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You’ve seen already that the resident rabbits are my Opponent #1, although I think – I think – I may have found a way to keep their furry little asses from stealing my peppers. But this year I am preparing for battle with Opponent #2: The Squash Vine Borers. This is the damage these guys can do to squash plants, in just a few weeks:
These guys are nasty, ruthless little creatures that burrow into the base of squash plants and wedge themselves into the stems, slowly killing the plants by blocking all of the nutrients from getting to the veggies. Last year I didn’t discover what they were until it was too late – my zucchini season was cut short by these fat boys camping out inside the plants. They are like middle school bullies stealing lunch money from my zucchini, and I will not have it this year.
When fat boys are done gnawing through the plants, they exit and burrow into the soil where they “pupate” – only to re-emerge the following Spring as an ugly-wasp like creature that will lay more eggs at the base of more squash plants and do it all over again. (For more info on last year’s fiasco, see my post on Endless Simmer.)
This year, no one is pupating in my garden without getting past me first. That’s right – I am beefing up security, and suiting my plants up in some serious armor. And how, might you ask, will I do that? I am dressing them in panty hose.
Yep. My plants are comfortable enough with their sexuality that they don’t have a problem pulling on some stockings, especially if it is said to keep those pesky vine borers from burrowing their way in. Fingers crossed that this works – only time will tell.
Trackback from your site.
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You do not need to swim with the perilous sharks to make an elegant Shark Tooth Necklace. In fact, you can find them on the beach. Once you get your hands on the beautiful shark teeth, you can easily turn them into a unique necklace. The shark tooth necklace is considered as a symbol of power, especially in the area of South Pacific Islands.
Shark tooth necklace is a classic and very practical ornament to add to your unique jewelry collection. Purchasing it from the market requires hundreds of dollars. Therefore, it is a good idea to carry out this simple project at home as a few easily available things that you will require include shark tooth, chain, wire, clasp and pliers.
Tinted shark tooth are also available in the market, which make a perfect necklace in accordance with your various outfits.
Things you will need to make Shark Tooth Necklace:
- 1 foot of wire
- 1 clasp
- 1 jump-ring
- 1 shark tooth
- Wire cutter
Now, warp the remaining wire at least three times around the previously made wire loop.
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Posted 12 months ago
These trench art shells with copper and silver inlays of Arabic verse (usually from the Koran, but I have not have this translated yet) are highly prized among trench art collectors.
I have been collecting for over 30 years and have never had an opportunity to purchase an affordable example.
My luck just changed!
This particular shell stands about 20" tall and about 4.25" diameter. I suspect it is from a 105mm gun-- but it may be a larger gun. The base is marked by the maker: "Polte, Magdeberg" for the Krupp Company and it is dated "JUL, 1917".
Many of these type of shells are known to have been made in Damascus, Syria, but I believe there were other makers in the Middle East. The workmanship is amazing. The ability to work with the copper and silver on the brass was truly fine art among these gifted craftsman. This type of shell decoration continued well after the end of the War.
Reproduction of these images in any form is not authorized.
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Last week, Formspring servers were compromised and over 420,000 hashed user passwords were stolen. Formspring founder and CEO Ade Olonoh wrote a blog post apologizing for the data breach and advising users to create new passwords immediately. The final line of the 500-word blog post reads: "If you have linked Facebook to your account, you can safely use Facebook Connect to log in." The detail in Olonoh's post is an afterthought, but his sentiment is part of the reason many sites are turning to Facebook to handle identity verification. You'd be hard-pressed to find a company more serious about protecting user data. "There's never been a breach of our login information," Facebook Security team member Fred Wolens told me.
"There aren't too many tricks out there that we aren't using."
Implementing Facebook Connect (also known as Facebook Login) is kind of like hiring a security detail for each of your users, and getting this service for free. "There aren't too many tricks out there that we aren't using," Wolens said, who previously detailed for me the various ways Facebook protects its users, like scanning data dump sites like Pastebin weekly in pursuit of user credentials. If any member's username or password shows up, Facebook alerts you. The company also recently partnered with leading anti-virus companies to expand its URL blacklist by hundreds of millions of links.
This isn't the first time Facebook Connect has been called out for saving users some trouble. During the Gawker data breach a few years ago, the company acknowledged that users who logged in using Facebook could ignore all the password theft drama. Of course, logging in using Facebook has some obvious limitations, like the fact that you must be a Facebook member to use it, and if Facebook goes down, you're screwed. Additionally, most sites don't enable users that are logged in via Facebook to use pseudonyms while commenting. Lastly, Facebook's "Authorize this site to access your information" dialog is intimidating for new users on your site, in part because sites frequently use the opportunity to ask for more permissions than they would otherwise need. The language in the dialog box ("any other information I've shared with everyone") isn't exactly transparent, either.
But, on the whole, Facebook Connect has almost become a startup's go-to tool for onboarding, grabbing far more mindshare than other options like "Sign in with Google." Not only can sites like Turntable.fm offer unique invite-only schemes, but they can also avoid the hassle of asking users to create new accounts while limiting exposure to hackers — all with less than 50 lines of code. "For our users, it means not having to create yet another account, and immediately having your social graph represented on Songza when you sign up," Songza CEO Elias Roman told me. For large companies, however, building a log-in platform on top of Facebook can be risky. Changes in the social network's terms of service or Open Graph can be costly if 90% of your users have logged in using Facebook.
Many of these companies choose to integrate other Facebook tools alongside Connect, like an Open Graph plugin that sends all the songs you listen to to friends' News Feeds. "Because of our Open Graph integration, in a given month each Facebook connected user generates at least one additional Facebook connected user, which is awesome," Roman said. "It's easy to get set up for anyone comfortable working with APIs," he elaborated. Unfortunately, sometimes annoying or deceptive Open Graph implementations overshadow the usefulness of Connect, which is inherently just an identity verification tool.
"Developers don't need to keep iterating and improving on account recovery, because we have entire teams of people looking at that issue."
Perhaps more importantly, installing Connect divorces site owners from having to create deep password recovery systems. Facebook already has various solutions in place to recover passwords, like asking you to identify the faces of a few friends. "Developers don't need to keep iterating and improving on account recovery, because we have entire teams of people looking at that issue," Wolens said. Few websites have the resources or time to devise "social captcha" algorithms for determining the likelihood that somebody is in fact who they say they are. "If you use the same computer every day and try to recover your password from that computer, it's a lot different than if you're halfway across the world," Wolens said. "We know that Ellis has used this computer in the last thirty days to log in, so we can create a lot less friction in getting you back into the account."
In an age where many (or perhaps most) people use the same password for every site they log into, Facebook Connect has taken on the role of identity-keeper. Integrating Facebook Connect may sound like letting Big Brother handle the "frictionless" security checkpoint for your site, but as servers get hacked and sites go down, it's proven pretty damn tempting.
For more on Facebook security, check out our report: Inside Facebook security: defending users from spammers, hackers, and 'likejackers'
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The Gateway at Maryland Institute College of Art that located in Baltimore, MD, United States, was designed by RTKL Associates Inc. Faced with a growing demand for on-campus housing, the Maryland Institute College of Art sought a new student residence that would serve as an appropriate campus gateway, highlight the northern edge of the school’s property and create a ‘real-world’ and independent living environment for the school’s upperclassmen.
Conceived in an inter-office design competition among RTKL’s global offices, the 110,000 sq ft, 11-storey structure, completed in August 2008, defies the double-loaded corridors of traditional dormitory design and instead features a circular drum sectioned into residential apartments and studio space. The drum’s pixilated facade is comprised of 16 types of glass and reflects diversity, motion and interaction among floors. To foster a sense of community, the drum’s interior glass walls overlook an open-air central courtyard, enabling students to gather and socialise in an area protected from the busy road.
The design responds to a variety of spatial and programmatic challenges, and offers innovative solutions that seamlessly integrate student life with the creation of art, in a safe and functional environment. The building provides opportunities for creative outlet at every turn. Within the building’s 63 apartments, interior materials were selected for their durability and strength to accommodate the students’ expressive lifestyles. Pin-up boards, gallery space and stages equipped with performance lighting and sound encourage students to share their creativity with others.
The building’s other unique spaces include a Black Box Theater performance space with no fixed auditorium elements, a Career Development Center, a café with open-air courtyard, plus office and conference facilities.
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Industrial production falls in January, consumer sentiment rises
posted at 2:41 pm on February 15, 2013 by Ed Morrissey
After last quarter’s surprise contraction, a number of voices arose to claim that the -0.1% figure was an anomaly, an artifact of government cutbacks that hid good news on business investment. Democrats even called it “the best-looking contraction in US GDP you’ll ever see,” and predicted that the business investment in Q4 would pay dividends soon.
And … we’re still waiting:
U.S. industrial production unexpectedly fell in January, weighed down by weak manufacturing and mining, according to a report on Friday that was another sign of slow economic activity at the start of the year.
Industrial production dipped 0.1 percent last month after a revised 0.4 percent gain in December, the Federal Reserve said.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected industrial output to rise 0.2 percent in January. The report comes on the heels of data this week showing retail sales growth slowed in January as households adjusted to higher taxes.
Actually, that’s an interesting point. Based on January sales figures from higher-end retailers, I argued a week ago that the expiration of the payroll-tax holiday was as depressive as the stimulus had been stimulating — which is to say, not at all — as retail sales rose 0.1% in January overall. Most analysts reported that this was a poor showing and that consumers had pulled out of what should have been better activity.
However, a separate report released today shows consumer sentiment improving despite the expiration of the payroll tax:
U.S. consumer sentiment improved in February, buoyed by signs of increased hiring, though worries heightened about a decline in future income, a survey released on Friday showed.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment rose to 76.3 from 73.8 in January, topping economists’ forecasts of 74.8.
Like I argued last week, the payroll tax holiday didn’t stimulate personal-consumable expenditures (PCE), and its expiration didn’t have a notable impact on them, either.
Economists expect healthier output in 2013, partly because U.S. companies are sitting on large amounts of cash and appear poised to invest some of it in equipment and machinery. Economies in Europe are also healing, and growth in Asia is expected to improve.
They’re correct about manufacturing, which improved more than first thought in Q4, probably enough to push its next estimate closer to a positive 1.0% when the interim report comes out at the end of February. However, as Norman notes, the AP’s report that “Economies in Europe are healing” is contradicted by this report yesterday from, er … the AP:
Renewed worries about Europe overshadowed an encouraging U.S. jobs report on Thursday, leaving major stock indexes roughly where they started.
Germany’s economy shrank more than expected late last year, and the slowdown in Europe’s largest economy deepened the region’s ongoing recession. That’s a troubling sign for the U.S., because sales to Europe have been a boon for American companies. …
After a strong start, the stock market has drifted sideways over the previous week with few major events to sway investors. That calm could disappear soon, said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING U.S. Investment Management.
With recessions in Europe and Japan, and weak growth in the U.S., he’s bracing for some turbulence. “Everybody is too complacent,” Cote said.
The “encouraging jobs report” was the weekly initial jobless claims level, which dropped into the 340K range. That is good news, but it’s a volatile series and not one that correlates particularly well on a week-by-week basis with the state of the economy.
With demand slackening in Europe, don’t expect US industrial activity to pick up significantly in the near future. The burst of activity in the last two months of 2012 may well have expanded inventories without final sales going up appreciably, which means more discounting and less demand in the next couple of months.
Breaking on Hot Air
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As the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention convenes this morning in Houston, theological issues will be ever close at hand. This is as it should be, for Baptists are a theological people. The history of the Southern Baptist Convention has been a legacy of significant doctrinal debates and controversies — most of them over issues that matter. There is no embarrassment in this, for the only way to avoid doctrinal debate is to assume a lowest-common-denominator level of doctrine that is unworthy of a people committed to the Gospel of Christ.
In other words, doctrinal controversy and debate can be a sign of denominational vitality, rather than an assured sign of denominational trouble. The key word in that sentence is can. There is no assurance that doctrinal controversy will stay healthy and vital. It is up to the participants in a controversy to keep it healthy and the entire denomination has the responsibility to urge participants to be respectful, honest, and Gospel-centered.
In recent years, Calvinism has been the focus of intense debate within the Southern Baptist Convention. There are influential figures within the SBC who fervently desire the denomination to move in a more explicitly and comprehensively Calvinistic direction. There are others who are just as fervently committed to prevent that from taking place. This debate is partly generational, partly theological, and, more recently, intensely personal.
Keep Reading →
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Published on: April 26, 2007
Engineering and construction contractors in Iraq there to fix and maintain military equipment and vehicles can't afford to send their workers through "on the job training," as time, safety and getting it right the first time are of the essence in an atmosphere of war.
So, one government contractor--URS Corporation's EG&G Division/Lear Siegler Services--called upon Montgomery College to develop and implement a skill-level testing program that measures a candidate's ability here in Houston before they are ever sent overseas.
EG&G/LSI has a long history of providing operations and program management, maintenance overhaul and repair, logistical support, systems engineering and technical assistance to both the government and private sector, but primarily to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. As a strategic subcontractor to KBR on the U.S. Army's LOGCAP contract, it has a large presence in Iraq covering 16 different sites with multiple operations on each site.
"Previously we worked under the assumption that when a job candidate told us they had welding or mechanics skills that they actually had those skills," said Jeff Clements, director of CONUS LOGCAP operations for EG&G/LSI. "But even though we did reference checks on our candidates, we were finding once we deployed some of the candidates to Iraq that they were not up to par, which obviously costs us the time and money associated with deploying them, but also undermines our performance because it creates a problem within the team."
Clements said he even has candidates sign an affidavit swearing that they are qualified and acknowledging that they are fully aware that there was no "on the job training." Yet they were still getting unqualified candidates that they eventually had to send home.
"We need our new hires to ‘hit the ground running," said Clements. "We take great pride in the quality of our work, especially considering that it affects the soldier's lives directly. When an unqualified employee arrives in Iraq, it negatively affects everyone; from the front line supervisor that has to mediate the problems that arise; the morale of the other co-workers who get paid the same as those who aren't performing and have to go behind them to ensure their work is done to or above standard; the safety of our military who depend on their equipment being operational; and of course, the employee, because he feels the pressure and embarrassment of underperforming and being sent home."
Clements said EG&G/LSI knew it had to address the issue of better evaluating candidates, but no program existed, so it was up to them to help someone develop one.
"Skill level testing is prevalent in the human resources and even the IT fields, but skill level testing in the maintenance field was brand new to everyone we consulted with," said Clements. "We ran into obstacles with everyone we approached, such as they didn't have the facilities, or too much liability, and even no interest at all in such an opportunity."
Montgomery College was interested, however.
"They were about six or seven down on the list of our contacts and when we approached them, it was like they were just waiting for us to ask," said Clements.
David Boden, program manager at Montgomery College's Conroe Center, was the first point of contact for the college on the project, serving as subject matter expert for test development. Dr. Roberto Rodriguez, director of the college's Lone Star College–Conroe Center, said he knew that EG&G/LSI's needs presented a great challenge to the college.
"We were more than eager to develop a program for them," said Rodriguez. "Now that we are working together on this, I really don't know why it took so long to get this kind of program going or how anyone ever did without it. It is our hope that we can also work with other companies on this same type of venture, because the benefits are incredible."
EG&G/LSI hires candidates to work in Iraq and before they are sent overseas, they are sent to Montgomery College where their ‘hands on' skills are tested and evaluated in several areas--wheeled vehicle and engineer equipment mechanics, HVAC, power generation, welding, machining, and fuel and electric. Since the program began in January, Montgomery College has tested more than 350 candidates for EG&G/LSI that were scheduled to deploy for Iraq.
Red River Army Depot LSI site manager Billy Harrist, who worked closely with Montgomery College in developing the testing program to meet EG&G/LSI's specific requirements, said the program is providing exactly what they had in mind when they came to them with the project--and more.
"Outstanding would be the word that I would use," said Harrist. "You can always measure a person's ability with a written test, and we have done that over ten different fields, but what Montgomery College has done is to evaluate every candidate in person and determine their skill level and provide us with that invaluable information on paper, per person."
One additional and key area that has developed as a part of the program is safety assessment, said Harrist.
"Safety is of the utmost importance to the company, and we have one of the lowest safety incident rates in Iraq. What we have also added to the ‘hands on' testing is to have the instructor evaluate the candidate's safety habits."
"You can ask a man about safety and he can tell you ‘I always wear goggles when I use a hand grinder,' but on a skill level assessment, an instructor will note whether he practices what he preaches."
Clements added, "Prior to the implementation of the skill level testing with Montgomery College, our OCONUS (Iraq) Program Management Office received a list of new hires and their skill set. Now, they receive the same list but with the skill level assessment scores added. This provides tremendous benefits to our Operations Management Team in Iraq. Having prior knowledge of a new employee's skill level allows OCONUS Operations to place the employee at the right site and in the right shop where their specific skill level will be the most beneficial to our customer, the U.S. Military. We have received very positive feedback to the effectiveness of this initiative from the Iraq Program Management Office all the way down to site level management."
Montgomery College has also developed a way to assess how candidates would perform in similar mediums, said Harrist.
"Someone with 20 years experience on a gasoline engine would still be valuable on a diesel engine, but they probably wouldn't do well on a written diesel test," said Harrist. "But Montgomery College has developed a way to help those that have experience with gas engines and apply that knowledge to diesel engines, and we now have gotten someone with 20 years gas engine experience up to par on a similar but different type of engine."
Rodriguez said for that particular situation, Montgomery College obtained a diesel engine to help train and test candidates.
"We didn't normally have a diesel engine at our disposal, but S.T.A.R. Concrete generously donated a high-dollar concrete pumping diesel truck for our use," he said. "From day one this has been a team project that includes Montgomery College, EG&G/LSI, as well as Conroe ISD, which allowed us to use its facilities for the testing."
Harrist said the Montgomery College "teamwork" attitude is one that is particularly important to their joint mission.
"Essentially, what EG&G/LSI does, and what the support of Montgomery College in this program contributes to, is help our military in Iraq," said Harrist. "I hear stories like when a group of our employees had just installed a ballistic windshield on a military vehicle in Iraq and not a few minutes later a mortar landed on that vehicle's hood. They brought that windshield back and told our employees ‘your work just saved out lives.' Our men hung up that windshield with the date and names of those servicemen and grown men cried with pride. We have felt that same sense of pride from Montgomery College in this venture and we are more than pleased with our partnership."
NHMCCD, among the largest and fastest growing community colleges in Texas, comprise, Cy-Fair College, Kingwood College, Montgomery College, North Harris College, Tomball College, six satellite centers, and The University Center.
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As far as broadband provision is concerned, the US can no longer be described as the 'land of the free'. Yesterday, AT&T was the latest provider to impose caps on high-speed Internet usage and will charge "over-usage" fees on those that exceed them. Martyn Warwick reports.
This development means that some 43 to 45 million US broadband subscribers are now subject to arbitrary monthly usage limits as decided by their service providers and more than half of all US broadband subscribers now capped.
AT&T has limited its 'U-verse' broadband service customers to a total of 250 Gigabytes of usage (that's downloads and uploads) and has also imposed a 150 Gigabytes cap on its DSL service customers.
The result of AT&T's decision is that 56 per cent of the 75 million Americans with broadband access are now subject to usage caps as more and more ISPs and network operators impose artificial limits. Cablevision Systems, Time Warner Cable and Verizon Communications already have capping regimes in place while others, such as the group of 'C's' - Charter Communications, Comcast and Cox Communications, simply warn customers they classify as "over-users" to cease and desist. However, that state of affairs is unlikely to continue for much longer. After all, there's more money to be wrung out of customer's by changing the terms of contracts that are already signed and in place.
AT&T now becomes the biggest US broadband provider not only to impose specific and non-negotiable usage limits on its customers but also to charge additional fees if those caps are exceeded.
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The Kimberly Patterson Fellowship in Leukemia Research
Leukemia Patient’s Legacy Lives on at MD Anderson
*Postdoctoral fellow Christie Yumin Hu, M.D., Ph.D., works in the laboratory of her mentor, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in search of more effective,
less toxic treatments for leukemia patients. Hu is one of a dozen promising young postdoctoral and clinical investigators whose research projects have benefited from the Kimberly Patterson Fellowship in Leukemia Research.
The Kimberly Patterson Fellowship in Leukemia Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center honors the memory of a courageous patient and her wish to support research to eradicate the disease.
Established through the Kimberly Patterson Leukemia Research Fund (www.kimsfund.org), the fellowship already has enriched the work of 12 young postdoctoral and clinical investigators at MD Anderson. Their findings are helping to fulfill that wish.
The endowed fellowship is named for Kim Patterson Murphy, a native of Sarasota, Fla., who was working in New York for a design firm in 1999 when she was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). After a brief remission, Kim came to MD Anderson for a bone marrow transplant. At Kim’s insistence, her fiancé, Brian Murphy, and her parents, Nora and John Patterson, arranged for funds raised by friends in New York for a post-recovery vacation to instead support leukemia research and housing assistance for families of bone marrow transplant patients at MD Anderson. Kim and Brian were married in the chapel at MD Anderson on Nov. 4, 2000. She died about two weeks later, at age 29.
A decade later, Kim’s Fund continues to grow. Deborah Thomas, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Leukemia at MD Anderson, serves as medical adviser and assists in directing grants to innovative projects destined to produce significant research advances.
One such opportunity lies in the research of Christie Yumin Hu, M.D., Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Leukemia at MD Anderson and recent recipient of the Patterson Fellowship. The fellowship enabled Hu to continue exciting research focused on designing more effective, less toxic treatments for leukemia patients. Her study of the organic compound PEITC in combination with another anti-cancer compound called SAHA, published in the journal Blood, points to nontoxic alternatives to inhibiting clinical resistance to AML treatments, the type of leukemia from which Kim Patterson suffered.
“PEITC, found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage, is nontoxic to normal cells but very toxic to cancer cells,” says Hu, who finds enormous rewards in translational research and seeing results in “real patients.”
The fellowship award also gave Hu the means to pursue invaluable professional development opportunities such as the April 2010 A.C. Camargo Global Meeting of Translational Science in Brazil.
Awards such as the Patterson Fellowship are fundamental on two levels, says Hu’s mentor, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Leukemia.
“Certainly, the monetary award provides welcomed financial assistance,” says Garcia-Manero. “Plus, the recognition validates novel research projects and lends emotional support as the fellows endeavor to become independent investigators.”
Donor-supported fellowships not only are highly competitive at MD Anderson, but also are extremely valued for the win-win situation they create, says Toya Candelari, Dr.P.H., associate vice president for trainee and alumni affairs.
“Behind each of these fellowship awards is a generous donor who commits an amount that can be endowed permanently, enabling us to distribute the accumulated interest funds each year,” says Candelari. “We are very sensitive to finding the best candidate to match the donor’s specific funding criteria.”
Hu says she is honored to have been chosen to receive the Patterson Fellowship. Like other recipients and those to come in the future, she’s helping open doors to new and improved therapies to fight leukemia — just as Kim wished.
*Photo by Erin McCormick
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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Settling a notorious 1980 case that split the nation and led to a mistaken conviction, an Australian coroner ruled Tuesday that a dingo took a baby from a campsite in the Outback, just as her mother said from the beginning.
The eyes of Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton and her ex-husband, Michael Chamberlain, welled with tears as the findings of the fourth inquest into the disappearance of their 9-week-old daughter, Azaria, were announced in court. Lindy Chamberlain had been convicted and was later cleared of murdering Azaria, and has always maintained that a wild dog took her.
"We're relieved and delighted to come to the end of this saga," a tearful but smiling Chamberlain-Creighton told reporters outside the court in the northern city of Darwin.
Azaria disappeared from a campsite near Ayers Rock, the red monolith in the Australian desert now known by its Aboriginal name Uluru. The case became famous internationally through the 1988 movie "A Cry in the Dark."
Many Australians initially did not believe that a dingo was strong enough to take away the baby. Public opinion sway harshly against the couple; some even spat on Chamberlain-Creighton and howled like a dingoes outside her house.
No similar dingo attack had been documented at the time, but in recent years the wild dogs have been blamed for three fatal attacks on children.
"No longer will Australia be able to say that dingoes are not dangerous and only attack if provoked," Chamberlain-Creighton said before leaving the court with her ex-husband and their three surviving children to collect Azaria's death certificate, which states the newly confirmed cause of death.
"We live in a beautiful country, but it is dangerous and we would ask all Australians to beware of this and take appropriate precautions," Chamberlain-Creighton said.
Coroner Elizabeth Morris said she "satisfied that the evidence is sufficiently adequate, clear, cogent and exact and that the evidence excludes all other reasonable possibilities" than that the baby was taken by one or more dingoes.
The findings mirror those of the first coroner's inquest in 1981, which found that a dingo took Azaria. But that inquest found that somebody had later interfered with Azaria's clothing, which was later found relatively unscathed in the desert.
A second coroner's inquest ended with Chamberlain-Creighton being charged with murder and Michael Chamberlain being charged with being an accessory after the fact. Chamberlain-Creighton, accused of slashing her daughter's throat with nail scissors and making it look like a dingo attack, was sentenced to life in prison with hard labor.
She was three years into her sentence, after evidence was found that backed up her version of events: the baby's jacket, found near a dingo den, which helped explain the condition of the rest of the baby's clothing. A Royal Commission, the highest form of investigation in Australia, debunked much of the forensic evidence used at trial and her conviction was overturned.
A third inquest could not determine the cause of death.
The fourth inquest heard new evidence of dingo attacks, including three fatal attacks on children since the third inquest.
Morris noted that dingo experts disagree on whether a dingo could have removed the clothing so neatly and without causing more damage.
"It would have been very difficult for a dingo to have removed Azaria from her clothing without causing more damage than what was observed on it, however it would have been possible for it to have done so," she said.
"I think it is likely that a dingo would have left the clothing more scattered, but it might not have done so," she added.
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Where did Roald Dahl get all of his wonderful ideas for stories? From his own life, of course! As full of excitement and the unexpected as his world-famous, best-selling books, Roald Dahl's tales of his own childhood are completely fascinating and fiendishly funny. Did you know that Roald Dahl nearly lost his nose in a car accident? Or that he was once a chocolate candy tester for Cadbury's? Have you heard about his involvement in the Great Mouse Plot of 1924? If not, you don't yet know all there is to know about Roald Dahl. Sure to captivate and delight you, the boyhood antics of this master storyteller are not to be missed!
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Profiles: A new approach to programming a pump
Most insulin pumps are like a Monopoly game board: You program your insulin-to-carb ratio over there on Kentucky Avenue; your correction factor across town on St. Charles Place; your target blood sugar up on Marvin Gardens; and your basal rates down on the Boardwalk.
And just like Monopoly, if you screw up your programing, you land in jail.
The t:slim tears up the old board and institutes some excellent new city planning, placing all these key metrics of insulin delivery in the same place, called Personal Profiles.
What does this mean for you, should you adopt the sexy new t:slim as your next pump? It means easier, faster programing, and a new level of control not previously available with an insulin pump. Read on.
A profile works kinda like a traditional basal rate, but it’s a basal rate on steroids. You can create up to six different profiles, and each one can have up to 16 time segments—what I call steps or legs. But in addition to just telling the pump how much to adjust your background dip of insulin either up or down, at each step you can also change your other three key metrics of insulin delivery: the correction factor (called insulin sensitivity by some folks); the insulin-to-carb ratio; and the target blood sugar.
The bottom line is that instead of wandering all over the fucking game board to program your pump’s most basic settings, you can program and adjust all of them from one place.
How’s it work in the real world? It’s tap-and-go. Suppose you wanted to add a new basal step. All ya’ gotta do is go into the profile, tap “Start Time” add the time you want it to start. A new leg is created, and it automatically copies all four values from the previous leg. This lets you adjust just the basal, if that’s all you wanted the change. The other three values stay the same.
If you need to change your IC ratio for dinner you can just duck into the profile and change that one factor at that one time and everything else stays the same. If you don’t have a time leg that works right you can add a new one in seconds, modify the one metric that’s pestering you, and leave all the others alone.
Hey, suppose you wanted to create a whole separate profile for the weekend. You can copy an entire profile with a few finger strokes and then modify it. There’s no need to enter all the data manually like some other pumps make you do.
Editing anything in an existing profile is a breeze. Tap on what you want to change and the familiar phone-pad style keyboard pops up so you can enter the new value. Of course, the Big Brother personality of Mr. Pump comes through here as well. Be sure tap DONE, then SAVE, then CONFIRM—all on separate screens—or all is lost. Literally.
Like all t:slim operations, this sounds more time consuming on paper than it really is.
The t:slim is to normal pumps what the first Apple Mac was to MS DOS computers. (Any of you old enough to remember that horrible “operating” system?) The bottom line is that the user interface of the t:slim pump makes sense. It’s intuitive. If you just use common sense and do what comes naturally, doing anything on this pump is fast and easy.
What about that new control I teased you with in the lead? On the pumps we have today we can have multiple basal rates, and we can change our IC ratios and the like by time of day; but as far as I know, none of the other pumps us have different IC ratios on different days. With the t:slim profile system you could have a different IC ratio or correction factor at the same time of day, in different profiles.
Why one earth would you want to do that?
Well, instead of talking about living for the weekend, we need to talk about living on the weekend. Most of us are either more active or less active on weekends than we are during the week. Some of us spend our weekends vegging-out in front of the TV, others climb mountains. So it’s common for pumpers to have a different basal pattern for weekends than for week days. And any pump will let us do that.
But there’s really more to it than that, isn’t there? Your activity level makes a difference to your insulin uptake. If you’re seeking the ultimate control, just changing your basal for the weekend isn’t enough. You also need to adjust your insulin sensitivity and your carb ratios. I guess you could do that on a traditional pump, but you’d have to go to Kentucky Avenue and then over to St. Charles Place every Friday night, manually change the numbers via massive scrolling; and then remember to change them back every Monday morning.
However, with the t:slim, a weekend profile could have alternate correction factors and carb ratios built in, as well as changes in the underlying basal rate.
Oh. Right. But I need to tell you where the genius stepped on his own dick. This near-perfect system is ruined by the fact it can’t be automated. It wouldn’t have taken a bunch of rocket scientists to have added a simple line of code to tell the pump what days of the week a given profile should be active. I hate the fact that profiles have to be manually turned on and off. I work three jobs and my activity level is very different at each job. I wish Tandem had designed the profiles so they could change automatically by day of the week.
Sure. I could do it manually. But I won’t because I’m tired. I’d likely forget to either turn one on or turn one off. Instead, I’m designing a happy-medium profile. One that balances my varying needs to best (safe) advantage. It’s too bad, though. I could have had much better control with the simplest of features, damn it.
Still, for those of you who have your shit together better than I, you can now have a whole new level of control at your fingertips—just a screen tap or two away.
Next week: No pump is accident-proof
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Chuck, someone knows a lot about the subject, and I wish I did. I've already spent quite a lot of time surfing and snooping around on the Web, but it's quite difficult to find out anything aside from what's in that GAO report, and Boeing is less than forthcoming. I assume this is for security and/or market competition reasons. I'm checking the MRO schools' websites for course descriptions, e.g., but not much luck so far. The thing to remember, in general, is that repair techniques have existed as long as composites in aircraft have existed, but for some time it was all military. Then they entered the commercial aircraft sector, but not, I repeat not, in primary structures. Their use in primary structures has changed everything.
Alex, thanks for thinking industry-wide again. I agree, the technology is certainly in the early stages and it makes me wonder how many other coatings manufacturers or composite airstructure makers are conducting similar research under the radar, possibly even in partnership with each other. It might make more sense from an industry standpoint to develop and commercialize something that can be applied by all airstructure manufacturers and regulated by the FAA. But that also assumes that it can be applied in an aftermarket scenario and still work properly. I get the impression that GKN's coating needs to be "baked" in, either literally or figuratively, in order to do its job. But that could also be because they are not a coatings manufacturer.
TJ, that's funny, using whiteout to detect cracks and delams. I bet it worked great. But I doubt if that would work on CFR composites or even glass-reinforced composites. Damage on these, especially CFR, is invisible to the naked eye and techniques for detecting it different from those used for detecting same in traditional materials. You are right, I carefully did not reveal the wavelength since I honored the company's request in order to get this much published.
You say damage-detecting coatings have been around for awhile, but not using non-visible wavelengths. Do you mean that damage-detecting coatings *for these composites* have been around for awhile? Please inform us if you know!
Thanks for the info, Ann. So that means that the ability to utilize this detection technique will be proprietary, but I guess it also indicates that the state of the technology is at the point where other composite makers should be able to do this too, at least eventually. (That's unless there's only a very narrow class of coatings which are amenable to the detection process, and they're patented or trade secret.) Anyway, I guess the upshot is that this is not going to be anywhere near as industry-widee as I assume. At the same time, it opens up the idea that, with technology advancing, maybe the FAA can move towards some specificity in its composites directives.
I've seen simple things like White-Out used during materials testing to detect cracks and delaminations.
The damage-detecting coatings themselves I believe have been around for a while. The trick to which this article alludes is the non-visible wavelengths that would be used. THAT is a good idea. Damage-detecting coatings that the flying public can see are not confidence building.
The article carefully did not state which spectrums would be used, whether infrared or ultraviolet. I might consider watching the wing with my IR scanner in the future....
Alex brings up two important points. First, since this proposed coating or class of coatings will be available only as an inherent part of a composite airframe structure sold by one company, it won't be available for other composite airframe structures sold by other manufacturers. I've already heard of one other project targeting a similar purpose but using an entirely different chemical and behavioral model. That means competition among different types that work in different ways. So actually there may not be much in the way of industry-wide techniques.
Second, it does provide a great opportunity to gather MBTF data. Even if it's coming from airstructures using entirely different coating types, the data should be comparable about how composites break.
This is indeed a significant development because it holds the promise that there will be a cost-effective, easily implementable, repeatable, industry wide technique for inspect composites. This is going to be critical important not only to prevent in-flight failures, but also to gather life (MTBF) data on how different composite structures actually perform on commercial aircraft, particularly on primary structures like wings. (A primary structure in aerospace terms refers to a part where, if it fails, the plane will no longer be flyable. So for example you can survive a rip in the fuselage, but not the loss of a wing.)
I don't think the technology has been around for awhile, at least not for composites. The idea may have been. But there's a big difference between realizing one can use coatings to assist in detecting damage--the no-brainer aspect--on one hand, and on the other figuring out exactly what coatings, how they should work, how to apply them without causing other problems, etc. Since GKN is a supplier of composite airstructures and since their scientist describes redesigning a coating at the microsphere level, I would suspect that what's taken some time is the process of figuring out details of how to make and implement such a coating. Even at this point before the 18 months + another 18-24 months before commercialization, they gave a quite coherent description of the basic idea. Yet it will likely take 3+ years before a flight test is likely. So the R&D involved is not trivial.
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
Advantech has launched a new series of motion-control I/O modules to meet the increased demands that come with more distributed industrial systems that require control of a growing number of axes and devices.
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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Today I went with my ten year old son’s class on a field trip to the Dallas Holocaust Museum and Center for Education and Tolerance. As we walked in and the docent explained the self guided tour devices we were all given my son stood and stared at the picture above.
I had decided beforehand to let him take the lead and be there right along with him to answer his questions. I thought this would enable him to take it in at his own pace and absorb the information in the way he could best handle it. I honestly wasn’t sure how he would react being that we had talked about the Holocaust in the past but never showed the kids any of the graphic and terrifying images.
Since I first heard that the fifth grade would be going on this field trip I have been thinking about my high school Government class and the three days we spent watching the documentary footage of the death camps of the Nazi’s. Much of the footage was silent and I was so disturbed by what I saw over those days that I was unable to eat or stop thinking about the people whose emaciated dead bodies I saw piled up on carts, pushed into mass graves by bulldozers and thrown into pits or onto bon fires by their fellow prisoners who were forced to do so by gun point.
So we walked, my son and I through the pictures and exhibits that had been collected in this small museum in the heart of Dallas. I watched in amazement as the 10 year old boy, who loves to talk to you about his passions and joke with his friends, became silent and went methodically through the museum listening to everything his recorded guide had to say about each item.
After the permanent exhibits we viewed the special installation of children’s art from the camps. The pictures were beautiful, and haunting and heartbreaking. We learned that of the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, 1.5 million of them were children under 15.
I was so proud of him. He didn’t try to keep up with his friends, he didn’t turn away. He just stared and listened and asked questions. Mom, are those really shoes from the people who were killed? Are those real bodies? Why did people hate the Jews? They did medical experiments on that guy? Did they really kill the kids? How could anyone do this?
When we look at someone different than us and decide that they are less than us,
When we judge entire peoples as cursed by God and less than human,
When we begin to believe the lie that the world would be a better place if everyone just looked like, acted like and believed like me,
When we can look in the face of a child and rather than seeing something beautiful we see something we despise,
When we believe that it doesn’t concern us when others are harmed,
When we sit silently by and do nothing because to get involved puts us in danger too,
When we look the other way,
We begin the descent toward an evil which is unspeakable and unimaginable.
We must never forget.
We must show the pictures.
We must hear the stories.
We must not turn away.
We must be upstanders.
The quote in the picture at the beginning of this post is from Albert Einstein who once said, “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
Today I encourage us all to become what the Holocaust Museum referred to as upstanders. An upstander is a person who takes action, paricularly when the easiest or most acceptable course is to do nothing.
As with all of life it boils down to love. We must love our neighbors. All our neighbors. We must stand up and be counted on the side of love whenever and however possible. Sometimes that means we must stand in the gap and repel the forces of evil even when it means placing ourselves in harm’s way.
And…like my son learned today, we must never forget.
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I am just getting into a routine of daily prayer. The old siddur that I have uses a very stilted translation. Is there anything more up-to-date that you’d recommend?
The Aish Rabbi Replies:
As far as commentary and instruction on Jewish prayer, nothing comes close to the ArtScroll Siddur (Mesorah Publications 1984). It is translated by top-rate Jewish scholars, who understand the subtleties of the Hebrew language and have a great knowledge of Talmudic sources. More than just a text of the prayers, this includes full explanations of all prayers, laws and customs. Features a masterful essay on the essence of prayer. Includes special prayers for the holidays and life-cycle events. Beautifully organized and designed.
ArtScroll also publishes a transliterated prayer book. They even have what’s called an “inter-linear” prayer book, which has the Hebrew and English running together on the same line.
You should find these in any Jewish bookstore, or at www.artscroll.com.
May the Almighty hear all our prayers!
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Recently filed court documents in convicted serial killer David Leonard Wood's post-conviction appeal provide several insights into his life in prison.
Wood, now 54 years old, has been in and out of prison for sex offenses since he was 19. In 1989, he was sentenced to death for the murders of six women in Northeast El Paso.
Wood wrote extensively while in prison, corresponded with pen pals and took part in prison riots, according to a recently filed court document titled, "State's Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law," which was prepared by the Texas Attorney General's Office.
"(Wood) is not reluctant to be assertive or even aggressive when the situation calls for it, and has participated in several riots,
Wood is asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to spare him from the death penalty.
Since his stay of execution in 2009, Wood has been seeking to prove that he is mentally retarded, and therefore should not be executed. He's also waiting on the results of DNA tests of items collected as evidence for his trial in the murders.
District Judge Bert Richardson, a visiting judge for the 171st District Court, is
According to court records, Wood belonged to a white supremacy organization while in prison. "The Court finds that, notwithstanding (Wood's) denials, TDCJ (Texas Department of Criminal Justice) records note that he was in fact an admitted member of the Aryan Nation."
Court records also state that Wood "frequently uses the TDCJ library resources since he developed an interest in reading," and also got in trouble during his incarceration.
"TDCJ records reveal another prison inmate once considered (Wood) to be a source of conflict and a threat because (Wood) wanted the inmate to participate in smuggling narcotics into prison," court records state.
Wood was an artist and was handy with complex automotive tools, according to a summary of Herbert Wilbanks' testimony included in the state's proposed order document.
Wilbanks, who supervised inmates who worked in a facility known as the "bus barn," said he saw Wood break down tools, including a pneumatic impact wrench that has more than 40 parts.
Under Wilbanks, Wood earned the role of lead man in the tool shop at the bus barn.
Court records say that Wood's history "reflects an ability to plan and participate in leisure activities. He reads and makes art to pass the time. In the free world (out of prison), he enjoyed hanging out with his biker friends and interacting with others at parties and bars."
The state mentioned those things in the proposed order document to demonstrate that Wood is not mentally retarded.
Wood "has been an avid reader of books and magazines while in prison. His interests include books by Tom Clancy, Dean Koontz, the Twilight series, Bob Ross's 'The Joy of Painting,' Smithsonian, Maxim, Reminisce, Vanity Fair, Prison Legal News, National Geographic, and Car & Driver, among others," court records state. "(He) also has an interest in magazines for young girls or with pictures of young girls. His TCDJ records and mail show that he repeatedly orders, asks for, and talks about books and magazines, although he is typically denied some magazines pertaining to young women."
Before he was imprisoned in Huntsville, Texas, for the 1987 murders, Wood married while he was at the El Paso County Jail and prepared his own divorce later. According to the most recent court records, Wood was married "several times," but the documents did not offer any details about the other marriages.
Another example of Wood's failure to exhibit mental retardation has been his interest in the law, and his acting as a jailhouse lawyer for another inmate.
"(Death) row inmate, Jonathan Reed, requested a visit with (Wood) so that (Wood) could help Reed with his federal habeas petition. The visit was granted," court records state.
The state's proposed order document offered many examples that indicate that Wood is not mentally retarded and is able to interact socially with others.
Wood was convicted in the slayings of Desiree Wheatley, Angelica Frausto, Susanna Ivy Williams, Rosa Maria Casio, Karen Baker and Dawn Smith. Their bodies were found buried in shallow graves in the Northeast El Paso desert, near the present Painted Dunes Golf Course.
El Paso police also suspect him in the 1987 disappearances of three other teenage girls and a young woman, who have never been heard from or seen since then.
From the beginning, Wood has denied killing anyone.
"I am hoping that the court will come to the same conclusion as I have," said Marcia Fulton, Wheatley's mother. "I sat in on the hearings, and I listened to all the testimony. Wood is not mentally retarded, and that means he should be put to death. That will give my daughter justice."
Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at [email protected]; 546-6140.
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Sunday, April 10, 2011
Nine thousand feet beneath the surface of several Northeastern states lie vast deposits of shale impregnated with natural gas. The Marcellus Shale play, as it is called, is being touted by energy analysts as one of the largest in the world. For a chronically hard-pressed region in a season of recession, the promise of mailbox money just for signing a simple lease to subsurface rights is almost irresistible. Almost, that is, until they’ve signed and discover the implications of their decision.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The legendary artistic director, choreographer and dancer reminisces about listening to B.B. King back when he and his parents pulled potatoes as migrant workers; discovering Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez at college; and sharing Barbra Streisand recordings with his late partner, Arnie Zane, with whom he founded the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Maya Angelou celebrates Black History Month by hosting a special program on public radio. Special guests include Chris Rock, Lee Daniels, Common and Cornel West.
Monday, February 14, 2011
A musical portrait of the wife of late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Julliard-trained pianist who performed in the most prestigious concert halls in the world. Known as the “darling of Café Society,” Hazel Scott became a trailblazer in Hollywood; an outspoken civil rights activist which made her a political target; and ultimately, an outcast, ostracized by the Church community because of her music.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
A new documentary about the fight for equal rights on America's roads and transit lines. Many African American communities were bulldozed in the 1960s to make way for highways. Today, bus service to poor neighborhoods is cut in favor of more expensive rail. This collaborative reporting project from Transportation Nation and WNYC visits communities across America where people of color still struggle for equal treatment in public transportation.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
WNYC honors Black History Month throughout February with special programming.
Monday, January 17, 2011
WNYC celebrates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
From the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, WNYC's John Schaefer hosts Paul Winter's unique exploration of the solstice tradition in cultures near and far. Paul Winter is joined by musicians from all over the world, including Russia's Dimitri Pokrovsky Ensemble and gospel singer Theresa Thomasson.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Vermont Public Radio examines the last decade of significant change in marriage rights for same-sex couples including the politics legalities and advocacy efforts in various states, with particular attention to Vermont, Massachusetts, California, Iowa and Maine.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
This hour-long celebration of the American holiday songbook features nearly 30 rare and unusual tracks culled from Michael Feinstein’s personal collection of 20,000 recordings, including rare performances by Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Louis Prima, and Donny Hathaway.
Friday, December 03, 2010
Check out the entire schedule of special holiday programming on WNYC.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
On this perennial NPR favorite, Hanukkah stories and memoirs, written by acclaimed authors expressly for Hanukkah Lights, are read by NPR's Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz. Hanukkah Lights celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, with four brand new works: "Finding Golda" by Margot Singer, "Legacy" by Lev Raphael," "Geek Week" by Rebecca O'Connell, and "Moon Landing," by Shira Nayman.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The Third Coast International Audio Festival brings the best new documentaries produced worldwide to the national airwaves in a special two-hour program, Best of the Best: The 2010 Third Coast Festival Broadcast.The featured documentaries, all winners of the 10th annual TC / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition, demonstrate just how powerful radio can be. Innovative and insightful, the stories will engage, provoke, entertain, and transport listeners, proving that all you need to discover new worlds is...a little box and an antenna.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Host Larry Josephson, a secular Jew who wants to know more about the religion of his grandparents, asks simple questions of Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, Chancellor Emeritus of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Rabbi Schorsch talks about the history, liturgy and meaning in our time of these ancient holidays, in ways that are accessible but sophisticated and historically accurate. The conversation is illustrated and elevated with music of the High Holidays.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
What's it like for people in low-paying full-time jobs, with no savings, behind on their bills, sometimes lining up at food pantries, even shelters? In this Human Media documentary, we explore the lives of the working poor with the tale of a single mom, raising five children, working two jobs, who got sick trying to advance her education, and the story of a full-time worker in his sixties who has no savings.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
To protect the public from sexual violence, the U.S. has enacted get-tough laws targeting released sex offenders. Many were inspired by high-profile cases in which children were raped and killed by strangers, a heinous albeit rare crime. Since 2006, we’ve interviewed leading experts and victims’ advocates about the impact of these laws.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Symphony Space's 29th annual celebration of James Joyce's Ulysses will be Web cast live on WNYC.org at 7 p.m., Wednesday June 16. A radio broadcast will join the event in progress beginning at 8 p.m. on 93.9 FM.
Friday, March 26, 2010
In honor of Passover, WNYC presents “Why This Night?” A Passover Special.
Larry Josephson, a secular Jew who now wants to know more about the religion of his grandparents, asks Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, to explain the meaning of Passover. Dr. Schorsch tells Larry the story ...
Monday, January 18, 2010
We be american keloids
battle scarred and beautiful
ghetto butterflies earn their stripes
walked through the valley of colossal contempt
shadow boxing in puddles of tears
dodging bullets seen and unseen
survivor ain't no TV show
shorties be wildin' tho
survivin' sins ...
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Nationwide, suburban schools are doing a good job educating white students but are not getting the same results with black and Latino students. This weekend, WNYC will air a documentary about one New Jersey high school struggling to close the minority achievement gap. "Mind the Gap" will air Saturday, October ...
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Monday’s storm devastated areas including gallery-packed Chelsea, but many New York museums have been able to spring back into action. Institutions such as the Metropolitan, MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Whitney, the Jewish Museum, and the Museum of Arts and Design have reopened. Downtown, the New Museum and the Rubin Museum of Art remain without power and closed, and the Studio Museum of Harlem has postponed the opening of fall exhibitions to next Sunday. But the situation is dire at the South Street Seaport Museum, which was reborn in January as part of its bailout-cum-takeover by the Museum of the City of New York.
The bright, new Schermerhorn Row space–smartly designed by architects Wendy Evans Joseph and Chris Cooper of Cooper Joseph studio–was slammed by Sandy. “It is not just that there was five feet of filthy, oil-laced surge in our lobby, wiping out the systems that run the escalator, the elevators, and the heating and air conditioning, it is not just the clean-up; it is the loss of revenue that we had been building so diligently,” wrote museum president Susan Henshaw Jones in an e-mail sent yesterday to supporters. The flood waters climbed up to the eaves of the museum’s rental tenants, a store and a restaurant that may not be able to reopen. Another tenant, Bowne & Co., Stationers, saw 217 drawers of accessioned type get soaked by the surge. Efforts to dry the type and keep it from deforming are hindered by the lack of power downtown. Meanwhile, the museum’s lobby, café, admission desk and its computer, and Museum Shop have been destroyed. Donations of any amount are now being gratefully accepted at the museum’s website.
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Have you ever heard the expression that there are only so many hours in a given day? If not, you need to move out from under the rock you’ve been living under and see a little bit more of the world. When you have the power to go online and find just about any kind of information your heart desires, the old rule of “never enough time” starts to lose some of its old validity. Who doesn’t have enough time for almost anything when you can access a treasure trove of knowledge in mere moments without even getting up to go to a bookshelf?
This is the new found power of sites such as OnlineEducation.com. With sites like that, you have the time to get your degree (and do your research) from practically anywhere. You pretty much have no excuses anymore. No car? No problem anymore. Stuck waiting for someone at the coffee shop or the airport? You can work while you wait these days. There is pretty much no excuse for not having enough time, unless you lack the discipline to make your dreams come true. While it might sound a little on the hokey side to say it like that, it’s completely true. You can turn your dreams into completely doable goals, faster than you would believe.
For instance, not only can you attend your classes online from wherever, no matter what time it is. You also have the capacity to do your research wherever (and more importantly, whenever) you have a little bit of downtime and the desire to do so. So if you find yourself waiting around, why not begin to outline that paper you were assigned the other day? Why not just start cracking off your assignments left and right, since you now have the time and are rapidly running out of excuses not to do what needs doing?
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Fueling the Runner: Fueling for Two
Nutritional guidelines for the marathon of pregnancy
What a magnificent miracle it is to carry new life into the world. Running and fitness take on a whole new meaning when running for two. Suddenly a heightened awareness as to every sensation felt over the course of each mile consumes each run. There is a quick mental transition from focusing on the execution of the racing schedule to preparing for doctors appointments and fitness friendly maternity clothes.
Although running was once considered an unnecessary exertion and unnatural during pregnancy, it is now recommended for the healthy veteran runner. Running offers numerous benefits to pregnancy. Many have found that running can actually minimize some of the common early symptoms of pregnancy such as nausea, constipation, and fatigue. It reduces common back pain, insomnia, stress, and anxiety. Running can help prepare the body for the challenge of delivery. Not to mention it helps ward off excess weight gain and facilitates the return to your prepregnancy body. The good news is pregnancy doesn’t have to hold you back from the sport you love.
A marathon may not be on the calendar during this pregnancy, but pregnancy itself can be thought of as a marathon. The pregnancy nutrition marathon begins long before you get a positive test result. Preparation should start with a daily prenatal vitamin and a healthy prepregnancy body weight. Taking a daily prenatal vitamin containing folic acid will minimize your baby’s risk of having neural tube defects. And, achieving a healthy prepregnancy weight allows for fewer complications throughout pregnancy.
The next stage of the pregnancy marathon is the first trimester. This is the time women battle early symptoms such as nausea, fatigue, breast tenderness, and constipation. One of the most common causes of nausea during pregnancy is an empty stomach. Although the nausea may turn you off to the idea of eating at all, small frequent meals can help combat a queasy stomach. Also try avoiding foods with strong odors, taking prenatal vitamins at a different time of day, sipping on fluids throughout the day, and avoiding foods high in fat and with strong flavors. If you are disappointed that nausea continues to hinder you from running, try running at a different time of day.
Along with nausea comes a concern over adequate and appropriate weight gain. Am I gaining enough? Too much? The 13 week course of the first trimester is more of a time to adjust to the notion of pregnancy than packing on the pounds. A 3-5 pound weight gain is adequate and perfectly natural during the first trimester for most normal weight runners.
Finally week 14, you have crossed over to the second trimester. You still seem to be battling with constipation. This is a common inconvenience associated with the iron content of your prenatal vitamin. Constipation is also related to a slowing of digestion which allows your body to absorb as much nutrition as possible from the food you eat. Stay on top of drinking plenty of fluids and aim for a high fiber diet. Your doctor can also recommend a stool softener if needed.
The second trimester brings new challenges to a runner, eating enough calories. Energy levels are likely improving by this time. You now have the added calorie requirements of pregnancy and those you burn while running. You may find you have more energy to run the miles, but lack the calorie requirements for adequate weight gain. Graphs such as that found HERE can help guide you to at least the healthy minimum weight gain for your BMI.
Weight gain is always important in pregnancy, but filling your body with the right stuff is also important. One important aspect of pregnancy nutrition is adequate calcium. Aim for 3 servings a day of calcium rich foods. It is not the baby who will suffer from the lack of calcium, it is mom. During pregnancy the body will draw from YOUR bone calcium stores if the diet is lacking in adequate calcium. A runner always wants to aim for strong bones and adequate calcium to minimize future bone related injury risk.
Another daily nutritional highlight for pregnancy is adequate vitamin C. Vitamin C is beneficial in fighting infection, tissue repair and healing, as well as enhancing the body’s ability to absorb iron. During the second and third trimester the body has an increased demand for iron. Adequate iron can be achieved by eating red meat, dark meat poultry, as well as non-animal sources such as beans, tofu, raisins, and iron fortified cereals. Calcium actually interferes with the body’s ability to absorb iron. If you feel you are at risk for becoming anemic, be sure to avoid eating dairy foods at the same time you consume iron rich foods.
Excitement ensues as you round into the final trimester of pregnancy. Your knees seem harder to lift as your belly grows. Pace and mileage are slowing. Weight gain should be about 0.5 -1 full pound a week by this point. Your baby is building its fat stores with a rate of weight gain at about 1 ounce per day! Eating small frequent meals and limiting acidic foods will help to avoid heartburn. Try drinking fluids between meals if you fill quickly at mealtime.
Prepare ahead of time. Start slow and steady, but maintain a consistent, healthy growing pace. Before long you will find yourself at a glorious finish holding your new precious infant.
Jackie Dikos, RD is the mother of one already, with a second child on the way.
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'No gain' from rise in minimum wage
Filed under: News
The TUC said that with RPI inflation running at 2.9%, the 1.8% rise in the statutory hourly rate will lead to a "squeeze" on the living standards of almost a million mainly women workers.
How the rich get richer
The adult rate increases by 11p an hour to £6.19, but there will be no change to the £4.98 an hour for 18 to 20-year-olds and £3.68 an hour for workers above school leaving age but under 18.
The rate for apprentices will increase by 5p to £2.65 an hour.
"These new rates are a particular blow to younger people who will face the biggest hit on their living standards. There is no evidence that the minimum wage has had an adverse impact on young people's employment so it is hard to see the logic behind their pay freeze.
"Today's rate increases do not do enough to help hard-pressed families. We need a bolder increase next year otherwise the real incomes of minimum wage workers will continue to fall, along with consumer demand."
© 2012 Press Association
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POTSDAM The work of the North Country Regional Economic Development Council already has won a large funding award, and now it is creating partnerships that stretch across the region.
Clarkson University, CITEC and Plattsburghs North Country Chamber of Commerce are applying jointly for federal grants to create an advanced manufacturing hub in the north country.
Clarkson President Anthony G. Collins, also the councils chairman, said an application for the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge would be sent to the U.S. Department of Commerces Economic Development Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Labors Employment and Training Administration, the Small Business Administration and the National Science Foundation.
This would be for existing manufacturers to help them add value to their research and work-force development, said Mr. Collins. Were trying to help improve their processes and help develop work force, a very coordinated and connected opportunity.
Mr. Collins said the partners are in the early stages of developing their proposal.
U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, both Democrats of New York, and Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, have lent their support to the project.
This program will help us to attract new industries to the area as we continue to work with our friends and neighbors to boost economic growth in the community, Mr. Owens said in a Monday press release.
Mr. Collins said the application would not have occurred if it werent for the Regional Economic Development Council and the Consolidated Funding Application process, which brought together regional and local interests. He noted that the proposal, if successful, would have impacts from Lake Ontario to Lake Champlain.
Interestingly enough, we watched the other economic development regions, and I dont think anyone has the kind of team approach that we have up here, he said. If were not in the competition, we cant win it, and our objective is to get as many resources to the north country as possible.
Mr. Collins said the funding would build on the Councils Regional Economic Development Plan. If successful, Clarkson would engage in work-force education and materials research while the Chamber of Commerce would provide on-the-job training for north country workers. CITEC, a nonprofit economic development engine, would use its expertise in lean business practices, sustainability and market intelligence to support manufacturers in the area.
The partners would focus on developing transportation equipment and advance materials manufacturing, building on the operations of Bombardier Inc.s Plattsburgh plant, Alcoas facilities in Massena and Clarksons stable of researchers.
President Barack Obama announced $26 million for the challenge program in May to invest in manufacturing and create jobs.
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By BRAD KELLAR
Local tributes conducted in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were a success, drawing hundreds of participants, according to organizers of the events in Greenville.
Dan Perkins with the Corporation for Cultural Diversity (CCD) of Greenville, Texas, announced Thursday that preliminary attendance reports revealed the January 19 5K “Run Against Racism” included 61 runners and/or walkers, 21 more than the group had anticipated.
Two days of events were held in Greenville this past weekend, organized by the CCD, the Greenville Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (GIMA) and the Greenville Branch of the NAACP.
The Annual MLK Parade drew 200 individual participants, with 104 people attending the Martin Luther King Celebration Program at Municipal Auditorium and another 220 people coming to Sunday’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worship service sponsored by the GIMA. The events were funded in part by hotel/motel tax revenue through the Tourism Advisory Board.
“There were additional people who helped set up, give refreshments — Crossroads church, PALS, Key Club, Parks and Rec workers, CCD members at the 5K as well — who are not included in the 5K count,” Perkins said. “The final report is due to the Tourism Board within 45 days after the event. It is possible to get an extension if necessary.”
The CCD is now looking into sponsoring a two and one-half day anti-racism workshop in Greenville later this year, in partnership with the Anti-Racism Team of North Texas.
The CCD is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Wesley United Methodist Church in Greenville.
Those wanting additional information can call 903-454-6688.
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The bad economy has been bad for credit card companies too, and some are responding by cutting accounts of customers considered to be high risk or infrequent users.
Some don't find out until a cashier rejects a purchase. While credit card companies and banks are supposed to notify customers of changes to their account, they can sent out the information by snail mail, which means some people may not find out until the cashier scenario.
If you are financially responsible but want to avoid the hassle (and embarrassment) of having your card declined due to a closed account (unbeknownst to you), here are some ways to protect yourself:
Keep cash around. If you rely on credit cards to make important payments, you may want to keep cash on hand in case a card is suddenly cut off. You want to keep that money in a safe place, of course.
Keep a close eye on bank and credit card statements. You should look over everything that is sent to you. And do it carefully, not while watching TV or on the telephone. You want to make sure you see that notice of a credit cut-off or increased APR. You could consider contacting a to contest such actions.
Keep you card in circulation. This is most true for cards you depend on. It's not a good idea to possess too many credit cards, so you many want to let some go. But make sure to use the cards you want to keep so that you are not considered an infrequent user.
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Star Wars: The Phantom Market. Showing at all good cinemas near you. It's a thrilling chase in which a plucky company chases down a phantom market armed with a lightsaber, only to find that the market is no longer there, and the company has wasted an awful lot of money. Well, not exactly. It's not a real film. Which is a bit of a shame, as if breakfast cereal giant Kellogg had been able to watch it, they might have learnt a bit of a lesson. It would have certainly saved them a bit of cash, as this story will explain.
Back in the early 1990s, Kellogg
was riding high over the crest of a wave made out of cereal and milk. They had $3.8 billion in revenue, in addition to a 40% share of the US ready-to-eat cereal market. With sales in 150 countries, it was a force to be reckoned with. The great cereal giant turned its attention to India, where it hoped to conquer the breakfast market and take another source of revenue. After all, India was home to at least 950 million new possible consumers. What was to stop them picking a box of cereal off of the shelf instead of whatever they usually bought? Even if Kelloggs managed to conquer just 2% of the market, the enormous population would mean that the profit would be greater than that gained by the 40% market share in the US.
Kellogg invested a total of $65 million in order to establish a presence in India, seeing the potential of this huge population. Unfortunately, things didn't quite go to plan, and by 2010, Kellogg still had significantly less than a 1% share of the market in India. Quite simply, slapping the same product into a different packaging and expecting a completely different sort of market to enjoy it was not enough to guarantee its success. Lesson learned, Kellogg?
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I’ve always thought that the proportion of spirits cast out of heaven for rebelling against the Plan of Salvation was 1/3. To give you an idea of how much this is in relation to the whole, it is like cutting a blueberry pie into 3 equal sections and tossing one piece into the garbage. Just as I cringe at the thought of so much good blueberry pie being tossed out, I cringe at the thought of so many souls losing their first estate and being cast into hell.
Last week I discussed this issue with Craig, a member of our HP quorum. He said that it wasn’t 1/3 of the hosts of heaven; rather, it was a “third part” (D&C 29:43) which, in all likelihood, is much smaller than 1/3 of the whole. In other words, he claims that 3 groups were present during the war in heaven: (1) the noble and great ones who are leaders; (2) those who kept their first estate; and (3) those who rejected God’s plan. According to this viewpoint, these 3 groups were NOT equal in size. Those who did not keep their first estate in group 3 were likely much smaller than 1/3 of the entire whole.
To put this theory into blueberry pie terms, there are three slices of pie: a very small piece representing the leaders; a very large piece representing those who kept their first estate; and a smaller piece representing those who did not keep their first estate. The last small piece is taken out and thrown away. I’d feel better knowing that just a small piece of the yummy pie was tossed out.
So which is it? 1/3 or a third part?
The Bible Dictionary (BD) says it is 1/3. It reads: “The war broke out because one-third of the spirits refused to accept the appointment of Jesus Christ as the Savior.” However, the BD is not canonized scripture and the introduction even states “It is not intended as an official or revealed endorsement by the Church of the doctrinal, historical, cultural, and other matters set forth.” Also, the scriptures never say one-third; they say “a third part”.
I’d like to think that those who did not keep their first estate were a third part smaller in size than 1/3 of the whole. Yet having been taught for so long that it was 1/3, I tend to think that it was one-third of the whole.
In 2008 the Pew Research Forum released the results of their survey on the religious landscape in America. (http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=392)
One of their survey questions was: “Do you believe that evolution is the best explanation for the origins of human life on earth?”
This question addresses a belief in common descent which claims that humanity evolved from lower life forms.
Here are the percentages of people answering yes to that question, stratified by religious affiliation.
If the Pew Forum’s sample of Latter-day Saints is representative of the larger Mormon population, then it appears that 22% of us believe that humanity evolved from lower life forms. This result is in line with my expectation that about 2 out of every 10 Latter-day Saint accepts that Adam and Eve’s bodies evolved. Note that the national average for accepting common descent is 48%.
It is not surprising to see Catholicism above the national average (58%) because the Catholic leadership has formally endorsed evolution. However, I was somewhat surprised to see Jewish (77%) and Protestant (51%) above the average. Any ideas on why they are above the average? How do you feel about where Mormons are relative to other religions
I've included a similar survey question below. It will be interesting to see what kind of results we get on mormonsandscience.com. Of course this survey is not scientific. (It lacks random selection [representativeness] and does not control for multiple responses, although I hope you vote just once.)
(In a previous post I presented reasons for accepting entropy as a rational explanation for the existence of God. In this post we’ll consider whether the same can be said for the Anthropic Principle.)
The Anthropic Principle (AP) concerns the relationship between the laws of nature and the presence of life. A general definition of the AP is as follows: The laws of the universe are fine-tuned to allow life to exist. If the laws were changed ever so slightly, life would not exist.
Here are some examples.
Example 1. “If the nuclear force were only a few percent weaker, then a proton could not combine with a neutron to form a deuteron. If this were the case, no deuterons would be formed in the sun and hence no solar fuel would exist. As a result, the sun would not shine (‘burn’), but would merely be a cold ball of inert gas—precluding the possibility of life on Earth.” (http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/anthropic-principle)
Example 2. A slightly stronger gravity force would result in “a smaller universe of larger, brighter, shorter-lived stars, that will eventually collapse in on itself again in a Big Crunch. Most, if not all stars would be binary, trinary, or larger systems. Any planets orbiting these stars would have to go very fast to avoid a fiery demise inside their parent stars, and would be slung around wildly by their multiple suns. Any planetary system in this universe would be devoid of a stable, safe harbor for life, and relative stability is a vital prerequisite for the evolution of complex life forms. Life here would probably get to no more than amino acids, much less true life, before one of the planet’s parent stars went nova or the planet was torn apart and swallowed into one of the stars. It would not be a place to develop living creatures as complex as ourselves.” (http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~lwilliam/sota/anth/coincidence.htm)
There are different forms of the anthropic principle. The one form that most scholars agree upon is the Weak Anthropic Principle (WAP). This principle claims that conditions in the universe are such that they allow life to exist. If this statement did not create a “eureka moment” for you, you’re not alone. We already know that the conditions of the universe are such that they allow for life by virtue of the fact that we exist. Thus while everyone agrees with the WAP, it is a tautology (a necessary and unproductive truth).
Are other anthropic principles more substantive? They are, but they are also more controversial. Here they are.
Strong Anthropic Principle (SAP) - the universe must have the properties it has for life to exist.
Participatory Anthropic Principle (PAP) - the universe needs conscious observers to bring it into existence. (There are philosophical and quantum mechanical reasons for this claim.)
Final Anthropic Principle - because the universe is fine-tuned, intelligent life forms must come into existence, and once they do, they never become non-existent.
The main point of this post is that some believers like to invoke the SAP as evidence for the existence of God. If the universe must have certain properties for life to exist, and we exist, then we may conclude that the universe was specifically designed for the purpose of sustaining life. As a latter-day saint, I wholeheartedly accept the SAP premise, but it lacks rigor. I advise against using it as a rational argument for the existence of God.
The problem with marveling at a fine-tuned universe (and invoking God as the first cause) is that we could not do otherwise. Imagine that there are 10 multiverses (10 multiple universes) in existence. If 5 of those universes are fine-tuned to allow human life, then people in those 5 universes will necessarily marvel over the fact that their universes are fine-tuned. Some of them will even propose a god as the designer. If the other 5 universes are not fine-tuned, then there will be no one to question why their universes are not fine-tuned.
IMO, for an argument to be considered rational, it must win out against less rational opposing arguments. But if just one argument is possible (in this case, concluding that it is amazing that our universe is fine-tuned), then there is no way that the argument can win out over other competing arguments. Without a competing argument, we cannot declare a winner.
Moreover, just because there are no competing arguments, it does not mean that the one argument we have wins by default. Under these circumstances, the argument we have is a tautology – nothing more than a statement that is necessarily true. Tautologies do not carry much weight in scientific and philosophical debates.
In sum, we know that the natural laws in our universe could be different, and we know that if they were different, life would not exist. However, if the laws of nature were different, then we would not exist to ponder these issues. Thus we can entertain just one possibility – that it is amazing that our universe is fine-tuned to support life.
Being limited to just one position does not result in a rational argument. We must be able to acknowledge and refute counterpositions in order to make an argument rational.
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by Jeremy Parish, 11.01.2006
Nintendo's Virtual Console is a key component of the Wii, granting the system not just a little backwards compatibility but a whole lot of it. Eventually, it could be in the same league as Turner's GameTap, albeit with a different focus: No PC games, no arcade titles, just selections from every Nintendo home console... and every vanished major competitor, like the Turbografx 16 and Sega Genesis.
The service is built into every Wii, and anyone with an Internet connection can make use of it. Each game costs a certain amount of "Wii Points," which are virtual credits that can be purchased through the Wii's interface. After that, it's a simple matter of selecting your titles and waiting for them to download.
Virtual Console still has a few kinks to work out, but on the whole it's a solidly-realized service that's starting strong and should only improve. Certainly it's more robust in most respects than Xbox Live Arcade or Sony's PS3 service were at their respective launches.
By and large, the Virtual Console may well be the finest emulation service to date. And why not? If anyone would know how to create an authentic Nintendo emulator, it's Nintendo.
- It sports 480p output, meaning anyone with high-end TV is in luck. In fact, for HD set owners, Virtual Console is the only way to get these classic games to look good, since playing an actual NES on an HDTV is pretty painful to look at.
- The games also lack any sort of filtering or anti-aliasing. Emulators frequently try to smooth old-school graphics, creating a blurry muddled mess; VC's NES games look like they're coming straight from an actual NES that just happens to support a high-quality video signal.
- If Mario 64 is any indication, N64 software is going to look way better than on an actual N64. Textures look cleaner, sprite objects are sharper, and all that blurry anti-aliasing has been toned down. The result? Crisp, attractive graphics. And finally playing N64 games on a better controller makes the package even better.
- Most games support a "suspend" feature that allows you to exit out of a game in progress and resume from where you were. It's like having a save state, and for those old NES games that required passwords it's a real boon. Mario 64 noticeably lacks this feature, but since the game data saves every time you collect a Star it's no major issue.
Unfortunately, the Virtual Console isn't without its shortcomings. It's an impressive setup... but it has issues, too.
- Accounts and purchases are tied to machines. Don't expect to go to a friend's house and play your copy of Mario 64 on his console; games can only be played via the specific machine on which they were purchased. Nintendo offers a promise of assistance in the event your machine is terminally damaged, but that's it.
- Games played on widescreen TVs automatically stretch to fit, which looks pretty bad. Link was always a tubby little guy on NES, but this is ridiculous.
- Better shell out for a Classic Controller -- otherwise you'll be juggling a Wii remote and GameCube controller depending on the games you want to play.
- No online multiplayer, unlike most Xbox Live Arcade releases.
- The Virtual Console currently plays host to a lot of duds and very little in the way of must-have content. Eight bucks for Altered Beast? The Internet has a word for this, and that word is "LOL."
- The Turbografx emulator feels disappointingly like a second-class citizen. Not only were the first TG16 games delayed, but the emulation quality is well below that of the other consoles.
- And finally, we ask again: what's with the lack of online multiplayer? It's good enough for 360 retro games -- why not Wii?
Yeah, so there are only fourteen titles current available on VC. That's not so many. The good news, of course, is that this is an issue that should resolve itself in time, as Nintendo has promised to release a dozen different titles every month. Until then, you have this handy reference guide to let you know what's worth your hard-earned Wii Points.
Nintendo | Rated E | Action | 1985
Don't get us wrong -- Donkey Kong is a classic! But once again Nintendo has trotted out the weak NES port of the game rather than the complete arcade original. The downgraded graphics, the lack of cinemas and above all the missing quarter of the game make this a real disappointment. The cement factory level continues to be in absence, which has helped it achieve a sort of near-mythical status for gamers who have never seen it with their own eyes. Pass on this version; maybe someday Nintendo will treat DK with the respect due the game that put the company on the map.
The Legend of Zelda
Nintendo | Rated E | Adventure | 1986
Anyone who owns a Wii right now is going to be playing a certain other Zelda game -- but it's nice to have the original on hand as well, especially since this is the series' 20th anniversary. For those who have never played the game that kicked off Nintendo's biggest franchise, brace yourself for a true challenge, especially the Second Quest. Just be sure to take the time to appreciate all the classic Zelda elements that have lived through the years, even into Twilight Princess.
Nintendo | Rated E | Action | 1985
Never mind the fact that Mario Bros. has been beaten to death through constant rehashery on Game Boy Advance; the NES version (the only one available on Virtual Console) is much weaker than the arcade game. On top of that, the uncharacteristically lame controls and limited gameplay mainly serve to help you appreciate how "super" Super Mario Bros. really was. On the plus side, it does have two-player simultaneous play... but so do many better VC titles. Pass on this one and hold out for the sequel.
Nintendo | Rated E | Action | 1985
Pinball is, well, pinball. And a very simplistic pinball game, at that. It's fun, sure, but extremely limited, even with the inclusion of little Mario-themed minigame events -- the sort of game you balk at buying when you see it sitting at a garage sale for two bucks. Pinball might be good for a quick hit of nostalgia for those who owned an NES back in its primitive early days, but without any real play value to speak of, the five-dollar asking price seems a bit much.
Nintendo | Rated E | Sports | 1985
Winning Eleven this ain't. Nintendo's most ancient of soccer games is like many of the NES's other first-generation first-party titles in that it's incredibly simple, sort of ugly and honestly not very much fun. Controls are clumsy and the one-player mode is insanely difficult given that the computer has the annoying ability to perform actions on a whim which are practically impossible for players.
Tecmo | Rated E | Puzzle | 1987
Easily the strangest selection currently available on Virtual Console -- not because it's a strange game, mind you, but simply because it's an odd choice. An obscure Tecmo title? Well, whatever; Solomon's Key is actually pretty good, despite its atrocious graphics and annoying sound effects. Consisting of dozens of rooms, each of which is a devious puzzle, it's unflinchingly difficult and surprisingly compelling. And the VC's suspend feature means you can take a break when things start to get frustrating and jump back in once your temper has cooled.
Nintendo | Rated E | Puzzle | 1994
Wario's Woods has alarmingly little to do with Wario; the star of this game is Toad, who runs around stacking falling objects. Wario's mainly there for a cameo, to bump up the panic level. It's a pretty decent puzzle game -- one of the better selections from Nintendo's post-Tetris falling-object obsession phase -- and even though it lacks some of the features of its Super NES version (which will undoubtedly appear in due time) it's fun and addictive.
Hudson | Rated E | Party | 1992
Well, it looks like Wii currently has the best Bomberman game available for a next-gen platform. PS3 is utterly bereft of explosive goodness, and Xbox 360 has the shockingly ill-conceived Bomberman Act Zero. But thank to Virtual Console, Wii has the classic Bomberman '93, which encompasses both a traditional single-player quest and the ever-popular multiplayer battle mode. And on top of that, Bomberman '93 just might be the first Wii game to support five (!) players. Wii has plenty of multiplayer experiences on offer, but for $6 this one definitely offers the best ratio of price to satisfaction.
Hudson | Rated E | Action | 1989
There's something strangely appealing about having Mario, Sonic and Bonk on the same console. In the heat of the 16-bit console wars, such a thing would never have seemed possible... but here's Hudson's megacephalic caveman, head-butting his way through prehistory. Sure, Bonk's Adventure isn't as deep as Super Mario Bros. nor as visceral as Sonic the Hedgehog, but it has its own quirky appeal. It's just a shame about the sub-standard quality of Wii's TG16 emulation, though. Bonk plays fine but looks blurry and filtered; even so, it's still good fun for six bucks.
Sega | Rated T | Brawler | 1989
There are two kinds of pack-in games. The first kind is the system seller, like Sonic the Hedgehog was for Sega's Genesis -- a game so good that everyone will buy a new console just to play it. The second is the unwanted filler that no one wants and which can't be sold because it's packed in and everyone has a copy already, much to their dismay. Altered Beast is the latter. Before Sonic, this one-dimensional brawler was stinking up Genesis consoles across America. It sucked for free, and it sucks even more for $8.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sega | Rated E | Action | 1991
There's a reason Sonic the Hedgehog is still a huge franchise even though most of its modern versions seriously suck, and this is that reason. Colorful, fast, and exciting, this is the game that gave Genesis the edge it needed over Nintendo's Super NES, and it's still fun today. Deep? Not in the least. But it's incredibly playable. Good thing the Wii can handle blast processing.
Nintendo Super NES
Nintendo | Rated E | Racing | 1991
F-Zero feels a little simple these days compared to other arcade-style racers. You won't find any power-ups or weapons, and sliding and drifting simply doesn't exist. But one thing hasn't changed since the early days of the Super NES: This game is fast. Almost insanely fast, in fact. The sheer speed of the game combined with the intricate courses works well with F-Zero's no-frills approach to racing. Dated or not, it's still great fun.
Maxis | Rated E | Simulation | 1991
The VC version of Sim City really throws the differences between Wii's VC and Xbox Live Arcade's weekly retro selections into sharp relief. Classics on Wii, of course, are entirely unchanged from their original versions, whereas they tend to be retooled on XBLA. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not -- but in this case, it would have been ideal. Sim City's point-and-click interface simple cries out to be adapted for remote controller compatibility, but instead you have to use a joypad, just as you did on Super NES. That being said, Sim City is always alarmingly addictive, and if you don't mind the primitive interface this version isn't too bad.
Super Mario 64
Nintendo | Rated E | Action | 1996
Super Mario 64 has never looked this good -- removed from the clumsy N64 hardware, Mario's seminal 3D outing is simply excellent, and both looks and plays better on Wii than on N64. The camera has been mapped to the C-stick, which feels so very right, even if the game's 10-year-old camera setup is pretty clunky by current standards. Come to that, a lot about Mario 64 shows its age, and wouldn't it be great if this had all the extra content from Super Mario 64 DS? (It doesn't.) But make no mistake: It's a great game. Once Nintendo gets a few more titles of this calibre up for download, the VC will stand as a force to be reckoned with. For now, though, Mario 64 is a stand-out exception in a sea of mundanity.
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Election Reform Information Network
St. Louis County Activity on Election ReformBoard of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County, Missouri
According to the Missouri Secretary of State web site, "Voter registration and the conduct of elections are the responsibilities of boards of election commissioners in the counties of Clay, Jackson, Platte and St. Louis and in the cities of Kansas City and St. Louis. The county clerk serves as the election authority in all other counties of the state." The St. Louis County election board is by far the largest, with about 726,325 registered voters in 2000.
St. Louis County uses punch cards. They tried optical scan, but found that it took 9 hours to scan 5000 absentee ballots, which would have only taken about half an hour for punch cards. The board is of the opinion that while optical scan works well in smaller jurisdictions, it would not work for St. Louis County because of the number of ballots that have to be counted. The board has also expressed concern that a uniform voting system would be adopted that would not be in their best interests; they want to be able to chose what works best for their voters.
Several years ago, the board looked at the error-detection equipment that is currently being installed in Chicago, which provides voters an opportunity to correct their ballots and leave with the confidence that their vote will be counted. However the county balked at the $5 million price tag.
Unfortunately, figures are the number of overvotes and undervotes are not kept, or are not made public. I also learned that there are no standards for manual recounts. A manual recount would have to be court-ordered, in which case the court would have to supply the recount criteria. This has not happened in many years, if ever.
The state legislature writes election laws, not the election boards. However the board does lobby for and against laws that they feel would affect them. For example, the board takes a strong position against all early voting bills on the grounds that it will make their jobs more difficult but will not increase voter turnout.
The board meets monthly, usually the third tuesday of the month at 2 pm, and it is officially open to the public although I have been their only visitor since the I started going in December. The meetings are brief but interesting and educational.
In my opinion, election reform will need to be driven by the state and federal governments. From what I have seen and read so far, I think it's safe to say that in general, local election boards do not have the staff, the budget or the authority to enact massive reforms.
Disclaimer: This should go without saying, but: The opinions expressed on this page are those of the author and not of the election board. The information on this page is based on what I have heard in the public meetings, and on answers to my questions which certain board members have been kind enough to answer. I am solely responsible for any inaccuracies that may appear on this page. As always, I welcome feedback; For contact info please see About ERIN.
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A spiritual look at issues of interest to young people
The sun was shining out of a clear blue sky. My neighbors' wind chimes were tinkling in the gentlest of breezes. A cardinal was tuning up in the horse chestnut tree at the end of the garden. "All's well with the world," I was thinking.Skip to next paragraph
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Or was it? Away to my left, I heard a tap-tap-tap, crunch-crunch-crunch in the wooden picket fence. I looked back to see a fluffy squirrel perched precariously on top of one picket, chewing away at the wood vigorously. I shouted and stamped my foot. The squirrel looked down at me and attacked the fence even more fiercely.
I banged the fence, and still the little creature hung there. Suddenly it occurred to me: "Perhaps he's trying to say something to me. If so, am I really listening?"
In the moment of quiet that followed, I noticed one of his front legs had slid down between two slats in the fence. He was trapped. He wasn't being destructive, but trying to bite his way to freedom!
My anger turned instantly to concern. I approached him cautiously, offering quiet words of comfort as I moved into a position allowing me to avoid his claws and teeth and also to pry his trapped leg out of the fence. In a moment he was free. He flew at me, knocking me to the ground, and was gone! A minute or two later I saw him lingering high overhead on a branch, peering down to make sure that I was all right, too. (At least that was my interpretation!) I spoke reassuringly to him, and he soon scuttled away across the treetops.
"So, what have you learned?" I asked myself. And I'm grateful to say the answers came thick and fast. Be alert; listen better; don't jump to conclusions; love more!
When we deal with people, and even when we handle our pets or come across the many other creatures that can chirp, meow, woof, and bleat their way into our lives, we should try to spot what is preoccupying them. Are we cutting through the stream of words or sounds to hear what they are really saying - or not saying?
Another kind of listening is needed at the same time. Our thoughts must be attentive to what God is saying. This is the listening that matters most. Our Father speaks to our innermost feelings with total clarity. God calls very often for a change of direction - for us to be more loving in visible ways.
True listening - listening to God in prayer - inspires us to maintain balance, fairness, compassion, wisdom. It dissolves impatience, frustration, and anger with friends and family members and prepares the ground for our own achievement. It points us to ways of helping and healing ourselves and other people.
Sometimes God's messages bring twinges of discomfort to the surface, or even feelings of resistance. That may not be what we had been hoping to feel! But if we listen for God - with a real readiness to respond to Him - our life can only get better.
Christ Jesus even spoke of us as being like sheep; he used reassuring images of God as the Shepherd. One of these is in the book of John in the Bible: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand" (10:27, 28).
Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, wrote in a poem: "I will listen for Thy voice,/ Lest my footsteps stray;/ I will follow and rejoice/ All the rugged way" ("Christian Science Hymnal," No. 304). Sheep know their shepherd because they spend time with him. Similarly, we need to spend time with God, finding that His expectations for us come from His deep love and concern for our well-being. That's what He's like. As one saying puts it, "The shove from above always comes with love!"
God consistently urges you to know Him - to gain spiritual insight and understanding. To see yourself as being made perfect by Him - spiritual. And of course to be happy with His unfailing guidance.
The peace you feel as a result of this helps you to care more effectively for yourself and others. It heightens your awareness of calls for help, whether they're from desperate friends or even from furry little creatures that don't really want to make a meal of the garden fence!
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Clearly horses are your stables main asset! You must have a minimum of 4 horses in your stable at all times.
Each horse has attributes and skills that determine their overall racing ability, while there are also some additional factors that will affect their performance in different race situations. The horses also have an 'Overall Rating' which is a quick way to compare horses, as well as having experience at different Distances and Track Conditions.
It's your job to consider the strengths and weaknesses of your horse, and decide which horse is best for each event. Each attribute of the horse will affect it in different ways - as will the balance between each attribute.
Aside from racing your horses, you'll also need to take care of their training needs and their veterinary care to make sure you always get the most out of them. (See Vet services, and also Training). After racing and training you'll notice the physical condition of the horse will decrease. Medical condition decreasing is often a sign that your horse has picked up an injury - in races, this is reported in the Form Guide after the race.
If your horse is getting repeatedly injured, or if your horse has a lower 'Vet Assessment' than you would expect, then maybe you might consider giving your horse a spell (rest) to allow the horse time to heal naturally? This can be a very effective tool to continue to get the best from your horses.
Injury Profiling, commonly referred to as IP, is a measure of how likely your horse is to sustain an injury next time it races or trains. There is no direct display of this stat, but you can estimate this by looking at the Vet Assessment. If it seems much lower than the average of Medical/Physical condition, then the horse is at a high risk of injury from being too active recently, or because of a recent injury that might be made worse. The best way to help your horse recover if it has a poor Vet Assessment is to give it a spell (ie a rest) from training and racing. A spell of 3-4 weeks is enough for any horse to recover, but your horse might not need that much of a rest? It's your decision!
Some General Guidelines for Injury Profiling
As you'll notice, a horses week can get very busy! Be sure to keep an eye on the Upcoming Schedule for each of your horses, to make sure that they don't have any conflicts. Where there is a conflict in schedule, the horse will simply take the earliest thing that you have told it to do and go with it - even if that means missing out on training or missing out on a race, or even missing travel arrangements to another track. Of course, if a horse misses its travel, it might not make the next race or get home in time for training etc.....so it can have quite a big flow-on effect. Any Schedule conflicts are highlighted in the horses' Upcoming Schedule, so they shouldn't be hard to notice! If you see any, you can remove the conflicting item/s by going into the "Schedule & Transport" page for that horse, and cancelling them directly from the schedule.
It's also possible to rename your 2yo horses, any 3yo's that were bought within the past 3 weeks, or any horses with career earnings of less than $1,000,000. It costs 1 'Game Credit' for each time you want to rename a horse. The number of Game Credits you have is displayed on the 'Home' page, and Game Credits can be bought through the Shop, or are provided free with purchases of Owners Club (See Owners Club). To rename a horse, simply select the colt/filly that you want to rename, and then select the Rename a Horse link from the Page Menu. A member of staff from Track King will approve or reject the renaming as appropriate within 24-48 hours at most!
And finally, the great circle of life! Each season, on the first day of January/April/July/October, horses will be considered as one year older - regardless of their actual date of birth. As a general rule, horses may only race from the age of 2yo (3yo for league races) up to and including 10yo. After 10yo, stallions may continue to be used for Stud until (and including) the age of 12yo. After age 12yo (or age 10yo for geldings or mares), there isn't really anything useful for your horses to do around your stable, although a mare will still give birth to a foal as an 11yo provided she was serviced before her 11th birthday. It might break your heart to part with these virtual champions, but in the interest of your stable it should probably be done. You can either organise to give them away, or if you are an Owners Club member you can retire them into the Hall of Fame, so that we can all look back at their stats and achievements. (See Owners Club)
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By RAY FISMAN and TIM SULLIVAN
A $90,000 area rug, a pair of guest chairs that cost almost as much, a $35,000 commode and a $1,400 trash can—these are just a few of the expenses from a remodeling of John Thain's office when he took over as Merrill Lynch's chief executive officer in December 2007. The total bill came to an astonishing $1.2 million—about the price of five average single-family homes.
Those same remodeling expenses contributed to Mr. Thain's resignation just over a year later, after Bank of America bought Merrill, and helped to define the popular image of the CEO as someone who lives a life of extreme privilege: gold-plated faucets, country club memberships and chauffeur-driven limousines, all paid for through corporate largess. Mr. Thain's limo tab included $230,000 for his driver—$85,000 in salary, the rest in overtime and a bonus. This was on top of Mr. Thain's receiving a reported $78 million in compensation for 2007.
It's easy to get upset about perks and pay packages like Mr. Thain's. But even in the face of public and investor outrage, CEO salaries are still on the rise. Progress Energy's CEO Bill Johnson received a $44 million payout when he left the company after its merger with Duke Energy last year, and Abercrombie CEO Michael Jeffries took home over $48 million in 2011—while the company's stock price tanked.
Excessive, decadent? That's a hard call to make without having some idea of what a CEO does. Many CEOs are overpaid or, even worse, paid for incompetence. Still, you can only appreciate the difference between pay-for-performance and pay-for-incompetence by first understanding the CEO's job.
Let's start with the basics: how chief executives spend their time. Among the first researchers to give us a glimpse into the day-to-day life of the CEO was management guru Henry Mintzberg, who followed a handful of business leaders for his Ph.D. thesis at the MIT Sloan School of Management over four decades ago. He discovered that, first and foremost, CEOs go to meetings. Lots of them—it is where his research subjects spent over 80% of their work hours.
The astonishing thing is that the percentage of time CEOs spend in meetings has hardly shifted in four decades, despite innovations like email. A study conducted last year by Oriana Bandiera of the London School of Economics, with Columbia's Andrea Prat and Harvard's Raffaella Sadun, assembled time diaries for hundreds of Indian CEOs. (With other collaborators, they have done similar research on smaller samples of Italian and American executives.)
Unlike Dr. Mintzberg—who did the legwork himself—this group of researchers asked the CEOs' executive assistants to record in 15-minute increments how their bosses allocated their time over the course of a week. Were they working alone or in a group? If in a meeting, how many were in attendance? Was the meeting with employees or with outsiders, via telephone or in person? Despite the vastly different geographies and eras—and differences in customers, products and size of organizations—the CEOs all spent their time in much the same way: in face-to-face interaction.
That time is often marked by interruption. In the five weeks of Dr. Mintzberg's study, he recorded extraordinarily few instances of a CEO alone and without disruption for more than 15 minutes straight. Half their activities lasted fewer than nine minutes—and this was in the pre-BlackBerry age—while only 10% went on for more than an hour. Those hourlong stretches were taken up primarily with hourlong meetings. The more recent studies have found a similar pace of interruption.
Yet saying that the job of someone like Jeff Bezos consists of going to lots of meetings is a bit like saying that Shakespeare wrote words. True, but pretty thin for explaining what made, say, Steve Jobs Steve Jobs.
Meetings remain the focus of the CEO's day because such personal interactions are critical to learning the information necessary to run a company effectively. After all, one of the most important jobs of managers is to decide what information gets passed up through the chain of command. If CEOs were to rely solely on written reports and data sheets from self-serving underlings, they almost would be guaranteed to make the wrong decisions. What manager wants to pass on bad news—so much easier to do in a report than when you're being questioned in detail by your boss? This very problem was at the root of Toyota's response to its problems in 2009 with sudden, unexpected acceleration in its vehicles: Managers were all too willing to paint a rosy picture for the CEO, which hampered his ability to direct the company to respond appropriately.
Harvard Business School professors Michael Porter and Nitin Nohria argue that the skill to extract from underlings the critical details that are needed to inform top-level decisions is part of what makes the best CEOs better than their peers. It works in reverse too. The information the CEO needs to convey is just as prone to being misrepresented and misinterpreted as it works its way through a corporation, across shareholders and among customers. So, in the vast majority of meetings, CEOs are not just uncovering information but also constantly refining their message.
Consider, for instance, founder Tony Hsieh's drumbeat in referring to Zappos as a "service company that just happens to sell shoes." Meetings give him the opportunity to let his stakeholders know exactly what he means. The company hit its billion-dollar sales goal two years before schedule, in 2008, and was acquired by Amazon.com in 2009 for a reported $1.2 billion.
The Porter-Nohria view is backed up by the data. In their time-use study of 354 Indian CEOs—still a work-in-progress—the researchers collected detailed information on the nature of CEOs' meetings, including who attended. Two dominant management styles emerged. "Style 1" leaders, in their taxonomy, spend most of their time meeting with employees; they also tend to hold larger meetings and to include people from a wider set of departments within the organization. "Style 2" CEOs are more apt to spend their time alone, in one-on-one interaction, and outside rather than inside the firm.
Though the researchers are still putting together their findings, they have observed that the first management style, which is inclusive and cross-functional, is typical of CEOs at companies that are more efficiently run and more profitable.
Why don't all CEOs adopt Style 1? It's likely that part of the story is ability: not everyone is up to the task of dealing with the complexities of a bigger conference room filled with disparate participants. It may also reflect a CEO's decision to devote less attention to the company than to cultivating his outside image. In a 2009 study, Ulrike Malmendier of the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA's Geoff Tate found that companies performed poorly after their leaders were voted "CEO of the Year," because of the distractions that came with the fame, like writing a book and hobnobbing at Davos. A truly great CEO cannot be distracted; she must remain a great intelligence gatherer, a great communicator and ultimately a great decider, and meetings are one of her most important tools.
The existence of great CEOs does not mean, of course, that the average one deserves his millions—although CEOs, never known for their modesty, may think they do. When Dow Jones reporter Kaveri Niththyananthan questioned the CEO of U.K.-based EasyJet, Andy Harrison, about his 2009 compensation of nearly $4.5 million, Mr. Harrison smiled and replied, "I'm worth it." When a congressman suggested to Ford CEO Alan Mulally that he should take a salary of one dollar, given the near-bankrupt state of the U.S. auto industry, Mr. Mulally replied, "I think I am OK where I am"—this in a year when he took home nearly $17 million in compensation. (Mr. Mulally seems to know the value of meetings; he has listed "You learn from everybody" as one of the key attributes of great CEOs.)
What Messrs. Harrison and Mulally no doubt had in mind were their companies' profit numbers. Profits had fallen by 64% the year Mr. Harrison claimed to be worth his millions, but he could point to five straight years of profits as EasyJet CEO—a rare achievement in the airline business. Mr. Mulally's $17 million payday came on the heels of a billion-dollar turnaround that transformed a $970 million loss at Ford into profits of nearly $700 million just a year later.
But are CEOs really so much smarter (and better at running meetings) than the rest of us? Possibly, but that's not the right question to ask. To claim they're worth it, CEOs don't actually have to be all that much better than the runner-up for the job.
In "superstar economies," as in the market for CEOs, even a slight edge in ability can translate into enormous payoffs. That's why Major League Baseball pitchers earn so much more than triple-A players, despite throwing fastballs only a couple of miles an hour faster. When the stakes are in the billions, shareholders should be more than happy to sign off on a multimillion-dollar paycheck, even if the recipient is just slightly better than the next best option.
By the same token, if CEOs' decisions have such a disproportionate impact on corporate profits, you might be willing to pay a lot to motivate them to put in extra hours in the office. And this view helps to explain—if not always to justify—many of the privileges that come with a corner office: the corporate jet that gives CEOs more face time with employees in different locales; the chauffeured limo that frees up time during the morning commute.
As for another controversial perk, what could possibly be the point of paying CEOs for getting fired? The so-called golden parachute goes back to a perfectly reasonable attempt to get CEOs to create even more value for their companies. Introduced by TWA in 1961, the practice took off during the merger wave of the 1980s, when executives started pondering whether it was smarter to seek out merger opportunities to make money for shareholders or to hold on to their jobs. Mostly they opted for keeping their jobs, often to the detriment of the stock price.
As a result, shareholders gave CEOs an escape valve that, the reasoning went, would encourage them to work in the long-term interests of their companies. Even one of the fiercest critics of CEO compensation, Harvard Law School's Lucian Bebchuk, reports in recent research with Alma Cohen and Charles Wang that golden parachutes do motivate CEOs to find merger-and-acquisition opportunities and, as a result, to extract more takeover premiums for shareholders.
So maybe we should be a bit more understanding of Gillette's board, which awarded a severance package worth well over $160 million to CEO James Kilts after the company was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2005, in what Gillette shareholder Warren Buffett called a "dream deal." (And Merrill's Mr. Thain? He oversaw the company's acquisition by Bank of America at the height of the financial meltdown, a deal that remains shrouded in controversy, in part as a result of $4 billion in 11th-hour bonuses handed out in December 2008. By the time the dust cleared, Mr. Thain walked away with a seemingly modest $1.5 million severance package.)
Yet executives whose ineptitude or laziness makes their companies ripe for takeover also get rewarded sometimes. Indeed, Prof. Bebchuk's study finds that companies where executives are protected by golden parachutes generally trade at lower levels than those where CEOs don't have them. But how should we think about such pay-for-incompetence? Instead of shaking our heads at the injustice, we can consider it an unfortunate side effect of well-motivated incentives. Designing severance packages more carefully is a worthy idea, but simply eradicating them could do real damage.
Before joining the shareholder activists calling for CEOs to be held accountable and stripped of their more obvious excesses, it's worth pausing to think about why those perks exist in the first place. Sometimes it's the result of slick managers who have co-opted their boards, but sometimes it's simply that we can't easily distinguish good CEOs from bad ones before the employment contract is signed. Seeing CEOs make millions for being fired—and even for losing money—may be hard to stomach, but it is collateral damage in the economics of motivating them to run their companies well.—Messrs. Fisman and Sullivan are the authors of "The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office," published this month by Twelve.
Corrections & Amplifications
The remodeling of John Thain's office at Merrill Lynch in 2007 included a $35,000 commode (a piece of furniture). An earlier version of this article said the project included a $35,000 toilet.
A version of this article appeared January 12, 2013, on page C1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: In Defense Of the CEO.
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Unused, dead spaces is not something uncommon, in fact we have seen many people who have tried to get rid of such areas with the use of faux doors and curtains. Such unused spaces may be the result of kitchen designs made by the previous owner or because of some fault of your own, nevertheless, here we will try to provide a solution to the issue of dead spaces.
The best way to mitigate such problems is by not getting into them at the first place. Designing the kitchen with sizes of appliances in mind will help you put things to order without wasting an inch. For those of us who has to make the best out of second hand deals, things have to handled in a different manner. In fact we do not get into such problems until we have new appliances which need more storage space. New kitchen cabinets, refrigerators, dish washers an garbage disposal units require some space which raises the issue of utilizing unused areas.
There was not a better way of dealing with this until cabinet manufacturers invented kitchen addons. These can be placed in unused areas without violating the aesthetics of the kitchen. For places where addons do not fit, try fillers and store cutting boards and trays. Is there an unused corner cabinet in your kitchen? Get a Lazy Susan installed and use it to place cutlery and knives or spices.
Making use of dead spaces isn’t that hard after all, but it is best to avoid with careful planning.
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People who take time out of the workforce -- to raise children, to care for a sick parent, to explore other career opportunities -- often find it extremely difficult to "step back" in.
I assume that this is a problem of privilege: I don't know how people earning minimum wage would have this option.
This is also a likely engine of entrepreneurial development. (If you leave your banking career for 7 years to stay home with your kids, and can't get back in, you may wind up starting your own business.)
One company with a sustainability effort that extends to people is UBS: this past weekend, UBS underwrote a course for 60 women with advanced degrees who seek to re-enter the workforce. Students participated in workshops to pinpoint skills they need to update, receive coaching and set goals for their re-entry.
Bravo to UBS and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School for creating this groundbreaking course.
(Or maybe I should say, "brava"!)
There's a positive implication for small business, too. Forward-thinking small firms can employ these people as consultants or employees.
Our yoga studio employed a great woman in her early 40s who had experience in cosmetics marketing. She had lots of great ideas. There was a learning curve for her, though, too, to understand how a Mom & Pop business differed from a major cosmetics firm.
Spending three figures on marketing materials was out out of the question for us...putting an ad in a yoga magazine would not have been an intelligent use of our resources. Our most effective advertising dollars were spent on our (decidedly home-made) website, and in a local free paper that everyone in the neighborhood picks up at the grocery store and in building lobbies.
Small business has a different way of working than large corporations do. But it is possible to move back and forth between the two.
Everyone wins when employers are enlightened enough to help employees translate their skills, whether gained on a trading floor or the kitchen floor, to gainful employment.
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| 0.975109 | 422 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Healthy snacks for entertaining.
3 large carrots (about 1 lb.)
2 large parsnips (about 1 lb.)
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 tsp kosher salt or flaky or coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme
Step 1: After peeling one of the carrots, use the vegetable peeler to peel away long strips from the whole length of the carrot, allowing the strips to drop into a large bowl. Turn the carrot in your hand about 1/4 turn after every 4 or 5 strips, so you'll generally have strips of similar width and length overall. Do the same with the remaining carrots and the parsnips, both of which have a tough core that should be discarded once you get there (the colour tends to change slightly).
Step 2: Pour about 2" of oil into a large heavy saucepan (the oil should not come more than halfway up the sides of the pan). Bring to 375°F over medium heat.
Step 3: While the oil is heating, combine the salt and thyme in a small dish and rub them together between your fingers for a bit to release the aromatics of the thyme.
Step 4: Carefully add a handful of the vegetable strips to the oil and fry until lightly browned and crisp, 1-2 minutes. Use the back of a slotted spoon to gently press the strips down into the oil and spread them out a bit to help ensure even cooking. When crisped, lift out the strips and scatter them on paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining vegetable strips, allowing the oil to reheat between batches as needed.
Step 5: Transfer the chips to a serving bowl, sprinkle the thyme-salt mixture over them, and serve. They will be best served shortly after frying.
See more recipes from Cynthia Nims.
Reprinted with permission from Cynthia Nims' Salty Snacks (2012 Ten Speed Press).
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In this blog post, I’ll try give you an overview of the origin of PSA Stockholm and what were the main reasons to have PSA around you in Stockholm. I think most of you have already heard about PSA through different means like, cultural show, reception of students or by sports event(s) etc.
Let me take you back to 2005 since PSA took its motivation from that year. I came to Sweden, during August 2005 without knowing anyone here before. Luckily I got in touch with some of my batch mates already in Pakistan and planned my journey for Sweden. After stepping in to Swedish soil, we never expected any reception from anyone since none of us have any contact in Sweden. Our study period was started and surprisingly we were invited by some of our senior Pakistani students for an orientation session (keep in mind that no concept of PSA yet discovered). It was a very helping session indeed in which we received almost basics of student life in Sweden. Time passed so quickly and we become the seniors next year for new comers in 2006. Most of the students tried to help new comers on individual’s basis and some of them arranged an orientation session once again. Even some students went to Airport & Central station to guide new comers to their very first day in Sweden.
“Should we reinvent the wheel every year“, that was the question which came into mind of some senior students of 2005 batch. They started brain storming sessions and tried to plan a strategy for helping new students next year through a platform rather than doing individually. It’s hard to name everyone who has been involved in the foundation of PSA Stockholm but Ozair Nazir Kafray. Based on all those brain storming sessions, Ozair, with his team made a conclusion to stop reinventing the wheel and try to work in managed way through a platform. The team started by talking to all the stake holders that is Pakistani Embassy in Stockholm, International Student Advisor at KTH, the Pakistani students in Stockholm and PSA Sweden.
At last in 2007 PSA Stockholm was founded and Ozair was appointed as 1st President of PSA Stockholm until the first election of PSA along with Farooq Ahmad as General Secretary and Murtaza Sabir as Finance Secretary. In that short time, working board had managed to write its constitution which has been approved by Student Union in Stockholm University earlier this year. As per constitution working board is actually a group of three elected members as President, General Secretary and Finance Secretary.
PSA Stockholm aims to play a dual role. Firstly, that of facilitating current and prospective Pakistani students by organizing practical information and creating awareness about the Swedish culture in contrast to social and cultural norms in Pakistan. Secondly, we aim to raise awareness about the culture and identity of Pakistan amongst the diverse student community of Stockholm by arranging Pakistani cultural festivals and information dissemination through our website and seminars.
First elected working board of PSA Stockholm (Shujahat Samandar as president, Junaid Tarar as General Secretary and Sammar Abbas as Finance Secretary) took charge from the pioneers in October 2009. Newly elected board played an outstanding role to make PSA a successful association. Apart from other contributions, working board managed to register PSA Stockholm in Södertörns Högskola and Stockholm university student unions. Last but not least they had arranged a successful event, “Pakistan cultural Festival” in KTH main campus which was 1st ever event of that kind.
Second election of PSA Stockholm was held in April 2010. Sohail Safdar as President, Muhammad Farooq as General Secretary and Sharique Javaid as Finance Secretary of PSA Stockholm. Active working board has done some changes in organizational structure to achieve their goals for their tenure. Active working board has been doing tremendously well and arranged 1st ever inter-university cricket tournament which was one of their best events since they took charge earlier this year.
As previous years, PSA Stockholm has been doing some proactive measures to facilitate the new students to Sweden. I hope members of PSA Stockholm will come forward once again to make all necessary arrangement.
Good luck PSA.
Tags: PSA Stockholm
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Some folks strain to find their agenda in every event. For Georgie Anne Geyer, state-mandated population control provides the only hope for her agenda: saving the environment, whatever that means. So she sees the heat, drought and fires this summer in Russia as proof that Malthus was right, all along. Yet …
While it is true that today’s disasters are affecting the near-term supply of food, the issue is not the current world population. The issue is these disasters were unplanned.
Had world farmers known last year that Russia would harvest less grain this year, more grain worldwide would have been planted. Problem solved.
Unplanned disasters are tough, regardless the population. Reduce the population to Robinson Crusoe and Friday, and a bad harvest would still lead to hardship.
But for Geyer, a logical sleight of hand and she has a non sequitur to blame mankind once again.
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CINCINNATI -- Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are working with state officials and relief workers to determine the biggest needs in Ohio two days after severe storms swept through the state.
The storms knocked out power to 1 million customers Friday evening. By late Sunday the customers without power numbered 447,789.
President Barack Obama on Saturday declared a federal emergency in Ohio. His action followed a request by Gov. John Kasich, who had declared a state emergency and called out the National Guard.
American Electric Power has about 435,000 customers without power and Duke Energy has about 12,789 in Ohio without electricity.
By DAN SEWELL, Associated Press
The Associated Press
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Viva la school trip!
Manhattan's Upper West Side may be the most liberal neighborhood in the United States. So who's surprised that a public school there wanted to show kids real Communism, up close and in-person? In 2004 and 2005, students from the area's Beacon School took school-led field trips to Cuba, in violation of federal law. This year, the New York City Education Department found out about this unapproved shuttle diplomacy and forbade a 2007 visit. But the school went to Havana anyway. New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have placed the matter under investigation. Klein told reporters, "It shouldn't have happened. We expressly said no." But New York Lieutenant Governor David Patterson, whose stepdaughter went on the 2005 trip, was less condemnatory. Describing the visit, during which students, among other things, interviewed a 15-year-old prostitute, Patterson said, "I've probably learned more, hearing about her experiences, than I have been able to read in books or watch in films about the Communist dictatorship." Then he reclined in his chair, lit a Cohiba, and returned to his game of dominos.
"Manhattan School Challenges U.S. Rules and Sends Students on a Spring Break Trip to Cuba," by David M. Herszenhorn, New York Times, April 17, 2007
blog comments powered by Disqus
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THINGS TO DO: CAMPING | BEACHES | SURFING | WALKING
Bush Camping is a must in the Kimberley to be able to truly appreciate the wide expanses and the fresh air. Don’t forget access may be limited to many locations during, and for some time after the wet season, due to hazardous road conditions.
The Dampier Peninsular has several campsite locations. Most are not powered and with limited or no camping facilities – only an option for the self-sufficient camper. Alternatives to ‘bush camps’ can also be found on the Peninsular, from a basic cabin to the ultimate in luxury camping. There is something for everyone. As a large proportion of the Peninsular is Aboriginal land you may need a permit to enter some areas. No matter where you go, treat all places as though they were your home and the home of your ancestors.
The infamous Gibb River Road, which is between Derby and the Wyndham turn off, is 640km of mostly unsealed roads and stunning scenery. Now less of a track, the road, during peak season is more of a highway for 4WD enthusiasts. Camping is only permitted at designated locations, found mostly at the National and Conservation Parks located near the track. Please obey the rules of the bush, take your rubbish with you, tread lightly, use gas cookers, toilet appropriately and, respect, for what its worth, a truly iconic wilderness adventure.
Several of the Kimberley National Parks and Conservation Parks accommodate campers. These include; Windjana Gorge National Park, King Leopold Range Conservation Park, Purnululu National Park, Wolf Creek Crater and Mitchel River National Park. Access and camping facilities vary, so contact the closest Department of Environment and Conservation office for more information.
Cable Beach is the mecca for many; 22km of pristine white sands, perfect conditions day in, day out. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was Broome; camels, wide white beaches and awesome sunsets. But there’s plenty more to see:
Town Beach is ideal for the kids. Opening into the Bay, its waters rarely even ripple. With a park and café nearby, you’re set for the day. During the dry season for about three days every month the moon rises over Roebuck Bay leaving a serene reflection on the mudflat sheen. This is known locally as ‘Staircase to the Moon’. Locals and tourists don’t ever seem to tire of this image which is something special. Most Staircase evening’s markets are held at Town Beach selling food and local products.
Around 360km south of Broome, Eighty Mile Beach is another ‘wow’ factor; more pristine white sands, perfect conditions and pleasantly remote.
But postcard beaches aren’t everything. Head up the Peninsular or to Entrance Point or Gantheume Point and enjoy a different coastal experience. Many of these beaches provide great rock hopping and awesome contrasts of white sands and red cliffs along side vivid blue waters. Meander about the rock pools and peer under the rock ledges. They are teeming with life. The colours and the critters will entertain you for hours. Tread with caution; and look, don’t poke. Many of these animals have some form of defence and you don’t want them to test it on you.
Authentic dinosaur footprints can also be seen at Gantheume Point and near Crab Creek on a low tide. Millions of years old, they are a gentle reminder of our short time on this earth.
Don’t forget, from October to April, irrikanji jellyfish are more common, in particular, in the Bay. It must be stressed, that jelly fish are not limited to these months, but records suggest they are more prevalent during these times.
Whether you are launching a boat, setting up a picnic or going rock hopping, check the tide chart first! Don’t be caught unawares.
Dogs are allowed on Cable Beach south of the Surf Club only. Dogs must be kept on lead until approximately 200m south of the stairs (look for the sign). Dog-poo bags are usually provided, if in doubt, bring your own. Use them! “The tide will take it away” is an irresponsible and unacceptable excuse.
Though not renown for its surf, Broome’s beaches can be epic on their day. During the wet season an offshore cyclone will generate fantastic swell. The offshore wind and large (up to 3m) clean waves will motivate even the most lethargic of surfers. Cyclone surf can last from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the speed and direction at which the cyclone is moving.
The dry season months aren’t without their fun. From May to August classic surf is generated by winter storms in distant southern oceans. These days will have blue skies, perfect temperatures and clean waves up to 2 meters. If you have always wanted to this is the time to learn to surf.
The best location is Cable Beach just north of the Surf Club (south of the rocks), but if it gets too crowded (unlikely!) waves can also be found elsewhere along the 20 or so kilometers of Cable Beach. Cable Beach surf makes for interesting times as the massive 9 meter tides constantly change the banks. As conditions can change so rapidly, keep an eye on our web cam for current conditions.
Obey the surf rules and you’ll find Broome surfer’s very accepting, unlike other locations where localism is rife. Don’t forget, particularly during the months of October to April, to protect yourself from irrikanji stingers.
Long distance tracks with or without camping facilities are not provided for around Broome. The town is surrounded either by water or pastoral stations, which foil such an undertaking. Moreover, the availability of drinking water, limited access, the extreme climate and the remoteness of the area are not conducive to the set up of walk trails such as we see in the east and south of Australia.
However, Broome does have ‘Minyirr Park’, which remains somewhat a hidden treasure. Tucked away behind the sand dunes in a unique vine thicket ecosystem (declared as a threatened ecological community in 2001), created largely by specific drainage and topography conditions, you will find a cool, lush and vibrant ecosystem. The Park has numerous walk trails throughout the dunes and bushland. Minyirr, meaning ‘birthplace’, is of great cultural significance to the local Aboriginal people who believe the Park site is where Aboriginals were created.
Many short and longer walks are available in the region’s National and Conservation Parks. Enquire at closest Department of Environment and Conservation office for more information.
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WASHINGTON - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has arrived in Washington with an
entourage that includes 12 cabinet ministers and several other high ranking
officials from his government. Beginning on Tuesday and for the next three
days, Karzai will spend several hours in meetings with top administration
officials, most notably Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack
The rest of his team will sit down to talks with their counterparts in the US
government to discuss cooperation on everything from education and health to
employment and agriculture.
The visit comes at a critical time in relations between Kabul and Washington,
which is pouring billions of dollars of aid and thousands of US troops into the
country. Karzai's show of
government unity and openness toward the United States is being seen as the
Afghan leader's attempt to improve his reputation with his government's most
Karzai shocked US officials just a few weeks ago when he accused the United
Nations and international community of perpetrating a "vast fraud" in last
summer's contested elections, which he won. He also threatened to join the
Taliban if foreign interference in his government continued, according to
several lawmakers present for his remarks.
Tensions ran so high that at one point there was talk of the White House
canceling its invitation to Karzai to come to Washington. Speaking on April 7,
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, "We certainly would evaluate whatever
continued or further remarks President Karzai makes as to whether that's
constructive, to have such a meeting."
Tempers cooled as each side presumably calculated the cost of prolonged bad
relations. Without Karzai's full cooperation on governance and security
objectives, Obama can't meet his goal of beginning a troop withdrawal next
summer. Without Obama's support, Karzai's plan to hold reconciliation and
reintegration talks with the Taliban will lack legitimacy and likely fail.
Washington is so keen to repair the frayed relationship that Obama bluntly
instructed his national security team to publicly show Karzai respect during
this visit, according to the Washington Post. The newspaper quoted senior
administration officials as saying that "during a White House meeting [in
April] Obama made it clear that Karzai is the chief US partner in the war
effort, which will be reflected in his visit to Washington."
Coming several months after both Karzai's election to a second five-year term
and the start of a new White House strategy aimed at beginning troop
withdrawals next summer, White House officials have cast the visit as an
opportunity for both sides to take stock of successes, identify areas of
concern and renew their strategic partnership in pursuit of mutual goals for
At a briefing for reporters on May 7, White House Deputy National Security
Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes emphasized the potential, not
the problems, in the relationship, saying, "There is a clear set of shared
objectives between the Afghan government and the United States."
"This can be an important opportunity for the two sides to come together and
take stock of where we are, take stock of what the next steps are, what
additional steps might be taken, what additional support the international
community can provide, and what additional steps the Afghans can take to
implement their own plans as it relates to improving governance and security in
their country," Rhodes said.
One of the White House's priorities in its talks with Karzai will be evaluating
what progress he's made against corruption. Obama has made the issue one of his
key benchmarks of progress in improving Afghanistan's governance.
Administration officials point to "positive steps, both at the national level
and the sub-national level". But they also say more needs to be done.
Speaking on May 10 in Washington to a group of policy scholars and journalists,
Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said the Afghan delegation "will definitely commit
[itself] to doing more when it comes to [combating] corruption".
But by far, the centerpiece of Karzai's visit will be discussion with US
officials of the peace jirga (council) he has planned for late May in
More than a few observers see the ultimate goal of his visit as winning US
support for a process that could allow Taliban "foot soldiers" to lay down
their arms and rejoin Afghan society, and might even see Taliban leaders
joining the government.
The United States supports Karzai's efforts to reach out to members of the
Taliban, but there are strict caveats to that support.
United States Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry said on May 10 that the
two governments agree on what conditions must be met by fighters who want to
leave the insurgency. "I think there's clarity right now between our two
governments on what the common principles should be as Afghanistan moves
forward with reconciliation," Eikenberry said. "Those principles, I think are
They include renouncing the use of violence, severing all ties with al-Qaeda or
other terrorist groups, and embracing the Afghan constitution and the full
range of freedoms and rights it enshrines. The White House has made a point of
emphasizing that that includes women's rights, which Secretary Clinton has made
a priority at the State Department.
Karzai spokesman Omar said Kabul and Washington are "100 percent" in agreement
on how Taliban fighters might be reintegrated into society but that differences
remain on how a peace process with the group's commanders might work.
"We have issues to discuss when it comes to reconciliation, and we definitely
know the concerns of our international partners," he said. "The concerns which
exist here in the United States as to who we are talking to, what the
conditions will be, what the effect on women will be when it comes to
reconciliation, and all the other questions that do not put in question the
program as a whole, but the bits and pieces, which can be discussed and which
can be resolved."
Omar said the Afghan delegation plans to raise other points of disagreement
with US officials, including the level of civilian casualties and the need to
speed up the transfer of US-run detention facilities - like the infamous Bagram
prison - to Afghan authorities.
But the overall focus of the trip, he said, would be "looking into the future
rather than ... the past."
"We would like to be frank here in Washington and however nice we can be, we
will raise issues that we believe if addressed jointly by Afghanistan and the
United States will help us strengthen this partnership," Omar said.
Karzai's last official day in Washington will include meetings with members of
congress, which is currently debating whether to approve another US$33 billion
in spending in Afghanistan.
Considering that lawmakers from both political parties were vocal in their
disapproval of Karzai's inflammatory rhetoric last month, however, his
reception on Capitol Hill is likely to be a cool one.
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Yoani Sanchez, a Cuban blogger and fierce critic of the governments of Raul and Fidel Castro, embarked on a long-denied trip abroad Sunday.
According to Sanchez, she has been repeatedly refused an exit permit for years because of her high-profile opposition to the government.
In January, Cuba ended its unpopular policy of requiring citizens to obtain a letter of invitation and an exit permit before leaving the country.
Dissidents said the policy was used to punish them for their anti-government advocacy.
While other government critics have left the country under the new law, Sanchez is the highest-profile figure in the dissident community to test the easing of restrictions.
Flanked by international news media, Sanchez quickly checked in for her flight to Brazil on Sunday and passed through an immigration checkpoint at Havana's Jose Marti Airport.
"In transit in Panama," Sanchez tweeted on Sunday night during a layover on her way to Recife, Brazil, to attend a conference on freedom of expression. "Many impressions."
Sanchez said she planned an 80-day tour of some 10 countries, including Brazil, Mexico and the United States.
Much of the funding for her trip, Sanchez said, came from donors and from people offering her a place to stay for free.
Sanchez has more than 400,000 followers on Twitter, but with irregular access to the Internet in Cuba, she said had been forced to communicate with the public by sending cell phone text messages that are uploaded to the social messaging service.
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Switch to Forum Live View Human thinking
|1 year ago :: Feb 27, 2012 - 11:36AM #1|
Human thinking concludes that God is cruel and uncompassionate because He intended to destroy all mankind with a flood. If God created mankind with a word of power, why would He not destroy man by the same humane method? Why go to the trouble of drowning us? That’s horrible and appalling.
Whatever His reason to do so, we just might learn about Gods nature in regard to sinful man.
Human thinking reasons, "Is there a way to justify what God did to people in the OT? I mean, what do we say to people who are non Christians when they ask how God could be so cruel?"
Human thinking usually misses or denies the obvious divine understanding. When the human intellect considers "innocent people", the determination is innocent of doing wrong. This is not even within the scope of God's right to do as He wishes.
He is the creator and thusly has the right to not only create, but also to manage His creation as He sees fit. This is true whether or not one is "innocent". He has made each and every single person an appointment with death. Being innocent will have no effect upon deterring meeting this appointment. It's gonna happen regardless if one is innocent or not.
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2 "Go down at once to the potter's house; there I will reveal My words to you."
3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, working away at the wheel.
4 But the jar that he was making from the clay became flawed in the potter's hand, so he made it into another jar, as it seemed right for him to do.
5 The word of the Lord came to me:
6 "House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?"this is the Lord's declaration. "Just like clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel.
7 At one moment I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, tear down, and destroy it.
8 However, if that nation I have made an announcement about, turns from its evil, I will not bring the disaster on it I had planned.
9 At another time I announce that I will build and plant a nation or a kingdom.
10 However, if it does what is evil in My sight by not listening to My voice, I will not bring the good I had said I would do to it.
11 So now, say to the men of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring harm to you and make plans against you. Turn now, each from your evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds.
12 But they will say: It's hopeless. We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart."
30 There is no wisdom and no understanding And no counsel against the Lord.
22 "Behold, God is exalted by His power; who teaches like Him?
23 Who has assigned Him His way, or who has said, 'You have done wrong'?
34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?"
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Pfizer said that the approval will allow for XELJANZ to be used as monotherapy (alone) or in combination with methotrexate or other non-biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.
What may interest investors is that this was the first approved RA treatment in a new class of medicines called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, It is also the first of class to be approved to treat RA in over 10 years. XELJANZ is approved as a second-line medicine for RA, which means treatment with a biologic is not required before taking XELJANZ.
The study evaluated approximately 5,000 patients from a broad cross-section of the RA patient population.
There are some issues here that will require ongoing safety measurements. Today’s approval said that XELJANZ should not be used in combination with biologic DMARDs or potent immunosuppressives, such as azathioprine and cyclosporine. Safety findings observed in the overall XELJANZ RA program include serious and other important infections, including tuberculosis and herpes zoster; malignancies, including lymphoma; gastrointestinal perforations; decreased neutrophil and lymphocyte counts; decreased hemoglobin; liver enzyme elevations; and lipid elevations. The most common serious adverse events were serious infections. The most commonly reported adverse events were upper respiratory tract infections, headache, diarrhea and nasopharyngitis.
On the two dosages Pfizer said, “XELJANZ was studied in both a 5 mg and 10 mg twice-daily dosing regimen. The FDA has approved the 5 mg twice-daily dose in the second-line setting and has indicated that further data are required to assess the benefit: risk profile of the 10 mg twice-daily dose. Pfizer will continue to generate additional clinical data on the 10 mg twice-daily dose and work with the FDA to understand the additional data needed for further assessment of the 10 mg twice-daily dose.”
We will not proclaim this the next blockbuster drug (over $1 billion in annual sales) for Pfizer until we see formal pricing for the drug and the actual size of the real target population. Pfizer said that RA affects approximately 1.6 million Americans and 23.7 million people worldwide. The Arthritis Foundation’s figures show that there are an estimated 1.3 million people in the United States who have RA. The actual target market will be smaller than either the 1.3 or 1.6 million counted in the total market because of exclusions from other medications and conditions.
Pfizer closed up 0.5% at $24.71 and shares are up 1.2% at $25.01 in the after-hours session. With a market cap of $184 billion, it generally takes a lot to influence a move one way or the other here.
JON C. OGG
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ST.PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -- Alexei German, a Russian film director best known for his works offering a bitter view of life in the Soviet Union under dictator Josef Stalin, died Thursday, his son said.
German, 74, died of heart failure at a hospital in his hometown, St. Petersburg, his son, Alexei German Jr., said in a blog post.
German came to prominence internationally for his 1983 production "My Friend Ivan Lapshin" about a police investigator battling a criminal gang. Censors blocked the film's release for two years because of its realistic depiction of Soviet life in the wake of the Stalinist terror of the late 1930s.
The release of the film heralded the era of reforms launched by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and was aired on Soviet television in 1986 to much clamor and public debate.
The production of "Khrustalyov, My Car," a grotesque narrative centered on Stalin's final days, endured multiple delays due to Russia's post-Soviet economic meltdown. It received a hostile reception at its Cannes premiere in 1998, but later attained cult status.
In a 2012 article, critic Anton Dolin observed that "to many Russian critics, cinephiles, and viewers, German is their national cinema's foremost figure after (Andrei) Tarkovsky."
"Others insist that, in fact, he is more important and more original," Dolin wrote.
German's output was typically starkly shot and marked in its emphasis on mood and oppressive atmosphere over traditional linear narrative. His films are unified by an unflinchingly critical view of Soviet history.
His first solo directorial work, "Trial on The Road" -- made in 1971 but barred from release until 1986 -- was based on a war story by his father, a famous novelist, and told the story of an escaped prisoner of war compelled to win back the trust of his comrades during World War II.
Although structurally conventional, the film drew the authorities' disapproval for German's unusual decision to make a hero of a character initially viewed as a Nazi collaborator.
Alexei German Jr., who is also a celebrated director, said work on his father's sixth and final film was all but done.
"The film 'It Is Hard to Be a God' is in effect finished. All that remains is the audio dubbing. Everything else is ready. It will be completed in the foreseeable future," he said.
German Jr. said his father worked on the film despite his failing health.
"The making of the film was long and painful," German Jr. said in a post on Ekho Mosky radio station's website. "It was made without government money."
Even before its release, the film has generated a lot of public expectations and intense discussion, with some seeing it as a stinging satire on President Vladimir Putin's Russia, full of grim predictions for the future.
The Lenfilm studio, with which German worked over his entire career, said his funeral would take place Sunday in St. Petersburg.
German is also survived by his wife, Svetlana Karmalita.
Peter Leonard contributed from Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A Philadelphia bicyclist has teamed up with a cat for tandem rides.
Morgan Freeman can't stay awake during a TV interview. (Video)
The Nickelodeon star's antics continue in New York City.
Vegas's Neon Museum offers night tours of nightlife icons.
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It’s Saturday afternoon on a working farm in the Midwest. Kids ride along as baled hay is taken to the barn. At 12:15 PM, lightning strikes a power line. That gets the attention of the people in the truck and the animals in the fields... and under the fields. In Thunderstorm, by Arthur Geisert, there are almost no words, the only “words” are time signatures as the thunderstorm rolls across the farm, getting stronger and causing problems for everyone around.
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Smoothies can be delicious. Smoothies are also a way to consume large quantities of sugar in liquid. I find I can consume several hundred calories in liquid without even noticing, so I limit my smoothie intake. However, a good milk-based smoothie is a handy breakfast on a busy morning, and, with a bit of peanut butter, it can even be somewhat healthy. I’ve been working on ways to eat more vegetables, though, and they don’t go so well into smoothies.
I’ve seen several recipes for Green Monster smoothies lately, and my sister and I have been trying out and adapting a recipe she found. The basic idea of a Green Monster smoothie is: add spinach. You can easily fit a serving of veggies into a smoothie this way. I like some good raw spinach now and again, so I might not mind if this tasted like spinach, but it doesn’t. Mine typically taste like a standard peanut butter and banana smoothie. This is definitely the sort of thing I don’t measure, so it’s hard for me to write the actual recipe. Here’s a rough outline and some suggestions.
Green Monster Smoothie
- 1 frozen banana. I buy bananas, eat as many as we do while they’re yellow, and freeze them when they start going brown.
- 1 container yogurt. 1/2 cup or 1 cup, whatever. Plain is good. Greek is fine. I use homemade yogurt. The sister says blueberry is good. Or, use plain yogurt and add a few blueberries. Sometimes, I freeze my yogurt and pop in the whole frozen lump–I have a good blender.
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter. Or so. I used Nutella in the smoothie pictured. It was tasty, but the smoothie doesn’t look as amazingly green as typical.
- 1 cup milk
- 4 cups of spinach. Or so. This is hard to measure, since it packs so well. Judging by the 8 oz bag of spinach I bought, I probably use about 3 ounces.
- Any other smoothie goodies–wheat germ, flaxseed meal, any other particular favorites you may have.
Toss in a blender and blend well. Then blend some longer, or the spinach will still make little pieces that are gritty. Really blend this stuff. Oh, and blend it a little bit more.
I’m working on what happens if the spinach is (a) purchased fresh and then frozen before use or (b) purchased frozen. My initial trials shows that method (a) is fine, since the spinach doesn’t thaw and get mushy in a smoothie. I’m hesitant to try method (b) because, well, I just can’t handle those boxes of spinach from the frozen vegetable section. If I get up the stomach to try it, I’ll let you know how it is.
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University funding in crisis?
ACADEMIC economists like to make fun of businesspeople: they want competition when they enter a new market but are quick to lobby for subsidies and barriers to competitors once they get in. Yet scholars like me are no better. We work in the least competitive and most subsidized industry of all: higher education.
I do not want to suggest that helping underprivileged students attend college is bad. A true free-market system equalizes opportunities, if not for fairness, at least for efficiency: talent should not be wasted.
The best way to fix this inefficiency is to address the root of the problem: most bright students do not have any collateral and cannot easily pledge their future income. Yet the venture-capital industry has shown that the private sector can do a good job at financing new ventures with no collateral. So why can’t they finance bright students?
Investors could finance students’ education with equity rather than debt. In exchange for their capital, the investors would receive a fraction of a student’s future income — or, even better, a fraction of the increase in her income that derives from college attendance. (This increase can be easily calculated as the difference between the actual income and the average income of high school graduates in the same area.)
This is not a modern form of indentured servitude, but a voluntary form of taxation, one that would make only the beneficiaries of a college education — not all taxpayers — pay for the costs of it.
This proposal is worth discussing not because there is much danger that it will literally come to pass but because it shines sunlight on the mind-set of many conservatives, exposing a way of thinking that does in fact result in many policy decisions that are hurting American higher education.
There are lots of problems with Zingales’s proposal, but the most important one is that it conceptualizes higher education as an almost purely private good. His new system, he says “would make only the beneficiaries of a college education—not all taxpayers—pay for the costs of it.”
But of course the reason that American taxpayers have long subsidized college attendance as well as K-12 education, is that we are all “beneficiaries” to some extent when other members of society are better educated. Elderly people, who don’t have kids in public schools or in public universities, nevertheless benefit from the scientific and literary advances made possible by the education of others. As Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz have so persuasively documented in The Race Between Education and Technology, we all benefit when America invests in education and make the U.S. able to compete internationally and raise the standard of living in this country. And we all benefit when education helps democratic citizens better evaluate debates and arguments under our system of self-governance.
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Barrell v. Tilton - 119 U.S. 637 (1887)
U.S. Supreme Court
Barrell v. Tilton, 119 U.S. 637 (1887)
Barrell v. Tilton
Argued December 6, 1886
Decided January 10, 1887
119 U.S. 637
In Oregon, there is no sound reason why a married woman, in possession with her husband of property which rightfully belongs to another, may not be jointly sued with him for its recovery.
A constitutional provision that "the property and possessory rights of every married woman . . . shall not be subject to the debts or contracts of the husband" does not control her voluntary disposal of it, and in the absence of other restrictions, she may mortgage it to secure the payment of a debt owing from the husband. In this case, that question is not open to contention.
A court has control over its judgments during the term at which they are rendered, and may change their form to suit the purposes of justice, and though it would be more orderly in the second to refer to the first and to explain the changes, it is not essential to do so if a comparison of the two judgments or decrees discloses the changes or modifications made.
This was an action for the possession of a tract of land containing thirteen acres and a quarter of an acre in Multnomah County, Oregon. The plaintiff was a citizen of New York, and the defendants are citizens of Oregon. In the complaint, they were alleged to be husband and wife, though they were not sued as such, and no averment founded upon that relationship was made; they were sued simply as parties in occupation of the premises.
The complaint alleges that the plaintiff is the owner in fee of the land and lawfully entitled to its possession, describing it; that the defendants are in its possession and wrongfully withhold it from him, and that the property is of the value of $13,000.
The defendant, Colburn Barrell, answered the complaint, setting up that the plaintiff deraigns title through a conveyance from William S. Ladd and wife, citizens of Oregon, bearing date on the 28th day of September, 1882, which was executed collusively with the sole intent of giving the federal court jurisdiction of the action and with the understanding that at some future time, the land, or its proceeds should be reconveyed to them. The defendant further answered that he defended only for two acres and three-eighths of an acre of the land, and as to that he denied the ownership of the plaintiff or that the plaintiff had any right to the possession thereof, and alleged that he is the owner himself, and entitled to its possession; that as to the other part of the tract described in the complaint, consisting of eleven acres, he was merely a tenant of Aurelia J. Barrell. The answer also set up that the plaintiff deraigns title through an instrument purporting to be a conveyance absolute, executed by the defendants to Ladd, bearing date on the 18th of January, 1877, and that such conveyance was intended as a mortgage to secure the payment to him of $3,850, with interest, which sum the defendant is ready and willing to pay.
The defendant, Aurelia J. Barrell, demurred to the complaint on the ground that as the wife of Colburn Barrell, she was improperly joined with him in the action, and that the complaint did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action because, she being sued as the wife of her codefendant, there were no allegations in the complaint of a cause of action for which she, as such, was responsible.
The court overruled the demurrer, and Aurelia answered, setting up, as in the answer to Colburn Barrell, the collusive character of the conveyance of Ladd and wife to the plaintiff on the 28th of September, 1882, under which he asserts title to the premises, and further that she defended merely for
eleven acres, as to which she denied the ownership of the plaintiff or his right of possession and alleged that she is the owner herself and rightfully entitled to its possession. She also set up, as in Colburn Barrell's answer, the conveyance by the defendants to Ladd, through whom the plaintiff claims the eleven acres, dated January 18, 1877, and avers that such conveyance was intended as a mortgage on her separate estate as security for the payment of the sum owed by her husband to Ladd, with interest thereon.
To these answers the plaintiff replied, traversing their material averments, except that it admitted that the conveyance of the defendants to Ladd on the 18th of January, 1877, was intended as a mortgage to secure the payment of a debt by Colburn Barrell to him, and stated that in December, 1879, he instituted a suit in the circuit court of Oregon for Multnomah County against the defendants for the purpose of having that conveyance declared to be a mortgage and for a decree foreclosing the same and for a sale of the premises; that in that suit, the defendants appeared and defended, setting up all the facts contained in their separate answers in this case; that such proceedings were had therein that on the 19th of March, 1880, a final decree was rendered declaring the conveyance to be a mortgage, and that its condition had been broken, and decreeing that the property be sold, and that the defendants, and all persons claiming under them, be barred and foreclosed of all right and interest in it; that under this decree, the property was sold by the Sheriff of Multnomah County after due advertisement and in the manner directed, and at such sale William S. Ladd became the purchaser; that the sale was confirmed, and on the 25th of August, 1880, the sheriff executed a deed of the property to him; that no part of the property has been redeemed, and that no appeal has been taken from the decree, which remains unreversed, and that the plaintiff is the immediate grantee of Ladd.
On the trial of the case, the plaintiff introduced the conveyance executed by the defendants to William S. Ladd of the property described in the complaint, dated the 18th of January, 1877, and a certified transcript of the record of the suit
brought by him against them in the state court to have the conveyance adjudged to be a mortgage, and for its foreclosure, and the sale of the premises, showing the decree and order for the sale, and the confirmation of the sale. The plaintiff also introduced the conveyance by the sheriff to William S. Ladd, Bearing date on the 25th of August, 1880, and also a deed of the premises by Ladd and wife to the plaintiff on the 28th of September, 1882. No evidence was offered as to the alleged collusive purpose in the execution of this deed to give the federal court jurisdiction of the action.
The transcript of the record of the suit showed what purported to be a final decree entered on the 19th of March, 1880, and subsequently a second decree, also purporting to be a final decree, entered on the 23d of March, 1880. The two decrees differed only in the manner in which the property to be sold was described. The difference arose in this way:
At the request of counsel, it was referred to a referee to examine and report upon the propriety of offering the property for sale in parcels, so as to enhance the proceeds therefrom. The referee reported a scheme dividing the property into parcels, and the court directed it to be sold accordingly, upon the condition that, after it had been sold in parcels, if anyone should bid more for it as a whole, it should be sold to him. In the first decree, the metes and bounds of the seven parcels are given separately. In the second, the metes and bounds of the several parcels are given separately, and of the whose as one tract. The process under which the sale was made was a copy of the last decree. When the transcript was offered in evidence, counsel objected to its admissibility on the ground that the record showed that the final decree was made and entered on the 19th of March, 1880, and that the court had no jurisdiction to enter the second decree, under which the sale was made. The court overruled the objection, and the defendants excepted. The defendants then offered in evidence a copy of the judgment lien docket of the state circuit court showing that the decree was docketed on the 19th of March, 1880. No other evidence having been produced, the court instructed the jury that the sheriff's deed conveyed the estate of the defendants to
the grantee therein, William S. Ladd, and that the conveyance from Ladd and wife to the plaintiff vested the estate in him, and therefore that the verdict must be for the plaintiff. To this instruction counsel excepted. The jury accordingly gave a verdict for the plaintiff, upon which judgment was entered, and to review that judgment the defendants have brought the case here on a writ of error.
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Stop Looking at MEdia Launches Internet Humor Website to Showcase New Online Content. Debuts Its Own Original Videos. Establishes Online Content Incubator Designed to Change How Video Content is Produced and Distributed.
Little Dogs: Two Big Guys Rap About Little Dogs
Stop Looking at MEdia (SLAM) today announced the launch of its Internet humor website, http://www.stoplookingatmedia.com. Featuring original videos combining sharp humor and high-quality production with fresh takes on the often absurd world of pop culture, SLAM was established by a group of independent, award-winning media producers to create and showcase new online content and funny media trailblazers. In addition to producing and distributing its own material, SLAM helps other content producers develop, create, promote and market their original ideas.
The launch of SLAM coincides with a rising interest in the growth and potential of Internet TV content companies. YouTube has invested more than $350M in online comedy channels* and VCs are beginning to fund emerging content players.+ According to co-founder Everett Salyer, SLAM seeks to seize this momentum and fill a void in the current marketplace, starting in its own backyard.
“There is a wealth of creative talent in Chicago with amazing ideas, but there is a lack of resources focused exclusively on online content,” said Salyer. “SLAM’s initial goal is to provide a complete solution to individuals and companies in Chicago and throughout the Midwest that are looking for professional video content production and marketing capabilities to create funny media. And we hope to have a blast doing it.”
Funny Is as Funny Does
At SLAM, the creative process begins and ends with funny content. “We help our clients every step of the way, starting with the ideation phase,” said Salyer. “We meet to discuss their ideas and brainstorm ways to make their content as funny as possible. Once we determine direction, we bring together the right set of resources and talent for each project, including some of the brightest and funniest stand up and improv comedians in the business.”
To encourage new talent, SLAM has adopted aninnovative business model based on online advertising to cover most upfront expenses. “SLAM is committed to serving as an incubator for new online content and working with clients to eliminate financial barriers, so we can stay focused on being funny,” said Salyer.
Other pre- and post-production services SLAM offers to clients include character development, script writing, storyboarding, sound design, wardrobe design, set design, shooting, lighting, editing, and post production effects. When a project is complete, SLAM aggressively markets each video to ensure as many views as possible.
The StopLookingatMedia.com site currently features the following original videos from the SLAM production team; additional videos will be added on a regular basis:
- Little Dogs - hip hop video about how hard it is for large men to “keep it real” while walking tiny dogs
- Netdix – NSFW commercial for a company that uses snail mail to distribute sex toys
- It’s My Birthday – Chicago improv video about a homeless man who convinces a passerby that it’s his birthday; produced for SLAM client R&D Comedy, a two-man improv and sketch group formed by Dave Karasik and Ryan Nellen
- The Dale and Darrell Show – first episode of an animated series about two hillbillies from Kentucky that critique pop culture; The Dale and Darrell Show is 100 percent improvised
- Win, Lose, or Die - trailer for an absurd action movie based on classic board games
To see the videos and learn more about SLAM, visit http://www.stoplookingatmedia.com.
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Hate-crime reports down last year, but gays increasingly are targets
Washington state’s reported hate crimes also fell, according to an FBI report.
Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON – More than 6,000 hate crimes were reported to U.S. law-enforcement agencies in 2011, 6 percent fewer than in 2010, the FBI said Monday. Crimes based on victims’ sexual orientation increased slightly.
Nearly half of the 6,222 hate crimes reported in 2011 were racially motivated, the FBI said, with nearly three-quarters directed at African-Americans. More than 16 percent were motivated by anti-white bias.
About 59 percent of the known offenders in all reported hate crimes were white and 21 percent were black, the agency said.
There were 1,508 reported sexual-orientation hate crimes in 2011, up from 1,470 in 2010. Men were victimized most.
Religious bigotry accounted for nearly 20 percent of the hate crimes, most against Jews and 13 percent against Muslims.
Of the 891 offenses based on perceived ethnicity or national origin, the FBI said, 57 percent stemmed from anti-Latino bias.
The numbers in the report reflect only crimes reported to authorities, thus understating the incidence, experts say.
Washington state’s reported hate crimes also fell, from 232 in 2010 to 213 in 2011.
In Seattle, 12 hate crimes were reported to police in 2011, compared with 15 in 2012. Six of the hate crimes in 2011 were motivated by sexual orientation, five were due to racial bias and one based on religion.
Bellevue had 12 reported hate crimes in 2011, seven due to race, four to religion and one to ethnicity, the report said. In 2010, seven hate crimes were reported to police.
Three hate crimes were reported to Everett police in 2011, two for sexual orientation and one because of racial bias, according to the FBI. Two hate crimes were reported in the city in 2010.
The cities with the most reported hate crimes in Washington were Tacoma and Vancouver, according to the FBI.
Tacoma had 24 reported hate crimes in 2011, compared with 35 in 2010.
Vancouver had 19 reported hate crimes in 2011 and 12 in 2010.
Seattle Times staff contributed to this report
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MOUNT VERNON — Over 100 people attended “A Night to Remember,” at The Dan Emmett Conference Center on Tuesday night as Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas led a seminar on learning systems and memory training. The program was sponsored by the Ohio State University Alumni Club of Knox County and the Community Foundation of Mount Vernon and Knox County.
Lucas is known for his memory and learning techniques, but also is recognized for his accomplishments in basketball.
When he was a young boy, he enjoyed basketball and wanted to “be the best,” so much so that he would practice well into the night.
“I shot a minimum of 5,000 shots a day, every summer day, and some days I would shoot more ... but with a purpose, not just shooting but with an incredible purpose. I used my mind as well as my physical abilities to make me a better basketball player, and that is what it takes if you want to be one of the best,” said Lucas.
Playing for Middletown High School, he led Middletown in 76 straight victories. Throughout his grade school, junior high and high school career, he had only one loss and 151 wins. Lucas is acknowledged as an outstanding player in the history of Ohio State University basketball, receiving many awards for his achievements.
He was chosen in 1960 as a player for the Olympic basketball team, under the leadership of coach Pete Newell, and led the team to a gold-medal victory. Lucas was drafted into the NBA, where he played for the Cincinnati Royals, now known as the Sacramento Kings. During his career, he also played for the San Francisco Warriors and the New York Knicks, and has played in seven NBA All-Star games.
Lucas has played in a high school state championship, a college national championship, an Olympic gold medal game and a world professional championship, making him one of only three players to have won in every level of championship competition.
“It was difficult ... but I was very fortunate,” he said, adding that he had the opportunity to work with a great group of supporting players who worked together to achieve the goal.
“If you are going to be one of the best you have to be willing to work harder, have a bigger heart and use your mind as well to be able to succeed,” he said.
Also known as Dr. Memory, Lucas started learning techniques on memorization when he was a young boy. Bored, he turned learning into a fun-filled way to educate himself.
“All children have very active minds, get bored easily and want things to do, and I was no different. I came up with all sorts of mental games to keep my mind occupied when I had nothing to do,” he said.
Through these mental tasks, he discovered a principle that he refers to as automatic learning.
“To understand this concept [go] back to your first learning experience as very young children, when we reached the age to where we could communicate with our parents and understand them. ... They taught us the only way possible, by pointing to and identifying tangible objects that have an identity that were in the environment around us,” said Lucas.
In schools, education is commonly taught through repetition, he said, but through his learning system, the focus is on making intangible objects register in the mind with an identity, thus allowing recognition and remembrance.
“It’s about giving ink on a page an identity,” he said.
Lucas said much of what is learned in an institution is intangible, but when those intangibles are given an identity, they become less of a problem to learn.
Memorization is such a key tool that Lucas uses it in his personal life, so much so that when he became a Christian, he dedicated a year to memorizing all of the New Testament.
“I wanted to learn it. It took me a year to do it, but I did it. I’ve quoted the whole New Testament before,” he said.
He has also memorized the Manhattan phone book, several different magazines and books. He has shared his knowledge on automatic learning on various television talk shows and conducted seminars for churches, organizations and corporate businesses.
Now Lucas spends much of his time creating and working on an education system that can be used to learn any subject or topic through using his techniques.
“You are attracted to those things that are fun,” he said.
And that is what his techniques involves making learning a fun activity for anyone.
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Invite your friends
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How To Lose Weight: The Basics
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Turning Knowledge Into Action
Click Here To Go Back To The PEERtrainer Weight Loss Guide
Eat Out And Still Lose Weight
In The Real World, We Eat Out. And That Is Still No Excuse To Get Off Track
It's harder when you're not in control of your environment and sometimes you can't avoid eating out, nor should you have to. Many studies show that individuals eat 50% more than they normally would when they eat out with friends so make some rules for yourself when you're out to dinner and always stick with them.
I almost consistently order a salad when I go out for dinner. If I don't order a salad, I usually order an appetizer as my main entree. While they can be the most fattening things on the menu, the portion is usually 1/2 of that of an entree, which keeps me, relatively, within my calorie allotment for the day. If you're anything like me, you shouldn't even look at the other things on the menu. Stick to only looking at the salads and the appetizers, and don't bother with the rest. It's likely to be a train wreck of a calorie night if you do. If I do drink alcohol, I limit myself to 2 glasses of wine. SKIP the fruity drinks. All of that sugar gives you double the hangover anyway.
Other things that are helpful:
Dessert: Sometimes you just CAN'T skip dessert. The whining of your friends about NOT taking a bite of your birthday cake are actually more painful than actually eating the cake. I use the 3 bite rule; you can take three bites of the most decadent dessert and still lose weight. You'll find that after the 3 bites you're not even tasting it anymore and the first 3 are really the most satisfying.
The bread basket: Everyone says say no to the bread. Tell them to take away the bread basket or remind them to not bring it. But that's a challenge when the other people at your table want it. If you're stuck with the bread basket at the table, remind yourself that you just don't eat bread from the bread basket anymore. That was the old you. This is the new you. Just like you don't smoke, you don’t eat bread from the bread basket. If you're hungry and need something to snack on before dinner, ask the waiter to bring a salad right away. If it's a formal dinner and your need to keep manners and etiquette in mind, then demonstrate some discipline. Remind yourself that you are bigger than this need for the bread right now, your dinner will be there in a short while and you've made it through much harder times than this (childbirth, perhaps??!)
Water: Order water! Get into the habit of ordering water when asked what you'd like to drink. If you're having a glass of wine, get the glass of water too. Alcohol dehydrates you which gives you the feeling of being even more hungry; if you have water alongside, you'll at least stay somewhat hydrated.
Split EVERYTHING. Get into the habit of splitting whatever you order. Offer bites to your companions. You'll eat less.
If you do overeat, it's just that: ONE night of overeating. One night does not mean a gain of 5 pounds (and if you get on the scale because you like to punish yourself and you see a gain of 5 pounds it's because of the salt.) Tone it down the next day and you'll be back on track. If you can have one good day, it will set you up for your next weigh in.
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Active Groups Fill Up Quickly, You Might Want To Start A Couple To Get The Perfect Mix of People.
Here Are Some Other Tips To Help You Be Successful
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I heard it theorized that the potion Dumbledore drank at the end of HBP may have been made of nightshade, judging by its effects.
Wikipedia says about nightshade:
Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), also known as belladonna or dwale, is a well-known perennial herbaceous plant, with leaves and berries that are highly toxic and hallucinogenic. It is in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which it shares with potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, jimsonweed, tobacco, and chili peppers. In addition, Solanum nigrum is also called Deadly nightshade.
"Bella donna" is Italian for beautiful woman. I really don't see that applying to Petunia, as she is most definitely not described as beautiful. Maybe it's hinting at the two sides of her, though. So far we've seen the harsh, bitter side. Now maybe we may see the softer, caring side.
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We know you’ve been waiting for Harry Potter forever, but make sure you support the film A Better Life!
Undocumented stories are being told. Just recently, award-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas came out of the shadows. For years, the Dreamers – the students actively fighting for the Dream Act – have been sharing their stories. And now, A Better Life is bringing the story of an undocumented family to mainstream theaters.
A Better Life is a beautifully told story about an undocumented Mexican gardener named Carlos Galindo (played by Demian Bichir) who does everything that he can to give his son, Luis (played by Jose Julian) a better life. As an undocumented immigrant living in a rough East L.A. neighborhood, Carlos tries to stay invisible and struggles to work outside of the system while simultaneously trying to keep Luis in school and away from gangs. The film captures how being undocumented may chip away at one’s inner being. “All he does is work,” director Chris Weitz said of the character Carlos. “He is invisible — and he prefers to remain invisible. Because to raise his head is to risk getting in trouble.” (LA Times.) To see a full trailer, click here.
In an interview with director Weitz, he calls A Better Life “the “biggest movie he has ever made,” considering he has directed hits such as “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”, “About a Boy,” and “The Golden Compass.” However, Weitz explained that the subject matter is far more important than any other he has addressed as a filmmaker.
Check out A Better Life’s Facebook page here.
Click here to listen to an interview with Chris Weitz and Demian Bichir on their own thoughts on the film!
Photo courtesy of IMDB
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Every day we get letters from people in jail.
They would do anything to avoid going back.
We teach them how to live without crime.
Criminon is a registered charity delivering life skills courses and rehabilitation. We equip prisoners to lead moral, productive and law-abiding lives. It is an effective offender rehabilitation programme.
Criminon is run by volunteers, and funded by donations. Every day prisoners graduate our courses in drug education, communication skills and – most importantly – personal integrity.
They have genuine changes of heart. They make honest decisions to change their lives. Their life experiences would make you cry, no matter what they’ve done. But our programme enables them win back their self-respect.
We equip them with the life skills they need to stay on the straight and narrow, and to remain free from offending. We help them to live gain the integrity to lead honest and happy lives.
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One of the most well-known dystopian works of literature could be making it to the big screen for the first time. According “The Hollywood Reporter’s Risky Biz Blog,” Aldous Huxley’s 1931 novel, “Brave New World,” is currently in development with Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott set to produce while looking to respectively star in and direct.
Huxley’s novel takes place in what seems to be a perfect 26th century in which the world has achieved peace by women no longer forced to give birth, but rather the process taking place in laboratories. The notion of “family” has been outlawed. The story focuses on Bernard’s pursuit of Lenina. Bernard is seen as antisocial and Lenina is deemed frigid due to her monogamous nature in a society of free sex.
The novel has been adapted for television a few times, but has never been projected onto the silver screen. Currently tapped to write the script is Farhad Safinia, who co-wrote Apocalypto with Mel Gibson.
I’ve never read the book, although it is regarded as a classic. Reading the full synopsis, it appears there’s a lot of cool stuff going on here. Scott has proven his worth in dystopian futures with 1982′s Blade Runner and hopefully this film could dare to be on par with it. I like DiCaprio a lot, and although I haven’t seen their last collaboration (Body of Lies), I would eagerly look forward to this one.
Anybody who’s read the book care to expand on its cinematic capabilities?
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From e-mail forward...
Computers are Like Men...
In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they are the problem.
They have a lot of data but are still clueless.
As soon as you commit to one, you realize that, if you had waited a little longer you could have had a better model.
They hear what you say, but not what you mean.
Computers are Like Women...
No one but the Creator understands their internal logic.
The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.
As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
You do the same thing for years, and suddenly it's wrong.
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Over 2,000 years ago, it is believed that viticulture and winemaking was brought to the Mosel Valley of Germany by the Romans who planted vineyards along the river in order to have a local source of wine. They may not have realized it at the time, but this would become the sole foundation for what today is a magnificent wine-culture, deeply rooted in tradition.
Determined to follow this tradition and pay respect to the thousands of years of wine-culture, Heinz Eifel founded the Römerhof winery (Roman Yard) in 1979 in the heart of the Mosel Valley in Trittenheim. With the help of his daughter Anne Eifel-Spohr, who assumed the role of winemaker in July 2000 after gaining a diploma in oenology from Geisenheim University, the family set out to produce a brand of top-quality wines that reflect the distinctive character of the vineyard sites. The idea behind their collaboration was to pay respect to tradition while incorporating the inspiration of the young winemaker, Anne. So pleased with the quality and individual character of these wines, the Eifel family decided to put their own name on the bottle, thus creating HEINZ EIFEL wines.
Heinz Eifel is a brand of German wines that are crafted from the highest quality grapes processed with only the most modern standards, techniques and technology. Unlike many larger German wineries, Heinz Eifel himself has control over the entire winemaking process — from vine to bottle.
Over the past 20 years, the Römerhof winery has established long-term contracts with select growers who are advised to cultivate vineyards under exacting standards with restricted yields and specific harvest times. Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. All wines are then tasted and blended by a committee of oenologists and sommeliers. All production takes place in an ISO standard certified bottling plant and the wines are stored in modern climate-controlled warehouses.
Producing top quality German Riesling is more than just a science, it is an art. This vision is deeply rooted at Römerhof and extends throughout the Eifel family. Heinz Eifel Rieslings are a true testament to “The Art of German Winemaking.”
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Rather than focus on their own Christmas wish list, Miss Tammy asked her kindergarten students what they wished for the world. Their responses are heart-warming and thoughtful.
Tessa wishes: "My wish is that poor people have homes."
Michael: "My wish is that all people have enough money."
Tyler: "My wish is that people have enough food and medicine."
Hollisa: "My wish is that all kindergartners have enough snack."
Gavin: "My wish is people have enough to eat."
Dylan: "My wish is for more trees in the rain forest so we can survive."
These young people attend Kindergarten at Forbes, Vogel-Wetmore, Southwest and Torringford Schools and come to Brooker for before or after school care. We're proud of their compassionate responses to the question. What do you wish for the people of the world this holiday season?
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Perhaps my one claim to angling fame in Utah is gone. It happened when Wayne Gustaveson, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Project Leader at Lake Powell, managed to haul in a 15-pound striped bass on Thursday. For years I had harbored a secret guilty pleasure of knowing I had caught a bigger striper than the king of Lake Powell striped bass.
Maybe I should take Wayne's advice and get to Powell soon so I can overtake him again. Congrats Wayne, you deserved another 30 pounds of striper.
Here's Wayne's reportLake Powell Fish Report – February 1, 2013Lake Elevation: 3604Water Temperature 45-47 FBy: Wayne Gustaveson Wayne's Words It's been a cold winter at Lake Powell. Water surface temperature bottomed out at 44 F and presently fluctuates between 45 at night and 47 during the 'heat' of the day. Water level continues to decrease resulting in the closure of the Castle Rock Cut and the primitive launch ramps at Hite. Luckily the last cold spell featured an increase in the snow pack in Colorado which means there will be some runoff this spring. On the bright side, those anglers that continue to bundle up and venture out have had some very positive success. Bass fishing is slow but occasional bites in the backs of canyons near brush produce some very nice largemouth weighing from 3 to 7 pounds. Water level decline strands more and more brush each day so the best bass canyons are those that have long flat flood plains with ample brush. Examples of canyons with long flood plains are Wahweap, Warm Creek and Navajo on the southern end. Midlake canyons include, Halls Creek, Escalante, San Juan and Red Canyon. Find submerged brush and largemouth are close by. Striped bass schools remain in the backs of the canyons roaming from 70 foot depths into 25 foot shallows. At Bullfrog the closest reliable fishing spot is near Dome Rock on the west end of the Bullfrog houseboat field. At Wahweap the closest spot is near Lone Rock. There are some shad left in the backs of the canyons so stripers remain there and continue to search for food each day. When fishing for schooling stripers the best strategy is to troll with a deep diving lure or with down riggers or leaded line. Watch the graph to locate schools while trolling. When a school is observed mark the spot by tossing a floating marker over the side but continue to troll hoping that the school fish will take the trolled lure. If there are no takers return to the marker and jig vertically near bottom with spoons. The goal is to hook the first fish which triggers the whole school into feeding mode. A troll hooked fish is often followed by school mates. As that fish is being netted, drop spoons to the bottom to light up the school of trailing fish. Spooning may result in many stripers being caught in short order. When the school moves on troll to relocate them, hook one and then repeat the process by dropping spoons once more. This combination of trolling and spooning is very effective and has resulted in big catches of stripers during January over the length of Lake Powell. Using this procedure was very good for me on January 31. We trolled deep Thundersticks near Lone Rock and found stripers holding at 35 feet. We caught one fish trolling and another 12 using spoons. We caught another fish trolling and then 10 more with spoons from the second school. When those fish moved on we trolled for the 3rd time. This time a big striper hit the clear/white Deep Thunderstick. It took 10 minutes to subdue the 15-pound striper that was 34 inches long and 20 inches around. Bigger stripers are more often found in deep main channel water. On January 20, Jesse Pond was trolling with his Dad Sean from Denver CO. They began trolling a perch colored Deep Thunderstick on leaded line at the mouth of Forgotten Canyon and hooked a big fish after trolling for only 15 minutes. It took 13-year-old Jesse an hour to subdue his 28.3-pound striper.Despite the cold weather fishing is still good at Lake Powell. It may be the best time to catch a trophy fish. We guarantee that you will have the big beautiful lake almost to yourself. You are all invited to experience Lake Powell in the winter.
Photo Caption: Wayne Gustaveson finally caught a big striper from Lake Powell after 30 plus years of trying. His 15-pound fish took a deep Thunderstick lure trolled near Lone Rock in Wahweap Bay. This is the second big striper caught trolling Thundersticks in the past two weeks. Jesse Pond from Denver caught a 28.3 pound striper on Jan. 20th at the mouth of Forgotten Canyon.
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In your commentary, Frank Davidoff and colleagues,1
as editors of general medical journals, criticise pharmaceutical companies for tying investigators to contracts on publication of research findings. It is timely to reiterate the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine's policy on this topic.2
The guidelines state that “studies are performed to increase knowledge in some way, and this knowledge should be shared with the wider world. Study findings should be communicated, whatever the outcome, for the benefit of the community at large. Communications on clinical studies must be a correct representation of all the findings so allowing others, in their turn, to give well balanced advice to patients and their families.”
Pharmaceutical physicians, irrespective of their employers, who might be in industry, government, academia, or elsewhere, acknowledge the validity of this guidance, but it is essential that all those involved in research outside the discipline of pharmaceutical medicine acknowledge it as well, and that such acknowledgment is universally adopted.
Recognition that nothing is of greater importance than the health and wellbeing of each study participant is imperative, but each of the many players must spontaneously declare potential conflicts of interest that might affect the making of balanced unbiased judgments of what is best for those participants. Prepublication safeguards are already in place, but they must be transparent. They include an independent review of the science, methods, motivations, processes, safety, and effectiveness of proposed interventions, together with approval of an appropriately constituted institutional review board or ethics committee. Publication, though, is essential to enable the results of research to be disseminated. Its value will be the greater if it is unfettered and unbiased. We endorse the spirit of the editorials.
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Reposted with permission from www.janefarrall.com/blog
Over the last four weeks, as I have been spending time in schools and giving workshops, one of the most common questions I have had is “How do I use a switch with an iPad?”. Talking with Alex Dunn from Inclusioneers on Twitter, this is also one of the most common questions she gets asked as well!
For this reason, Alex and I decided to collaborate on a Switch Accessible Apps resource – listing all of the switch accessible Apps that we are aware of and their switch and scanning options. Hopefully this resource will help people out with the information they need about this topic – but since this is one of the most common questions I’m being asked I also thought it was an appropriate topic for my first blog post on my new blog!
Firstly, when I talk about switch access, I specifically mean an external switch which someone can press to make a selection in the App running on an iPad or iPhone (or an App which allows me to use the iPad screen as a switch). Switches come in all different shapes and sizes. To read more about switches and switch access click here.
Switch access to an iPad is currently limited to specific Apps. Each App developer must include the code that offers switch access as they develop the App. As things stand, it is not possible for you to use a switch to leave an App or to move between Apps – switch access is in-App only. Hopefully this is going to change in the near future. Recently, we have seen the development of the iPortal which enables joystick control of the whole iPad using VoiceOver. In addition, the new AssistiveTouch feature in iOS5 looks like it will provide potential for overall alternative access to the iPad at some stage.
But back to the current situation…
In addition to a switch accessible App, you also need to have an iPad switch interface. Currently, there are three Bluetooth switch interfaces available, and one which plugs into the 30-pin dock connector port on the iPad. Any of the switch interfaces which connect via Bluetooth will reduce the iPad’s battery life and also may ‘lose’ the Bluetooth connection intermittently. Some people find this to be a problem, but others don’t. The interface which connects via the iPad port has the limitation that you are unable to connect anything else to the port while it is connected – which means that I am unable to charge the iPad or connect it to a VGA monitor while I am using the switch.
RJ Cooper has two different iPad switch interfaces available. The Bluetooth Super Switch connects to the iPad via Bluetooth as the name implies! The interface itself functions as a switch and there is also a switch port to connect a second switch. The interface is rechargeable from any USB port.
The Air-Turn BT-105 is a small interface with two switch ports – allowing the user to connect one or two switches. This also connects via Bluetooth and is marketed as the Bluetooth Switch Interface by RJ Cooper and as the SwitchBox by Therapy Box.This interface is also rechargeable from any USB port.
The Blue2 from AbleNet is the third Bluetooth option. This interface has two inbuilt switches (in the form of the two pedals on the front) and also has two switch ports which can replace the two pedals. This interface requires 2AA batteries to run – which works better for some people than recharging – and the batteries have a long run time.
The it-iClick is the fourth switch interface for the iPad – and is the newest option. I haven’t had the pleasure of using one of these as yet, but I’m looking forward to using it. This interface plugs into the 30-pin dock connector port on the iPad, as you can see from the picture above. Part of the Simply Works range from Inclusive, it is designed to work with up to 6 Simply Works transmitters, such as the it-Switch. This interface takes power from the iPad so it doesn’t require recharging or batteries – although the wireless switches that work with it do.
Now that I’ve covered the different switch interfaces available, the next question is generally – so which Apps can I use? And this is where the new resource that Alex and I have put together help. The resource lists all the apps that we are currently aware of that have switch access, details the type of switch access (e.g. cause and effect, 1 switch scanning, 2 switch scanning, visual scanning, auditory scanning) and also lists which switch interface(s) the App is compatible with.
Click here to download the Switch Accessible Apps resource. You can also go to my website www.janefarrall.com at any stage and download it from the iPads and Apps section. Alex and I would like to keep this updated – so if you find any Apps missing or have any comments please let us know!
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The local Future Farmers of America chapter is going to be busy in the next few days.
At the Feb. 5 Wellington City Council meeting, Mayor, Roger Stallbaumer read a proclamation, designating that Feb. 16 to Feb. 23 will be FFA week in Wellington. Later in the week, the Wellington FFA group issued the following statement outlining their plans:
The Wellington FFA chapter in Wellington will celebrate National FFA Week February 16‐23, 2013. This year's theme is Grow, and it celebrates more than 80 years of FFA traditions while eagerly anticipating the organization's future. More than 550,000 members nationwide will participate in National FFA Week activities at local, state and national levels. These members come from rural, suburban and urban environments and are interested in the diversity of careers within agriculture.
FFA members are the innovators and leaders of tomorrow. Through agricultural education and hands‐on learning, they are preparing for the more than 300 career opportunities in the food, fiber and natural resources industry. National FFA Week is sponsored by Tractor Supply Company as a special project of the National FFA Foundation and annually encompasses February 22, George Washington's birthday.
Wellington FFA members will celebrate National FFA Week by participating in the following activities:
Hosting a community dinner that is free to the community, on February 18 from 5:00 to 7:00pm at the Wellington High School commons, also that evening will be an auction and labor auction. Students will be sold to work for a five hour period of time, and there will be several items sold during the auction to raise funds for students to attend the National FFA Convention and provide money for senior scholarships. The students will also host a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon to Thank them for all of their time, commitment, and support of the FFA program. Each day of the week will be celebrated by having a spirit week. Students will get to dress up like there favorite TV reality shows during the week, all of which have an agricultural tie. Days include: Duck Dynasty Day, Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs, American Hoggers, Swamp People and finally a Blue and Gold day.
Students have been busy this month competing in many career development events (CDE). Mikala Bradbury placed 9th in the Job Interview CDE, and Jessica Reyes was just out of the top ten. There were 25 students participating in this intense event that included interviews, resume writing, cover letters and application completion. Six students participated in the KSU speech competition, Kaleb Hunt and Haley Farley competed in the Creed division, Cameron Bartelson competed in the Freshman Speech division, Mikala Bradbury and Kailey Klein were in the sophomore division and Chance Hain competed in the junior level speech division. Results from this competition have not been posted yet.
Students had an unexpected surprise while watching the Super Bowl this year as well. Dodge Trucks along with The National FFA Organization sponsored a commercial that highlighted the American Farmer. The day after the commercial aired Dodge announced that they would donate up to $1,000,000.00 to the National FFA Foundation. Three of the Wellington FFA students were interviewed by KWCH reporter Jim Grawe to find out what their opinion was of the commercial. It was an exciting time for Abbie McComb, Mikala Bradbury and Cameron Bartelson. They were surprised that the commercial gained so much attention. It was a sobering moment for them and impressed upon them the importance that agriculture really does have upon our community and world. This is the year of the "Farmer". The Wellington FFA Chapter wants to be a vital part of the community and to have members that become active community members.
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G Power, or G (グラビティ gurabiti), is the basic measure of a Bakugan's current level of power.
The G-Power may be affected by Ability Cards and Gate Cards. It is found on the inside of a Bakugan in white or black writing. G-Power is also affected by Bakugan Trap, Battle Gears, BakuNano, Bakugan Mobile Assault, Battle Suits, Mechtogan, and Mechtogan Titans. Sometimes it can increase/combine when a friend comes to join in a battle (Ability effect).
When purchasing a Bakugan, the G-Power for the open Bakugan is usually covered with a grey sticker to stop customers from only purchasing strong Bakugan although sometimes the sticker is removed, fell off or is missing completely.
- The highest G-Powered Bakugan is a 2007 G Neo Dragonoid made of pure steel. It was won by Christopher Ruff during the Baku-Con Championship as one of the prizes.
- 1000 G Neo Dragonoids were given out to each of the Baku-Con semi-finalists, 36 in all.
- In the anime, G-Powers are used in the first, second, and the first half of the third season. They are not seen in the second half of the third season and not used in Season 4, up until End of the Line.
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Sherrod Brown: Drug firm fleecing pregnant women
This month, pregnant women using a popular drug to prevent premature labor could see the price per dose increase from $10 to $1,500. Almost overnight, a drug company created a monopoly for an existing product by exploiting drug safety laws — bilking taxpayers and threatening public health.
The risks from premature births are well known. A premature baby is more likely to develop health complications. Premature births cost an average of $51,000 in the first year, and they account for $26 billion annually in medical costs.
Starting in 2003, some pharmacists started compounding treatments to reduce the risk of preterm birth by 36% in high-risk women. A dose of this treatment, called progesterone, costs about $10 a week over the course of 20 weeks.
USA TODAY OPINION
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes a variety of opinions from outside writers. On political and policy matters, we publish opinions from across the political spectrum.
Roughly half of our columns come from our Board of Contributors, a group whose interests range from education to religion to sports to the economy. Their charge is to chronicle American culture by telling the stories, large and small, that collectively make us what we are.
We also publish weekly columns by Al Neuharth, USA TODAY's founder, and DeWayne Wickham, who writes primarily on matters of race but on other subjects as well. That leaves plenty of room for other views from across the nation by well-known and lesser-known names alike.
Compounded drugs do not need Food and Drug Administration approval. So when the progesterone treatment went through clinical trials and received FDA approval, many public health advocates cheered. But what seemed like good news for mothers-to-be turned into a potential nightmare.
According to its own reports, KV Pharmaceutical paid $200 million to acquire exclusive rights to sell the progesterone treatment — which it will market as Makena — for seven years. With FDA approval in hand, KV sent a cease-and-desist letter to pharmacies to prevent them from selling the drug. Last week, KV announced it would sell Makena for $1,500 per dose — an estimated $30,000 per pregnancy.
The company justified this price hike by citing research-and-development costs, and KV even implied that the more expensive treatment is still below the costs of having a premature birth.
At $1,500 per dose, KV could recoup its $200 million investment 18 times in the first year — netting a $3.9 billion profit.
The development of progesterone treatments was funded by the National Institutes of Health. But instead of patients or taxpayers receiving the benefit, a private company will fleece pregnant women, reduce access to a life-saving treatment and drive up health costs.
Our laws give drug companies a temporary monopoly to recoup R&D costs as an incentive to develop new drugs. A longer period is granted for "orphan drugs" — an important inducement when small patient groups or rare diseases are involved. But when a company makes limited R&D investments, benefits from taxpayer-funded research, then grossly overprices a drug — risking an increase in premature births — something is very wrong.
What's the answer?
KV could do the right thing. Recapture its investment with a nice profit, sure. But don't create a public health disaster. If it does not, Congress could take steps to prevent abuse of the FDA approval process. It could shorten the monopoly period based on the amount of R&D for which a company is responsible. It could allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices as governments do in most other developed nations. But none of this should be necessary.
When a drug company declares war on American families, Congress must intervene. Earlier this month, I sent a letter asking KV to reconsider this massive price increase. Days later, KV hired a major Washington lobbying firm. But even the best spin doctors will have trouble explaining this one.
KV's actions are unconscionable. They have been condemned by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
Few situations are more worrisome for a couple than a diagnosis of a complicated pregnancy. This anxiety shouldn't be heightened by the worry of how to pay for a once-affordable treatment.
We must not let this treatment slip out of reach. The lives of too many babies hang in the balance.
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DuPont sees growth as farmers seek drought-hardy corn
U.S. farmers are clamoring for more drought-hardy corn seeds as the spring planting season nears and soils remain parched across large swaths of key growing areas, the head of one of the world's largest seed companies said on Friday.
DuPont Pioneer, the seed and genetics arm of chemical conglomerate DuPont, is seeing such a rapid pace of orders that it expects to double the area that its drought-tolerant corn is planted on this year to roughly 5 million acres, said Paul Schickler, president of DuPont's Pioneer Hi-Bred unit, known also as DuPont Pioneer.
Pioneer, which saw total sales of $7.3 billion in 2012, sees expanded distribution in the Eastern corn belt areas with 44 different hybrids after focusing on the Western corn belt the past two seasons, and is accelerating seed production for similar growth in 2014 as expected this year, said Schickler.
"We've got a good read of what the demand is," Schickler said in an interview with Reuters. "Farmers are becoming a little bit more conditioned...concerned about drought. We will be ramping up significantly."
Yields with Pioneer's "Aquamax" seed were more than 8 percent better than many rival offerings in water-stressed environments, according to company data. And Pioneer is boosting prices to capitalize on the demand as the nation's midsection continues to suffer through one of the worst droughts in decades.
Drought cut deeply into U.S. corn production last year, leaving the average U.S. corn yield for 2012 at 123.4 bushels per acre, down from 147.2 bushels per acre in 2011. Total corn production dropped to 10.8 billion bushels in 2012 from over 12.4 billion bushels in 2011.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture projected on Friday that U.S. growers would plant about 96 million acres this spring and produce a corn crop of 14.53 billion bushels, up 35 percent from 2012, with an average yield of 163.6 bushels per acre.
Schickler said with soil moisture levels still sharply deficient, he was unsure the USDA's yield estimates would prove out.
"We have got to have a good growing season to get those kinds of yields," he said.
Schickler said Pioneer is well placed with its seed supplies, despite market talk that some suppliers are short of seed due to the drought.
Not even this week's foot of snowfall in many areas was expected to significantly replenish parched soil moisture conditions.
Pioneer rival Monsanto Co. this season is commercializing its DroughtGard corn in the Western Great Plains as the industry's first genetically altered corn designed to mitigate yield loss from drought.
But Schickler said Monsanto's corn is "less field tested" than Pioneer's offering, and Pioneer is on track to continue to grow market share, both in corn and soybeans. Since 2008, Pioneer has realized more than 10 percent market-share gain in North American soybean sales and more than 6 percent in corn, Schickler said.
Weed Resistance Worries
Pioneer rivals Monsanto, Dow Chemical and BASF are preparing to roll out new herbicide-tolerant crops to address weed resistance problems that have resulted from wide-spread adoption of "Roundup Ready" soybeans, corn, cotton and other crops. Heavy use of glyphosate-based Roundup on the glyphosate-tolerant crops has led to a plague of herbicide-resistant weeds on millions of acres of U.S. farmland.
The new crops and chemicals developed by Pioneer rivals are built on herbicides other than glyphosate to combat the weeds resistant to glyphosate. But many Pioneer seed offerings are still built primarily on glyphosate tolerance.
Schickler said Pioneer is actively researching different solutions, including a combination of licensed Roundup Ready technology with licensed technology from Dow, but sees glyphosate as foundational well into the future.
"We will continue to have glyphosate and we will continue to have glyphosate system for as long as you can predict," he said.
"Maybe we got a little too comfortable...just becoming reliant upon glyphosate-tolerant crops," he said.
Schickler said in addition the U.S. growth, expansions are underway in international markets, notably China, where the company is expanding its breeding and production capabilities.
"It is a tremendous opportunity for us," said Schickler.
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Aug 7, 2012 — More than 75,000 of you voted for your favorite young-adult fiction. Now, after all the nominating, sorting and counting, the final results are in. Here are the 100 best teen novels, chosen by the NPR audience.
Mar 1, 2012 — In Beautiful Souls: Saying No, Breaking Ranks, and Heeding the Voice of Conscience in Dark Times, journalist Eyal Press writes about four ordinary people who took great risks to help others.
Dec 19, 2011 — Young adult literature has never been so psychologically probing or artistically ambitious as it is today. Marissa Meyer's favorite novels beguile, thrill and, above all, transport younger readers to a Shakespearean magical theater, futuristic Chicago and a netherworld of ghost hunters.
May 22, 2010 — Conn Iggulden teamed up with his brother, David, to share tales of men and women who responded to difficult moments with grace and pluck to save themselves and others. Their book doesn't attempt to hide the dark side of many of these heroes, whose daring deeds are better remembered than their misconduct.
Apr 20, 2010 — Time editor Richard Stengel spent nearly three years traveling with Nelson Mandela, collecting hours of conversation about his life for Mandela's autobiography. Stengel talks about what he learned from Mandela, and his book, Mandela's Way.
Oct 5, 2009 — Sharon Robinson, the daughter of baseball player Jackie Robinson, wanted to teach kids about her father, so she wrote a children's book. But instead of focusing on the achievement for which her father is most famous — breaking baseball's color barrier — she chose a more humble, personal moment.
Aug 15, 2007 — Following in the footsteps of John Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, presidential candidates have often released books in the lead-up to their campaigns. Newsweek's Jon Meacham reviews some of the current White House hopefuls' offerings.
Jun 13, 2007 — Author Conn Iggulden talks about his book, Dangerous Book for Boys, a manual that advises fathers to teach their sons stick ball, kite flying, fishing, camping, and stories around a fire. There are no video games or iPods in this book, and baby boomers and their sons love it.
Jun 2, 2007 — Conn and Hal Iggulden worried that the old-fashioned skills they learned as boys would disappear in the age of DVDs and video games. So they wrote The Dangerous Book for Boys and filled it with ingredients to get boys off the computer and into the backyard.
Jan 12, 2005 — Three recent headlines have prompted questions about America's "moral compass": CBS's firings of four staff members over a polically charged story about President Bush's military service during the Vietnam War; the revelation that a black syndicated columnist accepted money to promote a White House program: and the indictment of six businessmen in an AOL billing scandal. NPR's Tony Cox discusses these and other ethical concerns with Rushworth Kidder, founder of the Institute for Global Ethics in Camden, Maine and author of the new book Moral Courage.
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Stan Musial Bridge? St. Clair County Wants To Call Mississippi River Project "Veterans Bridge"
The idea? The "Veterans Bridge."
The proposed name, voted unanimously in St. Clair County, Illinois last night, comes a month after there was a big push across Missouri to name the bridge after the late, great Cardinal Stan Musial.
"I don't know what else could get more support," Frank Heiligenstein, board member of St. Clair County, tells Daily RFT.
Will Missouri lawmakers be interested in a "Veterans Bridge?"
The vote last night functions as a recommendation; eventually, the legislatures of Missouri and Illinois will have to come to some sort of consensus when naming the bridge that connects the two states.
In the days and weeks after Musial died, more and more Missouri lawmakers began releasing press statements and even speaking out in public sessions about the importance of naming the project the Stan Musial Memorial Bridge in honor of such a beloved icon.
But soon after, momentum started to build for a different proposal -- the Andy Gammon Memorial Bridge, after a man who died in a tragic accident while working on the bridge.
Now, officials across the river are adding the Veterans Bridge to the mix.
"It impacts so many men and women that have served in the military," says Heiligenstein, who originally proposed a Veterans Memorial Bridge name, but decided to broaden it out to honor living veterans as well by removing "memorial" from the recommended name.
"You can't go wrong," he says of the suggestion. "You can't get anybody mad with that.... There are probably enough other places and things that we can name after Stan the Man that may be more appropriate than the bridge."
Heiligenstein, who has been on the board for decades and is now chairman of the judiciary committee, says that Gammon, the worker who died, deserves some sort of placard on the bridge.
"I realize he paid the full price," he says, but adds, "You get yourself into a pickle when you start going after [individual] names."
Concerning a Musial proposal, he adds that the late Cardinal would likely support a bridge honoring more people than just him.
"Stan would be the first to say no," he says.
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Professionals and business people who are part of the South African solar market responded positively to the renewabl energy independent power producers (REIPP) bidding process but cited that requirements for local content and finances remain a challenge.
Respondents from Eskom, Standard Bank and environmental groups were part of the 35 000 people who took part in a survey conducted by Solar South Africa in the past two weeks.
The survey also included the recent successful independent power producers’ bidders.
According to the survey, respondents indicated an overall positive attitude towards the programme but were divided on whether the solar market would be able to achieve its goals in the next five years or not.
Last week the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) approved power licences to 28 preferred bidders.
Out of 53 bidders, the 28 were bidders were first given the green light by Energy Minister, Dipuo Peters in December last year. Department of energy had set a target of 3 725 megawatts of energy to be sourced from independent power producers by 2016.
Eighteen of these projects included the use of solar photovoltaic technology also known as PV system , which would produce 631.53MW and two would use concentrated solar power to generate 150MW.
The rest included a mix of wind projects and other power generation projects.
Responding to a question about what factors were behind failure of a large portion of bids, over 40 percent of the respondents said that the criteria to achieve local content was the mot difficult part of the bidding process.
Some also indicated that there was a generally poor financial environment and lack of capital.
Asked about the future of the industry and what issues were likely to constrain development, respondents said lack of necessary expertise among local workforce followed by lack of policy support to maintain industry momentum.
Eskom’s acting general manager, Barry McColl said: “Now that the Department of Energy has announced the exciting solar development allocations for the country I believe the developers will be faced with the challenge of developing viable projects on time in a country that has very limited experience of the technology and a low skills base.”
He said for developers to attract finance, they must ensure that they have secured proper land rights, have researched the solar resource at sight and had partnered with a proven technology supplier and a strong management team.
Daniel Schwab of BrightSource Energy, said there were still inherent imbalances within the policy and regulatory environment that favour some technologies and energy sources over others.
He called for a vibrant and an open competitive industry.
“Investors want to know that the market will drive their investment decision not politics or any other market inefficient parameters.”
Standard Bank’s director, Paul Eardley Taylor, said the biggest challenge facing the country’s solar industry in the short-term period was the underlying technologies and projects continuing price decline and transmission grid being expanded and strengthened in order to facilitate renewable energy.
He also advised bidders to start the bidding process early.
Twelve percent of the respondents thought that a fully operational solar industry would be created in the couple of years meanwhile 75 percent said they were confident that within the next five to nine years it would be up and running.
Linda Mabhena, a senior legal and compliance director at Mulilo Renewable Energy which has been selected as one of the preferred bidders, said the next challenge for the developers would be securing necessary finance.
Source: IOL News By Nompumelelo Magwaza.
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Why Net filtering is an abomination
Philly court spells it out
The recent ruling by a Philadelphia court in response to a challenge by the American Library Association (ALA) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) represents another setback for Congressional prudes and the filtering software lobby.
Briefly, the CIPA would deny public funds to libraries which refuse to install expensive content-filtering software on their Net-connected computers, and the court ruled it unconstitutional.
The ruling will undoubtedly influence further decisions regarding public access to Internet content which the government in its infinite wisdom reckons you're better off not encountering.
The Philadelphia decision hinges on the means of enforcement, not the theoretical framework on which the CIPA is based. Surely it wouldn't be unconstitutional to block obscenity and child porn which have no protection, so long as protected content isn't blocked. The question, then, is whether the means exist to satisfy Congress' insatiable appetite for regulating the pleasures of citizens without running afoul of the First Amendment.
The solution which Congress hit upon was Internet filtering software, such as Cyber Nanny and SurfControl, which at one time was blocking The Register in fear that the world's tender sprouts might be corrupted by our cynicism.
Congress, no doubt bamboozled by numerous rigged demonstrations cheerfully proffered by the vendors, superstitiously believed that the technology would work as advertised. It all looked like magic to their technologically naive minds, so they hacked out a law entrusting the First Amendment to the technological equivalent of a wizard's magic potion. It's pretty clear that the filtering software companies had a hand in crafting the legislation as a means of legally mandating their products and ensuring a revenue-stream composed of public funds.
To simplify the contestants' arguments, the prudes in Congress and the filtering industry lobby assert that the CIPA would be unconstitutional only if it's impossible for a public library to comply without violating the First Amendment. In other words, the technology must fail always and everywhere, which it clearly does not. The ALA contends that the filtering requirement is unconstitutional if it's impossible to guarantee the inverse: that the technology won't block access to constitutionally-protected material some of the time.
It boils down to a simple, practical issue: can the thing be done? And the answer is, no. The software is simply too buggy, the court decided. It underblocks, leaving children exposed to all sorts of filth; and it overblocks, denying adults access to material they have every right to view. And the fact that a librarian can unblock a site which has been inappropriately blocked on request wasn't good enough for the court:
"The government falls back on the ability of the libraries, under CIPA's disabling provisions to unblock a site that is patently proper yet improperly blocked. The evidence reflects that libraries can and do unblock the filters when a patron so requests. But it also reflects that requiring library patrons to ask for a Web site to be unblocked will deter many patrons because they are embarrassed, or desire to protect their privacy or remain anonymous. Moreover, the unblocking may take days, and may be unavailable, especially in branch libraries, which are often less well staffed than main libraries. Accordingly, CIPA's disabling provisions do not cure the constitutional deficiencies in public libraries' use of Internet filters.
It may be called the Children's Internet Protection Act, but that's pure packaging rhetoric of the sort which Congress excels at. Everyone wants to protect children, obviously, so it takes guts to vote against a measure purporting to do so. However, in reality the act also requires that adult library patrons receive a filtered Internet eXPerience, to prevent them encountering child porn and 'obscenity'.
This is why, for example, we can't simply have two rooms for library patrons; one with filtered terminals for children, and one without filtering for adults as a way to get Congress' nose out of our business in the library. (Personally, I could go for something like that if I didn't worry that Congress might later try to block children's access to political, historical and literary works which could lead them to question the rubbish they're fed in school.)
But the court found that when filtering is applied to an adult's use of the Internet as allowed under the CIPA, the software blocked "a huge amount of speech that is protected by the First Amendment." (my emphasis)
That's because only KP and obscenity aren't protected; but the filters wipe out vast swaths of the Net containing material merely upsetting to the religious right-wing, and to the precious 'sensitivities' of hundreds of groups who can't endure criticism.
The court also made much of the fact that the filtering software vendors are the ones evaluating the content of Web sites and deciding whether or not it's proper for us to read or to view.
This may be all right for private organizations and individuals, but a library is a public forum, the court decided.
"Public libraries, like sidewalks and parks, are generally open to any member of the public who wishes to receive the speech that these fora facilitate, subject only to narrow limitations."
And of course they're funded with public money, giving the filtering companies a shot at the sort of corporate parasitism which the technology industry generally indulges with great enthusiasm.
Do we really want private companies deciding what the public is entitled to know? Shall we reward them with tax dollars in exchange for putting blinders on us in a public place? SurfControl blocked The Register in its entirety because we ran a story explaining how to defeat its software. If they'll pull a self-serving stunt like that, then what's to stop them blocking sites that run news/editorial items like this one which merely criticizes their product and corporate ethics? What's to stop them taking a kickback from another company to block content critical of their products or corporate ethics? Their banned URL lists are proprietary, and they'll take you to court for trying to find out what's in those files.
Clearly this technology is too easily abused by private interests to be appropriate for a public forum such as a library. But the core argument is that filtering is a hopelessly blunt instrument. "Filtering companies also widely engage in the practice of categorizing entire Web sites at the 'root URL,' rather than engaging in a more fine-grained analysis of the individual pages within a Web site," the court observed.
"We find that, given the crudeness of filtering technology, any technology protection measure mandated by CIPA will necessarily block access to a substantial amount of speech whose suppression serves no legitimate government interest," it concluded. ®
The ruling, full text [we hope SurfControl hasn't blocked it -- ed.]
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DailyDirt: Weapons Of Some Destruction
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Projectile weapons are so old school. There are so many other kinds of weapons to choose from nowadays. Some are non-lethal, but others are just as lethal -- even though they only send out electromagnetic waves. Here are some examples of new weapons under development that could cause some damage (temporary or permanent).
- Set your flashlight to "stun" your enemies -- there's a stun ray gun that incapacitates with a really really bright light. It's not even a laser, but it causes "the inverse of blindness" -- disorienting a person from 200 feet away. Just hope that your attackers aren't wearing sunglasses..? [url]
- A green laser can be used to temporarily blind pirates on the open water. Sunglasses won't stop these lasers, but maybe more pirates will start wearing an eye patch to save one eye from this laser-induced blindness. [url]
- The US Navy is testing a new high energy laser that can destroy small boats at sea. Now they just need to put these lasers on sharks... [url]
- Apparently, a cyber-army could be built with just $100 million in 2 years. But an experienced spammer could probably take down that cyber army with a fraction of those resources. [url]
- To discover more interesting war-related stuff, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]
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Q: What is an AB finish?
A: “AB,” or Aurora Borealis, is a bead treatment inspired by Northern Lights. It is a coating (usually on one side) applied to glass beads that creates a rainbow or iridescent effect. The effect was invented in 1955 by Swarovski in partnership with Christian Dior.
Have a question you’d like to ask Bailey? Email her at [email protected] or post your question to our blog.
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ATLANTA — The battle over how the region would spend $6.14 billion to fix metro Atlanta's transportation quagmire is in full roar.
Little noticed in the din: $1.08 billion in tax revenue that would go directly to local government, part of the $7.2 billion expected from the proposed 1 percent sales tax.
Each of the region's counties, cities and towns would get a share of the $1 billion to spend on transportation. But unlike the regional $6 billion fund, there is no requirement to list a single project for the $1 billion local fund. In many cases, voters at the polls July 31 will have no way of knowing where the projects are that the local money would build.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey of all 78 of the region's city, town and county governments found that more than half don't even have a project list more than two years after the referendum bill became law.
Of those that have a list, many are not complete. At least 10 refuse to choose projects at all until after the vote passes. One said it would be "presumptuous" to do so. Eight did not respond to questions from the AJC about what they might do with the money.
It's a stark contrast to the main $6 billion fund. For that list, the law established rigorous guidelines for choosing projects. The proposals were discussed in open meetings and a public vote set. By law, that list is complete. Voters can know what projects they're choosing in what locations when they go to the polls in six weeks.
Supporters of government transparency are uneasy about the hit-and-miss planning with the local $1 billion.
Ethics watchdogs said they understand the difficulty of planning something big and new, which can be especially hard for a small, understaffed government. But, they cautioned, it matters that voters won't know how the $1 billion would be spent.
"Any time the public is in the dark it's a bad thing," said Randy Barrett, a spokesman for the Center for Public Integrity. If voters could see a list of specific projects before the vote, "then at least the individual citizen can decide whether that use of taxpayer money is worthwhile and going to the right things. Let's face it, they're the ones supplying the money."
Lawmakers set up the referendum in 2010 hoping Georgia's 12 regions could do big-ticket, high-impact projects that counties could not afford on their own. The Atlanta region's $6 billion list includes 157 projects, several costing more than $500 million each.
But local governments in each of the 12 regions wanted some money too, and they lobbied for it. In the Atlanta region, the law would set aside 15 percent of the overall tax revenues for local governments.
The money has the potential to touch people's lives in perhaps a more intimate and prevalent way than the main project list. It could smooth potholes on local streets, make cars flow better with new traffic signals, and draw foot traffic to local shops with "streetscapes," including sidewalks and bike lanes. The smaller projects could easily exceed 1,000, blanketing the region.
"This was really a key part of getting the bill passed," recalled Bert Brantley, who served as former Gov. Sonny Perdue's spokesman when Perdue was pushing for the referendum law, and who now works for the campaign to pass the referendum.
"Everyone believed that would mean a list from each county and city" before the vote, he said.
But nothing in the law required that. And while the law required the regions to set standards and goals for the regional lists, the local money has almost no rules, except that it go for transportation.
The Atlanta Regional Commission has been working for months to get the local governments to assemble lists. Its referendum website has a place for counties and towns to post their discretionary project lists. A few have. Most have posted nothing. Some have generic transportation Web pages.
"It's a work in progress," said Jane Hayse, transportation planning chief at the ARC.
House Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla, said the bill needed to leave total control of the local projects in the hands of local officials, so they would have flexibility to deal with unique local needs and a changing environment over time. "If you narrowly define it, then you may get into a situation where a city or county may suddenly have a specific need, but now they can't use it," he said.
It turns out 15 percent of a regional pie is a lot of money. The $1 billion will be farmed out to local governments from Gwinnett County, with 650,000 residents in its unincorporated area and a well-established transportation department, to Woolsey, population 158. Big counties such as Gwinnett would receive more than $100 million over the 10 years; Woolsey would receive some $100,000, a major increase in the tiny town's budget.
But that's not a big enough deal for some to pick projects now.
"I don't think our (local) list is going to sway or not sway citizens, so I don't think it's a high priority," said Jere Wood, mayor of Roswell, which would receive about $19 million over the 10 years. Roswell may not approve a local list at all before the referendum, Wood said. He believes people care about the regional list.
His constituents give mixed reviews.
Athena Price, 30, was taken aback when told the city didn't have a finalized list. "I don't think that's good," said Price, a Roswell resident and Soda Salon stylist. "I feel like after all those months they should have more of an idea. This will affect my vote."
Fran Becker, 57, said she trusts the city's track record on transportation. "I will vote for it because I think Roswell will spend it correctly," said Becker, a saleswoman at a Roswell bridal consignment shop I Do and I'm Done.
It's not just small towns that might not have lists, according to county and city staff and elected officials.
Each county will get money for its unincorporated areas. Cobb County's four district commissioners each picked a list of projects — leaving a fraction for undefined "districtwide" paving, drainage and sidewalks.
Others are struggling.
Fulton commissioners have argued heatedly in public about the local money and the referendum in general, and the county has canceled public meetings that were originally scheduled to seek input about it.
The city of Atlanta, which would expect more than $90 million, has listed projects for about half its money, but not for the rest.
The city of Alpharetta, which would expect more than $10 million, probably won't list any unless the tax passes.
Legally, it may not matter whether lists are approved by board or council votes. Unlike the $6 billion list, a local government is free to revise a board vote on the local money at any time and change its approved plan.
The unspecified projects amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Officials in most areas that do not have lists for the referendum money protested that they had long lists of unfunded needs, and it would not be hard to find worthy projects.
"It's a little presumptuous to have a list because it may not pass," said Gene Hobgood, mayor of Canton. "If it were to pass, you've still got months before you start collecting it. We've got plenty of projects we could deal with if it's approved."
But finding needs was not a problem for the region, either. The hard part was drawing the line between projects that make the cut and those that don't. Several members of the regional committee that made the $6 billion list, such as Douglas County Commission Chairman Tom Worthan, called it the most difficult thing they had done in their political lives.
Hayse noted that the $1 billion had its own complexities. The regional list had 157 projects, whereas the local lists could easily have more than 1,000, since the projects are smaller.
It's all unprecedented.
Many small towns are grappling with potentially more money than they've ever seen for regular transportation improvements.
The town of Woolsey only learned about its proposed annual $10,000 or so a couple of months ago. Compared to ARC's robust staff full-time transportation planners, Woolsey has a clerk on contract who works perhaps eight hours a month, Mayor Gary Laggis said.
Brantley said that politics is undoubtedly helping gum up the planning, as local officials up for re-election grow cautious in a brutal primary season. The referendum is a hot potato, and it will be on the same ballot as the primary races.
Brantley would like them all to have local lists, and not lists of general categories.
Especially with the local projects, he said, voters will be looking to see what touches them individually. "The more information they have, the easier it is to make a decision," Brantley said.
Sometimes picking projects ahead of time robs flexibility, said Kim Conroy, director of Gwinnett County's Department of Transportation.
Gwinnett plans to spend $54 million of its money finishing up long-promised county SPLOST projects that fell through because of the recession. Another $47 million or so would go to re-paving, but it's not listing those projects. The remaining $32 million is divided among categories of projects, such as school safety or intersections. The categories are listed but not the projects.
"It's not easy, on a sidewalk project for example, to say exactly where a project is going to be needed eight years down the road," Conroy said. "There may be a school safety project eight years from now where there's not even a school now."
Denise Phillips, a manager at the Roswell salon, isn't convinced. She questioned how taxpayers will know what they are voting on.
"If they get the money and do whatever they want with it, I don't really agree with that," she said. "It might not go toward what's best for the city."
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This open call is just in from MFA Alum and recent lecturer in video, David Burns. Fallen Fruit is a collaboration between David Burns, Matias Viegener and Austin Young.
Show us how you eat - right in front of everybody, in a video on YouTube
Videos uploaded to YouTube by May 31st, 2010, will be considered for selection to be part of the exhibition Fallen Fruit Presents EATLACMA.
We want to see you eat. We want to see you masticate. Chomp, gnaw, nosh, dine, feast, nibble, consume, swallow, ingest, devour, munch, gobble up, pig out, chow down and polish off some food.
Show Us How You Eat is a participatory online video project, and is seeking your own videos of eating. We're asking people to submit/upload a short single take video of them (or their friends or family) eating - not preparing, cutting, or cooking, but actually eating, chewing and swallowing food. We want to explore the idea that though eating is universal, and images of food appears everywhere, that there are almost no images in art or popular media of people actually eating. This opportunity gives you a chance to be part of an exhibition at LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, called EATLACMA. Submitted videos will be shown on YouTube and Fallen Fruit will select a few of the videos to be included in the museum as part of a wide-ranging series of exhibitions, installations and events that examine the relationship between food, art, culture and politics.
Does everyone eat the same, or does everyone eat differently? Is eating something that connects us, or is it something that differentiates us? Show us how you eat and tell us what you think.
See their YouTube
channel for technical details and to learn more about the submission guidelines.
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3. The Case for Contamination
Those first questions lead me to create a personal internet site. My web site was inspired by questions I had from the UNESCO vote and also from an article in the New York Times Magazine on 1 January 2006. The article described as “one philosopher’s hope for a new world in a new year” detailed a vision of tomorrow based on individuals, mixity, modernity, rights and the concept of cultural contamination.
The Case for Contamination was the argument that lead to my creating a fictitious internet nation, called “contamiNation”. During the following year I tracked, posted and commented on articles from the international media on “what it exactly means to be a contaminated individual and how that effects the world today.” (Appendix 4)
Over the course of 2006 I commented on sixty-four newspaper articles and classified them into twelve categories: dance, film, food, home, land, museums, music, policy, sport, theatre, tourism and trade. On 15 January 2006 I commented on an editorial from Le Devoir of Canada. The article asked, “What is the Place of Culture?” Worried by the influx of American culture into Canada the Canadian Television and Film Union requested each candidate in the upcoming general elections to state their position on cultural policy. (Appendix 5)
In February, The Philippine Daily Inquirer argued the importance and value of conservation practices in historical quarters as important social and economic stimulants. “It does not freeze,” as stated in the article, “a city and its people in their past … it brings the city forward into the future.” (Appendix 6)
An article in May in the International Herald Tribune detailed cultural borrowing and lending and the influence of Martin Luther King Jr’s ideas and thoughts on the evolution of modern China. (Appendix 7) In October news appeared on the Korean Indie Wire of the outcomes of a panel discussion from the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Korea. The conference addressed the effects of trade policy on local Film industries. The directors and producers in attendance argued favorably for the ability of nations to set quotas on foreign produced films entering a national territory. (Appendix Eight)
Finally in December an article from IPS highlighting discussions from the World Social Forum in Brazil was published. In Brazil, cultural domination was linked to colonialism and the delegates called, as they did at the end of the era of colonialism, for new models of cultural development. (Appendix 9)
Throughout 2006 the articles I collected and stored on my blog clearly indicated a global shift was underway. Common threads of anxiety, identity, creativity and policy were finding expression in different areas around the world. All of these issues fell loosely into the field of cultural policy. From film makers, to dancers, to authors and museum curators, the role of government and regulation within the emerging cultural industries were being expressed.
Based on the observations from maintaining my blog and my professional experience at UNESCO I began to identify important questions that were the foundations for further research. The first questions were broad and vaguely linked but they were important. For example: Was there a role for the free exchange of words and images in mutual understanding? Could this exchange have an economical dimension? Was there a dramatic global cultural shift underway as demonstrated by the UNESCO vote? Could cultural policy hold the potential for a new framework to address social and economic development? Was there possibly a national experiment in motion that was attempting to address these issues?
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Small towns, big support
Sometimes you can almost hear the whistling.
Close your eyes and there stand Andy and Opie with their fishing poles, headed for some quality time, decades before anyone knew what quality time meant.
Small towns and summers can add up to long stretches of lazy, muchneeded hours spent chilling out to beat the heat before the fall arrives and the calendar fills yet again with obligations.
Then there are days like last Thursday, July 12.
Another blissful summer day exploded with news that a man was trapped in a silo at Paquette Construction in Holden, buried to his waist in cement.
Fire, police and EMTs raced to the scene to face a situation they don’t encounter every day. They needed to lower ropes to help stabilize and rescue the man. Then they had to retrieve him from the deep silo and race him to a waiting medical helicopter.
All of this, of course, while also battling stifling heat.
No wonder one of the many emergency scanner calls was for water. And lots of it.
After painstaking efforts and plenty of coordination between emergency departments and mutual aid towns, the man was headed to the hospital, with a promising prognosis.
Several firefighters went to the hospital as a precaution, their conditions a bit worse for wear after battling heat, cement dust and a race with the clock.
And then all was quiet again.
But this was a reminder to us all that no matter the weather, and despite the deceptive quiet of summer, our safety officials stand by, ready, able and willing at a moment’s notice to save us from dangerous situations, disasters and sometimes, even from ourselves.
Maybe that’s why Andy and Opie had such a relaxed gait as they headed to the fishin’ hole. They understood this, just as they knew so much about small town life.
It takes a ready crew to create a relaxing summer for their fellow townspeople.
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He’s a masterpiece among us—the real deal. The Thinker statue that sits in front of Grawemeyer Hall is the first large-scale bronze cast of The Thinker. French sculptor Auguste Rodin personally supervised the casting in Paris. It came out of the mold Dec. 25, 1903, and was completed in early 1904. The Thinker design has [...]
Learn about Welcome Week, the Student Activities Center, The Oval and the Red Barn after the jump.
Learn about the origin of the Cardinal mascot and ‘The Thinker’ sculpture after the jump.
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Learn something new every day More Info... by email
Some working parents need to secure before school care for their children in the mornings. This can be accomplished in a few different ways. Many day care programs where kids can go after school will offer before school care as well, and then the school bus can simply pick the child up from that location. A babysitter or nanny can be another option, though it might be more difficult to find someone to come to the home that early. Sometimes, if there are a number of kids in the neighborhood who need this care, parents will do a type of child care exchange and one parent will be responsible for taking a group of children to school in the morning, while another does it in the evening.
In general, day care is the best option for before school care, because for many people it is the most convenient and least expensive option. An additional fee might be charged for the extra service, but the child will be in a familiar environment with friends, especially if he or she attends the same day care after school as well. Many day care facilities also offer enrichment activities for children to help facilitate learning, making it an even more beneficial option for regular childcare.
If day care is not an option, or the parents prefer in-home care, an early morning babysitter, nanny, or even helpful family member such as a grandparent might be a good option for before school care. A person hired outside the home can be pretty expensive, but it is possible, and it allows the child to get ready for school at a slower pace and in his or her own home. If parents are friends with other parents in the neighborhood, sometimes they will be willing to care for kids in the morning if it happens infrequently; this can be done on an exchange basis like a carpool to make it fair for everyone.
Another option for before school care might be found at the school itself. Not all elementary schools offer this, but some offer parents the option to drop younger kids off early for special enrichment activities, or to eat breakfast at school. This is often a free option for parents, though breakfast may be a small additional cost, and it may not be available for more that half a hour before the start of classes. Though not necessarily an ideal option, parents without another choice may find that before school care at the school itself can be helpful as a temporary solution, as long as they do not need to go to work extremely early.
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As others have said, if the unit is properly sized for the house, and the insulation is good enough to keep the heat out, and there is enough airflow in the house, the A/C should be able to handle almost any temperature you set it to.
There is a point where it gets so hot outside that air conditioners simply can't do anything to get rid of the heat (the outdoor coil temp equals the outdoor air temp). This is extreme though, >110 deg F. You're getting pretty hot, but shouldn't be at that point yet. (Most A/C units will have specs on this. You can try looking up some specs for it online.)
You indicated the system is turning on and off, so I don't think it's your thermostat.
How cold is the air coming out of your vents? If the system is working properly, it should be as cold as your fridge. If it isn't cold (not cool, cold), you have a problem.
Look at the lines on the outdoor unit. Are they frosting up at all? Is there excessive dripping from your indoor air handler? If your lines are freezing up, turn the system off and call a service company. That means you are probably low on coolant, and running the system without will burn up the compressor.
Other problems that would prevent cold air would be crud on the coil, or the fan on the outdoor unit not working properly.
If the airflow is weak, then you have an airflow problem. Check the air filters in the system. Make sure your ducts aren't plugged somehow. Check for closed dampers or closed vents. Make sure a duct didn't pop loose somewhere (blowing air into the attic instead of out the vents). Make sure your air handler is blowing air.
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Antonio Veracini, basso continuo, bassoon, Boulder Bach Festival, Buxtehude, Chaconne in D minor, chorale, chorale partita, coloratura, continuo, Dario Castello, Dresden, Duetto no. 3 in G Major, Duo Crezdi, Fifteen Inventions, First Congregational Church, Florence, Georg Böhm, gigue, harpsichord, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Johann Ludwig Krebs, Josquin des Prez, Leipzig, minuet, organ, partita, passacaglia, Paul Miller, Peter Wollny, Rick Erickson, Rosary Sonatas, Sacred Mysteries, scordatura, Sei gegrüsset Jesu gütig, sonata, Sonata in G minor, Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Sonata Prima in A minor from Libro secundo, tetrachord, Vater unser im Himmelreich, Venice, violin, Zachary Carrettin
In the final concert of the thirty-second season of the Boulder Bach Festival, Zachary Carrettin, violin, and Rick Erickson, harpsichord and organ, will join forces as Duo Crezdi in an artist recital at First Congregational Church in Boulder, Colorado at 7:30 pm on Friday, 3 May 2013.
The violin sonatas on the program will come from very different places and times. The earliest is Dario Castello’s Sonata Prima in A minor from Libro secundo. Diligent scholarship has not been able to determine any exact dates for Castello’s birth or death. In fact, almost no shreds of biographical evidence exist about the composer. This much is known: Castello lived much of his life in and around Venice. He was an excellent wind player and a master of the bassoon, an instrument which was very popular in Venice at the time. He published two books of sonatas in 1621 and 1629, which were so popular that they were reprinted in the 1640s and 50s. His sonatas are made up of a number of short contrasting sections and the work to be performed by the Duo Crezdi is no exception. As one of the first to write idiomatically for the violin, Castello’s music has a refreshing and delightful spontaneity about it which is easy to hear even four hundred years later.
Biber’s (1644-1704) Passacaglia stands as the last piece in the composer’s ambitious cycle of Rosary Sonatas. For each of the fifteen Sacred Mysteries, Biber composed a violin sonata, but each one is in a different tuning, or scordatura. In the sole surviving copy of the score, every sonata is prefaced by a lovely copper engraving. The Passacaglia is the last piece in the cycle, and the only one for violin without continuo. It is the only sonata that “duplicates” an earlier tuning for the violin – in this case, the ordinary tuning G – D – A – E. The Passacaglia consists of sixty-five repetitions of a descending tetrachord (four-note motive) in which all manner of harmony, melody and expression appears. In the middle of the piece, the descending motive even appears in an upper voice, complicating matters for the interpreter. Claiming the prize as probably the most elaborate composition for solo violin up to that time, Biber’s Passacaglia almost surely had some influence on J. S. Bach when he composed, some decades later, his own magnificent Chaconne in D minor (BWV 1004) for solo violin.
Chronologically speaking, the Bach and Veracini sonatas date from almost the same time. Bach’s six accompanied sonatas for violin and keyboard were composed no later than 1725, and the composer continued to tinker with them for many years thereafter. The Sonata No. 4 in C minor (BWV 1017) is cast very much in the mold of a trio sonata. As Peter Wollny noted, each part (violin, keyboard right hand, keyboard left hand) has its own rhythmic character in the slow movements. For example, in the third movement the violin has a lyrical melody, the right hand of the keyboard has continuous triplets, and the left hand has a bass line mostly in quarter notes. The two fast movements feature dense counterpoint and imitative textures, perfectly in keeping with the idea that each part should be interesting and meaningful in and of itself.
Antonio Veracini (1659-1733) led a colorful life and held important posts in Florence and Dresden. As the story goes, he once claimed that “as there is one God, there is one Veracini.” Without lacking a sense of drama either in life or in music, Veracini once jumped out of a building during an argument in Dresden. He even survived a shipwreck in the English Channel. Veracini’s nephew diplomatically wrote that “the heart, rather than cleverness, guided [Veracini’s] finger and bow.” Of his many published violin works, Veracini’s Sonata in G minor (appearing in 1721 as op. 1, no. 1) is an intense, many-colored piece. Opening with a broad French-style introduction, it quickly moves through an impetuous Allegro before settling into a more lyrical Aria. The anxious Allegro that follows contains several outbursts that might have given even the stoic Bach a severe case of indigestion. The final two movements, a short Minuet and an almost ridiculous Gigue that alludes to the sound of the postman’s bell, do little to dispel the image of an undeniably brilliant, yet slightly unstable, musical mind.
Two works for organ on the concert will feature compositions by men who were close to the Bach circle personally. Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780) studied with Bach in Leipzig. The use of the letters of Bach’s name in the fugue subject reflect an ancient practice, dating back to Josquin, called soggetto cavato (“carved subject”) where the letters of a name determine the musical notes. We therefore have, according to German spelling, a subject of B-flat, A, C, B-natural.
Georg Böhm (1661-1733) was connected to the Bach family from his studies in Ohrdruf, a town which knew several generations of Bachs. Böhm might have tutored the young J. S. Bach but there is no direct evidence to support this assertion. Much later, C. P. E. Bach claimed that his father, J. S., loved to study Böhm’s music. Böhm’s Vater unser im Himmelreich is stylistically much like Buxtehude’s music. It is probably one of the most expressive works he penned. Particularly noteworthy is Böhm’s exploration of the organ’s high coloratura register.
The remaining works by J. S. Bach will show his mastery both of small-scale and large-scale musical forms. The Duetto no. 3 in G Major (BWV 804) is similar in texture to one of Bach’s famous Fifteen Inventions (BWV 772-86), but it is more extended and elaborate. Bach derives an entire motivic menagerie by exploring the possibilities of a simple seven-note cell, heard at the beginning in the right hand. Contrasting with this small scale form, the chorale partita for organ on Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig (BWV 768) is an extended set of variations on a chorale tune. This is the most ornate of the four sets of chorale variations Bach left us and contains eleven variations on the tune. The variations range from simple to elaborate and give us a full spectrum of Bach’s powers of inventiveness.
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November 30, 2005.
Louisville Courier-Journal, Kentucky.
Martha Berry described the American Printing House for the Blind as "a nice place to work," but she joined more than 100 fellow Teamsters who went on strike yesterday after contract negotiations failed.
Health insurance premiums are increasing and "we're not making enough to cover it," said Berry, a production worker who said she has been with the printing house for five years.
The printing house, at 1839 Frankfort Ave., is still producing books and educational materials, but officials said the strike will slow delivery.
The nearly 140 Teamsters make up about 40 percent of the plant's work force, a company vice president said. It's the second strike by members of Teamsters Local 89 since some of the printing house's workers unionized in 1981.
The first strike in 1987 lasted three weeks, said Kathy Peak, a union steward who has worked at the printing house for 30 years. "This is not what we want," she said as she picketed along Frankfort Avenue with Berry. "We wanted a fair contract."
The most recent contract expired Nov. 15. Union President Fred Zuckerman said negotiations were extended two weeks to Sunday. "We made the extra effort to try to get this thing resolved," he said.
Union officials said agreements could not be reached in negotiations on three major areas -- salaries, health insurance premiums and vacation.
Gary Mudd, vice president for public affairs for the printing house, declined to discuss specifics of the negotiations. "We truly want to resolve the thing as quickly as possible and get back to work," Mudd said.
The not-for-profit printing house, founded in 1858, produces textbooks and other educational materials for the visually impaired. The printing house serves about 60,000 people throughout the country.
Asked if the union was worried about appearing unsympathetic by striking a company that serves the blind, Zuckerman noted that several of the strikers are visually impaired. Union members work at the printing house in proofreading, binding, shipping, housekeeping and maintenance.
Peak said about 11 union members crossed the picket line and went to work yesterday. Mudd confirmed that some members were at work, but he declined to say how many.
Union employees make an average of about $11 an hour, union officials said. Mudd said the average is between $11 and $12.
Proposed raises were 60 cents an hour the first year, 35 cents an hour the second year and 25 cents the third.
Union members and leaders said those raises wouldn't be enough to offset proposed increases in health insurance. Family health insurance would go to $272 a month from $235, and more increases could raise the monthly premium to between $336 and $471 a month, according to union officials.
Mudd said the company is still negotiating its health-insurance premiums. "Basically, they're trying to kill the family" insurance, said picketer Rita Hayes, a Braille transcriber who has worked at the printing house for 17 years.
Also, union officials said the company wants to be able to force employees to take up to a week of vacation during an annual routine shutdown. Members could only be forced to use two days of vacation under the previous contract, said Robert Colone, a staff attorney for the union.
Both Mudd and union officials said no negotiations have been scheduled.
End of article.
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LOOPY DE LOOPOriginal Medium: Theatrical animation
Produced by: Hanna-Barbera
First Appeared: 1959
Please contribute to its necessary financial support.
Amazon.com or PayPal
another way of looking at him is Columbia Pictures' final attempt to make cartoon shorts work for them.
Columbia's first attempt was to distribute cartoons produced by Charles Mintz, the man who made animation history by firing Walt Disney and hijacking Disney's popular character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (which didn't do him much good, as Oswald wound up in the hands of Walter Lantz and Disney hit it even bigger with Mickey Mouse). The studio Mintz founded produced one very memorable series, The Fox & the Crow, a lot of very unmemorable cartoons about licensed characters such as Krazy Kat and Li'l Abner, and many non-series cartoons that were less memorable yet.
Next, they allied themselves with UPA, the innovative studio that gave the world Gerald McBoing-Boing and Mr. Magoo. That team broke up in 1959, with UPA going mainly into TV animation and Columbia without any cartoons to release.
The best days of theatrical animation were over by then, with MGM having closed its cartoon department, Terrytoons de-emphasizing movie releases, and even Disney concentrating more on live action and animated features than the cartoon shorts that had made its reputation. But there was still some life left in the concept, so Columbia next signed up Hanna-Barbera, which, with Ruff & Reddy, Huckleberry Hound and Quick Draw McGraw already under its belt, was quickly becoming a giant in the field. The first Loopy de Loop cartoon, produced by Hanna-Barbera and released by Columbia, was Wolf Hounded, which came out on November 5, 1959.
Loopy was a French-Canadian wolf, hence the name (loup being the French word for "wolf"). His schtick was similar to that of Happy Hooligan, the kind-hearted hobo who was always misunderstood because of his station in life. Loopy tried to do good, but nobody would believe good of him because he was, after all, a sneaky, no-good predator. This was exacerbated by a communication gap, caused by the francophonic broken English he spoke. That broken English was provided by Daws Butler, whose credits as a voice man include Peter Potamus, Chilly Willy and much, much more.
Loopy's cartoons came out about once every month or two during the early 1960s. He wasn't picked up as a comic book character, but a couple of Little Golden Books about him came out in 1960 and '64. And there were the usual toys, lunchboxes, etc., tho he wasn't Hanna-Barbera's most lucrative licensing bonanza.
But the era of theatrical cartoons really was drawing to a close. The series ended with its 49th entry, Big Mouse Take, which was released on June 17, 1965. After that, the cartoons were syndicated to local TV stations along with a lot of other Hanna-Barbera productions that started on TV. But newer cartoons supplanted them on TV, and Loopy's haven't been seen in a long, long time.
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Television History to DVD
Remember when there was no reality TV? Remember when television consisted of timeless stand up and sketches? Sid Caesar was a genius who took television to the next level in the late 1960′s with his show “Caesar’s Hour”. Well, over 50 years later, Sid is now splashed on AVANT’s monitors as we help prepare the PBS show that reunited the Caesar writing team to soon be released on DVD.
Caesar’s Hour was a live, hour-long American sketch comedy television program that aired on NBC from 1954 until 1957. The program starred, among others, Sid Caesar, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Janet Blair and Milt Kamen. PBS brought this incredible team back together in 1996 for a special event at the Writers Guild Theater in Los Angeles, CA. The evening’s events eventually broadcasted on PBS under the title “Caesar’s Writers”. Now, AVANT has the opportunity to be a part of the team to bring this historic production back to life by creating the DVD to master for duplication and worldwide sales. WOW!
So, at AVANT, we’re all about today’s productions along with the helping memorialize the productions from long ago that helped get our industry to where we are today….reality TV!
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Farmers market vendor squeezes all-natural ingredients into lemonade
By Erica Andrew | [email protected]
Photos by Mary Elizabeth Fair
The farmers market that takes place Wednesdays at the St. Johns County Pier and Saturdays at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre gives students, locals and tourists a chance to sample what St. Augustine has to offer- including a vendor serving all-natural lemonade.
The Sister Shack, a vendor at the farmers markets, makes lemonade, Italian ice, and smoothies from all natural products. Unlike the many lemonade brands that use corn syrup and additives, the Sister Shack boasts their use of fresh fruit and raw natural sugar.
Julie Nelson created the Sister Shack and attends every Saturday market, in addition to local events and high school football games. What makes her business special is the concentration in using natural, fresh products that people enjoy because of how delicious they are and how healthy they are.
“It’s very important to me that we use fresh ingredients because I myself try to be healthy, so I wouldn’t enjoy or sell a product that wasn’t natural and healthy,” said Summer Goldman, one of the participants involved in the Sister Shack.
Goldman has been involved in the Sister Shack for about a year, and the business has been blossoming since it was created just a few years ago.
In addition to the business being focused on nutrition, it also prides itself on reusing and recycling.
“If you buy a cup, you get free refills, so we promote recycling and reusing so we limit our waste on the environment,” said Goldman.
The Sister Shack, along with the many other vendors, looks forward to the farmers market to help promote business in the community and to educate about the importance of its product.
Whether its vegetables grown from local farmers, handmade jewelry, or fresh lemonade, the farmers market continues to attract customers who are looking for something more intimate and a little different than what you find at your regular chain store.
With a variety of stands – including fresh fruits, vegetables and breads – the farmers market also features local art including jewelry and handmade designs. As you walk through local artists play instruments and the many vendors that attend tempt you with the sights and smells of their products.
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This tag belongs to the Additional Tags Category.
Parent tags (more general):
This tag has not been marked common and can't be filtered on (yet).
Works which have used it as a tag:
After five years of not having his named called to compete in The Hunger Games, a fight to the death on National TV, it is now Sherlock's turn. Mycroft, former winner of The Hunger Games, and Sherlock's brother, has been training him his entire life for this moment; determined to gain more prestige for their family, of which they are the royal family of the Capitol, as their father is the President. Sherlock could care less about the prestige. If he was being honest, he found the whole thing rather dull and wasteful. But he is smart, cunning, and therefore determined to show down all the competitors for his own reasons. Little does he know that things change when one is actually faced with the possibility of not only dying, but of committing murder. Sherlock will have to question all the things he believes in, when one of the tributes, John Watson, from the lowly District 12, somehow becomes an unlikely ally. The plan is to ditch John, once he's not longer useful, but then, things never go according to how we plan-even for one brilliant Sherlock Holmes.
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Healthy is your goal for the new year. You understand you need to implement an exercise program in order to achieve your goal. This means you have to figure out where & when you are able to put a workout in. If you have a busy schedule, this may be the hardest part of achieving your goal. Fear not! Let's look at some ways to save time and still get an awesome workout at the gym.
Circuit training is a great way to get your weight workout in without being at the gym for long. The key here is to move from one exercise right to the next. For example, you would do a set of squats, then move onto a set of upright rows, after this set you do another set of squats, and so on. This way you keep your heart rate up. It also keeps you interested and motivated to keep going. You are less likely to be bored due to the constant change of exercise. However, be aware of other people using the equipment. If someone is using something you were going to use, simply switch your exercises and come back to that one.
Another great way to spend less time in the weight room would be to combine exercises. For example, performing a lunge with a side shoulder raise. The fact that you are doing two things at once means your workout will be shorter. Just be sure your have your form and technique correct before using this method.
To keep your cardio short, use interval training. Following your warm-up, pick a certain amount of time (your first interval), say 5 minutes, and walk/run at a set speed. For the next interval, say 3 or 5 minutes, you would go faster. Push yourself here to get the most out of your workout. Then you would go back to the original speed for an interval and repeat for as long as you have to workout. This is a wonderful way to get your metabolism going. Its also beneficial because your body has to keep challenging itself. This turns an hour cardio session into about 20 minutes with double the benefits. If you can't run, you can absolutely alternate between walking and power walking until you work up to jogging or running.
An important point to remember is that even though you're trying to get a short workout in, don't move fast through the exercises. By this I mean don't rush through your weights. Make each movement count. If you are super short on time, lessen the number of repetitions or sets that you complete. To get a REALLY good workout, increase your weight when you lessen your reps/sets. You want to get the most out of your time. If you rush through, your muscles aren't getting the challenge they need. If you need any information, feel free to contact the YMCA by calling 253-2083, or by visiting us online at ymcawayne.com.
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Why does your track that sounds brilliant on your system sound muddy or overly bright on everyone else’s? Most likely it’s because you haven’t calibrated your system properly. In this week’s premium tutorial Mike Elliott begins an excellent series showing you how to make your room more accurate.
To learn more about what you get as part of Tuts+ Premium, read this. To take a peek inside this tutorial, hit the jump!
So your mix is done and everything is perfect. The drums hit hard, the guitars soar, and the singer sounds like an angel. But when you go to show the mix to the band on their system everything falls apart. The bottom end is missing, the mid range is cloudy, and the top end is ear piercing. What happened? Everything was perfect.
Maybe their system was just EQed really oddly? Or maybe it was your system that was way off.
In this tutorial series we are going to look at what makes a properly calibrated system and how to achieve the best results possible at home. Everything from basic acoustics, to speakers, to reference levels will be discussed. So if you are ready to get your system up to snuff then jump in and get ready to be calibrated!
Get the Full Tutorial!
Didn’t hear about Audio Premium? It’s an additional, in-depth tutorial, published each week just for our Premium subscribers (on top of all our regular free content!)
Tuts+ Premium gives you access to your very own library of courses, tutorials and eBooks, available whenever you need them. Join a community of over 15,000 members and start getting better at the skills you care about.
View the tutorial on the Tuts+ Premium site.
Non-members see a generous preview.
Join Premium and Expand Your Audio Knowledge!
For those unfamiliar, the family of Tuts+ sites runs a premium membership service. For $9 per month, you gain access to exclusive premium tutorials, screencasts, and freebies from Nettuts+, Psdtuts+, Cgtuts+,Activetuts+, Phototuts+, Aetuts+, and Vectortuts+! For the price of a pizza, you’ll learn from some of the best minds in the business.
What Do You Want to See on Premium?
Is there a specific technical aspect of audio production that you really want to learn more about? How about a very advanced technique that you could never quite grasp fully?
We really want to make our Premium content as relevant and useful to you as possible, so do send through your comments and requests to [email protected]. Let us know what you want to see, and we’ll commission top-notch audio experts to teach you!
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GOUVERNEUR After a hard days work of grooming and showing cows, the youth let loose after the gates close at the Gouverneur & St. Lawrence County Fair.
While the fair closes at night, farmers and their children sleep over at the dairy barn all week to keep an eye on the cows.
New York state mandates that the cows stay at the fair for the whole week, said Irene A. Hargrave, a participant from Heuvelton, who works for On-A-Whim Swiss. A lot of the kids end up sleeping in cots at the barn while their parents sleep in trailers outside.
A St. Lawrence County dairy princess once said the after-hours at the barn are like a giant slumber party, according to Carol H. Sheesley, a farmer from Cowbell Acres, Canton
The youth have a lot of fun, and sometimes even do pranks, but its all in good nature, Mrs. Sheesley said.
I once woke up with a sign crazy-glued on my chest, said Darin M. Bresett, a 16-year-old from Heuvelton who has been raising cows since he was 10. Sometimes, you might even find your hand in a cow patty.
The most memorable prank at the barn involved a goldfish, according to David C. Putman, Mr. Bresetts cousin.
We took one kids goldfish and put it in a cows water bucket, Mr. Putman said. However, the tables were turned once the goldfishs owner took his pet fish out of the water bucket and pretended the cow had eaten it, Mr. Putman said.
When we looked inside the bucket, we were really fooled into thinking the cow had the fish for a snack, Mr. Putman said.
However, not all of the fun revolves around pranks.
The atmosphere is mostly laid-back; sometimes we play card games like Spoons, Mr. Putman said. Its a good place to make friends.
Though the youth have a lot of fun at night, they still work hard when the cows are being shown.
I have a 3-year-old who is starting to get into cows, Brandon G. MacDonald, a farmer from Richville, said. Ive been showing cows for the past 20 years. Its a great way to teach kids responsibility and for them to build friendships. I even have a beer or two with some of the other farmers at night.
When asked whether the dairy farmers get along with the farmers showing beef cows, Mr. Putman said, They dont mess with us.
Mr. Putman added he was joking and said there is no competition between them because the beef cows are different breeds.
We get along just fine, he said.
The beef cow show was absent from the fair this week because the beef cow farmers fell ill, said fair President Donald A. Peck.
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May 21, 2013
The President’s Address to Congress
Posted on Feb 24, 2009
Because of this plan, there are teachers who can now keep their jobs and educate our kids. Health care professionals can continue caring for our sick. There are 57 police officers who are still on the streets of Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their department was about to make.
Because of this plan, 95% of the working households in America will receive a tax cut – a tax cut that you will see in your paychecks beginning on April 1st.
Because of this plan, families who are struggling to pay tuition costs will receive a $2,500 tax credit for all four years of college. And Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession will be able to receive extended unemployment benefits and continued health care coverage to help them weather this storm.
I know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who are skeptical of whether this plan will work. I understand that skepticism. Here in Washington, we’ve all seen how quickly good intentions can turn into broken promises and wasteful spending. And with a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right.
So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy back on track. But it is just the first step. Because even if we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial system.
I want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, because every American should know that it directly affects you and your family’s well-being. You should also know that the money you’ve deposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance is secure; and you can rely on the continued operation of our financial system. That is not the source of concern.
The concern is that if we do not re-start lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins.
You see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. The ability to get a loan is how you finance the purchase of everything from a home to a car to a college education; how stores stock their shelves, farms buy equipment, and businesses make payroll.
But credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans from the housing crisis have made their way onto the books of too many banks. With so much debt and so little confidence, these banks are now fearful of lending out any more money to households, to businesses, or to each other. When there is no lending, families can’t afford to buy homes or cars. So businesses are forced to make layoffs. Our economy suffers even more, and credit dries up even further.
That is why this administration is moving swiftly and aggressively to break this destructive cycle, restore confidence, and re-start lending.
We will do so in several ways. First, we are creating a new lending fund that represents the largest effort ever to help provide auto loans, college loans, and small business loans to the consumers and entrepreneurs who keep this economy running.
Second, we have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and re-finance their mortgages. It’s a plan that won’t help speculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling with declining home values – Americans who will now be able to take advantage of the lower interest rates that this plan has already helped bring about. In fact, the average family who re-finances today can save nearly $2000 per year on their mortgage.
Third, we will act with the full force of the federal government to ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times. And when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our economy.
I understand that on any given day, Wall Street may be more comforted by an approach that gives banks bailouts with no strings attached, and that holds nobody accountable for their reckless decisions. But such an approach won’t solve the problem. And our goal is to quicken the day when we re-start lending to the American people and American business and end this crisis once and for all.
I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they receive, and this time, they will have to clearly demonstrate how taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer. This time, CEOs won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.
Still, this plan will require significant resources from the federal government – and yes, probably more than we’ve already set aside. But while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade. That would be worse for our deficit, worse for business, worse for you, and worse for the next generation. And I refuse to let that happen.
I understand that when the last administration asked this Congress to provide assistance for struggling banks, Democrats and Republicans alike were infuriated by the mismanagement and results that followed. So were the American taxpayers. So was I.
So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now, especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions. I promise you – I get it.
But I also know that in a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out of anger, or yield to the politics of the moment. My job – our job – is to solve the problem. Our job is to govern with a sense of responsibility. I will not spend a single penny for the purpose of rewarding a single Wall Street executive, but I will do whatever it takes to help the small business that can’t pay its workers or the family that has saved and still can’t get a mortgage.
That’s what this is about. It’s not about helping banks – it’s about helping people. Because when credit is available again, that young family can finally buy a new home. And then some company will hire workers to build it. And then those workers will have money to spend, and if they can get a loan too, maybe they’ll finally buy that car, or open their own business. Investors will return to the market, and American families will see their retirement secured once more. Slowly, but surely, confidence will return, and our economy will recover.
New and Improved Comments
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Michigan's school board elections will be held in November of even-numbered years through legislation signed by Gov. Rick Snyder.
The legislation that the Republican governor signed today will require school board and intermediate school district elections to be held at the same time as November general elections.
Supporters of the legislation say it will ensure that school board elections are held when voter turnout is highest. Supporters say it also should help consolidate elections and savein some locations.
Opponents say it would cost schools and local jurisdictions more money if they must switch election dates.
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Abba Seraphim joined the congregation of the Guild Church of St. Dunstan’s-in-the-West on 14 March for the service of The Solemn Consecration of the New Ring of Ten Bells, which was performed by the Lord Bishop of London (The Rt. Revd & Rt Hon Richard Chartres). Although the ceremony is quite a rarity, the Bishop of London admitted that this was the third set of bells he had consecrated in the City of London in recent years (St. Magnus the Martyr in 2009 & St. Michael’s, Cornhill in 2011).
Although it took place within the Lenten season, the ceremony had a festive feel to it, with Psalm 150 sung in Grandsire Triples and a newly composed Festal Te Deum by Stuart Murray Turnbull. The bells, decorated with white ribbons and trailing ivy, were displayed in the sanctuary as the bishop and clergy, in gold vestments processed into the church to the strains of J.M. Neale’s “Christ in Made the Sure Foundation”. Following the old Pontificale Romanum the bells were each sprinkled with Holy Water, before being named by their sponsors, anointed with Oil of Catechesius, consecrated with Chrism and solemnly censed. Not only were they censed on the outside but a long-handled chafing dish was used to incense the interiors. The bells will now be hung and it is intended that they will first ring on 5 June when H.M. The Queen enters the City of London on her way to St. Paul’s Cathedral for the Service of Thanksgiving.
The service was followed by a reception generously hosted by Hoare’s Bank in Fleet Street.
Apart from being one of the ecumenical guests, Abba Seraphim’s had a number of reasons for his interest in the service: St. Dunstan was Abbot of Glastonbury; Abba Seraphim is a direct male descendant of the celebrated thirteenth century Kentish bellfounder, Stephen Norton; whilst another of his ancestors, Samuel Hugh Newman, was baptised in old St. Dunstan’s on 25 October 1798.
- 22 June 2013
- Orthodox Liturgy: Windsor MissionOrthodox Liturgy at St Andrews
Raising of Incense: 9:30 am
Liturgy of St James: 10:00 am
Refreshments and shared lunch to follow
- 23 June 2013
- Morning Incense & Divine Liturgy: BournemouthWorship commences 09.30
- Raising of Incense & Divine Liturgy: DoncasterRaising of Incense – 9:45am
Divine Liturgy – 10:30am
- Feast of Pentecost : Babingley10.00am Raising of Incense & Divine Liturgy
- Raising of Incense and Liturgy: ChathamRaising of Incense: 10:00 am
Liturgy of St James: 10:30 am
Refreshments to follow
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BY: ELHAG PAUL, RSS, DEC/1/2012, SSN;
Hereward Holland and Pascal Fletcher’s article, ‘Special Report: In South Sudan, plunder preserves a fragile peace,’ edited by Simon Robinson and published by Reuters on Tuesday 20th June 2012, involuntarily made me to scratch my head. I read it in disbelief. ‘Plunder preserves a fragile peace.’ Really?
The damage is done, not only by foreign reporters without insight into South Sudan contemporary history but also by the inept SPLM Oyee government of the miscreants. Product of politics of violence which pushed out decent, capable and experienced South Sudanese from governing their country competently. South Sudanese now have to pick up the pieces and here I take this imposed burden of the “idiots” or ‘Al rujal al bulaha,’ according to Mr Gerard Prunier to try to set the record straight.
Holland and Fletcher theorize that the mess of human rights abuse, corruption, and all the other ills taking place in South Sudan holds it together. In building up their case they list a catalogue of abuses supported by voices of government and civil society’s agents while weaving in monotonous SPLM Oyee propaganda on Dr John Garang, history of South Sudan and the distortion of demographics of the country.
This report is highly misleading to any person who is not familiar with South Sudan and also paints South Sudanese as people who only thrive in chaos. A little bit of careful review of South Sudan contemporary history would have made things clearer for the authors to avoid the pitfall of unfounded claims, bias and misinformation.
Contrary to what is asserted, South Sudan is not held together by either ‘plunder’ or ‘corruption and nepotism.’ These very forces are at the heart of the pressures creating cracks and fragmentation in its society. The numerous rebellions in Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei states since 2005 have categorically made it clear that their reason for taking up arms against the state is to end corruption and tribalism. This shows to some extent the fragility of South Sudan under poor governance of president Kiir and his SPLM Oyee party.
The authors refer to the appointments of people like Riek Machar, the vice president and Pagan Amum, the secretary general of SPLM from other tribes to the government as a careful balancing act from the president. On the surface, yes. It looks so but scratch deeper the reality is shocking because these people are not respected in their own tribes. If anything they are despised and are not seen as sons and daughters of their tribes.
In the general elections of April 2010, most of the SPLM Oyee apparatchiks now occupying high offices including Pagan Amum, Oyai Deng Ajak, John Luke Jok, Ms Nunu Jemma Kumba etc all failed to win any seats in the parliament. Their tribes rejected them. President Kiir could not stomach the choice of the people and going by SPLM Oyee dictatorship he imposed these losers on the people. He not only appointed them to ministerial positions but he also decreed them to the parliament duplicating representation of some constituencies in contempt of those constituents.
In a nutshell, most of the non-Jiengs in the government do not represent their people. They represent themselves and their tummies only. So the patronage in operation in South Sudan is strictly related to party membership and personal relationship as in the case with the members of South Sudan Democratic Forum. It is hardly conceivable that this kind of patronage can hold a country together and in any case the country is already on the road to self destruction. The fact that South Sudan is already designated as the fourth in line of failed states speaks for itself.
The authors of the report pointed out that, South Sudan’s charismatic liberation hero, Dr John Garang, often warned against replacing one set of kleptocratic rulers for another. Unfortunately Garang did not live to see independence and Kiir who succeeded him has struggled to exert the same kind of moral leadership.
While Garang in no doubt was a charismatic leader, he did not possess moral leadership and he was a man irresponsible with the truth. He used words and highly entertaining stories in his meetings with people to manipulate situations to build himself. He seldom meant what he said and this made him a contradictory figure. Garang was a captivating personality who had a way with his audience. His power of persuasion was immense and the influence it exerted captured and gained instant support of his audience. It was this ability and skill of his in social engagement that allowed him to get away with his lies. This savvyness gave him the cover to deceive and exploit the emotions and feelings of South Sudanese.
In his books edited by Dr Mansour Khalid, Garang lambasted the corruption of the rulers in Khartoum mercilessly. He portrayed himself as an alternative who would eventually bring good governance to the country. Being a highly persuasive person he easily pulled the wool over people’s eyes. Whereas in reality, Garang himself was the most corrupt leader South Sudan has ever produced.
Under his direct tutorship the current kleptomaniacs in Juba led by president Kiir were born. For a glimpse of the leadership of Garang please see the Minutes of Rumbek meeting of November 2004. The SPLM/A until that time was just an organisation in name. From the mouths of the horses who participated in the meeting it was clear beyond doubt that it was a chaotic joint.
This vindicates the senior development official in Juba quoted in the report as saying, “This is not a revolutionary (liberation) movement that has taken power; this is a rag-tag bunch of boys with guns that have never administered anything.”
The only thing that Garang remained honest to was his political conviction which was the unity of the Sudan under the project of New Sudan. To protect it, he ruthlessly mowed down any opposition. This ugly side of his personality came to light when he brutally oppressed South Sudan separatists. He famously gloated, “Our first bullets were fired against the separatists.”
Now that South Sudan has separated, his supporters are working hard day and night to anoint him as the father of the nation that he did not want to see born. Others are going to the extent of distorting facts to claim that Garang’s separatist conviction was evolutionary. In light of this how can Garang’s leadership be referred to as moral? His management of SPLM Oyee was shambolic laced with corruption through and through, and to make matters worse he was a closet tribalist who consistently structured the movement tribally. Please see http://allafrica.com/stories/201206250013.html
SPLM/A from 2005 sought to fool the world and they managed to a large extent. They hated the officials of the then Southern Region who did not go to the bush or exile and they embarked on lies that South Sudan was starting from scratch. They did this for two reasons.
First, they wanted to make sure that they replace the entire government employees in South Sudan despite the fact that they lacked capacity. Had they been vigilant, they would have learnt from the lesson of the American intervention in Iraq, where the coalition administrator, Lewis Paul Bremer, dismissed the entire Iraq army only to find himself lacking the ability to maintain security.
Secondly, for SPLM Oyee to embezzle the resources of the state, they needed a robust excuse to rely on and what a better thing to say than ‘we are starting from scratch.’ The international community who should have known better because they have always had representation in the towns of South Sudan since 1972 became an accomplice in this massive deception. I am not surprised why the authors of the report on South Sudan bought the lie. As long as this lie is perpetuated the discourse on South Sudan will always remain deficient of credibility.
The phrase ‘we are starting from scratch’ is a perfect cover for mismanagement and abuse of South Sudan. Please see http://www.southsudannewsagency.com/opinion/articles/the-rape-of-the-rss-by-the-oyee-party. This takes me to the issue of demography of south Sudan.
For quite a considerable time now, the Jieng have tirelessly worked hard to distort the demography of South Sudan by claiming that they constitute 40 or more percent of the entire South Sudan population. The reason for this is because they want to justify or claim the right to rule the country. In fact one of the reasons that South Sudan tore itself to pieces in the late 1970s and early 1980s was because the Jieng asserted their right to dominate the government in Juba on the basis of their numerical majority. Now they are doing worse than before.
It is unfortunate that the authors of the report on South Sudan without any evidence have regurgitated a false tribal stance. The reporters write, “In many ways, corruption and nepotism hold South Sudan together. Many Sudanese have long believed that the Dinka who make up some 40 percent of the population dominate to the detriment of the other groups. Kiir, a Dinka like Garang, is credited with making a major effort to build a diverse cabinet.”
Yes, the Jieng dominate and this is because of the tribalism that they practise in the country. The emphasis on the diverse cabinet is misleading as this masks the reality and moreover the aforementioned explains. If the reporters were to examine holders of all the most important posts in the various ministries in South Sudan they would find out that over 90 percent of the positions are held by the Jieng with the majority unqualified for those positions.
However, the most important thing here is that the Jieng do not constitute 40 percent of the population. They only make up about 18 percent of the entire population of South Sudan. As a tribe, yes, it is a large one but in terms of the whole population of the country, the Jieng are a minority. All the other 63 tribes combined make up 82 percent and therefore the Jieng being 18 percent can not justifiably claim to be a majority over 82 percent for them to dominate the country. It would be good for foreign reporters to report fairly so as not to distort the reality of South Sudan to the world.
Having said all the above, what is holding South Sudan together? South Sudan is held together in the chaos of SPLM Oyee by greater Equatoria and the bogey of Arab Sudan. The people of Equatoria with their varied cultures have successfully gelled together and relatively live in harmony with each other. Their dislike of Arab arrogance made them pioneer the struggle of South Sudan freedom in 1955.
Where the interest of South Sudan is concerned the people of Equatoria have always made selfless sacrifices. Take for example in the 1990′s, SPLM/A abuses discouraged the Equatorians from continuing to participate in the movement. Most of them quit the movement and went to refugee settlements in Uganda, Congo and Kenya. When Khartoum almost defeated the SPLM/A by routing them to Nimule in the border with Uganda, the Equatorians abroad swallowed the bitter pill and came back to the movement to rescue the situation in name of South Sudan survival.
Had the Equatorians been selfish, by now the SPLM Oyee would be history with South Sudan existence in doubt. Presently the same situation is repeating itself with the chaos going on. The Equatorians, fearing collapse of the baby nation, didn’t abandon their interest to rescue the situation once again by not supporting any form of violence. Hence the peace in Equatoria.
The presence of the capital city of South Sudan and the seat of government in Equatoria has not only provided a nurturing environment to the nascent state but is vitally safeguarding South Sudan from any harm.
It is important to note that out of the ten states in the country, only the three states of greater Equatoria enjoy relative peace. Had the capital city been outside Equatoria any of the rebel groups might have overrun it long time ago or even Khartoum might have captured it with the excuse of Panthou war.
The other factor used constantly by SPLM/A which inadvertently keeps the country together is the bogey of Khartoum. The ruling party’s failures in diplomacy is fueling problems with Khartoum all the time and this keeps the people of South Sudan anxious pushing them to rally behind the government.
Although Khartoum as a factor plays an important role in unifying the people of South Sudan, the crucial stabilizer and provider of peace is Equatoria, the oasis of peace in a chaotic desert.
Finally, it is not the corruption, chaos, abuses of human rights, etc…. that keeps South Sudan together but rather it is Equatoria that plays that role.
[Truth hurts but it is also liberating]
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It’s more than a slogan on a T-Shirt. “Live United” means just that.
We’re all in this together. We care about our neighbors and friends and family members who may have fallen on hard times.
We know an economy growing more slowly than we wish means tougher times for those who need health care, and those on limited incomes, and those trying to get a good education.
Living united means we’re ready to help. We know the needs are great and we know the United Way is prepared.
The United Way‘s annual campaigns are underway. Programs that focus on improving health and income opportunities, and education will benefit.
Our communities depend on these programs. Our future depends on their success.
The future can be bright.
But only if you take part. Only if you decide to help. Only if you pledge to live United.
Our communities depend on
We hope you will.
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Wine & Politics: An Oeno-Guide To Voting For A President
Voting for a president can be just like selecting the perfect wine for a very important occasion. Be it a proposal, an engagement, a marriage; the signing of a contract, the closing of a business deal, the signing of a treaty; a birth, a graduation, a passing; a reunion, a holiday, a celebration; when the stakes are this high, you don’t want to make a mistake.
So, with that in mind, some suggestions:
Go into it knowing something more than you knew before. Most importantly, listen to the experts; certainly more so than the current cultural zeitgeist would seem to suggest you ought to. You can still disagree with them, even oppose them, but they’re worth listening to, and learning from. There is a reason they are long-time, full-time professionals. They’ve worked hard, trained hard, and they know their stuff. Do I always follow recommendations from the Advocate, Spectator, Decanter? Of course not. Do I read them? Of course. Prepare yourself. Know something. Don’t be afraid of knowledge. They’re not snobs. They’re knowledgeable, and passionate, and they can help you. This is a very important decision. You want to know what you’re doing, and why.
Consider The Ramifications Of Your Decision In Advance
It ain’t just about you. In making your selection, you are creating ripples in a pond, ripples that will expand beyond your sightlines, touching and moving lives and things you can’t imagine or foresee. And you’re making a statement, taking a stand. In today’s day and age, what you do is tracked, so your decision is not just a vote for a single entity, it’s a philosophical stance about an aesthetic, an ethos, a world-view. And you are tasked with pleasing not just yourself, but a world around you. Compromise is noble; think beyond yourself. This is for the ages.
Reward Nuance And Complexity
Retweetable sound-bites may get the most attention in the short term, but nuance and complexity are what lasts. Don’t be afraid to think. Don’t be afraid of not understanding. Be willing to take some time with your decision. You are fortunate in that you get to sample your choices before your decision is final. Don’t reward the obvious. Take advantage of the time afforded you, and be willing to look further, dig deeper, try harder. Were this music, the advice would be; don’t fall for the obvious single, go to the deep tracks. Those are the songs that will carry you a lifetime. You want to be still talking about this for decades to come.
Consider Partnership & Pairing
Big, loud, brash, aggressive. It gets your attention, and can be rewarding in the short term. You feel it. You’re excited. But this is an isolationist’s game in the long run. Big, loud, brash, and aggressive partners well with … nothing. Reward subtlety.
Go Beyond The Single Issue
You may feel passionate about something in particular, to the point where you’ll even draw lines. You may make ultimatums around a single issue. Don’t. Consider the macro beyond the micro. It’s not about skin color. It’s not about region. It’s not about approachability or longevity. It’s about everything.
In the end, make a decision you can dance to. This is life.
Tags: wine & politics
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A mismatch in expectations between employers and young people is contributing to high levels of youth unemployment, according to a report published today by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Business in the Community. Th More...25 April 2013 15:07
Apprenticeships are increasingly being presented as the solution to the UK's youth unemployment and skills shortfall, but is it really that simple? Emma Parry asks whether or not apprenticeships really are a cure for the nation's employment problems.
More...15 April 2013 09:56
This Personnel Today webinar, in association with Learndirect , originally shown online on 25 March 2013, examines the various ways in which organisations can employ young people and look at the raft of government initiatives that have been la More...18 March 2013 14:00
Youth unemployment has risen faster in the UK than in any other of the G8 countries since the start of the recession, and the Government has been urged to learn the lessons of economies that have been more successful at tackling the issue. A report p More...29 January 2013 12:20
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has urged the Government to improve careers advice for young people after a survey found more than half of employers said the advice available was "inadequate".
In addition to the 53% of em More...23 January 2013 13:15
The Government has announced the launch of a programme aimed at providing young people with the skills needed to get jobs and apprenticeships.
"Traineeships", set to be introduced later this year, will be aimed at improving the work-readiness of you More...10 January 2013 11:56
The Government's flagship scheme to reduce youth unemployment isn't going far enough to tackle the problem, according to a group of MPs. The Work and Pensions Select Committee said that the " youth contract" was a good start, but added tha More...19 September 2012 14:03
Many employers are failing to recruit young workers despite the majority agreeing that they have a duty to help tackle youth unemployment, according to research by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD). One organisation in More...19 September 2012 14:03
Businesses have been urged to get behind a government-funded online career platform for young people, to ensure that the next generation of workers have the right skills to get started in their chosen careers.
The plotr careers platform, More...04 July 2012 14:15
Young people want to bridge the gap between education and work, and improve their chances of finding employment by obtaining greater access to employers, according to research published today by City & Guilds.
City & Guilds says the research More...02 May 2012 10:20
The TUC has called on Chancellor George Osborne to use his Budget to introduce measures that will help young people get into work and boost the economy. In its submission to next week's Budget, the TUC said that rising levels of youth unemployment re More...13 March 2012 10:46
The furore over the Government's welfare-to-work programme reached a new high at the end of last week when Emma Harrison, chairman of the firm A4e, tasked with getting the long-term unemployed back into work, resigned as the Prime Minister's "family tsa More...28 February 2012 12:39
The argument over whether or not unpaid work experience amounts to "slave labour" is in danger of discouraging employers from offering placements at all and risks denying young people a route into permanent employment. This is the warning from the Ch More...23 February 2012 13:53
Nick Clegg is to launch a scheme to deal with the "ticking time bomb" of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETs), by inviting charities and businesses to bid for contracts to help teenagers get into work or learning.
The contr More...21 February 2012 11:48
Making sure that more people with disabilities or learning difficulties, and those from minorities, are able to benefit from apprenticeships is a priority for the Government, according to skills minister John Hayes.
At the launch More...09 February 2012 12:29
Small businesses will be offered £1,500 to take on their first young apprentices, as part of a government drive to boost apprenticeship numbers.
To coincide with National Apprenticeship Week, Prime Minister David Cameron today announced a round of g More...07 February 2012 15:11
Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has announced that it will lead the development of a Higher Apprenticeship programme for young people looking to move into the professional services sector. Earlier this week, business secretary Vince Cab More...02 December 2011 12:49
The headlines are full of doom and gloom for young people - youth unemployment has just hit the one million mark , hundreds of graduates compete for single job placements and employers complain that school leavers lack basic literacy and num More...01 December 2011 10:27
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has unveiled a £1 billion package aimed at tackling youth unemployment through the creation of 400,000 work and training placements.
The "youth contract" initiative will offer subsidies of £2,275 to employers in Engl More...25 November 2011 11:47
Town and cities in northern England have the highest proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training - so-called "NEETs" - according to research published today.
Great Britain urban average: 16.1% Source: More...04 November 2011 11:33
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Monitoring of effectiveness and safety of generic formulation of meropenem for treatment of infections at Siriraj Hospital.
Author(s): Angkasekwinai N, Werarak P, Chaiyasoot K, Thamlikitkul V
Affiliation(s): Division of Infectious disease, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Publication date & source: 2011-02, J Med Assoc Thai., 94 Suppl 1:S217-24.
Publication type: Comparative Study
OBJECTIVE: In Siriraj Hospital, generic meropenem (Monem) has been available and was substituted for original meropenem, but the effectiveness and safety of using generic meropenem in a clinical setting are the main concern. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From July 2007 to June 2009, hospitalized patients aged 18 or older who received meropenem for 48 hours were identified from the pharmacy database of Siriraj hospital. A retrospective study was conducted. Three hundred patients in each of original and generic meropenem groups were required to demonstrate non-inferiority of generic to original meropenem. RESULTS: The mean age of all patients was 63 years. Most of the patients had co-morbidities. Approximately 90% of the infections were health-care associated. Drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria including ESBL producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii account for nearly 50% of all organisms. No significant difference was found regarding characteristics, type or site of infection and pathogen between generic and original groups but for more patients in the original group having cardiovascular disease and more patients in the generic group receiving immunosuppressive agents. Eighty-two to 85% received meropenem with one of appropriate indications. No statistically significant difference occurred either in an overall favorable outcome (63% vs.70.4%, p = 0.07) or in overall mortality (38% vs. 32%, p = 0.17), as well as adverse effects between the original and the generic groups. CONCLUSION: Generic meropenem (Monem) was not inferior to original meropenem for therapy of infections in the hospitalized patients at Siriraj Hospital.
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Borrowing its title from that of a painting in the MCA’s Collection by artist Yves Tanguy, this exhibition will survey works by several generations of artists who have made defining contributions to the panorama of recent art. It will interweave art of the recent past with that of the evolving present to reveal how the “fluidity of time” animates and recontextualizes our responses to the art of our own time.
Beginning with some important early pieces by Tanguy, Roberto Matta, Rene Magritte, Leon Golub and others, it will include key works from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, by such artists as Andy Warhol, Lee Bontecou, George Segal, Christo, Robert Smithson, Donald Judd, Robert Irwin, Bruce Nauman, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, and Chuck Close, as well as major recent works by Andreas Gursky, Alfredo Jaar, Jim Hodges, Lari Pittman, Ellen Gallagher, Donald Moffett, Kerry James Marshall, Damien Ortega, and Luisa Lambri among others. Several of these works are recent acquisitions.
In addition, the exhibition will incorporate some key loans to amplify and extend the selection of works from the collection. These include a major new installation by artist Sarah Sze, titled Proportioned to the Groove, 2005, to be installed adjacent to Dan Flavin’s 1967 alternating pink and “gold,” also on extended loan to the MCA. Flavin’s is one of the first and Sze’s is one of the most recent major examples of installation art — a genre which has been of crucial importance in contemporary art of the past few decades. Of further significance to their inclusion is that both artists had early, important shows at the MCA. This exhibition is curated by James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Programs Elizabeth Smith.
Support for the exhibition is generously provided by Marilynn Alsdorf and Sara Szold.
The official airline of the Museum of Contemporary Art.
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http://www.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/past/2006/13
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| 0.955071 | 436 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Ok I'll admit it. I am a big sports fan. I'm also a physical therapist. Whenever someone gets injured and they put a little blurb on the bottom of the screen saying "Bob Smith will undergo knee arthroscopy and will miss the next eight weeks," I always want more information.
For instance, arthroscopy doesn't really tell you anything. Arthroscopy is an approach to surgery that uses cameras and small tools that allows surgery to be less invasive, only requiring a few small incisions. But that doesn't tell you what the surgeon is going to do - is she going to remove the meniscus, repair cartilage, or reconstruct a ligament.
They all can be done arthroscopically but the ramifications and time away from the game are all very different. With this in mind I thought I would go into what most likely is going on with A-Rod, since this is breaking news.
One point I do have to make is that I have no more information than you guys with regards to what's going on. However I can make some pretty accurate (I hope) educated guesses based on the information we have heard.
What I have heard is that A-Rod is having a procedure done on his hip to remove/repair the labrum, remove a cyst and shave down his hip bone. He will be out 4-6 months as a result.
These findings are somewhat of a classic case of what is called hip impingement syndrome. There are two types. One is called Pincer syndrome and the other is called CAM impingement - and of course you can have a combination of the two. The mention of having to shave down the bone leads me to believe that he has CAM impingement.
Cam impingement is when the head and/or neck of the femur is too large for the socket of the hip. Usually the bone doesn't taper down enough so that it impacts (impinges) the hip socket, right where the labrum is located, when the athlete tries to flex his hip. This repeated impingement causes a tear of the labrum as well as the formation of a cyst. (check out the photo that says CAM - look at the shaded portion of the bone, which is the part that doesn't taper enough as compared to the picture of the normal hip)
The surgeon is going to repair or remove the torn piece of labrum, remove the cyst that formed, and shave down the part of the bone that isn't tapered enough so that A-Rod can flex his hip without impinging himself.
The reason it takes so long for the recovery is because the labrum has to heal and the bone has to heal. Often times they have to take the hip out of the socket to perform the procedure so instead of cutting through the muscles of the hip to get to the joint (which would seriously jeopardize any athletic career) they actually cut a piece of the bone off that the muscles attach to and then use a pin to reconnect the bone rather than tear up the muscles. This all needs significant time to heal, often mandating that the patient not bear any weight on that leg for a while. These factors all make the rehabilitation longer.
Once again I want to clarify that this is my best guess but I am pretty confidant that I'm on the mark (with at least some of this). I hope this gives you a little more information about the type of procedure that A-Rod is most likely going to go through. And I do not believe this has anything to do with performance enhancing drugs. Most likely A-Rod was born with two hips that weren't normal (remember he had the other one done in a similar fashion a few years ago).
Questions and comments always welcome
Please check us out on Facebook or at our website for more interesting stuff related to health, wellness and fitness.
Yours in Health,
Chris Ostling PT, DPT
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http://plainview.patch.com/groups/chris-ostling-pt-dpts-blog/p/bp--a-rod-needs-hip-surgery-whats-wrong-with-it-and-wc8fefdabf9
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| 0.97416 | 818 | 1.757813 | 2 |
|Rediff India Abroad Home | All the sections|
What caused India's about-turn in Havana?
September 27, 2006
The latest proclamations by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which supposedly amount to giving a clean chit to Pakistan on the terrorism count and the subsequent resumption of the peace process, has come under severe criticism from all quarters.
The leading lights of the previous NDA government, once vehemently criticised by the Congress-led Opposition for adopting a wavered approach toward Pakistan, have wasted no time in returning the favour.
Addressing the media accompanying him to to Brasilia and Havana, Dr Singh gave a new twist to the government's Pakistan policy by stressing the need to strike a balance between engaging with Pakistan and continuing to tackle 'external sources of terrorism.'
But more importantly, in a significant, unexpected shift, he created a domestic political storm by conceding for the first time ever that Pakistan itself is a 'victim of terror' and the terror acts against India could have been undertaken by 'autonomous jihadi groups' which are beyond General Musharraf's control.
The pressure which had built on Pakistan since the 7/11 blasts in Mumbai and the subsequent suspension of the composite dialogue process fizzled out in a flicker. This is a major concession to Pakistan, which would legitimise all future terror attacks against India without any blame being put on General Musharraf's regime.
Dr Manmohan Singh not only allowed the Opposition to train its guns on him again, but also provided on a platter the much needed space and respite to General Musharraf at a time when he has been under intense domestic pressure following Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti's killing.
With his latest remarks, the prime minister seems to have conveyed that New Delhi, in contrast to the popular perception, would continue with the dialogue even if the terrorist attacks do not end.
Unfortunately, it also suggests that the threshold of our tolerance to Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism has no limits.
The shift also trivialises and negates Manmohan Singh's proclamation in July 2005 in New York where he had said that being the prime minister of the world's largest democracy, it would not be possible for him to go beyond public opinion if such terror attacks continued against India.
It is rather difficult to fathom what prompted the prime minister to shift from India's traditional stand of holding Pakistan's military regimes and ISI responsible for all terror attacks undertaken over the years in India. Such a concession has not only weakened India's case of seeking extradition of 20 top terrorists staying in Pakistan but also given other neighbours like Bangladesh room for anti-India activities in the garb of 'autonomous' acts.
Besides, the parameters to differentiate between a Pakistan-sponsored and autonomous group are very difficult to determine. Also, even while certain incidents can be regarded as acts of 'autonomous groups,' can Pakistan be absolved of its responsibility of controlling them?
Evidently, in matters pertaining to Pakistan's security, General Musharraf's government unhesitatingly sanctioned the use of artillery, rockets, helicopter gunships and tanks against rebels in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas and Balochistan. It even went to the extent of eliminating the veteran Baloch leader, former governor and chief minister Akbar Khan Bugti.
Any student of Pakistan affairs would vouch for the capabilities and potential of the Pakistani military, especially in the light of what it is doing in Balochistan and the FATA. It is thus rather difficult to digest their helplessness and inability in prevailing on the anti-India groups.
The prime minister's remarks would substantially reduce the seriousness and intensity of all future warnings which India may have to issue in response to untoward incidents. Very few, including Pakistan would take India seriously when it says that 'there is a need to do more' and Pakistan has not 'done enough' to control groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad and the Hizbul Mujahideen, among others.
Having received the benefit of doubt from India over its role in anti-India activities, a relieved Pakistan would now be least concerned about the evidence which India has provided from time to time of its sponsorship and support of terrorism. Having agreed to engage irrespective of terrorist attacks in India, the onus will now rest solely on India to continue the engagement with Pakistan.
The composite dialogue with Pakistan was suspended after the 7/11 Mumbai blasts, and India had given a firm message that for the peace process to continue it was necessary for Pakistan to do more with regard to terrorism. It is natural to ponder that if the blasts led to the suspension of talks with Pakistan, then what has changed since July on the ground and in Pakistan's policies to prompt the prime minister to give akistan an alibi?
One can only speculate that India may have decided to lower the ante with Pakistan --perhaps at the behest of the US -- so as to undercut the 'nuclear flashpoint theory' with reference to the India-US nuclear deal. But India could have done this without necessarily giving Pakistan a clean chit. Also, if the US president favours sending troops into Pakistan to capture Osama Bin Laden, then why does India have to be nice to Pakistan ignoring its own security interests?
Another possible explanation can be Manmohan Singh's non-aggressive leadership style. His softening under alleged US pressure puts him at par with his Congress predecessor P V Narasimha Rao, who is said to have buckled under US pressure and shelved the nuclear tests in 1995.
In contrast, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee can be projected as a statesman whose leadership consisted of diplomatic sagacity and courage. He had mandated the 1998 nuclear tests without any fear of international or domestic backlash and had undertaken the historic bus trip to Pakistan amidst heightened tension between the two countries.
Apart from Dr Singh's much-talked about policy proclamations, the newly envisaged Indo-Pakistan Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism is drawing flak too. The basic point of contention here is 'trust' which is essential for the mechanism to take off, let alone succeed.
There are several institutional problems and bilateral contradictions too which are vital to examine before this mechanism can be put into service.
Terrorism was one of the eight issues under the formulation of the composite dialogue process of 1997, which called for setting up a mechanism for bilateral cooperation and exchange of information at the interior and home secretary level on the subject. So this is not a new mechanism.
Was the earlier mechanism a failure? If so, what guarantees are there that the new mechanism would not suffer a similar fate?
Second, wouldn't it be naive of the two sides to expect a robust cooperation between two rival agencies -- Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence and India's Research and Analysis Wing? The two agencies which have always seen each other as competitors in the field would be very sceptical in cooperating under the shadows of the past.
In August, the Indian Central Bureau for Investigation and Pakistan's Federal Intelligence Agency met after 17 years to discuss human trafficking, counterfeit currency and illegal immigration. Considering the long-prevailing apprehensions, misperceptions and rivalry between the two sides, sceptics regarded this meeting as a mere formality and did not expect substantial gains. The same would be the case under the new mechanism.
Third, Dr Singh's statement that Pakistan is also a 'victim of terror' like India, ignored the basic difference between the two cases. Pakistan is a victim of terror because of its own jihadi polices and hobnobbing with fundamentalist groups over the years. India is a victim due to Pakistan's policies.
There is no similarity between the two cases. Also, there can be no joint mechanism which deals with the kind of terrorism Pakistan faces -- sectarian and sub-national in nature, and the one which India confronts -- sponsored by Pak-based groups.
Fourth, the most important lacunae in the new mechanism is that there is no clear provision for taking to task or handing over the terrorist who are found guilty for terrorist activities. Dawood Ibrahim has been kept out of the purview of the new joint mechanism. With such inbuilt riders and lacunae, isn't the new mechanism doomed?
Lastly, in an interview on a television channel on September 21, Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan, who seemed to favour the new mechanism, hedged when asked whether, if the joint mechanism succeeded in getting evidence against any terrorist leader in Pakistan, he would be handed over to India.
Incidentally, reports implicating Azam Cheema, the Lashkar commander in Bhawalpur, in the 7/11 Mumbai blasts are a blatant reminder of Pakistan's involvement in terrorist activities in India. Will Pakistan hand over Cheema to India to prove its bonafides? No way! Giving a flavour of things to come, Aziz Khan says unless they investigate the matter themselves, no decision can be taken.
In a nutshell, one wonders whether the unilateral concessions made by New Delhi would go beyond soothing nerves in Islamabad while India prepares itself for likely terrorist attacks, with Durga Puja and Diwali round the corner.
How peacefully the coming festivals pass would perhaps determine whether the prime minister's about turn in Pakistan policy was prudent or a costly historic concession to Pakistan.
The author is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. The views expressed here are his own.
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| 0.955572 | 1,948 | 1.789063 | 2 |
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