Douglas J. Casa

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OBJECTIVE To present recommendations to optimize the fluid-replacement practices of athletes. BACKGROUND Dehydration can compromise athletic performance and increase the risk of exertional heat injury. Athletes do not voluntarily drink sufficient water to prevent dehydration during physical activity. Drinking behavior can be modified by education,(More)
Exertional heat illness can affect athletes during high-intensity or long-duration exercise and result in withdrawal from activity or collapse during or soon after activity. These maladies include exercise associated muscle cramping, heat exhaustion, or exertional heatstroke. While certain individuals are more prone to collapse from exhaustion in the heat(More)
This investigation evaluated the validity and sensitivity of urine color (Ucol), specific gravity (Usg), and osmolality (Uosm) as indices of hydration status, by comparing them to changes in body water. Nine highly trained males underwent a 42-hr protocol involving dehydration to 3.7% of body mass (Day 1, -2.64 kg), cycling to exhaustion (Day 2, -5.2% of(More)
It is difficult to describe hydration status and hydration extremes because fluid intakes and excretion patterns of free-living individuals are poorly documented and regulation of human water balance is complex and dynamic. This investigation provided reference values for euhydration (i.e., body mass, daily fluid intake, serum osmolality; M +/- SD); it also(More)
PURPOSE Although many studies have attempted to examine the effect of hypohydration on strength, power, and high-intensity endurance, few have successfully isolated changes in total body water from other variables that alter performance (e.g., increased core temperature), and none have documented the influence of hypohydration on an isotonic, multiset,(More)
Julie M. Clements, BS, CSCS, and Douglas J. Casa, PhD, ATC, FACSM, contributed to conception and design; acquisition and analysis and interpretation of the data; and drafting, critical revision, and final approval of the article. J. Chad Knight, MS, ATC, and Joseph M. McClung, BS, CSCS, contributed to conception and design; acquisition of the data; and(More)
The ergogenic effects of caffeine on athletic performance have been shown in many studies, and its broad range of metabolic, hormonal, and physiologic effects has been recorded, as this review of the literature shows. However, few caffeine studies have been published to include cognitive and physiologic considerations for the athlete. The following(More)
The key to maximize the chances of surviving exertional heatstroke is rapidly decreasing the elevated core body temperature. Many methods exist to cool the body, but current evidence strongly supports the use of cold water. Preferably, the athlete should be immersed in cold water. If lack of equipment or staff prevents immersion, a continual dousing with(More)
Hypohydration (decreased total body water) exacerbates the catabolic hormonal response to endurance exercise with unclear effects on anabolic hormones. Limited research exists that evaluates the effect of hypohydration on endocrine responses to resistance exercise; this work merits attention as the acute postexercise hormonal environment potently modulates(More)
The present study assessed the effects of mild dehydration on cognitive performance and mood of young males. A total of twenty-six men (age 20·0 (sd 0·3) years) participated in three randomised, single-blind, repeated-measures trials: exercise-induced dehydration plus a diuretic (DD; 40 mg furosemide); exercise-induced dehydration plus placebo containing no(More)


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Modern lithium ion batteries are often desired to operate at a wide electrochemical window to maximize energy densities. While pushing the limit of cutoff potentials allows batteries to provide greater energy densities with enhanced specific capacities and higher voltage outputs, it raises key challenges with thermodynamic and kinetic stability in the(More)
A homologous series of propylene carbonate (PC) analog solvents with increasing length of linear alkyl substitutes were synthesized and used as co-solvents with PC for graphite-based lithium-ion half cells. A graphite anode reaches a capacity of around 310 mAh/g in PC and its analog co-solvents, with 99.95 percent Coulombic efficiency, similar to the values(More)
Silicon alloys have the highest specific capacity when used as anode material for lithium-ion batteries; however, the drastic volume change inherent in their use causes formidable challenges toward achieving stable cycling performance. Large quantities of binders and conductive additives are typically necessary to maintain good cell performance. In this(More)
Two times higher activity and three times higher stability in methanol oxidation reaction, a 0.12 V negative shift of the CO oxidation peak potential, and a 0.07 V positive shift of the oxygen reaction potential compared to Pt nanoparticles on pristine TiO2 support were achieved by tuning the electronic structure of the titanium oxide support of Pt(More)
Lithium metal has re-emerged as an exciting anode for high energy lithium-ion batteries due to its high specific capacity of 3860 mAh g-1 and lowest electrochemical potential of all known materials. However, lithium has been plagued by the issues of dendrite formation, high chemical reactivity with electrolyte, and infinite relative volume expansion during(More)
Long-term durability is a major obstacle limiting the widespread use of lithium-ion batteries in heavy-duty applications and others demanding extended lifetime. As one of the root causes of the degradation of battery performance, the electrode failure mechanisms are still unknown. In this paper, we reveal the fundamental fracture mechanisms of(More)
Although controlling the interfacial chemistry of electrodes in Li-ion batteries (LIBs) is crucial for maintaining the reversibility, electrolyte decomposition has not been fully understood. In this study, electrolyte decomposition on model electrode surfaces (Au and Sn) was investigated by in situ attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared(More)
Lithium polysulfide batteries possess several favorable attributes including low cost and high energy density for grid energy storage. However, the precipitation of insoluble and irreversible sulfide species on the surface of carbon and lithium (called "dead" sulfide species) leads to continuous capacity degradation in high mass loading cells, which(More)
Electrolytic manganese solid waste (EMSW) is composed of manganese, calcium, and other sulfates. Common practice in China is to treat EMSW with quicklime (CaO); however, the per unit mass treatment efficiency of CaO is low. Studies of the interface between the CaO and EMSW particle and their microstructural characteristics are limited; these interactions(More)
Significant increases in the energy density of batteries must be achieved by exploring new materials and cell configurations. Lithium metal and lithiated silicon are two promising high-capacity anode materials. Unfortunately, both of these anodes require a reliable passivating layer to survive the serious environmental corrosion during handling and cycling.(More)


Francia Fang

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BACKGROUND Histamine-2 receptor (H2) blockers are often used in very low birth weight infants despite lack of population specific efficacy and safety data. AIMS We sought to describe safety and temporal trends in histamine-2 receptor (H2) blocker use in hospitalized very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. STUDY DESIGN We conducted a retrospective cohort(More)
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The CDC Has Known All Along How Dangerous Vaccines Are – And Has Covered It Up… (Part Six)

Tension Increases – Federal Judge Orders CDC to Produce Secret Documents…

Opinion by Consumer Advocate  Tim Bolen

July 6th, 2012

This article is the sixth in a series about THE MOST IMPORTANT CASE ABOUT AUTISM currently being litigated –  the Hooker v. United States Department of health and Humans Services, et al case.

Why is this the most important case?

Because of what happened in what was called the  Omnibus Autism Proceedings (OAP) in 2010.

Now you see the importance…

After reviewing Hooker’s research it is easy to come to a conclusion  – EVERY one of the CDC studies showing the so-called safety of mercury in vaccines has been intentionally faked, so as to lead the American Public, and every entity worldwide that relies on the CDC for information, to believe that mercury in vaccines is safe – it is not.

The case was a setup…

Brian Hooker sued the CDC to get copies of their internal memorandums, emails, letters, etc.

“In late 2004 Biochemist Scientist Brian Hooker PhD had had enough.  He’d been looking, carefully, through the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s so-called “Evidence” that Thimerosal was “Safe and Effective” as a preservative in vaccines.  Having read all of the then available CDC studies making that claim, he, as a PhD Scientist, couldn’t help but shake his head “NO.”  To him, none of the purported proof was anywhere near being scientifically adequate.  Far from it.

So, like any math teacher would do to a student he began to communicate to the CDC his questions.   In essence he was saying “Show me your work.  Show me how you came up with these answers” – a reasonable question series among scientists, teachers and students, and frankly, the population of Planet Earth.

What was CDC’s response?  STONEWALL –  a six year knock-down, drag-out brawl to get that information.  Brian Hooker would not let up.  Neither would the CDC

But Hooker and his team were playing a trick.  They knew that the same people who would create fake studies would try to cover up their tracks any way they could.  So, they set up a trap – and the CDC walked right into it.

What was the trap?  Hooker had a good many of the documents, already, he was being denied.  More, he knew where more of them were stored, and he had been promised access.  So, they demanded documents, let the CDC reply that (1) there weren’t any, (2)  the documents didn’t say anything pertinent, (3) blah, blah, blah.

And then they spring the trap with the Judge.  As in “Gee Judge, these bastards are lying.”

Why do this?  To set them up for CRIMINAL Indictment.  Period.

So, What’s Happening?

I love the US court system sometimes.  Not all the time, of course, but, frankly, quite often.

Smile now.  Things are heating up in the Hooker v. United States Department of Health AND Human Services, et al federal court case.  The federal judge in the case, has issued the following Order:

“Defendants are directed to deliver the documents withheld under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5) to chambers for an in camera inspection to assist the Court in making a responsible de novo determination. In-Camera Submission is due by Friday, 7/13/2012. (jth)”

What the Judge’s Order actually means…

FOIA Section 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5) authorizes agencies to withhold information related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.  The Judge is saying “show me where this rule applies in these communications.”

In Camera inspection happens when a judge reviews evidence (depositions, documents, photos and the like) to determine whether it should be provided to other parties. This usually occurs when both sides in a case disagree about whether a certain, usually crucial piece of evidence should come in.

The Court will review non-jury cases de novo to determine if the agency came to a reasonable conclusion.

So, in short, the Judge isn’t buying the CDC’s arguments about why it is withholding information.  The trap Hooker set paid off.  It looks to me that the federal judge is beginning to smell the rat in the CDC’s position.

Where is this going?

The search for documents, in this court case, is uncovering a pattern of criminal activity.  Whoever is running, making the decisions to withhold documents at CDC, knows where all this is going.  I am certain that within the walls of the CDC, right this minute, certain CDC employees – past and present, contractors, and consultants, etc. are quietly being told to personally “lawyer-up,” and familiarize themselves on how to make claim to the Fifth Amendment provisions of the US Constitution (taking the Fifth).

Is there really criminal activity here?

You bet there is.  Major criminal activity.  The people involved in this denial of the effects of Thimerosal in vaccines, and the cover up of the real situation, are some of, perhaps, the worst criminals in the history of mankind.  Just look at the numbers of children damaged, and the cost to society – worldwide.  This is far worse than anything the NAZIs, or Stalin, did.  This overshadows any genocide effort in the history of mankind.

This isn’t about simple fraud, the marketing of vaccines, or some comparison of preservatives in vaccines.  This is about major damage to children.  And it is all coming out.

And that’s the bottom line.

Stay tuned…

Opinion by Consumer Advocate  Tim Bolen


Distance from Delaware, AR to Boles, AR

Driving distance between Delaware, AR and Boles, AR is miles (or kilometers). If you drove an average car (using about 3.6 gallons of gas per mile), the gas would cost you around $, since you would need about gallons of fuel.

Leaving from Delaware, AR you would reach Boles, AR in about if you keep an average speed of miles per hour, assuming you don’t make any breaks or get stuck in traffic.

Driving distance in miles

CO2 emissions icon

CO2 emissions: kg

Emission estimated with the eco2 norme
(185 CO2 grams/mile)

This is a map overview of the best driving route from Delaware, AR to Boles, AR in which you can see the origin and destination points marked with A (Delaware) and B (Boles) respectively as well as blue line along the road route you can take. You can zoom in to see more details, including road numbers and even street names both in Delaware, AR and Boles, AR as well as every other town you may pass by on your way.

Fuel consumption if you drive from Delaware, AR to Boles, AR

Cost of driving from Delaware, AR to Boles, AR

Depending on the fuel efficiency level of your car, driving from Delaware to Boles will cost you between and . An average car would make the trip for . We calculate the route cost using real time average gas prices for the US and other costs such as tolls are not included in this calculation.

Driving directions

To help you plan your trip from Delaware to Boles, we offer a detailed map together with full, turn by turn, driving directions from Delaware, AR to Boles, AR.

Flying or direct distance between Delaware, AR and Boles, AR

The flying distance represent the straight distance from Delaware to Boles, the length of an hypothetical flight trip between the geographic center of Delaware, AR and the geographic center of Boles, AR. We also offer nearby airports to both Delaware to Boles and a flight ticket price comparison form, in case you want to make that hypothetical flight real :).

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35 The Development, Persistence, and Change of Racial Segregation in U.S. Urban Areas, 1880–2010 Andrew A. Beveridge two Dubbed the “Great Migration,” the movement of the African American population in the United States from the mostly agricultural areas of the South to the cities and metropolitan areas in the NorthisoneofthemajorpopulationshiftsthatshapedtheUnitedStates in the twentieth century.1 After the Civil War ended, so-called Jim Crow laws subjected African Americans in the South to second-class citizenship .Manyofthecommonrightsof U.S.citizensweredenied,including the rights to vote, hold property, and marry freely. To escape this segregated regime, many blacks began to move to the North. A recent and widely noted chronicle of the Great Migration pegs it as occurring during the period from 1915 to 1970, when six million African Americans left theSouthforcitiesintheNortheast,Midwest,andWest.Indeed,though substantial before the World War II, this migration increased again after 1950, when a significant number of African Americans began to be seen in many of the cities in the North.2 However, instead of finding equality in the North, African Americans were relegated to segregated living areas with inadequate schools and diminished economic opportunities. These patterns were enforced by both law and custom. African Americans were also denied full equality in other realms, including housing, transportation, and education.3 Using relatively newly available data, this essay traces the changing patterns of African American and white residence in U.S. cities both before and after this massive population redistribution. Though African Americans were closer to equal in the North, where they did not suffer the brunt of the “Jim Crow” system of the South, nonetheless they were 36 Andrew A. Beveridge denied full opportunity. One of the main areas where segregation continued , even without legal force behind it, was in housing. The extent to which blacks in the North were segregated residentially, were relegated to the black quarters of ghettos, and continue to be segregated has major implications for the United States. Putting it simply, the extent to which racial segregation and discrimination was replicated in the North meant thatevenwithsomeclaimtoformalequality,AfricanAmericans,former slaves, and children of former slaves were still not completely free in the United States. This essay answers two groups of questions: 1. When did the system of segregation with respect to African Americans develop in U.S. cities and urban areas? Did it develop similarly in many cities? Were there differences in the South from the Northeast and Midwest and later from the West? 2. How persistent is segregation in various urban areas? What factors may have served to mitigate it to some extent? Using other research, some comparisons are also made regarding ethnic and immigrant groups (both the early European immigrants and more recent immigrants from Latin America and Asia). However, the core of this work is to follow change in patterns of segregation of African Americans from whites over a long time period and for all available urban areas using data that have not heretofore been organized and analyzed in this manner. Studies of the development of cities and urban agglomerations and the population distribution within them in the United States usually rely upon data from one or a few locations or make comparisonsbaseduponimpressionisticevidence.Manysuchstudiesin U.S. sociology and demography have used decennial materials created by the Bureau of the Census to compare and contrast urban patterns. However, since comparable georeferenced information about different cities or urban regions was difficult to compile for earlier periods, it had not previously been possible to rigorously track change at the small-area level in a number of cities and assess how comparable their patterns of change were. With the advent of the National Historical Geographical Information System (NHGIS), data and maps depicting relatively small areas of a few thousand people for about fifty urban areas now exist for Racial Segregation in U.S. Urban Areas, 1880–2010 37 the decennial censuses from 1940 to 2010, some nineteen of these from 1930, some ten from 1920, and some limited information back to 1910 for eight of these cities.4 Using new materials recently developed from both the NHGIS and data from the 1880 census, it is now possible to see emerging patterns well before the Great Migration began.5 This essay makes use of these data to begin to look at the actual pattern of residential segregation of African Americans in the United States. Using these materials, it is possible to begin to address the patternsofchangeinamorerigorousmanner .Mapswillbeusedtovisualize patterns of segregation and how it...


Tuesday, 18 August 2015

Book Authors Resale Rights (BARR) - Lynne Garner

I recently stumbled across an old news piece (16/06/14) released by the ALCS (Authors Licensing and Collecting Society) stating they had teamed up with Book Barn International (a second hand book seller) were launching a pilot scheme that would compensate authors when a second-hand version of their book was sold. This system is known as the Book Authors Resale Rights (BARR) and basically pays a small percentage of the sale price to the original author.

At present authors receive nothing on the resale of their book even if the book is still in print, which obviously means they're losing income from sales of their books when sold new. This collaboration between the ALCS and BBI will mean authors will receive an income from second-hand books sales alongside their regular payments from the ALCS.

I must admit it has always been a niggle of mine that under certain circumstances film makers earn when their film is watched, actors receive repeat fees, composers and musicians earn when their work is sold. Yet the hundreds of thousands of second-hand books sold each year earn the writer nothing, even though the copyright on these books is often still owned by the author.
Out of curiosity I visited Amazon to see how many second-hand copies of my last two picture books were available. I discover there were 5 paperback copies and 4 hardback copies of Dog Did It  for sale and 7 paperbacks and 1 hardback of Bad Manners Benjie for sale. I know we’re not talking huge numbers here. However many authors including myself have seen income drop by 29% since 2005. It is also a stark reality that only “a handful of highly successful authors make a very good living; for the majority, earning from writing falls well below subsistence levels" and nearly 90% of writers now need to earn money from other sources other than writing. Unfortunately I’m one of those 90% so every penny earned from the sale of my books really does count.

In a recent update (30/07/15) William Prior, founder of Book Barn International states "I have tried to persuade Book Barn International’s competitors to adopt BARR. They all tell me they see the justice and point of the scheme, but either their accountants or their commerciality won’t sanction it." Come on folks without us you wouldn't have a product to sell and without our small slice of the pie many of us may have to give up writing in a bid to find an alternate way of making a living.

To round off this post I urge everyone to source (when ever possible) their second-hand books from Book Barn International and show your support for the BARR system. Also if you have any family or friends who have sway with any second-hand book sellers support the cause and have a chat with them, see if you can talk them into putting 'justice' before profit.

Last but not least I'd like to thank William Prior for his continued fight on our behalf.

Lynne Garner

  1. I had no idea about this. Thank you, Lynne! It would be great if this caught on, but since it would eat into profits I can't see it happening unless it was put into law. Well done Book Barn International!

  2. I would write to our local MP and ask him to fight our corner and try to make it law but as he's ignored my last email and two letters I'm not going to waste my time.


Environmental sampling

Questions and answers relating to plant environment sample collections

Q1. How often should plant environmental samples be taken?

A1. The frequency of sample collections is decided by the food business operator (FBO). Many FBOs decide their sampling frequencies based on their historical results or as part of their procedures based on HACCP principles. Once a history of satisfactory results is established, it can be used as justification for reducing the numbers of samples collected and the frequency of testing.

For those businesses that are starting to test, they may want to consider collecting 10 samples every fortnight as a starting point. It is considered a good practice to vary the day of the week that the samples are collected.

Q2. What kinds of bacteria are counted from environmental swabs?

A2. The bacteria that are tested for depends on what the FBO wants to check. Plants that want to check cleaning effectiveness routinely count total aerobic mesophiles (TAM; all the bacteria that can grow in an air atmosphere at temperatures around 30oC) and Enterobacteriaceae. Cleaning effectiveness samples are normally collected after the completion of cleaning and just before the commencement of a day’s processing. L. monocytogenes testing can also be undertaken to assess cleaning effectiveness.

There is no legal requirement to undertake testing for TAM. However, EC 2073/2005 confers a legal obligation on FBOs to test processing environments used to manufacture ready-to-eat foods for L. monocytogenes. In practice, most FBOs test for general Listeria species, and if they isolate a Listeria will have it typed to determine if the species is monocytogenes.

Those plants that isolate L. monocytogenes from cleaning effectiveness samples, will want to investigate the sources of the contamination. As part of those investigations, environmental samples can be collected during processing to pinpoint any L. monocytogenes niches that are ineffectively cleaned. Isolates from samples collected during processing can by typed to determine if they are plant resident strains.

Further guidance on what to test for can be found HERE:

Q3. Where should I take samples from?

A3. The location of the sample collections is decided by the FBO. As a rule of thumb, many businesses decide that approximately:

Two thirds of the samples should be taken from food contact surfaces on processing equipment.
One third of samples should be taken from the plant environment but not from non-processing equipment.

The surfaces to be tested should be ones that are routinely cleaned and disinfected (see below). Surfaces should be ideally dry, flat, smooth and sufficiently large to take a sample (an area of 20-100cm2 is recommended).

Q4. When should I take my samples?

A4. The frequency of sample collection depends on what the FBO wants to determine. To check the effectiveness of cleaning, most FBOs clean down their plant (at least) at the end of a day’s processing. Surface sampling however is commonly delayed until just before the commencement of the next day’s processing. Commonly that can be 5-12 hours after cleaning has finished. The reason is that the FBO wants to determine if the surfaces are fit for processing. It is common to create aerosols when cleaning and if there are bacteria in the aerosols, they can settle out of the air onto surfaces over time, contaminating them. It is recommended that cleaning in any high-risk environment is done both pre- and post-processing.

Trends in test results should be analysed, as they are able to reveal unwanted developments in the manufacturing process, enabling the FBO to take corrective actions before the process is out of control.

If a FBO is routinely isolating L. monocytogenes from surfaces or products, they may wish to collect samples from food contact surfaces during processing. The strategy is designed to identify if there are places in equipment (inside conveyor belt rollers or in moving joints and hinges ) that do not get effectively sanitised and release L. monocytogenes from these sheltered areas onto products only during processing when the equipment is operating.

Q5. Can you give me some examples of where I should take samples from?

A5. A list of locations likely to harbour L. monocytogenes and how other FBOs have successfully decontaminated equipment and environments is provided on this page

Q6. What equipment do I need to be able to take an environmental swab sample?

A6. There are a variety of ways to collect environmental samples. Guidance should be sought from the lab undertaking testing on their preferred method, and sampling kits may be provided as part of the testing service.

Two common methods are using drumstick swabs and sponge swabs. Drumstick swabs are commonly used to collect samples from impervious food contact surfaces, such as stainless steel. Sponge swabs tend to be used to collect samples from porous or cracked hard surfaces such as brick and concrete.

Typical equipment is shown in the picture below.

Q7. There are many different types of drumstick swabs, which ones should I use?

A7. There are lots of different styles of drumstick swabs. Varieties include shafts made from wood, plastic and paper shafts that require cutting to remove the head, plastic that shatters if you attempt to snap the heads from the stick and plastic shafts that break cleanly and easily. In addition, the heads can be different sizes and the absorbent material is variable but commonly cotton or cellulose.

The type of swab used is a personal preference of the sampler or may be dictated by the lab used for testing. Many samplers prefer a larger head on their swabs so that a larger volume of diluent or neutraliser is applied to the sampled surface. Swabs with plastic shafts that shatter when the head is removed are not recommended for use in a food processing plants due to potential contamination of products with plastic splinters. Many samplers avoid using swabs that have perforated plastic or wooden shafts because these tend to break if too a firm pressure is applied during sampling.

Q8. How do I take a sample using drumstick swabs?

1. Put on the gloves.

2. Take an alcohol-soaked wipe and wash your hands with the wipe. Make sure you get in-between your fingers and also the tips of your fingers as shown in the picture below.

3. Open two swabs. Keep hold of one (and keep it dry). Dip the other in the neutraliser for at least 10 seconds. (NB: a neutraliser is required to neutralise any sanitiser residues and ensure that any collected bacteria are not killed by these residues on the way to the lab)

4. Squeeze the end of the swab against the inside of the tube of neutraliser to remove excess fluid.

5. Discard the opened neutraliser.

6. Begin with the wet swab. Use a firm pressure and roll the shaft of the swab between the fingers and thumb to rotate the swab whilst rubbing.

7. Rub the wet swab the surface. Rub horizontally, then vertically then diagonally as shown below. It is important that you press firmly on the swab whilst sampling to collect a true representation of the number of cells on the surface.

8. Keep the wet swab in your hand. Rub the dry swab across the same area of surface that was used with the wet swab. Rub horizontally, then vertically then diagonally as shown above. The basic idea is that the wet swab coats the surface with a film of neutraliser. Bacteria are released into the neutraliser, and then the neutraliser and bacteria are absorbed into the dry swab.

9. It is common for people to use a template when they first being collecting environmental samples. However, within a short period of time, most people acquire an ability to predict where the swab would hit the edge of the template, without the template being present. Since imperfectly sanitised templates can increase the test count, many experienced samplers dispense with using any template.

10. A short video clip of how to take a swab can be viewed by clicking here.

11. Cut or break the swabs off into a tube of peptone salt solution (peptone salt solution is also called MRD [maximum recovery diluent])

12. Screw the top onto the sample tube, and then label the sample with

the date
the area sampled (e.g. 100cm2)
a description of surface sampled (e.g. fridge door).

13. Immediately put the sample into an insulated cool box containing frozen freezer blocks wrapped in bubble wrap, or crushed ice. Keep the samples chilled (but do not allow them to freeze). Keeping samples cold will prevent bacteria from multiplying and make sure your counts accurately reflect the bacteria present on the surface.

14. When all samples have been collected, package up the samples for sending to the lab. Make sure samples will stay at 0oC to 4oC. Samples should arrive at the lab a maximum of 24 hours after being taken. Transport in a cool box, but do not let the samples freeze or come into direct contact with any frozen blocks.

Q9. How do I take a sample using sponge swabs?

1. If the use of gloves is required, put on the gloves and take an alcohol-soaked wipe and wash your hands with the wipe. Make sure you get in-between your fingers and also the tips of your fingers as shown in the picture below.

2. Pour two vials of neutraliser (roughly 40mls) into the bag containing the sponge swab and let the sponge absorb the liquid for at least one minute. (NB: a neutraliser is required to neutralise any sanitiser residues and ensure that any collected bacteria are not killed by these residues on the way to the lab). The sponge should be saturated and drip neutraliser when it is ready for use.

Grasp the bottom of the bag containing the sponge and fold the bag back over your hand (Figure A below) so that the sponge is exposed to the air and the bag protects the sponge from contamination from the sampler’s hand (Figure B below).

Place the sponge on the porous area to be sampled and press onto the sponge so that the neutraliser is expelled.

Relax the pressure on the sponge so that the neutraliser is re-absorbed. Continue expelling and reabsorbing the neutraliser into the surface/into the cracks at least 10 times. If the surface is not too abrasive (e.g. vinyl or wood), the sponge can be squeezed out into the bag and then rubbed across the sampled area in two perpendicular directions to mop up any excess diluent that was not re-absorbed.

Rubbing sponges across abrasive surfaces such as concrete however, can cause physical damage and reduce the number of bacteria captured (see below)

Many processors will re-clean and sanitise sampled surfaces to remove chemical residues and potential sources of nutrients for bacteria.


Wild by Adriane Leigh

Wild - Adriane Leigh

Wild begins with Kat seeing her one night stand again and again several times after she just moved to this new town in Maine. The problem is she doesn't need to get involved with anyone, and she can't seem to stay away from him. They start out very casual, saying that it isn't a relationship. But some how, some way they both end up falling for each other, but hidden pasts, and secrets tend turn things around for both of them..

This book was okay. I didn't feel much of a emotional connection to either character till the end pretty much. The beginning was interesting, but just slightly boring. It didn't really pick up till almost the end. Then there was this cheating/non cheating issue. It bother me much because I wasn't really invested in the characters, but still it was kind of a jerk thing to do. But I do admire the heroine for how she handled, that is how I wish all heroine's handled something like this if they were in this situation. It was freaking awesome. I don't think I will be reading any more in this series, but this one was a nice short read to pass the time with.


The high school girls rugby team in Banff is named The Bears and this week they were paid a visit by what could be their real-life mascot.

A curious grizzly known as Bear 148 surprised players and coaches alike when it suddenly showed up at their practice and started sniffing around.

"They just stayed on the opposite side of the field as it moved around the pitch," assistant coach Lee Garrett said with a laugh.

Garrett also coaches the men's team in Banff — named The Bears as well — and was leaving the girls' practice early on Tuesday to go to the men's team practice in another part of town.

On his way back to his car, a woman warned him there was a bear nearby, but he didn't worry too much at first.

Thinking the animal would be at least 100 metres away, he kept heading toward his vehicle.

"Then, out of nowhere, it just came out from behind this tree," Garrett said.

"It looked up and saw me and I was about maybe 30 or 40 metres from it and 20 or 30 metres away from my car."

Bear Banff Rugby

The rugby players kept their distance as the bear wandered around the rugby pitch. (Lee Garrett)

He said the bear "put on a little jog" in his direction and he froze for a split second before deciding to run to the safety of his vehicle.

"By the time I got to the car, I then realized I've got to call out to the kids and let them all know," he said.

"So I called out and heard the ensuing screams of our girls team and the coaches yelling to calm down and get together and pull them all together into a group."

The humans kept their distance from the bear, he said, moving in a counter-clockwise direction around the outside of the field as the animal sauntered along.

It stopped at points to sniff their gear bags along the way but didn't dig into the bags to get at any food.

Bear Banff Rugby

The bear sniffed around some of the players' bags but didn't dig into them during its jaunt around the rugby pitch. (Lee Garrett)

"I was definitely surprised," Garrett said of the encounter.

Bears are common in Banff National Park but visitations so close to large groups of people are less so.

Garrett said a friend of his did have a bear sneak up on him while playing outdoor basketball last year, too.

The female grizzly that showed up at the rugby pitch on Tuesday was also involved in a dramatic human encounter over the weekend.

A group of hikers said the bear followed them and their dog for about 20 minutes, until they made their way into a Parks Canada truck.

Hikers chased for 20 minutes by Bear 1480:09

A woman from nearby Canmore also had an encounter with Bear 148 in April while out kick-sledding — a form of dog sledding — on a trail that runs behind Banff Springs Hotel.

Parks Canada says it is monitoring Bear 148 but so far the animal hasn't had any type of physical contact with a human.

"The only action right now is that we are watching this bear right now, and want to remind people to report all bear whereabouts," spokesperson Christina Tricomi said in an email.

Bear reports can be made to the Banff dispatch line: 403-762-1470.


The John Birch Society cannot tolerate left-wing "collectivism," and has contrived an apocryphal history of the peace sign intended to cast a pall over all things progressive by demonizing the ubiquitous symbol.

The Truth About the Peace Symbol

By Alan Scholl

Director of Mission and Campaigns for the John Birch Society.

As a pagan representation, the symbol has its origins in the ancient Norse-Germanic alphabet known as Futhark. This, the language of the runes, was not displaced until the Fourth Century when Arian bishop Ulfilas (AKA, Wulfila) created a new Gothic alphabet based on Greek. In the original runic language, the cross element of the peace symbol first appeared in an upright orientation as the "algiz" rune. According to Carl D. Liungman's Dictionary of Symbols, the sign "is possibly associated with moose.... In the family system [the rune] stands for man." According to the same dictionary of symbols, when inverted, as in the peace symbol, the Algiz rune "is supposed to have been used by Germanic tribes as Todesrune, the rune of death. In the family system it means man dies." In fact, the rune used as a symbol of death was employed by the Nazis during World War II. In 1970 the GOP, in its newsletter Political Potpourri, published the image of a Nazi propaganda poster that prominently featured the inverted Algiz rune.

It's disturbing enough that the central element of the so-called peace symbol has been known since ancient times as the symbol of death and that it was used to signify such by the Nazis. But the symbol has also been used as an anti-Christian symbol. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero, Saint Peter was condemned to death by crucifixion. Saint Peter, though, could not bear to be crucified as Christ had been. He requested, therefore, to be crucified upside down. Nero granted his wish and the Saint was crucified, legend has it, on an upside down cross, the arms of which had been broken and were pointing toward the ground. Saint Peter is celebrated, rightly, as a great Christian martyr. But anti-Christians have frequently used the Nero Cross, essentially the peace symbol, to symbolize anti-Christ.

At least some, and possibly all, of this was known to those who created the modern peace symbol. Philosopher Bertrand Russell, who played a role in its adoption, was notorious for his socialist political beliefs and his anti-Christian bias. He was also thoroughly versed in ancient history and symbolism. Eric Austin was another member of the group that adopted the peace symbol in 1958. Austin campaigned for the symbol and wrote a pamphlet entitled The Campaign Emblem describing the symbol. Writing in the journal Peace Review in 1998, University of Bradford scholar Andrew Rigby noted that, at the time the peace symbol was being created, Austin "was reading a book on the runes, the ancient signs of the Norse world. He discovered that: in past ages the central motif of the current nuclear disarmament symbol, the 'bent cross,' had symbolized the death of man."

The real mystery of the peace symbol is why a group of peace activists in the late 1950s would knowingly adopt a symbol of death as a symbol for peace. One explanation is that they were strongly influenced by Marxist-Leninism and sought peace by the same means as Lenin. "As an ultimate objective," Lenin once wrote, "'peace' simply means Communist world control." As a revolutionary who had come to power in a bloody coup, Lenin firmly held that world control would come through bloody world revolution, in other words, through the deaths of thousands if not millions.

For "peace" activists in the Leninist tradition, the peace symbol as death rune is unfortunately appropriate.

Bertrand Russell?

" ... mentions that some people believe the peace sign was invented by Lord Bertrand Russell. ... We simply typed Lord Bertrand Russell into Yahoo! and discovered an entire category dedicated to the good Lord. We checked out several of the sites, and although he is credited with being one of the most important logicians of the 20th century and a 'renowned peace advocate,' we couldn't find anything about his contribution to the peace symbol."

" ... There have been claims that the symbol has older, occult or anti-Christian associations. In South Africa, under the apartheid regime, there was an official attempt to ban it. Various far-right and fundamentalist American groups have also spread the idea of Satanic associations or condemned it as a Communist sign. However the origins and the ideas behind the symbol have been clearly described, both in letters and in interviews, by Gerald Holtom. His original, first sketches are now on display as part of the Commonweal Collection in Bradford."

The Actual History of the Peace Sign

The John Birch Society’s Apocryphal History of the Peace SignThe CND logo

First public appearance

The Direct Action Committee had already planned what was to be the first major anti-nuclear march, from London to Aldermaston, where British nuclear weapons were and still are manufactured. It was on that march, over the 1958 Easter weekend that the symbol first appeared in public. Five hundred cardboard lollipops on sticks were produced. Half were black on white and half white on green. Just as the church’s liturgical colours change over Easter, so the colours were to change, “from Winter to Spring, from Death to Life.” Black and white would be displayed on Good Friday and Saturday, green and white on Easter Sunday and Monday.

The first badges were made by Eric Austin of Kensington CND using white clay with the symbol painted black. Again there was a conscious symbolism. They were distributed with a note explaining that in the event of a nuclear war, these fired pottery badges would be among the few human artifacts to survive the nuclear inferno.

(These early ceramic badges can still be found and one, lent by CND, was included in the Imperial War Museum’s 1999/2000 exhibition From the Bomb to the Beatles)

Gerald Holtom, a conscientious objector who had worked on a farm in Norfolk during the Second World War, explained that the symbol incorporated the semaphore letters N(uclear) and D(isarmament).

This adaptation of the design was only one of many subsequently invented by various groups within CND and for specific occasions – with a cross below as a women’s symbol, with a daffodil or a thistle incorporated by CND Cymru and Scottish CND, with little legs for a sponsored walk etc. Whether Gerald Holtom would have approved of some of the more light-hearted versions is open to doubt.


Naturopathy is a philosophy of disease and healing built up as a result of many years of client investigation and research into the nature and cause of disease.

The Natural PathThis philosophy is based upon a conception that realizes that disease is something which arises in the system solely as a result of the body’s attempts to rid itself of obstacles to its proper functioning. Disease is regarded, therefore, as being something directly connected with the life and habits of the individual concerned. It is the direct outcome of these same ways and habits of living, and not something apart from, or foreign to them.

The naturopathic practitioner is a scientific healer using only non-surgical and drug-free methods. We are practitioners in the art of living. We educate our clients about natural healing, endeavoring to bring harmony, health, happiness and peace to the client and into the world.

The power to prevent and reverse disease is taken to reside always and only within the body and spirit of the client and will manifest itself as soon as the practices which have hampered its activity in the past and obscured its presence have been rectified. In other words, the body and soul of the client possesses the power to heal itself once the obstacles to health have been removed.

More than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the United States. Those chemicals get into our bodies through our food, air and water. We are aware of heavy metals in fish, paints, and building products and carcinogenic chemicals in cleaning products, beauty products and plastics. Last year, it was even reported that in 24 major cities, the water supply was contaminated with measurable levels of pharmaceutical medications! For some of these toxins, we know there are harmful effects, such as with mercury in fish. With others, we can use our common sense to make assumptions that these unnatural chemicals may have detrimental effects in our bodies when they build up to high levels. So, do we need to think about cleaning our bodies and eliminating toxins?  Absolutely!

Our body was designed to be able to identify, break down and eliminate compounds that may be harmful. Even our own metabolic processes create products that, when built up, can cause us harm.  Some examples are carbon dioxide (the air that we breathe out), lactic acid, hormones, and cholesterol. Thankfully, we are born with the innate ability to detoxify. Our liver, kidneys, lungs, skin and digestive tract are constantly detoxifying and eliminating these toxins that we create and are exposed to.

What is Detoxification?

Types of Toxicity

There are two systematic processes that require constant and complete detoxification of your body: intoxication and autointoxication. The first process, intoxication, is when toxic substances enter the body by breathing, drinking, eating, or penetration of the skin. The vast majority of the causes of cancer are the accumulated environmental substances with which we poison ourselves via our air, water and food.

Naturopathic Doctors

Naturopathic doctors are trained in the art and science of natural health care at accredited medical colleges and universities. A licensed naturopathic doctor attends a four-year graduate- level naturopathic medicine school accredited by the Council of Naturopathic Medication Education and takes rigorous professional board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction as a primary care general practice physician.  NDs are educated in all of the same basic sciences as an MD, but also studies holistic and nontoxic approaches to therapy with an emphasis on disease prevention as well as optimizing wellness.


For example, to keep the same standard of living that would require £2,000 in Aberystwyth you would need to make just about £1,211 (E£ 28,642) in Ismaïlia.

Do you live in Aberystwyth? We need your help!

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in Aberystwyth?

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"Apenas rezo..." bom dia! ;)


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Something I learned about people... If they do it once, they'll do it again.


4./JG26 Logo

Jagdgeschwader (JG) 26 "Schlageter" was known to the Allied forces in World War II as "The Abbeville Boys". The unit crest of a black gothic 'S' on a white shield was created in reflection of its involvement in the re-occupation of the Rhineland on March 7, 1936 (in violation of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact). The locals had adopted the unit and renamed it after a local nationalist hero Albert Leo Schlageter. Leo, a World War I veteran, had been shot by the French in 1923 for attempting to destroy railway tracks taking coal from the Rhineland back to France as part of the war reparations imposed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles. France's political policy did not allow any coal to be sold in Germany, even if they wanted to pay for it, despite a great shortage of coal during this time and the hardship the policy brought to the German people.

4./JG26 belonged to the second Gruppe within the Jagdgeschwader 26 (II./JG26). The original chosen symbol for the Staffel was the German cartoon character "Adamson" but this was lost when most of the unit's personnel left to form 8.Staffel, taking the symbol too. The new Kapitan, Hptm. Karl Ebbighausen then selected a caricature of a tiger's head to represent the unit and was painted with pride onto each 4.Staffel aeroplane.

4./JG26 were active during the Battle of France as the Wermacht swept to power and operated right on the front line at the Pas-De-Calais throughout the Battle of Britain, predominantly on fighter sweeps and bomber escort missions. After the "Battle of Britain" JG26 was left to defend in the West with JG2 "Richthofen", where they remained throughout the whole war. II./JG26 picked Abbeville in Northern France as their main base to operate from while JG2 operated south of Le Harve as their responsibility to defend along that section of the French coast.

Due to the quality of leadership, attention giving to training replacement pilots and the professionalism shown by these Luftwaffe pilots the Allied pilots came to respect the "Abbeville Boys". Any yellow nosed Messerschmitt or Focke-Wulf 190 (II./JG26 were the first units which were equipped with the Fw 190) ever seen was reported as being flown by JG26 and they were regarded as having some of the best pilots in the Luftwaffe throughout the War.

4./JG26 in the ACG

4./JG26 is an English speaking Staffel based in Americas timezones flying the latest Messerschmitt Bf109E fighter alongside their brothers in II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 unit.

The II. Gruppe is based on Marquise in the Pas-de-Calais-Nord territory, a short flight from South East England and the RAF. 4./JG26 are a most dangerous opponent to the Tommies, many Indianer has fallen down to 4.Staffel gunfire.

Your primary role will be that of close escort to our bomber crews although JG26 are best at longer range free sweeps across enemy territory hunting down the RAF.

Pilot Aircraft
Rank Callsign Role
Hauptmann LuftAsher Staffelführer
Hauptgefreiter Mystico Katschmarek
Leutnant Schmuck Rottenführer
Gefreiter Kaufman Katschmarek
Unteroffizier Vanguard Schwarmführer
Unteroffizier SkyVi Katschmarek
Unterfeldwebel Kildren Rottenführer
Feldwebel Zyk Katschmarek
Unterfeldwebel Kraut Schwarmführer
Aeroplanes In Hanger


بـ Aignesberger Software GmbH

AM-Notebook is a highly recommendable app for Windows in العربية to help you fully benefit from your device. Developed by Aignesberger Software GmbH, it’s an app that is 100% آمن as verified by the complete report by Virus Total. Just like other similar apps such as Notezilla, Alarm Clock Pro, Salaat Time, Aml Pages, Freebie Notes, CintaNotes, AM-Notebook packs a number of features into its 3.85MB in comparison with the average app size of 4.85MB in its category. Additionally, the app can be used in Windows devices with the version or higher. AM-Notebook has a total of 9,853 downloads on Uptodown, currently. Furthermore, in the latest version, 6.3, uploaded on 10.04.12, the program includes improvements and slight error corrections.

تقييم هذا التطبيق

Uptodown X


Abstract artist studio

Feelings after leaving the studio

Guston would also describe the sense of satisfaction he got when he left his studio and thought of his paintings as a whole bunch of people he’d left in a room back there. “The strongest feeling I have, and it’s confirmed the next day or the following week, is that when I leave the studio I have left there a ‘person’, or something that is a thing, an organic thing that can lead its own life, that doesn’t need me anymore, doesn’t even need my thoughts about it.”


A 7 Step Process for Stopping Work Bullies In Their Tracks

This article was originally published in The Huffington Post

Publicly trashing ideas with the intention to belittle others, scoffing and dismissing any suggestions or proposals made in meetings, openly making snide remarks and frequently denouncing fellow team members at work; these are the some of the common characteristics that categorize bullies at work.

American bullying experts Drs. Gary and Ruth Namie define bullying as a “Repeated, health-harming mistreatment of a person by one or more workers that takes the form of verbal abuse; conduct or behaviors that are threatening, intimidating, or humiliating; sabotage that prevents work from getting done; or some combination of the three.”

The bully aims to assault the dignity, trustworthiness, competence, and self-worth of the target to derive personal gains or sadistic satisfaction often leaving the target feeling responsible, guilty, isolated and confused.

So what can we do to stop these baddies in their tracks?

  1. Identify the situation. The very first step towards countering bullying is to realize that it’s happening. Once you say what it is, you are opening yourself to different possibilities of countering them. The second important step is to realize that you are not alone. Workplace Bullying Institute and other research has revealed alarming statistics about this silent epidemic across the globe. Nearly half of the workforce has been affected by bullying whether as a target or as a witness
  2. Free yourself from any negative thoughts: If you are being bullied, it’s not your fault and has nothing to do with your actions or who you are as a person. Take control of your emotions and detach yourself from the bully’s verbal abuse. You did not incur this on yourself, nor do you deserve it. Start out by building a shield against bullies and this can be achieved by being in charge of your feelings and watching out for any toxic thinking patterns. For more information on these patterns read; 8 Toxic thoughts and how to beat them
  3.  Start preparing: It’s now time to resolve the situation in the most effective way possible. Ignoring or avoiding the bully may seem the safest way but it’s actually more harmful; the victim suffers in silence and the problem doesn’t get resolved. Trying to appease the bully or complying with him is no solution either. Bullying is a power struggle. Once you give into one demand, they will push for more. Showing aggression is once again not helpful as it can land you into more trouble than the bully himself or worse, show to the latter that he has power over you. Before moving forward, identify stress-related health complications that may have arisen owing to this and take steps to reverse them by consulting health physicians. Next, conduct a thorough research on company’s policies, laws in your area and your rights as an employee. Prepare a file that documents all bullying incidents you have been exposed to, substantiated with facts and keep it handy for future reference.
  4.  Confront and Set Boundaries: Before resorting to other measures, confront the bully. If he is invading your comfort zone in terms of physical space, place a physical boundary (like a desk) between you and him, or ask him to step back. In emotional space is being threatened such as asking personal questions or offering unwanted advice, tell him off, politely yet firmly. Bullies sense fear and prey on weakness. Show them up front that you are strong and they will usually back down and find an easier target. Your body language is crucial. To show assertiveness, stand up straight, don’t fidget, use a calm and collected tone and maintain eye contact. Ensure that you’re not physically cornered.
  5.  Build a support network: Focus on the people who trust you and talk about you, positively. Keep those things in mind when you’re dealing with a bully and not any unfounded accusations and mud-slinging. These people may also turn into a reliable set of supporters who can back your confrontation against the bullies when the need be.
  6.  Take ACTION: If the bully did not respond to your call for setting boundaries then prepare for the next action which is, to stand and fight. Your first step should be to file an internal complaint and compel employer responsibility for putting you in harm’s way. Be prepared with your file of documented facts to defend your case. Gary and Ruth = recommend another approach which suggests building a business case showing the financial impact of the bullying and presenting it to the executive team. ‘Speak their language’, they say and you might be surprised at the results that you get! This approach is fact based and stands lesser chances of being discounted or discredited. If your Manager sides with the bully owing to personal friendship or rationalizes the mistreatment, you may have to consider involving HR or other higher ups. And if your Management or HR department doesn’t help either, you can pursue other legal actions, such as criminal or civil lawsuits. However, these are expensive and lengthy, so think carefully before treading in that direction.
  7. Support creation of an anti-bullying workplace: If you are successful then don’t just leave it there, endeavor to bring reforms in the work culture. Most people choose to stay silent when witnessing someone else is being bullied. Don’t be one of them. Moreover, support creation, implementation and enforcement of anti-bullying policies Elicit top Management support, Educate teams in what specifically constitutes bullying and how top it before it starts and encourage consistency in applying these rules.. Bullies will often back down if they know that someone is watching them.

Hira Ali is Founder of Advancing Your Potential & Revitalize and Rise She is a Leadership Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Writer, and Professional Coach & NLP Practitioner.


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slow broadband (~300k) for over a week

Posts: 4
Registered: 16-12-2012

slow broadband (~300k) for over a week

Its been over a week since moving house, and i've been stuck on ~300k since. i went through the sync process by plugging into master socket and was assured that some one over there would press their buttons and do whatever they do, and my speed would increase to normal (~16MBish), it hasn't.

I have tickets open but there's been no resolve, and it seems the only option is now to fork out ££ for an engineer...

This is after being a customer for 6 years, moving house and being forced into a new 2 year contract, i would expect a little more from a customer support point of view, and certainly not have to pay for an engineer after renewing a contract!

Could this be escalated / actioned please? As i'm losing faith, and would rather just migrate to another provider to get it sorted with a fresh start.

Posts: 10,023
Thanks: 1,562
Fixes: 19
Registered: 22-08-2007

Re: slow broadband (~300k) for over a week

You'll only be charged for an engineer if they find that the fault is in your domain - that is why there is a series of user checks which you are asked to perform before requesting an engineer.  Lets check the basics and gather some facts first...

Broadband is not going to work well if the "phone" line is not working properly.

What are the expectations for your line?

Please use the following links to check the services available and their estimated speeds. From the first link, please record and report back the distance from the exchange. The second link advises of which fibre services (if any) are available on your line and their anticipated speed.

How is your line performing?

Please post your router stats; for PN TG582n and 2704n routers use the buttons below, for other routers look at the Kitz link.

Also run a BT Wholesale speed test (ideally using an Ethernet wired PC with the WiFi turned off) then run the further diagnostics and post the results here. DO NOT REBOOT the router!

Also find your CURRENT SPEED (PlusNet line profile) from the PlusNet user portal - you will need to log in.


CBK 'made history' by posting Sh7 bn loss

The Central Bank of Kenya made a Sh7 billion loss in 1993, described by a witness on Thursday 5 February as abnormal because it was uncharacteristic of a central bank to make losses.

The loss arose from an abnormal premium of Sh5.6 billion given to Kamlesh Pattni's Exchange Bank Ltd and another Sh2 billion to other political banks, said former CBK chief banking manager Reuben Marambii.

"I had never experienced a Central Bank making a loss. It was out of bad debt provisions and premiums given ou

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Thunder's Place

Getting a pump, help.

What are some common brand names or what not to buy?

Good names include LAPump, Boston Pump, VacuTech, and Pump Toys. However any thick wall or flangeed cylinder will work well, if coupled with a pump with gauge and safety valve. Harbor Freight is preferred byp many, but you can find a good LeLove set up incorporating the above requirements..

Start 11/09 BPEL: 5.5", EG: 4.4"

Current. BPEL: 6:4", EG: 5.5"


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We are evaluating and comparing the contributions ascending, lateral and feedback pathways make to the neuronal representation of sound in primary auditory cortex. We are measuring the responses of individual neurons before, during, and after reversible deactivation of ascending signals from thalamus, transcallosal projections arising from area A1 in the opposite hemisphere, and feedback signals from presumptive higher-order areas like AAF and PAF. The strength and specificity of the individual neuronal representation is quantified by using electrophysiological recording. Cooling deactivation is applied to reversibly deactivate lateral and feedback cortical pathways and GABA microinjection is used to reversibly deactivate ascending pathways from the medial geniculate nucleus (MGN). Finally, the capacity of neurons to integrate signals from categorically different sources is being assessed by comparing the effects of separate and combined deactivations on the same neurons. These comparisons are revealing additive, synergistic, and subliminal influences.


Who am I?

My name is Michelle McGough. I’m a recent graduate trying to break into web developement.

Why the blog?

After reading an article on how blogging can assist with career progress, not to mention the (emotionally) cathartic qualities of writing, I decided to start the digitalneophyte.com blog to document progress with the site.


Wooloo Productions is an international collective founded in 2002.

All Wooloo productions are exploring the potential of basic, non-hierarchical democracies by providing experimental spaces, and a variety of online and physical possibilities, through which users can collaborate both locally and globally.

Every year, half a million asylum seekers enter the European Union. Most of these individuals are placed in “camps” while they await a decision. It takes EU member states on average twelve months or more to consider an application for asylum and in a large majority of cases the application is finally rejected. During this period of uncertain waiting, asylum seekers are excluded from most aspects of larger society. The situation results in a range of isolation and stress-related problems , as well as a strong need for communication with other people living under the same circumstances. Despite this obvious need, there is today no common forum for asylum seekers in Europe.

The AsylumHOME project directly addresses the difficulties faced by asylum seekers. It creates an online community where asylum seekers can share knowledge and advice with others facing similar circumstances. For the individual asylum seeker, AsylumHOME will serve as both a social platform and a personal space for expression. Additionally, AsylumHOME provides European citizens with an opportunity to learn about the people living as asylum seekers in their country.

AsylumHOME encourages people of all backgrounds to use the site to communicate, organise and collaborate for the realisation of a more open and diverse Europe. The system is currently in its test version and the final version will be available in the 10 main languages spoken among asylum seekers in the European Union.

and cynical rhetoric.


Go Discover travel - Portugal

Booking & Infoline ☎ +351 918354714 or ✉ info & contact

Traditional cooking workshops in the centre of Lisbon

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The Portuguese cuisine is a rich and diverse mix of fresh ingredients and gifts from the land and sea. Famous for its bacalhau (salted cod fish), grilled fish and meat dishes, olive oils, seafood and many fresh herbs and vegetable varieties. Preparation and cooking demand a perfect balance to prepare simple dishes with excellence.

Cooking Classes in Lisbon are a great opportunity to learn cooking in Portugal in a relaxed and friendly surrounding in a one night workshop that can be repeated as many times as you wish..

In our Cooking Classes the chef/instructor will teach you how to prepare a traditional Portuguese meal consisting of soup/entrance, main dish and dessert in a hands-on experience!

During this workshop you will make some friends to eat the prepared meal with at the end of the workshop accompanied by some great wines.

Fresh ingredients are the basis of the Portuguese cuisine. You will use fresh ingredients like vegetables, fish, shellfish and meat. Olive oils, cheeses and cured sausages are also important ingredients of the Portuguese cuisine that you will learn to use during the workshop.

You will be able to take home the recipes with the ingredients, portions and every detail allowing you to replicate them at home and impress your friends! Visit Portugal and its capital Lisbon and test your culinary skills in a friendly environment.

Highlights of Cooking Classes

Duration: 4 hours (Starting hour: 6pm; Ending hour: 10pm – estimated)
Availability: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
Highlights: Preparation of a traditional Portuguese meal and Dinner (wine included)
Location/Meeting place: Cooking Lisbon – Rua Cidade de Liverpool, 16D – 1170-097 Lisbon (near Anjos subway station)
Language: English
Price: 65 € / person (all taxes included)
Notes: Minimum number of participants 2 people / Maximum number of participants 14 people. Cooking Lisbon can accept different bookings until the minimum and maximum number of participants is reached. Cooking Lisbon can cancel bookings in case the minimum number of participants is not reached. Wifi is available during the class. Portuguese Traditional Gastronomy it´s not vegetarian friendly, in this cases, we can adapt the original dishes or provide a different dish.

For custom worksops and Gourmet workshops, please contact us!

Reserve 00351918354714 or use the quick reservation form on the right.

Check availability or request info

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Type: Cooking workshop / wine
Prices from: 65 euro
Times: Everyday

Traditional cooking workshops in the centre of Lisbon

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Horse Riding Algarve, Lagos

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Casa das Pipas, Douro wine hotel


/Regex Makes Me (Weep|Give Up|(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻).?/i

REGEX! Love it or hate it, sometimes you actually need it. And when that time comes, there’s no reason to be afraid or to ask for help from that weirdo on your team who actually loves regular expressions. (I’m that weirdo, fwiw.)

This session is geared towards beginning and intermediate regex users, and will cover topics using practical examples that you might encounter in your own projects.

  • What is regex? How's it work? A brief history.
  • Syntax, special characters, character classes
  • Grouping, capturing, and common gotchas
  • More advanced topics like: Backreferences; Passive groups; Lookarounds (my favorite)
  • PHP pattern matching and replacements
  • Regex in JavaScript, and js-specific limitations

Access Control Models: Controlling Resource Authorization

There are various access control models, each with a specific intent and purpose. Determining the ideal model for an application can help ensure proper authorization to application resources. Each of the primary models will be covered, including the MAC, DAC, RBAC, and ABAC Access Control models. Examples, challenges, and benefits of each will be discussed to provide a further insight into which solution may best serve an application. Application sensitivity, regulations, and privacy may drive which model is selected.

All the Laravel Things - Local to Production to Making $$

Laravel 5 has established itself as one of the best PHP Rapid Application Development Frameworks. Come learn about all the tools in the Laravel ecosystem designed to save you time and prevent you from writing the boring cruft you have to write for every application. We'll cover getting started with local development, building a basic application, and deploying to production. We'll cover how Laravel easily handles vagrant, testing, oauth login services, billing and subscriptions services through Laravel Spark, and deploying your application with services such as Laravel Envoyer and Forge to manage your servers.

Basic Database Programming for PHP Developers

So what does a database do with a query? How do you avoid the N+1 problem, SQL injection, or just poor database performance? If you are new to programming and want to learn how to efficiently learn how to use a database then you need to be in this session, You will understand how a database server processes a query, why you need to think in sets, why the common problems occur, how to filter user data, and get a very good overview of writing efficient database queries. This tutorial is designed to get novice developers started on the right path to working with a relational database.

Computers <3 Structured Data

Computers have one job: to read and process data. One job, and sometimes they still need help!

Structured data puts you in control, ensuring that search engines and other parsers aren't misreading your information. Get your events recognized as events, your business address as a location, and those product reviews working to attract customers!

Implementing good, structured data is also the first step into the Google Knowledge Graph, the Holy Grail for content marketers. Better yet, with modern standards, it's easier than ever before to get started!

Containerizing PHP Applications

Contextual Communication in a Connected World

Curing the Common Loop (with Collection Pipelines)

Never write another loop again.

Discovering Dark Knowledge in the Social Web

It used to be that crawling social media required some creative coding, a deep understanding of links and relationships, and a finely tuned BS detector. With machine learning becoming common place, it turns out you only need the first two.

Considering information in isolation never gives us a complete picture. As we supplement what we know with what we discover with what inferences and patterns our models can detect, what we know and what we KNOW becomes starkly different.

In this session, we'll dive into a multi-year project that has used social media and other public data sources to uncover hiring patterns, stealth startups, and even pending legal action.

Dockerize your unit tests for faster feedback

Double Loop: TDD & BDD Done Right

Do you TDD or BDD? Why not both? Come learn the "Double Loop" workflow and discover how you can use both Behavior Driven Development and Test Driven Development to write well designed, tested and documented code. In this tutorial, we'll create a small application using PHP, Postgres and Javascript, fully designed and tested with Behat and PHPUnit.

Effective Browser JavaScript Debugging

Effective Code Review: What to Say & How To Say It

Getting Git

Version control is a must for development. With the popularity of services like GitHub, Git has become the top choice for version control. However, not everyone is as familiar with Git as they might want. In this talk, we'll explore everything from 'git init' to 'git bisect.' Through live demos we'll apply what we've learned to tackle everyday scenarios using Git. So whether you're just starting out with Git or a Git pro I guarantee you'll learn something.

Groupies, Roadies, Rockstars

Contribute to Open Source!

How I Learned to Stop Caring and Made Better Software

Best practices are important, but are they always the best for your situation? I spent years working on large software projects where best practices were crucial. Milestone planning, multiple code branching, 99.9% uptime requirements, heavy testing, deployment processes, etc. But I then blindly applied those to every project afterward. In retrospect, that hurt many projects, especially in smaller companies and startups where the speed of innovation was more important and downtime acceptable. In this session, learn from my experience and discover where cutting corners is not only acceptable but better for the project. At the same time, determine which practices are crucial and should be used no matter what!

How to Communicate Effectively Despite Technology

Today’s society is filled with devices, apps, and software that make communication easier and faster. But are we communicating with others in the most appropriate and effective way? Are we causing more problems and headaches for ourselves by only communicating in 140 characters at a time? In this talk, we will discuss the elements of interpersonal communication, the pitfalls of various methods of communication, and learn tools and strategies to put into immediate action. Attendees will leave with six action items to immediately use and improve their communication.

How We Changed The World With Open Source

In June of 2012, podcaster and veteran web dev Ed Finkler spoke openly about his lifelong struggles with mental illness with co-host Chris Hartjes. Four years later, a non-profit corporation with a dozen volunteers is working to change the tech and open source community. In this talk, Finkler tells the story of how the episode happened, the incredible response they received, and how it grew into a charity dedicated to changing and saving lives -- all by using the principles of open source culture.

I'd Like to Write the World Some Docs

It takes a special kind of person to enjoy writing documentation; not only do I have to write [ideally] working code, but now I have to write words that a human being can understand? What is this madness?!

Luckily, good documentation lives on outside your codebase. By following common documentation standards, we can generate comprehensive manuals that instruct others how to integrate with our software. After all, to code is human, but to document is divine.

Introduction to Graph Databases with Neo4j

Graph databases are all the rage these days, but the ideas they’re built upon are hundreds of years old. After a brief look at the history of graph theory and its practical applications in Computer Science, we’ll dive right into Neo4j - the world’s most popular graph database! Learn the differences between a graph database like Neo4j and your traditional RDBMS. See how to model your application’s domain using the new concepts available to you and how to query your graphs using Neo4j’s intuitive query language, Cypher. After this talk, you’ll agree that (Neo4j)-[:IS]->(Awesome) and be excited to use it in your next web application!

Irritating Strings and Iterating Things

Job Queues with Gearman

When higher traffic coupled with costly operations begin to degrade your site’s performance, an asynchronous job queue can be a valuable tool to help relieve the stress. With Gearman, PHP developers can easily farm out non-time-critical jobs like image processing, external API requests, and complex data processing operations to a pool of workers better suited to the task, leaving their webservers free to continue serving requests.

Join Michael Moussa as he walks you through the basics of setting up a Gearman job server, writing clients to communicate with it, and creating workers to do the heavy lifting. After the basics are out of the way, he'll go into some pitfalls to watch out for when working with Gearman, as well as some tricks to make development easier.

Learn to Stop Wiring and Love Laravel's Container

Learning Machine Learning

More Than Just a Hammer

MySQL: Analysis, understanding, and optimization of queries

Your new database query ran quickly when you tested it, but seconds after deploying it, alarms are blaring, and you're scrambling to rollback before the site goes down. What happened?

I can "EXPLAIN."

Queries that perform well under development load with limited datasets can easily bring a database to its knees under production load. In this talk, you will learn to decipher query execution plans, recognize portions that can be improved, and take the necessary steps to optimize your queries!

Practical PHP Deployment with Jenkins

Problem Solved-ish

Your customer calls, your project manager assigns you an issue, your open source project gets a pull request, or your boss emails you – “There’s a problem…” As computer genius and wiz kid you are expected to solve all of these problems because that’s what you are – a problem solver. Well, sort of. Kind of. Not really. Software engineer, sure. Frontend developer, yep. But when was the last time someone gave you a complete, perfectly described problem and you solved it completely? Do you even remember being taught how to recognize, describe, and solve problems? How do you even know if it is really solved?

In the talk Problem Solved-ish we learn again or perhaps for the first time how problem solvers think, how our skills our empowered by our knowledge and understanding of the problem itself, and how solutions finally reveal themselves and the problems really do get solved. We take a look at the five C’s of debugging. We show the five Q’s of the Problem Solving Method. We demonstrate how testing can improve your confidence, your problem describing skills, and even your solution making skills. We will explore the business angle of problem solving and optimization by constraint based decision making and problem solving. Finally you will have a framework for making sure that it’s “problem solved.”

Projects are not Products

If you build it, they will come.. well no, not really. Not even close.

As developers, too often we believe the best tech wins. We want to believe customers care about clean code, the most features, and our architecture. It turns out, no one cares.

When we’re building products, we need to understand the problem we’re solving, who we’re solving it for, and how to reach them. In this session, we'll review concrete steps and discuss how to turn your project into a product.

Pulling up Your Legacy App by its Bootstraps!

Put an end to regression with Codeception Testing

Ever kill a bug only to have it resurface later? How about that last intermittent bug you had to trace down? Looking forward to fixing it again when it pops back up?

If you hate reanimated bugs then this session is for you. In this session, we will discuss the why and the how of building regression testing into your tests using the Codeception testing framework.

Join me, let's hunt some zombie bugs. (Weapons not required)

Real-time Dashboards With Async PHP

When having the critical information available in an instant, businesses look to develop real-time dashboards and data streams. You’ve heard of websockets and everyone knows there is and Node.js but what if you could do it all in PHP? In Real-Time Dashboards With Async PHP we demonstrate how to write an event loop and then create non-blocking code which can communicate bi-directionally with one or more connections. We will write up a responsive web interface that can provide real-time stats as a reactive dashboard. While an advanced topic, we will build up from the entry-level sparing no details or introducing any magic along the way. At the end we refactor utilizing a few abstractions which make our maintained codebase smaller and finally replace the plain-vanilla JS dashboard with a frontend view framework (Vue.js) to help with the client-side heavy-lifting. The result is a synchronous and asynchronous bridge that makes frontend and backend communicate as a seamless evented application.

Rise of the Nodebots

So you’ve finally managed to build a full stack application, all in Javascript. But what if your hardware programming could be done with Javascript too? In this introduction to Nodebots, you will learn how to use NodeJs to build a robot using an Arduino board. Well, maybe not a full robot but at least a blinking LED. You will learn how to add basic sensors and other general electronic components and you will learn how you can do it by yourself, at home, on a minimal budget. Come to this talk and you too will be able to contribute to the Robocalypse.

Serving 30,000,000 Requests an Hour in the Cloud

Smiling From the Wrists Down: Customer Service for Developers

Are you an experienced developer that is now in charge of other business tasks maybe as part of a small business or startup? Customer service can be tricky and leave a lasting impression. Come learn from first-hand experience what to expect, how to answer the question that is meant- not the one that is asked, and how to effectively communicate with your customer and achieve a better outcome for all.

Static in the Front, Dynamic in the Back!

PHP may have some more type hinting abilities than it has in the past, but it's still a very dynamically-typed language. It's an ecosystem in which we are all comfortable. But what about those times we are called upon to build the front end of a new single page application? JavaScript isn't syntactically too far off from the PHP we know, but it is a very different beast. We may very well shoot ourselves in the foot if we accidentally return undefined...or was it NaN?

Maybe this would be a great time to check out Elm - a statically typed, purely functional language that compiles down to JavaScript. Not only will the compiler guarantee our code be free of runtime exceptions and type errors, but it will also provide the kindest, most helpful debugging hints and tips you've ever had the pleasure of reading. Elm frees you up to think about modeling your business logic and having fun while writing code, rather than worrying about what framework you should choose, how to structure your application, and other exhausting choices.

Come see a fast-paced introduction to Elm. We'll walk through some of Elm's most notable features, what the Elm Architecture entails, and learn how to model and implement a simple application with using static types and a functional mindset.

Status Change: Now Using Event Sourcing

Being flexible to changes in business process makes our jobs easier, and it helps our applications adapt to those changes with minimal code changes. One of the biggest adaptions in our applications has been the addition of Event Sourcing to make a note of an Event that happened in the system. With these Events, we can affect change immediately, or even later. This is most helpful in our reporting interfaces. We can build, change, and throw away our reports very easily. This is much easier than our older reports being generated by large SQL queries.

Attendees will learn: - idealogical differences between status flags and events - triggering events in your application - handling events to reflect the state of your application data - building reports from events that are easy to change

Stay Nimble by Rolling Your Own PSR-7 Framework

PSR-7 is ushering in a new era of interoperability in PHP. This also means that there are a lot of complicated choices to make when deciding how to build a "PSR-7 application." Which framework should you use? Do you need to write your own PSR-7 implementation? Should you choose a microframework, a full-stack framework, or roll something of your own?

To help answer some of those questions you'll be introduced to a light PSR-7 framework named Nimble. More than just a sales pitch, explore the reasons for rolling your own framework, how the third-party components that make up the core of Nimble were selected, and how the pieces all fit together. Walk away knowing that PSR-7 frameworks aren't as scary as they look and that creating one yourself may be the best idea of all!

Test Driving Test Driven Development

We've all been to the talks about the tools for test driven development. But TDD is not just about writing tests, it's about driving development through testing. There's a very specific process of TDD with red, green, and blue phases. There's also different patterns, like outside-in or inside-out. In this talk, we will focus on these practices by TDDing a common data structure from start to finish. Attendees will gain experience and leave with tips to help them practice TDD in the real world.

Tests Should Tell a Story

PHP has been adopting testing on a wider scale over the past several years, and it feels like we're finally at a point where we can start to sharpen our skills and tools, rather than rallying to see any testing at all. At this point we should start ensuring that our tests tell the story we'd like them to.

Through an analogy of storytelling, this talk aims to help you be the hero of your testing story by giving new context and perspective to the way a test suite should read to both your colleagues and your future self. We'll demonstrate how proper naming and assertions can lead to simpler, faster debugging. We'll also see how an end-to-end test has a far more compelling story when you focus on describing the feature and business goals over describing a specific UI workflow in painful detail.

The Accidental Professional

Humans learn most effectively through pain, like being shocked by a power outlet or touching a hot iron. The same reaction can be found in technology, but how can we attribute this to programming while minimizing the most painful mistakes? Adam Culp will share his experiences of the ongoing journey to become a professional developer, and highlight techniques used to reduce the pain and still reap the benefits. And for those times when the pain is inevitable, how can we fast-forward to enlightenment.

What WordPress Teaches Us About Software Ecosystems

WordPress is almost certainly the most successful PHP software in the world. And that success is not — though some might joke that it is — an accident. In this talk we'll examine what WordPress has done right and what that can teach other software. We'll also talk about some of WordPress's problems, and understand how they mirror those of other large open-source projects.

You Don't Node.js (or, How JavaScript Actually Works)

JavaScript and Node.js can be a powerful tools used in the right situations, but they also have more footguns than PHP does for new developers. Asynchronous programming style, concurrency issues, error handling, the event loop, and no default timeouts for HTTP requests or network calls will give new developers more than their fair share of troubles and can cause issues that are difficult to debug and reproduce.

This talk gives a brief introduction to Node.js and the event loop model (don’t block the event loop!), and covers common pitfalls when using Node.js with simple and practical solutions.

Your API Is Bad And You Should Feel Bad

Do you hate the Facebook API? We all do as well. So stop writing your API in their footsteps. In this talk we will walk through how to construct a RESTful API, what makes an API your users/developers will love, and why you should eat your own dog food with API Driven Development.


23 octobre 2016

« Americans vote '16 : Tale of a fractured country ? »

Thirteen years ago, long before I would even think of creating this newsblog Paroles d’Actu, I decided to attempt to contact candidates to the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election : what was their background, why they were running, their feelings about France at a time of diplomatic tensions between our two countries over the Iraq war. I’ve always tried to find out how the Internet could be used to reach out to people from distant places, to chat, exchange with them about our countries, about politics and life. I... [Lire la suite]


I have gained a ton of confidence.

“I love the Ideal Protein diet; it is so easy to follow. People have asked how I have been so successful. My answer is: “State of Mind and Commitment”. I joined to lose weight so why fool around…all the meal planning has been done for me, I have a great coach and support system, and all I have to do is plan to succeed! Sure, I have lost over 100 pounds, but here is the important part - I have gained a ton of confidence. I have seen improvements in my relationship, my business and my self-esteem. When I reach into my closet, I have choices. Everything fits! I walk out of the house with my head held high and I am happy to be working on a better me. A better me means that I can accomplish whatever I set out to do. I am no longer judged by my weight.”-Y.W