How to prevent rape

One in four women will be raped. Only 10% will report it. The other 90% will take refuge in silence. 50% of these be cause the perpetrator is a family member or someone they know. The other half think they won’t be believed. And they won’t be believed.” – Ines Hercovich

Why didn’t she call for help?

Why does she stay?

How could she go home with him?

Why would she wear them clothes?

She shouldn’t have drunk so much.

She should have said no again.

She should have struggled more.

She shouldn’t have left her friends.

What do you expect?

All the above is called victim blaming which happens so often and in so many contexts that when someone is raped they themselves question whether they were raped or just simply ‘asking for it’.

The world teaches us that we’ve done something wrong. We’re shamed and blamed in to thinking it’s our own fault. We should not be carrying the burden of their actions by ourselves. 90% of us should be given more of a chance.

A situation that is so common, yet almost completely silenced.

A situation where I think I drank too much.

I made a mistake.

I should have tried harder.

A situation caused by greed, power and privilege.

A situation involving not me, just my body.

A situation caused by someone else.

A situation where the only thing that could have stopped me from being raped that night is the person that raped me.

how to prevent rape

However, not all rapists are monsters. And not all victims are damaged.

In fact, what is damaging are these labels. These labels do not explain what makes an everyday man lose his humanity for minutes of self-centred pleasure and control. Rapists, abusers and violators are not devils crawling in and out of black holes reaching out to our bodies with one aim in life.

They walk the streets with us, sit in our classrooms, they’re our bosses, our boyfriends, they’re everywhere.

Which is why, to stop violence against women, girls, and everyone else in fact, we need to shift the focus from women and girls and bring men into the conversation. Men need to be part of this movement, and men need to be the main leaders of this fight because it’s men that are being failed at some point, in a society that leads them to believe they have privilege and control over someone else’s body on a scary scale that has been happening today and for years and years and years.

A situation that goes beyond borders, race, religion and status.

It is our job to speak up for the women and girls who are unable. Women and girls who can’t find the strength or are not ready to share their story. Women and girls who live in place where their lives will be in even more danger for saying the words ‘he raped me’.

But men and boys also need to be encouraged to speak up and say ‘I raped her’ in order to change societies blame game, and in order to understand better, in a humane and safer perspective, why men are the solutions and fully responsible for this inhumane global pandemic.

Our voices matter. Our words can create change. But we need all voices, not just the survivors, and not just women.

Each story involves two people. We need to create questions for him, and conversation for her. And we need to give both a space in which we can address this global issue, so that his son does not make the same mistake to her daughter, so we can create a safe world for everyone and our futures.

So, let’s change the questions;

Why does he hit her?

Why is domestic violence a global issue?

Why are men the main perpetrators to all children, women and other men?

“Why do so many men abuse physically, emotionally, sexually, verbally the women and kids that they claim to love?

What’s going on with men?

Why is this a common problem in society?

What’s going on with men?” – Jackson Katz: Violence against women — it’s a men’s issue

Rape quotes

This is not a battle or about girls vs boys. We’re all producing this culture and behaviour and we all suffer as a result. How are we all going to stop it?

Let’s talk. Let’s challenge. Let’s end it for all of us.

Hoping for the best,

p.s this is just 745 words, this is not my whole scope or thoughts or words on the issues surrounding gender, men, women, society, sexual abuse and violence. I want this to be something positive and to create something positive from something that is so disturbingly negative, personal and common. I don’t claim to have all the answers and everyone deals with things differently, but this is just 745 words and for some that’s brave, and a start, and it might just help someone’s life, so let’s hope for change, take care of each other and just be nice.

Below is a list of things I’ve read, watched and resources for anyone who is interested in learning and understanding more about one of our world’s biggest and ongoing problems;

And you can find these on Netflix:

  • The Hunting Ground
  • Audrie & Daisy

And these are some of my other related blogs:

If anyone has any good resources, website links, blog posts or books then please share!

Angelina Jolie, Netflix and the Rohingya

So, my favourite gal ever has just released her newly directed movie-documentary ‘First they killed my father’ on Netflix. Angelina Jolie’s new film is based on the memoirs of Loung Ung and her life and escape of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. For those hearing about the Khmer Rouge genocide for the first time, know that in the space of four years, an estimated quarter of the Cambodian population were murdered, as well as many others still living with the after effects and consequences of their reign. That’s an estimated of just over 2 million people.

Cambodia Refugees

The Khmer Rouge took control of the population and enforced ideas of a farming utopia, where no one would be educated, no one had ‘foreign’ influences and everyone was ‘equal’. Their four-year plan would eventually lead to extreme famine, deaths from exhaustion and a country filled with landmines and mass graves. Anyone with skills, educations, certificate, religious backgrounds and those from ethnic minorities were prosecuted and murdered usually to a blow of the head as the Khmer Rouge had a shortage of bullets. The country had barely any doctors, lawyers, teachers or nurses, so those who were dying, had no help.

Ung’s story

Now, I’ve read Ung’s book and cried almost all the way through it. Her story is heart-breaking and is just one of many. The Netflix movie however, is filmed from a different perspective and is only a snippet of the book. There’s minimal dialogue and could probably be a bit confusing for someone learning about the Khmer Rouge and Cambodia for the first time. I would definitely give the book a read first or do a bit of research prior to watching! At first, I wasn’t 100% sure about Jolie’s remake but once the credits rolled up, I was almost clapping. She’s an amazing woman for sharing the story and making Ung’s story known. So many people are unaware of the horrors that occurred, and it’s not something we would know about otherwise so kudos to Jolie for raising awareness about a topic so close to so many people’s hearts. Her extensive charity work and adoption of her Cambodian son, as well as his own presence and role in the making of the film goes against accusations that her ‘western’ perspective and influence on the story could be negative in any way. She uses her platform and skills to bring important matters to light. A-mazing I tell ya!

Cambodia today

Cambodia was one of my favourite South-East Asian countries that I’ve visited. It’s full of culture, beauty and religion but at the same time you can feel the history, pain and hurt that the country felt and still feel today. Only five people were ever bought to justice for the horrific crimes, and Cambodians continues to live alongside their executioners for years after. The Khmer Rouge’s attempt to reboot society meant that generations of people grew up learning how to fight and kill rather than to teach, heal and help. Cambodia is one of the world’s poorest countries with 30% pf the population surviving one less than $1 a day. The poverty and effects of the genocide is visible all over the country. Psychiatrists estimate that almost half the population are living with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) with 50% of babies born to survivors also developing mental health disorders although they haven’t been physically exposed to such traumas. Slanzi is right when she says that in this case “the simple passage of time does not heal everything” (Slanzi, 2013).

The relevance today with the Rohingya refugees

Although it’s amazing and inspiring to raise the awareness and importance of the Cambodian history, it’s also extremely relevant today. The Rohingya refugee crisis is the now the fastest refugee crisis of our time with over 500,000 refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar within the space of just over one month. UN high commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said the situation is a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Systematic violence includes severe beatings, gang rape, mass killings and extreme sexual violence. We cannot sit back and watch this happen, learning from the Cambodia atrocities, we must do more to help people facing persecution. Ayesha, a Rohingya refugee who has now fled to Bangladesh said she was raped by twelve soldiers whilst she was held at knifepoint and her family were in the house. It took her eight days to be able to walk again. Her sisters who were also raped, were so badly weakened that they died. They’re in desperate need of aid, food and shelter as well as provisions in the camos in Bangladesh that many have fled to. Their identities have been destroyed, they live in absolute fear and the trauma that they have faced is unimaginable.

Below are some links where you can find some more information on both crisis’s as well as ways you can help and donate. Give the documentary a watch and the book a read! Let’s raise awareness and make a difference in this world 😊

Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge:

The Rohingya refugee crisis:

How to help:

Thanks for reading guys!


The development of independence and sensuality in the awakening by kate chopin

Her heart remains with Robert, however, and she is delighted to learn that he is soon returning to New Orleans. Adele knows the strength of her own femininity and warns Robert not to play with the somewhat primitive sense of feminism that Edna possesses.

This development occurs in her thinking and lifestyle. And as I was reading it, what kept appearing to me was that this woman was a manic depressive. She feels power and control while swimming.

Her character enjoyed taking risks but was heartbroken with the consequences. She is hurt that he did not seek her out as soon as he returned.

This desire developed as the heroine sought to gain an identity of her own. At first, the relationship between Robert and Edna is innocent.

Each one congratulated himself that his special teachings had accomplished this desired end. Physically, she is different from other women with her distinctive face and figure.

The English bildungsroman is more concerned with social mobility, with class conflict, than is its German counterpart. She says no to him and will not follow him inside. She is neither a flawless heroine nor a fallen woman, and her rebellion seems motivated more by the self-centered desire to fulfill her whims and wishes than to battle for a great cause larger than herself.

Notes on The Awakening Themes

Edna Pontellier grows up in Kentucky and moves to New Orleans where she encounters a different type of behaviour than what she is used to from her childhood and upbringing.

While he is gone, she enjoys the company of the other families in a social setting where rigid rules govern the proper behavior and emotions that may be expressed regardless of true feelings. She is also attuned to music that, when she hears certain pieces, she is able to conjure images of life that interpret the music.

A comprehensive "Criticism" section, introduced by a new Editor's Note, contains expanded selections from hard-to-find contemporary reviews of the novel; two letters of mysterious origin written in response to the novel; and Chopin's "Retraction," which followed The Awakening's negative reception.

And so Chopin combined the names: It happened in This natural progression towards independence seems inevitable, especially with Leonce away in New York on business. A cerebral hemorrhage abruptly ended her life at the age of fifty-three. Morally, is there a difference? Robert had pursued a system of lessons almost daily and he was nearly at the point of discouragement in realizing the futility of his efforts.

She even describes images of a naked man: Did her character win or lose? She felt in it satisfaction of a kind which no other employment afforded her. Chopin also spent much time with her family's Creole and mulatto slaves, becoming familiar with their unique dialects.

I mean, this happens to a lot of people. She goes outside alone, visits friends alone, and ultimately frustrates her husband. Overall, Edna's spirit is strong enough to begin a rebellion but too weak to maintain it, although some readers have interpreted her suicide as a triumphant escape from those personal and social forces that she perceived as enslaving her.

In this society men dominated the households and expected 4 Ammar Hashim Saleh their wives to provide them with well-kept homes and many children to carry on the family.

But for all the sexual and political repercussions of her literary work in the wider world, the strongest liberating force—in her life and in her fiction—may well have been art. They were able to have emotional and intellectual lives of their own.The Awakening Topic Tracking: Feminism, Femininity and Independence.

Feminism 1: When Leonce looks at his sun burned wife as a piece of his property that has been damaged, he is demonstrating male chauvinism at its height. The Awakening Kate Chopin. BUY SHARE. BUY! Home; Literature Notes; The Awakening; Edna Pontellier; Table of Contents during her summer on Grand Isle, Edna develops a devotion to the pursuit of passion and sensuality, two qualities lacking in her marriage and home.

Also key in her development are Mademoiselle Reisz's piano performances. During the development of The Awakening, Chopin wrote the novel in third-person, omniscient narrator. Green argues that Chopin intended this point-of-view for greater measures.

Green argues that Chopin intended this point-of-view for greater measures. The development of strong personal aesthetics, and the realization of her own artistic abilities, obviously shaped Chopin’s trajectory. There is a clear connection in her fiction, as well—in The Awakening, especially—between the heroine’s emerging appreciation of the beauty around her and her growing sense that she is an active.

Apr 25,  · As a reader, Kate Chopin (ironic that she also makes several references to the musical Chopin) builds us up as we empathize with Edna as she in fact awakens from her routine world to a richer life, one filled with love, sensuality, her own choices, her apparent real development as an artist, her independence from what was the ball and chain of.

Kate Chopin: The Awakening

Language Arts Cumulative study guide by Madelyn_Smith99 includes questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. Read the excerpt from The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. Independence leads to great solitude.

The development of independence and sensuality in the awakening by kate chopin
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Repair or Replace: Bulkhead Maintenance in Waterfront Facilities

  Waterfront, Engineering

Container ship at pier with bulkhead
Bulkhead maintenance and replacement can mean big dollar signs for our waterfront facilities, making their design, material selection, construction, and potential repairs a hot topic among port managers. Given the role of the bulkhead in supporting port operations, maintaining these structures and preserving their useful life is a priority. So how does a port manager effectively plan for the maintenance and longevity of their bulkheads?

The answer relies on engineering consultation weighing the financial pros and cons of various maintenance and replacement options. One such option is the installation of a cathodic protection system to extend the life of the bulkhead, and its viability involves evaluating the structural integrity of the bulkhead to determine which has better ROI – extending the bulkhead life through cathodic protection or simply replacing the bulkhead before it reaches a point of structural instability. To express this mathematically:

Equation 01The remaining lifespan of the bulkhead can be determined by either assuming a typical corrosion rate of steel in seawater (typically 0.025 to 0.04 mm/year) or by examining inspection records to determine the actual rate of corrosion at this location. With that information, we can determine critical section modulus at which the bulkhead will fail and predict the remaining life of the bulkhead.

Theoretically, a well-designed cathodic protection system will negate any corrosion. It would be prudent, however, to assume a small amount of corrosion will continue; perhaps 20 percent of the current rate of corrosion. This means that while we can extend the life of the bulkhead, it is at the added cost of the installation of the cathodic protection system. The critical section modulus at which the bulkhead will fail remains the same, but the time it takes to reach that point is extended – and may be worth the investment.

The design of a galvanic cathodic protection system is a straightforward process based on the seawater resistivity, area to be protected, type of anode, and desired life of the CP system. By obtaining these values, a plan of the size, distribution, and lifespan of the cathodic protection system can be determined, which can in turn be used to determine an installation cost.

The cost of bulkhead replacement is also a straightforward exercise based on historical data. If the time to replacement of the bulkhead with a cathodic protection system is determined, we will have all of the elements to balance equation 1 and determine if the installation of a cathodic protection system can be cost justified.

If the decision is between replacing the bulkhead in the near future or installing the cathodic protection system and replacing it at a later date, then the first equation can simply be modified for two use future values. For example, assuming the decision is to either replace the bulkhead in five years without installing cathodic protection, or in 20 years with a cathodic protection system, the equation would now be:

Equation 02This process should be a relatively uncomplicated series of calculations. Assuming there is data to determine the thickness of the existing sheet pile, and that the existing drawings are accurate, the only missing information is the seawater resistivity. A series of ‘what-if’ scenarios could also be conducted by varying the number of years toward bulkhead replacement and also the lifespan of the cathodic protection systems.

As with any asset, the decision to repair or replace is fundamentally a financial one. Weighing the cost/benefit scenario through a structured approach can provide a port facility manager with sound rationale to guide that decision and support the efficient operation of their waterfront facility.

Dave Pryor, PE leads our Waterfront practice, specializing in marine structures, coastal engineering, shipbuilding, and management. With more than three decades of experience, he is focused on guiding waterfront clients through critical projects that are impacted by resiliency, sea level rise, and the global economy. To learn more about our Waterfront practice or to speak with Dave, please call 757.455.5800 or email


Contact Annie For Booking

Annie Lowrey

One way to tackle intractable economic, technological, and societal problems is to discuss Universal Basic Income

Author of Give People Money | Contributing Editor at The Atlantic

Contact Annie For Booking
Annie Lowrey | Author of Give People Money | Contributing Editor at The Atlantic
Lavin Exclusive Speaker

How is the economy adapting to profound technological advances, such as AI and automation? How are these forces, and many others, redefining the nature of work, the potential of business, even society itself? Annie Lowrey, one of our most exciting economics speakers, offers a clear view of what these tectonic shifts mean for you. Her first book, Give People Money, uses the hot topic of Universal Basic Income to gather in larger economic themes, and establishes her as a lively interpreter of global business and the future of work.

“Like it or hate it, the UBI is the biggest social policy idea of the 21st century so far. Give People Money is the best study yet of the world’s experiences with UBI. It deserves acclaim and, more important, the close attention of policy makers.”

— Lawrence H. Summers, former Treasury Secretary of the United States

Annie Lowrey has spent her career covering economic policy and its impact on businesses. She has an incredible grasp on the inter-relationship between technological innovation, the labor force, specific industries, and the health of the economy. What will the economy look like in 5, 10, 50 years? Will AI eradicate jobs entirely? Or will it allow humans to work smarter and leaner—to use their full creative capacity? Why, in 2018, are mainstream politicians (and everyone else!) talking seriously about Universal Basic Income, a stipend given to every citizen? These are some of the questions Lowrey prompts audiences to think about. “It's about UBI, yes, but more about using UBI to think about all kinds of other things: work, robots, AI, racism, babies, taxes, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, abundance,” she says.

One of Lowrey’s new keynotes is based on her book Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World. The idea is simple: what if every month the government gave you $1,000, with nothing expected in return? From this premise, Lowrey brilliantly explores rising inequality; persistent poverty; issues of race, class, and gender; and the entrenched belief that no one should get something for nothing. What role might UBI play in a world with advanced AI and little need for traditional human labor? Lastly, what does it mean for your sector and industry? (Likely more than you realize). Lowrey offers an unbiased, deeply reported account of UBI—while suggesting a better foundation for our society in this age of turbulence and marvels. A graduate of Harvard University, she lives in Washington D.C.

Speech Topics

Give People Money How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World

What would you do if the government mailed you a check for $1,000 every month? For many of us, our lives would be much the same, but for others — entrepreneurs, people with disabilities, parents of young children, blue-collar workers approaching retirement age, the homeless — the world might be radically different, as would our economy, country, and our sense of what we owe one another. This sweeping, simple idea is called a UBI: Universal Basic Income. It is being trialled everywhere from Canada to Kenya. In this talk, one of the world’s leading UBI experts, Annie Lowrey, imagines how it might transform our world, for better and worse, with an eye towards what it would mean for your sector.

Global Economy
The Economic Forecast How We Got Here and Where We’re Going

Why isn't growth working for everyone anymore? In this talk, Lowrey will look at various important topics, including automation, wage stagnation, and inequality — and how the technological and political forces that have made the United States the most dynamic and richest country in the world have also left tens of millions of Americans behind. More than that, she examines what to do about it, and how the country could have a wealthier and more equitable future. Is the country fated to fall behind the Chinas and the Indias of the world going forward? Against this global and historical backdrop, and with an eye for your specific industry, Lowrey’s talk is a must-hear for anyone interested in their organization’s place in the global economy.

Artificial Intelligence
Will Robots Take Your Job? Artificial Intelligence and The Economy

Are robots about to take your job—everybody's job? In this talk, Annie Lowrey looks at the impact of technology on growth over the past century, and examines whether, this time, machines really will replace humans, instead of making them smarter, healthier, richer, and more productive. What path will A.I. walk us down? Lowrey discusses how A.I.-driven innovations—driverless cars, robot diagnosticians, and instant transcription-and-translation to name a few—stand to change your industry and the economy. Finally, Lowrey investigates what government policy and private businesses could do to make sure tech benefits the 99 percent, not just the one percent. This is an unbiased, far-reaching talk that considers A.I. from every angle.


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Blue Ecosystems יעוץ סביבתי, בהנהלת ד"ר רחלי עינב - Asparagopsis taxiformis

רחלי עינב - מגדיר אצות

עברית English

דף הבית >> Seaweeds of Eastern Mediterranean coast >> Rhodophyta >> Asparagopsis taxiformis
Rhodophyta | Chlorophyta | Rhodophyta
Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan

Rhodophyta, Order: Bonnemaisoniales; Family: Bonnemaisoniaceae.
Asparagopsis refers to its resemblance to the asparagus  plant. The name of the species -taxiformis -refers to the  arrangement of its branches, which resembles that of the  Yew tree.
The Asparagopsis taxiformis is a very soft alga that loses  its shape when extracted from the water. The central axis is  covered with irregular lateral fissures 1 cm in diameter at the  base and several millimetres at the tip. The fissures are  arranged in a pyramid form - sharpened at the end. The algal  cling is made of several crawling shoots that attach to a  substrate using a wedge-like rhizoid, often forming a thicket  at the base of the colony. Microscopic examination reveals  2 rows of cells along the side branches.
The Asparagopsis taxiformis is between 5 to 20 cm long  (very rarely - 30 cm), but most are in the 10 cm region. The  side branches (the algal diameter) varies between several  millimeters to a centimeter (a 2 cm diameter is rare).
The Asparagopsis taxiformis comes in shades of pink,  veering towards gray or very light brown. Usually, the algal  base is pinker and its top grayish.
Special features
The Asparagopsis taxiformis is found in dense colonies,  coloured pinkish-brown, and characterized by its soft thallus  and pyramid shape. It may be confused with Dasya plants,  but that plant’s characteristic pompoms are missing, and it  is very rare.

Rocky beaches of the Eastern Mediterranean are where the  Asparagopsis taxiformis grows attached to the substrate,  creating dense colonies in the upper region of the subtidal  zone, in areas that are never exposed. In literature, the  Asparagopsis taxiformis has been reported at depths of 15  to 30 m. In Australia and other places, the alga is considered  an epiphyte, and it apparently also grows on ships, which  transport it from one place to another.
Biology and reproduction
The Asparagopsis taxiformis three staged life cycle includes  a gametophytic stage (described below) and a sporophytic  stage. The algal gametophyte holds in the base of its  branches round, but sometimes elongated, sporangia whose  diameter may be 1 mm, but they are usually smaller. The  sporophytic branches resemble a bundle of hairs, have  elongated sporangium bodies, are usually located in the  top of central branches and resemble the branches of the  Polysiphonia alga. Microscopic examination from above  reveals filaments containing 2 rows of cells, sharpened at  the edges and irregularly branched. The holdfast is disk- like. The sporophytic branches grow to 2 cm in length and  are pinkish-red coloured. Not all stages of the life cycle  have been observed in all those places where the alga has  been reported, and the sporophytic stage may also be able  to reproduce by fragmentation.
Seasonality and distribution
The Asparagopsis taxiformis is rare in this region. I myself  have only seen it twice along Israeli shores: in Mikhmoret,  where it was also reported by Dr. Lundberg, and at the Neve  Yam beach (Israel). The species has also been reported in  Egypt by its previous name -Asparagopsis delilei  Montagne. The algal tropical and sub-tropical distribution  is wide, arriving in Europe at the beginning of the twentieth  century, probably by ship.
Additional species
The Asparagopsis genus includes two species, but only  one of them, the Asparagopsis taxiformis, has so far been  reported in our region. The other species is only known to  exist in Australia and New Zealand.
The algal sporophytic stage was erroneously considered a  separate species - the Polysiphonia hillebrandii Bornet until  1961, and as the Falkenbergia hillebrandii (Bornet)  Falkenberg thereafter.
Asparagopsis taxiformis, on the right:  procarp, on the left: cistocarp - an  asexual structure developed as a  parasite in the female sporophyte.
 Asparagopsis taxiformis -a general view of the cellular  arrangement at the edge of the holdfast, from which several  rhizoids branch out.
In the Caribbean Islands, the Asparagopsis taxiformis is a popular consumable, used as a spice and a common addition  to fish and meat dishes.

רחלי עינב - ביוגרפיה
בלו אקו סיסטם - החזון
מגוון שירותים - ים
מגוון שירותים - יבשה
פרויקטים ניבחרים

מאמרים ניבחרים

מאמרים עיתונאים


CS - Sharpening Your Forecasting Skills: Foresight Is a Measurable Skill That You Can Cultivate > 15min

What if you had the opportunity to learn how to improve the quality of your forecasts, measured as the distance between forecasts and outcomes, by 60 percent? Interested? ... Phil Tetlock is a professor of psychology and political science at the University of Pennsylvania who has spent decades studying the predictions of experts. Specifically, he enticed 284 experts to make more than 27,000 predictions on political, social, and economic outcomes over a 21-year span ended in 2004. The period included six presidential elections and three wars. These forecasters had crack credentials, including more than a dozen years of relevant work experience and lots of advanced degrees—nearly all had postgraduate training and half had PhDs. ... Overall, Tetlock’s results provide lethal ammunition for those who debunk the value of experts. ... While famous experts had among the worst records of prediction, they demonstrated “skill at telling a compelling story.” To gain fame it helps to tell “tight, simple, clear stories that grab and hold audiences.” These pundits are often wrong but never in doubt. ... foresight is a real and measurable skill. One test of skill is persistence. High persistence means that you do consistently well over time and are not a one-hit wonder. About 70 percent of superforecasters remain in those elite ranks from one year to the next, vastly more than what chance would dictate. ... second is that foresight “is the product of particular ways of thinking, of gathering information, of updating beliefs.” Importantly, the essential ingredients of being a superforecaster can be learned and cultivated. ... Tetlock and his colleagues found four drivers behind the success of the superforecasters:
- Find the right people. You get a 10-15 percent boost from screening forecasters on fluid intelligence and active open-mindedness.
- Manage interaction. You get a 10-20 percent enhancement by allowing the forecasters to work collaboratively in teams or competitively in prediction markets.
- Train effectively. Cognitive debiasing exercises lift results by 10 percent.
- Overweight elite forecasters or extremize estimates. Results improve by 15-30 percent if you give more weight to better forecasters and make forecasts more extreme to compensate for the conservatism of forecasts.

Credit Suisse - IQ versus RQ: Differentiating Smarts from Decision-Making Skills > 15min

Intelligence quotient (IQ) and rationality quotient (RQ) are distinct. Think of IQ as the horsepower of an engine and RQ as the output. ... We share the results of a classic test of calibration, which is an important facet of rationality. Well calibrated people know what they know and know what they don’t know. ... Consistent with past research, we find that participants overestimate their accuracy as their subjective probability estimates tend to be higher than the actual percent correct. ... Investors and executives can improve their rationality by keeping score, asking about others, using base rates, and updating probabilities. ... A large-scale forecasting project has shown that the best forecasters use inductive and numerical reasoning, have cognitive control and a growth mindset, and are open-minded and effective working as part of a team.

Five Principles of Capital Allocation:
1. Zero - based capital allocation
2. Fund strategies, not projects
3. No capital rationing
4. Zero tolerance for bad growth

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Credit Suisse - Operating Leverage: A Framework for Anticipating Changes in Earnings > 15min

For a fundamental investor, anticipating revisions in expectations is the key to generating attractive returns. Sources of those revisions include fundamental outcomes (typically earnings revisions) and an assessment of how the market will value those fundamentals (multiple expansion or contraction). Investors who are able to forecast earnings in a year’s time that are substantially different than today’s expectations can earn meaningful excess returns. ... Analysts are commonly too optimistic about earnings growth and often miss estimates by a wide margin. This is especially pronounced for companies that have high operating leverage and surprise the market with weak sales. Buy-side analysts are generally more optimistic and less accurate than sell-side analysts. ... Operating leverage measures the change in operating profit as a function of the change in sales. Operating leverage is high when a company realizes a relatively large change in operating profit for every dollar of change in sales. Operating leverage is low when operating profit is mostly unchanged for every dollar of change in sales. Operating profit is earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and is the same as operating income. ... This report outlines a systematic way to assess earnings revisions with a specific emphasis on operating leverage. The goal is to be able to better anticipate revisions in expectations. The issue of operating leverage does not receive enough attention, in our view, and it can provide insight into excess returns.

CS - Reflections on the Ten Attributes of Great Investors 28min

I believe my lack of business education was an asset because it encouraged me to ask a lot of questions and to think from first principles. I recall going to an equity research morning call and hearing the utility industry analyst suggest the slow-growing companies under his coverage deserved price-earnings (P/E) multiples in the high teens and the tobacco industry analyst imply that his fast-growing companies should trade at P/E’s in the mid-teens. How does that make sense? I was dropped into a world of rules-of-thumb, old wives’ tales, and intuitions. ... My first breakthrough occurred when a classmate in my training program handed me a copy of Creating Shareholder Value by Alfred Rappaport.3 Reading that book was a professional epiphany. Rappaport made three points that immediately comprised the centerpiece of my thinking. The first is that the ability of accounting numbers to represent economic value is severely limited. Next, he emphasized that competitive strategy analysis and valuation should be joined at the hip. The litmus test of a successful strategy is that it creates value, and you can’t properly value a company without a thoughtful assessment of its competitive position. ... The final point is that stock prices reflect a set of expectations for future financial performance. A company’s stock doesn’t generate excess returns solely by the company creating value. The company’s results have to exceed the expectations embedded in the stock market.
1. Be numerate (and understand accounting).
4. Compare effectively (expectations versus fundamentals).
5. Think probabilistically (there are few sure things).
7. Beware of behavioral biases (minimizing constraints to good thinking).
8. Know the difference between information and influence.
9. Position sizing (maximizing the payoff from edge).
10. Read (and keep an open mind).

Credit Suisse - Measuring the Moat: Assessing the Magnitude and Sustainability of Value Creation > 15min

Sustainable value creation has two dimensions: the magnitude of the spread between a company’s return on invested capital and the cost of capital and how long it can maintain a positive spread. Both dimensions are of prime interest to investors and corporate executives. ... Sustainable value creation as the result solely of managerial skill is rare. Competitive forces and endogenous variance drive returns toward the cost of capital. Investors should be careful about how much they pay for future value creation. ... Economic moats are almost never stable. Because of competition, they are getting a little bit wider or narrower every day. This report develops a systematic framework to determine the size of a company’s moat.


Birds of the Tallgrass Prairies

By Paul A. Johnsgard

A female red-winged blackbird feeding a baby brown-headed cowbird (right) rather than her own starving chick (left). (Paul A. Johnsgard)

Nebraskans may be justifiably proud of our tallgrass prairies; few other states have a larger number of protected tallgrass prairies that are open to the public for our enjoyment and educational opportunities. They include prairies located in state parks, such as Rock Creek Station State Park in Jefferson County, and state wildlife management areas (WMAs), such as the 1,120-acre Pawnee WMA, Pawnee County, and 600 grassland acres in Twin Lakes WMA, Lancaster County. There are also some federally owned restored prairies, such as at Homestead National Monument in Gage County and Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge in Douglas County. City-owned prairies include both virgin and restored prairies in Lincoln’s Pioneers Park, and there are several Nature Conservancy prairies. The University of Nebraska owns the historically famous 240-acre Nine-Mile Prairie, located nine miles northwest of Lincoln. The best-preserved and one of the best-studied tallgrass prairies in Nebraska is National Audubon’s 800-acre Spring Creek Audubon Prairie. Located in the glacial moraine hills of southern Lancaster County, it was acquired by the National Audubon Society in 1999 and contains over 350 species of plants. A listing of more than 75 tallgrass prairies in eastern Nebraska, plus 13 more in adjacent states, is available online (Johnsgard, 2007). Most of these sites are freely open to the public.

The adjacent states of South Dakota, Iowa and Kansas also have many prairie preserves. In South Dakota, The Nature Conservancy owns about 10,000 acres of mostly tallgrass prairies at eight locations in eastern South Dakota, of which the 7,500-acre Samuel H. Ordway Jr. Memorial Preserve in the tallgrass–mixed-grass transition zone is the largest. Iowa’s few remaining tallgrass prairies are nearly all located in the loess hills region of western Iowa. The largest of these is the 3,000-acre Broken Kettle Grasslands near Sioux City, owned by The Nature Conservancy. In the Flint Hills region of eastern Kansas, the National Park Service and National Park Trust jointly manage the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, of 11,000 acres, and the 8,600-acre Konza Prairie is similarly jointly managed by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University.

A western meadowlark male. (Paul A. Johnsgard)

Although dominated by a relatively few species of tall perennial grasses, tallgrass prairies are notable for the very large diversity of broad-leaved herbaceous plants that are also present, frequently comprising 300 or more species. Most of these plants, technically classified as “forbs,” fall into the general category of wildflowers, and it is the spectacular summer and fall array of native wildflowers that stimulates most people to visit prairies. For the discerning eye, not even the autumnal colors of our eastern deciduous forests can match the summer reds and pinks of prairie phloxes and roses, the later violet-purples of gayfeathers and coneflowers, the Indian summer yellows of goldenrods and sunflowers or the coppery tones of late autumn grasses. It is this diverse plant life, whose seeds, leaves and flowering parts support an interdependent population of insects and other invertebrates, that is the biological basis of the prairie’s native bird populations. Of the roughly 30 species of North American birds that are ecologically closely associated with grasslands, the largest single component is comprised of sparrows and other seedeaters, although even sparrows depend heavily on insects for proteins while feeding their young.

It is of interest to compare the species compositions of the grassland bird populations at Spring Creek Audubon Prairie and Konza Prairie, as both are relatively large grassland ecosystems with similar climates and vegetational attributes. Native species that breed in both locations and are particularly grassland-dependent are the greater prairie chicken, upland sandpiper, northern harrier, horned lark, field lark, grasshopper and Henslow’s sparrows, dickcissel, bobolink and the eastern and western meadowlarks. Other birds breeding in both prairies but having somewhat broader ecological niches are the northern bobwhite, American kestrel, killdeer, loggerhead shrike, cliff swallow, barn swallow, sedge wren, common yellowthroat, red-winged blackbird and brown-headed cowbird.

Prairie birds are something akin to prairie grasses; they are often confusingly similar and usually not very colorful. Yet what they might lack in color they often make up for in both song and behavior. Few Nebraskans would admit to not being touched by the spring songs of meadowlarks, whose clear voices by late February often proclaim the end of winter long before it is admitted by any of the people who accept the calendar’s insistence that spring always begins on the 21st of March.

Following the sometimes overly optimistic weather assessments of the meadowlarks, mid-March brings the next uniquely prairie concert—the dawn chorus of greater prairie chickens. Displaying from distant hilltops, as the grassy slopes are just being touched and illuminated by the rising sun, this rhythmic melody is so haunting and powerful as to make one almost believe in the presence of unseen spirits. It penetrates to some remote and perhaps ancestral part of the brain, producing a kind of restful mantra that makes one believe that all is well with the world, in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

The complex mating choreographies of prairie chickens extend into and though April, by which time most of the other prairie birds will have arrived. Red-winged blackbirds begin to utter their familiar kong-kor-eee notes from nearby willow-lined wetlands, simultaneously exposing their blood-red wing-covert epaulets to capture the attention of any nearby female. Male bobolinks establish territories in wet meadows, periodically releasing a cascade of song as they launch into the air and patrol their self-proclaimed properties. Grasshopper sparrows and Henslow’s sparrows more quietly take up their territorial position in the previous year’s tall grasses, uttering soft, insect-like songs that, together with their camouflaged dead-grass plumages, perhaps help protect them from aerial predators.

A male dickcissel. (Paul A. Johnsgard)

One of the last of the major prairie songbirds to arrive is the dickcissel, which has to make a spring migration of more than a thousand miles from South America, where it winters from Colombia to French Guyana. Arriving in mid-May, the males in spring resemble a miniature meadowlark, with a yellow breast crossed by a black blaze, revealing their ancient blackbird-like evolutionary connections. Like the grasshopper and Henslow’s sparrows, dickcissels have declined greatly across North America as their prairie habitats have disappeared, but they maintain a tenacious hold in eastern Nebraska, where a combination of weedy old-field habitats, CRP grasslands and tallgrass prairie relict stands provide ideal habitats. The dickcissel is the most common prairie breeding songbird species at Konza Prairie in eastern Kansas, and the same is true in eastern Nebraska sites such as Spring Creek Prairie. The breeding range of the dickcissel fairly closely corresponds with the historic parts of the cowbird’s range, which once largely was associated with that of the bison but has since expanded to include much of the deforested pastures and croplands of North America.

Perhaps because of their great abundance, dickcissels are the favorite target of the brood-parasitic brown-headed cowbird in eastern Nebraska and are also prime victims at Konza Prairie. In Nebraska it is uncommon to find a dickcissel nest that does not have at least one cowbird egg among the host’s eggs. In a Kansas study John Zimmerman found that, among 544 nests, only 46 percent were unparasitized, while the remainder had up to as many as at least six cowbird eggs! Since a female cowbird will lay only one egg in each nest she parasitizes, the local cowbird population must be remarkably high in Kansas prairies, and the same appears to be true in Nebraska. In other Kansas grassland studies parasitism rates on dickcissels have been found to range from 50–91 percent of all nests found, as compared with 22–50 percent of grasshopper sparrow nests and 70 percent of eastern meadowlark nests.

A female dickcissel. (Paul A. Johnsgard)

In spite of the large number of eggs that they lay, cowbird reproduction is not very efficient. John Zimmerman reported that only 7 percent of 132 cowbird eggs in dickcissel nests resulted in fledged young, although other Kansas studies suggest that a more typical fledging success rate is about 23 percent. However, he also found that nonparasitized dickcissel nests produced an average of 3.7 fledged dickcissels per nest in prairie habitats, whereas among parasitized nests the dickcissels fledged only 1.8 of their own young per nest. In larger bird species, such as the red-winged blackbird, competition for food by nestlings is probably more evenly matched, but highly effective begging behavior by the cowbird chicks may allow them to grow faster and be more likely to fledge than their blackbird nestmates.

In contrast to more famous nest parasites like the famous Old World cuckoo, cowbirds have not evolved highly specialized traits, such as mimicking the host’s egg color and pattern or getting rid of the host young by pushing them or their eggs out of the nest, Instead, cowbirds rather indiscriminately drop their eggs into virtually every nest that they find, regardless of the host species. Some host species can recognize the alien egg and eject or otherwise eliminate it, while others simply accept it as one of their own.

In many songbird nests the young cowbirds often hatch slightly sooner than the host’s young and immediately begin to obtain much of the food brought by the parents, simply by their more prolonged and more insistent begging. Although a dickcissel brood might survive the presence of a single cowbird chick in the nest, every additional cowbird increases the chances that most or all the dickcissel young will starve to death before fledging. Only after late July, when the cowbirds finally stop laying eggs, do the dangers from them subside. It is likely that a single female cowbirds may lay 50 or more eggs in a single breeding season, and one female was proven to lay 67 eggs in as many days!

In spite of the massive damage cowbirds have brought to grassland and forest-edge bird populations, the overall range of cowbirds has now stabilized, and their national population density has been stable or declining slowly since the mid-1960s. Probably the present greatest current threat to prairie bird populations is the continuing loss of grassland habitats through ever more conversions to cropland. Grassland birds have many other enemies such as snakes weasels, and even ground squirrels, which devour eggs and chicks. Avian predators include great horned owls, taking larger species such as quails and prairie chickens, and fast-flying accipiters such as Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks, which concentrate on progressively smaller birds. Natural disasters such as wind, snow, rain and hailstorms all contribute to avian mortality, so that at times it seems impossible that any birds will survive. Yet year after year they appear on schedule, go through all the dangers and difficulties of life and annually provide us not only with the joys of seeing and hearing them but also offer models of parental care and devotion. Even cowbirds have to be respected for their remarkable adaptive capacities to survive and reproduce in an unforgiving world.

Johnsgard, Paul A. “Prairie Birds: Fragile Splendor in the Great Plains.” Lawrence, Kan.: Univ. Press of Kansas, 2001.

Johnsgard, Paul A. “A Guide to the Tallgrass Prairies of Eastern Nebraska.” Lincoln, Neb.: Paul A. Johnsgard, 2007.

Zimmerman, John L. “The Birds of Konza: The Avian Ecology of the Tallgrass Prairie.” Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 1993.

Image Credits: Paul A. Johnsgard

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

As of 2005, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is owned by The Nature Conservancy not the National Park Trust.

Immigration in Nebraska


17. Robust quantification of fish early life CO2 sensitivities via serial experimentation

This figure shows the summary of early life responses to high CO2 conditions in Atlantic silversides across all experiments conducted between 2012-2017. Effect size was estimated using the log-transformed response ratio (A-D). Error bars are 95% confidence intervals. The responses are considered significant if the confidence interval does not include zero. Panels E-F: seasonal decomposition of response ratios, showing that silverside early life stages are most sensitive to high CO2 at the beginning and end of their spawning season.
This graph plots the difference in M. menidia embryo survival between high and control CO2 treatments for 20 published experiments against the degrees of freedom (a measure of replication), overlaying a probability surface derived from a t-distribution. It shows that serial experimentation can detect CO2 effects that would individually be considered non-significant

Baumann, H., Cross, E.L., and Murray, C.S. Robust quantification of fish early life CO2 sensitivities via serial experimentation. Biology Letters 14:20180408

16. Always look on the silverside of life – Lab T-Shirts

15. Ocean variability and Stage Duration hypothesis: a genesis

Illustration of the hypothesis that the general sensitivity of marine organisms to ocean acidification depends on contemporary CO2 variability in a species habitat and its rate of development, particularly throughout the most vulnerable early life stages. (A) Early sketches wrestling with single vs. multiple panel layouts (B) Single panel concept to depict the attenuation of CO2 variability from near- to offshore (C) finished illustration

14. Four key areas of advances in experimental ocean acidification research

At the 4th Ocean Acidification PI meeting in Portland, OR, Hannes talked about advances in (1) methods and confounding factors, (2) the importance of existing CO2 variability in space and time, (3) the recognition of OA as one of many stressors in a future ocean, and (4) breakthroughs in mechanistic understanding of CO2 effects

13. Iconography used in the OA PI summary talk

12. Friends of Marine Sciences – logo and outreach slide

11. Multistressor title art (L&O e-lectures)

10. Seasonal covariation of pH and dissolved oxygen in a temperate tidal salt marsh (aka “The turkeys”)

Scientific graphs often get used for different purposes. In a publication (left side), the focus is on clarity, simplicity, and the use of colors is often constrained. But when the same data are used in a presentation, for example at a conference, the graphs are best reworked and adapted so that they capture the audience attention. Here, the use of the background sets the stage for the particular habitat the study is talking about, whereas the graphs are combined, colored and annotated. In a presentation, nobody can read a figure caption!

9. Mumford Cove biweekly beach seine survey and environmental monitoring (2015-2018)

This graph compiles our lab’s heroic multi-year effort of collecting and measuring Altantic silversides (Menidia menidia) in Mumford Cove, where we also maintain a continuous monitoring station to record temperature, oxygen and pH. Any single survey is fun, but may not tell much, but in combination, this allows tracing cohorts from their birth, juvenile phase, to the mature spawners.

8. CO2 sensitivity of fish embryos and larvae from different mothers (aka “The dancing men”)

Fig2 - dancing men
This graph shows the different responses of Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) offspring obtained from different mothers to high CO2. (A) embryo and larval survival; (B) overall survival; (C) SL at hatch; and (D) final SL (16 dph). Ambient and high CO2 treatments are denoted by red and blue colors, respectively. Small symbols depict replicate survival (A,B) or replicate average size (C,D), while large symbols depict CO2 treatment averages for each female. Black lines connect average response for each female (letters A to E). Modified from Snyder et al. JEMBE 2018

7. Depicting interannual trends in temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen in 16 nearshore estuaries

Interannual trends in temperature (red bars), dissolved oxygen (%, blue bars) and pH (green bars) at 16 US NERRS sites, shown as yearly anomalies derived from averaging monthly anomalies for each variable, site, and year. Black trend lines were derived by LOESS smoothing (50% bandwidth) – Baumann, H. and Smith, E. 2017. Quantifying metabolically-driven pH and oxygen fluctuations in US nearshore habitats at diel to interannual time-scales Estuaries & Coasts (published online 2 Oct 2017).

6. Graphical recording of Hannes’ talk at Columbia University by Tracey Berglund

Graphical recording of H. Baumann's keynote lecture
Graphical recording of H. Baumann’s keynote lecture “Combined effects of ocean acidification and its co- stressors on marine organisms” (Artist: Tracey Berglund, tra4art.com)

5. Outreach material for the Mumford Cove Association

Mumford Cove Ass_probe

Mumford Cove Ass_silversides

4. Climate change effects on zooplankton and its potential for mismatches with higher trophic levels – a genesis

The result of an initial brainstorming session on the whiteboard

Scribbling early concepts in a notebook. Drawing is still the best way of developing a visual idea.
The illustration visualizes direct and indirect effects of climate change on zooplankton, which potentially shift in phenology, behavior etc. This in turn results in a number of potential mismatches with fish, particularly the early life stages that most rely on the timely occurrence of the right kind of zooplankton (April 2015).

3. Illustration of the structure of a research proposal

It is often a great idea to give reviewers of a research proposal a quick, visual idea of the main parts and overall objectives of the proposed research (Oct 2015)

2. Ocean acidification: challenges on each level of organization – a genesis

The idea of using cubes to visualize the hierarchical levels of organization came while contemplating the mess in my kids’ room, in particular the alphabet cubes strewn on the floor …”

This schematic illustrates how a stressor like ocean acidification impacts processes on different levels of organization, from the chemical properties of seawater and whole ecosystem down to cellular and molecular levels. So far, OA research has largely focused on individuals, with major knowledge gaps remaining in most of the other domains (Feb 2015).

1. Ocean acidification effects on externally vs. internally calcifying organisms

This unfinished concept illustrates different research aspects that are investigated for externally vs. internally calcifying marine organisms


Following the session, I didn’t feel very different. I’d once read a post-colonic account where the writer recalled feeling so clean afterward that she craved nothing other than water and cucumbers. Well, that wasn’t the case for me! I was hungry! Sandra said that I should stick to soft food for the rest of the day so I had some boiled squash and rice, but I was craving a thick slice of pizza. My stomach did feel empty, but not much more than it would after any substantial “movement.”
I had pain in my right back when I lay down to sleep. I thought it was just below where the liver should be. I thought it might be my gallbladder. Next day I took dandelion root caps. One three times a day. After three weeks I passed many black, pea sized round hard stones in my stool.. I removed a few & opened them. They were white inside. I thought they were little gallstones. No more pain in the back & has never returned. I would recommend this for anyone with similar symptoms.

There is a hole in the chair/bed where the speculum and water come from. It is this same hole where all of the waste goes down. There is a view-tube beside you so that you can see everything that passes out of you. What surprised me was that after the initial “movement” (which was pretty standard) there was not that much that actually came out of me. No giant clumps the size of an orange, mostly just the clean water coming out exactly as it came in. After awhile, this made me anxious. Why wasn’t anything happening? Then, I had another smaller movement, but that was it for the length of the procedure. If anything else came out, it wasn’t visible. I had the expectation that something major would be removed and there would be a lot of movement over the course of the treatment. In retrospect, I think that having that expectation was detrimental. It caused me unnecessary anxiety during the process.


← Back to all jobs

UI Engineer

- A deep understanding of CSS including box model, flexbox, grid. and responsive design

- A solid command of semantic and accessible HTML

- A designer’s mind. You think like a designer and know why a design works and why it doesn’t.

- Experience writing performant React, and Redux

- Experience building feature rich JavaScript apps

- Extreme attention to detail. You’re able to code up a designer’s mockup while paying close attention to spacing, colors, sizes, etc without getting complaints from designers!

- Git/Github experience

- Terminal/command line experience

- Bonus: React Native experience

- Bonus: Blockchain experience

- Bonus: animation/motion experience

- Build, maintain, and support React based apps

- Write production-ready supportable code

- Self-test your code in major browsers and mobile devices

- You’ll be embedded in the design team, and a member of the development team that embraces collaborative working

- You’re self-disciplined and very comfortable working remotely and logging your hours via our activity tracking software.

- You’ll be building, testing, and helping deploy committed code.

How to apply?

To apply to this position, email Paybear at career@paybear.io with [JOB] in the subject. Please include your resume and provide at least one link to a working React based project and attach a code sample of your choice.


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Gods and Goddesses of Death in Mythology

The guardians of your soul await.

 In order for the good to be considered ‘good’, we need the binary opposite. This demand for balance is woven all throughout life, with ‘death’ being what gives life 'life'. In religion, the gods of death, who are necessary for maintaining the balance of the world, are often overlooked by those who favour life. But life is far less eternal that death. Throughout history, who have our ancestors been worshipping, and who did they believe that they would now reside with?

Celtic Mythology

The Celts had a simple way to manage the delicate line of balance between life and death: get yourself a goddess that serves the purpose of both! ‘Morrigan’ means great queen, with this name being fitting for the deity that rules over both life and death. Not only that, but Morrigan is one of the triple goddesses, with the three main aspects of her personality being represented by Anu, the maiden of fertility, Badh, the mother cauldron, and Macha, the death crone.

Morrigan, according to legend, was the consort of Dagda. Dagda was the most important and prominent god of Celtic Mythology, known as ‘Ollathir’ which means ‘All Father’. He was the god of the earth. There was a war against the Fomorians, who Dagda was sent to spy on. On his way to their camp, he spotted Morrigan bathing in the river. For a time, Dagda put aside his duties to lie with Morrigan, who told him of the Fomorian’s plans. Their relations allowed them to defeat the Fomorians, and the duo became the ultimate power couple. Goals.

Norse Mythology

Now, Norse Mythology has a few varying ideas for death, and each idea has a certain god or goddess assigned to it. The most famous of these is Valhalla, the halls of the god Odin. Those that inhabit the halls after death were great warriors in life, and await there until they are called to fight by Odin’s side in the battle of Ragnarok. The Valkyries help pick the heroic warriors from amongst the dead, known as ‘choosers of the fallen’, allowing those deemed worthy enough to pass on to the sacred halls of Odin. Not only were they considered handmaidens of Odin, but were sinisterly portrayed in later dates as determining who died in battle using magic.

The other image of the afterlife generated in Norse Mythology is that of Hel, ruled by the goddess Hel herself. ‘Hel’ translates to hidden, which is fitting for her domain. Snorri Sturluson, a thirteenth-century Icelandic scholar, Hel is the daughter of Loki and Angrboda, making her the sister of the wolf Fenrir and the serpent Jormungand. Hel is depicted as being very similar to normal life in the Viking Age, yet Hel herself was said to be greedy in Old Norse Literature, caring little for those in her realm. Sweet.

Egyptian Mythology

Like the majority of Ancient Religions, the Egyptians believed in several gods and goddesses all connected to death and the Underworld. For modern audiences, our own concept of the Egyptians’ Underworld comes from the Book of the Dead which was written by the scribe Ani, following a vision of him and his wife as they journeyed through death. For the Egyptians, the Book of the Dead served as a guide to help them reach the ideal afterlife.

Anubis was the god of the dead, tombing, and embalmment. He was the son of Osiris (more on him to come) and Nephthys, the goddess of death and mourning. Nephthys was his mother and his aunt. Incest alert. Anubis was believed to have the body of a man and the head of a jackal. When someone died, it was thought that Anubis was guide them to the Underworld, where they were then given to the care of Osiris.

Osiris has a rather morbid past. It starts off well for him, though. He was the eldest son of Geb, the Earth God, and Nut, the Sky Goddess. After his succession to ruling Egypt and becoming Pharaoh, his brother Set became jealous. Set viciously murdered him by chopping up the body and locking him in a coffin that he sent down the Nile. A long and confusing time passed, and then his sisters (and lovers) along with his son literally put him back together again. Osiris became the ruler of the Underworld. Savage.

Japanese Mythology

With more dominant mythologies overpowering the western world, there is limited general knowledge of Japanese folklore. In this wonderful world of myths and legends connected to the Shinto religion, there are kami (gods) for pretty much everything. I mean everything. The gods of death are called the Shinigami.

They are relatively modern, introduced in the 18th century, reflecting a Grim Reaper figure. The spirits of death work in pairs, coming to a person when they are destined to die, inviting them at that moment to step over the threshold between life and death. We know little of what they look like as they’re spirits, but there is a tale that includes a man who is about to commit suicide when the Shinigami appear and tell him it isn’t his time to die.

Greek Mythology

Here comes the best known and least known gods of death in the hemisphere of religion. Enter Hades and Thanatos.

Hades, one of the Big Three in Greek Mythology, was the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. After the defeat of their Titan father Kronos, the brothers decided to split up that which they had inherited, and sadly Hades came up short. He ended up ruling the Underworld, preferring to remain there than venture beyond the kingdom’s boundaries.

However, despite the fact that Hades ruled over the Underworld, he was not associated with death itself. That honour fell to Thanatos, which literally translates to ‘death’ in Greek. He was the son of Hypnos, the god of sleep, and Nyx, the goddess of night. It was said that Thanatos would accompany the dying and dead souls to the Underworld, where they would then fall under the care of Hades.

Persian Mythology

I don’t know about you, but my Persian Mythology knowledge is limited. By limited I mean non-existent. The tale of the world’s origin and the god of death tie in nicely together, so first we’ll set the scene.

In Persian Mythology, the main concept is the eternal battle between good and evil. The myths build on Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest religions known to date. The myths resonate heavily with modern-day Christianity. Ahura Mazda is the Wise Lord, creator of the universe and the only god, with Zoroastrianism being a monotheistic religion.

With good comes bad, and as this is the point of the list, we’d better usher him in. Ahriman is the ancient equivalent of Satan. He is the bringer of death, disease, all ills and every evil in the world. Oh, and he is also the brother of Ahura Mazda. Ahriman has demons at his disposal, called ‘daevas’, who spread and inject evil into and across the world. In the end times, Ahura Mazda will triumph over his hellish brother, and all will be put right in the world.

Native American Mythology

Native American Mythology is far harder to navigate as each tribe has their own myths and legends. Because of this, there are limited sources available, but after much digging we’ve unearthed a god of death and evil.

Malsumis comes predominantly from Abenaki and Wabanaki Mythology. He is the god of evil and twin brother of Glooscap, the Great Lord. An alternative name, Malsum, translates to ‘wolf’, making Malsumis the evil wolf of Native American Mythology. Legend has it that, before Malsumis and Glooscap were born, they consulted with one another on how they would be born. Glooscap decided to be born like man, and so was brought into the world in the normal fashion. Malsumis, however, decided that he wanted to spice things up a little, considering himself superior. After Glooscap was born, Malsumis burst through his mother’s side, killing her in the process. Malsumis went on to try and murder his brother multiple times, but was outsmarted by the Great Lord.

Sumerian Mythology

One of the most influential ancient religions known to man, Sumerian Mythology is all but forgotten to modern minds. However, it is just as rich as any other in terms of heroic figures and enticing tales.

Ereshkigal was the goddess of Irkalla, ruler of the land of the dead. She controlled the destiny of the deceased in their journey beyond the grave. Legend has it that Ereshkigal was unwillingly taken down to the Underworld, and ruled there, initially at least, unwillingly. The Underworld was her domain, and she was in control of all those within its bounds, as well as the laws made there or passed.

One of the myths surrounding Ereshkigal was that of Inanna’s descent to the Underworld (Link 16). Inanna, Queen of Heaven, sister of Ereshkigal and the goddess of love, fertility, procreation and war, passed through the seven gates of hell on a journey to visit her sister. She was required to remove a piece of her royal attire at each gate, arriving at the throne room naked and vulnerable. Ereshkigal, jealous of her sister, struck her down.

Mayan Mythology

The Mayan Empire dominated modern-day Guatemala, the Yucatan Peninsula, and large parts of Mexico. With such a powerful civilisation comes one of the most feared gods of death that HAD to be featured on the list.

Ah Puch was the god of death, darkness, and disaster, often depicted as a skeleton-like creature or in a bloated state that resembles the advance stages of decomposition. However, to the Mayans, this was one of the least sinister elements to the deity. Ah Puch ruled the lowest and most feared of Xibalba’s (place of fear’s) nine levels; Mitnal. Even the mere name inspired dread and terror into the Mayans, as Mitnal was the place of eternal cold and darkness (link). Those that were condemned to Mitnal would be tortured, slaughtered and dismembered over and over again for eternity. Overall, not somewhere we’d like to go.

Canaanite Mythology

Mot was a prominent god to the Canaanites. As one of the sons of El, the top dog, Mot was the god of death, infertility and doubt. Again, we have a battle of brothers to round off the list, so sit tight and keep a beady eye on your siblings.

Mot and Baal, the god of rain, were locked in a feud that ran deeper than blood. Legend has it that Mot was considered the ‘beloved one’ by El, which made Baal seethe with jealousy. He would not acknowledge Mot with the required tributes, and Mot sought revenge by showering the world in drought. This drought killed Baal, and El and their sister Anath wept over the loss, causing lacerations to their bodies due to grief. Anath, the warrior goddess, sought revenge for the death of her brother. She cleaved Mot in half and burned him in fire, scattering his ashes. However, after seven years Mot rose again, desiring revenge for his death.

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Groundwater Pollution

Doing What Works, Doing What Matters

Groundwater pollution is brought on when acid rain, boats, factories, a septic system, and other manmade products such as gasoline seep into the soil. The soil then becomes unfit for us humans to use it. Pesticides, as well as fertilizers, can get into the soil eventually. It is amazing humans can grow crops in this environment. (Groundwater Contamination). Contaminated groundwater can cause hepatitis or dysentery. Other sources of contamination include storage tanks that release gasoline, oil, chemicals, or other sorts of liquids. Some have estimated there are ten million storage tanks in the United States.

The only solution to the problem is to go to the source, while actually doing something about the waste stored in the tank. Septic systems take away human waste, not chemical waste into the ground, and this sort of waste disposal can leak harmful bacteria, viruses, and even household chemicals. Apparently, there are 20,000 hazardous waste sites in the United States.

Landfills are also a damaging way to poison groundwater since while there is no protected layer, the poisonous substances seep into groundwater. In the source, “Environmental Protection: What Everyone Needs to Know”, it is stated that groundwater is water found below the earth, underneath the soil, and as it is “freshwater that collects in the soils, sands, and rocks underground, sometimes at great depths such as desert groundwater hundreds of feet below the surface, and sometimes close to the surface” (45). This goes to show how easily groundwater is contaminated by anything. Groundwater is very sensitive anyway and yet we humans are not cleaning up our environment right now.

Tap water often should be filtered in order to drink it at all since tap water comes from groundwater. Other problems with groundwater contamination include the way intestinal parasites can infect groundwater, causing the people in the infected area to become ill. Mining can also cause contaminated groundwater because mining digs up elements while creating this situation. Also, acid rain can contaminate groundwater because it seeps into the soil quickly while the rain is falling. Climate change also affects water pollution as the water becomes warmer. Synthetic chemicals are the biggest cause of water pollution. The thing is that the elite does not want to tell us the truth about how bad the water pollution on this planet is. We are busy wearing down our environment. If real solutions are to be found, we have to take a hard look at ourselves.

Pollution causes a chemically induced harm to the body because we are not told just how bad pollution actually is. If people knew more, they’d be breaking down the elite’s door, asking for solutions such as how microorganisms can be used to make organic substances biodegradable. Other ways to protect groundwater include using native plants, which reduce the need for excessive watering. In order to reduce chemical use, you can’t just dump them on the ground. Pharmaceuticals need to be taken to a waste management center, not dumped down the toilet. Fixing leaks right away is another choice humans can make to protect groundwater. Watering plants when truly necessary is also another way that we humans can make sure to not contaminate groundwater. Natural cleaners such as lemon juice, baking soda, or vinegar can also be used. There are solutions to many of our planet’s environmental disasters, we just have to think about it because not every person takes on the ideas they have to find a solution to the problem of groundwater contamination.

Works Cited

Hill, Pamela. Environmental Protection: What Everybody Needs to Know. Oxford Press, 2017.

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Atmosphere in the Delightful Home

We came across this clay heart on a recent hike!

Thriving in a Delightful Home

February: The Kitchen

March: Dining Room

April: Pantry

May: Laundry

June: Bathroom

July: Outdoor Spaces

August: Schoolroom

September: Bedroom

October: Living Room

November: Entryway

December: Storage

Resources for a Delightful Home

The Delightful Home

Amy and I love to chat about home.  We could go on and on about books, blogs, and tips we’ve heard from friends that can help us to make our homes more welcoming, more beautiful, and more efficient. Between us, we have nine children to feed, clothe, and love.  It takes a lot of work to keep our homes in order, and even more work when that order falls away!  We love it so much in fact, that a few years back we asked some of our friends if they wanted to meet to discuss our homes once a month.  To get breakfast as a group and have some time for what we considered to be professional development.  If we were going to be homemakers, we should allot some time to discuss it, learn about it, and do it well.  That group is still going strong and has been an enormous blessing to us, our families, and our homes.  We now want to bring many of those pages of notes, tips, tricks, and new ideas to you, our readers.

This is not about having a dream house, or a home that could be showcased in a catalog.  This is about creating a home that is delightful to you and your family because it is both functional and beautiful.  It is about making small changes that make a big difference in how you use your home and how well it serves the needs of your family.  It can be done in small spaces or large ones, a home you rent or a home your family has lived in for generations.  You spend most of your time at home, so let’s work toward making that time enjoyable.

Why does it matter to have a home that is delightful?  Isn’t it good enough to have a roof over your head and a place to cook meals – even if you can barely see your counters?  Well, yes and no.  Yes, because we should be grateful for even the humblest of spaces and no, because we weren’t called to live in disorder.  As mothers and homemakers, we set the atmosphere of the homes we inhabit.  The atmosphere of a home with a calm mother, who is not stressed by the chores because there is a plan in place to complete them, and who has an orderly home ready for drop-in guests will naturally be different than one with a frazzled mother, constantly feeling behind and downtrodden by her workload.  We want your homes to be places of delight for your families, but also for you!

We were inspired by the Home Organization Challenge going on right now.  That is a great site for inspiration and tips!  We also knew that dedicating 14 straight weeks to overhauling our homes wasn’t going to work for either of us.  We wanted to stretch it out over the year and do a great job in each room of our homes.  Taking a full month to dedicate to decluttering, giving some thought to how the space it used and making adjustments, then adding in beauty to complement the improved function.  We welcome you to join us!  We can’t wait to see your photos and comments on Instagram and Facebook.

Being a Hometown Tourist

Freedom in the Rules

Amy and I have been chatting a lot about schedules recently.  Largely, as she has already noted, we have both recently moved to new towns and as such we went from having scheduled obligations to having a largely blank calendar.  Now, I’ve had many a day where I lamented signing my kids up for even the best of activities because it has meant getting all four kids into a car and perhaps I didn’t have dinner quite ready and so I could already see the pending chaos that would ensue when we arrived back through that same door hungry, tired, and (likely) with all sorts of stuff that may or may not find its rightful home right away.  I would have thoughts of, “Doesn’t Charlotte say our afternoons should be available for handicrafts, poetry, tea time, good music, reading, and other fruitful leisure?” while creating pictures in my mind of children who would be painting en plein air and enjoying Mozart if only THIS ACTIVITY didn’t hinder them.  It seems silly written out, but I assure you, I have thought this.

Well, after moving 5 times in 15 months and having almost no kids’ activities scheduled during that time, allow me to tell you, it was nothing like my utopian vision of my homeschool. All too often, I would set up a temporary schedule but because the only thing keeping us from veering off schedule was our own discipline (or lack thereof), it was all too easy to change the schedule when even the smallest issue would come up.  There were no hard and fast stops in the day where we had to go, and so we could drag things out, dawdle, or substitute for other items in the schedule without regard to how much time they took.  We didn’t have a rhythm to the day, or enough good habits formed, and it left us feeling like we had both fallen behind and couldn’t figure out where our time went.  Less schoolwork got done, there was more bickering, less quiet, and general unease.  This was not the freedom I had envisioned.

It reminded me of an extremely good example I had once heard about the need for rules and order. The premise was that if you are going to play baseball, you need the rules.  If each person was to play their own version of baseball, it wouldn’t really be baseball at all.  People would be free to run the bases backward or ignore the foul line.  That would have many consequences: 1. No one would every be very good at baseball, because there would be nothing by which to measure success, 2. No one would enjoy watching it, because they wouldn’t know what was going on or if things were going well or not for their team, 3. Squabbling, disagreement, and general anarchy would ensue with no rules and no authority there to decide if rules were being properly followed.  With the rules of baseball clearly set out and publicly known, we can know when the game is played well, enjoy the game, and know when a play has stepped outside of the boundaries of proper baseball.  It is the rules that create freedom, and not a lack of rules.

Now that we are in a place we plan to be for a while, I am attempting to rebuild enough structure to create checkpoints in the day, while leaving enough time for contemplation, boredom, leisure, and play for every member for the family.  Let me tell you, this is no small task.  I’m sure you’ve tried it, or at least thought about trying it, and it seemed intimidating.  I’ll be sharing some of my attempts, and their varying levels of success here as Amy and I start up a scheduling series of posts.  I will say, that in my first years of homeschooling, I have found some tools to be extremely helpful in my previous plans and schedules, so I thought I would share them here:

  1. Nicole shares a wealth of knowledge and study of CM’s programmes at her site.  I can’t recommend highly enough reading through her posts on planning a schedule for your homeschool.
  2. Pam is also a wonderful resource, and her eBook, The Confident Homeschooler was the key to my wasting a lot less time by creating procedure lists.  This meant that when I was starting a new book, or skill (like dictation, narration, etc), I would plan out what my plan was for that short lesson.  I could then follow the steps until it became a good habit for me and my student.  I can’t tell you how genius this is because all too often I would write down the book, and the time allotted, but when we go to it, I would forget that I had meant to bring out a certain journal or wouldn’t have the materials needed for a written narration, or forget a step altogether such as scaffolding the previous lesson.  Having a list helped me immensely.
  3. A bullet journal.  I use this one because I like that the pages come already numbered, but many people prefer a Moleskine or some other notebook.  I’m not artsy, my pages are not Pinterest-worthy, but I love having all of my lists, brain dumps, random thoughts, appointments, ideas, goals, etc all written down in one place.  I can plan future months, assess previous ones, see if I am following up appropriately, or making progress on goals all in one book.  Cute pens are key for me.
  4. Excel. I used this throughout my working days before I stayed home with the kids and old habits die hard.  I love it for creating neat checklists for the kids, schedules, and chore charts.

And that is really it.  I don’t want to clutter up my time with too many tools, so I stick with trusted sites and items that have stood the test of time.  What are your go-to tools for creating a schedule and a rhythm to your days?

Atmosphere in Our Home: Going Outdoors

“Never be within doors when you can rightly be without. Besides, the gain of an hour or two in the open air, there is this to be considered: meals taken al fresco are usually joyous… All the time, too, the children are storing up memories of a happy childhood. Fifty years hence they will see the shadows of the boughs making patterns on the white tablecloth; and sunshine, children’s laughter, hum of bees, and scent of flowers are being bottled up for after refreshment.” -Charlotte Mason, Vol. 2, p. 43

Our home extends outdoors each time we look out a window or step out our door and so the atmosphere of outdoor spaces is worth considering.  This is an area that can feel somewhat daunting, but needn’t be so.

Consider first, what words you would like to use to describe your outdoor space.  Would you like a calm, restful space to read and wander?  An adventurous space for romping, muddy play, and climbing trees?  A natural wonderland alive with bees, butterflies, grasshoppers, and pond life?

Next, think about the your outdoor spaces – do you have a few window boxes or a small deck space or acreage?  Is is usually hot and dry? Humid and temperate? Cool, with hard freezes?  Unlike our indoor spaces, where you can fill a room with a seashell motif even if you live nowhere near the coast, the outdoors demand our obedience to the realities of our climate.  Learn a bit about what is native to your area, so it is easier to grow and you are more likely to have success in your endeavors.

Then, start with something small and delightful.  Do you want birds singing at the window?

Image result for mary poppins birds
This is pretty much why I got bird feeders.

Then get some feeders and start welcoming in some native bird species.  I’ve had great luck with finches, chickadees, cardinals, and hummingbirds!  What lives near you?

Do you want a place to gather for meals out of doors?  It can be as simple as finding a favorite quilt to use for afternoon snacks in the yard or as elaborate as finding just the right table and chairs for your deck space. Do what makes sense for your family and budget, but make sure you find it a delight to spend time there.

Is having a cozy spot to knit, have a glass of wine, or tell stories around a fire your first priority for your outdoor space?  It can be as easy as digging a hole and surrounding it with rocks, or as complicated as going to the local hardware store and finding just the right thing.  Just make sure to not to start fires near dry grasses or too close to home!

What about the winter time?  Many of us assume we should be outside less in winter because it is colder, but in some areas of the country it is the most beautiful time of the year.  In areas with snowstorms, it might be fun to arrange for building a mountain of snow in the yard somewhere as a personal sledding hill.  Better yet, do it in the front yard and entice the neighbor kids out of their homes!  Putting out suet bricks for cold weather birds is also a lovely way to have a flash of red (cardinals) amongst the white scenery.  Or, maybe maple sugaring is up your alley?  I’ve even had my eye on the idea of a backyard ice rink… but it isn’t cold enough where I live.

The idea of spreading the atmosphere of your home outdoors can be as simple as washing your windows to see the outdoors better, or as complicated as calling a landscape architect to make a master plan for your property.  I encourage you to do something this fall that will make next spring more pleasant for your space and that will cause you to desire to step outdoors more often.


EEB graduate student Na Wei has been awarded the Barbour Scholarship for 2013-14 by the Rackham Graduate School.

Wei joins a long line of outstanding women who, over the past 98 years, have become leaders in science, education, public service, medicine and other fields in their home countries all over the world. She will receive $18,000, tuition and health and dental insurance for the academic year. Her advisor is Professor Christopher Dick.

Wei’s dissertation research focuses on seed- and pollen-mediated gene flow in tropical trees. “Seed and pollen dispersal are the most important phases of plant life cycles because they successfully move genomic materials over time and space,” Wei explained. “Up until now, our knowledge of the relative importance of seed- and pollen-mediated gene flow in trees has been biased toward temperate zone species. With primarily wind-pollinated and -dispersed temperate zone trees, pollen flow is recognized as the principle avenue of gene transport. Yet, it remains unclear whether this generalization for northern species can be extrapolated to tropical moist forest trees where animals are the primary pollinators and seed dispersers.

“My research seeks to evaluate this generality of pollen-dominated gene flow in tropical trees by unambiguously decomposing the seed and pollen component from the overall gene flow in a suite of dioecious (distinctly male and female) trees of different dispersal and pollination syndromes growing in the mature forests of Barro Colorado Island, Panama.

“With spatially explicit pathways of seed and pollen movement, this research will be able to quantify the relative magnitude of seed and pollen dispersal in this set of distantly related tropical tree species, and will improve our understanding of the respective ecological and evolutionary importance of seed and pollen dispersal in relatively under-studied tropical forests. It provides a solid empirical framework for latitudinal comparisons between tropical trees and temperate zone trees, as well as comparisons between tree species of different life history characteristics."

Wei is originally from China. She graduated from Nanjing University with a master's degree in ecology.

In 1914, the bequest of Levi L. Barbour established a scholarship program at U-M for women of the highest academic and professional caliber from the area formerly known as the Orient (encompassing the region extending from Turkey in the west to Japan and the Philippines in the east) to study modern science, medicine, mathematics and other academic disciplines and professions critical to the development of their native lands.