.' That's what we said last year, and we don't see any reason to change our minds
More Info
Release date: Nov 14 2005 - PS2
Dec 13 2005 - PSP (US)
Nov 11 2005 - PS2
Dec 16 2005 - PSP (UK)
Available Platforms: PS2, PSP
Genre: Sports
Published by: THQ
Developed by: Yuke's Media Creations
ESRB Rating:
Teen: Blood, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
PEGI Rating:
We Recommend
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0.0607 | <urn:uuid:01acec93-992c-4452-a1c4-aff9e08b9638> | en | 0.946383 | Winter Gardening: Make Your Own Cloches
Make a cloche from a blenderOkay, just because fall's cold weather is here doesn't mean it's time to put away those garden tools. Make your own cloches from these easy-to-find recyclable materials and you'll do your part for sustainable, local gardening!
How to Make Your Own Garden Cloches
Making your own cloches (or bell jars, as some folks call them) is easy. Basically, all you really need to do is make (or find) something that's:
• Big enough to cover whatever it is you're growing
• Easy to put a hole in, or already has a hole (for venting)
• Is sturdy enough to survive winter cold and water
Don't Toss It! Recycle It to Make Your Own Cloches
These DIY cloches are easy (and cheap!) to make, plus they reduce your carbon footprint by recycling materials that might otherwise end up in landfills.
Make a cloche from a light fixtureMake Your Own Cloches from Old Light Fixtures
• If you're hoping for something a little prettier than plastic milk jugs in your winter garden, DIY and make your own cloches from old ceiling fixtures. It may sound strange, but those old-timey glass ceiling fixtures (the round ones, with screws on the bottom), make pretty cloches that you don't have to do anything to. Just take off the screws and put the fixtures on the ground over your low-growing crops. That's it: you're ready to go. Plus, they're not too hard to find at flea markets, rummage sales and on Craigslist.
Make your own cloches from milk jugsMake Your Own Cloches from Milk Jugs and Soda Bottles
• They may not be all that pretty, but DIY cloches made from milk jugs and soda bottles are super handy and easy to make. The plastic is malleable enough that you can cut it to spec, each already has a hole (with a cap!) that makes controlling the air temperature easier, and each has a handle (so they're easy to move and use). If you're all about keeping your winter garden productive so that you can grow your own food all winter long, make your own cloches from milk jugs and soda bottles — you can't go wrong.
Make a cloche from a blenderUse an Old Blender to Make Your Own Cloche
• Just because your blender (or your grandmother's, depending on how nitty-gritty thrifty you are) doesn't frappe the way it did back in the day doesn't mean that you can't still use it. Just like making your own cloches from milk jugs, making a bell jar from a blender is basically as easy as taking off the bottom and flipping it over. It's glass so it'll last forever, it has that handy handle, and it's one less thing in a landfill. Bonus points: If it actually still works, there's no reason it can't do double duty and be your smoothie maker in the summer.
How do you make your own cloches? What else do you recycle in your garden?
(Images graciously provided by scottsnyde, 4score and Gizmo1408. Thank you!)
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0.452934 | <urn:uuid:592f0f80-8507-494c-94f5-b267885fce62> | en | 0.966365 | Offer for New GenealogyBank Subscribers
21 June 2010
Write down your thought process
Do not always assume you will remember why you reached a certain conclusion. In analyzing an 1870 census entry for an upcoming issue of Casefile Clues, I made some preliminary conclusions about the oldest female in the household. In reviewing the material later, it took me another ten minutes to "re-reach" those conclusions. It would have been easier if I had taken the time to write down my thought the first time. | http://www.genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com/2010/06/write-down-your-thought-process.html | dclm-gs1-225340002 | false | false | {
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0.114895 | <urn:uuid:bef1bc8f-2a50-46e8-9345-ae6b90f72d24> | en | 0.930993 |
Quotes from authors passed in 1690
Since we have placed justification in the revelation of Jesus Christ formed and brought forth in the heart, there working his works of righteousness and bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit.
Robert Barclay
Robert Barclay
So the question is, First, Whether the civil magistrate hath power to force men in things religious to do contrary to their conscience, and if they will not to punish them in their goods, liberties, or lives? this we hold in the negative.
Robert Barclay
Authors that died in 1690
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0.472347 | <urn:uuid:6863edaa-907c-4339-8e79-234a818af928> | en | 0.966215 | Reply to a comment
Reply to this comment
indep_in_tx writes:
"I think you missed my point. What I'm saying is that under our constitutional system of laws, your RELIGIOUS beliefs, or anyone else's, are of no importance. It doesn't matter what you believe God wants. Our laws are based on our Constitution -- not on some translation of the Christian Bible -- and our Constitution guarantees equal treatment for all under the law."
Where does it say that? I'm sure it exists if you say it, I'm just hoping you can point to where it says that explicitly (or close enough).
I know that all men were CREATED equal - and that you have the right to pursue happiness. Nothing guarantees catching it. Nothing says getting married is protected by any law that I know of - except the ones now being created.
In fact, the same people that made that great founding document also owned slaves... so all men were created equal must have meant only white guys? I don't know.
That all said... I do agree with the majority here that we are not (nor should America ever be) a theocracy. If the majority do believe in the same thing the Christians do - regardless of reason - then that should be put forth.
But as you pointed out, your belief about this stuff shouldn't institute laws either. Let the majority speak since we have some unprovable things regarding this issue, too.
And equal treatment under the law you say? I disagree. One example is that we aren't all taxed as equals, are we? There's plenty of evidence that we don't get equal treatment under law, because it doesn't exist in the Constitution, maybe?
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0.046122 | <urn:uuid:5e65a019-28b7-4c40-912b-aae8d73a425a> | en | 0.964927 | Make us your homepage | Subscriptions
The Northern Valley's most up-to-date site.
Published March 27, 2012, 09:34 PM
Conservative justices question health care law
The fate of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul was cast into deeper jeopardy Tuesday as the Supreme Court's conservative justices sharply and repeatedly questioned its core requirement that virtually every American carry insurance. The court will now take up whether any remnant of the historic law can survive if that linchpin fails.
By: Mark Sherman, Associated Press
The justices' questions in Tuesday's hearing carried deeply serious implications but were sometimes flavored with fanciful suggestions. If the government can force people to buy health insurance, justices wanted to know, can it require people to buy burial insurance? Cellphones? Broccoli?
The law, pushed to passage by Obama and congressional Democrats two years ago, would affect nearly all Americans and extend insurance coverage to 30 million people who now lack it. Republicans are strongly opposed, including the presidential contenders now campaigning for the chance to challenge Obama in November.
Audio for Tuesday's court argument can be found at:
He and Chief Justice John Roberts emerged as the apparent pivotal votes in the court's decision. The ruling is due in June in the midst of a presidential election campaign that has focused in part on the new law.
Though many of the justices asked tough questions and made strong statements, past cases have shown that those don't necessarily translate into votes when it comes time for a decision.
Wednesday's final arguments — the third day in the unusually long series of hearings — will focus on whether the rest of the law can remain even if the insurance mandate is struck down and, separately, on the constitutionality of another provision expanding the federal-state Medicaid program.
The insurance requirement is intended to complement two unchallenged provisions of the law that require insurers to cover people regardless of existing medical conditions and limit how much they can charge in premiums based on a person's age or health.
The law envisions that insurers will be able to accommodate older and sicker people without facing financial ruin because the insurance requirement will provide insurance companies with more premiums from healthy people to cover the increased costs of care.
"If the government can do this, what else can it not do?" Justice Antonin Scalia asked. He and Justice Samuel Alito appeared likely to join with Justice Clarence Thomas, the only justice to ask no questions, to vote to strike down the key provision of the overhaul. The four Democratic appointees seemed ready to vote to uphold it.
Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. sought to assure the court that the insurance mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that Obama signed into law in 2009 is a key part of the law's goal of reaching many of the more than 40 million people who don't have health insurance through their employers, don't qualify for government aid and cannot afford to buy coverage on their own.
Paul Clement, who is representing Florida and 25 other states in challenging the law, called the mandate "an unprecedented effort by Congress."
Clement, a predecessor of Verrilli's as solicitor general, said the requirement would force people, especially those who are young and healthy, to buy a product they don't want.
Michael Carvin, representing the National Federation of Independent Business in opposing the law, also pushed hard on the notion of individual freedom. When Justice Stephen Breyer asked if the federal government could not order vaccinations "if there was some terrible epidemic sweeping the United States," Carvin said no. Congress lacks the power to do so, he said.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she found the debate over health care similar to an earlier era's argument about the Social Security retirement system. How could Congress be able to compel younger workers to contribute to Social Security but be limited in its ability to address health care? she wondered.
"There's something very odd about that, that the government can take over the whole thing and we all say, oh, yes, that's fine, but if the government wants to preserve private insurers, it can't do that," she said.
Demonstrators returned Tuesday to the sidewalk outside the Supreme Court, with more than 100 supporters of the law circling and chanting, "I love Obamacare." They carried signs reading slogans such as "A healthy America is a productive America" and "Protect the law."
Supporters, two of them wearing Statue of Liberty costumes, marched to music played over a loudspeaker. A trumpet player played "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "This Little Light of Mine," and supporters changed the lyrics to ones supporting the health care law.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. | http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/233130/ | dclm-gs1-225400002 | false | false | {
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0.029468 | <urn:uuid:04b5bc9c-55fc-4e56-888c-01fab999288e> | en | 0.975254 | So…. the weekend was kind of awesome.
In the first place - I had my date… and it went very well. She's super nice - and we had a great time. (Can I just say how *awesome* it is to use 'she' instead of 'they'…..). (We also went for a long walk on the PDX waterfront Saturday night and then out for dinner again ..... so those are all good signs).
Back to Friday night: So we had a great date and then I went out and went dancing with my usual group of friends . I cannot *tell you* how awesome it is to walk into a club and see a great group of girls (all totally hot, btw….) throw up their arms and welcome you with hugs….. it wasn't just six months ago that I would walk into that *same* club and get a water and sit on the wall, by myself.
At this point, the bouncers at all three of local hang-outs know me by name (mind you, I *do* bring them VooDoo donuts, and they tend to like that.... :), and even though I don't drink most of the bar tenders know me because I always leave $5 on the bar even though I only get water and it's free. (After working for years as a waitress, you just don't know how much ONE great tip can make your night and put you in a better mood.... so I try, when I can, to tip well.)
The months when I first came out seem sooooo long ago now. The third friend I came out to was Chloe - and, thankfully she accepted me immediately…. I have the best friends ever - right? Totally…… Anyhow, we were talking about how 'catty' some of our current (straight) female friends could be. How drama starts up and girls… in general - can be kind of nasty to one another and she asked me if I was worried about possibly finding that within the lesbian community.
I mean - it's a fair question, right? Nothing but girls - everywhere you go. AND - girls who were competing to *date* one another…. surely that has be to a lot of back biting and hair pulling right? (well,… there *is* hair pulling - but it's usually super hot when it happens. lol) I have to admit, I was pretty worried about that. I'm the first one to agree that large groups of women can be…. intimidating - and the idea of trying to break into an entirely new community of them was kind of frightening.
I mean, let's face it… I'm not your 'typical lesbian' (though, I must say, I have *yet* to meet anyone 'typical' within my wonderful community) - I mean, I didn't come out until 37 - *after* two marriages to men. I have two kids, whom I conceived 'traditionally' and carried. Oh… and then there's this whole funny sign/internet sensation/HuffPost whipping post/Book/Blog thing….. so, whatever I am - it's NOT AT ALL 'typical'.
May be they would reject me?
May be they would find me …. too odd, too weird… too 'public' to be one of them.
May be they would laugh at me and keep me out of their 'inner circle'…..?
However, that's not what happened. Not. At. All.
One of the things I found on Google was a meet up group for lesbians. I went to the first event I could get to and I met this girl….. Mia. She's this crazy fun girl who's always kayaking or hiking or going on this crazy long 30 miles bike rides…. she LOVES life - and posts about a zillion pictures on facebook a day - all with her great smile and a bevy of friends…. and I was lucky to find myself counted as one.
Our connection was almost immediate, and she asked me for my number and invited me to the next outing… shortly after, I found myself on the short list of people she invited to everything. Through her I met Torri, who is *the* ultimate Sporty Dyke… she plays football (the *real* kind with pads and sh*t) and softball (what lesbian besides me doesn't…..?) and is totally adorable…. she's always posting pictures on facebook that make me swoon…. and then one crazy night at Gay Skate, we met the fourth person in our group: Bella.
It really was like add water: instant friends.
It was instant and suddenly these three wonderful, great and diverse women filled the giant gaping whole in my life and in my heart. In the end, I had only spent about.... two weeks "alone" before I started making genuine friends.
Two weeks.
When I had The Boy, it was SIX MONTHS before I made another solid 'Mommy friend' who also had a 6 month old. I don't know why.... but it just did. You have to join MOMS Clubs and MOPS groups and stuff to try and find other Moms to make friends with...
Being a lesbian.... all I really had to do was walk into a room of other lesbians and introduce myself. That just blows my mind.... it really does.
If there was *any* sign I was hoping for from God that I was doing the right thing…. I had found it with these three girls very quickly. He brought me three diverse, wonderful, fun-loving lesbians who took me in, became my friends and accepted me. All of me.
Kind of freakin' awesome.
Shortly after that Keller was added to my life, followed by Keebler (both of whom the children *adore*) and Macks and several others...... it's like everywhere I went: there was a new friend to make. I really *cannot* express to you how much I love the LGBTQ community in Portland.... it's *amazing* and I'm thrilled every day to go out and be apart of it.
But the children...... yes - let's talk about the children. lol
The Boy had a loose idea of what being 'gay' meant... but just like we've never discussed male/female sexual or romantic relationships, we've also never discussed homosexual ones. He understands that you can have two Moms or two Dads or a Mom and a Dad.... or - in our future case: a Mom, a Mom, a Dad and a Mom. hahaha (or at least I freakin' hope so.....)
However, trying to explain to The Boy and The Girl that they are going to meet people who might look like girls are boys, but are actually not girls or boys.... which made me realize that without even trying: I had taught them gender roles. Roles I now have to un-teach them.
For one, it's important that they understand how a person chooses to dress has *very* little to do with what kind of person they are. More importantly, the gender a person is born into *might* not be the gender that they identify with: and that's okay, too.
For instance, Brandon Teena was female-male transgender. Individuals who identify as transgender sometimes take hormones and have surgeries to bring their bodies to a physical place where their heart and mind are, and sometimes they do not. Being out in my community, I have met some fantastic people who identify as transgender and knowing the inner struggle they have faced, and the social/outer struggles they continue to face - it's become a serious focus for me as a parent to educate the children properly about gender identity- and that it's much more flexible that what they might think.
Recently, a blog reader emailed me and asked what the "q" meant in LGBTQ. I can answer this question, however, please understand that 'labels' are something most people don't enjoy having, so while I'm trying to explain things I will be 'labeling' but *not* all labels apply to everyone, nor do they want them too.
It's become commonplace in the community that the 'Q' stands for QUEER.
Queer being the label for people who don't feel that fit into the current definitions within the LGBT community - but also... the 'q' can stand for people who identity as 'gay' or 'lesbian' but will date a person who identifies as transgender.
I have met several people who identify as transgender males (this means a person born a female who identify's their gender as male - again, some have surgery or take hormones and some don't) - and they are totally gorgeous and wonderful people..... if you need another example: Chaz Bono or Daniella Shae.
(This is different from a Butch lesbian, just for the record).
Sadly, hate crimes are *most* prominent and ugly against members of the transgender community. Which is heartbreaking.... but it happens out of fear and people not fully understanding what being transgender means.
For me, it means that I have to do a better job raising children who are *aware* of the human spirit and recognize that in other people - that they look for kindness in deeds and words and not at what 'gender' a person is.
For instance - if a woman loses her breasts to cancer does that make her "less" a woman: of course not.
By that same token.... have a penis doesn't make you a man. (Trust me on that one... bwahahaha)
But in all seriousness, gender is something we are born with - what really matters is how we see ourselves and what matters EVER MORE is that the world support us and embrace us for who we *want* to be.
I was lucky..... I walked straight into having three of the best friends any one lesbian could ever have.... and I plan to practice that level of acceptance with my entire LGBTQ community - and teach that to my children as well.
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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0.03283 | <urn:uuid:7fbe6540-c267-4eb3-9e12-e1ddc7b956a2> | en | 0.928921 | [Documents menu] Documents menu
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 23:06:01 -0600 (CST)
From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.)
y Subject: Can: Sun editorial on Nisga'a trick-or-treaty
Article: 48994
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Message-ID: <bulk.8432.19981202121620@chumbly.math.missouri.edu>
Nisga'a treaty isn't a settlement blueprint
Editorial, The Vancouver Sun, 30 November 1998
The debate over the Nisga'a treaty has already succeeded in one respect. It's added a new cuss word to local language: template. The fear is that if passed, the treaty will be a blueprint for more than 50 treaties still to be negotiated or, worse, that each succeeding band to settle a claim will use it as a base to build on. The word has picked up such a negative semantic charge since Premier Glen Clark first used it last spring that treaty opponents use it the way a revival preacher invokes visions of the pit. Mr. Clark has spent months backing away from the word, saying he meant it could be a rough outline for other treaties to follow.
Ironically, few people -- even proponents -- want it to be a template. Saul Terry, president of the B.C. Union of Indian Chiefs, wrote an open letter titled Why The Nisga'a Agreement Must Not Be A Blueprint. He rejects not just this treaty but any like it.
The federal government (which would pay the majority of cash in the $490-million treaty) rejects it as a pattern, although chief federal negotiator Tom Molloy allows it could be the roughest of outlines. His provincial counterpart Jack Ebbels suggests some aspects might be "transportable". Among those is the "certainty" clause that, if the treaty is passed, would make this a full, final settlement of Nisga'a aboriginal rights. The Nisga'a would release Canada from "all claims, demands, actions or proceedings of whatever kind" in the past, present and future. After years of wearying discussion, that clause replaces the previous phrase, "cede, release and surrender," which the Nisga'a and other First Nations found repugnant.
Some resource companies question whether this new clause is certain enough and it remains to be seen whether it would pass a court challenge. Legal and constitutional expert Mel Smith -- an opponent of the treaty -- believes the clause would pass the legal test, but cautions that when a court first encounters new language invariably it assumes it must mean something other than what the old language did.
Federal and provincial officials have also suggested that some other sections such as the dispute resolution process and many legal definitions for such things as land title and fee-simple ownership will be copied.
While proponents of the treaty might reject the notion that the Nisga'a agreement is a model, if approved it would undoubtedly set the basic negotiating points even if the specifics are mutable. The Supreme Court of Canada's 1996 decision on Van der Peet noted that aboriginal rights are not general and universal and are unique to each community, while the federal and provincial governments have made it clear that the "hard aspects" -- money and land -- will vary widely from case to case.
The Nass Valley, home to the Nisga'a, is an isolated and largely undeveloped area of northern B.C. The Musqueam territory and other bands' traditional territories are now in cities. There are, however, some constants that we believe should form a part in future settlements including the removal of the constraints of the Indian Act, which will allow Indians for the first time to own land, develop land and resources, get a mortgage and pay taxes.
But there are other areas where using the treaty as a guide are of concern. Will it be a starting point for future settlements? Premier Clark is adamant that, if anything, it represents the ceiling, not the floor, in terms of total compensation. But will First Nations regard it that way?
The Nisga'a treaty, for the first time, would provide for provincial law to apply on Indian land with regard to fish and wildlife conservation. But wildlife would be co-managed; if that is repeated in other treaties the number of mini-jurisdictions seems likely to create an administrative tangle.
On the issue of self-government, how would the kinds of rights given to the Nisga'a be applied in urban areas like Vancouver or the North Shore where there are already schools, government, police and courts?
The Nisga'a treaty began its slow journey a quarter-century ago and was negotiated outside the current treaty process. What effect it may have on that process is unclear, although when the agreement in principle was signed in 1996 the first commissioner of the B.C. Treaty Commission, Chuck Connaghan, called it "a significant milestone [that] could be the pattern for future treaties in B.C."
If the treaty is approved, it must not be a template. Rather it should only be a roadmap with some shortcuts drawn in.
One of a series of editorials on the Nisga'a treaty.
Letters to the Vancouver Sun - mailto:sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca
We are being asked to use our power of consent to deny to our future generations the benefits of Title from their homelands. The traditional leadership, along with ordinary Indigenous People, have been usurped by neo-colonial leaderships that are working with the settler governments to bring this aberration of settlement to a final conclusion."
-- Saul Terry, in "Why The Nisga'a Agreement Must Not Be A Blueprint," http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Clark/aug98nis.html
S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org
For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S. | http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/44/062.html | dclm-gs1-225450002 | false | false | {
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0.279581 | <urn:uuid:8cb1f442-cf51-4cd0-8174-a67be66f46dd> | en | 0.97454 | How to Pick a Drum Set
Learn how to pick a drum set from drum teacher Jason Gianni in this Howcast drum video.
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Want to be a drummer? Learn how to play the drums with the beginner drum lessons in this Howcast video series.
When choosing a drum set it's probably most helpful to figure out a budget ahead of time. That way a sales person can help you take the merchandise and sort of fit it into your budget. It's helpful to do some research on the brand names for drums ahead of time. There are names such as Tama, Pearl, DW, Yamaha, and Mapex. There is a variety of brands out there in most music stores. Most brands have what's called an entry line drum set, which means basically the first line of drums or the beginner line of drums from a major company. The drum set I'm playing right now is a Star Classic from Tama which is the highest level of drums that Tama makes. So, it's helpful to figure out some of the levels from each drum set company so that you know where you want to enter into your budget. Drums, in general, are priced on the material that they're made out of such as the type of wood that goes into it. These drums are made out of maple which is one of the highest level woods you can get. There is birch. There is mahogany. And there's also the level of plies that go into each drum. Plies are the layers of wood that make up each drum. The lesser the plies sometimes the less expensive, and the more the plies most of the time is the more expensive. Also, the type of metal and design that they use has a lot to do with the type of drums or the level and the price of the drums. When you're choosing a drum set or buying a drum set it also helps to take a look into what they include. Do they include all five drums? Do they include four drums? Do they include the cymbals? Some of the lower line kits you're going to buy are not going to include the cymbals. It's just going to be the package they call the shell package which is just the drums themselves. This right here is called a five piece drum set, five drums, one, two, three, four, five. They have two cymbals included and a pair of hi-hats which we'll talk about a little later. This is sort of your standard drum set that you're going to find in a store. They have two package deals usually a larger drum set of a 22 inch drum mixed with some larger toms of 12, 13, and 16. These happen to be actually a 10, 12, 14, and a 14 inch snare. You have different configurations. So, a lot of times it's the configuration, it's the material, it's the make of the wood, and that will determine how much you're going to spend.
• Jason Gianni
Jason Gianni is a full-time faculty member at Drummers Collective in New York City. He co-authored The Drummer’s Bible with Mick Berry, which is a guide to mastering various drumming styles, and he has recorded television and radio commercials for Toyota, Discover, McDonald’s, Showtime, the Oakland Athletics, Sprint and many others. Gianni played on the soundtrack to the hit Disney Channel show Hannah Montana and on the opening theme for the popular Nickelodeon children’s cartoon Spongebob Squarepants. Gianni currently works with Days Before Tomorrow, a melodic progressive rock band, and with members of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in a project entitled Daredevil Squadron. | http://www.howcast.com/videos/500402-How-to-Pick-a-Drum-Set-Drumming | dclm-gs1-225550002 | false | false | {
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0.099428 | <urn:uuid:f8212e4e-825a-46cf-aeb5-257a4d5af6ec> | en | 0.98099 | London Stories and Tips
London Bucket Introduction
Trafalgar Square, London Photo, London, England
London is my favourite city, so far. I can't imagine ever not loving it no matter how many other cities I get to visit during my lifetime. It all stems from an early love of the history of the U.K., London in particular. The pomp, the royalty, the events, all going back more than two millenia, I find it all fascinating. Modern London is very diverse, with many, many different things to see and do. When people say there's something there for pretty much everyone, they aren't lying.
This journal is going to be a central "bucket" for a round up and summary of my experiences in London. There will be general tips, summaries of what's in a few different areas that people don't think of as the top things to do in London, and some off the beaten track and lesser known things to do, mainly galleries and museums for the most part.
I'll include some of my reviews that were originally attached to other journals but won't to put every one of them here. There are also places and things I haven't seen/done yet but really would like to some day or places that have been recommended by friends in London. Those are described mainly from information gathered from websites or word of mouth. Since I am mainly a budget traveler, there are also descriptions of my experiences and thoughts on how to do London for less.
I've been to London nearly a dozen times to date and there is still a list of things I haven't managed to see/do and there's a second list of things that I have seen/done that I want to do again! In some cases, the initial visit was quite some time ago so an update is required. In other cases, I just enjoyed it so much, I want to do/see it again (or something similar). Most of my visits were only two to three days with two other visits lasting a week each.
My first visit was in 1993 as part of a tour of the U.K. and the next visit was in 1996, a few days spent here before a tour of Italy. Since 2000, I've managed to stay in London at least overnight nearly every year. (two airport hotel-only stays don't count.) I don't consider myself an expert on London by any means but I'm familiar enough with it to know the lay of the land and am able to answer questions when friends or co-workers are heading there. I've got a number of friends that live there, as well, so I always have someone to contact for answers to my own questions.
Been to this destination?
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0.180773 | <urn:uuid:5bfac68f-7b5e-46b7-aad6-effe11d77eac> | en | 0.944389 | Subscribe via RSS Feed
From How to Why
[ 0 ] November 26, 2012 |
Think of the HOW as the TACTICAL work. The tasks, the to-do’s, the get-it-done’s. Now think of the WHY as the STRATEGIC piece: the reason for every action taken and not taken.
Both the HOW and the WHY have value. For a company to thrive, there needs to be people delivering on both levels simultaneously. The question is, are you ready to contribute at a more senior level and continue to progress in your career? If so, keeping reading.
Look around you. Do you see a mess? Clean it up. But do it strategically. Here’s a true scenario:
HOW: Systematize a closet of samples so users can find a sample when they need it.
WHY: A systematized closet will allow management to know where every sample is at any moment, track usage and forecast our needs, potentially reducing sample orders and saving the company millions of dollars year after year.
The small financial investment to design a system for sample management saved the company millions of dollars and shifted the tone across the company. It brought people together to share their materials and information and the organization ran more efficiently as a result.
The closet scenario didn’t start with the intention to change the tone of the company. It was simply a mess and needed to be cleaned up. But the deeper the thinking went, the more strategic the solution became. Letting go of the HOW led to embracing the WHY. Why are people fighting over samples? Why don’t we ever have enough of the right samples? Why do we spend so much money on samples? Why is there another pile of samples blocking the stairwell!
Now let’s look at another example of thinking beyond the immediate.
HOW: Redo the project tracking Excel spreadsheet that was too big and kept crashing.
WHY: Create a reliable and scalable tool for tracking projects as well as related data to better understand and forecast the productivity and utilization within the department.
The crashing spreadsheet led to a true project management database that ensured consistent data was gathered and which enabled leadership to analyze and forecast intelligently. This allowed the Creative team to streamline project workflow, reduce cycle time and present compelling justifications for increased staff, even in times of economic hardship. It also led to a shift across the company, raising expectations of all leadership to deliver to this level of professionalism.
The WHY is never in a whiny voice. Sometimes it’s a frustrated voice. Mostly, it’s a curious and compassionate voice asking insightful questions to learn why you are doing something, why they are doing something and in what way the company will benefit.
The more time you spend on the WHY, the less time it takes to deliver the HOW. Try it at home, at the office, at the playground and let us know what you think.
For information about how Cella can add value to your business through consulting, coaching, and training, please email This article was written by Cella Consultant Rena DeLevie.
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0.872815 | <urn:uuid:8dc9ffb1-c20f-4727-9af6-0bb690c99f12> | en | 0.968966 | Reply to a comment
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waiting1 writes:
in response to whorukiddin:
This man also worked for the city. Why didn't AIM get those records? Biased reporting? You bet.
Re-read.They did get his records from the city, nothing of note.
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0.048919 | <urn:uuid:47c9687e-265a-4657-9047-3e047ec90b65> | en | 0.941457 | Fully Amortizing Payment
Dictionary Says
Definition of 'Fully Amortizing Payment'
A periodic loan payment, part of which is principal and part of which is interest, where if the borrower makes payment according to the loan's amortization schedule, the loan will be paid-off by the end of its set term. If the loan is a fixed-rate loan, each fully amortizing payment will be equal an amount. If the loan is an adjustable-rate loan, the fully amortizing payment may change as the interest rate on the loan changes.
Investopedia Says
Investopedia explains 'Fully Amortizing Payment'
These payments are often associated with payment option ARMs which offer the borrower four different monthly payment options: a 30-year fully amortizing payment, a 15-year fully amortizing payment, an interest-only payment, and a minimum payment.
On any loan product which allows the borrower to make payments which are less than the fully amortizing payment early in the life of the loan, subsequent fully amortizing payments later in the life of the loan will be equivalently increased to make the loan pay-off by the end of its originally scheduled term.
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0.020645 | <urn:uuid:55ac33b3-c9b8-43e3-a17b-de3a071c789e> | en | 0.965736 | Manhattan Diary
The Republican Party's presidential candidates are a sick joke
Posted on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 08:20 AM
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Herman Cain
The GOP 2012 campaign is a national tragedy masquerading as a trivial farce.
Like a lot of people, for a while there I was faintly amused by its theatrics until the never-ending series of political gaffes began to make me angry.
Week after week we've had to endure these millionaire phony populists, whose bank balances dwarf the average American's, striving to outdo each other with their fake folksy charm.
These people are not folks, or at least not the folks that live on your streets, unless you’re reading this in a gated community in Aspen or some such place.
That’s why their naked appeals to the basest prejudices of the white working class rankle me so much. In every other avenue of their lives, they will never encounter us after our votes are cast.
And with that aw shucks presentation style they have cheerily prescribed the vile torture tactics of the Khmer Rouge, they have supported the continued persecution and isolation of disfavored minorities like immigrants and gays, and they have passionately defended the absurdly rich from paying their share to participate in our democracy.
If the stakes weren't so high it might be funny. If so many people weren’t out of a job and facing the current job market we might even smile.
But these supremely unqualified candidates are running for the highest office in the land and most of them, it’s already become clear, would struggle to run a McDonald’s.
More news on US politics from IrishCentral
Guinness world leprechaun record is broken in Dublin
This week’s most delusional player is Herman Cain. Already the subject of sexual harassment complaints by no less than four women (one of them a Tea Party supporting conservative), this week Cain floundered when asked to give his response to President Obama's foreign policy.
“OK, Libya,” Cain said, rolling his eyes and taking a very long moment to gather his thoughts after being asked if he agreed or disagreed with Obama's response to the uprising there.
Said Cain, “President Obama supported the uprising. Correct? President Obama called for the removal of Gaddafi. Just want to make sure we’re talking about the same thing before I say, ‘yes I agree’ or ‘no I didn’t agree,’” he said.
“I do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reason‚ no that’s a different one,” the now completely out of his depth Republican contender said, adding he’s “got all this stuff twirling around in my head.”
He pronounced head as heed. Apparently twirling around in his head was a mature response to the question he was being asked.
But it never emerged. Instead he sounded like an embarrassing mash-up of opportunistic far right talking points and Foghorn Leghorn.
Call it George W. Bush’s true legacy. After his desperate example, nowadays literally anyone can imagine themselves qualified to become president of the United States, even a pizza parlor CEO.
Watching this lineup of candidates last weekend, I was struck by their inability to offer even one new idea to strengthen America’s foreign policy or develop stronger economic or political ties with our allies and our adversaries.
Of all the candidates onstage, only Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich had the gravitas and experience to actually form semi-intelligible answers to the questions they were being asked.
Huntsman in particular likes to wander off the right wing jingoism reservation, to offer serious and considered responses, but in doing so he is forfeiting his chances of ever becoming the GOP nominee.
Romney offered no new vision for America’s foreign policy, but nor did he offer insane observations such as Michele Bachmann’s contention that President Obama has abandoned Israel to pursue his interest in Occupy Wall Street.
Romney is almost certainly the 2012 candidate, but conservatives mistrust his weather vane performance which comes, after all, from a life spent adapting to market forces rather than political ones.
Gingrich has endorsed torture as an effective tool in the U.S. arsenal (studies have shown that it is not, however) and is completely unelectable -- let’s not forget he was dumped by his own party and is unlikely to become its standard bearer ever again.
More news on US politics from IrishCentral
Guinness world leprechaun record is broken in Dublin
But this is the moment to reflect that the United States of America has been a beacon of liberty and hope for all nations for longer than any of us have been alive.
True, the fabric of the American Dream is looking threadbare in this new age of crony capitalism and plutocrats on the rise, but hope and history have shown themselves to be thorns in the side of the few who exploit the many for their own gain.
It seems it has become a time for the many to insist the gilded few pay their share -- bailouts should cut both ways, after all.
One thing is certain. The challenges facing the country will not be met by unqualified and unserious candidates who, each time they hog the limelight, show themselves completely unfit for office or the tenor of the times.
See all comments
First off, absolutely nobody wants a "free market" and anyone who says so is a liar. Every person, industry, and company wants a market that favors them. Corporations spend $trillions trying to stack things in their favor. It is only when someone wants to make changes to help ordinary Americans instead of billionaires and corporations that we hear about it interfering with the free market and part of a irreversible descent into totalitarian communism.
Not like the joke we have in the White House!
The GOP/TP are critical thinkers!!!The combined gaffes made by them in public only serves one to think they are critically ill,narrow minded and lack common sense.
hollabackgurl, Some Republican candidates have defended waterboarding, but I think it is safe to say that they have not, "cheerily prescribed the vile torture tactics of the Khmer Rouge." Waterboarding was probably the mildest form of torture employed by the Khmer Rouge. Everything else that went on in Tuol Seng would be unanimously condemned by any U.S. or Western politician. The KR had no scruples about burning, cutting and electrocuting any part of a human being while they were still alive. Again, another lame article highlighting anti-Republican ignorance and bigotry that only serves to divide this country.
The Kennedy's and the Kerry's never pretended to be anything but East Coast brahmins. These GOP candidates are millionaires who affect to speak like minor characters in Mark Twain novels. They're bogus in other words.
It is so easy to create straw dogs and then set them afire. This article is 100% personal invective out of necessity. The author continues to prove that he would be lost in the realm of ideas. This is why Fox prospers.
The Khmer Rouge water-boarded thousands. They understood it was torture. Why don't the GOP candidates?
Cahir, You really have undone yourself on this one. You actually suggested that Republican candidates endorse the "torture tactics of the Khmer Rouge." Are you serious? Are you suggesting that since Republican candidates defend waterboarding, they also support the actions of the Khmer Rouge in death camps like Tuol Seng. I think you would be hard pressed to find a single Cambodian that would agree with you. 17,000 Cambodians entered Tuol Seng, were brutally tortured and killed. Only seven walked out alive. I think it is safe to say that waterboarding and what went on in Tuol Seng is a very weak and shameful comparison.
GOPs are both sick dumb and demented - saw em today trying to rattle Secretary Chu but to no avail. They are against trying things that cost some bucks but their dumpy ginrich fathead didn't have a problem reaping 1.6 Million with the Fannies he and fellow travelers rail madly about. Hyprocrites. The billions spent trying to perfect rocketry and craft to roam the heavens - they have a blind spot on such things.
Great article!! I wonder why all the GOP and TP types who seem to have no Common Sense keep insisting that all us busy left leaning people, who do not agree with them on almost all problems, must read the constitution or read the bible or be patriotic or anti union or not be socialist. All these conditions are needed because the GOP and TP types lack the ability to do critical thinking, to solve real problems and to connect the big dots.
great article Cahir.the GOP crazies are so ridiculous it would be akin to Pres. Obama appearing at a town hall meeting dressed in homeboy attire
Good article, Cahir, but we need to stop "casting our pearls before" the GOP. I do not understand why we keep showing each front runner in their "carnival of fools" primary for the sham that he (or she) is. We need to sit back and let them nominate the most foolish of pack so that we can have the element of surprise during the general election. Why are we veting their candidates for them. I was really diappointed when Cain started to drop in the poles as he would have made such a great loser in 2012. Oh well, maybe he can be Romney's running mate. That strategy worked so well for Palin in 2008. LOL
hear, hear! and mr. flynn, try taking a remedial english class if you'd like to sound educated and intelligent.
Cain is a blueprint for building an idiot. Bachmann is mad. ( look at her eyes ) Then you have the usual Israeli asslickers, and thats about it. So sad.
It's always nice to drop by and observe the mis-informed poor devils who read your tripe Cahir, I would suggest to your looney left readers to check out some great blogs to see what the real world is about. But judging from what I read, you all wallow in this hyped up b/S. Say what you want about the Republican 's running for office one thing you can't dispute, THERE SOLID AMERICANS NOT A SOCIALIST IMPORT FROM GOD"S KNOWS WHERE.
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email this articleE-mail | http://www.irishcentral.com/story/ent/manhattan_diary/the-republican-partys-presidential-candidates-are-a-sick-joke-134029953.html | dclm-gs1-225660002 | false | false | {
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0.018987 | <urn:uuid:df4df107-4a45-4f64-ba56-ef68a2f13089> | en | 0.937258 | Study reveals the dangers of heavy backpacks - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock
Study reveals the dangers of heavy backpacks
By Kristin Beerman | email
Edited by Jon Bush | email
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) – Now the evidence is even stronger that backpacks loaded with books could mean serious back problems for kids.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego used an upright MRI scanner to look at the effects of heavy backpacks on kids who were just 11-years-old. When kids put on backpacks that were about 20% to 30% of their body weight, they could see it caused a compression of their spinal discs, and curving of the lower spine.
Researchers say even if kids carry backpacks that are 10% to 22% of their body weight, over time the added weight could lead to significant back pain.
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0.128041 | <urn:uuid:0f9f1f6c-e561-4bf5-a479-161376d9b1f9> | en | 0.786629 | Create a Sporting Hero
Create a Sport makerIf you’re a sports club, our Sport Makers are ready to help with your sport or event.
If you have potential opportunities you’d like us to promote to over a thousand people within the County then please visit
More information
Contact: Stuart Butler / 01622 605065
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0.044188 | <urn:uuid:5df9f2e7-c817-43cc-b46d-cf1ef07dc344> | en | 0.971215 | Reply to a comment
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MrsM writes:
in response to Chief_Kitsap:
Perhaps the Sun could do an in depth study as to why no one really wishes to live in or visit Bremerton? That would be a good journalists start that would cast some light onto the subject? Instead the Sun continues to cover for the inept city of Bremerton and their inability to be more welcoming?
Believe me I used to be there when new sailors came off of visiting ships and subs and many people would tell them to stay out of Bremerton, (incuding myself).
There is so much wrong with your attitude that I am surprised that you are alive and able to walk. But if you are looking for a reason on why Bremerton is the way it is, then look in the mirror, its because of people like you.
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0.074867 | <urn:uuid:12ddc7b7-27a0-4ca6-84a2-a0e4ee58060f> | en | 0.982889 | AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — An attorney for former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told an appeals court Wednesday that the onetime GOP heavyweight's efforts to influence Texas elections may have been distasteful but weren't illegal.
DeLay, 65, was found guilty in November 2010 of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but that was put on hold while his case was appealed.
A prosecutor with the Travis County District Attorney's Office told the 3rd Court of Appeals Wednesday that the former Houston-area congressman did violate Texas law when his political action committee funneled corporate donations to Texas candidates in 2002. Under state law, corporate money cannot be given directly to political campaigns.
Attorneys for both sides spent about an hour presenting their arguments to a three-judge panel of the appeals court. The court will issue a ruling at a later date.
DeLay, who once held the No. 2 job in the House of Representatives, did not attend the hearing.
The road to the appeals court has been long and filled with various interruptions, including some of the appeals court justices recusing themselves. Also, DeLay successfully had a judge on the panel removed because of anti-Republican comments she made.
DeLay has maintained his prosecution was politically motivated by Ronnie Earle, the now-retired Democratic Travis County district attorney in Austin.
"The bottom line is Tom didn't do anything against the law. This was a political prosecution. It still is," Dick DeGuerin, DeLay's trial attorney, said after the hearing.
Prosecutors have said DeLay's case was not politically motivated and he received a fair trial
On Wednesday, the crux of DeLay's argument rested on what could be seen as a legal technicality: that the once-powerful ex-lawmaker did not commit money laundering because state law didn't apply to funds the former congressman was tied to since they were in the form of a check.
Jurors in Austin determined DeLay conspired with two associates, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, to use his Texas-based political action committee to funnel a check for $190,000 in corporate money through an arm of the Washington-based Republican National Committee. The RNC then sent the same amount to seven Texas House candidates.
Brian Wice, DeLay's appeals attorney, told the judges that in 2002, the state's money laundering law did not include checks in its definition of funds. Wice said if the Texas Legislature had intended to have checks included in the statute it would have done so when it first passed the law in 1993. The law was amended in 2005 to include checks.
"Certainly while on some level (DeLay's actions) were distasteful to some people, it wasn't a crime," Wice said.
In 2008, a different panel of the same appeals court ruled in a challenge that was brought forth by Colyandro and Ellis that checks were not covered by the money laundering statute prior to 2005. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals later overruled that decision, saying the lower court should not have addressed the issue.
Prosecutor Holly Taylor said the judges shouldn't consider such a narrow interpretation of the law when making their decision and that checks were always meant to be considered under the statute.
"Crimes were being prosecuted in money laundering by people using checks," Taylor said in reference to other cases that have gone up for review in other appeals courts around the state. "Our penal statute should not be strictly construed."
While questioning Taylor, the judges seemed to express some doubt about the prosecution's case, saying they had trouble determining how donations made by a corporation to DeLay's PAC became the proceeds of criminal activity under the money laundering statute.
Taylor said while corporate money could be legally used to pay for administrative costs, DeLay's PAC told the corporations that the funds would be provided directly to campaigns, thus turning the money into criminal proceeds.
Taylor admitted to the judges that the money laundering law as well as Texas election law can be "a little hard to understand."
Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: | http://www.ksat.com/news/DeLay-attorneys-Ex-GOP-star-didn-t-launder-money/-/478452/16932174/-/98xemsz/-/index.html | dclm-gs1-225820002 | false | false | {
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0.019494 | <urn:uuid:b4620118-b25c-40db-b1fc-e8be9978f200> | en | 0.860125 | Tattoos and Piercings
When can I get a tattoo or body piercing?
In Western Australia the legal age to get a tattoo without a parent's permission is 18.
If you are under 18 you must have the written permission of a parent before you can get a tattoo. The permission must state the type of tattoo and the position on your body where the tattoo will be done. Without this permission it is a criminal offence for someone to tattoo you or make a permanent mark or design on your skin.
You must also be 18 to have any other mark made on your skin such as branding unless you have parental permission. The permission must include the type of marking to be done and its location on your body.
Body Piercing
Ear Piercing
In Western Australia, you can get your ears pierced once you turn 16, without needing the permission of a parent.
Other non-intimate body piercing
A non-intimate body piercing is a piercing of any part of your body that isn't your genitals or nipples. Genitals mean the anus, perineum, scrotum, penis and vagina.
If you are under 18, you can only get a piercing in non-intimate area if you have written permission from one of your parents. The permission must say where on your body the piercing should be done.
Intimate Body Piercing
If you are under 18 a body piercer is not allowed to give you an intimate body piercing even if you or your parent or carer give permission for it.
Before you get a tattoo, piercing or branding
It is important to be sure that you want a tattoo or mark for the rest of your life, because a tattoo or mark is permanent. Also, a piercing may leave scars or holes long after you stop wearing the jewellery.
The content on this page was last updated on 15 June 2012.
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0.105728 | <urn:uuid:bc68f588-ba55-4bb3-aeb2-8738036da135> | en | 0.99128 | Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Toddler Sleep
I'm excited about my new blog layout!
Right now it is 2:00pm and Judah is in his room playing. We've been having challenges with Judah's sleeping schedule. Basically, he doesn't want to sleep. He's so social that he doesn't want to miss a minute of fun. Whenever anyone is over or we're at someone's house he'll stay up as late as we're there without acting tired or fussy or grumpy. He's such an extrovert!
So anyway, he doesn't like to go to sleep. If he stays in his room he'll play with his toys. If I threaten him and make him stay in his bed he'll talk and sing. Even when Eric lays down with him it will take him up to an hour to fall asleep because he has fun with his Papa. When I lay down with him I close my eyes and don't respond to him...not as much fun.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to get a 2.5 year old to fall asleep, I'm all ears! We've tried laying with him (which can be frustrating if you have things you need to do), spanking, standing at the door saying "lay down Judah." One lady suggested to Eric to get a kitchen timer and give him 10 minutes to play. When it goes off lay down with him for 5 minutes. When it goes off again leave the room and make him go to sleep by himself. Eric wants to give that a try.
I've already started looking up crib tents for our little climbing monkey (aka Samuel) to keep him in his crib for as looonnnggg as possible. It's so much easier when they can't get out. Samuel has no choice but to go to sleep. :)
1. Morgan, Maybe he doesn't need to actually nap anymore and just have a quiet time. Hannah stopped napping when she was 20 months, Vincenzo when he was about Judah's age and Kinza was almost three. I just made them sit and rest on their bed for 30 minutes to an hour. I didn't care if they stayed awake, they just had to stay on their bed. If they are getting enough sleep at night (10 - 12 hours) that might be the "problem" they don't need more sleep during the day. I did the same thing your doing When Vincenzo was that age then realized that except on cell nights, he was getting 10 - 12 hours at night and that was all the sleep he needed. We also made sure to be home by 8:30 the rest of the week so his schedule wouldn't be messed up. The nice thing is that in the middle of the day, we didn't need to worry about him missing a nap if we were out and about. Just a thought. Good Luck with whatever you do.
Love your new layout too!
2. Morgan, sorry you are having difficulties with Judah and sleep. Brianna also gives us a hard time most nights. What works best for her is to give her plenty of time warnings. "Brianna, 10 minutes and you go to bed." and then again in a couple minutes and so on until it's time to put her in her room. Good luck figuring out what works best for Judah.
3. Halle still loves her bed, but she also can't see anything at night to keep her stimulated...blackout curtain on her window and a fan on, it's pitch black and a little white noise and she's down. Maybe you could try to take some of Judah's toys out of his room, or put them away before nap time. Or maybe your friend is right and he's done with naps...I would really hate for that to be the case, for your sake of course!
4. Love the new layout! Of course, no advice from me on the sleeping situation...I hope you figure it out, though, because I might be asking YOU in 2 1/2 years..haha!
5. no idea how to keep him in bed... and I am so getting a crib tent... lore is already up at night playing... can't imagine if she could get out of her bed what she would do lol...
6. I remember when Caden would do the exact same thing, I had no idea what to do, so I tried pushing back his nap/bed time and he started falling asleep instantly. It might be that he's just not tired yet.
7. Yeah um, no advise here. Tonight Mattie would not go to bed so she fell asleep in the play pen . . .
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0.661594 | <urn:uuid:bfcd2a83-2195-4d6e-b204-bd3e9f73cf03> | en | 0.893137 | Trigeminal Neuralgia Index
Featured: Trigeminal Neuralgia Main Article
Pain that originates in the face is referred to as trigeminal neuralgia. This pain may be caused by an injury, and infection in the face, a nerve disorder, or it can occur for no known reason. Trigeminal neuralgia can be treated with antiseizure medications. Some antidepressant drugs also have significant pain relieving effects.
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0.021955 | <urn:uuid:fec7984e-2aeb-471a-9d86-bef0b8f60ce3> | en | 0.970189 | Home > news > view
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Department Movie Review
Sarjerao Gaekwad (Amitabh Bachchan) is a gangster. He changed his colours and turned into a politician at a latter date. With his political strength, he continues his underground activities with more strength. Mahadev Bhosle (Sanjay Dutt) is a senior police officer of the Mumbai Police Department. He was given a special task to combat the underworld menace. He was given powers to form special task forces for the purpose. Hence he drafts a tough young cop Shiv Narayan (Rana Daggubati) and gives him all the powers to eliminate the underworld dons and makes him an encounter specialist. Shiv Narayan, at one time, gets the chance and got an opportunity to speak to Gaekwad, who is a senior politician, and question his foundations as Shiv Narayan strongly believes that Gaekwad is a thug (gangster). At this juncture Gaekwad manages to bring rifts in the entire police department as to why Bhosle took Shiv Narain into this task. The rest of the film deals with what Shiv Narayan did to prove that he has nothing to do with Bhosle, but Bhosle chose him because of his sincerity. In this process Shiv Narayan finds who is the real villain is…
Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Rana Daggubati did their justice their roles. However, all of their acting capabilities and talents were simply wasted. Among the heroines Anjana Sukhani performed nice on the screen. All the senior artistes too did justice but the director really failed to extract the real talents. All the other actors too were wasted sans exception. The item song by Nathalia Kaur is totally useless and so is Madhu Shalini. Lakshmi Manchu too is was wasted, and Abhimanyu Singh gives the audiences a feeling that he is crying out for help and pleads with the movie goers to rescue him from the project.
After the film ‘RGV ki Aag’, Varma’s directorial abilities had started hitting to the low. Surprisingly, his films are getting utter failure so far, but with this film, they are started irritating the audiences. They got the feel that the director is exploring the ways as to how to irritate the film goers and get a thought that they take a firm decision not to go to the theatres from next time to watch a film. The ‘rogue methodology’ adopted by the director is extremely non-sensical, it is a surprise as to how a top star like Amitabh Bachchan is accepting the foolish camera angles. The cinematography of the film is horrendous and the background music is just ignorable. Not only the cinematography, the editing of the film too is atrocious.
The audiences are saying that RGV should take rest for some time and visit a mental asylum to check his mental condition as he is bringing out the films to punish the audiences. It is true that he is not asking the audiences to come to the theatres, purchase ticket and watch his films, but the artistes in the film and the director brought out exceptional films at one time make the audiences visit the theatre and ultimately get the punishment.
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Neurosurg Focus. 2010 Jan;28(1):E8. doi: 10.3171/2009.11.FOCUS09221.
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and tumorigenesis: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic implications.
Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA.
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is a common autosomal dominant disease characterized by complex and multicellular neurofibroma tumors, and less frequently by malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) and optic nerve gliomas. Significant advances have been made in elucidating the cellular, genetic, and molecular biology involved in tumor formation in NF1. Neurofibromatosis Type 1 is caused by germline mutations of the NF1 tumor suppressor gene, which generally result in decreased intracellular neurofibromin protein levels, leading to increased cascade Ras signaling to its downstream effectors. Multiple key pathways are involved with the development of tumors in NF1, including Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Interestingly, recent studies demonstrate that multiple other developmental syndromes (in addition to NF1) share phenotypic features resulting from germline mutations in genes responsible for components of the Ras/MAPK pathway. In general, a somatic loss of the second NF1 allele, also referred to as loss of heterozygosity, in the progenitor cell, either the Schwann cell or its precursor, combined with haploinsufficiency in multiple supporting cells is required for tumor formation. Importantly, a complex series of interactions with these other cell types in neurofibroma tumorigenesis is mediated by abnormal expression of growth factors and their receptors and modification of gene expression, a key example of which is the process of recruitment and involvement of the NF1(+/-) heterozygous mast cell. In general, for malignant transformation to occur, there must be accumulation of additional mutations of multiple genes including INK4A/ARF and P53, with resulting abnormalities of their respective signal cascades. Further, abnormalities of the NF1 gene and molecular cascade described above have been implicated in the tumorigenesis of NF1 and some sporadically occurring gliomas, and thus, these treatment options may have wider applicability. Finally, increased knowledge of molecular and cellular mechanisms involved with NF1 tumorigenesis has led to multiple preclinical and clinical studies of targeted therapy, including the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin, which is demonstrating promising preclinical results for treatment of MPNSTs and gliomas.
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Posts by airscottie
Nevermind, I fixed it. I didn't google for the right keywords originally, apparently. Sorry.
I know there are a lot of really smart people on here, and considering what I have just done to my system and the fact that I cannot fix it, it doesn't look like I am one of them. I've been trying today to change some of the icons for...
How about a link to a site that provides the program? I can't seem to find it and I'd like to see if I can contribute.
Not that I know of. The only time this has happened to me was with a motherboard failure. Are you still under warantee?
...and a dedicated x700 would kill that. This could go on all day.
The curve feels fine. It takes a few hours of use to get used to it, but it's very natural so don't worry. As far as battery life goes, about 3.5 hours with wi-fi and 4 hours without on power save mode, but it still runs very fast....
On PowerDVD, for me, the controls are very awkward, the program is unresponsive, has poor video adjustment, and runs extremely unstably. If you enjoy it that's fine, but I have never once had a good experience with the program.
Now I've heard that they've cancelled any plans to release a Turion Travelmate in the US. Sorry to report that, and I hope I'm wrong. Secondly, don't feel like you have to settle for the 8104. It's an amazing machine, I can guarantee...
Acer TM 8104. Specs: Intel Pentium-M 760 2.0GHz 533 FSB, 1GB DDR2 RAM, ATI X700 128MB, 15.4" WSXGA+ Widescreen, around 6lbs and 1.2" thick, Gigabit internet, bluetooth, 100GB Seagate HD 5400RPM, available in the US right this...
The drivers are on a disc that comes with the system, but there's no Windows XP disc.
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0.03158 | <urn:uuid:960fd078-16af-44f8-bf62-649326da26f5> | en | 0.964796 | To Appease Tea Party, Boehner Adds Balanced-Budget Amendment To Bill
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio walks to a caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Susan Walsh/AP
Susan Walsh/AP
As we reported earlier, President Obama dismissed House Speaker John Boehner's (R-OH) plan to raise the debt ceiling. In a news conference, he said the bill "has no chance of becoming law."
Now, multiple news outlets are reporting that Boehner, in an attempt to woo Tea Party Republican votes in the House, added a balanced-budget amendment provision to his budget plan.
That means two things: First, it gives Democrats more reason to dismiss the bill, as they overwhelmingly disapproved a similar measure that was included in the doomed "Cut, Cap and Balance" bill that was passed by the House, last week. However, it seems like the change could get Boehner enough votes to pass the bill through the chamber. Remember, Boehner could not gather enough Republican votes yesterday and had to yank the bill off the floor.
Here's The Hill with details on the amended plan:
Republican lawmakers say the Boehner framework would still pave the way for the debt limit to be raised through the 2012 election in two chunks. But it would also mandate that the second hike of the ceiling could only occur after a balanced-budget amendment passed both chambers of Congress and went to the states for ratification.
The House had scheduled votes on two BBAs for this week. Under the revised Boehner plan, the sending of either to the states, including a version that attracted significant Democratic support in the mid-1990s, would allow for the second debt-ceiling increase.
And Politico reports on the difference the change is making on Boehner's caucus:
Rep. Jeff flake (r-ariz) said the balanced budget provision has flipped his vote, and he predicted it will help bring many other members onto the bill.
"Let's go vote 100 percent for this bill," Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey, one of the last holdouts, urged his colleagues, according to a source inside a closed-door House GOP conference meeting.
"That's the difference" Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) said, predicting the provision will secure the bill's package.
Update at 12:34 p.m. ET. Harry Reid On BBA:
In a press conference, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that he has Democrats on his caucus who want a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. He said he doesn't mind Republicans putting it up for a vote, but he said the amended bill as it looks now "wants a gurantee that it passes before" raising the debt limit.
He said that shows this a group of people "driven by ideology" and "unwilling to compromise anything." Reid said it shows a kind of "extremism."
Update at 2:26 p.m. ET. A Vote:
At this point it looks like the House will take a vote some time in the next few hours. A big indicator that things are looking for the bill potential to make it through the House is that Club for Growth, an influential fiscal-conservative group, is now OK with Boehner's plan. The group had asked conservatives to vote against the plan, previously.
Support comes from: | http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/07/29/138820004/to-appease-tea-party-boehner-adds-balanced-budget-amendment-to-bill?f=1001&ft=1&sc=tw | dclm-gs1-226240002 | false | false | {
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0.520676 | <urn:uuid:5066e9c5-64cc-4ad5-a32c-fe8a091c8284> | en | 0.94412 | Hepatitis is a liver disease characterized by severe inflammation of the liver. It may result from long-term alcohol abuse, infection, or exposure to various other chemicals or drugs. There are several different types of hepatitis. They are named viral hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. Viral hepatitis can be acute, or short-term. Hepatitis B, C, and D are the chronic forms of the condition, where the infection is prolonged, sometimes lifelong. Hepatitis A, B, and C are the most common forms of the hepatitis virus.
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a very contagious form of liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). While hepatitis A can cause inflammation that affects the liver's ability to function correctly it is not considered as serious as other types of the viral hepatitis.
Hepatitis A is usually contracted by consuming contaminated food or water or from someone who is infected with the virus. Carriers of the hepatitis A virus may experience severe flu like symptoms while other with the virus may experience no symptoms at all.
Most individuals with hepatitis A do not require prolonged treatment and recover completely over time. Unlike other forms of the disease, including hepatitis B and C, hepatitis A doesn't lead to more serious and potentially fatal conditions such as chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis.
Effective vaccines are available for people who are most at risk of contracting hepatitis A.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a very serious form of liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis B may become chronic for some individuals, leading to cancer of the liver, liver failure or cirrhosis - all of which can cause permanent damage.
Hepatitis B is contracted via the exchange of body fluids with someone who is infected or by coming in contact with contaminated blood. Hepatitis B is spread in much the same way as the AIDS virus, however, hepatitis B is much more infectious than HIV.
Individuals infected as adults with the hepatitis B virus can recover fully, even if their condition is severe. Children infected with the virus are more likely to develop a chronic infection. Currently, there is no cure for hepatitis B but it can be prevented with a vaccine.
Hepatitis C
Surveys estimate that nearly 3 percent or more of the world's population to be infected with the hepatitis C virus. Unlike other forms of the virus hepatitis C carriers often exhibit no outward symptoms. In fact, many of those infected with hepatitis C don't realize they are infected until liver damage shows up many years later.
Among all the hepatitis viruses, hepatitis C is considered to be the most dangerous. Untreated, hepatitis C can lead to many chronic conditions including liver failure, liver cancer and cirrhosis. Hepatitis C is not usually transmitted via sexual contact. It is usually transmitted through contaminated blood.Unlike hepatitis A and B, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. | http://www.nutrasanus.com/hepatitis.html | dclm-gs1-226280002 | false | true | {
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