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Image Export converts PowerPoint slides to high-quality images. PPT2HTML exports HTML even from PowerPoint 2010 and 2013, gives you full control of PowerPoint HTML output, helps meet Section 508 accessibility requirements Merge Excel data into PowerPoint presentations to create certificates, awards presentations, personalized presentations and more Resize your presentations quickly and without distortion Language Selector switches the text in your presentation from one language to another FixLinks prevents broken links when you distribute PowerPoint presentations Shape Styles brings styles to PowerPoint. Apply complex formatting with a single click. Prep4PDF preserves interactivity in PowerPoint presentations when you convert to PDF Play DVDs in a presentation How can I play movies from a DVD in my presentation? PowerPoint MVP Austin Myers has written: "If you have a working DVD software package, have you tried inserting it as an "object"? This usually works quite well ... you can use an ActiveX control or if your existing DVD player supports OLE (as a server) it can be used. " Better yet, the same Austin Myers has written PFC (Plays For Certain) Pro, which does just what the name suggests: makes sure it plays. For certain. Automatically. Austin's the wizard at this stuff so you don't have to be.
Take a Tuscan cooking course in the historical kitchens of Villa Le Corti in the heart of Chianti. The kitchens, which were originally built in 1600 in Villa Le Corti, take on a new life with Clotilde Corsini. They are the ideal environment to live the experience of cooking courses in the heart of Chianti, only 20 km from Florence and 60 km from Siena. The kitchen is constructed in wood. The bread oven with its ample chimney and a rotisserie (built according to Leonardo Da Vinci’s blueprints) today hosts cooking lessons using recipes handed down over the centuries. Here, budding chefs can learn about the history and culture of Tuscan cuisine. Every lesson lasts about 2-3 hours and ends with a tasting of the dishes prepared, accompanied by Principe Corsini wines. Children are welcome. For information and reservations: t: +39 055 8293026
That's the word from the Washington Post when it comes to the WTO negotiations. Today's article on the prospects for the Doha round asserts that "unlike previous negotiations with similar aims, this set of talks has an ambitious twist: The main goal is to change rules that have put poor countries at a disadvantage in the global marketplace." Yes, and we know that because... Look, the people structuring the Doha round are politicians. It should not be news that politicians are not always entirely truthful in their public comments. In other words, just because they say that the purpose of the Doha round is to help developing countries, this does not mean that the real purpose of the round is to help developing countries. The evidence actually shows that the Doha round is likely to do very little for developing countries and will actually hurt some who are net importers of agricultural products. (The removal of rich country subsidies causes agricultural prices to rise, which means that these countries will have to pay more for their imports.) Based on projections of gains, a reasonable person might be led to believe that the main purpose of the Doha round is to assist politically connected grain traders like Archers Daniel Midland. It would not be hard to redesign global trade rules in ways that actually did offer substantial benefits to developing countries. For example, not requiring them honor rich country patents and copyrights would be a huge boon to developing countries. But such obvious winners for the world's poor are not on the Doha agenda. In any case, the simple point here is that reporters should be clear on distinguishing between what politicians say, and what is true. Politicians say that the main purpose of the Doha round is to help the world's poor. The reporter who wrote this article does not know what the main purpose of the round actually is. Therefore, the article should simply report the claims of the politicians, and identify them as claims, not truth.
More than 250 people attended a black tie gala on Feb. 17, 2011, in the Low Library rotunda in honor of the 2010 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize winners: Thomas J. Kelly, MD, PhD, director, Sloan-Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; and Bruce Stillman, PhD, president, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Columbia University selected Drs. Kelly and Stillman for their combined work in understanding how genetic material replicates and for their current study of how this process goes wrong when cancer occurs. “These two investigators, more than any others, are responsible for discovering the key molecular players in and the principles that govern the process of genetic replication,” said Wayne A. Hendrickson, PhD, chair of the Horwitz Prize Committee, University Professor and Violin Family Professor of Physiology & Cellular Biophysics at Columbia University, when announcing the 2010 winners last December. Kelly has been director of the Sloan-Kettering Institute since 2002. Previously, he was a professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he and his colleagues did much of his prize-winning research. Stillman has been president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory since 2003. He joined Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as a post-doctoral fellow in 1979 and has been there ever since. In explaining the selection of Drs. Kelly and Stillman by Columbia University, Dr. Lee Goldman, Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences, Columbia University Medical Center, said that both have given science a crucial understanding of genetic duplication of normal cells as well as new insights into processes involved in cancer growth. The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize was established under the will of the late S. Gross Horwitz through a bequest to Columbia University. It is named to honor the donor’s mother. Louisa Gross Horwitz was the daughter of Dr. Samuel David Gross (1805-1889), a prominent Philadelphia surgeon. Gross was author of Systems of Surgery and served as president of the American Medical Association. Of the 82 Horwitz Prize winners to date, 42 have gone on to receive Nobel prizes. Each year, since its inception in 1967, the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize has been awarded by Columbia University for outstanding basic research in the fields of biology or biochemistry. The purpose of this award is to honor a scientific investigator, or group of investigators, whose contributions to knowledge in either of these fields are deemed worthy of special recognition. Photography by Charles Manley
Martin County is located in southwestern Indiana. The County Seat is Shoals and the largest city is Loogootee. The Official Web Site is located at http://www.loogootee.com/government/martincountygovernment.html. The 2014 population estimate is 10,203 and the 2010 census population was 10,378. The land area is 335.74 square miles and there are 30.8 persons per square mile. 98.2% of the population is White, 0.2% is Black or African American, 0.9% is Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% is Asian, 0.4% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 0% is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 0.8% is two or more races. 82.9% have a high school degree or higher, and 10.8% have a Bachelor degree or higher. The median home value is $88,500, there are 4,146 households, an average of 2.45 persons per household. The per capita income is $22,817, the median household income is $44,740, and 14.6% of the persons in Martin County are considered below poverty level. The total number of firms, at last estimate, was 814. Retail sales (in $1000) were $81,212, and sales per capita were $8,044. The percentage of black-owned firms is 0%, and the percentage of women-owned firms is 24.7%. If you find a broken link below, please use the Report a Broken Link form to let us know.
Fearful puppies need extra effort and special attention if they are to overcome their fears and become confident, well-adjusted adults. There are a number of reasons for puppies to be afraid. Lack of early socialisation/habituation The most common is lack of adequate socialisation and habituation early in life (see How to socialise a litter for information on how it should be done). If your puppy missed out, you will have to make a determined effort to turn back the clock. Socialisation and habituation done after the 12-14 week cut-off time is harder work and a slow process. However, as the puppy gets older, it will get more and more difficult so it is important to start straight away and, going at the puppy’s speed, get him out and about as much as possible. Another reason for puppies to be afraid is bad experiences. A puppy that has been badly scared or hurt by something will have a specific fear of such things, unlike the under-socialised puppy that will be scared of nearly everything. This could be anything from black Labradors to teenagers wearing trainers. Helping a puppy get over specific fears is easier as there is only one thing to work on. If the mother of the puppies was fearful and was allowed to demonstrate her fear in the presence of the litter, they will have learned to be wary of the same things she was worried about. Usually, these are specific fears but fear of strangers is common and something that needs lots of work to overcome. She may also have passed on genes that make the puppies more likely to be fearful and reactive. These genetic predispositions are much more difficult to overcome. These are the reasons is why it is important to see the mother when buying puppies and to ensure that she has a good temperament. To overcome fears, you need to work slowly and appreciate that things that may be harmless may seem terrifying to your puppy. Break it down into stages: - Identify the fear (e.g. men in hats, collies, strangers) - Stop all exposure to the frightening thing unless you are working on it - Find a way to make the frightening thing less scary (e.g. get some distance away, keep the frightening thing still) - Arrange for your puppy to have small controlled exposures to the reduced experience (check your puppy’s body language and postures to ensure he is not afraid) - Encourage your puppy to relax and have fun during these controlled exposures by offering food treats and games. - Gradually build up the intensity of the exposure over successive sessions as your puppy becomes less afraid. - Go back a stage if your puppy shows signs of distress or anxiety. - Continue until your puppy is relax and confident around the thing he once found scary.
Last month I called for a bloody big new forest in New Zealand: 1.3 million hectares by my reckon. Could be more, could be less – but this is the right ballpark for a meaningful reduction to our net greenhouse gas emissions. The report, Our Forest Future, prompted plenty of discussion, but one issue stood out: a lot of New Zealanders have had a gutsful of Pinus radiata. I’ll save the pros and cons of radiata for another day. Here I’ll discuss some alternatives; specifically, the potential for native trees as commercial forests. Because by bringing new native forest into the mix – for commercial planting as well as conservation planting – we can plan for a forest future that New Zealanders might actually want. Common opinion will tell you that natives grow too slowly to be profitable. But the reality is more complicated. “It’s like a craft beer versus a Tui beer,” says forester Clayton Wallwork. “[Native forest] is more expensive to establish, but you’re going to get a higher-quality timber, a higher-quality product, as a result. You’re also going to have a whole lot of other benefits – to the community, to the environment.” Wallwork is involved in a project called “Our Forests, Our Future”, led by Tane’s Tree Trust. The intention is to get a better handle on the economic potential of native forest, not only for timber but also for environmental benefits. The project is ongoing, focused on demonstration forests of beech in the South Island and totara in Northland. Trials won’t be complete until 2018 – but early signs are positive. They’re looking at the processing, the timber grading, the pricing; and Wallwork says of the totara that “it’s already a lot higher than what you’d get for radiata.” You might wonder: how can anyone do field trials on trees when they take so long to grow? Won’t it take decades to get results? The Northland Totara Working Group, established in 2005, looks at totara that self-regenerated on farmland. As long as landowners left the seedlings to grow to maturity, these decades-old trees can serve as approximations for how totara would grow if planted deliberately. Since 2007, the Working Group has pruned and thinned these forest plots, to see how they respond to best forestry practice. Dr David Bergin, who also works on the project, is an expert on totara, a wood prized for its durability and workability. He’d like to see a more nuanced national forestry, where we’re “matching the appropriate species to the appropriate site… blending in a diverse multi-use forestry with existing land uses.” Our commercial forests are currently 90 per cent Pinus radiata. Bergin says: “With radiata, you’re dealing with a high volume, low value, commodity; so, you’ve got to grow that on an industrial scale.” He’s worked alongside Māori landowners in Northland managing large pine plantations, mostly shipped to China as cheap unprocessed logs. He says “they’re getting a peppercorn rental; they’re on steep difficult country with poor soils; they’re hardly making anything out of it after trucking costs – so it’s marginal even for radiata.” He says there’s a real hunger for alternatives. Forestry research centre Scion is also engaged in indigenous forest research. One recent study found that kauri, along with mānuka, made positive economic returns in six areas around Northland (see graph below). Indeed, in four of the six areas, the investment case for kauri was superior to, or comparable to, Pinus radiata, both pruned and structural-grade. The study estimated the land expectation values (LEVs) for different kinds of forest, then calculated incomes by factoring in costs of planting, harvesting, transport, and annuity. The areas where radiata performed best—South Hokianga, Central Taitokerau, and South Kaipara—were all areas where markets were closest and transport costs low. But, averaging across them, the income for kauri was estimated to be 4.7 times higher than structural-grade radiata pine over a 60-year period. So, if native trees aren’t such a bad investment, why aren’t we growing them? For decades, native forestry has been held back because reliable information is all-too-rare and unreliable information is all-too-common. One of the researchers on the Scion study, Greg Steward, tells me: “It’s about getting us away from that anecdotal information that’s been promulgated around the countryside since the days of Kirk and Cheeseman.” When Steward studied kauri for his Masters degree at University of Canterbury, he found far higher rates of productivity than anyone expected, occasionally getting close to Pinus radiata on optimal sites. Since then he’s helped to develop the Kauri Calculator, an online tool for landowners which predicts future production and income for kauri. People are taking a second look at natives, he says, “because now we’ve got data. You can deny anecdotes until the cows come home, but you can’t deny data.” Misinformation goes back as far as early European settlement. Under the Waste Lands Act of 1854, native forests were defined as precisely that – as “waste lands” – and treated accordingly. The common view was that one blade of grass was worth more than two trees. Not everyone went along with this. By the late 1800s, says Steward, “various folk were starting to question how we were managing our forests and our native timber resources.” At the time, we were not only cutting down ancient forests to export timber overseas, we were also starting to import foreign timber to meet local demand. Yet New Zealand chose to undertake large-scale planting of exotic pine throughout the 1920s to boost domestic supply. In 1919, forester Sir David Hutchins observed: “for reasons which have never been satisfactorily explained, it has been thought to replace the valuable native forest of New Zealand by artificial plantations of exotics – a quite unusual proceeding in forestry”. Some early field trials for natives – although showing promise – were sidelined in this rush to plant exotics. Later trials were conducted on public land, often at high altitude or on land recently clear-felled. Unsurprisingly, these sub-optimal sites produced sub-optimal results. Some historical data, Steward says, no one knows its origins, nor therefore its reliability. Meanwhile, Pinus radiata has benefited from decades of government and industry research. Landowners can easily estimate their return-on-investment for radiata, as well as carbon sequestration rates. Selective breeding has also made it a “super-species”, fast growing and resilient to disease. While there’s no reason that native trees couldn’t also be optimised through selective breeding, that work hasn’t yet been done. To put it bluntly, New Zealand forestry is suffering from a bad case of “path dependency”. In other words, our decisions in the present are constrained by decisions from the past. The historical dominance of Pinus radiata makes its continued dominance a foregone conclusion. It’s this hurdle that Wallwork, Bergin and others hope to overcome with the “Our Forest, Our Future” project. “There’s knowledge out there,” says Wallwork, “but no one can see a demonstration forest that’s been done, that has the books open to show what the potential revenues are.” Bergin adds: “This project is about getting blocks of reasonable scale, demonstrating best practice, and dispelling those misperceptions out there.” It’s not that Bergin is dead-set against radiata: “It seems to occupy a gap in our flora that we don’t have an equivalent to. It’s very plastic, grows on a range of sites, it’s very forgiving, it grows really fast initially.” But he wants to see “multi-species, multi-age, multi-purpose forestry as a mosaic across a landscape, for which I think native forestry has excellent potential to blend in with those other land uses.” He reckons that once we go down this route, “this is where the real foresters come out of the woodwork – if you know what I mean – where they have to understand forest ecology, not as a crop but as an ecosystem.” But that transition will require effort. To break the path-dependency of Pinus radiata, there needs to be more research, which means more research funding. It’ll also require market development, particularly educating New Zealanders to choose sustainably grown native timbers, rather than import foreign timbers which aren’t always sustainably harvested. It’ll require industrial-scale nurseries and economies of scale to bring down the price of establishment. Finally, where local rules prohibit the felling of all native trees, even those that were planted deliberately, we’ll need to find regulatory solutions that enable sustainable native forestry without endangering conservation efforts. So what about climate change? Evidence shows that natives, on average, don’t grow as quickly as Pinus radiata, and so sequester carbon more slowly. Granted, there’s room to improve the growth rates of natives through selective breeding. There’s also room to be smarter about which trees go where: the right native tree on the right site with the right aftercare will likely defy many people’s expectations. Wallwork tells me that mānuka on the East Coast can compete with radiata in terms of sequestration. But this will likely only narrow the gap between the early growth rates of natives and exotics like radiata and eucalyptus, not close the gap entirely. Yet there are other things to consider. A lot of what forests sequester isn’t in the wood, but in the biomass below the ground or on the forest floor. Kauri forest has one of the highest biomass carbon densities in the world. Although this below-ground biomass is excluded from conventional carbon accounting, from a climate perspective, it’s still carbon that’s locked out of the atmosphere. Another issue is resilience. For example, kauri, once established, is highly resistant to drought, indeed even has a competitive advantage in dry conditions (that’s why kauri often clusters on ridgelines). It is also, like totara, a sturdy tree that isn’t susceptible to wind throw. So, if global warming means more droughts and more violent storms for New Zealand – which is what the Royal Society predicts – then there’s good reason to plan more diverse forests, rather than gamble on a monoculture that’s uniformly vulnerable to the same hazards. There’s also questions over long-term strategy for permanent forests. Bergin notes that, although some exotics have a growth advantage in early decades, this diminishes over successive decades because the growth of radiata eventually plateaus at around fifty years. Once we’ve reached, say, one-hundred years, though, we’re talking about mature native and exotic forests that are storing comparable volumes of carbon. But the native forests may well be more sustainable over the long run, because of their intrinsic value and more diverse income opportunities. Wallwork notes that, when carbon forestry was first floated, all sorts of ridiculous plans were hatched for densely spaced forests of radiata, unthinned and unpruned, which would have aged into hazardous and unmanageable forests with little value beyond their stored carbon. Such forests, as you can imagine, would be first in line for land use conversion. What are we to learn from this? Our forest future doesn’t need to be a future of Pinus radiata alone. There are alternatives on the table. And that’s just as well, because as long as landowners have a choice over what they plant, then many landowners won’t want to plant radiata pine (at least not without handsome incentives). Given that the majority of land available for future forest is privately owned, climate policy needs to take seriously the preferences of people, whether its their aesthetic preferences, cultural values like kaitiakitanga, or concerns over biodiversity and wilding pines. A native tree in the ground will always sequester more carbon than a fast-growing exotic that never gets planted at all. This is why, in the Our Forest Future report, I called for a principle of “appropriate diversification”. Fortunately, native trees are not only a feasible option, they’re sometimes the more profitable option, especially when landowners pick the right tree for the right site. That doesn’t mean we should only plant native trees with commercial purposes in mind. Native tree planting for conservation projects, for habitat restoration, for permanent forest sinks, and for riparian planting should be a part of the picture too – the bigger the better. But anyone who relies on their land as their principal source of income needs to make ends meet. Native planted forests – sensibly managed – can strike a balance between favourable economic returns and favourable environmental outcomes. And if that isn’t green growth, then I don’t know what is.
Saturday, January 7, 2017 GURPS - Places of Mystery From their website: "I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. Percy Shelley, "Ozymandias" GURPS Places of Mystery is designed for use with a very wide range of games. This is a book of places and locations, chosen because they all have at least a hint of the unusual about them. Some are widely believed to be centres of great magic; others "merely" have an interesting history, or unique features. Others again are simply amazing tourist spots, for one reason or another. The sites chosen for this book are nearly all buildings, cities, or other human constructions. We've slipped in a few natural places of mystery, such as Ayer's Rock (which is just as much a sacred site as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) and Loch Ness (which we just couldn't leave out), but they are exceptions to prove our rule. The rule was instituted mostly because of the space we had available, and the need for a consistent "style." No doubt, someone could also write GURPS Geography and Geology, and in fact it would have almost as much gaming potential. (And we'd quite like to see it.) But this supplement is about the creations of humanity – in humanity's slightly stranger moments. Incidentally, some of the buildings mentioned in this book are intact today, but time, nature, and the human tendency to fight wars being what they are, many are in ruins, or actually lost. (One or two probably never existed in the first place.) Still, ruins have lots of atmosphere; remember the conclusion of Shelley's poem. So let's go places." "Based on the original Dungeons & Dragons adventure In Search of the Unknown by Mike Carr, HackMaster's Quest for the Unkno... From the back cover: "The battle between the mighty undead army of the Witch-King of Vaasa and the forces of Bloodstone has com... Contents: - "A Turn of the Friendly Card: Expanded Gambling Rules for James Bond" by David A. Klempa - "'Spreche... From the front cover: "This book contains approximately 128 pages of 7/32 hex paper printed both sides, usable for games and ga... From the website: "The HârnMaster character generation system gives players a rich Hârnic experience. Characters may start the ga... From the back of book: "This 64-page adventure setting, written by Ed Cha, is flexibly designed for use with a party of good PCs... This is the Player's Handbook for HackMaster, which is a partial parody, partial tribute to the first edition D&D game. Whil... From the back cover: "An ancient tomb within a skull shaped mountain tempts adventurers with tales of riches and glory. But sur... From the back cover: "Finally the comic book role play game everyone has been waiting for! Introducing the Heroes & Heroine... From the back of the book: "- Characters encounter altered ones and living metal while searching the hostile wilderness for hidd...
A Review of By Light We Knew Our Names by Jaclyn Watterson The thirteen stories in Anne Valente’s debut collection, By Light We Knew Our Names, reside in a world where loss is easy to map—until it isn’t. Parents and children die, mothers and fathers leave their families, babies are not born, or else lose their innocence. Pain is the most reasonable thing in this world, and yet it is always, always eclipsed by wonder. In the face of rape, the aurora borealis. With coming of age, the discovery of powers to see what few others can. Sirens in the night calling to witness mourning and the possibility of a marriage breaking up. Amidst war and the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, a sisterhood that spans generations and species. This is the stuff Valente’s fiction is made of. She is adept at tracing the pain of death and divorce, the wrenching of innocence from us, so that we recognize these familiar breaks, recognize our own potential to suffer what she knows. And yet, Valente insists in every story, there is more to loss than the simple fact of it. There is the natural world, and it is glorious, splendid, and every bit as harsh as the beauty of human relations: So begins Valente’s title story, “By Light We Knew Our Names.” The story is set in Alaska, and the northern lights refract the physical and emotional pain of the violence of a man’s world where girls are treated as less than human. But Valente’s girls respond to the impossible pain of rape their community refuses to acknowledge, incarceration by boyfriends who “play rough,” theft by fist-wielding fathers, and other unspeakable violences by emerging as more than human—by holding each other up to the light. This is what Valente does with her characters, and to her readers: she shows us the pain, but also the transcendence we are all capable of. She reminds us that beyond the pain, there is always light. Valente notably achieves this effect in several stories with her exquisite renderings of first-person plural narrators. In “Dear Amelia,” a stunning sort of love letter to Amelia Earhart, Valente writes, “We might have accepted this, Amelia. We might have grown to love our double lives the way our mothers learned to accept theirs, all the secrets they kept, a power they held against bone, a protected full-house hand.” In this story, we feel the pain of separation, that “we” can never be “them,” that no matter how we love our mothers or our heroes, we can only, at best, approximate being them. But this separation is equally cause for celebration—that there exists a “we,” that we possess the incredible potential of collectively experiencing the world, and narrating our place in it.
Degradation (from Latin: degradatio, literally — reduction), regression — the process of deterioration of characteristics of an object with time; moving back; gradual decline; decline in quality; breakdown of matter due to the impact of external forces in conformity with the laws of nature and time.* Degradation can be used in the following ways: - Biodegradation – The processes by which organic substances are broken down by living organisms - Chemical decomposition – The degradation of chemical compounds - Corruption – Philosophical conceptual degradation - Degradation – Telecommunications, the loss of quality of an electronic signal - Elegant degradation – In engineering, the gradual failing of a machine - Environmental degradation – In ecology, damage to the ecosystem and loss of biodiversity - Computing – the corruption or degradation of a file, program, image, etc. Each of the above can be applied, by way of analogy, to discipleship. I’ll draw some analogies and invite you to add others in the comment section. But first a simple definition of discipleship: “Ever moving closer to Christ & His Gospel while serving, teaching, encouraging, facilitating, and empowering others do the same.” Do you like that definition? Again, use the comment section below to suggest any changes. Regardless of how we define discipleship, it must always have at least two components. Being and Doing. We “be”come a disciple when we begin to follow. Inward discipleship is the obeying of all that Christ commanded. When we Make Disciples by doing – going, gospelizing, teaching others to obey all that Christ commanded and by baptizing, we are disciples and help others to do the same. Discipleship, personal or external, is about following. One can not follow a stationary object. Discipleship always requires message and movement. Now, let’s get back to degradation: - Is it possible for discipleship, both personal and external to degrade? - Can we be broken down by other “living organisms?” - Can the chemistry or elements of discipleship decompose? - Can the message (the gospel) of discipleship become corrupt? - Can the quality of the signal degrade? - Can the machine of discipleship simply give out? - Can damaging our ecclesiastical ecosystem destroy the church’s biodiversity? The implied answer in each of these cases is, of course, yes. How does it occur in each of the above examples? Again, I’ll leave that to you to comment on below. While some deny that 2 Timothy 2:2 is about discipleship, the principle contained therein applies here. “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” Here we have the passing on of the medium and message for four generations. The medium is Christ and the message, His Gospel. This leaves little, if any wiggle room for degradation. If Christ lives in us personally and in community, then the church shouldn’t be biodegradable. Further, when we discuss the natural order of things, specifically with regard to entropy, we understand that nature tends from order to disorder in isolated systems. Degradation is natural. The church however, shouldn’t be an isolated system. It’s not natural, it’s Supernatural. Degradation is Counter-Kingdom. It is in God that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28) God works all things to the order of His will (Romans 8:28,28,30) (Ephesians 1:11) (Isaiah 25:1) etc. I find it fascinating, that in digital technology, a file or program can degrade or become corrupt. If it’s hacked, that’s easy enough to understand. But if you make a perfect copy of something and a perfect copy of the copy, then how do electronic copies degrade? Likewise, if we’re making disciples who make disciples, then shouldn’t the process always be “upgrading” instead of degrading?
Stimulating growth through adjusting macroeconomic conditions remains the principal policy responses to pressing problems of unemployment, poverty and environmental degradation. However, are the current policy approaches capable of tackling these problems by generating win-win solutions or are they the root causes of these problems? The current growth trajectory has neither lead to a reduction of our overall resource use - as we use resources and energy more efficiently we consume more - nor create the conditions for employment and well-being. Increasingly, there is the realisation that it is necessary to make substantial interventions into our national economies and create better framework conditions and incentive systems in order to more widely and rapidly develop and disseminate workable, innovative solutions for realizing sustainable development. This is the task of politics, and the concrete design of the measures must be built upon a broad public debate and shared long-term visions. The authors of this book intend to trigger a dialogue among stakeholders about how we can shape this transformation process towards sustainability. Following a detailed presentation of the key arguments for reconsidering the necessary conditions for sustainable economies, an international cast of commentators from politics, administration, civil society, business and science engage with the central question: is there an alternative trajectory for Western economies that sustains wellbeing whilst confronting ecological and social breakdown?
In the following image, she is framed by an Art Nouveau illustration designed to leave room for the sender's message. Post cards of this type fall under the category of what French collectors call a précurseur, a card made before the back sides were divided to allow for written communication. Prior to 1904, when the backs of these cards were undivided as this one was, only the recipient's address was allowed on the back side, and often short letters were written on the image side instead. Discovering this, publishers produced picture postcards with small images, often highly decorative, and allowing lots of space for written communication. \|Lucy Gérard, Stage Actress, by Reutlinger, in Art Nouveau Border, circa 1900 (unposted)\| One of her most famous roles was that of Fanny Essler, or Elssler, an Austrian Ballerina who in the play "l'Aiglon," by Edmond Rostand, was the love interest of Napoleon II. The role of Napoleon II, by the way, was played by the great Sarah Bernhardt. In fact, Rostand wrote the part specifically for her. The play was a huge success, and became one of Sarah Bernhardt's favorites. Playing the romantic lead opposite Bernhardt must have been quite a coup, and this postcard image, the one we find most often of Mlle. Gérard, is of her costumed for that role. \|Lucy Gérard, by Reutlinger, as Fanny Elssler in Rostand's "l'Aigon," circa 1900 (unposted)\| \|Lucy Gérard. French Actress, circa 1906 by Leopold Reutlinger\| The following image is a very nice example of the sort of photo-montage Leopold Reutlinger is so well known for. Here we have famed stage actress Lucy Gérard superimposed onto an image of the Bordeaux Amphitheater. Also known as the Palais Gallien, it is surrounded by the cobbled streets of what was once known as Burdigala. Burdigala once may have been the capital of the ancient Roman province Gallia Aquitaina during the reign of the emperor Augustus. The amphitheater once held up to 15,000 spectators. \|Lucy Gérard, Belle Epoque Actress, Bordeaux Amphitheater, circa 1900 (unposted)\| Mlle. Gérard passed away in 1941. We feel a little sad when we think about it, how she was born into a world of horses and carriages, experienced France in one of its most glorious periods, Paris, in one of its most glamorous and hopeful, and then to have died at a time when her world had so dramatically changed, into one of machines and motorcars, with her country occupied by Hitler's forces, no end in sight, and not living long enough to experience the liberation...okay, snap out of it Red :)
Showing 15 of 122 Books under ' Lifestyle & Hobbies ' British Medical Association: A-Z Family Medical Encyclopedia The essential reference to over 7,000 medical terms including symptoms, diseases, drugs, and treatments This new, revised edition of the BMA’s bestselling and definitive medical reference guide brings authoritative and up-to-date medical knowledge into your home. Stay up-to-date with medical advances and advice; from new developments in travel immunizations to the most recent guidelines for antenatal... British Medical Association:When Your Child is ill A Home Guide for Parents From asthma to chicken pox, learn to look after your little people with this at home guide for parents, covering childhood diseases and disorders. Comprehensive question-and-answer charts help you make informed decisions about your child’s health, giving you the confidence to know when to visit a... Dorling Kindersley : Eyewitness Companions Discover everything you need to know about cats in this comprehensive guide from the UK's No.1 vet, Dr Bruce Fogle. Meet sixty breeds, from the Manx to the Japanese Bobtail, and learn how to identify the characteristics that make each one special. Make sure you know how to look after your purrfect friend... Dorling Kindersley : Eyewitness Companions From their wild origins to their role as house pets and working dogs, discover the history of dogs in this Eyewitness Companion guide. You'll find a wealth of specially commissioned photography and information on identifying breeds, whether you're a fan of toy poodles or Irish wolfhounds! Plus, see... Children's First Cookbook Make first time cooking easy and fun with Annabel Karmel Scrummy scrambled eggs, baked potato mice, easy peasy cupcakes and smoothie shake ups – make a child’s first time cooking in the kitchen fun and easy with Annabel Karmel! From sweet treats to simple family meals, young children will love trying out the exciting range of tasty and healthy recipes. Five Lessons I Didn't Learn From Breast Cancer (And One Big One I Did) This cancer survivor’s book does not promote cancer as a spiritual gift. This is not a book filled with ‘Look on the bright side’ advice, Lewis says. This is . . . for women who don’t have and don’t want a spiritual makeover after breast cancer . . . and don’t expect breast cancer to fix what’s wrong... The Arabian Horse of Egypt Magnificent photographs celebrating the history and splendor of this special breed Photographs by Nasr Marei, Text by Cynthia Culbertson Prized for their stamina and their acclimation to the harsh conditions of the Arabian deserts, the ancestors of the horses that are now recognized as the Egyptian Arabian purebred horse entered Egypt centuries ago, establishing the valuable bloodlines of the breed there. The breeding programs in Egypt... A Dictionary of Agricultural and Allied Terminology Al-Khatib. Ahmad Shafiq مصطلحات العلوم الزراعية Made By Me A stitch-by-stitch guide to knitting, sewing and embroidery for children, from award winning author Jane Bull Help your child get creative with activity expert Jane Bull. Can you never find those all important accessories or would you like to give an original present? Then read this together with your child; they’ll learn basic sewing, embroidery, knitting and appliqué techniques, and enjoy using the simple... Book and CD : 05 Jul 2007 8 - 14 years Ditch the jargon and take pictures like a pro with this fantastic book and CD that give you the tools and know-how to turn snaps into really cool pics! From how your camera works, to great ideas for subjects, mini-projects and a wealth of techniques and inspiration to improve your photography, you’ll... Discover the intriguing world of musical sound and the extraordinary variety of instruments that create it, in this new paperback edition Ever since Stone Age humans used slabs to create sound, man has invented an extraordinary variety of instruments in the pursuit of new ways of making music. Many of the instruments featured in this dazzling collection of specially commissioned pictures come from specialist museum collections; all are... Checkmate! Learn to play chess like a champ with this exciting step-by-step guide, complete with amazing 3D illustrations and master tips and challenges. Easy steps to grandmaster greatness – now in paperback From the opening move to checkmate, this step-by-step guide will help your child play chess like a champion. Whether they are just starting out, or are a bit of an expert, they’ll learn a great deal – starting with basic techniques, they’ll move... Visiting the Doctor Help your child through a new experience Turn a new experience into a fun activity for you and your toddler with this step-by-step guide Are you off to see the doctor? Have you got first time nerves? Read the book together and find out what to expect. Watch toddler Sarah as she goes to the surgery with her teddy. See how the doctor can tell they are fit and healthy as they get their heart checked through a stethoscope. Boom, Boom! Time to Eat Up 2 - 3 years Turn breakfast, lunch and dinner into happy times for you and your toddler with this step-by-step guide. Read the book together and discover how we all need food for energy and to keep us healthy too. Learn what goes into favourite foods like pizza and why eating is fun, copy the toddler as she eats... Milan & the Lakes The DK Eyewitness Travel Guide to Milan and the Lakes will lead you straight to the best attractions this stunning region has to offer, with over 600 detailed maps, illustrations and colour photographs. You’ll find detailed background information on the best activities in Milan; from walks in the charming Brera district to shopping for the latest fashions. Fully updated and expanded with hundreds of photographs and illustrations, the guide features detailed cutaways, beautiful floor plans and street-by-street...
A green, verdant southern kingdom, Southsward was separated from Mossflower Woods by a vast stretch of desert wasteland. It was home to various species of woodland creatures: squirrels, otters, mice, and tribal hedgehogs. The capital was at Castle Floret, where its king and queen ruled. The only king and queen known were Gael and his wife Serena, two squirrels. Gael was notable for losing his kingdom to the hordes of Urgan Nagru and regaining it again after the Battle of Southsward. Apart from that, Southsward was mostly a peaceful and prosperous kingdom. Places of Interest Southsward appears in The Bellmaker.
Alteration of Databases Oracle Tips by Burleson Consulting Even the best-designed database eventually has to be changed. New log group member files may need to be added, data files may need to be renamed or moved, archive logging status may need to be changed, and so on. These tasks are all accomplished through the use of the ALTER DATABASE command. Let’s look at a simplified command format and some of the options. [NO]MOUNT [STANDBY\|CLONE] DATABASE OPEN [READ[ ONLY]\|WRITE][RESETLOGS\|NORESETLOGS] ACTIVATE STANDBY DATABASE ADD LOGFILE [THREAD n] [GROUP n] file_spec ADD LOGFILE MEMBER file_spec [REUSE] TO GROUP DROP LOGFILE [GROUP n\|group spec] file_spec DROP LOGFILE MEMBER file_spec CLEAR [UNARCHIVED] LOGFILE [GROUP n\|group_spec] file_spec UNRECOVERABLE DATAFILE RENAME file_spec TO file_spec CREATE STANDBY CONTROLFILE AS file_name REUSE BACKUP CONTROLFILE TO file_name REUSE\|TO TRACE RENAME GLOBAL NAME TO database[.domain] ENABLE [PUBLIC] THREAD n DISABLE THREAD n CREATE DATAFILE file_spec AS file_name RESIZE n [K\|M] NATIONAL CHARACTER SET Set time zone clauses DEFAULT TEMPORARY TABLESPACE tablespace DATABASE name. Assigned to a maximum of eight characters. If it is not specified, the value in the INIT.ORA file will be used. File_spec. A file specification in the format of ‘filename’ SIZE integer K or M REUSE, with filename an OS-specific full path name; K or M specifies integer as kilobytes or megabytes; and REUSE specifies to reuse the current file if it exists. If SIZE isn’t specified, 500K will be used. REUSE is optional. File_name. A full path filename. MOUNT. Database is available for some Remote DBA functions, but not normal functions. Either exclusive, which is default, or PARALLEL. STANDBY DATABASE. With version 7.3 and greater, the command operates against a hot-standby database (see Chapter 15, Backup and Recovery Procedures for Oracle). CLONE. With 8i a clone database is used in the recovery of a tablespace to a point in time. OPEN. Database is mounted and opened for general use, either with RESET LOGS (default) or NORESET LOGS (see Chapter15). @@@Au: Subsequent xrefs to chapter, give chapter number only; not necessary to repeat title.@@@ ACTIVATE STANDBY DATABASE. See ADD LOGFILE THREAD. Adds a thread or redo to a PARALLEL instance. ADD LOGFILE MEMBER. Adds a logfile member to an existing group. CLEAR. Reinitializes an online redo log and, optionally, does not archive the redo log. CLEAR LOGFILE is similar to adding and dropping a redo log except that the command may be issued even if there are only two logs for the thread, and it also may be issued for the current redo log of a closed thread. CLEAR LOGFILE. Cannot be used to clear a log needed for media recovery. If it is necessary to clear a log containing redo after the database checkpoint, then incomplete media recovery will be necessary. The current redo log of an open thread can never be cleared. The current log of a closed thread can be cleared by switching logs in the closed thread. If the CLEAR LOGFILE command is interrupted by a system or instance failure, then the database may hang. If so, the command must be reissued once the database is restarted. If the failure occurred because of I/O errors accessing one member of a log group, then that member can be dropped and other members added. UNARCHIVED. Must be specified if you want to reuse a redo log that was not archived. Note that specifying UNARCHIVED will make backups unusable if the redo log is needed for recovery. UNRECOVERABLE DATAFILE. Must be specified if the tablespace has a data file offline, and the unarchived log must be cleared to bring the tablespace online. If so, then the data file and entire tablespace must be dropped once the CLEAR LOGFILE command completes. DROP LOGFILE. Drops an existing DROP LOGFILE MEMBER. Drops an existing log member. RENAME. Renames the specified archive logging on or off. RECOVER. Puts database into recovery mode. The form of recovery is specified in the recovery clause. (See Chapter 15) BACKUP CONTROLFILE. This can be used in two ways: first, to make a recoverable backup copy of the control file (“TO 'filename'”) and, second, to make a script to rebuild the control file (“ TO TRACE”). CREATE DATAFILE. Creates a new data file in place of an old one. You can use this option to re-create a data file that was lost with no backup. The ‘filename’ must identify a file that was once a part of the database. The filespec specifies the name and size of the new data file. If you omit the AS clause, ORACLE creates the new file with the same name and size as the file specified by 'filename'. CREATE STANDBY CONTROLFILE. Creates a control file for use with the standby database. DATAFILE. Allows you to perform manipulations against the data files in the instance such as resizing, turning autoextend on or off, and setting backup status. ENABLE and DISABLE threads. Allows the enabling and disabling of redo log threads (only used for RESET COMPATIBILITY. Marks the database to be reset to an earlier version of Oracle7 when the database is next restarted. This will render archived redo logs unusable for recovery. Tip: The RESET COMPATIBILITY option will not work unless you have successfully disabled Oracle9i features that affect backward compatibility. RENAME GLOBAL_NAME TO. Changes the global name of the database. A rename will automatically flush the shared pool. It doesn’t change data concerning your global name in remote instances, connect strings, or db links. Some examples of the use of ALTER DATABASE * To mount a database PARALLEL: ALTER DATABASE dbname MOUNT PARALLEL * To drop a logfile member: DROP LOGFILE '/oracle1/ORTEST1/redo/ORTEST1_redo31.log' Code Depot for Full Scripts This is an excerpt from Mike Ault, bestselling author of "Oracle 10g Grid and Real Application Clusters". You can buy it direct from the publisher for 30%-off and get instant access to the code depot of Oracle tuning scripts. 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June 5, 2015 The changing face of digital communication – are emojis the future of online advertising? It’s hard to believe that texting is no longer the quickest way to communicate. Have “lol,” “omg” and “ttyl” gone out of style? Brevity and clarity are two underlying principles that allow social media to thrive. As users’ attention spans diminish, it becomes increasingly important to relay information in the most clear and concise manner, thus giving rise to the need for emojis. Distributed on iPhone keyboards in 2011 and Androids in 2013, these character icons have altered people’s natural communication tendencies in just a couple years. With distinctive words associated with each emoji, the sender’s intentions become clear in a simple, visually appealing icon. For example, a heart emoji clearly signifies love and affection, while an image of clapping hands conveys appreciation and praise. Why send “ily” when you can send a beautiful red heart icon instead? Emojis have not only penetrated our texting conversations – they have also populated our tweets, comments and captions. Like emotions, emojis are universal and can be understood by people around the world, regardless of their spoken language. Companies such as Domino’s have recognized the potential power of emojis for branding and buying. In a recently launched campaign, the pizza franchise has made it possible to purchase a pizza by simply tweeting a pizza emoji. Screenshot of a post on the Domino’s Twitter account. Domino’s has unlocked a market with a promising future; emoji use could be the ideal opportunity for companies to redefine their brands in the simplest way possible and also target the 18-34 demographic. In addition to cutting transaction time down to mere seconds, Domino’s gets free exposure out of it. If I were to tweet @Dominos with a pizza emoji, my Twitter followers will likely be inspired to do the same. So what might this mean for the future of advertising? While by no means can emojis replace text completely, implementation of these icons will be a crucial complement to more traditional text advertising, as emoji use continues to rise. With nearly 40% of captions and comments on Instagram containing emojis in the Untied States – and an even greater percentage in other countries – these icons highlight three key elements that enhance a user’s purchasing experience: simplicity, speed and universality. Photo from Instagram-engineering.tumblr.com Although it’s hard to say whether this method of advertising will become widespread, Domino’s has paved the way to new possibilities by capitalizing on convenience. Which brand will be next to hop on the emoji bandwagon?
So no matter what you’re up against – persuasive research paper topics, in-depth analyses, or other research paper styles, remember your basic guidelines: write from what you love, view past work, and brainstorm with buddies. You may not know at first what is a good topic for a research paper, but you’ll soon discover intriguing topics and amazing possibilities with these strategies! When someone is proud of their involvement in a topic, when they believe passionately in the right of a certain cause, their response is easy to see. If they write about this passion, it shows in their writing. So the obvious point here is when it comes to choosing a good topic for your research paper, you may well be doing yourself a giant favor by choosing something which appeals to you. Tips on Choosing a Good Topic for your Research Paper When writing a research paper, topic is everything. After all, your topic is what you are writing about. In this way, it makes sense that you take care and planning to choose what kind of topic you want to write about. There are good topics and there are bad topics, and there are several criteria, which helps to choose a good topic. The first is the kind of paper that is easy or reasonable to write for the requirements set by yourself or by your instructor. The second is consideration of the audience, and finally there is consideration of who you are and what you want to write about. By considering these things, you should be able to choose a good topic for the research paper you want to write.
to reduce the amount of resources I consume and make my home or building energy and resource efficient. What can I do to make it environmentally friendly? I want to do my part during this "Green Revolution" but I'm not sure I can afford it and I really don't know where to start. I've read the news about the Government spending Billions of dollars to fund energy programs but I can't seem to get the answers I need. The mission of the RRG is to engage communities, home owner associations and commercial real estate owners to provide them the knowledge to make informed decisions for energy and resource conservation. We believe that with this knowledge, owners will realize that investing in resource reduction, coupled with renewable energy, delivers immediate and long term economic and environmental benefits. We believe a community effort is the best method to achieve maximum conservation and obtain economy of scale for home retrofits and renewable energy. We are working with communities in Southern California to show how effective this plan can be. The key to our plan is to identify and target homes/buildings that are not energy efficient and have moderate to high energy and resource usage. These provide the highest return on investment and fastest payback. If your community, home owners association or commercial real estate would like to learn how to save money and resources please visit the contact page to let us know. We will be happy to present a free energy seminar that will show community members, HOA residents or commercial real estate tenants, the basics of energy and resource consumption and the benefits of conservation
Tommy Sangchompuphen, Associate Dean of Student Learning and Assessment and Associate Professor of Law at Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, discusses how his program uses ExamSoft's Category feature to adequately measure student performance. Making Data-Driven Decisions for Better Educational Results: 3 Schools That Do It Right Making data-driven decisions is better for students, better for higher education programs, and yields bette... Thank you! You will be contacted shortly Error - something went wrong! Other content in this Stream ExamSoft LS Lite One Pager ExamSoft continues to offer law schools a premier assessment solution with ExamSoft LS Lite, an exam platform that helps legal educators administer efficient assessments that track student learning. ExamSoft - How it Works Ever wonder how the ExamSoft platform works? Here's a great look into our embedded assessment and analytics suite of software - and how it can help higher education programs with the entire assessment University of Vermont Law Case Study The University of Vermont Law School used ExamSoft's embedded-assessment software to implement formative assessment and measure student learning according to ABA standards. ExamSoft Fast 5: Benefits for Law Programs ExamSoft helps make sure that your law program is providing an effective learning environment that produces quality lawyers. ExamSoft for Law Schools With our embedded-assessment, rubrics, and real-time reporting capabilities, law schools have a better way to measure student competency, achieve desired objectives, and satisfy accrediting bodies. Law Class Feedback Created specifically to help measure and report on Standards 314 and 315, ExamSoft and Wolters Kluwer are proud to announce a partnership to make this new assessment process as painless as possible... ExamSoft - State of Education Nobody is more aware of the declining state of the American educational system than our educational leaders. ExamSoft is fortunate to be one of these private firms that have grown with their help. Learning Outcomes for Law Schools Schools can easily connect with their students, show proof of competency, and prep for the Bar exam – all within the platform most are already using to give secure exams! Using ExamSoft to Extensively Assess Student Performance Tommy Sangchompuphen, Associate Dean of Student Learning and Assessment and Associate Professor of Law at Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, shares how his program uses ExamSoft's repor ExamSoft Reporting and Analytics With ExamSoft's reporting capabilities your program can easily collect, aggregate, and distribute important program and institutional assessment data to all stakeholders at the touch of a button. Psychometrics 101: Know What Your Assessment Data is Telling You Presented by Eric Ermie, Executive Director of Sales, ExamSoft Worldwide, Inc. Keep it? Throw it out? Content/teaching issue? Bad question? Too easy? Too hard? What the heck? More than likely you Creating a Personalized Remediation Program for Law Students The past few years have included several cases of law students attempting to sue their schools for misrepresenting employment statistics. Law schools need a better way to address needs of students. Using ExamSoft Reporting Analytics for Student Remediation Tommy Sangchompuphen, Associate Dean of Student Learning and Assessment and Associate Professor of Law at Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, shares how ExamSoft's reporting tool helps s Secure Computer-Based Testing with ExamSoft A secure, and fair testing environment is important piece of the assessment process. ExamSoft can help your educational program secure the testing environment with a locked down exam platform that wor Are Your Law School Exams Secure Enough? ExamSoft's offline, computer-based testing software is specially designed to reduce the possibilities of academic dishonesty among law students. ExamSoft Scantron Overview While Scantron-style assessments are limited in their reporting capabilities, ExamSoft is quick to learn, and helps streamline question creation, student management, and report creation. With multiple levels of prevention (including state-of-the-art encryption and security processes), ExamSoft can help prevent a number of “quirky” situations that might occur on test day. Learning about the Learners: Using Analytical Tools to Drive Curricular Decisions Recently, Al Spiegel, Laptop Coordinator at Bergen Catholic High School, discussed the process of using ExamSoft data to explore exam-taker habits and adjust exams accordingly. Bloom’s Taxonomy (Part 1): Bloom’s Basics Bloom’s Taxonomy consists of six levels of cognition that classify a student’s relationship to assigned learning objectives. Bloom’s Taxonomy (Part 3): Writing Learning Objectives That Measure Up
Bill Cavender is certain he has the next big thing for Richmond’s burgeoning craft spirits scene, and it won't be long until he shows us exactly what he meads. His new Scott's Addition mead outpost, Black Heath Meadery, is set to open this Wednesday, March 4, according to the company’s Facebook page. Mead, considered the oldest fermented drink, is honey wine. The earliest evidence of mead has been found in China and dates back to 6500 B.C. though European history indicates 2000 B.C.; unsurprising, as the fermentable sugar for the libation is honey — easily available at the time — with no need for processing and knack for never going bad. It’s been called a magic beverage and, in Norse mythology, credited for transforming drinkers into poets or scholars. It's peppered throughout historical fiction and nonfiction, from Aristotle to Tolkien’s The Hobbit. It's so prolific, in fact, that it made its way into everyday language; the word honeymoon is derived from the tradition of drinking mead at weddings. Cavender, an avid home brewer, is bottling his own magic liquid at Black Heath Meadery. When its doors open, it will be the only meadery in Richmond and one of only a handful in Virginia. The brewer's journey all began with one experimental batch: Cavender had moved to Austin and couldn’t get his beer yeast to behave in Texas's varying temperatures, so he opted for wine yeast, used in mead, to handle those ups and downs in climate. After his batch received rave reviews, there was no stopping him. The equipment needed to make mead is nearly the same needed for beer, so when his first batch was a hit, it turned into several more, and he and his wife, Jayne Heffner, decided to make the leap into the mead business. After moving back to Richmond, the two launched RVAMeadLab as a makeshift research and development project to gauge the area’s interest. They were overwhelmed by the response and knew then that Richmond was definitely ready for the sweet stuff. Mead comes in multiple styles: dry, sweet, still and sparkling, and it can be manipulated with fruit, hops, herbs or spices. “Many people think that mead is syrupy sweet, but that’s incorrect," says Cavender. "Mead is incredibly drinkable. It can have a comparative ABV to traditional wine, reparative effects on the immune system [those touted in bee pollen], and can be tolerated by the gluten-intolerant." Cavender is bottling a traditional, more “familiar” mead to start. He has several multi-gallon tanks that he uses to ferment wildflower honey from local honey purveyors Bearer Farms and Golden Angel. Those tanks will produce about 200-plus gallons of drinkable honey wine. The light gold liquid will be called The Muse and be bottled in 750 milliliter bottles. He’ll also have some sixtels — 5-gallon kegs — that he will self-distribute. But you wont be able to buy pints at Black Heath just yet; Virginia law prohibits serving by the glass. You will, however, be able to taste what you can buy in Cavender’s refurbished Scott’s Addition building, a reconverted sign shop, where the space is long and attractively painted in purple with accents of re-purposed wood. Future production will include a cyser — blended apple and honey wine with deep alcoholic kick; a melomel — a honey wine using fruit from Swift Creek Berry Farm; and a metheglin — a traditional mead with added spices like ginger from Casselmonte Farms. “I hope to see some of my kegs on tap in places [around Richmond] and people enjoying draft mead like they would beer or wine," he shares. "Our product is going to be hyper-local as its prime ingredients are dependent on the weather. I think that will be incredibly attractive to Richmond.” Black Heath Meadery opens at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, at 1313 Altamont Ave.
In this series Patrick Middleton looks at some of the professions almost all of us have to deal with at some time Michel Lallamant, notaire In preparing for my interview with Michel Lallamant I came across a quotation from the nineteenth-century novelist Balzac: "If a man is," he wrote, "in the slightest degree an artist, an enthusiast, a lover, he cannot succeed as a notaire." A profession for dull dogs, at least in those days. "There's something in that," admitted Me Lallamant, an engaging and immensely articulate man whom I met at his Nice étude. "Like many jobs ours has changed a lot. In Balzac's time the notaire had a certain status that wasn't necessarily related to individual competence, and some of them weren't especially bright." So what does a notaire do? One of Balzac's contemporaries, who himself exercised the profession, declared, rather grandly, that "the notaire is at the origin and end of all things in civil life." “It needs a legal eye” "Well, yes," agreed Me Lallamant, "but that's a bit vague. To be more precise, a notaire is a public official—who has to be a French citizen, of course—appointed by the Ministry of Justice to authenticate documents, especially those relating to property transactions, succession, inheritance and marital regimes. At the same time, he or she—there's an increasing number of women coming in—is regarded as exercising a liberal profession. Even the French find this rather difficult to understand in the case of a state nominee, but it's foreigners especially who find it hard to grasp what sort of animal we are. We're not independent lawyers like British solicitors, for example. Our first responsibility is to make sure that documents—actes or deeds—are drawn up correctly and on the basis of reliable information. This is something very typical of the French legal system with its emphasis on the written word." When does Me Lallamant, who is fluent in English and German, find himself dealing with foreign clients? "Mainly for property sales and in matters concerning marriage and inheritance." Under French law, the notaire has a monopoly of conveyancing. He prepares the various documents relating to a sale and is responsible for the payment of administrative charges. He also confirms the seller's title to the property, checking that there is no pre-existing mortgage. Commonly these days both buyer and seller have their own notaire and the fees, paid by the buyer, are split between them. Explained Me Lallamant, "In principle nothing can go wrong with the transaction if we do our job properly. And if it does we're in trouble, so we're very meticulous. For that reason, I do advise people to get a notaire in from the beginning rather than leaving the earlier stages of the paperwork to an estate agent. It needs a legal eye." And what about marriage and inheritance? "Well, these are fields where an unadvised foreigner can get a nasty shock. For example, if no special provision is made when one spouse dies the children have a privileged claim on the estate and this can be very disadvantageous to the surviving partner. But it's possible to place the property in France under a special regime which allows the widowed spouse to inherit automatically." How can a client get the most out of a consultation with a notaire? "By giving him a maximum of information about everything—family situation, property, income and its sources, future intentions in matters like place of residence—and so letting him work out the best solutions for you. In legal matters too late is always too late…" “We work hard” Confronted with the notaire's fees relating to a property transaction foreigners often groan—and speculate that the profession must be a good one to be in. A recent survey did, in fact, indicate that the average notaire earns around 160,000 euros a year, and, some can double that. "We don't starve," admitted Me Lallamant, "but let's be clear on this fees question. We're tax collectors, don't forget, and most of the money we take in we pass on to the State. Our share is about one per cent of the purchase price. Remember, too, that these days you have to follow a long course of post-graduate studies and then move through a variety of subordinate positions. You get to be a fully-fledged notaire in your early to mid-thirties. And we work hard, too. A lot of us do tax and other kinds of consulting on top of our traditional activities." It can't be a bad life, though, I observe. Don't a lot of sons and now daughters follow their fathers into the profession? "Indeed they do. My own son is working for his exams at this moment."
Personally, I view foot strike as one aspect of running form that varies with a range of factors. These factors would include running speed, running experience, surface hardness, surface incline, fatigue, footwear type or the lack thereof, etc. For example, I think we tend to see a shift more toward the forefoot side of the spectrum when experienced runners run fast on hard surfaces, particularly if barefoot. We see a shift more toward the heel strike side when inexperienced runners run slowly on soft surfaces or in heavily cushioned footwear. Mix and match these factors and we can get a variety of different foot strike types, and it’s unlikely that any one set of conditions will yield identical responses in all runners exposed to them (because people are variable). As an example of the influence of both external variables on running foot strike and individual variability within the same condition, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at a research study that was published last year. Authored by Daniel Lieberman, the study takes a look at foot strike patterns among traditionally shod and conventionally shod Tarahumara Native Americans from Mexico (full text is available here). The running prowess of the Tarahumara was made famous by Christopher McDougall in his book Born to Run. That book, published in 2009, was largely responsible for kicking off the form and footwear debates that ensued over the following years, and the Tarahumara thus make for a great running form case study. Here’s the abstract of the study: Strike type variation among Tarahumara Indians in minimal sandals versus conventional running shoes This study examined variation in foot strike types, lower extremity kinematics, and arch height and stiffness among Tarahumara Indians from the Sierra Tarahumara, Mexico. High speed video was used to study the kinematics of 23 individuals, 13 who habitually wear traditional minimal running sandals (huaraches), and 10 who habitually wear modern, conventional running shoes with elevated, cushioned heels and arch support. Measurements of foot shape and arch stiffness were taken on these individuals plus an additional sample of 12 individuals. Minimally shod Tarahumara exhibit much variation with 40% primarily using midfoot strikes, 30% primarily using forefoot strikes, and 30% primarily using rearfoot strikes. In contrast, 75% of the conventionally shod Tarahumara primarily used rearfoot strikes, and 25% primarily used midfoot strikes. Individuals who used forefoot or midfoot strikes landed with significantly more plantarflexed ankles, flexed knees, and flexed hips than runners who used rearfoot strikes. Foot measurements indicate that conventionally shod Tarahumara also have significantly less stiff arches than those wearing minimal shoes. These data reinforce earlier studies that there is variation among foot strike patterns among minimally shod runners, but also support the hypothesis that foot stiffness and important aspects of running form, including foot strike, differ between runners who grow up using minimal versus modern, conventional footwear. Lieberman traveled to Mexico and collected kinematic data from 20 Tarahumara. Twelve of these individuals wore only traditional huarache sandals (see photo at top of post for image of huaraches), and eight wore conventional running shoes. After a five minute warmup, subjects were filmed while running 15 meters along a flat, natural surface free of grass and rocks. Each subject ran the 15 m trials until three usable videos were recorded for each. A variety of biomechanical variables were measured from the video sequences. Minimally shod Tarahumara that ran their trials in huarache sandals exhibited the following foot strike patterns: 40% midfoot strike, 30% forefoot strike, 30% heel strike. In contrast, Tarahumara in conventional running shoes landed on the heel 75% of the time and on the midfoot 25% of the time. No forefoot strikes were observed in the conventionally shod runners. Of the other biomechanical variables measured, only overstride angle differed – minimally shod runners tended to land with the ankle in a position more underneath the knee at ground contact. These results demonstrate two things to me: 1. Footwear does have an influence on foot strike. Those Tarahumara who typically wear conventional shoes and ran their trials in this type of shoe tended to heel strike 75% of the time. This is consistent with other studies that have found that 75% or more of traditionally shod runners land first on the heel. 2. Foot strike patterns are variable in Tarahumara runners wearing huarache sandals. Almost a third of them heel strike, and there is no overwhelmingly predominant pattern exhibited by this group. Lieberman himself writes: “…minimally shod Tarahumara runners appear to be best characterized as midfoot strikers who also employ forefoot and rearfoot strikes. These data therefore partially support but also modify earlier anecdotal reports that Tarahumara runners who use huaraches primarily FFS (forefoot strike).” As the source of these anecdotal reports, Lieberman cites McDougall’s book Born to Run and Scott Jurek’s book Eat and Run. So here we have two levels of variability. Variability among groups due to the type of footwear typically worn, and variability within groups wearing similar kinds of footwear. It’s not as simple as saying that all huarache-wearing Tarahumara forefoot strike, and this suggests that there is no “perfect” or “natural” running form or foot strike that is or should be used under all circumstances by all people. Rather, running foot strike is dictated both by external influences (footwear here) and individual variation in response to a given set of conditions. To me, this combo of adaptability and variability is what makes the study of human running form so fascinating – we are amazing and complex animals, and this is exhibited by both our incredible running ability as well as how we run. If you enjoyed this post, you might also like this one on foot strike patterns in Hadza hunter-gatherers.
ELK GROVE (CBS13) – You’ve heard the saying smoke ’em if you got ’em. But if you got ’em and you live in an apartment complex in Elk Grove, the luxury of lighting up may soon go up in smoke. “i think it’s a pretty good idea,” one apartment resident said. He’s talking about the possibility of banning smoking in all apartment complexes in the city. A Sacramento-based trade association that works with landlords is against the idea, however. “We don’t think it’s necessary,” said Cory Koehler with the Rental Housing Association. We support an owner’s right to choose the policy that’s in the best interest of their particular property. But what we don’t support is a new law by local government forcing the owner to do that.” That’s because hundreds of apartment complexes in Elk Grove are already smoke-free. Property owners – many argue – have made the move without government intervention. But a father and apartment resident wants the ban to go into effect: “I think it’s harmful to the human body and especially to younger kids who live here,” he said. Others say no way and are left shaking their heads. “I don’t think it’s right,” one resident said. “That’s kind of violating people’s rights.” The right to light up vs. the power of a possible ordinance – this smokin’ hot debate over a cigarette showdown has only just begun. The City Council will take up the issue at its meeting next week.
Liu Xiaobo is an international hero. The man singlehandedly took on the Chinese government and won. Well, he won in a way; depending on how you look at it. Thor Halvorssen, the 39-year-old founder of the Human Rights Foundation, looks up to the man who famously proclaimed that he has no enemies. Liu Xiaobo is a Chinese author and professor. The man wrote Charter 08, a manifesto espousing the virtues of freedom of expression, good will, democracy, and love. For this, he was sentenced to 11 years in a Chinese prison. At his own sentencing, he stood to deliver a speech. That speech, aptly named “I Have No Enemies,” goes down as one of the most poignant expressions of the struggle for freedom ever uttered. It showed the world why the man deserved the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Of course, Liu Xiaobo also professed his love for his wife during his sentencing speech. The country of Norway exalts Liu Xiaobo. After all, the country of Norway is where the Nobel Peace Prize is given. China did not look too kindly on this. They have restricted Norway’s visas and have resorted to economic blackmail. The Chinese government has also put Liu Xiaobo’s wife under house arrest. They will not let her leave the country to collect her husband’s Nobel Prize. According to Crunchbase, it is easy to see why Thor Halvorssen looks up to this Chinese professor. The founder of the Human Rights Foundation is in the midst of his own inexhaustible chase for freedom and authenticity. He comes from a long line of family members who are political dissidents. His father was a Norwegian diplomat working with the Venezuelan government when Thor was born in Venezuela. Helping to investigate a Medellin drug cartel, his father was arrested by the government of Venezuela. He was thrown in jail for 74 days, tortured, and beaten. It was Thor Halvorssen, then a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, that bartered for his release. The human rights activists mother was also shot during a New York City protest. It was Thor Halvorssen that covered the event for the Wall Street Journal. His mother was one of 11 injured, and the shooting left one woman dead. It is clear that the Halvorssen family stands up for what they believe in. Everybody should turn their attention to Thor Halvorssen and the Human Rights Foundation to see what they do next.
Venezuela has hit an inflation rate of 700 percent. Water and food shortages have brought the local residents to utter discouragement and most are even angrier. The lines grow longer for necessities, and the chaos and violence are getting more serious every day. Expert Jose Manuel Gonzalez thinks the people are desperate and there is no end in sight. The condition in Venezuela began as political evidence of an inept, newly elected president. Nicolas Maduro was trained under the Chavez and then appointed president in 2013. That was when the trouble began. Maduro’s first career was as a bus driver, and he later became a trade union leader. In 2010, he was elected to the National Assembly. He quickly rose in authority through the ranks to become a foreign minister in 2006, serving under Chavez. When Nicolas Maduro became president, he immediately set up government according to his preferences, and his administration has been known as one of the most strict and critical governments in Venezuelan history. Venezuela is known for having an abundance of oil, but their economy has struggled terribly ever since Madura came to office. Economic analysts Jose Gonzalez attribute much of the mismanagement to his decisions, which made it worse. President Maduro has blamed his defeat in the election last year on the “economic war” between the business leaders who were trying to bring him down. The majority attribute the blame to Maduro.
Tar Sands Oil From Canada Could Pose Threat To Bay Area Marine LifeThe environmental impacts of the fuel from tar sands, known as bitumen, on marine life remains largely unknown. Flaring, Smoke At Martinez Shell Refinery Prompts Warning To 'Avoid Area'Contra Costa Health Services was advising people to avoid the area around the Shell Refinery in Martinez Monday afternoon due to "excessive flaring and black smoke." Arabian Crude Oil Headed To Phillips 66 Refinery Ended Up In San Pablo BayArabian crude oil moved from a tanker to the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo was source of oil sheen visible on the San Pablo Bay last month. Oil Spill Near Phillips 66 Refinery, Tanker Remains MysteriousInvestigators are still trying to figure out how two large oil sheens near Phillips 66's Rodeo refinery ended up in the San Pablo Bay. L.A. Refinery Shut Down By Power Outage, Raising Gas Price ConcernsSouthern California Edison is investigating the cause of a widespread power outage that forced the shutdown of a Los Angeles County refinery. Tesoro Agrees To Spend Millions In Air Pollution Settlement With U.S. EPAThe Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have reached a $425 million settlement with two companies that would reduce air pollution at six petroleum refineries. Flare Up At Chevron's Richmond Refinery Sends Flame Into SkyFlaring activity at the Chevron Refinery Sunday had residents in the area expressing concern. California Drivers May See Lower Gas Prices With SoCal Refinery Back On LineCalifornians pay more for gas than the rest of the country, but they may get some relief now that a Southern California refinery is back up and running. Duct Fire At Martinez Refinery Quickly ExtinguishedA fire at a refinery in Martinez was quickly extinguished this afternoon and no injuries have been reported, California Drivers See Gas Prices Rising, Despite Nationwide Dip Year-Over-YearIf you’re wondering why gas prices are spiking in California, experts say blame the state’s refineries. Valero To Pay Nearly $200K In Penalties To Bay Area Air District Over Benicia Refinery ViolationsValero will pay $196,000 in civil penalties to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District as part of a settlement over air quality violations at its Benicia Refinery, air district officials announced Thursday. Health Advisory Issued After Flare-Up At Phillips 66 Refinery in RodeoHazardous materials officials lifted a health alert Sunday afternoon for the Rodeo community in Contra Costa County, a Contra Costa County hazmat official said.
Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, melting glacier – oh my! While climate change is an overwhelming issue, there is certainly hope, especially in the collective power of individual actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That’s the underlying principle of the Cool School Challenge (CSC), a climate education program that motivates students, teachers and administrators to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions school-wide. At the heart of the program is the philosophy that big changes start with small steps – and taken together, simple individual actions create a world of difference. Spring Street International School 8th Graders “I am concerned about climate change because it’s what I’m going to have to deal with in the future. I think the best thing is to start with small steps because people don’t really like change, but if they are simple and very straightforward, people will understand and they can help,” said Ela, an 8th grader at Spring Street International School, who has been participating in the CSC. For the past two years, San Juan County students like Ela have been conducting assessments of classroom energy and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency through the CSC as part of a larger community energy-saving initiative led by OPALCO, the San Juan Islands Conservation District, and the Energy Roundtable, as part of the nation-wide Georgetown University Energy Prize energy saving competition. “It is exciting to engage kids to know they can make a difference when it comes to energy use! They love knowing they can make positive choices and actions to promote a healthy earth,” said Lorri Swanson, 3rd grade science teacher from Lopez Elementary. Students at six county schools on San Juan, Lopez and Orcas Islands have participated in the CSC, taking such actions as creating energy efficiency checklists for classrooms and homes, installing LED bulbs and smart power strips in classrooms, and educating their peers about conservation and climate change. “At Lopez Elementary, we estimated that turning off just one bank of lights in an average classroom for 6 hours a day (if you’ve got plenty of natural light coming in) can reduce CO2 emissions by 44 pounds every year and save $53. Imagine if every classroom in the county, state, and even nation did that? It could really add up to significant change,” said Katie Fleming, Community Engagement Director with Friends of the San Juans and coordinator of San Juan County’s CSC effort. “These might seem like small steps initially, but as students mobilize at their schools, a new generation of leaders will grow to actively participate in the larger global movement to help slow climate change,” continued Fleming.
In this episode, Terrance and I talk about two keys to writing solid non-fiction. While I’m currently working on my first novel, in the past, I’ve written a great deal of non-fiction, mostly based on my own historical research. One article called On the Trail of Tom, or A New Look at the Tuscarora War was cited in The Tuscarora War, a history reference book by David LaVere, PhD. (Professor of History at UNC-Wilmington). Another non-fiction piece — a 2006 interview with the late indigenous languages expert, Blair Rudes, who reconstructed the Algonquian language for the film The New World — will appear in the October 2014 edition of The Southern Quarterly, the literary journal of the University of Southern Mississippi. Terrance Zepke is the published author of two dozen non-fiction books. Some of her titles include The Encyclopedia of Cheap Travel, Ghosts of the Carolina Coasts, Lighthouses of the Carolinas and A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to the Most Haunted Places in America.
The fall of the Alamo after Mexican General Santa Ana defeated the small band of Texas 'revolutionaries' who declared their independence from Mexico. True independence would not come for Texas for another ten years, when President James K. Polk provoked an unlawful war with Mexico, which was settled at the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, in which Mexico ceded Texas, California, and most of its territorial claims north of the Rio Grande River, including the territories of New Mexico and Arizona. would be the first of several attempts by Texans to establish their independence from Mexico. This effort led to the famous lopsided battle between General Santa Ana and a small group of rebels, including Jim Bowie and Davie Crockett, who perished under seige at a place called the Alamo in the modern day city of San renegade state attempts to acquire all Indian land by decree. more on Texas' independence, click here)
Transpo Lives Earth Day Every Day Transpo demonstrates the environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient nature of the public transportation industry on Earth Day and Every Day! As a result, Transpo has received national coverage highlighting the organization's sustainability initiatives. Transpo was recently featured in Governing Magazine, which provides non-partisan news, insight and analysis for state and local government leaders across the country. Click HERE for a link to the story. Transpo recently announced it will begin converting fixed route vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) later this year with the arrival of 16 new buses to replace aging vehicles. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced yesterday, on Earth Day, that "40.4 percent of U.S. public transportation buses are using alternative fuels or hybrid technology as of January 1, 2013". To read the full APTA Earth Day release, featuring Transpo and other agencies, please click HERE. In partnership with the City of South Bend, Transpo will construct a CNG fueling center that will be open to the public, support economic development in the area and provide the necessary resources for other regional fleets to pursue CNG as an alternate fuel.
Written by one of my favorite Julia's! :) This book covers a wide area of topics for discussion; including, loving your body, eating healthy foods, exercise, accepting yourself, try new things, being positive, the importance of talking to others you trust when you need support, believing in yourself, and being kind to others. After reading the story and having a group discussion, students completed the shield of self-confidence from Small Group Counseling for Children. Students were explained that a shield was used to protect knight's in battle in the same way that believing in yourself and being confident protects you from mean things others might say or do. This story focused on fitting in and acceptance in yourself and others. After reading this story and having a group discussion, students completed the my personal rainbow activity sheet from That's My Story Too! Students had the chance to see that everyone's rainbow was different and beautiful, much like all of us are different and special in our own way.
Tracy K'Meyer's "Civil Rights in the Gateway to the South: Louisville, KY, 1945-1980" I gave a quick read to Tracy K'Meyer's Civil Rights in the Gateway to the South: Louisville, KY, 1945-1980. (Full disclosure: I've met Tracy a few times, back in the day, through her husband Glenn Crothers, who used to be a colleague of mine at IU Southeast.) There are tons of detail that I didn't immerse myself into, but I got the gist of the book and want to write a review. Back and Forth If I had to pick the most prominent theme of the book, it'd be the "back and forth" that characterized much of the Civil Rights Movement in general, particularly in Louisville. Two steps forward; one step back. Yes and no. Trade-offs. Clear gains at times, but other times, not so much. It's sobering to read about gains that "should have been" so much easier-- but were instead, contingent, fleeting, or not-so-simple. This theme and the book's details also reminded me of Charles Murray's excellent policy book, In Pursuit of Happiness and Good Government. Murray describes frequent trade-offs between policy goals-- in particular, between obvious social goods like material progress (e.g., enough to eat; safety) and less obvious goals (e.g., self-esteem and self-actualization). In K'Meyer's account of Louisville during this period, some gains were quick and obvious, while others were far more complex. K'Meyer opens with the idea of Louisville as a border city between the North and the South. From this lens, the reader wonders whether Louisville would be "North" or "South" in its approach to Civil Rights? (More accurately, would Louisville be more North or more South in its approach. Of course, North/South can be a gross simplification-- as if things were really good for Blacks in the North!) K'Meyer's first provocative claim is that being a border city probably led to a relatively good record (in Southern terms). But being a border city also gave Louisville a greater opportunity to rationalize lesser gains and cover for whatever civil rights sins it had. For example, K'Meyer notes that a border city's residents are more likely to be capricious in their approach-- a mixture of glory and nasty. At some level, it's easier to know that everyone dislikes you-- than to be surprised by its less-frequent occasion (78). Another trade-off common to the Civil Rights Era and the desire/demand for reform: whether to go slow or to go fast. This is a perennial problem whenever one strives for change. For example, the pro-life movement debated whether to aim for a constitutional amendment or incremental gains. The school choice justice movement has had to wrestle with whether the pursuit of charters and vouchers are an undesirable compromise. Those who aim for larger reforms are always tempted to see a more moderate approach as inappropriate (and even highly-unethical) compromise. The same happened in the context of Civil Rights: when progressives want a radically different outcome, should they go slow and make progress or just (try to) get "it" done? Another concern: when people advocate for a position-- whether moderation or something more aggressive-- is this a function of true concern or merely an angle that helps one strive for power. One sees this sprinkled throughout K'Meyer's book, as personal and social agendas overlap in interesting ways. Ironically, the same thing holds, in reverse, today. When people complain about rampant (vs. anecdotal) racism, is this a true concern, a lens colored by history and worldview, or a convenient opportunity to accumulate power and influence? When people point to some aspects of institutional racism-- but not others that are larger-- is this a flawed worldview or an agenda that just happens to line up with crony capitalism and self-aggrandizement? Or consider another example discussed at length in K'Meyer's book: the supposed connections between communism and many black orgs. Were the connections real-- and significant? And even if so, where the concerns about the connections real-- or just a convenient argument for opponents of civil rights? Sure, communism and the Ruskies were a profound problem that is difficult for contemporary minds to imagine. But in our times of ignorant and cheap partisanship for the sake of power, it's also difficult not to be cynical about those making such accusations. ---K'Meyer describes the imminent role of a local newspaper, The Defender, in the struggle. Meanwhile, the Courier-Journal was riven by ambivalence-- before converting to the cause relatively late. (To what extent does this explain the C-J's approach to race for the last four decades?) ---Politically, K'Meyer notes that Blacks were split between the two major political parties, before leading the GOP to victory in 1956 (99). ---Religiously, churches failed miserably at times (65), but stepped up beautifully at other times (120-123). ---Economically, K'Meyer details the early disgust with social welfare programs-- from recipients (164-167)-- arguments that would resurrect over the coming decades as the War on Poverty proved to be somewhere between ineffective and a very mixed bag. ---In terms of patronage, Louisville offer abundant jobs in city govt, but then, didn't extend promotions to black workers (148-149), leading to a form of "Affirmative Action" (149ff). ---Even local communities got into the "back and forth"-- with back-to-back stories from K'Meyer in Fairdale-- one where white football players protected black students, but then the next day, 150 protestors got violent (262) K'Meyer also describes a number of familiar names, people, laws, and concepts. People: I'd heard of Meyzeek Middle School, but was unfamiliar with its namesake (48, 51). (Meyzeek was the lone African-American board member of the KY Board of Education-- and interestingly, advocated a slower approach to gaining civil rights.) Louisville Civil Rights heroes Anne and Carl Braden get a lot of ink in the earlier part of K'Meyer's time frame. Louis Coleman gets a lot of ink in the later part of her time frame. She mentions MLK Jr a number of times, but ironically, he's missing from the index, so I can't give you any page numbers! I benefited from K'Meyer's discussion of "Buy Where You Can Work" (148). The idea is that African-Americans would boycott certain companies-- not buying from places that would not hire them (for reasons other than their direct productivity). From an economist's way of modeling things, this is one type of discrimination (not buying goods one would otherwise buy, except for a characteristic other than the trade itself) in retaliation for discrimination against oneself or members of a group to which I belong. The initial discrimination imposed costs on the discriminatees and discriminators. The reasonable retaliation imposed more costs on both. (And of course, all of this is reminiscent of the discrimination within "Buy Local" and "Buy American" campaigns.) K'Meyer discusses the 1917 SCOTUS decision, Buchanan v. Worley (6, 34, 61). Later this year, I'll probably write an op-ed about this, celebrating its centennial. For now, it suffices to note that laws often prohibited people from living on property as a minority within a majority neighborhood. Until Buchanan, racial segregation in housing was permissible. K'Meyer also discusses the "Day Law"-- and its impact on the markets for labor and services in health care (5, 26, 33-36, 46-48, 54). The Day Law stood in Kentucky from 1904 until Brown in 1954, prohibiting racial mixing in educational institutions. This had a dramatic impact on the training of African-American doctors and nurses-- and then, indirectly, given the prevalence of racial discrimination, on the health care services received by African-Americans. Both of these examples reminded me of Walter Williams' terrific point about apartheid in South Africa. If you have modest/anecdotal discrimination, it's annoying, but you'll end up with modest/anecdotal segregation, as each side largely avoids the other. When you have moderate/severe discrimination, matters are more complicated. But it's common for separate (and often thriving) markets to arise-- here, for blacks to work with blacks and white with whites. But unless discrimination is complete, you'll find some mixing, from people who don't care about race all that much (or at all). And that's the role of the law here-- to enforce the majority (racist) view on people who don't hold racist views-- to prevent them from engaging in trade and other activities with those of other races. For example, Berea College was the only integrated college at the time of the Day Law. If you had complete racism, no colleges would have been integrated. If you have people who don't share those values, how do you get them to comply? The force of law. Thanks government! As one would imagine, K'Meyer writes at length about efforts to desegregate K-12 schools in Louisville. The earliest post-Brown efforts were based on residential geography. Of course, in many cases, given housing segregation, this plan resulted in educational segregation as well. In cases, where white and black neighborhoods might naturally combine into one school, the map was broadened to allow for two schools and then people could "choose"-- often, by race. In all cases, parents would not be forced to have their kid in a majority-X school and could petition to choose a majority-Z school. Of course, in practice, this resulted in little change (49-50). As an aside, it's interesting to note that the limited educational choice allowed by JCPS today has a racial angle within its origins. Perhaps that's reason for concern today. But many popular policies have been motivated by race in the past-- e.g., the minimum wage, prevailing wages, abortion. So, it's probably better to not worry so much about origins-- and simply debate the merits of the particular policy proposals. (A tangent for some auto-biographical info that relates to the topic at hand: Yesterday, I talked with Mom about their schooling decisions for me in Louisville. I started kindergarten in Fall 1970, but Mom remembers it being at a Christian school and connected to pre-K. Mom and Dad were trying to figure out "what to do with me" for first grade, given my advanced skills. Sometime in that time "frame", I got my first glasses. My pediatrician (Richard Greathouse-- later, the long-time coroner in Jefferson County) and my optometrist (David McClure-- who had children in the Suzuki program at U of L) persuaded my parents to put me into private school and the Suzuki Violin School. [Those decisions were utterly life-changing for me, both in terms of academics, music, and what all those have impacted in my life!] My parents chose to put me into Kentucky Country Day and then we left early in my 2nd grade year for Sacred Heart. [My memory was that there was a fire on-campus and that was the catalyst for the switch. Mom said yesterday that it was trouble with a second-grade teacher. I've posted on FB looking for some help with the fire details.] In any case, Mom didn't remember any of the racial (or anti-Catholic) stuff of that time-- and said these had nothing to do with their decisions. From K'Meyer's account, a lot of racial stuff was happening. But living in St. Matthews, it probably didn't impact daily life until busing got rolling in 1975. By then, we had moved to Pittsburgh and Malone.) In 1975, matters were brought to a head in Louisville by "busing" (257-258). People could still choose schools to some extent, but students would be bused from one area to another, so that all schools had 12-35% African-American representation. (Later, the target was amended to 15-50%.) With racism, turmoil, a relatively large focus on integration over education (in budget and non-budget terms), and later, decreasing quality of schools (for a variety of reasons), public schools experienced a significant exodus. In recent years, the trend has continued for a variety of non-racial reasons, particularly with the increasingly popularity of homeschooling. But at the time, 77 families moved to Southern Indiana and private schools increased by 700 (a 22% increase), even with the Catholics refusing to accept transfers in many cases (268). Whatever its costs and benefits at the time, busing was eventually sacked by the SCOTUS-- as society changed (improving on racial matters) and as the costs of busing became increasingly painful, obvious, and ironic. At Central HS-- a high-quality, magnet, neighborhood school that was historically important-- black students were being turned away because they were black (to keep the proportion of black students under 50%)! It took a lot of work by whites and African-Americans, but something so absurd had to be sacked eventually. (This is reminiscent of California's Affirmative Action quotas in higher ed, where Asian-Americans were required to have higher standardized test scores than whites-- an obvious but obviously-absurd implication of a racial quota approach!) At the end, K'Meyer closes with an interesting thought. In a semi-lament at the end of her study, she notes the somewhat arbitrary nature of her study's end date in 1980. It is common to study (or build efforts to write history about) key moments (e.g., Brown)-- describing the before/after of those moments. But pre-1980 is not one period and post-1980, another. When to cut off the "after" analysis? When does history "end"? Well, of course, it doesn't end. It only moves along. Aside from the tremendous gains within civil rights, public policy (often well-intentioned) has done a ton of damage to African-Americans-- from the cradle to the classroom, from the workplace to the grave. Hopefully, in the future, we can do better for African-Americans and all people-- not settling for good intentions or good stories, but finding good policy.
Adsorption of Proteins in Channels of Carbon Nanotubes: Effect of Surface Chemistry The adsorption of molecules in a confined environment (pores and narrow channels) differs from adsorption on flat surfaces. While the immobilization of proteins on porous carbon and the transport of protein molecules through carbon nanotube channels are of great practical importance, the interaction of proteins with the carbon surface in confinement is poorly understood. In this study the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)was studied in carbon nanotubes grown by chemical vapor deposition in cylindrical pores of anodic alumina membranes. BSA adsorption depends on the channel diameter of the carbon nanotubes, the termination of nanotube surfaces (surface chemistry), and the pH of medium. Amination of the carbon surface leads to increased adsorption of the proteins at neutral pH, while oxidation decreases the sorption capacity. The differences have been explained by favorable or unfavorable electrostatic interactions between protein molecules and the carbon surface. M. V. Kharlamova et al., "Adsorption of Proteins in Channels of Carbon Nanotubes: Effect of Surface Chemistry," Materials Express, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1-10, American Scientific Publishers, Jan 2013. The definitive version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1166/mex.2013.1102 International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) Article - Journal © 2013 American Scientific Publishers, All rights reserved.
Working Group 3: Policy. To define a Legal, Social and Economic Framework. The Working Group 3 aims at answering the following strategic general question: What legal, economic and social conditions allow scholarly communities in the humanities to work on the Web? How do they consult the sources they need, publish their results and teach on the Web? Introducing an Open Source approach in the Humanities demands legal and contractual framework, a deeper knowledge of the market of scholarly publishing and on the social context in which the birth and development of scholarly communities on the web take place. It's therefore possible to identify the following three specific questions: The legal framework: how to access primary sources Accessing to manuscripts, letters, first editions of works, painting, artefacts, which are stored in public libraries and archives is extremely important for Humanities scholars. Despite the great impact of the Berlin Declaration (2003) in terms of increasing the access to scientific contents in STM, the Berlin Declaration principles are not yet applied to primary sources in the humanities. For scholars as well as for the public it is still very hard to access sources to a good reproduction of the primary sources stored even in case in which the works are in public domain and the originals are hold in public libraries and archives. A legal European common framework for regulating the access to primary sources is missing. The economic framework: which markets in the humanities? In January 2006, the European Commission published the Study on the Economic and Technical Evolution of the Scientific Publication Markets of Europe. The study resulted from a detailed analysis of the current scholarly journal publication market, together with extensive consultation with all the major stakeholders within the scholarly communication process (researchers, funding agencies, publishers, librarians, research policymakers, etc.). The study noted that “dissemination and access to research results is a pillar in the development of the European Research Area”. The study, however, doesn't analyze the humanities. But to assess the socio-economic context in which the models and technologies of the infrastructure operate is essential to get more data on the market of scientific publishing in the humanities. The social framework: behavior analysis and new policy devices of the scholarly communities on the web How is the behavior of scholars on the Web changing? It is acknowledged that humanities scholars are less open to innovation both from the technical and organizational point of view. Why and how? There is few data available on this. Data on scholars’ habits, such as: how much do they publish on the Web? How do they cooperate? Why don’t they use the tools that are already available? The web 2.0 has resulted in a number of tools and technologies for annotation and personalization of resources but these tools have yet to gain a strong foothold in an humanistic academic setting. Moreover, a meditation on the policies of government of scholarly communities on the web could include the question of evolution of peer review. Responsibles of this working group are Francesca Di Donato (didonato (at) sp.unipi.it) and Maria Chiara Pievatolo (pievatolo (at) dsp.unipi.it).
March is Women's History Month. A very important part of the creation of life is that of a woman. She is that essential ingredient for life to blossom and happen. But sometimes we neglect to share the importance that the women in our lives serve to make our lives that much better. There are many influential women that I have had in my life who have shaped it and have given it meaning and I am going to share some good qualities that make my Mom one of the most important people in my life today. Now we are going to weave through the present and the past to see what great women can do in our lives and continue to do even today. For my Mom is a living example of who I look to for advice and wisdom weekly. To get me to where I am today, I could not be who I am without the tireless efforts and influence of my Mom who took a detour on her career path to be a librarian and instead continued her full time quest in being a mom who would open up and unlock my mind so I could forge many great paths in life. For I had several complex physical, social and intellectual challenges growing up. The assignment at first for Mom was rather difficult for it was not a curriculum that was well established in the early 60's. For there is only one Scott R. Davis in this world. But as with work in libraries, there are card catalogs with books listed under author and title and subject. And we as a family had to create our own catalog of resources and people to draw on to make my life work out and bring me into excellence. A good character trait to describe Mom is that of caregiver and nurturer. Oftentimes around the seaside cottage in Maine, Mom went to the flower garden out front and tended the flowers deadheading those who had no buds left. I asked Mom, "why do we pluck off the buds?" Mom replied, "we do it son so that more growth would come later on." For flowers, it is relatively easy for the dead growth is clinging lightly to the end of that stem. For me as a human, there are many things that I cling to whether it be attitudes or possessions that are sometimes difficult to part with. Growing up requires some deadheading in my life in getting me to see things from a different and wiser perspective. I never found some of those times to be especially pleasant but often afterwards I understand the wisdom behind Mom's words. Part of this nurturing quality is the time Mom spent in the kitchen each night preparing exceptional recipes for us at our dining room table. She chose different recipes from the lightly stained wood recipe box with a lid that my Dad made for her. In it were about 400 recipes on cards categorized by meat, soups and stews, desserts and other tasty delights. Mom had a scoring system ranging from 5 star to 7plus. Some of our dishes did not pass the muster the first time through so we gave it a grade of a 5 star but then there were some dishes which were lights out and they were mainstays that we had once or twice a month at 7 plus. My Mom started doing a lot of the cooking to help save on the food budget and often found great deals at the local grocery store wisely using coupons and taking care of the store deals often slashing the prices by 30 to 40 percent a week. And cooking the meals fresh made sure that my Dad got the low cholesterol diet that he needed. Our favorite dish was the Meat Loaf recipe which required the loaf to sit for 10 minutes after it came out of the oven. Getting the table ready for the meal was one of the first chores I had in my family and gave me the chance to follow a routine and be held responsible in life. That wooden box is now long gone from one of the moves and my brother now is using many of the same recipes for his family. My Mom is an excellent caregiver as she looked after my Dad throughout his life and the challenges that he faced when communicating and understanding what went on. He suffered from hearing loss and struggled with issues of dementia and Parkinsons later on in his life. She made sure that the meds were given on time and kept careful records of what was dispensed. Almost being like a pharmacy dispensary. My Mom has served as an advocate for those around her. And I remember the time that Mom and Dad advocated for me to be on the bowling team in elementary school so I could master the gutter ball or aim for an outstanding score of 120. And she spent many an afternoon chaperoning 20 of my classmates on a tour to the Essex Steam Railroad or to the Connecticut Audobon Society. Throughout life, Mom still finds time to serve in the school libraries or in the library at Piper Shores. She loves to accession and shelve books and recommend biographies for Piper Shores to order for their community of readers and learners. And she served as a great caregiver for her Mom who was left widowed in her late 60's and she and my dad and I often visited my Grandmother in Schenectady and brought her to visit us in Fairfield or in Maine and often carted stuff from her Mom's house to ours. And we often went to local restaurants such as the Three Bears in Wilton and Cobbs Mill Inn. And we even spent a Halloween with Grandma so she would not be alone with the trick or treaters coming to the door. At the water's edge, my Mom teaches me about the tidal pools in front of the cottage and shows me the periwinkles, the barnacles, the sea urchins and the clam and mussel shells that lived within the tidal pools formed from the erosion of the rocks over the years. Finally Mom is a great teacher who helped me through a month when I had an operation on my feet and had to be in the hospital and then helped me to get caught up at home. I remember the time that we read about the Louis and Clark expedition and the discovery of the United States through its expansion. And as I mentioned Mom continues to teach me so much and has given me a love of the English language as I am able to solve all kinds of word puzzles and Scrabble. Later in life, I was challenged by my friend Chip to learn Greek but I rescinded because that could get rather tricky with all of the characters and letters to be deciphered. Traveling through the world of English can sometimes be challenging enough for me. As I also found Spanish challenging translating from English into Spanish which was rather easy. Now Greek would be another story. As I look at her great example of going strong and still ticking at 86 this June 8th, she keeps rediscovering life and she will have that opportunity later on this May as she embarks on a Westward journey beginning a life in the Twin City of St. Paul to be near my brother and her granddaughter. Who knows what new discoveries and adventurers are going to open up for her out there. Almost living that Lewis and Clark expedition I learned about almost 38 years ago. Ultimately the great miracle in life is that Mom continually helps others reach their potential whether it has been with myself, my Dad, my brother or her Mom. And she has never lost steam along the path of life! And continues to help others reach their potential! Looking forward to learning along the journey still as we help others in their journey as well. And now to many more years of joy in selfless service to others. My Hats off to Mom!!! Thanksgiving Thursday & Past Birthdays 7 months ago
- An Emacs clojure-mode, and that provides some support for the SLIME Lisp development environment; - An Eclipse plugin, Clojure-dev; - A NetBeans plugin, Enclojure. At this point, the most advanced version is Enclojure. Having been an Eclipse user for the past few years, learning a new tool has been somewhat annoying, but most of the features are present in NetBeans. The key advantage of Enclojure (over Clojure-dev) at this point is the ability to connect to a remote REPL, which is a very cool feature that I'll talk more about in a future post.
Edited By Rev. Daniel R. Jennings Letter To a Presbyter Synopsis: This letter, of which only a fragment remains detailed the experience of the Synod held in 415 AD in Diospolis at which Pelagius’ doctrinal beliefs were examined. “By the sentence of fourteen bishops our statement was received with approbation, in which we affirmed that ‘a man is able to be without sin, and easily to keep the commandments of God, if he wishes.’ This sentence has filled the mouths of the gainsayers with confusion, and has separated asunder the entire set which was conspiring together for evil.” (From Augustine of Hippo’s On The Proceedings Of Pelagius, Ch. 54) Letter To Augustine of Hippo Synopsis: These fragments were apparently from a document that Pelagius sent to Augustine to describe the proceedings of the Synod held in 415. They were delivered by a mutual friend named Charis, a citizen of Hippo but a deacon in the Eastern Church “That Adam was created mortal, and that he would have died whether he had sinned or not sinned. That Adam’s sin injured only himself, and not the human race. That the law, no less than the gospel, leads us to the kingdom. That new-born infants are in the same condition that Adam was before he fell. That, on the one hand, the entire human race does not die owing to Adam’s death and transgression; nor, on the other hand, does the whole human race rise again through the resurrection of Christ. That infants, even if they die unbaptized, have eternal life. That rich men, even if they are baptized, unless they renounce and give up all, have, whatever good they may seem to have done, nothing of it reckoned to them; neither shall they possess the kingdom of heaven.” “All these statements have not been made by me, even on their own testimony, nor do I hold myself responsible for “I say again, that these opinions, even according to their own testimony, are not mine; nor, as I have already said, am I to be held responsible for them. The opinions which I have confessed to be my own, I maintain are sound and correct; those, however, which I have said are not my own, I reject according to the judgment of the holy Church, pronouncing anathema on every man that opposes and gainsays the doctrines of the holy and catholic Church; and likewise on those who by inventing false opinions have excited odium against us.” (From Augustine of Hippo’s On The Proceedings Of Pelagius, Ch. 57-58) Letter To Pope Innocent I Synopsis: Around 417 Pelagius sent this letter with a written statement of faith to Pope Innocent I maintaining that he was orthodox in his faith. The letter only survives in fragments which were collected and quoted by Augustine of Hippo in his two part work "On The Grace Of Christ, And On Original Sin", though the statement of faith is still extant. Innocent died before receiving the letter and his successor Zosimus after reading Pelagius' correspondence and meeting personally with his disciple Coelestius, sent an encyclical letter to Augustine and other North African bishops "censuring them for not having investigated the matter more thoroughly, and for having aspired, in foolish, overcurious controversies, to know more than the Holy Scriptures. At the same time he bore emphatic testimony to the orthodoxy of Pelagius and Coelestius, and described their chief opponents, Heros and Lazarus, as worthless characters, whom he had visited with excommunication and deposition. They in Rome, he says, could hardly refrain from tears, that such men, who so often mentioned the gratia Dei and the adjutorium divinum, should have been condemned as heretics. Finally he entreated the bishops to submit themselves to the authority of the Roman see (Schaff's History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, Ch. 9, Sec. 149)." "there are certain subjects about which some men are trying to vilify me. One of these is, that I refuse to infants the sacrament of baptism, and promise the kingdom of heaven to some, independently of Christ's redemption. Another of them is, that I so speak of man's ability to avoid sin as to exclude God's help, and so strongly confides in free will that I repudiate the help of divine grace." "See how this epistle will clear me before your Blessedness; for in it we clearly and simply declare, that we possess a free will which is unimpaired for sinning and for not sinning; and this free will is in all good works always assisted by "Now this power of free will we declare to reside generally in all alike--in Christians, in Jews, and in Gentiles. In all men free will exists equally by nature, but in Christians alone is it assisted by grace." "We confess free will in such a sense that we declare ourselves to be always in need of the help of God." "Let them read the epistle which we wrote about twelve years ago to that holy man Bishop Paulinus: its subject throughout in some three hundred lines is the confession of God's grace and assistance alone, and our own inability to do any good thing at all without God." "Let them also read my epistle to the holy Bishop Constantius, wherein I have--briefly no doubt, but yet plainly-- conjoined the grace and help of God with man's free will." "Let them read moreover what I wrote, when I was in the East, to Christ's holy virgin Demetrias, and they will find that we so commend the nature of man as always to add the help of God's grace." "Let them also read my recent little treatise which we were obliged to publish a short while ago in defense of free will, and let them acknowledge how unfair is their determination to disparage us for a denial of grace, when we throughout almost the whole work acknowledge fully and sincerely both free will and grace." "[I have been] defamed by certain persons for [supposedly] refusing the sacrament of baptism to infants, and promising the kingdom of heaven irrespective of Christ's redemption. [I have] never heard even an impious heretic say this about infants. Who indeed is so unacquainted with Gospel lessons, as not only to attempt to make such an affirmation, but even to be able to lightly say it or even let it enter his thought? And then who is so impious as to wish to exclude infants from the kingdom of heaven, by forbidding them to be baptized and to be born again in Christ?" "[The Gospel is very clear that] whosoever is not born again of water and the Spirit cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. Who indeed is so impious as to have the heart to refuse the common redemption of the human race to an infant of any age whatever? Can any one forbid a second birth to an eternal and certain life, to him who has been born to this present uncertain life?"
UR::Object::Type::AccessorWriter - Helper module for UR::Object::Type responsible for creating accessors for properties Subroutines within this module actually live in the UR::Object::Type namespace; this module is just a convienent place to collect them. The class initializer uses these subroutines when it's time to create accessor methods for a newly defined class. Each accessor is implemented by a closure that is then assigned a name by Sub::Name and inserted into the defined class's namespace by Sub::Install. This is the entry point into the accessor writing system. It inspects each item in the 'has' key of the class object's hashref, and creates methods for each property. $classobj->mk_rw_accessor($class_name, $accessor_name, $column_name, $property_name, $is_transient); Creates a mutable accessor named $accessor_name which stores its value in the $property_name key of the object's hashref. $classobj->mk_ro_accessor($class_name, $accessor_name, $column_name, $property_name); Creates a read-only accessor named $accessor_name which retrieves its value in the $property_name key of the object's hashref. If the method is used as a mutator by passing in a value to the method, it will throw an exception with Carp::croak. $classobj->mk_id_based_object_accessor($class_name, $accessor_name, $id_by, $r_class_name, $where); Creates an object accessor named $accessor_name. It returns objects of type $r_class_name, id-ed by the parameters named in the $id_by arrayref. $where is an optional listref of additional filters to apply when retrieving objects. The behavior of the created accessor depends on the number of parameters passed to it. For 0 params, it retrieves the object pointed to by $r_class_name and $id_by. For 1 param, it looks up the ID param values of the passed-in object-parameter, and reassigns value stored in the $id_by properties of the acted-upon object, effectively acting as a mutator. For more than 1 param, the additional parameters are taken as properties/values to filter the returned objects on $classobj->mk_indirect_ro_accessor($class_name, $accessor_name, $via, $to, $where); Creates a read-only via accessor named $accessor_name. Its value is obtained by calling the object accessor named $via, and then calling the method $to on that object. The optional $where listref is used as additional filters when calling $via. $classobj->mk_indirect_rw_accessor($class_name, $accessor_name, $via, $to, $where, $singular_name); Creates a via accessor named $accessor_name that is able to change the property it points to with $to when called as a mutator. If the $to property on the remote object is an ID property of its class, it deletes the refered-to object and creates a new one with the appropriate properties. Otherwise, it updates the $to property on the refered-to object. $classobj->mk_calculation_accessor($class_name, $accessor_name, $calculation_src, $calculate_from, $params, $is_constant, $column_name); Creates a calculated accessor called $accessor_name. If the $is_constant flag is true, then the accessor runs the calculation once, caches the result, and returns that result for subseqent calls to the accessor. $calculation_src can be one of: coderef, string containing Perl code, or the name of a module under UR::Object::Type::AccessorWriter which has a method called calculate. If $calculation_src is empty, then $accessor_name must be the name of an already-existing subroutine in the class's namespace. These create accessors for dealing with dimension tables in OLAP-type schemas. They need more documentation. $classobj->mk_rw_class_accessor($class_name, $accessor_name, $column_name, $variable_value); Creates a read-write accessor called $accessor_name which stores its value in a scalar captured by the accessor's closure. Since the closure is inserted into the class's namespace, all instances of the class share the same closure (and therefore the same scalar), and the property effectively acts as a class-wide property. $classobj->mk_ro_class_accessor($class_name, $accessor_name, $column_name, $variable_value); Creates a read-only accessor called $accessor_name which retrieves its value from a scalar captured by the accessor's closure. The value is initialized to $variable_value. If called as a mutator, it throws an exception through Carp::croak
Securing Networked CCTV Cameras Submitted on Fri, 12/09/2016 - 12:57 Securing IP cameras After the recent DDoS botnet attack, integrators and end users are right to be thinking seriously about securing IP cameras and the networks they run on. Fortunately, there are many practical measures that can be taken to harden devices exposed to local networks and the Internet. WHEN you’re thinking about securing IP cameras, the first thing to do is work on the password that gains access to the camera browser. Default user names and passwords like admin and admin, root and pass, admin and no password, admin and 123456 are a sure way to leave cameras open to hacking. Passwords are more difficult than they sound. They need to be complex enough to defy easy breaching and they need to be manageable. There’s nothing worse than losing a password and having to reset every device on a network, in effect recommissioning the system to re-gain communication. Passwords need to be managed and securely stored. Cameras with weak or predictable passwords are more vulnerable when they reside on a shared data network and not a secure CCTV subnet – this happens most often in SME businesses. Typically, larger organisations will need a subnet for cameras to ensure there are no dramas with traffic congestion. If a subnet is not possible then a VLAN is required – using a VLAN is always a good idea. Depending on the security level of the network, a strong system password can be used for multiple cameras. Any cameras that are not on secure networks should have unique identifiers. Supporting camera passwords are system passwords – the idea is that there are layers of security would-be hackers must get through. System passwords need to be complex and they should be regularly changed. IP addresses that make multiple attempts to breach a password should be locked out. Behind system passwords are operating system passwords. The more passwords, the more secure, the harder to manage. Most quality cameras have SSL encryption that can be activated if they are connected directly to the internet – make sure that this functionality is employed. This is particularly important if you’re hooking up to a cloud-based service. It’s not hugely complex – if a device has a direct connection to the Internet and is not protected by general system firewalls and encrypted passwords, then it needs to be protected to the level of the network frontline. A possible weakness of internet-connected DVRs and NVRs is that connections are not encrypted to an acceptable standard. A DVR without the capability for SSL is vulnerable to loss of passwords. Make sure SSL is activated for DVRs that are exposed to the internet. Installing network devices directly to data network creates weaknesses in both directions. The device may become an entry point for an attacker to get to the network and the shared network may become an entry point for the attacker to get to the device. It’s this fundamental that drives the need for secure subnets with the bare minimum of access points that are open to authorised users only. In defence applications, this may go so far as ensuring no part of the security network is connected to any Internet-connected network, only to a handful of local workstations. If access is required by a remote site in an emergency, it will be temporary and highly secure. An increasingly common access point to IP cameras is through mobile devices and these devices are often unsecured themselves. They should be biometrically secured, with complex password support. Security settings should be activated and multiple attempts to enter a password, particularly if the phone uses a biometric, should result in lockout and possible blanking of the device, depending on the security level of the system the device can access. Mobile device connection usually means some measure of port forwarding and the key thing here is to limit exposed ports and to protect them with tools that will detect attempts to breach unauthorised ports. The Internet is a jungle and network ports may be scanned thousands of times every day by would-be intruders seeking an access point. You want the exposed port to be defended by a firewall with an intrusion detection system that reports events and rejects malicious traffic. Firewalls are a science of their own. If you’re using something like a Synology server with an integrated firewall in a store or small business, you might activate this yourself after some careful thought but rules-based firewalls are complicated and if you are serious about network security, then you’ll need help. Firewalls need careful config, they need to be kept up to date with the latest threats and they need to be monitored in the same way a perimeter intrusion detection solution is monitored. A vulnerability that might not be considered is physical access to network rooms, which should be protected using the organisation’s access control and intrusion detection system. Something we’ve seen is DVRs or NVRs with no passwords just sitting out in common areas – not just in small retail stores but in hotels, shopping centres and sports grounds. Node zero should be defended and all access to CCTV equipment should be logged. Securing video surveillance solutions is something integrators and end users need to get serious about. The capability to undertake such target hardening has existing for a long time – we need to start deploying it – not only on new systems but on hundreds of thousands of brownfield sites as well. ♦
Like the New Testament and other books of scripture, the Doctrine and Covenants is made up of several types of documents, including dictated revelations, epistles, visions, minutes, a dedicatory prayer, and even a translation.1 The most common component of the volume is dictated revelations—that is, documents in the voice of the Lord dictated by the Prophet Joseph Smith and others and recorded by scribes.2 One of Joseph Smith’s associates, Parley P. Pratt, witnessed the dictation process and left an account of what he saw. “Each sentence,” he wrote, “was uttered slowly and very distinctly, and with a pause between each, sufficiently long for it to be recorded, by an ordinary writer, in long hand.” A remarkable aspect of this dictation was its fluency. “There was never any hesitation, reviewing or reading back, in order to keep the run of the subject,” Parley explained, “neither did any of these communications undergo revisions, interlinings or corrections. As he dictated them so they stood, so far as I have witnessed; and I was present to witness the dictation of several communications of several pages each.”3 Over time, the revelations did undergo revision—sometimes quite substantial—primarily for three reasons. One was that scribes made errors in their recording and transcription. A second reason was to prepare the revelations for publication. The third was to update, supplement, or refine the texts as additional light and knowledge came “line upon line and precept upon precept.”4 1. Epistles, or extracts of epistles, include sections 85, 121, 122, 123, 127, and 128 of The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981). Sections 2, 76, 110, 137, and 138 are examples of recorded visions. Section 102 is the original minutes of the Kirtland High Council. Section 109 is the dedicatory prayer for the temple in Kirtland, Ohio. Section 7 is a translation. 2. Doctrine and Covenants 1 through 134 and 137 come from the Joseph Smith period. Section 135 is a tribute to the martyred Prophet and his brother Hyrum. Section 136 was received by Joseph’s successor, Brigham Young, and section 138 is the record of a vision of sixth Church president Joseph F. Smith. 3. Parley P. Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt Jr. (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1985), 48. 4. 2 Nephi 28:30; see also Isaiah 28:10, 13; Doctrine and Covenants 92:12; 128:21. For an understanding of these processes, see Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City, UT: Church Historian’s Press, 2009); Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., and Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Published Revelations, vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City, UT: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).
Manumission was of two kinds justa or regular, and minus justa. Of manumissio justa there were four modes: (I) by adoption, rarely resorted to; (2) by testament, already recognized in the Twelve Tables; (3) by census, which was of exceptional use, and did not exist later than the time of Vespasian; and (4) by vindicta, which was the usual form. The manumissio minus justa was effected by a sufficient manifestation of the will of the master, as by letter, by words, by putting the pileus (or cap of liberty) on the slave, or by any other formality which had by usage become significant of the intention to liberate, or by such an act as making the slave the guardian of his children. He favoured the embassy in every way, and when the body of Santa Justa could not be found, helped the envoys who were also aided by a vision seen by one of them in a dream, to discover the body of Saint Isidore, which was reverently carried away to Leon. Among his other works are his Annotationes in Biblia (1607), of which an English translation (Pious and Learned Annotations upon the Holy Bible) was published in London in 1648, and various polemical treatises, such as De fictitio Pontificiorum Purgatorio (1619); De justa secessione Reformatorum ab Ecclesia Romana (1628); De Antichristo, &c. He also published French translations of Sarpi's History of the Council of Trent, and of Edwin Sandys's Account of the State of Religion in the West.
Many times, people feel overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to do and as a result, end up not doing any at all. Procrastination is for the most part, knowing what you have to do, but not wanting to start because there is too much to do. Here I am going to share 2 techniques on how to deal with this. Derived from Brian Tracy‘s best-seller, Eat That Frog, it is important to know what tasks are truly important and contributes to your goal, while the rest are just fillers or inconsequential. The famous Pareto principle applies, that 80% of your results are going to come from just 20% of your effort. Filter out the tasks that will give this 80% result, which will typically be the hardest tasks, then do them first. The frog analogy in this case, is the hardest yet most crucial task you have to accomplish, which you have to do first and foremost. Eat that disgusting frog. Always, always start with the most challenging, result oriented task. After completing the toughest task of the day, the rest will be a breeze. Rank your tasks in importance and work downwards. You will be a lot more focused, as well as efficient. Don’t spend time on activities that are just time wasters that don’t help your goal. When you really scrutinize what you are doing, you will realize that many chores are literally a waste of time. Anthony Robbins calls simplifying your activities, ‘chunking’. Group entire activities together into one process like, ‘Exercise’, ‘Career building’ or ‘Family’ and you will feel a lot less daunted. Take exercising for example, if you split it into the specific steps you have to do, you will end up with perhaps a hundred overwhelming steps like: drive to the gym, register at counter, get into gym attire, do 5 sets of 10 reps of bench press, do 4 sets of 8 sets of lateral pull, take a drink, do 4 sets of 10 reps of squats, 5 sets of bicep curls, go for 20 minute jog on treadmill AND SO ON. When you look at it like this, the task seems almost impossible and too tedious to execute. So simplify it into one simple action, which is to exercise. Notice when you drive a car or ride a bike, the more you think about specific actions you have to do like change gears and clutch and look into the rear mirror, the more you will mess up. When everything is one fluid motion, then can you manage it well. Don’t focus on the details, but focus on the entirety of the action and the results it will yield. This will let you accomplish things without over-thinking and being too stressed out. So chunk your daily activities now for best results.
In Russia, a potentially terrible bill was approved by President Putin. Following the amendment of the current law, a single act of domestic violence will be punished only with 15 days imprisonment or a fine, instead of maximum two years incarceration previously adopted. The Guardian: Putin approves legal change that decriminalises some domestic violence This amendment is based on an idea that it is not proper for legal authority to intervene familial relationship. Compared to Western culture, Eastern nations, and some Asian countries including Japan have a shared ideology that discipline with minimal hurt is acceptable. Beneath of this amendment, there seems resistant attitude in Russian against the Western de-fact standard. In my opinion, too harsh punishment is no use to prevent further crime. Thus, I do not criticize attenuated penalty at all. Also, I do not admire Western culture entirely. For example, in England, letting a child alone in daytime is deemed as abuse. I think it is an unnecessary treatment. However, gender equality is no more Western culture but a global standard. And, family bond is shrinking as civilization is developing. The present amendment is out of date, I believe.
The Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was originally introduced in 1953 as a limited-production luxury convertible alongside the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta and Buick Roadmaster Skylark. The Cadillac was the runaway success of the group and its influence on both automotive and industrial design throughout the mid to late ’50s is hard to overstate. The price of the Eldorado Biarritz was out of reach for all but a few, and for the 1956 model year just 2,150 units were sold, with the Seville (the sister car with a hardtop) selling 3,900 units. Interestingly, the name Eldorado was suggested by an enterprising young woman named Mary-Ann Marini, she was a secretary in Cadillac’s merchandising department at the time – it was a stroke of brilliance as it referenced both the Spanish meaning “the gilded one” and the myths of the South American Lost City of Gold that has been hunted by explorers for hundreds of years. Cadillac pulled out all the stops for the Eldorado Biarritz, it was fitted with an immensely powerful 365 cubic inch V8 engine capable of 305hp, topped with dual 4-barrel carbs and coupled with a 4-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. The exhaust fed through four ports in the rear bumper – a design feature that was far ahead of its time and achieves a remarkably clean back end. Internally the model could be ordered with options that leave many far more modern cars in the dust, including a power-operated soft-top, an Autronic-Eye automatic headlight dimmer, an electric dashboard clock, a factory pushbutton radio, power six-way seats, power windows, power steering and power-assisted brakes. The Eldorado you see here has been recently restored to stunning factory-fresh condition by a marque specialist, in fact it’s probably in slightly better condition now that it was on the day that it rolled out of the Cadillac workshop. If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit Auctions America. Photo Credits: Chris Amos © 2016 Auctions America
Physics for CBSE 12th Physics course is built specifically for the students of the CBSE Class 12th. This course covers all the prescribed chapters according to NCERT syllabus and is best suited to prepare for not just the college exams but the board and engineering / medical entereance exams too. The chapters from “Electrostatic” , “Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance” to the chapters at the very end , “Communication Systems”, are taught in great detail along with all the smaller subtopics in the form of modules. The tests and quizzes not only ensure you understand the concepts but also that you would excel in exams all around. Benefits of this Physics course is immense & immeasurable This course covers exact chapters and topics of all the subjects as prescribed by your board and college. We provide you 247 learning-anytime, anywhere , you can decide your place, your pace and study at your wish and will. Save time, money and energy as you will not be travelling to attend classes. We guarantee best quality study material from our chosen team of experts in teaching. as well as Secured learning process with the assistance of our 'Expert Doubt Solving Forum'. The lessons are same as in your books, helping you score high marks in college and Board exams". 1. What is SimpleLecture.com? Simplelecture.com is an e-learning website that believes in the concept of 'teaching at home' via Audio-video Lectures available 247. simplelecture.com is currently available for the CBSE and the Karnataka Key Aspects of Simple Lecture .com: Chapter wise recorded audio video lectures Quick Tests and sample Notes as per syllabus and exam format 2. Why should I enroll with simplelecture.com? and taking notes anytime anywhere from experts at affordable cost solutions to doubts / questions 3. What benefits will I get from SimpleLecture.com? 24 x 7 at your convenience topics/chapters at your own pace study any topic multiple number of times time and money more travelling expenses when you wish 4. What do you mean by Audio-Video Lecture? is professionally recorded subject-wise lecture by Highly Experienced professors which makes you free from having the problem of missing any particular topic or concept in any chapter 5. What is the concept of Quick test? focuses on conceptual understanding of all the topics in each chapter in the form of multiple choice questions. After every chapter you have to go through a test to know your level of understanding 6. How would the notes help me for exams? the notes are prepared by highly experienced professors according to the syllabus and question paper format, it will help you to revise well and score good 7. How can I Enroll a Course with SimpleLecture.com? You can enroll just by one click and making online payments using our safe and secure payment gateway 8. Once enrolled, Can I share my Simplelecture.com login details with anyone? No, you cannot share as we allow only single user login and in case you share it with anyone your Access to the course will be locked 9. What will I get as a package for each course, if I enroll? video Recorded lecture. test for Each Chapter that would come in handy during exams forum for quick solutions for all your doubts 10. How many times can I watch the audio video Lecture? You can repeat/ watch the audio-video lectures any number of times till the concept is clear 11. If I buy a course for how long will it be valid? All the courses will be valid till next day of your last day of final 12. I have some questions/Doubt, what should I do? You can post all your doubt and questions in respective subjects’ expert forum. It will be answered at the earliest 13. How will it help me to clear the exams? Quick solutions to questions posted by you Quick test after each chapter Notes as per syllabus and question paper format Chapters explained in videos with
Presentation on theme: "Strategy & Development Session 1, 9:45-10:30. Lesson Objectives: Lesson Objectives a)Understand the difference between commodity vs. consultative selling."— Presentation transcript: Lesson Objectives: Lesson Objectives a)Understand the difference between commodity vs. consultative selling b)Understand the difference between campaign objectives – branding vs. direct response vs. both c)Understand the new metrics & touch points of engagement Commodity vs. Consultative Selling Commodity Sellers – Focus on Price – Limited definition of success Clicks, CTR, CTA – Objectives driven by immediate response – Success often more a factor of ad creative and landing pages Focus on value of media Define Success by: – Understanding and defining objectives – Creative, unique opportunities – Holistic approach to media channels Consultative Sellers – Measurement focus on interactions, engagement, ad effectiveness – Understand media and marketing – Walk in your customers shoes and think like them – Marketing builds relationships with high value customers The Consultative Approach Solution Orientation – WIIFM – Creative Exchange of Ideas Competencies – Joint definition of metrics and success – Willingness to optimize, iterate Educate client Sell More By… Educating clients on Internet media best practices Manage expectations Increase market share – Demonstrate online + offline synergies – Increase spending by existing advertisers – Encourage non-online advertisers to buy online programs – Show advertisers how to build brand equity Increase reach & frequency Maintain presence (recent) Definition of Integration What it Isnt – Not repurposing print ad or TV spot into a banner – Not token gestures of adding online to traditional media schedule because you have online – Not additional inventory just to increase size of sale Whats best for meeting clients objectives Possible Campaign Objectives Direct Response -Promotional method in which a prospective customer is urged to respond immediately and directly to the advertiser, through the use of a 'device' provided in the advertisement. These devices (called direct response mechanisms) include a (1) coupon to cut and mail, (2) business reply card, (3) toll-free telephone number, or, on the internet, (4) hotspot to click. Most retail sale advertisements are direct response ads in one way or the other.methodprospective customer advertiserdevicesresponse mechanismscouponmailbusiness replytelephoneinternethotspotsaleadvertisements Both Branding - The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.processimageproduct consumersadvertising campaignsconsistent aimsestablishsignificantmarketcustomers Branding Frequency, Reach Focus on the QUALITATIVE nuances of each channel – How will you engage the consumer? – Are there innovative targeting opportunities? – What type of creative can be used? Direct Response \| Engagement Focus on the QUANTITATIVE elements – What are all the different types of possible engagement responses? – Are there any unique targeting opportunities to help maximize performance? – Do pricing modes and rate ranges fit into the success model? Exercise Review the engagement measurement list on the Product Planning Guide Hand out the engagement activity list, 1 per team. They have 10 minutes to come up with what products they would use to activate each of the 4 engagements and why they would use that product. – Have them flip chart out their responses – Have the group share their results (5 – 10 minutes)
Presentation on theme: "Environmental Risks Arising from Changes in Ammunition Materials XXIV European Shooting Confederation General Assembly, Moscow 17 May 2013."— Presentation transcript: Environmental Risks Arising from Changes in Ammunition Materials XXIV European Shooting Confederation General Assembly, Moscow 17 May 2013 Risk is a combination of the probability, or frequency, of occurrence of a defined hazard and the magnitude of the consequences of that hazard. Pollutant linkage - In the context of land contamination, there are three essential elements to any risk: A contaminant – a substance that is in, on or under the land and has the potential to cause harm or to cause pollution of controlled waters; A receptor – in general terms, something that could be adversely affected by a contaminant, such as people, an ecological system, property, or a water body; and A pathway – a route or means by which a receptor can be exposed to, or affected by, a contaminant. Lead and its compounds are Hazardous and Toxic to humans and the Environment. Risk is greater if Lead becomes soluble or mobile. Risk is greater from Leads sparingly soluble corrosion products : PbO, PbO 2, Pb(OH) 2, PbCO 3, Pb 3 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 2 … Leads soluble salts: PbSO 4, PbCl 2 are acute poisons Antique Lead above pH 6.5: the rate of corrosion equates to 2,000-3,200 years for European shot #7 to 9 to corrode. Practical experience of shot in ranges indicates circa 200 years – even in neutral soils. WHY? Measurement of corrosion content of archaeological lead artifacts by their Meissner response in the superconducting state; a new dating method, S Reich, G Leitus and S Shalev, Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. New J. Phys. 5 (July 2003) 99. Corrosion of metals is primarily an electrochemical process. Usually requires a sacrificial metal or compound and an electrolyte. The lower the pH the better the electrolyte. In the cased of Lead, its corrosion crust does not slow the process. Once initiated, corrosion in linear in nature. Soil can provide sacrificial metal compounds. In the absence of sacrificial materials, pure Lead is highly resistive to acid attack. Soil free study, Pure Lead shot x 5 times slower corrosion than Archaeological Lead. Unstable lead alloys; 1.25% Sb-Pb increases corrosion x 22 fold compared to pure lead. Add iron oxides from steel shot corrosion to 1.25%Sb-Pb alloy shot and comparative corrosion increases x 140 fold. Whats in my shot? Whats in already in our range soil? What effect will steel shot have on our range? Pure leads L50000 - L50099 Lead - silver alloys L50100 - L50199 Lead - arsenic alloys L50300 - L50399 Lead - barium alloys L50500 - L50599 Lead - calcium alloys L50700 - L50899 Lead - cadmium alloys L50900 - L50999 Lead - copper alloys L51100 - L51199 Lead - indium alloys L51500 - L51599 Lead - lithium alloys L51700 - L51799 Lead - antimony alloys L52500 - L53799 Lead - tin alloys L54000 - L55099 Lead - strontium alloys L55200 - L55299 Organic rich horizons descending into less organic rich layers of weathered soils, overlying un-weathered substrata and parent rock. Grasses, herbs, mosses and lichens; rooted in underlying thatch and dark organic rich horizon. Surface typically pH 5.5-7.5. Presence of soil invertebrates. Usually find iron banding / iron pan from natural weathering above less oxygen rich regions. Corrosion with liberation of colloidal oxides of: iron, nickel and manganese. Accelerated corrosion of legacy lead, and liberation of other heavy metals naturally present in the soil; through redox corrosion and iron oxide catalysed oxidation. Most corrosion/leachate by-products adhere to colloidal iron oxides, surface clays and biomass, (i.e. thatch). Initially reduction in heavy metals leaching. Adverse impact on surface soil pH, swings from 9.5 to 3.5 in days. Overall effect is a long term increase in site acidity and net increase in metals leaching. Loss of sensitive mosses and lichens. Demise of soil invertebrates due to pH changes and oxidative stress, with consequential deterioration in sub-soil drainage Reduction of intolerant herbs. Formation of secondary iron-pan, leading to deterioration in soil texture (with iron concretion) further impede sub-soil drainage, leading to associated increase in surface run-off. Reduction in grass quality and cover through pH stress, metals toxicity and poorer drainage. Consequential loss of surface biomass and soils. 0.5cm Contrary to the of labelling Steel Shot cartridges, not being Lead does not make them Non-toxic. Colloidal Iron oxide – Irritant. Not classified as a human carcinogen - but equivocal tumorigenic, Herbicide. Aquatic pollutant. Toxic to insects / Invertebrates. Steel shot contains both Manganese and Nickel. Nickel salts are carcinogenic. Manganese oxides are Harmful and reduce male fertility. Proven to increase human toxicity of Lead x 3 fold. Increased level of potentially soluble lead and antimony pollutants by redox corrosion and increased acid corrosion of legacy metals. Steel shot provides a transport metal in the form of colloidal iron oxides. Ferrogenous discharges (so called acid mine discharge or yellow-boy, - i.e. rust laden waters), probably the largest cause of heavy metals migration from contaminated sites. Increased erosion and mobilisation of heavy metals through facilitated transport on clays and biomass. Reduced cover, impairment of subsoil drainage soil results in an increase in surface run-off: Increased runoff – increases risk of soluble pollutant migration. Dont shoot steel over legacy lead. Or shoot better lead. Design ranges to better capture spent projectiles. Routinely remove spent shot from the range. Lead must be mechanically removed, but steel can be removed with a magnetic broom. Treat the range with a remediation agent: Apatite/CaCO 3 /MgCO 3, Synthetic Apatite (limited efficacy and can aggravate drainage problems). Encourage natural drainage and transpiration - plant trees. Maintain surface cover. Monitor site soil permeability. Counter iron pan with mechanical intervention to assist surface drainage. Install range drainage system to capture all runoff, and monitor runoff for potential contaminants. Incorporate a heavy metals reactive filter/barrier within the range drainage system and projectile traps. ANY FUTURE CHANGES – THINK HOLISTICALLY! Dr Peter J. Hurley Cylenchar Limited Tel: +44-(0)1484-517417 Fax: +44-(0)1484-516098 e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] www.cylenchar.com
We think you have liked this presentation. If you wish to download it, please recommend it to your friends in any social system. Share buttons are a little bit lower. Thank you! Presentation is loading. Please wait. Published byJosue Cheevers Modified over 2 years ago © 2008 University of Oregon Increasing Patient Activation to Improve Health and Reduce Costs Judith H. Hibbard, DrPH Institute for Policy Research and Innovation University of Oregon © 2008 University of Oregon 2 The Need to Do Better with Less Patients are an important resource in health care. We won’t reach quality goals and improved outcomes without patient engagement © 2008 University of Oregon 3 There is great variation in patient activation in any population group Measurement would allow us to: ▶ To know who needs more support ▶ To target the types of support and information patients and consumers need ▶ To evaluate efforts to increase activation ► To Evaluate quality © 2008 University of Oregon 4 Measurement of Patient Activation Share key insights Implications Applications to improve care and outcomes © 2008 University of Oregon 5 What Does it Mean to Be Activated ? © 2008 University of Oregon 6 Patient Activation Measurement (PAM) Difficulty Structure of 13 Items Unidimensional Interval Level Guttman-like Measurement Properties Uni-dimensional Interval Level Guttman-Like Scale © 2008 University of Oregon PAM 13 Question * Related instruments: PAM 10, PAM 2, Clinician PAM 7 © 2008 University of Oregon 8 Activation is developmental Source: J.Hibbard, University of Oregon © 2008 University of Oregon 9 Emotion plays a profound role in patient activation © 2008 University of Oregon 10 Activation Level is Predictive of Behaviors Research consistently finds that those who are more activated are: – Engaged in more preventive behaviors – Engaged in more healthy behaviors – Engaged in more disease specific self- management behaviors – Engaged in more health information seeking behaviors © 2008 University of Oregon 11 Level of activation is linked with each behavior Source: US National sample 2004 © 2008 University of Oregon 12 Behaviors in Medical Encounter by Activation Level © 2008 University of Oregon 13 Insights ▶ Use activation level to determine what are realistic “next steps” for individuals to take ▶ Many of the behaviors we are asking of people are only done by those in highest level of activation ▶ When we focus on the more complex and difficult behaviors– we discourage the least activated ▶ Start with behaviors more feasible for patients to take on, increases individual’s opportunity to experience success © 2008 University of Oregon 14 When activation changes several behaviors change 11 of 18 behaviors show significant improvement within the Increased Growth Class compared to the Stable Growth Class © 2008 University of Oregon 15 Multivariate analysis which controlled for age group, gender, race, comorbidities and number of diabetes-related prescriptions. Carol Remmers. The Relationship Between the Patient Activation Measure, Future Health Outcomes, and Health Care Utilization Among Patients with Diabetes. Kaiser Care Management Institute, PhD Dissertation. Activation can predict utilization and health outcomes two years into the future for diabetics % change for a 1 point change in PAM Score 10 Point Gain in PAM Score 54 (L2) vs. 64(L3) P Hospitalization 1.7% decline17% decreased likelihood of hospitalization.03 Good A1c control (HgA1c < 8%) 1.8% gain18% greater likelihood of good glycemic control.01 A1c testing 3.4% gain 34% greater likelihood of testing.01 LDL-c testing © 2008 University of Oregon 16 Low activation signals problems (and opportunities) 16 © 2008 University of Oregon 17 Using the PAM to Improve Care ► Evaluations ► Improve efficiencies ► Improve efficacy ► Population based approaches ► Individual tailored approaches © 2008 University of Oregon 18 Tailoring Support to Activation Levels © 2008 University of Oregon 19 Tailored Coaching Study ▶ Intervention group coached based on level of activation. Control group was “usual care” coaching (DM company) ▶ Examined changes in claims data, clinical indicators, and activation levels ▶ 6 month Intervention period. © 2008 University of Oregon 20 Coaches allocated more talk time to lower activation participants when they had access to PAM scores © 2008 University of Oregon 21 PAM tailored coaching resulted in a statistically significant greater gains in activation N.=245 in intervention group; N=112 in control group. Only those with 3 PAM scores are included. Repeated measures shows that the gains in activation are significant in the intervention group and not significant for the control group (P<.001) © 2008 University of Oregon 22 Adherence to Recommended Treatments PAM-tailored Intervention vs. Usual Coaching Control © 2008 University of Oregon 23 Tailored coaching can improve adherence and reduce unwarranted utilization Hibbard, J, Green, J, Tusler, M. Improving the Outcomes of Disease Management by Tailoring Care to the Patient’s Level of Activation. The American Journal of Managed Care, V.15, 6. June 2009 Clinical Indicators* Medications: intervention group increased adherence to recommended immunizations and drug regimens to a greater degree than the control group. This included getting influenza vaccine. Blood Pressure: Intervention group had a significantly greater drop in diastolic as compared to control group. LDL: Intervention group had a significantly greater reduction in LDL, as compared to the control group. A1c: Both intervention and control showed improvements in A1c. Using repeated measures, and controlling for baseline measures © 2008 University of Oregon 24 Tailoring had a positive impact on all patient outcomes Findings consistent across all outcome measures Results are compared to usual coaching Valuable Implementation lessons learned along the way © 2008 University of Oregon 25 Greater Activation is Related to Better Outcomes (in multivariate analysis) Prevention Colon Mammograms Pap Smears.00.02.01 Clinical Indicators in Normal Range Healthy Behaviors Not Obese Not Smoking Costly Utilization Lower Hospital Lower ER.04*.02.00.01* Systolic Diastolic HDL Triglycerides A1C.01.00.02.01*.01 Controlling for age, income, gender, and number of chronic diseases © 2008 University of Oregon 26 Providers are increasing paid on outcomes – Total costs – Clinical outcomes – Patient Experience – Panel size Will they tap into the resource that patients represent? © 2008 University of Oregon 27 ► Brief interventions in the clinical setting– with follow-up. Medical home ► Team approach– and differential allocation of resources ► Care transitions and reducing hospital re-admissions ► Wellness, disease management Applications © 2008 University of Oregon 28 Being Patient Centered: Means meeting people where they are Providing behavioral support that meets the individual’s needs Measurement is key to making progress in this area © 2008 University of Oregon Engaging Consumers to Improve Health and Reduce Costs Judith Hibbard, DrPH Professor University of Oregon. Patient Activation & Engagement Basics Institute For Clinical Systems Improvement Beth Webb, Project Manager, RN, BA May 29, 2013. WEEK 1 You have 10 seconds to name… Addition 1’s to Addition Facts = = = 25 seconds left….. 24 seconds left….. 23 seconds left….. TWO STEP EQUATIONS 1. SOLVE FOR X 2. DO THE ADDITION STEP FIRST DIVIDING INTEGERS 1. IF THE SIGNS ARE THE SAME THE ANSWER IS POSITIVE 2. IF THE SIGNS ARE DIFFERENT THE ANSWER IS NEGATIVE. STATISTICAL INFERENCE ABOUT MEANS AND PROPORTIONS WITH TWO POPULATIONS. MULT. INTEGERS 1. IF THE SIGNS ARE THE SAME THE ANSWER IS POSITIVE 2. IF THE SIGNS ARE DIFFERENT THE ANSWER IS NEGATIVE. Jeopardy Topic 1Topic Q 1Q 6Q 11Q 16Q 21 Q 2Q 7Q 12Q 17Q 22 Q 3Q 8Q 13Q 18Q 23 Q 4Q 9Q 14Q 19Q 24 Q 5Q 10Q 15Q 20Q 25 Final Jeopardy. SUBTRACTING INTEGERS 1. CHANGE THE SUBTRACTION SIGN TO ADDITION 2. TAKE THE INVERSE OF THE SECOND NUMBER 3. FOLLOW THE RULES FOR ADDITION 4. ADD THE OPPOSITE. Consumer Directed Health Plans and Patient Activation Judith Hibbard Jessica Greene Martin Tusler University of Oregon Funding Provided by the Robert Wood. Past Tense Probe Past Tense Probe – Practice 1 Past Tense Probe – Practice 2. MULTIPLYING MONOMIALS TIMES POLYNOMIALS (DISTRIBUTIVE PROPERTY) We will resume in: 25 Minutes We will resume in: 24 Minutes. Test B, 100 Subtraction Facts By D. Fisher Geometric Transformations. Reflection, Rotation, or Translation 1. The Impact of Drug Benefit Caps Geoffrey Joyce, PhD. 1 Unit 1 Kinematics Chapter 1 Day © S Haughton more than 3? 1 Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Inc. All rights Reserved Fig 2.1 Chapter 2. Patient Activation and Motivational Interviewing Presented by: Susan Butterworth, PhD, MS Associate Professor Oregon Health & Science University President, GG Consulting, LLC I-SUITE. Source: TEA SHARS Frequently asked questions 2. ADDING INTEGERS 1. POS. + POS. = POS. 2. NEG. + NEG. = NEG. 3. POS. + NEG. OR NEG. + POS. SUBTRACT TAKE SIGN OF BIGGER ABSOLUTE VALUE. Business Transaction Management Software for Application Coordination 1 Business Processes and Coordination. Chronic disease self management – a systematic review of proactive telephone applications Carly Muller Dean Schillinger Division of General Internal Medicine. MULTIPLICATION EQUATIONS 1. SOLVE FOR X 3. WHAT EVER YOU DO TO ONE SIDE YOU HAVE TO DO TO THE OTHER 2. DIVIDE BY THE NUMBER IN FRONT OF THE VARIABLE. 1 Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 38. 1 Physicians Involved in the Care of Patients with Recently Diagnosed Cancer CanCORS Provider Composition Writing Group Academy Health Annual Research. Linking Verb? Action Verb or. Question 1 Define the term: action verb. ALGEBRAIC EXPRESSIONS Step 1 Write down the question Step 2 Plug in the numbers Step 3 Use PEMDAS Work down, Show all steps. Lets play bingo!!. Calculate: MEAN Calculate: MEDIAN 1. 2 Easy-to-Use Administrator Features 3 Customisable Screen Cutoff Scores. Measuring knowledge, skills and confidence to self manage. Patient Activation Dr Alf Collins Clinical Associate in Person Centred Care The Health Foundation. 1 TennCare Diabetes Program Evaluation Presentation to AcademyHealth Kenton Johnston, MPH, MS, MA June 4, 2007 An Individually-Matched Control Group Evaluation. 1 Lecture 3 Validity of screening and diagnostic tests Reliability: kappa coefficient Criterion validity: –“Gold” or criterion/reference standard –Sensitivity, Survey of People with Disabilities in the Framework of the Evaluation of the Laron Law Research conducted by Mayers-Jdc-Brookdale Institute and. Title Subtitle 1. A. B. C. C. * D. Click to try again! INCORRECT. Partnership for Quality Education (PQE) Partnership for Quality Education (PQE) Collaborative Interprofessional Team Education Initiative (CITE) Carol. SMART GOALS The First Step Toward Improvement Dr. Anne Zeman, Director Curriculum and Professional Learning September 22, 2011. ABC Technology Project Mrs. Kiddle. ABCs of Technology Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Word 4 Word 5 Word 6 Word 7 Word 8 Word 9 Word 19 Word 20 Word 21 Word 22. Squares and Square Root WALK. Solve each problem REVIEW: 1 LEUCEMIA MIELOIDE AGUDA TIPO 0. 2 LEUCEMIA MIELOIDE AGUDA TIPO 1. Labeling claims for patient- reported outcomes (A regulatory perspective) FDA/Industry Workshop Washington, DC September 16, 2005 Lisa A. Kammerman, Ph.D. Twenty Questions Subject: Twenty Questions 1 Chapter 20: Statistical Tests for Ordinal Data. © 2017 SlidePlayer.com Inc. All rights reserved.
Presentation on theme: "Epilepsy Created By: Whitney Copeland. What is Epilepsy? Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system. Epilepsy is also known."— Presentation transcript: What is Epilepsy? Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system. Epilepsy is also known as a seizure disorder. It is usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures that were not caused by some known medical condition like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar. What is a Seizure? A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain that usually affects how a person feels or acts for a short time. Seizures are not a disease in themselves. Instead, they are a symptom of many different disorders that can affect the brain. Some seizures can hardly be noticed, while others are totally disabling. What does a seizure look like? A convulsive or tonic-clonic seizure starts when someone loses consciousness, stiffens unexpectedly, falls to the ground and starts jerking. How to help: Stay calm, time the seizure, remove any hard objects from the area, place something soft under the head, loosen any tight clothing, do not restrain the person's movements, do not force anything into the mouth, roll the person onto their side to allow excess saliva to drain from the mouth, and allow the person to rest until they have fully recovered. Example of a convulsive seizure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=men1or16 9Xo&NR=1&feature=endscreen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=men1or16 9Xo&NR=1&feature=endscreen What does a seizure look like? In complex partial seizures the person may appear unresponsive and confused. Automatic movements such as smacking of the lips, wandering, or fumbling movements of the hand may be present. He or she may display inappropriate behavior that may be mistaken for alcohol or drug intoxication. How to help: Stay with the person, talk calmly and in a reassuring manner to the person, protect the person from harm, do not restrain the person, help reorientate after the seizure has finished. Example of Complex Partial Seizure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKItDS30n vc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKItDS30n vc What does a seizure look like? In absence seizures the person loses awareness for a brief period. The person stares vacantly, the eyes may drift upwards and flicker. It may be mistaken for daydreaming. How to help: Reassure the person and repeat any information that they may have missed. Example of an Absense Seizure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRirg- YUqpc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRirg- YUqpc What triggers seizures? Missed medication Lack of sleep Infections and illness Diet (missing meals, taking a lot of caffeine) Alcohol Drugs Stress For women - hormonal changes (for example, related to menstrual cycle) Severe changes in temperature Photosensitivity - about 2% of people with epilepsy are sensitive to sensory stimuli such as strobe lights, flickering televisions or flickering sunlight. What can teachers do to help? Remember, that a child may experience observable seizures, seizures you can't see, and nocturnal (nighttime) seizuresmnbm. Teachers may need to modify instruction given this reality. A child's ability and knowledge may be variable; he may know something one day, and the next day seem to have forgotten it. This may require a change in a teacher's expectations (e.g. postpone a test until the child seems more alert). Since focus and attention may be hampered even when a child is not having seizures, a teacher should use repetition and direct instruction when needed (i.e. when the child appears to be having difficulty concentrating or retaining new information). Use consistent ways of interacting and patterned use of language. This provides a continuous, predictable experience for the child with seizures. Instructional language is very important. It should be simple, clear, and consistent so the child will know what is expected of him. Look for ways to promote success. This is very important in a child who may experience feelings of low self-esteem. Children with seizures may have difficulty with transitions, as they perceive the world as unpredictable and discontinuous. Try to build predictability and routine into the classroom environment. Consider using a "buddy system" or some form of peer helping. Many children with seizures are quite comfortable with adults (having had adults "manage" their health and safety) but less competent at making and keeping friends. Help build self-esteem and mastery through peer support. This also imparts a level of comfort in the other students.
Presentation on theme: "11.2 NOTES The Western Democracies Stumble. Standard and Objective 10.8.2 Understand the role of appeasement, nonintervention (isolationism), and the."— Presentation transcript: Standard and Objective 10.8.2 Understand the role of appeasement, nonintervention (isolationism), and the domestic distractions in Europe and the United States prior to the outbreak of World War II Objective- Students will understand the economic and social problems of Europe and the U.S. prior to WWII I. Politics in the Postwar World Western Democracies faced problems economically and socially Irish Republican Army- (IRA) wins independence from Britain for most of the country The “Red Scare”- fear of communists, led to restricted immigration U.S., isolationism II. Postwar Foreign Policy France feared it border with Germany built the Magiont Line- fortifications Britain looked to relax the punishment of Germany France refused Kellogg-Briand Pact- agreement for nations to not use war to get stuff Disarmament- reduction of armed forces, most reduced navies League of Nations weak, does not enforce policy III. Postwar Economies Britain-high unemployment, low wages led to a general strike in 1926 France recovered slowly Germany was hurt by repartitions U.S. booms IV. The Great Depression Why did it happen? Falling demand and overproduction Less demand-> factories cut back->more unemployed->less demand Financial crisis- risky borrowing, inflated stock prices, nervous panic U.S. puts up tariff other raised tariffs-> trade stood still Great Depression- painful time of global economic collapse V. The U.S. Reacts to Depression Pres. Herbert Hoover-no government interference in private business Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)- introduces the “New Deal”- social and economic programs FDIC- protect bank investments Social Security- help for elderly Aid Farmers Work Programs New Deal failed to end depression but did ease the pain and pave road to recovery later Questions What does this cartoon think about the ideas of the new deal?
Mungalla Station is a cattle property located approx. 12 km east of Ingham. The property is owned by the Nywaigi Aboriginal Land Corporation and managed by the Mungalla Aboriginal Business Corporation. Their mandate to "...improve the economic and social position of our people..." is being achieved through property management and cultural and eco-tourism. The wetland on the property is a treasure being brought back to life by careful environmental management. In the 90 minutes we had exploring the wetland, we found a variety of wading birds including Masked Lapwing, Red-necked Stint, Red-kneed and Black-fronted Dotterel, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper and Latham Snipe. All were too far away for any good photography so I concentrated on the many birds flying overhead. \|Brolga, Mungalla Wetlands\| \|Magpie Goose, Mungalla Wetlands\| Several small terns were fishing right in front of a group of photographers but their quick movement and the poor light made it difficult to identify them with any certainty. These are the best photographs I could manage. \|Whiskered Tern, Mungalla Station\| I am not 100% convinced but the best identification I can come up with is Whiskered Tern. The only alternative is that they are White-winged Black Tern. WWBTs are northern hemisphere summer breeders that migrate to Australia in our spring. Early arrivals may retain some breeding colouration. I am not familiar enough with the changes of these birds as they move into and out of their breeding colouration. These birds have retained the red legs and bill there is no evidence of black plumage so I think it unlikely they are WWBTs. As the sun was setting we walked back to the designated pick up spot where a flock of Nankeen Night-Herons were roosting. \|Nankeen Night-Heron, Mungalla Station\|
School Assemblies Great Reptiles These School Assemblies bring the biggest reptiles in any show within 100 miles, truly our WOW show. It also, usually, brings our herpetologist, and founder Bill Boesenberg himself to your event. Science School Assemblies Everyone will enjoy! The “WOW” can come from watching a 100 pound America Alligator, “Blue,” sit in Bill’s lap, like a great black puppy; or from a 6 ft Water Monitor Lizard, “Elizardbeth,” hangout and sniff the air with her foot long tongue, while everyone laughs at the story of how she came to us; or you might be “Wowed” by getting to touch the gentle beautiful giant, “Hernia,” a 100 pound Burmese Python. But we guarantee you’ve never seen School Assemblies like these anywhere before. We’ll talk about their lives in the wild, their habits and habitats, how they find food and avoid becoming food and their relationships with humans both in the wild and captivity. Our instructors, Bill or not, are experts at enthralling and informing all interest and grade levels with a combination of humor, awe and compassion for creatures to which most people rarely get this close. This is good large venue elementary school assembly entertainment where there will be lots of people, 300+ is not a problem. This show needs a lot of space, no less than 12×8 ft just for us. Not including the audience. Two six foot tables and a chair must be provided. The animals and carriers combined weigh in excess of 300 lbs. therefore the show needs to take place on the first floor, adult help must be provided or an elevator must be available. SPECIAL NOTE-If you are not in NJ you cannot see these specific animals. This is due to a series of draconian laws passed by the US federal govt and states like NY. We can still bring great school assemblies of fantastic animals, but it will be different from above. Please call us for details of what we bring to you. PRICES FOR School Assemblies The Great Reptiles NORTH NJ (201,973,908,) $480 CENTRAL NJ & SI (732, 609, 856, 718 Excluding So NJ) $480 SOUTH NY (845, 914, 516, 631) $480-Animal availability differs NYC (212, 718, 917, 646, 347) $500-Animal availability differs No. PA (Delaware Valley), $480-Animal availability differs CT (203) $480-Animal availability differs PHILLY & SOUTH NJ (Atlantic, Cape May, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland) $550 Returning yearly customers may pay the same price as last year for the same shows. ONE STOP SHOPPING! If you use us for multiple options, I.E. an Anti-Bullying show, a Reptile show and an Aquatic show, all in the same school year, we will discount all your shows! Discounts also for small audiences, (under 20,) and multiple back to back programs, (over 1.) Rescue, Entertain, Educate, Inspire! Book Great Reptiles School Assemblies Call Bill at 973-248-9964 AUTHOR BILL BOESENBERG
So Beautiful They Named it Thrice. Trace this diamond back and you will no doubt encounter two further names. Steinmetz Pink and Pink Star. This week, the natural pink diamond was purchased by diamond cutter Isaac Wolf, and the name has changed again. It will now also be known as “Pink Dream.” Origins of the Pink Star The incredible pink diamond is regarded by many as one of the most precious stones in the World. The “Pink Star” otherwise known as “The Steinmetz Pink” is the World’s largest internally flawless, oval pink diamond, weighing 59.60 carats. The original diamond that was mined in South Africa took over 20 months when it was cut. Pink diamonds are usually cut into shapes that help maximise the appearance of the pink colour. This week the diamond was sold for just under Â£52 Million (76,325,000 CHF) at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction this week in Geneva. The Pink Star. Image Source : Sotheby’s The Steinmetz Pink was originally unveiled in Monaco back in 2003. The diamond was publicly visible during exhibitions such as the “Diamonds” exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London in 2006. Watch the auction of the World’s largest internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond GIA have ever graded. Pink Star Diamond Facts Name : Pink Star / Steinmetz Pink Origin : South Africa Carat Weight : 59.60 carats Type : IIa Size : 26.93 x 20.64 x 13.68 mm Colour : Natural Fancy Vivid Pink Original Owners : Steinmetz Group Mounted? : Mounted as a Ring. Size 51 double claw setting The Pink Star Diamond Certificate (GIA) The largest Flawless of Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink (Naturally coloured) diamond GIA have ever graded to date. Accompanied by a separate monograph. The original diamond grading report dates back to February 2007.
On this page, we will provide helpful information regarding financial aid, loans and repayment. You will find general information on loans and what aid you qualify for, how to best budget your expenses, and helpful tools to assist with your repayment. Finding Out the Cost & Learning to Budget Money Mondays (Financial Literacy sessions for students): Budgeting Get smart about money! Are you aware of your spending habits? Are you living within your means? If not, do you know where to look for adjustments to your spending habits? This session will give you information and tools on how to budget your finances and effectively see where your money is going. This session will last approximately 30 minutes. This is a useful tool to track your income and expenses while you are in-school or in loan repayment. Creating a budget can save you money. The office of Federal Student Aid provides publications, fact sheets, online tools, and other resources to help you prepare and pay for college or career school This resource will provide you with an up-to-date estimate of the cost of your education here at the Conservatory. Another Become familiar with how to be financially smart, both in terms of managing your loans and your personal finances. Federal Government Resources: Looking Ahead to Repayment: Mapping Your Future: This website is a great resource for those starting to look towards their future, financially speaking. On this site, you can explore careers, prepare for college (help with selecting a school and applying for admission), pay for college (financial aid), and manage your money (student loans and more). Repayment Information : Learn more about the many flexible repayment plans that are available for your loans. This information will help you choose a repayment plan that is best for you and your financial situation. Learn the basics of repayment by reading this informational packet sent out by the Federal Student Aid Committee. Direct Loan Consolidation: If you have multiple loans, you can simplify your payments by consolidating all your loans and making one payment to one servicer every month. Click the link above to learn if you are eligible for loan consolidation and how to apply. Avoiding Default and Delinquency: Learn what delinquency and default is and how to make sound financial decisions to avoid both. Avoiding Identity Theft: Identity theft occurs when a person commits fraud by posing as someone else. The threat of identity theft is real and can take months or even years to recover from. Learn how to take precautions to avoid becoming a victim of identify theft and what to do if it does happen to you. Education Credits: Education tax credits can help offset the costs of education. The American Opportunity (Hope Credit extended) and the Lifetime Learning Credit are education credits you can subtract in full from the federal income tax, not just deduct from taxable income. Learn about these Educational credits and others that maybe available to you and your parents.
PEG or Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy A PEG tube placement is a non-surgical technique for the placement of a gastrostomy or feeding tube using endoscopic technique which may be used for feeding, medication administration or decompression. Some indications for a PEG tube include: A PEG will require moderate sedation and a short recovery period. You should expect to spend two to four hours in the Endoscopy department.
Etude High School sent eighteen students and two Language Arts staff members to the Whitewater Creative Writing Festival on Wednesday, November 18. This writing competition requires students to submit original works prior to the event; then presenting the piece to the judge and audience the day of the festival. Creativity and presentation skills are an intrinsic part of the curriculum at Etude in the form of the arts infused projects presented each semester by the juniors and seniors. The Creative Writing Festival gave the students another platform to present their skills while receiving feedback from college professors. Judges asked students to explain what inspired the work and for what forum it was created. Aly Madison said the competition helped her, especially the criticism of the judges and hearing other artist's styles. Some students write in their free time for the sheer passion of writing while others wrote their piece as a part of a class assignment. Language Arts and writing teacher Tad Phippen Wente commented, "I love how the students are talking about their writing and creating with students from other schools. This inspires them to continue what they are doing and strive to improve for next year. It was extremely beneficial for the students to receive feedback from the judges to help them reflect on how they could improve their craft." Another great component of the writer's festival was the open mic, which gave students the opportunity to read their work to other students. Jaide Lehnhardt loved Whitewater because the open mic was really fun, allowing her to discuss her work with other students. Sam Sheahan added, "It was an awesome and interesting experience with excellent feedback. People were interesting and helpful." Students benefited greatly from this opportunity to learn from other like-minded people who came from a large variety of schools. The keynote speaker for this event was Marilyn Taylor, the Wisconsin Poet Laureate, who described her journey to becoming a poet. She discussed with humor and insight what made some poems great and what caused other poems to be painful to listen to. Students were excited to recognize many of the poems she mentioned and seemed to be motivated to continue to expand their own creativity. This creative writing festival challenged the students to reflect on how they could improve their work while exposing them to many new ideas. Etude High School is a public charter school in the Sheboygan Area School District.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower The Perks of Being a Wallflower Part 3, Chapter 12 Summary How It All Goes Down April 26, 1992 - None of Charlie's friends are really talking to him after the mess he made during the truth-or-dare game. - When Charlie goes to visit his aunt Helen's grave to clear his mind, it doesn't help. - He worries that he's brought everything on himself, because his psychiatrist says he's passive aggressive. - Near the end of the letter, Charlie has a wish: "I just wish that God or my parents or Sam or my sister or someone would just tell me what's wrong with me. Just tell me how to be different in a way that makes sense. To make this all go away. And disappear" (3.12.14). - He concludes the letter by telling us he bought some pot from Bob and has been smoking it almost non-stop since. That's called a not-so-genius coping strategy. People who Shmooped this also Shmooped...
The Canterbury Tales: The Second Nun's Tale Almachius Timeline and Summary - Shortly after Cecilia converts Tiburtius and Valerian, Almachius decrees that everyone must worship at the shrine of Jupiter or die. - Almachius orders the execution of Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus. - Almachius calls Cecilia before him, questions her about her faith, and demands that she worship at the shrine of Jupiter. - When Cecilia refuses, Almachius orders her executed. - Unable to kill Cecilia by boiling her in a cauldron, he sends his executioner to kill her with a sword.
After spending six million dollars to create bionic superhero Steve Austin, scientists have now built a real bionic man from artificial limbs for a sixth of the price. Known as Rex - short for robotic exoskeleton - his 6ft frame is made up of an array of artificial limbs and organs from around the world, the Daily Mail reported. Built for a Channel 4 documentary exploring how far technology has developed, Rex raises ethical dilemmas. Research on advanced prosthetics and artificial organs means scientists could soon not only replace missing body parts, but improve on them. In the Six Million Dollar Man astronaut Steve Austin, played by Lee Majors, was left horribly injured after his craft crashed. The opening sequence of the 1970s TV series featured an off-camera voice intoning: "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology." Austin was given a bionic arm and legs and an artificial zoom-lens eye. The C4 programme's presenter is Dr Bertolt Meyer, a social psychologist from Switzerland who himself has a 30,000-pound bionic limb after being born without a left hand. The bionic man is being built from 1,000,000 dollars of limbs and organs by leading UK roboticists Richard Walker and Matthew Godden. There is the artificial eye, which consists of a microchip implanted into the retina that receives images captured by a camera housed on the patient's glasses. It sends electrical pulses that are translated by the brain into shapes and patterns. Professor Robert MacLaren, from Oxford University, said: "We are hoping patients who are completely blind will be able to see basic shapes and objects." Scientists are hoping prosthetic replacements for failing hearts, kidneys, pancreas and spleens could one day solve the worldwide shortage of donor organs. The research is published in Radio Times. (ANI)
The Artux Heavenly Gate is located on the south of part of the Tianshan Mountians range ,west of Artux village,Artux city, Kizillesu prefecture and has the distance of 75km to Artux City. Recently it has been selected as one of the 25 most scenic adventures of the world by American Exploration Magazine ,According to historical records, The American reporter Hiaheragou had the tour accompanied by the Ugyue guide Usmanahon in 1932, the English explorer Shipton also had safari here in 1947. Coming to Artux Heavenly Gate ,you should pass through 18 kilometers Gobi desert,climbing the steep cliffs and walking along a flood of erosion and river gravel to reach more narrow ways. And entering into the crevice of the canyon that only allowed only one person to pass through.it.If you raise your head here you can only see the a thin strip of the sky. That people commonly called blues line or Chinese Yixiantian which means that sky look like only one line of strip.After passing through canyon ,thereis a very wide way,that is stome mountains and Heavenly Gate,which present"U" shape with the width of 100 m and height of 500 meter. It is paradise of the tourists and explorers for its uncanny and natural workmanship. Even more amazing is the thickness of it can not be easily measured. Not only looks majestic and precipitous but also even more tranquil, deep and serene,mysterious. Here you can also hear the echo if you speak here.and anyone who speaks here will definitely hear the echos. On the right side of the cliffs ,thereis small small natural caves that looks like honeycomb.On the left side of the cliff,one can see variation of the different rock formation that looks peculiar. Here is ideal place for people to go rock climbing but only best climber with good technique can stay here to go rock climbing because the topography here is very precipitous.
The municipal-rural Community of Skarszewy is inhabited by 14,028 people, including 6,911 in Skarszewy town and 7,117 in 19 groups of villages (data on December 31, 2008). Due to topographic features, Skarszewy Community is one of the most beautiful in this part of Kociewie Region. The areas surrounding the town are an example of picturesque landscape. The beauty of this land is stressed by the meandering Wietcisa River, which is the biggest tributary of the Wierzyca River. In spite of its unquestionable tourist advantages and location near the Tri-City, Skarszewy has not been fully discovered by tourists yet, therefore the community’s local government makes use of eyery opportunity to promote the Land of Skarszewy. Skarszewy is a community attractive to investors owing to its location - 13km away from Starogard Gdański - with a Special Economic Zone, 45km - from Gdańsk, 19km from Tczew and 35km from Kościerzyna. FROM PAGES OF HISTORY In the pre-state period, the main centre of Wierzyczanie tribe - Gnosna settlement (Panina Góra Hill) existed in the vicinity of Skarszewy - 1320 - Skarszewy gained civic rights - 1370 - Knights of St John of Jerusalem sold Skarszewy to the Teutonic Knights - 1472 - Skarszewy was the seat of king’s prefect - 1613 - 1772 - Skarszewy was the seat of Pomeranian voivodes, Borough and Landed Court - 1712 - The biggest fire broke out in the town - January 30, 1920 - General Haller’s „Blue Army” marched into Skarszewy finishing the 148-year period of captivity - September 2, 1939 - German troops seized the town - March 8, 1945 - Skarszewy was “liberated” by the Soviet army within the „Pomeranian Operation” - 1973 - Skarszewy was the economic vice-master in Poland - September 25, 2002 - Domestic Chamber of Economy bestowed the Fair Play Community 2002 on Skarszewy - December 19, 2003 - Town Office in Skarszewy received the Quality Management Certificate PN - EN ISO 9001:2001 - 2003 - Town Office received the Certificate of Modern Management in Public Administration - Castle of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem from 1305 - present seat of the Communal Culture Centre in Skarszewy (the castle’s original cellars have been preserved) - Gothic parish Church of St Michael the Archangel from the l4 th century with preserved baroque furnishings in Skarszewy - Historic Exhibition Center in Skarszewy - wooden church in Szczodrowo from the 15th century - medieval street plan of the Old Town with historical tenement houses dating back to the l7 th and 18 th centuries and fragments of 14 th century stone town walls in Skarszewy - late-Gothic church in Obozin - baroque Church in Godziszewo - baroque Church in Pogódki of St Peter and St Paul the Apostles - post-Protestant Church of St Maximilian from the l9 th century in Skarszewy - park-manoral complexes in Bolesławowo, Bączek, Mirowo and Nowy Wiec - Region of Lake Borówno Wielkie, guarded swimming area on season, camping houses, parking, boat and kayak rental, many places to eat – very close to Skarszewy Town - Region of Lake Godziszewskie - the biggest in the community (169 ha, maximum depth 17 m). There are two swimming areas: one from the side of Demlin (professional catering and two volleyball fields on the beach) and the other one in Godziszewo village (guarded swimming area on weekends) - Agricultural Education Ecological Path in the area of the Group of Schools of Agriculture attached to the Practical Education Centre in Bolestawowo. The path has been established for students, teachers, and for all people, for whom in-depth familiarisation with their living environment and eating ecologically - clean food are ones of the most important issues of life - Panina Góra Hill 182.2 m above sea level - one of the highest viewpoints in Kociewie. - water power plant in Czamocińskie Piece from 1906 - in the Zone of the Protected Wierzyca River Valley Landscape. Beautiful flood waters of the Wierzyca are a natural home to waterfowl, fish and other animals (deer). A kilometre away in the direction opposite to the course of the river, there is a gap of the Wierzyca - the river flows through a gorge with steep, 40-m high slopes In the community area, there are two signposted tourist trails • Skarszewski Green Tourist Trail, Sopot - Skarszewy, 80,7 km, leading through the beautiful Zone of the Protected Wietcisa River Valley Landscape (viewpoint on Panina Góra hill) • Kociewie Lakes Tourist Trail - red trail - Skarszewy – Starogard Gdański, 36,2 km (8km within the community). The trail runs in a bewitching woody terrain of glacial lakes separated by morainal hills. It leads through: Skarszewy, Wietcisa River Valley, Lake Borówno Wielkie, Lake Borówno Małe, Lake Rokitki, Lake Mergiel Duży, Obozin and Szpęgawsk.
\|Hill record:\|\|92.0 m (Roger Ruud , 1981-12-20, WC)\| \|Tower height:\|\|54 m\| \|Inrun length:\|\|86.5 m\| \|Year of construction:\|\|1923\| \|Conversions:\|\|1926, 1940, 1955\| \|Further jumps:\|\|K55, K32, K20\| \|Status:\|\|out of order\| \|Ski club:\|\|Sci Club Cortina\| The history of the ski jump leads back into 1923, because in this year it was built as the “Franchetti-Schanze” at Zuel, a suburb of Cortina. It was named after the hotel owner and financial supporter of the construction of the jump. In 1926 the jump was enlarged and jumps over 50 m were possible. In 1939 the destruction of the jump followed, because it did no longer fit with the risen international standards. In the following summer the reconstruction for the World Championships in 1941 took place. On the new Italia ski jump, which had a 48 m high wooden inrun tower, the 20 year old Sepp Weiler from Oberstdorf jumped the largest distances including a hill record of 76 m and was already celebrated as the World Champion. But he just finished 4th place. Policies played an important role and the judges gave marks for the “German” which were much too low. Later this WSC was negated because of the war. The last hill record on this ski jumping hill was performed by Finland’s Laaksonen with 78 m. For the Olympic Winter Games 1956 a complete new construction of the hill was needed and on December 8, 1955 the official opening of the most modern ski jump worldwide at that time took place. The Olympic ski jumping competition was won by Antti Hyvarinen (FIN) with a record of 84 m. In the following years many national and international competitions took place. Just as the first World Cup competition ever which took place here in 1979. The FIS certificate for international competitions of the jump was only valid until 1990 and afterwards the Italian Ski Federation didn’t manage to convert the jump and since ski jumping has been stagnating. Still today the facility looks like an amphitheatre and the powerful steel-made inrun tower, the spectator places and judges towers are witnesses of the technical construction performance of the architects Reinhard Straumann and Guglielmo Holzner from Bolzano (Bozen) and Enzo Mantovi, Luciano Berti and Piero Pozzazi of the Engineering School of Bologna.
Motion-tracking startup Thalmic Labs has been showing off what its early developers can do with a muscle-reading Myo armband and a little imagination, with the new peripheral already integrated with Oculus Rift, capable of remotely controlling mean-looking robots, and more. The company isn't planning to ship broadly until midway through this year, but its Myo Alpha Developers program is underway, and already the ideas are proving diverse. Gaming is one of the obvious routes for motion-tracking, with Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox One and Xbox 360 before it probably the best-known of the systems. Unlike Microsoft's camera-based tracking system, however, Myo uses a combination of sensors to monitor physical movement and the electrical activity of muscles in the arm, so that it knows what the wearer's hands are doing. That means controlling games simply by waving your arms around - or triggering more precise features with the fingers - or even stepping into a completely virtual world. One Myo dev has paired two of the bands - one for each arm - with Oculus' Rift so that the wearer's real world movements can be mapped to navigation in-world. However, there's more than just gaming going on. Home automation, like pointing and "grabbing" at a light in order to turn it on, and gesture-based computer navigation such as we've already seen from Leap Motion are also being trialled. It even has potential for a motion-triggered camera, though of course that could be extended to just about anything you might want to control remotely. Perhaps the most exciting implementation is seeing Myo hooked up to a Clearpath Robotics Husky robot. The gestures are relatively straightforward, like pointing forward to drive the robot forward, but it's not hard to imagine exploring disaster zones or other inhospitable environments with a remote drone, using a combination of Myo and an Oculus Rift. The Myo armbands are expected to ship later this year, and are currently up for preorder at $149 apiece.
I really like the idea of a 3D printer. It would be awesome to be able to think up anything you want to make and actually make it right in your home. Today the average 3D printer is often large and very expensive putting them out of the reach of most of us. A company called Origo has an idea though and I hope they can pull it off. The concept is a 3D printer that is designed for kids that would be able to sit on a desk in the home and let the kid design and print anything they want. The guys behind Origo are Joris Peels and Artur Tchoukanov, both are former i.materialise workers. The video below shows the kid designing their 3D object on a tablet device and sending it to the printer. Origo says that the printer is expected to cost about the price of three Xbox 360 game consoles if they can reach their goal. The printer will also be about the size of three Xbox 360s. The idea is that the printer would be able to recycle the material it uses to make it more green and less costly. This sounds interesting to me.
TEN TIPS FOR A GREAT NIGHT’S SLEEP 1. Pick a bedtime Bedtimes aren’t just for kids. Going to sleep at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning will help to regulate your internal clock. Try sticking to this schedule on weekends and vacations, too! 2. Unplug before bed The artificial light from the screen of an electronic device decreases the body’s production of the hormone melatonin, which helps us fall asleep and stay asleep. So, try not to use any light emitting electronic devices within one hour of going to bed. 3. Limit caffeine Caffeine can stay in your system for up to 8 hours. Which means that mid-afternoon cup of coffee can make it harder to fall asleep at night. If you need a mid-day energy boost, try a snack that’s high in protein, like nuts or low-fat yogurt. 4. Break a sweat In addition to sleep problems, a number of health concerns can be helped with a regular exercise routine. But, try to avoid exercising too close to bedtime. When you exercise your body releases adrenaline, hyping up your body and making it hard to get to sleep. 5. Consider the mattress You spend 1/3 of your life sleeping. Shouldn’t you do so in comfort? If you wake up with aches and pains, or if your mattress is over 5 years old, it may be time for a replacement. The right mattress will meet all of your unique sleep needs and ensure that every night’s sleep is a great night’s sleep. 6. Snack smarter Looking for a late-night snack to help you nod off? Foods rich in magnesium (almonds), potassium (banana) or calcium (milk) can all help you drift off into dreamland. 7. Check your temperature For most people, the ideal room temperature for sleeping is between 60° and 68°. But the most important thing to consider is comfort. Start in this range and then adjust your thermostat until you find a temperature that’s right for you. 8. Stick to a routine Performing to a nightly routine will signal to your brain that it’s time to unwind and prepare for bed. Reading, taking a bath, or drinking a cup of decaf tea are all ways to relax and prepare to catch some Zzzs. 9. Pillow talk All pillows are not created equal. The type of pillow you sleep on directly correlates to your sleep position. So whether you’re a side sleep, a back sleeper, or a stomach sleeper, there’s a pillow made just for you. 10. Get your doctor involved If you try these tips and are still having trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep, don't take it lying down. Talk to your doctor to target the problem and explore further options for healthy sleep.
The US Food and Drug Administration plans to oversee electronic cigarettes as tobacco products – and won’t try to regulate them under stricter rules for drugs or medical devices. E-cigarettes mimic the act of smoking, but they don’t burn tobacco directly, and their users release only water vapor. This nicotine-delivery device has been marketed as an alternative to cigarettes for those trying to quit. Yesterday, the FDA said it will propose subjecting e-cigarette companies to rules that currently cover makers of regular cigarettes, such as providing lists of ingredients. The FDA wanted to regulate e-cigarettes as drug-delivery devices, just as nicotine gum and smoking cessation products are regulated. But the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided that e-cigarettes aren’t medical devices (except those specifically marketed for therapeutic ‘stop smoking’ purposes). Regulation as drugs or devices would have required e-cigarettes to go through a pre-market approval process. So while the agency can review new e-cigarette products before they go on sale, it can’t require manufacturers to conduct the types of animal and human studies mandated for FDA approval of drugs or medical devices, Bloomberg explains. The battery-powered cigarette consists of a heating element and a cartridge containing a liquid suspension with nicotine from tobacco plants. When a user inhales, the liquid is heated and a nicotine vapor is emitted. A light at the tip even glows like a real cigarette. Users and distributors say e-cigarettes address both the nicotine addiction and the behavioral aspects of smoking – the holding of the cigarette, the puffing, seeing the ‘smoke' come out and the hand motion – without the more than 4,000 chemicals found in cigarettes, AP reports. But the FDA might beg to differ, the Los Angeles Times reports. Half of the 19 brands of e-cigarettes the FDA sampled contained a carcinogen found in real cigarettes and many contained a poisonous ingredient of antifreeze. Image: electronic cigarette by ahancyrus via Flickr
ENG 261 Seventeenth-Century Potery Gillian M. Kendall, T Th 10:30 AM-11:50 AM An exploration of the remarkable variety of 17th-century lyric poetry, which includes voices secular and sacred, witty and devout, bitter and sweet, male and female. Attention to poetic forms, conventions, and imagery, to response and adaptation of those forms. Particular emphasis on Donne, Jonson, Herbert, and Marvell, set in the context of their time and their contemporaries.
Moshers might have more to offer society than you once thought. It turns out that mosh pits behave a lot like a container of gas, with each individual acting as an atom. Researchers at Cornell University built a model of these metal heads and realized that they could use it not just to understand the behavior of fans but also, perhaps, the behavior of individuals in emergencies. The whole thing started when a graduate student, Jesse Silverberg, took his girlfriend to a metal concert. He told New Scientist: “I didn’t want to put her in harm’s way, so we stood off to the side,” he says. “I’m usually in the mosh pit, but for the first time I was off to the side and watching. I was amazed at what I saw.” From the sidelines, he realized that the mosh pit looked a lot like a mass of atoms. Individuals bash into one another, bounce off and fly around in a seemingly random pattern. Then they took videos of mosh pits off YouTube and built a model of the behavior. Here it is: New Scientist explains what we’re seeing here: They found that by tweaking their model parameters – decreasing noise or increasing the tendency to flock, for instance – they could make the pit shift between the random-gas-like moshing and a circular vortex called a circle pit, which is exactly what they saw in the YouTube videos of real mosh pits. Which is interesting for connoisseurs of mosh pits, but perhaps more useful in situations where crowds need help, like earthquakes or fires. Scientists can’t really study how people behave in those situations without raising ethical questions. But perhaps, Stromberg told New Scientist, you could use this model to see how people behave and use that information to better design emergency exits or aid. More from Smithsonian.com:
Photo courtesy of cambodia4kidsorg via Creative Commons Break out analytics into five separate reports Target audience: Nonprofits, cause organizations, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises, businesses, Facebook administrators. Facebook breaks down its analytics into five reports that can be viewed directly on your page: - The Overview Report: An overview of how your page is performing day to day, with sortable post-level details. - The Likes Report: A report about the Facebook users who like your page. - The Reach Report: A report about the Facebook users who see your page content (organic, viral and paid reach), what websites are referring traffic to your page and more. - The Talking About This Report: A report about the Facebook users who create content about your page, and how those stories generate viral reach. - The Check Ins Report: A report about the Facebook users who check in to your Facebook Place on their mobile device. Going beyond Facebook Insights The five reports listed above provide more than enough data to navigate toward most destinations. However, there are times when you want deeper insights around your page. That’s why Facebook allows you to do a full data dump (up to an 89-day range) of all your Insights data. Following are examples of some of the data unavailable in the standard Insights reports that you can view by exporting data: Page level data: - The number of people each day who saw your page content - The number of people each day who engaged with your page - The number of people each week who engaged with your page - The number of stories each day created about your page - The number of stories created about your page over the past 28 days - The number of people each day who liked your page who are also friends with current fans - A breakdown of how people have liked your page each day (through a Like Box, on the page, in a hover card, etc.) - The number of people each day who saw your page or its posts from a story published by a friend - Data on post impressions. Impressions are the number of times a post is displayed, while reach is the number of people who saw those posts. Post level data: - Date and time an update was published - The number of people who saw your post in a story from a friend - The total number of impressions each post received - The number of people who gave negative feedback on your post - The number of people who hid your post - The number of people who reported your post as spam - The number of fans who saw your post - The number time your post was displayed to fans - The number of stories about your post by fans How to export your Page Insights You can export either page level or post level data from your Page Insights simply by clicking the Export button on the top-right corner of any of your Insights tabs, and selecting page level or post level data, the date range you want to analyze and the format for your export (as shown above). Insights data is not available before July 19, 2011.John Haydon delivers social web strategy solutions for “the quick, the smart, and the slightly manic.” Curious? Then connect up: Contact John by email, see his profile page, visit the John Haydon blog, follow him on Twitter and Google Plus or leave a comment. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported.
North Korea Plans to Launch Satellite Next Month Saying that it will abide by relevant international regulations and usage concerning the launch of scientific and technological satellites for peaceful purposes, North Korea announced today that it plans to launch a polar orbiting earth observation satellite next month. The move drew sharp criticism from those who insist that it violates, not abides by, international obligations. The announcement was reported by South Korea's Yonhap news agency. South Korea strongly objected to the upcoming launch calling it a "grave provocative act against peace and stability." The U.S. State Department called it a "highly provocative" act that would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874 that "clearly and unequivocally prohibit North Korea from conducting launches that use ballistic missile technology." The State Department called on North Korea to "adhere to its international obligations" and said it was consulting with "international partners on next steps." SpacePolicyOnline.com has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Rootkits Conquer PCs without Control At security vendor Prevx, malware researchers on December 12 2007 pointed to a massive increase in computers infected with rootkit. Prevx, which obtained its latest results by testing more than 725,000 end users' systems, found that about 14% of the company-owned computers had at least one kind of rootkit infection. InfoWorld published this on December 12, 2007. Rootkit is a malware that other infections on a computer often bury or drop. The stealthy rootkit then makes changes to the infected computer's operating system to conceal itself from the user as well as the security products deployed on the system. The malware is able to dodge detection and acquire complete control over an infected PC to enable miscreants to remotely watch, record, alter, capture and transfer information keyed or saved on it. No sooner is a rootkit installed, it disables computer firewalls and conventional security systems on the system. Most types of rootkits don't display any symptoms and therefore, remain wholly undetected by traditional anti-spyware and anti-virus software. According to Prevx, in October 2007, 15.6% of computers were detected to have rootkit and the figure increased to 22% by early December this year. According to the security vendor, 114,891 new computer owners using rootkit detection applications took effect from December 1, 2007. Of those computers, 1,678 still had significant rootkit contaminants. That is equivalent of approximately 1 in 70 computers making it 15 times more than the previously estimated 1 in 1,000 computers with rootkit infection. During the first week or so of December 2007, Prevx's findings featured as many as 93 companies. Of that, 68 operated one or two infected computers and 13 companies ran one or two computers with rootkit infections. Prevx's CEO, Mel Morris, put down in a research note that many computers might be harboring rootkits despite businesses and users using up-to-date anti-spyware and anti-virus products. InfoWorld published the note on December 12, 2007. Related article: Rootkits Can Be Detected And Eradicated » SPAMfighter News - 27-12-2007
FUN CLASSES FOR 3-11 YEAR OLDS Spanish For Kids offers fun and engaging lessons for children of all abilities between the ages of 3 and 11 years. Based in North London, we use a range of learning techniques including role-play, games, music and written activities. CALL 07981 233268 TO BOOK A FREE TRIAL LESSON Spanish is an important language for future generations. It has recently overtaken English as the third most spoken language after Chinese and Hindi. Our classes cater for both Latin American and European Spanish. Spanish For Kids has proudly joined La Jolie Ronde, a language learning method tested and improved for over 25 years. This effective and fun language course was chosen as Best After School Activity 2011 & 2009 by “What’s On 4 School Kids?” Awards. PLEASE VISIT OUR CONTACT PAGE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS “Spanish for Kids is operating under licence to La Jolie Ronde (licence no: 13996).The content and opinions of the Spanish for Kids website are ours, and are not the responsibility of La Jolie Ronde. Use of the La Jolie Ronde logo is with permission.”
Remembering the Labor Day Urbanna boat races \|This 1964 photo shows a speeding hydroplane boat on Urbanna Creek at the annual Urbanna Labor Day Boat Races. (Courtesy of Anne Wheeley)\| by Larry S. Chowning Labor Day weekend is upon us and that reminds many longtime Middlesex County residents of the golden era of power boat races on Urbanna Creek. This era lasted for 26 years (1940-1966) and involved both outboard engine and inboard engine races. The Urbanna Labor Day Regatta boat races ended in 1966 after concerns were voiced that the creek was too narrow for the higher-speed boats. In fact, in that final year, the regatta was held only one day, Sunday, and outboard-powered hydroplanes were the only race boats allowed. Prior to 1966, outboard races were held on Sunday of Labor Day weekend, and on Monday the larger inboard-engine boats raced. In 1966 the American Power Boat Association ruled that Urbanna Creek was too narrow for the inboard powerboat races. There was also the emergence of the Urbanna Oyster Festival, which seemed to be over-shadowing and taking the place of the annual Labor Day races. Volunteers were organizing and doing the work for both events, and there were simply not enough volunteers to stage two major events in Urbanna that were scheduled so close together. In those days, the Urbanna Oyster Festival was held in October. Later it was moved to the first Friday and Saturday in November. The boat races were started in 1940 by the Urbanna Boosters Club as a means of promoting the town economy. In the last year of the races they were sponsored by the newly-formed Urbanna Chamber of Commerce. The chamber was formed in May 1965 when the Boosters Club and Urbanna Merchants Association merged. The Middlesex Lions Club also was a co-sponsor and the annual event was the last fanfare of summer before school started and summer-time folks returned home. Boats came from all over Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania to participate in the annual boat races. The race course consisted of four laps in the creek, which totaled a mile and a quarter. Ten different classes of boats raced in the final year of 1966. \|Home-built Cocktail Class race boats are an economical way to enjoy the thrill of racing. Above, Chris Riddick, who is forming a race club in Urbanna, negotiates a mark during a race.\| A new fleet of the Cocktail Class Wooden Boat Racing Association (CCWBRA) is forming in Urbanna, said organizer Chris Riddick. The group plans to build boats over the winter to be ready to race in CCWBRA’s spring season that includes a regatta on Urbanna Creek in May 2013. These sleek boats measure about 8 feet in length and weigh between 75 and 95 pounds. There are two engine classes, 6 or 8 horsepower, with a top speed of about 18 and 26 miles per hour, respectively. Weight is added to boats with lighter drivers so the boats weigh the same, which keeps them competitive. The boats travel around markers in 2-lap heat races that last about 2 minutes each. The top finishers transfer to the final championship round. The last Urbanna Labor Day Regatta powerboat race was in 1966. The races were stopped because there were concerns the creek was too narrow for the high-speed boats. Cocktail Class is inexpensive low-speed club racing where driver skill and boat set-up are more important than horsepower. Drivers kneel in the boat and lean toward the bow to keep the boat planing efficiently. A race video can be viewed at the bottom of this page. The CCWBRA has roots on the Corrotoman River in Lancaster County and was formed in 2010 to encourage and organize family boatbuilding and racing in the Cocktail Class runabout. Already there are Cocktail Class races nationwide and in foreign countries. The boat is a 1939 design by Charles MacGregor, originally published in “The Rudder Magazine” as an example of what could be done with a novel new material called “plywood.” The CCWBRA has revived the old design and is rapidly building up the class as a forum for safe, fun, ultra-inexpensive racing. Boats are powered by either 6-hp or 8-hp outboards, depending on how much the skipper weighs. Drivers who weigh less than 200 pounds are limited to a two-stroke 6-hp Johnson or Evinrude outboard, which are common and inexpensive, Riddick explained. Drivers over 200 pounds may use an 8-hp outboard of any make or vintage. There are boat kits available and they can be constructed quickly even in a weekend, said Riddick, who is organizing a boatbuilding forum. The kits are available from Chesapeake Light Craft in Annapolis. Riddick, of Urbanna, placed second in the 6-hp class of the 2012 National Championship of the CCWBRA on August 18. Twenty-three boats and 35 drivers participated in this year’s National Championship at Rock Hall, Md., with 18 drivers racing in the 6-hp class. A new member of the CCWBRA, this was only Riddick’s second time in the 8-foot runabouts. Riddick, racing in the #83 “Sundowner,” owned by BreeAnn Edmonds, placed first in his preliminary heat and earned the right to race in the championship round for the 6-hp national title. Riddick squared off against five seasoned drivers in the final three races to capture second place honors by finishing with two seconds and a third in the three-race finals. Racing these little boats was “terrifically fun and exhilarating,” said Riddick. Drivers pilot the craft at relatively modest speeds while looking for any advantage as they negotiate turns. “It’s a blast, especially when you’re neck-and-neck with the competition,” he said. Contact Riddick at (804) 832-4578 or for more information on the boatbuilding forum or racing.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press Debt ceiling -- a new course for House GOP? - Article by: EDITORIAL - Los Angeles Times - January 22, 2013 - 6:52 PM The House GOP seems to have extricated itself from a bind that could have damaged both the American economy and its own political future. Frustrated by Democrats' opposition, many House Republicans wanted to use the debt ceiling as leverage to force the Senate and the White House to accept deeper spending cuts. But after three days at an annual retreat, party leaders said last week that they're willing to move the fight over spending to more appropriate times -- including the looming debate over funding the federal government after March 27, when the money for most operations runs out. House GOP leaders appear to have persuaded their members to support a bill that would effectively waive the debt limit until May 19. Their goal is to win deep spending cuts before that as part of the negotiations over two other looming legislative battles: funding government for the rest of the fiscal year and reshaping the across-the-board spending cuts due to go into effect March 1. What's often lost in the debate over deficits and the debt ceiling is the fact that Congress holds the federal purse strings, with the president limited to vetoing the measures he doesn't like. If Congress wants to staunch the flow of red ink, it needs to trim the annual spending bills and adjust the tax and entitlement laws responsible for the imbalance. And any dramatic shift toward austerity through spending cuts or tax increases threatens to scuttle the fragile economic recovery. Even if Congress agrees to take the possibility of a default off the table, the stakes in the budget battle remain high. If the past is any guide, the public won't respond well to the House GOP if it forces a governmentwide shutdown in late March. But at least the party seems ready to stop threatening to put the entire economy at risk. © 2014 Star Tribune
Tom Ross' column appears in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 970-871-4205 or [email protected]. Find more columns by Tom here. Steamboat Springs If you and I were cowboys and cowgirls living in the Yampa Valley in spring 1912 instead of 2012 (and sometimes I wish we were), by this date, we would already have driven the cattle into the foothills to begin the annual shove up. If we were lucky, the cook driving the chuck wagon was an even-tempered fellow who knew when to stop boiling the coffee and didn’t hesitate to serve his biscuits warm. Though, either of those two qualities would have made him a relative gourmet. Early in the 20th century, the Yampa Valley still was the territory of the mythical American cowboy. Outfits like the L 7, Two Bar, Keystone and the Two Circle Bar still rounded up cattle on the Snake River east of Baggs, Wyo. Some cowboys trailed cows from Bear River to the Williams Fork, others pushed the dogies from the mouth of the Williams Fork south of Craig to Twentymile Park in the vicinity of Steamboat Springs. Some of the best grazing was in Slater Park, up the Elk River from Steamboat, and the cowboys drove large herds south of Columbine to camp amidst the sweet grass in Trilby Flat. The next day, they drove the cattle around Pilot’s Knob and past the Deep Creek Valley to Steamboat. If those cowboys were lucky, the guy driving the chuck wagon knew his business. One of the best accounts of old-time camp cooks ever written is contained in the late Steamboat author John Rolfe Burroughs’ 1962 book, “Where the Old West Stayed Young.” From the spring shove up into the mountain pastures, Burroughs wrote, until New Year’s, a cowboy’s life centered for eight or nine months on the chuck wagon. “Almost all chuck wagon cooks were short-tempered, not without cause,” Burroughs wrote. “For one thing, rain or shine, wind, snow or sleet, their day began before dawn — usually before 3:30 — which in itself is sufficient to sour a man’s disposition.” Burroughs described one feisty little rooster of a cook named Pat Dawson, who was known to beat a green cowhand with a stick if he failed to bring in the right mixture of sage knots and aspen kindling for the cook fires. Dawson’s job included preparing the all-important morning meal for the cowboys, serving cold biscuits, canned tomatoes, salty bacon and sometimes freshly fried meat. But when it came to the morning coffee, he was a disaster. “Dawson’s coffee was as vile as his disposition,” Burroughs wrote. “Pat made coffee in a five-gallon water bucket. Each morning, he tossed a couple of handfuls of freshly ground coffee beans in on top of the old grounds and added water until the proportion of liquid to solids was approximately one to one. Bitter as bile and almost as black as coal, the resulting brew was like nothing that ever had trickled down a protesting gullet before.” So, my wish for you, as you settle in with the Sunday paper, is that someone other than Pat Dawson brewed your morning cup of Joe. To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email [email protected]
GOVERNMENT RECORDS AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT A. General Purpose: The City Council adopts this Chapter to establish guidelines for open government information, recognizing the need to maintain and preserve accurate records, provide public access to public records and preserve the right of privacy of personal data collected or received by the City. B. City Policy: In adopting this Chapter, the City recognizes the enactment of the Government Records Access and Management Act, Utah Code Annotated section 63-2-101 et seq., and the application of that Act to the City records. The purpose of these policies is to conform to section 63-2-701, which provides that each political subdivision may adopt an ordinance or a policy relating to information practices, including classification, designation, access, denials, segregation, appeals, management, retention and amendment of records. The intent of this Chapter is to provide modifications to the general provision of State law, where allowed, to best meet the public needs, operation, management capabilities and resources of the City. C. Compliance With State Law: In adopting this Chapter, the City recognizes the following sections of the Government Records Access and Management Act apply to the City and adopt by reference these provisions as part of this Chapter. Any inconsistency or conflict between this Chapter and the following reference statutes shall be governed by the statute: 1. General Provisions: \|63-2-104\|\|Administrative procedures act not applicable\| 2. Access To Records: \|63-2-201\|\|Right to inspect records and receive copies of records\| \|63-2-202\|\|Access to private, controlled and protected documents\| \|63-2-301\|\|Records that must be disclosed\| \|63-2-305\|\|Procedure to determine classification\| \|63-2-306\|\|Duty to evaluate records and make designations and classifications\| \|63-2-307\|\|Segregation of records\| \|63-2-308\|\|Business confidentiality claims\| 4. Accuracy Of Records: \|63-2-601\|\|Rights of individuals on whom data is maintained\| \|63-2-602\|\|Disclosure to subject of records-context of use\| \|63-2-602\|\|Request to amend\| 5. Applicability To Political Subdivisions: The judiciary and the legislature: \|63-2-701\|\|Political subdivisions may adopt ordinances in compliance with chapter\| \|63-2-803\|\|No liability for certain decisions of a governmental entity\| 7. Archives And Records Service: \|63-2-905\|\|Records declared property of the State-disposition\| \|63-2-907\|\|Right to replevin\| \|63-30-10.6\|\|Attorneys' fees for records request\| (1998 Code § 3-650; amd. 2000 Code) B. Record does not mean: 1. Temporary drafts or similar materials prepared for the originator's personal use or prepared by the originator for the personal use of a person for whom he is working; 2. Materials that are legally owned by an individual in his private capacity; 3. Materials to which access is limited by the laws of copyright or patent; 4. Junk mail or commercial publications received by the City or any of its employees; 5. Personal notes or daily calendars prepared by any City employee for personal use or the personal use of a supervisor, or such notes, calendars or internal memoranda prepared for the use of an officer or agency acting in a quasi-judicial or deliberative process or pursuant to matters discussed in a meeting closed pursuant to Utah Open Meetings Act; or 6. Proprietary "computer software programs", as defined in this Section, that are developed or purchased by or for the City for its own use. (1998 Code § 3-650; amd. 2000 Code) A. Public Records: Members of the public shall have the right to see, review, examine and take copies, in any format maintained by the City, of all City governmental records defined as "public" under the provisions of this Chapter, upon the payment of the lawful fee and pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter and the Act. B. No Obligation To Create Record: The City has no obligation to create a record or record series in response to a request from a member of the public if the record requested is not otherwise regularly maintained or kept. C. Custodial Agency: When a record is temporarily held by a custodial City agency, pursuant to that custodial agency's statutory functions, such as records storage, investigation, litigation or audit, the record shall not be considered a record of the custodial agency for the purposes of this Chapter. The record shall be considered a record of the City and any requests for access to such records shall be directed to the City, rather than the custodial agency, pursuant to these procedures. (1998 Code § 3-650) A. Public Records: Public records shall be those City records as defined in the Act, Utah Code Annotated section 63-2-301, as amended. Public records shall be made available to any person. All City records are considered public unless they are: 1) expressly designated classified or defined otherwise by the City in accordance with policies and procedures established by this Chapter; 2) are so designated, classified or defined by the Act; or 3) are made nonpublic by other applicable law. B. Private Records: Private records shall be those City records classified as "private", as defined in the Act, Utah Code Annotated section 63-2-302, as amended, and as designated, classified or defined in procedures established pursuant to this Chapter. Private records shall be made available to the following persons: the subject of the record, the parent or legal guardian of a minor who is the subject of the record, the legal guardian of an incapacitated individual who is the subject of the record, any person who has a power of attorney or a notarized release from the subject of the record or his legal representative, or any person possessed of and serving a legislative subpoena or a court order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. C. Controlled Records: Controlled records shall be those City records classified as "controlled", as defined in the Act, Utah Code Annotated section 63-2-303, as amended, and as designated, classified or defined in procedures established in this Chapter. Controlled records shall be made available to a physician, psychologist or licensed social worker who submits a notarized release from the subject of the record or any person presenting a legislative subpoena or a court order signed by a judge of competent jurisdiction. D. Protected Records: Protected records shall be those City records classified as "protected", as defined in the Act, Utah Code Annotated section 63-2-304, as amended, and as designated, classified or defined in procedures established in this Chapter. Protected records shall be made available to the person who submitted the information in the record, to a person who has power of attorney or notarized release from any persons or governmental entities whose interests are protected by the classification of the record, or to any person presenting a legislative subpoena or a court order regarding the release of the information and signed by a judge of competent jurisdiction. (1998 Code § 3-650) A. Request In Writing: Under circumstances in which the City is not able to immediately respond to a records request, the requester shall fill out and present to the City a written request on forms provided by the City. The written request shall include the name, address and daytime phone number of the requester, the date and time of the request, and a reasonably specific description of the records sought. The time as noted on the request shall govern all time frames provided under this Chapter. Requesters of nonpublic information shall adequately identify themselves and their status prior to receiving access to nonpublic records. B. Response Of City: The City may respond to a request for a record by approving the request and providing the records, denying the request, or such other appropriate response as may be established by policies and procedures. C. Time Limit For Response; Exceptions: 1. In most circumstances and excepting the eventualities set out below, the City shall respond to a written request for a public record within ten (10) business days after that request. (1998 Code § 3-650) 2. Extraordinary circumstances shall justify the City's failure to respond to a written request for a public record within ten (10) business days and shall extend the time reasonably necessary to respond to the request, as determined by the City Manager/Recorder. Extraordinary circumstances shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1998 Code § 3-650; amd. 2000 Code) a. Some other governmental entity is currently and actively using the record requested; b. The record requested is for either a voluminous quantity of records or requires the City to view a large number of records or perform extensive research to locate the materials requested; c. The City is currently processing either a large number of records requests or is subject to extraordinary seasonal work loads in the processing of other work; d. The request involves an analysis of legal issues to determine the proper response to the request; e. The request involves extensive editing to separate public data in a record from that which is not public; or f. Providing the information requested requires computer programming or other format manipulation. 3. When a record request cannot be responded to within ten (10) days, the City Manager/Recorder shall give the requester an estimate of the time required to respond to the request. D. Failure To Respond; Appeal: The failure or inability of the City to respond to a request for a record within the time frames set out herein or the City's denial of such a request, shall give the requester the right to appeal as provided in Section 1-8-12 of this Chapter. (1998 Code § 3-650) Reviewing a record to determine whether it is subject to disclosure \|B.\|\|Inspection of record by requesting person\|\|no charge\| (for City-prepared copies) \|$0.25 cents per page\| (including overhead and time of staff in preparation of information request) (same as subsection D of this Section) (same as subsection D of this Section) \|G.\|\|Research by City staff\|\|$25.00 per hour\| A. Recognition Of Right: The City recognizes and upholds the personal right of privacy retained by persons who may be the subject of governmental records. B. Notification: The City may, as determined appropriate by the City Manager/Recorder, notify the subject of a record that a request for access to the subject's record has been made. C. Release: The City may require that the requester of records provide a written release notarized within thirty (30) days before the request, from the subject of the records in question before access to such records is provided. (1998 Code § 3-650) A. Procedures Developed: Records maintenance procedures shall be developed to ensure that due care is taken to maintain and preserve City records safely and accurately over the long term. The City Recorder/Clerk shall be responsible for monitoring the application and use of technical processes in the creation, duplication and disposal of City records. He/she shall monitor compliance with required standards of quality, permanence and admissibility pertaining to the creation, use and maintenance of records. B. Property Of City: All City records shall remain the property of the City unless Federal or State legal authority provides otherwise. Property rights to City records may not be permanently transferred from the City to any private individual or entity, including those legally disposable obsolete City records. This prohibition does not include the providing of copies of City records otherwise produced for release or distribution under this Chapter. C. Custodians; Deliver To Successor: Custodians of any City records shall, at the expiration of their terms of office, appointment or employment, deliver custody and control of all records kept or received by them to their successors, supervisors or to the City Manager/Recorder. (1998 Code § 3-650) A. Authority; Time Limit: Any person aggrieved by the City's denial or claim of extraordinary circumstances may appeal the determination within thirty (30) days after notice of the City's action to the City Manager/Recorder by filing a written notice of appeal. The notice of appeal shall contain the petitioner's name, address, phone number, relief sought and if petitioner desires, a short statement of the facts, reasons and legal authority for the appeal. B. Records Subject To Business Confidentiality; Privacy Rights: If the appeal involves a record that is subject to business confidentiality or affects the privacy rights of an individual, the City Manager/Recorder shall send a notice of the requester's appeal to the affected person. C. Determination; Hearing: The City Manager/Recorder shall make a determination on the appeal within thirty (30) days after receipt of the appeal. During this thirty (30) day period, the City Manager/Recorder may schedule an informal hearing or request any additional information deemed necessary to make a determination. The City Manager/Recorder shall send written notice to all participants providing the reasons for the City Manager/Recorder's determination. D. Denial; Appeal To City Council: 1. In addition, if the City Manager/Recorder affirms the denial in whole or in part, the denial shall include a statement that the requester has a right to appeal the denial to the City Council within thirty (30) days at the next scheduled meeting. 2. The person may file a written notice of appeal to the City Council to be heard at the next scheduled meeting of the City Council. If there is no meeting scheduled in the next thirty (30) days, the City Council shall schedule a meeting for the purpose of hearing the appeal. The final decision of City Council shall be by majority vote of a quorum of the City Council. The City Council shall prepare a written decision outlining their final determination and reasons for the final determination. E. Appeal To District Court: If the City Council affirms the denial in whole or in part, the person may petition for judicial review in District Court as provided in Utah Code Annotated section 63-2-404. (1998 Code § 3-650) A. Violation By City Employees: City employees who knowingly refuse to permit access to records in accordance with the Act and this Chapter, who knowingly permit access to nonpublic records, or who knowingly, without authorization or legal authority, dispose of, alter or remove records or allow other persons to do so in violation of the provisions of the Act, this Chapter or other law or regulation, may be subject to criminal prosecution and disciplinary action, including termination. B. Liability Of City: In accordance with the Act, neither the City nor any of its officers or employees shall be liable for damages resulting from the release of a record where the requester presented evidence of authority to obtain the record, even if it may be subsequently determined that the requester has no such authority. (1998 Code § 3-650)
Japan is supposed to be the land of conformity, a land where nobody has original ideas, where everyone unquestioningly follows the pack. But every now and then, people in Japan come up with some things so bewildering that you wonder where the idea could possibly have come from! The Hello Kitty “Snow Kitty” is one of these. The ultimate present for kids who have never had a chance to play with snow, I was told by the Sanrio employee who invented this. For 4,800 yen, payable online or by bank transfer, the reliable blokes at the Sagawa Kyubin delivery service will deliver right to your door a frozen Kitty-chan snowman made of snow hand-packed in Hokkaido the very day before! The picture above shows the plastic mold on the right into which the snow is packed, and the left is an actual Snow Kitty which came out of the package. The Kitty arrives in a refrigerated delivery pack, with the snow packed inside the mold. The kids can then have great fun taken out the frozen Kitty, and sticking the 2 eyes, 1 nose, and six whiskers, which are included in the package, onto Kitty’s face. I imagine that soon after that, Kitty either proceeds to melt slowly into the carpet, or begins the next chilly phase of her life in the family freezer, next to a leg of Hokkaido lamb. A scene from Otaru, where the snow is packed into the kitty shaped moulds (So many potential Kitty Chans!) With its many historical buildings, Otaru, one of Japan’s leading tourist destinations, now has another notch on it’s belt as the chilly birthplace for the latest incarnation of the ubiquitous Cat (who, turning 30 this year maybe should not be called Kitty any more). Hello Kitty was born at Tokyo based Sanrio in 1976. The very first Kitty product was a small clear vinyl coin purse (pictured here) which sold for 240 yen at the time. Kitty is now a phenomenon, adorning over 22,000 products and accounting for over half of Sanrio’s $1 billion yearly revenue (although the person I spoke to suggested it was more likely up to 75-80%). The immense popularity and importance of Kitty in Japanese culture, in both children and adults is highlighted by the fact that this is her 2nd article on Stippy out of over 100, the other of which discussed her relationship with Paris Hilton. This wealth of licensing revenue has allowed for quite a free reign for Kitty product inventors inside the company to try anything they think might work, such as Snow Kitties. This is exacerbated by the floors, walls, and roof of the Kitty product design rooms at the Tokyo headquarters of Sanrio, all being painted bright pink (but that’s a story for another day). A monster Snow Kitty at an Otaru snow festival The official page for the Sanrio Snow Kitty is here, but please beware that it is noted in the instructions that due to the nature of this product, a money-back guarantee is not included, this product cannot be returned, and also cannot be delivered to far away islands (Okinawa etc, although the Hopporyodos are okay I suppose!). Kids, please do not eat Kitty-chans eyes, nose or whiskers. And please beware of yellow snow. (Okay, I made that last piece up…)
Types of Stock Trading Educate yourself in different types of stock trading, so that you can decide upon what to analyze and how to analyse. The question, what type of stock trader you want to become depends on your understanding of 'yourself' and your knowledge of different types of trading. Different type of trading demands different types of personality, time availability and capital investment. You have to decide to go with what suits you. What are different types of stock trading? Based on duration of stock holding, the different types of stock trading can be classified as: - Day Trading: It is a type of stock trading where both buying and selling of a financial instrument is done on the same day and all the tradings are closed before the market close for the day. Traders who participate in day trading are called active traders or day traders. Day trading demands fast decision and fast action. This type of stock trading is not advisable for a beginner. Some of the methods of day trading are: - Arbitrage: Arbitrage a kind of hedged investment meant to capture slight differences in price. When there is a difference in the price of something on two different markets the arbitrageur simultaneously buys at the lower price and sells at the higher price. - Market making: Market Makers are appointed by stock exchanges like The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and American Stock Exchange (AMEX), NASDAQ Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange (LSE) to continuously provide ask and bid rates for the brokers to buy and sell the stock in these exchanges. - Momentum Day trading: It is a method of stock trading, where in a trade is made, when the stock is making a trending movement and the trade is closed at the end of the day. - Pattern trading: As the stock prices move up and down, they tend to form recognizable recurring designs or figurative diagrams, called chart patterns. Trading these patterns gives us more consistent profitable trades. - Scalping: It is a technique of trading and profiting in stock market. It is a day trading strategy and focuses on taking very small profits from hundreds of trades. It involves taking quick and small profits, using the ask and bid differences. - Rebate trading: It is a technique of day trading and profiting in stock market. Here instead of trader paying the commission for buying and selling, he is being paid by the service provider. ECN rebate is the primary source of profit. - Price action trading: It is a technique of stock trading and profiting in stock market. This is a simplistic and minimalistic approach to trading. This approach considers action of price only, that is open, high, low and close of a time period. The time period can be a minute, five minute, thirty or sixty minute. Some traders consider volume also for decision making, though it is optional. The trade is closed on the same day of opening. - Swing trading: It is a technique of stock Trading. The trade is taken at the beginning of the price swings and closing at the end of the price swing and on the same day of opening the trade. - Trading the news (news playing): It is a technique to trade any financial instruments, profiting on price fluctuation, that follows a sensitive news release. The trade is closed on the same day of opening the trade. - Short Term Trading:A trade period of more than one day to a few weeks is considered as short term trade. A stock is bought and held in position from one day to a few weeks. A short trade is entered by creating a sell position, which is covered by buying after one day or in a few weeks. Swing trading and pattern trading are examples of short term tradings. - Medium Term Trading: A trade period from a few weeks to a few months is considered as medium term trade. A trend is followed with tailoring stop loss. Swing trading with higher time period (for example using weekly bars) and Elliot wave trading are the methods suitable for this types of stock trading. - Long Term Trading: In this type of stock trading, stock is held for many months to many years. Investment decision is made by fundamental analysis of a stock. Profit from growth of the company, dividends and bonuses attracts this type of stock trading. Examples of long term trading are Value Investing and Buy and hold method of investing. “I never attempt to make money on the Stock Market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.” The types of stock trading may also be classified in relation to a trend as... - Trend following: Here a trader enters a trade by buying a stock in an up trend or by selling a stock in a down trend, anticipating that the trend will continue. The trade is continued using trailing stop loss, till the trend reverses. Swing trading, momentum trading, pattern trading and Elliot wave trading, with trailing stop loss, fall under this category of stock trading. - Contrarian investing: Here a trader enters a trade by selling a stock in an up trend or by buying a stock in a down trend, anticipating that the trend will reverse. It needs experience to correctly anticipate a trend reversal. Jesse Livermore used to short the market at the peak of an up trend. Value investing is indeed a contrarian investing. - Range trading: Here a trader enters a trade by buying at the lower level of a range and selling at a higher level of a range, anticipating that the trend continues to remain in a range. Different types of indicators and support and resistance are studied to trade the ranges. Some types of stock trading, though may fall under any one of the above classification, a mention has to be made here. They are investing in IPO, insider trading, electronic trading, futures trading, option trading, emini trading, etf trading, after hours trading, program trading and paper trading. Click here to go back from Types of Stock Trading to Stock Trading Infocentre Home page.
Today I received the 2014 utility bill from my city. For comparison, I pulled out my records to see the bill I paid in 2004 – 10 years ago. Well, in 2004, I paid $553 and now in 2014 the bill amount is $960. An increase of more than 73 per cent over the 10-year period. Wow! Had my income gone up that high over the same period? My expenses certainly have outpaced my income in real dollar terms. Where do people find the money to pay for all these ever-increasing expenses? Now I am “expectantly” looking forward to the bigger assault – the property tax bill from my beloved city. If I don’t pay the bill before the due date, I will have to find an extra five per cent as late payment fee. I wonder, are the city budget architects praying that all residents end up paying five per cent more to rescue their budget each year? Indeed our governments are facing a spending problem, not a revenue problem.
AQUARIUS, SOCIAL ELDERLY COMMUNITY OF AGE 55+ A social community where about 45 elderly live together in separated houses, helping each other when needed, all voluntarily and without restrictions. Social activities to prevent loneliness. The low age limit set as a criteria to enter the community makes sure that the average age stays in the middle. The younger people can do more work for the older once. Problematic background and context In 1984 a group of elderly people that didn’t feel comfortable living alone, but even less comfortable living in an elderly home, came with the initiative for an elderly living society in Eindhoven. These people wanted to have an environment that was better adjusted to the needs and wishes of their age category. Some of these people lived on their own and felt lonely, with little or no social connections to society. Other people felt insecure in their own houses and wanted to get a safer feeling. Others needed regular attention from healthcare but didn’t want to go to an elderly home. Aquarius is a social community of older people. They want to grow old together. They have there own private home and garden, but also a communal space and large communal garden. The inhabitants help each other out as much as possible. There is a committee to organise the community. One of there tasks is to visit possible new inhabitant and vote if they will be good new inhabitants. You’re allowed to subscribe when you’re between 55 and 65 years old. (To make sure there are always younger and older residents) Everybody is free to do what he or she likes but they want everybody to help each other out when needed. They organize there own communal activities inside the communal space. Overall Aquarius is a community were elderly people can spend there days in a very social active environment. It goes back to the time where neighbours were good friends and helped each other out when they are sick etc. The community started in 1990, since then not many things changed except several new inhabitants replacing others. This showed that there policy works and still interests elderly people today. Elderly communities are high diffusion, because you can find them at various places. But the community as it is organised at Aquarius is a combination of the best aspects of various earlier communities. The system of Aquarius itself has a low diffusion. Optimised phase, it’s already running several years. They first spend a lot of time to find the good aspects of other elderly communities to implement in there own community. Now the buildings are build and the inhabitants are living together only small changes are done to improve the community. Inhabitants rent their houses from the Eindhoven housing society who owns the buildings. They all together rent the communal area (costs divided over all inhabitants). The committee work is voluntary. The main garden is maintained by a gardener which they need to pay all together. Living in Aquarius stimulates active social contact between the inhabitants. It helps them to keep their life as vital as possible. They will have a safer and more friendly environment around them, or at least it will feel more friendly. Most of the activities are located inside Aquarius. This means that inhabitants can walk to them. It results in less travelling. It often happens that children of elderly need to come by and help them with several things. In Aquarius most of these jobs are don by fellow inhabitants, that also saves a lot of transportation. The economics around Aquarius are almost the same as normal life. They rent a house and the activities are organised voluntary by fellow inhabitants. It safes some money when the effect of helping each other happens a lot. Dick Rutten / TU Eindhoven / Netherlands
This post doesn’t represent my entire session of research but I think it shows a few considerations as you look into Responsive Web Design. By and large, mobile users want different things from your product than desktop users do. If you’re a restaurant, desktop users may want photos of your place, a complete menu, and some information about your history. But mobile users probably just want your address and operating hours. If you’re a blockbuster movie, desktop users probably want an immersive experience, including trailers and production details. On mobile, they probably just want to know where the nearest theater is and what time it’s showing. If you’re a calendaring application, desktop users probably want a full-featured suite of tools for adding and editing events. Mobile users are probably more focused on simply seeing what they’ve got going on today. If you’re a major retail site, desktop users may be more interested in browsing and shopping, whereas mobile users may be more interested in checking the status of an existing order. In my experience, I rarely want to serve up the exact same HTML to mobile users that I do to desktop users. That’s not to say it neverhappens. For example, a blog or simple news site may be a case where mobile users really are looking for the same thing that desktop users are — perhaps the same HTML with a screen-specific layout will work great. But, by and large, mobile users have different goals, and that necessitates different HTML. Ethan, in his original article, recognizes this. Towards the end, he states, “if the user goals for your mobile site are more limited in scope than its desktop equivalent, then serving different content to each might be the best approach.” That’s not at all to say that “Responsive Web Design” isn’t useful. On the contrary, I think it’s extraordinarily useful. There are countless ways in which media queries and fluid grids can be used to enhance the user experience of your site or application, and many of them have nothing to do with mobilization. http://jeffcroft.com/blog/2010/aug/06/responsive-web-design-and-mobile-context/ Rhett Soveran Said: I really think plugins like WP-Touch are more likely to be the correct answer. That is to say—creating a different experience on different platforms (notably mobile). A problem with responsive is that if you want it to work on all devices you have to keep your page size (images and so on) very small. You can’t be forcing a mobile device to download a responsive, but image heavy design (presumably you’ll want to be way below 1MB). That being said, I’m always in favour of minimal design, but it’s not always the right answer for every project. http://themeshaper.com/2011/03/24/questions-responsive-wordpress-theme-design/ Responsive or Not? Ian Stewart said: I suppose the best answer to Should This Design be Responsive? is, like the answer to a lot of other questions, it depends. That said, I’m starting to feel pretty strongly that most designs could do with a responsive layout. I’d definitely agree that it’s not the only best practice though. That’s a great way of putting it. If you take the stance that it’s all about the content and the reader, then I think it’s hard to make an argument that a design shouldn’t be responsive. People will eventually try to read your site on a Galaxy tablet or an iPhone … if it looks like crap on the smaller screen, it pains the reader. When it comes to front-end design, the most important thing is the user (reader) experience. If they suffer or have a difficult time consuming your content, then you’ve done something wrong. The other half of the depends would be a site that could do better with an alternate mobile version of their content because there’s just so much there. Though in that case, you could probably argue that they need to refine their content rather than create a mobile-only version. A Mobile Consideration. It’s About the People. What is Mobile? Mobile is not a smaller version of a website. Mobile must be treated as a beast unto itself. There are varying devices in market from mobile browsers that lack a lot of functionality to smartphones that offer unique browser experiences (think iPhone and Android). On top of that , iPad and the new tablet revolution add a whole other layer of complexity into the the equation. The way someone accesses the content is fundamentally different from a Web experience, but most importantly, more and more consumers are using mobile as the first gateway to find out about your brand. Mobile is gaining market share. … and with that market share comes a lot of attention. Is the shift from a personal computer world to a mobile world happening fast? Deal with this: according to IDC, 101 million smartphones were sold in Q4, versus 92 million PCs (more on that here:Business Insider – The Smartphone Market Is Now Bigger Than The PC Market). We are quickly moving to a world where all of our connected (and interconnected) devices will be mobile (most of them already are) and that will be our primary way we connect to information, one another and yes, brands as well. In the MediaPostnews item, Mobile Rocks, the message is clear: “during the past year, technology improvements, device innovations and growing mobile media consumption have laid the foundation for the development of a strong mobile ecosystem. The challenge for marketers and brands will be how to successfully navigate through one of the most complex and rapidly evolving mediums the world has ever seen. The next year should be one of the most exciting in mobile history.” Mobile is not the new Internet. Mobile is something completely different. It’s portable. Voice still plays a factor in it. It will not be manipulated by a keyboard or a mouse (it will be touch). The content and context must be easy to use, deliver results fast and give immediate value to the consumer. On top of that, mobile will (quickly) become the default platform of connectivity. So, once again, you do not need a mobile version of your website… you need to be thinking about your connected consumer and how you are providing them with the information, resources and content when they want it, where they want it and how they want it. Posted via email from SwBratcher’s Posts
Salina, NY -- The state Department of Transportation Tuesday painted “low bridge ahead” on the pavement in front of the low railroad bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway nearly nine months after four people died when a Megabus slammed into the structure. The new warnings are part of a DOT plan to reduce accidents on the parkway. The pavement markings painted on either side of the bridge join several warning signs already in place. The bridge has been the scene of several accidents. In addition to the new pavement markings, workers also installed rumble strips to create sounds warning drivers when their vehicle crosses the centerline. On the day the latest warning signs were installed, Matthew Stephan was sentenced to 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 years in state prison for killing Mary Ann Denny in a head-on crash on the parkway. That crash occurred Aug. 16. The state plans to do more work, including a system to warn drivers when their vehicle is too tall to fit under the bridge.
Syracuse, NY – Nearly five decades after it was first conceived and 11 years since work began in earnest, the Onondaga Creekwalk opened today, giving walkers and bicycle riders a broad new path by which they can trace a cleaned-up Onondaga Creek from Armory Square to Onondaga Lake. The creek rolled past as Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney and 100 other officials and guests gathered at 10 a.m. between West Fayette and Walton streets to mark the grand opening of the 2.6-mile, $10.1 million recreation trail. Beginning at the Museum of Science and Technology in Armory Square, the creekwalk’s sidewalk leads users past downtown landmarks such as the Syracuse University Warehouse, National Grid’s art deco office and the restored offices and condos of Franklin Square toward the Inner Harbor and Carousel Center. Visitors are brought close to a scenic creek formerly hidden by overgrowth and trash. Loading Photo Gallery A yellow line down the center marks the trail and ornamental lighting, black railings, knee-high decorative posts, chains and small directional signs keep users on it. Long-hidden structures such as the stone arch that carries West Genesee Street over the creek are visible. Porous pavement and other “green’ infrastructure elements built into the creekwalk are expected to capture 254,000 gallons of rain water a year, officials said. Future phases would extend the creekwalk south to Kirk Park, then to Nedrow, officials said.
Information on the project Technical options for managing the CO2 cycle \|Thematic area:\|\|Energy, resources, environment\| \|Topic initiative:\|\|Ausschuss für Bildung, Forschung und Technikfolgenabschätzung\| \|Duration:\|\|2009 till 2012\| Background and central aspects of the topic Current strategies to reduce CO2 are founded on a number of well-known measures and technologies (energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, substitution of CO2-intensive energy sources). Recently, approaches have been discussed – with a high media profile, too – regarding how it would be possible to employ technical means to intervene in the CO2 cycle, with the aim of easing the CO2 burden on the atmosphere. Two routes are at the foreground here. The active removal of CO2 from the atmosphere To achieve this, one can for instance take advantage of the ability of green plants to fix CO2 and to use the biomass thus created in such a way that no (or little) CO2 gets back into the atmosphere. Filtering the surrounding air using technical processes can, in principle, also remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The advantage of these plans – the possibility of actively reducing the CO2 content of the atmosphere – faces the challenge that due to the low atmospheric concentration of CO2 (approx. 0.03%), the procedural and technical effort, the energy requirement and the costs for extracting CO2 from the atmosphere will not be inconsiderable. In order to achieve a positive contribution to climate protection, it must be ensured that the CO2 does not leak back into the atmosphere. In addition to deposition in geological layers (sequestration), there are various other options for this. For instance, it can be used to build up humus layers or be bound up long term in carbonates (mineralization). The option of not "disposing" of CO2 but exploiting it usefully is discussed in the following. Exploiting CO2-streams for useful products and applications These concepts proceed from the idea of considering the CO2 produced during the use of fossil fuels to be a resource instead of a waste product. Compared with deposition in geological formations, which is currently being discussed and developed as a way of reducing CO2, effective utilisation of CO2 seems attractive at first sight. Options here consist, for instance, in its direct use (e.g. as solvent and detergent, as an inert gas, in the soft drink industry), its use as a base substance in the chemical industry, where it can be processed into a more valuable product (e.g. urea, methanol etc.), in converting it to energy carriers, in particular fuels (e.g. biodiesel, ethanol) or to accelerate plant growth (especially microalgae) for the purpose of biomass production for material or energetic use. Before these concepts can contribute to the reduction of CO2, considerable challenges must first be overcome. For instance, so far there are only a few forms of use where CO2 is permanently removed from the atmosphere. If, for example, CO2 is used to produce fuel, it is released back into the atmosphere when the fuel is used (during general combustion). Furthermore, there is a problem with the amounts: currently approximately 110 million tonnes CO2 are used in chemical processes globally. In comparison, CO2 emissions amount to about 25 billion tonnes (about 800 million tonnes in Germany alone). Finally, CO2 is a relatively stable chemical molecule (e.g. the thermal decomposition into carbon monoxide and oxygen only occurs at temperatures above 2400°C). For this reason, a considerable amount of energy is required to convert the CO2 into other substances. This energy must come from low-CO2 sources so that there is a chance of achieving a positive CO2 balance. Here the question arises as to whether the direct use of this energy input would not be more efficient in the overall balance. Despite these restrictions there are several interesting conceptual ideas in which positive contributions to CO2 reduction might be possible, e.g. if synergy effects with other areas could be used. For example, certain microalgae could fix CO2 and at the same time satisfy their nutrient requirements from liquid effluents, in this way contributing to waste-water treatment. This would be a real leap towards sustainability since the nutrients contained in sewage would not be destroyed as they are now (i.e., precipitated and disposed of) but used for the production of green algae. The vision is that at the end of a long optimization phase there would be a processing technique in which waste-water treatment and CO2 fixation in biomass are combined. The resulting biomass could be used in various ways (directly as a fuel or indirectly in the production of biodiesel, methane, or ethanol). Objectives and approach Many of the technologies and processes to be investigated which might possibly be used in the future in the management of the CO2 cycle are currently at the stage of basic research or indeed only exist as conceptual ideas. The aim of the TAB report would be to provide an overview of the technological options for CO2 management. Since the data basis for many of the technologies to be considered is foreseeably scanty, it will hardly be possible to conduct complete life-cycle analyses, energy balances, or cost-benefit assessments. The best that thus could be provided is rough estimates on technical feasibility, on the options and advantages on the one hand, and on the limitations and problems on the other. Certain aspects should be excluded from the goal of the suggested TAB project, in particular CO2 capture from the exhaust stream from power plants and industrial plants and storage of this in geological formations since these aspects were already extensively examined in the recently published TAB working report "CO2 capture and storage". At present, the Research Centre Jülich is working in cooperation with the RWTH Aachen on an overview of processes for using CO2, especially material conversion (in building block chemicals, polymer blocks or similar substances), physical use (e.g. enhanced oil/gas recovery) and use, for instance, in the soft drinks industry, as a solvent, or as inert gas. In the focus of the relevant analyses are the technical feasibility and the potentials of the individual forms of use, but also for example their energy requirements. The project has just begun and is expected to be concluded in late summer 2009. To avoid duplication of work it thus seems proper to first await the results of this project. TAB thus suggests conducting the project in two phases: first, in the context of a preparatory investigation, the available literature should be examined and the scientific and political debate on the theme of "CO2 removal from the atmosphere" worked through. The aim is to provide an overview of the status of knowledge and identify knowledge gaps and possible research deficits. In this preliminary phase, it should for example be examined whether topics such as "Land Use and Forestry" (or, to use the terminology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), "Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry, LULUCF") and "Geo-engineering" (e.g., large-scale fertilisation of oceans to stimulate the growth of algae which fix CO2) come into question for an advanced analysis. Suggested for the field of CO2 use is to evaluate the report being prepared by the Research Centre Jülich, which will presumably be available in late summer, 2009, and identify topics that were either not or insufficiently covered but deserve a more detailed consideration in the TAB project. Even now, it can be anticipated that, for example, the synergy potentials between waste-water treatment and the CO2 fixation by biomass with the subsequent use of the biomass as energy could be interesting. The results of this preliminary examination will be documented in a background paper, which is to be presented to the technology assessment rapporteurs in December, 2009. This informal report is to contain suggestions as to which subject areas could be appropriate for a more detailed analysis in the main phase. On the basis of this information, the then newly constituted Committee for Education, Research, and Technology Assessment can decide at the beginning of 2010 whether and, if yes, how – with which cut and which priorities – the project is to be continued.
The Chinese COMMUNIST party (CCP) and goverment usually go to great lengths to cover up events or trends they think will challenge their rule. However, every now and then they surprise the world with their candor. Take corruption: The party disclosed last week that 660,000 officials had been punished for corruption over the past five years. He Guoqiang (賀國強), head of the party’s Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection, said: “Investigating corruption cases is a long-term task in the process of building a clean government.” The most prominent of the recent cases of corruption has been that of Bo Xilai (薄熙來), the former provincial chief of the party in Chongqing, in southwestern China, who was dismissed for alleged abuse of power. However, the disciplinary commission chief pointed out that a railways minister and the mayor of Shenzen had also been fired. His disclosure did not specify the forms of corruption involved, but anecdotal evidence suggests that bribery and embezzlement are commonplace. Local party officials have long been accused of underhanded seizures of land and property for personal gain. To put things in perspective, the 660,000 punished bureaucrats comprise merely 3 percent of the 20 million Chinese government and party, national, provincial and local employees (as estimated by the UN). However, looking at it another way, the number of punished officials also equals about half of the entire population of the state of Hawaii. He, who is a member of the politburo (China’s senior executive board), said earlier that a five-year anti-corruption campaign would be launched by the party congress scheduled to meet in Beijing next month. “A sound system for punishing and curbing corruption is an important guarantee for the nation’s development,” He said. In another anti-corruption plea, He recently visited major publications to encourage editorial staff to make greater contributions to public education against corruption. He told them that “anti-graft” education was fundamental to the CCP’s endeavors to build a clean government. The Chinese corruption that perhaps most concerns US and other foreign investors is the theft of intellectual property such as patented processes. Especially worrisome is the failure of the Chinese government to enforce regulations intended to safeguard intellectual property. The Economist Intelligence Unit said in a report: “Uncertainty over China’s protection of intellectual property and shifting Chinese priorities and policies can undermine deals with Chinese enterprises.” Still another form of corruption, according to the Data Centre of China Internet, is Internet users in China getting slower download speeds than they paid for. Of China’s 1.3 billion people, 538 million have access to the Internet via smartphone or computer. “Increasing numbers of Internet users in China shelling out for faster broadband are complaining that they’re not getting what they paid for,” reported Xinhua, the official news agency. Along the same lines as the anti-corruption moves, the Chinese government last week issued a white paper on judicial reform. Among its provisions was a prohibition against obtaining confessions through torture; another intended to protect attorneys in defending suspects; and a third calling for prudent application of the death penalty.
Declaring or Changing Your Major You have to choose or "declare" a major to graduate. But you may delay your choice if you are an "undeclared" major in the Department of General Academics. When should students choose a major? Declaring a major may be less urgent than most think. Only 1/4 to 1/3 of coursework is in a major; the rest is general and elective. Most students pick a major at the end of their first year; all students must declare a major upon completing 60 credits of coursework. May students choose any major? They may choose any major for which they are qualified. Each major has its own entrance requirements--it may specify a minimum GPA and a list of courses that must already have taken. Some majors may be restricted or closed. How do students change their major at TAMUG As long as they meet its requirements, changing to a new major on the Galveston campus is a routine bookkeeping transaction. Use the "Change of Curriculum" form located in the Admissions office. How about changing to a major at the College Station campus? Changing between campuses of Texas A&M is more complicated. You must contact the department in College Station to seek enrollment. You must meet their requirements for GPA, courses, and deadlines. The academic dean of your desired college (major) decides whether they will accept you. Will every course count toward the new major? That depends. The credit for every course remains on your transcript; the grade counts too, as long as students stay within Texas A&M. Some courses may not fulfill any requirements. The department for the new major decides.
This pack includes fact families for sums 2-20 on shamrocks. It also includes the fact families with a missing addend for your higher students and to help with problem solving. There are three recording sheets to record the addition and subtraction sentences. This would be great for a math station or a small group activity. Students can draw a card and write the fact families. The missing addend cards require higher level thinking.
Google Voice, currently invitation only, allows users to connect all of their phone numbers, wireless or landline, to one common number and manage the calls and messages through a Web site or by calling the number itself and accessing functions through a phone interface. According to AT&T, Google blocks calls to certain rural communities, something telecommunications companies cannot do; they are required to provide equal access despite the fact that some rural companies may charge high access fees to reach certain customers. Robert Quinn, AT&T's senior vice president for federal regulatory affairs, said: Google Voice has claimed for itself a significant advantage over providers offering competing services. By openly flaunting the call blocking prohibition that applies to its competitors, Google is acting in a manner inconsistent with the spirit, if not the letter, of the FCC’s fourth principle contained in its Internet Policy Statement. Ironically, Google is also flouting the so-called ‘fifth principle of non-discrimination’ for which Google has so fervently advocated.Google, on the other hand, responded quickly to AT&T's letter, and reminded all that it's not a traditional telecommunications company. Once again, as with many rules and regulations written for days when people were lucky to have radios, much less HDTVs, times they are a-changin' and the old rules need rewriting, or at least, another look. In a blog post, Richard Whitt, Google's Washington Telecom and Media Counsel admitted that Google does block some of these calls. The reason is as I outlined above: some of these rural carriers charge egregious rates, and Google has chosen to block these. He added the follow differences between Google and traditional telecoms: It's hard to fault the argument that the service is free. And to be honest, AT&T is no fan of Google Voice anyway, which is why some feel it had a hand in its App Store rejection. The only thing easily predictable about this is that it isn’t going to go away anytime soon. AT&T is trying to make this about Google's support for an open Internet, but the comparison just doesn't fly. The FCC's open Internet principles apply only to the behavior of broadband carriers -- not the creators of Web-based software applications. Even though the FCC does not have jurisdiction over how software applications function, AT&T apparently wants to use the regulatory process to undermine Web-based competition and innovation. - Unlike traditional carriers, Google Voice is a free, Web-based software application, and so not subject to common carrier laws. - Google Voice is not intended to be a replacement for traditional phone service -- in fact, you need an existing land or wireless line in order to use it. Importantly, users are still able to make outbound calls on any other phone device. - Google Voice is currently invitation-only, serving a limited number of users. * Which it may or may not have had anything to do with, and which may or may not actually have been rejected, depending on whom you ask
In the popular imagination, dinosaurs are extraordinary reptiles that ruled the world for over 160 million years. But Steve Brusatte, a doctoral student at Columbia University who is an affiliate of the American Museum of Natural History, and colleagues are challenging this idea with new fossil data and math. By comparing early dinosaurs to their competitors, the crurotarsan ancestors to crocodiles, they have found that dinosaurs were not “superior,” as has long been thought. Rather, crurotarsans were the more successful group during the 30 million years they overlapped until the devastating mass extinction 200 million years ago, an event that dinosaurs weathered successfully. Reuters reported yesterday on new scientific research that indicates how dinosaurs beat out another early reptilian species for domination of the earth. Roughly 200 million years ago, dinosaurs battled with another dinosaur-like animal, the crurotarsan, which is related to the crocodile. Some species grew to 39 feet long, according to the article, at an epoch when few dinosaurs exceeded 10 feet in length. Scientists used to believe that dinosaurs beat out the crurotarsans because the dinosaurs were physiologically superior. But new research indicates that dinosaurs might have won out due to a large stroke of cosmic luck, the nature of which is speculative.
Deploying a Windows Server 2008 Terminal Server Farm using TS Session Broker \|Previous\|\|Table of Contents\|\|Next\| \|Configuring Windows Server 2008 TS Web Access\|\|Configuring a Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services License Server\| One of the problems presented by the implementation of Terminal Services on Windows Server 2008 is that it places a greater burden on the server than a file server or web server would do. The reason for this is that the all the applications being run by remote users are running on the server, taking up memory and processing power. Acutely aware of this problem, Microsoft introduced the TS Session Broker which allows for the creation of load balanced Terminal Server Farms. The objective of this chapter is to provide the basic information needed to configure Terminal Server load balancing using the TS Session Broker. An Overview of the Terminal Services Session Broker The TS Session Broker is positioned on the front line in front of two or more servers running terminal servers and is responsible for balancing terminal service load requests between authorized servers such that a single server does not become overloaded. TS Session Broker can be run on a server specifically designated for the task or, since the broker itself does not require significant resources, on one of the terminal servers in the group. Load balancing may be configured using a concept known as relative weighting or using round-robin DNS. Under relative weighting, an administrator assigns each server a weight value (based on percentages) which, relative to the weights assigned to other servers, governs the load levels on that server. For example, a server with a weight of 30 will have a load of 30% of the load of another server in the farm with a weight of 100. It is important to understand that loading is based on number of sessions on each server, and not any knowledge of the total resource load on a particular server at a given time. For example, one server with small 'resource light' applications will be viewed by the TS Session Broker as being at the same load level as a server with a large, resource intensive applications. Round-robin DNS, as the name suggest, passes the load balancing responsibility onto a DNS server. Prerequisites for Implementing TS Session Broker Before deploying a Terminal Server farm there a few key prerequisites that should be taken into consideration. Firstly, the server designated to run the TS Session Broker service must be a member of a domain. Secondly all Terminal Servers in a farm must be configured such that they make the same applications available for remote access. Finally, client systems must be running Remote Desktop Connection 5.2 or later to be able to use TS Session Broker load-balancing. Installing the Terminal Services Session Broker For the purposes of this chapter a configuration consisting of two Terminal Servers (named winserver-1 and winserver-2 respectively) and one TS Session Broker (named winserver-3) will be used. Note that the TS Session Broker server must belong to a domain, otherwise it will not be possible to install the enable the Broker service. To install the TS Session Broker on a server, open the Computer Management tool and select Roles from the tree in the left hand panel. On the roles screen select Add Role and select Terminal Services from the list of roles and then Next to continue. On the resulting information screen click Next to proceed to the Role Services screen where the TS Session Broker option needs to be selected. Click Next and then Install on the final screen. The installation will begin and will likely require a reboot. Once the system has reboot, log in as the same user to complete the final phase of the installation process. Adding Terminal Servers to the TS Session Broker When TS Session Broker is installed on a server it creates a new group called Session Directory Computers. Before a Terminal Server can be added to the terminal server farm it must first be added as a member of this group on the TS Session Broker server system. As mentioned previously, the TS Session Broker server must be part of a domain. Depending on whether the server is a domain controller or not will govern how the Session Directory Computers group is managed. If the TS Session Broker server is not a domain controller, open the Computer Management tool (Start -> All Programs -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management) and select Local Users and Groups from the System Tools category in the tree in the left hand panel. From the list of objects right click on Session Directory Computers and choose Properties from the popup menu to display the following properties dialog. Click on Add to open the Select Users, Contacts, Computers or Groups dialog: As indicated above, only Users and Groups are currently configured for addition. In order to be able to add the Terminal Server computers click on the Object Types... button to invoke the Object Types dialog and select the Computers check box as illustrated in the following figure: Click OK to close the Object Type dialog and then enter the names of the Terminal Services servers and validate them using the Check Names button. Once all the servers are added as members click on OK in both the Select Users, Contacts, Computers or Groups and Properties dialog boxes. If the server on which the TS Session Broker service is running is a domain controller the Session Directory Computers group may be modified using Active Directory Users and Computers (Start -> All Programs -> Administrative Tools -> Active Directory Users and Computers). Once opened, select the required domain from the tree followed by Users. Right click on the Session Directory Computers item in the list and select Properties. Once the properties dialog has been displayed click on the Members tab: Click on Add to add new new members using the the same steps outlined above for non-domain controllers. Joining Terminal Servers to a TS Session Broker Now that the TS Session Broker is configured and the Terminal Servers have been added to the Session Directory Computers group the next step is to configure the Terminal Servers themselves to join the terminal server farm. This is achieved using the Terminal Services Configuration tool which may be started either from Start -> All Programs -> Administrative Tools -> Terminal Services -> Terminal Services Configuration or by running tsconfig.msc. When the tool has loaded, double click on the Member of farm in TS Session Broker to open the properties dialog: Fill in the form as follows: - Check the Join a farm in TS Session Broker check box to add this server to the farm. - In the TS Session Broker server name or IP address field enter the computer name or IP address of the server hosting the TS Session Broker service. - In the Farm name in TS Session Broker field enter the name of the farm to which the server is to join. This name must match that used by all other serves in the farm. - If the server is relying on the TS Session Broker to perform load balancing (as opposed to round-robin DNS) select the Participate in Session Broker load-balancing check box and specify a suitable weight value. - Choose whether or not to use IP address redirection. When a user disconnects from a session without logging off the session is maintained by the server so that the user can reconnect and resume where they left off. In a server farm it is important that the user be reconnected to the server on which the previous session is still running. By default the client queries the TS Session Broker and is redirected to their existing session by using the IP address of the server where the existing session resides. In order to use this default method, the client computers must be able to connect directly by IP address to terminal servers in the farm. That being the case, this is the recommended setting. If, on the other hand, IP address redirection is not used, the IP address is instead embedded in a token. Under this configuration, when the client reconnects to the load balancer, the routing token is used to redirect to the existing terminal server on which the existing session is running. - Select the IP addresses to be used for reconnection. Note that Remote Desktop client version 5.2 and older only support IPv4 addresses. Repeat the above tasks for each server in the farm. Once completed the farm is ready for use. \|Purchase and download the complete, updated Windows Server 2008 R2 edition of this eBook in PDF and ePub formats for only $9.99
Figures show that the gender split has been “very significantly widened” this year as more pupils sit courses that match traditional expectations. It emerged that girls accounted for more than seven out of 10 English exams sat this year – an increase on 2012 – while boys’ likelihood of studying the subject dropped. At the same time, almost eight-in-10 physics papers were taken by boys – up by four per cent in a year – while fewer girls sat exams in the discipline. Examiners suggested that teachers and parents may be fuelling the trend by filling pupils with stereotypical advice about their future career path. It was also feared that a lack of good role models in some subjects may be putting boys or girls off certain disciplines. The data also showed that boys were pulling ahead in terms of the number of elite A* grades awarded, while girls do better at all other levels. Andrew Hall, chief executive of AQA, the country’s biggest exam board, said: "There are clearly some very strong gender differences. "Those trends have been there over time. What we notice this year is a very significant widening of the gap. There was a gender difference and it has extenuated this year.” He suggested that poor advice from adults may be to blame, adding: “There are some natural preferences [but] for me, it is about the appropriate guidance being given people at 16. It's a young age to be making your subject choices. "As an organisation we have done some research looking at what subjects people take and peer pressure comes up very high on the list. "For these things to be addressed there has got to be stronger guidance from teachers and parents." Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he was "worried" about the gender gap. "We need, as teachers, to try and raise awareness of these stereotypical views that occur," he said. "But it's a societal thing as well; in wider society we need to try and break those stereotypical models. We need to show role models of people who are doing different things.” According to figures, more boys sat exams in maths, accounting for 60.7 per cent of papers, up 3.9 per cent in a year. Girls accounted for 74.3 per cent of psychology entries, while boys made up just 25.7 per cent, down by 5.2 per cent in a year. Biology was the only science subject dominated by girls, with students taking 57.8 per cent of papers this year, up 3.6 per cent in 12 months. Chris Keates, general secretary of teachers' union NASUWT, added: "Of concern is the increasing gender divide that we are witnessing in students' subject choices. This is an issue that the Government cannot ignore as it could have serious ramifications for the future education and employment options of boys and girls." Sir Peter Knight, president of the Institute of Physics, said: "Major concerns do continue to be raised about the very low proportion of girls choosing to study physics. "There is still a huge amount of work to be done to ensure girls are not denied their entitlement to a good physics education. Not least, we know that anachronistic gender stereotypes persist in many classrooms and these contribute to an outrageous unfairness that we continue to fight against."
What song hits you every time you hear it and provokes an emotional response from you? For mine, you might need a little background. My family is a farming family. I had relatives go through the Depression/Dust Bowl era in the Panhandle, and heard a lot of their stories growing up. I also spent my childhood working on my fathers or grandfathers farms, so everything about this song speaks to some experience I have or family story I have heard. The lines that really get me: Our parents had their hard times fifty years ago When they stood out in these empty fields in dust as deep as snow And all this trouble in our fields If this rain can fall, these wounds can heal They'll never take our native soil This is one of those songs that reminds me of how hard my great grandparents, grandparents and parents worked to make it. It reminds me that no obstacle I face can really compare to the conditions they dealt with growing up and the incredible faith and patience it takes to farm for a living. It's a very bittersweet song for me, but one that I always love hearing. So what song really speaks to y'all? Edit: Took me a minute to figure out the youtube embedding. Got it fixed now.
Fear and malice in a small country town The characters in Bog are "disgusting", says playwright Declan Greene. A new play exposes the dark side of human nature in an isolated community, writes Rachel Wells. Declan Greene's bristling black comedy, Bog, was inspired by Dylan Thomas' lyrical masterpiece, Under Milk Wood. But unlike Thomas' loveable characters, the townsfolk in Greene's play are anything but, says the 20-year-old university student. "The characters are totally at the limits of human behaviour. They are quite disgusting really," explains Greene. His play, directed by Monash Student Theatre artistic director Yvonne Virsik, will be presented off campus for the first time this week. Like Thomas, whose play for voices, published in 1954, was inspired by the people of Laugharne in Wales, Greene's work, penned in 2003, is drawn from his experience of living in a small country town. "I was in my teens when I moved from outer suburban Melbourne to the country," Greene says. "To me it was a world of xenophobia . . . and stagnation. When I left I was struck by how living in an environment that is isolated, to an extent, can give a group of people a warped sense of reality, in which they can perform certain acts of degradation and malice without much thought because it's all they know." Greene admits the play is "a bit Lord of the Flies", alluding to William Golding's classic tale about a group of boys stranded on a desert island, who, despite their attempts to establish a civilised democratic society, eventually revert to savagery. Bog is set in an eerie and nameless country town, inhabited by flawed and repulsive characters, where an outsider is subjected to bullying and shocking ridicule by the "mob". "It sounds incredibly serious, but it is extremely funny," says Virsik. According to Greene, it's the characters' vulgarity that gives the play such unexpected humour. "When you see the characters on stage, they're so repulsive that there's no way you can relate to them or sympathise with them. You know you shouldn't be laughing, but you just can't help it," he says. "It's pretty dark." WHERE Theatreworks, 14 Acland Street, corner St Leonards Avenue, St Kilda WHEN Friday until Saturday, May 28, Tues day to Saturday at 8pm HOW MUCH $18/12 DETAILS Tel: 9534 3388
Major Mitchell's cockatoos are particular about their tree hollows. Photo: Nick Talbot AUTHORITIES trying to boost the prospects of the vulnerable Major Mitchell's cockatoo are testing out a new approach - doing home renovations on natural nesting sites. New research shows the birds are particular about their nesting sites - opting for hollows in native callitris pine trees, around 100 years old with trunks in excess of 0.75 metres. ''The hollow has to be about half a metre deep; they don't like it any deeper … and they also don't seem to like it any shallower,'' said Victor Hurley, of the Department of Sustainability and Environment. The problem is that there are few trees with hollows which fit the bill. So Mr Hurley has to monitor and maintain the few existing sites in the species' state breeding stronghold in Wyperfeld National Park. Sometimes Mr Hurley needs to evict tenants such as feral bees and other birds. He also hollows out small holes with a chisel in the hope the home extension will meet the birds' high standards. Available hollows are reducing in number as trees die. New trees are decades off being able to provide suitable nesting sites. There are less than 1000 Major Mitchell's cockatoo breeding pairs left in Victoria.
\|Pickled Onions How to string onions How to make tomato chutney? Green Tomato Chutney Mango Chutney Pickled beetroot Jacket Potato Recipe Pickled Walnuts Apple crumble Recipe easy\| Paying into a pension scheme is compulsory in France and contributions paid into the pension scheme are paid out nearly straight away to fund the benefits of those already retired. French people have to save for their retirement through a compulsory industry wide pension scheme. This is a Pay as you go pension Scheme and it has been adopted in many parts of the world. In France the many compulsory pension schemes have gradually consolidated over time so that now most of them are federated to one of two main organisations, called ARRCO and AGIRC who handle the pension funds. The reason these two large groups have developed is that they are seen as being more secure because their members cover a wide inter-generational range of ages. This is a similar system to the State retirement benefits Pension Scheme in the UK, where contributions are made by people of all ages across the spectrum of those at work. The theory behind this is if things go well, there should be no need to have a funded pool of money.
Whether they’re working in the dark basement of Dudley House at Cafe Gato Rojo or in the bustling, commercial hangout at one of the two Starbucks in the Square, some students seek alternative study spaces during exam period. Those who choose cafe settings over libraries say they find the library atmosphere to be stressful during the final weeks of the semester. Elizabeth H. Thompson ’12 says she enjoys seeing her peers studying around her, but prefers finding company in a space that is more relaxed than a library. “I like being around people when I study,” she says, sitting inside at Gato Rojo. “Particularly people who aren’t crazy.” Sipping on a cup of hot tea at the Starbucks in The Garage, Shira B. Kogan ’14 says that she normally doesn’t mind studying in libraries. But she avoids Lamont during finals week to escape the intense environment. “There’s more of a stress vibe in libraries,” she says. “I like getting tea and working in a cafe.” Another noted bonus of studying in a coffee shop or dining hall is that food and drinks are readily available. Shawn G. De Martino ’14 says that his lack of sleep brought him to Starbucks, where he depends on Americanos—a beverage made with hot water and espresso—to keep him awake. Emma Q. Wang ’12 says she prefers eating foods with carbohydrates because they provide her with fuel for studying. “Carb loading isn’t just for marathons,” she says, looking up from study notes for her upcoming exam in Ethical Reasoning 11: “Human Rights: A Philosophical Introduction.” While DeMartino says he thought more students studied in cafes during exam period, employees at local establishments say they have not seen a significant increase in student traffic. One Starbucks store manager says that the beginning of tourist season coincides with exam period, making it difficult to tell if a sales increase is due to purchases made by students or visitors to Cambridge. Catherine Zhu ’11, who works at Cafe Gato Rojo, says she has seen fewer students at the Harvard Yard coffee shop. “[Gato Rojo] is a nice change of pace, but you can’t do real work here,” she says. While the environment might be more relaxed outside of the library, Zhu also says she thinks the small amount of space and lack of power outlets in the basement cafe prevented students from staying for extended periods of time. According to the Starbucks manager, the same students who study in the shop regularly during the semester are the ones who come during exam period. “There’s a kid who comes in here and stays for like five hours a day,” she says. Still, some students say the intensity of finals period calls for the lively atmosphere of a cafe. “If I have a large chunk of time, I can spend a whole day in a cafe,” Kogan says. “It’s good if you get in the groove of it.” —Crimson Staff Writer Eliza M. Nguyen can be reached at [email protected]
The Dalles Gym space is in hot demand in The Dalles and North Wasco County School District 21 gyms have reached their limit, which is why the district is crunching numbers to see if the money can be found to reopen the Chenowith Middle School gym. After Chenowith Middle School students began attending The Dalles Middle School when the two school districts combined, the gym was still used for sports practices. However, it was shut down for the 2011-2012 school year to save money. Kyle Rosselle, athletic director, said last year it was common for a single gym to get used by four or five different groups in a day. A team would practice from 6 to 7:30 a.m. and then the gym would be used for physical education classes during the school day. Another team would practice from 4-6 p.m. and then a traveling team or Parks and Recreation group would use it from 6 to 8 p.m. Sometimes yet another group, like adult basketball, would begin practice at 8 p.m. Director Carol Roderick requested the district look at reopening the Chenowith gym for the next year. Before the school board’s July 9 meeting she worked with facilities director Dennis Whitehouse to round up offers of labor and material donations and find a cheap solution to get running water into the building again so teams don’t have to use bottled water and portable toilets. However, Whitehouse said the main issue with getting running water back into the buildings would be keeping the building heated even when not in use so that the pipes don’t freeze. Randy Anderson, chief financial officer for the district, said in the past keeping the gym open but not having running water cost about $10,000 above the $2,500 the school costs the district when completely unused. He estimated it might cost about $3,000 more in utilities to have running water, although he said if the gym was closed in March when basketball season was over the district could save some money on all utilities. The board asked Superintendent Candy Armstrong if she had a recommendation, but she said at the moment she couldn’t recommend either way until she had concrete numbers and knew if there was a way to come up with the extra money. “We could probably manage to find $10,000 but if we go beyond that I start to get very nervous because we are going to have unexpected things come up this year that we will have to pay for,” she said. Director John Frederick said he felt this was an administrative decision instead of a board one, and Anderson pointed out that the school district had previously approved the Chenowith gym for District 21 sports team practices so a new motion was not needed. The directors agreed it would be a good idea for administrators to get solid numbers and try to find the money to reopen the gym without water and then later try to resolve the water issue. First, however, they discussed possible revenue from the district’s current gyms. Whitehouse said all of the gym use was getting too expensive in terms of maintenance, cleanup, and coverage of the building. Some directors questioned why the costs to keep District 21 gyms open late at night and on Saturdays and Sundays weren’t covered by charging groups to use the gyms. “It drives me crazy when I see our kids doubling and tripling up on practices … we really have got to start putting the community on notice that we have to start focusing on our kids,” Brian Stahl said. Armstrong said District 21 activities always have first priority for the spaces. She said the district does charge a few groups, like adult basketball leagues, but most of the gym use is for groups like Parks and Recreation basketball camp, where more than 90 percent of the children participating are District 21 students. She said if the board wanted to start charging everyone to use the facilities then they needed to sit down and work out an agreement over time because just flipping the switch at the last minute for this school year would cause a lot of ill will. Director Robert Bissonette suggested holding some kind of bazaar or other fundraiser in the Chenowith gym. Whitehouse said a fundraiser would be better in some other venue because dragging tables and other equipment across the Chenowith floor would mean the district would need to pay to refinish the floor. Frederick said if the community wants to have nice sports facilities, people have to be willing to support it financially. “There are some very nice facilities in our conference that are very well maintained, but the whole community is involved and not just the school,” he said, referencing venues in places like Portland. “There is no reason we can’t have facilities just as nice as those other districts have.”
Welcome to Fish Guide In life, organic interaction is not noticed very easily. Yet the understanding derived successfully and readily both in practical and medical sense, is one of the rewarding aspects of maintaining tropical fish. Environmental surroundings contained in the relatively small world provided by the aquarium delivers the way to study and experiment inside a most convenient form, which may be limited or broadened according to financial resources, lodging and personal inclinations. Many aquarists are happy to use their pastime as a means of home design, and enjoy the simple enjoyment of watching the ever changing kaleidoscopic image provided by the motion of exotically coloured seafood. They are neither really interested in the artwork nor scientific method of the subject, but they are thinking about keeping their aquarium fish tanks trouble free. Special interest has been given to the requirements of the average and beginner tropical fish enthusiasts. The scientific information has been presented so the text can be easily understood and treatment has also been taken in explaining the coloration from the fish accurately, however , many slight variation might occur due to the variability associated with specimens in respect of the colour. Methods of reproduction, where known, happen to be described, but from time to time spawnings will occur that aren't quite to the anticipated. This is inevitable, as character it is continually experimentation and evolving. It's, however, sincerely wished that this website can give much pleasure as well as assistance to tropical fish lovers who are new comers to the hobby, and also to those with a desire to try their own behalf.
OFFICIALS MOBILIZE VS. LANDFILL EXPANSION. With the proposed expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill on hold, Los Angeles officials moved Tuesday to take steps to permanently keep it from reopening in Granada Hills. ``I want to see us become a landfill-free city,'' Mayor James Hahn said at a City Hall news conference. ``We are looking at a way to find alternatives to reopening Sunshine Canyon.'' Hahn last week temporarily blocked approval of a key permit for Browning Ferris Industries by saying its application was incomplete and ordering it rejected. ``This gives us an opportunity to look at alternatives,'' said Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the area and has been fighting the landfill's reopening. ``We want to look at all alternatives, whether it's a trash-to-energy plant or the long haul of this to areas outside the city.'' Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Woodland Hills, said he will be asking both the Federal Highway Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to review the expansion plans to determine their impact on federal highways and the local water supply. ``I oppose the expansion because of the adverse impact it has on San Fernando Valley communities, San Fernando Valley transportation and our environment,'' Sherman said. City Council President Alex Padilla, Councilman Dennis Zine and Councilwoman-elect Wendy Greuel backed Bernson's effort, providing a united Valley stand. BFI spokesman Arnie Berghoff disputed the need for any federal studies and insisted that the firm planned to correct what he called a technical deficiency in its application so it could expand from county land into the city limits as soon as possible. ``This has been studied and studied,'' Berghoff said. ``We have a complete environmental impact report that looks at all these things.'' Also, he said, the city has a contract with BFI to use Sunshine Canyon to dump its trash with other alternatives either unrealistic or too expensive. ``If the city wants to take its trash somewhere else, they are going to face much higher costs,'' Berghoff said. Bernson, however, said the environmental study needs to be updated to take into consideration Sunshine Canyon's proximity to an elementary school and two reservoirs, and he questioned the extra costs. ``A lot of cities have gone to trash-to-energy programs and it could end up with us saving money,'' Bernson said. ``We spend something like $50 million a year on recycling when we could take all our trash and generate energy.'' Also, he said, it might be time for the city to study having a trash collection fee if it meant keeping landfills out of the city. ``We are the only major city that doesn't have a trash collection fee,'' Bernson said. ``We charge for cans for recycling, but that's it.'' Hahn said he has not considered such an option and that was part of the reason he wanted a full study as well as seeking to close all landfills. ``Several years ago, I took a helicopter tour of the county and its landfills and it's an ugly sight,'' Hahn said. ``We can't just keep filling canyons with our trash. ``Here, we're talking about 12,000 tons of trash a day - the most of any landfill in the nation. We can't allow that.'' The announcement was praised by representatives of the North Valley Coalition that has been actively opposing the landfill for years. ``When I hear someone say this is just NIMBYism, I want to say to them, we've had this for 36 years. How would you like that?'' said Kim Thompson, vice president of the group. Wayde Hunter, coalition president, said he was grateful the city was taking steps to block the reopening. BFI plans call for opening a 451-acre facility that could eventually take in 90 million tons of trash to operate adjacent to a facility it runs in county land. The county portion is expected to be filled within four years, Berghoff said. Councilman Hal Bernson speaks Tuesday at City Hall about effo rts to block Sunshine Canyon landfill expansion. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer \|Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback\| \|Publication:\|\|Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)\| \|Date:\|\|Apr 3, 2002\| \|Previous Article:\|\|GOOD TASTES FREEBIE LEAFLET.\| \|Next Article:\|\|HUNTINGTON RECEIVES $21 MILLION DONATION TO EXPAND MAIN LIBRARY.\|
The always-inquisitive Jada Pinkett-Smith recently posed a question that has many people scratching their heads and some folks outright upset. In short, she’s wondering if black women ask to be represented in mainstream media, on the covers of magazines like Vanity Fair, shouldn’t white women be represented on the covers of traditionally black magazines like Essence, Ebony and JET? The answer? Yes and no. It’s not enough to have this discussion without a little bit of context. We didn’t come to this dilemma out of nowhere. There is a long, difficult history that informs our current dynamics around race that can’t and shouldn’t be overlooked. This country has a long history of exclusion and the many movements for equal rights and access including the women’s movement and the Civil Rights movement (both of which black women fought in) reminds us that every person is not considered deserving and some of us had to, and still have to, fight for representation. Magazines like Ebony and Essence were created from a need for black people to see ourselves featured prominently and positively. Ebony, which was founded in 1945, aimed to focus on the achievements of blacks from “Harlem to Hollywood” and to “offer positive images of blacks in a world of negative images.” Back then it was rare for mainstream magazines like LIFE and LOOK to feature black people in a non-discriminatory way. During a time when blacks were fighting so diligently for equal rights, it must have been a devastating blow to morale to be disparaged in the folds of corporate media. We’ve seen other marginalized communities like the LGBT and fat communities create their own media for fair and just representation. This plight is not exclusive to black people. However, Pinkett-Smith’s question forces us to think about something a little deeper than representation. There are two things at stake here: the common good and the self-determination of the individual. It feels almost impossible for these two things to co-exist” common good means that we have a shared vision that benefits everyone (which we don’t just want realized for the people who look like us, but for all people) and individual self-determination is a philosophy that exists because many people don’t believe in the common good but instead in prejudices that exclude. Blacks were self-determined to create positive media representation because there was none. Pinkett-Smith suggested wholly integrating media so all of society, regardless of color, can start seeing ourselves as cohesive (benefiting the common good) and that while there is still a need for black women (and other communities who have been traditionally excluded) to be represented, we would all benefit from a shared presence in corporate and specialized media. I don’t disagree entirely. But I would be remiss if I didn’t name the obvious issue with this suggestion: racism still exists. Ebony and Essence were birthed because people were racist. That hasn’t changed. People are still racist and some of those people work for and make up the readership of corporate magazines. These people have no desire to see black people on the cover or inside of their magazines and until their non-racist co-workers hold them accountable for their bigotry, they’ll continue to exclude folks. I agree with Pinkett-Smith that the editors of specialized magazines like Essence could set a great example by sharing the pages of their magazines with white and non-black celebrities. After all, it has often been the progressive minds of those who have been overlooked who shatter the antiquated, harmful beliefs of those doing the overlooking. The problem that this doesn’t solve it that for some people, it doesn’t matter what kind of inclusive example you set because they won’t follow. I’m all for leading by example, but what do we do when our efforts to integrate are met with the same old elitist, racist behavior? People need to be held accountable for their shit. In this instance it is up to other white people, especially those who don’t buy into corporate media’s exclusion of people of color, to demand fair representation. It’s not enough for specialized magazines to integrate their pages; the responsibility has to be shared and maybe then we’ll start seeing some culture shift around media representation and a shared belief in the common good. Read more from Shanelle Matthews at ShanelleMatthews.com.

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