Split (1)

train · 5k rows

text stringlengths 247 264k	id stringlengths 47 47	dump stringclasses 1 value	url stringlengths 20 294	date stringlengths 20 20	file_path stringclasses 370 values	language stringclasses 1 value	language_score float64 0.65 1	token_count int64 62 58.7k
(Part 3 of 4 in our series marking the fiftieth anniversary of Pauling’s delivery of the Messenger Lectures.) At the heart of Pauling’s Messenger Lectures was his newly established theory which he referred to simply as the “molecular basis of civilization.” Through his work as a chemist, Pauling had developed a belief that the seeming randomness of life could be traced down to the molecular level where macroscopic problems, like violence and disease, could be explained. Pauling explained that the first molecules resulted from photo- and electrochemical reactions. Some of these molecules became autocatalytic, or self-duplicating, while others were broken down and reformed into different molecules, with each molecule competing for atomic particles that would allow for further self-duplication. As this duplication and competition continued, the newly formed molecules began to evolve according to the abundance of various elements. Eventually, mutations allowed these molecules to begin manufacturing smaller molecules to be used as “food” for the growing molecular colonies. These molecules continued to mutate, eventually developing into organisms ranging from bacteria to complex mammals such as humans. Joints, organs, nervous systems, and brains all appeared following millions of years of molecular evolution. Pauling claimed that memories, for example, were one of the most significant results of evolution in history. Pauling explained that when the human brain size doubled – approximately 700,000 years ago – humans developed the ability to create, maintain, and share memories. He described this phenomenon as the first example of “the inheritance of acquired characteristics.” Ephemeral and long-term memory, he said, are the basis of civilization. Without them, speech, invention, and the communication of long-term knowledge would all be virtually impossible. According to Pauling, this increase in human brain size was the last great evolutionary moment in human history, and that the achievement of long-term memory and communication marked a completely new moment for life. The ability to communicate information, he said, transformed the human race into a single organism connected through our collective knowledge. From there, Pauling argued that, for the human race to thrive, evolution must continue. In his final lecture at Cornell, he exhorted that “we must now achieve the mutation that will bring sanity to this great organism, the organism that is mankind.” Pauling admitted that a mutation allowing greater empathy among humans (he suggested extrasensory perception as an example) had the potential to be highly effective. Unfortunately, in his view, the human race may well not survive long enough to enjoy another highly beneficial mutation along those lines. Instead, he argued that the next “mutation” must be a mutation of conscience in human thought that would allow for widespread elimination of suffering via cooperation and shared interest in the advancement of human well-being. Pauling argued that this change in human thought, however far outside our traditional understanding of evolution, is deeply connected with Darwinian theory. He explained that a mass restructuring of values across the human race would accomplish the ultimate goal of physical evolution by allowing for the survival and even growth of the human race. What’s more, he explained that this evolution of the mind corresponded directly with the earlier evolution of the brain. Over the next decade, Pauling continued to refer to this next step – sometimes called conscious evolution – as a means of encouraging a wide variety of practices including nuclear disarmament, the control of hereditary genetic abnormalities, and the development of an international governing body. In fact, he closed his final Messenger Lecture with a brief talk on the importance of international peace and the need to end human suffering, encouraging his audience to actively seek a heightened sense of communal responsibility. Following the lecture series, it was traditional for the guest speaker to partner with Cornell University Press for a print release of the talks. Though not a requirement of the lectureship, this partnership gave the Press some exposure and allowed the lecturer’s work to be more widely circulate, making it an ideal situation for both parties. Pauling believed his talks to be suitable for publication and, in late 1959, began to collect his notes and resources accordingly. Unfortunately, the book never materialized. In 1960, Pauling was subpoenaed by the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee and embroiled in a long and unpleasant series of investigations into his patriotism. From there, his peace work took over, leaving little time for other activities. It seems that the Messenger publication was simply neglected amidst the press of greater issues. Nevertheless, Pauling’s papers include a substantial collection of his Messenger notes and manuscripts, affording us a glimpse at the philosophical questions that stimulated and intrigued Pauling during his most politically active years. Filed under: Facets of Linus Pauling \| Tagged: Cornell University, Cornell University Press, human evolution, Linus Pauling, Messenger Lectures, philosophy, science, Senate Internal Security Subcommittee \| Leave a Comment »	<urn:uuid:69515af2-014f-4992-af0b-2cde37948268>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://paulingblog.wordpress.com/tag/science/	2013-05-26T02:54:48Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.961378	1,018
The Peel Web I am happy that you are using this web site and hope that you found it useful. Unfortunately, the cost of making this material freely available is increasing, so if you have found the site useful and would like to contribute towards its continuation, I would greatly appreciate it. Click the button to go to Paypal and make a donation. Robert Owen has been called the 'father of English Socialism'. He was the founder of the Co-operative movement and believed in worker control although he was a high capitalist himself. He was the product of self-help; a paternalist. A very practical man, he concentrated on the means to the end. He believed that if the working man ever was to achieve equality, then the man must change first - in attitude. Also, the working man had to know of, believe in and be equipped to fight for the cause, according to Owen. Owen's was a very individualistic socialism: he advocated social changes because he was trying to create a changed working man. This differs from philanthropy, which 'gives' things to the working man. Owen was therefore a revolutionary because he wanted to change attitudes: an idea cannot be killed. Owen became convinced that the advancement of humankind could be furthered by the improvement of every individual's personal environment. He reasoned that since character was moulded by circumstances, then improved circumstances would lead to goodness. The environment at New Lanark, where he tried out his ideas, reflected this philosophy. However, Owen received no criticism from below and he simply bought out critical partners, the result of which was that Owen became dogmatic. He was more devoted to his ideals than to any human being and had a greater love for mankind in the mass than for any individual. Owen forgot, at times, that 'mankind' was made up of individuals and so he failed On 1 January 1800, Robert Owen took over the management of David Dale's cotton mills at New Lanark and put into practice the ideas that he had developed earlier in his life and his workers at New Lanark were made to adopt new living, working, sanitary, educational and other standards. New Lanark had a population of 2,000 people, 500 of whom were young children from the poorhouses and charities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. The children had been well treated by Dale but Owen found the condition of the people unsatisfactory. Owen refused to take any more pauper children and he began to improve the houses and machinery. Crime and vice bred by the demoralising conditions were common; there was little education and less sanitation; housing conditions were intolerable. Owen set out to test his ideas on education and the environment by attempting to set up a model factory and model village. Under his new regime, conditions in the factory were clean and children and women worked relatively short hours: a 12 hour day including 1½ hours for meals. He employed no children under 10 years old. He provided decent houses, sanitation, shops and so on for the workers. He gave rewards for cleanliness and good behaviour and mainly by his own personal influence, encouraged the people in habits of order, cleanliness, and thrift. The Gentleman's Magazine commented that the [children] live with their parents in neat comfortable habitation, receiving wages for their labour... The regulations here to preserve health of body and mind, present a striking contrast to those of most large manufactories in this kingdom. Initially, the workmen obstructed his plans but he won their confidence by opening a shop in which goods of sound quality could be bought at little more than cost price and at which the sale of alcohol was placed under strict supervision. He became more popular duing the American embargo in 1806 when he stopped the mills for four months but paid the workmen their full wages, amounting to more than £7,000. After that, he was able to introduce other measures to reduce the amount of drink and pilfering that went on in New Lanark. The profit made by the shop was put straight into the school where the children of the factory workers were given a 'free' education. The mills continued to thrive commercially, but some of Owen's schemes entailed considerable expense; for example, he calculated that the initial outlay for the school would be £5,000 plus the annual expense for its upkeep. Frustrated by the restrictions imposed on him by his partners, who wished to conduct the business along more ordinary lines, he organised a new firm in 1813. Owen decided to find men who would sympathise with his aims and circulated a pamphlet called A New View of Society (revised by Francis Place) describing his principles: he found ready support from Jeremy Bentham among others. Owen proposed that five per cent should be paid on capital and the whole surplus devoted to general education and improvement of the labourer's condition. Owen bought the business for £114,100; at the beginning of 1814 he was received enthusiastically by his workmen and had a free hand for his projects. Owen was a paternalistic factory aristocrat. He kept his eye on employees - an industrial version of William Cobbett's social ideal. New Lanark gained international fame when Owen's experiments in enhancing his workers' environment resulted in increased productivity and profit. He was especially proud of the arrangement for marking each man's conduct daily by a ‘silent monitor,’ a label coloured to indicate either goodness and badness and placed opposite each man's post. Contemporary illustration of Owen's school in New Lanark in about 1820 He was anxious to form the characters of the workers from the start and decided to set up a new school system that was to provide his ‘living machinery.’ He had been interested in the plans of Bell and Lancaster; he presided at a public dinner given to Lancaster at Glasgow in 1812, for example. Education of the young, to which he devoted special attention, was Owen's greatest success. He believed that education could lead men to transform the environment and to transform their characters so education was to be given to all. He saw education as being different from information: education must seek to promote higher ideals and achievements, and should be more than pure rote learning. In 1816 he opened the school at New Lanark which took children from 3 to 10 years old, or to 13 if their parents could afford for the child not to work. The aim of the school was to form good habits and dispositions in the children - the practise of the Utilitarian theory of education. It was very much the 'play way' of education. Nursery schools were a highly original concept from Owen. His first principle was that the children should never be beaten; that they should always be addressed kindly, and instructed to make each other happy. Owen insisted that the children should be taught by using 'visual aids' and thought that books should not be used for children under ten. Dancing, music, and drilling were an essential part of the system and he said that his school children were the ‘happiest human beings he ever saw’. His infant school was copied by Lord Lansdowne and Brougham among others. The New Lanark institutions became famous and Owen reckoned that between 1814 and 1824 there were about 2,000 visitors a year. Owen believed that national education was essential to liberate it from the narrowness of the individual and the dogmatism of the Church. He saw education as the solution to all social ills and believed that traditional education perpetuated ignorance and an acceptance of error. Worse still, society punished men for being what society had made them become. Owen wanted to produce self-help and initiative in the working man so where other men advocated the reform of the country's political institutions, Owen became preoccupied with rendering the State itself redundant. \|Meet the web creator\|\| These materials may be freely used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with applicable statutory allowances and distribution to students. Last modified 6 January, 2011 \|American Affairs 1760-83\|\|The Age of the French Wars 1792-1815\|\|Irish Affairs 1760-89\| \|Economic Affairs in the Age of Peel\|\|Irish \|Primary sources index\|\|British Political Personalities\|\|British Foreign policy 1815-65\|\|European history\|\|	<urn:uuid:fba95c46-1fb2-4ad5-8426-09d021014bdd>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.historyhome.co.uk/peel/factmine/owennewl.htm	2013-05-20T22:31:17Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.98623	1,693
Electricity and magnetism Magnetism 4 Part 2 of the proton through a magnetic field problem ⇐ Use this menu to view and help create subtitles for this video in many different languages. You'll probably want to hide YouTube's captions if using these subtitles. - In the last video we figured out that if we had a proton - coming into the right at a velocity of 6 times 10 to the - seventh meters per second. - So the magnitude of the velocity is 1/5 - the speed of light. - And if it were to cross this magnetic field, we used this - formula to figure out that the magnitude of the force on this - proton would be 4.8 times 10 to the negative 12 newtons. - And then the direction, we used our right hand rule - because it's a cross product. - And we figured out that it would be perpendicular-- well, - it has to be perpendicular to both, because we're taking the - cross product-- and right when it enters, the net force will - be downwards. - But then think about what happens. - If you have a downward force right there, then the particle - will be deflected downward a little bit, so its velocity - vector will then look something like that. - But it's still in the magnetic field, right? - And not only is it still in the magnetic field, but since - the particle is still moving within the plane of your video - screen, it's still completely perpendicular to - the magnetic field. - And so the magnitude of the force on the moving particle - won't change, just the direction will. - Because if we do the right hand rule here, but if we just - move our hand down a little bit, if we tilt it down, then - our thumb's going to be pointing in this direction. - And that just keeps happening. - It gets deflected that way a little bit. - So the magnitude of the velocity doesn't ever change. - It always stays perpendicular to the magnetic field because - it's always staying in this plane. - But the orientation does change within the plane. - And because of that, because the orientation of the - velocity changes, the orientation - of the force changes. - So when the velocity is here, the force is perpendicular. - So it acts as kind of a centripetal force, and so the - particle will start moving in a circle. - So let's see if we can break out our toolkit from what - we've learned before in classical mechanics, and - figure out what the radius of that circle is. - And that might seem more daunting than it really is. - Well, what do we know about centripetal forces and - radiuses of circles, et cetera? - So, what is the formula for centripetal force? - And we proved it many, many videos ago, early in the - physics playlist. Well, centripetal acceleration is - the magnitude of the velocity vector squared over the radius - of the circle. - And since this is acceleration, if we want to - know the centripetal force, it's just the mass times - So it's the mass of the particle, or the object in - question, times the magnitude of its velocity squared - divided by the radius of the circle. - In this case, this is the radius of the circle. - And that's what we're going to try to solve for. - And what do we know about the centripetal force? - What is causing the centripetal force? - Well, it's the magnetic field and we've figured that out. - This is going to be equal to this, which we figured out is - going to be equal to-- at least the magnitudes-- the - magnitude of this is equal to the magnitude of this. - And that magnitude is 4.8 times 10 to - the minus 12 newtons. - And so the radius is going to be-- let's see, if we flip - both sides of this equation, we get radius over mass - velocity squared is equal to 1 over 4.8 times 10 - to the minus 12. - I could just figure out what that number is, but I won't - worry about that now. - Then we can multiply both sides times this mv squared. - And we get that the radius of the circle is going to be - equal to the mass of the proton times the magnitude of - its velocity squared divided by the force from - the magnetic field. - The centripetal force. - 4.8 times 10 to the minus 12 newtons. - And the radius should be in meters, since everything is - kind of in the standard SI units. - And let's see if we can figure this out. - Get our calculator. - And this is where that constant function is useful - again, because what is the mass of a proton? - Well, that's something that I - personally don't have memorized. - But if we go into the built-in constants on the - TI-85-- let's see more. - Mass of a proton. - This is mass of an electron. - This is mass of a proton. - So mass of a proton-- that's what we care about-- times the - magnitude of the velocity squared. - What was the velocity? - It was 6 times 10 to the seventh meters per second. - So times 6 times 10 to the seventh - meters per second squared. - And all of that divided by the magnitude of - the centripetal force. - Which is the force that's being generated by the - magnetic field. - That's 4.8 times 10 to the negative 12. - Divided by 4.8 E minus 12. - Let's see. - Hopefully we don't get something funky. - There we go. - That's actually a pretty neat number. - 1.25 meters. - That's actually a number that we can imagine. - So if you have a proton going in this direction at 1/5 the - speed of light through a-- what'd I say it was? - It was a 0.5 tesla magnetic field, where the vectors are - pointing out of the video. - We have just shown that this proton will go in a circle of - radius 1.25 meters. - Which is neat because it's a number that I - can actually visualize. - And so this whole business of magnetic fields making charged - particles go into circles, this is one of the few times - that I can actually say has a direct application into things - that you've seen. - Namely, your TV. - Or at least the old-school TVs. The non-plasma or LCD - TVs, your cathode ray TVs, take advantage of this. - Where you essentially have a beam of - not protons but electrons. - And a magnet-- if you take apart a TV, which I don't - think you should do, because you're more likely to hurt - yourself because there's a vacuum in there that can - implode, and all that-- but essentially, you have a magnet - that deflects this electron beam and does it really fast - so it scans your entire screen of different intensities, and - that's what forms the image. - I won't go into that detail. - Maybe one day I'll do a whole video on how TVs work. - So that's one application of a magnetic field causing a beam - of charged particles to curve. - And then the other application, and this is - actually one where it's actually useful to make the - particle go in a circle, is these cyclotrons that you read - about, where they take these protons and they make them go - in circles really, really fast, and then - they smash them together. - Well, have you ever wondered, how do they even make a proton - go in a circle? - It's not like you could hold it and guide - it around in a circle. - Well, that's what they do. - They pass it through an appropriate strength magnetic - field, and it curves the path of the proton so that it can - keep going through the same field over and over again. - And then they can actually use those electric fields. - I don't claim to have any expertise in this, but then - they can keep speeding it up using the same devices, - because it keeps passing through the - same part of the collider. - And then once it collides, you've - probably seen those pictures. - You know, that you spend billions of dollars on - supercolliders, and you end up with these pictures. - And somehow these physicists are able to take these - pictures and say, oh, this is some new particle because of - the way it moved. - Well, what they're actually talking about is these are - moving at relativistic speeds. - And since they're at relativistic speeds as they - move at different velocities, their mass is - changing, and all that. - But the basic idea is what we just learned. - They move in circles. - They move in circles because they're going through a - magnetic field. - But their radiuses are different because their - charges and their velocities are going to be different. - And actually some will move to the left and some - will move to the right. - And that might be because they're positive or negative, - and then the radius will be dependent on their masses. - Anyway, I don't want to confuse you. - But I just wanted to show you that we actually are touching - on some physics that a physicist would - actually care about. - Now with that said, what would have happened if this wasn't a - proton but if this was an electron moving at this - velocity at 6 times 10 to the seventh meters per second - through a 0.5 tesla magnetic field - popping out of this video. - What would have happened? - Well, this formula would have still been safe. - The magnitude of the force is the charge-- but it wouldn't - have been the charge of a proton, it would have been the - charge of an electron, times 6 times 10 to the seventh meters - per second times 0.5 teslas. - So what's the difference between the charge of a proton - and the charge of an electron? - Well, the charge of an electron is negative. - So if this was an electron, then the net force would - actually end up being a negative number. - So what does that mean? - Well, when we used the right hand rule with the proton - example, we said that the-- at least when the proton is - moving in this direction-- that the net - force would be downwards. - But now, all of a sudden, if we reverse the charge, if we - say we have a negative charge-- the same magnitude - but it's negative, because it's an - electron-- what happens? - The force is now in this direction, using the right - hand rule, but it is a negative. - So really it's going to be a positive force of the same - magnitude in this direction. - So if we have a proton, it'll go in a - circle in this direction. - It'll go like this. - But if we have an electron, it'll go in a circle of the - other direction. - Now let me ask a question. - Is that circle going to be a tighter - circle or a wider circle? - Well, the mass of an electron is a lot smaller than the mass - of a proton. - And we had the radius is equal to the mass times the velocity - squared divided by the centripetal force. - So this mass is smaller and the radius - is going to be smaller. - So the electron's path would actually move up and it would - be a smaller radius. - Actually proportional to the difference in their radiuses - is the difference in their masses, actually. - But that would be the path of the electron. - Anyway, I thought you'd be interested in that, as well. - I have run out of time. - I will see you in the next video. Be specific, and indicate a time in the video: At 5:31, how is the moon large enough to block the sun? Isn't the sun way larger? Have something that's not a question about this content? This discussion area is not meant for answering homework questions. Share a tip When naming a variable, it is okay to use most letters, but some are reserved, like 'e', which represents the value 2.7831... Have something that's not a tip or feedback about this content? This discussion area is not meant for answering homework questions. Discuss the site For general discussions about Khan Academy, visit our Reddit discussion page. Flag inappropriate posts Here are posts to avoid making. If you do encounter them, flag them for attention from our Guardians. - disrespectful or offensive - an advertisement - low quality - not about the video topic - soliciting votes or seeking badges - a homework question - a duplicate answer - repeatedly making the same post - a tip or feedback in Questions - a question in Tips & Feedback - an answer that should be its own question about the site	<urn:uuid:b6d05f7f-d2b4-4a9f-8821-0f69af259ba4>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/electricity-and-magnetism/v/magnetism-4	2013-05-24T08:56:47Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.927801	3,028
Birds are Creeping Northward by Ro Wauer During the last ten to twenty years we have seen increasing numbers of tropical bird species in the Golden Crescent. Species such as green jays, buff-bellied hummingbirds, green and ringed kingfishers, golden-fronted woodpeckers, white-tipped doves, great kiskadees, Couch’s kingbirds, cave swallows, and bronzed cowbirds have all been found on a regular basis. Most of these were considered only Mexican or at least Lower Rio Grande Valley birds until recent years. I remember visiting the Valley in the late 1960s to see many of these because they were not known any elsewhere in the United States. My first ever buff-bellied hummingbird was found at the home of a Valley fruit-grower. It could be expected nowhere else in the U.S.; now it is a full-time resident in the oaks growing around my home in Mission Oaks. This northward movement of the breeding grounds of many birds is well documented, although this shift also is likely for many other groups of wildlife. Butterflies also are experiencing the same kind of movement, but their northward shift is far less understood than it is for birds. Although individual species of southern butterflies have been recorded in our area in recent years, proving population shifts is more difficult because they are subject to accidental dispersions from various weather patterns. In a recent article in the newsletter of the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, author John Rappole states that “at least 80 species of birds native to tropical, subtropical, or warm desert habitats have shown evidence of northward or eastward extension of the breeding distribution into, within, or beyond the borders of South Texas. These changes range from a few to several hundred kilometers and occurred over a relatively brief time period (decades)!” Rappole continues: “These changes are in line with regional climatic warming and possible drying…If predictions are correct, over the next century climate change will have an ecological effect roughly similar to moving the region 100 miles to the southwest.” From an optimists’ point of view, assuming that the northward movement continues, the Golden Crescent could possible add a substantial number of bird species to our list of full-time residents. What are some of the species that we might expect in the near future? How about some parrots? A couple kinds of parrots have already resided in the Golden Crescent – probably escapees - but were unable to maintain a viable population for more than a few years. And Harris’ hawks; groove-billed anis; ferruginous pygmy-owls; lesser nighthawks; beardless flycatchers; verdins; black-crested titmice; black-tailed gnatcatchers; tropical parulas; long-billed thrashers; black-throated, Botteri’s and olive sparrows; hooded and Aububon’s orioles; and lesser goldfinches already occur in nearby counties to the south and/or southwest. It would not surprise me at all to find these birds nesting in the Golden Crescent; some already may. The obvious follow-up question might be: with the climatic changes in our area that are likely to increase our list of breeding birds, what species that are currently nesting here might we loose? Probably not many or none at all. The waterbirds, including waterfowl, waders and shorebirds, should remain the same. We do need to worry about the changes in the blue crab populations along the coast; it is possible that we could loose the already endangered whooping cranes. And maybe our small population of Mississippi kites that currently are at the southern edge of their range might decline. This also may be the case for red-bellied woodpeckers, Swainson’s warblers, orchard orioles and a few other species. Mother Nature is one fickle lady!	<urn:uuid:2600f93a-6490-407f-8bb8-3ac7faa5d358>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://texasnature.blogspot.com/2009/10/birds-are-creeping-northward-by-ro.html	2013-05-24T16:30:05Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704752145/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114552-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.952637	831
The genesis of military signaling is written in the labors of Myer. What from the most ancient times other commanders had dimly comprehended, Napoleon first saw clearly enough to crystalize into his maxim, "Le secret de la guerre est dans le secret de communications." What the great captain of modern warfare recognized but could not attain was the problem whose solution fell to Albert James Myer of the Medical Department, United States Army. In all campaigns from the remotest times the maintenance of communication by transient signals had presented itself to commanders as of paramount importance, but in practice it had eluded them. When simple the signal was inefficient, when efficient it was so unwieldy as to be impracticable; the flashing shield at Sunium and the fingers of Chappé's semaphore were alike in their unavailability upon the field of battle. The waving flag and torch of Myer were the first contribution to the solution of the problem which were efficient without cumbersome machinery, and while so simple as to be easily extemporized from any chance materials were yet capable of performing every service which they could be called upon to render. From the flag and torch of the enthusiastic inventor to a highly developed corps of the general staff is a long step. To show how it was taken, to present some of the more striking features of this growth, rapid in the heat of battle, to sketch the plan on which the Signal Corps was built, this chapter of the history of the war has been written from study of the compiled Official Records of the Union and Confederate armies. In the beginning, the corps was enfolded in the enthusiasm and determination of Myer. In fact there was no corps, but there was Myer. A chief without a corps, it was his consuming ambition to surround himself with a staff of trained assistants; he succeeded in his ambition in 1863, but such were the animosities excited by his success that he was removed from the command of the corps he had created and in 1864 was out of the Army. Yet such was the influence he was still able to exert that he prevented the confirmation of Colonel Fisher twice appointed to succeed him. It is with the period between these two phases of signal service that most of this sketch has to do. Dr. Myer entered the Army in 1854 as an assistant surgeon. His active interest in sign language, already displayed in his graduating thesis, was manifested at once by its development into a system of signal communication, for in 1856 he drafted a memorandum of his device. This, however attracted little or no attention at the War Department, and not before 1858 was the inventor successful in bringing his plans before a military board duly authorized to consider them. Yet another two years of exertions, strenuous though unrecorded, passed by before Congress created the position of signal officer of the Army. On June 27, 1860, Myer was gazetted Major and Signal Officer, the first known to history, and the first acknowledgment that the Napoleonic maxim was worthy a place in practical military science. Within a fortnight he was despatched to the plains. It is interesting to note who ordered the duty and to whom this inventor of the latest feature of military art was sent. It was Floyd who wrote the order, it was Fauntleroy of the First Dragoons who commanded the Department of New Mexico to which the signal officer was assigned; within a year they were both under arms in the Rebellion, and the signal officers of the Confederacy were conveying, messages on Myer's system in the very front of Washington before the National Army had fairly realized that it had a signal officer. Fortuitous as this coincidence may be, Major Myer on reaching his distant post was ordered to participate in the Navajo campaign in Colonel Canby's command. Here again the senior officer designated for a course of signal instruction and to act as assistant in the field was among those who joined Floyd and Fauntleroy. This expedition in the severest rigors of mid-winter upon the mountains of New Mexico proved a test which showed the new signal system to be capable of all that was claimed for it. The test which proved the system satisfactory must also be regarded as a test of the author. The examination of what he did in this campaign gives a clue to his successes as well as his failures in the graver war which followed, and the test is a more than fair one, since it is judging him by his own standard. Myer was an enthusiast, but his enthusiasm was often expended on trivialities. Strong on details he was weak on great principles. Having founded his system of signal communication upon a code of three elements he failed to grasp the induction which should have led him higher. He was diligent in repeating the same three elements in all sorts of guises having developed the system for the eye he devised codes to appeal to the other senses of touch, hearing and even of smell. He multiplied instance upon instance and repeated needlessly the demonstration of that which was already proved. In connection with the torch he was minute in measuring the diameter of the flame-shade and its linear distance below the wick. He attributed the failure of his dial signal-telegraph train to the fact that curious soldiers cut the trailing insulated wire to see what it was made of; he could not be brought to see the inherent inefficiency of an apparatus which could not be made to work over ten miles of wire, even if uncut, because wrong in principle. It is essential to a proper comprehension of the corps in the early chapters of the war to understand these traits of the man who called the corps into being. How he did it, how he induced the creation of a staff corps, how he was himself overpowered in the very success, these are matters which appear in the Rebellion records, here a piece and there a piece with many gaps which demand close attention to fill them up. When in 1861, war unexpectedly broke out Major Myer was prompt to suggest the practical value of signals to the Army, and on this account he was called from the west, since the patriotic zeal at headquarters would neglect no chance that gave even the faintest promise of assistance. In Washington there was haste to meet the emergency so suddenly thrust upon the Army not yet recovered from the paralysis of wholesale resignations. Little was known of the new military device and Myer found officials too busy to give much attention to his plans. Lights appeared on the Virginia hills by night and waving flags by day, a device of the enemy. Incomprehensible to all others and menacing, these things were clear to Myer, who renewed his efforts under this stimulus and succeeded in gaining the official ear. A course of signal instruction was initiated on June 10, 1861, at Fort Monroe, where eleven subaltern officers detailed from the forces near that post were hastily instructed in signal duties. This course continued but a few weeks and came to a sudden close when Major Myer was ordered to the Department of Northeast Virginia, and called upon to establish communication without being allowed a single trained assistant. Blunder as it was, yet it was fruitful in results, since nothing short of the spectacle of the Signal Officer of the Army idle upon the field of Bull Run, could avail to show those charged with the conduct of affairs, that the individual signal officer is valuable only as a part of perfected machinery. However, rudely acquired, this knowledge led to the establishment on August 30, 1361, of the Signal Camp of Instruction on Red Hill, Georgetown, D. C., a permanent institution where under the diligent charge of Lieut. Samuel T. Cushing, who was associated with Major Myer in the Navajo campaign, signal parties were instructed and equipped to attend each army that took the field. Established under these circumstances, the activity of the Signal Corps during the war can best be studied in connection with the great military operations of the campaigns which it so materially assisted. Reference to the general maps of the war will show the Confederacy to have held possession of the interior lines of communication, a decided advantage, the want of which imposed upon the Federal commander grave inconvenience and considerable hazard, in that it enforced upon him the necessity of attack by widely disconnected armies operating in regions equally separated. Comparing all the campaigns it may in a broad way be said that the Federal attack was directed midway between the four cardinal points. Hasty movements began the attack upon the northeast where the valleys of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania were the theatres of the hardest fighting. In the southeast, the coast of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas formed another point of attack. Louisiana and the lower Mississippi were the scene of the southwestern attack. The assault upon the northwest moved along the great military lines of the Tennessee and the Cumberland. Any study of the growth of the corps during the war will involve the necessity of tracing its history in each of these approaches to the heart of the Confederacy. This method of examination of the materials at hand, while sacrificing unity of time, yet in its stead renders it possible to present in clear terms the independent but co-ordinate development of four bodies of signal officers, each in its own field. This in due course of time made it possible for Major Myer, as with intent to bring about a uniform degree of signal efficiency throughout the armies, to embody in a single centralized corps these organizations which were practically as independent of him as of one another. The period comprehended within the scope of the more detailed part of this paper, is that during which the system of regimental signal officers obtained, which was concluded in 1863 by the act creating the Signal Corps to continue during the Rebellion. However successful the system of signals proved itself, it must be seen that the plan of detailing regimental officers crudely instructed broke down completely under the strain of actual campaign. One of the most distinct lessons of the war is this which appears unmistakably in every report. Recurring to the four columns of inquiry a brief presentation will be made of the development of signals in each up to the period noted. This happens most opportunely to correspond with the limit of the Rebellion records thus far published, beyond which it is not deemed advisable to push a detailed inquiry in which the chances of error are considerable. Instruction at the Georgetown camp had been but a few weeks under way when the Signal Officer was called on to detail officers for an expedition then fitting out at Annapolis for an unknown destination. This was the beginning of the operations on the southeast at the close of 1861, and the expedition was that commanded by General Thomas W. Sherman against Port Royal in which the signal officers were efficient in maintaining communication and won for the signal system in a particular degree the commendation of the Navy. Early in 1862 signal officers accompanied General Burnside's Roanoke expedition and secured a foothold upon the coast of North Carolina. Thereafter, during 1862 and 1863 the Signal Corps was present at the operations in the two Carolinas with ever growing efficiency. It must suffice to indicate in broad outline the growth in the southeast quarter up to the time when the corps was placed upon a solid basis, which corresponds closely with the engineering successes before Charleston. The beginning was small at Port Royal; at Roanoke the signal officers did no signal duty at all and won mention by volunteer service as aides. From this humble start the progress in the next eighteen months though slow was steady, and as the novel service won, little by little, the confidence of commanding generals, it was stimulated to greater efficiency. The result attained is apparent in the reports of the chief acting signal officer of the Department of the South which detailed the events just prior to and including the fall of Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg, the approaches to Charleston. It is shown plainly in his record of events; but more prominently yet in the attitude which he seems to have felt justified in assuming toward officers his superiors in lineal rank, and in the freedom with which he called upon the other staff corps to render him assistance in erecting the ingeniously constructed signal towers which overlooked Charleston harbor and roads. The scanty record of signal operations in the southeast presents one difficulty,—lack of material; the record in the northeast being voluminous, presents another and even harder difficulty, that of selection and condensation. Major Myer, who was designated Chief Signal Officer of the Army of the Potomac, published in 1864 his report of its two-year-old signal opera- tions, written with less reference to its military value than to its political bearing upon legislation then under consideration in Congress. From these records, diffuse in details and silent as to essentials, it is a hard task to arrive at the methods by which the Signal Officer proposed to utilize the military results of his actions, in firmly establishing his own position which as yet had not emerged from the insecurity which must attach to any experiment. On this northeastern approach there was some signaling done in 1861; the officers instructed at Fort Monroe put their lessons into practice, but they contributed little to the success of these early engagements. But in 1862 the Signal Corps, after its full winter's training at Georgetown, was as eager to press on to Richmond as any portion of that luckless army. Myer moved with his corps; he saw what each man did and made a note of it; nothing escaped his attention and few events but were made to contribute to the greater glory of the new arm of the service. He diligently recorded that on the voyage down the Potomac the Signal Corps prevented marine disaster; at Yorktown it became in the person of its officers, prominent by reason of the incessant waving of their flags, the target for artillery practice; it served at intervals in the Seven Days Battles, and that the service was interrupted was the fault, not of the system, but of the battle clouds of smoke; it changed its base to the James and directed the gunboat fire at Malvern; it fell back with the rear guard from Richmond with the great army to which it was attached. At every step, after the corps had done anything noteworthy, Myer insured the future of his system by securing a letter to that effect from the general or flag officer who had seen it done. Another Signal Corps at the same time was operating with Pope's army at Cedar Mountain and Second Bull Run as it had done in the early spring with Banks at Strasburg and Winchester, but its history is obscure, since its successful work was not heralded by Myer's reports until the Army of the Potomac moved north in September. Then came the operations about Frederick, Md., the engagements at South Mountain and Antietam, in all which the corps was efficient in its proper function. With these northern battles the signal operations assume a status of more real value and are better recognized by commanders; Fredericksburg brings the corps prominently to the dangerous front, Chancellorsville shows Hooker making intelligent use of this body of trained officers both to observe and to communicate, and at Gettysburg the Signal Corps is acknowledged as firmly fixed in the military household by Meade's circular before the battle, in which he calls upon this as upon all other staff corps to aid him in the impending engagement. First appearing as an idle spectator at Bull Run, later summoned to the council of war at Gettysburg, these two facts tersely illustrate the two years' growth of the signal system on this front. In the southwest the signal officers, like the son of Achilles, came late to the war. When Farragut ran Forts Jackson and St. Philip no signal men were with him, nor did they come until the first assault was over and New Orleans was occupied by the Federal forces. It was not indeed until 1863 that the Signal Corps made its mark in this field of the war. Having had just enough duty in small skirmishes to bring it into efficiency, it in vested Vicksburg and Port Hudson with Grant and Banks; from its towers and treetops it covered the beleaguered towns with vigilance ever alert; it saw every movement in time and gave warning to the besiegers, for whom it was not only eyes but tongue as well. The beginning of the war on the northwest was most distinctly marked by the failure of signal operations, not so much by reason of any inefficiency of the system, as through the chapter of accidents which so greatly retarded military operations upon that approach. The first signal party was sent to General Halleck at St. Louis late in March of 1862, but the use of this new military art was not fairly appreciated, and the detachment was soon dissolved. At Shiloh, Grant's army had no signal officers; Buell's had, but almost the sole mention of their activity is that they were ordered back to duty with their companies. At Perryville the record shows that the signal system was in operation, but by a strange mischance it did not succeed in conveying to Buell the knowledge that a battle was in progress. But an improvement was noticeable when on the last day of 1862 Rosecrans fought the battle of Stone's River, and found his signal officers to be relied upon in the discharge of their proper duties. Thenceforward the progress was distinct, the service was growing in efficiency and in reputation, and in each regard an improvement may be noted after Franklin, Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Knoxville. In a year and a half the Signal Corps had, from a position in which it was treated with indifference, advanced in this army also to the burden of grave responsibilities, in which it proved itself deserving of the reliance placed upon it. On the Confederate side signal officers were no less active, although the close details of their operations exist only in fragmentary reports. It has been already remarked that the Confederate army made earlier use of signals than the Union forces, and that the sight of their flags and flames on the Virginia hills served to hasten consideration of Major Myer's plans. The Richmond Congress early recognized the value of this service and drafted a measure which authorized the creation of a Signal Corps of consistent and comprehensive efficiency. Under this act the Signal Corps of the Provisional Army of the Confederacy was instituted and placed in charge of Major Norris. The plan was excellent but when it came to putting it into operation it would seem that of the two duties of the signal officer, observation and communication, which the model signal officer of the future must combine, Norris, not being actuated by the inventor's enthusiasm, devoted his attention to the former. The reports of Norris' bureau which have survived are in the majority of cases the details of scouting exploits within the Federal lines; the system seems to have grown into a matter of high-class spying in which the commission and uniform were expressly designed to serve as a cloak to the operations and to enable the operator, if captured, to offer a specious plea against the customary penalty of spying. To perform the legitimate duties of signal communication there grew up another body, the Independent Signal Corps under Major Milligan, which operated in Virginia and North Carolina, and probably enjoyed a still wider field. In the four fields of war in which the signal officers prosecuted their operations the work in this formative period was done by acting signal officers, that is, subalterns of volunteer regiments detached for this special service. To understand their position attention should be directed upon the enactments and orders which authorized their employment on this duty. The act of 21st June 1860 created the position of Signal Officer and announced rather than defined his duties. In 1861 the commanding generals of the several departments to which in succession Major Myer was assigned, detailed junior officers to be instructed in signal duty; thus originated the school at Monroe, the experimental stations along the upper Potomac, and the permanent camp at Georgetown, all being authorized by orders and confirmed upon an essential point by the act of 22d February, 1862, which settled upon officers so detailed the pay of cavalry officers of the same grade. Thus the Signal Officer obtained his first corps. There was about this corps, as in all new projects brought about by the personal efforts of any enthusiast, an element of uncertainty, it was of a temporary nature. Officers detailed might be recalled to the line by the order of their regimental commanders or by their own wish, above all there was no appropriation directly made for the service rendered. One remedy was applied, the order of the War Department that acting signal officers should not be relieved from that duty except by order of the Adjutant-General of the Army. This was palliative, it secured the corps against rapid depletion, but it did not remove the causes which led to such depletion, nor did it secure the corps a permanent status. It still presented the anomaly of but one Signal Officer in the Army and all the work of signal communication performed by acting signal officers. To remove this anomaly, to acquire a permanent status with an eye to inevitable retrenchments of the peace-footing in the future, engaged the best efforts of the Signal Officer. This system of regimental officers detailed for signal duty had the most fair trial, it was tested by the exigencies of actual campaigning and this test was continued for two years; in this length of time its merits, if it had any, should have been made overwhelmingly manifest, its faults should have suggested their correction. But the two years experiment showed the faults too deep-seated for correction short of radical reconstruction, the merits expected were uniformly absent. Every battle, every movement of troops showed defects, and proved them to be inherent in any corps of signal officers which depended for its existence upon regimental details. Yet, following his plan of utilizing every method which might popularize his system, he succeeded in having a course of signals prescribed at the Military Academy in July, 1863, and added to the instruction in visual signals a course of lectures on telegraphic communication, and to aid that purpose sent to West Point a train with the Beardslee instruments. Myer's system was a novelty in military practice; there had been no opportunity to exhibit its utility to the army in general; New Mexico was faraway and in 1861 men had other things to occupy their minds than waving flags in a fruitless Indian campaign; worst of all not a line about the duties of the Signal Officer was found in any text of the art of war, and not yet had the lesson been learned that war well made makes its own art. The unknown system was nowhere welcomed, at best it was tolerated, in many cases it had to encounter the dogged resistance of rigid formalists. Time and the event had not yet proved its superiority in its twofold sphere; the scout for observation and the orderly for communication were yet supreme. Like Napoleon, who rejected Fulton's project to transport the French army across the channel by steam power, few could sufficiently project the new arm of the service into the future to give Myer support in his efforts. Where improvements in the methods of observation and communication failed to affect the result, it was necessary to seek still further modes of usefulness in which the Signal Officer might be free from old traditions. It must be recognized that Myer was diligent in grasping at every means that might even remotely assist him, and characteristically pertinacious in returning to his purpose with unabated vigor after each rebuff. The chance of the times and the events incidental to the hasty mobilization of great bodies of raw levies, zealous as they were unskilled, offered the first opportunity. The disasters of Big Bethel and Glasgow, where troops fired deadly volleys into the ranks of their own comrades, sadly showed the inability of new volunteers in the peril of panic to know friend from foe. While the feeling of horror was still fresh, Major Myer came forward with a system of countersign signals which should prevent similar deplorable catastrophes. The system was adopted and promulgated in general orders. Regimental commanders were to have their adjutants and color sergeants instructed to wave by day the regimental colors in certain fashions and to burn colored fires by night. There were then two hundred and fifty organizations in the single Army of the Potomac, and they were all instructed during the winter of 1861; but the time and labor were spent in vain. The system never gained a foothold, and properly lapsed as better training in the duties of the soldier removed the causes which had operated to bring it forward. A second attempt to attain, first, prominence, and next, permanence, brought the Signal Officer in contact, not this time with apathy and indifference of commanding officers, but with the lively opposition of a civil bureau of the War Department already well established and decidedly indisposed to yield to the pretensions of Major Myer. This was the attempt to secure control of the telegraph upon the field and in its relation with the army. The attitude which the civilian operators assumed, seems to have been prompted not so much by the belief they professed in the essentially civil nature of their calling as by their personal objection to Myer, who had not served an operator's apprenticeship, and who did not have that peculiar touch by which an operator comes into electric sympathy with his fellows in the profession. Governed in this by sentiment rather than by reason they made a mistake; the mistake they then made they have since acknowledged, and have pleaded it in support of legislation sought in their behalf. The men who were most strenuous in opposition to military control of the telegraph, are now on record as supporting just that control and discipline in campaign. It must be admitted that Myer was personally unsuited for telegraph duty; moreover, it must be admitted that had he been suited for that duty history would have been different. Similarly of the few nations which attempted to perform military telegraph work by force of civilians, all have realized the practical impossibility of the attempt. Every nation except France has transferred the service to the army, and even in France the transfer will soon be brought about inasmuch as schools for the instruction of officers and men have been established. The creating act of 1860 explicitly authorized the Signal Officer to have charge of all signal duty and all apparatus connected therewith. This language was General Butler's sufficient authority for assigning Myer to the charge of the recently constructed line of the U. S. Military Telegraph in southeastern Virginia. The order was distasteful to the regularly appointed superintendent of the line, who believed himself to be accountable only to the War Department. But communication with Washington was practicable only by letter, and disobedience to Butler's order would have been quickly visited with heavy penalties; on this account the operators made temporary submission. The Signal Officer's tour of duty as telegraph officer was brief, and he was sharply reminded by the Secretary of War that electric telegraphy was not in his province. This was the first skirmish of a bitter contest. Myer now made a formal demand upon the War Department to be given control of the entire system of military telegraphs under the terms of his commission, but it was at once apparent that he would not be allowed to interfere with the electric operators. His attention was accordingly directed upon some portable system of telegraphy operated upon other principles than the Morse system, and even in his early plans be seems to have appreciated the important differences between the flying telegraph and the semi-permanent lines. Having discovered what he sought in a magnetic dial apparatus, the Signal Officer in August, 1861, laid before the Secretary of War a plan for signal telegraph trains which should not interfere with existing interests, and yet, by a clause judiciously inserted to the effect that a proper proportion of the officers and men should be selected electric telegraphists employed for the war, it was carefully devised to secure Major Myer a permanent corps in the place of the acting signal officers, and, by securing a sufficiency of Morse operators attracted by actual commissions or the prospect of winning them, to place him in a position to make a more effectual demand for the control of the military telegraph. This was met by an authorization to purchase a small telegraph train to communicate with points which could not be reached by signals, and fixing upon the Signal Officer the responsibility of determining the necessity for such a train. Major Myer hesitated to act under this authorization, which was silent as to any appropriation. In March, 1862, the Beardslee or magnetic instrument had not been brought into condition to use, and the question of an electric train was beset with difficulties when the Signal Officer was ordered to take the field with no definite arrangements concluded. Under these circumstances little could be done with this branch of the equipment in the Peninsular campaign, and what little was attempted was touched upon very lightly by Major Myer in his personal report, although this is the first mention in all history of the telegraph on the battle-field. It was not until the close of the year 1862, at Fredericksburg, that any definite attempt was made to bring into special prominence the telegraph train of the Signal Corps. This dial telegraph was maintained in intermittent operation, and for the most part was favorably reported by the officers in charge. In May, 1863, at Chancellorsville, the field telegraph of the Signal Corps was in operation. Practical test demonstrated the line to be insufficiently insulated and incapable of working except for short stretches, while the instrument was slow and particularly sensitive to atmospheric disturbances. But the gravest difficulty was that it here came into direct and disastrous competition with the electric military telegraph of the War Department, and offered itself to the critical judgment of such men as Eckert, Stager and Bates, who were in a position to pass upon it the criticism of technical experts. Under the influence of sundry successes achieved in the summer campaigns, the last month of 1862 saw the appropriation of funds sufficient to construct several of these telegraph trains. The same causes contributed to produce a result of greater importance than the supply of field telegraph trains. This was the permanent organization of the Signal Corps. The authorization to construct signal telegraph trains was, in its very nature, a solace to Major Myer for refusing him control of the U. S. Military Telegraph to which he claimed title. He had been in conflict with Secretary Stanton and had been worsted. There could have been no better recommendation to the sympathies of the Congress of that time. Avoiding any chance of reference to the more purely military committees, which would be to a certain extent under the influence of the powerful secretary, the legislation was accomplished in the Sundry Civil Bill which became law on the 3d of March, 1863. Thus was the Signal Corps built and equipped with a systematic organization. At the head of the corps there was a chief signal officer, a colonel, who should be Signal Officer of the Army, there was a lieutenant-colonel and two majors, there was one captain and eight lieutenants for each army corps, and for each officer there was allowed a sergeant and six privates. The corps was authorized for the duration of the Rebellion, and appointments were to be made on the recommendation of examining boards. In accordance with the report of the first of these boards Major Myer was nominated Chief Signal Officer and given a recess appointment. Later in the same year the judge Advocate General wrote an opinion establishing the status of the corps as of the establishment of the regular army. The realization of Myer's ambition had yielded to his persistence, he had secured a higher rank and his corps would be permanently established as soon as the examining boards had completed their work in the several military departments. But Colonel Myer in the moment of success had to learn that the War Secretary could not be trifled with in safety. Once again the Chief Signal Officer sought to obtain a certain control of electric telegraphs, and to that end advertised his willingness to give commissions to telegraph operators. Thereupon the blow fell. On the 10th of November, 1863, Colonel Myer was relieved from command of the Signal Corps and ordered to the Mississippi. He turned the bureau over to Major Nicodemus, who was later promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy, and, most important of all, the Secretary of War ordered that the telegraph trains be put in charge of the Superin- tendent of the Military Telegraph, Colonel Anson Stager. Thus was the Signal Corps built; but when the cap-stone had been laid in place the edifice passed away from him who built it. Myer was not only banished to a remote military division, but the Senate failed to confirm his appointment; the President revoked it, and the first Signal Officer, the inventor of the art, was no longer in the Army. It is to study the growth of a staff corps from a single officer to a highly organized body, rather than to make a record of the deeds of the signal officers or a roster which should give them the credit they earned, that this paper has been written. In pursuing this line of research it has been necessary to pay strict regard to the operations of the Signal Officer of the Army and to weigh his official acts as presented directly in the official records of the rebellion, and as reflected in the services which his subordinates rendered in obedience to his orders. A study of the later period of signal operations will afford an opportunity to return to, and present in detail a narrative of events which cannot fail of interest. This chapter is of necessity drawn closely about the personality of the first Signal Officer, for it was in and through that personality that the Signal Corps came into being. Freed from the guiding touch of its inventor and foremost advocate, the Signal Corps nevertheless maintained a steadfast activity during the war and grew in favor, as it conscientiously discharged its invaluable duties. Major Nicodemus, temporarily placed in charge, had control until the end of 1864, when he too was visited with punishment. He had published his report for that year without having gone through the formality of submitting it to the Secretary of War, and for that offense was dismissed the service on the ostensible ground that he had aided the enemy by divulging valuable information. His innocence of any wrong intent was made manifest soon afterwards, and, it perhaps becoming apparent by what influences he had been hampered, he was reinstated in his regiment of the regulars. He was succeeded in the Signal Bureau by Colonel B. F. Fisher, who was given a recess appointment as Signal Officer of the Army, and, when that lapsed, through failure to receive confirmation at the instigation of Myer's friends, was at once reappointed on the same terms. While affairs of the Bureau at Washington were thus kept in a permanently unsettled condition, the corps in the field was winning fame. At Allatoona its services were so distinguished as to win brevets or actual promotion for all who participated in the battle. When Farragut overcame the fort, the torpedo and the ram, the defenses of Mobile, he sent his army signal officers below and bade them assist the surgeon in the cockpit, for they had been assigned to him only for the purpose of opening communication with the army after the naval victory had been won. But he could not keep them there, the needs of battle overtaxing the naval signal system, forced him to summon them to give him aid. They found their proper station on deck, and aloft as the fight grew fiercer. The admiral ceased to look upon his signal officers as idlers; in his moment of greatest need, when the Lackawanna having once through accident collided with the flagship and was returning to the disastrous charge, the admiral called to Lieut. Kinney who had been detailed to his vessel, "Can you say 'For God's sake' by signal?" Then followed the hasty and historic message to the Lackawanna, "For God's sake get out of our way." As the armies closed in on the vanquished enemy the Signal Corps closed in with them until there were no foes to fight; then it was mustered out and absorbed in the body of citizenship, proud to have been pioneers in a new military art whose value none will now dispute. By way of a conclusion, which is at the same time a commentary upon the methods employed in building the Signal Corps, reference may be not improperly made to a sketch, hastily outlined, that was designed to establish for the Confederacy a signal corps founded on ideas of making it a body efficient in proportion to its purely scientific character, an ideal which has indeed been reached in the present Signal Corps of the Army, but reached only after many years of painstaking endeavor. In a memorandum submitted to General Beauregard in November, 1862, Joseph Manigault, signal officer of the department of South Carolina, outlined the plan for securing to his corps the management of telegraph lines of the army. Incidentally he referred to the education, the reliability and the scientific training of the signal men as fitting them to become a bureau for the transmission of military information; and since they would necessarily have a certain electrical equipment, that they were in a position to assume charge of electric mines and the management of the electric light, and, in short, might properly become the electrical corps of the army. If Myer fell short of these broadly philosophical plans for a Signal Corps, which should conquer all opposition by the very weight of its scientific attainments practically applied to the exigencies of actual warfare, it is not that those ideas were yet in the future. It is shown that practical experience had suggested those ideas to one signal officer; that the same, and even greater, practical experience did not suggest those ideas to another is not the fault of the ideas nor the fault of experience. But had the case been reversed, had the ideas of Manigault found a welcome in the mind of Myer, it is probable that this chapter of the building of the Signal Corps had been written in far different form, and the history of the corps in the later times would show far more done, far less that had to be undone. It is pertinent to add that to Myer fell the construction of a second signal corps. The act of July 28, 1866, fixing he military peace establishment enacted that there should be one chief signal officer with the rank of colonel, but it made no provision for a corps other than by a limited detail of six officers and not to exceed one hundred men from the engineer battalion. The lessons of experience were left unheeded,—it was as though the war had never been. The conditions were of the utmost similarity, with the sole exception that the absence of the war rendered it feasible to formulate a comprehensive policy and elaborate its details in a wise and thoughtful manner. But Myer did not choose to study the record of history. The first step in his construction of the first corps was paralleled by his first act in the construction of the second corps; he again organized his corps by details of acting signal officers and thereby exceeded the provisions of the act, which limited his choice to engineers; two years of war had proved the defects of such a system to be beyond remedy, a quarter of a century of peace has barely sufficed to effect its removal from the corps of to-day. The parallel may be pursued still further. It has been shown that Myer, failing to secure immediately for his first signal corps the dignity which its intrinsic merits would have won for it in due time, sought to win consideration by assuming duties foreign to its legitimate province, and thereby destroyed that which he wished to secure. A similar method marked his plans for the development of the second corps, for his own language declares this unmistakable purpose "the main question is not how to curtail the corps but how to enlarge its scope and consequent usefulness to the varied industries of the nation." To the legitimate duties of military signaling he added the utterly foreign concerns of the meteorologist, with a result well known. The military side of the corps found its chief activity in the system of military telegraph lines, which was extended along the frontier and which has been maintained to the present. This telegraph system was designed to secure necessary communication where the commercial lines were not available, and its lines have been withdrawn when private enterprise, finding its advantage in the country thus opened, has removed the pioneer burden from the government. In 1878 the act of June 20th made provision for the appointment of two second lieutenants chosen from the sergeants of the corps, recognizing their services by the promise of a military career. In 1880 the Signal Corps was advanced to equality of consideration with the other staff corps, and its chief was given the rank of brigadier-general. This comparative review is timely. The present Signal Corps stands to-day at the point where the Signal Corps of the Civil War, its predecessor, began to crystallize into a recognized auxiliary of modern war and gained that glory of which it may well be proud. Two years of battle brought to that a permanent organization and a singleness of purpose in the prosecution of its proper duties and of those alone; twenty-five years of peace have brought this to a point where extraneous occupations have been renounced and defective constitution rectified. As the two formative years of the first corps, despite their faulty methods, were filled with military activity, so in this formative quarter century of the present corps, military duties have been prosecuted despite the foreign occupations which Myer grasped. Under the earnest endeavors of signal officers the crude device of the flag and torch have developed into the ingenious yet simple mechanism of the heliograph and the flash lantern; the defective machinery of the early dial telegraph has given place to the portable field telegraph, and the telephone and the Morse key have been advanced to the skirmish line. All signal duties have been studied, some have been practised to a perfection reached by no other army, and in this the heliograph system stands preeminent. The Indian campaigns in which the Signal Corps has participated exhibit this fact most forcibly. In the Apache wars in Arizona the signal detachments from their stations on the mountain tops have discerned the most stealthy movements of the enemy and have flashed the news to headquarters or moving bodies of cavalry, enabling the troops to change instantly their direction of march to conform to that of the enemy or to be massed where danger threatened, and even to meet the Indians with their own favorite manoeuvre of the ambuscade. With equal distinctness these campaigns have shown the weakness of the system of regimental instruction and details, for in the Geronimo campaign it was found neces- sary to call upon the Chief Signal Officer to assign technically trained members of the corps to render the duty which proved too great for the unskilled. Despite the continued record of failure of the system, both in the Civil War and in the several Indian wars, the War Department has shown a disposition to maintain the same fallacious idea, and to this is due the repetition of the successive failures of the system of regimental instruction and details. If the lesson is not drawn sufficiently clear in our own military history, the same principles appear in the policy of foreign armies which have borrowed the art of signaling from us. No matter how much the foreign systems may vary among themselves they are all copied from the Signal Corps of this army with that imitation which is always the sincerest flattery. They have adopted the code, the cipher, the train, though modifying them to suit their own needs; but one feature they have uniformly not copied and that is the regimental detail. Even where their signal services have not been dignified by a separate corps organization, they have at least formed a distinct division of some corps already in existence, such as the engineers, and the practical exigencies of war have in general served to make them independent in all but name. The permanent Signal Corps is now built on a foundation substantiated by the double test of war and peace, and it is in a position to relieve for the second time the line of the army from the burden of drill and study in the purely technical and special duties of signal communication. It is now possible to progress to a development of the legitimate activities of the signal officer, to observe and to communicate; in war to watch the forces of the enemy and to keep the army advised of hostile movements; in peace to watch those whom the chance of a day may make enemies, to study what preparations they are making and what advantages they hold, and to keep the army advised of these matters; in short so to utilize its energies that as in the field the army will rely upon its signal officers for information, so in peace the army will confidently turn to its Signal Corps for its military intelligence. Return to Table of Contents	<urn:uuid:046fbc4b-70b9-49df-914c-ef03e02453c4>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.history.army.mil/books/R&H/R&H-SC.htm	2013-05-20T22:39:29Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.984306	9,118
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition - n. The fruit of any of various related plants, such as the cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumber, squash, pumpkin, and melon, having a hard or leathery rind, fleshy pulp, and numerous flattened seeds. - From Latin pepō, from Ancient Greek πέπων (pepōn, "large melon"), from πέπων (pepōn, "ripe"), from πέπτω (peptō, "ripen"). Compare pumpkin. (Wiktionary) - Latin pepō, a kind of melon, from Greek pepōn, ripe; see pekw- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition) “All members of the family bear a fruit called a pepo, which is the edible portion that we call the squash, melon, pumpkin or cucumber.” “Most cucur-bits produce a particular form of berry called a pepo, with a protective rind and a mass of storage tissue containing many seeds.” “They “believe in a benevolent deity or supernatural power which they identify with the forest”; it is “regarded as the source of pepo life force and of their whole existence.”” “While most are either maxima, moschata or pepo, the Cushaw is a strain of mixta.” “= Cucurbita pepo = pumpkin (used for Halloween pumpkins)” “Swahili - punga pepo, - toa pepo, - lema pepo; Zaramo kuhunga madogoli. back” “= Cucurbita pepo = pumpkin used for Halloween pumpkins” “The curcurbitaceae are divided into four subspecies, one of which, the Mexican native curcurbita pepo, includes pumpkins, ornamental squash, acorn squash and summer squash, also known as vegetable marrow.” “Pumpkin Seeds Pumpkin seeds come from the fruits of the New World native Cucurbita pepo, are notable for being deep green with chlorophyll, and for containing no starch, as much as 50% oil, and 35% protein.” “One of the simplest treatments to help maintain prostate health is to eat a few tablespoons of pumpkin seeds Cucurbita pepo each day.” These user-created lists contain the word ‘pepo’. A hodgepodge, jumble, jambalaya, *gallimaufry, circus and tent revival of plant anatomy and morphology terms and phrases - its a big tent, and no tickets are required. Looking for tweets for pepo.	<urn:uuid:b246de11-fdc7-4018-b583-27b14258dab1>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.wordnik.com/words/pepo	2013-05-19T09:49:32Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.869915	640
Feb. 2, 2009 A novel technology for synthsising chemicals from plant material could produce liquid fuel for just over €0.50 a litre, $2.49US a gallon say German scientists. But only if the infrastructure is set up in the right way, states the research published in this month’s issue of Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining. Developed by scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), this novel technology is known as bioliq, and is able to produce a range of different types of liquid fuel and chemicals from plant material such as wood and straw. Bioliq involves first heating the plant material in the absence of air to around 500°C, a process known as pyrolysis. This produces a thick oily liquid containing solid particles of coke termed biosyncrude. The biosyncrude is then vaporised by exposing it to a stream of oxygen gas, before being heated at high pressures to a temperature of around 1400°C. Known as gasification, this process transforms the liquid biosyncrude into a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen termed syngas. After any impurities are removed from this syngas, it can be catalytically converted into a range of different chemicals and fuels, including methanol, hydrogen and a synthetic version of diesel. This stage of the technology is fairly well developed, as syngas derived from coal and natural gas is already used to produce liquid fuels on a commercial scale in South Africa. Bioliq is now taking its first steps towards commercialisation. In conjunction with the German process engineering company Lurgi, KIT is starting to construct a pilot plant based on the bioliq technology, which should be fully completed in 2012. Providing the technology works at this scale, the question then will be how best to implement bioliq at a larger scale, so that it can effectively compete with fossil fuels. To try to come up with an answer, a team of KIT scientists led by Nicolaus Dahmen has used a simple economic model to calculate the cost of producing fuel at a bioliq plant with an annual production capacity of around 1 million tonnes. This is around a tenth of the size of a modern oil refinery, but is a similar size to refineries that produce liquid fuel from oil and gas. Dahmen and his colleagues quickly realised that incorporating both the pyrolysis and gasification steps at this central plant wouldn’t work, because of the problems and expense involved in transporting sufficient quantities of bulky straw and wood to the plant. They estimated that if sufficient plant material was transported on trucks, it would quickly bring the road network around the plant to a halt. So they came up with an alternative set-up. “Biomass is pre-treated in around 50 regionally distributed pyrolysis plants to produce the biosyncrude,” explains Dahmen. “This can then be transported economically over long distances to supply a central fuel production plant with a high capacity.” The advantage of this set-up is that it is much cheaper and more convenient to transport liquid biosyncrude than bulky wood and straw. This is especially the case if the biosyncrude is transported by rail, which is the most cost effective way to transport material over long distances. So Dahmen and his colleagues produced an economic model based on this set-up, which suggests that the bioliq technology can potentially produce liquid fuels for €0.56–1.04 a litre. This would still make the fuel more expensive than conventional petrol or diesel, but this difference could be greatly reduced if different levels of tax were applied to the fuels. Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: - Henrich et al. Cost estimate for biosynfuel production via biosyncrude gasification. Biofuels Bioproducts and Biorefining, 2009; 3 (1): 28 DOI: 10.1002/bbb.126 Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.	<urn:uuid:8d1a0cd3-60bb-433d-bdef-27877c323378>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090129090004.htm	2013-05-24T09:06:17Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.948361	854
The "Catch Can" Explained Added Aug 22, 2011, Under: Engine,General Automotive Modern engines feature a variety of emission control devices and systems to reduce the toxic gases released into the atmosphere. One of these is called the Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system. During the combustion process a small amount of gases leak or “blow-by” the piston rings and create a positive pressure in the crankcase. The PCV system vents these gases along with oil mist from the crankcase and routes it back into the intake manifold so it can be burned off. The problem is, over time the excess oil vapor collects along the inside of the intake tract and forms a “gunk”. This can lead to a variety of issues including carbon build up, retarded timing, detonation, and power loss. An oil-air separator is an aftermarket device that will condense and collect the oil vapor before it has a chance to reach the intake system. As the gases and oil vapor enter the can they typically pass through a screening mechanism that gives the oil vapor something to adhere to. As the droplets form they drop harmlessly into the bottom of the reservoir so that they can later be drained. The other gases are allowed to pass through so that they can be burned off as intended. These devices are often referred to as “catch cans”, though that term is truly more accurate when describing a fluid overflow tank designed to just capture leaking or overflowing fluids. When it comes to selecting a catch can you will get what you pay for. Cheap catch cans (less than $100) are plentiful but they are often little more than an empty can with two ports. These will capture a small amount of oil but the vast majority passes straight through. Be sure that the can is designed to be opened so that it can be periodically drained and cleaned.	<urn:uuid:92935e5b-06ba-469d-a8d9-4d4a618f09a4>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.moderncamaro.com/forum/v8-engine-discussion/32870-catch-can-explained.html	2013-05-21T10:42:22Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699899882/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102459-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.954077	387
Converts a number to Thai text and adds a suffix of "Baht." In Excel for Windows, you can change the Baht format to a different style from the Control Panel by using Regional and Language Options in Windows Vista or in Microsoft Windows XP. In Excel for the Macintosh, you can change the Baht number format to a different style by using Control Panel for Numbers. Number is a number you want to convert to text, or a reference to a cell containing a number, or a formula that evaluates to a number. The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet. How to copy an example - Create a blank workbook or worksheet. - Select the example in the Help topic. Note Do not select the row or column headers. Selecting an example from Help - Press CTRL+C. - In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V. - To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click the Show Formulas button. \|\|Displays the number in text. (One thousand two hundred thirty four Baht in Thai text)	<urn:uuid:cbf09090-6070-4fd7-b4eb-508e1b497b63>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/bahttext-function-HP010062558.aspx	2013-05-23T18:52:34Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.677904	265
In 1931, Dr. Frederick McKay concluded his 30-year investigation into why some children in Colorado had brown stained teeth but very little tooth decay. He discovered that water supplies with high levels of fluoride – a water-born mineral found in rocks and soil – caused the discoloration of tooth enamel and prevented tooth decay. However exciting that moment of eureka must have been for Dr. McKay, it’s doubtful he ever imagined that adding fluoride to drinking water would eventually be named “one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During National Public Health Week, Delta Dental encourages community leaders to support the fluoridation of their local water systems. Dr. McKay’s discovery was a boon for preventive health. It’s one of the easiest, most reliable ways to bolster the oral health of an entire community. Research studies have demonstrated how fluoride helps strengthen tooth enamel and remineralize teeth that have already been damaged by the early effects of tooth decay. Although most community water supplies had naturally-occurring fluoride in their water, it was usually at too low a level to help prevent tooth decay, and sometimes at such a high level that it would damage the tooth surface and cause staining and pitting. It took scientists almost two decades after McKay’s discovery to determine the right balance between decay prevention and tooth staining. In 1945, Grand Rapids, Mich., became the first U.S. city to add fluoride to their water supply to prevent tooth decay in the population. The results were so dramatic – a sixty percent drop in tooth decay rates in the children – that other communities began adopting the practice. Today, almost 75 percent of the U.S. population using public water systems – nearly 200 million people – has access to fluoridated water. Fluoride has not been without its detractors, however, as some people object to any additives to drinking water even when the effects are beneficial. Others proclaim that fluoride has harmful effects, although a large body of scientific studies over the years has not supported those concerns. It is widely known that fluoride can protect teeth across an entire lifetime. The brown staining noticed by McKay – now called severe fluorosis – only occurs when the teeth are developing below the gumline during early childhood. That is why early researchers looked for the proper balance of fluoride to put in water that would both help prevent tooth decay and eliminate risk for severe fluorosis among children. With the economy struggling, many communities are unable or unwilling to fund community water fluoridation projects. In response, several Delta Dental member companies have helped provide funding for community fluoridation projects. It’s an important dental initiative that Delta Dental is proud to support in the interest of improving public oral health. To see a video for additional information on this important public health subject, please click here. The Story of Fluoridation by the NIDCR. . Accessed February 2012.	<urn:uuid:54b2451a-585c-41ad-8dd7-6de375930dcc>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://blog.deltadental.com/2012/04/02/nphw/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=d22f799ecb	2013-06-20T08:50:21Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.967601	613
BAPTISM - INTRODUCTION “Through the Sacraments of Christian Initiation men and women are freed from the power of darkness. With Christ they die, are buried, and rise again. They receive the Spirit of adoption which makes them God’s sons and daughters and, with the entire people of God, they celebrate the memorial of the Lord’s death and resurrection. Thus, the three Sacraments of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) closely combine to bring the faithful to the full stature of Christ and to enable them to carry out the mission of the entire people of God in the Church and in the world.” - Rite of Christian Initiation, General Introduction, ¶ 1 & 2 In these words, the Second Vatican Council re-emphasized the threefold process of Christian Initiation and called upon the Church to revise its ritual celebration of entry into the Church. Beginning with Baptism the Church has therefore published several revised rites: the Rite of Baptism for Children (1969), the Rite of Confirmation (1971), and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (1988). Throughout the introductions and rites themselves, a new – or rather a renewed – focus of the sacraments emerges: the Christian life is a continuing process in which the gift of faith can grow to maturity. The liturgical celebrations of Christian Initiation are the ritual moments when people celebrate their acceptance of the faith within the Christian community. The experience of the faith as lived in the community (e.g. the parish, the family) becomes the context within which infant baptism takes place. While the paradigm for the conversion process is growth into the Church, the baptism of infants necessitates growth after entry into the Church. The faith that is given a child is a gift of God, but experienced through the parents and the community. As children begin the journey, they experience parents who pray, who witness to the Gospel, who celebrate, and who participate in apostolic activities that build up the Church. Infant baptism only makes sense if a community – especially through the parents – can expose the child to experiences where faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is obviously seen as important, alive, and meaningful. While the parents have the primary responsibility for the growth of faith after entry into the Church, the sponsors and the community will be of significant importance in the child’s journey. The ministers must continue to provide an atmosphere and a setting in which the principles of process and growth can be realized by parents, sponsors, and community. BAPTISM – CATECHESIS There is great diversity in the Diocese of Madison: urban and rural parishes, very large and very small parishes, stable parishes and parishes with a significant population shift each year. The needs of such parishes are different, and no one catechetical program will work for every parish. There are basic elements to consider, however, in building a program suited to each situation. Each program should be structured to include the following elements: The goal of the catechetical program for parents wishing to Baptize their child is to help parents come to a greater understanding about the meaning of Baptism, the nature of faith, the meaning of the Church, and the role of a parent as primary catechist for their child throughout life. A strictly lecture-style presentation is not always the best way to achieve this goal of understanding and self-awareness. Participants will need time to interact, to raise questions, and to become involved personally in these important topics. Information alone is not sufficient; personal formation through personal reflection and recognition of one’s own faith is needed. One of the basic meanings of Baptism is the initiation of the person into the community of believers. The entire church community should have an interest in these new members, and a consequent share in their preparation. The Rite of Christian Initiation states that it is most important that catechists and other lay people should work with priests and deacons in making preparations for Baptism. In the actual celebration, the people of God (represented not only by the parents, godparents, and relatives, but also, as far as possible, by friends, neighbors, and members of the local church) should take an active part” (¶ 7). Such social interaction can easily take place if care is taken to provide a relaxed and informal atmosphere: any semblance of a formal class should be avoided. Group sessions involving several parents give an opportunity to share faith and experiences with others with similar interests. Home visits give an opportunity for personal sharing of a more extended nature. Baptismal preparation meetings should provide time and opportunity for meaningful prayer together. A theme related to Baptism could be used to construct a prayer service in which all can participate. Such prayer can help to build this group of people into a better faith community and will build toward the actual day when they celebrate Baptism together. BAPTISM – POLICIES 1. Each parish should provide a pre-baptismal preparation program for parents of infants to be baptized. A Baptismal preparation program offers a special opportunity for faith growth on a deep level. It is because of the faith of the parents that an infant is baptized. Therefore, it is vital that the parents’ faith be alive and growing. Parents should be conscious of the great responsibility that they are undertaking. The faith life of the parents requirement is not something “added on” to the Baptismal ceremony. It flows from the very meaning of the Sacrament. The parents who present a child for Baptism are asked to declare publicly at the beginning of the ceremony their answer to the questions “What do you ask of God’s Church for your child?” and “Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?” From a pastoral point of view, such preparation reaches people at an important time in their life. Within the culture of the United States, the Baptism of the first child often marks the beginning of a more active participation in Church life. It is often the occasion when a couple must examine their beliefs and practices again: they want the best for their child, but what does this mean religiously speaking? It is to fundamental questions such as these, more than mere familiarity with the ceremony, that baptismal preparation programs should address themselves. 2. A minimum of two sessions should be considered to form an adequate Baptismal preparation program. Two sessions will give adequate time for catechesis on the Sacrament, interaction among the participants, prayer together, and the necessary practical details of planning a Baptismal ceremony. Some parishes may want to offer lengthier programs providing greater in-depth catechesis of the sacrament. It is also possible to have a single session, longer in time, incorporating all the components presented in the “Baptism – Catechesis” section above. 3. Parishes should offer the preparation program several times a year depending on the number of Baptisms. The dates and times of the program should be well publicized far in advance of the program. Careful planning of a schedule for the program will insure that everyone has the opportunity to participate. Parents should be encouraged to participate in these sessions before the birth of the child. During these months, the parents are making many other preparations for the arrival of their baby and the religious preparation should be included. 4. Parishes must always keep in mind that parents have a right to have their child Baptized. Baptism – Issues Baptism at Mass The ritual suggests that Baptism ideally takes place during Sunday Mass. This form of celebration emphasizes the close connection between Baptism and Eucharist: Baptism is the beginning of the initiation process leading to the table of the Lord. Having the Baptism at a Sunday Mass also seems to better emphasize the idea of the communal nature of the celebration, the importance of music, participation, etc. In a smaller parish, with relatively few Baptisms per year, many Baptisms could be scheduled during regular Sunday Masses. All present may participate in the Baptismal ceremony, with the parents and godparents having a special part in the Eucharistic liturgy as well as the Baptismal liturgy. This method of Baptism within the regular Sunday Mass is preferable to a “private” celebration, taking place immediately before or after a parish Mass. Properly celebrated, the addition of the Baptismal liturgy to the Sunday Eucharist need not demand a great amount of additional time: the Liturgy of the Word of the Mass is the Liturgy of the Word for the Baptism. The initial greeting and the final blessing take place at their usual times during the Mass. A lengthy homily is not needed on such occasions as a well-done celebration of Baptism has its own message. In larger parishes, frequent celebrations during regular parish Masses may not always be possible or desirable. Even in these cases, however, Baptism could be celebrated, at least on occasion, during parish Masses. Where Baptism during a regular parish Mass does not seem possible, consideration should be given to celebrating Baptism during a special Eucharist – perhaps on Sunday afternoon. There is no need to celebrate Baptism each week; therefore, once a month as such a special Mass, Baptism would be celebrated for all who are prepared. Normally, there should be only one celebration of Baptism on the same day in the same church. The General Introduction of the Rite of Christian Initiation states: “As far as possible, all recently born babies should be baptized at a common celebration on the same day. Except for a good reason, Baptism should not be celebrated more than once on the same day in the same church” (¶ 27).	<urn:uuid:84da9184-d723-4dbc-8503-31565e36982f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.madisondiocese.org/Ministry/EvangelizationandCatechesis/ParishCatecheticalLeaders/SacramentalPrep/Baptism.aspx	2013-05-21T17:52:58Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700380063/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103300-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.957033	2,034
MITCalc - Plates 1.10 This calculation deals with the deflection, stress and variation of forces in the loaded flat plates. The calculation is designed for plates that are flat, homogeneous, with the same thickness and made from one material. The plates may be circular, annular circular and rectangular. The plates may be loaded evenly (unevenly) on the whole surface (or its part) or they may be loaded by the force distributed on the circle. plate, plates, circular plate, annular circular plate, rectangular plate, loading, distributed loading, deflection, slope, moment and stress,	<urn:uuid:def5f955-e933-4c8c-b0c6-eb74a17445cc>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.top-shareware.net/annular-circular-plate.html	2013-05-22T21:52:49Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.87832	130
October 22, 2012 Game Design Club: Like movie making, game design involves a lot of complicated processes, from programming the environment and character abilities to inventing the levels and point systems. These parts of game design and more will be covered in this 11 week course, using the game design software GameMaker. Your child will have the chance to work in a small group setting to discover more about the fascinating world of gaming. Time: Mondays, September 24th – December 17th, 2012 Kids Session from 3: 15 pm – 4:45 pm, Teens Session from 5 – 6:30pm $500 PROMO PRICE! Just $330 for 11 week session. Payments made in installments of $110 every four weeks. Kids Register Here! Ages 8-12 Teens Register Here! Ages 13-17 Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to cut materials, and is typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, but is also starting to be used by schools, small businesses and hobbyists. Laser cutting works by directing the output of a high-power laser, by computer, at the material to be cut. The material then either melts, burns, vaporizes away, or is blown away by a jet of gas, leaving an edge with a high-quality surface finish. Industrial laser cutters are used to cut flat-sheet material as well as structural and piping materials. In this class, you will learn how to cut your designs onto one sheet of MDF (medium density fiberboard). Time: October 22nd, 6:30-8:30pm	<urn:uuid:3c5da27a-ecbf-4910-a34c-e743e1dc9b4d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://makersfactory.com/events/2012-10-22/	2013-05-20T22:38:57Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.938269	328
A new online technology from Google called Google Earth Engine allows scientists and researchers to track environmental changes by analyzing 25 years worth of images from the LANDSAT satellite, the longest continually orbiting satellite on earth. The new project, which will be posted online for free, was introduced at the COP16 talks in Cancun last week and will include applications that monitor and measure deforestation, land use trends, water resources and more. In honor of the conference's location, the first major creation of Google Earth Engine is the most comprehensive scale map of Mexico's forest and water resources to date. Google officials touted the power of Google Earth Engine by saying that the amount of data processed in the Mexico map would have taken three years using a single computer, but only took one day with this new platform (1,000 computers in parallel processed more than 53,000 LANDSAT scenes from 1984 - 2010). To kick-off the project's launch, the company is offering 20 million CPU hours free to developing nations and scientific organizations to utilize this new tool. The technology was developed by Google.org, the company's philanthropic arm, and according to Google officials, will show the public how the earth is changing under a changing climate and hopefully drive public policy. via Washington Post written by Asaf Shalgi, December 11, 2010 written by Jessica Janes, May 31, 2011 written by Robert Oates, October 27, 2011 \|< Prev\|\|Next >\|	<urn:uuid:50d86c0b-65fa-44c7-b4fb-b594313506e0>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://ecogeek.org/component/content/article/3364	2013-06-18T23:05:20Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.941443	299
The Pneumatic Caterpillar is an emergency shelter concept that combines a lightweight hinged A-frame armature with low-pressure pneumatic bladders used for deployment and as a thermally responsive skin. Unlike a fully pneumatic structure, the caterpillar employs an integral framework both to stiffen and anchor the structure, and to structurally support the floor off the ground. When packed, the framework forms a protective clamshell containing the pneumatic bladders, blankets, and other emergency supplies. When opened, the clamshell forms a stable A-frame with curved sides that combine wall and roof in a single surface but without the height limitations of a straight-sided A-frame. The enclosure bladders are inflatable by compressed gas cylinder in extreme emergencies, or by hand pump in less extreme circumstances. The layer of air in the enclosure provides a level of thermal insulation far greater than a traditional single-wall tent. A key concept of the Pneumatic Caterpillar is the thermal adjustability of the enclosure that contains multiple sub-bladders capable of selective inflation to maximize solar shading or solar gain depending upon local climatic conditions. Developed by Nikolaus Laing, this concept involves inner bladder surfaces of differing opacity that can be opened or closed to adjust the penetration of sunlight. In the pneumatic caterpillar, this adjustment is made simply by choosing one or the other of the two inflation valves offered. Each valve selectively inflates one side or the other of the inner bladders, thus deploying the shading surface one way to warm the bladder, or the other to reflect heat away. Also central to the Pneumatic Caterpillar concept is the long-term flexibility of the structure for post-emergency uses. Thanks to its robust A-frame backbone, it can be adapted to various in-situ wall configurations as an armature capable of supporting other layers of roofing material if desired.	<urn:uuid:9995da63-58b5-45b8-b9a1-89c0f1d8a99b>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.design21sdn.com/competitions/7/entries/815/gallery/4717	2013-05-23T05:04:48Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.896416	387
Types of Muscular Dystrophy and Neuromuscular Diseases What are the different types of muscular dystrophy? Muscular dystrophy is a group of inherited diseases that are characterized by weakness and wasting away of muscle tissue, with or without the breakdown of nerve tissue. There are nine types of muscular dystrophy, with each type involving an eventual loss of strength, increasing disability, and possible deformity. The most well known of the muscular dystrophies is Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), followed by Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). Listed below are the nine different types of muscular dystrophy. Each type differs in the muscles affected, the age of onset, and its rate of progression. Some types are named for the affected muscles, including the following: Age at Onset Symptoms, Rate of Progression, and Life Expectancy \|Becker\|\|adolescence to early adulthood\|\|Symptoms are almost identical to Duchenne but less severe; progresses more slowly than Duchenne; survival into middle age.\| \|Congenital\|\|birth\|\|Symptoms include general muscle weakness and possible joint deformities; disease progresses slowly; shortened life span.\| \|Duchenne\|\|2 to 6 years\|\|Symptoms include general muscle weakness and wasting; affects pelvis, upper arms, and upper legs; eventually involves all voluntary muscles; survival beyond 20s is rare.\| \|Distal\|\|40 to 60 years\|\|Symptoms include weakness and wasting of muscles of the hands, forearms, and lower legs; progression is slow; rarely leads to total incapacity.\| \|Emery-Dreifuss\|\|childhood to early teens\|\|Symptoms include weakness and wasting of shoulder, upper arm, and shin muscles; joint deformities are common; progression is slow; sudden death may occur from cardiac problems.\| \|Facioscapulohumeral\|\|childhood to early adults\|\|Symptoms include facial muscle weakness and weakness with some wasting of shoulders and upper arms; progression is slow, with periods of rapid deterioration; life span may be many decades after onset.\| \|Limb-Girdle\|\|late childhood to middle age\|\|Symptoms include weakness and wasting, affecting shoulder girdle and pelvic girdle first; progression is slow; death is usually due to cardiopulmonary complications.\| \|Myotonic\|\|20 to 40 years\|\|Symptoms include weakness of all muscle groups accompanied by delayed relaxation of muscles after contraction; affects face, feet, hands, and neck first; progression is slow, sometimes spanning 50 to 60 years.\| \|Oculopharyngeal\|\|40 to 70 years\|\|Symptoms affect muscles of eyelids and throat causing weakening of throat muscles, which, in time, causes inability to swallow and emaciation from lack of food; progression is slow.\| What are other neuromuscular diseases? \|Spinal Muscular Atrophies: Diseases of Peripheral Nerve: Diseases of the Neuromuscular Junction: \|Metabolic Diseases of the Muscle: Less Common Myopathies: Click here to view the Online Resources of Nervous System Disorders Disclaimer - This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional. © 2009 Staywell Custom Communications.	<urn:uuid:1720d11b-d51d-47de-ab11-ac62ce945d04>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.reshealth.org/yourhealth/healthinfo/default.cfm?pageid=P00792	2013-05-22T07:48:20Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.915974	730
CELEBRATING OUR FIRST PEOPLES! It’s that time of the year (traditionally, the first full week of July) when Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians alike celebrate the history, achievements and rich cultural diversity of our First Peoples. NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Day Observance Committee and has a long history leading back to the beginning of the civil rights movement in the early 20th century. On January 26, 1938, there was a Day of Mourning protest and conference in Sydney, calling for equal rights for Aboriginal Australians. For nearly two decades afterwards, a Day of Mourning was held on the Sunday prior to Australia Day each year. Known as ‘Aborigines Day’, it was moved to the first Sunday in July in 1955, with the emphasis placed also celebrating Aboriginal culture. In 1974, what was a national day of celebration became a week-long event from Sunday to Sunday. Now NAIDOC Week boasts a program of events held in cities and suburbs, rural and remote areas, so that all Australians can participate, enjoy and share in what is beautiful about both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This year, many Australian schools will have dedicated NAIDOC assemblies, students will perform and parents and community members will join in the festivities. I think NAIDOC Week is a great bridge builder in terms of broader community engagement in a fun atmosphere. Outside of schools there are family fun days everywhere from Musgrave Park in Brisbane to the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern. There are concerts, church services, flag raising ceremonies, footy matches and fun runs! \|Page 1 of 2\|\|next >>\|	<urn:uuid:1cc96a55-f6b3-4ba9-8334-292b00c7fdcf>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://thehoopla.com.au/naidoc-celebrating-peoples/	2013-06-19T19:36:41Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709101476/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125821-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.95806	354
Written history Cuneiform first appeared about 3200 B.C. and the last texts were published about A.D. 75, scholars say. Most deal with everyday transactions such as taxes and business deals, but others have religious themes and one contains the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the first known epic poems. As a form of writing, cuneiform is similar to Chinese -- a mixture of picture words and words formed from a syllabic alphabet comprised of hooks and wedges. Documents were usually written on wet clay tablets with long reeds. When the clay dried, the records became permanent. Because it's difficult to ship the tablets and because transporting them, when that is possible, is expensive, most cuneiformists who don't have access to them rely on photographs or drawings sketched by hand. That has serious drawbacks, scholars say. "You don't know how accurate a drawing is, and a photo has to be properly lit to be any good," Snyder said. Reaching in the dark Furthermore, many cuneiform tablets have never been published in books or magazines, "so it sometimes feels like you're reaching around in the dark," Michalowski said. "You can come up with this wonderful idea based on [published] tablets, but it's frustrating because you can't prove it unless you get a travel grant to go view the actual tablet," he said. Cuneiformists have long dreamed of a way to cut through the tedium of digging through old tablets and writing to curators of museums and private collections with requests to view cuneiform collections. "But technology has never really caught up until now," Snyder said. Rendering objects in three dimensions is much harder than in two, scientists say. Part of the problem is there is relatively little demand for 3-D camera equipment. And most of the existing equipment either can take grainy, large-size photos, which wouldn't have enough detail for cuneiformists or are microscopes that give too much detail, scientists say. "Right now, most of the machines are either too much or not enough," said Donald D. Duncan, an engineer at the Applied Physics Laboratory, who is doing most of the technical designs on machine. Duncan and others have found a Canadian firm that produces a scanner that they believe can be adapted to scan cuneiform. But the machine will have to be significantly modified to handle delicate clay tablets and to scan six-sided objects. The thought of having an easy-to-use 3-D catalog at his fingertips makes sense, Michalowski said, although he acknowledges being a "traditional" person who enjoys the romance of hunting through musty collections to try to prove his theories. "It's kind of like being Indiana Jones, without the beautiful women and explosions," he said. "But I guess we're organizing. I'm sure that in five or 10 years, the Internet will be the only way we study," he added with a sigh. Dean Snyder, a technology specialist at the Johns Hopkins University, compares a symbol taken from an ancient tablet with its matching cuneiform symbol on a 3-D computer program. Dean Snyder, a technology specialist at the Johns Hopkins University, compares a symbol taken from an ancient tablet with its matching cuneiform symbol on a 3-D computer program.	<urn:uuid:7d379712-c235-4c6b-ba4c-fe494f068879>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.jhu.edu/digitalhammurabi/publicity/baltimoresunarchive/baltimoresun.html	2013-05-23T11:48:49Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.976272	675
NOAA INVESTIGATES GIANT DEEP-SEA MYSTERY SQUID' December 20, 2001 Many scientific discoveries begin with scientists asking, "Hey, did you see that?" This was certainly true when a group of researchers led by NOAA spotted a 21-foot-long squid, dubbed the "Mystery Squid," while conducting an undersea project. (Click NOAA image for larger view of an artist's rendition of another type of squid species.) So named by the researchers until its true classification and naming is complete, the Mystery Squid is featured in an article in the Dec. 21 issue of the journal Science. Its taxonomy is under way by scientist Michael Vecchione of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Services Systematics Laboratory at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The NOAA sighting of the Mystery Squid is the most recent of a string of eight sightings worldwide as described in Science, and took place during a National Undersea Research Program mission in the Gulf of Mexico last year. While investigating gas hydrates at a depth of approximately 6,300 feet below the surface, a Mystery Squid drifted close to the submersible Alvin. (Click NOAA image for larger view of submersible Alvin.) "The scientists in the submersible got a good close-up look and saw tiny suckers along some of the arms," said Vecchione, a co-author of the Science article. "While the squid at first did not seem to mind the presence of the submersible, it did move away after a few minutes, but not before the scientists were able to get some good images on video. Vecchione, whose specialty is cephalopodssquids, octopods, and their relativesknew of sightings of strange, unknown squids from around the world. He arranged for scientists from eight institutions in four countries to pool their observations and document the worldwide occurrence of these unusual animals. Of the eight squid sightings noted in Science, the earliest is September 1988 off of northern Brazil. The Mystery Squid has also been seen west of Africa, in the Indian Ocean, and in Hawaii, at depths ranging from 6,300 to 15,390 feet. "These squids are not just a new species, they are very different from any squid ever seen before. None of the squids had been collected, but they have the same characteristicsextremely long, slender arms and tentacles that have elbows,' and very large fins extending beyond the end of the body. One of the squids was estimated to be about 21 feet long and another was 13 to 16 feet long." Vecchione noted that scientists cannot be certain of the identity of these squids until specimens are captured. "They are very similar to the family Magnapinnidae, which has unusual slender tentacles and arms and very large terminal fins," Vecchione said in concurrence with the nine other co-authors of the article. He suggested that the Mystery Squid could be the never-before-seen adult of the squid family Vecchione and another of the co-authors recently described and classified from two juveniles and a larval-like specimen. "The open waters of the very deep ocean, at depths greater than about 3,000 feet, make up by far the largest but the least known ecosystem of the earth. From the number of sightings, it seems that these are fairly common large animals in very deep water. That they have not been previously observed or captured, indicates how little is known about life in the deep ocean," Vecchione said. NOAA created an Office of Ocean Exploration this year to share ocean discoveries with the public and use new technologies to explore the ocean. One focus of Ocean Exploration is to facilitate the sharing of what is known and what is being discovered about the oceans. "The discovery of the Mystery Squid is one of the first fruits of the expanded outreach through the Office of Ocean Exploration," said Barbara Moore, NURP director. "While Dr. Vecchione had no direct connection to the expedition, he was able to see the images that were sent back almost immediately and incorporate them in his work instead of waiting possibly years for them to be published." NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration was organized by presidential mandate to meet the challenges faced by the scientific community in exploring the last frontier on Earth, and provide a means of sharing information. NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through prediction and research of climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Relevant Web Sites	<urn:uuid:09a16a50-5602-463e-98c4-1cd413556448>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s845.htm	2013-05-22T07:49:27Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.969566	939
July 3, 1948 Publication on June 19 of this year of the proposed United Nations Declaration on Human Rights was not a noisy affair. It slipped quietly into the daily press, overshadowed by pre-convention news, Palestine, the draft filibuster, the Presidents tour, the UMW dispute, Berlin currency reform, and a dozen other contentious matters, all strident with the excitement of human differences. Agreements, for the most part, do not make big headlines, especially when they are reached under such obstacles as beset the arduous sessions of the UN Commission on Human Rights. The declaration is now ready for submission to the Economic and Social Council in July, for final approval. However, it has already sufficient finality to be extremely significant. The full applications of such a document, obviously, are not apparent at the moment of its first appearance; but become clear in the course of time, as its provisions are invoked by victims of injustice or planners of policies, by governments, parties, individuals, in good or bad faith. History created the Human Rights Declaration, for it grew out of a general and agonized response to such frightful assaults upon the conscience of mankind as the world has never seen; out of the even more alarming consciousness that these same assaults are still continuing and threaten all of us in the near future; out of the determined action of enlightened American citizens at San Francisco, who urged the creation of a Commission on Human Rights as a "necessary part of permanent peace"; and, finally, out of the painstaking and persevering participation of a multitude of voluntary agencies, representing the moral and religious convictions of citizens at home and abroad. It was a work that had to be undertaken, even if something far short of perfection was to be attained. Men of today, in the words of John W. Davis, chairman of the committee urging this procedure, "must set their feet on this path if civilization is to be justified by its work." Perhaps the simplest observation to make about a document that would require a volume for adequate comment, is to say that considering the circumstances under which it was produced, it is remarkably good. What we have to "consider" is the abnormal situation symbolized, let us say, by Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt when, as spokesman for the U. S. delegation to the Commission, she was endeavoring week after week and month after month to explain to the Soviet and satellite representatives just how people in the Western countries felt about such matters as the equal dignity and rights of human beings (Art. 1); involuntary servitude (Art. 4); arbitrary arrest (Art. 7); the right to leave any country, including ones own (Art. 11); the right to own property alone (Art. 15); to freedom of opinion and expression and "freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers" (Art. 17); the right to freedom of assembly and association (Art. 18); etc. The influence of the religious groups is particularly evident in the assertion that "everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which includes the right to change his belief or to manifest it in public or in private." While this wording is not strictly acceptable from the Catholic viewpoint, the substance is guaranteed of what Catholics and all believers rightly claim against totalitarian invasion of the individuals rights. And the strong stand of the Catholic Church on the family is reflected in Art. 14, which states that "the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection;" The detailed "social" articles (20-23; 26) are a new departure in the field of human-rights declarations. Though they, in turn, reflect the strong pressure exerted by the Soviets for the embodiments of such pronouncements, their wording is entirely in accordance with well recognized Christian principles. They include the "right to work and pay, and to protection against unemployment" (Art. 21); the right to an adequate standard of living, and to security in the event of various disasters or old age (Art. 22:1); and state that "mother and child have the right to special care and assistance" (Art. 22:2). Generally popular is apt to be Art. 24: "Everyone has the right to rest and leisure." The reception and study given to the Declaration will greatly affect the development of its sister document, the proposed Covenant on Human Rights, which is still to appear.The Meaning of Man Oct. 30, 1948 It is not too difficult to fall into the error of looking upon the work of drafting the proposed UN Declaration on Human Rights as an interesting but academic exercise, not comparable in importance with the stern work of the First Committee, which wrestles with political issues, security and the atomic bomb. Mr. Malik of Lebanon, Christian delegate from an Arab state, does not see it that way. On October 18, addressing the General Assembly, he reminded the representatives of the member states that the matter of human rights lies at the heart of the Charter. One of the reasons, in fact, for the very existence of the United Nations is "to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person ... " (Preamble to the UN Charter). Said Mr. Malik: I know that the topics which will be examined by the First Committee are full of excitement, but such excitement comes and goes; and what abides is the final issue of principle in the present world situation. For everybody knows by now that the ultimate issues today are all ideological, and therefore it must be clear that even the political excitement of the First Committee derives its pathos and significance from the. underlying ideological conflict. The disorder of this age, an age on which has fallen "the vengeance of the dark and primitive," is due to cynical neglect of the mind and spirit of man. Neglected, these pervert both themselves and the world. "The most important issue in the order of truth today," the Lebanese delegate concluded, … is what constitutes the proper worth and dignity of man ...Unless this issue is rightly settled, there is no meaning to any other settlement. Do not tell me that you are going to settle Korea, and Germany, and Palestine, and atomic energy, and leave this central issue unsettled. For what is the use of a peace and a settlement in which man is left ambiguous, estranged from himself and from the truth? Speeches like this are often crowded out in the press by "important" news. But if the UN does not heed Mr. Maliks admonitions, that will be important news; and its import will be ominous for us all.Mrs. Roosevelt and Our Freedoms Dec. 4, 1948 The universal right to rest, leisure, reasonably limited working hours and paid holidays was adopted on Nov. 20 as a part of the draft of the International Declaration of Human Rights that is now under discussion by the Social Committee of the UN General Assembly. As she has done on so many previous occasions, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt raised an objection against a Soviet amendment. The proposed amendment, which was defeated, would have added a provision that these rights were to be guaranteed "either by law or by contractual agreements." Against this addition Mrs. Roosevelt made the point that these "legalistic" specifications were fitting in the Convention on Human Rights, which would be legally binding upon all the governments that adopted it. But the Declaration itself is simply a concise statement of Alexei P .. Pavlov, replied in the usual confusing fashion by making counter-charges and accusations. If anyone has followed the course of these debates, first at GenevaParis, he will doubtless wonder why the Soviet representatives keep on demanding for the Declaration a type of legal specification which has repeatedly been shown to belong not to the Declaration but to the Convention. The answer would seem to be found in the principle around which the debates themselves have clustered. The Soviets call the Declaration mere "empty promises" because from the very nature of their communist-revolutionary philosophy there can be no validity in any general principles of human rights. Mans rights and claims to freedom do not derive their validity from his innate spiritual dignity, in Marxist thought, but only from the urge of the revolutionary mass to which he belongs, enforced through the workers State. It is Mrs. Roosevelts merit that, as the United States representative, she has shown herself so consistently aware of this basic difference in philosophy. Her reputation would be excellent if the same straight thinking characterized some of her replies to queries in the popular magazines. It is too bad that so enlightened a defender of our human liberties, including that of religious freedom, should (in the Ladies Home Journal for Nov. 26) so decidedly confuse the issue by saying that religion should not be taught "in the public schools" because (?) "we decided long ago to separate church and state." Congress decided long ago that we should have schools to promote "morality and religion."The Old Years legacy to the New Jan. 1, 1949 Following his usual custom, Father Time arranged for the annual 51. Sylvester Day conference between the Old Year and the New on December 3l. Old Year: Blessings on you, little man … New Year: Thanks, but along with your blessing youre handing me an awful lot of trouble. I am trusting President Truman to handle the 81st Congress at home, but I thought the United Nations would have straightened out things abroad. Indonesia, for instance, or the dilemma in China. Old Year: Well, I talked a good deal like that when I first took office. I guess it runs in the family. After all, I inherited the UN; I didnt create it. Some of these matters, like the Italian colonies and the admission of Israel to UN membership, I think you can settle better than I. On the other hand, I do feel quite annoyed that the question of Russias conduct in Berlin was allowed to bog down into a mess of merely technical discussions; and that, as a capital political problem, it was not dragged out into the spotlight for all the world to pronounce upon. New Year: So, like J. G. Rogers in the N. Y. Herald Tribune, you find more to boast about in the social than in the political achievements of the United Nations. Old Year: Meinetwegen, as the Germans say: so just let me boast. I dont think the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, approved on December 7 by the Social Committee of the UN General Assembly, was altogether such a bad job. It was the climax of three years hard work: first, in the UN Human Rights Commission, later in the Social Committee of the GA. It deals with an issue that convulses the whole world: the liberties that the individual wishes to preserve against the mounting tide of totalitarianism. New Year: It describes liberties, but doesnt tell how to preserve them. I noticed that our hard-headed "realists," the Soviet representatives, thought that a Declaration means nothing unless a government is at hand to enforce its findings. Old Year: That is precisely because it is a Declaration of principles, not a legally binding Covenant. Its importance lies in the fact that it is a step towards such a Covenant; or, rather, the GA Committees work is the first of two steps. The second step will be its adoption, as a Declaration, by the General Assembly when the latter meets in the fall. But as a Declaration it can be, and is, broader and freer than can reasonably be expected of a Covenant. New Year: Father Time, however, tells me your famous Declaration is deprived of moral worth because it omits the name of God, our Creator and Final End. I note this objection was raised by the Netherlands delegate, L. J. C. Beaufort (AM. 12/18, p. 280) and by the Vatican paper, Osservatore Romano. Old Year: Frankly, I am not much impressed by the attempts that have been made to justify that omission, and consider it a major defect. But along with this and other less striking defects, the document still retains such important significance that it would be as unwise to underestimate its importance as it would be to over-idealize it. New Year: Looks to me as if the Declaration had appeased the Soviets. Old Year: On the contrary, it was constructed throughout the long series of debates in the face of bitter Soviet opposition. As Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, chief of the American delegation, remarked in her address at the Sorbonne on Sept. 28, 1948: The Declaration has come [to the General Assembly] from the [UN] Human Rights Commission with unanimous acceptance except for four abstentions—the USSR, Yugoslavia, Ukraine and Byelorussia. The reason for this is a fundamental difference in the conception of human rights. as they exist in these States and in certain other Member States in the United Nations. In other words, apart from all other considerations, the Declaration has special meaning as a world-wide protest against the Soviet falsification of the idea of liberty. New Year: But is there any practical significance to it, apart from its being, as you say, a "step towards" the Covenant, and a “protest against" totalitarianism? Old Year: The Declaration, for better or worse, is a code, and when you have a clearly formulated and widely publicized code, it finds its way through innumerable channels into party platforms, legislation and the framing of institutions. Were Father Time not getting so restless and rattling that old scythe of his, I could give you countless examples of how other codes have had this effect. Every article in this Declaration has a direct bearing upon legislation in every State in this country, and in Congress as well: rights to fair and public hearing…freedom of thought, conscience and religion...equal access to public service…work without discrimination…just remuneration…standard of living…prior right of parents to choose the kind of education that shall be given their children, etc. etc. Governments were quick to note the effect that the Declaration would have upon colonies, since it deals with the rights that come to people as individuals, not with rights that are to be communicated to them by the various states. New Year: But the Soviets claim that it infringes on national sovereignty! Old Year: Brig. Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, of the Philippines, contested this charge by pointing out that any lessening of national sovereignties which would be required by "a new world order under enforceable world law" would have to be made in the perspective of the Declaration, "as a result of the will of the free peoples determined to live together in a single and indivisible world." New Year: But nothing will come of it unless it is used, unless it is acted upon. Old Year: Which is but another way of saying that the Declaration is not only a step, a protest, a code, but also a tool—to be used or not used as human will determines. Again quoting Mrs. F. D. R.: Freedom for our peoples is not only a right, but also a tool. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of information, freedom of assembly-these are not just abstract ideals to us; they are tools with which we create a way of life in which we can enjoy freedom .... I pray Almighty God that we may win another victory here for the rights and freedoms of all men. For the first time in history, said Dr. Edward Malik of Lebanon, the worlds governments were told precisely what were the human rights to which they had pledged themselves. At this moment Father Time ominously brandished his scythe—which, he explained, was neither a hammer nor a sickle—and the Old Year faded gracefully from our view.	<urn:uuid:2880c9a0-5526-429a-af22-3cd511e60772>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://americamagazine.org/print/issue/100/america-un-human-rights	2013-05-24T02:12:30Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132729/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.961557	3,253
James Conca, Contributor I cover the underlying drivers of energy, technology and society. Hurricane Sandy is just the latest in a growing number of severe weather events. Last week was also a surprise quiz on what infrastructure stands up to extreme weather and what doesn’t. Nuclear did best of all. Natural gas, not so well. Houses built on shifting sand, very badly. Nuclear power plants had no problems riding out the storm. Although many ideologues tried to stoke fear about how we were going to have a Fukushima here in America, and how we only narrowly averted it, there was never any real danger. It is notable that the oldest nuclear plants in America weathered the strongest Atlantic storm is history. But hurricanes have never been a problem for our nuclear plants. There were 34 nuclear facilities in Hurricane Sandy’s path from South Carolina to Vermont, including the oldest plants operating in the United States. 24 were completely unfazed and kept generating power throughout the storm. Seven were already in a scheduled shut down for inspection or refueling and were also unaffected. Three were shut down as designed according to protocols that kick in during a major disaster. No actual problems occurred and all plants returned to normal operations or continued their scheduled refueling or inspections after the storm. But emotions were high when it was announced by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the reactor at Oyster Creek in New Jersey, the oldest nuclear power plant of all, was on Alert. Water from Hurricane Sandy rose almost 7 feet above normal, threatening the water intake structure that pumps cooling water through the plant. Even though the pumps were not essential since the plant is in a scheduled refueling shut down, and plant operators even moved a portable pump into the threatened building in case the regular pump had been submerged, the sense was that things were amiss. When nothing actually happened, the alert was called off two days later. Since WWII, nuclear has become the poster child for extreme events. Ironically, nuclear energy in America is now the poster child for emergency preparedness. Contrast this with our natural gas infrastructure where we’ve done a poor job. For days natural gas fires have been burning from ruptured gas lines after Hurricane Sandy ripped up the houses and businesses attached to them. In a truly heroic effort, gas companies and their field workers responded to thousands of leaks in the region and continue to bring the system into safe condition. New Jersey Natural Gas cut off gas flow completely on Thursday in order to stop the fuel to these fires, but much damage was done. Entire neighborhoods were burned. And it left tens of thousands without gas who need it more than ever. But in places like Mantoloking, Lavallette and Breezy Point, homes were burnt husks on Wednesday, horrible smells accompanying the hiss of broken pipes and the sight of gas bubbling up through pools of water. Natural gas’ ever-present twin menace – the leak and the spark – surfaced in this storm with a vengeance, as it will in every future disaster now that we’ve decided to become a natural gas nation in the face of a changing climate. Our safety record with natural gas is abysmal. Too many people die each year from pipeline explosions and house fires. Like our automatic shut downs of refineries and nuclear power plants in preparation for extreme weather, we need protocols for shutting off gas lines in preparation for extreme events. Then there are the images of tons and tons of sand covering roads and houses along the coast. For a long, long time sedimentologists have been warning about the dangers of building on sand bars, barrier islands and sand spits into the ocean. We know they are ephemeral. They’re part of the ocean-continent boundary that shifts constantly, sometimes dramatically. They are not stable. It sounds boring, but city planning, risk management, geologic zoning are really, really important. Spending on safety, first responders, FEMA, risk management and infrastructure may seem like a luxury in rough economic times, but they’re all that stand between us and the indifferent chaos of Nature.	<urn:uuid:62f7ceb2-b4f4-438a-9d03-5541cc82a1c7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2012/11/04/hurricane-sandy-shows-nuclear-is-safe/?commentId=comment_blogAndPostId/blog/comment/2163-921-495	2013-06-20T01:53:47Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.972859	847
After it became operational in 1955, the B-52 remained the main long-range heavy bomber of the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War, and it continues to be an important part of the USAF bomber force today. Nearly 750 were built before production ended in Oct. 26, 1962; 170 of these were B-52Ds. The B-52 has set numerous records in its many years of service. On Jan. 18, 1957, three B-52Bs completed the first non-stop round-the-world flight by jet aircraft, lasting 45 hours and 19 minutes and requiring only three aerial refuelings. It was also a B-52 that made the first airborne hydrogen bomb drop over Bikini Atoll on May 21, 1956. In June 1965 B-52s entered combat in Southeast Asia. By August 1973, they had flown 126,615 combat sorties with 17 B-52s lost to enemy action. The aircraft on display saw extensive service in Southeast Asia and was severely damaged by an enemy surface-to-air missile on April 9, 1972. In December 1972, after being repaired, it flew four additional missions over North Vietnam. Transferred from the 97th Bomb Wing, Blytheville Air Force Base, Ark., this aircraft was flown to the museum in November 1978. TECHNICAL NOTES: Armament: Four defensive .50-cal. machine guns in tail plus up to 43,000+ lbs. of conventional or nuclear bombs Engines: Eight Pratt & Whitney J57s of 12,100 lbs. thrust each Maximum speed: 638 mph Cruising speed: 526 mph Range: 8,338 miles unrefueled Ceiling: 49,400 ft. Span: 185 ft. Length: 156 ft. 6 in. Height: 48 ft. 4 in. Weight: 450,000 lbs. maximum	<urn:uuid:a285ec1d-a413-4646-bc37-10da1a41c8e4>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=294	2013-05-20T11:53:13Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.961425	382
Orthostatic hypotension is a rapid and sudden decrease in blood pressure that occurs when a person changes position, such as rising from a sitting or lying position to standing, or when standing motionless in one position. Symptoms of orthostatic hypotension may include lightheadedness, dizziness, or fainting (syncope). When a person sits up or stands up, the body adjusts the way it pumps blood to maintain blood flow to the brain. If the blood flow changes occur too slowly after the person stands up, the blood flow to the brain may be temporarily reduced, causing the person to feel lightheaded or faint. Most people do not have orthostatic hypotension symptoms when they change position. Treatment can involve adjusting medicines and increasing fluid intake. eMedicineHealth Medical Reference from Healthwise To learn more visit Healthwise.org Find out what women really need. Most Popular Topics Pill Identifier on RxList - quick, easy, Find a Local Pharmacy - including 24 hour, pharmacies	<urn:uuid:6c39c5d7-129e-4166-9df6-df816bb3f88f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=133919&ref=138068	2013-06-20T08:37:54Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.855847	215
History of US Presidential Elections “And I will faithfully execute the office …” There are the words every U.S. president repeats while taking the oath of office. And on a cold winter morning a few months from now, a new American president will recite the same time-honored oath. This year marks the 56th U.S. presidential election, dating back to 1789 when George Washington was elected the first American president. At that time, African Americans and women could not vote. This election will be historic. Americans will choose between electing the first African American president, Democrat Barack Obama, or Republican Sarah Palin as the first female vice president. She is the running mate of presidential candidate John McCain. American elections have come a long way over the years. Former President Ronald Reagan said of the process during his inaugural speech: “In the eyes of many in the world, this every-four-year-ceremony that we accept as normal, is nothing less than a miracle.” Presidential elections have never been suspended or postponed, not even in times of war or economic disaster. Allan Lichtman teaches history at American University in Washington D.C. He tells us, “There is no incidence when an American election has been postponed. We had an election in 1864 in the middle of the American Civil War. We had an election in 1932 in the middle of the Great Depression. Historically, most U.S. presidential elections have been considered fair and undisputed. There is one notable exception. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in to resolve a dispute over votes in the state of Florida, and George Bush won the election over Al Gore. Gerald Ford was the only unelected president of the United States. He was sworn in when Richard Nixon resigned during the threat of impeachment over the Watergate scandal. Presidential elections are always held on the first Tuesday in November. Allan Lichtman says that is a tradition that started when the U.S. was predominantly an agricultural society. “The reason the elections are held in November is to have elections — they started in the 1840s — were held after the harvest. In the American electoral system, the people do not directly elect the president. The Electoral College does. Each state has a number of electors that vote at the Electoral College. Each state’s population decides the number of electors. When an American votes, they are instructing the electors from their state to vote for their candidate at the Electoral College. Michael McDonald is a professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University. He explains, “We don’t directly elect the president of the United States, but what we are doing is electing members of an electoral college. And those members then meet on December 15th and then select the president.” Traditionally, there is a transition period lasting several months between Election Day and the inauguration of a new president. In modern times, the transition allows for the new president to assemble his administration and prepare to take office. “The main reasons were the Electoral College needed time to meet and vote,” says Lichtman. “And number two, in case the election could not be decided by the Electoral College, there needed to be time for the House of Representatives to convene and elect the president.” This year’s election has been the longest and most expensive in American history. The winner will enter office at a time of great domestic and international turmoil. He will have four years to convince the public he is worthy of another term as the electoral process starts anew.	<urn:uuid:72c13688-0a90-4745-80ea-cc862b8a11ab>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.manythings.org/b/e/279/	2013-05-24T15:35:36Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.970203	747
At the National Media Museum in Bradford, there are tons of examples of vintage advertisments for cameras, films, developing labs and the like, but the one that really caught our attention on a recent visit there was the beautiful "Kodak Girl". The Kodak Girl was introduced by George Eastman of Kodak circa 1910 as a way of marketing Kodak cameras to fashionable independent young women. Kodak Girl adverts can usually be identified by the stripey blue dress she wore and the Kodak in her hands. The info below is courtesy of answers.com:- “In 1910 a striking new element was introduced into Kodak advertising—the Kodak Girl wearing her characteristic striped dress. For over 60 years she would be the personification of popular photography in the public imagination, subtly symbolizing it as easy, fun, and family friendly. Created by a leading poster artist, John Hassell, the first Kodak Girl was based on a photograph taken by Cavendish Morton, using his wife as the model. Over the years, Kodak commissioned some of the best artists and illustrators of the day to design the advertisements. As the decades passed, the girl’s appearance altered, reflecting the changing fashion trends of the time.” I understand Kodak stopped using the one particular girl around 1920 but continued to use women in their advertisements for a number of years after that. You can learn more at the Media Museum.	<urn:uuid:21a89a8e-454f-47ce-9222-1ad9b4029f9e>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.lomography.com/magazine/news/2011/09/06/vintage-adverts-kodak-girl	2013-05-19T02:59:38Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383160/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.966862	292
Strawberries are much easier to manage than prickly brambles. Set out starter plants in spring, 30 centimetres apart in humus-rich soil in a sunny bed, and mulch with compost and/or grass clippings. Before long, wiry runners will appear. To avoid an overcrowded tangle, pinch them off as they emerge so that all of the plants’ energy goes into fruiting rather than increasing. While you may have to race robins and chipmunks to ripe fruit—netting over the patch helps—the berries you get will taste sublime. Shallow-rooted strawberries grow well in all manner of containers, from large pots to half wooden barrels to special strawberry pyramids intended just for the purpose. A 30-centimetre-diameter pot holds three plants, while six will fill a half-barrel, the berries tumbling over the sides. Use a rich, well-drained mix prepared with sandy soil, fine compost and/or manure, some peat moss or coir (shredded coconut husk), and possibly vermiculite or perlite. The exact recipe is less important than a fluffy, porous texture. Everbearing or day-neutral varieties are best for containers, which should be protected over winter with leaves piled around them, or moved into an unheated garage or shed. Strawberries either fruit in June or are everbearing. A popular everbearer, ‘Ozark Beauty’ yields large, sweet fruit all summer, not a lot at any one time but a steady crop. Also everbearing, ‘Fort Laramie’ is hardy to –20°C. ‘Jewel’ and ‘Honeoye’ both ripen full crops of tasty, extra-large berries in June.	<urn:uuid:dceb8754-c7ba-433c-951f-de1c2544a272>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.canadiangardening.com/gardens/fruit-and-vegetable-gardening/create-a-berry-patch-in-your-garden/a/42291/2	2013-05-20T22:39:51Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.909007	379
Cigarette smoking is the greatest single cause of illness and premature death in the UK. This leaflet gives reasons why smoking is so harmful. It also lists the benefits of stopping, and where to go for help. Some initial facts and figures About 100,000 people in the UK die each year due to smoking. Smoking-related deaths are mainly due to cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart disease. About half of all smokers die from smoking-related diseases. If you are a long-term smoker, on average, your life expectancy is about 10 years less than a non-smoker. Put another way, in the UK about 8 in 10 non-smokers live past the age of 70, but only about half of long-term smokers live past 70. The younger you are when you start smoking, the more likely you are to smoke for longer and to die early from smoking. Many smoking-related deaths are not quick deaths. For example, if you develop COPD you can expect several years of illness and distressing symptoms before you die. Smoking increases the risk of developing a number of other diseases (listed below). Many of these may not be fatal, but they can cause years of unpleasant symptoms. The good news is: - Stopping smoking can make a big difference to your health. It is never too late to stop smoking to greatly benefit your health. For example, if you stop smoking in middle age, before having cancer or some other serious disease, you avoid most of the increased risk of death due to smoking. - Many people have given up smoking. In 1972 just under half of adults in the UK were smokers. By 1990 this had fallen to just under a third. At present, about a sixth of UK adults are smokers. - Help is available if you want to stop smoking but are finding it difficult. Cigarette smoke contains the following Nicotine is a drug that stimulates the brain. If you are a regular smoker, when the blood level of nicotine falls, you usually develop withdrawal symptoms, such as craving, anxiety, restlessness, headaches, irritability, hunger, difficulty with concentration, or just feeling awful. These symptoms are relieved by the next cigarette. So, most smokers need to smoke regularly to feel normal, and to prevent nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Tar which contains many chemicals These deposit in the lungs and can get into the blood vessels and be carried to other parts of the body. Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including over 50 known carcinogens (causes of cancer) and other poisons. This chemical affects the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. In particular, in pregnant women who smoke, this causes a reduced amount of oxygen to get to the growing baby. This is thought to be the most important cause for the bad effects of smoking on the growing baby. Which diseases are caused or made worse by smoking? - Lung cancer. About 30,000 people in the UK die from lung cancer each year. More than 8 in 10 cases are directly related to smoking. - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). About 25,000 people in the UK die each year from this serious lung disease. More than 8 in 10 of these deaths are directly linked to smoking. People who die of COPD are usually quite unwell for several years before they die. - Heart disease. This is the biggest killer illness in the UK. About 120,000 people in the UK die each year from heart disease. About 1 in 6 of these is due to smoking. - Other cancers - of the mouth, nose, throat, larynx, gullet (oesophagus), pancreas, bladder, cervix, blood (leukaemia), and kidney are all more common in smokers. - Circulation. The chemicals in tobacco can damage the lining of the blood vessels and affect the level of lipids (fats) in the bloodstream. This increases the risk of atheroma forming (sometimes called hardening of the arteries). Atheroma is the main cause of heart disease, strokes, peripheral vascular disease (poor circulation of the legs), and aneurysms (swollen arteries which can burst causing internal bleeding). All of these atheroma-related diseases are more common in smokers. - Sexual problems. Smokers are more likely than non-smokers to become impotent or have difficulty in maintaining an erection in middle life. This is thought to be due to smoking-related damage of the the blood vessels to the penis. - Rheumatoid arthritis. Smoking is known to be a risk factor for developing rheumatoid arthritis. One research study estimated that smoking is responsible for about 1 in 5 cases of rheumatoid arthritis. - Ageing. Smokers tend to develop more lines on their face at an earlier age than non-smokers. This often makes smokers look older than they really are. - Fertility is reduced in smokers (both male and female). - Menopause. On average, women who smoke have a menopause nearly two years earlier than non-smokers. - Other conditions where smoking often causes worse symptoms include: asthma, colds, flu, chest infections, tuberculosis, chronic rhinitis, diabetic retinopathy, hyperthyroidism, multiple sclerosis, optic neuritis, and Crohn's disease. - Smoking increases the risk of developing various other conditions including: dementia, optic neuropathy, cataracts, macular degeneration, pulmonary fibrosis, psoriasis, gum disease, tooth loss, osteoporosis and Raynaud's phenomenon. Smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of: - Complications of pregnancy, including bleeding during pregnancy, detachment of the placenta, premature birth, and ectopic pregnancy. - Low birthweight. Babies born to women who smoke are on average 200 grams (8 oz) lighter than babies born to comparable non-smoking mothers. Premature and low birthweight babies are more prone to illness and infections. - Congenital defects in the baby - such as cleft palate. - Stillbirth or death within the first week of life - the risk is increased by about one-third. - Poorer growth, development, and health of the child. On average, compared with children born to non-smokers, children born to smokers are smaller, have lower achievements in reading and maths, and an increased risk of developing asthma. How does smoking affect other people? Children and babies who live in a home where there is a smoker: - Are more prone to asthma and ear, nose and chest infections. About 17,000 children under five years old in England and Wales are admitted to hospital each year due to illnesses caused by their parents' smoking. - Have an increased risk of dying from cot death (sudden infant death syndrome). - Are more likely than average to become smokers themselves when older. - On average, do less well at reading and reasoning skills compared with children in smoke-free homes, even at low levels of smoke exposure. - Are at increased risk of developing COPD and cancer as adults. Passive smoking of adults You have an increased risk of lung cancer and heart disease if you are exposed to other people smoking for long periods of time. Tobacco smoke is also an irritant, and can make asthma and other conditions worse. Other problems with smoking - Your breath, clothes, hair, skin, and home smell of stale tobacco. You do not notice the smell if you smoke, but to non-smokers the smell is obvious and unpleasant. - Your sense of taste and smell are dulled. Enjoyment of food may be reduced. - Smoking is expensive. - Life insurance is more expensive. - Finding a job may be more difficult as employers know that smokers are more likely than non-smokers to have sick leave. More than 34 million working days (1% of total) are lost each year because of smoking-related sick leave. - Potential friendships and romances may be at risk. (Smoking is not the attractive thing that cigarette advertisers portray.) What are the benefits of stopping smoking? The benefits begin straight away. You reduce your risk of getting serious disease no matter what age you give up. However, the sooner you stop, the greater the reduction in your risk. If you have smoked since being a teenager or young adult: - If you stop smoking before the age of about 35, your life expectancy is only slightly less than people who have never smoked. - If you stop smoking before the age of 50, you decrease the risk of dying from smoking-related diseases by 50%. But, it is never too late to stop smoking to gain health benefits. Even if you already have COPD or heart disease, your outlook (prognosis) is much improved if you stop smoking. Timeline of health benefits after stopping smoking ... \|After ...\|\|Health Benefit ...\| \|72 hours\|\|Breathing becomes easier. Bronchial tubes begin to relax and energy levels increase.\| \|1 month\|\|Skin appearance improves, owing to improved skin perfusion.\| \|3-9 months\|\|Cough, wheezing, and breathing problems improve and lung function increases by up to 10%.\| \|1 year\|\|Risk of a heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker.\| \|10 years\|\|Risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker.\| \|15 years\|\|Risk of heart attack falls to the same level that it would be for someone who has never smoked.\| Other benefits of stopping smoking include the following: - Chest infections and colds become less frequent. - The smell of stale tobacco goes from your breath, clothes, hair, and face. - Foods and drinks taste and smell much better. - Finances improve. You will save well over £1,000 per year if you smoked 20 a day. - You are likely to feel good about yourself. How can I stop smoking? About 2 in 3 smokers want to stop smoking. Some people can give up easily. Willpower and determination are the most important aspects when giving up smoking. However, nicotine is a drug of addiction and many people find giving up a struggle. Help is available: - GPs, practice nurses, or pharmacists can provide information, encouragement, and tips on stopping smoking. Also, throughout the country there are specialist NHS Stop Smoking Clinics which have a good success in helping people to stop smoking. Your doctor may refer you to one if you are keen to stop smoking. - Various medicines can increase your chance of quitting. These include Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) which comes as gums, sprays, patches, tablets, lozenges, and inhalers. You can buy NRT without a prescription. Also, medicines called bupropion (trade name Zyban®) and varenicline (trade name Champix®) can help. These are available on prescription. See separate leaflets called 'Smoking - Nicotine Replacement Therapy', 'Smoking - Helping to Stop with Bupropion' and 'Smoking - Helping to Stop with Varenicline'. Further help and information Quit - a charity that helps people to stop smoking. Quitline: 0800 00 22 00 Web: www.quit.org.uk Smokefree - information from the NHS Free smoking helpline 0800 022 4 332 Web: www.smokefree.nhs.uk For help and advice on stopping smoking, and for details of your local NHS Stop Smoking Service. Further reading & references - Brief interventions and referral for smoking cessation, NICE (2006) - Various factsheets and guidelines on smoking and smoking cessation, Action on Smoking and Health (various dates) - Smoking cessation, Prodigy (April 2008) - Kallberg H, Ding B, Padyukov L, et al; Smoking is a major preventable risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis: estimations Ann Rheum Dis. 2011 Mar;70(3):508-11. Epub 2010 Dec 13. - Rusanen M, Kivipelto M, Quesenberry CP Jr, et al; Heavy Smoking in Midlife and Long-term Risk of Alzheimer Disease and Vascular Arch Intern Med. 2011 Feb 28;171(4):333-9. Epub 2010 Oct 25. \|Original Author: Dr Tim Kenny\|\|Current Version: Dr Tim Kenny\|\|Peer Reviewer: Dr Beverley Kenny\| \|Last Checked: 16/05/2012\|\|Document ID: 4332 Version: 43\|\|© EMIS\| Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. EMIS has used all reasonable care in compiling the information but make no warranty as to its accuracy. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. For details see our conditions.	<urn:uuid:4e6aa3ae-189b-4b2c-96d5-d78a5a207cc9>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Smoking-The-Facts.htm	2013-05-25T13:08:45Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.938234	2,716
December 15th, 2011 Throughout colonial history in the Americas and Oceania, many Portuguese, Spanish, and English colonists and leaders compared Indigenous Peoples to animals. See Robert J. Miller, The International Law of Colonialism: A Comparative Analysis, 15 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 101, 161-69 (forthcoming 2012). (available now at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1920009) George Washington, the father of the United States, was no different. In a letter to the U.S. Congress in 1783, then-General George Washington analogized Indians to animals when he foresaw that “the gradual extension of our Settlements will as certainly cause the Savage as the Wolf to retire; both being beasts of prey tho’ they differ in shape.” Letter to James Duane (Sept. 7, 1783), in 27 The Writings of George Washington, 1745–1799, at 133, 140 (John C. Fitzpatrick ed., 1938). It's easy to see the future that Washington and most American Founding Fathers and political leaders over the years envisioned for American Indian peoples. They were just to disappear before American Manifest Destiny. See Robert J. Miller, Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny 115-61 (Praeger Publishers, 2006; University of Nebraska Press paperback edition, 2008). (available at http://www.amazon.com/Native-America-Discovered-Conquered-Jefferson/dp/0803215983/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323974564&sr=8-1)	<urn:uuid:59c1c15b-cd3f-4b27-84d3-389e77a5122d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/?p=5160	2013-06-19T19:05:20Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.887367	366
Norse Expansion into North America In 985 or 986, with the Norse expansion west from Iceland into Greenland, the Icelanders met with a distant world, different from what they had left. Opportunities for agriculture were grimmer but game resources infinitely greater. Livestock farmers by preference, the newcomers spent their first decade clearing land for pastures and nursing their herds to increase the limited number of cattle, sheep and goats they had been able to ship over from Iceland. For a while, intriguing tales of lands yet farther west must wait to be pursued. As the fledgling settlement gained in self-sufficiency, able-bodied men could be spared from the normal chores and expeditions mounted to explore distant regions. Vast herds of walrus were discovered around Disko Island. Their meat was of little interest, but excellent leather could be made from their hides, and, above all, their ivory tusks had immense value in Europe. Time had also come to search for the lands discovered by Bjarni Herjolfsson west and south of Greenland the same year as the Greenland colony was founded. An expedition was organized under the sponsorship of Erik the Red and led by his son Leif Eriksson to explore and exploit these unknown areas. His and subsequent explorations have been described in the Vinland Sagas. The Vinland Sagas describe three distinct locations investigated by the Norse. Farthest to the north was Helluland, Land of Stone. Two days of sailing in a southerly direction brought the expedition to Markland, Land of Woods, and another two days to VĚnland, Land of Wine. Vinland was described as a land rich in resources, salmon, game of all kinds, excellent lumber, and, to the astonishment and delight of everyone, wild grapes. Winters were mild, and during the winter, there were more hours of daylight than in Iceland or Greenland. The Norse also observed great tidal differences and landlocked lagoons where halibut could be caught in puddles on the shore as the tide retreated. Unfortunately for the Norse, this wonderful land was already inhabited. Skirmishes ensued in which the Norse were outnumbered. Feeling threatened, they retreated home, and Vinland was abandoned. According to the sagas, the first expedition to Vinland was headed by Leif Eriksson. His voyage was followed by that of his brother Thorvald, who died in a clash with the Aboriginal inhabitants. Another brother, Thorstein, attempted a journey but was foiled by inclement weather. An Icelandic shipowner, Thorfinn Karlsefni, who had married Leif Eriksson's widowed sister-in-law, later made an extended journey to Vinland as did Leif's sister Freydis and two Icelandic merchants. The starting date for these voyages was about the year 1000, the rest taking place over the following decade. After that they seem to have ceased. The Vinland adventures were never forgotten. In 1520, Christian II tried to reestablish his influence in the New World with an expedition to Greenland, an expedition that did not come to pass. Peter Kalm described the Norse voyages to an intrigued Benjamin Franklin (Lyle 1968:176). When in 1837 Latin translations of the sagas were published in Europe and North America, the rest of the world could read about them, too. They sparked an enormous interest throughout the scholarly world, especially in North America and Scandinavia, and speculations on the location of Vinland (searches for Vinland) began almost immediately. Since then, the pursuit of Vinland has never ceased, and claims for its finding have been numerous, in locations along the Atlantic coast of North America ranging from Virginia on latitude 38° in the south to Newfoundland 2,500 km farther north, on latitude 51°. In general, all these claims have proved spurious. It is therefore not strange that when in 1960, the Norwegian explorer and writer Helge Ingstad announced to the press that he had discovered a Norse site in the small fishing village of L'Anse aux Meadows at the northern tip of Newfoundland, he was met with skepticism. After extensive excavations in 1961 to 1968 under the direction of his wife, archaeologist Dr. Anne Stine Ingstad, his claims could be substantiated. At last, there was physical proof of Norse visits to North America in the 11th century. Although Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad were the first to uncover physical remains of a Norse colony, they were not the first to suggest that L'Anse aux Meadows had been the scene of Norse landings. Already in 1914 the Newfoundland businessman William Munn had suggested in a small book that L'Anse aux Meadows was the spot where Leif Eriksson had stepped ashore. Later, in the 1940s, Väinö Tanner (1941), came to the same conclusion, and following Munn's and Tanner's leads, the Danish archaeologist Jřrgen Meldgaard undertook exploratory excavations in 1956 on Pistolet Bay 20 km southwest of L'Anse aux Meadows as the crow flies, but with a negative result. The importance of Helge Ingstad's work at L'Anse aux Meadows was recognized by the Canadian government, and the site was declared to be of National Historic Significance in 1968. Later UNESCO placed it on its list of World Heritage Sites. The excavations were continued 1973 to 1976, this time under the direction of Parks Canada, the Canadian federal authority that administers national historic sites. The Parks Canada excavations were aimed at answering specific questions with regard to the precise date of the Norse occupation, its length and purpose and changes that had taken place in the environment. When the excavations finished, about 90% of the core of the site had been excavated and about 10% of a 3600-m2 area around it. The island of Newfoundland is about the size of Iceland. Its western shore extends northward to form a long narrow peninsula, the Great Northern Peninsula, about 240 km long and 75 km wide. This makes the overall configuration of Newfoundland look like a clenched fist with the index finger extended. With eastern Quebec and southern Labrador, it forms the shores of the Strait of Belle Isle, the constricted northern inlet to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Located on the eastern shore of a shallow bay, on the northern tip of the Great Northern Peninsula, the L'Anse aux Meadows site faces west and the Strait of Belle Isle. A long flat point separates this bay from another bay where the present village of L'Anse aux Meadows was founded about 150 years ago. A 50-m high sandstone ridge forms the southern boundary of the site. The overall setting of the site is an expansive meadow with no trees today, but in the 11th century the treeline would have been close to the site. Land communications inland are difficult because of extensive marshland and scraggly impenetrable scrub softwood forests. Summers are cool. The warmest month is August with day temperatures ranging between 9.0 and 16.8° C. The site is snow-covered January through mid-May, and the bay is topped with drift ice throughout most of June. The area is unusually rich in harp seal, Pagophilus, which gather on the ice during pupping time in May. This resource has attracted Aboriginal populations, both Indian and Eskimo, for thousands of years. Traces of five Aboriginal populations have been encountered on the site, the oldest one predating the Norse by more than five thousand years, the youngest dating to the 14th century A.D. From the 16th century until 1904, French fishermen had a shore station near the site. In the 11th century, however, the Norse were the only occupants, as Aboriginal people stopped coming there between the 9th and 13th century, perhaps because of changes in the seal migrations during the warmer climate in this period. The Norse site, which was located about 100 m from the shore, comprised three complexes, each consisting of a large hall flanked by a hut. One complex also had a small house next to the hall. There was also a small open-ended hut where iron had been manufactured, and a charcoal kiln for making the fuel for the furnace. All the buildings were located on a narrow beach terrace encircling a sedge peat bog and bordered on the back side by a wet sphagnum bog. A brook, the outlet of a small lake about 1.5 km. behind the site, winds its way to the sea, cutting through the terrace and the bogs. The only trees that grow on the site today are dwarfed balsam firs, larches, birches and poplars. Until a century ago there was no dearth of larger trees of the same species close to the site, but pollen analyses have shown that there was never any forest on the site itself. Otherwise much of Newfoundland is forested. As in northern Finland, there is also vast marshland, interspersed with lakes and streams. The Norse buildings were Icelandic in style, the same type of buildings Erik the Red and his compatriots had erected for themselves in Greenland. All the buildings were made of many layers of sod covering a timber frame. The halls were grand structures, large enough to house from 20 to 30 people. (The largest had a total floor space of about 160 m2, the smallest about 88 m2.) Roofs were steeply peaked, providing much of the interior height. There were no windows, only smoke holes through which the smoke from the open fires on the floor eventually drifted out. The great height inside was necessary to create a smoke-free area down by the floor. The number of rooms in the halls varied between three and six. One hall also had a lean-to workshed for boat repair. Each hall had a large communal sleeping/eating room where also much of the socializing took place. These rooms had a large open longfire in the middle of the floor, and wooden platforms along the sides of the room where people sat during the day and slept at night. The two largest halls also had a small private eating/sleeping room with a central hearth. The fires were primarily for heat and light, but food was also roasted or fried over them. Other forms of cooking were done in cooking pits where food was packed with hot stones. The two biggest halls also had a large room with a sunken fireplace. In Iceland and Greenland such rooms were primarily for day use, with benches along the walls, but they could be used for sleeping as well. The biggest and the smallest halls had ample place for storage, two large rooms in the big hall, and one large storage room in the smallest hall. In addition there was a carpentry shop in the small hall and a smithy in the second-largest hall. Each hall was flanked by a small hut. Two were square with entrances in the corners, and one was rounded. The purpose of the square huts is not entirely clear. In Iceland and Greenland such small huts were usually workshops, e.g. for weaving, but there is no sign of weaving at L'Anse aux Meadows, and little trace of any kind of work in these huts. They do have good fireplaces so their most likely function was living quarters for some members of the settlement. The round hut probably served the same purpose. One complex also had a small house. It had been used as combined living quarters and workshop where bog iron ore had been roasted and prepared for iron production. The manufacture took place a short distance away from the living complexes, on the other side of the brook. The smelting furnace was in a small hut, open towards the brook. The manufacture of iron in the hut on the other side of the brook embodies the appearance of a new technology in North America: the smelting of a metal. Many Aboriginal cultures in the Americas used metals, but by cold-hammering. The Norse at L'Anse aux Meadows introduced the old European technique of making iron by smelting bog ore, a form of iron collected from bogs. (Such ore occurs in formerly glaciated areas where water containing iron and manganese percolates through acidic bogs. The acids, in combination with bacteria, precipitate the iron into large grains or small lumps.) The ore, which usually occurs near the surface, was collected by digging. It was then roasted in an open fire, which reduced its water content and made it easy to crush. The actual smelting took place in a small furnace consisting of a shallow pit topped by a small shaft of stone slabs lined with clay to make it airtight. The ore was layered with charcoal and lit. The temperature was kept around 1200° C with the help of a pair of bellows which pumped oxygen into the furnace. At that temperature many of the impurities in the ore became liquid and ran off as slag while the iron consolidated into a cake-shaped "sponge." This "sponge" was then reheated and hammered into a bloom which further reduced the amount of impurities in the iron. After that the bloom was ready for the fine-smith who forged it into tools and objects. The total iron production had been minimal, only one or two smelts resulting in about 3 kg of iron. The charcoal used as fuel for the iron smelting and fine-smithing was made in a small pit-shaped kiln. Each of the three hall complexes served a specific function in the settlement. Hall D had a carpentry shop facing the sedge peat bog. Wood shavings and chips had been chucked out from the shop into the bog. The tannic acid in the peat and the wetness of the bog preserved the wood so that, one thousand years later, it remained as fresh as when discarded. A few broken items of wood had also been thrown into the bog, presumably after being replaced with new ones made in the carpentry shop. Among these were several treenails and a small plank which may be a patch for a cracked boat strake. Similar patches have been found in Viking Dublin. There were also the bow for an auger and several pieces of rope made from fine spruce roots. The wood in some of the broken pieces have been identified as Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris. This is an old-world species, so the discarded patch would have been made in Europe. The fine-smithy (forge) was in hall A. Analysis of slag was found here showed that, unlike the slag in the furnace hut, this was from forging. The lean-to workshop in hall F had been the scene of boat repair. This was evident from the many boat nails found there. X-ray photos show that the roves and shanks of the nails had been cut with a chisel blow. The nails had been removed, discarded and, presumably, replaced with new ones. Iron nails were sparingly used among the West Norse, all building nails being treenails. In the ships they were important, however, for holding together the boat strakes. Sea water and salt air have a corroding effect on the iron so that, eventually, the nails rust and must be replaced. Together with wood shavings and chips, discarded nails are among the most common finds on boat repair sites. The replacing of boatnails at L'Anse aux Meadows probably explains why the occupants of the site took the trouble to make iron. The small amount of iron produced would have been sufficient for about 150 nails, the average weight of a boatnail being 20 g. About 3500 nails were used in large ships like the Oseberg ship, 400 to 500 in the type of skiffs used for landing and off-loading as well as for shorter inshore trips. Aside from the waste from the iron manufacture, smithing, carpentry, and boat repair, few artifacts were encountered on the site. The only other items found were personal trinkets which had been lost by their owners. Among these articles were a bronze pin, a glass bead, a spindle whorl, a small needle hone, a broken needle of bone for single-needle knitting (nĺlbindning), and the tiny fragment of a gilded brass ring. All were found inside or immediately outside the halls. The Norse were at L'Anse aux Meadows around the year 1000. This date is based on the details of the architecture, such as the number of rooms, the placement of doors and fireplaces and types of interior walls, artifacts, and radiocarbon dates. The radiocarbon dates merit special mention. There are 141 such dates from L'Anse aux Meadows. About 50 of them are on the Norse occupation. They range from the 5th to the early 11th century AD. At first glance this could be interpreted as the Norse occupation having lasted for hundreds of years. The nature of the deposits indicates beyond doubt, however, that the occupation was short, merely a few years. Archaeologists are now becoming increasingly aware that radiocarbon dates cannot be taken at face value. The sample submitted to the radiocarbon lab is not always contemporary with the event to be dated. Of the L'Anse aux Meadows dates 16 are on wood, 24 on charcoal, 6 on peat, and two on whalebone. Dates on whalebone are frequently unreliable because sea mammals assimilate more carbon14 than terrestrial organisms. This can be corrected for, and this has been done for one of the whalebone dates. The other one should probably be regarded as uncertain. The peat dates are questionable because the peat contains many levels of grass from a long stretch of time which are so compacted that it is almost impossible to separate out a particular level. Radiocarbon dates on wood and charcoal can also be untrustworthy. This is because what is measured in radiocarbon dating is the decrease of radiocarbon that has taken place since an organism ceased to live. In the case of wood, each annual ring dies as a new one is formed. This means that the heartwood of a tree dies long before its last ring was formed. In the case of spruces, which can live to be six hundred to a thousand years, the heartwood is correspondingly older than the outside of the tree. Thus it matters what part of a tree a sample comes from. Nowhere is this clearer than at L'Anse aux Meadows. The oldest date is on a board of spruce, cut from the very centre of the tree, with the radiocarbon sample cut from the centre of the board. The date on the board ranged from A.D. 440 to 780, with its midpoint at A.D. 640. This was obviously the date when the heartwood of the tree ceased to live, not the date when the board was used. That this is the case is further confirmed by the fact that the board was found next to a stake of larch dated to A.D. 810 to 1040 with a midpoint at A.D. 980. The only purposeful radiocarbon dates are those on branches and twigs of wood that are no older than ten or so years. Fortunately we have five such dates from L'Anse aux Meadows. These dates have a range from A.D. 880 to 1060, with an average midpoint of A.D. 1004. Only they give a reliable date of the site. The Norse occupation did not last long, a few years at the most. This is shown by the small size of their garbage heaps (the Norse always dumped their garbage just outside the door), in sharp contrast to the huge garbage middens found in Iceland and Greenland where the Norse lived for a long time. Another indication that the occupation was short is the thin cultural deposits, few artifacts, and the fact that the buildings never needed repair. Sod buildings of this kind normally need complete rebuilding after fifty years, even faster in exposed areas like L'Anse aux Meadows. Nor is there any sign of burial fields or cemeteries which would be required had the site been occupied for a long period of time. The even spacing of the three building complexes on the terrace and the architectural details show that all three complexes existed at the same time. The number of sleeping places available within the complexes gives us an idea of the approximate number of people who lived on the site, anywhere between c. 60 and 90. The activities on the site, iron manufacture, smithing, carpentry, and boat repair are all male projects in a Norse context, so it is probably safe to conclude that most of the occupants were men. Although many Norse men could knit, spinning and sewing was almost always done by women, so the spindle whorl indicates the presence of at least some women. The little needle hone is also of a variety used in womens' sewing kits. The bronze pin is of a kind used by both men and women, although in the late 10th century and early 11th century it was more commonly used by men. A peculiarity for the site is that each complex is associated with a particular activity: carpentry in the smallest, boat repair in the largest, and fine-smithing and bog ore roasting in the third, plus iron smelting in a spot by itself. What is truly remarkable about the activities associated with the three complexes is that they form the individual facets of one single operation: 1) the smelting of iron for nails in the furnace hut, 2) various form of iron working in one complex, 3) the exchange of old rusted nails for new ones in a second complex; and 4) the replacing of damaged wooden components of the ship or ships with new ones in the third complex. These activities would have had to be fully integrated with each other. To do so, would have required a strong leader to plan and coordinate the overall operation. The integration of activities is another indication that all 3 complexes were occupied at the same time. The layout of the buildings also shows that people on the site did not enjoy equal status. Halls A and F are grand halls are of the size and shape normally inhabited only by chieftains and big land owners, the social and economic elite. Small, separate sleeping/living chambers in each of these halls form the kind of separate quarters usually occupied by the lord of the manor and his family or closest retainers. Thus the two largest halls each housed a person of importance. The most prominent of the two would have resided in hall F which is also the most complex one. Hall D was of the kind used by relatively well-to-do farmers but not chieftains. It has fewer rooms than the other two, and only one communal sleeping/eating room indicating a certain equality among its inhabitants. This communal room is larger than those in the larger halls. The small one-roomed house next to one of the halls was of the kind people low on the social scale lived in back in Iceland and Greenland, and the square huts would have been for servants. The small rounded hut was most likely slave quarters. Among the artifacts the glass bead and gilded brass ring were also status symbols and were probably worn only by the socially prominent in a wilderness area such as L'Anse aux Meadows. By way of summary, we conclude that there was one leader on the site who resided in hall F. He was assisted by a second-in command who lived in hall A and probably controlled the iron manufacture. Their closest subordinates lived in the communal hall of hall D. As can be gleaned from the type of activities on the site, these subordinates formed a work force rather than a normal household. People of lower status, who were also part of the work force, lived in the small house and the square huts. Serfs must have been present as well because in the 11th century, sod cutting and digging for bog ore were heavy chores usually done by serfs. As stated, the round hut was probably their quarters. One interesting consideration of the L'Anse aux Meadows site is that the site was not a normal Norse community, or the type of settlement established as a result of emigration. First, its location on the outer exposed coast differs from that of the Greenland settlements, which were all in the protected inner parts of the fjords. Second, there are no barns or byres for livestock, the normal focus of Norse sustenance. Instead there are three large halls almost next to each other. In a normal West Norse community they would have been spaced one to five kilometres apart. There is only minor evidence of common household activities and none of the normal dairy food pantries, present on all Greenland and Iceland farms. By the same token, the proportions of floor space for storage are abnormally high. This is an indication that the site was a place where goods were collected and stored. As will be seen below, resources were brought to L'Anse aux Meadows from distant areas, and the site was a base for further explorations. How does L'Anse aux Meadows fit into the stories of the Vinland Sagas? For 150 years now researchers have used the Vinland Sagas as travel guides to Vinland, slavishly piecing together detail after detail, always ending with contradictions. This is not the way they should be used because this is the past seen through the eyes of the present. We must view the sagas from within the frame of their own time and culture and look at them as anthropological documents. The American anthropologist Paul Duerrenberger has pointed out that the function of the Icelandic sagas was primarily cultural. He has suggested that the sagas are neither art nor history but an attempt to maintain a semblance of order through the turmoil that was Iceland of the 13th and 14th centuries. It is symptomatic that they were written in this period but that their subjects belong to the 10th and 11th centuries. The 10th and 11th centuries were a time of expansion, of wealth, of innovation. By contrast, the 13th and 14th centuries were periods of economic decline and political reorganization, a time of social turmoil and stress. Unlike the other Scandinavian countries, Iceland had never become a state with strong central government. Iceland remained a chiefdom, a complex, rigidly stratified society without the beneficial order of a state, making social and political adjustments doubly difficult. The sagas furnished a system whereby people could define their place in a changing society. For this reason, time in the sagas is fixed and events repetitive. The purpose of the genealogical descriptions is classification rather than history. People are depicted in terms of characteristics which in turn determines how they fit into this classification system, and their categorization determines their actions. There is no development of character, and a person stays the same from childhood to death. For that reason,too, there are no causal effects whereby one incident leads to another. The only function of individual episodes is to define the order of things. Within such a society, the role of the sagas was, in Duerrenberger's words, to "maintain a semblance of an unchanging system, an ideology of a changeless society. At the point when the changes are significant and undeniable, the need to articulate this ideology is the strongest." As for the Vinland sagas, individual episodes are probably based on oral traditions, but they have been collated and collapsed to fit a symmetric framework. The names of places and persons are confused, and the emphasis of one over another made to fit individual purposes. Events have been streamlined, and names and places substituted to fit into a streamlined formula. As a guide to the location of Vinland, the Vinland sagas are somewhat untrustworthy, but they do reflect the society that created them. It is fully feasible, on basis of the sagas, to construct a model of what type of settlement the Vinland venture would have been. Explorations for resources and their subsequent exploitation were clearly the driving factors. Lumber was one such resource. It is obvious that the exploration was systematic. The notion that the Norse were free spirits in whose blood it was to explore for the sake of exploration is 19th-century fiction. All exploration ever undertaken has had a specific goal. At the time of the Vinland voyages, the Greenland Norse were exploring their new surroundings, searching for a way to optimize the benefits of their untouched environment. The Vinland voyages were but the extension of this prospecting. In the sagas the first Vinland voyage was a lengthy expedition combining all elements of exploration, settlement and exploitation. In reality, it is more likely that voyages of reconnaissance preceded systematic exploration, settlement and exploitation. A base, Leifsbir, "Leif's Camp," was established. From there search parties systematically prospected for resources in the immediate vicinity of the camp. Boats, even a ship, were also dispatched on more long-term investigations leaving the camp in the summer and returning in the fall. During these latter ventures there were professional scouts who made short inland searches wherever they landed. Land forms, locations and climate were noted and resources registered: lumber, eider, eggs, halibut, salmon, fur. The fur was obtained in impromptu trading sessions with Aboriginal people carrying bundles of marten skins. At one point grapes growing in the wild were discovered, a find which caused considerable excitement. Other evidence that exploration was the purpose of the Vinland voyages can be found in the composition of the Vinland groups. They consist chiefly of men, not families. People were selected for their special skills such as Thorhall the Hunter who possessed valuable experience in the exploration of uninhabited regions. There were slaves to do heavy work such as the German Tyrker. The few women present are either part of the leadership or domestics. The size of the Vinland groups was substantial in relationship to the ships that carried them, 25-30 or more per ship. This contradicts settlement. No Viking ship could hold that many people bent on settlement when livestock and possessions had to be accommodated as well. The settlement began as a temporary camp with the construction of bdir, booths, the type of structure used at _ings and port camps. They were a combination of tent and house with proper walls but roofed over with tent cloth or sails. However, when the decision was made to spend the winter, the booths were replaced with large winterized houses. Even so, the settlement retained the original name, Leifsbdir, "Leif's Camp," the term camp indicating its initial nature. This is not the type of name given to a normal settlement. L'Anse aux Meadows has many aspects in common with Leif's Camp. The site dates from the time of the Vinland voyages. The site was a base for further exploration, not the homestead of emigrants. As a base it was more than a mere camp and built so that winter could be spent there. The group occupying the site consisted of a workforce rather than emigrating families. Men predominated, although women were present. The social organization was also that of the Vinland expeditions, with a couple of leaders and a work force of people of different status, including slaves. And finally, like Leif's Camp, the site was abandoned after just a few years. Clearly L'Anse aux Meadows does not possess all the resources listed for Vinland. The most important asset, grapes, do not grow there and never have. Some researchers have suggested that VĚnland does not mean Land of Wine but should be Land of Pastures, (Vinland with a short "i"--(Söderberg 1910; Tanner 1947; Ingstad 1966). This is impossible for philological reasons, and it is wine, not pastures, which dominate the description of Vinland, the same way that Markland was named for its forests and Helluland for its rocks. One find at L'Anse aux Meadows is a clear indication that the wild grapes of Vinland were not a segment of Norse imagination. Among the Norse artifacts preserved in the bog were three butternuts, and one burl of butternut wood. Butternuts, Juglans cinerea, are a New-World relative of walnuts. Walnuts were considered delicacies and imported from Europe all the way to Greenland as shown by a walnut found at Erik the Red's farm Brattahlid. Butternuts have never grown in L'Anse aux Meadows or even close to the site. Their presence with the Norse artifacts shows that the Norse had paid visits to more southerly areas where such nuts grow. What is particularly intriguing is that their northern limit coincides with that of wild grapes. The northern limit for wild grapes lies in the St. Lawrence Valley and what is now northeastern New Brunswick, a bit inland from the coast along the big rivers issuing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Before the 18th century and the large-scale clearings by Europeans after 1600, grapes grew in large hardwood forests, the grapevines winding up the trunks of the trees. The nuts and the grapes ripen at the same time, in August. This means that the person, or persons, who picked the butternuts are likely to have encountered wild grapes as well. The name Vinland must indeed reflect a firsthand experience on the part of the Norse. Butternuts and wild grapes grow yet farther south, in what is now Maine and New England in the United States. These areas are less likely to have been reached by the L'Anse aux Meadows Norse. This is because from northern Newfoundland the distance there is more than double that to northeastern New Brunswick, more than 2000 km as opposed to 900 km to the southern shores of the Gulf. The situation of L'Anse aux Meadows also points to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The site faces the Strait of Belle Isle and the Gulf, not eastern Newfoundland and the Atlantic. The Gulf forms a large inland sea which one can circumnavigate, beginning and ending at L'Anse aux Meadows, without ever being without the sight of land. This was also the route taken by the French explorer Jacques Cartier into North America in 1534. Before the onslaught of Europeans in the 17th century, the southern coasts of the Gulf and its islands, the Magdalene Island, and Prince Edward Island contained large aromatic hardwood forests. The southern part of the Gulf is an ecologically different zone from Labrador and Newfoundland, infinitely warmer and richer. It contains desirable hardwood such as oak, maple, and walnut, which were sought by the Norse. Jacques Cartier found such an abundance of wild grapes on what is now le d'Orleans in the St. Lawrence River that he first named it le de Bacchus, and early settlers named an area near the mouth of the Miramichi River in northeastern New Brunswick Baie de vin, Wine Bay. Unlike the cultivated grapes of Europe, which grow in fields propped up by trellises, the grapes grew wild in the forests, its vines winding themselves around tall tree trunks so that they appear to grow high in the trees. These are the wild grapes and grape-wood of Leif Eriksson. The tall primeval hardwood forests furnished much better lumber than the stunted softwood forests of Newfoundland. Burlwood, Old Norse másr, was of special interest for the carving of scoops, bowls and artwork. Besides the butternuts, the Norse at L'Anse aux Meadows brought back a burl of butternut wood from these southern areas and began to carve it with a sharp knife. For reasons unknown, the burl did not meet the expectations and was discarded in the bog. The logical consequence of these findings is that the entire shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence constitutes Vinland, a land with diffuse inland borders. L'Anse aux Meadows is situated at the very entrance to this zone. L'Anse aux Meadows is the basecamp from which Vinland was explored. The peculiar setup at L'Anse aux Meadows now makes sense. L'Anse aux Meadows was a basecamp for further explorations, explorations that extended into the southern coastlands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In this location we find many of the features described in the Vinland sagas: lagoons where halibut could be trapped, Aboriginal people with skin canoes, and valuable lumber. Why is L'Anse aux Meadows where it is and not in the more hospitable southern part of Vinland? There is its geographical prominence. Arriving from the North, sailing along the Labrador coast, the Norse suddenly found themselves with land on two sides. If one crosses the Strait of Belle Isle to Newfoundland at this point, one arrives in the area of L'Anse aux Meadows. There were no native people at L'Anse aux Meadows when the Norse arrived. The southern, richer areas were heavily populated. Distance is another factor. L'Anse aux Meadows is 900 km closer to Greenland than the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, another 4 days or so of sailing. The Norse spent the winter at L'Anse aux Meadows as indicated by the house construction. The navigation season between Greenland and Newfoundland is, and was even in the warmer 11th century, no more than two months. Ships could not leave Greenland until about midsummer and must return before the end of September. With a minimum of two to three weeks required for travel to L'Anse aux Meadows, let alone more distant spots, there was little time to get anything accomplished. With a base camp at L'Anse aux Meadows, one could leave a few hands there to lay up supplies of fuel and food for the winter, and the return distance was much shorter than going of all the way to Greenland. This way the season in the south was extended by several crucial weeks, as much as two months. The exploration could continue the next summer, and the return to Greenland postponed until the exploration and exploitation of the Vinland resources was deemed sufficient. This is precisely how the Vinland voyages were organized. In more technical terms one can see L'Anse aux Meadows as a gateway to the resources of Vinland A gateway is a settlement at the edge of a faraway hinterland. Resources from the hinterland are brought in to the gateway and shipped to the home area. The gateway was established by a chieftain wishing to reinforce his position. In a society such as that of Norse Greenland, the power of chieftains depended in large measure on wealth and ostentatious display of status goods, unusual things brought in from abroad. Thus control of the trade and imports was essential for a chief. Gateways were therefore always controlled by a chief, who always kept a trusted deputy on location to ensure the safe shipping of the exotic goods to the chief. As long as Eric the Red ruled Greenland, Leif was his deputy. After Eric's death and Leif's succession, Leif used relatives and in-laws as his emissaries. The location of L'Anse aux Meadows now makes sense. The position, abnormal for a regular colony, is in fact critical for watch and control of traffic in and out of the Strait of Belle Isle, the route to Vinland. Whoever controlled L'Anse aux Meadows, controlled the route to Vinland. With this control came, according to Norse ownership rules, the rights to the rich resources of VĚnland. Leif never gave up control of Leifsbdir or VĚnland. When the sagas say that Leif named this area "Vinland", or the other areas Helluland and Markland, this is in fact symbolic of him laying formal claim to these territories. The establishment of a settlement confirmed his ownership. Leif maintained this ownership to the end. When his brother and sister or other family members ask him to give them Leifsbdir, his response is, "No I will not give it to you, but you can use the camp when you are there." With ownership of Leifsbdir came control of Vinland and its resources, which, as paramount chief of Greenland, Leif wished to keep for himself. Many writers have proposed that Vinland is much farther south, in New England, even as far south as the Carolinas. It has been assumed that anyone who can cross the ocean in a Viking ship, can likewise journey any distance in a north-southerly direction. It is almost as far to L'Anse aux Meadows from Greenland as it is from Norway to Greenland. On the high latitudes of the Scandinavian countries the east-west distance is only about 1700 nautical miles from Norway to Greenland. On the other hand, the route to L'Anse aux Meadows is drastically lengthened by the coastline of Labrador which does not run north-south but extends to the east, making the Norse sailing route from Greenland to L'Anse aux Meadows as much as 1350 nautical miles long. L'Anse aux Meadows has the same social structure and the same function as Leifsbir, and it dates from the same time. An operation the size and complexity of L'Anse aux Meadows could only have been sponsored by a political authority. At the time, the political authority in Greenland was Eric the Red, and, after him, Leif. It must have been Leif Ericson who founded, owned and operated L'Anse aux Meadows. L'Anse aux Meadows and Leifsbir are one and the same. Were there other North American Norse settlements in addition to L'Anse aux Meadows? There certainly were temporary camps such as Hóp but probably no other large settlements. The reason is simple: It took close to 90 people, all adults in their best age, to operate L'Anse aux Meadows and the Vínland exploitation. At the time Greenland had no more than 600 inhabitants, including women, senior citizens and children. Such a small colony could not sustain more than one satellite the size of L'Anse aux Meadows, and even this one was too distant to be viable. The saga of L'Anse aux Meadows and Vínland was short. An experimental venture of the initial Greenland settlement, the L'Anse aux Meadows gateway and VĚnland were too far away, the passage too difficult and the area too dangerous for further exploration to be practical, and L'Anse aux Meadows ceased to exist. Its appeal would have been limited as everything that could be obtained in Vinland could be had in Europe. In retrospect, the only impact of the Norse voyages was the legends preserved in their homelands. Birgitta Wallace, Canadian Heritage	<urn:uuid:d318a4e0-ccf9-4c18-8773-ae41c25ca080>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.stavacademy.co.uk/mimir/norseexpand.htm	2013-06-18T22:45:45Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.977119	8,863
(2003). Sustainable energy: choices, problems and opportunities. In: Hester, R. E. and Harrison, R. M. eds. Sustainability and Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Sources. The Royal Society of Chemistry, pp. 19–47. Full text available as: About the Book: The world's dependence on fossil fuels is widely acknowledged to be a major cause of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Thus there is an urgent need to develop energy sources with lower environmental impact, with attention focusing on renewable energy sources. Concise, authoritative, up-to-date and readable, this book reviews various energy technologies, as well as taking a critical look at the political, social and economic aspects. Throughout, the emphasis is on renewable energy sources (wind, wave, solar, biomass, etc), but a discussion of fossil fuels and nuclear power is also presented. This timely book, written by recognised experts, will be welcomed by those in the energy industries as well as by policy-makers, consultants and engineers. Students and lecturers will also find the material invaluable. Actions (login may be required)	<urn:uuid:063182a0-42ea-40fd-9a5a-a0639656ed71>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://oro.open.ac.uk/4649/	2013-05-23T11:27:40Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.926149	236
Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon island republic, is an island in the Indian Ocean and located south of the Indian subcontinent. It measures 435 km (270 miles) in length and 225 km (140 miles) in width at its broadest point, a total land area of 65,600 sq.km. (25,000 sq.miles). This entire stretch encompasses beautiful tropical beaches, a blend of tropical splendor, verdant vegetation, and ancient ruins that testifies to great civilizations of ages past. The climate of Sri Lanka is typically tropical with an average temperature of 27C°. The mercury often drops in the mountains to 16C°. The four seasons do not exist in Sri Lanka. Mainly an agricultural country, the chief crop of Sri Lanka is rice. Tea, rubber and coconut are also important agricultural crops, with tea being a major foreign exchange earner. Other crops of importance are cocoa and spices. Sri Lanka is also a major exporter of precious and semi-precious stones. In the last three decades tourism has emerged as an important industry.	<urn:uuid:8674f980-0793-41fd-bbac-4d61fca83fa1>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://lankagallery.net/	2013-05-24T23:26:17Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705284037/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115444-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.921931	235
Paleoclimatology: How Can We Infer Past Climates? What is Paleoclimatology? Paleoclimatology is the study of past climates. Since it is not possible to go back in time to see what climates were like, scientists use imprints created during past climate, known as proxies, to interpret paleoclimate. Microbial life, such as diatoms, forams, and coral serve as useful climate proxies. Other proxies include ice cores, tree rings, and sediment cores (which include diatoms, foraminifera, microbiota, pollen, and charcoal within the sediment and the sediment itself). Past climate can be reconstructed using a combination of different types of proxy records. These records can then be integrated with observations of Earth's modern climate and placed into a computer model to infer past as well as predict future climate. How Are Microbes Used As Proxies? Foraminifera, also known as forams, and diatoms are commonly used microbial climate proxies. Forams and diatoms are shelled microorganisms found in aquatic and marine environments. There are both planktonic, or floating in the water column, and benthic, or bottom dwelling, forms. Foram shells are made up of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) while diatom shells are composed of silicon dioxide (SiO2). These organisms record evidence for past environmental conditions in their shells. Remains of foram and diatom shells can be found by taking sediment cores from lakes and oceans, since their shells get buried and preserved in sediment as they die. The chemical make up of these shells reflect water chemistry at the time of shell formation. Stable oxygen isotope ratios contained in the shell can be used to infer past water temperatures. These oxygen isotopes are found naturally in both the atmosphere and dissolved in water. Warmer water tends to evaporate off more of the lighter isotopes, so shells grown in warmer waters will be enriched in the heavier isotope. Measurements of stable isotopes of planktonic and benthic foram and diatom shells have been taken from hundreds of deep-sea cores around the world to map past surface and bottom water temperatures. Researchers may also use foram and diatom population dynamics to infer past climate. Relative abundance as well as species composition in particular areas may indicate environmental conditions. Typically, warmer weather will cause organisms to proliferate. In addition, since each species has a particular set of ideal growing conditions, species composition at a particular site at a particular time may indicate past environmental conditions. How Are Other Proxies Used? Combinations of proxy data are generally used to reconstruct records for past climate. In addition to forams and diatoms, common proxies and their respective analytical methods include: - Ice core records- deep ice cores, such as those from Lake Vostok, Antarctica, the Greenland Ice Sheet Project, and North Greenland Ice Sheet Project can be analyzed for trapped gas, stable isotope ratios, and pollen trapped within the layers to infer past climate. - Tree rings- can be counted to determine age. The thickness of each ring can be used to infer fluctuations in temperature and precipitation, since optimal conditions for the particular species will result in more growth, and thus thicker rings for a given year. Scars and burn marks can indicate past natural events such as fire. - Sediment cores- can be analyzed in many ways. Sediment laminations, or layers, can indicate sedimentation rate through time. Charcoal trapped in sediments can indicate past fire events. Remains of microorganisms such as diatoms, foraminifera, microbiota, and pollen within sediment can indicate changes in past climate, since each species has a limited range of habitable conditions. When these organisms and pollen sink to the bottom of a lake or ocean, they can become buried within the sediment. Thus, climate change can be inferred by species composition within the sediment. What Causes Climate Change? The causes of climate change are complex. There are several major factors that can effect the climate system, including: - Changes in solar output - Changes in Earth's orbit - Changes in the distribution of continents - Changes in atmospheric content of greenhouse gases. The Milankovich Theory states that variations in Earth's orbit causes climate to change through time. According to this theory, changes in the shape of Earth's orbit around the sun (eccentricity), variations in Earth's axial tilt (obliquity), and the tendency for Earth to 'wobble' with respect to the direction of its rotational axis (precession) affect climate. This wobble can lead to fluctuations in the amount and distribution of incoming solar radiation, resulting in dramatic changes in climate over long time scales. Wobble may cause ice ages. It is important to consider scale when interpreting climate change through time. Four major time scales are generally considered, which include: - Long term- Hundreds of millions of years; - Medium term- One million years; - Short term- ~160,000 years; - Modern period- Hundreds of years. Time scale affects interpretations of climate change. Climate has both long term trends and short term variability. In looking at longer time scales, major shifts in climate such as the ice ages are easily recognizable, and viewing a long-term data set can provide the observer with a sense of the "big picture" of the climatic trends. Short term variations, like a colder than average month, can exist within longer term patterns such as the warming trend over the past 1000 years. The coexistence of short and long term trends occuring simultaneously through time complicates our ability to unravel climate change. Why is Paleoclimatology Important? The science of paleoclimatology is important for past, contemporary, and future issues. Understanding past climate helps us to explain how current ecosystems came to be. For example, climate typically controls what types of vegetation grow in a particular area. Furthermore, paleoclimatology provides data that we can use to model and predict both current and future climate change scenarios. Computer models can be used to study the potential effect of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on climate. With a system as complex as Earth's climate, it is a daunting task for scientists to be able to make projections about future climate changes and how it may affect the distribution of plants and animals. However, paleoclimate data are used as a foundation for climate scientists by providing crucial information such as rates of past climate change and how vegetation and animal populations responded to the change. Computer models can be used predict different future climate patterns, and paleoclimate data provides a useful framework from which to base these models. For more information about climate proxies and climate change, see the collections of web-based materials below. Climate Proxy Collections General Collection Resources such as news articles, web sites, and reference pages provide a comprehensive array of information about paleoclimate and climate proxies. Advanced Collection: Compiled for professionals and advanced learners, this climate proxy/paleoclimate collection includes resources such as journal articles, academic reviews, and surveys. For Educators: This climate proxy/paleoclimate collection includes activities, assignments, and reading materials created specifically for educators. For additional resources about climate proxies and related topics search the Microbial Life collection.	<urn:uuid:a59d2550-5352-4df6-afd8-5c028ef8cbef>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/proxies/paleoclimate.html	2013-05-22T21:39:53Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.918247	1,510
The purpose of screening is early diagnosis and treatment. Screening tests are usually done for people without any current symptoms, but who may be at high risk for certain diseases or conditions. Screening Tests or Guidelines There are several tests that doctors may use to screen for Alzheimer's disease . Examples include: - Neurological exam—to test the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles) for evidence of other neurological disorders. - Wechsler's Logical Memory and Visual Reproduction and Kendrick Object Learning Test—may be used if you have depressive symptoms. - Seven-Minute Screen - Mini-Mental State Exam - Memory Impairment Screening - Self-assessment cognitive test—This is a test that you take on your own to assess your memory. Genetic testing is available, but it is not routinely used in most patients. It may be done in patients with a family history of early-onset Alzheimer's. Researchers are also studying whether specialized imaging tests would be helpful in screening for Alzheimer's disease. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) evaluation via a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) may play a role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. - Reviewer: Rimas Lukas, MD - Review Date: 09/2012 - - Update Date: 00/91/2012 -	<urn:uuid:e8a95b62-6614-4803-aeb5-88b6455c2041>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://doctors-hospital.net/your-health/?/19065/Are-there-screening-tests-for-Alzheimer%E2%80%99s-disease	2013-05-24T22:50:10Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.862746	286
December 21, 2012: It’s not the End of the World — it’s the Baktunalia! It’s time for a celebration, not an apocalypse. Here are the facts: The Maya long count calendar will go from 220.127.116.11.19 to 18.104.22.168.0 as we go from December 20 to December 21, 2012. So December 20 is New Baktun Eve and December 21 is New Baktun Day. (FYI for those who like numbers: The five digits of the Mayan long count are base 20, except for the second number from the right, which is base 18. Our numbers are base 10. We have ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands. The Maya long count has kins, winals, tuns, katuns, and baktuns. For the Maya, a day is called a “kin.” Twenty kins make a winal. Eighteen winals, or 360 kins, equal a tun, making the tun about a year long. Twenty tuns make a katun and 20 katuns equal a baktun. Thirteen baktuns is just over 5,125 years.) The Roman Saturnalia festival also occurred at this time — a celebration featuring food, gifts, and celebrations around the Winter Solstice. Early Christians could celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25, hiding their event within the Saturnalia festivities. Hence, I’m calling this year’s rare event a Baktunalia! Did the Maya calendar-makers over 2,000 years ago plan for their long-count calendar to reach the 13th Baktun on December 21? This is possible, but it seems unlikely. However, December is the Winter Solstice, a day the Maya recognized as the shortest day and longest night of the year — the day when the sun rises furthest in the southeast, sets furthest in the southwest, and makes its lowest and shortest path across the southern sky in the Northern Hemisphere. The Maya astronomers observed the sun on the winter solstice to document its southernmost rising and the promise that the sun would now start moving northward. There would be another spring and a new growing season. Unlike the Internet doomsday prophets, science does not support an apocalypse in 2012. Solar activity maximum is happening in 2013. Thus far, all natural disasters in 2012 have been within the normal range of activity on a geologically active planet with dynamic weather patterns. But there is one interesting astronomical alignment. On December 21, the sun will reach its lowest point in the sky for the Northern Hemisphere while it is in front of a dark rift in the Milky Way and directly between Earth and the Milky Way Galaxy’s center. This alignment has been in place for several years, but is often cited by the doomsday prophets. The black hole near the galactic center has the same effect on us today as it does on any day. This alignment makes no difference. Nor is it significant on December 21. After all, the sun is its strongest on this date south of the equator. Lost in all the apocalyptic talk are the very significant achievements of the Maya regarding both time-keeping and astronomy. In the Burke Baker Planetarium, we have a show called Mayan Prophecies that visits four classic Maya cities (Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Tikal, and Palenque), as they would have looked over a thousand years ago. At Uxmal, we see a Maya astronomer watching the sun’s rays entering the Temple of the Magician just two 20-day months before the sun would stand overhead and the rains would come. After this event, the astronomer could prepare farmers to plant their corn and the king to plan festivals. At Chichen Itza, the feathered serpent god called Kukulcan would climb down his pyramid, El Castillo, on the first day of spring. Astronomers would then know when to have festivities with human sacrifices, trading human blood for the coming rains — all to appease Kukulcan and the rain god, Chaac. We actually show this sacrifice (tastefully) in the full dome and very up-close in the Mayan Prophecies planetarium show. At Tikal (located in the lowlands of Guatemala), the astronomer would climb his pyramid, now called Temple 4, to watch the rising sun on December 21. When the sun rose over Temple 3, it marked the winter solstice. After this date, the astronomer knew that the sun would rise more to the north each day and that the rainy season would come again. At Palenque, there are inscriptions inside major temples featuring trees for the seasons. The great King Pacal supposedly rose and journeyed to the heavens on December 21. Inscriptions at Palenque also explain the beginning of the long count cycle on a date we know now as August 13, 3114 BCE. Three temples at Palenque symbolize the three hearthstones of creation, with a central fire lit at the beginning of the current long count cycle. There are also three stars in our constellation Orion that represent these hearthstones. For all their predictive power, the Maya astronomer could not foresee his own apocalypse, which happened over a thousand years ago. A combination of factors adding to decades of drought brought famine to the Classic Mayan cities. This great civilization, that had measured time and predicted the rains, collapsed and its people returned to the rainforest and mountains. The story of the Maya people is perhaps a greater predictor of the challenges we face in 2012 and beyond. Fascinated? Discover how the Maya aligned their pyramids and temples to watch their sky gods and used interlocking calendars to record the past and predict the future in our Mayan Prophecies lecture. Dr. Carolyn Sumners will share how archaeological, historical and astronomical records were pieced together to learn more about the Maya. This lecture includes a viewing of film 2012: Mayan Prophecies. For lecture tickets, click here.	<urn:uuid:0c44ce1c-d157-4538-aec7-f0a1c05f359c>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://blog.hmns.org/author/csumners/	2013-05-19T10:23:33Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.946693	1,241
The Esperanto Teacher/Manner of using the book The student is strongly advised to cultivate the habit of thinking in Esperanto from the very beginning of the study. To do this he should try to realise the idea mentally without putting it into English words, e.g., when learning the word "rozo" or "kolombo," let him bring the object itself before his mind's eye, instead of repeating "rozo, rose; kolombo, pigeon"; or with the sentence "la suno brilas, the sun shines," let him picture the sun shining. Having studied the lesson and learned the vocabulary, he should read the exercise, repeating each sentence aloud until he has become familiar with it and can pronounce it freely. Then turning to the English translation at the end of the book, he should write the exercise into Esperanto, compare it with the original, and re-learn and re-write if necessary. Although this method may require a little more time and trouble at first, the greater facility gained in speaking the language will well repay the outlay. After mastering this book the student should take some reader, such as "Unua Legolibro," by Dr. Kabe, and then proceed to the "Fundamenta Krestomatio," the standard work on Esperanto, by Dr. Zamenhof. A very good Esperanto-English vocabulary is to be found in the "Esperanto Key," ½d., or in "The Whole of Esperanto for a Penny."	<urn:uuid:fc458e45-fc36-4ae0-90b5-7b065c42a4f1>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Esperanto_Teacher/Manner_of_using_the_book	2013-06-19T12:54:19Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.950313	312
The San Juan Islands are located in the middle of the Salish Sea, so called today in recognition of the indigenous Coast Salish peoples that have inhabited its shores and sailed its waters for millennia. Coast Salish peoples and their closely related languages are coextensive with the Salish Sea watershed, which includes Puget Sound, Hood Canal, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Haro Strait, and the Gulf and Strait of Georgia. Location of the San Juan Islands in the Salish Sea The Salish Sea is a very complex drainage basin fed by many rivers, including the Snohomish River and Skagit River in the south on Puget Sound, and the Homathko River at the north entrance of Georgia Strait. The Fraser River is by far the largest freshwater influence on the Salish Sea, however: so large that the marine waters surrounding the San Juan Islands function like an estuary of the Fraser, with reduced salinities and significant loads of silt and nutrients transported from interior British Columbia. Skull Creek Outlet Much of the Salish Sea is relatively shallow, particularly within the San Juan-Gulf Archipelago. Its shorelines are geologically young and complex, ranging from broad fine sandy beaches to steep rocky precipices with thousands of tiny bays and islets. Rains and rivers transport vast quantities of silt and terrestrial nutrients into the Salish Sea each year where they stimulate dense plankton growth and feed migrating salmon, herring, seabirds and marine mammals along thousands of kilometers of seashore. The San Juan and Gulf Islands emerged gradually from glacial melt-waters barely 9,000 years ago, stripped bare of their pre-glacial vegetation and soils. Humans, plants and animals began to re-colonize the islands at the same time, so there was no “natural” post-glacial landscape or ecosystem in the archipelago. All ecosystems included people from the beginning, and must be regarded as cultural artifacts. The indigenous people of the islands subsisted chiefly by hunting for thousands of years. Coast Salish women, Orcas 1902 They began to rely more on fish and shellfish after salmon and cedar re-appeared in the Salish Sea, facilitated by changes in sea levels and climate about 4,000 years ago. Large cedar-plank villages and extensive sea-trade developed, supported by two key technologies: reef-net (fixed-gear) fishing for the enormous sockeye salmon runs that returned annually to the Fraser River, and the cultivation of camas, a nutritious bulb-forming relative of the lilies. By the time of the Roman Empire in Europe, the first islanders were farming; spinning yarn from the hair of specially bred dog flocks; as well as harvesting hundreds of tons of salmon every year. It was a sustainable livelihood until the arrival of European diseases and firearms.	<urn:uuid:4aca6e11-9c0e-470b-aeb3-3f35fb051a0f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://kwiaht.org/salishsea.htm	2013-05-25T13:30:35Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705955434/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120555-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.946119	592
The buss ship type has a long history. It was already known around the time of the Crusades in the Mediterranean as a cargo vessel (called buzza, bucia or bucius), and we see it around 1000 AD as a more robust development of the Viking longship in Scandinavia, known as a bǘza. The Dutch Buis was probably developed from this Scandinavian ship type. The Buis was first adapted for use as a fishing vessel in the Netherlands, after the invention of gibbing made it possible to preserve herring at sea. This made longer voyages feasible, and hence enabled Dutch fishermen to follow the herring shoals far from the coasts. The first herring buss was probably built in Hoorn around 1415. The last one was built in Vlaardingen in 1841. The ship was about 20 meters in length and displaced between 60 and 100 tons. The ratio of length to beam was between 2.5:1 and 4.5:1, which made for a relatively nimble ship, though still sufficiently stable to be seaworthy. It was a round-bilged keel ship with a round bow and stern, the latter relatively high, and with a gallery. The broad deck provided space to process the catch on board. The ship had two or three masts. The mainmast and foremast (if present) could be lowered during fishing, leaving only the mizzen mast upright. It was square rigged on the main mast, with a gaff rig on the mizzen. It had a long bow sprit with jibboom and up to three headsails. The main course and topsail could be reefed. Herring fleets The ships sailed in large fleets of 400 to 500 ships to the fishing grounds at the Dogger Bank and the Shetland isles. They were usually escorted by naval vessels, because the English looked askance at what they considered "poaching" in waters they claimed, and were prone to arrest unescorted Dutch fishing vessels. In wartime the risk of fishing vessels being taken by privateers was also large. The fleet would stay at sea for weeks at a time. The catch would sometimes be brought home by special ships (called ventjagers) while the fleet would still be at sea (the picture at the top shows a ventjager in the distance). The busses used long drift nets to catch the herring. Such nets hang like curtains across the travel paths of the herring schools. The fish would catch with their gills behind the meshes of the net (which is therefore a type of gillnet). The nets would be taken aboard at night and then the crews of eighteen to thirty men would start the gibbing, salting and barrelling immediately. There would be three to four voyages per season (depending on the weather and the catch). In the off-season the busses were used as normal cargo vessels, for instance to transport grain from the Baltic, or salt from Portugal. This multi-mode business model made the Great Fishery (as the herring fishery was called) especially profitable, as there was far less downtime than with exclusive use as fishing vessel. A contemporary (1614) English account illustrates the efficiency and profitability of the business: \|“\|\|The Hollanders do make both a profitable and a pleasant trade of this Summer fishing. For there was one of them that having a gallant great new Buss of his own, and he having a daughter married unto one that was his Mate in the Buss: the Owner that was Master of this Buss did take his wife with him aboard, and his Mate with his wife; and so they did set sail for the North seas, with the two women with them, the mother and the daughter. Where, having a fair wind, and being fishing in the North seas, they had soon filled their Buss with herrings; and a Herring-Yager cometh unto them, and brings them gold and fresh supplies and copeth [bargaineth] with them, and taketh in their herrings for ready money, and delivereth them more barrels and salt; and away goeth the Yager for the first market into Sprucia [Prussia]. And still is the Buss fishing at sea, and soon after again was full laden and boone [bound] home: but then another Yager cometh unto him as did the former, and delivering them more provision of barrels, salt, and ready money, and bids them farewell. And still the Buss lieth at sea, with the mother and daughter, so long, and not very long before they had again all their barrels full; and then they sailed home into Holland, with the two women, and the Buss laden with herrings, and a thousand pounds of ready money\|\|”\| The same author (T. Gentleman) in 1614 estimated the cost of fitting out a Dutch herring buss for three voyages (four months) in Summer (including wages for the crew at £88, barrels for 100 last of herring at £78, beer at £42, bread at £21, butter and bacon at £18, peas at £3, billet at £3, and wear and tear on ship and nets at £100) at £435. One hundred last of herring (at £10) would bring £1000 in his opinion, for a clear profit of £565. In his pamphlet (in which he holds up the Dutch fisheries for English emulation) he states that at the end of May a fleet of a thousand busses would sail, with 20,000 sailors aboard. They would sail to Shetland, but wait till after June 14 (herring being unfit for consumption before that) before starting to follow the shoals. He estimates the value of the catch at more than a million pounds sterling. This illustrates how important the herring fisheries were in bringing about the Dutch Golden Age. See also - De Vries and Van der Woude, p. 244 - Fishing vessels, op. cit - De Vries and Van der Woude, pp. 244-245 - Tobias Gentleman, "England's Way to Win Wealth and to employ Ships", London, 1614, in: Arber, E., Beazley, R.C., and Seccombe, T. (1903), Voyages and Travels Mainly During the 16th and 17th Centuries, p. 267 - A last was usually a Dutch volume (displacement) measure. However, it could also be a weight measure for herring catches. In the latter case it was equivalent to about 1000 kilograms (kg) at the time. This last should not be confused with the last-unit used by the Dutch East India Company, which was 1250 kg - Gentleman, op. cit, p. 266 - Gentleman, op. cit, p. 253 - (German) Hansen, C. B. and Knuth, P. (1987), Lexikon der Segelschiffstypen. Gräfelfing (Urbes), ISBN 3-924896-10-0 - (German) "Büse", in: Dudszua, A. and Köpcke, A. (1995) Das große Buch der Schiffstypen. Schiffe, Boote, Flöße unter Riemen und Segel, Dampfschiffe, Motorschiffe, Meerestechnik, Augsburg - Unger, R. W. (1978), Dutch Shipbuilding Before 1800, Amsterdam - Michell, A.R., "The European Fisheries in Early Modern History", in: Rich, E.E. and Wilson, C.H. (Ed.) (1977), Cambridge Economic History of Europe, Vol. 5. The Economic Organization of Early Modern Europe, Cambridge - Vries, J. de, and Woude, A. van der (1997), The First Modern Economy. Success, Failure, and Perseverance of the Dutch Economy, 1500-1815, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-57825-7	<urn:uuid:0858bdad-76c4-4958-9993-7ec960ef62c9>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herring_buss	2013-06-20T01:52:49Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.961483	1,711
Kindergarten is a German term that means children’s garden. It is a form of education for young children that serves as a transition from home to the commencement of more formal schooling. Children are taught to develop basic skills through creative play and social interaction. In the U.S., kindergarten is a formal form of education. Usually, children attend kindergarten around age 5 or 6. Kindergarten is considered the first year of formal education, although the child may have gone to preschool. However, it is not mandatory that children should be sent to kindergarten. “High/Scope Learning” is the type of learning that is adopted in many kindergartens in the U.S. It is an interactive for of learning style. Through this method a child learns to take responsibility for their learning.	<urn:uuid:6b15e1da-b9fb-4e4f-b4e5-4d0b98db6e1a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://definitions.uslegal.com/k/kindergarten/	2013-05-19T02:00:29Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.969316	163
River restoration with highway removalIn megacity Seoul, Korea, the restoration of a culturally important river teaches key lessons. A river can be recovered and restored even in a large and dense central business district, with multiple positive effects. These include providing habitat for nature, preserving cultural heritage, providing access to nature for the public, flood control, and microclimate regulation. The river restoration also promoted more sustainable transport forms over roads and cars removed to make space for the river and its surrounding parks. Keywords: river restoration, highway removal, sustainable transport, habitat Seoul is classified a megacity with a population of circa 23 million in the greater metropolitan region. The Cheonggyecheon river (pronounced “chung-gye-chun”) was a highly appreciated and used seasonal river that dissects the city. After increasing pollution and canalisation, it was concreted over and a six-lane highway was built over it during the 1970s. But a politician, Lee Myung-bak, led a campaign as Seoul’s mayor to restore the river – and was elected South Korea’s president a few years after. The success of the Cheonggyecheon river restoration has had massive ripple effects: in East Asia and North America, cities are studying the project to gain its benefits for ecology, environmental quality, and urban sustainability. Within South Korea, nearly 100 other elevated roads have been scheduled for removal. Clearing the transportation hurdle The strongest objection to the project was that the highway, carrying 160,000 cars per day, was vital to the city’s transportation and economy, even though perpetually congested. In fact the project provided transportation improvements of many kinds. With reduced road capacity in the centre, Seoul radically expanded its bus rapid transit (BRT) service, and better integrated it into other public transport, e.g. underground rail, buses, as well as improved infrastructure for non-motorised transport (see also Guangzhou). Cars disappeared, buses ran faster and were better utilised, subway use increased. Walking was also facilitated. Many benefits to environment The environmental benefits of the restored river are multiple. Air quality improved: one report cites small-particle air pollution decreasing from 74 micrograms per cubic metre to 48 in the vicinity of the river. Microclimate benefits come from the river acting as a natural air-conditioner: temperatures in the river corridor are 3-4 degrees C lower than areas only 400 metres away, and wind speeds are on average 50% higher than before the river was recovered. These are important benefits for climate adaptation, in addition to the increased resilience against flooding when a city has open watercourses. The natural ecology has benefited, e.g. birds, fish, insects, and plants. According to a 2009 report, the number of bird species in the river corridor increased from 6 to 36, fish species from 4 to 25, and insect species from 15 to 192. The green corridor is eight km long and 730 metres wide, with a 400 ha park, and features waterfalls, bridges, and running tracks. There are remaining critical questions about the sustainability tradeoffs when pumping water artificially to a newly restored river. Critics of the river restoration question the overall benefits to citizens quality of life and whether the process had sufficient input from civil society and environmental actors. Jeffrey R. Kenworthy, 2006, “The eco-city: ten key transport and planning dimensions for sustainable city development”, Environment and Urbanization, April 2006, vol. 18 no. 1, 67-85 Andrew C. Revkin, 2009, “Peeling Back Pavement to Expose Watery Havens”, The New York Times, July 16 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/world/asia/17daylight.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all Michael Replogle, Walter Hook, 2006, “What dynamic local leaders can teach us about environmental stewardship”, The Sacramento Bee, January 24, http://www.itdp.org/news/local-leaders-teach-stewardship/ John Vidal, 2007, “U-TURN”, Resurgence Magazine, http://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article204-u-turn.html Preston L. Schiller, Eric C. Bruun, Jeffrey R. Kenworthy, 2010, An introduction to sustainable transportation: policy, planning and implementation, London: Earthscan Key data are retrieved from the UN World Urbanization Prospects, the 2009 Revision, http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/index.htm	<urn:uuid:5b450614-41a0-4c77-a8a3-6b4820cc33e5>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/cities/urban_solutions/themes/nature/?204454/Seoul	2013-05-18T07:49:45Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381630/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.936832	973
The volume measure provides an estimate of the amount of goods and services purchased by households. In Q3 2012 it increased by 0.4 per cent, meaning it was 4.8 per cent below the peak of pre recession spending in Q4 2007. The current price value of household spending (inflation included) shows how much UK households spent. In Q3 2012 it increased by 0.8 per cent on the quarter, meaning it was 10.5 per cent higher than Q4 2007. In Q3 2012, the value of UK household spending per head, in current price terms, was £3,840, an increase of 0.6 per cent on the quarter, £241 higher than in Q4 2007. Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HHFCE) includes spending on goods and services except buying or extending a house, investment in valuables (paintings, antiques) or purchasing second-hand goods. Explanations for these exceptions and the related concepts are available in the Consumer Trends guidance and methodology section. Household expenditure is used in the National Accounts to measure the contribution of households to economic growth and accounts for about 60 per cent of GDP. There are two measures: Current prices: which is the value of spending in a particular quarter measured in the prices at that time. Volume terms: which adjusts for price inflation and gives a better picture of whether households are purchasing more goods and services. Analysis in this section of the Statistical Release is conducted from 1997 because this is the period from which revisions were applied in Blue Book 2012. Starting in 1997 household final consumption expenditure: Increased in current prices to £220.5 billion (in Q1 2008), before falling to £212.2 billion in Q2 2009, then returning to predominantly positive growth to reach £243.3 billion in the present quarter. Increased to £228.5 billion in volume terms in Q4 2007, before falling to £213.3 billion in Q2 2009. It then increased slightly between Q3 2009 and Q4 2010, but since then has fallen back and is still lower than Q4 2010. Pre-2007, increases in household spending were a consequence of households facing higher prices and buying more goods and services. However, in 2008 and 2009 households spent less because they bought less. Since 2009, household spending has increased, but the volume of goods and services purchased has been broadly flat. In Q3 2012, the value of household spending in current prices increased by 0.8 per cent on the quarter, and by 4.0 per cent on the same quarter in 2011. The volume measure of household spending increased by 0.4 per cent on the quarter, and 1.3 per cent on the same quarter in 2011. The increases in current price estimates and relative weakness (small increases or falls) in the volume estimates (inflation adjusted) signify households are spending more for a lower volume of goods and services than in the past. Trends in household spending per head have followed a similar pattern to overall household expenditure. In Q3 2012 the value of current price spending per head was £3,840, an increase of £23 on the previous quarter. This continued the increases of the past year, between Q3 2011 and Q3 2012 household spending per head increased by £119. In Q1 1997 the value of household spending per head in current prices was £2,155. It reached £3,599 in Q4 2007 before falling to £3,435 in Q2 2009. Since that date the current price expenditure per head has continued to increase to reach the Q3 2012 level of £3,840. The volume measure (inflation adjusted) of household spending per head increased to £3,431 in Q3 2012, up £7 from Q2 2012. In the latest quarter, the largest share of household spending per head has been on ‘Housing’ (which includes spending on electricity, gas and rental charges). This accounts for almost 25 per cent of current price spending. In the latest quarter, spending on ‘Housing’ decreased to £942 per head, a fall of £5 on the previous quarter. The main driver of this fall was reduced spending on ‘Gas’, which fell by £18. This fall is emphasised by higher than average spending in Q2 2012, when The Met Office recorded the coldest April and June for over 20 years. Spending on ‘Transport’ is the next largest component of overall spending this quarter, with current expenditure rising to £565, a rise of £3 on the quarter. ‘Transport’ expenditure includes the purchase of vehicles, the fuel to power vehicles, and other modes of transport. This reflects an increase in purchases of 'Motor cars', which has increased by £10 to £164. With additional spending on Olympic and Paralympic tickets this quarter, spending per head on 'Recreational and sporting services' has increased by £9 to a record level of £37. In volume terms (adjusted for inflation), spending on ‘Recreation and Culture’ made the largest contribution to the positive growth in Q3 2012, increasing by 3.3 per cent on the quarter. ‘Recreational and Sporting Services’ (which has this quarter included sales of Olympic and Paralympic tickets), has made the main contribution to growth, increasing by 31.7 per cent this quarter. This is an increase of 34.3 per cent when compared to Q3 2011. ‘Transport’ also contributed to the overall increase in volume spending, with an increase of 1.3 per cent. Within ‘Transport’, 'Motor cars' were the main positive contribution to growth with an increase of 6.9 per cent when compared to the previous quarter, and 23.1 per cent when compared to Q3 2011. Even with the positive growth in the latest 2 quarters the volume of purchases in Q3 2012 is still weaker in comparison to before the contraction in GDP in 2008. The largest negative contribution in the current quarter can be seen in ‘Housing’ which has fallen by 2.1 per cent this quarter. In particular, there has been a large decrease in sales of ‘Gas’ which has fallen by 20.1 per cent in volume terms. This large decrease is partially due to a higher than average Q2 2012, when The Met Office recorded unseasonably low temperatures for the time of year, meaning households spent more on heating than normal. The household expenditure measure of prices is an important component of the GDP deflator which is used to determine price pressures in the economy. This quarter the seasonally adjusted household expenditure measure of prices (the deflator) increased by 0.4 per cent. The household expenditure deflator (seasonally adjusted) is now 2.8 per cent higher than in Q3 2011. This continues the trend of positive deflator growth since 2009 Q2, indicating the increased prices that households face when purchasing goods or services. Although the household expenditure measure of price inflation is positive (indicating increasing prices) the growth in the first three quarters of 2012 is weaker than in 2010 and 2011. This indicates that the rate of increase in prices has slowed. In Q3 2012, the largest increases in percentage terms in the household deflator were seen in ‘Housing’ and ‘Restaurants and Hotels’ which grew by 1.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. It should be noted that the CPI and RPI are the two official main measures of inflation. From Blue Book 2011, CPI has been used to deflate estimates of Household Expenditure. Households bought tickets, but the wider Olympic and Paralympic effects are more difficult to identify in consumer demand. During Q3 2012, London played host to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. In line with National Accounts methods expenditure on ticket sales has been included in the latest quarter’s estimate, so that all expenditure is captured at the point the service was provided, rather than when the tickets were purchased. For household expenditure the ticket sales are included in the category 'Recreational and sporting services' which captures household spending on services provided by sports stadia, racecourses, golf courses and other sporting and recreation venues. This section uses current price data to analyse the changes in spending related to the Olympics. Spending on Olympic and Paralympic tickets accounted for almost £500 million of household spending in 'Recreational and sporting services'. The increase in spending between Q2 2012 and Q3 2012 was exceptional in terms of growth for this category at £591 million (34 per cent on the quarter) and took the total amount spent by households to £2.3 billion. Household spending grew consistently for ten years from £849 million in Q1 1997 to £1,692 million in Q1 2007. Household spending on 'Recreational and sporting services' was then flat for the four years between 2007 and 2011 (a period spanning the recession), with total spending remaining close to £1,500 million. In addition to changes in spending on recreational and sporting services it might be expected that other categories of household spending were affected; for example, changes in spending on eating at home, eating out, travel to Olympic and Paralympic venues and accommodation. If there were changes in households spending behaviour these might appear in spending on food, alcohol, transport, restaurants and hotels. Household spending on food for “eating at home” increased by 1.4 per cent while the volume measure of food showed that households bought 0.9 per cent more food, so the increase in spending was a combination of price changes and an increase in the amount of goods purchased. In terms of “eating out” in restaurants spending increased by 1.6 per cent and when adjusted for inflation increased by 0.3 per cent. But neither of these changes were particularly strong in the context of previous growth rates. This suggests that any positive or negative impact from the Olympic and Paralympic Games was counter-balanced by other changes in households spending for this category. Spending on accommodation services increased by 1.2 per cent quarter on quarter but fell by 0.2 per cent when adjusted for inflation. Again, because these estimates are not unusual for the quarter this suggests that any positive or negative impact from the Olympic and Paralympic Games was counter-balanced by other changes in spending on this category. In comparison, the Index of Services publication showed a 2.0 per cent increase in output adjusted for inflation in the Distribution, hotels and restaurants industry between Q3 and Q2 2012. This stronger growth could be related to the business to business spend or the impact of the distribution industry. In Q3 2012 the major changes in spending on 'Transport' by households were driven by the purchase of motor vehicles. These estimates are based on information from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Apart from the ticket sales the possible direction of any Olympic and Paralympic Games effect on household spending is difficult to isolate. This is because both UK and foreign tourists could be substituting their usual expenditure for Olympic and Paralympic Games related expenditure in the same category. For example, households spending on accommodation related to Olympic and Paralympic events may have been a substitute for another holiday, and therefore not created any additional hotel spending. Between Q1 1997 and Q1 2008 UK household spending abroad (imports of tourism) increased from £3.5 billion to £9.1 billion (current prices seasonally adjusted). Following this, spending fell rapidly until Q2 2009. Spending by UK households abroad was then relatively stable up until Q3 2011, after which it has grown in consecutive quarters to its current level. In Q3 2012 UK households spent £7.4 billion abroad, its highest level since Q1 2009. This increase in spending fits with the estimates produced in the ONS publication, Overseas Travel and Tourism which showed that: During the period July to September, UK residents made 1 per cent more visits abroad than in the corresponding period in 2011, and spent 7 per cent more on these visits. The Met Office also reported that summer 2012 (June, July and August) was the wettest in 100 years, which could have influenced UK households decision to holiday abroad. Foreign households spending in the UK (exports of tourism) was relatively flat between Q1 1997 and Q4 2003. Since then, the amount of money spent by foreign tourists when holidaying in the UK has increased from £3.7 billion to £6.0 billion in Q3 2012. Again the Overseas Travel and Tourism publication supports this: During the period July to September 2012, overseas residents made 4 per cent fewer visits to the UK than in the corresponding period in 2011. However, they spent 6 per cent more on these visits. Spending by foreign tourists holidaying in the UK has continued to grow since Q3 2010 in current prices seasonally adjusted terms. Whilst the latest quarter is continuing the trend, the fact that the increase in spending is not exceptional suggests that foreign tourists coming to the UK to attend Olympic and Paralympic events were replacing rather than adding to the normal numbers who holiday in the UK. The level of UK tourist spending abroad and foreign tourist spending in the UK is captured by the International Passenger survey (IPS). The foreign tourist expenditure is subsequently removed from the HHFCE estimate at National level (exports of goods and services). Exports of goods and services are therefore normally expressed as a negative value. Information on UK residents’ spending abroad is also collected by the IPS. This is then included in the HHFCE estimate at National level (imports of goods and services). When analysing patterns of imports and exports of tourism, there are a number of influencing factors, for example changing popularity of holiday destinations and currency exchange rates. In common with all components of UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP), household final consumption expenditure (HHFCE) estimates are subject to the revisions policy of the UK National Accounts. This allows revisions to estimates to be made at particular times of the year. In Q3 2012, the revisions to total household final consumption expenditure have been made from the first quarter of 2011. Revisions between the previous edition of Consumer Trends (Q2 2012) and the latest HHFCE estimates are summarised in Table 1 ‘Revisions to Household Final Consumption Expenditure’. They reflect updated data from suppliers, as well as adjustments to HHFCE as a result of the GDP balancing process. \|Revisions to value (current prices)\|\|Revisions to growth (current prices)\|\|Revisions to growth (volume measure)\| Consumer Trends guidance offers full details regarding this publication. Date of this publication: 21 December, 2012. Next Edition: The next edition of Consumer Trends, Q4 2012, will be published on 27 March 2013. Estimates will be consistent with Blue Book 2012. ONS would like to invite users of the household expenditure and income estimates to a user seminar. The seminar will cover the Consumer Trends and Economic Position of Households publications, and the detailed estimates contained within, which feed into the estimate of the size of the UK economy (GDP). This event will offer the opportunity for suppliers and users of the data to discuss their priorities. Household Final Consumption Expenditure estimates produced in Consumer Trends are produced according to the National Accounts timetable. The preliminary estimate of GDP for the fourth quarter of 2012 will be published on 25 January 2013, followed by the second estimate of GDP on 27 February 2013. The next full set of quarterly national accounts will be published on 27 March 2013. Basic Quality Information for Consumer Trends Statistical Bulletin Summary Quality reports A Summary Quality Report (134.3 Kb Pdf) for this Statistical Bulletin can be found on the National Statistics website. Key quality issues Household expenditure volume series are chainlinked annually. Estimates in this Consumer Trends are now based on 2009 price structures, i.e the chained volume measure estimate in 2009 equals the current price value of expenditure in 2009. Growth in each year up to and including 2009 is calculated at average prices of the previous year. Growth from 2009 onwards is calculated at average prices of 2009. Volume series are only additive for the most recent periods; annual data for 2009 onwards and quarterly data for quarter one 2010 onwards. Common pitfalls in interpreting series: very few statistical revisions arise as a result of ‘errors’ in the popular sense of the word. All estimates, by definition, are subject to statistical ‘error’ but in this context the word refers to the uncertainty inherent in any process or calculation that uses sampling, estimation or modelling. Most revisions reflect either the adoption of new statistical techniques or the incorporation of new information which allows the statistical error of previous estimates to be reduced. Only rarely are there avoidable ‘errors’ such as human or system failures and such mistakes are made quite clear when they do occur. Household Final Consumption Expenditure estimates published in Consumer Trends are a component of the GDP expenditure approach. However, the preliminary estimate for GDP is produced based on the GDP output approach. Historic experience shows that the output approach provides the best timely approach to measuring GDP growth. GDP growth according to the expenditure and income approaches is therefore brought into line with that recorded by output. Further Quarterly National Accounts, Quarterly Sector Accounts and Financial Accounts tables are available in the United Kingdom Economic Accounts. Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available from the press office. View the latest podcasts on Youtube Code of practice National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference. For information about the content of this publication, contact Gareth Clancy. Tel: +44 (0)1633 45 5889. Other customer enquiries ONS Customer Contact Centre Tel: 0845 601 3034 International: +44 (0)845 601 3034 Minicom: 01633 815044 Fax: 01633 652747 Post: Room 1.101, Government Buildings, Cardiff Road, Newport, South Wales NP10 8XG. Tel: 0845 604 1858 (8.30am – 5.30pm weekdays). Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available by visiting www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html or from the Media Relations Office email: email@example.com \|Gareth Clancy\|\|+44 (0)1633 455889\|\|Household Expenditure,\|\|firstname.lastname@example.org\|	<urn:uuid:d9564e5f-c6d7-4094-85cd-9fccc8067a8c>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/ons/rel/consumer-trends/consumer-trends/q3-2012/stb-consumer-trends-q3-2012.html?translation-component=&calling-id=77-6749-4&currLang=English&format=contrast	2013-05-19T10:07:07Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.946744	3,900
Changing Ideas About The Origin Of Life By Enrico Uva \| August 6th 2012 02:00 AM For life to begin, a combination of inorganic and organic substances need to evolve biochemistry. When 20th century scientists accepted and elaborated on J.B.S Haldane’s primordial soup hypothesis, their guesses and suggestive experiments centered mostly around the mature field of organic chemistry. But biochemistry as a science was still in its infancy. Their hunches were like those of aliens trying to account for our transition from hunter gatherer-groups to civilization without understanding the roles of agriculture, division of labor and writing. (1) Primordial Catalysts Were Probably Not Proteins In the 1960′s, RNA‘s role as a catalyst and replicator was greatly underestimated. Unaware of retroviruses, or at least of their reproductive mechanism, biochemists believed that information only flowed from DNA to RNA, and they perceived proteins to be the only biological catalysts. After the discovery of ribozymes revealed that tertiary RNA molecules could speed up their own production, it was hypothesized that these were life’s first catalysts because they could have evolved from single-stranded RNA molecules, which are structurally simpler than both DNA and proteins. But the current popular notion that RNA was essentially the sole primeval replicator and catalyst has also come under attack. As an alternative, the first catalysts may have also included inorganic ions. Hydrothermal vents are rich in iron (II) sulfide (FeS) and nickel (II) sulfide, both of which can speed up biochemical reactions. In existing hydrothermal bacteria and archaebacteria, these compounds are part of protein complexes, but the ions are the reactive catalytic centers for a remarkable exergonic reaction. Hydrogen gas from the vents combines with dissolved carbon dioxide in the sea (and an acetyl-less CoA ) to produce water and acetylCoA (a key molecule involved in releasing energy from sugars; in fatty acid synthesis etc). The overall reaction releases 59 kJ of free energy for every 2 moles of fixed CO2, enough to drive the synthesis of ATP. Another argument against RNA exclusivity from Lane, Allen and Martin is that each time RNA makes a copy of itself in a “primordial soup” its concentration drops so the rate of reaction can only be maintained if nucleotides are continuously replenished. This brings us to the issue of energy. (2) First Energy Source Likely Involved Proton Gradients In the same way that a room only remains tidy and dustless with continuous effort, life forms are capable of maintaining order only in the presence of a continuous energy supply. Even before life arises, the required conversions of small molecules to larger ones are endothermic. Whereas the original hypotheses were careful enough to exclude oxygen from the original mix because an oxidizing atmosphere would break up newly made molecules, the irony is that the proposed energy sources, ultraviolet and lightning, would also destroy newly synthesized molecules. The excessive heat and low pH‘s from deep, volcanic hydrothermal vents do not lead to a viable energy alternative. But Lane, Miller and Allen point out that there is another hydrothermal vent which gets its heat from the mid Atlantic’s tectonic boundaries, known as the Lost City, where olivine mineral (a combination of magnesium and iron silicates) turns to surpentine (hydroxylated iron and magnesium silicates). This is the source of hydrogen gas used by the previously mentioned bacteria to “fix” carbon dioxide into acetyl, a part of a vital metabolite. The hydroxides formed are not inconsequential because, with the help of simple membranes, they provide a natural pH-gradient, essentially a voltage, one that was more pronounced in ancient seas due to CO2 concentrations that were 1000 times higher than their modern counterpart. Remarkably that gradient is comparable to the one created by the biochemical processes in today’s cells. Forty years ago, this idea that chemiosmosis was the energy-provider for earth life’s first cells could not be put forth because no one understood how the universal reaction-facilitator, ATP(adenosine triphosphate), was made from ADP(adenosine diphosphate). But given that proton gradients power ATP production in all kingdoms of life: in respiration, photosynthesis and in rotating motors of bacterial flagella, the hypothesis is now plausible. The enzyme ATP synthase is a molecular machine whose “blades” are rotated by H+ that are put in motion by coulombic repulsion. The enzyme-portion attracts and combines ADP with a phosphate group and the spinning nanomachine releases the ATP. DiMauro has spent 10 years working on the chemistry of 1-carbon amide formamide (H2NCOH), subjecting it to a variety of conditions and mineral catalysts. He has produced all four nucleic acids and a variety of carboxylic acids. What works best is when he uses a pH of 9 to 10 and temperatures in the 80–160 ◦C range, conditions that are found in non-volcanic hydrothermal vents. (3) Knowledge of New Bacterial Kingdoms Downplays Role of Fermentation In First Cells The authors of How did LUCA make a living? Chemiosmosis in the origin of life. BioEssays. January 2010 refute the popular notion that fermentation was used by the first cells to release chemical energy from food molecules. Aside from the idea that fermentation seems to be a derived chemical process, when comparing bacteria to archaea, there are also major differences in the gene sequences of fermentation enzymes. On the surface they seem like similar processes, but in reality the release of energy in oxygen’s absence evolved separately and independently. It’s essentially convergent evolution, the way Old World Euphorbia and New World cacti have similar adaptations but are not related. Clostridia-type fermentations (Clostridia are sulfite reducing bacteria that include tetanus-producing bacteria), which represent ancient lineages, actually involve chemiosmosis, which of course exploits ion gradients across the cytoplasmic membrane and rotor–stator type ATPases (enzymes that cleave ATP to place a good leaving group on otherwise nonreactive molecules). The same is true of fermentation in most free-living anaerobic bacteria. Writing in 1969, Calvin wrote: As long as we are limited to biology as it is on the earth, it is going to be difficult for us to be sure that such a system occurred in the way described in this book. We shall have to find other places in the universe, preferably nearby, in which this process is going on and has not gone all the way, so that we can observe it at some other stage of its development. this is why I am interested in lunar and planetary exploration. In four decades no such places have been found yet, but at least something esoteric has been discovered at the bottom of our own oceans. It’s far from direct evidence, which of course eludes everyone because the molecular precursors to primordial life left no traces. But along with more detailed knowledge of biochemistry, the Lost City has inspired hypotheses that bring us closer to a non-fictitious narrative of our chemical history. How did LUCA make a living? Chemiosmosis in the origin of life LAM BioEssays \| pdf file - William F. Martin Edited by Miguel Teixeira and Ricardo O. Louro Hydrogen, metals, bifurcating electrons, and proton gradients: The early evolution of biological energy conservation Febs Letters Volume 586, Issue 5, 9 March 2012, Pages 485–493 - Nick Lane, John F. Allen, William Martin. How did LUCA make a living? Chemiosmosis in the origin of life. BioEssays. January 2010 (whole article can be read free of charge) - Michael J. Russell, William Martin. The Rocky Roots of the Acetyl-coA Pathway TRENDS in Biochemical Sciences Vol.29 No.7 July 2004 (whole article can again be read free of charge) - Calvin, M. (1969). Chemical evolution: Molecular evolution towards the origin of living systems on the earth and elsewhere. Oxford: Clarendon Press. QH325 .C26 Enrico Uva (2012). Changing Ideas About The Origin Of Life Science 2.0 \| Chemical Education Tracing Knowledge Notification \| Ειδοποίηση Στα ίχνη της Γνώσης of the original post, out of respect to the source and readers. Please follow the link for references and more informations. της πρωτότυπης δημοσίευσης με σεβασμό στην πηγή και στους αναγνώστες. Παρακαλώ επισκεφθείτε τον σύνδεσμο για περισσότερες πληροφορίες.	<urn:uuid:cba9b995-2e8f-4763-b024-81aace16e109>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://livasperiklis.com/2012/08/07/changing-ideas-about-the-origin-of-life/	2013-05-18T17:36:16Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.924147	2,026
Eating local and sustainable food is healthier for you and for the environment. Food that is grown and harvested locally is usually given more time to ripen, increasing its nutrient value. Eating sustainably-grown crops reduces the potential human health and environmental consequences of pesticides. The greater the distance food has to travel to the consumer, the greater the contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. In addition, buying local food encourages farmers to diversify their crops, decreasing vulnerability to pests, extreme weather and disease. The food grown in the Harvard Community Garden is grown with compost collected from Harvard’s organic landscaping program and crops are never treated with chemicals. We strive to cultivate heirloom varieties and provide a diverse harvest.	<urn:uuid:ab686209-dc96-45ed-ab3c-8c33a75b7ed3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.garden.harvard.edu/?page_id=634	2013-05-23T04:41:52Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.932798	146
In 1986, an idea became reality. Canada, the United States and Mexico united to form the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP), designed to restore diminishing continental waterfowl populations to the levels of the 1970’s. The “Plan” as it is sometimes called, brought together Federal and State agencies, private conservation organizations, business and private landowners national corporations and individuals of the three countries into “Joint Ventures”. Joint Ventures are regionally based, self-directed partnerships that carry out science-based conservation through a wide array of community participation. From 1986 through the mid-90’s, Joint Ventures focused almost exclusively on waterfowl, striving to meet the goals of the NAWMP. In the late 1990’s and early 2000, several other bird initiatives, based partially on the successes of the NAWMP, became reality. These included the Partners in Flight North American Landbird Plan, the US Shorebird Conservation Plan, and the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan. Joint Ventures, arguably one of the most successful conservation strategies ever begun, rose to the challenge, maintaining waterfowl as a significant focus and incorporating research, biological planning, monitoring and evaluation and on-the-ground projects that would address a broad spectrum of bird conservation and conserve critical bird habitats. Now that we are in the 21st century, the legacy continues as Joint Ventures provide a model for regional, national and international conservation through the spirit of partnership and cooperation. JOINT VENTURES - Conserving Migratory Bird Habitat for Future Generations! Links to the four major bird initiatives: North American Waterfowl Management Plan http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/nawmp/files/nawmp2004.pdf (2.2 meg PDF) US. Shorebird Conservation Plan:	<urn:uuid:d06585c6-ef1b-4a77-957f-886bfb652fce>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/nawm/	2013-05-24T02:18:57Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132729/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.89039	387
Monday, December 20, 2010 A Christmas Tree for the ages in Madison Square Park The misty Madison Square Garden greets a stranger to the park: America's first community Christmas tree. (Courtesy LOC) HOW NEW YORK SAVED CHRISTMAS Throughout the week I'll spotlight a few more events in New York history that actually helped establish the standard Christmas traditions many Americans celebrate today. Not just New York-centric events like the Rockefeller Christmas Tree or the Rockettes, but actual components of the holiday festivities that are practiced in America and around the world today. We started this series last year; click here to read past entries. The New York Tribune from Christmas Eve 1912 cheerfully attempted to use the symbol of the Christmas tree as totem for class struggles between the rich and poor. In case you missed what they were doing, the headline proclaimed: "HOW THE CHILDREN OF THE RICH AND POOR ENJOYED XMAS TREES -- BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS." The story recounts two Christmas events. On Ellis Island, children sang carols and patriotic anthems in glee and appreciation around two large trees bedecked with candles. Meanwhile, at the newly opened Ritz-Carlton at 46th and Madison, the children of wealthy New Yorkers gathered around an opulent tree with what is being described as holiday malaise. "Children in broadcloth and furs, accompanied by their mammas in silks and velvets and sables, smiled in well bred manner when something pleased them, but showed no other emotion." But it's the Christmas tree mentioned in an adjoining article that would be more historically relevant. "2,300 LIGHTS ON CHRISTMAS TREE, FINE PROGRAMME IN MADISON SQUARE FROM 4:30 TILL MIDNIGHT, FREE TO MULTITUDE." The Christmas Eve Madison Square celebration was derived from the well-meaning progressive push by social activists to care for the city's poor. Plans for an outdoor public Christmas tree were devised by Emilie Herreshoff, wife of the prominent chemical scientist J.B.F. Herreshoff, in emulation of European civic customs. (Mrs. Herreshoff's other claim to fame would be her messy divorce from Mr. Herreshoff just a few years later.) It would be a clean, proper, somber affair, closely tied to Jacob Riis's equally non-riotous New Years Eve celebration scheduled the week after -- righteous counter-programming to the Times Square celebration. Riis believed that the holidays were not a time wild behavior, and these events would provide the poor with 'acceptable' alternatives. Below: Madison Square, how it looked in 1907 (with the Flatiron to the right. (Courtesy LOC) The organizers knew they were doing something unique, but probably did not realize the special significance of the event. Their 70-foot-tall imported tree from the Adirondacks, festooned with lights from the Edison Company, would be the first outdoor community Christmas tree in the United States. This is not an insignificant milestone, especially today in a age where public displays of holiday expression and religious belief are constantly being debated. This 'Tree of Light', mounted in cement, was such a novelty that almost 25,000 people showed up that night to witness it and enjoy an evening-long slate of choral entertainment. The location was significant as well, as the nearby Madison Square Garden sometimes hosted Christmas celebrations. Those mostly charged an admission price, however, and certainly left the poorest of New Yorkers out in the cold. The New York Times laid it on thick the following day, reporting, '"The Almighty put snow on the tree to make it prosper," said an old lady who hobbled along in crutches.' They also ran this poem about the Madison Square tree: By the following year, the Salvation Army would take the reins of the popular event, offering up "10,000 hot sausages and 10,000 cups of hot coffee" for arriving crowds. According to the same article, 'moving pictures' were even shown in a different area of the park. Today the Star of Hope monument in the park commemorates these early Madison Square celebrations. The Tribune article says that "Boston and Hartford, Conn., following the example set here, will have public trees to-day," so one could generously say at least that the honor is shared.	<urn:uuid:20543bc5-60fd-4e5c-aa50-b01c3243294b>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://theboweryboys.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-tree-for-ages-in-madison.html?showComment=1293827347141	2013-05-22T07:47:52Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.951707	912
Oh My Omega-3! Anything classified as a "fatty acid" sounds far from healthy, but omega-3's debunk that idea. Consuming these essential fats can be a vital step to improving your health. Omega-3's have been associated with a wide range of health benefits, from reducing symptoms of depression and ADHD to relieving joint pain and boosting the immune system. But where do omega-3's come from and how, exactly, do they improve your health? Read on to find out. OMEGA-3'S DEFINEDSo what are omega-3 fatty acids, anyway? The answer requires a bit of a chemistry lesson. Omega-3's are polyunsaturated fats, which get their name because they contain more than one double bond (hence, "poly"). More specifically, omega-3 refers to a double bond in the third space from the end of the carbon chain. Because of this unique chemical makeup, polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3's, are far healthier than the "bad" fats, like saturated and trans fats. HOW DO OMEGA-3's BENEFIT THE BODY?The answer is complicated. When omega-3's replace "bad" fats (for example, if you stick to a diet of salmon as opposed to burgers and opt for walnuts over potato chips), they work to lower your risk of heart attack and stroke by stimulating the production of chemicals in your body that help control inflammation in the joints, the bloodstream, and the tissues. This process can also lower triglycerides, helping to prevent heart disease, and may produce hormone-like substances with anti-inflammatory effects to treat everything from rheumatoid arthritis to lupus (Read The Anti-inflammatory Diet). And a recent study released by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry claimed yet another benefit of these healthy fatty acids – supplementing with omega-3's may reduce symptoms of depression among pregnant women. Where do omega-3's come from?Since omega-3's are essential fats, they are not produced naturally by your body. So you have to obtain them through food, especially fatty, coldwater fish like salmon, herring, and mackerel. Don't like fish? You can load up on other omega-3-rich foods like walnuts, broccoli, cantaloupe, kidney beans, spinach, grape leaves, or cauliflower. You can also opt to pop supplements like chia seeds, fish oil, or flaxseed oil.	<urn:uuid:fde49bde-a645-4a83-af0a-f1a59aa71191>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/804115/the-many-health-benefits-of-omega-fatty-acids	2013-05-24T15:56:55Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.926646	512
Treatment & Care Treatments vary based on your child's age, health, and medical history, the extent of your child's disease, his tolerance for specific medications, procedures, and therapies, and, of course, your own opinions and preference will be considered. Standard treatments include: - Antibody replacement: Gamma globulin therapy, administered intravenously, will give your child the antibodies he cannot make himself, in order to protect against infections and reduce their spread - Prompt treatment of any infections - Avoidance of live viral vaccinations, such as the polio vaccine, as that could cause your child to develop the disease which the vaccine is meant to prevent. Children with X-linked agammaglobulinemia can become very ill or even die at an early age from severe infections. Children who develop chronic lung disease with bronchiectasis (widening and scarring of the airways) may have a shortened lifespan. But your child, if diagnosed and treated early, should be able to lead a relatively normal, active life, without the need for isolation.	<urn:uuid:4e1fe704-7ee8-4320-ba35-cf734499c23e>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://childrenshospital.org/az/Site1803/mainpageS1803P4.html	2013-05-26T03:23:56Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706578727/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121618-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.940974	222
Which significant battle enabled Andrew Jackson to become the President of the USA? Considering his leadership and contribution to this war he was catapulted to the White House. This battle was the battle of New Orleans, early in 1815. The peace treaty for the War of 1812 had been signed in Europe, but the Americans didn't yet know it (in the days before telecommunications). Nor did the British attackers headed to Louisiana. Jackson adopted a fortified position and let the British attack over rough terrain. The result was a lopsided American victory, about 2,000 British killed and wounded (including their general), versus 20 American casualties. This "sealed" the peace after heavy American defeats in 1814 (when the British had captured and burned Washington D.C.), because the last battle was an American victory. The British weren't about to overturn the peace and suffer another defeat at the hands of a general like Jackson. New Orleans made clear that Jackson was one of the greatest generals in American history, and paved the way for his Presidency.	<urn:uuid:31cad3d1-ae41-49c7-8471-38650d41ead7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/4428/which-battle-enabled-andrew-jackson-to-become-the-president-of-usa/4429	2013-05-22T07:48:04Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.974756	212
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition - n. A shape or design with emanating rays that resembles the flash of light produced by an exploding star. - n. A violent explosion, or the pattern (likened to the shape of a star) supposed to be made by such an explosion. - n. typography A symbol similar to an asterisk, but with additional rays: ✺. - n. astronomy A region of space with an unusually high rate of star formation. - n. astronomy A period in time during which a region of space experiences an unusually high rate of star formation. - v. astronomy, of a region of space To experience an unusually high rate of star formation. - star + burst (Wiktionary) “These superwinds are common in so called starburst galaxies, like for example the nearby M82.” “These so-called starburst galaxies have long been a puzzle to astronomers, but a new paper published in” “NGC 253 is known as a starburst galaxy, after its very intense star formation activity.” “M82 is classified as a starburst galaxy because within a small, central region it makes stars at a rate 10 times higher than that of the entire Milky Way.” “I bought one with a "starburst" effect that blurs the edges of the image to create a sometimes-dreamy, sometimes-streaky shot, depending on what I was photographing.” “Let's just remember her "starburst" when we begin to feel like "has beens", used up, and out of ideas.” “I like that little "starburst" of light near the head.” “In this one, she has switched on the "starburst" option or something but the effect is quite good:” “Galaxies with high levels of star formation like M82, also known as "starburst" galaxies, have large numbers of supernovae and massive stars.” “B.: The patterned seams create a pleasing "starburst" effect around the crotch (or "Clinton-getter"), making them, indeed, a historically significant choice.” These user-created lists contain the word ‘starburst’. Interesting gene names. Some of these may have changed recently (to something less offensive/funny). tinman, agnostic, dreadlocks, Van Gogh, fruitless, lava lamp, ariadne, cheap date, ken and barbie, I'm not dead yet, I'm not dead yet 2, manic fringe and 1192 more... Input limited to 30 seconds, so we needed to find cost-effective ways to become a part of your life. Uninvited houseguest technology: the link technique, thoughts as real estate. The full potential... words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass its names of candy Gem cuts, old and new. As far as I'm concerned, these should be pluralized words that make my mind and heart flutter with joy Looking for tweets for starburst.	<urn:uuid:9e7c701c-fa18-457d-aceb-a0a9b2b4b181>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.wordnik.com/words/starburst	2013-06-18T04:36:01Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706933615/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122213-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.909218	680
Big Boats Up The River Students will practice addition skills using information about ships visiting the Port of Albany on the Hudson River estuary. Students will solve problems that require them to: - read and interpret data from a table; - add strings of single digit numbers to compare use of the Port of Albany by different vessels; - recognize that ships play a role in transportation and commerce in the Hudson Valley. Elementary (Grades 2-3) Math, Social Studies (Geography) New York State Learning Standards: Mathematics, Science, & Technology Standards 1, 2, 3 Social Studies Standard 3 - Interpret data from a table. - Add using single digit whole numbers. - Apply mathematics in real world settings. - Reason mathematically. Preparation time: 5 minutes Activity time: 20 minutes Each student should have: - Worksheet: Big Boats Up The River (PDF) 190 KB The Port of Albany is the destination of many vessels seen on the Hudson. The largest grain export elevator east of the Mississippi loads ships with grain brought to Albany by rail. A few loads of molasses come in each year, to be mixed with grain to produce feed for livestock. Road salt also arrives by ship. Scrap metal is shipped out of Albany, as is wood pulp. Heavy equipment - windmill blades, generators, and turbines - enters and leaves the port on heavy lift vessels. Containers are barged between Albany and New York Harbor. While oil is not included in data on cargoes handled at the Port of Albany (the tank farms located in the area are privately owned), gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, and other petroleum products are - by volume and value - the most important cargos on the Hudson River. Tankers and tanker barges bring oil to Albany, and carry ethanol, brought in by rail, to refineries elsewhere in the Northeast, where it is blended into gasoline. Likewise not included in the port data are the frequent shipments of gypsum brought by ship to a wallboard (sheetrock) factory in Rensselaer, across from Albany. - Discuss the kinds of ships and cargoes seen on the Hudson. - Go over the worksheet with the class, or assign as in-class work or homework. - Have students share answers to questions from worksheet, or collect and grade sheets. - Use other data from the table to make up similar problems for quiz. Vocabulary List and Answer Key: Available in the pdf version of this teacher's section and in the package that bundles all of the readings. - Information about the Port of Albany is available from the Albany Port District Commission. Use the Offsite links on the right side of this page to visit the Albany Port District Commission's website. - Line drawings and descriptions of types of ships seen on the Hudson and New York Harbor can be viewed using the links leaving DEC's website on the right side of this page.	<urn:uuid:e619ff5a-ab63-4fd2-bb5e-d3e8e2a478da>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/48495.html	2013-05-25T20:02:19Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.909403	620
August 7, 2012 > Infections Can Cause 'Blood Poisoning' Infections Can Cause 'Blood Poisoning' Learn the Signs and Symptoms of Sepsis at Washington Hospital Seminar Without proper treatment, ordinary infections can become so severe that they cause an overwhelming immune response called sepsis as the body fights the infection. This life-threatening condition can make people very sick. "With sepsis, chemicals released into the blood to fight the infection trigger widespread inflammation, which can restrict blood flow and cause organs to shut down," said Dr. Kadeer Halimi, who specializes in emergency medicine at Washington Hospital. "Some people call sepsis blood poisoning." To help raise awareness about this dangerous condition, Halimi will present "Signs and Symptoms of Sepsis" with Brenda Brennan, a registered nurse who also specializes in emergency medicine at Washington Hospital. The free seminar will be held on Tuesday, August 14, from 1 to 3 p.m., at the Conrad E. Anderson, M.D. Auditorium, located at 2500 Mowry Avenue (Washington West) in Fremont. You can register online at www.whhs.com or call (800) 963-7070 for more information. "It's important for people to know the signs and symptoms of sepsis, particularly if they are at high risk, because early intervention is critical," Halimi said. "We want to make sure people know when to seek medical attention." Bacteria are the most common cause, but other microbes like viruses and fungi can also cause sepsis, he explained. Pneumonia, urinary tract infections, skin infections, appendicitis, and meningitis can all lead to sepsis if the infection spreads. "Any infection can turn into sepsis," Halimi added. "That's why we really need to be diligent about clearing up infections with proper treatment." The symptoms include fever, chills and severe shaking, rapid breathing, and low blood pressure. Often one of the first signs of sepsis is an altered mental state such as confusion and agitation. Dizziness can also occur. Some people with sepsis also develop a rash on their skin and may experience pain in their joints. Anyone can get sepsis, although Halimi said those most at risk for sepsis are people with compromised immune systems due to illnesses like diabetes and AIDS, and medical treatments such as chemotherapy and steroids. Babies and the elderly also have an increased risk because they have weaker immune systems. "Medications that suppress the immune system increase the risk for developing sepsis," he added. Early Treatment is Critical Treating sepsis at an early stage is critical, according to Halimi. Washington Hospital has a sepsis protocol in place so that physicians and nurses can immediately recognize the signs and symptoms of sepsis and implement an aggressive treatment plan. "We start administering antibiotics and fluids immediately to fight the infection and stabilize blood pressure," he explained. "The faster we can get the treatment started, the better outcomes we see for our patients." People with severe sepsis require close monitoring and treatment in the hospital intensive care unit. If the patient has severe sepsis or septic shock, lifesaving measures may be needed to stabilize breathing and heart function, Halimi added. About 750,000 people in this country get sepsis each year and an estimated 28 to 50 percent of them die from the condition - far more than the number of U.S. deaths from prostate cancer, breast cancer, and AIDS combined - according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The number of sepsis cases per year has been on the rise in the United States. The NIH attributes this rise to an aging population, the increased longevity of people with chronic diseases, the spread of antibiotic-resistant organisms, an upsurge in invasive procedures, and broader use of medications that suppress the immune system. The use of antibiotics over the last few decades has increased, causing many strains of bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics, making infections more difficult to treat, Halimi explained. He said those who are at higher risk for sepsis should be vigilant about reducing their chances of getting an infection and then closely monitoring any infections they do get. They should also try to avoid coming in contact with people who are sick or have skin infections, he added. "It's important to remember that anyone can get sepsis and any infection can get out of control and cause sepsis," Halimi said. "That's why everyone should know the signs and symptoms of this potentially deadly medical condition." To learn about other classes and seminars offered at Washington Hospital, visit www.whhs.com.	<urn:uuid:0a1cd94d-c252-415e-85ce-b4815a099e4a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.tricityvoice.com/articlefiledisplay.php?issue=2012-08-07&file=Signs+and+Symptoms+of+Sepsis.txt	2013-05-22T00:36:18Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.946889	978
Steel is derived from a family of alloyed metals. It is a material consisting of alloyed iron and carbon. Steel has been widely used for a variety of purposes, including being used as a construction material for bridges, structures, and many types of equipment. It contains properties that provide it with the strength necessary to keep buildings, materials and equipment impenetrable. Different types of steel, although consisting of the same properties and composition, can range in hardness. A steel drink can and a pair of scissors are both constructed of steel, but scissors are nearly twenty times harder due to the higher content of carbon they contain. The varying hardness of steel can be alternated with the carbon content. Other factors play a role in the properties of steel. Cooling steel after it has been subjected to hot temperatures results in a harder and more brittle material. Likewise, it can be produced with softer properties if kept in hot temperatures for a longer period of time and cooled much more slowly. Another benefit of steel is that it is a material that can be recycled and it will retain its properties, even after it is used time and time again. Steel can be produced either by an electric arc furnace or a blast furnace. Using one of these two methods, three different types of steel are produced: long steel, carbon flat steel, and stainless steel. Long steel is used to form billets and other semi-products, which in turn make up products such as hot-rolled bars, rods, and reconstruction bars, common materials used in pipeline construction and other construction applications. Stainless steel is another type of steel, containing alloyed iron, carbon, chromium, and other elements. Carbon flat steel is a product commonly used in slabs of heated or cold strips. This type of steel is used for building automobiles and ships. Steel plays an important role in the world economic growth. In the past few years alone, the production of steel in China and India, particularly crude steel, has grown more than seven percent.	<urn:uuid:8ddf3899-2c5a-4c71-b760-3461e201272e>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/steel	2013-06-18T23:25:54Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.954012	414
Second Opium War \|\|This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (October 2011)\| \|\|It has been suggested that Opium Wars be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2013.\| The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860. It was fought over similar issues as the First Opium War. "Second War" and "Arrow War" are both used in the literature. "Second Opium War" refers to one of the British strategic objectives: legalising the opium trade, expanding coolie trade, opening all of China to British merchants, and exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties. The "Arrow War" refers to the name of a vessel which became the starting point of the conflict. The importance of the opium factor in the war is in debate among historians. The 1850s saw the rapid growth of imperialism. Some of the shared goals of the western powers were the expansion of their overseas markets and the establishment of new ports of call. The French Treaty of Huangpu and the American Wangxia Treaty both contained clauses allowing renegotiation of the treaties after 12 years. In an effort to expand their privileges in China, Britain demanded the Qing authorities renegotiate the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842), citing their most favoured nation status. The British demands included opening all of China to British merchants, legalising the opium trade, exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties, suppression of piracy, regulation of the coolie trade, permission for a British ambassador to reside in Beijing and for the English-language version of all treaties to take precedence over the Chinese. The Qing Dynasty court rejected the demands from Britain and France. First phase On 8 October 1856, Qing officials boarded the Arrow, a Chinese-owned ship (a lorcha) that had been registered in Hong Kong and was suspected of piracy and smuggling. Twelve Chinese crew members were arrested on suspicion of piracy by the Chinese authorities. The British officials in Guangzhou demanded the release of the sailors, claiming that because the ship had recently been British-registered, it was protected under the Treaty of Nanjing. The British insisted that the Arrow had been flying a British ensign and that the Qing soldiers had insulted the flag. As China insisted that it did not hang out the national flag at that time, negotiations eventually broke down, but not before all sailors had been returned to the British with a letter promising great care would be taken that British ships were not boarded improperly. In fact, the registration of the nationality of the Arrow had expired, in which case she did not have the right to fly the ensign, and her crew's arrest by the Qing authorities was lawful in any case. Richard Cobden, a British MP of the time, describes the events conducted by the British under Sir John Bowring the day after the prisoners' release given in a speech to parliament: Operations were commenced against the Barrier Forts on the Canton River. From 23 October to 13 November, these naval and military operations were continuous. The Barrier Forts, the Bogue Forts, the Blenheim Forts, and the Dutch Folly Forts, and twenty-three Chinese junks, were all taken or destroyed. The suburbs of Canton were pulled, burnt, or battered down, that the ships might fire upon the walls of the town. British attacks Although the British were delayed by the Indian Rebellion of 1857, they followed up the Arrow Incident in 1856 and attacked Guangzhou from the Pearl River. The governor of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, Yeh Mingchen, ordered all Chinese soldiers manning the forts not to resist the British incursion. After taking the fort near Guangzhou with little effort, the British Army attacked Guangzhou. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, there was an attempt to poison the British Superintendent of Trade, Sir John Bowring and his family in January. However, the baker who had been charged with lacing bread with arsenic bungled the attempt by putting an excess of the poison into the dough. This meant that his victims threw up sufficient quantities of the poison as to only have a non-lethal dose left in their system. Criers were sent out with an alert, averting disaster. When known in Britain, the issue became the subject of controversy. The British House of Commons on 3 March passed a resolution by 263 to 249 against the Government saying: That this House has heard with concern of the conflicts which have occurred between the British and Chinese authorities on the Canton River; and, without expressing an opinion as to the extent to which the Government of China may have afforded this country cause of complaint respecting the non-fulfilment of the Treaty of 1842, this House considers that the papers which have been laid on the table fail to establish satisfactory grounds for the violent measures resorted to at Canton in the late affair of the Arrow, and that a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the state of our commercial relations with China. In response, Lord Palmerston assaulted the patriotism of the Whigs who sponsored the resolution and Parliament was dissolved. Following the election and an increased majority for Palmerston, the voices within the Whig faction who were in support of China were hushed, and the new parliament decided to seek redress from China based on the report about the Arrow Incident submitted by Harry Parkes, British Consul to Guangzhou. The French Empire, the United States, and the Russian Empire received requests from Britain to form an alliance. Intervention of France France joined the British action against China, prompted by the execution of a French missionary, Father Auguste Chapdelaine ("Father Chapdelaine Incident"), by Chinese local authorities in Guangxi province. The United States and Russia sent envoys to Hong Kong to offer help to the British and French, though in the end they sent no military aid. The U.S. was involved in two campaigns however, the first in retaliation for a Chinese attack on a U.S. Navy officer. The resulting campaign was the Battle of the Pearl River Forts, near Canton. The second was in 1859 when a U.S. warship, the USS San Jacinto bombarded the Taku Forts in support of British and French troops on the ground. The British and the French joined forces under Admiral Sir Michael Seymour. The British army led by Lord Elgin, and the French army led by Gros, attacked and occupied Guangzhou in late 1857. Yeh Mingchen was captured, and Bo-gui, the governor of Guangdong, surrendered. A joint committee of the Alliance was formed. Bo-gui remained at his original post in order to maintain order on behalf of the victors. The British-French Alliance maintained control of Guangzhou for nearly four years. Yeh Mingchen was exiled to Calcutta, India, where he starved himself to death. Treaties of Tientsin In June 1858, the first part of the war ended with the four Treaties of Tientsin, to which Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. were parties. These treaties opened 11 more ports to Western trade. The Chinese initially refused to ratify the treaties. The major points of the treaty were: - Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. would have the right to establish diplomatic legations (small embassies) in Peking (a closed city at the time) - Ten more Chinese ports would be opened for foreign trade, including Niuzhuang, Tamsui, Hankou, and Nanjing - The right of all foreign vessels including commercial ships to navigate freely on the Yangtze River - The right of foreigners to travel in the internal regions of China, which had been formerly banned - China was to pay an indemnity to Britain and France in 8 million taels of silver each Treaty of Aigun On 28 May 1858, the separate Treaty of Aigun was signed with Russia to revise the Chinese and Russian border as determined by the Nerchinsk Treaty in 1689. Russia gained the left bank of the Amur River, pushing the border back from the Argun River. The treaty gave Russia control over a non-freezing area on the Pacific coast, where Russia founded the city of Vladivostok in 1860. Second phase Anglo-French invasion In June 1858, shortly after the Qing Court agreed to the disadvantageous treaties, more hawkish ministers prevailed upon the Xianfeng Emperor to resist encroachment by the West. On 2 June 1858, the Xianfeng Emperor ordered the Mongolian general Sengge Rinchen to guard the Taku (Dagu) Forts near Tianjin. Sengge Richen reinforced the Taku Forts with added artillery. He also brought 4,000 Mongolian cavalry from Chahar and Suiyuan. In June 1859, a British naval force with 2,200 troops and 21 ships, under the command of Admiral Sir James Hope, sailed north from Shanghai to Tianjin with newly appointed Anglo-French envoys for the embassies in Beijing. They sailed to the mouth of the Hai River guarded by the Taku Forts near Tianjin and demanded to continue inland to Beijing. Sengge Rinchen replied that the Anglo-French envoys may land up the coast at Beitang and proceed to Beijing but refused to allow armed troops to accompany them to the Chinese capital. The Anglo-French forces insisted on landing at Taku instead of Beitang and escorting the trip to Beijing. On the night of 24 June 1859, a small batch of British forces blew up the iron obstacles that the Chinese had placed in the Baihe River. The next day, the British forces sought to forcibly sail into the river, and shelled Taku Fort. They encountered fierce resistance from Sengge Rinchen's positions. After one day and one night's fighting, four gunboats were lost and two others severely damaged. The convoy withdrew under the cover of fire from a naval squadron commanded by Commodore Josiah Tattnall. Tattnall's intervention violated U.S. neutrality in China. For a time, anti-foreign resistance reached a crescendo within the Qing Court. In the summer of 1860, a larger Anglo-French force (11,000 British under General James Hope Grant, 6,700 French under General Cousin-Montauban) with 173 ships sailed from Hong Kong and captured the port cities of Yantai and Dalian to seal the Bohai Gulf. Then they carried out a landing near at Beitang (also spelled "Pei Tang"), some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the Taku Forts on 3 August, which they captured after three weeks on 21 August. After taking Tienstin on 23 August, the Anglo-French forces marched inland toward Beijing. The Xianfeng Emperor then dispatched ministers for peace talks, but relations broke down completely when a British diplomatic envoy, Harry Parkes, was arrested during negotiations on 18 September. He and his small entourage were imprisoned and interrogated. Half were allegedly murdered by the Chinese in a fashion by slow slicing with the application of tourniquets to severed limbs to prolong the torture; this infuriated British leadership upon discovery in October. The bodies were unrecognisable. The Anglo-French invasion clashed with Sengge Rinchen's Mongolian cavalry on 18 September near Zhangjiawan before proceeding toward the outskirts of Beijing for a decisive battle in Tongzhou District, Beijing. On 21 September, at the Battle of Palikao, Sengge Rinchen's 10,000 troops including elite Mongolian cavalry were completely annihilated after several doomed frontal charges against concentrated firepower of the Anglo-French forces, which entered Beijing on 6 October. Burning of the Summer Palaces With the Qing army devastated, Emperor Xianfeng fled the capital, leaving his brother, Prince Gong, to be in charge of negotiations. Xianfeng first fled to the Chengde Summer Palace and then to Rehe Province. Anglo-French troops in Beijing began looting the Summer Palace (Yihe Yuan) and Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan) immediately (as it was full of valuable artwork). After Parkes and the surviving diplomatic prisoners were freed, Lord Elgin ordered the Summer Palaces destroyed starting on 18 October. Beijing was not occupied; the Anglo-French army remained outside the city. The destruction of the Forbidden City was discussed, as proposed by Lord Elgin to discourage the Chinese from using kidnapping as a bargaining tool, and to exact revenge on the mistreatment of their prisoners. Elgin's decision was further motivated by the torture and murder of almost twenty Western prisoners, including two British envoys and a journalist for The Times. The Russian envoy Count Ignatiev and the French diplomat Baron Gros settled on the burning of the Summer Palaces instead, since it was "least objectionable" and would not jeopardise the treaty signing. After the Xianfeng emperor and his entourage fled Beijing, the June 1858 Treaty of Tianjin was finally ratified by the emperor's brother, Yixin, the Prince Gong, in the Convention of Peking on 18 October 1860, bringing The Second Opium War to an end. The British, French and—thanks to the schemes of Ignatiev—the Russians were all granted a permanent diplomatic presence in Beijing (something the Qing resisted to the very end as it suggested equality between China and the European powers). The Chinese had to pay 8 million taels to Britain and France. Britain acquired Kowloon (next to Hong Kong). The opium trade was legalised and Christians were granted full civil rights, including the right to own property, and the right to evangelise. The content of the Convention of Peking included: - China's signing of the Treaty of Tianjin - Opening Tianjin as a trade port - Cede No.1 District of Kowloon (south of present day Boundary Street) to Britain - Freedom of religion established in China - British ships were allowed to carry indentured Chinese to the Americas - Indemnity to Britain and France increasing to 8 million taels of silver apiece - Legalisation of the opium trade Two weeks later, Ignatiev forced the Qing government to sign a "Supplementary Treaty of Peking" which ceded the land east of the Ussuri River (forming part of Outer Manchuria) to the Russians. The defeat of the Imperial army by a relatively small Anglo-French military force (outnumbered at least 10 to 1 by the Qing army) coupled with the flight (and subsequent death) of the Emperor and the burning of the Summer Palace was a shocking blow to the once powerful Qing Dynasty. "Beyond a doubt, by 1860 the ancient civilisation that was China had been thoroughly defeated and humiliated by the West." After this war, a major modernisation movement, known as the Self-Strengthening Movement, began in China in the 1860s and several institutional reforms were initiated. See also \|Wikisource has original text related to this article:\| - Unequal treaties - Anglo-Chinese relations - Imperialism in Asia - Taiping Rebellion - Nien Rebellion - Miao Rebellion (1854–73) - Dungan revolt (1862–1877) - Panthay Rebellion - History of Beijing - Michel Vié, Histoire du Japon des origines a Meiji, PUF, p.99. ISBN 2-13-052893-7 - Richard Cobden's speech to parliament http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/China_and_the_Attack_on_Canton - Tsai, Jung-fang. (1995). Hong Kong in Chinese History: community and social unrest in the British Colony, 1842–1913. ISBN 0-231-07933-8 - John Thomson 1837–1921, Chap on Hong Kong, Illustrations of China and Its People (London,1873–1874) - Religion Under Socialism in China by Zhufeng Luo, Chu-feng Lo, Luo Zhufeng p.42: "France started the second Opium War under the pretext of the "Father Chapdelaine Incident." - Taiwan in Modern Times by Paul Kwang Tsien Sih p.105: "The two incidents that eventually caused a war were the Arrow incident and the murder of the French Catholic priest, Abbe Auguste Chapdelaine" - A History of Christian Missions in China p.273 by Kenneth Scott Latourette: "A casus belli was found in an unfortunate incident which had occurred before the Arrow affair, the judicial murder of a French priest, Auguste Chapdelaine" - Encyclopedie Larousse Illustree, 1898, Cousin-Montuaban article - Le Figaro, Hors-Serie "Pekin", Feb. 2008 - The Rise of Modern China, Immanual Hsu, 1985, pg. 215. - Endacott, George Beer. Carroll, John M. (2005). A Biographical Sketch-book of Early Hong Kong. HK University press. ISBN 962-209-742-1 - Immanuel C.Y. Hsu The Rise of Modern China, 6th ed., Oxford University Press, 2000: 219. Further reading - G. F. Bartle, Sir John Bowring and the Arrow war in China, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Manchester, 43:2 (1961), 293–316 - Jack Beeching, The Chinese Opium Wars (1975), ISBN 0-15-617094-9 - Bonner-Smith and E. Lumley, The Second China War, 1944. - W. Travis Hanes III and Frank Sanello, The Opium Wars, 2002, ISBN 0-7607-7638-5 - Immanual Hsu, The Rise of Modern China, 1985. - Henry Loch, Personal narrative of occurrences during Lord Elgin's second embassy to China 1860, 1869. - Erik Ringmar, Fury of the Europeans: Liberal Barbarism and the Destruction of the Emperor's Summer Palace - J. Y. Wong, Deadly Dreams: Opium, Imperialism, and the Arrow War (1856–1860) in China, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 1998. \|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Second Opium War\|	<urn:uuid:2db6fa8d-6a2d-44d8-b37b-48ffe8bd8037>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Opium_War	2013-05-24T09:18:48Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704433753/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114033-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.952164	3,906
Sheep Farming: (1810-1940) Valley Ridge Farm, Orwell Sheep farming in Vermont dates back to the 18th century when the state's earliest settlers brought sheep with them as part of their family agricultural operations. The early sheep were of no particular breed, and they were raised for the dual purpose of mutton and wool for the family. Beginning in the 1810s sheep farming began to develop from a largely subsistence operation into an industry that gave Vermont national prominence, first for the production of wool, and later for its superior sheep breeding. During the second half of the 19th century, sheep farming began to decline and was gradually eclipsed by the dairy industry. Stock Breeding (1790-1940) The history of stock breeding in Vermont dates back to the 1790s when Justin Morgan of Randolph Center advertised his colt for stud in 1793-4. The progeny of Morgan's horse made Vermont nationally famous in subsequent decades as the home state of the Morgan breed. However, it was not until the 1820s with the development of sheep farming that significant stock breeding occurred among other kinds of livestock. In the latter half of the 19th century, interest in stock breeding gained considerable importance as breeder associations were established, and animal husbandry in general developed into an increasingly specialized, scientific vocation. Dairying has constituted an important part of Vermont's agricultural production since the early 1800s. After 1850, when the decline of the sheep industry forced farmers to find alternative pursuits, and the coming of the railroad in the 1850s opened up new markets in southern New England and New York, dairying began to develop into Vermont's leading agricultural industry. Dairying not only reinforced Vermont's importance as an agricultural state, but it also expanded the role of agriculture in the political arena at home, and brought Vermont to the forefront in terms of progressive agricultural legislation, education and organization in New England. Diversified and Specialty Agriculture (1760-1940) Mink Barn; East Montpelier, Vermont While farmers were engaged in large-scale, specialized commercial operations as early as the 1820s diversified, or general purpose farming continued in Vermont until well into the 20th century. Unlike southern New England, where proximity to the coast and major urban markets encouraged early specialization, Vermont's inland location and rugged terrain made access to major markets both difficult and expensive. Competition with the West also proved a significant barrier to large-scale agricultural specialization. Consequently, many farmers raised a variety of products while specializing in, or experimenting with small-scale operations such as hops, potato, poultry, or mink farming. Orchard Farming (1820-1940) The history of orchard farming in Vermont is largely confined to the apple tree. Apple trees were raised on the earliest farms in Vermont to supplement the family diet. Although commercial orchard farming began as early as the 1810s on Isle La Motte where fall harvests were shipped as far away as England, it did not get underway to any significant degree until the late 19th century when large-scale orchards were established in western Vermont. While Vermont does not rank among the leading apple growing states in this country, orchard farming continues to play a role of relative significance in Vermont agriculture. Agricultural Social, Educational and Political Institutions (1800-1940) Grange Hall; Tunbridge, Vermont Societies to promote agriculture were established in this state as early as 1806, but the development of Vermont's agricultural institutions did not occur to any significant degree until the 1840s. Market expansion and the growing tendency towards specialization, combined with the threat of Western competition and the exodus of increasing numbers of Vermonters, stimulated the rapid growth of agriculture-related social, educational and political institutions and organizations such as farmers' clubs, the Grange, fairs, lobbying groups, and agricultural schools, and from the mid-19th century onwards. Agricultural Processing (1760-1940) Adams Grist Mill; Bellows Falls, Vermont Agricultural processing describes those farm products that were processed for commercial, as opposed to purely subsistence purposes. Most of the processes, such as tanning, grist milling, wool processing, and cheese and butter making, began as home-based operations and were gradually removed to a factory setting. All information and photographs from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation Back to Historic Themes Main Page Back to Heritage Tourism Main Page The Vermont Heritage Network The University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program Wheeler House, University of Vermont Burlington, VT 05405 E-mail To: email@example.com	<urn:uuid:2c8a8970-892c-4156-9603-def6e25fa4c3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.uvm.edu/~vhnet/hertour/hthome06.html	2013-05-20T12:10:31Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.959643	968
Colours, shapes, taste, and smells are some of the joys of growing an organic garden. The certified organic seeds grown by Stellar Seeds are selected to offer the best of all these qualities. Stellar seeds are open-pollinated, grown in British Columbia, and farmed using holistic practices that maximize soil health and promote biodiversity. Nantes Coreless Carrots are excellent for home or market growing. The Orange roots are 5cm at shoulder, taper to a blunt tip and grow 20cm long. Strong tops make for easy picking and good bunching. This is a sweet and flavorful carrot that stores well. Prior to planting carrot seeds, work the soil deeply and remove any rocks/debris that may impede the downward formation of the roots. Sow seeds very thinly, about 1/4 inch deep. Cover them with a fine garden soil. Or sprinkle them on top of the soil, and lightly water them into the soil. Space rows 1-1.5 feet apart. Thin the seedlings before crowding impairs their growth. After seeds have germinated, thin to two inches apart. Keep carrots well weeded early in the season. They are easily overcrowded, with any competing weeds usually winning out. Carrots need a good supply of water, in soil that drains well. Mark rows well, as carrots take a long time to germinate. Carrot roots generally take 65 to 75 days to reach maturity, depending on variety. Seed Saving Tips The carrot family cross-pollinates very easily, including with Queen Anne’s Lace and wild carrot. Carrots can exhibit severe inbreeding depression, so save and mix seed from at least forty different carrot plants of the same variety. Do not save seed from any plant with white roots or where the root looks deformed. Carrots must overwinter in the ground before setting seed (vernalization), so mulch in late fall and remove mulch in spring. Finger-sized carrots survive better than large carrots. Alternatively, you can bring carrots in and store them overwinter and then plant again in the spring. Save seed from the first and second flower heads (umbels), which will have the largest and heartiest seed. Cut umbels when they begin to dry, turning brown. They can be further dried inside. Small amounts of seed can be collected by rubbing dried umbels between hands or picking off seeds. Carrot seed is naturally hairy or “bearded”. Pick out non-seed debris, or screen and winnow larger amounts of seed. Store seed somewhere cool and dry in an airtight jar, paper bag or plastic bag if seed is fully dry. Seed should give good germination for three years. Remember to label with the variety and date. For more information, visit www.stellarseeds.com/	<urn:uuid:71fa05a8-a6e8-4dbb-b616-3e4fcae4da36>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://usc-canada.org/what-you-can-do/seed-saviour/carrots-nantes-coreless/	2013-05-22T14:25:00Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.926681	580
There are two major types of pregnancy tests: those that use a urine sample, and those that require a blood sample. Urine pregnancy tests may be taken at a doctor's office, or home versions can be purchased at most drugstores. All pregnancy tests work by detecting the presence of the hormone hCG, or human chorionic (kore-ee-ON-ick) gonadotropin (gone-ad-oh-TROE-pin). The body releases this substance when an egg begins to grow in the uterus. Many home tests claim to work as early as the first day your period is supposed to start. Still, when tests are taken too soon, there may not be enough hCG present, giving a false negative reading. A false positive, when the test says you're pregnant but you really aren't, is much less likely. The urine tests given by a doctor are usually more sensitive, and may detect pregnancy up to five days before your period's supposed to start. Most accurate of all are blood tests; these are available only through a health care provider. Pregnancy hormones may be picked up by blood tests just a week after conception. To confirm your test results, a doctor may perform a physical exam of the pelvic area and uterus. For more information on pregnancy tests, talk to a health care provider.	<urn:uuid:d12b666e-a708-41c0-a100-1e96d797d23d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.kmtr.com/guides/health/general/story/Pregnancy-tests/aN0Co0ubZUqDHCsiX5PscA.cspx	2013-05-20T02:07:36Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.942941	269
Written and Compiled by George Knowles The Holly Tree The Holly tree (Ilex aquifolium) is one of the sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft, and was of old a favoured tree of the ancient druids. In England during the winter, against the barren whiteness of our snow and frost, the Holly tree is an important native evergreen. Its glossy green leaves and clusters of red berries add a flash of colour to trees without leaves and is one of the most striking plants in the woodlands. According to the Celtic Tree Calendar the Holly tree represents the eighth month of the year (July 8th - Aug 4th), which includes the Celtic festival of Lughnassadh (Lammas) celebrated on the 1st of August. In England, Holly is known by many different names, in Norfolk it is called Hulver, in Devon - Holme and in parts of Dartmoor - Holme Chase, other popular names include: Christ’s thorn, Hulver bush, Bat’s wings, Tinne and Holy tree. As a small tree or shrub the Holly grows slowly and at best achieves heights of up to 50 feet (15 meters), in Britain however its normal height is closer to 30 to 40 feet (9-12 meters). In Italy and in the woodlands of Brittany in France, it grows to a much larger size. The ease with which Holly can be kept trimmed renders it valuable as a hedge plant and forms hedges of great thickness and impenetrability. Today there are some 400 species of Holly shrubs and trees, and many but not all are evergreens. The main North American species is known simply as American Holly (Ilex opaca) and grows naturally along the Atlantic coast and in the Southern states. In Japan and China the Kashi Holly (I. Chinensis) is used for decoration during the Chinese New Year. Of the cultivated varieties of Holly, one is distinguished by the unusual colour of its berries, which are yellow, while others are characterized by their variegated foliage and by the presence of a larger or smaller number of prickles than ordinary types. The Holly tree will grow in almost any soil provided it is not too wet, but gains its best results when planted in rich, sandy or gravely soil with good drainage and a moderate amount of moisture at the roots. In very dry localities its growth is usually stunted. Holly is often found growing wild in thinly scattered woods of Oak and Beech trees were it seems to be immune to infestation by insects. It is rarely affected even by the most severe of winters, during which time birds love to feed on its berries. Seeds are propagated by birds during flight and take about two years to germinate. Initially growth is slow, but it gains momentum after the first four or five years. As the Holly grows it branches and leaves from top to bottom, pointed at the top and leafy at its base like a pyramid. The trunk of the Holly is frequently knotted with small nodules of solid wood embedded in its bark, but these can be easily separated from the tree with a smart blow. The bark of the tree is delicate and thin, and tends to wrinkle around areas were it branches. It has a light ashen hue that is smooth and grey, and sometimes touched with a faint crimson. Quite often the bark is covered in a green algae and thin lichen consisting of curvy black lines. The wood of the Holly is hard, compact and close-grained. Its colour is of beautiful white ivory that can be buffed to a very high polish. When freshly cut the wood has a slightly greenish hue but soon becomes perfectly white, and its hardness makes it superior to any other white wood. As such it is much prized for ornamental ware and the evenness of its grain makes it very valuable to the turner. It is also used for inlaying furniture with marquetry. However the wood of Holly is very retentive of its sap and as a consequence can warp if not well dried and seasoned before use. As well as an imitation of ivory, it is often stained different colours. When stained black it has the appearance of ebony, for which it is often used as a substitute. Of old, fancy walking sticks were made from Holly, as were the stocks of light riding whips. Today it is used in delicate instruments such as weather-gauges and barometers. The leaves of the Holly tree have a leathery texture and are thick, green and glossy. Normally about 2 inches long and 1 1/4 inches broad, they are edged with stout prickles alternately pointing upwards and downwards, while most of the upper leaves have only a single prickle. The leaves have neither taste nor odour and remain attached to the tree for several years. When they fall, the leaves take a long time to decay, defying the natural actions of air and moisture. In May the Holly bears its flowers, these are pale pink on the outside and pure white on the inside. Male and female flowers are usually borne on different trees. The female flowers are pollinated by insects such as wild bees attracted by the smell of a honey like liquid released from their bases. Later the flower produces the familiar and distinctive clusters of brilliant scarlet/red berries. If a tree produces its berries well one year, it will normally rest the following year before producing again. The berries while favoured by birds and animals are poisonous to human beings, and children in particular should be warned against eating them. During the winter the country folk would gather up young stems of Holly and use it as a cattle-feed to sustain them during the privations of the winter. The stems when dried and bruised were often given to cows, who seemed to thrive on it producing good milk, the butter from which was said to be excellent. It is also well known to rabbit-breeders that a Holly-stick placed in a hutch for the rabbits to gnaw, would act as a tonic and restore their appetite. Holly is commonly used all over the world as a Christmas decoration, a custom derived from the early Romans who sent boughs of Holly and other gifts to their friends during Saturnalia, the Roman festival of Saturn held around the 17th of December to celebration of the Winter Solstice. In an old Christian legend the Holly is said to have sprung up under the footsteps of Christ as he trod the earth, the spines of the leaves became symbolic of “Crown of Thorns”, the red berries representing the drops of blood associated with his suffering. From this symbology the Holly tree became known as “Christ's Thorn” or the “Holy Tree”. In pagan folklore the Holly tree is associated with the spirit of vegetation and the waning forces of nature, to which he is personified as a mythical figure called the Holly King. The Holly King rules nature during its decline from the mid-summer solstice (Litha - Jun 21st) through to the mid-winter solstice (Yule – Dec 21st). At each of the solstice Sabbats, the Holly King and his brother the Oak King engage in ritual combat for the attentions of the Goddess, from whence the victor presides over nature through the following half of the year. In his personification as the Holly King, he is often depicted as an old man dressed in winter clothing wearing a wreath of Holly on his head and walking with the aid of a staff made from a Holly branch. This is symbolic of the fertile interaction of the Goddess and God during natures decline and the darkest time of the year. At Yule after his battle with the Oak King, the new light of the sun-God re-emerges to encourage fresh growth during the coming new year. After the advent of Christianity, and during their Christmas and New Year celebrations, a man would be dressed up and covered in Holly branches and leaves, while a woman was likewise dressed in Ivy (the female counterpart of Holly) and together paraded through the streets leading the old year into the new. Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) a Roman naturalist in his classic “Historia naturalis”, an old world encyclopedic study of plants and animal life, tells us that if Holly is planted near a house or farm, it would repelled poison and defended it from lightning and witchcraft. Also that its flowers cause water to freeze and that its wood when thrown at an animal, even without touching it, had the power to compel the animal to return and lie down. Holly leaves were formerly used as a diaphoretic and an infusion of them was given in catarrh, bronchitis, pneumonia, influenza, pleurisy and smallpox. They have also been used in intermittent fevers and rheumatism for their tonic properties. The juice of the fresh leaves has been used to advantage in jaundice, and when sniffed was said to stop a runny nose. When soaked in vinegar and left for a day and a night, it was used to cure corns. An old remedy for chilblains was to thrash them with a branch of Holly to “chase the chills out”, but this could also be painful. The berries possess totally different qualities to the leaves, being violently emetic and purgative, and if swallowed can cause excessive vomiting. They have been used in dropsy, and in a powder form as an astringent to check bleeding. Nicholas Culpeper in his “The Complete Herbal” (1653) say’s that: “the bark and leaves are good used as fomentations for broken bones and such members as are out of joint”. He also considered the berries to be curative of colic. Care needs to be taken however, for Holly berries can be poisonous if given to children. Birdlime used to catch birds and other insects is made from the bark of Holly when stripped of its young shoots and fermented. The bark is stripped during midsummer and steeped in clean water, then boiled until it separates into layers. Once that happens the inner green portion is stored in small heaps till fermentation begins. After about a fortnight it turns into a sticky gooey substance, which is then pounded into a paste, washed and left to continue fermenting. When done it is mixed with goose-fat or other oily substance and is ready for use. Very little is now made in this country but of old in the Lake Districts of northern England, Holly was so abundant that birdlime was made in large quantities and shipped to the East Indies for use in controlling insects. The leaves of the Holly were used in the Black Forest as a substitute for tea. In Brazil “Paraguay Tea” is made from the dried leaves and young shoots of another species of Holly called (Ilex Paraguayensis), which grows in South America. Other types used to make tea are (Ilex Gongonha) and (Ilex Theezans), all of which are considered valuable as diuretics and diaphoretics. The leaves of the Ilex Paraguayensis and several others species of Holly contain tannin, which was used as a dye. Acting like galls when bruised in a ferruginous mud, they were mostly used to dye cotton. As with most other trees the Holly was revered for its protective qualities. When planted around the home it protects the inhabitants and guards against lightening, poisoning and mischievous spirits. When confronted by wild animals throwing a stick of Holly at them would make them lie down and leave you alone. A piece of Holly carried on your person is said to promote good luck, particularly in men for the Holly is a male plant (the Ivy its opposite female). As a charm to enhance dreams, nine Holly leaves gathered on a Friday after midnight, wrapped in a clean cloth to protect against its needles, and tied up using nine knots was placed under a pillow to make dreams come true. Some old stories tell us that when winter came the old druids advised the people to take Holly into their homes to shelter the elves and fairies who could join mortals at this time without causing them harm, but these stories also tell of a warning, to make sure and remove the Holly entirely before the eve of Imbolc, for to leave just one leaf in the house would cause misfortune. An old Scottish traditions says that no branch should be cut from a Holly tree, but rather it should be pulled free in a method considered fit for sacred tree. It was also considered unlucky to fell a Holly tree or burn its green skinned branches. Yet luck was increased if a small branch was kept and hung outside of the house, there it would continue to protect against lightening. In ritual uses, Holly is associated with the life, death and re-birth symbolism of Lughnassadh/Lammas, the first harvest of the year. Holly also symbolizes holiness, consecration, material gain, physical revenge, beauty, immortality, peace, goodwill and health. Holly water (infused or distilled) was sprinkled on newborn babies to protect them. It can be used ritually to aid and help with a person’s ability to cope with death, and to ease their sleep with peaceful dreams. The Holly has always been associated with mid winter festivals and was used in old Celtic traditions for celebrating the Sun Gods re-birth at the Winter Solstice. The wood of the Holly tree burns very hot and its charcoal was used to forge the swords, knives and tools necessary for survival and protection. The old smithies and weapon-makers were considered to be great magicians for their ability to use the elements of fire and earth to create these tools. For this reason the druids associated Holly with the element of fire. In the ogham alphabet they called the Holly “Tinne”, which is thought to mean “fire” derived from the word “tinder”, in association with the Holly’s timber used in the fires of the old smithies. In today’s rituals, Holly is used for magick associated with the element of fire and Holly incense is used to consecrate the magickal knife (athame). The Holly tree deity associations are with: Lugh, Tannus, Taranis and Thor, as well as Tailtiu, Habondia and Tina Etruscan. Its gender type is Masculine. Its planetary ruler is Mars and its associated element is Fire. The bird associated with the month of the Holly is the starling. Holly is used to attract the powers needed for: Protection, Consecration, Healing, Peace, Goodwill, Luck and anything to do with the element Fire. Astrologically Holly people (i.e. those people born in the month of July) come alive at winter and delight in the cold that most people dislike. They are very balanced in a fight, provided the cause is a just one. They are bearers of truth and demand truth from their friends and associates. They are honest, hardworking and very tolerant of changing situations. They tend to see both sides in an argument but will choose a side if they have to. They also tend to be spiritually advanced but may be clueless to being that way. They can also be showy at times and seek attention. Cunningham's Encyclopedia Of Magical Herbs - By Scott Cunningham. Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft - By Raven Grimassi. The Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft - By Rosemary Ellen Guiley. Tree Wisdom (The difinitive guidebook to the myth, folklore and healing power of Trees) - By Jacqueline Memory Paterson. AA Book of Britain's Countryside. The Penguin Hutchinson Reference Library (CD cassette). Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia (CD cassette). Plus many websites to numerous to mention. First published in 2002 - Updated the 12th July 2008 © George Knowles Best Wishes and Blessed Be. Site Contents - Links to all Pages A Universal Message: Let there be peace in the world - Where have all the flowers gone? Wicca & Witchcraft Wiccan Rede / Charge of the Goddess / Charge of the God / The Three-Fold Law (includes The Law of Power and The Four Powers of the Magus) / The Witches Chant / The Witches Creed / Descent of the Goddess / Drawing Down the Moon / The Great Rite Invocation / Invocation of the Horned God / The 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief / The Witches Rede of Chivalry / A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality Traditions Part 1 - Alexandrian Wicca / Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) / Ár Ndraíocht Féin (ADF) / Blue Star Wicca / British Traditional (Druidic Witchcraft) / Celtic Wicca / Ceremonial Magic / Chaos Magic / Church and School of Wicca / Circle Sanctuary / Covenant of the Goddess (COG) / Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) / Cyber Wicca / Dianic Wicca / Eclectic Wicca / Feri Wicca / Traditions Part 2 - Gardnerian Wicca / Georgian Tradition / Henge of Keltria / Hereditary Witchcraft / Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (H.O.G.D.) / Kitchen Witch (Hedge Witch) / Minoan Brotherhood and Minoan Sisterhood Tradition / Nordic Paganism / Pagan Federation / Pectic-Wita / Seax-Wica / Shamanism / Solitary / Strega / Sylvan Tradition / Vodoun or Voodoo / Witches League of Public Awareness (WLPA) / Other things of interest: Gods and Goddesses (Greek Mythology) / Esbats & Full Moons / Links to Personal Friends & Resources / Wicca/Witchcraft Resources / What's a spell? / Circle Casting and Sacred Space / Pentagram - Pentacle / Marks of a Witch / The Witches Power / The Witches Hat esoteric guide to visiting London / Satanism Unitarian Universalist Association / Numerology: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / A history of the Malleus Maleficarum: includes: Pope Innocent VIII / papal Bull / Malleus Maleficarum / An extract from the Malleus Maleficarum / The letter of approbation Nider’s Formicarius / Heinrich Kramer / / Montague Summers / / The Albigenses The Hussites / The / Shielding (Occult and Psychic Protection) / Sabbats and Rituals: Sabbats in History and Mythology / Samhain (October 31st) / Yule (December 21st) / Imbolc (February 2nd) / Ostara (March 21st) / Beltane (April 30th) / Litha (June 21st) / Lughnasadh (August 1st) / Mabon (September 21st) Animals in Witchcraft (The Witches Familiar) / Antelope / Bats / Crow / Fox / Frog and Toads / Goat / Honeybee / Kangaroo / Lion / Owl / Phoenix / Rabbits and Hares / Raven / Robin Redbreast / Sheep / Spider / Squirrel / Swans / Wild Boar / Wolf / Serpent / Pig / Stag / Horse / Mouse / Cat In Worship of Trees - Myths, Lore and the Celtic Tree Calendar. For descriptions and correspondences of the thirteen sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft see the following: Birch / Rowan / Ash / Alder / Willow / Hawthorn / Oak / Holly / Hazel / Vine / Ivy / Reed / Elder. Also see: The Willow Tree (Folk Music) Rocks and Stones: Articles contributed by Patricia Jean Martin: / Apophyllite / Amber / Amethyst / Aquamarine / Aragonite / Aventurine / Black Tourmaline / Bloodstone / Calcite / Carnelian / Celestite / Citrine / Chrysanthemum Stone / Diamond / Emerald / Fluorite / Garnet / Hematite / Herkimer Diamond / Labradorite / Lapis Lazuli / Malachite / Moonstone / Obsidian / Opal / Pyrite / Quartz (Rock Crystal) / Rose Quartz / Ruby / Selenite / Seraphinite / Silver and Gold / Smoky Quartz / Sodalite / Sunstone / Thunderegg / Tree Agate / Zebra Marble Articles and Stories about Witchcraft: Murder by Witchcraft / The Fairy Witch of Clonmel / A Battleship, U-boat, and a Witch / The Troll-Tear (A story for Children) / Goody Hawkins - The Wise Goodwife / The Story of Jack-O-Lantern / The Murder of the Hammersmith Ghost / Josephine Gray (The Infamous Black Widow) / The Two Brothers - Light and Dark Old Masters of Academia: (Ancient, Past and Present) (Departed Pagan Pioneers, Founders and Elders) Abramelin the Mage / Agrippa / Aidan A. Kelly / Albertus Magnus “Albert the Great” / Aleister Crowley “The Great Beast” / Alex Sanders "the King of the Witches” / Alison Harlow / Amber K / Anna Franklin / Anodea Judith / Anton Szandor LaVey / Arnold Crowther / Arthur Edward Waite / Austin Osman Spare / Biddy Early / Bridget Cleary / Carl Llewellyn Weschcke / Cecil Hugh Williamson / Charles Godfrey Leland / Charles Walton / Christina Oakley Harrington / Damh the Bard (Dave Smith) / Dion Fortune / Dolores Aschroft-Nowicki / Dorothy Morrison / Doreen Valiente / Edward Fitch / Eleanor Ray Bone “Matriarch of British Witchcraft” / Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelly / Dr. Leo Louis Martello / Eliphas Levi / Ernest Thompson Seton / Ernest Westlake and the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry / Fiona Horne / Friedrich von Spee / Francis Barrett / Gerald B. Gardner / Gavin and Yvonne Frost and the School and Church of Wicca / Gwydion Pendderwen / Hans Holzer / Helen Duncan / Herman Slater "Horrible Herman" / Israel Regardie / James "Cunning" Murrell / Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone / Jessie Wicker Bell “Lady Sheba” / John Belham-Payne / John George Hohman / John Gerard / John Gordon Hargrave (the White Fox) / John Michael Greer / John Score / Johannes Junius the Burgomaster of Bamberg / Karl von Eckartshausen / Laurie Cabot "the Official Witch of Salem" / Lewis Spence / Margaret Alice Murray / Margot Adler / Marie Laveau the " Voodoo Queen of New Orleans" / Marion Weinstein / Matthew Hopkins “The Witch-Finder General” / Max Ehrmann and the Desiderata / Monique Wilson the “Queen of the Witches” / Montague Summers / Nicholas Culpeper / Nicholas Remy / M. R. Sellers / Mrs. Grieve "A Modern Herbal" / Oberon and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart / Old Dorothy Clutterbuck / Old George Pickingill / Paddy Slade / Pamela Colman-Smith / Paracelsus / Patricia Crowther / Patricia Monaghan / Patricia “Trish” Telesco / Philip Emmons Isaac Bonewits / Philip Heselton / Raymond Buckland / Reginald Scot / Robert Cochrane / Robert ‘von Ranke’ Graves and "The White Goddess" /Rudolf Steiner / Rosaleen Norton “The Witch of Kings Cross” / Ross Nichols and The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids / Sabrina - The Ink Witch / Scott Cunningham / Selena Fox / Silver Ravenwolf / Sir Francis Dashwood / Sir James George Frazer / S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn” / Starhawk / Stewart Farrar / Sybil Leek / Ted Andrews / The Mather Family - includes: Richard Mather, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather / Thomas Ady / Vera Chapman / Victor Henry Anderson / Vivianne Crowley / Walter Brown Gibson / William Butler Yeats / Zsuzsanna Budapest Many of the above biographies are brief and far from complete. If you know about any of these individuals and can help with aditional information, please cantact me privately at my email address below. Many thanks for reading :-) "FAIR USE NOTICE" While I have taken due care and dilligence to credit all sources where possible, this website may contain copyrighted material which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. My use of making such material available here is done so in my efforts to advance our understanding of religious discrimination, the environmental and social justice issues etc. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the information for research and educational purposes. For more information about 'fair use' see: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this wedsite for purposes of your own that goes beyond this 'fair use' statement, you must obtain permission from the relevant copyright owner yourself. My online email discussion group: Dove of Peace Help send a message of peace around the world! The Dove of Peace flies from site to site, through as many countries as possible. It does not belong to ANY belief system. Please help make a line around the globe by taking it with you to your site, by giving it to someone for their site, by passing it on to another continent or to the conflict areas of the world. May trouble and strife be vanquished in it's path. Please take time to sign my Guest Book.	<urn:uuid:fa715142-97b2-4993-8794-4d777458473c>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.controverscial.com/Holly.htm	2013-05-18T05:13:37Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.931202	5,539
The ABCs of Advocacy for Children With Special Needs Parents, teachers and children working together as partners will enable children with special needs to access the appropriate services. This article aims to advance knowledge of the procedures and principles of the law and its recent changes and presents advocacy strategies to insure that all children receive a free, appropriate education. Know the Federal Law The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) passed in 1997 insures that all children with disabilities receive a free, appropriate public education. The law provides for: - An appropriate evaluation by the school district - An Individual Education Plan to be implemented in the least restrictive environment - Parent participation in decision making due process safeguards. In 2004 Congress renewed the IDEA by passing IDEA04 , to take effect by July 2005. A main goal of the new law is to reduce paperwork requirements, thereby enabling special education teachers to spend more time with students. States have been directed to minimize the number of rules and regulations they require of local school districts and to identify any state-imposed rule, regulation or policy that is not required by federal regulations. The first step for parents: If you suspect your child has a disability, you should - Meet with teacher and/or principal and discuss ways to assist the child - Request in writing from the appropriate committee listed below that your child be evaluated to determine what services would be appropriate. Be sure to keep copies of all of your correspondence and notes from all meetings and phone calls. EI: Early Intervention (birth to age 3) CPSE: Committee on Preschool Special Education (3ס years old) CSE: Committee on Special Education (5–21 years of age) Setting the process in motion - Individual evaluations are provided by districts free of charge - Written consent from parents is needed. - Evaluation results help determine if your child has a specific learning disability or other classified weakness so that special education services or programs can be provided. Reprinted with the permission of the NYU Child Study Center. © NYU Child Study Center. Add your own comment - Kindergarten Sight Words List - The Five Warning Signs of Asperger's Syndrome - First Grade Sight Words List - 10 Fun Activities for Children with Autism - Graduation Inspiration: Top 10 Graduation Quotes - What Makes a School Effective? - Child Development Theories - Should Your Child Be Held Back a Grade? Know Your Rights - Why is Play Important? Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Creative Development - Smart Parenting During and After Divorce: Introducing Your Child to Your New Partner	<urn:uuid:d80c8adf-ea33-46d4-bc85-e2948e3aa70d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_ABCs_Advocacy/	2013-06-19T19:28:52Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.920936	543
When writing either your independent or integrated TOEFL essay, keep in mind there are certain words that will make your writing come across as more academic and intelligent. Coherence is essential for getting a high score on the writing section. Often times there are specific words you can try to incorporate in your essay that will make your essay easier to read. Perhaps the most difficult thing on the integrated essay is connecting ideas. After all, you are connecting ideas from both a reading passage and an academic lecture. As we know, sometimes the information from both sources is contradictory and sometimes similar. Several hints and corresponding words for your integrated essay would be: 1) Always tell the reader where your information is coming from. For instance, is the information you are comparing or contrasting from the reading or listening? It’s important the grader knows that you know which is which. When presenting information from either, keep in mind you should add some variety to your citations. “According to the lecture…” “The reading states…” “According to the speaker/lecturer….” “The reading made the point that….” Remember to alternate how you quote your sources. Otherwise your essays can get repetitive and come across as not very sophisticated. 2) When showing examples, keep in mind variety is also key. After all, examples are the bulk of your information. So when presenting them in your essay, don’t forget to “mix it up.” Here are some ways you can do so, with many more options out there. “As an example…” Using variety in your integrated essay with how you cite your sources and give your examples will make for more interesting reading and can only help you attain the highest TOEFL score possible. As many TOEFL-bound students may know, ETS gives 30 minutes to plan, write and edit the independent essay. Sometimes, test-takers jump right into the writing portion of the essay and forgo the “planning stage” altogether. Planning, or outlining your independent essay, is crucial to giving you the basic information to write your essay effectively. How do you outline an essay? It involves the following steps. Brainstorming involves you writing down all the possible ideas, stream-of-consciousness that enter your mind in regards to the given topic. Take a look at the following example of brainstorming on an independent writing TOEFL topic: TOPIC: Do you believe students should be required to wear school uniforms? Why or why not? Use details and examples in your explanation. BRAINSTORMING (2-3 minutes) - inhibits creativity - middle school: black pants, white shirt, uncomfortable - hated wearing uniforms as a child - university – no uniforms - more fun with sense of style – discovery - open environment/accepting - freedom of choice good for education The above was written in about 2 minutes on the given topic in regards to wearing school uniforms. Again, this step is called brainstorming and is free association with the given topic. After the brainstorming stage, you should go directly to the outlining stage, which should take a little less time. Outlining requires you to take information from the brainstorming stage and organize it into the skeleton of your essay. This outline will be the blueprint, so to speak, for your independent TOEFL essay. OUTLINE (1-2 minutes) - thesis: disagree with uniforms - 1st point: inhibits creativity (personal example from middle school and how my creativity suffered due to a strict uniform policy) - In general, students were not as happy and often times, their artwork was dismal and depressing because they were not allowed to experiment with color in their wardrobe - 2nd point: increases an open mind (personal example: during university, there was no dress code and this made people more accepting of others and their sense of style). In general, this was good for education and allowed us to approach one another with an open mind. Having the above outline will come in handy when actually sitting at your keyboard and typing out a 300-400-word essay. Not only does the outline help you work faster, but it also helps the overall organization of your essay. Remember – in addition to supporting points and examples, TOEFL writing section graders also judge organization and coherence. Advice: Practice at home outline essays from various TOEFL independent writing topics. You’ll be surprised how easy it can be to do in 5 minutes and how useful it will prove itself during your test! - Pace It to Ace It – Test Taking Tips for the SAT - Specialized Business MS Degrees on the Rise - Three ways to ace your MBA Admission interview through proper prep - Applying for an M.B.A.: Reading Between the Lines - The Ten Toughest Business Schools to Enter - Basic Strategies to Conquer the GMAT - The Profile of the 2011 GMAT Test Taker Demonstrates Growing Diversity. - Business School Scholarship Application Advice - The Changing Face of Executive MBA programs - Business School Reapplication: To do, or not to do?	<urn:uuid:14ab3844-686d-43fd-8d87-995a517b8149>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.manhattanreview.com/blog/tag/essay-writing/	2013-05-19T10:24:07Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.934162	1,078
Turner to Monet The Australian Sketcher of November 1873 shows von Guérard’s grand Kosciusko painting displayed at the Vienna Exhibition with other contributions from the Australian colonies. It and another of the artist’s paintings, Cape Woolamai 1872, are surrounded by photographs and maps, produce, flora and fauna, as well as a case of mineral samples and other specimens of interest.1There is some irony here. Von Guérard detailed the lichen on rocks in North-east view from the northern top of Mount Kosciusko – most noticeably on the platform on which the cloaked figure stands – but other parts are less convincing. When von Guérard arrived in Australia in 1852 he was already an established artist, having trained in Rome and Düsseldorf. He had probably seen works by Friedrich; Carus’s published writings also circulated widely during the 1830s and 1840s, the periods of von Guérard’s study at the Staatliche Kunstakademie. In his new southern homeland the artist familiarised himself with native flora by sketching in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, exactly the close observation of nature promoted by Carus. Von Guérard’s works are an intriguing mix of topographical accuracy and German traditions of the Sublime: we find a range of protagonists throughout his oeuvre, figures often tiny, seen at an angle or with their backs to the picture plane. As Bruce puts it, von Guérard thus synthesises active, intelligent observation with a ‘predominance of feeling over reasoning’.2 In 1862 von Guérard joined an expedition to the Australian Alps. Led by the Bavarian scientist Georg von Neumayer, the expedition was commissioned by the Government of Victoria, part of an international project to measure the Earth’s magnetic fields. As well as a geophysicist and an artist, the party comprised Neumayer’s assistant, two guides and his dog Hector – all of whom are immortalised in the painting. Von Guérard made a number of sketches during the course of the expedition. In Melbourne the following year he produced North-east view from the northern top of Mount Kosciusko.3It is a major painting, regarded as one of his finest artistically, and most accurate topographically. In North-east view from the northern top of Mount Kosciusko areas of the foreground and the mound of large boulders at right are particularly perplexing. Indeed as Bonyhady tells, the rocks were introduced by von Guérard to emphasise human insignificance. They serve to provide a link between foreground, the distant mountains and the sky, that records the passage from heavy rain to bright sunshine.4Most importantly, in aesthetic terms, the rocks echo those on the peaks at the centre of the composition, gloriously patterned by the snow that has melted to reveal the grassy slopes underneath. Mount Kosciusko, an anglicised spelling, was named by the explorer Count Paul Strzelecki in 1840 after the Polish-Lithuanian general Tadeusz Kociuszko.5 The peak was subsequently discovered to be slightly lower than its neighbour, Mount Townsend – although in order that Mount Kosciuszko retain the distinction of the highest mountain in Australia, the names were reversed. 1 The Australian Sketcher engraving is reproduced in Candice Bruce, Eugene von Guérard 1811–1901: a German romantic in the Antipodes Martinborough: Alister Taylor, 1982, p. 41; the present whereabouts of Cape Woolamai1872 is not known. 2 Bruce, p. 8. 3 Studies held Mitchell and Dixson collections, State Library of NSW; the canvas is inscribed ‘Mt Kosciusko/ 19 Nov. 1862/ Eug. von Guerard’, the date of the expedition. 4 Tim Bonyhady, Australian colonial paintings in the Australian National Gallery Canberra: Australian National Gallery, 1986, pp. 188–98, 192–3. 5 In 1997 the Geographical Names Board of NSW adopted the spelling ‘Kosciuszko’; Australian pronunciation differs vastly from the Polish.	<urn:uuid:ce1df43c-f69f-4418-8d0e-8b59f87fa4e1>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://nga.gov.au/exhibition/turnertomonet/Detail.cfm?IRN=48469&BioArtistIRN=15214&Audio=16k&ViewID=1&MnuID=SRCH	2013-05-25T19:48:12Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.950828	880
For the installation of its twenty-seventh president, Harvard displayed on a stage set up at the front of Tercentenary Theatre various sacred relics: the keys to the College, silver, the largest nine inches long; the charter of 1650, which established what is now the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere; a compilation of official College records from 1639 to 1795; College seals; and eight pieces of historic silverware from Fogg Art Museum vaults, among them the four shown here. The Dunster Tankard (far right) was once said to have belonged to Harvard’s first president, Henry Dunster, a chronological impossibility as it was made by Ephraim Cobb in Massachusetts circa 1740 and Dunster met his maker in 1659. The initials "H.D." are engraved on the handle, and it may have belonged to others with his name. The Stoughton Cup (second from left) was crafted by John Coney (1656-1722), one of Boston’s best silversmiths. Skilled with his gravure, he fashioned a seal for the College and plates for the first paper money issued by the colony. He made this ceremonial grace cup, meant to be passed around at the end of a meal for the final toast, 10 inches high, in the baroque William and Mary style, with fluting and gadrooning, for Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton, A.B. 1650, whose arms it bears. Stoughton was chief justice of the court that heard the Salem witchcraft trials, and perhaps to atone for that he was Harvard’s most generous seventeenth-century patron. He intended to hand the cup to the College president at Commencement in 1701. Samuel Sewall delivered it on his behalf, for Stoughton was ailing, and a week later he died. The Holyoke Cup (second from right), also by Coney, was a domestic utensil called a caudle cup after the warm drink of ale or wine mixed with sugar, spices, eggs, or bread and generally served to the peaked, but it came to be used on ceremonial occasions such as baptisms. It once belonged to President Edward Holyoke. The Great Salt, Harvard’s oldest piece of silver, was made in London, probably before the College was founded, and came to America with Elizabeth Glover, who married Henry Dunster. When salt was costly and prized, one container of it sat at the head of the table before the most important person dining. Auspiciously, on this inaugural occasion, the Great Salt was displayed right-side-up before Lawrence H. Summers, for Harvardians have gotten through the long period in their history when they were confused about the salt and had it stand on what appear to be three scroll legs, but which in reality are meant to support a plate of fruit to be eaten at the end of a meal.	<urn:uuid:de25a26d-7f69-48cc-b417-eaa1cf779836>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://harvardmagazine.com/2001/11/the-table-is-set.html	2013-05-22T08:13:32Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701508530/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105148-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.976199	607
The recent eclipse has revealed that a puzzling medieval site in Africa is actually an astronomical observatory. The main part of the mysterious construction known as Great Zimbabwe is called the Great Enclosure, which was built in 1200 AD and is made up of over 16,000 cubic feet of stone. Archaeologists assumed it was once a royal palace. But archaeologist-astronomer Richard Wade has discovered that Great Zimbabwe functions as a calendar based on the heavens, like Stonehenge in England, although it?s not nearly as old. "This is the culmination of nearly 30 years of research," Wade says. The stone monoliths on the eastern end of the Great Enclosure line up with the rising of the Sun, Moon and bright stars at certain astronomically significant times of the year. Wade observed that the three bright stars in Orion?s belt rise over three of the monoliths on the morning of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. One monolith could also predict eclipses, says Wade, since it?s notched in such a way that "the pattern and amount of notches can only be a record of the Venus' alignments with Earth, and we know that the location of Venus in the sky can be used to predict eclipses. It also has crescents and discs carved into it." A strange tower that has previously baffled archaeologists can be explained as well. Wade says, "The conical tower lines up precisely with the supernova known to have exploded in Vela, 700 to 800 years ago." Prehistoric man explored the world by ship, using ancient stone maps. Read the convincing evidence in How the Sun God Reached America. Learn what Edgar Cayce knew about the ancient world in Ancient South America and The Mound Builders. NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.	<urn:uuid:7a3000ae-eefa-44ab-8a96-a6e062b415ef>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/mystery-site-was-medieval-observatory	2013-06-18T04:34:58Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706933615/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122213-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.962989	386
Water Resources of the United States Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:55:16 EDT Summary: The USGS continues to closely monitor the drought conditions in the State of Georgia for the benefit of numerous stakeholders. HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS: Drought conditions continue to linger in Georgia, with the majority of the State experiencing some form of dry conditions. "Severe" hydrologic drought conditions exist in the Altamaha River Basin and the upper portions of the Tallapoosa River Basin. "Moderate" conditions have expanded into the Savannah and Lower Chattahoochee and Flint River Basins. Elsewhere, "below normal" conditions exist throughout the rest of the state, with the exceptions of the upper reaches of the Tennessee River Basin and the south-central region in Georgia. SURFACE-WATER: The USGS operates more than 320 real-time streamgages across the State to aid water planners during this ongoing drought that has persisted for two years. Currently 17 streamgages are setting historic low records, while another 18 are classified as "severe drought". No special operations beyond the regularly scheduled field trips have been performed in the past week. GROUNDWATER: USGS also monitors groundwater levels in 178 wells throughout the State. As of September 27, 2012, 16 of the wells in the real-time network ranged from below normal to low and 10 wells were in the normal range. The below normal to low wells were located throughout the state. Wells in the normal range were located in extreme northern Georgia, along the coastal areas, and near Valdosta along the Florida State line where recent local thunderstorms have been occurring. WATER-QUALITY: USGS monitors a mixture of continuous water-quality parameters in real-time at 107 locations across the State, along with discrete and/or automated sampling at more than 80 locations. No special operations beyond the regularly scheduled field trips have been performed in the past week. SPECIAL PROJECTS: During the week of September 27, 24 stream sites were measured in the Lawrenceville, Georgia area to determine baseflow. COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH: Numerous data inquiries have been answered regarding the ongoing drought conditions. The USGS is one of several presenters in an ongoing bi-weekly drought briefing for the ACF stakeholders hosted by NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), and also participates in drought briefings hosted by the US Army Corps of Engineers for the Savannah River Basin. Map of below normal 7-day average streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the day of year (Georgia) Map of below normal 7-day average streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the day of the year (Georgia) Sub-Region: Central South; Region: Central United States	<urn:uuid:c9c89b7a-8fa1-4868-9e3a-77e29832d7cc>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://water.usgs.gov/alerts/item_2012-10-01_08:55:16.html	2013-05-19T02:39:04Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.943997	573
The new boom in natural gas from shale has changed the energy economy of the United States. But there's another giant reservoir of natural gas that lies under the ocean floor that, theoretically, could dwarf the shale boom. No one had tapped this gas from the seabed until this week, when Japanese engineers pulled some up through a well from under the Pacific. The gas at issue here is called methane hydrate. Methane is natural gas; hydrate means there's water in it. In this case, the molecules of gas are trapped inside a sort of cage of water molecules.	<urn:uuid:c44756db-6e26-4322-8fe2-2c4cb178c2e2>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.kunc.org/term/us-department-energy-doe?page=1	2013-05-24T02:43:51Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132729/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.975604	118
WASHINGTON, April 4, 2002 — In an extraordinary case of looking in the right place at the right time, astronomers recently spotted an asteroid previously detected 50 years ago. Observing the asteroid again gave the researchers enough information to predict the asteroid’s path over the next eight centuries — and to discover a chance that the kilometer-sized space rock may collide with Earth on March 16, 2880. The odds of an actual collision are small, less than one in 300, the scientists estimate in Friday’s issue of the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The way light bounces off the asteroid should have a major effect on how close it will be to Earth in 878 years, the scientists found. It should be possible, says lead author Jon Giorgini of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, for humans to alter the asteroid’s surface to reflect light differently. “The sun could eventually push it out of the way,” Giorgini said. “You wouldn’t have to send Bruce Willis or anything.” A one-of-a-kinda asteroid While the chances of an impact are slim to even slimmer, the asteroid 1950 DA could still be called “groundbreaking” for other reasons. Usually, researchers can only predict asteroids’ orbital paths for several decades. Giorgini’s team was able to stretch their predictions out for centuries, because of three lucky coincidences. First, knowing the asteroid’s location both now and 50 years ago allowed the researchers to significantly narrow the range of possible paths the asteroid may be following in space. The asteroid itself is also a special case. Its orbit around the sun sits in a plane that is tilted at an angle to the plane containing the orbiting planets. It’s therefore less vulnerable to the planets’ gravitational pull. 1950 DA also returns to the same position relative to Earth every few years, subjecting itself to Earth’s gravity at the same point in its orbit. This keeps the asteroid in check to a certain degree, limiting the potential courses it may take. The usual and not-so-usual suspects Based on their record of the asteroid’s orbit thus far, and the likely gravitational effects of a handful of other large objects in the solar system, Giorgini and his colleagues projected 1950 DA’s orbital path out to 2880, where they found a 20-minute window during which a collision with Earth may be possible. The researchers wanted to be sure they were accounting for all the possible influences upon the asteroid’s orbital path. “We just dug deep, and tried to put in every single factor we could think of,” Giorgini said. They considered a number of variables, from the way the sun constantly loses mass, to possible perturbations from more than 7,000 different asteroids. In each case, the primary effect was to cause 1950 DA to either speed up or slow down along its orbital path, as if it were a train on a track. There was still a large chunk of information missing however, involving something called the Yarkovsky effect. According to this phenomenon, the reflection of sunlight can cause an orbiting object to accelerate slightly. When these effects accumulate, they can significantly alter the object’s orbit. How the light is reflected depends on several characteristics of the asteroid, including its precise shape, size, spin direction, and the types of material on its surface. These characteristics aren’t known — or known precisely enough — for 1950 DA, so the researchers’ predictions have relatively large uncertainties in how the Yarkovsky effect would influence the asteroid’s orbit. Making a better estimate of how likely a collision is may require a spacecraft mission to the asteroid, to investigate its surface directly. Between now and 2880 In a second Science paper this Friday, Joseph Spitale of the University of Arizona has calculated the possible results of using the Yarkovsky effect to deflect an asteroid headed for Earth. For a certain type of kilometer-sized asteroid, he estimated that modifying the way its surface conducts heat could help move the object about 1,400 kilometers in 100 years. Likewise, changing how much light a similar asteroid reflects could cause it to move as much as 15,000 kilometers in 100 years. It might be possible to do this by blanketing the asteroid with a layer of dirt, Spitale proposed, or by shattering the surface with conventional explosives. Other possibilities, according to Giorgini, may be to dust the asteroid with chalk or soot. His favorite idea is a solar sail mission, in which a device with a mirror-like sheet would sail out to the comet, propelled by radiation pressure from the sun. Ideally, the sail would collapse around the asteroid, covering it with a shiny surface. For 1950 DA, we have several centuries to figure out whether such ideas could work. In the meantime, studies like Giorgini’s also expose a philosophical side of science, as researchers confront the limits of what they can know. “The fact that there are actually ways of knowing and characterizing the extent of one’s ignorance, while still remaining ignorant, may ultimately be more interesting and useful to people than Yarkovsky,” Giorgini said. © 2013 American Association for the Advancement of Science	<urn:uuid:aadf2ff7-becb-4fce-80f2-09635fa0e0ed>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3077460/	2013-05-21T18:08:32Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700380063/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.945779	1,125
Socotra Archipelago, Yemen The Socotra Archipelago site in Yemen was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. The marine life is diverse and includes 283 species of coral, 730 species of coastal fish, and 300 species of crab, lobster, and shrimp. Socotra also supports globally significant populations of sea birds, including a number of threatened species like the Socotra cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis) pictured here, as well as nesting sites for endangered loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles. Marine areas in Socotra are less degraded than most Indian Ocean reefs, and the archipelago itself is a major center of dispersal and replenishment for the surrounding seas. Today, over 40 World Heritage sites are listed for their marine values. Together, they can be considered the “Crown Jewels of our Ocean” and are recognized for their outstanding beauty, exceptional biodiversity, or unique ecological, biological, or geological processes. Learn more about this and other marine World Heritage sites.	<urn:uuid:fd23c0c8-7e7d-440b-85ef-0fa474fa9b58>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.ocean.si.edu/ocean-photos/socotra-archipelago-yemen	2013-06-18T23:03:52Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.896552	229
The story evolved from ancient south Indian city named "Mahilaropyam" ruled by the king Amarashakti. Amarashakti was a great ruler and a legend of all art forms, but his three sons named Vasushakti, Ugrashakti and Anekashakti were naughty and lazy.Amarashakti was troubling with this three sons because after his life time any one of them should rule the kingdom. So he asked his ministers to take a wise decision for this troublesome. Sumathi, one among the ministers of his kingdom advise the king to take his three sons to the great scholar named Vishnu Sharma. Scholar was invited to the court and the king offered him land for making his three sons wise and courage. Vishnu Sharma accepted the king's request of making princes wise, but rejected the award. He told that, " he will make the three princes wise with in six months but he won't sell his knowledge for a piece of land". The king, Amarashakti was very much pleased by hearing his words. Scholar taught the princes lessons by making stories based on five treatises. He named the treaties or tantras as ' mitrabedham', 'mitrasamprapthi', 'kakolukeeyam', 'labhapranasham' and 'apareekshithakarakam'( all names are based on Sanskrit language). As Vishnu Sharma told, by the end of sixth month the princes gained the concepts of all kinds of knowledge. From here onwards, these five treatises became famous in the name of Panchatantra.	<urn:uuid:cf43564e-72db-4901-be1d-4b765039ed1b>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.shvoong.com/books/children-and-youth/2095538-panchathantra/	2013-06-19T20:11:30Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709101476/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125821-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.983471	331
Blackett Family DNA Activity 2 Methods of Analysis of STRs We will assume that you have a basic understanding of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and gel electrophoresis, especially as applied to DNA sequence analysis. We will focus here on the special features of PCR and gel electrophoresis as they are applied to STR characterization. If you are unfamiliar with these techniques, you should still be able to complete this activity. Methods in Analysis of the 13 CODIS STR loci1. DNA extraction DNA can be extracted from almost any human tissue. Buccal cells from the inside of the cheek are most commonly used for paternity tests. Sources of DNA found at a crime scene might include blood, semen, tissue from a deceased victim, cells in a hair follicle, and even saliva. DNA extracted from items of evidence is compared to DNA extracted from reference samples from known individuals.2. PCR Amplification DNA primers have been optimized to allow amplification of multiple STR loci in a single reaction mixture. By carefully adjusting the distance of the primers from the tetrameric repeat sequence, products from different loci will not overlap during gel electrophoresis. In the partial results shown above, the three STRs D3S1358, vWA, and FGA are being analyzed simultaneously. The lengths of the amplified DNAs are shown by the scale from 100 bp to 280 bp at the top of the figure. The middle panels with multiple peaks are reference standards with the known alleles for each STR locus. Notice that the alleles for the three different loci do not overlap. The lower panel shows the alleles for Bob Blackett's mother Norma for the D3S1358, vWA, and FGA loci. Norma's alleles have been compared by computer to the refrence standards, and labeled. To interpret this result, Norma's genotype is 15, 15 at the locus D3S1358, 14, 16 at vWA, and 24, 25 at FGA.3. Detection of DNAs after PCR Amplification The PCR primers in the commercial kits used for STR analysis have fluorescent molecules covalently linked to the primer. To extend the number of different loci that can be analyzed in a single PCR reaction, multiple sets of primers with different "color" fluorescent labels are used. Following the PCR reaction, internal DNA length standards are added to the reaction mixture and the DNAs are separated by length in a capillary gel electrophoresis machine. As DNA peaks elute from the gel they are detected with laser activation. The sequencing machines used for allele separation and detection are the same type currently being used in the Human Genome Sequencing project, with digital output that can be analyzed by special computer software. In the AmpFLSTR Profiler Plus PCR Amplification Kit from Applied Biosystems used by Bob Blackett, 9 STRs are analyzed by using three sets of primers. Each set has a different colored fluorescent label. In the figure above, three sets of STRs are represented by blue, three by green, and three by yellow (shown as black) fluourescent peaks. The red peaks are the DNA size standards. Special computer software is used to display the different colors as separate panels of data and determine the exact length of the DNAs. A tenth marker called AMEL is used to distinguish male DNA as X, Y or female DNA as X, X. A second kit, called Cofiler Plus, is used in a second PCR reaction to ammplify 4 additional STR loci, plus repeat some of the loci from the Profiler Kit. The result from 2 PCR reactions is the analysis of the entire CODIS set of 13 STRs, with overlap of some loci, and a test for the sex chromosomes. The results are obtained as discrete, digital alleles determined from the exact size of the amplified products compared to known standards. University of Arizona October 27, 2000 All contents copyright © 1996-2000. All rights reserved.	<urn:uuid:38a0a420-e831-4953-833e-d1101ea7c527>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.biology.arizona.edu/human_bio/activities/blackett2/str_analysis.html	2013-05-23T19:39:56Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703728865/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112848-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.935479	839
Make up a story with your child. Read from a favorite book and take turns making up the words. Reading Is Fundamental Reading, Vocabulary Building Hold up a familiar or popular book and begin reading the first few pages. You don't have to read word for word. Telling a story in your own words is often just as much fun for your child. If the book is too long or the words too complicated, simplify the story to sustain your child's interest. You may want to replace names of characters in the book with those your child will recognize.	<urn:uuid:cc5370be-17d3-40e1-8d77-3475f360f062>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://rif.org/us/literacy-resources/activities/making-up-the-words.htm	2013-06-20T02:45:15Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710115542/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131515-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.947149	115
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a common result of smoking. If you smoke, just figure that you'll end up getting COPD. It's just one of the many choices people who smoke make without realizing it, when they light up those cigarettes. Let me explain what COPD is for those who don't have a background in healthcare. Basically, COPD, commonly referred to as emphysema, is the progressive destruction of those little air sacs in your lungs known as alveoli. The airways also become rather floppy and will narrow when you exhale or breathe out. This traps the inhaled air in your lungs, which eventually leads to a breakdown in how effectively your lungs can put oxygen in your blood and get carbon dioxide out of your blood. This process is referred to as gas exchange. So the lungs are becoming much less efficient at their designed job, which is to get the good air in and the bad air out. This isn't the textbook definition, but it will do for our purposes. So what are COPD symptoms like? Here is a very brief list. 1. Shortness of breath. Technically, this is called dyspnea (disp-nee-ah). That feeling where you just can't seem to get enough air in and you begin to have a real concern that you might be suffocating, because you can't catch your breath. No matter what you do, the breath just doesn't seem deep enough and it doesn't come fast enough. 2. Chronic cough. You just get that little tickle in the back of your throat. You cough and cough, hoping to get a some relief, but it doesn't come. Right when you think you've got it licked, it shows up again for another round. The cough never seems to go away for very long. 3. Increased mucous production. This is called phlegm (flem). We normally get rid of lots of mucous out of our lungs everyday without realizing it. But, the normal mechanism for mucous removal becomes weakened and then eventually killed, which means you have to really work at removing the mucous now. There are little hairs in your airway, called cilia, that grab the mucous in your lungs and move it upwards to the back of your throat where it gets swallowed. Smoking destroys these cilia, which grounds the mucociliary elevator. 4. Wheezing. Because the airways have been damaged by smoking, they can no longer maintain their muscle tone. As a result, the airways constrict or narrow. This is called bronchospasm. Now, you're breathing through what seems like a very tiny straw, which leads to - you guessed it - more and more shortness of breath. A rescue inhaler can help widen or open these airways, but the damage is done. The process is not reversible and will only continue to get worse. 5. Frequent respiratory infections. Because the mucous is no longer readily removed, it just kind of sits there waiting for you to cough it out. The lungs make a wonderful home for bacteria because they're dark, warm, and moist. Perfect conditions for pneumonia to set in. So here are just five symptoms you may experience with COPD. The only option people have to stifle their COPD symptoms, is to remove the cause. There are several environmental factors which can cause COPD. Exposure to biomass fuels and indoor wood burning stoves, pollution and second-hand smoke are all known causes. But the biggest risk factor by far, for developing COPD is tobacco smoking. I don't think anyone is surprised by this. COPD is the 4th largest health concern in the world, in terms of deaths per year. Sadly, it's prevalence rate has not declined in the last decade like the other top 3 health concerns have. Bottom line, quitting smoking is the best way to limit the effects of COPD.	<urn:uuid:3d4849f7-8d78-4385-b56a-ab84ee65ea08>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.stopsmokinghelper.org/Articles/What-is-COPD.html	2013-05-22T00:14:18Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.973281	812
Prefectures in France - the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a department is located; - the Chef-lieu de région, the town in which the administration of a region is located; - the jurisdiction of a prefecture; - the official residence or headquarters of a prefect. Role of the prefecture in departments There are 101 prefectures in France, one for each department. The official in charge is the prefect (French: préfet). The prefecture is an administration that belongs to the Ministry of the Interior, and is therefore in charge of the delivery of identity cards, driving licenses, passports, residency and work permits for foreigners, vehicle registration, registration of associations (creation, status modification, dissolution), and of the management of the police and firefighters. The prefect represents the national government at the local level and as such exercises the powers that are constitutionally attributed to the national government. The prefect issues ordinances written for the application of local law, e.g. to close a building that does not conform to safety codes, or modify vehicular traffic regulations (speed limit, construction permits). The governing body of the department is the general council (French: Conseil général), which is in charge of the building and maintenance of schools and roads, financial assistance to dependent people (disabled and elderly), and promotion of local economic development, etc. In the past, the prefect was head of the department, however, since 1982, the president of the general council has assumed the role of chief executive of the department. There is an exception in Paris (Île-de-France) and its three surrounding departments. These departments are administered by a single prefecture for law enforcement and security purposes, called the Prefecture of Police (French: préfet de police); a situation inherited from the Paris Commune of 1871. The power of law enforcement is usually invested in the mayor in other French communes. Divisions of the departments The departments are divided into arrondissements, themselves divided into cantons. The chef-lieu d'arrondissement is the subprefecture (French: sous-préfecture). The official in charge is the subprefect (French: sous-préfet. Cantons have relatively few competences, the most important of which being the local organisation of elections (cantons are electoral subdivisions). See also	<urn:uuid:a72023f6-86dd-4478-948c-bc20bfec5eb7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefectures_in_France	2013-05-18T17:27:54Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.927291	517
History of the Library Ohio librarians are proud of the state's "long history of literacy." But Dover had to wait until 1902, and like many communities had to wait on an "angel" for financial help. It came from the American Sheet and Tin Plate Co. who wanted a library for its employees, and the general public. It was located at the corner of Front and Factory Streets (Tuscarawas Avenue). It contained 2,000 books in charge of a Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, and included everything from "Six Thousand Years of History" to "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch." Modern day mystery fans will appreciate it also contained "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." In 1907 the community of Dover took over, moved the library to the corner of Cherry and Fifth Streets, and the Simpson family remained custodians until 1914. The new high school was built in 1916. The library building was dismantled and the library moved to the school basement. In 1923 came the state law requiring a community library board. Mrs. L.H. Alexander, Francis Briegal, Mrs. P.G. Justice, S.O. Mase, Mrs. Ella Seibel, Dr. K. Earl Shaweker, and Rev. J.E. Weinland, comprised the first board. The first librarian was Vivian McCarthy who served as a high school senior. Mrs. Justice retired from the board in six months, assumed librarian's duties and served "competently and devotedly" for 22 years. In 1927 an "unfortunate impression" arose. A newspaper story reported that many Dover residents thought the basement library was a student library. But figures were released saying that circulation had increased 100 percent in four years and it was feared the library would soon outgrow its quarters. In August 1934, The Daily Reporter headlined the fact that the library was opening in an "Elaborate New Home." This was the former private home at 417 Walnut Street, which was to house close to 11,000 books. The "new" library was described as "commodious, with excellent natural lighting, serving its purpose well and conveniently accessible to both high school student and the general public." That building no longer exists. In 1953 funds for a new library were acquired with a bond issue and the present building opened its doors in 1955. Dan Cooley, a 1965 Dover High graduate, became library director in 1980 and retired in 2009. Jim Gill became the library director in January of 2010. Excerpted with permission from an article by Ed DeGraw printed October 5, 1997. Video Slideshow Celebrating our 110th Anniversary! If frame does not work, try going directly to YouTube!	<urn:uuid:817563ae-30c9-4462-8b91-a03e248f19d9>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.doverlibrary.org/content/history	2013-06-19T13:12:31Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708783242/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125303-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.980802	561
No. 48; Updated November 2012 Click here to download and print a PDF version of this document. Most children can control their bowels and are toilet trained by the time they are four years of age. Problems controlling bowel movements can cause soiling which leads to frustration and anger on part of the child, parents, teachers and other people important in the child's life. In addition, social difficulties with this problem can be severe -- the child is often made fun of by friends and avoided by adults. These problems can cause children to feel badly about themselves. Some of the reasons for soiling are: - problems during toilet training - physical disabilities, which make it hard for the child to clean him/herself - physical condition, for example chronic constipation, Hirschprung's Disease - family or emotional problems Soiling which is not caused by a physical illness or disability is called encopresis. Children with encopresis may have other problems, such as short attention span, low frustration tolerance, hyperactivity and poor coordination. Occasionally, the problem with soiling starts with a stressful change in the child's life, such as the birth of a sibling, separation/divorce of parents, family problems, or a move to a new home or school. Encopresis is more common in boys than in girls. Although most children with soiling do not have a physical condition, they should have a complete physical evaluation by a family physician or pediatrician. If no physical causes are found, or if problems continue, the next step is an evaluation by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. The child and adolescent psychiatrist will review the results of the physical evaluation and then decide whether emotional problems are contributing to the encopresis. Encopresis can be treated with a combination of educational, psychological and behavioral methods. Most children with encopresis can be helped, but progress can be slow and extended treatment may be necessary. Early treatment of a soiling or bowel control problem can help prevent and reduce social and emotional pain for the child and family. For additional information see Facts for Families: #52 Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation #72 Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder #82 Starting School #86 Psychotherapies for Children and Adolescents The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) represents over 8,500 child and adolescent psychiatrists who are physicians with at least five years of additional training beyond medical school in general (adult) and child and adolescent psychiatry. Facts for Families© information sheets are developed, owned and distributed by AACAP. Hard copies of Facts sheets may be reproduced for personal or educational use without written permission, but cannot be included in material presented for sale or profit. All Facts can be viewed and printed from the AACAP website (www.aacap.org). Facts sheets may not be reproduced, duplicated or posted on any other website without written consent from AACAP. Organizations are permitted to create links to AACAP's website and specific Facts sheets. For all questions please contact the AACAP Communications & Marketing Coordinator, ext. 154. If you need immediate assistance, please dial 911. Copyright © 2012 by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.	<urn:uuid:cedc25a0-78cd-4ee9-9bc3-0c94c98646f9>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Problems+With+Soiling+and+Bowel+Control&section=Facts+for+Families	2013-06-19T14:26:14Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.92394	667
TELEVISION AND ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDERS A new study appearing in the April issue of Pediatrics concludes that children who watch television experience shortened attention spans and considerably enhances the chances, based on number of hours of television watched, of developing ADDs (attention deficit disorders) later on in life. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that children under the age of two not watch television and this new study seems to validate such a recommendation. The release of this study comes at the same time Sesame Street is celebrating their 35th year on the air. The assistant director for research at Sesame Workshop questioned the results of this study because researchers did not know the content of the programming during the study, instead focusing on the number of hours a child watched the television set. Sesame Street programming is considered instructional and educational. According to Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a researcher at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, fast paced visual images most typically seen on television could alter normal brain development. Additionally, excessive amounts of time watching television Christakis maintains, contributes to obesity and aggressiveness in children. This apparently comes as nothing new to Dr. Lorraine Day, an internationally acclaimed orthopedic trauma surgeon and best selling author was for 15 years on the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine as Associate Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics. She was also Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at San Francisco General Hospital and is recognized world-wide as an AIDS expert. According to Dr. Day, who has for more than a decade advocated the eliminated of television from a child's early years: "It is reported that children watch an average of 43 hours of TV per week, that's longer than the average adult work week. While watching, they rapidly become almost hypnotized. It has been shown scientifically that within minutes of beginning to watch TV, the brain changes from the alert brain waves (beta waves) to the hypnotic waves (alpha waves) where the judgment center of the brain is bypassed. So the violence and decadence that the child sees, bypasses the judgment center in the brain and is implanted in the child's brain without any ability on the child's part to decide whether what they are seeing is right or wrong. The violence and decadence are accepted by the brain without any moral judgment being applied to it. It then becomes part of the child's permanent subconscious. Dr. Day's long held opinion on this seems to be shared at least in some part by Christakis who said, "The newborn brain develops very rapidly during the first two to three years of life. It's really being 'wired' during that time." © 2004 - NewsWithViews.com - All Rights Reserved Send comments on this article to: NewsWithViews.com, E-Mail firstname.lastname@example.org "Supporters of the legislation maintain that the bill recognizes that there are two victims of a violent crime when the woman is pregnant at the time the crime is committed."	<urn:uuid:4a03aa2d-2e83-4ae8-a247-f36f81c68095>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.newswithviews.com/NWVexclusive/exclusive5.htm	2013-05-24T01:50:33Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.966947	625
This course teaches the techniques necessary to maintain mammalian cells in culture. The course includes a laboratory exercise using mouse embryonic stem cells (takes 3 weeks to complete). Laboratory exercises provide instruction in basic techniques of routine cell culture using common cell lines before progressing to differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. Photographs and explanations of common equipment (laminar flow hood, inverted microscope, etc.) and reagents are provided. Laboratory exercises include the following: Basic Aseptic Technique; Media Preparation; Plating cells from frozen stock; Cell counting and plating; Survival assay (UV); Live Cell Identification; Transfection; Freezing cells; Stem cell differentiation. A student manual and an instructor manual are provided. The course is taught to high school students but the materials are also used for college students. Quizes and Exams	<urn:uuid:80a7101f-a80b-4760-8a25-125864bc2e26>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.bio-link.org/home/print/book/export/html/1476	2013-05-24T08:29:38Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.901109	166
To finish Aladdin's Window—i.e. to attempt to complete something begun by a great genius, but left imperfect. The genius of the lamp built a palace with twenty-four windows, all but one being set in frames of precious stones; the last was left for the sultan to finish; but after exhausting his treasures, the sultan was obliged to abandon the task as hopeless. Tait's second part of Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel is an Aladdin's Window. Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Aladdin's Window from Infoplease:	<urn:uuid:92aeab83-f5b2-4db6-8b32-8d35c7333850>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/brewers/aladdins-window.html	2013-05-26T09:43:18Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.940144	136
Homeowners, gardeners and landscape architects all know the importance a healthy lawn has on the overall appearance and quality of their spaces. To keep their grasses beautifully colored, a specially formulated fertilizer is specifically fed to their grasses. This provides the plants with necessary nutrients and water storage, which is mandatory for continued growth during the different months. Grass fertilizers are specifically formulated to help maintain a healthy balance of nutrients and water storage that grasses need to properly develop. These fertilizers are split into three main categories where they work to meet the needs of those particular plants: warm season, cool season and seedling fertilizers. Knowing the type of grasses in one's lawn is important to protect and maintain beautifully designed landscapes. Blue grasses and rye grasses are examples of cold season grasses that do well in temperate climates. They require fertilization during the cool months, just before and after winter sets in. Mid-spring feedings on these grasses help promote thicker, greener foliage that many gardeners prefer. They also require one to two light feedings of fertilizer in the early fall to keep the production of roots active without encouraging top growth, which can be dangerous when frosts begin. Some grasses, like Bermuda grass, start developing in late spring and early summer months. During this period, they need fertilization to help increase the production of foliage and root growth. Each species requires a different amount of fertilization and it is important for gardeners to research the specific watering schedules and fertilizer types that their grasses require before planting. Although warm grasses go dormant during the winter months, lightly feeding these plants once a month while dormant will often allow the warm grasses to prepare for spring warm-up. Due to the climate of the areas closer to the equator, some lawns are able to stay green all year. This means that the grasses will also require regular feeding throughout the entire year to maintain optimum health and color. Summer can be a difficult time for gardeners who are unsure about feeding their warm season grasses. Time-release fertilizers help in the management of these grasses and won't damage or burn the grass as long as enough water is available. Before fertilizing, be sure to acknowledge that more maintenance is required to control diseases and the growth of grasses the more often they are fed. Never fertilize cool grasses during the summer. Seedlings require a different fertilizer to grow properly. They need high amounts of macronutrients, phosphorus and potassium to properly develop and become rooted. Starter fertilizers need to be worked into the soil to give seedlings a healthy beginning. It is important that gardeners don't use weed fertilizers, which contain chemicals that can kill new grasses before they can establish them within new soils.	<urn:uuid:3b2bc3f1-544c-4e75-816c-48427bb2e4b3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.gardenguides.com/131136-lawn-seed-fertilizer.html	2013-06-19T19:06:00Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.951239	569
Young students should be able to write, or at least copy, short notes. What better opportunity to hone their writing skills than sending thank-you notes in the days prior to Thanksgiving? Brighten someone’... Read more When children are very young, they can only think about concrete things—objects they can actually see or touch. The curriculum in early elementary school begins with things that are concrete. For example, science instru... Read more Understanding addition and subtraction within the number 20 is a First Grade Common Core goal. Here is an easy and fun way to help your child practice these skills to increase math fluency. Start with addition, until ... Read more “That’s not fair!” Parents and teachers hear this often. What children don’t always understand is that treating students fairly does not mean treating them all alike. Even adults sometimes say t... Read more As parents, we talk to our kids about healthy living, but sometimes those messages are, well, boring. But here’s a really fun way to promote good vision care from Transitions Optical. Consider taking the My Eye Pr... Read more We all use words in four main ways: 1.) to listen; 2.) to speak; 3.) to read; and 4.) to write. Talking and reading to young children are methods that parents and caregivers can use to develop sounds and vocabulary. Young st... Read more Recently, I watched a 30 minute documentary produced by HBO called I Can’t Do This But I Can Do That: A Film for Families About Learning Differences. It is an excellent film that shows several children with learning di... Read more While there are many articles covering the exchange of information at parent-teacher conferences, some recent developments should also be stressed. “Common Core Standards” are now federal mandated models fo... Read more Working memory is not a new topic for my blog. I have mentioned it several times before. It is an important topic to learn about because students who have working memory issues often struggle more in school. Essentiall... Read more With our presidential election less than a month away, we are bombarded with images and messages regarding who to vote for on November 6. Children can’t vote, but they do have the important right to know exactly what&r... Read more	<urn:uuid:ec4537d2-cc53-44dd-8dd0-5b0aefa310a3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.schoolfamily.com/blog/page/7	2013-05-22T08:27:18Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701508530/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105148-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.943056	487
Fourteen Saints in Ancient China Du Kang was born in Baishui and was the pride of the local people. The wine brewed by Du Kang was an epitome of the pure and honest character of local people and the ancient civilization of Baishui. During Ming and Qing dynasties, and the Republic of China, Baishui was a famous place of wine, boasting thousands of wine-making pots and lanes. The aromatic Du Kang Wine well reflected the character of people in Baishui and Huangtu Plateau. fuk nigga y u aint doin nothin sluts Confucius (551BC—479 BC) is a great thinker, educator, and founder of Confucian School. He was born in Lu State during the period of Spring and Autumn. Benevolence is a key component of his ideas. Confucius made a determined effort on study and research, and soon became erudite. He set the example of private education and enrolled a lot of students no matter they were rich or poor. It is said he had 3000 disciples and 72 of them were excellent ones. Confucius was reputed as the herald in knowledge spreading. He visited a lot of countries of his times, and attended to compile ancient documents in his late years. He committed himself to education, collection of famous ancient works such as Book of History and Book of Songs, and adaptations of spring and Autumn Annals. His students made a record of his thoughts and behaviors in Analects of Confucius. Through strenuous efforts by Confucius and his disciples of later generations, Confucian School became the mainstream of Chinese culture. Its influence on the thought of Chinese has extended more than 2000 years. The core of the system of Confucian Thought is rule with morality. He persistently advocates the moral cultivation of life and society. The highest standard for a society governed with morality is rite, and for a morally cultivated life is benevolence. Confucius suggests that we should first behave appropriately if we want to win trust from others; we should first satisfy other's needs if we want to have our expectation achieved. He also offers good advice on how to deal with people around us and set up right philosophy, such as "Don't do unto others what you don't want others to so unto you". Besides, Confucius proposes the harmonization between human being and nature and the idea of "Man is an integral part of nature. He explains why we should be benevolent to other people and friendly with everything on the earth. Confucius insists that a country should be governed with morality so as to create a comfortable life for its people and educate them. Only in that case could economy and culture reach long term development. Confucius believes that the most developed civilization is one that can give birth to sound characters of people and harmonious social environment, and can have the belief of "The whole world is one community" widely agreed upon. With his eminent contribution and wide influence, Confucius is respected as the greatest educator ever since in Chinese history. Sima Qian, Master of History Sima Qian (145 BC—?) is a famous historian and litterateur in Western Han Dynasty. His great works Records of Historian is the first record of general history in a chronological style, and it exerts wide influence on historical studies by later generations. Records of Historian is well known for its vivid language and depicts of characters. It is also an excellent works of literature. Sima Qian has another works named as Latter to Tai Shi Duke, in which he recorded how he was tortured in prison and his ambition of writing books. Sima Qian is the greatest historian in Chinese history. Unfortunately, he suffered castration because of his sincere and direct suggestions to the then emperor. After that he made determined efforts to write books and finally completed the great works Records of Historian, a great surprise and treasure to world literature. It leaves with China and the world at large an invaluable legacy of culture. Master of Poem, Du Fu Du Fu, 712 BC—770 BC, styled Zimei, is a famous poet in the booming period of Tang Dynasty. Du Fu, together with Li Bai, another great poet, is generally knowen as Li Du (the combination of their family names). The core of his thought is benevolence, the idea of Confucian School. Du Fu is one of those who have grand ambitions and pursuit. He loved life, people, and his country, while made strict and acute criticism on the corrupted governance of the then regime and its degradation. He understood deeply the misery of his people, and made determined efforts to save his people from the dark life. Du Fu is a great poet of realism. He wrote about more than 1000 poems in his life which could be divided into four stages. Zhang Zhongjing, Master of Medicine Zhang Zhongjing is a famous doctor in East Han Dynasty. He was born in 150 AD and died in 219 AD. Zhang Zhongjing was very smart and industrious when he was young. Later he learned Medicine from Zhang Bozu and acquired the extract of his teacher's knowledge. A book named Record of Practicing Medicine by Li Yuan in Ming Dynasty expressed that Zhang Zhongjing was even more excellent than his teacher, and his exquisite skills in curing disease deserved the title "The Best Doctor under Heaven". Zhang Zhongjing read extensive books on medicine. By investigations on various diseases and methods of curing them, he made a systematic summarization on the extract of medicine before Han Dynasty. On the basis of his experience in diagnosis and treatment, he wrote a book Comment on Average Diseases of 16 chapters. In Tang and Song Dynasties, this book was divided into two parts: Comment on Typhoid and Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber. Zhang Zhongjing was reputed by doctors in later times as "The Master of Medicine", and his two works Comment on Typhoid and Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber were the divine scriptures of Medicine. Comment on Average Diseases is the first medical book featuring "reasoning", "treating method", "prescription", and "medicine". It is Zhang Zhongjing who first illustrated the pathogeny, pathology, principles of treatment, and specific methods of communicable diseases in a comprehensive and systematic way. It laid a solid foundation for the further development of different braches of clinics. Guan Yu, Master of Martial Arts Guan Yu is a famous general at the end of East Han Dynasty. He emphasizes personal loyalty and is good at martial arts. Later generations respect him as "Master Guan or Guan Di". Guan Yu had many official positions in his life. When he served Cao Cao, he was appointed as Shouting Regional Inspector, Xiangyang Prefecture Governor, and Superior Governor in Jingzhou; when he followed Liu Bei, he was then positioned as Doukou General and Honorable Herald General, and designated as one the five most excellent generals of Shu State. In the 41st years after his death, Liu Chan, the new emperor of Shu after Liu Bei, offered him another tile Zhangmu Governor. That year (260 AD) happened to be the 100 anniversary of the founding of Shu State. In fact, Guan Yu received more and more admiration from the start of the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the end of Qing Dynasty. There he became well known at home and abroad, and memorized as one of the most favored idols in history. Today Guan Yu and Confucius are reputed together as "Two Masters of Wen and Wu"; Wen and Wu here in Chinese respectively refer to culture and martial arts. Guan Yu is famous for his allegiance, personal loyalty, braveness, and excellent martial arts. Emperors of each feudal dynasty need such figures to safeguard and consolidate its regime. Therefore they emphasize and even exaggerate the character of Guan Yu so as to encourage more of their liegemen to serve and contribute to the regime as loyal as Guan Yu. Wang Xizhi, Master of Calligraphy Wang Xizhi was born in 307 AD and died in Jin Dynasty. Wang Xizhi is reputed as Mater of Calligraphy. He is very good at formal script, running script, cursive hand, and official script, etc, all of which are exquisite and perfect. He is adored very much and learned from by calligraphers in later generations. Wang Xizhi learned form script from Fa Zhongyao, and cursive script from Zhang Zhi, Li Si, and Cai Yi. He gave the advantages and unique points of each form of script into full play. His calligraphy could present an atmosphere of quietness and beauty, different from the style of Fan Zhongyao. It features smoothness and dignity, an innovation on official script. That can be interpreted as the major characteristics of today's popular Chinese calligraphy. The real works of Wang Xizhi are hard to find today, and what we usually see are in most cases the copies of his calligraphies. The representative works of Wang Xizhi include Leyi Commentary and Huangting Scriptures in formal script, the Seventeen Tie (a book containing models of handwriting or painting for learners to copy) in cursive script, and the Yimu Tie, Temporary Snowy Days, and Sangluan Tie in running script. The most famous one is Lanting Preface in running and formal script. On March, 3rd in Chinese lunar calendar in the ninth ruling year of Yong He Emperor in Eastern Dynasty (353 AD), 41 calligraphers, including Wang XiZhi, Xie An, and Sun Zhuo, collected in Lanting Pavilion of Shaoxing City for Xiuqi (an religious activity which is believed helpful for getting rid of disease and bad luck). They drank wine, wrote poems, and collected the works into a book. Wang Xizhi wrote a preface for the book, and that was what we know as Lanting Preface. It is a draft of 28 liens and 324 words, recording what happened that day. It is said Wang Xizhi that day was so excited when he wrote the preface that his script in that it was superior to his other works. Character "之" in the preface appeared over 21 times but each time in different form. Another famous calligrapher Mi Di praised it to be the "Best Running Script under Heaven". Legends have it that Li Shimin, the emperor of Tang Dynasty, treasured Lanting Preface very much, and buried it with himself in Zhaoling Mausoleum when he was dead. Therefore we have only the copies of Lanting Preface today. Zhang Xu, Master of Running Script Zhang Xu was a great calligrapher in Tang Dynasty and he was famous for his cursive script. Zhang Xu is a person with strong character. It is said he usually got drunk, hurried to leave, and then started writing cursive script excitedly. He even dipped his hair into Chinese ink and used it write. Therefore he was given an agname Zhang Dian and "Dian" meant crazy. Later another calligrapher called Huai Su inherited and developed cursive script and became well known. He was later reputed together with Zhang Xu as "Zhang Dian and Zui Su". "Zui" here means drunk and "Su" is the last name of Huai Su. Emperor Wen Zong in Tang Dynasty once, in a rescript, offered the title "Three Bests" to the poem of Li Bai, the sword performance of Pei Min, and the cursive of Zhang Xu together. Han Yu, another famous poet in Tang Dynasty, expressed the life-long pursuit for art of an real artist in Preface for Artistic Talents that, "Whenever emotionally stirred, no matter it is because of happiness, anger, sadness, worry, cheer, complain, hate, admiration, inebriety, fastidium, dissatisfaction, or being touched, cursive script is the best way for you to express it". Being attentive to everything around, including mountains, rivers, beasts, birds, fish, insects, flowers, trees, the sun, the moon, fire, water, wind, rain, thunder, dancing, fighting, and changes in life, Zhang Xu can reflect all what he saw through his cursive script. It is vivid, impressing and toughing beyond comparison, for which he is remebered for ever. It is no wonder when later generations talk about the script of other calligraphers they differ with each other while mentioning that of Zhang Xu everybody show their favor to it unanimously. Only Zhang Xu as a calligrapher in the history of China received such wide welcome and unprecedented recognition. Wu Dao Zi, Master of Painting Wu Dao Zi (about 686 AD—760 AD) is a successful painter in Tang Dynasty. He is good at painting images of Buddha, immortals, demon, human figures, mountains, birds, beasts, grass, trees, towers, and pavilions, etc. He is especially skillful in fresco as well as painting Buddha and human figures. According to historical record, Wu Dao Zi painted frescos for more than 300 temples in Chang'an and Luoyang City. All his paintings vary from each other, and the most famous one is Conversion of the Hell. Wu Dao Zi has his own unique style of painting. Pictures of mountains and rivers are endowed with life. Human characters are painted both with powerful lines and fine depictions of facial expression; Pleats on clothing and sleeves in the wind are fantastically presented. In a word, human figures on the picture are just like the real ones in life. Therefore Wu Dao Zi is reputed as "Wu Dai Dang Feng", a title to praise his talent on and style of paintings. His works exert a wide influence on the development of this artistic form, and thus admired as the Master of Painting. Folk painters all respect him as the ancestor and founder of modern painting. Unfortunately, works of Wu Dao Zi fail to be inherited or retained. Paintings, such as Devaguardian of Life, Image of Baojibinjialuo Buddha Statue, and Calligraphy of Dao Zi are probably copies. It is considered that the fresco named Weimo Scripture in the 103rd cave of Dunhuang is out of the painting style of Wu Dao Zi. Lu Yu, Master of Tea In the history of tea culture, the creation of Tea Ceremony, Tea Art, and ideas on tea-infusing by Lu Yu (733-804) as well as his works Canon of Tea is a great sign of development. In order to find more kinds of tea and know about their planting and infusing methods, Lu Yu traveled all over the country, visited numerous mountains and river, and made pains-taking efforts. On the basis of rich materials, he fully considered the experience of former masters on tea and conducted in-depth research on the Study of Tea. He wrote three volumes of Canon of Tea in 780 BC (the ruling period of Emperor Jian Zhong), a great contribution to tea Art. This great works has rich content, involving botany, gardening, biology, pharmacology, hydrology, folklore, and historiography. Therefore, as the first works on tea study, Canon of Tea is reputed as the cyclopedia on tea. Sun Wu, Master of Strategy Sun Wu is a great mater of war and famous general in the period of Spring and Autumn. Sun Wu, styled Changqing, was born in Le'an of Qi State (today's Huimin City of Shandong Province) in 551 BC. His father and grandfather were all famous generals in Qi state, and had set illustrious records of battle achievement. Growing up in a family of masters of war, Sun Wu was very interested in military science, and made determined efforts to study how to get the upper hand in wars. He had a great ambition to apply these theories into practice in the front when he became a general and made great contribution to his country on the battlefield. Sun Wu was admired as "Mater of War" and ‘Ancestor of Tactics". Besides his brilliant records of battle achievement, he left the later generations a great works on military strategies. That is Master Sun's Art of War. The book has 13 chapters of over 5000 words, which comprise of the broad and intensive theoretical system and rich content. It plays wide and in-depth influence on the development of strategics. Strategists and militarists of later generations all benefited a lot from the book, which guides the strategies in real battles and promotes the development of military theories. Later the book was introduced to Japan and European in 18th Century. Now it has been translated into 29 languages and well known in the world. Liddell Hart, a famous military theorist of Great Britain once admitted that the major ideas illustrated in his booking fact has been mentioned and talked about in Master Sun's Art of War 2500 years ago. He said he was very interested in Sun Wu and his great works. Therefore he not only made a preface for the English version of this book but quoted a long paragraph of Sun Wu's words in the font pages of his own book named On Strategies. In 1991 in the Gulf War, officials of American Marine Corps were required to bring with them one copy of Master Sun's Art of War so as to guide their strategies. Zhang Liang, Master of Strategies Zhang Liang is a great general in early Han Dynasty. It is said that he conspired to re-found Han State and therefore associated with assassins in Bolang (today's Yuanyang City in Henan Province). But he failed in sniping Ying Zheng, the first emperor of Qin Dynasty. Legend has it that Zhang Liang later escaped to Xiapi (today's Jiangsu Province), and met Hung shi Gong, a mysterious figure like immortals, and received Taigong Art of War from him. He introduced Han Xin, a talent on military affairs, to Liu Bang. Unfortunately, Han Xin was killed with a fabricated cause by Lü Hou, who, together with Liu Bang, asked Xiao He, Chief of Counselor, to make a trap and beguile Han Xin to enter Changle Palace with the identity of a close friend. Receiving the news that Han Xin, the great and brilliant state-funding general with excellent battle achievements, was killed together with his family members, Zhang Liang was very disappointed with Liu Bang, and then concealed himself in a deep mountain and make accompanies with immortals. Zhang Liang is good model of idea men, and is reputed as "Master of Strategies". Zhang Heng, Master of Timber or Master of Science During eastern Han Dynasty, that is more than 1800 years ago, "Shui Yun Hun Xiang", the first large-size and water-powered chronometer instrument was invented in Luoyang, the capital city of Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said 20 years later (138 AD), Houfeng seismograph, another instrument installed in Luoyang, was invented. It accurately predicted the earthquake happened 500 kilometers off the west of Luoyang, ushering in the new era of using instruments to investigate and record earthquakes on human history. The above mentioned instruments were both invented by Zhang Heng, the most famous and outstanding scientist and litterateur in Eastern Han Dynasty. He made great contribution to astronomy, seismology, and mechanics in ancient China. It is said he is also the inventor of compass carriage and mileage-counting carriage. Since the major material of his inventions is timber, he is therefore addressed respectfully Master of Timber. Sun Simiao, Master of Drug Sun Simiao, born in 581 AD and died in 682 AD, is a great expert on Medicine during Sui and Tang Dynasty. He was very industrious as a child. When he grew up, he was summoned to the capital by Emperor Tai Zong, and positioned as an imperial doctor in the palace. But he refused the title and devoted his lifetime to the research on Medicine, making great contribution to the development of Chinese Medicine. In 652 AD, Sun Simiao completed his great works Golden Prescriptions composed of 30 chapters. This book collected more than 800 categories of drugs and over 5300 prescriptions, and recorded the fruit of the writer's long time researches. It is an invaluable works which draw of the advantages of all previous medical books. Fufang, a concept means "compound", is the most outstanding contribution by Sun Simiao to medicine. Being innovative and progressive, Sun Simiao acquired experience from the treatment of patients in the folk, deleted those inconsequential prescriptions, and promoted the development of medicine with new prescriptions. His medical book played a very important role in the history of medical development. His hometown was abundant of medical materials and he often went to pick wild herbs in mountains. He did more research and identified the effect of many Chinese drugs. For instance, he found that Pulsatila Root and Goldthread Rhizome can cure diarrhea; betel palm can get rid of cestode; Cinnabar and arsenic sulphide are good for disinfection, etc. On the basis of summarizing the practicing of folk medicine and his own clinic experience, Sun Simiao achieved new findings on the effect of some Chinese drugs—almond kernel, milk, and white honey which can cure beriberi. This is of great importance to the history of Medicine world widely. It is not until 1000 years later that Europeans gave an explanation to the treatment of beriberi. From the perspective of modern Medicine, beriberi is a kind disease that is caused by the defect of Vitamin B1, an ingredient contained in the drug developed by Sun Simiao. On the development of acupuncture, Su Simiao gave a name to the aching point in our body ‘Ashi Point" according to the experience of pain-release through acupuncture and moxibustion therapy. On clinics, he innovatively used shallot leaf as catheter in the urological system operation for anuretic patients. Sun Simiao spent his lifetime on Medicine with concerted efforts. He emphasized practice, cared about his people, and won wide respect. Later generations addressed him as "Master of Drug", and named Wutai Mountain, where Sun Simiao once concealed himself, as "Mountain of Master of Drug". A temple called Temple of Master of Drug was built on the mountain so as to memorize Su Simiao.	<urn:uuid:9e574be8-529d-4d25-959b-cc9fe3941833>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.chinatravel.com/facts/fourteen-saints-in-ancient-china.htm	2013-05-24T23:41:22Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705284037/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115444-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.976581	4,659
The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board recently approved a set of rules designed to address phosphorous and other nutrient pollution, as well as help control erosion and sedimentation in the state. Wisconsin farmers will be able to obtain up to 70% of the costs of implementing non-point pollution controls to meet the standards set by the new rules, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) The rules address both point and non-point sources of pollution, including agricultural sources, factories, municipal water treatment systems, and urban and suburban storm water runoff. Science-based, numerical water quality standards for phosphorus have been established. “This comprehensive approach means that we will identify and work proactively with all sources that contribute to poor water quality in a watershed. We will rely on solid data to take actions that achieve maximum environmental benefits in the most cost-effective manner possible. These rules strike a good balance between creating a solid path to cleaner water and providing flexibility in implementation,” says Matt Frank, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary. Included in the package are numeric water quality criteria for rivers, streams and lakes that are expected to prove pivotal in determining phosphorus levels to keep waters clear of algae and safe for recreational activities. Wisconsin has 172 lakes and streams on the impaired waters list for phosphorus. Frank says that with this package, Wisconsin becomes the first state in the country to create these water quality standards for rivers, lakes and streams. The rules build on Wisconsin law that requires the state to partner with the agriculture community and provide cost-sharing dollars. The Wisconsin DNR will work with county land conservation experts and farmers to help them use the best management practices to curb pollution, while helping provide incentives toward cost-effective solutions. Under this provision, the DNR will provide the cost-share program as part of a positive enforcement of the rules.	<urn:uuid:8d0f23e4-569b-4d5c-a542-54f647c7cae3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://nationalhogfarmer.com/print/environmental-stewardship/manure-management/0708-wisconsin-phosphorus	2013-05-23T04:42:11Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.939444	372
The Story of Ruby Bridges Harvard professor Robert Coles recounts the story of six-year-old Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to desegregate the all-white William Franz Elementary School in New Orleans in the 1960s. Title from disc label Based on the book "A picture book on DVD"--Container insert Study guide inserted in container AgeAdd Age Suitability There are no ages for this title yet. SummaryAdd a Summary There are no summaries for this title yet. NoticesAdd a Notice There are no notices for this title yet. QuotesAdd a Quote There are no quotes for this title yet. VideosAdd a Video There are no videos for this title yet.	<urn:uuid:1364e2fc-c3b5-4d01-8724-c5251e6cbbc7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/18350467052_the_story_of_ruby_bridges	2013-05-21T17:25:20Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.819741	156
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits low on the front of the neck. Your thyroid lies below your Adam’s apple, along the front of the windpipe. The thyroid has two side lobes, connected by a bridge (isthmus) in the middle. When the thyroid is its normal size, you can’t feel it. Brownish-red in color, the thyroid is rich with blood vessels. Nerves important for voice quality also pass through the thyroid. The thyroid secretes several hormones, collectively called thyroid hormones. The main hormone is thyroxine, also called T4. Thyroid hormones act throughout the body, influencing metabolism, growth and development, and body temperature. During infancy and childhood, adequate thyroid hormone is crucial for brain development.	<urn:uuid:4a855cfa-a87a-466f-be4a-ffe6308f2200>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://women.webmd.com/picture-of-the-thyroid?src=rsf_full-3608_pub_none_xlnk	2013-05-24T08:29:40Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.938018	161
INVENTORY OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES THE WEST SIDE A. Southern Panamints and West Side Road (continued) 5. Wingate Wash (1) Location and Derivation of Name Wingate Wash flows from the Amargosa River across the southwest corner of Death Valley National Monument southeast of Butte Valley. The pass itself is a break in the mountain range that forms the western wall of Death Valley, the Panamints stretching northward and the Brown and Quail mountains veering to the southeast. From the west the road into Death Valley through Wingate Wash turns east about two miles north of Layton Canyon. A low-gear, short, and relatively abrupt slope leads to the broad pass, which is about five miles wide, ten miles long, and about eleven miles outside the present monument boundary. Since World War II the west side of Wingate Pass, located on the Naval Ordnance Test Station Range, has been open to travel only by special permission. Today the road leading into Death Valley over Wingate Pass intersects the Warm Spring Canyon road from the south near the Panamint Mine site at the mouth of Warm Spring Canyon. It has been surmised that either Lieutenant Bendire, when crossing the Panamint Mountains through this pass on his 1867 expedition, named it to honor Major Benjamin Wingate, who died in 1862 of wounds received during the Battle of Valverde, New Mexico, or that it is a modification of "Wind Gate" or "Windy Gap," names bestowed by twenty-mule-team drivers to characterize the strong gusts they had to battle as they came through the pass. (2) Chloride Cliff Trail After the discovery of silver at Chloride Cliff circa 1873 and the start of limited mining operations there, a road was needed to carry the ore south to a transportation center. As a consequence, a road used for only a few years was built heading south, across the salt flats, and along the west side of the valley into the area of present-day Barstow via Wingate Pass, a route that became one of Death Valley's first major connections with "civilization." (3) Twenty-Mule-Team Borax Route By the early 1880s the Harmony Borax Works, located about two miles above the mouth of Furnace Creek Wash, needed a new borax freight line from their deposits in the valley to the Southern Pacific railhead at Mojave. A dependable low-cost route was needed, and luckily William T. Coleman was able to utilize part of the old Chloride City trail over Wingate Pass--all that was needed was a good connection from the east side of the valley to the west and a general overhaul of the whole road. The general 165-mile course followed by the twenty-mule teams was from Mojave northeast past Castle Butte and Cuddeback Dry Lake to Blackwater Well, a water stop. At or near present-day Granite Wells, about seven miles northeast of Blackwater, the route joined the old San Bernardino & Daggett to Postoffice Springs & Panamint City freight road. This was followed twenty-six miles to Lone Willow Spring, another water hole. Six miles north of Lone Willow, the road took off east from the old freight road through Wingate Pass, up Long Valley along Wingate Wash to the lower end of Death Valley, and then up the west side of the salt pan to the Devil's Golf Course road, which cut east to the borax works below the mouth of Furnace Creek. Numerous obstacles were involved in building and traversing this route. The major problem involved construction of that part of the road connecting the west side of the valley to the east side where the borax works were located. Because drinkable water could not be found east of the salt pan below Furnace Creek, it was necessary to cross over and travel down the west side toward Mesquite Wells. None of the options available for the route of this connecting road were very promising. Most of the acrid slushy marsh was too soft and wet to support the weight of the borax wagons, which would sink hopelessly into the mire. Of necessity, then, the road had to be constructed across the jagged salt crust which had formed over part of the marsh and where, as described as early as 1892, By means of sledgehammers a graded path six feet wide was constructed across an eight-mile-wide bridge of solid salt. Once the road was completely built, however, many hazards stilt existed. The name "Windy Gap" reportedly was given by the borax mule-team drivers to the pass because of the breezes that seemed to be constantly circulating. (Gudde's less colorful suggestion is that the name "Windy Gap" was recorded by Wheeler on his atlas sheet 65 due to a misreading of Lt. Bendire's notes.) In addition to wind problems, the gap was known as Although use of the road was discontinued by the borax teams around 1888, it was still frequented by miners and prospectors and some monument visitors, most of the latter preferring the easier Saratoga Spring route. The pass came into more and more disuse as modern highways penetrated the new national monument in the 1930s. In 1936 a twenty-mule team that had been used in the "pageant of transportation" that crossed the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was shipped by train to Mojave, harnessed to freight wagons, and driven north to the site of Harmony Borax Works over the old road and Wingate Pass, which had been newly reconditioned for the occasion by CCC personnel. (4) Mining Activity Even after the end of the freight route through Wingate Pass, interest in the area did not lessen. During the early 1900s the enthusiasm that was' raging anew for the prospects of the Panamint Range region was reaching here also, for a "Ballarat Letter" of 1905 mentioned that many well-known prospectors had left Ballarat for "Wind Gate Pass" and a several weeks prospecting jaunt, the party containing Shorty Harris among others. There evidently was gold to be found there, for in 1907 word reached Rhyolite that a very rich strike had just been made in the vicinity of the pass, and men were flocking to the area. In 1908 mention was made of several prospecting outfits in the valley, both from neighboring towns such as Rhyolite and from "outside." According to Clarence E. Eddy, referred to as the "poet-prospector," and a well-known personality of the region who had located several placer claims in the vicinity of Bennett's Well, a group from California was planning to relocate some quartz claims in Wingate Wash. Some ore from the Prize Group in Wingate Pass, assayed at this time, showed a gold content of $37.03. The mine was owned by Mike Lane, Tom McNulty, Shorty Harris, and Roy Newton. Some earlier samples from this group had assayed $157.40 and $58.70. Another group of claims must have been staked by the same men, for in the next month they were reported as owning the Gold Links Group. Average results from the bottom of the twenty-five-foot shaft on the property returned $10 in gold, 4 ozs. in silver, and 64% lead. Some samples had assayed as high as $500. In June of 1908 an article appeared on discoveries made by Shorty Harris in the Hidden Springs area, ten miles southeast of Wingate Pass. Although Harris was displaying great optimism for the future of the area, others were skeptical of the find's potential, stating that the samples seen were not unlike those that could be found at several points within Death Valley. Due to a lack of water, little development had been carried out so far. The site was pronounced accessible by wagon road from Panamint or Goldfield or by way of Daggett or Barstow. Although the showing of these claims appeared good, the values discovered at depth were not as high as surface showings. A week after the Rhyolite Herald's optimistic article on the location, Harris and Lane had returned to Rhyolite, disappointed in their prospects in Wingate Pass. Their bad luck discouraged neither other prospectors, a couple of whom (Ernest Mattison [Death Valley Slim] and Bill Keys) mined for lead ore in the pass, nor themselves, for by 1910 Shorty was sinking a shaft on a thirty-foot gold-bearing dyke there. Tom McNulty, Roy Newton, and Mike Lane had an interest in this mine, also, which by the next month was down fifty feet and exposing $20 ore. But the big bonanza for the Wingate Pass area was yet to be discovered, and was actually going to revolve around the discovery of new mineral types that had never before been considered valuable by miners in Death Valley. It was only fitting that Shorty Harris should be the one to inaugurate this new era of mining activity. While on a two-month prospecting trip near his gold claims in the Wingate Pass section, Shorty spied some likely-looking rock and chipped out some samples of what everyone in the party declared to be tungsten. The spot was located twelve miles from Hidden Springs, the only water source around. Despite Shorty's firm belief that because of his find his financial worries would soon be at an end, the future of this part of the valley (and of Shorty) did not lie in the development of this discovery. (5) Epsom Salts Monorail By 1918 deposits of mineral salts of commercial value (Epsom salts or magnesium sulphate, used chiefly in medicine) were being explored by Thomas Wright and some interested investors in the hills to the south of Long Valley. A temporary mining camp to work the deposits was established in Crystal Hills Wash in the Brown Mountain area, the drawback being that the camp could only be supplied by truck over a sixty-three-mile tortuously-rough road. During the postwar depression, while mining activity here stopped, Wright and his associates attempted to figure out another method of access to the site. The major factor to consider in the mining of these salts was that a cheap form of transportation was needed in order to make it economically feasible to extract the ore. The prospective operators decided that construction work (mainly grading operations) for a narrow-gauge railroad would be impractical and prohibitively expensive. The only answer seemed to be a twenty-eight-mile-long monorail system connecting with the Trona Railroad and the Southern Pacific at Searles, making a direct connection with Los Angeles. On the west side of Searles Lake, about six miles south of Trona, a new station named Magnesium Siding (Magnesia) was erected by the Trona Railroad. The American Magnesium Company of Los Angeles, with Thomas Wright as president, began construction of its monorail from this point. It then crossed eight miles of the salt lake, entered Layton Canyon up a 7.5% grade to Layton Pass, whose summit is 3,500 feet above sea level and about 200 yards' wide. The track then proceeded through Wingate Pass up the wash to a fork about 7-1/2 miles east. Here the monorail route turned south to the low Crystal Hilts, among which, about four miles from the road fork, are the Epsom salt deposits. Reportedly, grades of up to ten and twelve percent had to be overcome. The estimated cost of the entire system was around $7,000 a mile in the mountain passes and $5,000 per mite on the flat stretches. The Douglas fir construction consisted of The machinery used on this unique system was of great interest in itself. The basic unit was a rectangular steel frame mounted on two double-flanged wheels, one at either end. Steel supports angling downward parallel to the slope of the A frames were affixed on either side to balance the unit on the rail atop the riding beam. Platforms were added to these steel supports on a horizontal plane just above ground level and loads were stacked on these, balancing each other like saddlebags. The train carriages glided along the single rail attached to a heavy timber running along the top of a series of four-foot-high A frames set ten or twelve feet apart, maintaining their equilibrium by pressing with roller bearings against the guiding rails. The first engine used, which utilized a battery-powered electric motor, was unable to produce sufficient power to haul up grades. The construction of the basic engine was similar to that for the cars: To provide more power, Fordson-motored tractor/engines built into a steel frame were introduced, averaging seven miles to the gallon of distillate. They were supposedly capable of pulling fifteen to twenty-five tons at eight miles per hour on the upgrade and ten to fifteen miles per hour on the flat stretches. According to Thompson the engines developed only enough power to pull three loaded cars. Myrick says each locomotive could handle only one or two trailers, depending on their load. Lee says the cars only carried three tons a trip. Permissive maximum speed for the monorail was set at thirty-five miles per hour, though most trains held to thirty on the flatlands (which was still harmful to the track). Each locomotive was restricted to a maximum payload of approximately 3,400 pounds; trailer carloads were permitted up to 8,500 pounds. By the fall of 1923, only about sixteen miles of the system had been built, but work on the last twelve miles was fast progressing. Hopes were that a ton of ore could be hauled to the railroad for less than $1.00. The system was finally finished in 1924. Immediately after its inauguration the project had appeared successful for several reasons: no bridges were necessary over rivers or roads; little grading was required because the trestle height could be varied to conform to dips and hills; the equipment, because of its design, ran well despite the varying grades and curves; costs of construction, equipment, and operation were low; and the open trestlework seemed at first to eliminate drainage problems. The American Magnesium Corporation was now one of the two companies producing magnesium in the United States after the war. Germany, which had previously controlled the trade, was expected to try and recover her former position in this regard. This system was also heralded as the godsend that would resolve the problems that had afflicted mining operations along the Panamint and Argus ranges for many years, namely isolation and the need for a cheap form of transportation that would make further prospecting and thorough development of the big lead-silver deposits in the region economically profitable in the future. The Epsom salts in these deposits south of Death Valley had, according to some, originally "blanketed the surface in a layer from two feet to twelve feet in depth, and portions of it . . . were 100 per cent pure . . . ." According to others the purity of the deposit was low, only around fifteen percent. The purer material was scraped off the surface and the less pure material dug out of the ground. The ore was sacked, sent by monorail to Magnesium Siding, and then via Trona and the Southern Pacific Railroad to a small refinery in Wilmington, California, for processing. It turned out that the high-quality ore was limited in quantity; most of the material could not be scraped up in the large quantities needed without the inclusion of much sand, debris, and other salts. This situation was a serious drawback to the economics of the operation, and it was soon determined that cheaper and purer salts could be found elsewhere. In addition, the desert heat was having detrimental effects on the flimsy trestle construction. Despite efforts to improve the system by adding a heavier locomotive with a Buda engine (whose weight caused the Searles Lake trestle to break and tip), and before the introduction of a new more powerful gas-electric engine permitting longer trains and enabling bigger payloads, sun and heat had splintered and warped the green timbers and loosened nails, screws, and bolts. Occasional flooding on portions of the route, the tack of sufficient ore to keep the refinery running at capacity, and a complicated legal situation hampered operations so much that the salt mine was shut down in 1926. In the late 1930s the single rail was scrapped and the riding beam and other horizontal timbers were removed, leaving only a line of A-frames across the countryside. When Bourke Lee visited the old Epsom salts camp at Crystal Springs, probably in the 1930s, there were still five frame buildings and one stone house grouped near the monorail terminal, complete with cookstoves and pinups on the bunkhouse walls. An interesting sidelight on this whole venture is that Death Valley Scotty, true to form, took entire credit for the enterprise. "Thar's the monorail," he remarked. (6) Development of Manganese and Lead Silver Deposits The Wingate Wash area has also contributed in a small way to the national supply of manganese, a hard and brittle grayish-white metallic element resembling iron, although the ore bodies found there on the average are small and low grade. Because of this they are only profitably mined during those times when other sources are cut off, such as during wartime. The following illustration is presented to demonstrate the contribution of Death Valley in this field: in 1954 the total U.S. consumption of manganese was 1,740,648 tons. California's total production from 170 mines during a sixty-seven-year period, from 1887 to 1954, was only about 240,000 tons. The southeastern desert area of the state produced about 80,000 tons of this total, and the New Deal mine specifically, in the southern Owlshead Mountains, five miles west of the southwestern corner of the monument, produced about 15,000 tons of this, mainly during World Wars I and 11. Information found indicates that a small amount of manganese ore was shipped from one property in Wingate Wash in 1943. (A plat of a group of mining claims near Wingate Pass, owned by Frank W. Orr, Roy Huntley Chapin, and Arthur R. Cassidy, dated 12 November 1940, was found by the writer in the Inyo County Courthouse records. The group consisted of the Manganite Nos. 1-3 claims, and might be the ones referred to here. But it is the Manganite Group in the southern end of Death Valley that has been responsible for most of the manganese production from within the monument. In 1951 the group consisted of six unpatented claims (Reward Nos. 1-3, Good Hope Nos. 1-2, and Reward) in T21N, R2E, SBM, Secs. 28 and 33; Reserves were then estimated at about 40,000 tons of ore with a manganese content of 6.18 to 11.1%. Development work consisted only of a few surface cuts, and activity was sporadic. Total production is estimated at around 1,000 tons. As will be noted later, this group underwent several relocations as a lead-silver mine. The Wingate Wash (Black Dream) Manganese Deposit, whose location is given as about seven miles west of West Side Road in Death Valley alongside the Wingate Wash road in T20N, R1 or 2E, SBM, was idle in 1951. It consisted of eleven unpatented claims owned by Roy C. Troeger. Development comprised a series of open cuts; production by lessees had not exceeded forty tons. Lead-silver deposits also were discovered in the Wingate Wash area. In 1923 a lead mine owned by Messrs. Gray, Warnock, and Wicht, six miles north of Wingate Pass, was mentioned as having a carload of good grade ore ready to ship, and the extent of the deposit looked promising. In 1960 a Death Valley lead mine, located two miles east of the Wingate Wash Manganese Deposit, was mentioned on a list of mining claims within the monument. The Manganite Group reported on earlier evidently was later referred to as the Canam Mine. Although small deposits of manganese had been mined here during World War II, in 1964 the operators, Canam Mines, Inc., discovered lead and silver ore. By the time several pits were opened in 1969 this property was referred to as the DV Group, encompassing some former Pymco lode claims, and consisted of thirty-three lode mining claims in T21N, R2E, SBM, Secs. 28, 29, and 33. Development through the 1970s resulted in excavation of a pit 150 feet long, 70 feet wide, and 15 feet deep dug on one of the claims. The claimant, Charles Sweet, indicated that in May 1969 about 15 tons of rock from this large pit were shipped to a smelter at Selby, California; the total return was $726.81. In the mid- to late-1970s several shallow holes were drilled and claimants hand-sorted several tons of high-grade rock that was stockpiled awaiting shipment. By 1978 about 9,000 tons of material had been removed from the large pit. (7) "Battle" of Wingate Pass Probably the most publicized event in the Wingate Pass area concerns one of Death Valley Scotty's most infamous hoaxes, referred to as the "Battle" of Wingate Pass. Conceived as a last-ditch effort to discourage further investigations by a mining engineer who was insisting on actually seeing Scotty's bonanza gold mine before recommending that his employers invest any money in it, the attack turned out to have almost fatal consequences for one of Scotty's brothers, put Scott himself in and out of jail several times during the ensuing months, and ultimately, six years after the incident, resulted in his confessing in a Los Angeles courtroom to long-term and full-scale fraud and deceit. (The most concise version of this tale appears in Hank Johnston, Death Valley Scotty: "Fastest Con in the West" and serves as the basis for the following account.) The escapade had its beginnings in February 1906 when a New England mining promoter, A.Y. Pearl, whom Scott had met in New York, interested some bankers and businessmen in investing in Scott's supposedly rich mining properties in Death Valley. Before committing any money, however, the Easterners insisted that Daniel E. Owen, a respected Boston mining engineer who happened to be in Nevada at this time, personally inspect the property and give his opinion of its worth. Arrangements were accordingly made with all the parties involved, and by February 1906 Owen, Pearl, and Scott were in Daggett preparing for the journey into Death Valley. Other members of the expedition were: Albert M. Johnson, president of the National Life Insurance Company of Chicago (soon to become Scotty's long-term benefactor), who had recently arrived from the East and, intrigued by the stories of Scotty's untold wealth, asked to accompany the party; Bill and Warner Scott, brothers of Death Valley Scotty; Bill Keys, a half-breed Cherokee Indian who had prospected with Scott in the Death Valley region for several years, who had found the Desert Hound Mine in the southern Black Mountains, and who several years later, after the "ambush" incident, moved to a ranch in what is now Joshua Tree National Monument; A.W. DeLyle St. Clair, a Los Angeles miner; and Jack Brody, a local desert character. The entire trip, if carried out as planned, had the potential of proving extremely embarrassing for Scott, who, after all, did not have a mine to show in order to consummate this lucrative transaction. Desperate for a solution, he turned to his friend Billy Keys and persuaded him to let him show Owen the Desert Hound instead. Although not as large as Scott had reported his bonanza to be, at least the Hound was there on the ground for Owen to see. Papers of agreement were drawn up to the effect that Scott and Keys would split the proceeds from the mine sale. Later, fearful that Owen would reject this mine as being too small a producer to warrant investment by his employers, Scott devised a scheme that he hoped might succeed in scaring Owen away from the area and dampening his enthusiasm for penetrating into the Death Valley region as far as the mine. A shootout would be staged and hopefully be authentic enough to disrupt Owen's intended mission. Starting out on 23 February 1906 with two wagons fully loaded with provisions, extra animal feed and fresh water, and a string of extra mules and horses, plus a liberal supply of whiskey, the party journeyed on to camp the next evening at Granite Wells. On Sunday, 25 February, the caravan pushed on twenty-six miles toward Lone Willow Spring, site of their next camp. In the morning Scott directed his brother Bill to stay at the spring with the extra animals and told Bill Keys and Jack Brody to proceed on ahead and look for any danger. After giving these two a reasonable head start, the rest of the party began the trek toward Wingate Pass and, surmounting that obstacle, proceeded on down the wash into the south end of Death Valley. Toward dusk that evening, as the party was trying to decide where to camp, shots were heard and a lone rider appeared from the north. He turned out to be an ex-deputy sheriff from Goldfield, Nevada, who excitedly reported that he had just been fired on from ambush and his pack train stampeded. Receiving Scott's assurances that he could fight off any outlaws, the party warily resumed its journey. A little further up the road beyond Dry Lake, near the site of the earlier shooting, Scotty suddenly drew his rifle and fired two shots. Startled, the mules pulling Warner Scott and Daniel Owen in the lead wagon began to buck, the force tipping Owen over backwards; a sudden shot from behind a stone breastwork on a cliff to the south hit Warner in the groin. It was at this point that Scotty made the fatal blunder that, in the recalling, forced Owen to doubt the authenticity of the ambush. Upon realizing that his brother had been seriously wounded, Scotty, nonplussed, galloped away toward the "ambushers" yelling at them to stop shooting. Establishing camp quickly, an attempt was made to close Warner's wounds. In the morning the party headed the wagons quickly back toward Bill Scott and Lone Willow Spring, and eventually toward Daggett, leaving their provisions behind by the side of the road. Keys and Brody never did rejoin the group. Reaching Daggett on 1 March, the group put Warner on a train for Los Angeles; Scotty hurriedly took off for Seattle where he was about to star in a play, "Scotty, King of the Desert Mine." Johnson left immediately for Chicago and, due to some fast legal work by his lawyer, was not involved in any of the ensuing litigations. The incident struck the fancy of Los Angeles newspapermen, who, however, were hard put to locate the principals involved or determine the true facts of the case. Pearl circulated a good story of fighting off four outlaws, but Owen, disaffirming this tale, and evidently convinced that Scott had meant to kill him, reported the true facts to the San Bernardino County sheriff and later to the press. Two weeks later warrants were issued for the arrest of Walter Scott, Bill Keys, and Jack Brody on charges of assault with a deadly weapon. In an attempt to determine the identify of the party's attackers, the San Bernardino County sheriff, John Ralphs, and an undersheriff entered the Death Valley country to find Keys and Brody. Although these two managed to elude the law this time, the provisions that had been hurriedly left at the scene of the attack by the Scott party were found at Scotty's Camp Holdout; other incriminating evidence took the form of a statement by Jack Hartigan, the Nevada lawman who had also been shot at, that he had backtracked and seen Keys running from the scene after Scott's plea to stop shooting. Publicity given to Scotty and the incident was becoming unfavorable, many people now deciding it was time to show Scotty up for the fraud and liar he was believed to be Scotty, working in his play out of town while loudly condemning these attacks on his character and reputation, continued to propogate the story of a bona fide attack by outlaws who were after his life and his valuable claims. Sarcastic poems and invective cartoons began to appear in the Los Angeles Evening News his primary accuser, which had earlier asked in an editorial, "What is the truth about this desert freak? He has ceased to be a joke. People are getting shot and action must be taken. . . . " In the midst of all this attendant publicity that for a while brought full houses to his play, Scotty was arrested around 24 March by order of the San Bernardino sheriff; he was released later that night on a writ of habeas corpus, his bail of $500 having been raised by Walter Campbell of the Grand Opera House. Seemingly true to the profile presented in the News commenting that "He [Scott] occupies the cheapest room in the Hotel Portland, drinks nickel beer, and leaves no tips!," after release from jail this time Scotty asked the crowd in attendance "to have a drink. Every body had visions of wine and popping of corks, but Scotty announced it was a case of steam beer or nothing." Scotty was arrested again two days later and again released on bail, and then on 7 April 1906 Scott pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Out again on $2,000 bail, more bad luck was awaiting him in the form of a $152,000 damage suit filed by his brother Warner, now out of the hospital, in Los Angeles Superior Court against Walter and Bill Scott, Bill Keys, A.Y. Pearl, and a "John Doe." Three days later Keys was arrested at Ballarat, and, also pleading not guilty to the two charges against him, was summarily slapped in jail. Luckily for Scotty, Keys kept silent on the whole matter. On 13 April, for the fourth time in under three weeks, Scotty was arrested; this time A.Y. Pearl and Bill Scott were also taken into custody. All ended up in the San Bernardino County jail. Out again through habeas corpus proceedings the next day, Scott rejoined his acting troupe. Then, on 27 April, only four days before the preliminary hearing on the case was to start, all charges were dismissed by the San Bernardino County Justice at the request of the District Attorney. To the disappointment of many of Scott's detractors, but true to the luck that seemed to always rescue him from tight places, a jurisdictional problem had arisen over the fact that the scene of the shooting was actually in Inyo County, which alone had jurisdiction to prosecute the case. Because Inyo County authorities seemed loathe to proceed, all prisoners were released from custody and the final act of the long, drawn-out affair seemed over. One newspaper article published soon after Scotty's death (besides stating erroneously that one of the "outlaws" in the fracas had been Bill Scott) charged that Scotty himself moved the surveyor's post marking the Inyo-San Bernardino County line. This seems to be borne out by Scotty's own version of the whole affair, which of course pursues the theory that outlaws were trying to get title to his "claims" by permanently removing him from the scene. After several supposed attempts on his life (this most recent encounter not the only one that had taken place in Wingate Pass) from which he always recovered. The true nature of the whole affair was later revealed by Bill Keys who admitted before his death that he and a companion (possibly the teamster Jack Brody, although according to Keys it was an Indian named Bob Belt) had faked the ambush at Scotty's behest. The shooting of Warner had been accidental, his partner being too drunk to aim his gun properly. Warner Scott dropped his damage suit against his brother on condition that he assume the medical bill of over $1,000 owed to a Dr. C.W. Lawton of Los Angeles. Scott agreed and then promptly left the city. Lawton obtained a judgement against Scotty, but the latter proceeded to ignore it, having no tangible assets anyway. During the next few years, Scott still had some associations with Wingate Pass, a notice being found that in 1908 he interested Al D. Meyers of Goldfield and a couple of associates in a strike made there. Notwithstanding Scott's earlier famous experience, the men outfitted in Barstow and accompanied him to inspect the property. There is no evidence that they encountered any difficulties, though nothing further was heard of the outcome of the proposition. Bill Keys was also mining for lead ore in Wingate Pass in 1908, in partnership with Death Valley Slim. Six years after the Wingate Pass incident, however, on 20 June 1912, the past caught up with Walter Scott, and in a rather spectacular trial in a Los Angeles courtroom, Scotty was forced to acknowledge a multitude of sins. In order to secure his release from jail where he had been confined for contempt of court for not paying the doctor's bill for his brother Warner's medical care, Scotty was forced to confess to the shams involved in the ambush in Wingate Pass, in the big rolls of money he always carried (which he confessed were "upholstered with $1 bills"), and in the reports concerning the vast amounts of money he was reputed to have received from the Death Valley Scotty Gold Mining and Development Company. He had, he continued, never located a mine or owned one, and was completely at the mercy of mining promoters and schemers who profited from the advertising his various stunts provided for them. Exposed as a fraud and a cheat, Scott was returned to jail pending further investigation by the District Attorney's office--a long-awaited and seemingly conclusive finale to the strange affair known as the "Battle" of Wingate Pass. b) Present Status The Wingate Wash road was not traveled nor was the Wingate Pass summit scaled either during the List of Classified Structures Survey in 1975 or by this writer during field work in 1978. The distances involved were too great and time too limited for such an excursion. Observations on physical remains in these areas, then, are based on secondhand information. (1) Epsom Salts Monorail According to Bourke Lee, by about 1930 al that remained at the Epsom salts camp terminal in the Crystal Hills Wash were five frame buildings and one stone house, with iron cots and cookstoves still to be found in some of the buildings. A picture in the monument files (Illus. 54), unfortunately bearing no date but certainly taken after the late 1930s and after the single rail and other horizontal timbers had been taken up for scrap, shows a few A-frame supports left near the top of Wingate Pass, most of which had toppled over and resembled small piles of kindling marking the route. Whether many of these timbers still remain is conjectural, for some have probably been carried off to fuel desert campfires. (2) DV Group of Silver-Lead Lode Mining Claims According to the mineral report for this group of claims, the only improvement on site is a six-foot by eight-foot lean-to open on three sides. (3) Wingate Pass "Battle" Site The only physical evidence marking this spot was in the form of five stone breastworks erected by Bill Keys and his fellow "outlaw" to give credence to Walter Scott's story that several men were involved in this attempt on his life. In 1910 Shorty Harris, returning from a long prospecting trip to his claims in the Wingate Pass area, and no doubt seeing these mounds, spoke of the "row of counterfeit graves--mounds of rocks arranged as grave coverings where no graves exist." In 1941 Walter Scott and a New York Sun reporter journeyed over the Wingate Wash road. One of the sights they mentioned seeing twelve miles up in the Wingate Pass saddle was the rock breastworks from behind which Scotty's brother had been shot thirty-five years earlier. Hank Johnston, during the research for his book on Walter Scott, visited the "battle" site about one mile inside the present monument boundary and just north of Dry Lake. Much to his surprise the five stone "forts" were still standing on top of the escarpment south of the road. The chances are good that these structures still remain. c) Evaluation and Recommendations (1) Epsom Salts Monorail It is unfortunate that no section of the route of this historical transportation system extended into the monument boundaries so that some protection could have been afforded it over the years. Although its construction was loosely based on that of a similar railway erected on the north shore of San Francisco Bay in 1876, the idea of building such a system from Searles Lake over Layton and Wingate passes to Crystal Spring was a novel and inventive (although ultimately unsuccessful) approach for the times to the problems faced in getting food, supplies, and ore bags between a railhead and a remote desert mining camp. It is doubtful that many of the wooden A-frame supports for the track are still extant. In the writer's opinion, however, the route of the Epsom salts monorail (and any ruins associated with it) would be eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as being of the Second Order of Significance because of its impact on the technological and industrial history of the area. Numerous improvements to the system in regard to engine and car designs and the size and form of the attached bins used to haul the supplies were made over its short lifetime of approximately three years. These revisions provide interesting insights into the peculiar technological problems involved in running the line over desert terrain. Such a nomination, could not be made, however, until a close survey was made of the entire route to ascertain what if anything remains of the railroad. (2) DV Group of Silver-Lead Lode Mining Claims From information available there do not appear to be any structures of historical significance on this site, which is of fairly modern vintage. (3) Wingate Pass "Battle" Site The Wingate Pass Battle" Site, actually located quite a ways north of the pass itself, is eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as being of local significance. The "battle" itself was simply another farce perpetrated by Death Valley Scotty, who nevertheless, by means of such antics, probably did more to publicize the Death Valley region than any other man in its history. Although the purpose of the whole escapade on Scotty's part was to save face and protect his reputation for owning a valuable mine, the ultimate consequences turned out to be much more far-reaching than anyone could have thought at the time. The caustic and unfavorable publicity engendered by the affair on the West Coast showed clearly that some people were becoming offended by Scotty's heavy-handed jokes and publicity-grabbing pranks and were beginning to see through to the basic deceit inherent in many of his schemes. It seems people ultimately do tire of being hoodwinked. The culmination of the event in 1912, which Scotty survived and which he ignored by continuing to insist later that he had been ambushed by outlaws, resulted in his public unveiling as a fraud and continual liar. The site of the ambush should be designated by an interpretive marker that briefly outlines the story of the "battle" and indicates the rock "forts" (if still extant) on the cliffside above the road. (4) Twenty-Mule-Team Borax Route The route followed west out of Death Valley by freighters from Chloride Cliff and later by the twenty-mule-team borax wagons hauling ore from the Harmony Borax Works to the railhead at Mojave is eligible for inclusion on the National Register. It is considered by the writer to be of national level of significance both because it was one of the earliest transportation routes in the region and because of its association with the famous twenty-mule teams of Death Valley, which later came to be considered part of our national heritage. The 165-mile stretch between the Harmony Borax Works and Mojave began at the plant, crossed the salt pan via the Devil's Golf Course south of Greenland (Furnace Creek Ranch) to the west side of the valley, proceeded down past the site of the deserted Eagle Borax Works, skirting the eastern edge of the Panamints, to Bennetts Well, the first potable water, twenty-six miles away. Mesquite Well (now Gravel Well) lay five miles further south. It was then fifty-three miles to Lone Willow Spring, twenty-six to Granite Wells, six to Blackwater, and a final fifty waterless miles to Mojave. Ten days (averaging seventeen miles per day) were required to make this journey, necessitating ten overnight stops, half of them dry. Water needs were filled by caches of large (500- or 1,200-gallon) iron tanks on wheels that were towed by the teams to the camps from nearby springs and back again for refilling. Stores of hay and grain were also left at these stops. Teams returning north filled the feed boxes and emptied them on the haul south. Sometimes ten outfits at a time maneuvered along the road. Although this comprises the most famous use of the Wingate Pass road, it was traversed earlier by a man named Ed Stiles who hauled borax from the Eagle Borax Works to Daggett with a twelve-mule team. When this outfit was sold to the Amargosa Works he accompanied it, and along with Superintendent W.S. Perry subsequently formed the twenty-mule teams pulling the enormous handbuilt wagons with seven-foot-high rear wheels. A complete outfit consisted of two wagons carrying ten tons each and dragging a water tank wagon behind. Stiles probably also drove the first caravan between Harmony and Mojave. For six years (1883-88) the Harmony-Mojave run was made without a breakdown, resulting in about fifteen million pounds of borax being hauled out of the Death Valley region. It was only the discovery of colemanite at Borate nearer the railroad at Daggett, coupled with the collapse of Coleman's financial empire, that ended this operation. The twenty-mule team became the nationally-known romantic trademark of the Death Valley borax industry, and is still used on U.S. Borax products today. It symbolized one of the most ingenious, colorful, and courageous experiments ever attempted in the history of early western transportation. Despite often overpowering heat, lack of adequate water and food, and over 100 miles of grueling desert terrain, the mule teams introduced American borax to the world market and made its production in the Death Valley region the important industry it still is today and its use in American homes an every-day event. A vigorous public relations campaign that captured the public imagination kept the teams in the public eye long after their practical use was over. From 1904 to 1950 they made a series of promotional and ceremonial appearances beginning with the St. Louis World's Fair and including participation in Woodrow Wilson's inaugural in 1917 and several grand tours of the country. Last Updated: 22-Dec-2003	<urn:uuid:9bcb184a-59f1-4bb9-a296-5a7d776d19af>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/deva/section3a5.htm	2013-05-24T15:50:37Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.979244	9,125
The 1848 discovery of gold in California transformed the West. Over one hundred thousand '49ers immigrated to the Pacific Coast with the Gold Rush. The adventurers became miners and entrepreneurs. Although many successfully pursued diverse opportunities in the unfolding society and economy, few acquired immense wealth. With a multitude in quest for gold, fortune seekers scattered into every Sierra ravine looking for promising sand bars. These placer miners used inexpensive, easily moved equipment as they exploited one resource after another. A substantial discovery could inspire hundreds if not thousands of others to flood into an area. Opportunists watched for each new rush, understanding that the best chances occurred in the opening days of a mining district. Still, most places that caused excitement in the 1850s disappointed the majority. Nevada's history of mining dates to a discovery directly related to the California Gold Rush. In 1849, Abner Blackburn was traveling to California through northwest Nevada when he discovered gold near the juncture of the Carson River and a ravine that would soon be called Gold Canyon. Word of his discovery inspired a backwash of California placer miners to travel over the Sierra. Beginning in 1850, several hundred miners worked valuable deposits in Gold Canyon. There, the settlement that would be called Dayton became their home base. Although distance separated these settlers from the core of the California Gold Country, they were part of the Gold Rush. Like their neighbors to the west, they worked deposits that had accumulated over the millennia. Following the pattern elsewhere, placer miners depleted the Gold Canyon sands. By the late 1850s, many left to look for new opportunities, just as they had in the California gold fields. A few miners explored the mountain above, and their strikes in 1859 opened a new chapter for the West. The 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode at Virginia City set off yet another rush. This event, however, contrasted with 1849, providing a second bookend for the period, framing the decade. The Rush to Washoe, a reference to a term for the region, drew many '49ers who still hoped to acquire true wealth. Like elsewhere, only the first few acquired valuable claims for little money. Still, because the Comstock yielded such large ore bodies, it employed thousands for several decades. With a minimum of four dollars for eight hours underground, the Comstock offered the best wages in the industrial world, thanks largely to a strong union. Diehard optimists continued their quest for wealth throughout the West, opening the region for future settlement and development, but after 1859, the expectations of the majority were permanently changed. For most, the idea of striking it rich by discovering a valuable claim yielded to the ambition of earning a good wage and, if the opportunity presented itself, of raising a family in a wholesome community. Many still dreamt of sudden wealth, but gambling with stocks became the most common outlet for this hope. The stock market, however, like placer mining, rarely proved profitable.	<urn:uuid:36d5de7d-25b1-4cf9-bedd-4db93c53c35e>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.onlinenevada.org/california_gold_rush	2013-06-18T04:32:41Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706933615/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122213-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.963677	604
Key Resources for Parents and School Board Members August 21, 2007 Are you a parent or a school board member interested in improving the teaching of evolution in your local schools? Below are resources you will find helpful as you try to do this, including materials you can print out and submit to your school board. These materials and resources describe why teaching "the full range of scientific views" about evolution is important; document current peer-reviewed scientific controversies over evolution; explain how to teach the controversy over evolution legally; and provide responses to attacks you may receive from those opposed to teaching evolution fully and fairly. As a general approach, Discovery Institute favors teaching students more about evolution, not less. We think students deserve to know not only about the strengths of modern evolutionary theory, but also about some of the theory's weaknesses and unresolved issues. In other words, students should be taught that evolutionary theory, like any scientific theory, continues to be open to analysis and critical scrutiny. According to opinion polls, this approach is favored by the overwhelming majority of the American public, and it has also been endorsed by the U.S. Congress in report language attached to the No Child Left Behind Act Conference Report. Join The Free Speech on Evolution Campaign. Scientists, teachers, and students are under attack for questioning evolution - click here to help us help them. How to Teach the Controversy Over Darwinism Legally OVERVIEW OF ISSUES RELATING TO THE TEACHING OF EVOLUTION The following resources explain why it is important to teach students about the full range of scientific views on evolution as part of a good science education. Questions about Science Education Policy How Should Schools Handle Evolution? Debate it by Stephen Meyer and John Angus Campbell FAQ About Critical Analysis of Evolution Textbook Debate: It's All About the Evidence, by Stephen C. Meyer Darwin in the Classroom: Ohio Allows Alternative by John G. West Santorum Language in the No Child Left Behind Act Conference Report RESOURCES SUMMARIZING THE SCIENTIFIC CONTROVERSIES OVER EVOLUTION The following resources document some of the important scientific issues regarding the modern theory of evolution known as neo-Darwinism. These are excellent materials to circulate among parents, school board members, and teachers. Fact Sheet: Micro-evolution v. Macroevolution (PDF file) Fact Sheet: The Cambrian Explosion (PDF file) A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism: Over 600 Scientists Skeptical of Neo-Darwinism Survival of the Fakest by Jonathan Wells Icons of Evolution Icons of Evolution book Icons of Evolution documentary Icons of Evolution website RESOURCES SUMMARIZING THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING ABOUT EVOLUTION It is sometimes claimed that teaching about scientific controversies over evolution is unconstitutional. This claim is false. It is plainly constitutional to teach about scientific criticisms of any scientific theory, including the theory of evolution. As the controlling Supreme Court case of Edwards v. Aguillard makes clear, "scientific critiques of prevailing scientific theories" can be an appropriate part of science education. The following resources explain how to teach about evolution within existing legal precedents: Teaching About Evolution in the Public Schools: A Short Summary of the Law How to Teach the Controversy Legally (Click here for more information and to view the video) Key Law Review articles RESOURCES FOR RESPONDING TO THOSE OPPOSED TO TEACHING EVOLUTION FULLY Misinformation and mischaracterization are rampant in the media coverage of the debate over evolution. Because Discovery Institute’s views and positions recently have been inaccurately reported, and because Discovery Fellows have been maligned in the media in the past, we have published a number of "Truth Sheets" to set the record straight. We have gathered all the Truth Sheets here to make it easy for the public to learn the truth about the Institute, its Fellow and the work it supports. The Truth About Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture A resource center for setting the record straight. For daily coverage of how the media reports on the debate over evolution please visit our blog, Evolution News & Views at www.evolutionnews.org. The work of Discovery Institute is made possible by the generosity of its members. Click here to donate.	<urn:uuid:88ca0624-485f-4feb-b221-98509e2fd661>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.discovery.org/a/2112	2013-05-18T17:56:57Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.904934	904
Essential oils could be a cheap and effective alternative to antibiotics and potentially used to combat drug-resistant hospital superbugs, according to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting in Edinburgh this week. Professor Yiannis Samaras and Dr Effimia Eriotou, from the Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands, in Greece, who led the research, tested the antimicrobial activity of eight plant essential oils. They found that thyme essential oil was the most effective and was able to almost completely eliminate bacteria within 60 minutes. The essential oils of thyme and cinnamon were found to be particularly efficient antibacterial agents against a range of Staphylococcus species. Strains of these bacteria are common inhabitants of the skin and some may cause infection in immunocompromised individuals. Drug-resistant strains, such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are extremely difficult to treat. "Not only are essential oils a cheap and effective treatment option for antibiotic-resistant strains, but decreased use of antibiotics will help minimise the risk of new strains of antibiotic resistant micro-organisms emerging," said Professor Samaras. Essential oils have been recognised for hundreds of years for their therapeutic properties, although very little is still known about how they exert their antimicrobial effects in humans. Australian aborigines used Tea tree oil to treat colds, sore throats, skin infections and insect bites and the remedy was sold commercially as a medicinal antiseptic from the early 20th century. Various scientific studies have demonstrated that essential oils are not only well tolerated, but are effective against a range of bacterial and fungal species. Their therapeutic value has been shown for the treatment of a variety of conditions, including acne, dandruff, head lice and oral infections. The Greek team believes essential oils could have diverse medical and industrial applications. "The oils – or their active ingredients – could be easily incorporated into antimicrobial creams or gels for external application. In the food industry the impregnation of food packaging with essential oils has already been successfully trialled. They could also be included in food stuffs to replace synthetic chemicals that act as preservatives," they said. AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.	<urn:uuid:e44c085d-cdd2-4db7-b3f8-fe46be7f6f8b>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/sfgm-eot032610.php	2013-05-19T02:02:12Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.9633	495
In the making guide we mention ‘nodes’ as a good idea if you want to create more complex 3D designs. But what is a node and how do you create a good one? A node is typically used if your design has multiple parts that need to join together either by slotting or with a tab and hole joint. Nodes are little bumps located in the slots or on tabs in your product that are there to help compensate for material thickness variations and the laser kerf. This idea is they compress when a product is assembled providing friction at points rather than along the whole surface of the slot. This means the slot can be fractionally wider at the opening allowing the pieces to be slotted together easily but still create a snug joint. Finding the right balance between easy to put together but tight when assembled is no mean feat and is probably quite subjective. What I find easy to put together, some people don’t. It’s best to get a few people to have a go putting your design together if you intend to sell it as a flat pack item. So what is the key for a successful node? Symmetry – It’s best to have nodes on both sides of a slot mirroring each other. This will minimize any potential twisting that might occur if nodes are offset. Shape – A gentle curve works well. Something that leads on easily but provides good friction when it’s on. Multiple sets – If the length of the slot allows, you can have two or more sets of nodes. Again will minimize any twisting that might want to happen. Have one pair near the start of the slot and one about halfway between the middle and the end of the slot. Length of the node – The longer the node the gentler the curve which seems to make the pieces easier to slide on and off. The minimum length of the node should be approximately 0.2in or 5mm. Width of the node – This will depend on the material you are using. If the material is dense, like MDF, and has little compression then the nodes should be shallow about 0.01in or 0.2mm each. So taking into account of nodes on both sides of the slot, that allows for 0.02in or 0.4mm in variation. If the material is less dense, like Eurolite Poplar, and therefore can compress more then you can use a bigger node, 0.02in or 0.5mm. It might pay to test a few different sizes in some mock ups (like the examples below) before committing to your full design to test exactly what will work with the material you wish to use. This information will work best with the plywood and timbers offered on Ponoko. The timbers tend to be a lot more forgiving when creating interlocking designs whereas Acrylic can be brittle and a bit trickier to work with. I’ll go into more detail about plastic joints in a later post. Below are diagrams of the experiment I did to illustrate the differences in node types with a video showing the physical results. Now this information is to be used as a guide to help you reduce the number of prototypes needed when creating products with Ponoko. It should be used in conjunction with the information on the laser kerf in a previous post to help make a best guess at how to design your joints. Feel free to be creative with nodes and let us know any successes or failures so we can learn from them.	<urn:uuid:4f5b1599-9d62-4e9b-a317-329cee730567>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://blog.ponoko.com/2008/11/03/how-to-create-better-nodes/	2013-06-20T08:50:00Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.934895	717
The struggle for equality is one of the defining themes of American history. In recent issues of HISTORY NOW scholars and teachers have charted the movements to end slavery, to insure women’s suffrage, and to provide opportunities for immigrants equal to those of native-born citizens. In this issue, we focus on the modern movement to complete the quest for African American equality: the civil rights movement. The essays in this issue go beyond such familiar milestones as Brown v. Board of Education, and such celebrated figures of the movement as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks. They explore the historical context in which the movement arose and flourished; the social factors that determined its successes and failures; the anonymous activists who sustained the struggle; and the cultural contributions of the movement. In our first essay, “Different Perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement,” Anthony Badger uses the career of President Jimmy Carter to frame the questions of change in the American South and the relative impact that economic modernization, nonviolent protest, and armed self-defense had on the end of segregation and the steps taken toward political and social equality. Next, Brian Ward brings to life the folk songs and freedom songs that buoyed the spirits of the activists, spread the message of the movement, and captured the resiliency and determination of the women and men who marched, sat in, rallied, protested, and lobbied for change with his essay, “‘People Get Ready’: Music and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.” In our next essay, “A Local and National Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Post-War Washington, D.C.,” Wendell Pritchett shows how desegregation efforts in our nation’s capitol helped to establish a precedent for fighting racism in the rest of the country. In “African-American Religious Leadership and the Civil Rights Movement,” Clarence Taylor reminds us that we must look beyond the charismatic leadership of the African American clergy to understand the role of the church in the movement. While towering figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jesse Jackson were indeed inspirational, it was the church’s clubs, choirs, missionary societies and other auxiliaries that inculcated the cooperative values and the commitment to democracy and equality that were hallmarks of the movement. Finally, in “The Civil Rights Movement: Major Events and Legacies,” James Patterson provides an overview of the movement, reminding us that the roots lay in the early twentieth century with the founding of the NAACP and the National Urban League and that efforts to secure equality continued through the 1940s and the postwar years. Patterson shows the variety of arenas in which the modern civil rights movement operated, from the courtrooms and legislative halls of the nation to the streets of Birmingham and the highways of Alabama and Mississippi, and he carefully assesses the movement’s victories and defeats. As always, gifted and experienced teachers from around the country have contributed lesson plans that you can use in your classrooms or adapt to your own curriculum. If you want to design your own lessons on the civil rights movement, Mary-Jo Kline, our librarian extraordinaire, has provided a broad, and richly varied, collection of both Web and print sources. And, finally, our interactive feature, a jukebox of protest songs, should spark your imagination and creativity—and delight your students. If you have questions or comments on this issue, we welcome them. With this issue, HISTORY NOW completes its second year of online publication. We wish you all a happy and productive summer—and we encourage you to visit us in September, when our first issue of the new school year will focus on The American West. Editor, History Now Carol Berkin is Professor of History at Baruch College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York. She is the author of several books including Jonathan Sewall: Odyssey of an American Conservative, First Generations: Women in Colonial America, A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution, and Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence.	<urn:uuid:2dcbfb0d-d1b4-482d-a539-a0a820b23962>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-now/2006-06/from-editor	2013-05-23T18:44:54Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.936393	845
Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a temporary dysfunction of the brain due to a shortage of blood and oxygen. A TIA lasts no longer than 24 hours. It is sometimes referred to as a mini-stroke. TIA is a serious condition. It serves as a warning for a potential stroke . About 30% of stroke patients have had a TIA at some point in the past. Blood and oxygen are carried to the brain through major blood vessels in the neck. The blood then passes through a series of blood vessels in the brain. A TIA occurs when the blood flow through the neck or brain vessels is reduced. The blood flow may be reduced by a narrowing or blockage of the blood vessels. Narrowing of the blood vessels may occur with: - Build up of plaque in the blood vessels, called atherosclerosis - Vasculitis—swelling of the blood vessels Blood vessels can also become blocked or obstructed by a clot or clump that is floating in the blood. This may be caused by: Certain chronic medical conditions can affect the health of your blood vessels. The following condition may increase your chance or cause TIA: Other factors that increase your chance for TIA include: TIA symptoms occur abruptly. They usually last less than 10 minutes or they may persist for up to 24 hours. The symptoms are different depending on the part of the brain that is affected. TIA symptoms are similar to those of a stroke and need immediate medical attention. Symptoms may include: - Blindness in one eye, often described as a window shade dropping, and/or other visual problems - Weakness, numbness, or tingling of the face, arm, leg, or one side of the body (usually affects one side of the body, but there are exceptions). - Difficulty speaking or understanding words - Dizziness, unsteadiness of gait, or falling - Trouble with balance or coordination - Loss of consciousness - Sudden confusion or loss of memory The doctor will ask about your symptoms and medial history. A physical exam will be done. Your doctor will carefully assess your blood pressure and nervous system. The main goal of tests or questions will be to determine your stroke risk. Tests may include: - Blood tests—such as a complete blood count, blood sugar (glucose), cholesterol and other fat levels, clotting factors, and a check of other elements in the blood - Electrocardiogram (ECG) —to measure heart rhythm (which would be irregular in, for example, atrial fibrillation) and check for other signs of heart disease - Doppler ultrasound —a test that uses sound waves to help determine if there is compromised blood flow in the arteries supplying the brain - Echocardiogram —another ultrasound test to look for blood clots and valve abnormalities within the heart - Computed tomography (CT) scan of the head —a type of x-ray that uses a computer to create images of structures inside the head; in this case, to look for evidence of bleeding or other damage to the brain - CT angiogram (CTA)—a CT scan which uses dye to evaluate the blood vessels in the brain and neck. - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the head —a test that uses powerful magnetic radio waves to create images of structures inside the head; in this case, to look for evidence of bleeding or other damage to the brain - Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) —a study of the blood vessels using MRI, creating two-dimensional and three-dimensional pictures. - Arteriogram /angiogram—a test in which contrast dye is injected into selected arteries and x-ray images are produced to precisely locate the blockage or narrowing and to determine its extent - Electroencephalogram (EEG) —a test that can detect the presence of seizures by measuring brain waves (used only if a seizure is suspected) A TIA places you at greater risk for having a stroke. The risk is actually highest in the first week after your TIA. Therefore, rapid treatment aims to decrease your risk of stroke. This can be done with lifestyle changes, medicine, and surgery. Smokers must quit . Patient with diabetes, hypertension , and/or high cholesterol must make every effort to manage these conditions. It can be done with: The doctor may also prescribe medicine to lower blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. This will help lower these risk factors. To decrease the risk of clot formation your doctor may recommend: If you have at least a 70% blockage in your carotid artery (in your neck), doctors may recommend: - A carotid endarterectomy —to remove the plaque deposits - Other less invasive procedures such as (intra-arterial stenting) These procedures have risks associated with them. Talk to your doctor about your options. They are often not done if there are no symptoms and less than 70% blockage. Treatment of Underlying Conditions If the cause of the TIA is a treatable condition, it must be promptly treated. Specific conditions that need further treatment include: - Atrial fibrillation - Severe anemia The following strategies may help reduce the chance of TIAs and stroke: - Exercise regularly, with your doctor's approval. - Eat a healthful diet. It should be low in saturated fat and rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables . - Maintain a healthy weight. - If you smoke, quit. - Drink alcohol in moderation. Moderate alcohol intake is no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. - Control blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes with medicines as needed. - Reviewer: Rimas Lukas, MD - Review Date: 09/2012 - - Update Date: 09/30/2012 -	<urn:uuid:651ad599-d59a-4017-9c16-f28b8e0c1d8d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://medtropolis.com/your-health/?/11506/sp	2013-06-20T09:09:25Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.911632	1,240
In this video segment from the American Experience: "Freedom Riders" Web site, watch interviews and newsreel footage and see archival photos to learn about the early efforts of a prominent student leader of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Diane Nash, a young Chicago native, was attending Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, when she was introduced to nonviolent direct action. She quickly became an influential student activist through her leadership of sit-ins in Nashville, her participation in the Freedom Rides, and her role in founding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Selma Campaign. This video includes language that is considered offensive. However, it provides authentic documentation of the bigotry of the era. Democracy in Action Study Guide (Document) During the 1950s, all African Americans experienced discrimination in one form or another. Growing up in Chicago, Diane Nash was familiar with the segregated neighborhoods and schools that resulted from discriminatory practices. This was de facto segregation, or segregation "in fact," which meant that segregation had “just happened” and was not required by law. At the same time, the culture in Chicago was tolerant enough to allow Nash to win beauty pageants in which Caucasian girls also competed without incident. When Nash traveled south for college, first at Washington, D.C.'s Howard University for a year and then at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, she discovered the added indignities of de jure segregation, in which state and local laws required African Americans to use separate public facilities. Her shock upon being denied service because of her race led her to seek an effective response. Nash attended weekly seminars in nonviolent direct action led by James Lawson, an African American pacifist and conscientious objector who was a graduate student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. In these sessions, Nash found a philosophy and a strategy that would allow her to fight back. Nash quickly emerged as the most poised and articulate of the student protesters who conducted sit-ins at downtown Nashville lunch counters in February 1960. She famously confronted Mayor Ben West as he was speaking to a crowd of civil rights supporters and got him to concede that he felt discrimination was wrong. This was a major early victory for the students. Later in 1960, Nash and other African American student leaders on campuses throughout the South created the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an independent student organization that initially focused on voter registration and nonviolent direct action. After leaving school to direct SNCC's nonviolent efforts, Nash became the coordinator of the second wave of Freedom Riders, recruiting black and white students from around the United States to continue the work of the initial protesters who had been hospitalized or jailed. Determined to serve her jail sentences rather than pay fines when arrested for her efforts, Nash was imprisoned on one of the Freedom Rides. Three years later, even though she was five months pregnant, she would serve another brief jail sentence for teaching nonviolent direct action to students in Mississippi. After 1965, Nash withdrew from any official role in the Civil Rights Movement. SNCC had become more militant, and Nash had encountered sexism there and in other civil rights organizations. She returned to Chicago, where she began teaching in the public schools. In subsequent decades, she has devoted her energies to housing and welfare issues. Academic standards correlations on Teachers' Domain use the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) database of state and national standards, provided to NSDL projects courtesy of JES & Co. We assign reference terms to each statement within a standards document and to each media resource, and correlations are based upon matches of these terms for a given grade band. If a particular standards document of interest to you is not displayed yet, it most likely has not yet been processed by ASN or by Teachers' Domain. We will be adding social studies and arts correlations over the coming year, and also will be increasing the specificity of alignment.	<urn:uuid:59b02fd7-669f-401a-93bc-7cf5f8a66776>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/fr11.soc.civil.tactics.frleader/	2013-05-23T12:15:44Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703306113/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112146-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.967784	791
Anyone who has ever had their own email address knows that sooner or later unwanted messages will begin to slither into their in-box. At first, they amount to a mere few and can easily be discarded. But before long, legitimate messages are lost among a sea of junk mail. The question is, how does this happen and what can be done about it? Most people think that spam is simply unwanted email. This isn't always the case, however. Messages must be unsolicited (unrequested) and distributed in bulk (mass emailed) to be considered spam. For example, mail sent via mailing lists or newsletters are bulk mail, but are not necessarily spam. An unexpected email from a relative, friend or colleague is also unlikely to be considered spam by most people. Its the combination that truly makes it spam. Additionally, nearly all of us would agree that spam usually contains undesired content, which means that there is no definitive way to define spam because what is and isn't spam will vary from person to person. But virtually everyone will agree that spam has become a very large problem. The tech industry spends millions (perhaps even billions) of dollars each year trying to deal with it. In fact, some studies have concluded that spam accounts for more than 80% of all email traffic on the Internet. Spam has become such a problem that the federal government has enacted several pieces of legislation that are intended to penalize organizations or individuals that are generating spam (often referred to as spammers). In fact, one law requires that bulk email senders provide some sort of mechanism that allows recipients to opt-out of future mailings (typically by simply replying to the original email, or by visiting a web page that allows the recipient to remove their address from the mailing list). Unfortunately, anti-spam laws do very little to combat the spam problem. The very nature of spam gives little heed to legalities, or privacy and respect of the recipient. Moreover, spammers are very difficult to track down. Often spam can be traced to computers that are infected with spam-relaying viruses. In simpler terms, your computer could be infected with a virus that makes your computer involuntarily send spam, so the spam is traced to you and not to the spammer. In many cases spam is sent from a series of elusive spammers who don't stay in one place long enough to get caught, relocating from one country to the next. A solution likely exists in the technology realm. Several solutions have been proposed by companies like Microsoft and Yahoo. The problem is that in order for a solution to work successfully, it must be enacted in full across the entire Internet (made mandatory) - and not everyone in the industry is willing to adopt a solution that is encumbered by software patents, royalties or other technical or legal restrictions. So far there isn't a solution everyone agrees on. Until then, the world is going to have to get by best it can. Spam generally starts to become a problem when your email address is recorded by one spammer and distributed throughout various spam networks. This can occur by: 1. Giving your email address out to too many people. There's nothing wrong with sharing your email address, but use some discretion when doing so (think twice about giving it to those who won't hesitate to give it out to anyone else). 2. Viruses, spy-ware and other forms of mal-ware that collect personally identifiable information, as well as address books saved on your computer. Typically this information is gathered by some sort of malicious program running in secret on your computer which transmits everything to a rogue server on the Internet. Your email address, along with all of the other addresses in your address book, are at risk of being collected. 3. Providing your email address to an illegitimate web site. I started receiving spam on one email address when a friend used a "send to a friend" link on a web page to send me a funny joke. Once your address is on one spam list, it doesn't take long before it's spread to nearly all of them. Once you're in, its almost impossible to get out. There are a number of things, however, that you can do to curtail spam: 1. Don't respond to messages that aren't familiar or that look questionable. If a message is from an unfamiliar or unknown sender, don't open it. 2. Many email providers tag or mark incoming mail that they believe is spam. Some will simply add "*SPAM*" to the original subject line. Others will turn on special spam flags that are buried within the email (in the header). By instructing your email program to look for these special markers (whatever they may be), you can instruct your computer what to do with potential spam (delete, move to separate folder, etc). Check with your email provider for details. 4. Consider telling friends, family, colleagues or anyone who frequently sends you personal email to send you emails directly with their email program, and not with a "send to a friend" or "email this article" links on web pages. Such site links are often used to collect email addresses which can be sold or otherwise distributed to spammers. Most web browsers have a "send link" or "send web page" feature that copies the title of a web page into the subject line of an email, and copies the web address (otherwise known as a URL) into the body of the email for you. This is a far safer way to send a link to a website to someone else. 5. Enable special anti-spam features within your email program (if equipped). For example, Mozilla Thunderbird has an intelligent spam trainer that allows the user to dynamically "teach" or "train" Thunderbird to properly recognize spam. Messages that are recognized as spam can be deleted or moved into a "Junk" folder. 6. View your emails as plain text (when possible). Many emails contain HTML formatting (the same formatting that makes web pages display), and many email programs can read and interpret this formatting in the same way your web browser would. Links in the email that point to remote graphics (graphics located on a remote system and not stored in the email) can help spammers confirm that your address is real and valid. 7. Keep your anti-virus programs enabled and up to date. 8. Don't reply to junk mail, even if it is to opt-out of future mailings. This will simply provide confirmation to the spammer that your address is valid. If you've done everything you can to rid yourself of spam, and you are still receiving more than you can handle, you may also want to consider a change of email address (starting with a clean, new address) and taking strong steps to prevent your new address from being exposed to spam. If this is something you are interested in, please talk to your email provider. Author's note: In future articles in this series, we will discuss how to enable many spam features in common email programs, as well as how to take advantage of anti-spam services being provided by common email providers in the area. Have comments about this article, or suggestions for an additional Tech Tips article? Send an email to firstname.lastname@example.org.	<urn:uuid:8a816e82-a8d5-4afe-87d3-44598afabedb>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.ecprogress.com/print.php?tier=1&article_id=4669	2013-05-22T07:21:14Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.964647	1,500
New Frontiers in Animal Classification by Nathaniel T. Jeanson, Ph.D. * In last month's column, the Institute for Creation Research life sciences team explained the rationale, motivation, and goals of life science research at ICR. This month, we'll identify the first of several key research questions in origins biology. One of the major unanswered questions in this field is the nature and meaning of taxonomy, the branch of science that classifies creatures by kingdom, phylum, and on down to species. Historically, taxonomy has been largely limited to anatomical and physiological comparisons due to the lack of appropriate technology to analyze the biomolecules (i.e., DNA, the molecule of heredity) of various creatures, as well as to a lack of preserved biomolecules within rock-bound fossils. Recently, with the advent of modern molecular biology, the amount of DNA sequence data from diverse taxa has exploded. This advance has opened new avenues with which to analyze the relationships among organisms. In contrast to anatomy, which is largely a qualitative analysis, DNA and protein comparisons permit the construction of quantitative comparisons among creatures. Furthermore, since DNA is the stuff of heredity and is, in a sense, a record of a creature's genetic ancestors, modern molecular biology allows the direct assessment of an organism's genealogy. Together, these advances have resulted--and are continually resulting --in an enormous increase in data that have yet to be fully fitted into a classification scheme. Far from being an additional, simple character trait in a large set of anatomical traits, molecular comparisons present new challenges to the field of taxonomy. Recent studies have revealed that the genome (the repository of DNA sequence) of each organism is enormously complex, making DNA comparisons across taxa also very complex. For example, while two mammals may have similar gene complements, their individual gene sequences (the order of the individual units of the gene), the physical arrangement of these genes on chromosomes, the sequences (individual units) between genes, and the presence or absence of various gaps in the sequence comparisons all may vary in different ways between the creatures. Does each of these characteristics tell the same genealogical "story"? If not, which ones tell the "right" story? These, and other questions, remain outstanding. Though taxonomy is complex in its own right, the nature and meaning of the relationships among creatures is further complicated by the evolutionary interpretations imposed on the data. Some prominent evolutionary statements on taxonomy are clearly based on preconceived ideology and not necessarily on a careful evaluation of the facts. For example, the popular pronouncement of "98 to 99 percent" identity between the chimpanzee and human genomes clearly does not account for the recently discovered structural differences between the human and chimp Y chromosomes.1 Conversely, the claim that the human genome is filled with accidental "junk" DNA insertions from our evolutionary past is slowly being shown to be a premature assertion. Sadly, many publications of taxonomic data present sequence data through the filter of the evolutionary model rather than letting the facts speak for themselves. We want to know which story the raw data really tell. Currently, ICR's life science team is reviewing the published molecular sequences to identify and analyze those that have not been passed through an evolutionary filter and to also re-analyze those that have. While we are reviewing the scientific literature and data on molecular taxonomy, we will also be working to identify other pressing creation biology research questions. See next month's column to find out which additional key questions we've identified. - Tomkins, J. and B. Thomas. 2010. New Chromosome Research Undermines Human-Chimp Similarity Claims. Acts & Facts. 39 (4): 4-5. * Dr. Jeanson is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research. He received his Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Harvard University. Cite this article: Jeanson, N. 2010. New Frontiers in Animal Classification. Acts & Facts. 39 (5): 6.	<urn:uuid:0d30ad10-33f1-4a90-aca2-403b57846a49>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.icr.org/article/new-frontiers-animal-classification/	2013-05-22T08:13:15Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701508530/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105148-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.931826	827
El Camino Fundamental » Resources » The Creative Library » Creative Library 'iCENTER' » Academic Project\| Connect Your Learning to an Academic Subject - Use your creativity and make a personal connection to an assignment - Examples could be a... - Build a model of an historical site you have learned about - Create a painting related to a character or scene you have studied - Perform a musical piece inspired by something you have read or learned - Write a - story or - a poem or - an article in the voice of an author you have studied that you have connected to - Create a video based on a scene or excerpt from literature or history that is meaningful to you - Make a collage depicting a theme you are studying - Make a poster that shows a connectiion with what you have learned and something personal in your life - Many other possibilities! - Use the creative tools, resources, and the space in the Library to work on a project	<urn:uuid:899e7497-36bd-4fb5-9366-a192de6670c7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.sanjuan.edu/ElCamino.cfm?subpage=117443	2013-06-19T12:33:16Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.942517	202
Edwy the Fair Edwy (Eadwig) (941-959), known as the “All-fair”, king of England (955-959), succeeded his uncle Edred and immediately caused a stir by giving affairs of the heart precedence over those of State. His short reign is marked by a row with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Odo, and his uncle’s old friend, St. Dunstan, over his marriage to a lady “too closely related”. Dunstan fled the country, but Edwy’s marriage was annulled and his wife disfigured and exiled. The kingdom was fortunate that his reign coincided with the start of an unprecedented period of peace with the Scandinavians; however a revolt in Mercia and Northumbria left Edwy’s rule limited to Wessex while his younger brother (and successor) Edgar ruled in the north. Reference: “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” trans. Anne Savage	<urn:uuid:43483830-a612-4d7b-87be-1d3a3a317a5c>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://conservapedia.com/Edwy_the_Fair	2013-05-21T10:34:04Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.975011	206
\|Click to download lowercase letters flashcards.\| \|Click to download capital letters flashcards.\| I made these flashcards to go along with our alphabet chant we do every morning (A, /a/, apple, B, /b/, bear, etc.) We usually point to the letter on a chart and say that chant but these flashcards helped tremendously with my students who had a hard time focusing on an individual letter when looking at the alphabet chart. At first I would put the letters in order, some days doing capitals, some days lowercase and then eventually I would mix up the letters. It got to where we made a game out of it to see how quickly they could name the letters out of order (I mixed the capitals and lowercase letters together). I gave each student their own set of flashcards (see below) to practice at home. I told them the real challenge is knowing the letter without having to look at the picture, which is why I made the puzzle lines separating the picture from the letter. They could even play a game at home matching the correct picture to the corresponding initial sound letter. \|I put this in the students' take-home folders.\|	<urn:uuid:4a9f3003-6cac-49c8-87c6-32b2f8394931>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://kindertastic.blogspot.jp/2011/06/alphabet-flashcards.html	2013-06-19T12:19:03Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.956819	245
\|Home \| Bookmark\|\|About \| Links \| Sitemap \| Contact \| Facebook \| Twitter \| Subscribe\| Multiplication basics and division basics are some of the toughest to learn throughout the elementary educational experience. The first step to teaching your children multiplication basics is to explain what multiplication really is. Multiplication is basically adding a number together as many times as the number is multiplied by. Therefore if the multiplication question is 8×6, you are merely adding 8 together 6 times. Consequently to learn these instructions children should at least be in the third grade and have complete comprehension for addition facts and understand adding multiple numbers. Although the ones are simple, as anything times one is the other number. These, and other shortcuts, are another way of teaching your child the multiplication table. Along with anything times zero is zero and the nines table short cut. If you don’t know this shortcut place your hands out in front of you, with the back side facing you (palms facing the floor), starting from the left count the number of times multiplied by nine. For example for nine times four, start with your pinky on your left hand and count four fingers, the fourth finger should be bent toward your palm. The finger that is bent over will split the numbers, count the numbers standing on the left side of the bent finger, which is 3, and then count the numbers that are on the right side of the bent finger, that is 6. Therefore when you bend the fourth finger you have the number 36, nine times four is thirty-six. There are a number of various multiplication songs that can be memorized and sung to remember that number times the others. Such as the two’s song: 2…4…6…8 and 10 Use these and other songs to help them remember the various other multiplication tables. You can find a variety of helpful websites that provide a number of songs located beneath the resources section of this article. Main points to address: Posted in Education.	<urn:uuid:232d5124-f7ff-42b2-85e7-19f74d17d006>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.teachkidshow.com/teach-your-child-multiplication-basics/	2013-05-26T02:49:18Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.923113	410
Click the Study Aids tab at the bottom of the book to access your Study Aids (usually practice quizzes and flash cards). Study Pass is our latest digital product that lets you take notes, highlight important sections of the text using different colors, create "tags" or labels to filter your notes and highlights, and print so you can study offline. Study Pass also includes interactive study aids, such as flash cards and quizzes. Highlighting and Taking Notes: If you've purchased the All Access Pass or Study Pass, in the online reader, click and drag your mouse to highlight text. When you do a small button appears – simply click on it! From there, you can select a highlight color, add notes, add tags, or any combination. If you've purchased the All Access Pass, you can print each chapter by clicking on the Downloads tab. If you have Study Pass, click on the print icon within Study View to print out your notes and highlighted sections. To search, use the text box at the bottom of the book. Click a search result to be taken to that chapter or section of the book (note you may need to scroll down to get to the result). View Full Student FAQs 5.4 Mindfulness and Self-Efficacy What is mindfulness? According to Boyatzis and McKee, mindfulnessThe capacity of an individual to be fully aware of all that one experiences inside the self (body, mind, heart, and spirit) and to pay full attention to what is happening outside the self (with people, in the natural world and our surroundings, and with events). “is the capacity to be fully aware of all that one experiences inside the self—body, mind, heart, spirit—and to pay full attention to what is happening around us—people, the natural world, our surroundings, and events.”Boyatzis & McKee (2005), p. 112. Ajahn Sumedho,Sumedho (2001). in Teachings of a Buddhist Monk, wrote that mindfulness is about a full awareness of what is going on inside; it not necessarily about concentrating on a particular object or thing, because our concentration does not last long. Rather, being mindful means allowing for the experience of the moment to arise, whether that experience is confusion, hurt, laughter, or excitement. Many people equate the concept of mindfulness to Eastern philosophers who look at mindfulness as a process of self-awareness that directs the self to take part in being in the “present moment.” This reflective process is nonjudgmental, meaning that mindfulness is accepting whatever is happening. Mindfulness is not thinking in terms of categorizing experiences or labeling them; rather, it allows the experiences to just be. It does not associate with the ego—“I,” “me,” and “mine.” Instead, it looks at only the experience(s) in the present moment from an objective stance or that of an observer. In this way, mindfulness provides experiences so profound that it can, and has, changed perspectives and relationships. Mindfulness has been shown to be effective in innovation and creativity. The phrase “think outside of the box” eludes to mindfulness. To “think outside of the box” means that you cannot categorize, label, or see the issue or object in the same perspective as you did before. You must choose a different way to look at what is in front of you. This would mean that you need to challenge yourself to do things outside of your comfort zone, and, oftentimes, you are doing something you would not even think about doing. In this way, mindfulness is a process, not an outcome. Culturally intelligent leaders who use mindfulness are generally more open to possibilities and different perspectives. They allow themselves to receive new information even if they believe that what is in front of them is indeed fact or true to them. A state of mindfulness helps to create possibilities and different avenues for growth. Take, for example, the following situation: Two politicians from opposing parties are in disagreement about actions to take regarding a potential new immigration policy. Both politicians recognize that there is an immigration issue in the country and that it has a significant impact on the economy. Both believe that controlling immigration into the country is the key to maintaining national security and ensures the health and well-being of the country’s citizens. One of the politicians believes that a way to control immigration is to round up all illegal immigrants and deport them. The other politician believes that only specific illegal immigrants should return to their country. Enter a third politician who has been listening to the argument. This politician sees both sides of the arguments and recognizes the truth in each statement. As a result of mindful listening, receiving, and reflection, this politician offers a third alternative that may contain components of the two opposing arguments or it could be a completely different way of thinking about immigration. Mindfulness techniques help you to come to an awareness of your self-efficacy. Through mindfulness, you learn to see your perspective of a situation, whether objects, people, places, or ideas are involved. The connection between mindfulness and self-efficacy is such that when you use mindfulness, it helps you to focus on your performance and goals. This next exercise is to help you use mindfulness to accomplish a goal. On a piece of paper, write down one goal you have (i.e., “My goal is to…”). This may be related to work, your family, your finances, starting a new business, purchasing a new car—anything you would like to obtain. Below your stated goal, write down five things you plan on doing to achieve this goal. Next, have two people (e.g., friends, neighbors, strangers) each write down five things you can do to achieve this goal. Then, review what you have written down to achieve your goal as well as what others have said for you to do to reach your goal. Now, respond to the following questions: - How would you react if none of the plans you made turned out the way they were supposed to? - What if, in the middle of working toward your goal, the goal changed? - If you reached your goal exactly as you planned it, what would you have learned about yourself? - What type of life do you think you would lead if everything went according to your plans? Asking these questions not only helps you to be more mindful, it helps you to be more focused on your goals.	<urn:uuid:2183b27c-2a99-46d5-9580-f44ee8607e15>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/5575?e=moua_1.0-ch05_s04	2013-05-21T18:20:13Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700380063/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103300-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.955816	1,343
Robert Falcon Scott Scott, Robert Falcon, 1868–1912, British naval officer and antarctic explorer. He commanded two noted expeditions to Antarctica. The first expedition (1901–4), in the Discovery, organized jointly by the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society and well equipped for scientific research, was concerned with exploration of the region around the Ross Sea. Scott's achievements included sounding the sea, discovering King Edward VII Land (now known as Edward VII Peninsula), surveying the coast of Victoria Land, and making a long, important exploring trip on the antarctic continent itself; he reached a new "farthest south" of 82°17−. On his return to England, Scott was promoted to captain in the navy and wrote an account of his expedition, The Voyage of the "Discovery" (1905). In 1910 he again set forth for Antarctica, this time in search of the South Pole. His Terra Nova reached its base on the Ross Sea in 1911, and in November he started southward on foot toward the pole. Scott and his four companions pulled their heavy sledges by hand across the high polar plateau, proceeding in subzero weather the entire way. When they reached the South Pole on Jan. 18, 1912, they found that Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, had preceded them by about one month. On their retreat the heroic party was beset by illness, lack of food, frostbite, blizzards, and autumn temperatures 10 to 20 degrees lower than Antarctica's bone-chilling average. All five members died, the last three overwhelmed by a blizzard when only a few miles from their depot. Their bodies were later recovered, together with Scott's diaries, the records, and the valuable scientific collections. Scott's journey has been considered by many one of the epic events of British exploration, but many modern biographers and scholars have accused him of a fatal inexperience in polar travel and a general incompetence that doomed him and his men. Scott's diaries and the scientific findings of the expedition are contained in Scott's Last Expedition (2 vol., 1913). See A. Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World (1994); D. Preston, A First Rate Tragedy (1998); T. H. Baughman, Pilgrims on the Ice (1999); R. Huntford, The Last Place on Earth (1999); S. Solomon, The Coldest March (2001); R. Fiennes, Race to the Pole (2004); D. Crane, Scott of the Antarctic (2006); E. J. Larson, An Empire of Ice (2011). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on Robert Falcon Scott from Infoplease: See more Encyclopedia articles on: Geography: Biographies	<urn:uuid:9aaea0e2-f34f-434f-b808-68804e7a55c2>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/people/scott-robert-falcon.html	2013-05-22T14:25:03Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.947093	587
Dams that have been built on the Mekong River’s tributaries in Laos are inadequately designed, causing an irregular water flow that damages river ecosystems, a Lao researcher who studies dams in the hydropower-driven country says. The sudden changes in the volume of water flowing downstream have a negative impact on fish and other aquatic life, he told RFA's Lao service, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The reservoir[s] [are] small and not able to store a large quantity of water. The release of water is not regular, which has an impact on the river[s’] ecosystems, on biodiversity,” he explained. If a dam’s reservoir is too small, when there is a heavy rainfall, water must be released from the reservoir. The sudden release of water floods the area below the dam and causes a rapid change in river flow, he explained. “The area downstream from the dam[s], is no longer the same. Sometimes there is the erosion of the riverbanks and a loss of aquatic life,” he said. The researcher said his observations were based on his research on the Nam Lik, Nam Mang 3, and Nam Ngum 2 dams, hydropower projects built on rivers in the southern part of northern Laos. Most of Laos’s dams have a similar design, rendering them unable to store large enough volumes of water, he said. With plans to export most of the power from the dams to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, or China, Laos has said it hopes to become the “battery” of Southeast Asia. Less than half of Laos’s population has access to electricity, and the country has embraced hydropower as part of its poverty reduction plans. As of the beginning of this year, Laos had 14 operational hydropower dams, 10 under construction, and 56 proposed or in planning stages, according to an online government report. The most controversial one is the proposed Xayaburi dam which studies show could have a major impact on the regional environment and threaten food security. Environmental groups have opposed the dam, saying it would block fish migration and sediment flow on the Lower Mekong, affecting the millions of people in Southeast Asia who rely on the river’s ecosystem for their food and livelihoods. The Mekong River originates in China and flows through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Reported by Nontarat Phaicharoen for RFA’s Lao service. Translated by Somnet Inthapannha. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.	<urn:uuid:5f8e0427-9cef-4181-aed8-d3205159891c>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/dams-06132012182530.html/story_main?textonly=1	2013-06-19T06:48:48Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142617/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.955143	551
This topic is about drug abuse and dependence in adults. For information about drug abuse in teens or children, see the topic Teen Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Drug abuse is using drugs in a way that harms you or that leads you to harm others. You can abuse illegal drugs, prescription drugs, or When you abuse drugs, you are not always able to meet work, home, or school duties. You may be late to work. You may use drugs in dangerous situations, such as when driving or operating machines. Or drugs may cause problems in your Drug abuse can lead to drug dependence, where you addicted to a drug. The drug controls your life. Any of the following can happen: Drug dependence is a disease. It's not a weakness or a lack of willpower. It's your choice to begin using a drug. But as you use it more, your brain begins to change. This change can lead to a craving to use the drug, and this can influence how you act. Drugs that are Behaviors that may be signs of a drug problem include: Having these signs doesn't always mean a person is using drugs. The behavior could be because of work or school stress, or it could be a depression or another medical problem. But behavior changes like these are common in people who abuse drugs. signs of drug abuse and dependence include: Drug problems may be diagnosed at a routine doctor visit or when you see your doctor for a health or social problem linked to drug use, such as anxiety, depression, or family conflict. If a partner or friend thinks you have a drug problem, he or she may urge you to see your Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and past health. He or she will do a physical exam and sometimes a mental medicine, therapy, and support groups. The first step in treatment is to quit using drugs. You may need medical care to manage withdrawal symptoms when you first quit. Some people call this detoxification, or detox. After you stop using drugs, you focus on staying drug-free. Most people receive some type of therapy, such as group counseling. You also may need medicine to help you stay drug-free. When you have stopped using drugs, you have taken the first step toward recovery. To gain full recovery, you need to take steps to improve other areas of your life, such as learning to deal with your work, family, and living situation in healthy ways. This makes it easier to If you feel that you have a drug problem, get help. You can visit a doctor or go to a self-help group. The earlier you get help, the easier your recovery will be for you and your family. Helping someone who has a drug problem is hard. If you are "covering" for the person, you need to stop. For example, don't make excuses for the person when he or she misses work. You may be able to help by talking to the person about what his or her drug use does to you and others. Talk to the person in private, when he or she isn't using drugs or alcohol and when you are both calm. If the person agrees to get help, call for an appointment right away. Don't wait. Learning about drug abuse and dependence: Most of the time, drug abuse starts with casual use. People don't use drugs because they want to be addicted. Drugs can make you feel good for a while. They may make you feel energetic, self-confident, and powerful. You may take a drug to reduce anxiety or to help you forget a problem. changes your brain and how it works. If you continue to use drugs, you may develop strong cravings for them, and it may get harder to say "no" to further use. At the same time, you may begin to lose interest in activities you always enjoyed. This is because you may feel that they are not as enjoyable as using drugs. You may then become dependent. Not everyone who uses drugs abuses them or becomes dependent. Other things that influence whether this happens include your genes, family, friends, and life situations. For more information, see What Happens and What Increases Your Risk. When drug use, dependence occur, you are more likely to have changes in your behavior than to have physical symptoms. These signs don't always mean a person is using drugs. The behavior could be because of work or school stress, or it could be a sign depression or another medical problem. But behavior changes like these are common in people who abuse drugs. think you or a loved one might have a drug problem, use this short quiz to check your drug use: Drug abuse in older adults may go unnoticed, since the signs may be similar to those of aging. Older adults often take more medicines, such as sleep medicines and painkillers, that can lead to dependence. When you are dependent on a drug and you stop using it, you may have physical symptoms known as withdrawal. These symptoms differ for each drug. They can include feeling sick to your stomach, vomiting, having belly pain, sweats, nervousness and shaking, and You may not feel that using drugs is a problem. Maybe you feel that you are a casual user because you use drugs only now and then. You may feel that you can stop using drugs at any time. But drug use quickly can become a habit, and for many people it may lead addiction. You may begin to use drugs without thinking about how drugs can harm you and those you care about. Drugs can cause you to have health problems, such as: Drugs also can lead to problems with thinking and remembering. They can affect judgment, decision-making, emotions, and learning. Different drugs harm your body in different ways. Drugs that can cause harm include: You are more likely to have unsafe sex when on drugs, and you may get sexually transmitted infections (STIs). pregnant, drugs can pass into your uterus and harm your baby. Drug use also can lead to problems with your partner, family, or friends. You and your family may feel that you have turned against each other. You may be angry at them, and they may be angry at you. You may do poorly at work or in school, or you may even quit. You also can have legal problems, like being arrested for driving while on drugs or for using or selling drugs. Not everyone who uses a drug develops a drug problem. Certain things make dependence more likely. These are called risk factors. Call 911 or other emergency services right away if you or someone else: Call your doctor if: who can diagnose, prescribe medicine for, and treat drug abuse problems include: Counseling usually is part of treatment. This can be done Watchful waiting is a wait-and-see approach. If you get better on your own, you won't need treatment. If you get worse, you and your doctor will decide what to do next. Watchful waiting is not a good choice for drug abuse and dependence. If you have a drug problem, or if you believe that your health or other areas of your life are being affected by drugs, you need to take steps to stop using dependence may be diagnosed during a routine doctor visit or when you see your doctor for a health or other problem linked to drug use, such as depression, or family conflict. If your partner or a friend suspects a drug problem, he or she may urge you to see your If you think you or a loved one might have a drug problem, use this short quiz to check for drug use: Your doctor will ask you questions about your symptoms and past health and will do a physical exam. If your doctor thinks you have a drug problem, he or she may ask about current and past drug use. He or she also may ask if it's okay to give you a test to check for drug use, such as a urine or blood test. Your doctor may ask to give you tests to look for health problems related to drug abuse. These may include hepatitis C, or If you and your doctor agree that you have a drug problem, your doctor probably will refer you to a specialist in drug abuse or dependence. People who use drugs also may have mental health problems. These include anxiety disorders, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If your doctor thinks this may be true for you, he or she may do a mental health assessment. If you use drugs and have a mental health problem, it's called a dual diagnosis. If you treat only one problem, treatment may not work well. When you treat both problems, you have a better chance of a full recovery and less chance of using drugs again. drug abuse or dependence usually includes group therapy, one or more counseling, and drug education. A 12-step program is often part of treatment and continues afterward as part of your Treatment doesn't just deal with drugs. It helps you take control of your life so you don't have to depend on drugs. You'll learn good reasons to quit drugs. Staying drug-free is a lifelong process that takes commitment and effort. You might start with your family doctor, or your doctor may recommend that you enter a treatment facility. A friend could bring you to a self-help group, such as Narcotics Anonymous, or you might walk into a clinic that deals with drug You may have a treatment team to help you. This team may include social workers, nurses, and a case manager. A case manager helps plan and manage your treatment. You may be asked questions about your drug use, health problems, work, and living situation. Be open and honest to get the best treatment possible. Your team may write a plan, which includes your treatment goals and ways to reach those goals. This helps you stay on track. Your doctor may decide you need medical care to manage withdrawal symptoms when you first quit using drugs. This is sometimes called detoxification, or detox. People who are dependent on drugs often have to go to a hospital or treatment facility. Detox usually is done under the care of a doctor, because withdrawal can be dangerous without medical care. A doctor may prescribe medicines to help with withdrawal symptoms. Treatment for a drug problem usually involves one or more types of therapy. Treatment usually includes going to a support group, such as going to Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings. Your family members might also want to attend a support group such as Nar-Anon. You may take medicines to help you quit or to help you overcome withdrawal symptoms. Medicines often are used for opiate drugs like heroin or certain painkillers. Medicines that can help you include methadone (such as Dolophine) or Naltrexone (such as ReVia). Treatment programs can be outpatient, inpatient, or residential. They offer similar therapies. Your treatment team can help you decide which type of program is best for you. Some treatment programs give rewards, called vouchers, when you stay off drugs. The rewards may get bigger when you go for a long time Many programs give regular drug tests while you go through treatment. Knowing that you will be tested can make you more likely to resist your cravings. People with drug problems often have other problems. They may need other treatments, or other resources may be available to help them with the drug Your doctor may prescribe medicine during detoxification to ease withdrawal symptoms or during treatment to help you move away from dependence. These medicines are mainly used for heroin or other Medicines that can help drug abuse or dependence means finding a way to stay drug-free while changing your attitudes and behaviors. In recovery, you work to restore relationships with your family and friends and with people at your job or Recovery isn't a cure. It is a lifelong process. There are 10 principles of recovery(What is a PDF document?) that can help you reach your goals and learn new things to To help stay drug-free after treatment, you can find things to do, such as sports or volunteer work. Stay away from friends or family members who use drugs. Learn how to say "no" to alcohol and drugs. An important part of recovery is being sure you have support. You can: Stopping drug use is very hard. It's normal to have setbacks, even years later. Very few people succeed the first time they try. A lapse or relapse is likely. A lapse or relapse doesn't mean that you or your treatment has failed. It may mean that you just slipped up. You also may need more treatment, another type of treatment, or more time in support groups such as Narcotics It's smart to plan for a relapse before it happens. Your doctor, family, and friends can help you do this. Part of recovery is finding your way back to a healthy lifestyle. If someone you care about has had a drug problem, you know how hard it can be. You know how living or dealing with someone who has a drug problem can change and even destroy your life. But family members and friends can play an important role in helping a loved one recover from drug use and addiction. hard to get someone who uses drugs into treatment if he or she doesn't want it. You may be able to help the person get treatment by: After the choice for treatment has been made: probably will feel relief and happiness when the person decides to get help. But treatment and recovery mean changes in your life too. Your emotions may become more complicated. You may: These feelings are common. You've been through a bad period of your life, and what happened isn't easy to forget. Nor is it easy to forgive the person. Keep in mind that recovery is the road to a better life and that you can help your loved one get there. Find your own support. Nar-Anon and similar programs are for people with family members or friends who have drug problems. They help you recover from the effects of being around someone who was addicted. You also may try The American Council for Drug Education provides current scientific research, prevention materials, and programs on tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs and their effects. It offers programs and services for teens and provides information to parents, employers, educators, health professionals, policy makers, and the media. LifeRing is a network of support groups for people with alcohol or drug problems. Support groups meet about an hour each week. LifeRing is abstinence-based, like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), but does not rely on a "higher power" concept for recovery. Nar-Anon is an organization dedicated to helping family and friends of people suffering from drug addiction to cope with addiction. Support group meetings are available in most communities at various times. Contact Nar-Anon or check your local phone book for meeting dates and times. Narcotics Anonymous is an international, community-based support group that serves people recovering from drug addiction with more than 31,000 weekly meetings in over 100 countries worldwide. NA provides an environment in which people recovering from drug addiction can help one another stop using drugs and find a new way to live. Meetings are available in most communities at various times. Contact NA or check your local phone book for meeting dates and This organization provides information for the public on drugs. It contains information about how certain drugs affect the brain. SAMHSA provides information on substance abuse prevention and treatment. Its website is the gateway to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (www.samhsa.gov/prevention) and the Center for Substance Abuse CitationsCloninger RC (2008). Genetics of substance abuse. In M Galanter, HD Kleber, eds., Textbook of Substance Abuse Treatment, 4th ed., pp. 17–27. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies (2010). Results From the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Volume I. Summary of National Findings (NSDUH Series H-38A, HHS Publication No. SMA 10-4586FINDINGS). Available online: http://store.samhsa.gov/product/Results-from-the-2009-National-Survey-on-Drug-Use-and-Health/SMA10-4586FINDINGS.National Institute on Drug Abuse (2010). Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction (NIH Publication No. 10-5605). Available online: http://www.nida.nih.gov/scienceofaddiction/sciofaddiction.pdf.Other Works ConsultedDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense (2009). Clinical Practice Guideline: Management of Substance Use Disorders (SUD). Available online: http://www.healthquality.va.gov/Substance_Use_Disorder_SUD.asp.Strain EC, Anthony JC (2009). Introduction and overview section of Substance-related disorders. In BJ Sadock et al., eds., Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 9th ed., vol. 1, pp. 1237–1268. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. January 5, 2012 Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine & Peter Monti, PhD - Alcohol and Addiction How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions. To learn more visit Healthwise.org © 1995-2013 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.	<urn:uuid:c4b0f3a8-745c-4ca1-9e28-d0e91324e84b>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://intermountainhealthcare.org/health-resources/health-topics/healthwise/content/ug4831/drug-abuse-and-dependence.aspx	2013-06-18T22:26:58Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.932537	3,907
If live plants are intended, then start with them and avoid any "cycling" issues. Plants need nitrogen, and they use ammonia/ammonium as their preferred source. So the ammonia produced by fish and bacteria gets grabbed by the plants. Some nitrifying bacteria will also colonize the surfaces, but the plants are fast to grab much of the ammonia, especially if you have faster-growing species of plants. The nice thing about the plants is that when they use the ammonia, they do not produce nitrite, so the second stage of the usual cycle is not present. This is by far the easiest and safest way to start a new tank. And once it is reasonably well planted, you put in a few fish and as I said, there will be no detrimental cycling effect. On the gravel, small grain works best. Darker or natural colours look better but also settle fish more; all substrates in natural habitats where most of our fish occur is dark, and the fish is darker on the top so that it will be less visible over the substrate when viewed by a predator above. Gravel or sand will work. The light is important. I wrote a basic intro to a natural planted tank that is stickied at the head of the Aquarium Plants section, "A Basic Approach to the Natural Planted Aquarium," you might want to read through the 4 parts of that series. We also have plants in our profiles, most of the common ones are there, with requirements and care data.	<urn:uuid:0bd9f7cc-605e-42f1-a04f-28cb80452c9b>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-aquarium/new-29-gallon-tank-bottom-feeders-79749/page2/	2013-05-22T14:52:51Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.958061	307

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.