Ditto (almost verbatim to what you wrote). I've been meditating on a few reasons for it:

1) I was given a few opportunities by the partners to step up into a management role, but in hindsight, I was too knee-deep in code to see what was happening, so I doubled down on keeping my nose to the grindstone rather than stepping back and thinking more about how to change the workflow so that others could come in and contribute. The symptoms of this were things like: I never got invited to any public-facing events, team building exercises or drinks with the partners when they were in town. I think they viewed me as a big fish in a small pond, someone to be utilized but not groomed. They came from a big city hustle mindset whereas I came from small town America. So different value systems, not necessarily superior or inferior, but at high risk of miscommunication.

2) When they finally promoted the other guy to a management role, he fell into the exact sequence you enumerated. He was highly disciplined and methodical, but sometimes had blind spots about different local maximums in the search space (had trouble seeing the forest for the trees) and was a bit too focused on maintaining the hierarchy since he came from a military background. I admired his tenacity, but truthfully, it had a tendency to wear on the developers (several of which had an antiauthoritarian mindset like many in tech).

3) When he moved on, a void was left that was never filled. We ended up changing over to nontechnical project managers, which worked well for about a year, but inevitably the agency drifted towards enterprise work, which is not my cup of tea. We had a bit of a falling out and I moved on. I still wonder to this day how things might have ended up differently if I had stepped up and basically listened to the universe and manifested whatever the next chapter of my life as a team lead or manager was going to be. I would have been a highly egalitarian manager, working for the team as much as for the partners and clients. Now, I dunno, I'm not sure that my heart is in software engineering anymore. I'm focusing on the gig economy and attaining some financial independence outside of hierarchy so I can finally work on projects within my own calling. As a 40-something this is scary but rejuvenating.


New Frontiers in Behavioural Insights

Day 1

Keynote by Cass Sunstein

Continue reading New Frontiers in Behavioural Insights

Marx and Auguste Comte on the Sociology of Religion

Open University puts the (animated) spotlight on two sociologists who were critical of organised religion. This first one is on Karl Marx and his enduring dictum: “Religion is the opium of the people.” Marx used this phrase to argue that religion is a mechanism to entice poor and disadvantaged people to accept suffering and inequality as part of life (through the enticement of higher rewards in the afterlife). The original quote is drawn from the Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. Continue reading Marx and Auguste Comte on the Sociology of Religion

Marx’s Tombstone

Republished as Marx/Engels Selected Works, Volume One.

Foucault and Chomsky Debate Human Nature

In this great debate from 1971, Michel Foucault and Noam Chomsky disagree about the fundamental qualities of “human nature” and the key task of social science in helping humanity achieve its collective potential. Chomsky believes that the social sciences should draw up a framework for an ideal society where creativity, freedom and scientific discovery will flourish. He sees it is our task to help to put this plan into action. Foucault argues that there is no ideal concept of social justice that can be universally applied. Instead, he sees that social scientists are tasked with critiquing social institutions and relations of power in different societies. Foucault says:

…one of the tasks that seems immediate and urgent to me, over and above anything else, is this: that we should indicate and show up, even where they are hidden, all the relationships of political power which actually control the social body and oppress or repress it. What I want to say is this: it is the custom, at least in European society, to consider that power is localised in the hands of the government and that it is exercised through a certain number of particular institutions, such as the administration, the police, the army, and the apparatus of the state…. But I believe that political power also exercises itself through the mediation of a certain number of institutions which look as if they have nothing in common with the political power, and as if they are independent of it, while they are not.

One knows this in relation to the family; and one knows that the university and in a general way, all teaching systems, which appear simply to disseminate knowledge, are made to maintain a certain social class in power; and to exclude the instruments of power of another social class. Institutions of knowledge, of foresight and care, such as medicine, also help to support the political power. It’s also obvious, even to the point of scandal, in certain cases related to psychiatry.

Read the entire transcript . Watch the debate and bliss out: part 1 and part 2.

Gifs: Zuleyka Zevallos.

The Sociological Imagination

Today’s sociology quote is from C. Wright Mills’ classic, The Sociological Imagination. Mills argues that people sometimes feel “trapped” by their troubles or their personal circumstances . For example, people have obligations to their families, they have commitments at work, their actions are restricted by fear of gossip in their friendship groups, or they might feel as if they have to live their lives in particular ways because society forces this upon us. At the same time, most people understand their lives as being unique. Falling in love, the type of jobs we end up pursuing or those we miss out on, the decision to live alone or the types of families we form – these are all choices that are mediated (or shaped) by the the time and place we live. People rarely think about their life choices – nor the lives of others – as the outcome of institutions and history. Societies have a tendency to view certain lives negatively: being homeless, being unemployed, teen pregnancies, addiction, incarceration – people often blame the individual for pathways that “deviate” from the norm.

Some people might think about a handful of external influences as having direct impact on their lives – religion, family or perhaps the media – but they do not always see the complex interplay between various social forces. Sociology makes this connection between the individual (biography) and broader social structures. This is why Mills says that in order to understand an individual we must understand history and vice versa.

Hat tip to Mitch Diatz on Flickr for the original photo. Graphic by Zuleyka Zevallos.

Sociology of Distinction

In an interview with Craig Ferguson, Stephen Fry talks about class in England and how punk changed notions of what Bourdieu calls “distinction”. That is, different classes reinforce social norms and social order through their activities and interests.

People generally tend to think of their individual preferences for music, fashion or their manner of speaking as a sign of their personality or family upbringing. Bourdieu shows that the things and ideas we like actually represent the aesthetics of our class. Working class “distinctions” not only set this group apart from upper class groups, their activities are often set up in opposition to other classes.

Popular culture nowadays might seem to transcend class, but in essence, our tastes still reflect social hierarchies.

To an outsider, Stephen Fry might represent the quintessential British culture, but as Fry actually notes, growing up in 1970s, he embodied all the aspects of British culture that the general public hated: he was highly educated, he liked Latin poetry, and he dresses in tweed. In summary, his personal aesthetic or distinction represented upper class British culture.

I thought that I was from a generation that was born at least 20 years too late. That maybe if I’d been born in the 50s, when wearing a tweed jacket and smoking a pike and talking about Catullus and Ovid was somehow acceptable and you were admired for it. Whereas I felt that I was born into a post-punk era in which the idea of even speaking in sentences that didn’t break up at the end and go “sort of”, and “like” and “oh I wonder”. Just having an articulate voice was in itself was an offence. It was like rubbing people’s faces in the dirt. And I was hated for it.

In contrast, Scotland-born Craig Ferguson embodies the opposite distinction: his casual style, self-effacing humour, his swearing and dishevelled presentation evokes his working class background, which he often references directly. Ferguson, who has often discussed his affinity to the British punk movement (he was once in a band), talks about how he disliked Fry precisely for all the things he stood for: well-spoken, widely-read, affluent charm.

The exchange is a lovely example of how Bourdieu uses distinction to analyse class systems. Fry also discusses his addiction and psychological definitions of being bi polar.

Legacy of Adrienne Rich

imageAdrienne Rich explains to then-American President Clinton (in writing) why she refused to accept the USA National Medal for the Arts in 1997.

Rich has died – RIP to this amazing and pioneering feminist. By problematising the notion that heterosexuality is natural, she left a lasting impact on science.

If you are trying to transform a brutalised society into one where people can live in dignity and hope, you begin with the empowering of the most powerless. You build from the ground up.

Image and top quote via the L.A. Times.

Correlation is not Causation

Source: SEO Blog via Ria.


Asa Saligupta

Asa Saligupta

Inter Trading Manager of Probiotic and Herbal Co., Ltd., Thailand

Title: Immune system dysfunctions, the cause of incurable

Biography: Asa Saligupta

You may be surprised to know that immune system dysfunctionality links too many symptoms and can be said that it covers all of the incurable diseases such as: Low level of immunity within the body is susceptible to cancer, liver disease, tuberculosis, AIDs of HIV and infections from bacteria and germ, etc.; if the immune system is too sensitive, it could lead to allergy, asthma, urticaria and sinusitis; if the body’s immune system does not work right, it could lead to rheumatism, SLE, psoriasis, diabetes with itchiness and digestive system inflammation. So, it’s hard to believe that our own immune system, if not working correctly, could cause so many damages to our body. Our research found that the lack of balance in our body, especially amongst modern people, came from addiction of chemical medicines. Once digested, it destroys all the bacteria in the microbiota group leaving the body unbalanced, without helper, without coordinator. The white blood cell acts abnormally hence, the illness to the body. Today, you can choose your healing method by using microbes to help maintain balance to your body and contain bacteria so that microbiota returns to work. The body will be balanced again and the immune system back to normalcy.


South Africa ends 2015 as the most prosperous country in Africa. Nigeria? Not so prosperous

A petition against South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma became popular online as thousands of people appended their signatures to say #ZumaMustFall. The state of the economy and the monthly political drama in the country had become frustrating for South Africans.

Africa’s most advanced economy has taken a dip in 2015, with unemployment rising and credit rating dropping, but the country remains Africa’s most prosperous nonetheless, overtaking Botswana on the 2015 Legatum Prosperity Index.

According to public policy think-tank, Legatum Institute, although South Africa ranked poorly in economy, education, health, safety and security, its ranking in entrepreneurship and opportunity, as well as in governance, personal freedom and social capital, were enough to make it the most prosperous country in Africa. However, the country ranks 75th on the 142-nation prosperity index, showing how poorly ranked African countries are.

“Traditionally, a nation’s prosperity has been based solely on macroeconomic indicators such as a country’s income, represented either by GDP or by average income per person (GDP per capita),” the Institute notes. “However, most people would agree that prosperity is more than just the accumulation of material wealth. It is also the joy of everyday life and the prospect of being able to build an even better life in the future.”

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy is not as prosperous as Rwanda or Cameroon, Ghana or Niger. The oil-rich country ranked low in all the sub-indexes — economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom, and social capital; coming in at 125 on the prosperity index.

Like other resource-exporting countries, Nigeria’s economy was hit by slump in global oil prices. Oil accounts for over 80 percent of government revenue. The country has, therefore, struggled to fund its budget. The way the country’s economy would fare in the coming year still remains uncertain as the fate of Africa’s largest economy is tied to oil whose prices may drop in 2016 as oversupply seems very likely to continue. The government is yet to convince investors about policy direction as much has not been seen in that area but corruption fight has gained momentum and arrests are ongoing. Insurgency by Islamist sect group Boko Haram which has led to the death of over 15,000 people meant Nigeria ranked very low on the safety and security sub-index, at 134. Hopefully, the government’s effort will yield fruits in the coming year.

The major resource exporters in Africa, such as Botswana and Namibia fell 4 places in the Prosperity Index, due to a massive 19-place fall in the Economy sub-index. Botswana (ranked 77th) is no longer the most prosperous country in Sub-Saharan Africa as a result.

Why some African states continue to drop in the Prosperity Index, Rwanda continued its strong performance since 2009. The East African nation has risen 17 places up the Prosperity Index and now ranks 101st.

War-torn Central Africa Republic is the least prosperous country in Africa, whose best rank in the sub-indexes was in personal freedom. Chad and Burundi also join CAR in the top five least prosperous countries in Africa. Others being the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan.

In a statement by the Legatum Institute when the index was released in November, Nathan Gamester, Director of the Prosperity Index at the Legatum Institute, said: “The Prosperity Index tells us that human progress goes beyond economics.”

He noted that countries atop the Index provide opportunity and freedom to their citizens, access to quality healthcare and education, and provide safe environments for people to flourish in.

It is hoped that beyond the Index, African leaders will look at the issues the sub-indexes are pointing at, and work towards improving the economy, access to quality and affordable healthcare, among others.


Shared Memory

Part of the film: The Ripple Project: ONE

Painting helps a man express horrors beyond words.

“This was. This is.” Brooklyn-based artist and Shoah survivor, Fred Terna, declares gesturing towards two paintings—one ominous and dark, the other lighter, with hues of hope. “This is how the memory changed.” Shared Memory is part oral history, part private gallery tour where Terna invites the viewer into his home and discusses pieces from his carefully catalogued collection spanning the history of his artwork. Together, the paintings and Terna’s stories describe his path from the Czech Republic to Brooklyn, from surviving Theresienstadt to his taxing marriage with a fellow survivor. In Shared Memory, Terna reveals how painting is both a way of coping with the horrors he has experienced and a means to preserve his memories.

WATCH: A conversation between Fred Terna and Rwandan genocide survivor and educator Eugenie Mukeshimana, which took place after a private screening of Shared Memory.

The following letter was written to Shared Memory Director and The Ripple Project Cofounder, Liron Unreich, by Fred Terna.

Dear Liron, I’m awed and delighted with the film. You and your team have done a superb job, telling the story of my paintings. Other film-makers have tried to make films about art and artists during the Shoah. When they focused on me they somehow stayed on the surface, there was a distance, a gap, between my feelings and ideas and what I saw on the screen. You are telling the story with great skill and insight, and I thank you.

During the Shoah we promised each other that the one who survives will tell about it. The burden is getting heavier as our numbers decrease, and you and your group are carrying this obligation with us, and for us.

Please give my thanks to all who are working with you on The Ripple Project. Looking forward to hearing from you before long,

Return The Ripple Project: ONE film page

Sixteenth Anniversary of The Rwandan Genocide

Eugenie Mukeshimana

On April 7th, 2010 an international community of genocide survivors,political activists, and socially-conscious individuals joined their prayers and thoughts to commemorate the 16th Anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi’s in Rwanda.  Services were held around the world to remember the nearly one million lives that were lost in 100 days in 1994, and to celebrate the lives of survivors who continue to inspire people with their stories of triumph, faith, hope, and forgiveness.  Members of The Ripple Project were fortunate to attend an intimate ceremony at the UN Church Center, the commemoration featured musical performances, interpretative song and dance, and personal testimonies from survivors,all coordinated by Eugenie Mukeshimana, founder of Rwanda Consulting, whom is also a survivor herself.

Mr. Jean Baptist Rudatsikira, Masters of Ceremony, helped guide a diverse audience through the harsh realities of the genocide.  Keynote speaker Mr. Edouard Kayihura, whom survived the genocide at the well-known Hotel des Mille Collines (featured in *Hotel Rwanda*) recounted the terrifying obstacles he traveled through to survive.  While survivor Yvette Rugasaguhunga depicted her personal struggles through a moving poetic performance infused with Rwandan song, dance, and her individual reenactment of events and conversations leading up to the genocide.

Mr. Jean Baptist Rudatsikira

Even in the wake of devastating news that a boat of genocide survivors in Rwanda traveling to a commemoration event had capsized with over sixty trapped inside, Eugenie and her friends were able to stay strong, displaying a strong devotion to their past, and an effortless ambition for a better future.

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Series One


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Sunday, January 19, 2020

Georges Saad (Lebanon)

Georges Saad (Lebanon)
Journalist. Specialities: Sustainability, local development, energy policies.
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Can African smallholders farm themselves out of poverty?

Even if they achieve high profitability, actual value generated on a small farm will translate into only a small gain in income per capita

By David Harris, Jordan Chamberlin, Kai Mausch
Last Updated: Thursday 12 December 2019
A small farmer in Africa. Photo: Swathi Sridharan (formerly ICRISAT, Bulawayo), CC BY-SA

Yet the returns of such technologies are not often evaluated within a whole-farm context. And — critically — the returns for smallholders with very little available land have not received sufficient attention.

To support smallholders in their efforts to escape poverty by adopting modern crop varieties, inputs and management practices, it’s necessary to know if their current resources — particularly their farms — are large enough to generate the requisite value.

Two questions can frame this. How big do farms need to be to enable farmers to escape poverty by farming alone? And what alternative avenues can lead them to sustainable development?

These issues were explored in a paper in which we examined how much rural households can benefit from agricultural intensification. In particular we, together with colleagues, looked at the size of smallholder farms and their potential profitability and alternative strategies for support. In sub-Saharan Africa smallholder farms are, on average, smaller than two hectares.

It’s difficult to be precise about the potential profitability of farms in developing countries. But it’s likely that the upper limit for most farms optimistically lies between $1,000 and $2,000 per hectare per year. In fact the actual values currently achieved by farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are much less.

The large profitability gap between current and potential performance per hectare of smallholder farms could, in theory, be narrowed if farmers adopted improved agricultural methods. These could include better crop varieties and animal breeds; more, as well as more efficient, use of fertilisers; and better protection from losses due to pests and diseases.

But are smallholder farms big enough so that closing the profitability gap will make much difference to their poverty status?

Our research suggests that they are not. Even if they were able to achieve high levels of profitability, the actual value that could be generated on a small farm translated into only a small gain in income per capita. From this we conclude that many, if not most, smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are unlikely to farm themselves out of poverty — defined as living on less than $1.90 per person per day. This would be the case even if they were to make substantial improvements in the productivity and profitability of their farms.

That’s not to say that smallholder farmers shouldn’t be supported. The issue, rather, is what kind of support best suits their circumstances.

Productivity and profitability

In theory, it should be quite simple to calculate how big farms need to be to enable farmers to escape poverty by farming alone.

To begin with, it’s necessary to know how productive and profitable per unit area a farm can be. Productivity and profitability — the value of outputs minus the value of inputs — are functions of farmers’ skills and investment capacities.

They are also dependent on geographical contexts. This includes soils, rainfall and temperature, which determine the potential for crop and livestock productivity. Other factors that play a part include remoteness, which affects farm-gate prices of inputs and outputs, and how many people a farm needs to support.

The figure below summarises the relation between farm size, profitability and income of rural households. We used a net income of $1.90 per person per day (the blue curve) as our working definition of poverty. A more ambitious target of $4 per person per day (the orange curve) represents a modest measure of prosperity beyond the poverty line.

Combinations of land per capita and net whole-farm profitability that would generate 1.90 (blue) and 4 (orange) dollars per person per day. The median land per capita values of rural households from all 46 sites in 15 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa were below the horizontal dashed line (0.60 hectares per person). Author supplied

So, how do these values compare with the situation in sub-Saharan Africa?

It has been estimated that about 80 per cent of farms across nine sub-Saharan countries are smaller than two hectares. These sites would need to generate at least $1,250 per hectare per year just to reach the poverty line. Sites at the lower end of the range cannot escape poverty even if they could generate $3,000 per hectare per year.

Unfortunately, there is limited information about whole-farm net profitability in developing countries. But in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, for example, the mean values of only $78, $83 and $424 per hectare per year, respectively, imply that even $1,250 appears to be far out of reach for most small farms.

It’s difficult to interpret information from developed countries in developing country contexts. Nevertheless, gross margin values for even the most efficient mixed farms seldom exceed around $1,400 per hectare per year.

These values are similar to gross margins using best practices for perennial cropping systems reported in a recent literature survey of tropical crop profitability. The study drew on data from nine household surveys in seven African countries. It found that profit from crop production alone (excluding data on livestock) ranged from only $86 per hectare per year in Burkina Faso to $1,184 in Ethiopia. The survey mean was $535 per hectare per year.

From this overview we must conclude that, even with very modest goals, most smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa are not “viable” when benchmarked against the poverty line. And it’s unlikely that agricultural intensification alone can take many households across the poverty line.

What is the takeaway?

We certainly do not suggest that continued public and private investments in agricultural technologies are unmerited. In fact, there is evidence that returns to agricultural research and development at national level are very high in developing countries. And there is evidence that agricultural growth is the most important impetus for broader patterns of structural transformation and economic growth in rural Africa. But realistic assessments of the scope for very small farmers to farm themselves out of poverty are necessary.

Farmers are embedded in complex economic webs and increasingly depend on more than farm production for their livelihoods. More integrated lenses for evaluating public investment in the food systems of the developing world will likely be more helpful in the short term.

Integrated investments that affect both on- and off-farm livelihood choices and outcomes will produce better welfare than a narrow focus on production technologies in smallholder dominated systems. Production technology research for development will remain important. But to reach the smallest of Africa’s smallholders will require focus on what’s happening off the farm.The Conversation

David Harris, Honorary Lecturer, Bangor University; Jordan Chamberlin, Spatial Economist, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and Kai Mausch, Agricultural Economist, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

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Welcome to today’s grab-bag of unrelated topics.

Further to the point: Here are relevant portions of a recent presentation by ConocoPhillips’ Chief Technology Officer Greg Leveille to TIPRO members showing technological breakthroughs that have  improved natural gas production processes while also using less water and emitting lower amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Why is this important?

Jude Clements in Forbes identifies five practical reasons (there are more) why the Green Nude Eel is not workable. He predicts that fossil fuels will be with us for a long time to come. That is a better alternative than importing LNG to the East Coast from our president’s putative BFF, or bringing oil  into California from, as they say, people who want to kill us have killed us.

And all the while the avengers are out-trillioning one another to prove their green bona fides.

What is the Legislature about to do to Texas royalty owners?

The short answer is, cutting them out of a cause of action for unpaid royalties.

On the legislative front, we have House Bill 3372, gliding quickly and stealthily through the current legislative session. The bill would amend Section 91.402(b) of the Texas Natural Resources Code to deprive payees of a common law cause of action for breach of contract against the payor who withholds payments under 91.402(b).

The Bill is in response to the 2018 ruling of the Supreme Court of Texas in ConocoPhillips Company et al v. Koopmann. (Reported by me, but not so much on this topic)

The Koopmanns sued Burlington for failure to pay royalties due under an oil and gas lease. Burlington argued that the Koopman’s exclusive remedy was under Chapter 91 of the Natural Resources Code, citing Section 91.402, allowing a payor to withhold royalty payments without interest when there is “a dispute concerning title that would affect distribution of payments.” Section 9.404(c) established a cause of action in favor of royalty owners for nonpayment of royalties required in section 91.402. Burlington argued that by this statute the Legislature intended that a royalty owner’s only cause of action for failure to pay royalties is under section 91.404(c). The court disagreed. The statute did not clearly indicate legislative intent to abrogate a common-law cause of action. Thus the Koopmanns were entitled to sue for breach of contract.

This legislation would overrule Koopmann. Royalty owners, be advised.

What does it portend? Passage could mean fewer Cadillacs, surely no pink ones, and no Mercurys.


Pittsburgh, PA: LGBTQIA Is Not My Problem!

Despite recent advances in LGBTQIA rights, progress has not precluded on-going experiences of discrimination, stigmatization, and exclusion among the LGBTQIA community. These negative experiences have contributed to disparities between the LGBTQIA and general population in several areas including income, employment, housing, and health.


AEMC Instruments: Infrared Thermometer Model CA879

The Infrared Thermometer Model CA879 is a non-contact temperature measuring instrument. It provides precision measurement with its laser target feature. To measure the temperature of an object, simply point the gun at the surface of the object and the temperature will appear on the digital display. The thermometer has an automatic shut-off feature. Shut-off will occur approximately 10 seconds after the trigger is released.

All objects whose temperature is higher than absolute zero (-273.15 K) emit infrared energy. This energy radiates in all directions at the speed of light. When the gun is pointed at an object, the probe’s lens senses this energy and focuses it onto an infrared detector comprised of a thermocouple stack. The detector produces a voltage signal proportional to the amount of energy received, and therefore proportional to the object’s temperature.


Using facial recognition system at public gatherings illegal, IFF tells govt

Using facial recognition system at public gatherings illegal, IFF tells govt
Photo Credit:
31 Dec, 2019

The use of the automated facial recognition system (AFRS) for profiling and surveillance at public congregations is illegal and unconstitutional, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) said in a notice to India’s home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and commissioner of Delhi police Amulya Patnaik.

The digital advocacy group based its notice on the findings of a source-based media report from the Indian Express, which said that police in the Indian capital used the AI (artificial intelligence)-based software at a political rally on December 22.

This was also the first time that Delhi police used facial images collected from footage filmed at the city’s various protests to filter “law and order suspects” at the prime minister’s rally, the newspaper added in its report on Saturday.

The police department’s purchase and usage of the technology arose from a Delhi High Court order in 2017 for the purpose of locating missing children, the notice said, citing the order.

“The use of AFRS for surveillance must clearly define the legitimate aim and purpose of such use, even if legality is presumed… Here, its use has strayed from finding missing children to being deployed in peaceful public gatherings. There is no material/references available that state what legitimate aim would be achieved by the use of AFRS in (a) political rally or protest, given even at such spaces voicing dissent or assembly is an exercise of the fundamental right of a person,” the notice addressed by IFF executive director Apar Gupta said.

The use of this technology comes in the wake of nation-wide protests that began earlier this month against a new citizenship law. The new legislation eases the way for some non-Muslim minorities from the neighbouring Muslim-majority nations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to gain Indian citizenship.

AFRS as a technology

AFRS maintains a database of photographs and videos of peoples’ faces. New images of unidentified individuals, taken from CCTV footage or drone surveillance, are compared to the existing data to identify a person. The AI technology used for pattern-finding and matching, constitute neural networks.

The Indian government plans to use AI to predict weather patterns, manage traffic better and to create a record to be used by the National Crime Records Bureau for an automated facial recognition system to make security more efficient. The 2019 Union budget mentioned the creation of an AI portal to digitise villages along with the creation of AI centres of excellence.

Read: Rewind 2019: How AI jumped out of the movies and into our everyday lives

The global facial recognition market was valued at $4.51 billion in 2018. The value is expected to reach $9.06 billion by 2024, at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5% in period of 2019-2024, according to a recent report from market research firm Mordor Intelligence.

“Facial recognition has been gaining prominence in recent times, owing to the benefits it offers over traditional surveillance techniques, like biometrics. Governments across the world have been investing significant resources in facial recognition technology, among which, the United States and China are leading adopters,” the firm said in a statement on Monday.


News Media and Confirmation Bias

Echo chamber
Echo chamber

I read an interesting study the other day on confirmation bias and how our minds pay more attention, way more attention to stories that re-inforce our biases.

We encounter a lot of stories in our daily lives whether through the news, friends, families, overheard on the bus/train, stories are all around us but we don’t remember all of them because we don’t pay the same amount of attention to all of them.

So which ones do we pay attention to and why? Well according to research we pay attention to those that are obviously more compelling and that is based on a combination of variables – the structure, the characters, the storyteller but one of the other variables is that we pay attention to those stories that reinforce our bias.

E.g. We have the TV playing in the background and there are multiple stories being told some are in ads, some are in news bites but once in a while we get pulled away from the work we are doing and notice a particular story.

This could be confirmation bias – our mind is actively searching for content which will validate our world view. E.g. If we believe Black-on-Black crime is a real thing and a major cause for the high levels of violence in the black community as opposed to other indicators such as income, family structure, living conditions, neighborhood etc. then we are drawn to stories that repeat that narrative. Whereas a story about white crime in a low income similar scenario is not as readily picked up and remembered by our minds.

This leads to a situation where our mind has a lot of stories to re-inforce our bias and few to challenge them, so we become more and more biased to where it becomes our opinion and slowly our belief.

This can be seen in the current cable news environment. Though there may be stories that work against a particular network’s stance they are not given airtime because they do not reinforce the bias of the viewers. Biases which the channel might have encouraged and nurtured in the first place. Also there is the fact that if a channel runs too many stories that challenge the biases of its viewers it loses credibility with them and is seen as not reporting the “right” news. If you are a FOX viewer, you want to see stories that tell you there is an immigrant epidemic so stories about immigrants becoming successful through hard work or immigrants not on the government social welfare programs lessens your faith in the channel. Similarly stories that highlight how diversity benefits america and stories of how new immigrants have helped the economy these stories though anecdotal (and most news stories are) will disengage the channels audience and they will look for other news sources. The same can be said of MSNBC or left leaning news.

This has lead to an environment where the news channels instead of educating their viewers are enabling them. So not only do advertisers have an influence but the viewers biases have a profound impact too the content because channels operate on TRP’s and so they give the viewers what they think they want based on their customer profiles and biases.

The problem here is that editors choose news stories based on probable viewership numbers and viewers wants news that enforces or validates their world view. It’s a vicious cycle that makes us all more polarized, biased and discourages independent thinking along with making us less informed about the true state of things.

Also how are we to grow as a society if the sources we look to for truth, pander to our lowest base instincts and enable our biases further for the sake of revenue. I do not have a solution – apart from check your biases, analyze every bit of information and engage in independent thinking.

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This world is to be shared.

There is renewed interest in the debate on multiculturalism & whether it’s truly possible for society to be secular. Many have stated that it is a failure & the recent attacks in France have only charged the debate further.

I though am a firm believer in multiculturalism and its benefits. Opponents to multiculturalism, in my opinion, are merely slow-adapters to change (you have some of those everywhere, many were adverse to the internet!)

The dangerous & disturbing trend is how those who oppose it are resorting to violence. Whether it be far right groups in Europe or marginalized minorities in western & developing countries.

To see how the benefits outweigh the teething problems read on…


Types of Appraisals

All appraisals have a purpose and function. When a valuer begins the process of appraising an article of jewelry they must determine the reasons for the appraisal so they can take the best approach to estimate the value. There are many ways to appraise jewelry and in turn there are many uses for the valuation. Replacement or actual cash value valuations are used for insurance, comparison, hypothetical, damage, and barter appraisals. Fair market value valuations are used for auction, antique, collateral, casualty, estate, probate, donation, and in some states divorce appraisals. Liquidation values are used for bankruptcy appraisals.

The purpose of a barter, divorce or probate appraisal is to establish the Fair Market Value in the most common and appropriate jewelry markets, and respectively their functions are to address the possibility of sale for the appraised item in various markets, to provide a basis for the dissolution of property, and to provide a basis for inheritance tax purposes or for equitable distribution of property among heirs.

The purpose of an estate appraisal is to establish the Fair Market Value in the most common and appropriate jewelry markets, and its function is to provide a basis for paying estate taxes. Estate appraisals are requested by the executor of an estate who wishes to establish the Fair Market Value of a given item in order to pay State and/or Federal estate taxes. Fair Market Value is defined as the price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of all relevant facts in the most common market in which such goods are sold.

The purpose of an insurance appraisal is to establish the retail replacement value in the most common and appropriate markets, and its function is to provide a basis for obtaining insurance coverage. Insurance appraisals are requested by an owner who wishes to obtain insurance on a given item. The retail replacement value represents the cost to replace the described item with a comparable item, as near as possible to the original, in the retail jewelry market or other markets appropriate to the item described.

The purpose of a bankruptcy or liquidation appraisal is to estimate an approximate selling price for the described item in a secondary market which is specifically identified in the appraisal document, and its function is to provide a cash value that might be realized by a seller in a specific market. Bankruptcy or Liquidation appraisals are requested by an owner who wishes to convert item into cash. Because markets vary widely, this appraisal is an estimate of the possible cash value that an item, in its current condition, might have in the market indicated in the appraisal document. Because this estimate is specific for a given market, the actual market in which an item is sold will determine the actual selling price.

The purpose of a damage appraisal is to assess the loss in value of an item or items. When determining a loss of value for insurance claim, condition plays a major role in the appraisal. A sound knowledge of metals, gemstones and other materials used in making jewelry is requisite in analyzing the effects of use, age, environment, or prior repairs or alterations. It is essential for the appraiser to note pre-existing condition, as this determination may impact liability for restoration and loss of value.

The purpose of a collateral appraisal is to establish the approximate cash value of the described items in an orderly liquidation where time is a contributing factor, and its function is to provide an orderly liquidation value for collateral purposes. Collateral appraisals are requested by a party who wishes to offer gems or jewelry in lieu of cash for a business transaction. Because a lender is generally unwilling to wait a potentially lengthy period of time before the item can be sold in the retail market, a collateral appraisal must reflect the price at which said item can be readily converted into cash in the near future. This limitation of time necessitates that calculations of values be based on the market value in an alternative market, usually below wholesale, with jewelry mountings, if any, being evaluated purely on the intrinsic smelted cash value of the precious metal based on the prevailing market base price of that day.

A hypothetical appraisal is one that is done without the benefit of the item/items in question. The appraisal is our best effort to place a current value on a piece of jewelry using a customer's description of the item/items, a receipt for the purchase of the item/items, old appraisals of the item/items, or photographs of the item/items in question. Since the item/items are not available for inspection, we cannot check for stamping or conduct gold testing to determine the karat content. In such cases we must rely on the customer's recollection of karat content of the item/items. For the hypothetical appraisal, the market data comparison is used to estimate the value of the item/items in question. The item/items used for the comparison can be identical or equivalent to the subject property.

There are other values an appraiser may give, which are wholesale value, or scrap valuations and they are used for determining dealer to dealer cost or actual scrap value of old or unrepairable jewelry.


New research suggests pesticides may have triggered Havana Syndrome

Since reports surfaced surrounding health complications in Cuba among American and Canadian diplomatic staff, researchers have explored theories as to the cause of their symptoms brought forth by Havana syndrome in mid-2017.

A most recent theory, originating from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva, Israel and Dalhousie University Brain Repair Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, have focused on pesticides as a potential trigger for the health problems reported by diplomatic personnel.

According to the findings, a likely source of the health complaints, which includes loss of balance, concentration, headaches, memory difficulties, and sleep problems, may involve organophosphorus insecticides.

The findings were determined based on the examination of 26 Canadian diplomats and relatives. The Canadian personnel, the report shows, experienced similar symptoms as American diplomats during their stay in Cuba’s capital.

During the examination, researchers assessed cognitive health, blood tests, self-reported symptom questionnaires, and brain imaging results. Among individuals with signs of brain injury, they were instructed to undergo neurological, visual, and audio-vestibular assessments.

As attributed in the report, Alon Friedman, the study’s lead author, points to multiple functional and structural impairments, indicating brain injury as a result of possible overexposure to cholinesterase inhibitors associated with organophosphorus insecticides.

“Our findings confirm brain injury, specify the regions involved, and raise the hypothesis of overexposure to cholinesterase inhibitors as a plausible etiology.”

Prior to the findings, researchers have proclaimed other plausible explanations for the symptoms, including exposure to the species Anurogryllus celerinictus and, most prevalently, mass psychogenic illness.


It's feeling like fall across much of the country, as storms move across Central US

Frost advisories have been issued for some parts of the Northeast.

It's finally feeling like fall across much of the Northeast, with temperatures Saturday morning the 40s and 30s.

Freeze warnings and frost advisories have been issued for parts of the Northeast as well as parts of Michigan.

The fall weather is a relief for many in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, after record highs earlier this week.

A new storm system is developing in parts of the Central U.S., and will be moving through the eastern half of the country over the next few days. This system is not expected to be particularly intense, but it is expected to bring some rain and thunderstorms to parts of the eastern half of the nation.

Some thunderstorms and rain are already moving through the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Iowa Saturday morning.

By tonight this system will move eastward. Along the cold front, there could be an isolated strong storm in parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.

On Sunday and Sunday night, storms will track south and eastward, with some heavy rain falling in parts of the South and into the Appalachians.

Three to four inches of rain is possible across parts of the Tennessee Valley and western Appalachians, where some localized flooding will be possible.

Behind this system, the dry air from Canada continues to push into the Lower 48 as we get deeper into fall. However the dry air, combined with some localized gusty winds, is raising concerns for fires in parts of Colorado and California this weekend.

Red flag warnings have been issued for parts of Northern California and some of the Rockies west of Denver. Relative humidity could be as low as 10 percent, with wind gusts up to 45 mph in spots.


Office 365 Services Apps and Features Explained

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Microsoft has put considerable amounts of time and resources into Office 365.  At a recent Microsoft Partner conference I was impressed with the cloud-first strategy that Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO) has created for the company.  Office 365 is one of the key components of the cloud first direction.

Beyond the traditional desktop and online applications within Office 365, such as Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word, there are several additional services, apps, and add-ins that you may not know even exist, let alone know how and why they may be valuable to you, your colleagues, and/or your business.

The goal of this article is to review a great majority of the available (non-traditional) Office 365 services, apps, and features, and give our readers a better understanding of how and why they're used. Hopefully, too, this information will help our audience better decide whether they might be interested in acquiring any of these products for themselves or their organization.

But before we get into that—assuming you already use Office 365—make sure you're familiar with which apps and services are currently available to you within your particular Office 365 subscription. To do so, simply log into your Office 365 environment, and open up your “app launcher”, which is the blue grid in the left-hand corner of your web browser.

Below is our list and description of some of the most popular Office 365 services, apps, and features. Note that some of the information was gathered from our learning partners at Microsoft. Also, please keep in mind that many of the products which we'll review are only included in select subscription plans of Microsoft Office 365.

► ProPlus Client Tools

Office 365 includes online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.  These apps include most of the functionality found in the desktop version of the apps with some additional collaboration features not found in the desktop apps.

► Microsoft Bookings

Microsoft Bookings is an online and mobile app for small businesses that provide services to customers on an appointment basis. Need to contact a customer about an appointment or reschedule on the fly? With the Bookings mobile app, you have full access to your customer, staff, and calendar info where and when you need it. Use the app to email, call, or text customers or create a new appointment with a few taps.

► Microsoft Flow

Microsoft Flow is a cloud-based service that makes it practical and simple for line-of-business users to build workflows that automate time-consuming business tasks and processes across applications and services. You can use Flow to connect email and IM alerts, synchronize files between applications, copy files from one service to another, collect data from one app and store it in another, and more.

► Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms is a new part of Office 365 Education that allows you to quickly and easily create custom quizzes, surveys, questionnaires, registrations, and more. When you create a quiz or form, you can invite others to respond to it using any web browser, even on mobile devices. As results are submitted, you can use built-in analytics to evaluate responses. Forms data, such as quiz results, can be easily exported to Excel for additional analysis or grading.

► Microsoft MyAnalytics

Formerly known as Delve Analytics, MyAnalytics helps you focus on what matters most by providing personalized insights about how you spend your time at work. In addition to the capabilities that had been available in Delve Analytics, MyAnalytics will allow you to stay up-to-date with important contacts, share key metrics, and help you prioritize the time you spend with different groups.

► Microsoft Planner

Microsoft Planner is a tool that gives users a visual way to organize teamwork. Teams can create new plans, organize and assign tasks, share files, chat about what they're working on, set due dates, and update status. Microsoft Planner also offers the ability to associate documents with specific tasks, edit them together, and have conversations around tasks.

► Microsoft PowerApps

PowerApps, at its core, is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). It allows you to create Mobile Apps that run on Android, iOS, Windows, with almost any Internet browser. With PowerApps Mobile Apps, all of the PowerApps you create run through the PowerApp App. It takes care of the differences between the operating systems and just allows you to run your apps. It is essentially a container that makes mobile apps much easier to use across mobile platforms.

► Microsoft Sway

Microsoft Sway is a professional digital storytelling app for business that helps you and your colleagues express ideas using an interactive, web-based canvas. Microsoft Sway’s built-in design engine helps you produce professional, visually-appealing reports, presentations, and more without the need for extensive formatting or additional training. You can also modify the results to get the unique look and feel you want. Microsoft Sway makes your creation look great in any browser on any screen, and it can be shared with colleagues and customers by simply sending a link. Microsoft Sway helps you find and pull together all sorts of content without leaving the app, so you can drag and drop your images, text, videos, and charts right on to your canvas.

► Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a chat-centered workspace in Office 365 that helps team members achieve more together. Microsoft Teams serves as a hub for teamwork, providing instant access to chat conversations, content, and tools from across Office 365 into a single workspace. SharePoint and OneNote are built in, and team members can work on Office documents right within the app. Aside from chats, Microsoft Teams also supports video calls and meetings to enable teams to meet live, whether on demand, or scheduled. Team members can easily collaborate with multiple teams and search across people, chats, and files anytime. Microsoft Teams works across Windows, Mac, Web, Android, and iOS platforms.

► Office Delve

Microsoft Office Delve is a data visualization and discovery tool that incorporates elements of social networking and machine learning with the search capability of the Microsoft Office 365 suite. Office Delve is a cloud-based service powered by Office Graph, which helps users find and discover pertinent information across integrated Microsoft products by pulling user content from Microsoft Exchange, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint 2016 and Yammer.

► Office 365 Groups

Essentially, Office 365 Groups are a shared workspace for email, conversations, files, and events where group members can collectively get work completed. You can use groups to collaborate with people across your company, even if they don’t have access to Dynamics 365. For example, you can create a group for your sales team and invite other Office 365 users to join the group, and then share documents, conversations, meeting notes, and OneNote information related to specific accounts or opportunities. According to Microsoft, Groups works with any entities, even custom ones.

► OneDrive

OneDrive is Microsoft's online Cloud storage product and is available for free to all owners of a Microsoft account. It was previously called SkyDrive but was re-branded in 2014. OneDrive offers users a simple way to store, sync, and share files with other people and devices on the Web. OneDrive is the central point for hosting and sharing files online when using Microsoft's services and applications. The only way to access it "independently" is using a web browser. Simply go to the OneDrive website, enter your Microsoft account credentials, and sign in.

► SharePoint Online

SharePoint Online is a cloud-based service that helps organizations share and collaborate with colleagues, partners, and customers. With SharePoint Online, you can access internal sites, documents, and other information from anywhere—at the office, at home, or from a mobile device. SharePoint Online is a powerful set of tools that empowers sharing and collaboration on your intranet.

► Skype for Business

Skype for Business, formerly known as Microsoft Lync, is a unified communications (UC) platform that integrates common channels of business communication and online meetings, including instant messaging (IM), presence, voice over IP (VoIP), voicemail, file transfers, video conferencing, web conferencing, and email. Skype for Business can be deployed on premises, in the Cloud, or as a hybrid service. Clients can run on Windows operating systems, Android phones and tablets and Apple iOS devices.

Note: As part of the Microsoft intelligent communications vision to deliver smarter calling and meeting experiences, they’re building Skype for Business capabilities into Teams. This will happen over time, and ultimately Teams will become the single client experience.

► Yammer

Putting Together the Pieces

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Get out, get fit and enjoy the fresh air! Walking is the one of the best ways to see the countryside and the Derbyshire Dales offers an unrivalled choice of routes. The northern half lies with the Peak District, Britain's first National Park, where the limestone 'White Peak' is a patchwork of fields, stone walls and sparkling river valleys such as the Wye, Derwent, Lathkill and Dove. Higher up the moorland of the 'Dark Peak' ends in dramatic gritstone 'edges' offering superb views for walkers. In the southern half of the Dales the countryside is gentler, with rolling green fields and hedges where wildlife flourishes.

Explore the beatiful  Dales on a short circular walk.
Explore the beautiful Dales on a short circular walk.


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Argumentative Essay Sample on Socrates and Machiavelli

Politics it is an art of ruling people and, it is a great responsibility to be a ruler. The politics also can be considered as a certain philosophy. Socrates and Machiavelli are very known philosophers, which devoted a lot of writings to describe how to serve politics as art to people. That is why, this art always have a connection between politics and the principles of morality. Machiavelli and Socrates offer the basic principles to governor in order to help him maintain the power. Human beings feel safer when they follow the actions which have already proved to be successful.

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Machiavelli is the author of the Theory of Leadership which provided the public order and outlined the stability in the society. He also drew a conclusion that behavior of people has two motives, these are the feeling of love and fear and a successful ruler has to use both of them. In other words, the combination of love and fear gives the ruler a very big influence on human beings.

However, in real life, it is almost impossible to behave as Machiavelli said. Therefore, it is necessary to work in a way that the fear will not turn into hatred, because the leader might be overthrown. Besides, these two motives are ruled by ambition which inherent in everybody. The leader needs to know who exactly is more ambitious and, as a consequence, is more dangerous for him as a ruler.

Unlike Machiavelli, Socrates presented the doctrine about leadership and power less strictly. He thought that the leader should be smart and wise. He said:” If a man moves the world, he must first move himself” (Basic quotations).Thus, a person who wants to be a leader should be more attentive and demanding to himself. People are more likely to reach something when they do not tell anybody about their intentions. Socrates saw the leader with a great will, but did not try to teach leader to be as rigid as Machiavelli’s one.

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Machiavelli is considered to be the rigid leader in his works. “The end justifies the means” (Machiavelli: The end justifies the means). Some people think that he is a teacher of evil. He mentioned that the world of politics and government is not safe. In order to survive, politician must have the strong character and ability to perform unsavory acts that Machiavelli recommends in one of his works “The Prince” (Machiavelli vs. Socrates).

However, Socrates has another point of view he also did not like democracy as a Machiavelli and treated it with criticism (Allan, 2001). On the other hand, he did not respect tyranny, arbitrariness, violence and lawlessness. Socrates implied that the governor has to be competent. In addition, the representative of authority requires adequate knowledge to manage the human beings. In the end, he was condemned to death for "impiety". It implies contempt of the divine character and authority, irreverence towards the Supreme Being.

The teaching by Machiavelli has a lot of common with the modern governors. The principles of Machiavelli are useful for detaining terrorist prisoners by the government of the United States. The representatives of authorities have to consider the pressure to set the stability and order. The deception of the people is also effective for successful management, because the author of this theory can deceive and pretend to be a professional. On the other hand, Socrates did not respect tyranny, as he considered that reasonable people with their own outlooks on life had already suffered from them.

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Explosive devices such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) threaten the lives of emergency responders at home and claim the lives and limbs of American troops abroad. These threats may be addressed by making them unable to explode, taking them away from the scene, and exploding them in a safe place. Making a device unable to explode can be accomplished by a disablement tool. However, shortcomings in current disablement tools make them unable to defeat many devices being encountered.
Sandia researchers have addressed this problem by creating Stingray, the first coherent fluid blade disablement tool based on technology that forms water from the disablement tool into a single blade capable of actually cutting through one-quarter-inch steel. The efficient design enables greater penetration than other disablement tools while using the same explosive. Unlike other technologies, Stingray can be easily positioned at the most effective distance from its target. When Stingray is detonated, a wall of water shoots out the back and is capable of disabling not only munitions but also “soft targets” such as backpacks, where tearing, not cutting, is necessary.

TEAM Technologies, Inc., of Albuquerque, N.M., negotiated a license with Sandia to make and sell Stingray. Sandia worked closely with TEAM to transfer the information needed to improve and produce Stingray and sell it to the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) community. TEAM enhanced Stingray’s performance in battlefield situations by making it more durable, so it is easier to place in position using a common method of positioning disablement tools: a robot. The strong collaboration between TEAM and Sandia enabled rapid commercialization, requiring only seven months from the signing of the licensing agreement in January 2010 to delivery of the first products to soldiers in July 2010.

This commercialization effort has incredible benefits. America’s military requested Stingray for the battlefield after discovering it while training at Sandia, and this commercialization satisfies that demand. Over 7,000 Stingray units have already been shipped and are saving lives in war zones. TEAM also has commitments to purchase approximately 500 Tactical Stingrays, the pocket-sized version, and is actively pursuing production; and it anticipated the ability to produce the Tactical Stingray by August 2010.

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Chapel Rock

Chapel Rock Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore: The tree is supported by a single root that spans the gap.

Chapel Rock
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Real Learners, Real People, Real Responses

Who: responses from people who are…

  • finished with school (or could be)
  • successful and well known in their professional area
  • reasonably positive role models
  • could speak to the impact that education makes in their lives

What: explaining a message about education…

  • Work and study habits that have carried on into their careers
  • The ability to see another point-of-view
  • Conflict resolution, or how to stay out of trouble
  • How to get noticed, and when not to get noticed
  • Increased empathy
  • Instilled motivation

How you can help:

  • Suggest people to reach out to
  • Help me reach out to them
  • Re-tweet and share
  • Encourage the idea

How Education Can Help You Throw 500 Touchdowns

  1. recognition factor
  2. some demonstration or involvement in charity

The Generic Form Letter I Started With:

Dear [NAME]:

Writing to Understand: Kobe Bryant and Facebook Venting

In the National Writing Project, we talked about purposes for writing. As a writer, my purposes for writing are clear, varied, and plentiful. As a teacher, I know students struggle to see authentic purposes for writing or to embrace the purposes that have been standardized by school and state standards.

I’ve read essays by upperclassmen that didn’t really start until the bottom of page two: they had written for a time around the topic but only got to what they really wanted to say about the topic until they had written about it. Of course, when I pointed that out they didn’t want to get rid of that writing; doing so, in their minds, would render all that work a waste. Leaving these unnecessary words was simpler than the alternative. I call this “thinking on paper” and it isn’t bad–but it isn’t what students think it is, a finalized draft.

As an English teacher and a writer, I can claim the benefits of writing, including the personal benefits, but students (wisely) consider the source: of course I would say that. Even a genius like Flannery O’Connor can’t convince them.

“I write to discover what I know.”

-Flannery O’Connor

As writers, we reiterate the show don’t tell mantra. It is better, then, for me to show them “writing to understand,” and to do so in an authentic and engaging manner.

On April 12, 2013, this happened:

Later that night, Kobe posted this on Facebook:

The moment I read this, I was fascinated by what was happening here: Kobe was coming to terms with an experience by writing about it. I also knew I would usurp Kobe’s “street cred” to help me prove my point: sometimes we can write our way into a deeper, clearer understanding.

The more I read it, however, the more I saw potential in the writing. There is opportunity here for close reading, looking for transition, for claims; there is opportunity for peer review and feedback, suggesting how Kobe could revise this to fit a more traditional essay form.

I also remembered some other writings that could be drawn in for further comparison and analysis:

If Kobe's venting was a positive example, Dan Gilbert offers one that, well, could have been kept to himself.

This writing serves a different purpose, but would serve as an interesting, refined comparison.

Students need to accept that some words are more for ourselves, that sometimes we write for no other purpose than coming to grips with something. This past Mother’s Day, I went to a restaurant with my wife and children, my father, and my father-in-law. There is a story there, but what I wrote that morning was more about me coming to an understanding; it wasn’t to share (even though it was on Facebook), and it wasn’t to prove anything to anyone. When I sat to write, I had no idea where it was going.

If students can get to that point, they will be happier as people and more successful as students. But they need to be taught.

If you like what you read here, please let me know. Comment, share, and follow the blog. I have a short PowerPoint and some guiding questions, as well as an annotated copy and clean copy of Kobe’s Facebook post.  If you would like these resources or have any questions or suggestions, click here.

Additional Reading

College Readiness: Writing to Learn  The difference between reflexivity and reflectivity in writing.

The Loop Writing Process Activity that could be adapted for all types of writing assignments.

Capacity Building Series: Writing to Learn (PDF) Activities and suggestions for all content areas.

Low-Stakes Writing Exercises: 3 Tips to Get Started Teaching Channel article with videos demonstrating writing to learn.

The Two People in Every Room, Even If It Is Only You

This is my theory: There are always two types of people in the room, and each of them needs to hear the opposite message.

This is more likely to be true as the number of people in the room increases. However, it can be true when there is as few as one: because sometimes we need to hear contradictory words of wisdom to keep us sane and balanced.

Here are some examples of the two types of people who might be in the room:

The one over here needs to be reminded not to worry so much what other people think. Confidence, after all, not insecurity, is an attractive and desirable trait.

But the one over here needs to be reminded that he shouldn’t pick his nose in public or start clapping spontaneously in the grocery store.

This person should also be reminded not to wear a Dos Equis shirt with cut off sleeves when he's taking a selfie in the broken bathroom mirror.

This person should also be reminded not to wear a Dos Equis shirt with cut off sleeves when he’s taking a selfie in the broken bathroom mirror.

There is someone who needs to hear something like, “Chin up, things are going to be okay”; then there is someone else who should be reminded that, if you don’t change something soon, you’re screwed. There’s a student writer who needs to be told, “Just keep writing, without worrying about how things sound”; but that is terrible advice to the one who has already filled several pages and could be reminded to stop and think every once in a while before turning in a “finished draft.” There is some hurting soul who needs the reminders of grace and forgiveness; and just down the row is some smug ass in need of a little verbal slapping to straighten things out.

Exercise is healthy. You’re getting obsessed.

Write more. Write less.

Clean your house. Put down that rag before you wipe down that counter for a fourteenth time today.

Think before you act. Enough already, Hamlet: be, or don’t be, but do something.

It’s not your fault. You could have done things differently.

I try to remember the two people in every room, that my wisdom may be folly for some, that my praise to one may be condemnation to another. But more often, the two people in the room are simply the two sides of myself: the one who needs encouragement, reassurance, kindness, and a mother to spoil him; and the other who needs reprimand, discipline, orders, and someone to tell him that sleeveless shirts are only, barely, okay for working out (thanks, Kristen!).

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Who are the two people you find yourself talking to? What are the contradictory words of wisdom you need to hear?

In the Beginning was the Word. Then Came Punctuation.

But what has changed?

Using. Punctuation; to Help Teach Close and Critical Reading

The Common Core State Standards don’t specifically address the analysis of an author’s grammatical choices, and this is an oversight that shouldn’t be overlooked by teachers.

The language standards do mention things like the use of punctuation for effect and recognizing sentence fragments. But writers learn by reading examples and then writing using these as models, something clearly and usefully shown by Jeff Anderson and others.

However, whether it was intended or not, analyzing an author’s grammatical choices should be an inferred skill embedded within the Craft and Structure standards for Reading Literature and Informational texts. From 6th to 12th grade, these standards are largely progressive and involve looking at (.4) the meanings of words, (.5) the structure of part of the text and its impact, and (.6) the development of an author’s point of view.

I can demonstrate with the following, the beginning of Stephen Vincent Benet’s essay “We Aren’t Superstitious.”

“Usually, our little superstitious rituals and propitiations don’t hurt our daily lives. Usually.”

If you’re reading carefully, the word “propitiations” probably tripped you up a bit. But what stood out, was that last adverb on its own little island. Applying the three CCSS from above, we could say the following:

  • The connotation of the word just became much more ominous (.4),
  • Structurally isolating the word creates suspense (.5),
  • And it definitely begins to sharpen the author’s point of view (.6).

If teachers model the kind of analysis I suggest and model here myself, they will help students be more critical readers and more intentional writers.

I am so angry. And so happy to see him. (We Were Liars, E. Lockhart, page 68)

we were liarsWhen I came across those lines, I stopped. The period simply should not be there. A comma might be all right, but the period creates a rather awkward fragment. It’s disruptive; it’s get my attention. The questions is, why does the author want to get my attention? Why does she get me thinking about a period? What does she want me to notice?

She could have written: I am so angry and so happy to see him. What difference does that make to you?

She could also have written: I am so angry to see him. Yet I am also so happy to see him. What difference does that make?

Think for a moment what she is saying here (with or without the  punctuation). She is describing Cady’s feelings at seeing Gat. Angry and happy: these are not emotions we normally link. In fact, they’re nearly opposites. Cady is confused, mixed up. Regardless, though, how opposing the two words are, if they are neatly paired in a simple sentence, as in the first rewrite, the eyes could gloss right over, never noticing the disparity in Cady’s feelings.

If they are separated into two separate sentences, like in the second rewrite, it is more obvious, but also more orderly. We might feel as if an explanation is coming. But there isn’t, because these aren’t separate thoughts; these are the mixed up emotions of a very confused girl. And beyond that, this highlights one of the themes of the novel: opposing forces, disparities. What’s shown on the outside versus what’s felt on the inside. Love and hate. Remembering and forgetting.

Was I aware of this before that one period? Yes. But stopping at the period made sure that I did.

[I will follow up with an example from a nonfiction text: one of the gospels.]

When It Comes to FANBOYS, I’m More of A “But” Man

[This started off as a teaching post. But life has made it something much more.]

Of all the FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So), none is more fundamental to writing, reading, listening, and simply living than “but.” In fact, the hope of humanity and the salvation of our souls might well rest on our understanding and mastering the use of this coordinating conjunction.

You might be thinking, “But surely you are overstating it.” Or you may disagree: “But,” you will say, and then state your counterargument.

Thanks to Jeff Anderson for making these available.

Thanks to Jeff Anderson for making these available.

And I will respond, “Case closed. But I respect and appreciate your adding to the conversation.” #seewhatIdidthere?

But is fundamental. When we write (from brainstorming to revising), when we read or listen, and when we live—which is, I’m fairly convinced, pretty much always—we will be better off if we harness the power of but.

The fact that it also is a humorous homonym is just a little piece of grace to those of us juvenile to appreciate it.

It all starts at the but.

Without but we would have no literature because without conflict, there is no plot and therefore no story. Rick Wormelli, author and educator, offers a strategy for summarizing fiction, called “Somebody… wanted… but … so.” The but here represents the conflicts that arise and prevent characters from getting what they want or living the way they want to.

Here are a couple of summaries, revised to omit any but. Notice how these movies would never have been made, how conflict is necessary.

  • In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen wanted to avoid anyone close to her having to participate in the Hunger Games, so nobody volunteered and nobody had to participate.
  • In Jaws, the people of Amity Island wanted to enjoy some time at the ocean, so they went to the beach and had a lovely day.

Similarly, when I attend professional development and learn about something great I’m supposed to start doing, I want to hear about the challenges I will face, how things are going to go wrong. Because nothing works as well in real life as it does in a meeting room. Give me the but scenario so I can think about how I’ll be adapting it to the variables of my situation.

And when I am listening to a sermon, it usually only becomes a truly meaningful message once it gets to some kind of but. Consider the difference between the two following claims:

  • “God loves you, and…”
  • “God loves you, but…”

Which one piques your curiosity more? Which one is more likely to challenge you to grow?

I had students write argumentative essays last year. I had them practice on the issue of bullying. Not surprisingly, I got essays that sought to argue some version of the following claim: Bullying should be stopped. They wrote that it was mean, that it shouldn’t happen, that bullies should be punished. What they lacked was deeper understanding of the issue’s challenges:

  • But how can we really stop it?
  • But how do we actually define bullying?
  • But what happens to those we label as bullies?

Students who explored those questions and sought to address them would have much greater understanding, would write better essays, would be in a position to change the world. Those who didn’t simply mouthed platitudes.

But that is unfortunately understandable because we live in a world of “talking heads” who occasionally get paid to do just the same thing.

fox news

We can find depth with the but.

The students who wrote those essays struggled to write anything remotely essay-length. They complained they didn’t have anything to say, although it was more true to say they didn’t feel they had anything obvious or meaningful to say. They were merely passing on what they heard or knew to be true. As a teacher, I need to do more to help them think: to see exceptions, to anticipate the conflict of unintended consequences, to understand the need for clarification.

But this condition isn’t limited to eighth graders.

Many of our pundits and politicians need the same thing. Many of us, politically speaking, need it, too. If we as a nation ever hope to progress or solve even some of the relatively easier challenges facing us, we need more of the understanding that comes with but.

No matter how opposed to guns you are, it is at least necessary to spend some time thinking about a question like, “But how can we take guns from those who already legally own them and see them as a constitutional right to their personal protection?”

No matter how opposed to any sort of amnesty for illegal immigrants you are, you should have a reasonable answer for the question, “But how do we logistically and humanely deport all those who are already here and have been for a very long time?”

Two millennia ago, Jesus created quite a stir, in part because He came with the kind of clarification and redefinition that is possible with but. He said things like, “You know you’re not supposed to murder, but if you hate somebody, it’s basically the same thing.” He was also able to address uncomfortable truth: life sucks, but I overcame this life and death.

Politically, religiously, and socially, we are comfortable before the but. We’d rather not confront what comes after the but. We prefer:

  • “I haven’t murdered anybody.”
  • “The law must be followed.”
  • “We must protect the innocent.”

But when we stop there–when we do not understand or seek to be understood–our lives write nothing but pithy, platitude-filled essays.

Please don’t let your two cents all come from your but.

We all know a contrarian, the kind of person who has an issue with every little thing, who sees problems with every possibility, who contradicts every claim. These people are often looking for excuses or maybe a way to get out of a meeting sooner rather than later; they are rarely seeking understanding or solutions.

But is not only oppositional. But is clarification. But is exception. But is truth-seeking, in that it digs deeper in the search for underlying issues and maybe even common ground.

However, but is only the transition: it is up to us what to do with what comes after.

Consider: I have a problem, but it’s not the same as your problem so you don’t know what I’m going through. Or: That’s a possible solution, but nothing is really going to change.

Compared with: I have a problem, but I can still help. I have a problem, but we all struggle and need to help each other. I have a problem, but I still have so much to be thankful for. I have a problem, but at least I understand but.

But should not stop a conversation or stall an issue; but should encourage dialogue and progress towards a more informed solution. But should not divide; but should recognize differences and address them clearly.  As readers and writers, parents and children, teachers and students, citizens and leaders, social and religious beings, we can benefit from that habit of mind.

How I plan on using “Yes But No Questions” to help students think more deeply:

Devil’s Den, Broken Drawers and Third Poopers

2010 Vacation 089

I’ve written more poetically about this trip for my author page in an upcoming issue  (92) of Glimmer Train.

In 2010, we took a trip out East. One of the stops was Gettysburg, which we toured in our van, a voice from a CD providing details of the gruesome and pivotal battle, guiding us from stop to stop, one of which was Devil’s Den. The history of the place was almost entirely lost on my children, the ground no more hallowed than our back yard. To them, these were just fields. But Devil’s Den had something our back yard didn’t: giant rocks to climb and explore. They had no idea how many had suffered and died on these rocks; this was a chance to be out of the van.

Our house has one bathroom. While this indoor plumbing puts us ahead of billions of people who rely on pit toilets or less, it isn’t ideal.

In a house with only one bathroom,replacing the toilet is a time-sensitive project.

Driving home with the family, usually by the time we turn onto our street, it isn’t unlikely for someone to call out, “I’m first for the bathroom!” This can be followed with calls of second and third, but it can also lead to some negotiations, such as who has to go worse and the particular nature of your visit, the clear logic being that number one takes less time than number two, so that now it is common to position yourself in the hierarchy of need by calling out first pee-er or first, second, or even third pooper–which is not, let me tell you, an enviable position.

For far too long, we lived with a broken drawer—the exact kind of household project I find every excuse to avoid. The metal track under the drawer kept falling off, so the drawer rested on nothing but the frame of the cabinet. It was a pain to pull out and push in, and if you weren’t careful you could pull the whole drawer right out and dump everything on the floor. It was the drawer that held, among other things, the baggies for the kids’ lunches. So each school night, when they made their lunches, they dealt with the drawer.

When the broken drawer finally snapped the cabinet board beneath, leaving a gaping hole, the project was no longer avoidable.

One night my daughter asked something like, “Why do we live with a broken drawer?” Or maybe she said, “Nobody else’s house has broken drawers.” Although, now that I think about it, she may have been more philosophical: “Why do we live in a world where drawers break?” [That is not how she remembers it.]

I turned to her and said, “I’m glad for broken drawers because they make me thankful for everything that isn’t broken.” I can be insufferable at times–and my nuggets of wisdom aren’t always appreciated.

If we aren’t careful, all the beautiful scenery and smooth-gliding drawers and indoor plumbing in our lives can belie the horrors that hallow the brokenness of this world. Yet it can all be too much at times, the suffering and the waiting. I want to protect my kids from the worst of it. I want them to jump, carefree, from rock to rock.

We haven’t shielded our children from the world. When their grandma was dying of cancer, they knew basically what we knew. When news of the outside world filters in, of killing and natural disasters, we’ll talk about it. But their lives, thank God, have been sheltered. And I’m all right with that. As long as they learn to appreciate the unbroken things and to live graciously with broken drawers and standing in line to poop.

Semicolon Blow: On Using and Teaching an Unnecessary Punctuation

colon blowI’m fond of it really. However, consider how much we teach the semicolon with how little the punctuation mark is needed. Of course, students need to know what it is and at least how it can be used to combine sentences (of course, its use with lists is often overlooked). But maybe we shouldn’t stop there; maybe we should do more to challenge students rhetorically.

The problem with how the semicolon is taught is not only a how problem; it’s a why problem. Instead of stopping at how to use a semicolon to combine sentences, perhaps we should also have students think about why we should.

Ask a student to write a sentence using a semicolon and you might get something like this (followed by the semicolon “formula”):

You can’t argue with that: it’s is correct. Yay for the student. However, just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should. Writers don’t focus on writing correct sentences (in fact, sometimes, we write incorrect ones). Writers focus on writing good sentences. So is the example above a good sentence?

That, of course, depends. This sentence represents a specific situation, with a setting and characters, each of whom has some sort of motivation. Different sentence constructions with different ways of combining these two ideas will take on different meanings. I’ve borrowed strategies and terminology from Jeff Anderson and Constance Weaver to develop the following rhetorical analysis of the simple semicolon.

First, look at these examples, combining the two clauses in different ways. How are these different from the first version, and how then are they similar and different?

Obviously both follow the same pattern. In A, most likely it is two facts with little connecting the two, although it is possible we are celebrating the fact that Tom and Joe both brought something or that they together brought two things (as in, they’re roommates and were only expected to bring one thing). But that’s not what happened at all.

So let’s look at another way of expressing the same sentence. How is this different rhetorically from the previous?

Again, the pattern has changed from the first two, and there is a different structural order. But the significant change is that we now see the relationship between these two facts. What we now see is that Joe’s bringing pop somehow influenced Tom’s bringing pizza.

So then, how is this next example any different?

Rhetorically, the semicolon with a conjunction creates more of a pause or highlights the connection between the two ideas more forcefully. So in this last example, I would argue that it most clearly represents what I had in mind: Joe and Tom had a rather heated argument about who could take pop and who would have to get the pizza, so when Joe rushed out and got the pop, this caused Tom to get the pizza, reluctantly. That semicolon and conjunctive adverb best underscore Tom’s plight.

I’m still, though, wondering about that first sentence and when it would be a good example, that simple semicolon formula. Well, semicolons can be good when sentences get really long but you don’t want to start a new one. For many students, this is dangerous territory, the equivalent of a large pair of scissors in the hands of a small child. Instead, a semicolon can be used to connect two sentences when the two ideas are so closely related that no “connector” is needed and a new, almost dramatic affect can be achieved. Consider this alternative scenario, ending with the original sentence:

Tom and Joe agreed to arm wrestle. The winner could get the pop while the loser had to foot the bill for the pizza. They squared off, locking hands in preparation for battle. At first Tom had the upper hand, but then Joe found a hidden reserve of strength and battled back. The two went back and forth for some time until it seemed no one would be able to win.

Tom brought pizza; Joe brought pop.

Here are examples of semicolon use:

Shadrack knew it; Sophia sensed it.     The Glass Sentence, S.E. Grove (23)

We never broke up; we fizzled out.     Team Seven, Marcus Burke (114)

The keys are mine; the car, tragically, is not.     Paper Towns, John Green (27)

He didn’t kill her; she killed herself.     Mercedes, Stephen King, (292)

And lastly, two examples from We the Animals by Justin Torres, a novel which could provide a study in the use of semicolons. My theory on Torres’s use is that he often has the young, naive narrator leave out any conjunctive connector between two actions, giving the sense that he doesn’t see or understand the connections between the actions, just the actions themselves.

Ma was suckling her fingertip; she had cut herself on the jagged edge of the soup can. (39)

Manny pumped two fake swings; I flinched each time. (110)

For further reading or research, read this article, or consider this lesson, or read this piece from the Boston Globe.


What is circuit-style training?

Circuit-style training allows individuals to target multiple muscle groups by alternating between several exercises while moving through set-up stations. Due to the quick movement from station to station with minimal rest intervals, circuit-style training allows for both an effective strength training and cardiovascular endurance workout.

Questions? Contact Dru Connolly at: email or 303-471-7044.

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mural covered streets of Cantarranas

The brightly mural covered streets of Cantarranas. ©2019 Jill Dobbe

On a drive from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, through the damp, misty rainforest of La Tigra, I found my way to the outskirts of the small colonial city of Cantarranas. Driving up and down steep, irregular hills, swerving around sharp turns and tricky curves, I sped past the small towns of Santa Lucia, San Juancito and Valle de Angeles. Each mountainous city in rural Honduras is unique in its own right, but none of them compare with the unexpected and magical charm of the city of Cantarranas.

Despite having a reputation as one of the most dangerous countries in the world, Honduras has come to mean so much more to me. While living and working in Tegucigalpa, I have witnessed the sounds of distant gunshots and heard about kidnappings that occurred in my own neighborhood. However, the Honduras I know is made up of hardworking men and women who love their families and believe in their close-knit communities.

The small city of Cantarranas is a vivid representation of Hondurans’ strong belief in their community. In 2011, through a proposal by artist, Javier Espinal, the city’s municipality agreed to invest a large amount of money into adorning and enhancing the city’s buildings. The facades of the restaurants, cafes, and markets were turned into massive canvases for paintings that depicted the history, culture and natural resources of Cantarranas, turning the city into a virtual outdoor art gallery. Every cobbled street I encountered, and every corner I turned, brought me face-to-face with another chipped and rundown cement wall veiled in impressive murals and graffiti. Presently, 54 murals decorate and adorn Cantarranas, having been painted by artists from Honduras, Argentina, Columbia and Mexico. The artists’ signatures and date were also scrawled in a haphazard manner, topping off the colorful masterpieces.

The enchanting city is also known for its sugar factory, cultural fairs, a 200-year-old home that belonged to a former Honduran president, and the ever-present church, often the central focus of even the smallest towns of Latin America. The artistic city is also known for its traditional foods and sweets, particularly homemade donuts which are dipped in natural honey extricated from local beehives.

A cultural mecca in the mountains of Honduras, the city of Cantarranas is a spectacular representation of street art, comparable to Peru’s Barranco District. The murals of Cantarranas creatively depict the warmth and humbleness of a people who cherish their traditional culture and display it through captivating artwork that captures the hearts and minds of all who venture there to view it.

Written by: Jill Dobbe

Jill Dobbe pic Jill is an international educator, author of three travel memoirs, a travel writer and an amateur photographer who has been published on several online sites. She presently lives in Honduras, her seventh country, along with her husband and traveling Yorkie-Poo, Mickey. While living in Honduras, Jill writes about her experiences living and working in schools and countries around the world, while taking photos of the beautiful people and places of Latin America. Jill loves her life as an international educator and on most days feels like she is living the dream. Follow her at:

For more ITKT travel stories about Honduras
For more ITKT travel stories about Central America


Litigation Lawyers in Saratoga

There is a major exception to this rule, however. In limited circumstances, courts in Saratoga, California will order a defendant to pay the plaintiff damages which are not directly tied to any harm suffered by the plaintiff. Rather, these damages, which are known as "punitive damages", are meant to punish the wrongdoer, and serve as a deterrent.

Conduct that can give rise to punitive damages in Saratoga, California

Mostly personal injury cases in Saratoga, California involve injuries that the defendant did not intend to cause, but was still at fault in causing them (through negligence, for example). In Saratoga, California, this is not enough to justify the award of punitive damages.

Generally, in Saratoga, California, punitive damage awards that exceed the actual damages (those awarded to directly compensate the plaintiff) by a factor of 10. This is not an absolute rule, however, and is applied on a case-by-case basis. Courts in California have found much smaller awards to be invalid, and upheld much larger awards.

How Can a Saratoga, California Attorney Help?

If you are involved in a case in Saratoga, California where punitive damages are a possibility, a very large amount of money could be at stake, whether you are the plaintiff or defendant. You should not hesitate to speak with a civil litigation attorney in Saratoga, California


Marina Serra

Marina Serra is a hamlet in and has about 28 residents.

Landmarks in the Area

Antonio Bello was an Italian prelate who served as the Bishop of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi from 1982 until his death from cancer in 1993.

Gagliano Leuca is a railway station in Gagliano del Capo.

Localities in the Area

Tricase is a town and comune in the , part of the region of south-east .

Depressa, population 1,541, is a village or small town in the traditional region of south-east .

Marina di Marittima is a seaside resort on the Adriatic coast of in the comune of Diso in the province of in the region of southeast .

Marittima is a hamlet of the Diso municipality in the .

Castro is a town and comune in the province of in the region of south-eastern .

Marina Serra

In the Area

Explore Your World

Popular Destinations in Lecce

Escape to a Random Place


Our aim is to prepare our students’ minds to appreciate the importance and usefulness of Mathematics. Taupo-nui-a-Tia Mathematics staff endeavour to provide a positive work environment where each student can develop their personal excellence.