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0.999998 | /Microsoft / 98-365 / What will you do to accomplish the task?
B. Use Network Load Balancing.
D. Create a failover cluster.
a clustering technology offered by Microsoft.
It supports the configuration and deployment of Windows operating systems.
Users State Migration Tools (USMT), etc.
data integrity and high availability.
incoming connections. The passive node provides service when an active node moves offline. | 2019-04-24T21:51:33 | https://examsdb.com/microsoft/98-365/what-will-you-do-to-accomplish-the-task-6/ |
0.999691 | Medium Weight Card Stock Paper: 8-1/2" x 11"
These project instructions are specific to a Brother machine; however, the project can be adapted for use on other machines.
1. Cut the 8-1/2" x 11" card stock paper in half.
2. Fold each piece in half to form a card.
3. Cut out the oval over the cup area (see pattern).
4. Cut a piece of card stock to 5-1/4" x 4". This will cover the stitches and form the pocket on the inside of the card. Note: If you do not have a paper cutter, a rotary cutter will cut the paper very evenly.
5. Set up the sewing machine for sewing.
6. Select the zigzag stitch (1-10) and set the width to 3.0 and the length to 1.0.
7. Trace the cup and saucer on Steam-a-Seam sticky back and press it to the fabric.
8. Cut out and clip around the cup handle.
9. Place the cup on the card.
10. Press the cup in place with an iron.
11. Draw lines to form a stitch guide for the cup and saucer.
12. Starting at the right hand corner of the cup, sew with a zigzag stitch across the top, down the side, and around the right hand corner of the cup.
13. Stitch around the upper edge of pocket oval.
14. Cut and tie off threads.
15. Place needle at the saucer on the left side, stitch around the saucer and cup handle, and then tie off threads.
16. Use all-purpose glue to secure the 4-3/8" x 5-3/4" piece of card stock to the back of the card.
17. Finally, sign and date your card on the back.
Tip: The needle on the zigzag should be half on the fabric and half on the card. When sewing curves, stop with the needle down and turn the card slowly to obtain a smooth look. | 2019-04-24T16:56:48 | http://sewing.org/html/valentine_teacard.html |
0.998814 | The NIR (National Identity Register) — individual checking and numbering of the population — marking many personal details as "registrable facts" to be disclosed and constantly updated — collection and checking of biometrics (e.g. fingerprints) — the card itself — a widespread scanner network and secure (one hopes) infrastructure connecting it to the central database — provision for use across the private and public sectors — data-sharing between organisations on an unprecedented scale.
50 categories of registrable fact are set out in the Bill, though they could be added to. Effectively an index to all other official and quasi-official records, through cross-references and an audit trail of all checks on the Register, the NIR would be the key to a total life history of every individual, to be retained even after death.
Every registered individual will be under an obligation to notify any change in registrable facts. It is a clear aim of the system to require identity verification for many more civil transactions, the occasions to be stored in the audit trail. Information verified and indexed by numbers from the NIR would be easily cross-referenced in any database or set of databases. The "meta-database" of all the thousands of databases cross-referenced is much more powerful and much less secure than the NIR itself.
Many western countries that have ID cards do not have a shared register. Mostly ID cards have been limited in use, with strong legal privacy protections. In Germany centralisation is forbidden for historical reasons, and when cards are replaced, the records are not linked. Belgium has made use of modern encryption methods and local storage to protect privacy and prevent data-sharing, an approach opposite to the Home Office's. The UK scheme is closest to those of some Middle Eastern countries and of the People's Republic of China—though the latter has largely given up on biometrics.
The Government has not made a case. There is no evidence the system will produce the stated benefits. Less liberty does not imply greater security.
ID does not establish intention. Competent criminals and terrorists will be able to subvert the identity system. Random outrages by individuals can't be stopped. Ministers agree that ID cards will not prevent atrocities. A blank assertion that the department would find it helpful is not an argument that would be entertained for fundamental change in any other sphere of government but national security. Where is the evidence? Research suggests there is no link between the use of identity cards and the prevalence of terrorism, and in no instance has the presence of an identity card system been shown a significant deterrent to terrorist activity. Experts attest that ID unjustifiably presumed secure actually diminishes security.
People will still enter Britain using foreign documents—genuine or forged—and ID cards offer no more deterrent to people smugglers than passports and visas. Employers already face substantial penalties for failing to obtain proof of entitlement to work, yet there are only a handful of prosecutions a year.
Identity is "only a tiny part of the problem in the benefit system." Figures for claims under false identity are estimated at £50 million (2.5%) of an (estimated) £2 billion per year in fraudulent claims.
Both Australia and the USA have far worse problems of identity theft than Britain, precisely because of general reliance on a single reference source. Costs usually cited for of identity-related crime here include much fraud not susceptible to an ID system. Nominally "secure", trusted, ID is more useful to the fraudster. The Home Office has not explained how it will stop registration by identity thieves in the personae of innocent others. Coherent collection of all sensitive personal data by government, and its easy transmission between departments, will create vast new opportunities for data-theft.
IT providers find that identity systems work best when limited in design. The Home Office scheme combines untested technologies on an unparalleled scale. Its many inchoate purposes create innumerable points for failure. The government record with computer projects is poor, and the ID system is likely to end up a broken mess.
Not all biometrics will work for all people. Plenty are missing digits, or eyes, or have physical conditions that render one or more biometrics unstable or hard to read. All systems have error. Deployment on a vast scale, with variably trained operators and variably maintained and calibrated equipment, will produce vast numbers of mismatches, leading to potentially gross inconvenience to millions.
The Government has not ventured figures for the cost to the country as whole of the identity management scheme. That makes evaluation difficult. Civil Service IT experience suggests current projections are likely to be seriously underestimated. Home Office figures are for internal costs only, and have risen sharply—where they are not utterly obscure. Industry estimates suggest that public and private sector compliance costs could easily be double whatever is spent centrally.
The Government has not even tried to show that national ID management will be more cost-effective than less spectacular alternative, targeted, solutions to the same problems (whether tried and tested or novel). We are to trust to luck that it is.
Even at current Home Office estimates, the additional tax burden of setting up the scheme will be of the order of £200 per person. The direct cost to individuals (of a combined passport and ID card package) is quoted as £93. The impact on other departmental and local authority budgets is unknown. The scope and impact of arbitrary penalties would make speed cameras trivial by comparison.
The Home Office seeks wide discretion over the future shape of the scheme. There are more than 30 types of regulatory power for future Secretaries of State that would change the functions and content of the system ad lib. The scope, application and possible extension are extra-parliamentary decisions, even if nominally subject to approval.
Data entered onto the National Identity Register (NIR) is arbitrarily presumed to be accurate, and the Home Secretary made a judge of accuracy of information provided to him. Meanwhile, the Home Office gets the power to enter information without informing the individual. But theres no duty to ensure that such data is accurate, or criterion of accuracy. Personal identity is implicitly made wholly subject to state control.
Even during the so-called "voluntary phase", the Home Secretary can add any person to the Register without their consent, and categories of individuals might be compelled selectively to register using powers under any future legislation. Anyone newly applying for a passport or other "designated document", or renewing an existing one, will automatically have to be interviewed and submit all required details. This is less a phased introduction than a clandestine one. There is to be no choice. And the minimum of notice to the public about the change in the handling of their registrable information.
As proposed, the National Identity Scheme Commissioner would have very limited powers and is excluded from considering a number of key issues. He does not even report directly to Parliament. The reliance on administrative penalties means severe punishments may be inflicted without judicial process. The onus is on the individual to seek relief from the courts, at a civil standard of proof. Those who most require the protection of a fair trial are the least likely to be able to resort to legal action.
Without reference to the courts or any appeals process, the Home Secretary may cancel or require surrender of an identity card, without a right of appeal, at any time. Given that the object of the scheme is that an ID card will be eventually required to exercise any ordinary civil function, this amounts to granting the Home Secretary the power of civic life and death.
There have been vapid "assurances" made to some minority groups. That underlines the potential for threat. The system offers a ready-made police-state tool for a future government less trustworthy than the current one. A Home Secretary could create classifications of individuals to be registered as he sees fit, introducing onerous duties backed by severe penalties for fractions of the population. Religious or ethnic affiliation, for example, could be added to the Register by regulation—or be inferred by cross-referencing other information using a National Identity Register Number or associated data.
ID cards in practice would provide a pretext for those in authority—public or private—to question individuals who stand out for reasons of personal appearance or demeanour. This is likely to exacerbate divisions in society. The Chairman of the Bar Council has asked, "is there not a great risk that those who feel at the margins of society—the somewhat disaffected—will be driven into the arms of extremists?"
The requirement that all those registered notify all changes in details risks creating the means of tracking and persecution through improper use of the database. A variety of persons have good reason to conceal their identity and whereabouts; for example: those fleeing domestic abuse; victims of "honour" crimes; witnesses in criminal cases; those at risk of kidnapping; undercover investigators; refugees from oppressive regimes overseas; those pursued by the press; those who may be terrorist targets. The seizure of ID cards (like benefit-books and passports now) will become a means for extortion by gangsters.
By making ordinary life dependent on the reliability of a complex administrative system, the scheme makes myriad small errors potentially catastrophic. There's no hint from the government how it will deal with inevitably large numbers of mis-identifications and errors, or deliberate attacks on or corruption of what would become a critical piece of national infrastructure. A failure in any part of the system at a check might deny a person access to his or her rights or property or to public services, with no immediate solution or redress—"license to live" withdrawn. | 2019-04-25T16:19:47 | http://bonfire.wikidot.com/identity-cards-bill |
0.998412 | Before spring break we learned how to solve a system of equations using substitution. Now we are learning a new method called elimination. The purpose in learning how to solve a system of equations is so we know how to solve a problem like: You are baking 2 different types of muffins. Muffin A uses 4oz of flour and 2oz of milk. Muffin B uses 3oz of flour and 1oz of milk. You have a total of 165oz of flour and 75oz of milk. How many muffin A‘s and muffin B‘s do you need to make in order to use up all of your flour and milk?
We are still learning about trigonometry and some of its practical applications. We have not started the project where we use trigonometry to measure the height of a building, but we will very soon. After trigonometry we will start our final lessons of the year, solid geometry.
We have just finished learning how to factor quadratic expressions and how to solve quadratic equations by factoring. We are now learning how to solve quadratic equations by completing the square and using the quadratic formula. After our lesson on quadratics we will start to study conic sections: circles, ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas.
Before spring break we started our lesson on trigonometry. We have been doing what the geometry class has been doing for the past month. However, after we measure the height of the building using trigonometry we will continue with trig and delve deeper into trigonometry than we will in geometry. | 2019-04-18T20:26:54 | https://www.harmonyschool.org/2012/04/12/high-school-alan/ |
0.997628 | MANILA, Philippines — Can you imagine being the brain, eyes, and heart behind Disney's most iconic animated films? Josie Trinidad, Head of Story for Disney Animation, doesn't have to.
With a career often looked up to by both adults and kids alike, Josie is considered by many to have one of the best dream jobs there is — creating the magic of a Disney story from start to finish.
Being one of the brilliant minds behind some of Disney’s blockbuster best, like Zootopia, Tangled, The Princess and The Frog, Wreck-It-Ralph and its highly-anticipated sequel, Ralph Breaks The Internet, Josie, as Disney's Head of Story, oversees the story team as they translate the script to its first visual form.
With such a huge responsibility, one may wonder what the creative process is like for a storyteller belonging to one of the greatest entertainment companies in the world.
How is a story born in a head of story's mind and heart?
I had the opportunity to sit down with Josie herself, not just to know more about her latest film, Ralph Breaks The Internet, but also to understand what goes on behind the scenes of a great Disney movie and how the distinct, heartwarming formula Disney movies are well-known and well-loved for are ultimately made.
While the first movie's storyline was about two misfits finding each other — "bad guy" Ralph meeting little troublemaker Venellope van Schweetz within the crazy world of video games — the second movie Ralph Breaks The Internet makes use of the already-established dynamic duo who are both now venturing into the uncharted world of the Internet for the very first time.
“With that question, a whole world of possibilities just opened up,” Josie said.
“We sort of knew that we couldn't not take this opportunity to have our creators go into this new and exciting world with new characters. It was just fuel for new ideas."
As Josie and her team began to craft the twists and turns of Ralph Breaks The Internet, the Internet route remained steadfast throughout the process. Why? Josie believed that the world wide web route was something their audience would both really enjoy and relate to.
“I think the Internet is now so deeply embedded into our lives," Josie said. "It was the perfect meeting of digital characters from an arcade who could go into this new and exciting world, so that sort of possibility was undeniable. We all felt like we had to do this."
True enough, creating a Disney story from scratch involves a lot of imagination, creativity, and fun, but Josie also recognizes that with great power comes great responsibility, and undeniably, a handful of mental blocks.
“We do get writers’ block. Thankfully though, we have deadlines," Josie chuckled. "But we also challenge each other. When I have a story mental block, I just go and seek out counsel from my peers, other filmmakers, other writers and say, 'Hey, this is a problem I’ve got. What do you think?' It's nice that I don’t have to go alone at this."
Josie admitted that although writers’ blocks can never be avoided, she is thankful that teamwork always makes the Disney dream work.
Josie also shared that the process of creating something out of ultimately nothing at first is the best part of working in the Story department, but at times, can also pose as the most challenging bit.
“Because there are endless possibilities, it’s really hard to focus and to know if you’re making the right choices. It’s always nerve-wracking, but ultimately, because we always go back to universal truths in making universal entertainment, if it makes us laugh and feel, then chances are the audience will respond as well."
"It’s a joy to work at Disney Animation and it’s a dream come true. I never take that for granted."
Other than the fun of it all, Josie, as an artist, personally always makes it a point that what is never lost amidst all the action, humor, and visuals of a movie is its true emotional core. After all, isn’t that what Disney movies are made of and loved for?
“Because the world of the Internet is so vast, we found our true emotional core when we focused on Ralph and Venellope’s friendship. That helped ground our movie," she said.
With the film’s core relying on the genuine connection between the two quirky protagonists, what does Josie wish for her audience to take away from the film, both adults and kids alike?
Disney is also much-loved for the universal truths, emotions, and relatable lessons behind their films, which is born from the creator's own beliefs and experiences.
As one of the main story creators of Ralph Breaks The Internet, Josie cherishes the impact of her own personal experiences as a mother, wife, and a Filipino-American, taking inspiration from these experiences to create her most genuine stories.
“My roles in life all play a part, absolutely. I put so much of who I am and where I come from into my work. When I’m looking for inspiration, it always comes from my life, my experiences, something my mom does, or my son does."
"Being Filipino and American, even though I grew up in the United States, my family is deeply connected to our roots in the Philippines, our home. I feel like I was so embedded in Filipino culture growing up. Values of hard work, friendship, and family have stayed with me my whole life, and I definitely put all that on screen."
Joining Disney in 2004 as a story apprentice, Josie Trinidad worked her way up to the role of story artist. Even before the launch of her career at Disney, Josie kept to her true passion for words and the arts, majoring in English Literature and Fine Arts at UCLA (University of Los Angeles, California). With her eyes, heart, and hands set on the dream early on, Josie encouraged aspiring storytellers and creatives to do the same.
“I grew up in a family that didn’t think art was a viable career and that it was more of a hobby," Josie admitted. "What I did was I worked really hard and I made sure that I tried. At least I could say I tried to make it into animation. If it worked, great. If it didn’t work, then maybe I was meant to do something else. But I never gave up. I worked extremely hard."
Josie also reminded budding artists that the key to becoming great at what you do is to always stay true to yourselves. Don't forget to maintain your creative integrity and honesty as well, she said. The opportunity to connect with the world through one's art is a gift no artist should ever give up, no matter the level of experience, chosen career, or the size of one's following. | 2019-04-24T12:45:36 | http://www.therightsstuff.film/dynamic-content/josie-trinidad-talks-ralph-breaks-the-internet-landing-her-dream-job-at-disney |
0.999587 | Prep: 1. Grate parmesan. 2. Rinse arugula and radishes; slice radishes; juice lemon. Make: 1. Mix 2 tablespoons parmesan, lemon juice, salt and pepper; whisk in olive oil. 2. Combine radishes, arugula, remaining 3 tablespoons parmesan and dressing; toss. | 2019-04-24T00:29:26 | https://www.gatheredtable.com/recipes/9181 |
0.997235 | Hard-serving Andy Roddick on Thursday told former greats of the game including John McEnroe and Boris Becker to mind their own business.
Hard-serving Andy Roddick on Thursday told former greats of the game including John McEnroe and Boris Becker to mind their own business after the retired stars petitioned tennis authorities to curb the power of players like the US youngsters.
Roddick, who had just won through to his first ever Wimbledon men's semi-final after pummelling Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, was dismissive of a call by McEnroe, Becker and others urging the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to reduce racket sizes.
In a letter also signed by nine-time women's champion Martina Navratilova the former champions argued that modern racket technology allowed big, powerful players to bludgeon more subtle opponents aside, making the modern game "tedious" and "boring".
Reducing racket sizes would place a premium on skill and touch, they said.
Beefy Roddick, who jointly holds the record for service speed at 149 miles per hour (238 kilometres per hour), said any changes should be agreed by his generation.
"I just feel that if a letter's sent it should be sent by current players. I'm not really sure what their concern is," the 20-year-old told reporters after the quarter-final victory.
"I'm not trying to take away someone's speed. I'm not trying to take away someone else's strength. I'm just trying to play the game," he said.
He questioned how much attention the ITF would pay to the letter.
"I don't know if the ITF is going to take it too seriously, you know, a letter full of past players - no disrespect to those guys, they're great champions.
"But I find it kind of surprising that they would go through the full-out effort and make it something to be talked about."
Roddick is favourite to take the Wimbledon title, with his booming serves and ferocious ground strokes being particularly potent on the fast, skidding grass courts.
The letter to the ITF said tennis had become "unbalanced and one-dimensional".
"The reason for this change is clear to see. Over a period of years, modern racket technology has developed powerful, light, wide-bodied rackets that are easier to wield than wooden rackets were and have a much larger effective hitting area, often called the sweet spot," it read.
"From the spectators' point of view the game has become one-dimensional so that even on fast courts 90 percent of the matches are baseline contests," it said, adding that on slow surfaces matches were "tedious and even boring". | 2019-04-21T00:23:07 | https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/roddick-tells-retired-players-to-shut-up/story-M3qY4YFSN6aOLvsQucnyBL.html |
0.999989 | Any time a phone requests location — from a navigation app, weather app, or any other source — it reveals a mobile ID, a time stamp, and latitude-longitude coordinate. Contextualize that with how those data points intersect with a place of interest — an airport, a hotel, a restaurant, a retail store, a college campus, a sports venue — and you have location data, a powerful tool that can crack open an unprecedented number of insights about customer behavior, competitor operations, and more.
Location data can even help you drill down into census data and infer demographic information about who your customers are and where they’re coming from when they visit your business.
This kind of data is critical when you’re looking at customer loyalty — specifically splitters, because for many companies, that’s the most critical opportunity, says Sheryl Jacobson, principal consultant on strategy and analytics at Deloitte Consulting.
She points at the hospitality and travel industry as a prime example. Most hotel customers are “splitters,” with a go-to brand that they prefer, but will still switch based on convenience, price, location availability, and so on.
This goes far beyond the self-report data that hotels have previously had to rely on. You can drill down to the type of travel they’re doing, business or leisure, with their family or alone, for true behavior-based segmentation, and reach out with offers in the moment, and with a much higher degree of confidence around the design and appropriateness of your programs.
The splitting opportunity for airlines is even bigger than for hotels, Jacobson says.
Location data means that an airline can actually know for sure when someone is splitting, and gives it the opportunity to intervene in the moment, as well as offer the opportunity to explore some of the business issues around airline splitting with differential data: Where does splitting happen most often, and on what types of routes? Is it competitive intensity, a particular terminal in a particular airport, a price?
Airlines are also interested in the overall travel experience — what are its customers doing in the hours leading up to arriving at the airport? What are they doing at the airport when there’s a delay? Are there better ways for the airline to improve that experience? And what kind of opportunities does this unlock?
Location data is also significant for sporting teams, she adds, tackling some of their biggest challenges.
For corporate sponsors, it helps ensure they’re reaching the right people; for the teams, it helps them determine who they should partner with. Does it make sense for, say, the Bulls and McDonald’s to partner up and run a special on Big Macs post-Bulls games, for instance. Would that actually matter to the folks that sit there?
You can take a look at your most loyal customers, outside of the season ticket holders — your core base and most fierce fans. But you can also know what they’re doing before, after, and in between.
And that’s true of any event space or franchise that taps into the sponsorship revenue streams. You can think of it as a much broader anchor around a particular event, around a business revenue stream of sponsorship.
“Whether it’s a huge Salesforce event or VMworld or any others, there’s a great captive audience for lots of people, but it’s been hard to group them and reach out to them in any coherent way,” Bairstow adds.
The retail opportunity is also significant, Jacobson says.
“Again, it’s an age-old problem of how Walmart could grab that revenue being spent at CVS, minimize that splitting, and understand why it happens — that’s a direct impact on the bottom line,” she says.
On the retail side, particularly when you combine it with purchase data and the receipt data that’s available, whether it be from credit cards or what the actual retailer sends, you know literally who the Walmart shoppers are, what percentage are splitting trips between Walmart and Target, whether they consistently stop off at CVS beforehand, and more. | 2019-04-19T10:17:42 | https://www.inventiva.co.in/2018/10/26/elevate-your-marketing-strategy-with-location-data-insights-vb-live/ |
0.997103 | In this video I'm going to show you how to click two buttons, Select and Focus Area It's great for selections because it's a blurry background, sharp object. It does a pretty amazing job of just grabbing it. There's a little bit of work to do, and I'll show you how to do that in this video. I'll also show you how to take that same selection, to kind of use something in focus, and turn it into an Adjustment Layer. You can see the hydrant there, just kind of, instead of masking it we're using it for Adjustment Layers. I'll also show you some harder things, where it's in focus and out of focus, but the hand's not, but I'll show you still how to get a good selection. I'll show you when it goes absolutely horribly wrong, and you end up with stuff like this. And how to get around it. Then at the end we'll do a little project where we cut this out, and we stick it on to this background. See me, believably. Look at that, they're shadows and all. You and me, my friend, are going to continue on the Selection Path, and learn how to use Focus Area together. Let's jump in.
To get started let's open up the files we're going to use. It's in ‘02 Selections’, and go to ‘Focus Area 1’ to ‘6’. Open up them all. So we're going to start with 6, I want you to be prepared for amazingness. The reason this works is because there is a really shallow Depth of Field; background's blurry, but the subject, in this case a flower, is in focus, so works perfect. What we'll do is work our way through. I've got some ones that are really easy, through to the ones that are quite hard. Now also note that this technique is just the starting. Like remember, Subject was great, but then we went to Select & Mask to fix it up. It's the same for this technique, it does a lot of that heavy lifting. 80% there, and then we use Select & Mask to tidy it up. So kick back, relax, and be amazed.
Now you can see the edges are a bit off, we can fix that up with Select & Mask. You can jump straight to that from here, which is cool. You might have to adjust the Focal Range. So lower is a bit more exact, so it's looking for sharper parts of the image. If you raise it higher, it's a bit more forgiving, and goes, "Do you mean this, this, and this?" This one's pretty easy because it's very clear. Background's very blurry, foreground is very sharp in comparison. Things you will have to do is, you can see here, it doesn't really know what to do with this thing in the middle. So you've got these two options, you can add to the selection or remove. So basically think of this as the Quick Selection Tool, we looked at it earlier over here.
So same technique, you don't have to like paint it all the way in, just kind of click a little bit, and it goes off and tries to race around and find what you mean. That's pretty much all for this particular one. Let's click 'Select & Mask'. So now we're back into that window that we've used quite a few times. It's over here, remember, our global changes. We can use our Fine Brush, so whatever you want to use now. In this case, Radius around the edges, it's doing a pretty nice job. I'm viewing mine against, what is it? Is against white, is it against black? Not on black. Sorry, 'On Black'. Looks nice, On White, looks good. Awesome. And what am I going to do with it when it's finished? I'm going to output to a Selection, no, I'm going to output to a Layer Mask, and then click 'OK'.
Let's look at some harder ones, let's jump to ‘Focus Area 2’. Now you don't always want to make a complete mask like we did in this one here. Sometimes we just want to grab an area, to play around with things like the levels, or change the colors, so let's do the same technique, but let's look at using an Adjustment Layer instead. It's the same technique, 'Select', 'Focus Area'. Kick back, relax. You can do the adjustments here. It's pretty good, I'm going to add that bit, and use minus '-' to minus in there. Think of it, remember, like the Quick Selection Tool. A little bit down here to add. It's couple of bits down here. If you find it hard to, like check what's missing, what's not, play around with these different ones, so On Black, Overlay. Just try these different ones so you can see clearly what's maybe missing. And say White On, Black on White, it's pretty good here, so I'm going to add that, I'm going to add that. And we've got a good start.
You can play around with Soften Edge, and it does, but it's just kind of like, it's just a one tick, where you can go in to Select & Mask, and because we are super advanced awesome people, we get to use all of these features to make it quite sweet. So which one am I going to use? On Black looks pretty clear, and Radius, yes, it's working nice. Maybe just smooth it out a little bit. You don't see me using Feather or Contrast much, it's just preference, have a play around with them, it does, and going a bit high, but it kind of feathers the edge, that might be exactly what you need. There's no right or wrong really in here.
The cool thing about it is there's only about 6-7 options to play around with. So experiment on your own. When it's finished, instead of going to a Layer Mask, what I'm going to do is, I'm going to say, stay as a Selection, because-- let's click 'OK'. Now it's just a lovely selection, Now if I go to my Adjustments Panel and say, do levels or curves, if I do levels, you can see it turns my Selection into a Mask, on my Adjustment Layer, which is levels, hasn't touch the background now. So now with the levels here I can go through, and it's going to kind of balance it out a bit. I want to be really subtle in these tutorials, but it's hard when you're being subtle, because you can't see what I'm doing on the video often. You can see what I've done there, I've just darkened it up a little bit. I just wanted to show you an extra way of using Focus Area. Grab the stuff that's really close and really work on it. Maybe the same thing with vibrance, instead of levels, or a bit of both.
Now let's look at some problematic abuses and how to get around them. I find this is the most valuable stuff, because not always you're going to get a perfect kind of flower on its own. So Focus Area 3, this image has-- probably the biggest problem is, that it's got a really high ISO or grain, that is kind of in the image. So it's kind of all over it, so it does find it hard, to break away from what is sharp and what is blurry, because of that grain. So I'll show you a couple of ways of getting around it. Let's go to 'Select', let's go to 'Focus Area'. If you can hear 90s dance music in the background, the construction workers that have left from yesterday have now been replaced with shop fitters, who love the 90s dance anthems, which is cool. Not so good for you and me, recording, so enjoy the backing music. You probably can't hear it, it's probably just me.
You can see here, under, against white or on white, it's just kind of grabbed this. This is the only bit I could really find that's really sharp. You might find, with a really grainy image, that this image noise level, kind of up and down will help. Drag it up, drag it down, see if that fixes it for you. I'm yet to find it useful for me too much, but I should show you because I haven't used it enough to say it's like good or really bad. Given adjustments and easy slider, so what we're going to have to do is, there's just a big chunk of hand missing, and the options up here are, On Black, Black and White. So it's not very handy to know what else I need to select. The only one that really works is Overlay.
Overlay allows us to see kind of a ghost of the background. There's no kind of opacity slider like we have in Select & Mask. So just pick Overlay. And then let's grab the '+', and I'm just going to kind of click along and let Photoshop do its magic. Oh, Photoshop! You're so good. Look at that. I just do little bits-- freaks out my computer a little bit, but also, squeezing the Quick Selection Tool, I find, doing smaller little chunks is easier. This bit here is a little harder. Minus, '-'. Hold down the 'Option' key on a Mac instead of coming up here to minus, or 'Alt' key on a PC to change it to minus.
We're not going to spend too much longer in here, but there's two ways of kind of working through it. You can play around with the noise level, but also just add and subtract to the mask, and it's easiest done when you're on Overlay. So I'm going to go to 'Select & Mask'. I always go through Select & Mask to tidy it up, you might go, "No, I'm just going to go straight to being a Layer Mask." Awesome. Job done, and you're happy enough with it. And then later on you might come back and click on the Mask, and then go to Select & Mask to get back to where I kind of go directly.
I'm going to smooth the edges, maybe Smart Overlay, and in this case I'm probably going to need to use, not this first one, not this one here, I'm probably going to have to use just a plain old Brush Tool, because this bit here, the computer is not going to be able to work out the difference between the background-- let's go back to 'Marching Ants'. Actually, because we're in here we can lower the opacity of that black, on black. Just to make it easier to see what's in the background here. And because we've got this Brush Tool here, I make it bigger, hardness is, I like it between 85 and 95. And hold down the 'Option' key and just kind of paint it out. Maybe the fuzziness needs to be a little bit lower, or hardness needs to be lower. Just to give it that kind of blur with the background.
There's probably this one down here, actually I'm okay with that. It's pretty amazing. There's a hole in the middle, if you are getting through this course, you're like, "I can't remember, how did you do the red thing, again?" If you're on a Mac, hold down the 'Command' and 'Option' key. Just hold them down, and then click and hold your mouse, drag left and right, up and down. Gives you size and hardness. If you're on a PC, it's a bit weirder. Maybe not weird, it is hold 'Ctrl' key down on your keyboard, and then with your right mouse key, like the other one that you don't use very much, the right click, click and hold that down and go left and right, up and down.
So I'm in here, I'm going to go-- this one here, so just using the Paintbrush, I'm going to use the Quick Selection Tool, because instead of trying to paint it out, because it is very clearly different from the rest of it, I can just kind of click once in there. Nice. Let's click 'OK', and a pretty sweet mask. Let's get into ‘Focus Area 4’, where it really doesn't work. So we're going to go to 'Select', we're going to go to 'Focus Area'. We kind of see that it is, but it's got that grain problem again, where a huge amount of grain in here, but it's making the background and foreground quite consistent, and it just doesn't work, and I'll show you a way around it, kind of.
Let's go to 'Focus Area', kick back, relax. Let's just go to here, it's okay. You just want to fix it in here, you just need to, because this is a person, or a human, it works better with 'Select', 'Subject'. 'Select', 'Subject', kick back, relax. Come on, Select, Subject. You can see there; magic. So I'd start with this and add my Layer Mask, and with it selected go to 'Select & Mask', and tidy things up. We did that in an earlier tutorial, I guess I wanted to show you just, sometimes Focus Area doesn't work, you might have to look at different ways of doing it. We've looked at a few sections already. Channel Masks and Subject.
Now the last one we're going to do is, we're going to cut this out and stick it, like a proper project, rather than just looking at it, and here is a mask, we're going to combine stuff and just look at a few. Tie together some stuff we've already learnt, and turned into a little project, so that in the next video I'll set a project of your own. So do this with me, and then in the next video you can do it by yourself. So I want to cut that out, stick it there. So to do that, same thing. It looks like it's clearly going to be good for the technique we're using, which is the 'Select', 'Focus Area'. Now I'm going to switch it to On White. Yes, On White's probably good, or On Black. On White's probably going to, it's a little bit clearer. Now I'm going to have to minus some parts out. Brush Hardness, down a little bit. It doesn't really matter that much when using the Quick Selection Tool.
I've got the basics in there, and that's pretty cool, right? Focus Area, you rule. Let's go and fix it up a little bit. Let's go to 'Select & Mask'. It's pretty good. Comparing it against white-- I'm going to turn up the Opacity now to 100%. White versus Black. Like a white's probably a better example of how good the selection is especially on the side. First up, I probably-- let's just see how we go with a little bit of Radius and a little bit of Smoothing. I'm okay with this, really fixed up these edges here. Remember, I'm going to zoom in. Hold 'P' key down on your keyboard. That's the original, actually don't hold it down, just tap it. On, off, on, off. Pretty amazing, huh?
The other thing I want to do is-- those are actually part of the original, right? If I turn those down, they're actually just part of the original image, but I don't want them so I'm going to go to-- these are the tools that are not going to work, right? The Refine Edge Tool, because it's such a solid thing, it's just not going to do what I need it to do. So I'm going to undo a couple of times. I'm just going to use just a plain old paintbrush. I'm going to pick a size and hardness. Something about there, hardness. Trying to match the hardness of the edge here, of what's already there in focus. If you are sick of that shortcut with the red thing, you can just do size and hardness up here, right? But I am now going to hold down my 'Alt' key to turn it to minus, just to kind of tap these things off. Bit of manual labor, can't be avoided sometimes. I'll speed this up because this is painful to watch.
So that's going to work for me, I really like it. I still want to go and fix a few of these little edges. It's the beads of water that are on the edges, have given me lumpy kind of sides. Photography trick. I don't do the photography much, I do a lot of the retouching, but never keep it in the fridge because it ends up sweating, and leaving big pools of water when you're trying to photograph it. So what tends to happen is-- one of the tricks that we've worked with lots with food photography, is you leave it out, it's pretty much off in rank, but if you cover it in hair spray, it looks wet, moist, and new, and doesn't drip water beads everywhere. Kind of preserves it for a while so hair spray is a good trick. But we've got our mask, we want to output it to a Layer Mask. Click 'OK'. I want to add this to Focus Area 6.
We're going to use our trick where we go to Move Tool, and just go, 'Command C', 'Command V'. Kind of brings through the Layer Mask. So it's in, it's not super believable, but it's pretty cool though. I'm going to do two things before we go. We'll add a Layer Mask, and one of the obvious problems is this glass. I'll show you a quick little trick for it. Let's do the Drop Shadow first, we learned this in the Essentials course, but we'll just recover it here for the people that didn't do it. It's pretty fancy, well I like it anyway.
So I've got this layer selected, I'm going to go to 'fx', I'm going to say, I'd like a 'Drop Shadow'. Not worried too much about this Drop Shadow, except I want to see it. Like that's not a realistic Drop Shadow, I know, but it's mainly just so I can see what it looks like, and play around with the opacity, the size, how fuzzy it is. That's going to work for me. Click 'OK'. You're like, "That is terrible." But remember, the people that did it, you know, you can right click the word 'Drop Shadow', and go to this one that says 'Create Layer'. It's cryptically named, basically it means, I'm going to yank the Drop Shadow off as an effect, and look, there's its own shadow on its own layer. I'm just going to move it around. It means that we can go to 'Edit', 'Transform', and go to 'Distort'.
I'm just going to use the shortcut because we're in the advanced class. So hit 'Command T' on your keyboard, if you're a Mac, 'Ctrl T' on a PC. Then just hold down the 'Command' key on a Mac or 'Ctrl' key on a PC, and instead of it just kind of like doing this, you hold down the 'Command' key or 'Ctrl' key on a PC. It just distorts it without having to go to the official 'Edit', 'Distort', it just kind of does it all for you. So what I'm looking for now is for the shadow on both the Focus Area. Focus Area 5, you can see there's a big shadow cast this way. And in here it's pretty neutral. The photographer has probably composited this background anyway. So, because there's lots of freedom to decide where the shadow's going to go, so I'm going to Transform it, and move it around. I'll try and get the base of it there.
How realistic this is going to be? Where's the light going to be coming from? I don't know whether it should be kind of coming from this way or this way. Ah, looking awesome. It's okay, I'm going to hit 'Return'. Now what I'm going to do is I'm going to do couple of things. One is, on this layer here I'm going to play with a different-- it's defaulted to Multiply. So I'm going to go through and just pick another Blending Mode. Remember, holding 'Shift' on my keyboard, make sure you're on the 'Move Tool'. Then tap the '+' key, and it just cycles through the color modes over here. That at least gets you close to where you want to be. I cut like that, but it's probably not very-- I do like what Linear Burn does to the wood.
Can I find anything else that I like? No. Maybe a Linear Light, I like, but it needs to be kind of reduced, especially out here where it shouldn't be, it should be kind of maybe dark in here but not further out. So what I like to do is just add a Layer Mask to the Drop Shadow. Make sure you're working on your mask. Grab your paintbrush, just your B key. I'm going to make sure that my Blending Mode is normal. We played around in an earlier tutorial to change it to Overlay. And in terms of the opacity I'm just going to kind of like remove parts of it, but I want to turn the opacity of that brush down.
We're going to use our shortcut along the top of our keyboard, just remember 1, 2, 3, 4. So maybe 30%, you see the opacity changes, 40. I'm going to practice. So I'm just going to kind of build this out. Maybe even lower, 10%, just kind of clicking and dragging, and working it. Especially maybe over here. At the back there, I'm trying to make it look realistic. I'm okay with the shadow, maybe needs another bit of blurring, so you can click on this, then go up to 'Filter' and use 'Blur'. We're going to do Blur later on, but don't worry, everyone uses Gaussian Blur, so do I. You might just blur it up a bit more.
So one of the other big obvious things I can see, is that it's just got a blue cast to it. This background's got quite a warm yellow feel to it, whereas this has got quite a blue cast. It's making this stand out too much. So with this layer selected let's even name it, let's go crazy. 'Smoothie'. And with it selected let's go to 'Adjustments', and I'm going to use Color Balance; which one is you? There he is there. Second, line sticking in, and I'm just going to shift the blue to yellow. Now at the moment it's doing it to the whole thing, so if you click on this, remember, it says, I'm only going to affect the layer just underneath me, which is Smoothie. Now I'm just going to kind of warm it up, turn it on and off. On and off, yes, getting there, so maybe a bit more red than cyan. A little bit of green for that green Smoothie. Do you like it? I feel like it sits in there a bit nicer.
Next thing I'm going to do is fix up this glass. It's like really bright compared to the background. It's not showing through any texture, and you'll run into this problem with glass, glass is tough. I'm going to do kind of a caveman fix, I want to show you what I would do now. So I'm going to zoom in. What I want to do is work on the mask. I'm going to use my paintbrush. I'm going to make a nice small brush. I'm going to have the opacity at maybe 20%. How hard is it going to be? Hardness at 0, I want it nice and fluffy. So what I want to do is-- I'm going to leave a lot of the whites, it's this gray stuff. The blacks are good, the whites are good.
Often when you're working with glass, it's the Mid Tones that are the background. So I'm just going to caveman it and do this. I'm just painting it out. So I'm just kind of painting it out in little parts. Why? Because it's showing through the background a little bit, bringing through that kind of ready Okla that's in there. I'm just making the glass a bit more translucent. Total cheap trick rather than getting too complicated about it. Changing the colors and stuff would work, but if we put it on a different background, at least this technique is going to show through the background a bit more. I might remove a little bit of the glass as well. I mean the highlights, just to kind of lighten it up a little bit.
To show you what I mean, remember, we can hold down 'Option' on a Mac, 'Alt' on a PC and just click on the mask, and just see what I'm doing here. It's pretty primitive, but you can see, it's just that, now kind of blend in a bit more. If I move the background, give it a name, you can see, it just kind of moves there and kind of takes on a bit of that background through it, and that should be it, but this bottom down here is annoying me as well. There's like a weird reflection that just wouldn't happen on this desktop, I feel. So you could work on the actual image and maybe darken it. I'm just going to work on the Layer Mask because I don't want to destroy the image. Do the same thing with my Brush Tool. I'm just going to kind of lower this a little bit, just the bits I don't like. Even though, would kind of peek through. All right, how much do I like it? I'm pretty happy. I'm okay with finished shadow doing weird stuff.
One last thing, I know there's just one last thing but I-- weird thing that happened, I created a new layer, and because it was in between my Adjustment Layer and the image, kind of did this weird thing where it became what's called a Clipping Mask for this image, that happens all the time. Just drag underneath, make sure that is still using this option. Connected to the bottom, and my layer here is going to be 'Extra Shadow'. I always find believability in doing just a little bit of black paint brushing. So 'Brush', I'm going to have Opacity of maybe '50%', I'm going to use black.
Another shortcut for you is, see my foreground and background color? One is blue, one is white. So you can click on this to force it to go black and white, but you'll see, there's my shortcut given away, 'D' key. So if I hit 'D', just sets it back to the default, black and white. X key toggles between the two. See over here, X goes foreground and background color, and D just sets it back to black and white. So here we go. I'm just going to add this on its own layer. You can see, it's kind of okay, but I probably want to set it to maybe Multiply, and maybe just lower the opacity of it down again. I like doing just that second kind of rung of super close shadow. And then there's more kind of wafty shadow.
That's it for this one, let's jump into the next video. I'm going to set you a goal, to do stuff like this on your own. Really ties together a lot of the stuff we're learning so far. So I'll see you there. | 2019-04-22T03:08:39 | https://www.bringyourownlaptop.com/courses/adobe-photoshop-cc-advanced-training-course-tutorial/how-to-make-selections-in-photoshop-based-on-the-focus-area |
0.999891 | Arrested Person: Robert Leroy Sanders of Bloomsdale, Missouri, W/M, DOB: 12-20-1982, was arrested on a warrant out of the State of Missouri, Probation and Parole Office, for a parole violation.
The warrant had no bond set.
Arrested Person: William Jason Brown of Festus, Missouri, W/M, DOB: 06-22-1977 was arrested on warrants out of St. Louis County and Arnold for non support and traffic charges.
The warrants had a no bond and $750.00.
Arrested Person: Laura Ann Adams of Farmington, Missouri, W/F, DOB: 12-01-1971 was arrested on a warrant out of Ste. Genevieve County for failing to appear on the charge of possession of a controlled substance, RSMo 195.202, a Class C Felony.
The warrant was issued by the Honorable Judge Sandy Martinez with a bond set at $30,000.00.
Arrested Person: Blake Edward Thurmond of Leadwood, Missouri, W/M, DOB: 07-17-1984, was arrested on a warrant out of Ste. Genevieve County for a probation violation on the original charge of financial exploitation of elderly/disabled person, RSMo 570.145, a Class B Felony.
Deputies were called to the 14000 block of Bodine Road for a report of suspicious activity.
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Deputies were called to the area of Lime Kiln Road and Zell Road for a report of a motor vehicle accident.
Deputies were called to the 20600 block of Creek Road for a report of a motor vehicle accident.
Deputies were called to the 5700 block of South Fork Drive for a check the well being call.
Deputies were called to the area of State Route DD and Terry Lee Drive for a report of suspicious activity.
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Deputies were called to the 142 mile marker for a report of a motor vehicle accident.
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Deputies were called to the area of Highway 32 and I-55 for a report of a motor vehicle accident.
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Deputies were called to the 155 mile marker for a report of a motor vehicle accident.
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Deputies were called to the 19700 block of Ficker Lane for a report of an alarm sounding.
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Deputies were called to the 162 mile marker for a report of an animal call.
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Deputies were called to the 24000 block of State Route NN for a report of a 911 misdial.
Deputies were called to the 8600 block of State Route AA for a report of an assault.
Deputies were called to the area of State Route DD and Valley View Road for a report of a motorist assist. | 2019-04-26T01:39:03 | https://www.sgcso.com/press_view.php?id=85 |
0.999998 | West Indies will go into the second T20I in Fort Lauderdale armed with the confidence that their big hitters and aggressive bowlers are firing in tandem, presenting a challenge even greater for a Bangladesh side that hasn't been able to sustain its success for any measurable period through this tour.
As always, much of Bangladesh's hopes would fall on their four senior batsmen, but there's a lot more that the likes of Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar and Ariful Haque can bring to the table. Soumya, despite being thrown multiple lifelines, has failed to find a way out his wretched form, while Liton needs to capitalise on impressive starts and push on to producing something more substantial. Ariful is still young at the international level, but expectations from newcomers have never been higher in the Bangladesh set-up.
The bowling load will be shared between Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman, who both are usually required to bowl at critical phases in T20s, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan providing support. Nazmul Islam, who debuted earlier this year, needs to adapt quickly if he is to survive in this spin attack.
West Indies, the world champions, have very little to worry about. Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul and Kesrick Williams complemented each other, taking eight wickets together, before Andre Russell, returning from injury, Marlon Samuels and Rovman Powell upended the chase in a six-heavy onslaught in the last game. If those signs weren't worrying enough for Bangladesh, they are compounded by West Indies' superlative record at this venue: they are yet to lose a match in Lauderhill, have three of the four highest totals at this ground, and have bowled out the opposition twice in three completed games. Ominous?
Perhaps the one factor that could come to Bangladesh's aid is the crowd in Lauderhill; the local population has a strong subcontinental presence. The expatriates have already turned up in droves in South Florida for the double-header, meaning that Bangladesh's first international match in the USA will likely have the feeling of a home game.
Liton Das has scored at a rate over 128 in nine T20Is this year, but that strike rate is hardly enough to cover up an average of 18. He doesn't have a single half-century despite batting in the top three. It's time for the promise to translate into performance.
Barring last-minute injuries, West Indies are unlikely to make changes to their XI.
Soumya Sarkar has been in miserable form in domestic cricket, and his inclusion in the squad was only as a result of the management's plea. He would undoubtedly be under the scanner, with Mosaddek Hossain being the prime candidate to replace him.
The last completed game in Lauderhill produced a run-glut, with West Indies and India totaling 489 runs and both innings producing a century.
The weather has been quite warm, but it is likely to remain clear for both matches. | 2019-04-26T08:59:25 | http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18712/preview/1146724/bangladesh-vs-west-indies-2nd-t20i-wi-in-usa-2018 |
0.999968 | Disclaimer: This threads purpose is not to suggest Gameplay Mechanics/Potential rewards. This is to stoke excitement in peoples minds over the "Story" of what a 4th World Event could be, please feel free to contribute ideas to the latter but try and keep the former to the Developers.
Also I ramble on and on, so feel free to skip to the TL;DR.
So, as I'm sure a good portion of you are aware with the Stalker update alongside it was released a very, very, fascinating Lorebook by the ever popular author we know as Grondaban, who is NOT Skaldrun by the way.
I won't spoil all its details in its entirely, but it reveals "Ocularis" the very homeworld of the Stalkers, but it is much more than a planet, it's a living being, the first stalker you might say, and a part of its history dates back to Zamoraks time in Pandemonium/Infernus during the uprising against Hostilius.
But after witnessing that great battle, that display of chaos, that grand performance of Zamoraks anger and fury at work, Ocularis left quietly from the skies of Infernus/Pandemonium and went off in search of more insight, more opportunities to learn from observation..
But that was several hundred years ago, surely by now, he must be close?
So, why not have his next stop be Gielinor?
World events past have been a mixed bag that much we can all agree on, but I'm excited for more, to have this moon sized event that sees us all regardless of if you've chosen the right God to worship or not can band together and perhaps if need be put an end to this supposed new threat that on the surface only wishes to observe us..
TL;DR The Stalkers update released a Lorebook detailed Ocularis as a living Moon/Planet/Being that observes worlds, I suggest this be the front runner for the hypothetical 4th world event as I believe having it be a neutral opponent would be best for the narrative.
Could be interesting if Jagex were able to devote the resources to do it justice. It occurred to me only just now that the arrival of a second moon should have potentially devastating effects on the planet (never mind the fact the moon is actually alive and probably malicious in this case). Didn't the lore book mention that he warps the gravity of the worlds he observes?
Sadly I don't expect tidal waves to drown out coastal settlements or anything. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you[...]For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
Obviously, I want 5th Age stuff all caught up, first, but once that is done, we can finally get into the cool stuff.
I wanted an Armadyl vs. Saradomin fight for a while, but given the events in SE, it is clear that that is not going to happen.
I would be interested to read more Lethal if you could tell some more details for you idea.
My initial idea is essentially having Ocularis observe our world at first, as a sort of "Pre event-event" sending down Seekers of all varieties to act as its eyes to wander around Gielinor harmlessly enough, it would grab the NPCs attention and it would certainly grab even the most oblivious players attention to see giant wandering eyeballs floating around out of place.
It would be cause for concern, but you can't defend against something just wanting to seemingly observe, so nothing will be kicking off thus far.
Special dialogue for those with the Sneakerpeeper and Baby Soulgazer pets too I'd imagine.
After that Ocularis would establish several fleshy links with our planet, embedding them in the world in order to send down his troops to begin his "Assault" whilst being inspired heavily by Zamorak during the Avernic rebellion, he has formed his own mantra of survival of the fittest and wishes to see this world benefit from its teachings, but this is a moon trying to hand down a philosophy to mortal beings, His true purpose is naturally going to be lost in translation and the Seekers are going to be seen as doing nothing but turning violent on the Landscape and populace.
My thought process here is that these "Linked Areas" will be under siege by the Seekers, positioning themselves to help strengthen and maintain the links that have been made, It's our duty to fend off these Seekers and to plan a full frontal assault on the Links whilst we've temporarily regained control of key areas.
Our Win/Lose condition will be determined by a HP meter that can be damaged by attacking the links, knock it to 0% more times than not in the given event period is how we'll claim victory and send him off back to the stars, but I'd like a "Healing" mechanic built in as not to make it so pathetically easy like Tuska.
Obviously this is a very rough first idea, edits will be made here and there. As always, contributions are appreciated.
As for your stalker concept idea... Meh.
I agree Armadyl Vs Saradomin would be fantastic, but that would be other players dictating my story for me, and I don't want that ever, ever, again.
Godless VS Qoa sounds better, I can't wait to see how they'll fail.
In all honesty, I'm not looking forward to another world event given how the others have turned out.
Our main complaint in WE1 was its lack of impact on the world.
WE2 saw the cutting down of a god we barely got to know. Too much impact.
WE3 introduced a god from Guthix's past, a god that should have stayed there. Where does one begin between the headspinningly poor gameplay mechanics, rigged outcome, lore fails, etc?
I left RuneScape because we were promised a grand 6th age conflict but nothing has come of it.
I like the idea. Unfortunately, the execution has never been satisfying.
Not currently playing, so I haven't engaged with this lore, but I'm curious - have they linked this 'Ocularis' with Seeker Synapse in the Wushankos? Perhaps Ocularis has been here before. That gives me a funny idea - aren't Faruq's wares supposed to come from the east? Maybe the Orb of Oculus is actually some eldritch artefact of another world!
Anyways, I'd love to see another event, but I'm not so sure about having everyone on the same side. Jagex has no way of realistically balancing it before the event's begun and they've seen how players engage, and any overadjustment will just end up making the results feel cheap and moot. I actually thought the way WE2 did it was particularly clever, putting players in a 'support' role to NPCs who were the primary 'point collectors' for the event - though that was somewhat undercut by the poorly-implemented morale system and, uh, pitting the 2nd most popular faction against the one in dead last.
I'd actually like to see something slightly more grounded (which is a trite desire for a fantasy game like RS, but w/e). Fremennik were stirred up into the RC crusades just cos wizards on the other side of the continent were producing runes that they thought were the sole purview of gods. Now we're literally draining the remains of Guthix and using it to make pogosticks, and we're supposed to believe they're cool with it?
The dumb idea I've had - Divination crusades. Spurred by some unseen firebrand, Fremennik are attempting to destroy div rifts across the world. Each god faction splits into two camps - the pragmatists, who've already seen divine energy's vast destructive potential, and believe in restricting rift access to scholars and trusted individuals, reaching some negotiation with the crusaders; and militants, who believe in brinksmanship, that open access to the rifts ensures the factions remains wary of each other's power while pursuing progress, and the crusaders must be thoroughly repelled. | 2019-04-21T02:21:40 | http://services.runescape.com/m=forum/a=13/forums.ws?341,342,903,65980337,&showuser=Adventurerrr |
0.999887 | There are a number of ways to cook rice, but the one I always use is the absorption method. With a little bit of knowledge of the right steps to take, you can have perfect, fluffy rice every time.
1) If using white rice, wash the rice TWICE - this is very important as it removes excess starch, preventing the cooked rice from being sticky. Simply measure your rice into a pot, pour water over it, stir with your hand, then drain, and repeat. If using brown rice, you do not need to wash it.
2) Boil the kettle. For every cup of rice, pour 1 3/4 cup of boiling water into the pot of rice. Measure carefully! So for 2 cups of rice, use 3 1/2 cups water, 3 cups - 5 1/4 and so on.
3) Add salt to taste, give the pot one stir with a fork, and set on stove with element turned just a LITTLE above it's lowest setting. Keep an eye on it, and when the pot has just barely come to the boil (some light movement and almost bubbling), then turn to low, and place a fork under the edge of the pot lid to allow some steam to escape.
4)Cook on low for 25 mins for white rice, and up to 40 min for brown rice (some brown rices don't take that long, so check from time to time). DO NOT STIR while cooking, else the rice will clump and stick. To check if water has been absorbed, use a fork to carefully press a hole in the middle, so you can see to the bottom of the pot. The rice is done when no water remains visible. Do not burn.
5) Once finished, let sit off heat with lid on for 5 mins. Fluff with a fork, and serve. | 2019-04-24T20:36:57 | http://www.thriftykiwi.co.nz/meals-and-snacks/absorption-method-fluffy-rice-every-time |
0.999951 | The tea plantations in the Cameron Highlands.
Are you a real tea lover and do you want to see and taste, how your tea is made, then it's definitelya worth to pay a visit to the Cameron Highlands.
At these plantations you can see how tea is picked from the bushes and you get a tour of the whole factory and there is an opportunity to taste tea.
A tea plant needs fertile soil, warmth and moisture to grow well.
The quality of tea depends on the type of plant and also the location of the plantation. On the high tea plantations the quality is better, this is because it is drier and the temperature is also lower.
All this ensures slow growth if you compare it with the lower tea plantations.
A tea plant can grow to a height of about 20 meters. However, on the tea plantations the plants are pruned to a height of 1 meter. That is easier for the tea pickers to pick the leaves.
The tea bush needs about 4 to 5 years to harvest.
A tea plantation is divided into various gardens. Every day, leaves are picked in another garden. Over time, this takes 8 to 9 days, the tea pickers are back in the same garden.
The tea bush then had the opportunity to grow & nbsp; what to grow and make young leaves.
A tea plant needs fertile soil, warmth and moisture to grow well. The quality of tea depends on the type of plant and also the location of the plantation. On the high tea plantations the quality is better, this is because it is drier and the temperature is also lower.
A tea plant can grow to a height of about 20 meters. However on the tea plantations the plants are pruned to 1 meter height. That is easier for the tea pickers to pick the leaves. The tea bush needs about 4 to 5 years to harvest.
A tea plantation is divided into gardens. Every day, leaves are picked in another garden. Over time, this takes 8 to 9 days, the tea pickers are back in the same garden. The tea bush then had the opportunity to grow again and make young leaves.
For the tea the youngest leaves of the tea bush are used.
This is also done by machines, but mostly manual work is used.
In picking work, a distinction is made between different ways of picking.
- the leaf button and two leaves are picked.
- the leaf bud and three leaves are picked.
- the leaf bud and the four leaves are picked.
Tea is usually picked throughout the year, but the tea leaves from the dry season, so the dry monsoon are usually better in quality. When the tea leaves are picked and collected in bags, they are transported to the tea factory.
The picked tea leaves are spread out on grates and hot air is blown through them, so that the tea loses a lot of moisture.
This ensures that the tea leaf becomes soft and supple and it is easier to roll the leaves.
The rolling takes place between 2 horizontal surfaces, in this way break the leaves so that the juice is released. Fermentation will then take place.
The majority of the tea that is produced is so coarse that it can be sold in this way.
However, most people nowadays use teabags, so the tea producers want to deliver some smaller tea. The tea is broken for that. When the tea leaves are rolled they are put in trays and put in a fermentation room for several hours. The tea leaves are then dried at a temperature of about 95 � C. The moisture content is reduced to 4-6%. The tea is now dark in color.
Then the tea is sorted by shaking sieves by size and packed in boxes.
The boxes are shipped to different countries. | 2019-04-22T22:20:54 | http://www.malaysiasite.nl/tea.htm |
0.999374 | What Is Offense In Kickball?
The offense in kickball is the team that is at-bat and kicking. If it's the top of the inning, the offense is the away team. If it's the bottom of the inning, the offense is the home team. The other team is on defense and is fielding. | 2019-04-21T02:11:15 | https://www.rookieroad.com/glossary/kickball/offense/ |
0.999993 | Now some might respond at this point: but we use negative definitions all the time in coherent attempts to make reference. And we can, provided that there remains something left over for them to refer to, indirectly. Negative definitions can provide information through their universe of discourse - what is not ruled out, is identified.
For example, if I were to hold out a box with a penny and a pencil in it, and say "the object in the box I am thinking of is not the penny", you'd know from the universe of discourse, the 'things in the box', that the object I was thinking of was the pencil. The negative definition andthe universe of discourse provide the information together.
So the problem isn't just that terms like 'immateriality' and 'supernatural' are solely negative definitions, it is that they rule out any universe of discourse. There's literally nothing left over for these terms to refer to, so there's nothing left over for them to be. The terms are therefore meaningless, incoherent.
We can sum up this problem by stating that terms like 'supernatural' are universal eliminators, they rule out any universe of discourse. They can only be used as contradistinctives of 'anything' and thus are synonyms for 'nothing."
A point discovered not by me, but by theologians and buddhists alike. You might find yourself balking at this. You might feel that you use terms like 'immateriality' or 'supernaturalism' all the time, and the terms seems to make sense. Well yes, we may use the terms, and we may even feel that they 'make sense', but in reality the only way we can actually have them make sense is if we unconsciously steal from the concept of naturalism. And if you stop and think about it, this is what we do: we end up thinking of 'immateriality' in terms of materiality (i.e. energy), or 'supernaturalism' in terms of nature (something we can feel, see, hear, etc.).
You might also feel that you know of a way to solve the problem: by turning to euphemisms like 'beyond nature' or 'above nature' instead of 'not nature'. However, unless you can show how these distinctions lead to a difference, these euphemisms are all ontologically identical with 'not matter/not nature' - they still all rule out any universe of discourse.
My Response: You're equivocating on the word 'super' in a way that does not apply to a theological discussion - unless you are holding that your 'god' is entirely natural, i.e. the anthropomorphic deities found in ancient Greece or Rome. "Super" does not mean 'superior" when used in theological discussion, it means 'beyond' or 'above' - synoyms for 'not'.
My Response: Unless you can show me how saying 'beyond natural' differs from saying 'not natural', you've given me a distinction without a difference.
Counter Argument: "To support your claim, one must introduce an additional supposition -- namely, that the physical universe (nature) is all that exists. This supposition is unproven and unsubstantiated."
Response: No such supposition is required. Materialism does not rule out your view a priori - your own definition rules out providing any ontology a priori!. You are claiming that there is something beyond materialism, something transcendent, etc. Seeing as your definition rules out any possible positive terms, the burden is therefore on you to present 'another way', contra materialism, to render your definitions coherent. If you want to hold that the term 'immateriality' or 'supernatural' make any sense, you must provide either an ontology or a universe of discourse. If you cannot do this, if all you have is a negative definition, without any universe of discourse, then you must concede that your terms are stripped of any actual meaning... you must concede that your terms can only point to 'nothing'. This is a problem of your own making: ergo your attempt to blame your opponent is just a sign of the weakness of your position.
Related Counter Argument: "Materialism begs the question that all there is, is matter."
My Response: You've got it backwards: you're begging the question that there IS something beyond materialism in order to make this very charge. Yet you haven't even provided an ontology or universe of discourse for your terms. Those who build their case for immateriality by arguing that materialism rules out their claim a priori implicitly concede that there is no way to build a positive case for your claim.
Yet Another Related Counter argument: You're 'begging the question' that to have ontological status is to be material.
Response: No. If you want to talk of things such as 'immateriality' or 'supernatural' you must show how these terms are meaningful. As things stand, your own response begs the very question being debated: you can't simply rule in the supernatural through a naked assertion. Whether or not the terms 'immaterial' or 'supernatural' are meaningful terms is the very question under consideration.
You're being asked to demonstrate how your term can be coherent. Provide either a 1) (positive) ontology or 2) a universe of discourse or 3) a concession that your term is in fact meaningless. (ala Negative Theology).
Counter Argument: Your argument commits a fallacy of conflation on the word 'nature'... you use the term in two different senses, yet you then imply that they are the same.
1) The material world and its phenomena.
We can use the word 'nature' to denote different senses, but, the 'two senses' of the term are necessarily inter-related. To have a nature is to be a part of nature. The very point under discussion is whether we can talk of having a nature, sans materialism!
The only way I could even begin to take seriously that these 2 notions of nature are fully separable would be if we could point to a whole class of non-natural objects that we can agree exist to the extent that it makes sense to discuss their nature or characteristics.
But this is the very issue at hand, the existence of supernatural objects or at least whether it is reasonable to conclude that such objects exist. So for one to engage in this discussion in defense of the supernatural and its characteristics is to assume one's own conclusions: that such entities exist in the first place.
Therefore, I reject the contention that these 2 definitions of nature are separate, within the context of the supernatural argument.
Related Counter argument: Holding that 'to have a nature is to be a part of nature' is circular.
My Response: No. It's axiomatic. You are confusing necessary truth for circularity.
The premise "I think" guarantees the truth of the conclusion: "I am". In order to reject this argument, one would have to allow for thinking being separate from "am"ing (i.e. being). This requires allowing for thinking to be nonexistent, yet still real, at the same time, which leaves us with an internal contradiction. Therefore, the premise "I think" does not simply 'assume' its conclusion'; instead it relies on it as a necessary part of itself: to exist is to exist as something.
Counter argument: Your argument appears to rely on 'referentialism', which is a school of linguistics currently out of favor.
Response: This is just lazy arguing. By that logic, every claim coming from every outmoded school of thought would be false. So this charge is immaterial unless you can show me how the specific referentialist arguments used here are flawed, and to do that you must actually go to the trouble of presenting an argument. What matters here is whether my usage of referentialism, concerning nouns and adjectives is out of favor, and it is not.
Certain types of words in a language set do and must to refer to things to be coherent, such as nouns and adjectives, and the word supernatural is, in literal context, attempted to be utilized as both. Again, the point before you is this: terms like 'supernatural' are defined solely negatively, without any universe of discourse and yet they are intended to denote something. How can such terms have any meaning? Please actually address the argument.
Related Counter argument Words do not necessarily need to refer to things to be meaningful.
Unless how you can show how this is relevant here, this charge has no weight. The matter before you deals with terms that attempt to make a reference that rule out ANY universe of discourse at all! How could 'other modes of making terms meaningful' could possibly help? Don't just assert that there are other ways, demonstrate how these other ways can provide the terms with meaning! Pay heed to the fact that you've not even attempted to do this here - recognize this failure to even make the attempt and ask yourself why you're not presenting it here now, in lieu of this complaint.
Same as the above: : Certain denizens of the universe are defined in only negative terms and we have a perfectly intelligible conceptual grasp on them.
My Response: Because we have a universe of discourse for the contradistinctive. To say that something is 'not wet' is to leave a universe of discourse: the set of all non-wet/dry things.
I do understand how the term 'nothing' , as part of the term's definition, is related to the term 'something' (i.e., "nothing" is the denial that there is something, among other things). However, I am not sure how you think this is related to the notion of "coherence". Do you mean something like "understandable" or "makes sense" and "incoherent" would mean "nonsense" or "not understandable"?
I mean it in the most basic, metaphysical sense of the axiom of identity. To exist is to exist as something, to have attributes, characteristics. To define an 'entity' in such a way as to violate the axiom of identity is to render the term meaningless..
That's why a statement like "'supernatural' is incoherent because it has no ontological status" doesn't halt semiological discourse. It's true within the specialized language of metaphysics. But ontological status, if it means the possibility of a real world referent.
Perhaps the word 'ontology' is the problem here. I continually see people bring up the confusion between concepts and entities with a real extra-mental existence.
This discussion has nothing to do with such a distinction.
We are talking about what it takes for a concept to be a concept. And a necessary condition for a concept is that it have some identity. To exist is to exist as something, to have attributes, characteristics, i.e. identity. There is one concept that rules out any universe of discourse: the concept of 'nothing'. It gains its meaning as a contradistinctive. Terms like 'supernatural' are synoyms for 'nothing' seeing as they, too, are contradistinctives. The sole way of granting 'meaning' for these terms is to violate their own definitions and steal from naturalism.
Counter argument: There is no materialistic account of abstractions/numbers/colors/universals, ergo abstractions/colors/numbers/universals are immaterial and this proves that immateriality is coherent, since 'abstractions/colors/numbers/universals are coherent existents.
My Response: This is the fallacy of confusing an abstraction for immateriality. Let me first point out the logical fallacies contained in this error.
"There is no materialistic account of "X"
This is an argument from ignorance. Your inability to perform a task does not prove the task impossible. In addition, we have a parsimonious materialistic account for these entities: Neuroscience provides a rational, albeit incomplete basis for holding that abstractions exist within material brains. Any failure of neuroscience in giving a satisfactory materialist account for abstractions is not a basis for holding that abstractions are immaterial.
This is the fallacy of begging the question. One is simply assuming that "X" is immaterial, based on the previous argument from ignorance, and not for any positive reason.
"...and this proves that immateriality is coherent"
This is the fallacy of non sequitur. You are merely begging the question that "X" is immaterial and then asserting it as evidence of immateriality. Nothing in this claim actually addresses the ontological problems outlined in this brief essay. Nothing in this claim demonstrates how immateriality is coherent, it merely assumes that immaterial things exist, ergo the claim doesn't even address the challenge.
So this argument commits three fundamental logical errors, and fails to even address the issue at all. Other than that, it's the best argument I've ever seen.
Related Counter Argument: Analogies/"Immateriality is like X"
My Response: Analogies are demonstrations that begin by assuming that there is a relationship. They therefore are not proofs, but demonstrations.
Helpful guide: The most common error at this point is for the theist to respond by just asserting that something is immaterial. Please read the above refutation of this clumsy 'argument'.
Don't just assert that it works just like 'naturalism', in other words, don't steal from naturalism. Don't just glibly accept that it violates physics either.
Counter Argument: Some analytic philosophers think that the concept of a soul (an immaterial entity) may involve locative, hyperspatial entities. On these definitions, a soul would be located in a n>3D region of space.
Response: This assertion is meaningless unless one explains how an entity can exist at right angles to itself!
'x is a soul' means by definition '(i) x is spatially nonlocative, and (ii) x is capable of consciousness'.
My Response: Two errors here.
1) 'Zero dimensions' is another way to speak of nothing. Ergo to state that 'something' takes up zero dimensions is to speak in contradictions, ergo, incoherence.
2) To assert that the 'soul' is 'capable of consciousness' steals from naturalism, unless one can speak of consciousness sans matter/energy.
Counter argument: You seem to insist that there is only matter and energy or that that a term must make a reference to be meaningful.
No. Theists, who recognize the inability to attend to their epistemic duty will always try and turn the argument around on me. I do not make either argument, the positive theist in fact makes the opposite argument: that something other than matter and energy exist.
I make this claim only in regard to stipulative definitions of putative nouns (or adjective) like 'god' or 'immateriality'. My argument relates specifically to terms used as predicates in arguments. Theists are refering to 'something' when they use these terms!The predicate of a logical statement (in this case, that would be "supernatural" or "immaterial" must refer to something, otherwise it is nonsensical). I'm aware that the foundation of this part of my argument, which relies on referentialism, is not the favored school of thought in linguistic philosophy. True. But how does this relate to the specific points I make? An out of fashion school can still make valid points. And it does so, here. The real matter here is this: is there any way to make a coherent reference to something beyond nature?
Final counter argument: Ok, Ok! Fine, there does seem to be a problem. But you call yourself an atheist? Doesn't that require that you hold that 'god' is a coherent term?
First, may I suggest some humility here? There are other 'god' claims beyond the claims of christians and some of the god claims may not rely on broken concepts.
Second, I can state that the follow statement is false: "God exists" if I can demonstrate that the first term is contradictory. Contradictory entites cannot exist.
However, let's leave that aside.
I agree with Victor Stenger - "god" as a supernatural reference is a broken term, BUT we can examine god claims vis claims about 'effects' in the natural world.
1) Reassertions of the very points already refuted here.
For those who hold out hope for a hero, like Plantinga or Moreland or Craig to respond to this challenge, please note: most of the bad responses to the challenge that I refute here come from these writers. Finally, let me say that I don't find my words here to be a grand pronouncement , it's simply a rather basic point that theologians themselves realized nearly two eons before I was born - to define something as beyond nature is to contradict the axiom of identity and define 'it' into incoherence.
As Paul Draper, an agnostic philosopher at Florida International University, puts it, "Consciousness and personality are highly dependent on the brain. Nothing mental happens without something physical happening." Now Michael Tooley, a philosopher at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has stated five lines of evidence in support of this claim. Let me summarize just briefly that evidence. First, when an individuals brain is directly stimulated and put into a certain physical state, this causes the person to have a corresponding experience. Second, certain injuries to the brain make it impossible for a person to have any mental states at all. Third, other injuries to the brain destroy various mental capacities. Which capacity is destroyed is tied directly to the particular region of the brain that was damaged. Fourth, when we examine the mental capacities of animals, they become more complex as their brains become more complex. And fifth, within any given species, the development of mental capacities is correlated with the development of neurons in the brain. Thus, the conclusion that, "Nothing mental happens without something physical happening," seems inescapable.
But if nothing mental happens without something physical happening, that strongly implies that the mind cannot exist independently of physical arrangements of matter. In other words, we do not have a soul. And this is exactly what we would expect if naturalism is true. But if theism is true, then our minds should not depend on our brains for their existence; we should have souls. Also, if theism is true, then God is a disembodied mind; Gods mind is not in any sense dependent on physical arrangements of matter. But if nothing mental happens without something physical happening, that is evidence against both the existence of souls and the existence of any being who is supposed to have a disembodied mind, including God. Therefore, the physical nature of minds is unlikely if theism is true, but what we would expect if naturalism is true.
1. The clicking on hyperlinks can be reduced to electrons being fired across LCD electron guns and photons through ethernet and fiberoptic cables. Therefore hyperlinks do not actually exist, only electrons and photons.
2. An atomic nuclei can be reduced to individual protons and electrons, which in turn can be reduced to quarks, which in turn can be reduced to bosons and fermions. Therefore, atoms do not actuallly exist, only bosons and fermions.
You will find that many materialist systems are indeed emergentist. That means that they cannot be reduced to their constituents, they only emerge when the complexity of the system reaches a certain point, but, the crux: They are still materialist. Emergentism is an arm of materialist philosophy. Many naturalists regard consciousness and the mind as an emergent property of the brain. Some others hold that the mind can be divided and is hence, with respect to the whole brain, reductionist, not emergent. I am sympathetic to a middle ground position . Obviously when we reduce the system to a certain degree, we find the property which we were examining in the first place disappears. Hence to some degree the two positions of emergentism and reductionism are valid and mutually reconcilable in much the same way that empiricism and rationalism are reconcilable. In fact, I do not think there has been a “pure” empiricist or rationalist since the days of Immanuel Kant. Likewise, the materialist philosophy does not usually find one taking a pure stance on emergentism or reductionism.
So, when the dualist makes the greedy reductionist fallacy by whinging that the materialist is denying the existence of X by invoking reducibility, they are invalidated by both schools of materialism. Reductionism does not say that X does not exist, merely that it is a lower ontological category than its constituents Y and Z. Emergentism says that X exists of its own accord due to a synergistic effect between Y and Z. The latter can be invoked to explain many phenomenon from a materialistic perspective, especially consciousness and the mind. Regardless, any dualist asking for a materialist to explain abstract X is revealing their own unsurprising ignorance of materialist philosophy. Abstractions in this context are merely what a reductionist would call lower ontological categories that result from increasingly complex systems, or what an emergentist would call the result of synergistic effect in the system. Emergentist materialism is extremely important in my work, since one of the things I study is enzyme kinetics, drugs and medicine, where synergistic interplay is extremely important. The same logic which causes a Calcium Channel blocker and a Beta Blocker to work better together to lower blood pressure than the mathematics of their individual workings would have us believe is the same logic that may give rise to abstractions from material systems. In other words, this may cover thoughts, emotions, rationality etc. To a reductionist however, we can explain these in terms of direct reducibility to their electrophysiological activity in corresponding neurons. Regardless of which position you take, the abstract, the thought, is still generated. And hence for the dualist to accuse the materialist of denying said abstractions is just, well, stupid. And can only be described as immensely foolish. We shall soon see how easy it is to flip this on its head. | 2019-04-26T01:49:48 | http://www.rationalresponders.com/039supernatural039_and_039immaterial039_are_broken_concepts_0 |
0.998211 | There are quite divided opinions about what consciousness is and where it comes from. Arguments mostly arrive from quite divided assumptions about what the Universe is and where it comes from. One way I would simplify the views would be as follows.
You could assume that there's an external entity, which you can call God or something else, which intervenes in order to make things happen inside the universe. So that if something new happens, it is because God decided it was a good idea and introduced it.
You could also assume that the universe is a closed system. I.e. what is there is what is there, and when it evolves into new things it is because it is in its nature to do so. If hydrogen and oxygen turn into water, even the first time it happens, it is only because they have the emergent property to do so.
In my own somewhat controversial view of all this, I think there are many people who are confused about which camp they're in, or who really assume something different than what they think they do.
Let's look at consciousness. It is observable that there are entities here who have awareness, consciousness, the ability to think about things, including self-reflexively and abstractly. According to the first view, it would be because God suddenly one day said "Hey, I now decree that this mud henceforth will be conscious". According to the second view it would be because it would be perfectly logical, that the component parts merely evolved such a capability, based on the way they're put together, based on their pre-existing properties, and based on a natural sequence of events.
But many people who believe the latter will also try to deny that the consciousness is in fact an emergent property. If I say it a little differently: consciousness can only emerge if it has been there all along. Just like hydrogen and oxygen only can turn into water because they've been able to do that all along. If we use a controversial word for it, their design includes the capability to transform in such a manner.
Water can only happen because the universe possesses a water-ness. If you believe that such a capability suddenly happened and wasn't there before, you're a subscriber to the first worldview above, that there's an external agent who shows up and makes it happen.
Likewise, the universe can only manifest consciousness if it already possesses the capability for consciousness. Consciousness can only emerge if it all along has been an integral quality of the universe. We can discuss whether it was a latent quality or a continuously expressed quality, but it has to have been there, unless it suddenly came from the outside.
If the universe is a closed system, it of course gives some major problems of trying to explain where that came from. Even if we accept that there's no outside interference, but everything in the universe is just doing what is its nature to do, over billions of years, and that happens to have lead to human consciousness and MTV and the Internet and other interesting things, you can not avoid coming up with an answer to where such a brilliant evolutionary engine came from in the first place. If we assumed that the Universe actually evolved from a Big Bang 12 billion years ago, and everything that happened emerged naturally from the qualities inherent in whatever it was that exploded, it still does absolutely nothing in explaining how that something happened to be so exquisitely designed that extremely complex lifeforms would develop which would be self-aware and capable of developing advanced technology. Despite that it supposedly is a natural law that physical matter does the opposite, moving towards increased entropy.
The explanation that most often is used to avoid admitting that the universe possesses inherent intelligence is to invoke Randomity. I.e. to show how random events will carry along evolution. There are some big problems with that, however. What is called "random" usually just means that it is too hard to calculate which exact interactions between what produced what, and it is never just simple cause-effect relationships when one gets down to it. Some people think that Quantum Mechanics show that the universe is basically random. But it really just talks about uncertainty. Because you basically have to include all sub-atomic particles existing in 12 or so dimensions, in a possibly infinite number of parallel universes, in order to calculate what exactly will happen. Which is rather impractical at this point, so the actual outcomes of events, particularly very small ones, are for our purposes uncertain. To our limited view they seem "random" because we're incapable of understanding the whole system at one time at this point.
"Randomness" as such is essentially a variation of the external "God" in the first worldview at the top. I.e. believing in "randomness" influencing the universe in arbitrary ways has much of the same structure as believing in "God" influencing the universe in arbitrary ways. The difference is only in the labels people attach to it and to themselves. E.g. whether one thinks one's view is based on science or religion. Either way, we're in the field of religion if your model requires miraculous outside influences in order to hold together.
Ultimately the better model is probably some kind of synthesis. It isn't ultimately satisfying to just delegate the hard problems to some magical entity you can never understand, or to just deny that they even exist. Assuming that the Universal Intelligence is either entirely outside the universe, or that it doesn't exist at all - both fail to explain a lot of what we can experience here, and either one produces pretty depressing prospects for the future.
The more simple answer, to me at least, is that there's an infinite Omniverse there, and you're an integral part of it. It has the inherent capability to do everything that ever happened and ever will happen, and the scope of what can happen is infinite. Some of the inherent qualities are self-reflexive consciousness and the ability to evolve. It is vast, complex and mysterious, but ultimately completely logical and coherent. You can learn about it and understand it as deeply as you want, and it will readily divulge its secrets, but everything in it is connected with everything else, and all of it is continously evolving, so you'll probably never be done. And that's what makes it an infinitely continuing and expanding game. | 2019-04-21T04:08:00 | http://ming.tv/flemming2.php/__show_day/_w2004-01-11 |
0.998666 | A cook book designed to help every cook make delicious meals with the harvest from the skies.
~ Bacon is the candy of the meat group.
Soak 4 halved goose breast fillet's in cold salt water and get as much of the blood out as possible from the meat.
8) Add BBQ Sauce (as thick as you like).
9) Put on the rolls along with coleslaw, fresh tomato, and a big pickle slice.
Small and thin cuts of waterfowl that has been pounded with a meat tenderizer mallet should describe the meat you are preparing if you want easy chewing sandwiches.
1) Slice goose breast 1/8" thick, pound it with a tenderizer mallet, marinade in beer for a minimum of 4 hours at room tempature.
2) Place cut breasts in skillet with marinade on low heat.
3) Add two strips of bacon and cook until tender.
4) Fry sweet and yellow onions and some sweet peppers in pan with goose.
5) As goose cooks, put on top of onions and peppers.
Load the toasted buns and get messy!
Slow……really slow cooking of waterfowl is needed to make sure the meat is tender and tasty.
1) Breast meat of 2 puddle ducks and cut into small chunks.
2) Add 3 cans Cream of Mushroom soup into the crock pot.
3) Stir in 1 packet brown gravy mix.
4) Add one pack of Portobello mushroom caps sliced into chunks.
6) Cook for at least 6 hours and more is better.
7) Serve over backed or mashed potatoes.
Onions, cheese, and bacon improves EVERYTHING!
1) Cut two large duck breasts into six filets (thin).
2) Cut these filets into strips (thin).
3) Grill in a skillet with bacon (two stripes for each sandwich).
4) Add diced onions and cook on medium low heat.
5) Separate fresh hoggie bun and butter with garlic butter and salt.
6) Toast in the oven under the broiler.
7) After light toasting, place pepper jack cheese on one side of the hoggie and blue cheese on the other (be light on blue cheese).
8) Melt under the broiler.
9) Load the sandwich first one piece of bacon on each side of the hoggie bun and then onions and duck strips.
10) Squeeze together and devour!
2) Strain the meat and place in crook pot.
18) Cook in crock pot on medium for about 6 hours.
20) Put chedder cheese on bottom of each bowl and cover with chili and serve with crackers.
Sauce can make the meal!
1. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil and lightly brown mushrooms then transfer to a paper towel.
2. Preheat oven to 425, beat each breast with a mallet until about pencil thin and rub with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Place an even layer of spinach leaves across the meat. Add 1 strip of pepper, 1/4 cup of mushrooms, cheese and then breadcrumbs. Roll it up like a burrito.
4. Lay out 2 strips of bacon for each breast. Roll bacon around rolled up breast.
5. Heat a large oven proof skillet and brown the rolls for 3-4 minutes. Add half of the wine and cook for 2 more minutes. Place on middle oven rack for 7-8 minutes or until proscuitto or bacon is lightly browned.
6.Remove the rolls from the pan and add remaining wine and vinegar. Stir to loosen bits and reduce liquid to 2-3 tablespoons and mix in butter.
BBQ turns waterfowl meat into Great Sandwich meat!
The older the fowler, the more appreciative they are of great biscuits!
Have all ingredients except lard at room temperature.
Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles large peas.
On a clean surface dusted lightly with flour, turn out dough and knead lightly.
Roll out 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and cut, using an old fashioned glass or a biscuit cutter.
Arrange on baking sheet; close together, but not touching for softer sided biscuits or 1 inch or so for more crisp sided biscuits.
Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, or about 45 minutes.
Bake in a preheated 450°F oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Jalapeno peppers and waterfowl are great together.
Breast ducks and cut against the bias into thin pieces. They should be about as wide as the bacon and half as long. I like to cut them no more than 1/8" thick.
Place duck on bacon and add a little seasoning. I like Pappy's. Place a small piece of sweet onion and a thin piece Jalapeño. You can leave out or add bell pepper if no one likes spicy. Roll and run a tooth-pick through the bacon, onion and Jalapeño. BBQ on a hot BBQ until the bacon is cooked, maybe 5-8 minutes Let stand 5-minutes before serving. They go fast.
We have added a small dab of cream cheese, or BBQ sauce, or minced garlic, or teriyaki sauce.
Food on a stick off the BBQ can’t go wrong. | 2019-04-22T06:46:23 | http://www.fowledupwaterfowlers.com/cook-book.html |
0.999977 | A few loosely correlated comments this time.
I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes someone a good high-level leader. There are lots of things to consider, of course, but here's one of the things that has struck me most in the last little while: the best leaders are stubborn and also good listeners.
What, it's possible to be both?
Yes. People who are stubborn persist in a particular way of thinking despite encountering huge resistance. If you're trying to convince someone about a revolutionary new idea that will solve their problems, stubbornness is critical. Meanwhile, people who are good listeners adapt their thinking when someone convinces them that they've made a mistake or were missing some information. If you're wrong - which is frequently, if you have a lot of revolutionary ideas - you have to be a good listener in order to correct your mistakes fast.
The proper combination, though, is important. The best leader will persist in thinking something until someone properly convinces them otherwise. Once they've been convinced, then they change their mind and they're stubborn in the new way. That's not flip flopping; that's just a smart way to learn from your mistakes.
If you're missing one of those two traits, you'll fail in one of two very common ways: you'll persist in believing something stupid even it's been made totally clear and obvious to everyone else that it's wrong. Or else you'll never settle on a single direction, constantly changing your mind whenever anyone raises an objection.
Some people take it a step further and switch back and forth between being too stubborn and being not stubborn enough. One example I've seen a few times is a stubborn belief that "the investors are always right." So whatever it is that the investors want, you'll give them... even if they change their mind day after day. So you're left spinning in circles because of your persistent belief in someone else's idea. Other popular variations of this are "the customer is always right" and, most annoyingly for me at the moment, "the CEO is always right."
So my suggestion: believe in yourself. And then don't be afraid to let other people try to change your mind.
On another note, I was thinking about what would be the ideal company culture. This goes back to my earlier notes on membership control for working in a group.
First, you need to trust that people will be honest and upstanding (if you're paranoid, you can check their backgrounds before you admit them to the group). Since you trust them, you don't need annoying controls to make sure they're not trying to screw you, because you're not worried about that. If anyone ever gives evidence that they can't be trusted, remove them immediately; there's nothing more deadly to a social environment than a person who can't be trusted.
These two factors work together to produce interesting results. For example, if you respect someone, you will automatically become more trustworthy; would you screw over someone that you respect? Would you slack off at work, if it would let them down or hurt the project they're working on? Probably not. And that means they can trust you even more.
Meanwhile, because you respect them and so they trust you, you're actually working harder and producing more. That makes it easier for other people to respect you. And since they do, they won't want to screw you over, so they'll be more trustworthy and work harder. And so on.
This system covers most of the other factors in building a group as special cases. For example, if you're not a good listener, you obviously aren't giving the people the respect they deserve when they talk to you. And if you're not stubborn - if you just keep changing direction randomly - then eventually people will realize that you can't be trusted, because your opinion is based on whichever way the wind is blowing at the moment.
And about that Smart and Gets Things Done rule? Well, if you're not smart, that's going to show up pretty fast, nobody will respect you, and you're out. If you don't get things done, then you can't be trusted in an emergency, and you're out.
This system even deals with interpersonal compatibility in an interesting way: different people respect other people for different reasons. For example, a group of musicians might highly respect someone with a lot of musical talent, regardless of their table manners; a group of aristocrats probably wouldn't. (They can buy musicians for a dime a dozen, but it takes money to become an aristocrat!) This is interesting because the groups are probably fundamentally incompatible. If each group selects its members based on the trust/respect rule, things should rapidly work themselves out into two separate groups.
And so on. I like this rule because it makes the "membership control" system easy. I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty about kicking someone out of my company if I don't respect their abilities or if they can't be trusted. And yet those two things cover all the other important things.
I just finished reading the book Good to Great. It's interesting and makes many believable points, but it does scare me a bit with its selection bias. They tried really hard to avoid sampling errors, but didn't quite make it: the problem is that highly risky behaviours are correlated with both huge success and huge failure, while highly unrisky behaviours are correlated with mediocrity. So when you compare a set of "great" companies with a set of "merely good" companies, you will definitely find some statistically significant differences. Those differences might very well be absolutely critical to becoming great. However, they might also greatly increase your chances of killing yourself.
To name just a couple of examples, the "Level 5 leadership" concept makes perfect sense in terms of growing a company for the long term. But if you're "almost" a level 5 leader, then maybe you're just a quiet person with a vision and nobody really listens to you and so your company goes in random directions. Or the "hedgehog concept" - do one thing, and do it well. This is great, as long as it's the right thing. The book even gives some good advice on how to choose the right thing. But what if it's not quite the right thing? Then you're screwed. Massive diversification may prevent greatness, but at least you can hedge your bets.
Beware of advice that seems too good to be true. | 2019-04-24T07:48:20 | https://apenwarr.ca/log/20060712 |
0.999899 | Spectroscopic study of early-type multiple stellar systems II. New binary subsystems.
Context. This work is part of a long-term spectroscopic study of a sample of 30 multiple stars with early-type components. In this second paper we present the results for six multiple systems in which new stellar components have been detected. Aims. The main aim is to increase the knowledge of stellar properties and dynamical structure of early-type multiple stellar systems. Methods. Using spectroscopic observations taken over a time baseline of more than five years we measured radial velocities by cross-correlations and spectrally separated the double-lined systems. In addition to the discovery of objects with double-lined spectra, the existence of new spectroscopic subsystems were inferred from the radial velocity variations of single-lined components and through the variation of the barycentric velocity of double-lined subsystems. Orbital elements were calculated when possible. Results. Seven new stellar components and two members that we expect to confirm with new observations have been discovered in the six studied multiples. We present orbital parameters for two double-lined binaries and preliminary orbits for three single-lined spectroscopic binaries. Five of the six analysed systems are quadruples, while the remaining has five components distributed on four hierarchical levels. These multiplicity orders are in fact lower limits, since these systems lack high-resolution visual observations and additional hierarchical levels might exist in that separation range. Conclusions. The six analysed systems have a higher degree of multiplicity and a more complex hierarchical structure than previously known, which suggests that high-order multiple systems are significantly more frequent than currently estimated. The long-term spectroscopic monitoring of multiple systems has shown to be useful for the detection of companions in intermediate hierarchical levels. | 2019-04-23T02:22:53 | https://ri.conicet.gov.ar/handle/11336/4914 |
0.631347 | Told in summary, Power Lunch: First Course, the first volume of an original graphic novel series by J. Torres and Dean Trippe, sounds like one of those classic "wish I'd thought of it" concepts. It's the clever and creative tale of a boy named Joey whose unique reaction to what he eats temporarily grants him super powers — a different one for each color of food. See what I mean? I'm betting you didn't read that last sentence without cracking at least half a smile and suppressing a tinge of jealousy. Like a youth-friendly version of Chew (or perhaps a more sophisticated take on Popeye), Power Lunch is about as instantly marketable as they come.
The product between the covers, for the most part, lives up to the amusing expectations its synopsis sets. Despite his unique physiological situation, Joey's day-to-day life brings him up against trials that are universal to any kid his age. He struggles with feelings of loneliness at a new school, frets over the decision of whether he should try out for sports and has his loyalty tested as his best friend comes under threat from a bully. That last relationship forms the emotional core of the story, and while it's kept fairly simple, it's certainly a genuine source of sentiment.
Torres uses his words here sparingly, so a lot of that affective character interaction comes from the gazes and faces that Trippe draws. The opening page, in which Joey turns his back on us to stare upward at a poster advertising soccer tryouts speaks volumes about the interplay between the character's desires and trepidations about his social standing. Backgrounds are kept minimal to keep the characters prominent, mostly consisting of geometric patches of color that lack the starkness of black border lines. Children flipping through these pages will be met with the assurance that this book is safe for them, and parents will take solace in the fact that it looks less overtly violent than it does cute.
Cuteness, though, is the barrier that Power Lunch never manages to cross, and its total package ends up disappointingly slight. This is a graphic "novel" in name only, with its hardback cover and double-digit price tag the only factors bumping it up in stature beyond that of a single-issue floppy. Translated for the screen, it's hard to imagine that the story here would extend beyond the length of a pre-movie animated short. Obviously, as the book is geared toward all-ages suitability, a massive and complex volume wouldn't fit the bill, but given that nothing in Power Lunch manages to hit a second level of sophistication, it's hard to imagine that older readers won't feel somewhat shorted on the content.
Of course, maybe Torres and Trippe are simply waiting for Volume 2 to break out all their twists and turns. If so, Power Lunch could turn out to be a true cross-generational smash when all is said and done. As it stands currently, though, both parent and child will be left wanting more at the end of Volume 1, and only the latter of that group will mean it in an entirely positive way.
Raised on a steady diet of Super Powers action figures and Adam West Batman reruns, Chris Kiser now writes for Comics Bulletin. He once reviewed every tie-in to a major DC Comics summer event and survived to tell the tale. Ask him about it on Twitter, where he can be found at @Chris_Kiser! | 2019-04-25T06:26:25 | http://comicsbulletin.com/power-lunch-vol-1/ |
0.998765 | Always happy to oblige with a bit of N=1 self-experimentation I have sporadically charted BOHB results throughout they day when having either a sachet of Keto//OS in the morning OR a 1/2 sachet of Keto//OS with 1 x Tbsp. of MCT oil (XCT by BulletProof) in conjunction with Carb-Backloading.
Carb Backloading N=1. Can you have your cake and eat it too?
I have always been interested in what my blood ketone levels would be in my habitual state of eating. I have eaten 'keto' at various stages through the last twenty years, mainly as an experiment, and sometimes for long periods (months or even years at a time).
Overall I'm still pretty low carb in general. One of the reasons I typically eat low carb during the day is that it allows me to eat more carbs at night!
This is something I've been doing for many, many years. Nowadays people call it carb-backloading...I always called it having my cake and eating it too!
What I hadn't ever done previosuly is measure what this eating style meant in keto terms.
And so, for six days I charted my morning (awakening, fasted) serum betahydroxybutyrate (BOHB) levels, and tested again in the evening, before my main meal (dinner).
HPN founder Cliff Harvey experiments with Keto/OS, MCTs and more!
So, most of my readers know that I'm into hacking and self-experimentation AND that I've been involved in low-carb and keto in clinical practice, and as a researcher, for twenty years.
Despite having used keto-diets for two decades and experimenting heavily with medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) and other things to either hasten entry into ketosis or help increase ketone levels for cognition and fueling, I had never tried exogenous (from outside the body, i.e. a supplement) ketones.
Many of my students and colleagues were asking questions about exogenous ketones and so, although I could answer the questions from a scientific basis, I always think that you need to temper that with an experiential approach too.
I decided to do an initial little self-experiment using Keto//OS. A supplemental betahydroxybutyrate (BOHB) product. | 2019-04-18T11:01:48 | https://www.holisticperformancenutrition.com/articles--media/archives/02-2017 |
0.999986 | Create a new Purchase Requisition for 50 Child Deluxe Bikes, to be delivered to Plant MI00, Storage location TG00, in 1 month from today.
| Create a new Purchase Requisition for 50 Child Deluxe Bikes, to be delivered to Plant MI00, Storage location TG00, in 1 month from today.
Material CHDX1###, Child Deluxe Bike.
The material will be stored in Plant MI00 (Miami Distribution Centre), Company US00, Storage Location TG00. All other data, including the organisational levels, is the same as for your ORMG1### bike.
All other data is the same as for “The Bike Zone” customer. “Bikes for Kids” will be managed by the same contact person as “The Bike Zone” – add the contact to the customer record.
Convert the PR from Task 4 into a Purchase Order.
Record a Goods Receipt for the Purchase Order.
“Bikes for Kids” requested a quote for 10 bikes CHDX1###.
a) Create an inquiry which will be valid for one month from today, PO number - ###, order probability 60%.
b) Create a quotation with reference to the created inquiry which will be valid for one month from today, PO number - ###. Offer 10% discount on the entire order.
“Bikes for Kids” are happy with the quote and agreed to terms and conditions of the sale. Therefore you need to generate a sales order based on the quotation using ### as PO number.
Create an invoice for your customer.
Create a Physical Inventory Document for warehouse stock of material CHDX1### in Plant MI00, Storage Location TG00.
Enter an inventory count of 35.
You will now produce a number of reports to show that this data has been entered correctly.
The report should be sorted by ascending Price within Material Group.
Produce a Display Changes to Vendor report showing the change that you made to the Vendor Master record in Task 3.
Use the List Display of Purchase Requisitions to list the Purchase Requisition that was created in Task 4. | 2019-04-23T22:40:17 | https://www.hireresearcher.co.uk/samples/create-a-new-purchase-requisition-for-50-child-deluxe-bikes-to-be-delivered-to-plant-mi00-storage-location-tg00-in-1-month-from-today/ |
0.999997 | She proposes an arrangement: she will agree to the marriage and provide Rafe with his heir and spare. Once she has done her duty, he will let her go. Rafe is intrigued both by her beauty and by her utter disgust with the idea of being his bride. Women normally fall at his feet, not cringe away from him. However, since their arranged marriage is not something he can escape, he agrees to her terms.
THE OTHER DUKE is the book in Jess Michaels's the Notorious Flynns series.
I was in a bit of a reading rut through the Christmas holidays and had started and stopped reading a number of books before settling on Jess Michaels's The Other Duke. When Cyril, the current Duke of Hartholm died suddenly, Serafina Mcphee thought she had escaped her terrible fate, only to discover that the contract binds her to whoever holds the title of the Duke of Hartholm. She's out of the frying pan and into the fire, because her new fiance is a man she's never met, but has heard of. Rafe Flynn's reputation precedes him. He's part of the Notorious Flynns, and live on the fringes of polite society -- and, now, he must step in the middle of the ton to take on the responsibility he inherited. He must also deal with the fiancee he has inherited.
"I never even liked Cyril,: Rafe managed to bark out, directing his comments toward Crispin, who was his closest friend as well as his brother. "Why should I be forced to inherit his life?"
I like the set-up of the story: Serafina had been expected to marry a duke -- it's a highly covetable arrangement that most ladies would aspire for, except that Serafina never wanted it. And neither does Rafe, who isn't impressed by the dukedom or of Serafina's wealth and beauty. They are two people stuck in a situation that was out of their control, and now they must make the best of it.
There are some unique details that keep this plot fresh: the reason why Serafina wasn't happy about marrying the previous Duke of Hartholm is foremost. For most of her life, Serafina has been overpowered and bullied by father and then she had to contend with the lascivious attentions of Cyril. Perhaps being passed around from one man to another was the straw that broke the camel's back because I'm not so sure what it was about Rafe that pushed Serafina to finally step out of the shadows and take charge of her future, but I'm glad she did. I thought it was a powerful moment when she approached Rafe with her proposal.
The other detail I really liked is how Rafe struggled with his new position in society: I love how Jess Michaels expounds on the expression "be careful what you wish for..." -- being a duke is an enviable position, but Rafe never wanted it and doesn't really know what to do now that he is one. Serafina offers to guide him, and, as I read through this, it raised the question: What does it mean to be a duke? -- Rafe tries to be the kind of duke society expects him to be, but it's obvious that he can't remake himself. I especially liked the moments of self-doubt that comes upon Rafe, where he (and Crispin) wonder their new life (and fortune.): the title isn't worth anything to Rafe and his family, and the Flynns have more money. Rafe (with Serafina and his family's help) try to redefine what this inheritance means to them.
"I suppose I worry that you may get caught up in this ludicrous life that has been fitted over your own. That you will lose yourself."
She nodded. "I do. Does it make me a wanton in your eyes?"
His face twisted in displeasure. "It makes you human. Ripe and filled with desire. That is nothing to be ashamed of, Serafina."
It's quite sad how automatic we are to label people, things and actions. Rafe stands as the voice of reason, pulling Serafina away from the spiral of shame and guilt that she has been feeling for most of her life.
Disclosure: I received a review copy from the author. Thank you, Jess Michaels, for the opportunity. Yes, this is an honest review.
Thank you for presenting something that is best, and this gives an idea for all of us a lesson that we always learn from someone even if that person is not known to us, and success always for you who have inspired us all!
happy with your writing that makes me always learn and learn, thanks for the ideas and creations!
Get details of iOS 11.
Apple has released iOS 11 download for developers on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Visit iOS11downloadbeta to download iOS 11 for iPhone and iPad.
As the opening menu is so good to be able to listen to your article, I hope there is a better next article from this one. | 2019-04-21T18:04:02 | http://www.lovesavestheworld.com/2015/01/happy-release-day-other-duke-by-jess.html |
0.99965 | To put it mildly, The Avengers was an absolute phenomenon. Film critics (and fans) can debate for hours about what the greatest superhero movie ever is (for my money, it's The Dark Knight), but certainly Avengers was the biggest, most successful superhero movie to ever come out (right up until the release of Avengers: Infinity War). It was huge, smashing the box office and launching the Marvel Cinematic UniverseWhen it first began in 2008 with a little film called Iron Man no one suspected the empire that would follow. Superhero movies in the past, especially those not featuring either Batman or Superman, were usually terrible. And yet, Iron Man would lead to a long series of successful films, launching the most successful cinema brand in history: the Marvel Cinematic Universe..
What's interesting, though, is that after Avengers came out, the MCU fell silent for a year. It's hard to say just why this was, especially when in 2018 we're used to three MCU titles a year, regardless of what even movie just came out. Whatever Marvel's reason, after Avengers landed in theaters in May 2012, we had to wait a full year for a return to the MCU. And that return happened, naturally enough, with the MCU central character, Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Whatever your thoughts on Iron Man 3, and we'll get to mine in just a moment, it's hard to argue with Marvel's strategy here (planned or not). Because of the wait between films, audiences were chomping at the bit to go back into the MCU. We were primed, and Iron Man 3 rode that to become one of the biggest films in the MCU (fifth, after the three Avengers films and recent cultural smash, Black Panther). The film was released at the right time, a good film that became almost as big a hit on its own as the giant crossover film that preceded it.
In the film, Tony Stark is still reeling from the events at the end of The Avengers (you know, flying a nuke into a wormhole and almost dying). He's suffering PTSD from it, unable to sleep and, thus, always tinkering on new versions of his suit. At the opening of the film he's just put the finishing touches on his Mark 42 suit (implying 41 previous versions, most of which we've never seen before), and struggling to stay centered. However, a new terrorist threat has come out of the shadows, a man named the Mandarin, and his attacks on Americans (and American soil), bring Tony out of seclusion. But there's more to the Mandarin and his army of followers than even Tony can predict. The conspiracy, too, goes deeper and deeper, and Tony will have to do this digging with limited resources once the Mandarin blows up Tony's house (with Tony in it). Without a lot of time, and having to work alone, Tony has to get to the bottom of the mystery, find out who the Mandarin is, and stop him.
As much as it sounds like there's a lot going on in the film, Iron Man 3 handles its plot deftly and with a light touch. Much of that credit deserved goes to writer/director Shane Black, who handles setting up all the pieces, and moving everything forward, in a solid, engaging way. An opening scene in Switzerland, 1999, sets up a lot of the players (with a nice call back to the first film), but the movie wisely keeps much of the focus on Tony, using him as the through-line for the mystery of the Mandarin.
Let's be frank about this, the Mandarin is the weakest part of the film. Rightly, people complained about the white-washing of the character, having Sir Ben Kingsley play what should be, ostensibly, an Asian character. Of course, the Mandarin was a racist caricature of a character in the old comics -- sure, he might have been one of Iron Man's biggest foes back in the day, but it's hard to do anything with a character that is, to put it as nicely as possible, a "yellow peril" bugaboo. The fact that Marvel decided to move forward with the Mandarin as a character at all is questionable, and while the film tries to distance itself from the past versions of the character, creating something different (that could be played wonderfully by Ben Kingsley), I have to wonder if it would have been better just to use any other character instead for the part.
Honestly, if the film has any real weakness, it's that none of the villains included in it are all that interesting. The Mandarin is the face of Iron Man 3, but he's not the only villain, as we also have a shady industrialist (Aldrich Killian, played by Guy Pearce) and a bunch of his goons. Killian is the most interesting foe in the film, and even he's sidelined for much of the piece. Were he given more time, and more of a connection to Tony, he might have been a bigger force. As it stands, the time the film has to devote to its antagonists is split between, essentially, five different focuses (counting all the goons and side-players), meaning none of them really rise to be the central force of the film.
That leaves all the weight of the film, then, to ride on Tony's shoulders. Thankfully, this is where the movie really comes together. I guess it's not a surprise to say that Iron Man is the best part of an Iron Man film, but Tony really does take center stage here, played masterfully once again by Robert Downey, Jr. The character's snark and wit is on full display, especially in sections like the Tennessee-set middle act. Here, Tony ends up with a kid sidekick, and somehow the film manages to make that nowhere near as annoying as it should have been. The two trade barbs and banter as Tony works to solve the mystery of the Mandarin on the down-low. This is, probably, the best part section of the film, a deftly constructed set of scenes that strip Tony from his suit and force him to be the smartest, snarkiest man in the room without any of his gadgets.
It's really once of the smartest things the movie does: it shows us Tony with all his suits, all his gear, but suffering from deep trauma, and it then strips away all of his tech to give us the raw man beneath. Only then does Tony find a way to rebuild himself before he can have his suits back. He comes out the film stronger, less reliant on his tech -- he earns back the right to use the suit and, in the process, realizes he doesn't need it in the end to be a hero. And all of this -- the banter as well as the deep, emotional trauma -- it brought to life via Downey, Jr.'s best performance as Tony in the entire MCU.
And yet, the movie pulls out a great twist, not only giving Tony back his suit, but giving him back all of them. Watching the sequence, with all of Tony's various armors flying around, taking out targets, it explosive and awesome. So as a battle with the the villain it falls short, but as a climax to Tony's own journey, as a way to give him his reward for rebuilding himself, the sequence pays off like gang busters.
So yeah, Iron Man 3 is flawed. There's so much that works about the film, rooted by a great central performance, that you largely don't care much about the weak villains or half-assed final battle. The film is enjoyable, but also emotional, and as a conclusion to the main series of Iron Man films (the character continues through the MCU but never has another solo outing) it works as a great end note. Maybe it's not the best MCU film, but it it's still pretty high on the list.
November 2, 2018: Let's Suit Up! | 2019-04-25T20:06:15 | https://www.inverteddungeon.com/asteroidg/?section=articles&page=20181102_iron_man_2008_3 |
0.999983 | Or, alternatively, how much sat fat does everyone here eat per day?
I have never counted grams in any of my food lifetimes.
I don't think there's an "optimal" amount, since intake of SFA isn't essential. You need to eat omega 3 and omega 6 (of the right forms!) but you don't need to eat saturated fat at all. Articles like this one might give the impression otherwise (saturated fat is indeed used in all manner of biological functions), but you'll always have pretty sizeable quantities of saturated fat stored on your body and so will rarely if ever experience any substantial 'saturated fat deficiency' if you don't consume any. Indeed, you might take it as a sign of how crucial saturated fat is, that if you eat a diet of exclusively sweet potato and lean meat, you'll instantly turn almost all of the sweet potato into saturated fat. Any claim that you can have a deficiency of non-essential fats or carbohydrate, is almost by definition overblown.
In any case, the way to work out quantities is simply to work out how much you need of the essential components of your diet and then just fill up the rest of your required calories with fat. For me that's a bit over 100g (400 calories) of protein and up to 40g (160 calories) of carbohydrate, meaning that I get the rest of my calories from fat (approx 2000 extra calories). That's 15% protein, 6% carbohydrate, 78% fat personally.
The fat component is almost exclusively butter (minus whatever animal fat is consumed with my protein) with some coconut meat sometimes thrown into the mix. The butter is roughly 51 SFA:21 MUFA: 3 PUFA, the animal fat roughly balanced SFA:MUFA, the coconut is of course almost exclusively saturated, so that drags the numbers higher towards SFA, though like the butter it's partly MCT so I consider its SFA a bit of an unknown quantity. PUFA typically makes up around 10g/3-4% of my total calories and is pretty balanced. 2-3g of daily omega 6 comes from the ~100g butter, another 2g from whatever meat I'm eating (e.g. 500g beef mince) but mostly from eggs' 4.2g per 6 eggs (2-3 a day), with salmon making up the rest.
If I were to make my fat ratios out of thin air, without attendance to the practicalities of achieving it with food (i.e. what I think is ideal), I'd go for a higher MUFA:SFA ratio, assuming that I want my body fat to be more like that of a healthy grassfed animal than a coconut or a pint of cream. But I'm hoping that the magic properties of the MCT/SCT in the coconut/butter offset whatever minimal downsides there might be to eating more SFA than is normal. There's no evidence that I'm aware of that these figures are substantially important: just fill up your calories with SFA/MUFA fat while minimising and balancing PUFA.
I don't know. I don't count grams anymore.
On regular days, saturated fat is probably about 30-50% of my fat intake.
On coconut days, it is 40-60% of my fat intake.
Anybody see a (health) problem with eating about 500ml of organic, grass fed cows whipped cream/day as long as the carbs are kept low (PaNu style ;))?
Proper sourcing is more important than fat type, IMO. Health fats come from healthy animals.
My daily caloric intake comes from about 50% fat. THe fat I eat is mainly animal fat, cream, buttter, coconut oil, coconut milk and cheese. Animal fat by far tops the list. It would probably be a big pain to calculate exact numbers though as most fats sources contain a combo of various types of fat in various proportions. | 2019-04-24T13:56:53 | https://www.paleohacks.com/fat/how-much-saturated-fat-is-optimal-1941 |
0.998885 | Last Wednesday in Paris Jean-Marie Balestre was ousted after 13 years as the president of FISA. Max Mosley is the man who beat him - with 43 votes to Balestre's 29 - in the election.
Max had been president for about an hour before he was met by an excited French press. They had not expected the downfall of Balestre, who had become something of a monument in motor sport, carved from stone.
It was Balestre himself who announced the result of the vote in the grand conference room of the Automobile Club de France, decked out with flags of the FISA nations.
'The system,' explained Max, 'is that, if you are elected, you become presdident immediately. Monsieur Balestre left his seat and offered it to me. I was a bit shocked.
But was Max surprised to have won?
'Theoretically we were there,' he explaind, 'but with a secret ballot you never know. I thought I had about 49 votes - let's say between 48 and 52 - and I was wrong. I had 43.
For the English press present the result was not really a surprise, but the French were keen to know how Mosley had conducted his campaign.
'It was a lot of work,' admitted Max, 'but it wasn't just me. I think that people decided that it was the moment to change. That is not a criticism of Jean-Marie Balestre. Everyone agreed that he had done good work, but often in large companies or governments, there is a moment when it is necessary to change.
'I couldn't start my campaign too soon because there was a possibility of changing the statutes of the FIA to say that you have to be put forward by a certain country, so I had to wait until that was too late. The first person I actually sat down, and started the whole thing in June, with was Lars Osterlind from Sweden. He was the first co-conspirator. Then very soon after that I started having discussions with one or two of the big countries and then we really started the campaign in August. I started making phone calls.
'Then I went on holiday with my family to a villa in Tuscany and I sat by the phone. When the mane came at the end of the fortnight he said: "My goodness, you've used the phone a lot. You've used 3000 units." And I said: "Yes, but it's been round the clock twice as well. So it's 23000 units!
Were there any electoral deals? A vote in exchange for a major event. Anything like that?
The vote, which had been expected early in the morning, did not take place until lunchtime. Was there much debate over who should be allowed to vote?
And what happens now? Will we be seeing a lot of quick change?
'I have to have a very good look at everything,' explained Mosley. 'I always think that if you get put into one of these jobs, you can have all these preconceived ideas, but when you sit down, and open the dossier, you find it is all different, because you have a whole lot of information you didn't have when you weren't there. It's dangerous to say you are going to do a whole lot of things because there are a whole lot of factors you were not aware of.
And what about Balestre's warhorse, safety, Max was asked. Would he continue that campaign?
And what about the championships outside F1, what can be done to improve them?
Although Balestre has been dethroned by FISA, he still remains president of the FIA, which has nominal control over the World Championships. Will that be a problem?
'There will be a world council meeting in December but we are going to have another plenary in the Spring - probably in February. That will enable us to have very serious look at what is going on. I didn't want to start shooting from the hip because when you don't know you are going to be elected it's very hard to make serious plans and I shall need a careful, calm look at everything.
And will FISA stay in Paris?
'As far as I am concerned, it will,' said Mosley, 'but I don't decide things all by myself. I will rely heavily on the World Motor Sport Council.
And the new president? Will he live in Paris? | 2019-04-21T12:36:19 | http://www.grandprix.com/features/joe-saward/interview-the-new-president-max-mosley.html |
0.999414 | Which CPU is faster, 3.2 GHz Nehalem W5580 or 2.6 GHz Istanbul?
Yes this is a loaded question. The context I use is a very simple double precision floating point loop, with the interior re-written to use SSE2. The idea is, if we run the identical program on the same machine, running one core, doing little else but double precision FP operations (in this case, computing the Riemann Zeta Function), with very little to no memory traffic … which CPU core will win on this very simple sprint?
The larger picture context of this is a set of reports we were hired to generate. Unfortunately, its looking like the business side of things (for the reports) is falling through so there is little I can do relative to this. We can’t/won’t work for free (we have enough people trying to get us to do free consulting for them as it is).
Here is the Nehalem 3.2 GHz machine (running at full clock speed, I turned off the speed/power governor, and determined that it was off from /proc/cpuinfo). CPU and motherboard loaned to us by our friends at Intel for other purposes, but its there, so we ran it.
The core loop is running on this machine in 3.44 seconds.
The core loop is running on this machine in 3.27 seconds.
The Istanbul is, from what I can see, a formidable computational competitor to Nehalem. Dismissing it out of hand (as I have seen many do based upon Shanghai, Barcelona, and other performance metrics) would not be in anyone's interests as users and consumers of high performance computing gear.
Its unfortunate that it does not look like the reports will be able to be generated though, as we will have to give up access to the Istanbul soon. I would have liked to have seen what it can do.
I’m sad you won’t be able to expand the results. This is a good data point, but unfortunately it doesn’t really establish much in terms of either processor’s appropriateness for a given task, right? Most applications need access to memory, and eventually to disk. This is reminiscent of the Advanced Clustering Technologies benchmarks pitting AMDs against Intels for different tasks, with the winner varying depending upon what part of the system mattered (Nehalem faster for memory bound computations, etc.).
We have some data, but it doesn’t look like we are going to be able to do anything with it. I agree, it is interesting. I agree, I’d like to see it expanded.
The Advanced Clustering benchmarks weren’t (for the most part) application level benchmarks (stream?). The LAMMPS benchmark was real, but not conclusive, and was used to draw general conclusions where it probably should not have been. There are many different operations in MD codes, and some will do better on some processors than others. You want to (generally) test multiple related code paths.
I do agree that all applications need memory and disk. My arguments won out on the former, but lost out on the latter. Hence the test cases were already restricted. | 2019-04-24T10:32:18 | https://scalability.org/2009/09/which-cpu-is-faster-3-2-ghz-nehalem-w5580-or-2-6-ghz-istanbul/ |
0.999367 | It is the morning of Saturday the 30th March 2019. The news headline reads: The UK crashes out of the EU with no deal. Images of rows of parked aircrafts emerge as EU-bound Flights have been grounded across the UK whilst helicopters capture tailbacks stretching for miles along the M20 with Dover gridlocked. Meanwhile reports break of NHS staff being forced to ration the use of certain medicine and a rush on supermarkets still stocked. At the same time, the value of the pound is plummeting and Parliament is in an emergency session.
Whilst theoretically and technically plausible, the above will never occur. This doomsday version of a no deal Brexit would be avoided at all costs by both the UK and the EU. The UK would be plunged into chaos whilst the EU would be vilified as an oppressive institution seeking unfair retribution amidst its own damaging disruption. Some form of temporary measure allowing for medicinal previsions and food imports would surely be reached. Nevertheless, just because an apocalyptic exit from the EU isn’t a serious threat doesn’t mean that a no-deal Brexit isn’t likely. Infighting amongst the Conservative Party threatens to derail the chances of any deal being reached and furthermore the UK is prepared to leave without an agreement as shown by Theresa May repeatedly stating that) no deal is better than a bad deal. Unsurprisingly, this could not be further from the truth.
To begin with, the political instability that would follow from a no deal Brexit would be devastating. A no deal Brexit would almost certainly lead to a fresh leadership challenge within the Conservative Party as Theresa May would lose the support of the half of her party who had been in favour of a soft Brexit. In addition, the structure of a leadership election where two candidates are selected by Conservative MP’s before the party members elect a leader would likely mean that one of the candidates would be a hard line Brexiter, such as Jacob Rees Mogg, and the other a staunch remainer e.g Sajid Javid. Therefore, whichever candidate were to win would immediately alienate half of the party and thus the Conservative Party would likely end up paralysing itself leaving the nation unable to cope with the shocks to the UK that would still result from a softer no deal Brexit. Alternatively, or even in addition, a general election would likely follow. Incomprehensibly this would be the third general election within the space of 4 years. Perhaps more frightening however is the high probability that the election would yield a hung parliament with Conservative support currently at 41% and Labour at 39% according to a recent YouGov survey meaning that even a relatively large swing in votes would probably still leave the victor short of an outright majority. Thus, once again the country would be left in an ineffective position to respond to the immediate challenges presented by a no-deal Brexit. Yet whilst a bad deal Brexit would certainly bring pressures upon the Prime Minister, it would be less likely to trigger a leadership challenge or a general election in the immediate aftermath of Brexit. This means that the UK would at least be in a position of relative stability from which it could navigate the inherent challenges it would encounter following its departure from the EU.
The reasons for choosing a bad deal over no deal however extends beyond Westminster to other parts of the UK. In the case of Northern Ireland for example, a no deal Brexit would severely threaten the good Friday agreement and would dramatically reduce the chances of devolved government returning from its already long absence. However, as much as the UK and EU would like to refrain from infrastructure at the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland some form of temporary measure would have to be installed at the border. This would be an inevitable consequence of a no-deal Brexit due to the fact that the UK is unwilling to accept the Northern Irish backstop proposal and as the EU needs to maintain the integrity of its single market. This new infrastructure would hamper cross border trade and create fresh divisions along which tensions could rise. Furthermore, a no-deal outcome would massively reduce the likelihood of Sinn Fein (the Northern Irish political party which represents the views of the Catholic proportion of the population who typically favour closer alignment with the Republic of Ireland) re-establishing the devolved government in Northern Ireland from which they walked away from in January 2017 as they would feel betrayed by the UK government over their inability to reach a settlement with the EU. Therefore, in the case of a no-deal Brexit, Northern Ireland could well end up with rising ethnic tensions and no local government.
Furthermore, a no-deal Brexit over a bad deal Brexit, which maintains some connections to the EU, would likely lead to increasing calls for Scottish independence and would help rejuvenate Nicola Sturgeon’s pledge of a second referendum on independence. Given that Scotland expressed a strong desire to remain a part of the EU shown by all 32 council areas voting remain it wouldn’t be unthinkable that Scottish nationalists might use a no-deal outcome deemed to be in the selfish interests of the central government over Scottish interests to promote independence as an alternative option. This would create yet more pressure on the UK government and would lead to an increasingly divided nation. All this at a moment in time where the UK needs to be united and present a strong image to the world so as to maximise the opportunities achieved from leaving the EU. Hence in order to remain a ‘United Kingdom’ it is imperative that the UK secures a deal with the European Union even if that means accepting a bad deal that may not at first seem amenable.
Finally, a bad deal Brexit at least leaves the UK with options that a no-deal Brexit simply doesn’t. Say for example that Britain enters into a transitional arrangement not too dissimilar from current conditions but with a few added restrictions on trade etc… and no presence within the law-making institutions of the EU. Whilst most would probably agree that this is not a particularly good deal, it would at least leave the UK room to manoeuvre until it decides what kind of long-term relationship with the EU it desires and added time to formulate solutions to common issues like the Irish border. However, if the UK left with no deal as is repeatedly threatened, then all the issues arising from the withdrawal from the EU would have to be dealt with once they’ve already begun to take place. Consequently, the additional stability in withdrawing from the EU facilitated by a bad deal over no deal would benefit business and would generally ease public concerns over Brexit. Hence solving the conundrums of withdrawing from the EU are surely better dealt with before a major shift from the status quo rather than after it, making a bad deal preferable to no deal.
Nevertheless, with each passing day the prospect of a no deal Brexit becomes slightly more likely. The opportunities for remaining disputes to be resolved are rapidly disappearing and the opportunities for ratification of any agreement by all 27 EU members along with the UK Parliament are diminishing as well. Because of this rising risk, it’s more important than ever that whilst the UK negotiates hard in order to try and achieve the best outcome possible, that it does not ultimately place pride over prudence. To do so would be to risk serious and long-lasting implications that nobody desired from Brexit. Therefore, if the negotiations culminate in a decision between a bad deal or no deal at all, the UK must choose to walk away with an agreement and not empty-handed.
Next Next post: Mohammed Bin Salman – Reformer In Name Only? | 2019-04-18T21:23:36 | http://foreignaffairsreview.co.uk/2018/11/brexit-why-a-bad-deal-is-better-than-no-deal/ |
0.996975 | Article: Are You Being Abandoned?
Being abandoned on the internet is very possible and you will never know why unless you consider what your visitors were looking for on the internet and how they interacted with your eCommerce website.
There are numerous reasons for abandonment and it afflicts expensive as well as inexpensive websites. In fact, many websites have invested heavily in the latest design effects, yet have poorly written content and little or no focused merchandising approach to the overall website and the eCommerce or shopping cart design.
Of major importance in any website is integrating the facility to see who visits what pages and how they travel and view your website. It is essential to understand what pages are working and which pages are being abandoned. It is even more important to understand why visitors are buying and not buying your products and services. There are many tools available for this purpose and the small monthly investment is well worth the cost.
A number of market researchers say the rate at which Web consumers abandon their online shopping carts before making purchases online runs between 25 percent (Andersen Consulting) on the low end and 78 percent (Bizrate.com) on the high end. Why do so many shoppers go through the time and trouble to load up their shopping carts, only to leave without the merchandise? And what, if anything, can e-tailers do about this problem that according to Shop.org and BCG is potentially costing e-tailers $20 billion per year in unrealized sales?
In a recent major survey we conducted, online shoppers gave fifteen major reasons they abandoned shopping carts. These ranged from; ‘No gift certificates’ (11%) to ‘Cost of Shipping too high and not shown until checkout’ (69%) as the top reason.
As a web retailer you are possibly losing customers due to issues that can be resolved by taking your understanding of retailing and merchandising principles and incorporating them within your website when working with your design team.
When designing your pages, keep your potential visitors interests, needs, goals, and purpose for visiting uppermost in your mind.
Statistics consistently show that when customers do not understand how to apply for things, make purchases online, and cannot find what they’re looking for. Where do they go? Back to what they know, and that may be brick and mortar stores or their local professional services.
An Internet website should closely monitor its shopping-cart-abandonment rate for; abandonment rates on their site through time to see if they’re trending up or down; and they should look at what point or page abandonment happens on their site.
As a customer goes through the checkout process, there is an increased intent to buy and you should see a falloff in abandonment; any increase is a functionality issue. If the abandonment rate suddenly rises from 15 percent on one page to 25 percent on the next, it should be a red flag.
Make changes to your existing website. Keep your users oriented by providing navigation that tells them where they are, where they were and where they’re about to go. Find ways to let users get quickly back to where they were when they had to leave. This includes using cookies for intuitive applications.
You should also compare abandonment rates with your industry category’s average. Abandonment rates vary dramatically by industry, with a much higher rate for a high-ticket category like consumer electronics than for low-ticket items like CDs, gifts, books and toys. | 2019-04-23T05:53:26 | https://rezervlinx.com/article-are-you-being-abandoned.html |
0.999999 | Hawaii volcano: Are green crystals 'raining' down from Kilauea eruption?
Is it 'raining' green crystals in Hawaii, due to Kilauea volcano eruption?
In the never-ending parade of weird phenomena erupting from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano comes a "rain" of green crystals, which have been spotted on the ground after supposedly falling from the sky.
Corrections and clarifications: According to the Associated Press, the story of the green crystals falling from the sky turned out to be totally false: The ongoing eruption of the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii is not causing crystals to rain from the sky despite reports of residents finding little green gems in the area. Reports of the phenomena by science-related websites and some newspapers and magazines relied heavily on a tweet by Erin Jordan, who told the AP that green stones – identified as olivine – were found by friends who live in Kalapana, Hawaii, about 12 miles from neighborhoods where lava fissures have opened since early May. Olivine is a common mineral found embedded in Hawaiian lava, said Cheryl Gansecki, a geologist at the University of Hawaii’s Hilo campus on the Big Island. But, she said, “there is not olivine raining from the sky, except in clumps of lava.” She added they do not separate from the lava by themselves.
The gems are also known as olivine, "a common mineral in basaltic lava, which is what this eruption is producing," said Concord University volcanologist Janine Krippner. "Olivine is formed in hot and deep magmas and is brought up to the surface during an eruption."
Although photos have been posted on social media, no scientists have confirmed any official sightings on the ground.
If verified, this olivine could have fallen out of the lava as it was spewed into the air, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist Wendy Stovall told Mashable.
It's certainly not unusual to find olivine crystals in most Hawaiian lava rock, both new and ancient. "It's pretty common," Stovall said to Mashable. "There’s often olivine in rocks all over Hawaii."
Krippner said "there is even a green sand beach in Hawaii from these minerals eroding out of the basalt (lava)." Green sand beaches are rare, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The crystals are heavier than most sand types on the beach and remain behind when lighter sand grains are washed away by strong wave activity, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The little crystals discovered near the volcano this week, however, are not being created during the eruption. They've been formed deep underground long ago, brewing in the molten rock, Mashable reported.
However, falling from the sky during an eruption is an unusual event: "I have never heard of it raining out as single crystals like this," Krippner said.
This eruption episode began May 3 and has destroyed hundreds of homes on Hawaii's Big Island. | 2019-04-19T18:25:46 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/06/14/hawaii-volcano-green-crystals-olivine/701389002/ |
0.999996 | The topic of social justice is one which ebbs and flows but always resurfaces in discussions of politics and ethics in relation to Christianity. Most recently the topic has been shifted to center-stage once again by the Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel signed by such prominent figures as John MacArthur, Voddie Baucham, and Tommy Nelson.
In keeping with this vein of discussion, the following is an excerpt from Francis Schaeffer‘s 1984 book The Great Evangelical Disaster. It should be noted that Schaeffer was not one to advocate for a Christian withdrawal from the world, but rather for a robust engagement with society in order to influence it for the better.
Schaeffer saw Christianity as an all-encompassing world-and-life-view that touches every part of life. Thus in in his book How Should We Then Live Schaeffer notes that Christians should seek a society based on the Bible as the only foundation which can provide an absolute by which we can live our lives and judge society, yet he also warns against a reliance on the government to bring about this state of affairs.
Summarized briefly, this critique claims that the social problems Christians in this nation are most concerned about (i.e., crime, abortion, lack of prayer, secular humanism, etc.) are important, but are actually symptoms of much larger problems – unjust social structures in the United States – which underlie these legitimate Christian concerns.
The obvious answer, then, is to attack the causes of the disease so the symptoms will go away. ESA spends much of its educational effort trying to acquaint biblical Christians with crucial areas of basic injustices in society and the need to change these for the better.
What are these basic “unjust structures”? ESA believes that most of the (but certainly not all) stem from poverty and the maldistribution of wealth, both on the national and international levels.
Do you understand what is being said here? Remarkably, ESA is saying that “unjust social structures” and in particular “the maldistribution of wealth” are the real causes of evil in the world. According to ESA it is these things (e.g. unjust social structures/maldistribution of wealth) which cause “crime, abortion, lack of prayer, secular humanism, etc.” Just on a factual level this is foolish. There is crime at all levels of society irrespective of wealth; abortion is supported most strongly by the wealthy. And does ESA really believe that changing economic structures would solve the problem of “lack of prayer”? Here the gospel has been reduced to a program for transforming social structures. This is the Marxist line. It does not mean that those who take this position are Communists. But it does mean they have made a complete confusion of the kingdom of God with the basic socialistic concepts. In back of this stands the Enlightenment idea of the perfectibility of man if only the cultural and economic chains are removed.
But think further what this means theologically. What has happened to the fall and sin? ESA seems to be saying that changing economic structures is the means of salvation for modern man since only this deals with the basic “cause of the disease.” Ironically their program is not radical enough! The basic problem is that of the fall and sin and the heart of man. The basic problem is much deeper than social structures, and by not recognizing this ESA ends up with an understanding of salvation which is very different from what the Scriptures teach. Sin is the problem, and there is no greater sin than modern man’s willful defiance of God and his laws both in the area of ideas and actions.
The socialist mentality as promoted by Evangelicals for Social Action and others, and endorsed by much of the evangelical world, is based up on a double error. First and foremost it is wrong theologically, fundamentally distorting the meaning of the gospel. But it is equally wrong in its naïve assessment of the redistribution of wealth and its consequences. The answer is not some kind of socialistic or egalitarian redistribution. This would be much more unjust and oppressive than our own system, imperfect though it is. To understand this all we need to do is look at the repressive societies which have resulted from attempts to radically redistribute wealth along socialistic or egalitarian lines. Every attempt at radical redistribution has wrecked the economy and the culture of the country where it was tried, and every Marxist revolution has ended in a blood bath. It has left the people with less, not more, as well as putting them under a totalitarian government. . . .
I would ask you to think back once again to the illustration of the watershed at the beginning of the second chapter. There I mentioned how the snow lying side by side when it melted would end up a thousand miles apart. And we saw how, in the case of Scripture, two views which seemed at first to be fairly close end up being completely different places, with disastrous consequences both for theology and the culture in which we live. Now when we consider evangelical accommodation to the socialist mentality, we really find the same thing happening. With its call for justice and compassion it sounds at first like it is the same as, or very close to, what Scripture teaches on justice and compassion. Those advocating the socialist mentality try to use all the right evangelical words and avoid any red-flag socialistic rhetoric. But what they are in fact talking about is “another gospel.” And when we look more carefully at what is involved, we find that the socialist mentality ends up in a completely different place, with disastrous consequences theologically and in terms of human rights and human life. A socialistic program is not the answer. And when a large section of evangelicalism begins to confuse the kingdom of God with a socialistic program, this is sheer accommodation to the world spirit of this age. Our response must be confrontation – loving confrontation but nonetheless confrontation. A line must be drawn.
It should be noted that Schaeffer is dealing with a particular vein of social justice advocacy, one which – according to his evaluation – replaces the message of the gospel with a denial of sin and an assertion that man may be perfected if only his environment be made suitable. This is the Social Gospel, and it should be rightly condemned for its replacement of the true gospel with one of societal reform.
Schaeffer’s evaluation seems apt, at least regarding his specific target. An approach which asserts that equanimity of wealth will result in a decline of secular humanism and a rise in prayer is an approach with no common ground to the Bible. Against this particular target Schaeffer’s accusation of a profound antithesis seems appropriate.
The question for the reflective Christian, however, is whether this particular target is the only target out there. Provided that Schaeffer’s critique is valid towards ESA of his day, does it follow that all Christian groups advocating for some level of social justice promotion fall into that same sharp antithesis.
Should those who view a concern for social justice as being a ‘good work’ which will naturally flow from the true gospel of Christ crucified be categorized with this group? Can a Christian, while not believe that the environment can produce perfection, believe still that the Christian in exercising dominion should create a more fit environment, or who believe that an individual’s environment has some influence on how their fallenness is manifested (and that perhaps this manifestation can take less socially destructive forms depending on that environment)? Can it be asserted that a people soaked in the true gospel will transform their social structures while not reducing the gospel to such a program? Does any consideration of social justice fall into the trap of the Social Gospel?
Along with Schaeffer the attentive Christian must rebuke any system which would reduce the gospel to a program for societal reform, which would deny the reality of sin, which would argue that a change of environment will result in a change of heart. These notions have no place at the Christian table.
But what of those who deny all of these things along with Schaeffer, yet still maintain that a heart transformed by the gospel will want to work for societal reform? Here – at the very least – the question becomes one of means and methods, of good and bad arguments rather than Christian and nonChristian positions, and that is much messier and much more nuanced discussion, but one which must be had if we are not to do a disservice to our brothers and sisters in Christ. | 2019-04-24T16:55:23 | https://presbyformed.com/2018/09/18/francis-schaeffer-on-social-justice/ |
0.999759 | How do I add results for the missing years?
I'll be posting an update with 2011 returns shortly.
The latest version of the spreadsheet (rev11a) is now available.
thanks for all the work you do on these spreadsheets. I was looking at some sample asset allocations the other day and I think I've discovered a slight correction that needs to be made. On both of the "Returns" tabs, I don't think the conditional formatting has been applied to all the cells it should have. When I entered enter a 1972-2010 portfolio of 5% each Small-cap Value, REIT, EAFE & commodities, 40% 5-year Treasuries and 40% TIPS, the worst drawdown is -3.51% (in Column AM, line 43) but the orange cell is on line 29, which is the next worst return (+0.21%). I can't tell whether the Real Return columns are affected because the worst real return is up toward the top of the spreadsheet. Using the same AA and the 1985-2010 data, the worst return is -4.07% (Column AZ, line 30), but the orange cell is on line 16, the next worst return, and the same glitch occurs in the Real Return.
kyounge1956 - This has been fixed in the latest version rev11a.
Just wanted to verify that the OpenOffice version 10c is not able to display the returns charts on the Porfolio tab, as they are in the Excel version, correct? Is this a limitation of OpenOffice?
The spreadsheet uses some special conditions/formula that LibreOffice/OpenOffice does not currently support. Since there is no easy workaround I removed the charts in the Portfolio tab. The charts in the other tabs are fine so I left them there.
Query on the 5 year treasury VFITX for 1995 though that shows a 20.44% gain.
So I can't see how a 20.44% gain in 1995 occurred.
Yahoo shows that value http://au.finance.yahoo.com/q/pm?s=VFITX - but just seems ???
I know it's time to update it but just wanted to confirm that the data in the spreadsheet is correct.
As staythecourse said - "Beware the Simba Risk"
Simba - Many, many thanks for your continuing efforts to provide the updated spreadsheet. This tool has been of enormous help to me in increasing my investment knowledge, as it has been to legions of other individuals.
Lbill wrote: Simba - Many, many thanks for your continuing efforts to provide the updated spreadsheet. This tool has been of enormous help to me in increasing my investment knowledge, as it has been to legions of other individuals.
Completely agree, though I was somewhat chagrined to only find it after having done a significant amount of work to build something similar myself. However since yours was far superior to the product I had and so many more people are checking it for errors I was happy to switch. Now everyone can be sure that when they accuse me of curve fitting that at least the curves are the right ones!
I just wish I could get the same thing with quarterly data, but I doubt that's easily available.
Thanks yet again Simba. Great stuff.
That way you can somewhat (very generally) emulate historic leveraged allocations (ETF's).
Only as a very broad guideline I know, but say I'm looking at what a 2x leveraged 60% TSM and 2x leveraged 40% bond allocation might have looked like historically, then allocating +120% to TSM, +80% to Total Bond and -100% to T-Bill provides a feel for what such a leveraged portfolio might have achieved on the assumption that the cost of borrowing (to leverage) compared to T-Bill yields.
In reality leveraged ETF's don't track the non leveraged (underline) due to daily rebalancing creating more unique price motions, but as a better than nowt indicator that relatively small change is a nice additional feature to support IMO. The figures would be more indicative where funds might have been borrowed to increase asset exposure. The modification might also provide a feel for where assets might have been sold short (deleting the <1 or >1 check in Returns_72_11 cells AM4 ensures the CAGR is shown in Portfolio Cell C53).
I love the spreadsheet, but I am using OpenOffice and the new versions (both) are not working for me. Nothing but errors. Am I doing something wrong?
Cyclone wrote: I love the spreadsheet, but I am using OpenOffice and the new versions (both) are not working for me. Nothing but errors. Am I doing something wrong?
Clearly_Irrational wrote: Completely agree, though I was somewhat chagrined to only find it after having done a significant amount of work to build something similar myself. However since yours was far superior to the product I had and so many more people are checking it for errors I was happy to switch. Now everyone can be sure that when they accuse me of curve fitting that at least the curves are the right ones!
Thanks CI. I don't mind including the quarterly data but it's just too much work to capture the data for all the funds. Even if I venture out on this path, I won't be able to get the quarterly data for the funds back to 1972 or 1985 for that matter.
I do appreciate the kind words and a BIG thank you to everyone who enjoys using this spreadsheet.
Just as an FYI - the revision numbers follow the last year of returns and then any updates made for that revision. rev11a is the first revision that includes returns for 2011. Any subsequent updates would be rev11b, rev11c etc.
simba wrote: Thanks CI. I don't mind including the quarterly data but it's just too much work to capture the data for all the funds. Even if I venture out on this path, I won't be able to get the quarterly data for the funds back to 1972 or 1985 for that matter.
That's what I figured, I didn't find it easily myself either. There is probably a paid database (or two) somewhere that has it but I doubt it would change the results enough to be worth it.
I did a spreadsheet with MONTHLY data about a year ago. It does not noticeably change the results at all. I also computed Max Drawdown, and determined that you can estimate Max Drawdown by multiplying the Standard Deviation by 3.
So no, it is not worth your time to go quarterly, it wasn't even worth it going monthly.
Paul Douglas Boyer wrote: I did a spreadsheet with MONTHLY data about a year ago. It does not noticeably change the results at all. I also computed Max Drawdown, and determined that you can estimate Max Drawdown by multiplying the Standard Deviation by 3.
Paul - Thanks for the info. Btw did you get the monthly data from M* principia pro or somewhere else?
For the heck of it I looked up the prices for M* Principia Pro. I am absolutely sure they have a typo for the the Principia Suite. It is listed at $3.345 instead of $3,345.
You can get quarterly data off Yahoo Finance. Use funds that have existed for many years.
With a little judicious digging we can probably get quarterly data without much work because it's right there for the taking. As oposed to doing it manually from Yahoo historical prices or moving a slider on Morningstar's web site.
Last edited by stratton on Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
simba wrote: Paul - Thanks for the info. Btw did you get the monthly data from M* principia pro or somewhere else?
to bring in data into Excel from Yahoo! Finance Historical Quotes (Adjusted for splits and dividends).
One more thank you for your hard work Simba. I also noticed that when I inserted 2011 the output was "0" or "na" for the averages, SD and so on. But the other single years worked fine.
Thanks again for your excellent work. I have been using it to see what I have had in my portfolio since 1994 had I used some of the lazy portfolios and compared to what actually happened. After the tech bubble disaster, I wasn't such a bad investor afterall.
Last edited by sschullo on Sat Jan 28, 2012 5:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
simba wrote: The latest version of the spreadsheet (rev11a) is now available.
Thanks Simba- great work as always!
This is truly an outstanding piece of work, thank you for updating it.
Last edited by JasonF on Fri Feb 03, 2012 6:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks Simba, this is awesome!
If a financial advisor used this in his or her practice instead of the software one has to pay thousands a year for, would you think that right or wrong?
Do you think that person should have to pay a fee to bogleheads or at least a donation?
Thanks for updating this stuff again simba, but I have found what seems like an error.
Under the compare portfolios tab, cell P77 does not update when you change the starting year in cell P59.
Thank you, Simba, for sharing your work so generously.
Thanks once again for this outstanding contribution.
Just found this post/spreadsheet. All I can say is: WOW. Thx for your hard work.
WOW! This is fantastic tool. Thanks for all your effort.
I just checked this out for the first time today and am very impressed. Thanks for your contribution to the Bogleheads.
I just have one question: would it be possible to modify the spreadsheet to show actual after-tax historical returns, given the user's top marginal tax rate and LT capital gains rate?
Where did the backtested data come from in cases where the fund was not in existence for the entire duration? For example, there is data for VFITX going back to 1985, yet when I look that fund up on Vanguard, the inception date is only 10/28/1991.
Look at the tab on the spreadsheet named "Data Sources".
Where could I find the international or global REIT performance, from 1972 to 2011? Is there such a thing exist? I don't know where to download the global or international REIT returns.
Ah January....always an exciting time of year as we await new data for the beloved Simba spreadsheet.
Couple of questions for interested parties..
Is there any long term return data for prefererred stocks that could be included?
Has anyone ever seen an attempt to simulate TIPS back prior to 1972?
Happy and prosperous New Year to all Bogleheads!
I realize that you rarely seen on the forum lately, but please consider updating the spreasheet with 2012 results and CPI data.
This is one of the more valuable tools of this forum!
This spreadsheet is so amazingly helpful and interesting, I've grown so accustomed to having it around and use it very frequently. I would love to have one that's updated with 2012 data.
I have updated this spreadsheet with the 2012 data. I am not simba, so there may be some errors. If you find any let me know and I'll make the changes until Simba updates the official one.
You'll have to click download once you go to the google docs page.
Hopefully this saves you some time from having to look up all the annual returns. I am not sure I did everything correctly, but I think it should be pretty close.
Looks like Rolling returns on both Returns_72_11 and Returns_85_11 tabs are not extended properly for 2012?
way around, only negative in the bunch was precious metals.
I figured Simba may not be getting to it any time soon this year. So I went ahead and fixed formulas, rolling returns, headings, etc completing mtbomb's 2012 update, relying on the 2012 data he entered. I also looked into errors reported in this thread since 2011a update was released and fixed those as well.
Note: There are still some problems that are not related to this update, but instead to original formulas used that may not fit all year periods. For example, if year range for 1985 backtest is set to 2011-2012, Sortino Ratio in the table errors out, because there are not enough error checks and conditionals around Sortino formula used. But I don't use Sortino and not familar with it at all, so cannot fix that.
Anyone know if Simba will be updating his spreadsheet this year?
Thanks for the update, truly love this tool. | 2019-04-24T14:56:54 | https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1537451 |
0.999912 | I just added scores from Test 1 to my Canvas gradebook. How do I know that students can see their scores? After entering scores do I need to "Push" the data to the outside world? I was told I could give the "Test Student" a score and then look at "Student View" but I can't find either of these.
Bill, as long as you haven't muted the quiz, then if the scores are showing up in your gradebook then they are showing up to your students. There is nothing extra to make them visible.
If you'd like to test this with your test student try using the following directions - How do I view a course as a test student using Student View? If the test student is already showing up in your gradebook, then give the test student a grade on the quiz, then go to Student View and you'll be able to see it in Grades. If you don't see Test Student in your gradebook then go into Student View to activate the Test Student. Then get out of Student View (but don't reset it), give the Test student a quiz grade, and then go back to Test Student view and look at the grades. | 2019-04-24T03:22:47 | https://community.canvaslms.com/thread/32169-what-do-students-see |
0.999842 | Vanderbilt University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the South. The Commodore hoped that his gift and the greater work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the Civil War. Today, Vanderbilt comprises four undergraduate and six graduate schools, enrolling approximately 11,800 students from all 50 U.S. states and over 90 foreign countries. In its 2009 ranking of universities, U.S. News & World Report placed Vanderbilt 18th among national universities, and the schools of education, law, medicine, and nursing were ranked among the top 20 in the country. The university is among the top 25 recipients of federal educational research funds. Also affiliated with the university are several research institutes, the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, the Dyer Observatory, and the comprehensive Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), the only Level I trauma center in Middle Tennessee. With the exception of the off-campus observatory, all of Vanderbilt's facilities are situated on a 330-acre (1.3 km2) plot in the heart of Nashville, only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from downtown. Despite its urban surroundings, the campus itself is a national arboretum and features over 300 species of trees and shrubs.
Question and Answer about "Vanderbilt University" | 2019-04-22T02:08:11 | http://azcis.careers.org/education/colleges/221999?city=nashville&name=vanderbilt-university&state_or_country_name=tennessee |
0.999837 | Directions(Q1-5): Read the following expressions and answer accordingly.
Q4. -12.5% of 64 + 67% of 900 = ?
Q6. From two places, 60 km apart, A and B start towards each other at the same time and meet each other after 6 hours. Had A travelled with 2/3 of his speed and B travelled with double of his speed, they would have met after 5 hours. What will be the speed of A?
Q7. Anjali drives her car at an average speed of 30 km/hr and reaches her destination in 6 hours. Shivani covers the same distance in 4 hours by car. If Anjali increases her average speed by 10 km/hr and Shivani increases her average speed by 5 km/hr, what would be the difference in their time taken to reach the destination?
Q8. I have to reach a certain place at a certain time and I find that I shall be 15 minutes too late, if I walk at 4 km an hour, and 10 minutes too soon, if I walk at 6 km an hour. How far have I to walk?
Q9. Two trains start from Delhi and Jaipur towards Jaipur and Delhi respectively. After passing each other the second train (faster train) take 5 hrs 20 min to reach Delhi and the first train (slower train) takes 225/4% more time to reach Jaipur. If their relative speed in same direction is 15 km/hr, then find speed of faster train.
Q10. A sum was put at simple interest at a certain rate for 2 years. Had it been at 1% higher rate, it would have fetched Rs. 24 more. What is the sum?
Q11. In the year 2016, the people preferring to play Tennis is what percent of the people who prefer to play Cricket, Football and Tennis together in that year (up to two decimal places)?
Q12. How many people have preferred to play Cricket in all the years together?
Q13. What is the respective ratio of the number of people who prefer to play cricket in 2011, 2013 and 2015 together to the number of people who prefer to play Tennis in the year 2013, 2015 and 2016 together?
Q14. From 2011 to 2016, the total number of people who preferred to play Football was what percent more or less than the total number of people who preferred to play Tennis during same period?
Q15. The no. of people who prefer to play tennis in 2016 is what percent fewer than the number of people preferring to play tennis in 2015? | 2019-04-22T14:42:01 | https://www.bankersadda.com/p/17-august-ibps-po-p.html |
0.998596 | What organs are put in the Canopic jars?
The Canopic jars usually contained the liver, intestines, lungs, and stomach. The ancient Egyptians believed that these organs would be needed in the afterlife. The jars protected them so the deceased could bring them on their journey to the Afterlife.
You're looking at a Canopic Jar that shows one of the four sons of Horus. The Canopic jars usually contained the liver, intestines, lungs, and stomach. The ancient Egyptians believed that these organs would be needed in the afterlife. The jars protected them so the deceased could bring them on their journey to the Afterlife.
You're welcome bro. Do you want to know more about the four sons of Horus?
The four sons of Horus were four gods who guarded the internal organs of the deceased. From the end of the New Kingdom these four gods are usually represented by their heads only. Imsety has a human head and guards the liver; Hapy, who has a baboon head guards the lungs; Duamutef guards the stomach and has a jackal head; and finally Qebesenuef was the guardian of the intestines, with the head of a falcon.
Are there organs in these jars? Which one has the heart?
There are no organs in these jars right now. The actually heart didn't go in a jar, in a "proper" mummification, the heart was removed, mummified and put back in the chest because the ancient Egyptians believed that the heart did all your thinking and was the most important!
As far at these canopic jars go: the one with a human head held the liver, the jackal held the stomach, the baboon held the lungs, and the falcon held the intestines.
Which four gods are represented by the heads?
These jars in particular represent the four sons of Horus: Imsety has a human head and guards the liver; Hapy, who has a baboon head, guards the lungs; Duamutef guards the stomach and has a jackal head; and finally Qebesenuef was the guardian of the intestines, with the head of a falcon.
Was anything ever found in canopic jars?
Thanks. I was thinking the very old organs could be analyzed biologically if any had been found!
Priests separately mummified the stomach, liver, lungs, and intestines, to be placed in jars, in the most expensive method of mummification described by Herodotus. The practice of removing the organs and packing them separately declined in the Middle Kingdom and later, yet Egyptians still included canopic jars in burials. And while the covers of Middle Kingdom canopic jars all have human heads, by the New Kingdom the jars of the royal scribe of Ramesses II, named Tjuli, had human, baboon, jackal, and falcon heads. | 2019-04-24T04:35:01 | https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3499 |
0.999998 | Japan said Tuesday it was on "maximum alert" over a crippled nuclear plant where radioactive water has halted repair work and plutonium has been found in the soil.
The earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan’s northeast coast and left about 28,000 dead or missing also knocked out reactor cooling systems at the Fukushima plant, which has leaked radiation into the air and sea.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan conceded the situation at the coastal atomic power station remained "unpredictable" and pledged his government would "tackle the problem while in a state of maximum alert".
In a stop-gap measure to contain the crisis at the plant, crews have poured thousands of tons of water onto reactors where fuel rods are thought to have partially melted, and topped up pools for spent fuel rods.
Read the rest of the story: Japan on ‘maximum alert’ over nuclear plant. | 2019-04-20T17:06:00 | http://bionicbong.com/culture-2/events/japan-maximum-alert-nuclear-plant-crisis/ |
0.999961 | 1. The main task (Outcome): The Ss will be able to understand Mr. Torres’ story and give their own comments on the spirit of Mr. Torres.
2) He could be pocketing more than $12,000 from disability payments.
3. Language skills The students will be able to better understand the passage through guessing, skimming, scanning, generalization, discussion .
5. Culture penetration The students will be able to be aware : the differences between Chinese and Western culture by learning some original English words and phrases.
1. Watch a video about some students’ behavior in the military training , ask: Which student impressed you most ? Why?
4. Suggested answers on the slides: ①“ When you’re blind, it takes a little longer to do things”, he said. ②"They shouldn't make any provisions for me," Mr. Torres said. "It's a job, and I should be on time." ③"If I start feeling like a victim, that makes me bitter," he said. And why be bitter? That makes you go into a hole and stay there." ④"I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary," From the four sentences ,what kind of person do you think Mr. Torres is? Try to understand the meaning of the sentence: The cards with names and other data were folded on the upper right-hand corner so he can develop them right-side-up From the four sentences , what kind of person do you think Mr. Torres is? 【设计意图】旨在锻炼学生的分析概括能力，把学生的观点写在黑板上,通过对其性格的分析从而引发 学生对文章主题的思考, “disabled in body but firm in mind.” ” Step 5: post-reading After watching the video about Nick, discuss with your partner: What should you do when you meet bumps in your life after watch？ After discussion , show some famous mottos of Helen Keller on slides, discussion again 【设计意图】通过这一环节，让学生能有机会输出本文所学的内容，并锻炼自己提取观点和表达自己 观点的能力，达到学生情感目标的内化,是本课的升华与高潮。 Step 6:assignment Write down what you learned from Mr. Torres ,how to deal with the bumps in your daily life. | 2019-04-25T19:44:25 | http://8875.org/gao-zhong-ying-yu-disabled-wan-mei-shuo-ke-gao |
0.99998 | THE MODERATOR: Next up is Tim Brewster.
COACH BREWSTER: What an experience it is to follow the man who I think will go down in history as the greatest head football coach in the history of college football. I hope everybody in here truly appreciates the 15 minutes that Joe Paterno just gave us, and just what an amazing man. I have so much respect and admiration for Coach Paterno and his football teams throughout the years.
We're awful excited about Penn State University coming to the Twin Cities and playing the Gophers at our new stadium, TCF Bank Stadium.
It's been a great summer. I feel really good. What's important to me, what's important to our staff is what our team is doing on a daily basis to improve. I met with Mark Hill, our strength coach, before I left. Mark said that our football team's had a great summer.
We're bigger. We're stronger. We're faster. We're more athletic than we've been. And rightfully so. We need to be. We know that we're going to play one of the most challenging schedules in America this season. And our players are going to have to be prepared.
Also met with Adam Weber. Adam Weber is a young man who I feel like he's probably going to be the most experienced quarterback in the country. He's basically taken every snap for us the past three years. I think Adam is poised to have a great season.
He's in great physical condition. Last year he had surgery prior to the season. And I don't think he was -- I don't think he was as effective as he would have liked to have been. And I think in large part a lot of it had to do with his physical condition. But he's in great physical shape. He's our captain. He's our leader.
He's had a great summer. He reported to me that our football team has made a great commitment this summer to improve, to get better. The captain's practices were excellent.
He said there was a great commitment from every player on our football team to improve this summer. And, again, rightfully so. We need to be improved. We need to be better.
Also I'd like to say that we've had a great summer recruiting, great summer recruiting. We've had a lot of young men on campus this summer. Really been positive.
I'd also, before I take questions, like to say a public thank you to Larry Fitzgerald. Larry Fitzgerald is a young man from the Twin Cities, from Minneapolis. I think everybody knows who he is, wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals. Larry Fitzgerald for the past three years has run Camp Fitzgerald at the University of Minnesota.
30 to 40 of the best players in the National Football League trained on our campus, have trained on our campus for the past three years. And it's just been an amazing thing for our players, for our coaches, to be able to interact with these great players, particularly Larry Fitzgerald, what he's done for the community and for high school kids.
What an amazing experience for our players to be on the practice field with players like Larry Fitzgerald and another local man, James Laurinaitis, those type players in the National Football League, rub shoulders with them and learn from them.
It's not by accident that players become great. And I think it was a great opportunity this summer for our players to really see the best of the best.
Our captains, our guys here, Adam Weber, as I mentioned, our quarterback, like I said, great admiration for him. I think he's poised to have a great year. Kim Royston, strong safety, again, a local young man who transferred from Wisconsin to Minnesota. He's here representing us. And also Brandon Kirksey. Brandon Kirksey, defensive tackle from St. Louis.
All three of these young men I think are outstanding representatives of the University of Minnesota and will do a great job in representing us here in Chicago.
I'd also like to say Jon Hoese. Jon Hoese is a senior fullback who is also an elected captain. I wish he would have been here as well. They only allowed us to bring three.
But, again, thank you very much. And I'll take questions now.
Q. Tim, your program enjoys a long tradition of playing Wisconsin and Iowa for trophies; however, with the potential realignment, have you spoken about wanting to maintain those rivalries with some of your higher ups, or is that important to you as the program goes forward?
COACH BREWSTER: I have spoken to Jim Delany. I've spoken to Joel Maturi. I think it's absolutely vital for the University of Minnesota to play Wisconsin and to play Iowa each and every year.
I think it's vital to the Big Ten. It's what the Big Ten is all about, the traditions, the rivalries, playing for the Floyd of Rosedale, playing for Paul Bunyan's Axe is important to those states, to the state of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota.
And I don't think there's any question that as we look at realignment, Mr. Delany is going to figure out a way in which we play each other each and every year.
Q. Coach, I'm wondering, you've tried in the past to strengthen the schedule of the Gophers, obviously playing USC this year. I'm wondering if I can get your thoughts on losing the Texas series in 2015-2016 and what steps you've taken to replace those games.
COACH BREWSTER: When I took the job at the University of Minnesota, I made a statement. I said: I want to improve our nonconference scheduling. I want it to help us in recruiting. I want to try to bring the national spotlight to the University of Minnesota.
And that's something that through an assistant athletic director, Marc Ryan, Joel Maturi, we were able to accomplish with our scheduling. We're certainly extremely proud that Southern Cal is going to be coming to the Twin Cities playing in TCF Bank Stadium this year.
We play one of the top five toughest schedules in America at the University of Minnesota. It's something we embrace, and proud of. There was great disappointment. There was great disappointment that the University of Texas chose not to play the game. It was a game in which we had signed contracts. It's a great friend of mine, the head football coach of the University of Texas, Mack Brown.
So, again, there's great disappointment there that they chose not to play the game over -- it's a game four years out. And in talking to Jim Delany, Jim said he felt like there's no question we could have helped them get what they needed to get as far as postgame video highlights, that type of thing.
And so we're going to take a very aggressive stance and approach to nonconference scheduling, because it only helps us. We want to be a championship-caliber program at the University of Minnesota, and we think to do that we've got to bring the spotlight to us.
And so, again, I feel really good. And we're very close to replacing Texas with another marquee non-conference BCS opponent.
Q. Especially with the student tickets, your season ticket sales have been slumping this year. Is that a concern of you at this point or is that something you just have to look forward to and address in the future?
COACH BREWSTER: In talking with President Bruininks and Joel Maturi, I don't think there's any slump in our ticket sales. We think we're going to be sold out. We're sold out again. What we've got to do is track the students and we've got to get more student involvement in the University of Minnesota.
I think we've done a great job of reaching out to the students and really trying to create a home field advantage.
In my mind -- no slight to any our stadium in the conference -- we've got the best stadium in the country. There's some that are bigger; I don't think there's any that's nicer. We want a great home field advantage Saturday.
When you look at our home schedule this year, our fan based is absolutely jacked about the teams we have coming into TCF Bank Stadium. We want to make it hard on those teams and I think we will.
Q. Coach, you made it such a point in spring practice that every position was up for grabs and that everyone had to go earn their starting spot again. As you go into fall camp, how settled are your lineups? How much sorting out of the roster do you still have to do?
COACH BREWSTER: One common attribute that every football team in America has today is great competition. And we feel like for the first time in my three years at the University of Minnesota going into our fourth year, that we've got great competition across the board. This spring it made our team better. The competition that we've had at quarterback, the competition that we've had in the offensive line, great competition at tailback.
We've got a pretty good idea about the direction we'll go, but our kids need to understand that on a daily basis you've got to compete for your job. And if you're deciding today not to compete for your job, well, we've got somebody that can step in and replace you and could replace you for a long time.
I've told the story about Wally Pipp to our team quite a bit. They understand that story very well. It's great that we have that kind of competition.
We've got a very young defensive football team. But it's a very talented defensive football team. And, again, the competition is what's going to make us great. So as we move forward, we'll have competitive situations through the fall. But, again, I think it sorted itself out a little bit this spring. | 2019-04-24T14:22:52 | http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=65333 |
0.999073 | This article is about a city in Northeastern Luzon. For the municipality in Agusan del Norte, see Santiago, Agusan del Norte. For the municipality in Ilocos Sur, see Santiago, Ilocos Sur. For other uses, see Santiago (disambiguation).
Santiago, officially the City of Santiago, (Ilokano: Siudad ti Santiago; Ibanag: Siudad nat Santiago; Gaddang: Siudad na Santiago; Tagalog: Lungsod ng Santiago), or simply as Santiago City is a 1st class independent component city in Cagayan Valley (Region II), Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 134,830 people.
Formerly known as Pueblo de Carig in old Spanish time, it is located between southwestern part of Isabela and northwestern boundary of Quirino in Northeastern Luzon island of the Philippines. It is the gateway to the vast plains of Cagayan Valley.
Santiago is situated 331 kilometres (206 mi) north of Metro Manila. The city sits on a vast area of predominantly flat and fertile land in the Cagayan Valley, surrounded by the Caraballo Mountains to the south, the Great Sierra Madre to the east and the Cordillera Mountain Range to the west alongside of the great mighty magat river.
Though statistically grouped by the Philippine Statistics Authority and geographically located within the boundaries of the province of Isabela, as well as part of the province's 4th District, Santiago City is administratively and legally independent from the province as stated in Section 25 of the LGC.
The origin of Santiago City can be drawn from the first native settlement discovered by the early Spanish missionaries at the bank of the old Carig River (now Diadi River) from which its original name, Carig, was derived. The early inhabitants were the Gaddangs and the Ibanags. When the Spanish settled in, the city was named Pueblo of Santiago Apostol de Carig, with Santiago as the Spanish name of Saint James the Apostle. In the early 1950s, the Municipal President Vicente Carreon changed the name to simply Santiago. Santiago remained a municipality for 84 years.
Santiago was originally a part of the province Cagayan (comprising the whole Cagayan Valley region), which was reorganized as a political subdivision in 1583 with Nueva Segovia as its capital. On May 1, 1856, when the Province of Isabela was carved out by a Royal Decree, Santiago was among the towns relinquished to the newly created province. The first five barrios after the Cadastral survey in 1927 were Patul, Batal, Nabbuan, Buenavista and Dubinan.
It was when the Villa-Verde Trail was opened when things were set in motion. It facilitated the entry of immigrants from various provinces in Luzon to the Cagayan Valley and Santiago absorbed a sizable share of these travelers. The new route served as an impetus for growth and introduced new technologies and business opportunities, and made Santiago a melting pot of different cultures.
In 1942 during World War II, the Japanese forces entered and occupied the town of Santiago. In 1945, the town was liberated by the Filipino soldiers of the 1st, 2nd, 12th, 13th and 15th Infantry Division and the USAFIP-NL 11th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, the 1st Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary and the recognized guerrilla fighter units.
Santiago survived through world wars, although badly damaged, and from then on developed to become the leading trading and commercial city in Cagayan Valley.
On December 17, 1993, the bill converting Santiago into an independent component city was approved by the Lower House spearheaded by the then Mayor Jose "Pempe" Miranda. On the following year, the Senate Committee on Local Government approved another public hearing dated February 23, 1994.
On May 5, 1994, by virtue or Republic Act 7720 signed by President Fidel V. Ramos, Santiago was pronounced as an independent component city, the first in the Cagayan Valley Region. This made Santiago self-governing and independent from the province of Isabela. Republic Act 8528 repealed this statute transforming it to a component city. It was not until December 29, 1999, when the Supreme Court contested the validity of the latter decision and favored Santiago to be once again an independent component city.
The total land area the city is 80% flat or nearly level land in the portions of northwestern, eastern and western parts of the city. While adjacent areas have gently undulating and moderately rolling areas, and the remaining areas constitutes steeply undulating and rolling lands. The Dariuk Hills is the highest point in the city.
The geographic coordinate of the city lies between 16º35’00” to 16º47’30” north latitude and 121º25’00” to 121º37’00” east longitude.
The city has a climate with no pronounced wet or dry season. Usually, the city has considerably dry climate with minimum rainfall. The average yearly temperature is measured at 24.9 °C (76.8 °F). Annual and daily temperature variation is minimal. Temperature ranges are usually from 18 to 35 °C (64 to 95 °F).
The dominant religion in the city is Roman Catholic (Saint James the Apostle Parish in Barangay Centro West and Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Barangay Rizal). However, other Christian sectors are also present in Santiago such as Iglesia ni Cristo, United Methodist Church, Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch), Jesus is Lord Church, Christ the Rock Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Being a hurried district full of different cultures, such as Indians, Muslim, and Chinese, several religious groups have also opened their places of worship to the public, such as Chinese Temple, the Muslim Mosque, and the Sikh Temple.
Home of several business enterprises, banking institutions, educational entities, as well as manufacturing companies, Santiago City is considered the Commercial and Trading Center of Cagayan Valley and tagged as the Investment Hub of the North.
Robinsons Land Corporation has launched Robinsons Place Santiago as its pioneer mall in Cagayan Valley. Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. built its first horizontal subdivision in the Valley with Camella Isabela Communities, Inc. In 2013, it launched another project named as Camella Santiago.This year of 2018,Camella Santiago expand and named as Camella Santiago Trails. It is building its banner mall in the Cagayan Valley Region, the Vista Mall Santiago. The head-office of Grupo Marilens, the largest homegrown corporation in the region, is in Santiago City. Three of the biggest TV networks in the country (i.e.ABS-CBN, GMA7, TV5) stationed their regional networks and relay stations in the city. San Miguel Corp., Pepsi Cola, Purefoods, Digitel and PLDT also operate in the city while different car companies abound(i.e. Mitsubishi, Nissan, Suzuki, Hyundai, KIA, Ford, Chevrolet, Peugeot, Foton, Mahindra and other car companies as well as Yamaha and Honda Motors). The National Food Authority competes with local traders to stabilize prices.
Santiago City houses some of the biggest hospitals in the region. De Vera's Medical Center, Callang General Hospital and Medical Center and Santiago Adventist Hospital are private hospitals. The Southern Isabela Medical Center is the biggest public hospital while Flores Memorial Hospital and Medical Center is the oldest in the city. Santiago City also has Renmar Specialists' Hospital, which is a specialty hospital for complicated cases of pulmonology and orthopedics. Santiago Medical City is the latest addition. The city’s location is key to the growth of smaller hospitals like Renmar Hospital and Corado Hospital.
Based on the 2016 City Competitiveness Index, Santiago is the fastest growing local economy in the entire Philippines and is now ranked 51 in terms of economy size among all cities in the country.
Despite rapid industrialization, agriculture is still the untoppled source of livelihood. The main crops are rice, corn, high value fruits and vegetables. The city is where imposing grain stations can be found. Rice mills abound. It is the pivotal place for crops where harvests from Ifugao, Kalinga, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, and parts of Isabela are transported either to Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Pangasinan or Batangas. In addition to the city's product is muscovado sugar which the local government has been promoting for export.
During the Miranda Flagship, the city Government adopted the parental AxR Hybrid rice seed production as its flagship program for agriculture, which produces the offspring F1 Hybrid rice seed. This rice variety makes phenomenal yield of 249 per ha. doubling the income of Santiago City farmers per cropping, and is expected to bring Santiago City over 2 billion in income and also additional taxes of 17 million and the national government of 33 million per year.
After the previous leadership, The Navarro Administration added more life in culture and strengthen the livelihood of the people. The Navarros' spearheaded a unique program for farmers in planting on mid-summer and harvest by early September side-by-side in focusing on high-value fruits.
The city is governed by a mayor-council system. There are 10 City Councilors. The council is the official government body of the city, also known as Sanguniang Panglungsod. Council agenda is presided by the City Vice Mayor. However, being an independent-component city with its own charter, it is not subject to the jurisdiction of Isabela province, of which it is geographically a part. It is however represented in the Philippine Congress as part of Isabela's 4th Legislative District. No native was ever elected mayor of Santiago since the Philippine became a Commonwealth and Republic.
Majority of the population speaks Tagalog and Ilocano. English is the medium of instruction in schools and is generally understood and spoken especially in the business community.
Tourism is a new industry in the city. Serving as the jump-off point in Northeastern Luzon for tourists, many landmarks are developed. Tourist spots near Santiago are Quirino Province, Magat Dam in Isabela, Banaue Rice Terraces in Cordillera, and white sand beaches in Aurora Province facing the Pacific Ocean.
Balamban Dance Festival (formerly known as Balamban Butterfly Festival) - On the year 2014, a new festival was conceptualized by the city government to celebrate Santiago's cityhood anniversary. Balamban which means butterfly is a cultural dance of lowland Christians that originated in Santiago City. The dance depicts the graceful movement and fluttering of butterflies that throng Dariuk Hills' scented gardens. It is usually danced during wedding celebrations in Santiago.
Pattaradday Festival - From 2006 to 2013 during the Navarro administration, Santiago's cityhood anniversary was celebrated through Pattaradday, a concept owned by a private organization called Pattaradday Foundation Inc. Pattaradday means unity in Ibanag. Ibanags are historically said to be the first settlers of the locality. It celebrated the unity of the ethno-linguistic groups that have merged in the city to make it the melting pot of culture of Region II. The festival won Hall of Fame in the Search for Best Tourism Event in the Philippines conducted by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines. It featured different festivities participated in by many street dances from all over the country.
Feast of St. James the Apostle (Santiago de Carig) - Celebrated every July 25 of the year is the Feast of Saint James the Apostle, the Patron Saint of the city. It features the life history of the patron saint as it saves the Christians against the Moros (based on the battle of Battle of Clavijo which, Saint James the Apostle appeared as "Santiago Matamoros" or Saint James the Moor-Killer) through Sarswela and the "Grand Batalla" (Grand Battle) or the Moro-Moro, a dance choreography depicting the battle.
Serving as a bridge to the region's provincial network, numerous bus terminals are present in the city. These include, Victory Liner, Northeast Luzon Bus Line (formerly Nelbusco), GV Florida Transport, Five Star Bus Company,EMC LBS bus lines,GMW trans(Santiago-Laoag-Vigan-Abra via Cagayan province among others. By air via Cauayan Airport.
The Integrated Transport Terminal and Commercial Complex has also been established to cater for all public utility jeepneys, buses, and vans that operate from nearby provinces and localities to the city.
Notable school institutions located in the city are the School of Saint James the Apostle (formerly La Salette Elementary School), Santiago Cultural Institute (Chinese School), Children First School, Infant Jesus Montessori School, AMA Computer College Santiago City Campus, TAPS, Patria Sable Corpus College, University of La Salette and Northeastern College, one of the oldest schools in the region. The Southern Isabela College of Arts and Trades is the biggest vocational school operating in the city.Also have a numerous international school operating in this city.
4th Impact, (formerly 4th Power, Cercado Sisters, Gollayan Sisters, and MICA) is a girl group consisting of sisters Almira, Irene, Mylene, and Celina Cercado, who have been singing and dancing together and joining international contests since 2001.
^ "Santiago City Local Government Office". Santiago-City.com Website. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
^ "Republic Act No. 7160 LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF 1991". The LawPhil Project. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
^ "Average High/Low Temperature for Santiago City, Philippines". World Weather Online. Retrieved 5 Nov 2013.
^ "Department of Tourism Region 2". Retrieved 8 November 2013.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Santiago City.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Santiago City, Isabela. | 2019-04-18T11:16:05 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_(Philippine_city) |
0.999998 | What will a Greek or Spanish exit look like for the European Union and what will be its implications for the global economic picture?
The popular media has all but guaranteed a compromise with Greece that would include a debt restructuring and a promise that the union will stay intact. But despite this guarantee, there is presently a stalemate between Syriza and the rest of the European Union that may preclude a possible deal and increase the chance of a Greek exit (Grexit).
Even if an agreement is reached as promised, it could have a ripple effect on Spain, whose own election is looming in the early fall and the far leftist Spanish party, Podemos, is already ahead in the polls. By all accounts, they are even more radical than Syriza.
and the disbanding of Yugoslavia in 1992.
In the analysis, Aslund concludes that "the Economic and Monetary Union must be maintained at almost any cost." This is because the 3 above examples all ended in disaster with spiraling hyperinflation.
If you look at the table below of the greatest hyperinflationary episodes in history, Hungary (part of the Habsburg Empire) tops the list. In fact all 3 examples make the list, including some of the satellites of the Soviet Union breakup as well as Yugoslavia. Both Austria and Hungary (Habsburg empire) experienced hyperinflation. Across the former Soviet Union, 10 out of 15 republics experienced hyperinflation while the former Yugoslavia underwent hyperinflation TWICE.
The standard economic definition of hyperinflation is that it occurs when a country experiences very high and usually accelerating rates of inflation, rapidly eroding the real value of the local currency and causing the population to minimize their holdings of the local money.
The population normally seeks a flight to safety in the form of relatively stable foreign currencies. Under such conditions, the general price level within an economy increases rapidly as the official currency quickly loses real value.
To quantify it, Steve Hanke and Nicholas Krus of the Cato Institute believe it can be defined as any monthly period where the inflation rate rises above 50%. In this scenario, people do not want to hold their money as it is expected to rapidly devalue, which incentivizes spending it on real goods and services as soon possible since exchanging into other more stable currencies is nearly impossible and very expensive.
Think of images of Zimbabwe where the stores are empty and people are lined up around the block to buy what comes in. There is a real and justified fear that your money will be worth less in hours, so spend it as soon as you get it.
What are the Causes of Hyperinflation?
While touched upon in the previous paragraph, hyperinflation has a few main causes. Hyperinflation is usually caused by large persistent government deficits financed primarily by money creation. It is generally a two-fold process where there is a supply shock, which leads to giant output falls coinciding with a continuing and rapidly accelerating increase in the money supply that’s not associated with an increase in economic growth. This leads to a shortfall in goods and services. Output falls are associated with very negative economic activity.
The causes of these large output falls were multiple systemic changes, competitive monetary emission leading to hyperinflation, collapse of the payments system, defaults, exclusion from international finance, trade disruption, and wars. Such a combination of disasters is characteristic of the collapse of monetary unions.
Aslund sees these examples as extremely relevant to the situation in the European Union today. The crux is that all 3 monetary unions had a centralized payments system that had built up large imbalances (just like the European Union) and had a tumultuous exit.
Aslund argues that this exit would be very disorderly accompanied with the exiting countries who will then go onto re-establish their own central banks and currencies to compete against the Euro. This competition between currencies within these currency zones is historically responsible for hyperinflationary episodes.
Based on the three examples listed above and the strong similarities between them, an exit of one EU member nation (Greece or another periphery nation) would constitute a shock big enough to realize both Aslund’s and Buiter’s visions (see above) of hyperinflationary chaos throughout the Eurozone and the world at large.
We are seeing calls by some of the greatest minds in Europe to keep the EU together no matter what the cost. It is doubtful that ailing periphery nations will ultimately place the union above their own self interests as this strategy has been increasingly falling out of favor with the general populations in Portugal, Italy, Spain, and Greece, which continue to be worse off than they were pre-EU.
The real problem continues to be the output gap in these nations. Meanwhile their competitiveness has not risen under draconian austerity policies. Austerity doesn’t work, ask Italy and Portugal. Now, it seems that The Union has reached a crossroads where the resolve of these separate interests will be tested and the consequences of these decisions will affect the global economy catastrophically if the EU cannot find a way to resolve this major problem. Even if it stays intact, the current fiat system is broken and an alternative system needs to be put into place accompanied by responsible policy making.
It is a deep conflict of interest to have one central bank rule a currency zone when there are no equal voting rights on the policy instilled by that organization, especially in a time when large imbalances exist inside and outside of that monetary union.
It appears that the EU is yet another casualty of the currency wars and will have to find a way to keep this ill-fated union together for now. Trying to have economic integration before political and social integration has never worked and the Euro experiment could eventually find itself in the annals of hyperinflationary history alongside the Hapsburg Empire and Yugoslavia. | 2019-04-20T22:56:24 | https://cointelegraph.com/news/grexit-can-the-eu-survive-it-without-hyperinflation |
0.9985 | Got questions about God, faith, Scripture, etc.? Ask The Pastor! All entries will be confidential.
Pastor's Responses-- Pastor will use this space to type his responses to your questions! Your entry will remain anonymous.
I have a close friend that was originally baptized Catholic. A while ago, she started attending a non-Catholic Church, which offered baptism into their Church, so she was baptized again. I would tell her…well you know it’s the 1st baptism that counts, not any that come after...So my questions is…am I right? That the 1st baptism is the only one that counts? No matter how many different religions you join after the 1st? Or is she right, it’s the one that you're currently with/in?
Thank you for your question. In short, you are correct.
I'm assuming that your friend was first baptized as an infant in the Catholic church. There are church bodies that believe that baptism of infants is invalid and can only be valid when a confession of faith can be made at an age of accountability. Your friend's second baptism was done in one such church.
What makes Baptism valid is not the age or the confession or the accountability of the person being baptized. Baptism is valid when water is combined with God's Word, and done in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Baptism's validity is dependent upon the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and not on the works of the person. It is God's Word that makes ordinary water a life-giving and lavish washing away of sin. Therefore, a person only needs to be baptized once (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Infants are the epitome of helplessness. They serve as a picture of humanity's inability to earn or work for salvation. Baptism takes spiritually dead people and brings them to life in the Kingdom of God. Baptism is so much more than a mere sign. Biblically speaking, Baptism is active and accomplishes what we cannot. To put it crudely... Baptism does stuff!! I would invite you and your friend to look at passages concerning Baptism and ask the question, "What does this passage say Baptism does?" For starters, look at 1 Peter 3:18-22. What does Baptism do, according to this passage? Other passages to look at are Romans 6:3-5 and Acts 22:16. There are others, but these will do for now. Thank you! | 2019-04-22T20:27:53 | http://www.trinitynewlenox.org/ask-the-pastor.html |
0.999514 | What is a Seltzer Bottle?
Seltzer bottles, also known as soda siphons, are used to transform normal tap water into carbonated water. Though they are still occasionally used today, they were at their most popular before soda and seltzer were widely mass produced and distributed. Once the water is carbonated, it can be added to flavored syrups, alcoholic beverages, ice cream sodas or any other drink that may benefit from some bubbles.
The base of a seltzer bottle is a container that is filled with cold water. Newer seltzer bottles' bases are generally made of metal, but antique seltzer bottles usually have glass bases. The head of the bottle fits into a stationary plastic or rubber seal around the top of the container that keeps gas and liquid from escaping. A tube extends from the bottom of the head into the bottle. There is a spot in the container head to connect a holder containing the carbon dioxide-filled cartridge to the bottle.
The base of the bottle is filled with cold tap water, with a bit of space left between the top of the base and the fill line. The tube is inserted into the base, and the head is screwed onto the bottle. A carbon dioxide cartridge is inserted into its holder and placed in the slot on the side of the head; the holder pierces the cartridge, allowing carbon dioxide to flow into the base through the tube. The preparer shakes the seltzer bottle for 10 to 15 seconds to disperse the carbon dioxide throughout the water. This gas is what carbonates the water. After shaking the bottle, the cartridge holder is removed from the head, and the seltzer water is ready to disperse by squeezing the handle located on the head. | 2019-04-20T06:19:56 | https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-does-a-seltzer-bottle-work/ |
0.998594 | Baked sea bass is a very delicate and tasty dish that can be served in a lot of different occasions. Its firm flesh with few bones so large to be easily removable is also suitable for children. Here I'm going to tell you about the baked version but you can also boil it in a court-bouillon.
Using a fish scaler or back of a large knife, scrape its scales off, from the tail towards the head, on both sides.
Slit its underside from gills to rear vent with scissors.
You may cut off its head, if you wish.
Wash it under running water carefully.
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°C).
- Arrange your cleaned sea bass in an oven dish with all ingredients.
Remember to put little aromatic herbs inside the fish too.
Season to taste with salt, inside included.
- Bake in the oven until you can remove fins easily, about 30 minutes.
Turn your fish over at least once.
- Finally, remove skin from fish and fillet it, discarding all its bones.
Place sea bass fillets in every dinner plate and serve at once.
- If you prepare this sea bass recipe for your children, do not use wine but wrap it in aluminum. Cooking in foil is much better for them.
- Accompany baked sea bass with a green salad. The best would be a mixture of corn salad and rocket dressed with olive oil, salt and balsamic vinegar. Another choice I like very much is confit tomatoes and olives as you can see in the photo. And what about potatoes?
- Sea bass has refined and firm flesh that is well suited for a only-fish full menu. Among other things, it is also very easy to clean!
- Prepare it according to seasonality determined by its reproductive cycle. Slow Food suggests spring, summer and autumn.
- Interested in tomato confit recipe?
- Sea bass, as long as very fresh, is also consumed raw. I am always quite contrary to the consumption of raw fish but I saw it served as carpaccio in many restaurants. Having to prepare it at home I'd choose the more traditional cooking methods: on the grill or in the oven as in this case.
- Lately, I find it rarely caught. On the contrary it is more and more common as farmed fish. Remember that the essential difference is in the amount of fat that bred specimens accumulate more easily.
What's the right wine for " Baked sea bass "?
Pair a white wine to baked sea bass such as Lugana (wine from North of Italy). | 2019-04-22T10:46:40 | http://theitaliantaste.com/italian-cooking/pesce/acqua_salata/spigola/pescemare004_baked_sea_bass.php |
0.990429 | The study, from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan, appears in the journal Child Development.
Harsh verbal discipline happens when parents use psychological force to cause a child to experience emotional pain or discomfort in an effort to correct or control behavior. It can vary in severity from yelling and shouting at a child to insulting and using words to humiliate. Many parents shift from physical to verbal discipline as their children enter adolescence, and harsh verbal discipline is not uncommon. A nationally representative survey found that about 90 percent of American parents reported one or more instances of using harsh verbal discipline with children of all ages; the rate of the more severe forms of harsh verbal discipline (swearing and cursing, calling names) directed at teens was 50 percent.
Few studies have looked at harsh verbal discipline in adolescence. This study found that when parents use it in early adolescence, teens suffer detrimental outcomes later. The children of mothers and fathers who used harsh verbal discipline when they were 13 suffered more depressive symptoms between ages 13 and 14 than their peers who weren't disciplined in this way; they were also more likely to have conduct problems such as misbehaving at school, lying to parents, stealing, or fighting.
Moreover, the study found that not only does harsh verbal discipline appear to be ineffective at addressing behavior problems in youths, it actually appears to increase such behaviors. Parents' hostility increases the risk of delinquency by lowering inhibition and fostering anger, irritability, and belligerence in adolescents, the researchers found.
The effect went the other way, too. Children who had conduct problems at 13 elicited more harsh verbal discipline from their parents between ages 13 and 14.
The study looked at 967 two-parent families and their children. About half were European American; 40 percent were African American and the rest were of other ethnic backgrounds. Most of the families were middle class. Students and parents completed surveys over a two-year period on topics related to their mental health, childrearing practices, the quality of the parent-child relationship, and general demographics.
Adolescents' conduct problems were assessed at ages 13 and 14 by survey questions like "In the past year, how often have you: a) been disobedient in school, b) lied to your parents, c) stolen from a store, d) been involved in a gang fight, and e) damaged public or private property for fun?" The response format ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (10 or more times).
Parents' behaviors indicating harsh verbal discipline were measured by questions like "In the past year, after your child has disobeyed you or done something wrong, how often have you: a) shouted, yelled, or screamed at the child, b) swore or cursed at the child, and c) called the child dumb or lazy or some other name like that?" Items were rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).
"This is one of the first studies to indicate that parents' harsh verbal discipline is damaging to the developing adolescent," says Ming-Te Wang, assistant professor of psychology in education at the University of Pittsburgh, who led the study. "The notion that harsh discipline is without consequence, once there is a strong parent-child bond—that the adolescent will understand that 'they're doing this because they love me'—is misguided because parents' warmth didn't lessen the effects of harsh verbal discipline.
"Indeed, harsh verbal discipline appears to be detrimental in all circumstances," Wang concludes.
Wang suggests that parents who want to modify their teenage children's behavior would do better by discussing with them their concerns about the consequences of the behavior. The study's findings can inform parenting programs so that parents can learn alternatives to shouting and insulting their teens.
I heard the phrase tough love at 4 not 14. Those that don't discipline their children when they are young wind up yelling and shouting at their teenagers.
Does it have to include shouting? Or corporal punishment?
I have to ask - the indications from the above language indicated parents in the study or elsewhere were physically disciplining their younger children, indicating "tough love" both had not worked and was continuing not to work.
My kids are well behaved and polite as well as outgoing, all without shouting or corporal punishment. Instead they are learning compromise, consequence, self control, and how to ask for and get good attention. Not much tough unless you count agreed on consequences, which are non-negotiable once in action. And one of them just turned four.
Hey GMR, I take it with a grain of salt when parents say how wonderfully their children behave. I have seen too many examples of kids who are terrors being described by their parents as well behaved.
When people go out of their way to tell you how well your kids are behaved that is proof that they are well behaved.
If no one or only a couple of people have told you personally that your kids are well behaved, most likely they're not! Well behaved children are the exception these days and people notice and comment on well behaved children.
I'd say well behaved is "my favorite kid to deal with in eight years in this program" for a summer program. I'm not joking or trying to make anything up - not in my nature. Consistency is key. If kids know the consequences for bad behavior are not dependant upon a parent's mood and are agreed to by both beforehand, there is no need for yelling.
Kids seem to respond to things being fair, so same rules for them go for me. And they can catch me if I break a rule and know I won't get mad about it. So I don't relenquish my role as parent by not shouting or hitting - I just have to be a good example.
GMR If others says your kids are well behaved that is a good sign. I have 4 and every where they go they we hear back how well they are behaved. I agree that Consistency is key, and kids need to know the limits. Kids need to know that IF they do X, Y will happen consistently.
Children are also very different. To discipline one child you may only need to give a disapproving glance, the next one nothing short of a spank.
What I meant by tough love at 4 not 14 is that it is easier to teach a 4 year old consequences and instill self discipline, than allowing a 4 year old to run wild then try to instill discipline at 14. I want to be releasing "shackles of restrictions" as a child gets older, not putting more on because I failed to impose them when they were younger.
It can take more effort depending on the child - but I'm not convinced corporal punishment does much but signal to the child that the parent has either run out of resources or that the child is seen as something less than human. We consider this in adult circles as assault - why would we want to teach our kids it is okay under any circumstance? The only time yelling is okay for me is when life or safety is at stake.
If it takes corporal punishment or the threat of it to keep a kid in line, they are not learning why you exercise self control.
He's not basing this on any logic Gmr. The bible says it's okay, he likes doing it, so that's that. No one is going to take his rights away goshdamnit.
There is definitely a slavery fetish going on here.
GMR there is a definite difference between hitting and a spank.
If you have been blessed with perfect kids who you just need to look at to discipline great. However spanks are extremely effective and settles issues quickly. Removing it or banning it actually increases child abuse. Most children know how to push the limits and will push the limit and if you try to reason with a toddler who is throwing a temper tantrum, you are only fanning the flames.
They thrive on attention. If attention only happens when something they do is incorrect or disruptive, the behavior is rewarded. Spanking is an escalation of a failed policy of attention for bad behavior. Preempting that with attention for good behavior, or when asked for, forestalls the bad behavior because it gets timeouts which have no attention parameter - they are the antithesis of attention. Punishment without anger works.
My children are not perfect. Because of another disruptive individual, they both had many problems only a year ago. It took about six months of consistency to undo in one case almost a decade of harm. It's not overnight, and kids will still test limits. And you don't have to never offer an exception, just be clear why it's an exception. Differentiate accidents (which are faultless) from bad behavior. And make sure the language is always focused on why the behavior is wrong, not how the child is bad. | 2019-04-22T12:50:36 | https://phys.org/news/2013-09-harsh-discipline-teens.html |
0.999999 | A fugitive killer was jailed for six years today after confessing to stabbing a shopkeeper 25 years ago 'to get some peace of mind,' a court heard today.
Paul Marshall, 47, walked into a police station and admitted that he had stabbed a shopkeeper during an £80 robbery in September 1985.
Marshall said: 'I didn't mean to stab him, its been on my conscience ever since.
The Old Bailey heard Marshall was a jobless, homeless drifter in London at the time he raided a grocery shop in Archway Road, Upper Holloway, in Sept 1985.
Marshall stabbed economics teacher Nasir Ali Turabee through the heart in front of his 14-year-old son as they locked the shop up, the court heard.
Marshall admitted charges of manslaughter and robbery. His denial of a murder count was accepted by the prosecution.
Mr Turabee had a degree in economics and trained as a lawyer in India before moving to England in 1965.
He gave up on a law career after the birth of his son in 1971 and began to teach economics at Langham School in Tottenham, the court heard.
To help make ends meet Mr Turabee bought a grocers and off-licence in Archway Road in April 1985 where he would work on weekends.
His 14-year-old son Ikhlaq was helping to lock up the store on the evening of Saturday, September 21, when Marshall pounced, the prosecutor explained.
Jeremy Donne QC, prosecuting, said: 'Son Ikhlaq went outside and started to pull down the security shutters over the windows.
'As he did so he was approached by a man wearing a green boiler suit, who asked if he was still open.
'The man turned away from him and then turned back having pulled a plastic bag with eye holes cut into it over his head.
The scared teenager was shoved into the shop where his father sat behind the till.
Marshall demanded cash and threatened to kill his son if he refused, the court was told.
It was when Mr Turabee rushed from behind the counter to protect his young son that he was stabbed twice in the chest.
Ikhlaq broke free and ran to the till so did not see the attack on his father.
Mr Donne said: 'Although he was aware of some sort of scuffle behind him between his father and the robber he didn't see what happened.
'The next thing was the defendant appearing behind him, snatching bank notes from the till and then running from the shop.
Mr Turabee did not appear to be injured and even spoke to the the 999 operator and said he 'was alright'.
But just moments later he collapsed.
'He said he felt dizzy and sat down,' the prosecutor said. 'His son and a number of other witnesses saw that there was blood staining on the front of his shirt.
The 45-year-old was taken to the Whittington Hospital but when surgeons opened his chest they discovered the sack around his heart had been severed.
He died in the early hours of September 22 from two stab wounds to the chest.
Police closed the murder case in 1986 due to a lack of evidence.
Marshall told police he was after cash for drink and drugs at the time but had reformed his lifestyle while living in the U.S. and since his return to London in 2002.
Moira McGowan, QC, defending, said Marshall had always been 'enormously troubled' and was relieved when he eventually was able to tell police that he was responsible.
Jailing Marshall for six years, judge Richard Hawkins said: 'This was a serious offence. You went armed with a knife with the purpose of robbing Mr Turabee of cash.
But the judge added: 'The prosecution have said without your confession you would never have been charged. | 2019-04-19T07:26:41 | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1279686/Robber-Paul-Marshall-confesses-25-year-old-crimes-peace-mind.html |
0.999999 | This Permaculture Design Overview was created by Midwest Permaculture for Center for Sustainable Community (CSC) and their 8.7 acres of land that immediately adjoins our local community of Stelle, IL. This design overview was presented to the CSC Board of Directors and other CSC members in March of 2012 and was quickly approved for implementation.
Quick Overview of Key Elements in the Design. Additional Details in the ‘Directory of Design Elements’ below.
From even farther up, Stelle is an island of green in an ocean of industrialized agriculture.
The purpose of this permaculture design is to create an agriculturally productive ecosystem that also builds topsoil each year, uses no herbicides or pesticides, and creates a safe habitat for a wide assortment of plants and animals. We welcome others (you?) to become a part of this experiment. We will also share of our methods and results through workshops, PDC Courses and student work/study internships.
An aged 2-acre apple/pear orchard with non-marketable fruit, an established pond with clean water, organic community gardening area, a 2-acre open meadow to the east, a very modest creek that dries up in summer.
A garden shed, three storage sheds, reinforced steel hoop house and available grid-tied electricity.
A Solar panel connected to a pump which moves water from the pond to a holding tank on the hill above to for gravity fed watering in the community gardens.
Land zoned for agricultural use and bordered to the east by the community of Stelle, to the south by the organically grazed livestock of Mint Creek Farm, and to the north and west by industrial agriculture operations. There is a hedgerow to the west and a road to the north that greatly minimizes chemical overspray.
The water in the pond is some of the best found in Illinois, sourced from rainwater flowing over organic fields. The water in Kelly Creek has some contamination from farm chemicals.
The CSC has 10 years of non-profit organizational experience and hosts several cooperative ventures.
Midwest Permaculture has 6 years experience in delivering permaculture education and creating permaculture designs.
The CSC and Midwest Permaculture host a joint work/study internship program and hold on-site educational events. Students and interns bring useful experience, knowledge, skill, and labor to ongoing projects.
The community of Stelle offers a unique experience in community living for interns and students. The community is generally supportive of CSC’s and Midwest Permaculture’s work.
Restore the Environment — Put systems on the ground that will continually create soil, build fertility, increase productivity, harvest energy and grow in beauty for generations to come.
Generate a Surplus — Generate food, fuel and fiber for people working on the property, for participants of CSC, and for students coming to Stelle for trainings. Also generate a surplus that can be converted into financial resources for those working the land and for CSC.
Provide Learning Opportunities — Set everything up to maximize the learning/educational opportunities for interns, students and the general public.
Create Authentic Community — The essence of CSC is to create authentic and sustainable community. The development of this project will involve the participation of hundreds of generous/competent folk (possibly you?) interested and willing to make a difference in the world — to prove that it is possible to live abundantly well on the planet while leaving it in better condition than when we arrived upon it.
The project has begun with the digging of our first swales.
1. Install several Linear Food Forests on the downhill side of constructed hugelkultured swales — located on the highest part of the property at the end of the east meadow.
2. Demonstrate various gardening techniques in the existing strip beds including biodynamic, bio-intensive and other gardening methods.
3. Plant a hedgerow along the southern border of the property for use as a fence, windbreak, food for humans and wildlife, and coppiced & pollard for fuel and utility wood products such as poles, posts and tool handles.
4. Construct Aztec inspired chinampas (floating) gardens extending from the shallows of the south edge of the pond.
5. Support the community garden co-op with simple, energy-efficient hoop-houses that use interior-built compost piles for added heating.
6. Build a greenhouse for year-round vegetable growing that makes use of underground thermal storage and downdraft wood gasification units to convert current sunlight (wood) into electricity and heat.
7. Raise chickens in the food forest and ducks near the pond & gardens not only as a food source, but also for their natural abilities to assist with insect management, weed control, and nutrient recycling.
8. Construct a small intern village consisting of modest camping cabins built with the most abundant material on the property, clay. This natural building substrate can be turned into secure structures by converting it into cob, bricks, and clay slip. The seasonal cabins can be used by work/study interns. A ‘commons’ structure with a shared kitchen will include a solar shower, moldering (composting) toilets, and a thermal-mass rocket stove.
9. Convert the existing 2-acre orchard into a food forest with an over-story of trees that produce nuts and others that fix nitrogen in the soil. The understory will be a full mix of fruits, nuts and vegetables to increase the total harvest to 30+ different varieties of food-producing plants instead of just the present 2 (apples & pears).
This historic collaboration looks great to me.
Will some of those sheep or other livestock next door be grazing here? | 2019-04-22T18:47:18 | https://midwestpermaculture.com/2012/08/csc-permaculture-design-overview/ |
0.999912 | Convicted of first-degree murder given a life sentence for killing his brother in 1998, Zachary Witman is set to be court on Thursday with a three-pronged appeal.
UPDATE: Witman pleads guilty to third-degree murder, will be eligible for parole.
Convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole for killing his younger brother in 1998, Zachary Witman is expected to be back in court on Thursday with a three-pronged appeal.
Now 34, Witman is asking for a new trial, re-sentencing in accordance with a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring life without parole for juveniles, or his outright release.
Gregory Witman, 13, was found brutally slaughtered in his parent's New Freedom home. He had been cut, stabbed and slashed more than 100 times and left nearly decapitated in the laundry room of the home.
Zachary was 15 at the time. He was arrested and charged with murder as an adult.
Because of repeated appeals mostly concerning the admissibility of crime scene evidence, Zachary's trial was delayed until 2003. A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.
The only available sentence at the time of Zachary's conviction was life in prison without parole.
In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles was cruel and unusual punishment and therefore unconstitutional.
Since then, many men sentenced to life without parole across the nation have been re-sentenced to lesser prison terms.
More: He killed at 17. Now, he faces life outside prison 42 years after a fatal robbery in York.
Thursday is Zachary's opportunity to plead his case.
According to a petition filed in the York County Judicial Center on Wednesday by defense attorney Samuel Encarnacion, recent consultations with the county district attorney's office revealed that Zachary's original attorney did not advise him that the prosecution had extended a plea offer.
The petition did not identify Zachary's "original counsel." Zachary was represented by at least three different attorneys before he went to trial. One of the Witmans' attorneys was discussed on the first season of the popular "Serial" podcast.
The petition also does not specify the terms of the purported plea agreement.
Although Zachary's post-conviction relief petition - where argument is limited to whether a convicted defendant's trial attorney was ineffective or not - was decided years ago, that argument has been renewed on the grounds that failure to advise him of the plea offer rises to ineffective counsel.
Under that argument, Encarnacion is arguing Zachary should be granted a new trial or his release.
In the alternative, Encarnacion contends Zachary should be re-sentenced for third-degree murder because there was and is no constitutional penalty for a juvenile who committed first-degree murder prior to June 24, 2012, which was when the U.S. Supreme Court banned life without parole for juveniles.
In an earlier post-conviction appeal filed in March 2016, which forms the basis for Thursday's hearing, Zachary came the closest he ever has to admitting that he killed Greg.
That petition states that the murder "does not reflect a permanent incorrigibility on his part ...," and "did not demonstrate ... such irretrievable depravity that rehabilitation is impossible."
"In fact, he is and long has been rehabilitated," the petition states. | 2019-04-20T12:26:56 | https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2018/02/07/zach-witman-seeking-his-release-new-trial-shorter-sentence/315157002/ |
0.999999 | September is a great time for sports fans. Baseball season is heating up as the regular season begins to wind down, and the playoffs are just around the corner (go Yankees!). If you're a tennis fan, the US Open is underway (will Roger win his 16th Grand Slam?). For golfers, there's the FedEx Cup series. And, oh yes, football season gets underway. There is something for (almost) everyone to watch . . . and talk about.
In fact, sports are one of the leading things people talk about. On any given day in America, about 40% of us have at least one conversation about sports, recreation, or hobbies – that's 120 million people. And it's not just one conversation per day, its closer to three.
Which sports, in particular, generate the most word of mouth? It's not even close. Football is far and away the most dominant. Across the course of an entire year – taking into consideration when the sport is "in season" and when it's not – 41% of the conversations about sports are about football. Basketball is a distant second, with a 22% "TalkShare™," followed closely by baseball at 18%. There is then a sharp drop with auto racing at 6%, and tennis rounds out the top five at 5%. Other sports, such as golf and hockey, drop below that with only 3% and 2% share of conversation, respectively.
All told, we estimate there are 6.6 billion projected annual conversational mentions about football, 3.5 billion about basketball, and 2.8 billion about baseball.
The dominance of football is truly impressive once the season begins. As soon as the professional and college football seasons begin in September, conversations about football begin to skyrocket, accounting for almost 60% of all sports conversations in the month of September.
At the same time, the share of conversations about baseball plummets – even though there are still lots of pennant races and the playoffs are yet to come. It could be a time when talk about baseball is still on the ascendancy, but instead we see the relative percentage of sports conversations about baseball drop from its high water mark of about 32% in July, to less than half that amount by the time September rolls around, perhaps as fans begin to conclude their favorite teams won't be in the playoffs.
Basketball, meanwhile, sees its peak in March (ah yes, March Madness), when it garners approximately one third of sports of conversations – a similar level to what baseball achieves in July.
Football is the word of mouth king of sports in large part because it stays part of the national sports conversation throughout the year, even when the sport is out of season. Indeed, its relative share of conversation never drops below 20%. In season it's dominant; out of season, it's still engaging. .
So for all you football fans . . . let the games, and the gab, begin.
Ed Keller, CEO of the Keller Fay Group, has been called "one of the most recognized names in word of mouth." The publication of Keller's book, The Influentials, has been called the "seminal moment in the development of word of mouth." Ed can be contacted at [email protected].
Read all Ed’s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Ed Keller - MediaBizBloggers. | 2019-04-25T14:27:32 | https://www.mediavillage.com/article/its-football-season-let-the-water-cooler-talk-begin-ed-keller-mediabizbloggers/print/ |
0.999983 | Is NHS rationing a possibility?
Money, money, money - it's a familiar background theme across the NHS in England, but the volume is increasing.
Campaign funding promises have been made but whoever forms the next government will find some challenging financial issues highlighted in their ministerial red boxes.
This week, reports of a tightening of the financial thumb screws have emerged. There is talk of rationing and, as one source told me, "unpalatable things" being contemplated by hospital managers and local health commissioners.
Under what's been billed as a "capped expenditure process", NHS England and the regulator NHS Improvement are telling some trusts to stick within spending limits even if that means tough decisions on the provision of non-urgent care.
The new pressure on hospitals and local health commissioning groups in England comes after some trusts overshot agreed spending targets during the last financial year.
Since the start of this year, from the beginning of April, it has become clear that the biggest over-spenders have been unable to agree their so-called "control totals". They have now been told to take firmer action to keep a grip on spending.
The Health Service Journal (HSJ) reported that NHS officials have contacted health managers in 14 areas of England with a series of proposals for controlling budgets. These include extending waiting times for routine procedures and treatments, downgrading certain services and limiting the number of operations carried out by the private sector for the NHS.
HSJ first revealed the tougher spending regime in April, quoting from a letter sent to those local health leaders who could not agree their budgets.
They were asked to decide "from which areas further expenditure reductions will be made", including reviewing the range of medicines prescribed.
Interestingly, the letter and subsequent dialogue has been with both commissioners, who can limit what they are prepared to pay for, and trusts who might save money by curbing the volume of non-urgent care provided to patients.
There was a clue to this tougher approach in the update to the NHS Five Year Forward View plan, published at the end of March. The finger is pointed at those organisations which had historically substantially overspent their "fair shares of NHS funding".
They are accused of "living off bail-outs" taken from other services. They are then told to confront "difficult choices" and if necessary "scale back spending on locally unaffordable services".
An NHS England spokesperson said no final decisions had been made and when final choices were made locally they would need to be approved nationally. But there was no denying the fact that in some areas hospital managers and commissioners were being told to go further than before to keep a lid on spending.
The background to this is that NHS England is receiving a much smaller budget increase this year than in 2016/17 which, though originally billed as a generous "frontloaded" settlement, appeared to only just cover what the service needed. Patient demand will continue to outstrip the money available with the financial pressure even more intense this year.
Those who see the NHS as a bottomless pit always requiring more money to be poured in will call for more efficiency savings before another bailout is contemplated. Those who argue that the NHS has been underfunded for some years, with the share of national income devoted to health lagging behind other leading economies, will say the only answer is higher levels of government funding.
It's a familiar debate and one which won't go away after polling day.
The three main health think tanks, The King'sFund, Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation, wrote a joint letter this week arguing that no political party was offering enough extra spending to cope with the demographic and demand pressures on the NHS.
They estimated that an extra £20 billion annually would be needed by 2022 over and above the most generous manifesto pledge.
The think tanks argue that failure to provide sufficient funding will result in longer waiting times for patients and a decline in levels of care.
Recent reports indicate NHS chiefs are already planning for that to happen. | 2019-04-19T15:01:50 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40190597 |
0.999299 | A package! Is it for me?
We open the big box that was left on the front porch and find Nana Star, her Moonman, and the first two Nana Star books. I extract the dolls from their packaging, and hand them over to my four year old.
I love her! I love her braided hair! I love the Moonman but he's sort of for Tiny. I want to give him to Tiny.
The doll, Nana Star, is sweet - a soft doll with hidden wires for structure. Her hair is braided, and tied with a bow, and she wears a blue dress and blue ballet slippers.
She has a heart on her hand and she has a tree sun - she's going to shoot something. She's shooting a poison flower! Look, I put the star in her hair.
Her name is Nana Star? I want it to be Princess Lucy. Can we take her clothes off? Look, she doesn't have underwear!
Sure enough, her dress comes off, revealing a feature-less figure with no belly button. Her white gloves (white gloves!) also come off - they have long since disappeared. We read the first book, Nana Star. The book is about a girl who finds a lost baby star. She realizes that she needs to help him find his way back to the sky, and becomes his Nana Star. The branch turns out to be a plot device - an olive branch to help lift up the star.
I want to read the next one!
The second book is Nana Star and the Moonman. It continues the travels of Nana Star and the baby star, and introduces the Moonman, who watches over her even when she can't see him.
I like his pajamas. I turned him off!
The moon's watching over her by his singing. She has to fall asleep on him.
All in all, it's a pretty charming package. The doll is sweet and perfect for my four year old. An unexpected benefit is that she's the same size as the Groovy Girls - so their clothes fit Nana Star. Miss M. was pretty adamant that the Moonman was a "baby toy" which she wanted to give to her three year old cousin Tiny. But that didn't stop her from playing with it, and turning it on over and over and over, until its batteries ran down. The books are a little sappy, but gently impart reasonable lessons. The illustrations are lovely, and have a slightly vintage feel about them. Each book comes with a two-track CD: the story narrated, and a related song. While the CD is nice enough, it seems extraneous - if the child can't read the book, shouldn't an adult be reading it to the child?
I want to bring the Moonman and the girl to my school.
The kid liked it. What more could you want?
Ooh, I haven't heard of Nana Star before. The same size as Groovy Girls, you say? That IS a bonus. I'll have to investigate for my own four-year-old.
A lovely review. It was charming to read your two voices together.
Moon man looks just like my kid!
"- she's going to shoot something. She's shooting a poison flower!"
"Her name is Nana Star? I want it to be Princess Lucy. Can we take her clothes off? Look, she doesn't have underwear!"
What a cute doll...with two boys I don't get to experience those kinds of things.
Sounds pretty cute...and I'd use the CD on the massive car ride that takes us to the family summer vacation...if not for the kids to listen to, for me to bite down on instead of reaching into the back seat and swatting anything that moves or whines like my father used to.
Hi there! Great to read these amusing posts and love Magpie's review! Such talented writers in the blog world! We are glad Nana Star made it to Magpie's house and your four year old like it.
Your statement, "While the CD is nice enough, it seems extraneous - if the child can't read the book, shouldn't an adult be reading it to the child?" we couldn't agree more; alas that seems to be the fairytale story these days. We did place the "mistake" in the book to encourage parent/child reading and hope that helps in some way.
We have the next two stories of the series in editing now and the toys are in the final prototype stages. We'll give a hint and say that Blue Wolf is next and Bette Bat follows - check out www.NanaStar.com to see them. We promise your child will love these even more!
Hopefully the continous stories and toys will make their way to you again. Many, many thanks for your review and again, we appreciate your writing style (in fact we love it!). | 2019-04-26T03:49:38 | http://www.magpiemusing.com/2008/07/nana-star.html |
0.998674 | 'Suicide Squad': Jared Leto Reveals Final Joker Makeup & Physique?
Given all the ways that Suicide Squad will help to establish the shared universe launched with Batman V Superman, it's hard to think of one as surprising or promising as Jared Leto's casting as The Joker. And as Zack Snyder looks to make Ben Affleck's Batman a mainstay in his movie universe, it shouldn't be long before he and Jared Leto go to war on the big screen. But first - the Squad.
Leto has kept fans in the loop as he slowly transforms into the Clown Prince of Crime, teasing his changing hairstyles and most recently, electric green hair and signature lipstick. It appears Leto just can't keep his vision of Joker to himself, as another photo from the set of Suicide Squad has revealed another image of the villain - seeming to confirm that directors David Ayer and Zack Snyder may both be taking Frank Miller's lead.
It's important not to place too much emphasis on Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" comic (as it pertains to more than Joker's appearance), since it is an explicit influence on the formation of a brand new Batman, and not necessarily his arch-nemesis. With the film presumably seeing Leto spend most of his time confined to a cell, it seemed a long shot that any clearer looks at the iconic villain would be given without studio consent.
Unfortunately, the original photographer has yet to be confirmed, meaning fans should take it with a grain of salt (as usual). Authentic or not, the image falls in line with what we've been expecting to see from this take on the Joker. The rumored scars, bleached skin and history with Batman all fall in line with the "Dark Knight Returns" version, and the white suit worn by Leto in the photo cements the link to Frank Miller's original artwork.
At this point, it's hard to know just how the image relates to the film at hand. The rumor mill surrounding Leto's Joker has given the impression that he will offer more than a cameo or minor role, but how the Joker swaps his prison uniform for his signature threads and makeup is completely unknown. There's an outside chance the image is simply the result of Leto's own experimentation with the character's look, and may not be the version fans wind up seeing at all.
But it isn't just Leto's makeup and fashion sense that offered new insight into his role, but the actor's physique as well. When Leto first admitted that he was gaining "a lot of weight" as filming approached, we took it to mean he wasn't intending to get heavier, but perhaps adding on some muscle mass. Considering how physically imposing Ben Affleck's Batman looks to be, few would blame him for at least trying to keep up.
Leto's weight gain may not be as startling as Henry Cavill or Ben Affleck's, but as we've said before, not every DC Comics icon will resemble a bodybuilder. For instance: the Joker seeming to be anything but the 'gym-going' type means that a leaner, more wiry physique has almost always been adopted by comic book artists.
It may be that Ayer and Leto have found a happy medium between big screen hero and comic villain: having Leto bulk up first, before leaning him out. The end result would be a criminal mastermind who conveys years of hard living, scars and injuries and, of course, incarceration; but also the aggression and strength that landed him there in the first place. That may seem like too much attention paid to the physique of a character who isn't typically shown as a physical threat - but that's the point.
So far, moviegoers have yet to see a version of the Joker who poses an actual physical threat to not just larger Gothamites, but fellow villains like Killer Croc and Boomerang. Joker may usually use his wit or insanity to escape physical harm, but it appears that wouldn't quite cut it for director David Ayer. The only question now is how much Leto will get to use those muscles in the actual film.
Those eagerly anticipating Suicide Squad and Batman V Superman may soon be introduced to aversion of the Joker that can not only take the best beating Batman can dish out, but is capable of handing one out himself (even if he does call on some additional muscle).
Are you excited to see Leto's final transformation on the screen? Do you think there's promise in a physically imposing Joker, or does it seem like an afterthought? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments. | 2019-04-22T00:04:29 | https://screenrant.com/suicide-squad-jared-leto-joker-makeup-muscles-body/ |
0.999697 | 1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion; cook until very soft, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add peppercorns, anchovies, and garlic; cook 3 minutes.
4. Add the wine, vinegar, and sugar; raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and add the broths. Leave over medium heat while you brown the lamb shanks.
5. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil into a sauté pan. Over medium-high heat, brown the lamb shanks well on all sides, using tongs to flip them over.
6. Transfer lamb shanks to a roasting pan and pour the braising liquid on top. Cover with aluminum foil and cook in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove the foil and cook 2 1/2 to 3 hours more, turning the shanks over every half hour until the meat is very soft. | 2019-04-18T19:07:23 | https://blimacake.com/853/lamb-shanks/ |
0.999977 | I've been wondering how restaurants are able to serve food so fast. How are they able to serve thick steaks in 20 - 30 minutes?
Put it in the oven 15 minutes.
Another question is how do they manage the steaks? Do they have several in freezer ready and when the stock goes down, they start to thaw the one that's frozen? Or they don't even have frozen steaks? How are they able to keep the steak for a long period of time without it going bad (let's say it's a slow week for the restaurant)? When I buy a steak and put it my freezer, it only last 3 days before it turns gray.
When I worked the wheel at a local restaurant, we served 4oz medallions of filet mignon that went from fridge directly to grill. Only took about 5 minutes on each side, then the steak was plated and sent to the table. There was no "wait until room temp", oven or rest stage. The rest stage wasn't necessary because we weren't pre-slicing the steak before sending it out. By the time the steak leaves the grill and makes it to the table, it has hit a satisfactory rest period.
Larger cuts would require the oven, but those too, would not require waiting until room temperature nor the rest period.
Another question is how do they manage the steaks? Do they have several in freezer ready and when the stock goes down, they start to thaw the one that's frozen?
I can't speak for chain restaurants. The restaurant I worked in would order and prepare the fresh protein twice a week (Thursdays and Mondays). The protein was held in the walk-in cooler. When rush comes, the chef that works the wheel uses several 6" pans that separately contains all the proteins in a smaller fridge nearby.
Of course this is only my experience. Like I said, I can't speak for larger restaurants.
As far as I have experienced steaks are rarely brought to room temperature before cooking except for steaks cooked 'bleu' or 'blue'. You also have to consider that kitchen equipment deliver much more heat than your regular domestic stove. Furthermore the cooking equipment eg chargrills, stoves, flat grills, etc... are always on, hot and ready to cook. In addition, chefs are skilled and thus fast – in larger brigade, it is the more experienced chefs who operate the 'grill' section. Once the steak is cooked it has to be kept warm until the meals for the order the steak is part of are ready to go. Depending on how busy the kitchen is, the steak, particularly if cooked, rare to medium, will be taken away from the grill/stove/oven before a few minutes before it is fully cooked. It will finish cooking while resting. So skills, equipment and a good sense of timing all contribute to make cooking steaks in a restaurant kitchen much faster then in a domestic environment. As for 'managing' steaks that should be an other question.
One could also cook the steak "low temp" or "sous vide" to the desired doneness, then chill. In this case a high heat sear on a grill or flat top would only take a minute per side, to brown or form crust...greatly decreasing the time it takes from order to plate.
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How should I prepare an excellent sauce from sous vide juices? | 2019-04-21T20:10:51 | https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/45247/how-do-they-prepare-steak-so-fast-in-restaurants |
0.999997 | tidak larut (... AgCl dan CaCO3, ...).
yang ditunjukkan oleh nilai keseimbangan Ksp.
tidak larut (... AgCl dan CaF2, ...).
yang ditunjukkan oleh nilai keseimbangan Ksp.Konstanta hasil kali ion terlarut Contoh: AgCl(s) Ag+(aq) + Cl-(aq) ⇒ Ksp = [Ag+][Cl–] = 1.1.8 × 10-10 konstanta hasil kali ion terlarut 17. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it Kajian lebih lanjut menunjukkan setiap garam “tidak larut” memiliki karakteristik “kelarutan” masingmasing. 4 .
8 × 10-10 Kelarutan AgCl = 1.34 x 10-5 M Nilai yang tetap pada suhu tetap ⇒ penambahan salah satu ion ke dalam air akan mengurangi kelarutan (efek ion senama) Apabila dalam suatu larutan hasil kali ion-ion terlarut (Q) melebihi Ksp ⇒ garam akan diendapkan ⇒ digunakan sebagai dasar pada pemurnian dengan cara kristalisasi Q > Ksp ⇒ lewat jenuh Q = Ksp ⇒ jenuh Q < Ksp ⇒ tidak jenuh 17.Arti konstanta hasil kali ion terlarut Contoh: AgCl(s) Ag+(aq) + Cl-(aq) ⇒ Ksp = [Ag+][Cl–] = 1.1. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 5 .
Efek ion senama Contoh: 6 .
1.Learning Check Write the reactions and mass action expressions for the dissolution of the following substances in water: •Ag2CO3 Ag2CO3(s) 2Ag+(aq) + CO32-(aq) Ksp = [Ag+]2[CO32–] •(NH4)2SO4 (NH4)2SO4(s) 2NH4+(aq) + SO42-(aq) Ksp = [NH4+]2[SO42–] 17. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 7 .
1.8 × 10-10 x2 = 1. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 8 .8 × 10-10 molar solubility = 1.3 × 10-5 M 17.Learning Check What is the molar solubility of AgCl at 25 °C? AgCl(s) Ag+(aq) + Cl-(aq) I C N/A -x 0 +x 0 +x E N/A x x AgCl Ksp 1.
0 × 10-29 > (3x)3(2x)2 = Ksp > molar solubility = 7. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 9 .1.Learning Check What is the molar solubility of Ca3(PO4)2 at 25 °C? Ca3(PO4)2(s) I C E 3Ca2+(aq) + 2PO43-(aq) N/A -x N/A 0 +3x 3x 0 +2x 2x Ca3(PO4)2 Ksp 2.1 × 10-7 M 17.
1. 6.Your Turn! What is the molar solubility of Ba3(PO4)2? Ksp = 1.17 × 10-20 M C. None of these 17.55 × 10-7 M D.1.30 × 10-29 A.17 × 10-7 M B. 2. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 10 .
what is its Ksp? 6. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 11 .1.0 × 10-5 M. we can find Ksp • The solubility of an salt. is found to be 3. is found to be 2.Learning Check Given solubilities.3 × 10-17 17.6 × 10-21 • If the solubility of a salt.5 × 10-6 M. A2B3. AB2. What is the value of Ksp? 2.
1 M +2x 0.ionized at the start Na3PO4 → 3Na+(aq) + PO43-(aq) 0. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 12 .1 + 2x ≈ 0.3 M 0.1)2 = Ksp > molar solubility 4.1 > (3x)3(0.0 × 10−29 1. Ca3(PO4)2 I C E N/A -x N/A 3Ca2+(aq) + 2PO43-(aq) 0 +3x 3x 0.1 M Na3PO4? Ksp= 2.2 × 10-10 M 17.Learning Check: Common Ion Effect What is the molar solubility of Ca3(PO4)2 in 0.1 M 2. Na3PO4 is strong electrolyte .1.1 M → 0.
BaCl2 → Ba2+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq) 0.1 M 0 +x +x 0.1 + x ≈ 0.1 M 0.1 × 10-10 1.1 x > x(0. BaCl2 is a strong electrolyte.Learning Check: Common Ion Effect Calculate the molar solubility of BaSO4 in 0. BaSO4(s) I N/A C -x E N/A Ba2+(aq) + SO42-(aq) 0.1 × 10-9 M 17.1) = Ksp > 1. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 13 .1 M → 0.1 M BaCl2.1. Ksp = 1.2 M 2.
It decreases C. It does not change D.Your Turn! What will happen to the solubility of Ba3(PO4)2 if solid BaCl2 is added? A. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 14 . It increases B.1. Not enough information given 17.
1 M Pb(NO3)2 + 10.3 × 10–9 = [Ca2+][C2O42–] Qsp = 0.00025 Ksp = 2.1 M CaCl2 + 20.00 mL of 0.00 mL of 0.00 mL 0.001 M CaCl2 PbCl2(s) Pb2+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq) Ksp = 1. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 15 .1.01 M Na2CO4 Ca2+(aq) + C2O42-(aq) CaC2O4(s) Ksp = 2.7 × 10–5 Qsp < Ksp no precipitate will form 17.00 mL of 0.7 × 10–5 = [Pb2+][Cl-]2 Qsp = 1.Learning Check Will the following form a precipitate? • 20.3 × 10-8 Ksp = 1.3 × 10–9 Qsp > Ksp a precipitate will form • 10.
No B.1 M in Pb2+ and 0.Your Turn! Pb(NO3)2 is added to a solution of HCl until the mixture is 0. Not enough information is given 17.7 × 10-5 A. Will a precipitate form? Ksp = 1. An insoluble salt is in equilibrium with the solution around it 16 .1.005 M in Cl-. Yes C.
5 x 10-9 K2 (H2CO3) = 4.7 x 102 = 2.Meningkatkan kelarutan garam atau oksida Garam-garam atau oksida yang sukar larut dalam air. dapat ditingkatkan kelarutannya dengan penambahan asam Contoh: ⇒ Ksp (CaCO3) ⇒ 1/K2 (H2CO3) Ktotal = Ksp (CaCO3)/K2 (H2CO3) Ksp (CaCO3) = 4.5 x 4.7 x 10-11 jauh lebih besar dari Ksp Ktotal = 4.1 x 103 Ktotal = kelarutan semakin besar jika [H3O+] semakin tinggi [Ca2+] [HCO3-] [H3O+] ⇒ [Ca2+] [HCO3-] = [H3O+] 2.1 x 103 17 .
Meningkatkan kelarutan garam atau oksida Kelarutan CaCO3 semakin bertambah pada kondisi larutan yang lebih asam 18 .
dapat ditingkatkan kelarutannya dengan penambahan basa Lewis ⇒ senyawa kompleks Contoh: AgCl dalam air AgCl dalam air dan ditambahkan NH3 19 .Meningkatkan kelarutan garam Garam-garam yang sukar larut dalam air.
dapat ditingkatkan kelarutannya dengan penambahan basa Lewis ⇒ senyawa kompleks Contoh: 20 .Meningkatkan kelarutan garam Garam-garam yang sukar larut dalam air.
dapat ditingkatkan kelarutannya dengan penambahan basa Lewis ⇒ senyawa kompleks Contoh: 21 .Meningkatkan kelarutan garam Garam-garam yang sukar larut dalam air.
atau S2bersifat sangat basa.2. sehingga bereaksi dengan air membentuk OHContoh: + 2Ag2O(s) ↔ 2 Ag (aq) + O(aq) − 2O(aq) + H2O(l) ↔ 2 OH (aq) Ksp Kb - + Ag2O(s) + H2O(l) ↔ 2 Ag (aq) + 2OH(aq) Ag2S(s) ↔ 2Ag+(aq) + S2-(aq) Knet Ksp S2-(aq) + H2O ↔ OH-(aq) + HS-(aq) Kb Ag2S(s) + H2O ↔ OH-(aq) + HS-(aq) + 2Ag+(aq) Knet 17.Kelarutan oksida dan sulfida Kelarutan oksida atau sulfida dalam air bisa terjadi karena O2. Solubility equilibria of metal oxides and sulfides involve reaction with water 22 .
3 × 10−7 Ka2 = 4.47 × 1010 1.2.50 M 17.Learning Check What is the molar solubility of BaCO3 in 3 M HCl? BaCO3 H2CO3 Ksp = 5.3 × 10 −9 × 4.0 × 10 −9 ) ( 4.47 × 1010 ) = 2.0 × 10−9 Ka1= 4.7 × 10−11 BaCO3(s) + 2H+(aq) ↔ H2CO3(aq) + Ba2+(aq) I N/A 3 0 0 C -x -2x +x +x E N/A 3 . Solubility equilibria of metal oxides and sulfides involve reaction with water 23 .2x x x K net = K sp K a1 K a 2 x2 ( 3 − 2x ) 2 = ( 5.7 × 10 −11 = 2.
Your Turn! What is Knet for the molar solubility of Ba3(PO4)2 in 6 M HCl? Ba3(PO4)2(s) + 6HCl(aq) ↔ 2H3PO4(aq) + 3BaCl2(aq) A.2. D. K sp Ka 2 Ka 2 K sp K a1 2 K a 2 2 K a 2 2 K sp K sp K a1 2 K a 2 2 K a 2 2 17. C. B. Solubility equilibria of metal oxides and sulfides involve reaction with water 24 .
Pengendapan garam secara selektif Suatu ion dapat berkompetisi dalam mengendapkan suatu garam dari campuran ion-ion ⇒ karena nilai Ksp yang berbeda-beda Contoh: penambahan ion Cl. Metal ions can be separated by selective precipitation 25 .3.ke dalam campuran garam nitrat dari Ag dan Pb. akan mengendapkan AgCl ketika nilai Ksp-nya terlampaui 17.
jenuh AgI dan PbI2 tidak mengendap AgI mengendap PbI2 tdk mengendap AgI dan PbI2 mengendap PbI2 .9 × 10-9 [I-] = 8.3 × 10-16 M AgI tdk mengendap AgI mengendap AgI batas konsentrasi I.3 × 10-17 PbI2(s) ↔ Pb2+(aq) + 2I-(aq) Ksp = [Pb2+][I-]2 = 7.jenuh [I-] = 2.8 × 10-4 M PbI2 tdk mengendap PbI2 mengendap batas konsentrasi I.1 M Ag+? AgI(s) ↔ Ag+(aq) + I-(aq) Ksp = [Ag+][I-] = 8.is needed to precipitate one ion but not the other in a mixture of 0.Learning Check What concentration of I.1 M Pb2+ and 0.
Learning Check At what pH will one ion ppt but not the other in a mixture of 0.3.1 M Mn2+. 0.10 pH 17.6 × 10-13 Mn: pH = 8.6 × 10-39 Fe: pH = 1.40 Mn(OH)2(s) ↔ Mn2+(aq) + 2OH-(aq) Ksp = [Mn2+][OH-]2 = 1. Metal ions can be separated by selective precipitation 27 .1 M Fe3+? Fe(OH)3(s) ↔ Fe3+(aq) + 3OH-(aq) Ksp = [Fe3+][OH-]3 = 1.
01 M Mg2+. All of these will do E. 5 × 10-7 CaCO3 4.will precipitate one but not the other? A.Your Turn! When a solution containing 0. Metal ions can be separated by selective precipitation 28 .0 × 10-5 D. 5 × 10-6 MgCO3•3H2O 4. what concentration of CO32. None of these will do 17.3. 5 × 10-8 Ksp B.1 M Ca2+ and 0.8 × 10-9 C.
and 0.Learning Check What pH will prevent the precipitation of any metal ions in 0. 0.3.61 PbS pH= -2.26 pH 17.1 M H2S.1 M Pb2+? Cu2+(aq) + H2S(aq) ↔ 2H+(aq) + CuS(s) Kspa = 6 × 10–16 6 × 10−16 ⎡Cu 2+ ⎤ [ H 2S] ⎦ =⎣ 2 ⎡H+ ⎤ ⎣ ⎦ Pb2+(aq) + H2S(aq) ↔ 2H+(aq) + PbS(s) Kspa = 3 × 10–7 3 × 10 −7 ⎡ Pb 2+ ⎤ [ H 2S] ⎦ =⎣ 2 ⎡H+ ⎤ ⎣ ⎦ CuS pH= -6.1 M Cu2+. Metal ions can be separated by selective precipitation 29 .
17. Kinst M(L)nm+(aq) ↔ Mm+(aq) + nL(aq) • When we reverse an equation. L • Complex ions are soluble. hence complexation is a means of dissolving some solids • Complexes are governed by the instability constant. thus Kform = 1/Kinst.4 Complex ions participate in equilibria in aqueous solutions 30 . we invert K.Complexation and Kinst • Complex ions are charged particles in which a metal ion is surrounded by anions or molecules called ligands.
4 Complex ions participate in equilibria in aqueous solutions 31 . ions are dissolved in water through ion-dipole interactions • Water acts as a ligand.Aqueous Metal Ions are Complex Ions • In the solvation of ionic compounds. the Lewis base that forms a coordinate covalent bond with the metal 17.
1 × 1013 Cu2+(aq) + 4NH3(aq) [Cu(NH3)4]2+(aq) 0.01 M NH3? Kform = 1.1 M Cu2+ are combined with 10.048 M 17.4 Complex ions participate in equilibria in aqueous solutions 32 .Learning Check What is the concentration of Cu2+ available when 10.0 mL 0.0 mL of 0.
0 × 10-51 Ag2S(s) + 4NH3(aq) [Ag(NH3)2+] Kinst= 6.5 Complex ion formation increases the solubility of a salt 33 . Ag2S Ksp = 6.Learning Check Calculate the molar solubility of Ag2S in 2 M NH3.8 × 10-12 M 17.3 × 10−8 2[Ag(NH3)2]+ + S2-(aq) 1.
37 × 10 x = 1.6 ×10 -124 17.61 × 10-10 [Co(NH3)6]3+ Co2S3 Kinst = 2.5 Complex ion formation increases the solubility of a salt 34 .6 × 10 M (2x)2 (3x)3 Ksp −57 = = × 5.3 × 10-3 M (6 − 12x)12 Kinst D. 1.8 × 10-11 M Co S + 12NH ↔2Co(NH ) 3+ + 3S22 3 3 3 6 -57 B.0 M NH3 A.2 × 10-34 Ksp = 2. 4. None of these 108x 5 −57 12 6 = 5.37 10 2 C.Your Turn! What is the molar solubility of Co2S3 in 6. 2. | 2019-04-19T00:47:23 | https://fr.scribd.com/document/269745717/Ch17-Keseimbangan-Ion |
0.999998 | I want you to keep one thing in mind this year, and base all your actions on this one truth.
Google is the leading search engine because they have and return the best data to their users.
Successful people seek out the best data and take action based on what the data says.
The marketers generating the most leads and sales are doing so because they have the best data on what works and doesn't work.
Without quality actionable data, you are never going to drive meaningful change in your life and business. In 2015, the data driven approach is the only sure fire way to predictable success, and any other way means you are leaving your results to luck and chance.
How do you get the best data?
You can get data in multiple ways. 3rd party data comes from outside sources. You usually know very little context about the data except for the fact that it's presented to you. The exact collection methods are usually a black box. Additionally," 3rd party data is easy to get and readily available. So although you can make decisions based on this data, you will not always get the best results. It gives you a general overview and a better starting point for the framework I will share with you in a bit.
Next, there's 2nd party data. Think of this as more selective data that you've partnered up with someone to access. For example, data you get from a private mastermind can be seen as second party data. It's someone else's first party data that you can benefit from. There's less of it available than 3rd party data and usually harder or more expensive to get, but it's also the next best thing to first party data.
The absolute best data you can get is the one you observe and generate for yourself. This is what I call first party data, it's highly relevant and directly applicable to your exact needs. Your current and future life experiences are all first party data. With proper tracking and analysis, you can leverage this data in powerful ways.
Figure out the result or solution you are trying to get.
Generate a hypothesis based on the data you have from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd parties. A hypothesis is an educated guess or idea that will lead you closer to what you are seeking in step 1. It may take more than one hypothesis to get to your answer, but it's best to test one at a time. Also, the more 1st and 2nd party data you have, the higher quality your hypothesis will be, and the faster you will progress towards your solution. If you have no 1st or 2nd party data, find and use 3rd party data.
Two big mistakes people make are not using any data for the hypothesis, and assuming the hypothesis is always true.
The likelihood that someone out there has done what you are trying to do is pretty high, so there's no need to reinvent the wheel. Building off previous data is an accelerator that will save you headaches and time if used correctly.
No matter how knowledgeable or experienced you are, never make the mistake of blindly assuming your hypothesis is correct and needs no further testing or refinement. The world is constantly changing, and the only way to keep ahead of the pack is to refine and test constantly. Data gets old, stale, and less actionable over time.
Test your hypothesis to verify correctness. If the results don't match your hypothesis, you have two options: Refine and change your hypothesis to align with the outcome and test again, or select a completely new hypothesis for more testing. I find that rapidly testing a set of hypotheses before refining is more effective, because it gives you a wider set of knowledge to work with before diving deep into the refinement process.
. Knowing something valuable is cool, but you know what's cooler? Implementing and living life based on this knowledge. The whole idea behind this process is to generate quality first party data to guide your decisions.
You can see how doing this effectively creates a compounding effect. Your goal is to understand there are 3 types of data for basing your decisions on. With that in mind, you want to rapidly accumulate and implement the quality knowledge mined from your first party data, but this only comes from running your own experiments.
Secondly, realize that although you can do this alone, you will move faster by building off other people's work and experience. Seek out 2nd party data first, because it's more aligned with your needs and augment it with 3rd party data as needed.
Finally, keep feeding everything you gain back into this system to continually stay relevant. Over time you will find that the whole process gets faster and more efficient because the quality, breadth and depth of your inputs (data) keeps improving.
You now have a better understanding of how to make data-driven decisions to power through your New Year's Goals and achieve everything you set out to do in 2015 and beyond. | 2019-04-20T16:38:40 | http://prosper.tracking202.com/blog/a-guaranteed-way-to-dominate-in-2015 |
0.999765 | Review: Ex-G.I. Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum) returns to Japan at the behest of his friend George Tanner (Brian Keith), whose daughter has been kidnapped by yakuza as payback for a business deal gone awry. Harry reconnects with his old flame, Eiko Tanaka (Keiko Kishi), with whom he sired a now-grown up daughter named Hanako (Christina Kokubo), hoping she can trace her brother Ken Tanaka (Ken Takakura), a legendary figure in the yakuza underworld. Ken has mixed feelings about Harry, torn between resenting him for shacking up with his sister and being obliged to him for saving her life. Alongside young gunman Dusty (Richard Jordan), Harry and Ken rescue Tanner’s daughter from the yakuza hang headed by Tono (Eiji Okada, of Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959)) but find themselves tangled in a web of deceit and long-buried secrets.
With his script for The Yakuza, Paul Schrader finally cured himself of his taste for gun metal (seriously, look it up) and launched the Hollywood career that begat Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) and American Gigolo (1980). Co-written with his brother Leonard Schrader - who later penned the Japanese sci-fi/comedy/thriller The Man Who Stole the Sun (1980) - and featuring input from Robert Towne, the film is part gangster yarn, part lecture on Japanese culture. Schrader weaves something of a potpourri from bits of classic film noir, Zen philosophy, martial arts clichés and samurai lore, but his skill as a writer means this catches the spirit of old yakuza movies while concocting something palatable to mainstream tastes. Coming one year after Enter the Dragon (1973), Warner Bros. must of wanted to latch onto the next potentially big craze from the Far East, though the film proved more of a cult hit than a blockbuster. Schrader and Towne’s literate script wisely casts Ken, not as wacky oriental sidekick, but as Harry’s equal. The film is respectful of Japanese culture though perhaps reverent to a fault. The yakuza are gangsters after all.
By the mid-seventies, the yakuza world as depicted in films like this was something of an anachronism even in Japanese movies. Toei Films, who leant their studio facilities and experienced crew to the Hollywood visitors, had moved on to the amoral, ultra-violent yet altogether more truthful “jitsuroku eiga” made by Kinji Fukasaku, movies like Modern Yakuza - Outlaw Killer (1972) and especially the eight-part Fight Without Honour series (1973-79). The Yakuza is really a throwback, almost an elegy, to the “ninkyo eiga” with their decent, self-sacrificing yakuza heroes and codes of chivalry and honour. Schrader and Towne draw canny parallels between the romantic fatalism of Hollywood noir and the melancholy world of ninkyo eiga. For while Harry and Eiko’s frustrated romance does move, this is ultimately a story about atonement and of respect growing between two men.
Mitchum is superb of course and takes to this sort of material like a duck to water. He is fittingly paired with the greatest ninkyo eiga star of all: Ken Takakura, whose soft-spoken stoicism made him as big an icon as Clint Eastwood in his native Japan. He resurfaced in two further Hollywood movies: as an upright cop in Ridley Scott’s Black Rain (1989) and a baseball coach in the muddled comedy Mr. Baseball (1993) but did his best work in Japanese and Chinese cinema (John Woo cites Ken Takakura movies as an inspiration), working well into the Noughties.
The film is well-acted by all and beautifully photographed by D.P.’s Duke Callaghan and Kozo Okazaki, whose lighting adds to the pervading wistful, melancholic tone. Dave Grusin’s music is also excellent and well-used throughout the striking title sequence. This is not an action film but what set-pieces there are stylishly handled by Sidney Pollack, though things do meander a bit which is a reoccurring problem with his thrillers. Pollack - whom Mitchum himself brought in to replace Robert Aldrich - is alleged to have clashed with his Japanese crew, but the locals truly adored Mitchum. Conversely, while making the Hong Kong produced thriller The Amsterdam Kill (1977), Mitchum got on so badly with his Chinese crew he came to suspect they wanted him dead.
This review has been viewed 2045 time(s). | 2019-04-21T04:48:20 | http://thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=4821 |
0.996067 | Over seven million copies of the Charlie Hebdo survivor issue are now being printed and still only a trickle are making it out of Paris. Sooner or later they'll get across the pond in sufficient quantity that I too can buy a copy. As I wait for my opportunity to show this small gesture of support, it's interesting to note many news organizations chose not to print or broadcast the cover including NBC, NPR, and the New York Times.
The two primary rationales for major media outlets to not publish or display the unquestionably newsworthy cartoon cover of the Charlie Hebdo survivor issue are 1) fear of violence for their employees or 2) protecting the feelings of readers/viewers from being offended by a presumptively blasphemous cartoon.
"Must all deliberate offense-giving, in any context, be celebrated, honored, praised? I think not. But in the presence of the gun ... both liberalism and liberty require that it be welcomed and defended."
"...the kind of offense-giving that’s often most worth defending or even embracing is the kind that’s made in the face of, or in response to, lethal violence."
I'll offer less nuanced phrasing - If the "we won't print the Charlie Hebdo cover because it might offend" rationale is not completely hypocritical, it is intellectually dishonest. In the case of Douthat's employer at the New York Times - it is both.
"So it's not that Charlie Hebdo went over the line of decency, it's that The New York Times under Dean Baquet's editorship has elevated a doctrinally questionable and physically non-existent taboo into a red line for the rest of his readers. Scientologists, grab your bricks. Seventh Day Adventists, take note. You, too, can make the historically existing figures who founded your churches into people who can never be depicted in the Paper of Record, even as a picture of long-forgotten, never-controversial statue. You just need to complain with enough force."
What got to me in this piece was the interview with Caroline Fourest, longtime contributor to Charlie Hebdo, who was actively working to get the survivor issue published. When asked for her reaction to the fact that many American news outlets were blurring the cover for the issue (around 3:40 mark) she said: "I think it is crazy... I think it is the saddest news I've heard in all of the incredibly moving mobilisation around Charlie Hebdo."
In the face of the kind of courage and commitment to the principle of free expression exhibited by Fourest and the other Charlie Hebdo survivors, I am embarrassed by major news American news organizations that cannot even bring themselves to permit a reporter to hold up a copy and show it on their network. It's just pathetic.
What can I do but write a blog post and put the cover image in the post? I have no illusions about the impact and reach of a minor blog with limited readership like this. But it's something. The people of Paris are linking up for hours to show their support and purchase a copy of the Charlie Hebdo survivor issue. I can and will buy a copy when it make it across the pond. So I can buy a copy, post the image and point out, like many others, the shameful hypocrisy and cowardice of the New York Times and other media services in our country. That's about it. And I can hope that in the future we can find journalists and executives in America with the courage of a Caroline Fourest. | 2019-04-22T18:42:35 | http://www.dividist.com/2015/01/je-suite-pussies.html |
0.998869 | Stills are all taken from the short film 'Toute la mémoire du monde,' directed by Alain Resnais, included on 'L'Année dernière à Marienbad,' distributed by the Criterion Collection.
Around the same time I discovered Last Year in Marienbad, I fell upon reference to Toute la mémoire du monde. Both films were directed by nouvelle vague director Alain Resnais. The simplest way to describe Toute la mémoire du monde is to say that it’s a short documentary film of the setting and institutional practices of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris as they were in the late 1950s. But, at just twenty minutes in length, Toute la mémoire du monde is much than this short description can convey. This remarkable document of a place was produced and released by Les films de la Pléiade as the fifth installment in the series Encylopédie de Paris. Dark, ominous orchestral music and pompous, hyperbolic commentary, composed by Maurice Jarre and read by Jacques Dumesnil respectively, complement the stunning cinematography of Resnais.
Confronted with these bulging repositories, man is assailed by a fear of being engulfed by this mass of words.
These readers, each working on his or her slice of individual memory, will lay the fragments of a single secret end to end.
The periodicals section must digest 200 kg of paper daily.
This film is recommend viewing to anyone, provided that it’s not too much of a pain to track down. (It’s sometimes available in the special features of Last Year at Marienbad.). Students and practitioners of library and information science as well as enthusiasts of French new-wave cinema will however find this film especially deserving of their attention. How many other films are there like it, documenting so thoroughly an institutional context? Enriching and utterly engrossing, the 20-minute film is a fine example of Resnais’ superb cinematography, which makes the film entertaining for anyone, even my three-year-old daughter.
A note on the director: Alain Resnais made visually beautiful films. He was known as the ‘dolly king’ because of his frequent use–and total mastery–of steady tracking shots, an effect that impressed itself indelibly into my memory: the beauty of pure uninterrupted tracking motion. Hiroshima, mon amour is Alain Resnais’s most known film in North America, it would seem. But Marienbad is just as masterful and compelling as Hiroshima. Both films resulted from Resnais’ collaboration with French nouveau roman figures, Alain Robbe-Grillet (Marienbad) and Marguerite Duras (Hiroshima). It’s on the special features of this Marienbad that you’ll find Toute la mémoire du monde. Don’t take my word for it–seek these out.
Published by Jacob Siefring on July 6, 2012 at 11:45 am under Commentary. | 2019-04-18T11:11:40 | https://blogs.mcgill.ca/beyondtheshelf/2012/07/06/all-the-worlds-memory/ |
0.999962 | I want Blackburn Rovers to get relegated.
I think I should make it clear first and foremost that I have nothing in particular against Blackburn as a club; they're perfectly acceptable and haven't really done anything to anger me recently.
Why, then? It's simple: I'm sick of football club owners being daft, to put it bluntly. It spoils my enjoyment of the game when you have honest fans having to suffer through the unjustifiable decisions of their club's owner.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not expecting club owners and higher-ups to be perfect, to never make mistakes. For example, West Ham co-Chairman David Sullivan recently elaborated on the inner workings of the deal that allowed Newcastle's Demba Ba to leave West Ham for nothing, calling it "one of the worst mistakes I have ever made in my life". These things do, unfortunately, happen. The faux pas Everton made with Dan Gosling, which Newcastle also profited from, is another example. It's an honest mistake on the business side of football and while it's not a smart thing to do, you can see how such an error can be made. It's more of an administrative problem.
What is far more of a real issue is insane managerial appointments and sackings, because to me it represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how football works. And it might sound arrogant for me, a simple fan, to be telling the owners of a Premiership club that they "don't get it", but it's kind of hard not to take that attitude when you look at some of the decisions that they have been making recently.
Blackburn removing Sam Allardyce and replacing him with Steve Kean is one of them, but Wolves are just as guilty for sacking Mick McCarthy with no replacement ready to come in and having to resort to, in Terry Connor, an assistant who simply cannot cut it at this level (at the time of writing he has 1 point from a possible 24).
Tranmere Rovers also earned my ire for hiring their physio Les Parry to replace the sacked John Barnes. These appointments are almost always guaranteed to end in disaster, so why on earth do chairmen persist with it? It beggars belief that these people can actually expect somebody with no management experience - in Parry's case, no real playing experience either - to walk in and do a good job.
I understand that some of it is motivated by finance - I imagine Terry Connor is on less than Mick McCarthy was, and Les Parry was certainly on less than Barnes - but you have to spend money to make money. You need a good manager to keep your team performing well, which will net you more winnings. It's basic stuff.
The importance of the position of manager is one that cannot be underestimated under any circumstances. You cannot just promote the assistant and say "yeah, he'll do." You cannot sack an experienced Premiership manager, seemingly on a whim, without an equal or superior replacement lined up. You cannot expect players to readily accept this change. There's a reason the manager, more than the players, gets put under pressure when a team is on a bad run (or lauded when they are doing well), and that reason is very simple: it's one of the most important positions at any football club, if not the most important. Even in Spain and other countries, where the manager is more of a "head coach", the position is still of utmost importance.
As a fan, this to me seems incredibly obvious, and should be basic knowledge for anybody who is in the business. It's simply not a position that you can cut corners on. If you're Jez Moxey, Wolves' chairman, you shouldn't sack an experienced Mick McCarthy unless you are absolutely sure Alan Curbishley is going to replace him. And yes, that would involve negotiating with Curbishley while McCarthy was under contract, but so be it. Even that would be better than what they've done - hire Terry Connor, who resembles a rabbit in the headlights. With that said, if I had my way they wouldn't have sacked McCarthy at all - to this day it still strikes me as a bizarre sacking, even with no replacement ready to come in. Perhaps something happened behind the scenes that I'm not aware of.
Now, would-be tough managerial sackings aren't always terrible. When Newcastle sacked Chris Hughton he deserved plenty of sympathy - I did not feel he deserved that after not only getting them promoted, but into a solid mid-table position during their first season back in the Premiership. But it would appear that Mike Ashley actually had Alan Pardew - a manager with a better record and more experience in the top flight - lined up. So while it was incredibly harsh on Hughton, who I feel had proved himself, you can't say Ashley made the wrong decision there. Especially since Pardew has actually far exceeded what Hughton was doing. That, I would say, is an example of a tough sacking done right - unlike when Newcastle sacked Sam Allardyce and got relegated (hmm, seem familiar?).
Sunderland's record when they sacked Steve Bruce was not particularly terrible but it would appear Sunderland had a superior replacement in Martin O'Neil ready to come in. That would also be an example of a tough decision done right. It's a decision that some pundits might have disagreed with at the time, but it's clear that forward planning, knowledge of the game and knowledge of the current managerial environment was present. This is in sharp contrast to hiring your physio as manager, or removing former Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy and replacing him with former Wolves assistant manager Terry Connor.
So I want Blackburn to go down not because I have anything against them personally, like I said, but because their relegation would hopefully be a lesson to owners and football higher-ups everywhere to think before they pull the trigger on their managers.
As a side-note, I actually completely understand where Blackburn's fans were coming from in their hounding of Kean earlier in the season. Obviously I don't condone some of the things that were being said (or screamed), but their frustration is understandable. In the current climate, a manager with the record Kean had at the time and his total lack of top-level management experience can reasonably expect to be sacked. The fans could also reasonably expect him to be sacked. When he is not sacked, then, and results do not improve, it was inevitable that the calls for his head would only get louder.
To bring up Steve Bruce again, he was sacked from Sunderland when they were in a better position than Blackburn (on top of Bruce being a more experienced manager than Kean, and thus having earned a little more leeway), so for Blackburn fans to see that and for Steve Kean to still be there would certainly be surprising.
English Football kind of exists in a bizarro world where a bad run of, say, 6 games puts the manager under pressure immediately, and to see your club not conforming to that bizarro world is naturally going to provoke anger and confusion. Especially when the fans didn't want Kean in the first place. So I don't even hold that against Blackburn - my issue is solely with what their owners did and what it means for football.
In the end, Blackburn's relegation would hopefully bring a wider issue to light and that's a net positive, even if it means a decent club has to go down. Wolves going down would maybe do the same thing, thanks to the McCarthy sacking and their subsequent results, but they were in trouble anyway. Meanwhile, I sincerely doubt Blackburn would be in this much trouble if Allardyce was still there. The (almost literal) bottom line is that hiring an assistant with no managerial experience to replace him was foolish and, if nothing else, almost deserves to be punished with relegation. | 2019-04-25T02:05:35 | http://coxinthebox.blogspot.com/2012/04/why-i-want-blackburn-to-go-down.html |
0.999682 | I've heard my share of great music in movies, bought more than one soundtrack that's introduced me to a band I've grown to love. I've heard songs in a context that makes me think of it in a new way. But sometimes, the band I love doesn't really exist outside the world of the movie. Some bands are too over-the-top, too fabulous, or too truly, truly, truly outrageous to live in the real world. This TOP 7 list is dedicated to Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and now Get Him to the Greek.
Recap: Christopher Guest's mockumentary about a folk reunion concert features many of his regular collaborators, including Eugene Levy as Mitch Cohen and Catherine O'Hara as Mickey Crabbe. They used to be a couple, as well as a folk duo named Mitch & Mickey before a break-up ended their professional and romantic partnerships. Their most famous song, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" featured the couple sharing a kiss at the end. So the question of whether or not the two will do this on stage after so many years is a mystery to everyone watching, including them. Reason: Despite being in a comedy, and often being ridiculous, Mitch and Mickey are the heart of this film. I watched on tenterhooks, waiting to see if they would kiss or not. Their relationship is bittersweet, their song is saccharine, but what can I say? I love them.
Recap: A very young Diane Lane stars as the lead singer of a proto-riot girl act in this low-budget film. She plays Corinne, a young punk with big dreams who leaves her blue collar town after her band, the Stains, gets a slot opening for a punk band, featuring a young (and thin!) Ray Winstone. Her punk rock style and feminist call to arms win her media attention, and fans, as the tour progresses. Reason: A film before it's time, someone should really remake this; though I doubt they'll find a more commanding leading lady than Lane. As the leader of the Stains, she makes a fascinating and credible frontwoman. The music isn't as memorable as some of the other bands, but few acts have influenced so many real world rockers. The movie isn't perfect, but the Stains are pretty close.
Recap: When teen journalist William (Patrick Fugit) gets the chance to write for Rolling Stone, he joins Stillwater on the tourbus and learns about life, love and many varieties of drugs. Reason: Again, Stillwater isn't a memorable band for the music so much as for the personalities. Billy Crudup's Russell Hammond is a golden god, and Jason Lee's Jeff Bebe is about done with him. Their offstage antics make them an awesome band to tour with, certainly from William's point of view. Not to mention they have the coolest groupies ever. Just as memorable as the band are the band-aides, who are played by Kate Hudson, Anna Paquin and Fairuza Balk. I'd like to see Hudson do another part that's even close to this awesome.
Recap: Todd Haynes' love letter to glam rock and fandom, Velvet Goldmine tells the story of rockers Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and Curt Wilde (Ewan McGregor) as discovered by a journalist, Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale). Slade has a meteoric rise to stardom along with his band, Venus in Furs but meets his match in Wilde. As he produces Wilde's next album, the two embark on a passionate relationship. Reason: This is a love it or hate it movie and I'm firmly in the love camp. One thing I adore is the music. Venus in Furs, at least off camera, is composed of a britpop dream team including Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Suede's Bernard Butler. Their cover of Brian Eno's "Baby's On Fire" is amazing. The song is complemented by Haynes' visuals that combine a Bowie-esque vibe with your mom's most fevered imaginings of what a rock and roll hedonism looks like.
Recap: The story of Hansel Schmidt (John Cameron Mitchell) and his transformation into the transsexual rock diva Hedwig. Hedwig tells her story to the audience while playing a gig in the same town as rock star, and former lover, Tommy Gnosis. Reason: Another glam rock inspired band, you can see what kind of music I like. Whether as a musical or film, Hedwig tells a fascinating story through some great music that you leave the theater humming. It's well written by composer Stephen Trask and performed fabulously by Mitchell. This is one of the few musical soundtracks I've felt the need to own, I was singing these songs for days after seeing the movie. And you'd better believe that if Hedwig really existed, she'd be a huge rock star.
Recap: A couple of guys in Dublin (including Glen Hansard of Once!) want to form a band, but unfortunately have no idea how to do it. So they enlist the help of a manager and proceed to bring soul to Ireland. Despite some serious hiccups, including drunk/missing band members and romantic relationships between band members, they manage to make great soul. Until everything implodes. Reason: There's a reason the movie and the band have the same name. Ok, well, yes, it was a book too, but ignore that. It's because the band is amazing. These men bring the soul to Dublin, and the rest of the world as well. The story's good but the band's amazing. I think I learned the difference between recorded music and live music by watching a band play live... in a movie. They made old radio staples like "Mustang Sally" and "In the Midnight Hour" feel contemporary. After the film came out, some of the actors started touring as The Commitments, others went off to form popular Irish acts The Frames and The Corrs.
Recap: The best metal band of all time, Spinal Tap, goes on a tour of the United States and things fall apart pretty much immediately. But the band perseveres-ish, whether dealing with a slightly smaller Stonehenge then expected or a series of imploding drummers. Reason: The best metal band of all time taught the world how to be a band, fake or otherwise. Led Zepplin wishes they rocked this hard. Comedians Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer put on the wigs and pull out the Spinal Tap routine every few years to go on tour. And who wouldn't want to see these classic songs? I fully expect "Big Bottom" to be stuck in my head for days. | 2019-04-26T14:41:19 | https://thescorecardreview.com/tsr/articles/top-7/2010/06/02/top-7-movie-bands-i-wish-really-existed/10809 |
0.999501 | WASHINGTON, D.C. - The average New York family - already struggling to keep their homes and protect their jobs in the middle of a debilitating recession - would be hit with a nearly $4,000 tax hike as a result of the 137 tax and fee increases Gov. David Paterson proposed this week, according to a new report issued today.
The analysis was done by the Assembly Republican Ways and Means Committee and made available by Assembly Republican Leader Jim Tedisco. The analysis also shows that the tax hikes could lead to the loss of 1-in-10 jobs in New York.
The report reinforces the concerns raised by the non-alcoholic beverage industry that the 18 percent tax hike on regular soft drinks and the 5-cent-per-container tax on bottled water and juice will further imperil family budgets as well as the good-paying jobs with benefits the industry provides in communities large and small.
"It's mindboggling that in the middle of a recession, the governor would impose a $4,000 tax hike on the very families who can least afford to take on this financial hit," said Kevin Keane, senior vice president for public affairs at the American Beverage Association (ABA), which represents the non-alcoholic beverage industry. "In an economy like this, the last thing that government should be doing is raising taxes on hard-working families."
The ABA strongly dismisses as a façade the state's claims that the soft drink tax is meant to prevent obesity, as singling out one product is not going to make a dent in such a complex problem as obesity. Science and common sense do not support the assertion that soft drinks uniquely contribute to obesity. Serious efforts to combat the real challenge of obesity would center on helping families eat all foods and beverages in moderation and getting them up and exercising more, particularly our increasingly sedentary children.
Furthermore, if the governor's tax policies were really intended to address obesity - rather than just grab money - he wouldn't be taxing health club memberships as well.
"Let's be realistic. This is purely a money grab from hard-working families who have no money left to grab in this tough economy," Keane said. "It's disturbing to see some perpetuating the myth that taxing one product will make a difference in obesity, or even contribute to fighting the problem. It won't."
The beverage industry in New York provides a hand up to the economy at a time when other industries are coming to government for a hand out. It supports 160,000 good-paying jobs with good health benefits, with many of those being union jobs. The industry also has a direct economic benefit of $7 billion to the New York economy and an indirect benefit of $25 billion.
State government needs to address its budget crisis the same way hard-working families are coping with their budget troubles: by tightening their belts and spending less. Instead the governor is passing the buck - actually 4,000 bucks - to the hard-working families of New York, already struggling through tough economic times.
The American Beverage Association is the trade association representing the broad spectrum of companies that manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages in the United States. | 2019-04-24T14:31:27 | http://www.bottlebill.org/news/articles/2008/NY-12-19-AssemblyAnalysisShows-pr.htm |
0.999881 | Could someone brief me what describes Conventional Self Publishing?
Maybe a success story or two?
Conventional self-publishing: Rather than getting a publisher, you pay a printer to produce X copies of your book, which you then attempt to sell on your own. They literally just convert a stack of blank paper into book form- you write, edit, lay out, design the covers, market the result, register the copyright and everything else.
With POD - print on demand, which is what most of the internet sites around at the moment offer - you provide them with an electronic copy (usually PDF), which they only print up when somebody orders a copy. With the former, you get the benefits of bulk manufacture costs (if you need that many copies), while the latter costs a lot more per book, but has no startup fees (depending on who you use - www.lulu.com is one of the best, well-known ones on the net) and the printer's cut comes out of the cost of each book printed. | 2019-04-20T17:22:30 | https://absolutewrite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-8190.html?s=6a0d690cfc4c4de0014313664f6e0c5b |
0.999999 | After a short meeting last week the councilors will try to tackle the sensitive issue of racial profiling, and just before they do so a group will rally in front of City Hall for the cause of David Russo, a Worcester teen who activists say was targeted by authorities because of his race.
Let's see how this goes, it all begins at 7:00.
"We all could've done better. Myself as mayor, the city team, we all could've had a better response...I'm heartened that there are so many people here today who want to have that dialogue." J.O'Brien says as a father of an interracial family, it's healthy to talk about these issues.
CM O'Brien says they'll bring the neighborhood together again with a deputy chief and a member of the WPD-clergy team, as well as get answers back in the form of a report.
"If we're going to be proactive we're going to have to really listen to each other." He talks about the email chain that said explicitly "a police officer told her ... to look out for youth in the neighborhood who do not belong" which a resident said meant explicitly black and hispanic youth.
"I don't know whether the police officer said that or not," but he says there should've been a city response last summer when this happened to address it. "My question to end is how do we be proactive?" He says not only were residents concerned about burglaries, but they were afraid to send their kids out into the neighborhood.
"There should be other ways we can do proactive dialogues" without the press coming out.
Chris Robarge of the ACLU says "I wish that it hadn't taken nine months and a tragedy that had happened 1,200 miles away" to make this an issue in Worcester. "What happens when there's a situation like this when someone just needs to communicate to the police department" for someone to just say their kids belong in the neighborhood, rather than going through the Bureau of Professional Services. He says Russo is still being stopped in his neighborhood, even after this incident.
He says having data would be helpful, and wonders if the WPD collects data on the "racial make up" of people they stop. If it's not, then he says it should. If it is, then is should be released to the public.
J. O'Brien says that PCBs are a concern here and across the country. "The good news here is ... we came up with a comprehensive plan to address those concerns" that's been approved by the EPA. It's available on the WPS website.
"WPS is trying to proactively trying to address this...I would like to say the public can be rest assured," that the concerns are being addressed.
Rushton says he met an acquantice who knowlegable about this who said Worcester is becoming a leader in PCB remediation. He says his mother has worked in a classroom in Worcester for 30 years that has PCBs. He wants further details about the PCB report that's been signed off by the EPA.
Petty, who chairs the School Committee, says the WPS is working hard to accomplish these goals.
Rushton says "I'm absolutely opposing this," and he moves to file. "If there's any chance of changing the name of this street," he says, it should be for the firefighters who lost there lives there.
The ideas don't pass council. 11-0 to keep the street name as it is.
Rushton asks the CM if restrictions can change quickly. CM O'Brien says the license commission is taking up the item this week, which could allow for a longer outdoor seating season and extening the times by an hour. "Even an hour could rise revenues," Rushton says.
8:09: J.O'Brien talks about ways to streamline GED and ESL and other adult learning programs through the schools and workforce central, including centralizing where to sign up for these classes.
8:12: Eddy brings up a uniform paving policy for streets and sidewalks. He brings up last year's vote for $20 million spent on streetscaping. He says "I don't want to see another patchwork effort" where the road looks great, but the sidewalks are paved with different materials. "There's got to be an easier way to do this." He wants this expidited so year two has more uniform paving.
8:16: Economou talks about allowing residents in the ALB zone in D1 be able to plant their own shade trees at their expense. Petty has concerns about powerlines. Economou says "it's up to the utilities to keep those trees groomed." He wants the city to re-examine the "right tree, right place" policy.
8:20: Economou wants a report on how many nonprofits have come into the city in a recent time span and if they've continued to pay taxes on the properties they've bought.
8:25: Russell brings up the Ames St. ball field and Eddy asks about allowing access to Beaver Brook Park while simultaneously combating illegal dumping there.
8:41: Russell wants to know whose responsibility it is to take care of little league fields - the league or the city? CM O'Brien says he'll get him a report but it's city property, and he's grateful for the help little league volunteers provide.
8:42: Palmieri says next week MassPort is coming to the public transportation subcommittee meeting. Wednesday at 5:00. | 2019-04-20T10:20:57 | https://www.worcestermag.com/2012/04/03/city-council-live-blog-4312-146008975 |
0.999878 | When you are just starting to learn the German language, the grammar might seem a bit overwhelming. But fear not, we prepared a list of the most used German grammar terms to make the process of learning easier for you. You can save the pdf file to your computer or print it and refer to eat every time you see an unknown grammar term.
das Substantiv/das Nomen – a noun is a person, a thing, a place. All nouns in German language are capitalized: das Deutschland(Germany), die Mutter(mother), das Buch(book).
der unbestimmte Artikel – indefinite article refers to an unspecified noun: ein Buch(a book), eine Frau(a woman).
das Genus – gender. German nouns can be masculine, feminine and neutral: der Mann(masculine), die Frau(feminine), das Mädchen(neutral), das Buch(neutral).
das Pronomen – a pronoun is used to replace a noun: sie(she), er(he), es(it).
das Verb – a verb describes what is being done: Ich bin zu Hause (I am at home). Du gehst zur Arbeit(You are going to work).
der Infinitiv – infinitive is the basic form of the verb. This is the form that you find in dictionaries: gehen(to go), lernen(to learn), machen(to make).
das Subjekt – subject is a noun or pronoun that does the action in the sentence: Die Frau liest das Buch(The woman is reading the book). Ich gehe nach Hause(I go home).
direktes Objekt/Akkusativobjekt – direct object/object in the accusative case: Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester(I have a brother and a sister).
indirektes Objekt/Dativobjekt – indirect object/object in the dative case: Ich helfe meinem Bruder(I help my brother). Ich spreche mit meiner Schwester(I am talking to my sister).
das Adverb – adverb describes the verb, another adverb or adjective: Ich fahre langsam(I drive slowly). Er spricht sehr schnell(He speaks very fast).
die Präposition(en) – prepositions connect nouns to other words: Ich fliege nach Berlin(I am flying to Berlin). Ich warte auf dich(I am waiting for you).
der Hauptsatz – main clause, independent clause: Ich gehe nach Hause, weil es spät ist(I am going home because it is late).
der Nebensatz – subordinate clause, dependent clause: Ich gehe nach Hause, weil es spät ist(I am going home because it is late).
die Konjunktion(en) – conjunctions combine words and sentences: ich und du(I and you), Ich gehe nach Hause, aber du bleibst hier(I am going home, but you are staying here).
die koordinierende Konjunktion – coordinating conjunction combines two independent clauses: Gehst du nach Hause oder bleibst du hier(are you going home or staying here)?
die subordinierende Konjunktion – subordinating conjunction links a dependent clause to a main clause: Ich kann nicht kommen, weil ich keine Zeit habe(I can’t come, because I don’t have time).
der Nominativ – used for the subject of the sentence: Das Handy ist neu(The phone is new). Die Frau ist schön(The woman is beautiful).
der Akkusativ – accusative is used for direct objects and after the prepositions that require accusative case: Ich habe einen Hund(I have a dog). Das Geschenk ist für dich(The present is for you).
der Dativ – dative is used for indirect objects and with the prepositions and verbs that require dative case: Ich gebe dir das Buch(I give you the book). Ich bin in der Stadt(I am in the city). Ich spreche mit ihm(I am talking to him).
der Genitiv – genitive is used to indicate possession. This is the least used German case: Das ist die Freundin meines Bruders(This is my brother’s girlfriend). Das ist das Haus meines Freundes(This is my friend’s house). There are also some prepositions that require Genitiv: Ich arbeite während der Woche(I am working during the week).
das Präsens – present tense: Ich komme(I am coming/I come). Du siehst(You are seeing/You see).
das Futur – future tense: Ich werde kommen(I will come). Du wirst sehen(You will see).
das Futur II – future perfect: Ich werde mein Studium abgeschlossen haben(I will have finished my studies).
das Imperfekt, das Präteritum – simple past (written past): Ich kam(I came). Du sah(You saw).
das Perfekt – present perfect (conversational past): Ich bin gekommen(I came/I have come). Du hast das gesehen(You saw that/You have seen that).
das Plusquamperfekt – past perfect: Ich hatte 8 Stunden gearbeitet(I had worked 8 hours). Er war nach Hause gekommen(He had come home).
das Hilfsverb – helping verb is a verb that is used with another verb to create a different tense or mood: haben, sein, werden. Ich habe dich gesehen. Ich werde dich sehen.
trennbare Verben – separable verbs – the particle is separated and put at the end of the clause: aufstehen – Ich stehe um 8 Uhr auf; einladen – Ich lade dich an.
der Imperativ – the imperative is used to command or request to do something: Hör auf(Stop it!)! Hilf mir(Help me)!
der Indikativ – indicative is used for stating facts: Ich gehe nach Hause(I am going home). Sie hat angerufen(She called me).
der Konjunktiv I – subjunctive I expresses what someone else said: Er sagt, er sei um 8 Uhr gekommen(He says he came at 8 o’clock).
der Konjunktiv II – subjunctive II is used for hypothetical statements: Ich würde sagen(I would say). Er würde helfen(He would help). Du hättest gesagt(You would have said).
Do you know any other grammar terms that were not included in the post? Let us know in the comment! | 2019-04-25T13:10:48 | https://germanwordoftheday.de/german-grammar-terminology-introduction/ |
0.995681 | I was fascinated by John Rockwell's review of Ferruccio Busoni's Piano Concerto [ "If Mahler Had Written a Concerto," March 10 ] . Recognition of Busoni's stature as a composer is long overdue, and this article will surely spur the revival.
Mr. Rockwell focuses on Busoni as the creator of gigantic post-romantic compositions -- works like the opera "Doktor Faust," the massive Fantasia Contrappuntistica for solo piano, the Piano Concerto itself.
My own somewhat different image of Busoni owes much to Edward Steuermann, for many years Busoni's pupil and colleague. To Steuermann, Busoni was less a lionized public idol than a lonely, even diffident, pioneer leading the way into a new musical world -- indeed, it was Busoni who subsequently introduced Steuermann to another lonely pioneer, Arnold Schoenberg.
This side of Busoni comes across poignantly in one of Steuermann's reminiscences: "May I recall a memorable event from the time of my contact with a great musician, a giant among performers -- Busoni? He asked me to play celesta in the orchestra on the occasion of a concert of his compositions in the 'Sing-Akademie' in Berlin. Between two large orchestral works he played for the first time for the highbrow, snobbistic audience his freshly finished Fantasia Contrappuntistica. Stepping out of the artist room on his way to the piano and seeing me, he said, 'Please come a little closer to the piano -- I would like to feel one friendly spirit near me.' He gave a wonderful performance." DAVID H. PORTER Saratoga Springs, N.Y. David H. Porter, president of Skidmore College, is a pianist and co-editor of "The Not Quite Innocent Bystander: Writings of Edward Steuermann." | 2019-04-22T17:05:23 | https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/31/arts/l-ferruccio-busoni-a-lonely-pioneer-801791.html |
0.999983 | What's the difference between attractive and pretty?
(a.) Having the power or quality of attracting or drawing; as, the attractive force of bodies.
(a.) Attracting or drawing by moral influence or pleasurable emotion; alluring; inviting; pleasing.
(n.) That which attracts or draws; an attraction; an allurement.
(1) Osteoporosis and its treatment have attracted much attention in recent years, especially since the widespread recognition of its association with the menopause.
(2) The last stems from trends such as declining birth rate, an increasingly mobile society, diminished importance of the nuclear family, and the diminishing attractiveness of professions involved with providing maintenance care.
(3) In view of many ethical and legal problems, connected in some countries with obtaining human fetal tissue for transplantation, cross-species transplants would be an attractive alternative.
(4) So I am, of course, intrigued about the city’s newest tourist attraction: a hangover bar, open at weekends, in which sufferers can come in and have a bit of a lie down in soothingly subdued lighting, while sipping vitamin-enriched smoothies.
(5) Older women and those who present more archetypically as butch have an easier time of it (because older women in general are often sidelined by the press and society) and because butch women are often viewed as less attractive and tantalising to male editors and readers.
(6) Synthetic N-formylmethionyl peptides are chemotactic attractants for human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
(7) The Chinese model of development, which combines political repression and economic liberalism, has attracted numerous admirers in the developing world.
(8) But with the advantages and attractions that Scotland already has, and, more importantly, taking into account the morale boost, the sheer energisation of a whole people that would come about because we would finally have our destiny at least largely back in our own hands again – I think we could do it.
(9) A viral aetiology for this group of diseases remains an attractive but unsubstantiated hypothesis.
(10) The strongest field distortions and attractive forces occurred with 17-7PH stainless steel clips.
(11) Bar manager Joe Mattheisen, 66, who has worked at the hole-in-the-wall bar since 1997, said the bar has attracted younger, straighter crowds in recent years.
(12) As for fish attractiveness, motion, freshness, size, color and species were found as important parameters in the food-preference mechanism.
(13) "That attracted all the wrong sorts for a few years, so the clubs put their prices up to keep them out and the prices never came down again."
(14) His coding talent attracted attention early: a music-recommendation program he wrote as a teenager brought approaches from both Microsoft and AOL.
(15) In a BBC Radio 4 performance that attempts to underline his status as a normal bloke – although he admits he was too "square" to attract a girlfriend at university – Miliband's luxury item is a weekly chicken tikka masala from his local north London Indian takeaway.
(16) But it has already attracted attention for paying some deferred bonuses early in the US to avoid a hike in tax rates.
(17) Cuadrilla's admission comes after more than a fortnight's protests at the Balcombe site, which have attracted international attention.
(18) Although selenium deficiency in livestock is consequently now rare in Oregon, selenium-deficient soils and attendant selenium deficiency conditions have been reported near the Kesterson Wildlife Refuge in the Northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, California, where, paradoxically, selenium toxicity in wildfowl, nesting near evaporation ponds, occurred and attracted wide attention.
(19) It has been a place of pilgrimage for many centuries and a tourist attraction probably since Roman times.
(20) A nine-year-old Scottish girl who attracted two million readers to a blog documenting her school lunches , consisting of unappealing and unhealthy dishes served up to pupils, has been forced to end the project after the council banned her from taking pictures of the food in school.
(superl.) Pleasing by delicacy or grace; attracting, but not striking or impressing; of a pleasing and attractive form a color; having slight or diminutive beauty; neat or elegant without elevation or grandeur; pleasingly, but not grandly, conceived or expressed; as, a pretty face; a pretty flower; a pretty poem.
(superl.) Moderately large; considerable; as, he had saved a pretty fortune.
(superl.) Affectedly nice; foppish; -- used in an ill sense.
(superl.) Mean; despicable; contemptible; -- used ironically; as, a pretty trick; a pretty fellow.
(superl.) Stout; strong and brave; intrepid; valiant.
(adv.) In some degree; moderately; considerably; rather; almost; -- less emphatic than very; as, I am pretty sure of the fact; pretty cold weather.
(1) As a Native American I am pretty sensitive to charges of racism and white supremacy,” the Oklahoma congressman added.
(2) Not making a sound for 24 hours pretty nearly killed me.
(3) The conclusion is to warn the orthopaedic surgeons to look carefully what model is behind the pretty coloured results.
(4) It may unsettle Exxon Mobil a little but they are pretty experienced now and I don’t think they would derail anything,” she said.
(5) United and West Ham are on similar runs and can feel pretty happy about themselves but are not as confident away from home as they are at home and that will have to change if they are to make ground on the top teams.
(6) When you hear the name Jesus, is the first image that comes to mind a dewy-eyed pretty boy with flowing locks?
(7) We’ve got a lot of work to do but I’m feeling pretty confident.
(8) Some offer a range, depending on whether you think you're a bit of a buff, and know a pinot meunier from a pinot noir and what prestige cuvée actually means or you just want to see a bit of the process and have a nice glass of bubbly at the end of it, before moving on to the next place – touring a pretty corner of France getting slowly, and delightfully, fizzled.
(9) No one condones what happened in the 70s, but I think this is pretty appalling."
(10) Which is good news for anyone who likes this kind of thing (which is, let's face it, pretty much everyone.
(11) Woodall added: “Pretty much everything [is a potential source for what we found].
(12) There's no doubt Twitter is, for those who are into that kind of thing, a first-class social networking medium (the proof: pretty much every other social networking site, including Facebook, has tried to buy it and, having failed, adopted a whole raft of blatantly Twitter-like features of their own).
(13) Pretty much every major toy brand, as well as apps like Angry Birds and Talking Friends, are spawning “webisodes” on YouTube as well as traditional ads, which often sit side-by-side within the same channel.
(14) She said the UK law on assisted suicide infringed Pretty's human rights, under article two of the European convention – the right to life.
(15) Facebook Twitter Pinterest Terms and Conditions May Apply – trailer It’s pretty simple, really.
(16) Parties are a tedious chore, while sponsorships are pretty tiresome too: can you remember the key messaging about that motor oil you agreed to plug to the nearest reporter?
(17) Chelsea might recover under similar circumstances, but I reckon they need a pretty big overhaul.
(18) I’ve seen Ukip both at home and abroad, and I’m sorry to say they’re pretty amateur.
(19) "I have always been of the view that it is a false dichotomy, and one that is pretty much built-in by our education system unfortunately," he said this weekend.
(20) Facebook Twitter Pinterest A bus belching smoke in Bogotá Pretty dirty.
Words possibly related to "attractive"
Words possibly related to "pretty" | 2019-04-22T12:32:17 | https://comparewords.com/attractive/pretty |
0.999993 | Wie viel wissen wir über unsere Emotionen?
Emotionen sind unsere ständigen Begleiter. Sie beeinflussen unsere Entscheidungen und unser Verhalten; ob wir es wollen oder nicht. Die Fähigkeit, unsere Emotionen wahrzunehmen und zu verstehen sowie zu erkennen, wie unsere Emotionen uns und andere beeinflussen, heisst Emotionales Selbstbewusstsein. Das Emotionale Selbstbewusstsein gehört zu den fundamentalen Kompetenzen der Emotionalen Intelligenz.
Emotionales Selbstbewusstsein steht in Zusammenhang mit folgenden Begriffen: Radar, Zwiebel, Spiegel und „ripple Effekt“. Überlegen Sie einmal, welchen Zusammenhang es zwischen diesen Begriffen und dem Emotionalem Selbstbewusstsein geben könnte. Die Antwort auf diese Frage finden Sie gleich in diesem Video.
Was ist der Mehrwert, über unsere Emotionen Bescheid zu wissen?
Durch die (Er-)Kenntnisse unserer Emotionen erhalten wir den Zugang zu unseren Bedürfnissen und Informationen über unsere Reaktionen in konkreten Situationen. Dies können wir dafür nutzen, bessere Entscheidungen zu treffen oder unser Verhalten bei Bedarf anzupassen. Wenn wir unsere Emotionen nicht beachten, kumuliert sich in unserem Inneren Energie, deren Macht wir uns kaum bewusst sind.
1). Was fühle ich im Moment?
2). Warum fühle ich was ich fühle?
3). Was macht das mit mir?
4). Wie beeinflussen meine Emotionen andere?
5). Möchte ich im aktuellen Emotionalen Zustand bleiben oder nicht?
Die Gewohnheit, den Blick nach innen zu kehren, ist sehr wertvoll. Sie ermöglicht Ihnen eine spanende Reise in Ihrer eigenen Welt. Diese Reise ist entdeckungsreich und unendlich. Machen Sie sich auf den Weg!
http://eqpower.ch/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EQpower_med_rgb4-300x66.jpg 0 0 Marina Riedi http://eqpower.ch/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EQpower_med_rgb4-300x66.jpg Marina Riedi2017-03-21 12:23:102017-03-21 12:23:10Wie viel wissen wir über unsere Emotionen?
Reality Testing – are you sugarcoating reality or fearing the worst?
Reality Testing is the capacity to remain objective by seeing things as they really are, rather than as we wish or fear them to be. It involves noticing when our perception of a situation is overly negative or overly positive.
Some people tend to wear rose-colored glasses. The glasses may make the world look nice, but there is a flip-side: the person might misinterpret critical information, underestimate risks or overlook a danger. For example, if a person can’t accurately assess the amount of effort needed for the task at hand, he or she might end up stressed.
The opposite of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses is coloring reality with own fears. For example, if such a person isn’t greeted warmly by a manager in the hallway, this person might think: “Oh, my manager doesn’t like me anymore. I did something wrong.” His thoughts colored by insecurity might prompt wrong assumptions, which prevent him from seeing the situation objectively.
Good Reality Testing means verifying how well our perceptions match reality. Is there an absolute reality out there? Yes, no, and maybe. We probably wouldn’t be able to answer this question. However, people with a good sense of reality are able to tune into a situation and assess the correlation between what’s experienced and what objectively exists. They remain on the same page as everyone who is involved in this situation. Reality Testing enables us to focus on ways to cope with what we discover and keep our emotions in check, untainted by illusions.
• Do you tend to sugarcoat reality?
• Do you fear the worst?
• Which emotions influence your sense of reality?
Be Emotionally Smart by “Being Realistic”!
http://eqpower.ch/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EQpower_med_rgb4-300x66.jpg 0 0 Marina Riedi http://eqpower.ch/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EQpower_med_rgb4-300x66.jpg Marina Riedi2015-01-22 10:20:032015-01-22 10:21:04Reality Testing - are you sugarcoating reality or fearing the worst?
To be a Social Samaritan means to demonstrate your social conscience and be compelled to help society and social groups. This competency is called “Social Responsibility”. Social Responsibility is that moral compass directing your behavior toward promoting the greater good of others.
A good example of Social Responsibility is to do fund raising projects for charities or to help out at social events as a volunteer. To me, being on the organizing committee of an annual neighborhood get-together is also a sign of Social Responsibility, though on the local level.
Whether for one person or for all of mankind, your contribution matters! Not only for others but also for yourself. If you are one of those who thrive while contributing, your social activity will bring you a deep sense of fulfillment and inner worth. I have had this experience helping out my son with his projects for WWF. Being engaged in social activities allows you to train different skills. For example, being the president of a tennis club will give you a chance to practice your leadership skills. Another advantage is to build relationships with people who are involved in the same social activity. Maybe these relationships will help you in the future.
As with all competencies of Emotional Intelligence, finding the golden mean is the key!
– Check in with yourself to ensure that you are not avoiding your current emotional state by focusing solely on helping others.
– Ask someone close to you (e.g., family or close friends) to describe what your intentions to help look like from their perspective. Others may be able to see the real motives behind even the best intentions.
– If you are overly involved to the point that your personal well-being is neglected or you are placing unrealistic expectations on your friends, family, or colleagues for their social or corporate involvement, it may be time to reflect on the motives behind your desire to help others.
– Identify two or three charities, nonprofit organizations, or causes to which you feel a connection.
– While brainstorming, record several activities that you can engage in to help at least one of these organizations. Write down what outcomes you expect to see from engaging in each activity. Ensure that these outcomes benefit the organizations or people and aren’t just about making yourself feel good.
– Create a plan and a time frame and if possible, share these details with someone who can hold you accountable to follow through on them.
Be Emotionally Smart by Being a Social Samaritan!
Empathy – are you able to step into another person’s shoes?
Empathy is best described as the ability to step into another person’s shoes and to recognize, understand, and appreciate how other people feel. It involves being able to articulate your understanding of another’s perspective and behaving in a way that respects others’ feelings.
The most important demonstration of empathy comes when the consideration of the other person’s position is followed by an action. The action may vary from just actively listening to helping a person on the task at hand. The support should be genuine and not of a “transactional” nature, in other words, not intended as a way to get something in return.
The empathic nature makes a person approachable, someone with whom people feel safe sharing thoughts and ideas. It provides a foundation for all other interpersonal skills.
People who have difficulty empathizing can’t articulate another’s perspective and are more focused on facts than on others’ feelings and reactions. For instance, if a person fails to take into account colleagues’ feelings when resolving conflict, managing change, or making tough decisions, he or she leaves them feeling alienated and undervalued. Additionally, you cannot predict how others will accept change if you cannot address the emotions they are experiencing (e.g., fear or excitement).
– In general, listen more than you speak. Try it in your next interaction and note the approximate amount of time you spend listening versus speaking.
– When you find yourself jumping in to speak, stop, listen, and reflect back what you have heard before offering your own opinions.
Being too empathic has a negative side. When colleagues trust you with their issues and feel comfortable coming to you for advice, you, being very concerned with their feelings, run the risk of taking on their problems, becoming the victim of your empathy. Being over-empathic can lead you to avoid making tough decisions or to act in some way at the expense of your own interest or needs.
– Need more preparation time in order to express the right amount of empathy. Write down what you want to say and rehearse it.
– Be respectful of people’s reactions, but don’t let them derail you.
– Keep in mind that if you mirror someone’s emotion, you will likely intensify that person’s reaction. For example, if the news you are bringing someone makes them angry, by becoming angry yourself you are likely to make the situation more heated.
Be able to step into the other person’s shoes but don’t lose your own.
http://eqpower.ch/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EQpower_med_rgb4-300x66.jpg 0 0 Marina Riedi http://eqpower.ch/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EQpower_med_rgb4-300x66.jpg Marina Riedi2014-07-09 10:19:112015-01-22 10:23:57Empathy – are you able to step into another person’s shoes? | 2019-04-18T10:35:25 | http://eqpower.ch/de/category/competency-de/ |
0.999917 | (Page 22 of 36) - Click here, kids! Advertising practices on popular children's Web sites authored by Cai, Xiaomei. and Markiewicz, Kristin.
Unformatted Document Text: Advertising on Children’s Web Sites 22 located at the bottom of the page. A majority of advertising pages (74%, N=492) had privacy links but most of the links appeared at the bottom of the page (77%, N=379). Fourteen percent of the Web sites did not collect any personal information from children while only 9 percent of the advertising pages didn’t. Ad world Online world is an advertising world. More than two-thirds of all Internet sites designed for children and teens use advertising as their primary revenue stream (Neuborne, 2001). Even among the most popular children’s Web sites, seventy-five percent of them had advertisements. For every Web site that a child visits, he or she expects to see five unique ads. This number is not even complete because the authors did not count every ad on all pages of a Web site. The actual average number could be higher. The prevalence of advertising on children’s Web sites has made online world an advertising world. Children cannot escape from advertising when they surf the Web. The FCC regulates the number of minutes that could be devoted to advertising during one hour of children’s programming on television (FCC, 1974). But no corresponding restriction exists on Web advertising. Theoretically, it is possible for online advertisers to place as many ads as they desire on a Web site. Regulating the number of advertisements placed on a Web site may protect children form being surrounded by advertisements. Ad features The widespread of online ads already put children in a vulnerable position. The ploys that advertisers use in the ads and their privacy practices make the online environment even more dangerous for children.
privacy links but most of the links appeared at the bottom of the page (77%, N=379).
while only 9 percent of the advertising pages didn’t.
placed on a Web site may protect children form being surrounded by advertisements.
environment even more dangerous for children. | 2019-04-21T00:22:05 | http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/1/1/9/0/pages111900/p111900-22.php |
0.999999 | Is a singer a musician?
I should start by saying that everything I'm about to say is just my thought process and opinion on this question, the crowd might be divided on this but I could be completely off base, maybe I'm wrong (it wouldn't be the first time).
For years I was a singer/vocalist in different bands and I really don't know how I feel about this question, there are so many different factors to consider and to draw definite lines is near impossible to me.
Personally, I would define myself as a musician, even though I may not have been playing an instrument in these bands, I could/can play, and I'm more than capable of writing a half decent song (although that could be subjective). So of course, I can confidently say I am a musician.
Within the setting of a band, I think even if you are instrument-less, you can still be a musician, after all, mosts bands write music together and as a singer, you're always listening to sounds, making writing notes, creating melodies and moulding something from nothing alongside and equal to other members. So it would stand to reason that just because you're writing music without playing an instrument doesn't mean you aren't making music as a musician.
Then there is the question, what is a musical instrument? Well, to me it's anything that produces a sound that you can create music and/or songs with, computers fall into that category for me, and so I THINK my opinion is that even if you're programming and sequencing music, you're still a musician, surely? Maybe not in the 'traditional' sense, but then times do change, and so things like this have to change too I guess.
So far I'm pretty sure that if you are a singer in a band, someone who makes music electronically, or just a singer that can and does contribute to the musical aspect of songwriting in any environment then I'm pretty sure I'd class you as a musician, but let's say you are a singer and just that. You don't write songs or melodies, you just perform the song as it's presented to you and don't hold any ability to play a musical instrument, wait a minute... Isn't your voice a 'musical instrument? For the sake of this point, let's say it's not.
There is a difference between a performer and a musician, but they are both 'artists' I wouldn't call someone who takes a song, as it's given to them, performing it as it's already been written - without changing any of the musicality in the track - a musician. I would, however, call them a performer and an artist. My view of the music world is that two industries have accidentally occupied the same space. Those industries are the musician's industry and the musical performer's industry, together they're just called 'the music industry' but they are vastly different worlds. One appeals to the art of making music and the other appeals to the art of performance, they occupy the same space and so to the average listener they are taken away as the same thing. That's just my view and how I see music on a broader scale.
So, I guess to summarize, yes I think a singer is a musician given that the circumstances are that there is musical input when creating the music/song. Equally, you can be a singer but not a musician if you are simply performing what has already been written. However, in both scenarios, you're still an artist just two different types of artists occupying the same space. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.
Like I said in the start I could be wrong. What do you think the answer is? is there even one out there? | 2019-04-20T07:00:24 | https://www.themusicianspodcast.com/blog/?category=News |
0.999019 | Please select your flavors, then list the quantity of each flavor in the special instructions box.
Thirteen bagels. Please select your flavors, then list the quantity of each flavor in the special instructions box.
Thirteen bagels and two cream cheese tubs of your choice. Please select your bagel flavors, then list the quantity of each flavor in the special instructions box.
Six bagels and a cream cheese tubs of your choice. Please select your bagel flavors, then list the quantity of each flavor in the special instructions box.
Egg with cheese, red pepper and choice of breakfast meat on focaccia.
With cucumber, tomato, green peppers and red onion.
Turkey, ham, hard boiled egg, cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, black olives and tomato.
With zesty tomato spread. Egg white, bagel thin sandwich.
Egg white, bagel thin sandwich.
Turkey sausage, roasted peppers, garlic and herb cream cheese on multi-grain toast.
Bagel thin sandwich with veggie cream cheese, lettuce, tomato and red onion.
Bagel thin sandwich with white albacore tuna salad, lettuce, tomato and red onions.
Bagel thin sandwich with turkey bacon and roasted tomato spread.
On a bagel with lettuce and tomato. Served with pickle and choice of salad.
With all white meat tuna salad, lettuce and tomato. Served with pickle and choice of salad.
With bacon or turkey bacon. Served with pickle and choice of salad.
With bacon, onion, mayo, lettuce and tomato. Served with pickle and choice of salad.
With chipotle mayo, red onion, lettuce and tomato. Served with pickle and choice of salad.
On a bagel wit ham, Swiss cheese, onion, mustard, lettuce and tomato. Served with pickle and choice of salad.
With mild horseradish sauce, lettuce and tomato. Served with pickle and choice of salad.
With roasted red pepper, green pepper, onions, cucumber, veggie cream cheese, chipotle mayo, lettuce and tomato. Served with pickle and choice of salad.
With Caesar dressing, lettuce and tomato. Served with pickles and choice of salad.
With roasted red pepper, Monterey Jack cheese and garlic tomato sauce. Served with pickles and choice of salad.
On long roll with ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mayo and mustard. Served with pickles and choice of salad.
On a bagel with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and mustard. Served with pickles and choice of salad.
On long roll with grilled steak, roasted pepper, grilled onions and cheese. Served with pickles and choice of salad.
On long roll with Monterey Jack cheese and onions. Served with pickles and choice of salad. | 2019-04-26T07:53:48 | https://www.allmenus.com/nj/bayville/233161-manhattan-bagel/menu/ |
0.999999 | Read the following information and answer the questions based on it.
If A + B ✕ C, then which of the following is true?
If A + B - C, then which of the following is true?
If A ✕ B + C, then which of the following is true?
In a certain code language 687 means 'all the best'; 579 means 'best of luck'; 853 means 'all luck good'; Which of the following is the code for 'the'?
In a certain language HEARTBEAT is written as HETAAERBT. Then, how is ABSENCE written in that language?
Answer the questions based on the information given below.
Six friends namely Anu, Gauri, Mehar, Sushma, Tanu and Vimala, each one likes a different clothing brand like Aaika, Biba, Belle, Calaso, Libas Vero Moda. They also have a different taste for ice cream flavours like, Black forest, Butterscotch, Chocolate, Mango, Pineapple and Strawberry.
Anu likes Pineapple but doesn't like either Biba or Aaika. Sushma likes Belle, but doesn't like Butterscotch. Mehar likes Vero Moda, but doesn't like Mango or Strawberry. Gauri likes Chocolate, but doesn't like Libas or Aaika. The person who likes Calaso likes Mango. Tanu likes Black Forest.
Which ice dream flavour does Sushma likes?
What is the correct combination for Gauri?
Which brand does Vimala likes?
Which of the following statements cannot be true? | 2019-04-20T12:43:28 | http://www.bankertomorrow.in/2017/01/reasoning-ability-for-ibps-sbi-po-clerk-exams-12.html |
0.99957 | I just acquired this worn example of the Arch of Nero.
My question is, are there any extant physical remains left of the actual arch?
Base, foundation, used in other structures, ect?
Marvin Tameanko's book "Monumental Coins" dedicates an entire chapter to "The Lost Arch of Nero". It is presumed that the arch was erected in front of the entrance to the Capitolne Temple, perhaps in AD 58 to celebrate a premature victory over Parthia, or maybe in AD 63 or 66 when other Parthia related events took place. Whatever, no trace of the arch has been found.
I don't know the fate of the arch, but I would think Nero's successors (especially the Flavians) would have made every effort to erase any glorifications of him. Perhaps it was recycled into other structures.
It is presumed that this arch is the one that Tacitus says was voted to Nero for Corbulo's victory in Armenia in 58, and that Tacitus further reports was being constructed "in the middle of the Capitoline Hill" in 62, despite a successful invasion of Armenia by the Parthians in that year.
Fred Kleiner wrote a whole book on this lost arch in 1985. Perhaps Barry Murphy, who has a copy, can tell us where Kleiner thinks the arch was located. Marvin T's placement of the arch directly in front of the Capitoline Temple seems unlikely to me.
Basemetal's sestertius, with centration dimples, was struck at a branch mint in Thrace. Coins of this mint were little known before coins began flooding out of Bulgaria and Romania with the fall of the Iron Curtain. I wonder if any from this mint were included in Kleiner's die corpus of Arch sestertii of Nero.
Thanks Curtis for giving me homework.
Kleiner agrees with Tacitus. He suggests that the arch most likely spanned the clivus Capitolinus as it lead from the Asylum to the Capitolium, in line with other arches dating back to the Republic and it was likely the last arch one passed before reaching the temple of Jupiter.
No traces of the arch have ever been found. Kleiner suggests that the arch was either completely destroyed shortly after Nero's death with the damnatio memoriae Nero received when the senate proclaimed him an enemy of the state or in one of the two fires that consumed the Capitoline hill in 69 and 80.
Kleiner's article was an attempt to reconstruct the Arch of Nero, not an attempt at a corpus of the coinage, though he did conduct a die study of the Rome and Lugdunum coins available to him. Kleiner's thought was that the earliest dies would most faithfully represent the arch and therefor be the most useful in his reconstruction. The die study revealed that the earliest issues were indeed more detailed in their depiction of the arch than the later issues. Kleiner also shows that the Lugdunum issues are only copies of either coins or drawings supplied from Rome and are not reliable in their details. As the issues procede, the engravers became more careless and proportions change and details come and go, each succesive issue being just a copy of the coins or dies from the earlier issue. Kleiner suggests that the arch may stood not far from the mint on the Arx at the Temple of Jupiter Moneta so the initial engravers may have used the arch itself as their model.
As I said, Kleiner was attempting to reconstruct the arch, not provide a corpus of the arch sestertii. Whether Kleiner was aware of the Balkan mint issues or chose to ignore them as being too far removed to be at all reliable I don't know. He doesn't mention anything other than the Rome and Lugdunum issues.
Thanks, Barry, that deserves an "A"!
Since MacDowall published a Thracian Arch sest. in Num. Chron. 1960, the illustration reproduced by RPC 1758, you'd think Kleiner must at least have mentioned it somewhere in the book.
Your summary makes me want to acquire that book even more than before!
You should also find a copy of Kleiner's The Trajanic Gateway to the Capitoline Sanctuary of Jupiter Optimus Maximus published in the 1992 Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts. It includes a die study of RIC 572 & 573. Surprisingly he tracked down 70 coins struck from 39 obverse dies and 25 reverse dies. Die linkages show that Hill's chronology based on obverse bust types was wrong.
For what it's worth, I seem to have found a close match in RPC 1758 on Wildwinds. Perinthus, Thrace. Not spot on, the centering mark is inside the arch, but close.
I also finally had enough sense to remove the massive amounts of Dellar's that cloaked many details on mine. The two attendants on either side of the quadringia show up much more clearly as do the legs of the quadringia. The garland across the top of the arc is there, but takes magnification to make out due to wear.
Page created in 0.846 seconds with 36 queries. | 2019-04-21T08:09:19 | http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=36254.0 |
0.999721 | The original Medicare legislation in 1965 stated that: ''"... There must be a regular periodical maintenance and testing program for medical devices and equipment. A qualified individual such as a clinical or biomedical engineer, or other qualified maintenance person must monitor, test, calibrate and maintain the equipment periodically <font color = red>in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations</font> and Federal and State laws and regulations. ..."'' But beginning in 1989 and as recently as 2011 the corresponding standards of the Joint Commission allowed equipment that was <font color = red>not considered to present a significant physical risk</font> to be excluded from any specific maintenance requirements stating only that PM frequencies should be based on ''"criteria <u>such as</u> manufacturer's recommendations, <font color = red>risk levels</font>, or current hospital experience,"'' and they, in effect, <font color = red>endorsed the original Fennigkoh-Smith risk-based methodology</font>. The original Medicare legislation in 1965 stated that: ''"... There must be a regular periodical maintenance and testing program for medical devices and equipment. A qualified individual such as a clinical or biomedical engineer, or other qualified maintenance person must monitor, test, calibrate and maintain the equipment periodically <font color = red>in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations</font> and Federal and State laws and regulations. ..."'' But beginning in 1989 and as recently as 2011 the corresponding standards of the Joint Commission allowed equipment that was <font color = red>not considered to present a significant physical risk</font> to be excluded from any specific maintenance requirements stating only that PM frequencies should be based on ''"criteria <u>such as</u> manufacturer's recommendations, <font color = red>risk levels</font>, or current hospital experience,"'' and they, in effect, <font color = red>endorsed the original Fennigkoh-Smith risk-based methodology</font>.
1.2 1.2 What is maintenance?
1.3 1.3 What exactly does the term "PM" mean in the context of medical equipment maintenance?
1.4 1.4 What are the causes of medical device failures?
1.5 1.5 Which kinds of medical device failures can be hazardous?
1.8 1.8 Which kinds of medical equipment failures are PM-preventable?
1.10 1.9.1 Question 1. How, and to what extent, does performing PM on medical equipment improve patient safety?
1.11 1.9.2 Question 2. What kind of PM program is called for in the current CMS regulation?
1.15 1.9.5 Question 5. What changes to current PM work practices would be beneficial?
1.15.1 1.8.2 A new approach to PM prioritization using RCM-based risk criteria.
1.15.3 All potentially PM-critical devices are not necessarily high-risk devices!
1.17 In summary - on Question 2 - How much of an impact can PM have on the safety of medical devices?
when it functions as it should, but in an unsafe or otherwise unsatisfactory manner.
It is a truism, similar to the impossibility embedded in the concept of perpetual motion, that there is no such a thing as an infallible device. All devices fail in one way or other, at some time or other. The simplest measure of a device’s reliability is its failure rate - the number of times that it failed to perform during a particular time period. Since failures are predominantly random, their failure performance (their reliability) is usually expressed as an average number of failures over a particular time period. However, a more intuitive way of expressing device reliability is in the form the device's mean time between failures or MTBF which is the inverse of the failure rate over a particular period of time. For example; a device that has a failure rate of one failure every 75 years (on average) has a mean time between failures of 75 years.
Mean time between failures (MTBF) is the inverse of the failure rate. For example, a device that has failed twice in nine years is demonstrating a failure rate of 0.22 failures per year and an MTBF of 4.5 years. Average failure rates can also be derived by dividing the total number of device failures occurring during the observation period by the number of device-years making up the total device experience. For example, if a batch of 10 devices experiences two failures during nine years, then the failure rate is 0.022 failures per year and the MTBF is 45 years. The larger the experience base (in device-years), i.e. the greater the number of devices in the sample and the longer the observation period, the closer the observed failure rate will be to the device’s true failure rate.
It is generally easier for lay persons to relate to an MTBF because it is an integral period of time, such as 3 years or 30 years - a simple, easily comprehended metric. For example, most people will have little difficulty in considering a device with an MTBF of just one month to have a relatively poor level of reliability and, conversely, considering a device with an MTBF of 50 years to be quite reliable. But when expressed as the equivalent failure rate, the MTBF of 1 month (= 12 failures per year) versus the MTBF of 50 years (= 0.02 failures per year) the contrast between the two levels of reliability (12 versus 0.02) does not seem quite so striking.
Since, ideally, we would like to separate various different kinds of devices into neat compartmentalized categories such “safe” and “hazardous” we have to confront the difficulty of setting boundaries and consequent gray areas around those boundaries. For example, setting a threshold of, say, 75 years for the MTBF that should be considered safe creates the hard-to-answer question of how much less reliable (and thus less safe) is a device with an MTBF of 74 years than one with an MTBF of 75 years? There is, of course, no simple answer to that question. There are grey areas. It is all relative.
This discussion is made a little more complicated by the fact that there are a several different reasons why devices fail, and lumping all of these failures for these different reasons into one overall failure rate, or corresponding MTPF, might well raise the question that this total failure rate does not seem to fairly describe what we think of as either the reliability of the device itself, or the effectiveness of the way we maintain it. Section 1.4 below addresses the nature of these different causes of failure and how they can be categorized and used to develop a helpful and meaningful analysis.
There are several adequate dictionary definitions of maintenance but, in the context of maintaining equipment, it is best defined as "the process of keeping the equipment in proper working order, in good physical condition and acceptably safe". The definition used in the highly respected RCM approach to equipment maintenance is “keeping the equipment available for use”. For more about RCM, see HTM ComDoc 14. "An introduction to Reliability-centered Maintenance (RCM): The modern approach to Planned Maintenance".
Corrective maintenance or, as it is more commonly called, repair, is the process of returning a device that is in a failed state (i.e. that is no longer doing what the user wants it to do) to a safe condition and proper working order. This includes correcting any significant hidden failures even though they do not usually disable the primary functions of the device.
Cosmetic repair, is the process of restoring a device that is damaged to a safe and cosmetically like-new condition. While cosmetic repairs are generally considered a lower priority because the device may still be functioning within the manufacturer’s functional specifications it may be damaged in such a way that it is unsafe. For example, a damaged cover may be presenting a sharp edge that could be hazardous to either the patient or to a user.
Preventive maintenance. This third component is very important because from the very beginning, with the earliest machines developed during the time of the industrial revolution, it was widely believed that restoring the device's non-durable parts, as needed, before the end of the device's anticipated lifetime would be beneficial because it would reduce the number of unexpected machine breakdowns. In return for these scheduled PM interventions to restore the device's non-durable parts, the device users expect a lower level of the disruption and loss of productivity, as well as some reduction in overall maintenance costs, because the device should experience fewer breakdowns.
Non-durable parts (NDPs)- which are sometimes loosely called disposables or disposable parts - are components of the device that are subject to progressive wear or deterioration. They typically include moving parts,such as bearings, drive belts, pulleys, mechanical fasteners and cables, which require periodic cleaning and lubrication as well as certain non-moving parts such as electrical batteries, gaskets, flexible tubing and various kinds of filters which may need to be cleaned, adjusted, refurbished or replaced sometime during the useful lifetime of the device. Which particular parts the device manufacturer considers to be non-durables is identified by the presence of corresponding device restoration tasks in the manufacturer's recommended PM procedure.
Belief in this traditional device restoration approach to improving machine reliability continues to this day, particularly in certain relatively small industry sectors, even though the findings that started the revolutionary RCM approach to maintenance in the 1970s have caused a considerable amount of rethinking about whether or not intrusive maintenance interventions really do improve the device's overall reliability. Certainly there are still quite a number of medical devices such as ventilators, spirometers and traction machines that are more mechanical than electronic, where the manufacturers still recommend that certain parts be given some kind of periodic restoration (cleaning, refurbishment or replacement). However, we don’t yet have good, independent evidence as to whether or not these manufacturer-recommended PMs, particularly those involving the more intrusive overhauls, are truly beneficial or cost-effective. We have not yet gathered the data on the impact of these recommended interventions on the reliability of these more mechanical devices. That investigation is one of the goals that the Maintenance Practices Task Force (MPTF) has set for itself. We discuss this data gathering challenge in more detail in HTM ComDoc 4.
1.3 What exactly does the term "PM" mean in the context of medical equipment maintenance?
In the special case of maintaining medical equipment, there is a second very important reason besides device restoration for making periodic scheduled interventions. And that is testing the device to detect critical degradation in the functional performance of the device or in its condition with respect to safety. These deteriorations can be quite subtle, and in RCM jargon they are called hidden failures. The term is appropriate because these subtle changes do not completely disable the device's primary functions and so they will usually go unnoticed by the device users.
It is important to detect these subtle deteriorations (hidden failures) because there are certain kinds of medical devices that can cause a patient injury if their performance becomes significantly substandard or their level of safety falls below the relevant requirements. Elsewhere (see HTM ComDoc 3.) we characterize the types of devices that have a theoretical potential to injure a patient if they deteriorate in this way as hidden failure-critical or HF-critical devices. These devices need to be subjected to periodic safety verification tasks. Appropriate safety verification tasks for checking out each particular type of device are typically included as a part of the device manufacturer's recommended PM procedure.
Similarly we can characterize devices that have a theoretical potential to injure a patient, if they simply stop working, as life support devices (See HTM ComDoc 3.) As the descriptor (life support) implies it is important to minimize failures of these devices. If these devices have manufacturer-designated non-durable parts (NDPs) they are vulnerable to what the Task Force calls wear out type failures and they need to be subjected to appropriate device restoration (DR) tasks to prevent the device from failing. This will eliminate one (but only one) source of device failures. So, a life support device that has manufacturer-designated non-durable parts vulnerable to wear-out type failures. The test for this is whether or not the device manufacturer's recommended PM procedure includes any device restoration tasks.
One of the recurring obstacles in our discussions of PM over the years has been the use of a number of imprecise and inconsistent terms. Unfortunately there is still no general consensus. So, in an attempt to establish a standardized and more consistent PM terminology, we are proposing (below) some new terms.
We believe that it would be quite difficult to get the entire population of engineers and technicians practicing in the medical equipment maintenance field to change from using the long-established traditional diminutive “PM”. To accommodate this practical issue we are proposing to introduce another term with the same diminutive. The new term, "planned maintenance" will be used to define the combination of the traditional device restoration tasks (what we have traditionally called “preventive maintenance”) and the performance/ safety-oriented safety testing tasks that are more or less unique to the medical field. In this new formulation we are proposing to use the term “device restoration tasks" as a short label for the restoration of the device's non-durable parts. It is a simple and appropriately descriptive term.
We are suggesting this new terminology in full recognition of the fact that there are a number of other competing terms that have evolved over time. For example the term “scheduled maintenance” has been proposed as an alternative to “preventive maintenance” but it is not a very good fit semantically because it implies that the device restoration tasks are always performed according to some kind of clock; either by conventional timing (e.g. every 6 or 12 months) or by a time-of-use clock (e.g. every 1000 hours of use). There is, however, a more modern practice in which the deteriorating part is restored on a more efficient “just-in-time” basis by monitoring the actual condition of the part. In some cases the monitoring is performed by some kind of sensor but more commonly in the medical equipment sector it is simply done by conducting periodic visual inspections. In the RCM approach this “just-in-time” restoration is called predictive maintenance. In addition to this, what we are proposing to call safety verification (SV) tasks have been given the collective name “inspections” by ECRI Institute and others. We prefer the more descriptive term “safety verification” tasks.
So, in summary, in the context of medical equipment maintenance, the contraction “PM” should be understood to mean “planned maintenance” which is defined as a combination of two different types of tasks; one (device restoration tasks) aimed at preventing wear-out failures, and the other (safety verification tasks) aimed at detecting then correcting hidden failures; i.e.
1.4 What are the causes of medical device failures?
The first set of causes can be classified as inherent reliability-related failures (IRFs) that are attributable to the design and construction of the device itself, including the inherent reliability of the components used in the device. They typically represent 45 - 55% of the repair calls. This type of failure can be reduced (but not to zero) only by redesigning the device or changing the way it was constructed.
Category IR1 Random failure. A device failure caused by the random failure or malfunction of a component part of the device.. A result of the device’s inherent unreliability. IR1 calls typically represent between 46-52% of all repair calls.
Category IR2 Poor construction. A device failure attributable to poor fabrication or assembly of the device itself..
Category IR3 Poor design. A device failure attributable to poor design of the hardware or processes required to operate the device..
The second set of causes can be classified as process-related failures (PRFs). They typically represent 40 - 50% of the repair calls. Reducing or eliminating these types of failure typically requires some kind of redesign of the system’s processes - for example, by using better methods to train the equipment users to operate the equipment (as intended by the manufacturer) or to train them to treat the equipment more carefully. They are not failures that can prevented by any kind of maintenance activities.
Category PR1 Use error. A device failure attributable to incorrect set-up or operation of the device by the user.. User has not set the device up correctly or does not know how to operate it. Typically PR1 calls represent between 13-20% of all repair calls. (Note that although this type of “failure” does not represent a complete loss of function, it can have the same effect. For example, an incorrectly set defibrillator can result in a failure to resuscitate the patient).
Category PR2 Physical damage. A device failure caused by subjecting the device to physical stress outside its design tolerances.. PR2 calls typically represent between 6-25% of all repair calls.
Category PR3 Discharged battery. A device failure attributable to a failure to recharge a rechargeable battery. PR3 calls typically represent between 7-8% of all repair calls.
Category PR4 Accessory problem. A device failure caused by the use of a wrong or defective accessory.. PR4 calls typically represent between 3-9% of all repair calls.
Category PR5 Environmental stress. A device failure caused by exposing the device to environmental stress outside its design tolerances.. PR5 calls typically represent between 1-7% of all repair calls.
Category PR6 Tampering). A device failure caused by human interference with an internal control.. PR6 calls typically represent <1% of all calls.
Category PR7 Network problem. A device system failure caused by an issue within a data network connected to the device’s output.
The third set of causes can be classified as maintenance-related failures (MRFs). They typically represent 2 - 4% of the repair calls. These types of failure can be prevented through some kind of maintenance strategy incorporated into the facility’s maintenance program.
Category MR1 PM-preventable failure. A device failure that could have been prevented by more timely restoration or replacement of a manufacturer-designated non-durable part. E.g. a battery failure, a clogged filter, or build up of dust. Failures due to trapped cables should not be coded this way. MR1 calls typically represent between 1-3% of all repair calls.
Category MR2 Poor set up. A device failure caused by poor or incomplete initial installation or set-up of the device.. MR2 calls typically represent between 1-3% of all repair calls.
Category MR3 Needed recalibration. A device failure attributable to improper periodic calibration. MR3 calls typically represent <1% of all repair calls.
Category MR4 Re-repair. A device failure attributable to a poor quality previous repair of the device.. MR4 calls typically represent <1% of all repair calls.
Category MR5 Intrusive PM. A device failure attributable to earlier intrusive maintenance.. MR5 calls typically represent much <1% of all repair calls.
While the device’s overall reliability, which corresponds directly to the total number of the repair calls - irrespective of what caused them – determines the device's effective reliability, it is the numbers of maintenance-related failures (MRFs) and inherent reliability-related failures (IRFs) that are of greatest interest to us, as maintainers, at this time. The level of MRFs provides a good measure of the effectiveness of the facility’s maintenance program, and the level of IRFs provides an equally good measure of the basic or inherent reliability of the devices in question.
1.5 Which kinds of medical device failures can be hazardous?
There are four ways in which medical equipment failures can be hazardous. However, not all of those failures are PM-preventable failures.
If the device is damaged in such a way that it is presenting some kind of direct physical threat to the safety of patients or staff, such an exposed sharp edge.
For example, the case or enclosure of a piece of equipment might be damaged, say as a result of the item being dropped, in such a way that the damaged casing poses a risk of injury to the patient or user, even though the item still works. Or the protective outer layer of the device's electrical cord might be damaged so that it exposes a live conductor posing the risk of an electric shock. These could be hazardous to the patient, to the device user and possibly others. It is to be expected that damage such as this would be noticed and repaired at the time of its periodic maintenance - so, to the extent that this kind of damage occurs and goes unreported, periodic PM contributes to the levels of overall safety. These are not considered to be PM-preventable failures but periodic PM may shorten the time that individuals are exposed to these potentially hazardous outcomes. Situations such as this appear to be encountered quite rarely.
If the failure is a sudden, total failure.
There are a number of devices that are life-supporting in the sense that a sudden, total failure while they are in use could put the patient’s life at risk. Examples include critical care ventilators, anesthesia units, heart lung machines, intra-aortic balloon pumps, external pacemakers, defibrillators, AEDs, cardiac resuscitators, infant incubators, neonatal monitors, apnea monitors - and in some circumstances - patient monitors, oxygen monitors and pressure cycled ventilators. In addition to spontaneous random failures it is possible that a device could suddenly stop working if a part that is recommended for periodic restoration fails prematurely. This could also occur if the maintenance interval has been set too long. The failure of any device that is attributable to the failure of a critical part that requires timely restoration is considered to be a PM-preventable failure. However, situations such as this appear to be encountered quite rarely.
If the device develops some kind of hidden failure.
There are some devices that have the potential to cause a patient injury if their functional performance falls below a certain critical point in such a way that the deterioration is not obvious to the user. Examples include a defibrillator whose delivered output energy is significantly lower than the level set by the user; or an infusion device that delivers medication at a significantly lower or higher rate than that set by the user. Similarly there are some devices that have the potential to cause a patient injury if their compliance with a relevant safety specification falls below an acceptable point and this deterioration is not obvious to the user. Examples include; an open ground connection in a device that has exposed metal that could conceivably become "live", and a malfunction in devices that have critical alarms. While, strictly speaking, these failures are not totally prevented by periodic PM, the time that patients are exposed to these potentially hazardous outcomes is reduced. Elsewhere (ref ?) we have shown that the exposure of the patient to this possible hazard is reduced from 100% (as it would be with no PM) to a lesser percentage determined by the ratio of the frequency with which the PM testing is performed to the frequency with which the hidden failure occurs. With typical PM intervals in the range of 6 months to 5 years and mean time between failures of these random hidden failures in the range of 50 to 250 years, the reduction in exposure of the patient will be reduced by 95 - 99%. Hazardous hidden failures appear to be encountered quite infrequently.
If the device is used improperly.
Almost all medical devices have the potential to injure patients if they are used improperly. However, this is a type of failure that cannot be prevented or mitigated by conventional planned maintenance and they are not considered to be PM-preventable equipment failures. Accident statistics show that misuse of medical devices represent the most common reason for device-related patient injuries.
For more on this subject see HTM ComDoc 8. "Maximizing medical equipment safety"
the device is no longer in compliance with the relevant safety specifications for the device in question, but this deterioration is also not obvious to the user. These kinds of failures are usually the result of imperceptible random failures in the device's components or subsystems. They are detected through performance or safety tests made during the periodic PMs.
When this more subtle type of failure introduces a significant performance or safety degradation that can be detected only by some kind of performance or safety test it can constitute a serious safety threat. For example, a heart rate alarm that has malfunctioned so that it no longer goes off at the set limit will remain as a hidden but potentially hazardous failure until the alarm function is checked and the potentially dangerous degradation discovered. The potential seriousness (i.e. level of severity) of hidden failures will depend on the nature of the failure and on how far the performance or safety flaw is out of specification. For example; a significant reduction in the output of a defibrillator has to be considered life-threatening but a small excess in the electrical leakage current of a laboratory centrifuge – while it should be noted in the test report - is unlikely to constitute a significant hazard, or be considered an imminent threat.
Hidden failures are discovered when the performance verification and safety testing tasks are performed during the PM. When they are found they should be described in a note on the PM work order or the PM report and it would be helpful if the description of the findings provided enough information to enable a judgment to be made as to the worst case potential level of severity (LOS 3, LOS 2, LOS 1 or LOS 0 - see Section 1.7 below) of the adverse outcome that would have resulted if the hidden failure had not been discovered.
A particularly important type of hidden failure is one that disables the proper operation of an automatic protection mechanism (APM) that is included as a component of the device. An APM is usually included in the design to provide protection against another possible hidden failure that is itself considered to be capable of a serious or potentially life-threatening adverse consequence.
There is a wide range of possible adverse outcomes from device failures. Some create potential physical harm to the patient (or to the device user). Others can result in additional direct or indirect costs to the facility and thus create an economic or business risk to the organization. We address these economic/business risks in greater detail in HTM ComDoc 9. "Medical devices that may benefit from PM from a business/ economics viewpoint"
In the case of outcomes creating the possibility of physical harm it is helpful if there is a need to conduct some kind of risk analysis or risk assessment to define a hierarchy of three levels of severity (LOS) of possible physical harm to the patient, or - in the case of economic harm to the facility - three levels of economic harm to the business.
LOS 3 = Serious, life-threatening injury - The patient (or the user) may lose his or her life.
LOS 2 = Less serious, non life-threatening injury - The patient (or the user) may sustain a direct or indirect injury ranging from minor to serious.
LOS 1 = No injury, but possible disruption of care - The incident may cause a temporary disruption of care, such as requiring one or more patients to be rescheduled, delaying treatment or delaying the acquisition of diagnostic information.
LOS 0 = No discernible injury or possible disruption of care.
There are some devices, such as critical care ventilators and defibrillators, on which the the patient's continued well being may be totally dependent. These are sometimes called life support devices. Any type of failure that causes such a device to stop working completely or to stop working properly has the potential to result in an adverse outcome at the highest severity (LOS 3) level. If the device also happens to have one or more non-durable parts that needs timely and competent periodic restoration, this device then becomes critically vulnerable to a wear-out failure and it therefore becomes a device that should be given a high priority for PM. The same is true if the device has a hidden failure that could cause a high severity outcome.
1.8 Which kinds of medical equipment failures are PM-preventable?
1. Wear-out failures that could cause the device to stop working completely. These are failures that are caused by a non-durable part not receiving timely, competent restoration.
2. Hidden failures resulting from imperceptible failures of components within the device that do not cause the device to stop working completely but which might reduce the device's performance or safety below a critical level. These are failures that are discovered when performance and safety testing tasks are performed during PMs and although the PM testing does not totally prevent the possibility that a patient will be exposed to the device while it is in a defective state, the discovery and correction of these hidden failures does shorten the period during which patients are exposed to the failure. This benefit is addressed more completely in Sections 6.3 and 6.4 in HTM ComDoc 6.
The foregoing analysis puts us in a position to answer the first of the five basic questions about PM - some of which have been addressed previously in HTM ComDoc 15.
1.9.1 Question 1. How, and to what extent, does performing PM on medical equipment improve patient safety?
Generally speaking, PM does improve patient safety, but only to the extent that it detects then corrects the two kinds of PM-preventable failures that were identified just above in Section 1.8 (wear-out failures and hidden failures). And the extent of the improvement in patient safety varies for different devices according to the "level of risk" that the device would have presented if those potential failures had not been detected, and then eliminated. According to the modern theories of risk management, the level of risk takes into account both the level of the severity of the adverse outcome of the event and the likelihood that the event will actually occur.
In this case we are specifically concerned about the level of risk posed by PM-preventable failures, so the extent of the improvement in patient safety is determined by a combination of the potential severity of the outcome of the failure (with the higher levels of outcome severity - such as LOS 3 - being more serious than LOS 2, etc), and the likelihood of the failure occurring. The proper measure of this likelihood of the failure occurring is what the Task Force calls the device's PM-related reliability. We discuss this "likelihood of failing from a PM-preventable cause" more in HTM ComDoc 4 "Consideration of the device's PM-related reliability".
The Task Force has investigated both of these factors. Table 4 provides a ranking of the various device types according to the severity of each device's potential PM-preventable failures. For more on this investigation, see HTM ComDoc 3 "Risk assessment: Determining which medical devices are made safer by PM". The device types at the top of the listing in Table 4 (rows 1 through 7) are judged to have potential PM-preventable failures with life-threatening outcomes. The PM-related reliability of each of the top twenty highest severity device types in Table 4 are currently being investigated and as the results become available they will posted to columns C8 and C9 of Table 13. For more on this investigation, see HTM ComDoc 4 "Consideration of the device's PM-related reliability".
The Task Force has set tentative thresholds for what should be considered an acceptable (safe) level of PM-related reliability for the devices in each of the three top levels of potential PM-related risk categories (namely those labeled high, moderate and low in column C10 of Table 13). From this table, once it is completed, professionals in charge of medical equipment maintenance programs will be able to identify which devices (by manufacturer and model) should continue to be maintained strictly according to their manufacturer's recommendations, and for the others, what level of PM-related reliability (which corresponds to PM-related safety when the category of severity is taken into account) is typically achieved when the indicated PM interval and procedure is used. The Task Force has also suggested a way in which the level of PM-related patient safety can be monitored on a continuous basis (see Section 1.12 ?).
As can be seen from the summary below there are several other benefits from performing regular PM besides improving patient safety.
Improving patient safety. … Some devices - but only some - are made safer by performing appropriate PM. Not all failures have the potential to cause a serious injury, and not all failures are PM-preventable.
Regulatory compliance. … As we explain more fully in HTM ComDoc 11. the CMS regulation addressing PM for medical devices has traditionally been that all medical devices must be maintained strictly according to the device manufacturers' recommendations. Even after the regulations were changed in 2013 there is still a requirement that certain devices be subjected to periodic PM. (For more on this see HTM ComDoc 16).
Customer courtesy and/ or customer reassurance. … We may choose to perform PM on some devices because a user has asked us to do so, or because we believe that periodically inspecting and cleaning equipment used for patient care creates a reassuring "cared for" appearance that the user staff appreciates. While this is a qualitative rather than a quantitative benefit it should not be underestimated. These periodic inspections may also be useful by leading to the discovery of unreported broken equipment.
1.9.2 Question 2. What kind of PM program is called for in the current CMS regulation?
The original Medicare legislation in 1965 stated that: "... There must be a regular periodical maintenance and testing program for medical devices and equipment. A qualified individual such as a clinical or biomedical engineer, or other qualified maintenance person must monitor, test, calibrate and maintain the equipment periodically in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations and Federal and State laws and regulations. ..." But beginning in 1989 and as recently as 2011 the corresponding standards of the Joint Commission allowed equipment that was not considered to present a significant physical risk to be excluded from any specific maintenance requirements stating only that PM frequencies should be based on "criteria such as manufacturer's recommendations, risk levels, or current hospital experience," and they, in effect, endorsed the original Fennigkoh-Smith risk-based methodology.
This changed in 2011 when CMS issued revised regulations that narrowed the still official CMS requirement to use the manufacturer's maintenance recommendations from all equipment to just " ::3. Fail-safe design. Again, for devices with this level of risk, it would be prudent to choose (if it is available) a version of the device that has some kind of built-in fail-safe design, such as component redundancy. All equipment critical to patient health and safety</font> and any new equipment until a sufficient amount of maintenance history has been acquired." The "risk-based" option that TJC had been allowing was effectively rescinded. The revised CMS requirement specifically stated that for what they were now calling equipment critical to patient health and safety " Alternative equipment maintenance (AEM) methods are not permitted." However, there was no clear indication of which particular devices they intended to target with this definition of "critical." They seemed to be placing the responsibility for this onto the facility by stating that the "... hospital may adjust its maintenance, inspection, and testing frequency and activities for facility and medical equipment from what is recommended by the manufacturer, based on a risk‐based assessment by qualified personnel".
Faced with some push-back from members of the HTM community CMS issued a "clarification" memo in 2013 (HTM ComRef 28) in which they tried to address the uncertainty about the precise meaning of the phrase "equipment critical to patient health and safety". The key language in the 2013 memo is quoted in Section 11.3 of HTM ComDoc 11. Suffice it to say that this new language does not clarify sufficiently what the agency intends by the term "critical" and the Task Force's interpretation of their intention is described in Section 11.4 of HTM ComDoc 11. The new regulatory language does however introduce a major concession by allowing devices that are not considered to be "critical" to be included in an Alternative Equipment Management (AEM) program where they can be maintained other than as the manufacturer recommends. As reported also in HTM ComDoc 11., the Task Force summarizes its conclusions about the agency's intention in the form of the following two recommended AEM program inclusion criteria.
The Task Force's suggestions for implementing an efficient risk-based AEM program that will be compliant with these two criteria are contained in a recently-published two-part article in AAMI"s BI&T journal (HTM ComRef 35 and HTM ComRef 36). Much of that material is also contained in HTM ComDoc 16 "Implementing a simple RCM-based Alternate Equipment Management (AEM) program."
HTM ComDoc 10. "Alternate Maintenance Strategies and Maintenance Program Optimization" identifies the following four maintenance strategies that are relevant to maintaining medical devices.
The least efficient maintenance strategy in terms of using up scarce technical manpower is (#1) the traditional fixed interval preventive maintenance strategy. Predictive maintenance (#2) is the next least efficient. It differs from strategy #1 primarily in effectively extending the interval between restorations or replacement of the device's non-durable parts by substituting a visual inspection for the original restoration task. The most efficient strategy is, of course, the light maintenance strategy (#4). The periodic safety verification strategy is neutral with respect to efficiency because it must be performed on all devices that have a potential high severity (LOS 3) outcome to a hidden failure. It may also be considered prudent to perform periodic safety verification on all devices that are projected to have a less severe potential (LOS 2) outcome to a hidden failure.
Step 1 Identify which devices can be classified as non-critical devices (see Section 3.8 in HTM ComDoc 3), and to change these immediately to a run-to-failure maintenance method (i.e. perform no scheduled PM).
Step 2 Determine the potential PM priority levels of the devices in the facility's medical equipment inventory by consulting AEM eligibility based on outcome severity of failure graphic (see HTM ComDoc 3).
Step 3 Look over the recommendations below that are taken from Section 4.10 of HTM ComDoc 4 and HTM ComRef 36. Then make the changes that you feel comfortable with (see also .... and HTM ComRef 35).
These are potentially hazardous devices with either overt or hidden PM-preventable failures that could cause a life-threatening injury and that are demonstrating PM-related failure rates greater than the currently acceptable level (not more than one failure every 75 years). For these devices, it would be prudent to continue to follow the manufacturer-recommended PM procedure (for both the interval and the scope of the tasks) and to routinely monitor the levels of patient safety being achieved, as described in Section 3.10 of HTM ComDoc 3 and HTM ComRef 35. This should be continued until acceptable evidence exists in the national database (Table 13) that some other procedure with more efficient tasks and/or a longer interval is found to demonstrate the same or better level of PM-related reliability or a comparable level of patient safety.
These are potentially hazardous devices with hidden PM-preventable failures capable of causing a life-threatening injury that are demonstrating PM-related failure rates greater than the currently acceptable level (not more than one failure every 75 years). For these devices, for which the only “maintenance” that the manufacturer recommends is periodic safety verification, it would be prudent to continue to follow the manufacturer-recommended safety verification testing schedule and routinely monitor the levels of patient safety being achieved, as described in Section 3.10 of HTM ComDoc 3 and HTM ComRef 35, until evidence exists in the national database (Table 13) that testing at a longer interval results in the same or better level of PM-related reliability or a comparable level of patient safety.
When testing for possible hidden failures with potential high-severity outcomes, there is no optimum interval — shorter is always better. However, it has been shown (see Section 6.3 in HTM ComDoc 6.) that for safety verification–related (hidden) failures with MTBF values greater than about 50 years, the increase in the time that the patient would be exposed to potentially hazardous hidden failures if the testing interval was increased from six months to as long as five years is very small.
These lower PM-risk devices qualify for inclusion in an AEM program either because of the lower level of severity of the outcomes of potential failures or because they have demonstrated an acceptable level of PM-related reliability. Therefore, they can be maintained using a maintenance procedure or strategy other than that recommended by the manufacturer. They can be transitioned immediately to less stringent PM strategies, such as the cost-efficient light maintenance (run-to-failure) strategy - which is mentioned in Appendix A of the CMS memo (HTM ComRef 28). At the very least, the manufacturer-recommended procedures can be modified (such as by omitting electrical safety checks that the facility has found to be nonproductive), or by extending the testing interval to make it coincide with a more convenient or more efficient routine.
The logical rule here is to explore the national database (Table 13) for evidence of more efficient maintenance procedures. It would be prudent to monitor the levels of patient safety (as described in Section 3.10 of HTM ComDoc 3 and HTM ComRef 35) being achieved by the current procedure (or any of the more efficient procedures, if chosen) for devices categorized as PM priority 2 (moderate PM-risk) devices. Monitoring those in the lower risk categories is much less important but can be undertaken if the facility chooses.
If these devices should fail, there is a negligible or zero additional risk to patient safety. Therefore, in the absence of other regulatory mandates, unless there is a convincing case that periodic PM can be justified through lower maintenance costs, these devices are excellent candidates for the very efficient light maintenance (run-to-failure) strategy. It was by adopting this run-to-failure maintenance strategy in the early 1960s that the civil aviation industry was able to reduce its maintenance costs by 50% while, unexpectedly, also improving the reliability and safety statistics for civilian aircraft by a factor of 200 times.
"To the best of our knowledge, all of the studies reported to date have shown that only a very small percentage of injuries resulting from failures of medical devices are attributable to poor maintenance. See,for example, reference HTM ComRef 12). And, as we describe in Section 1.4 of HTM ComDoc 1, ...the great majority of medical device failures can be attributed to one or other of a fairly wide range of other causes.... However, if the cause of each device failure is routinely documented in the manner suggested in that same section of HTM ComDoc 1, this information (on which of those causes is currently contributing the most to device failures in a particular facility) can be very helpful in managing device failure prevention activities other than PM, and in monitoring the effectiveness of those efforts.
Give preference during device acquisition to those devices that are reported to have the highest level of inherent reliability. The possible impact of this strategy is unknown at this time but current statistics indicate that the inherent unreliability of the devices themselves accounts for 45-55% of all failures.
Implement additional measures to reduce failures from the list of causes presented immediately below. They are listed in descending order of anticipated effectiveness.
13-20% - User-related issues such as controls or switches that have been set incorrectly. Although this type of failure may not always lead to a complete loss of function, it can have the same effect as actual failure. For example, an incorrectly set defibrillator can jeopardize patient resuscitation. (These Category PR1 calls typically represent between 13-20% of all of the repair calls).
6-25% - Physical damage usually caused by a combination of poor design and user carelessness, such as dropping the device. (These Category PR2 calls typically represent between 6-25% of all of the repair calls).
3-9% - Problems with an accessory, such as patient cables and electrodes. (These Category PR4 calls typically represent between 3-9% of all of the repair calls).
1-7% - Problems resulting from an out-of-specification environmental condition, such as poor control of the ambient temperature. (These Category PR5 calls typically represent between 1-7% of all of the repair calls).
1-4% - Lack of timely PM (i.e. failing to restore [replace or refurbish] a part of the device that requires periodic attention. (These Category MR1 calls typically represent between 1-4% of all of the repair calls).
1-3% - Poor installation or poor initial set-up of the device. (These Category MR2 calls typically represent between 1-3% of all of the repair calls).
<1% - Tampering with internal switches or other controls that are not intended to be user-accessible. (These Category PR6 calls typically represent <1% of all of the repair calls).
Third, consider implementing pre-use inspections or testing to verify that the device is functioning safely immediately prior to use .
Enhanced Risk Management Program. A very beneficial use for some or all of the resources made available by improving the efficiency of the facility's maintenance program would be to implement an enhanced Risk Management Program incorporating some or all of the additional measures described above.
1.9.5 Question 5. What changes to current PM work practices would be beneficial?
There is no question that the most beneficial change to current PM work practices would be for the entire community to standardize the way we perform and report our maintenance activities (see Section 15.3 of HTM ComDoc 15. "Why we need to standardize the format of our maintenance reports").
There are three extremely important benefits that could be realized if a significant number of managers of the HTM community's maintenance programs could be persuaded to standardize on a common format for their maintenance activities and reporting.
A standard coding system for characterizing the way devices fail could provide valuable information that would allow us to analyze the effectiveness of the facility's equipment safety strategies.
A standard format for documenting the findings of the PMs that are performed on all critical devices would enable us to optimize the PM intervals used for the various devices.
The maintenance entity must use some form of coding for repair calls that allows for a separate count of the failures that are attributable to inadequate PM (similar to the MR 1 described in HTM ComDoc ?). Because of its value in maximizing total equipment safety, we also recommend a coding of at least the three basic causes of total failure described in HTM ComDoc 1- namely IRFs or inherent reliability-related failures; MRFs or maintenance-related failures; and PRFs or process-related failures. Adopting the full 15 category classification and coding method described in HTM ComDoc 1 and HTM ComDoc 8. is highly desirable because of its value in diagnosing possible non-maintenance remedial actions.
1.8.2 A new approach to PM prioritization using RCM-based risk criteria.
Some devices can deteriorate in such a way that their performance or level of safety falls to such a degree that the device is potentially hazardous to the patient or user (these are called hidden failures because this deterioration is often not obvious to the user). These hazards are detected and corrected during periodic planned maintenance.
To maximize patient safety it is important to ensure that all devices whose failure can put the safety of the patient at risk receive appropriate attention. Restoring or replacing a device’s non-durable parts in a timely manner (using what we call device restoration or DR tasks) will reduce the device’s overall failure rate to some degree (but certainly not to zero). And periodic safety verification or SV tasks will uncover any potentially hazardous hidden failures, hopefully before they can cause a patient injury.
It is important to point out here that not all possible hidden failures are listed in column 5 of Table 3. In many cases there may be a number of possible hidden failures and the best way of identifying them is to review the test protocols listed in the performance verification and safety testing (PVST) section of the device's generic PM procedure. For example, by looking at this section of the generic PM procedure for a defibrillator-monitor (click on the PM Code in the 3rd column of Table 3 - DEF-01 you can see that Tasks (S4 thru S7) have been labelled as "Serious failure is potentially Life-threatening". The example cited in the fifth column of Table 3 is that the ""hidden failure caused the unit to under-deliver"" which would correspond to a PM finding that Task S7 indicated that the delivered energy was significantly less than what the energy level selected. According to the extent to which the device is found to be out-of-spec (OOS) the adverse outcome should be judged to be of either LOS 1, LOS 2, or LOS 3 level of severity. In both of these cases (an anticipated overt failure or a hidden failure) the analyses in the tables should include this additional judgment on the outcome and worst case level of severity of each anticipated failure, entered in the sixth or seventh column of the respective table.
Table 2 and Table 3 illustrate how this concise risk characterization process works. We have used the compounded result of these risk assessments to filter and categorize the subset of the 70+ more complex device types (listed in Table 1 ) that we believe represent all or most of the device types that are likely to meet either of the Task Force's first three risk criteria. Although this particular subset represents only about 5-10% of the 700 to 1500 different types of medical equipment in modern hospitals, we believe that it represents all of the types of device that are likely to injure a patient, either if they stop working completely or if they develop some kind of significant hidden degradation.
The Task Force has prepared a brief statement documenting the why this PM Criticality questionnaire is consistent with established industry standards of practice.
As best we can estimate there are, in round numbers, between 750 and 1500 different types of healthcare-related devices in use in today’s healthcare facilities. An unknown number of these are non-clinical devices such as printers or other device accessories that do not even fall into the formal category of a medical device that is regulated by the FDA. These non-clinical devices are extremely unlikely to be PM-critical. At the other end of the scale there is a group of about 70 device types that are more likely to be PM-critical, either because of their complexity, or for some other reason that was captured in the original Fennigkoh-Smith criteria.
The Task Force believes that a large percentage of the estimated remaining balance of at least 700 device types will prove to be non-critical when they are analyzed. One example is a set of patient scales. When the HTMC generic PM procedure for a set of patient scales (PA.SC-01)is analyzed using the questionnaire process described in section 3.3 of HTM ComDoc 3., responses (1), (2) and (6) are all “no”, and so - according to our criteria - a set of patient scales should be classified as a non-critical device.
Based on the preliminary findings shown in Table 2. and Table 3. we believe that a large number of device types can be shown to be non-critical. This is a very important step because it provides a very solid, rational argument for why a very large number of medical devices can be used quite safely without any kind of periodic PM whatsoever. They simply have no high-severity, PM-preventable failure modes and so, by definition, they are non-critical. The evidence for this is that there are simply no tasks listed in the relevant manufacturer’s PM procedure that would either prevent the device, if it could cause harm if it failed, from failing - or that would detect a hidden failure that could cause harm that had already developed.
This leaves a list of about 70 device types, shown in Table 4., that are potentially PM-critical. However, as we will show in Part 2 of this article, by implementing Step 2 of this new risk analysis, which will draw on aggregated maintenance data from the new community-wide database, we will be able to determine which of these devices should actually be designated as PM-critical (high risk) devices and given periodic PM according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. The others are all more reliable, lower risk devices. We anticipate that, when fully implemented, the analysis in Step 2 will reveal devices with risk levels distributed across the full spectrum from high-risk to very low risk devices.
All potentially PM-critical devices are not necessarily high-risk devices!
The likelihood that the event (the PM-preventable device failure) will actually occur.
This required combination of two factors means that devices that have a manufacturer-recommended PM procedure with critical device restoration tasks or safety testing tasks will not necessarily become hazardous just because the manufacturer's procedure is not followed or even utilized at all. If the likelihood of any PM-related failures actually occurring (even if they are critical failures with high-severity outcomes) is very low - with a mean time between failures (MTBFs) of, say, 50-75 years or more - then the corresponding risk of harming the patient is reduced from high to moderate, to low, or even to very low. The actual level of risk at each of the three levels of severity is, in fact, accurately represented by the probability that the device will actually fail, either totally, or by developing some significant degradation. This is why traveling on a commercial airliner is considered to be safe. While there is a theoretical potential for a high-severity outcome if the plane should crash, the likelihood that this will actually happen is very low – so the level of risk when flying on a commercial airliner is also very low, relative to other ways of traveling.
In order to determine which devices have the theoretical potential to cause a patient injury (or some less severe adverse outcome) if the device should fail because its PM was not completed in a timely manner - we first need to be clear about what is achieved by performing the various tasks listed in the manufacturer’s recommended PM procedure.
In general, there are two kinds tasks contained in a medical device’s PM procedure. The first kind is a task that restores the device to something close to its original, like-new condition. The Maintenance Practices Task Force calls these device restoration tasks. They are tasks in which components that are subject to deterioration during the useful lifetime of the device, such as batteries, cables, fasteners, gaskets and tubing, are periodically refurbished or replaced. The second kind is some sort of test to detect any hidden degradations in the functional performance or safety of the device that are sufficiently hazardous to require immediate correction. The Task Force calls these safety testing tasks.
It is entirely possible for some manufacturer-model versions of any of the PM-critical device types listed in Table 2. and Table 3. to be classified as low-risk devices if they can be shown to have good reliability (a demonstrated low probability of failing). Table 12. shows the Task Force's tentative definitions of what should be considered acceptable levels of reliability. We will discuss this in more detail in section 3.3 of HTM ComDoc 4.
In summary, all non-critical device types (i.e. those that have no critical PM-related failure modes) are, by definition, inherently safe with respect to needing PM. Whereas, all PM-critical device types are potentially high-risk (potentially hazardous) devices unless certain manufacturer-model versions of those device types can be shown to have good reliability (i.e. a low likelihood that the PM-related failures will actually occur), in which case they can be categorized as lower risk devices. See Table 12. for a more details on the tentative definitions of the various levels of device risk.
We will describe how to determine which devices are PM-critical/high risk devices in section 4.x of HTM ComDoc 4.
So, if the total failure or critical degradation of the device is highly unlikely to occur, the level of risk associated with using the device is correspondingly small. Devices that are classified in the tables as having potentially life-threatening severity (LOS 3) outcomes from total failure or from critical degradation should more properly be called potentially hazardous or potentially high-risk devices because the actual level of risk at each of the three levels of severity is, in fact, accurately represented by the probability that the device will actually fail, either totally, or by developing some significant degradation.
To quote from the third paragraph of the statement titled “Background” on the Introductory Materials page of the website created by the Maintenance Practices Task Force (MPTF), one of the primary motivations prompting this project, which AAMI began supporting in November 2015, is to address the huge problem created by the failure of the Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) community to establish a “… generally-agreed way of quantifying current levels of maintenance-related medical equipment safety …”.
Much has been written about medical technology, and virtually all of it states that the ultimate, overriding consideration must always be assuring the very highest levels of patient safety. Maximizing patient safety is, of course, a very worthy goal - with which there can be no quarrel - but to paraphrase one of the better maxims of the business world – if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. And since virtually all of the regulations and standards governing the HTM business include a requirement, either direct or indirect, to provide levels of patient safety that are “generally acceptable”, this current lack of an accepted metric for medical device safety – and maintenance-related medical equipment safety in particular - makes it impossible to prove how well (or not) we are satisfying this important obligation. This same lack of the proper tools also makes it very difficult to compare the levels of maintenance-related medical equipment safety achieved by different maintenance strategies.
A current manifestation of this quandary is the requirement in the recently amended medical equipment maintenance regulations of The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) which implies very strongly that the use of any of the now-permitted alternate equipment management (AEM) strategies for maintaining the facility’s medical equipment must keep the equipment just as safe as it would be if the devices were being maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. This is clearly a very reasonable requirement but it is creating practical difficulties for facilities trying to introduce more cost-effective maintenance practices, as well as for the various survey and inspection teams who are responsible for confirming that maintenance practices other than those recommended by the device manufacturer are not exposing patients to higher levels of risk.
Everyone familiar with the standard texts on risk management knows that safety itself is not directly measurable (see, for example, the third chapter in “ Of Acceptable Risk: Science and the Determination of Safety “ by William Lowrance). The only aspect of safety that is measurable is the actual level of risk created by some specified potential hazard. So when we say that something such as a medical device is safe, what we are really doing is making a judgment relative to some recognized standard that the risk created by one or more particular potential hazards (such as, in this case, the potential for an adverse patient outcome attributable to inadequate device maintenance) is generally acceptable. Devices that are deemed “safe” in this way are really only safe with respect to the specifically identified hazard, or hazards.
While all of the various participants in the HTM business - including the regulating authorities - have cited patient safety as the primary driver within their respective areas of responsibility, there has been a lack of meaningful efforts to establish a rational, scientific basis for making these judgment calls on the level of safety of the patient. This is certainly true of the regulatory framework that is intended to ensure the safety of medical devices in their working lifetime, subsequent to the device having passed through the FDA ‘s initial device approval process. It has already been pointed out in the just-published AEM Program Guide that some of the accreditation standards based on the CMS regulation (referenced above) contain sloppily incorrect or inconsistent terminology as well as a complete lack of direction on how conformance to what are allegedly the “generally acceptable” levels of patient risk should be demonstrated.
By adopting the widely used and very well respected scientific methodology embedded in reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), the Maintenance Practices Task Force (name shortened elsewhere in this report to “the Task Force”, “the MPTF” or just “the TF”) has made significant progress towards solving this fundamental problem. As described in HTM ComDoc 1 and several other related documents on the website, the Task Force has created a useful method for characterizing the level of the PM-related risk associated with the different manufacturer-model versions of the most PM-critical medical devices. Each of the identified levels of maintenance-related risk are combinations of two parameters; one representing an assessment of the worst-case level of severity of the adverse outcome of a PM-preventable failure of the device (the TF has selected three representative levels - either a life-threatening injury, a serious but less than life-threatening injury, or a less serious outcome such as a delayed diagnosis or delayed treatment) and a second parameter quantifying the likelihood of a PM-preventable failure actually occurring (represented by the device’s documented PM-related failure rate).
The Task Force has also proposed a practical method for establishing what level of PM-related risk should be considered acceptable – another notable step forward. In this particular context it seems logical to set the standard for acceptable maintenance-related safety at the typical level of PM-related risk achieved when the devices in question are maintained strictly according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Just what this level is, can and will be determined (see project Objectives # 3 & 4) by conducting a statistically satisfactory number of tests to determine and document the actual PM-related failure rates demonstrated by a sample drawn from a number of the potentially most critical devices during a time when they are being maintained according to their manufacturer’s recommendations.
Much has been written about medical technology and virtually all that is written cites maximizing patient safety as the ultimate, overriding consideration. This is, of course, a very worthy goal with which there can be no quarrel; it is the motherhood and apple pie of healthcare technology management (HTM) and a cherished icon that we all serve dutifully and enthusiastically. In addition to this, virtually all of the regulations and standards governing the HTM business include either a direct or indirect obligation to provide acceptable levels of patient safety. The rub comes however when we attempt to quantify how well our efforts are measuring up to this rather vague obligation to maximize patient safety.
A recent piece by …. on the debate over medical device service urging …. is an good example.
Safety itself is not measurable. The only aspect of safety that is measurable is the actual level of risk created by some specified potential hazard. So when we say something is safe, what we are really doing is making a judgment that the level of risk posed by one particular potential hazard is considered to be acceptable. The device is indeed safe but only with respect to this one particular hazard (cite Lowrance).
To illustrate this we will use an example from recent investigations (cite ?) into alternative equipment management (AEM) strategies that would make medical devices just as safe as they would be if the device were being maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommendations – something now permitted by recent revisions to the regulations of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) relating to medical equipment (cite ?). In this example the risk that we are concerned with is the risk that the device will fail from a PM-preventable cause.
The key to identifying which device failures can be attributed to a PM-preventable cause (could have been prevented by a more effective or more timely PM activity) is to examine each of the tasks listed in the manufacturer’s PM procedure. This will identify which of the device’s components needs some kind of periodic restoration such as a filter that needs cleaning or a battery that needs to be replaced. If a device is presented for repair and the only thing wrong with it can be traced a component that is scheduled for some kind of restoration during PM, then it is quite likely that this failure can be considered to be a PM-preventable failure. Maybe the restoration performed during the last PM was ineffective or maybe the PM interval is too long. Similarly, the manufacturer’s PM procedure may include testing the performance of the device to detect deteriorations in either its functional performance or in its compliance with certain safety requirements that would not be obvious to the user – so-called hidden failures. While these deteriorations have not caused a complete failure the diminished performance could be putting the patient at risk and these should be considered to be PM-preventable failures. A shorter PM interval would have reduced the length of time that the patient was exposed to some level of risk.
In order to gather reliable information on the frequency with which PM-preventable failures are encountered it is very important to standardize the techniques and criteria for diagnosing when a user-reported failure is legitimately attributable to inadequate or tardy PM. Similarly, we need to standardize the techniques and criteria for diagnosing failures encountered when the actual PM is performed. Obviously a PM finding that the device failed one or more of any critical performance or safety tests included in the PM procedure constitutes a PM-preventable failure (It is an indicator that the PM interval is too short). And the Maintenance Practices Task Force has proposed that discovering a part that was scheduled for some kind of restoration during the PM has already deteriorated to the point where it could have been interfering with the proper operation of the device is also considered to be a PM-preventable failure. This is also an indicator that the PM interval is too short.
Unfortunately there is still some considerable variation in the kind of maintenance data collected throughout the field. While there have been recommendations for standardizing on these particular indicators that the failure was PM-preventable, they are not yet in widespread use.
So even though we are often required to characterize something such as a maintenance practice or maintenance “strategy” as safe or unsafe we generally fail to address the judgment call nature of this requirement. Although we champion data driven decisions – and this is an important and laudable step forward - we need to recognize that with respect to safety there are generally no prescribed boundaries separating acceptable (i.e. safe) levels of risk from unacceptable (i.e. unsafe) levels of risk.
The data driving the decisions are the levels of risk relevant to certain specific hazards.
In summary - on Question 2 - How much of an impact can PM have on the safety of medical devices?
Back to Main Page or on to HTM ComDoc 2 "Important definitions" | 2019-04-26T09:48:35 | http://htmcommunitydb.org/wiki/index.php?title=HTM_ComDoc_1&curid=1870&diff=17527&oldid=17526 |
0.999999 | Is it true...blondes have more fun?
If I've only one life...let me live it as a blonde!
Do these phrases sound familiar? They should: these ads were penned back in the '50s by a trail-blazing female copywriter named Shirley Polykoff, and changed the American hair care industry forever. Let me put it this way: before Shirley Polykoff penned that first slogan, just 7% of American women dyed their hair, most of whom were actresses and models. When Shirley's stewardship of the Clairol account ended in the 1970s, that number had skyrocketed to 40%, and included women of all walks of life.
Shirley Polykoff's words were so effective, they even inspired me to pursue a book length project on the topic, 50 years later. But who was Shirley Polykoff? I scoured the Internet to find out, and in the process learned: she was a delightful paradox.
She was born in Brooklyn in 1908 into a poor, Ukrainian Jewish family. She went on to became one of the most successful, well-compensated advertising professionals of the 20th century, despite the obstacles presented by industry bias against her gender and her religion.
She was a natural brunette, but always dyed her hair blonde, even when she was still just a teenager, "even in the days when the only women who went blond were chorus girls and hookers."
Shirley's attitude was decidedly unfeminist: "Miss Polykoff was cut from a pre-feminist mold, never forgetting, as she often put it, that she was 'a girl first and an advertising woman second,' (NYT Obituary, 1998.) Polykoff went by a different name at home, as Polly Halperin, always kept the two lives separate, and put her family first before her career. She even insisted that her employers cap her salary at a measly $25,000/year, as she believed it inappropriate for a woman to make more money than her husband (her advertising firm, Foote, Cone & Belding, doubled her salary twice within a few years of her husband's death.) But Shirley's actions spoke louder than her words, and Ms. Polykoff was incredibly ambitious: she lied about her age so as to obtain a job in advertising while still in her early teens, worked her way up in the ad world and held a copy-writing job (as opposed to a secretarial or administrative position) in the '30s when the Depression found many American men out of work, and already had an established advertising career by the '50s, while most of her peers were at home managing the cult of domesticity.
Now, I truly believe that advertising and marketing in this day & age have a terribly deteriorating and damaging impact upon women's self esteem. More specifically, upon my self-esteem. I struggle every day with notions that I am not skinny enough, blonde enough, made-up well enough, dressed well-enough, and on and on. And I am not alone: as Naomi Wolf wrote in The Beauty Myth, "Recent research consistently shows that inside the majority of the West's controlled, attractive, successful working women there is a secret 'underlife' poisoning our freedom; infused with notions of beauty, it is a dark vein of self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost control." Wolf argues that we may be worse off than our un-liberated grandmothers, that the beauty myths that bind us now may be more stringent than our great grandmother's corsets.
And then there's Shirley Polykoff, a woman who, according to her daughter Alix Nelson Frick, believed "you could acquire all the accouterments of the established affluent class, which included a certain breeding and a certain kind of look. Her idea was that you should be whatever you want to be, including being a blonde." And thanks to her brilliant copy-writing, that's exactly what I've done.
What do you think, readers? Is it a delightful paradox? Or a vicious cycle? Are we liberated by the ads? Or oppressed by them?
Oh Miss Kitty, it's quite a dangerous line. It's one thing to feel empowered to be whoever you are inclined to be...whether it is becoming a blond or becoming a steel worker. It is another thing when advertisements bombard us with the ideas that we MUST be something in order to be beautiful. The most frightening to me was when ad copy essentially told us we needed to be heroin skinny in order to be beautiful. So not my idea of beautiful and not what I wanted my teenage niece to be seeing. Essentially, I'm sad any time I feel like I can't decide what makes me happy. Just to let the rest of you know...I LOVE my jet black hair and I think my curves are deliciously voluptuous. I also love my svelte and beautifully undercover blond friend! We are strong, powerful, women who are individuals. That is what makes us beautiful.
"Blondes Make Men Act Dumb"
how many blondes does it take to break a blender? | 2019-04-23T20:22:59 | http://www.undercoverblonde.com/2007/11/shirley-polykoff-patron-saint-of-blonde.html |
0.989125 | Cancer necks, meadow mountaineer, veal tongue, snake root, viper grass - all this is about the same natural healer - about the highlander snake. Its powerful rhizome, which looks like a small snake, is a source of medicine for many diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as for inflammations of the oral mucosa. Therefore, preparations of the snake-mountaineer must be in the first-aid kit of each hostess.
The snake mountaineer is a perennial herb of the buckwheat family. It reaches a height of 80-100 cm. The rhizome of a highlander snake is thick, double-curved and, as already mentioned, resembles a snake. Outside the rhizome has a red-brown shade, inside - light pink.
The stem of a mountaineer is usually one, but occasionally there are several. Stalk straight, knotted. The leaves of the mountaineer are oblong, wavy at the edges, bare or slightly covered with curly hairs. Small pink flowers grow in inflorescences - dense dense cylindrical spikelets. The fruit of the highlander snake is a brown triangular nutlet. Flowering time: May-June. The fruits ripen in July.
Where to look for the highlander snake?
Find a highlander snake can be almost the entire territory of Russia. It grows in forests, in flooded meadows with acidic distillation soil, on the shores of lakes and rivers.
The medicinal raw materials of the highlander snake are the rhizomes of the plant. They should be harvested in the fall, when the above-ground part of the plant dies off, or in early spring, when it has not yet appeared. The second option is preferable, since in the spring the rhizome contains more tannins. Dug out the rhizome must be cleaned of dirt, rinse with water, then cut along in half and spread out to dry in the sun. The shelf life of the raw material of the highlander snake is up to 5 years.
Contraindications: idiosyncrasy, exacerbation of diseases of the kidneys or bladder, pregnancy.
Due to the high content of tannins, snake mountaineer preparations can cause severe irritation in people with sensitive stomachs. Highlander medications should be taken only as directed and under the supervision of a physician.
2 tablespoons of the dry crushed rhizomes of a highlander snake fill with 1 liter of pre-boiled and slightly cooled water and put in a water bath for 30 minutes, periodically mix the mixture. After cool and strain the broth. It is necessary to drink it on 100 ml before each meal for half an hour.
Mix 5 grated rhizomes into powder with 5 g of flax seeds, pour 200 ml of water and put on low heat to boil for 10 minutes, then cool and strain the broth. Take it to 1 tablespoon every 2 hours until it ends. In two days the course can be repeated.
Recipe number 1: 2 teaspoons of dry crushed rhizome of the snake mountaineer, pour 1 glass of water and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat. Then cool and strain. Drink a decoction of 1 tablespoon before each meal for half an hour.
Recipe number 2: 1 fresh rhizome of a mountaineer snake average size chop and pour 70% alcohol in a mass ratio of 1: 1, leave for 21 days and strain. Take an infusion of 20-30 drops before each meal.
2 tablespoons of the crushed rhizome of a snake's mountaineer pour 1 liter of boiling water, heat in a water bath for 30 minutes, then leave for 10 minutes and strain. The resulting infusion take 2 tablespoons 1 time per day 30 minutes before any meal.
Recipe # 1: 2 teaspoons of dry chopped root of a snake's mountaineer, pour 1 cup boiling water, leave for 20 minutes, and then strain. This infusion is necessary to rinse your mouth 4-5 times a day until complete recovery.
Recipe number 2: 1 tablespoon of dry chopped root of the mountain snake pour 1 cup of boiling water, then put on low heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then cool slightly and strain. Rinse your mouth should be a warm decoction, it is recommended to store it in the refrigerator, not more than a day.
Mix in equal parts the dry crushed root of a mountaineer snake and dry crushed root of a krovokhlebka medicinal. 2 teaspoons of this mixture pour 1 cup of boiling water, put it in a water bath for 15 minutes, then insist 2 hours and strain. Take the medicine 50 ml 3 times a day. Infusion heals bleeding ulcers.
2 teaspoons of the dry chopped root of the mountaineer snake pour in 250 ml of water warmed slightly above room temperature. Stir, leave the tea to infuse for 5 hours, stirring it from time to time. After strain the tea. It can be applied externally, gargling the mouth or throat with inflammations, as well as making lotions of it on damaged skin or washing out wounds with it. If we talk about taking this tea inside, then it is effective in treating intestinal disorders, especially accompanied by diarrhea and colic. | 2019-04-24T01:55:41 | http://womeninahomeoffice.com/health/highlander-serpentine-against-diseases-of-the.html |
0.997443 | Add a new tab to the timeline view of a project, allowing for a visual representation of the activity that has taken place for easier consumption of the data.
This might be better suited for a new metrics-style page.
What makes this feature interesting?
As mentioned here, the page itself is rather boring and just a wall of text.
By breaking this information out into a simple visual, it can provide managers (or even users) a nice at-a-glance view of how things are going.
While I think more "involved" charts (burn-up or burn-down) are probably better suited for a more full-featured "project management" suite or a plugin, something simple and straightforward like this seems suited and well-fitting for a pure ticket tracking system.
Additionally, it may be novel to have, in addition to a sliding window of ticket activity, to also maintain either one or two pie charts with regards to the breakdown (defect, feature, enhancement, task, or even 'custom' types) of ticket type.
If using two charts, one chart could be for closed tickets and one chart for open tickets. If using a single chart, it should simply contain everything.
These graphs should be project-specific. When this ticket is implemented, adding installation-level charts would be a plus.
Development on 4.0 has began and I will be reworking the pages as I go through and get them working with the new framework.
I'm currently trying to plan out the new timeline page. I was thinking of splitting it into two pages.
I was thinking an Activity page, which would be the current style of the timeline and a Visual/Metrics page that has the charts for open, closed and started issues, a chart for issues by type, possibly a few others.
I want make the timeline useful and get it right for the 4.0 release. Feel free to add some ideas. If you have any examples of something you think would look good please share.
I think it really depends on how much you want to get out of the page - a major release/rewrite like 4.0 is as good a time as ever to do something like that.
Having the activity/status feed page is a definite plus - a quick way to see which tickets have been getting worked on recently without having to wade through things you don't care about.
RSS feed (or similar) [might already be present; never looked personally].
Installation overview. Currently you get the feed per project. For sites which have multiple projects, it would be nice to have a full overview of any activity (permissions permitting) at a glance.
A daily/weekly/monthly summary email push/subscription system for users who want to receive information about activity but don't want every detail (consider "executive summary"; maybe a good place to inject charts as an html-based email).
Historical data (all-time/yearly/monthly/weekly/daily activity visualization [like original screenshot]). Possibly better to split into multiple line charts rather than fill charts.
Type metrics (pie charts, bar charts, etc.) like you've mentioned. Could be a simple all-time-only page, or you could break it down into time slices similar to the historical data tab.
Contributors tab ('leaderboard'; 'rankings'; possibly an activity visualizer). Mostly just for novelty; however, under certain situations it could be considered useful.
For all of these, apply the installation-level overview suggestion number 2 from above for charts as well.
With that said - and if desired, would make sense to split to another ticket and probably 4.x+ or 5.0+ - perhaps pick a good set of chart types you can implement for the 4.0 release, pick a good number of visualizations, and the feature set of the software will have improved regardless.
Once you've got that in place (chart types, data input types), generate an API/configuration page for allowing users to setup their own visualization "pages" - let the installation/project admins determine which metrics are useful to visualize and which are not. | 2019-04-20T12:35:42 | http://bugs.traq.io/traq/tickets/328 |
0.999735 | Fethullah Gulen: Is Islamic Cleric in Self-Exile Behind Turkey's High-Profile Arrests?
The wave of high-profile arrests that has shaken the moderate-Islamist government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been widely blamed on a deepening feud between the authoritarian Turkish PM and Fethullah Gülen, an influential cleric in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, US.
Forty-seven businessmen and politicians, including the sons of three Cabinet ministers, have been put in custody on corruption and bribery charges. Political commentators pointed to the long hand of the 70-year-old imam, who commands a global empire of media outlets, private schools and charities.
The eponymous Gülen movement, which proposes a moderate and modern interpretation of Islam, has extensive influence in the Turkish police and judiciary. Gülen members are believed to have infiltrated the secret services, law enforcement offices and the AK party itself.
Tensions between the reclusive Muslim cleric and Erdogan have boiled over in recent months, and ultimately exploded after the Turkish government announced plans to outlaw private schools, including those run by the Gülen movement.
From his golden retreat in Pennsylvania, Gülen "strongly denied" allegations that the latest Turkish probe was launched as part of a rift between the government and Hizmet (The Service) – another name for the movement.
"Some bureaucrats, well-known businessmen and relatives of ministers have been detained by the İstanbul chief public prosecutor in the past two days. Claims of corruption, bribery and smuggling can be seen in any country. That is why there are independent judicial bodies to investigate such claims," said Gülen.
"If you claim that protesters are not seeking their rights, then you would ignore the innocent demands of some." The reference was to Erdogan labelling demonstrators as "looters" or "small fringe groups".
"Underestimating negative developments reveal a problem in judgment, mind and logic," he continued.
When the moderate Islamist AKP took power in 2002, the Gülen movement provided indispensable support for Erdogan with its extensive influence in the media, police and judicial system.
Self-exiled since 1999 - when he flew to the United States officially for "medical controls" but was actually fleeing charges of plotting to overthrow the government in Turkey - Gülen has built an impressive network of more than 1,000 schools in 140 countries, from South Africa to the United States.
However, the relationship between Erdogan and Gulen has become tense after the often-indiscriminate wave of detentions tainted the image of the movement. "They shared power with AK but they kept wanting more," said an observer.
Arguably, Sik's wrongdoing was to write a book, "The Imam's army", which includes much evidence of Gülen interfering with the police and the judiciary, working behind the scenes to gain political power in Turkey. According to the journalist, the police "has almost become the armed unit" of Fethullah Gülen, with people affiliated to the movement promoted early to senior roles and allegations of Gülenist applicants for police roles who were provided answers in advance before entrance exams.
Some rough statistics claimed that 95% of the police personnel department belonged to the Gülen movement.
However, sympathisers of the movement reject the notion of "infiltration" and claim that the elusive, informal network of followers is just a civic movement aimed at creating a "golden generation "of humanism, science and islam.
It said that Gülenists "have as their ultimate goal the undermining of all institutions which disapprove of Turkey becoming more visibly Islamist".
The cable revealed it was impossible to corroborate an assertion that the Turkish national police (TNP) is controlled by Gulenists. However "we have found no one who disputes it, and we have heard accounts that TNP applicants described as Gülenists are provided answers in advance to the TNP entrance exam."
According to Yusuf Kanli, columnist for Hürriyet News Daily, Gülenists' influence in the police is hard to prove, and whoever crosses the line is subjected to intimidation and even arrest.
What made them change their minds? Allegations that the US was behind the Gülen movement are firmly discarded in another cable. A standard press guidance stated that "the US is not "sheltering' Mr Gülen" and "his presence in the US should not be viewed as a reflection of US policy towards Turkey". | 2019-04-25T12:31:40 | https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/fethullah-gulen-islamic-cleric-self-exile-behind-turkeys-high-profile-arrests-1429624 |
0.999777 | When the position of the ASN number field is changed using forms personalization in the Receipts form, the position of the corresponding label ( ASN No) doesn't change.
Expect the position of the corresponding label ( ASN No) change with the ASN number field.
1. Go to Purchasing Application Responsibility.
2. Go to Receipts form.
3. Change the position of the ASN number field in the Receipts form using forms personalization.
4. After performing the form personalization, the position of the corresponding label ( ASN No) doesn't change. | 2019-04-26T08:50:15 | https://support.oracle.com/knowledge/Oracle%20E-Business%20Suite/2286897_1.html |
1 | Choose the correct option to complete the sentences below.
1Mum, where is -thea dog? I want to take it to a-the park.
2I like -thea cake, but I don't like thea- cake you make.
3It's obvious that athe- students should listen to their teacher, but -thea students in my class never listen.
4Can you pick up a-the kids today? I'm going to be at -thea work until late.
5A: "Shall we go on a picnic today? TheA- sun is very warm." B: "I don't like -thea picnics."
6A: "Have you tried the-a tea Tim brought?" B: "No, I never drink a-the tea.
7A: "He's thea- fan of Manchester United." B: "I don't understand how he can like thea- football so much."
8My favourite day is a-the Friday, and -thea 2010 was my favourite year.
9I don't like athe- French. Well, I don't like thea- languages in general.
10We are going to fly from athe- USA to -athe Cairo.
When we mention something for the first time.
I saw an old woman with a dog.
To say what kind of person or thing something/somebody is.
When I was a teenager, I enjoyed sleeping.
Can I have an orange?
For frequency, rates and speeds etc.
I work 6 hours a day, and I go to English classes three times a week.
The rent is €500 a month.
We were driving at 70 km an hour.
In the expressions what a/such a + singular countable noun.
Yesterday was such a horrible day!
This is such a difficult problem!
Thanks, you are such a good friend.
With things or people already mentioned, or when we know which things or people we are talking about.
A man and a woman sat in front me. The man was British, but I think the woman wasn’t.
‘Where are the kids?’ ‘They’re in the garden.’ (=Both speakers know which kids and which garden).
When a noun is made specific by details we give after it.
I sat on a chair (maybe one of many).
I sat on the chair in the corner.
I saw the man who tried to rob me.
When there is only one of something: the earth, the moon, the planet, the internet, the universe, the sky, the city (=not the country), the country (=not the city), etc.
I’d like to live in this country, but not in the capital.
The moon looks beautiful today.
I’m going to the bank.
I found Peter at the station.
This is the best restaurant in town.
With the names of oceans, seas, rivers and canals (the Mediterranean, the Amazon, the Panama canal, etc.).
To describe something in general (with plural or uncountable nouns).
Love and health are more important than money.
Women drive more cautiously than men.
But we use the article if we refer to these places just as places, or buildings; when they are not used for their main purpose.
I found the keys under the bed.
I’m going to the school to pick up my children.
Yesterday I went to the hospital to visit my grandmother.
Dinner is served at 8.
I always have breakfast with my children.
With names of years, months and days of the week.
Friday is my favourite day of the week.
I think 2020 will be an excellent year.
He is in room 15.
But Turn off the TV. I’ve bought a new TV.
The meeting is next Thursday.
But names of countries that are plural or that include words such as State or Republic, or Kingdom are used with the: the US (the United States), the UK (the United Kingdom), the Philippines, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic. | 2019-04-25T05:43:38 | https://www.test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/an-the-no-article/ |
0.995191 | What are the best Music Colleges in Manchester, CT?
Manchester's largest music school is Manchester Community College. In 2010, Manchester Community College graduated approximately 3 students with credentials in music.
In 2010, 3 students graduated with a music degree from one of Manchester's music schools. In 2009 tuition at music schools in Manchester was $3,200 per year, on average.
In addition to tuition costs, you should plan on spending an average of $1,000 for books and supplies each year, while enrolled in a music program in Manchester.
Many music graduates choose to work as musicians after graduation. If you choose to follow that path and remain in Manchester, your job prospects are not very good. There were 1,170 musicians working in Connecticut and 220 working in the greater Manchester area in 2010. Manchester's musician workforce is projected to increase by 1% by the year 2018. This projected change is slower than the projected nationwide trend for musicians. | 2019-04-22T17:11:47 | https://www.hackcollege.com/school-finder/schools/connecticut/manchester/music/ |
0.999994 | Student visa allows them to stay and study in Australia for a full-time higher education course.?
You may be eligible for streamlined visa processing if your main course of study is a Bachelor degree or a Masters by coursework.
The student visa is approved only if it is combined with an accredited course by Australian schools.
Students can adjoin multiple courses in the same visa, such as a language course and a vocational course.
One can get the student visa in a short time only. It costs $535 Australian. Students must provide COE (confirmation code of enrollments). Student visa allows you to work legally part time (up to 40 hours every 2 weeks) during courses period and full time in the weekends.
Students can include family members as dependents.
In order to get a student visa, an applicant must satisfy all legislative criteria.
Applicants will need to satisfy Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) that they have a genuine intention to stay in Australia on a temporary basis, for the purpose of study or to accompany a student as a dependent or guardian.Applicants may be interviewed in this case.
Applicants should submittheir offer letter as evidence that they are enrolled in a registered course.
Applicants need to provide the evidence of determined funds that cover tuition, travel, living costs and school costs for school aged dependents (if applicable). The Application Level will determine the funds.
All applicants for a visa must meet character and health requirements. Applicants only need to bear all the expenses related to medical tests. Only, once the application is approved, their money will be refunded. | 2019-04-22T02:14:28 | http://australia.prosperoverseas.com/aboutcountry/visa-percepts/student-visa |
0.999796 | Pass the popcorn. A new study confirms that the hull of popcorn has some good nutritional qualities -- assuming it's not smothered in butter, oil and salt.
Researchers at the University of Scranton (Pa.) ran a lab analysis on the content in several types and brands of popcorn and found that the crunchy hull is rich in polyphenols -- antioxidants that prevent damage to cells. Polyphenols also may have disease-fighting properties.
"The hull is where the most nutritional goodies (polyphenols) are -- not the white fluffy part," says chemistry professor Joe Vinson, senior author of the study, which was partially funded by a popcorn company. Vinson also has studied chocolate, coffee, spices and cereals. The popcorn findings were presented Sunday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego.
Vinson says polyphenols are concentrated in hulls because popcorn doesn't have a lot of water and because it's 100% whole grain. Some other foods that have polyphenols, such as fruits and vegetables, contain a lot more water.
Popcorn is usually minimally processed, he says. "We know whole grains are good for us in fighting a number of chronic diseases, but we don't know why yet. People thought it was just the fiber that made popcorn a healthful choice, but in my opinion, it's the combination of fiber and polyphenols."
Fruits and vegetables also contain polyphenols, along with vitamins and minerals not found in popcorn, he says. "I don't want people to think they can just eat popcorn to get all the polyphenols they need. I don't want them to think of popcorn as an alternative to fruits and vegetables."
Researchers are still investigating the effect of polyphenols on the body, Vinson says. "Just measuring something in the food is easy to do. It creates some information, but the proof in the pudding is what happens in the body."
Kantha Shelke, a spokeswoman for the Institute of Food Technologists and a food chemist in Chicago who has studied popcorn, says the latest findings confirm other research on the subject. "Popcorn has an antioxidant called ferulic acid that's also found in beans, corn, rice, wheat, barley and many other grains," she says. "Ferulic acid exhibits a wide range of therapeutic effects against cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neuro-degenerative diseases (Alzheimer's) largely because of its strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity."
Some nutritionists are skeptical about overselling the health benefits of popcorn, especially given that it's often drenched in salt and high-fat butter and oil.
Bonnie Liebman, director of nutrition for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer group that has analyzed the calories in movie-theater popcorn, says a small unbuttered popcorn at the movies typically has more than 650 calories; a large has 1,200.
"What's more, the evidence that polyphenols might lower the risk of disease is still preliminary," Liebman says. "Considering that two out of three American adults and one out of three children are overweight or obese, the best advice is to snack on fresh fruit or vegetables and to ignore the snack counter at the movies."
Shelke says movie popcorn gets a bad name because of the stuff people put on it.
"There's nothing wrong with eating popcorn with a little oil or a little butter within a balanced diet," she says. "Popcorn drenched in butter or oil is bad. Sprinkled or sprayed and consumed in moderation is good for both the body and the soul.
"I go to the movies for the movie and the popcorn. I comfort myself that my popcorn also provided me with a whopping dose of fiber." | 2019-04-23T03:26:25 | https://www.lifeextension.com/news/lefdailynews?NewsID=12451&Section=Nutrition |
0.999211 | Friday's exchange of letters between Attorney General William Barr and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., augurs a contentious court battle over Congress' access to grand jury material incorporated in special counsel Robert Mueller III's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Barr's letter was well-crafted to suggest a conciliatory tone in response to the widespread criticism generated by his previous one setting out Mueller's principal conclusions. Barr wrote that he shares Nadler's desire to ensure Congress and the public can read the Mueller report, said the department would release it by mid-April, and offered to testify publicly before both the House and Senate.
Nadler's response was more tart. He repeated a demand that Barr provide the full report, without redactions, by Tuesday. And he insisted that the Justice Department assist Congress in seeking a court order to release all grand jury information to the House Judiciary Committee.
None of this will happen, as Nadler surely knows. Most notably, a careful reading of Barr's two letters strongly suggests that the cooperative veneer is just that. The department likely will redact all grand jury information before turning over the report and likely will rebuff Nadler's request to work cooperatively to urge the district court to authorize disclosure of grand jury material to his committee.
Mueller's investigation made extensive use of the grand jury. The Justice Department, with Mueller's help, is identifying all grand-jury material in the report. Grand-jury material includes the testimony transcripts, of course, but also an array of other items such as exhibits that might tend to reveal the identities of witnesses or jurors.
Barr's letters advance a strict view of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e)(3)(E), which limits disclosure of information from grand jury proceedings to five specific situations. The exceptions all relate roughly to a given, ongoing prosecution or related ones; none of them comfortably covers a disclosure to Congress for consideration in oversight or impeachment hearings, although there are a few scattered cases holding otherwise.
The coming legal battle will be waged over whether the exceptions in the rule are exclusive. Some courts have determined that the list is not strictly limited in that way, and in particular that district courts have inherent supervisory authority to order release in a case of "special circumstances" in which there is a significant public interest in the material. Plainly, that fits the Mueller report.
Anyone familiar with Barr's jurisprudential views would safely guess that he is unlikely to reverse Justice Department policy and urge the courts to recognize an extra-textual "inherent authority" in the federal courts to order disclosure.
Nadler, along with many other proponents of full release to Congress, invoke the Watergate precedent. In that case, the court permitted special prosecutor Leon Jaworski to supply the "road map" bare-bones summary of key evidence to the House Judiciary Committee that became a basis for that body's impeachment inquiry.
But there are several features of the Watergate precedent that don't apply to release of Mueller's grand jury information. Most important, the court approving the transmission to the House concluded that it was only President Richard Nixon whose rights of confidentiality were seriously implicated, and Nixon didn't object to the report's release. But with Mueller, the overall antagonism between the special counsel's office and the subjects and targets of the probe guarantees that several uncharged third parties (e.g., Donald Trump Jr.) would oppose disclosure. That's a significant difference.
Thus, look for the Justice Department to identify the grand jury material in the report and then take the position that this material may not be disclosed, even by court order. Nadler's possible recourses will be (1) to negotiate, from a position of relative weakness, for a subset of the materials; or (2) to bring suit in federal court arguing that the court has "inherent authority" to order the department to produce the report without grand jury redactions.
A lawsuit will take time and face uncertain prospects, based on the composition and recent decisions of the D.C. Circuit. But if Barr and the Justice Department play hardball, Nadler probably won't have a better choice. | 2019-04-22T08:44:21 | https://www.tauntongazette.com/opinion/20190401/opinion-road-map-for-coming-fight-over-mueller-report |
0.999506 | Culture's Roots: Biological or Societal?
Euthanasia: The Right to Die?
Although humans have established many types of societies throughout history, sociologists and anthropologists (experts who study early and tribal cultures) usually refer to six basic types of societies, each defined by its level of technology.
The members of hunting and gathering societies primarily survive by hunting animals, fishing, and gathering plants. The vast majority of these societies existed in the past, with only a few (perhaps a million people total) living today on the verge of extinction.
To survive, early human societies completely depended upon their immediate environment. When the animals left the area, the plants died, or the rivers dried up, the society had to relocate to an area where resources were plentiful. Consequently, hunting and gathering societies, which were typically small, were quite mobile. In some cases, where resources in a locale were extraordinarily plentiful, small villages might form. But most hunting and gathering societies were nomadic, moving constantly in search of food and water.
Labor in hunting and gathering societies was divided equally among members. Because of the mobile nature of the society, these societies stored little in the form of surplus goods. Therefore, anyone who could hunt, fish, or gather fruits and vegetables did so. These societies probably also had at least some division of labor based on gender. Males probably traveled long distances to hunt and capture larger animals. Females hunted smaller animals, gathered plants, made clothing, protected and raised children, and helped the males to protect the community from rival groups.
Hunting and gathering societies were also tribal. Members shared an ancestral heritage and a common set of traditions and rituals. They also sacrificed their individuality for the sake of the larger tribal culture.
Members of pastoral societies, which first emerged 12,000 years ago, pasture animals for food and transportation. Pastoral societies still exist today, primarily in the desert lands of North Africa where horticulture and manufacturing are not possible.
Domesticating animals allows for a more manageable food supply than do hunting and gathering. Hence, pastoral societies are able to produce a surplus of goods, which makes storing food for future use a possibility. With storage comes the desire to develop settlements that permit the society to remain in a single place for longer periods of time. And with stability comes the trade of surplus goods between neighboring pastoral communities.
Pastoral societies allow certain of its members (those who are not domesticating animals) to engage in nonsurvival activities. Traders, healers, spiritual leaders, craftspeople, and people with other specialty professions appear.
Unlike pastoral societies that rely on domesticating animals, horticultural societies rely on cultivating fruits, vegetables, and plants. These societies first appeared in different parts of the planet about the same time as pastoral societies. Like hunting and gathering societies, horticultural societies had to be mobile. Depletion of the land's resources or dwindling water supplies, for example, forced the people to leave. Horticultural societies occasionally produced a surplus, which permitted storage as well as the emergence of other professions not related to the survival of the society.
Agricultural societies use technological advances to cultivate crops (especially grains like wheat, rice, corn, and barley) over a large area. Sociologists use the phrase Agricultural Revolution to refer to the technological changes that occurred as long as 8,500 years ago that led to cultivating crops and raising farm animals. Increases in food supplies then led to larger populations than in earlier communities. This meant a greater surplus, which resulted in towns that became centers of trade supporting various rulers, educators, craftspeople, merchants, and religious leaders who did not have to worry about locating nourishment.
Greater degrees of social stratification appeared in agricultural societies. For example, women previously had higher social status because they shared labor more equally with men. In hunting and gathering societies, women even gathered more food than men. But as food stores improved and women took on lesser roles in providing food for the family, they became more subordinate to men.
As villages and towns expanded into neighboring areas, conflicts with other communities inevitably occurred. Farmers provided warriors with food in exchange for protection against invasion by enemies. A system of rulers with high social status also appeared. This nobility organized warriors to protect the society from invasion. In this way, the nobility managed to extract goods from the “lesser” persons of society.
From the 9th to 15th centuries, feudalism was a form of society based on ownership of land. Unlike today's farmers, vassals under feudalism were bound to cultivating their lord's land. In exchange for military protection, the lords exploited the peasants into providing food, crops, crafts, homage, and other services to the owner of the land. The caste system of feudalism was often multigenerational; the families of peasants may have cultivated their lord's land for generations.
Between the 14th and 16th centuries, a new economic system emerged that began to replace feudalism. Capitalism is marked by open competition in a free market, in which the means of production are privately owned. Europe's exploration of the Americas served as one impetus for the development of capitalism. The introduction of foreign metals, silks, and spices stimulated great commercial activity in Europe.
Industrial societies are based on using machines (particularly fuel‐driven ones) to produce goods. Sociologists refer to the period during the 18th century when the production of goods in mechanized factories began as the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution appeared first in Britain, and then quickly spread to the rest of the world.
As productivity increased, means of transportation improved to better facilitate the transfer of products from place to place. Great wealth was attained by the few who owned factories, and the “masses” found jobs working in the factories.
Industrialization brought about changes in almost every aspect of society. As factories became the center of work, “home cottages” as the usual workplace became less prevalent, as did the family's role in providing vocational training and education. Public education via schools and eventually the mass media became the norm. People's life expectancy increased as their health improved. Political institutions changed into modern models of governance. Cultural diversity increased, as did social mobility. Large cities emerged as places to find jobs in factories. Social power moved into the hands of business elites and governmental officials, leading to struggles between industrialists and workers. Labor unions and welfare organizations formed in response to these disputes and concerns over workers' welfare, including children who toiled in factories. Rapid changes in industrial technology also continued, especially the production of larger machines and faster means of transportation. The Industrial Revolution also saw to the development of bureaucratic forms of organization, complete with written rules, job descriptions, impersonal positions, and hierarchical methods of management.
Sociologists note that with the advent of the computer microchip, the world is witnessing a technological revolution. This revolution is creating a postindustrial society based on information, knowledge, and the selling of services. That is, rather than being driven by the factory production of goods, society is being shaped by the human mind, aided by computer technology. Although factories will always exist, the key to wealth and power seems to lie in the ability to generate, store, manipulate, and sell information.
Sociologists speculate about the characteristics of postindustrial society in the near future. They predict increased levels of education and training, consumerism, availability of goods, and social mobility. While they hope for a decline in inequality as technical skills and “know‐how” begin to determine class rather than the ownership of property, sociologists are also concerned about potential social divisions based on those who have appropriate education and those who do not. Sociologists believe society will become more concerned with the welfare of all members of society. They hope postindustrial society will be less characterized by social conflict, as everyone works together to solve society's problems through science. | 2019-04-23T02:35:55 | https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/culture-and-societies/types-of-societies |
0.997946 | Cocos (Keeling) Island is an Australian territory with a population of about six hundred people. It is known for the wide range of ocean life present in its surrounding waters and its white sand beaches.
The capital of Cocos Islands is the West Island. Cocos (Keeling) Islands is an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean comprising a small archipelago midway between Sri Lanka and Australia. It is part of Southeast Asia. Cocos refers to the abundance of coconut trees, while Keeling is the name of the man who discovered the island in 1609, William Keeling. It has beautiful beaches and a picturesque scenery.
The climate is tropical with a cool season from June to October and a hot period from December to March. The warmest months are February and March. Since the country has a stable temperature, it never gets too hot or cold.
It has a predominantly Muslim population, the rest practice Christianity or are nonreligious. The culture of the Cocos island is basically a Western culture with influences from Indonesia and Malaysia. The main influence comes from mainland Australia.
The ethnic groups in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are the Europeans and Cocos Malays. The languages spoken in the Cocos islands are English and Malay. The Europeans wear Western attires while the Malay attires include Beju Melaya for men and Beju Kebaya which consists of loose tunic worn over skirt for women.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands cuisine consists of cousins from Europe and Malaysia. Mee goreng mamak, apam balik (Malaysian pancake), kuih and roti John are eaten by the Malays. Pizza, hamburger, pasta, pie, cheese and many more are eaten by the Europeans. Fish and pumpkins are a staple.
The Cocos (Keeling) lagoon: Seek the bonefish grail in the Cocos (Keeling) lagoon.
Home island: Experience the unique Cocos Malay culture in Home island.
The Southern islands: Go kite surfing and snorkelling in the Southern islands.
Direction island: Go scuba diving in Direction island.
Interesting facts about Cocos Islands are that the capital is an island rather than a town or city and there are no native mammals there. There are, however, many species of bird, two species of rodent and four species of reptile.
There is a sufficient number of beautiful resorts and hotels in the Cocos Islands so getting an accommodation is quite easy.
Q: Are the Cocos islands safe for tourists?
A: The islands are protected by the Australian military and the crime rate is one of the lowest in the world.
Q: When is the best time to visit the Cocos islands?
A: If you're looking for the warmest time to visit, the hottest months are February, march and April. And the coolest are between June and November.
Q: Do you need a passport to go to the Cocos islands?
A: Yes you do. But passports and visas are not required when travelling to the islands from the Australian mainland. However, proof of age card and an Australian Driver's licence must be produced for clearance.
Q: Are the Cocos islands part of Australia?
A: The Cocos island is an external Australian territory in the Indian Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere.
Q: Will I be able to withdraw cash on Cocos islands?
A: Yes. The Cocos islands Community Resources Centre purchased a cash machine to benefit everyone in the islands and all cards are accepted.
Q: Are visitors provided visitor information in the Islands?
A: The Cocos islands Tourism Association provides services for visitors when they arrive on the island.
What are the mobile network operators and internet service providers in Cocos Islands?
There are over 0 mobile network operators and about 0 internet service providers in Cocos Islands. You can checkout the list of network operators in Cocos Islands and also details about each of them. | 2019-04-19T23:13:32 | https://timbu.com/cocos-islands |
0.99915 | There are many questions about VA refinancing loans. One that comes up occasionally has to do with the credit check procedures associated with some kinds of VA refinance loans. Is there a refinancing option that features no credit score minimum requirement?
It's true that there are a variety of refinance options available under the VA loan program, but only with one the "no credit check" and "no appraisal" option -the VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan or IRRRL.
In many cases, VA IRRRLs don't require additional underwriting or an appraisal. But policies and requirements can vary among lenders and depend on your unique financial situation.
The rationale for this is simple. The borrower has already qualified for the original VA home loan, so that original data is used to get the refinance loan approved in cases where the interest and or/mortgage payment goes down as a result of the new loan. However, borrowers need to remember that the lender is free to require a new credit check and appraisal where lender rules require them to.
The IRRRL program does not allow borrowers to take cash out. However, refunds are permitted when money has been paid up front that is later financed into the loan amount or otherwise covered. You should also know that a refund is not the same as "cash back" from loan proceeds and VA rules cover the difference between the two in great detail.
VA IRRRLs are only permitted for existing VA home loans. They cannot be used to refinance conventional mortgages. If you need to refinance from an FHA loan or conventional mortgage to a VA guaranteed mortgage loan, discuss your options with a lender.
These types of refinance loans are possible, but cannot be done under the VA IRRRL or Streamline Refinance program. Borrowers can use cash-out refinancing to refinance conventional, FHA or other non-VA loans to a VA mortgage. | 2019-04-19T13:35:38 | https://www.valoans.com/articles/va-refinance-no-credit-check/ |
0.999719 | How strict is Lua in honoring collectgarbage() and its subcommands?
Subject: How strict is Lua in honoring collectgarbage() and its subcommands?
I've been prototyping several different implementations of lisp-style linked lists. To get an idea of their performance characteristics, I wrote a series of braindead but probably indicative micro benchmarks.
Now, because I'm trying to get a feel for how the manipulations themselves perform in isolation, I am passing "stop" to collectgarbage() between tests, collecting my data, then using the "restart" command and running two full passes of the gc to clean up before the next test.
The data collection consists of using the "count" subcommand and os.clock to get memory usage wall time before the test, running the micro benchmark, and then checking the difference. The memory usage numbers seem incredibly high (like 40 MB of memory gets allocated when I load up 2 KB (256 * sizeof(double)) of numbers and iterate over them).
Turning the gc off at the start and leaving it off the whole time doesn't seem to make any difference in timing or memory per test. What *does* make a huge difference though is the order I run the tests in. If I use a pair list (where l is the value and l is the next pair node) after two other implementations, it is an order of magnitude slower us uses a lot more memory.
Obviously os.clock has limitations–which I'm okay with, since I don't need exact profiling data–but how accurate is collectgarbage("count")? The manual says it returns usage in "K bytes", so to get the answer in megs I divide by 1024; is this a reasonable adjustment for what it's actually returning? Does Lua actually respect the "stop" subcommand? Is the perhaps an issue more of the allocator than the garbage collector? I could be leaking memory, but 40 MB seems excessive. | 2019-04-26T08:27:40 | http://lua-users.org/lists/lua-l/2015-05/msg00461.html |
0.998524 | Beijing: China today said it has an 'open attitude' to India joining the USD 46 billion economic corridor but it wants to know New Delhi's response to a top Pakistani army general's offer to participate in the project. 'I wonder what is India's take on this whether this is a good sign from Pakistan,' Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said when asked about Pakistan Southern Command Commander Lt Gen Amir Riaz's remarks that India should join the CPEC along with Iran, Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries and enjoy its benefits. 'On China's part, the CEPC is a cooperation framework and we hope this programme can not only serve the interest of Pakistan but also Asia and the region as a whole,' Hua said. She said CEPC is an important part of China's One-Belt and One-Road (OBOR) also known as new Silk Road project. 'It is an open proposal and we are willing to work with Pakistan to discuss the participation of any third country under principle of wider consultation and joint contribution,' she said. Asked whether Pakistan has discussed India's participation with China, Hua said 'as (whether) China has negotiated with Pakistan on this, I have nothing to offer'. 'I can tell you that this programme is very important part of OBOR initiative and China holds an open attitude for such cooperation. We have seen reports about other countries who are willing to join the programme. We want to discuss this with wider consultants and consensus,' she said. Hua's comments came as the state-run Global Times carried articles suggesting that India should accept the 'olive branch' offered by Lt Gen Riaz and join the project. India's concerns over CEPC being laid through the Pakistan administered Kashmir is one of the three major issues bedevilled the relations between the two countries besides China blocking India s admission to Nuclear Suppliers Group, (NSG) and UN ban on JeM leader Masood Azhar. The two countries have been holding talks on these issues and Riaz's comments were seen by officials here as an attempt to gauge India's reaction. | 2019-04-23T14:18:55 | http://jammu-kashmir.com/archives/archives2016/kashmir20161223b.html |
0.999989 | I was rear ended last night while driving my Dads car, what steps should I take next?.
I was rear ended after I came to a complete stop on the way home from hanging out with friends. The impact was so hard I ended up hitting the car in front of me. The driver who rear ended me admitted she was at fault. I ended up being transported to the hospital by ambulance. I felt dizzy shaken and weak. What steps should I take next? Should I let the claim be handled by the driver's insurance?
You've already started to do the right thing by getting FREE ADVICE from a New York personal injury attorney. You're definitely entitled to compensation.
1st Step: Report this to your insurance.
2nd Step: Seek immediate medical help.
3rd Step: File a claim through your own insurer.
4th step: If you are injured then hire a personal injury lawyer.
5th step: Do not give a recorded statement or speak to the at fault parties insurer. | 2019-04-25T14:08:29 | https://www.ajlounyinjurylaw.com/_accident/00000031.htm |
0.999758 | This review contains full spoilers.
Arrow started season 3 off with some shaky consistency but the New Year has completely turned that around. Oliver’s absence in Starling City was the new breath of life this series needed and even as he has returned, the writers don’t seem to be slowing down. While this episode wasn’t huge on plot advancements, it had an insane amount of character. Almost every single supporting character on this show had a moment to shine tonight and that what made this episode special to me.
Let’s start off with Roy Harper. This was by far the best showing of character in quite some time. His presence in season 3 has felt quite side-lined and sometimes unessential. This was changed while Ollie was gone and I greatly appreciated the greater use of Roy. And I’m glad that the writers want to continue that trend through Oliver’s return. At the beginning of this episode, I hadn’t thought that Roy was going to have a strong role but when he stood up to Oliver’s commanding attitude I was pleasantly surprised.
That scene in particular was amazing to me because I had been just thinking that Oliver was acting like a real prick (I’ll get to that later) and seeing Roy stand up to him first felt right. He felt defensive towards Thea which prompted a pretty big uproar about why Oliver shouldn’t be roaring out commands all the time. Though, Roy’s best feature this week actually was his feelings for Thea. It was really great of him to try and save her after she slept with another guy. He failed but he tried, nonetheless. Hopefully Roy will continue to shine like this in upcoming episode.
As for other supporting players, the other standout to me was Laurel. The title of the episode is “Canaries” so I knew she was going to feature heavily and I was pleased with her arc, this episode. There was on ongoing theme of overcoming fear this week as Laurel dealt with that more directly than others as she got hit by Vertigo’s serum twice. Leading to a great sequence where Caity Lotz returns (and did a solid job being evil) as Sara in Laurel’s hallucinations. Laurel had to face that she isn’t her sister and can’t replace her as Black Canary. This was a strong development for Laurel who has had a solid treatment in season 3. But even though this was a strong moment for Laurel, it brought upon a heart-wrenching conclusion to her arc. She finally told her dad about his daughter’s death and I was heartbroken. Watching Quentin Lance break down into mournful tears was brutally sad and showed what powerful drama this series is capable of.
Another strong theme of this episode was family. A reveal that has been long in the making finally happened this week as Oliver told Thea about his vigilantism. I was actually quite worried that Thea would get upset and start accusing Ollie of lying but her reaction was much more joyous than that. She turned around and looked upon her brother with a newfound respect and admiration. Finally, this series has brought these two siblings together in a way that I love. Their new dynamic was explored well this episode but this also brought a minor problem. Thea’s sudden change of heart towards her father was a little jarring and didn’t make much sense to me. Though, in spite of that, Thea had a strong showing this week thanks to her cooperative reaction towards Ollie’s big reveal.
Unfortunately, my biggest complaint about this episode has to do with the Arrow himself. He was acting so controlling and unreasonable throughout most of this episode. From telling Laurel what to do, to yelling at Thea and getting enraged with Roy for standing up to him. He felt quite unlikeable despite redeeming himself with a few good actions. I got a little annoyed with Oliver here but thankfully I like where this episode ended with him.
The ending of this episode left every character in a great place. Oliver and Thea have been sent to the island to face their fears, leaving team Arrow alone once again. This is a fantastic idea for a few reasons. First off, the dynamic between the group without Oliver has been great, putting a better focus on character that truly deserve it. Also, Oliver leaving his team responsible for the safety of Starling City was also (as previously mentioned) a great redemption for his controlling and brash attitude (and now he won’t have that many people to control).
And to get the plot rolling was the returning villain count vertigo. His presence was extremely plot-oriented and he felt extremely replaceable. He only appeared to get Laurel to hallucinate and complete her character arc. And in the scenes he was featured in, his character was overacted and extremely one-note. After Brick, this is a huge stepdown in terms of villain.
In terms of flashbacks, I enjoyed how they left things off for next week but still feel like this show may have outgrown the flashbacks. I don’t mind them but I feel like I would have a more pleasant viewing without them.
Arrow has been revitalized in 2015 and this week’s episode provided strong character arcs for most and left all of the characters in interesting places. The looming threat of Ra’s Al Ghul couldn’t be any more frightening as Arrow season 3 heads towards its climax in full force. | 2019-04-20T07:05:30 | https://www.comicsthegathering.com/forums/geek-tv/arrow-canaries-review |
0.999999 | Step 1. The tabby cat is made from 2 colors of cold porcelain, twisted together for a marbled mixture of color.
Step 2. Shape the CP into a drumstick and flatten the bottom by pressing it on a flat surface. This will be cat's body.
Step 3. Shape an egg for the head.
Step 4. Pull and model the CP to shape two ears at long side of "egg". Place an ear on either side of cat's head.
Step 5. Insert a wire in the body of the cat to reinforce neck.
Step 6. Attach head using glue.
Step 7. Repeat above steps for another cat, this time using a solid color.
Step 8. For the legs, make two balls of CP and model into an elongated drumstick shape.
Step 9. Bend leg in half with the widest part up (at hip).
Step 11. Make the lower legs of the other cat in the same way.
Step 12. Flatten the tip of the cat paws and indent some toes with clay tool.
Step 13. Do the same with the other cat.
Step 14. Position cats next to one another.
Step 15. Let cats dry while you make a heart. Shape a heart-shaped drumstick from red clay. Flatten slightly.
Step 16. With a clay tool or knitting needle, indent center of heart and refine shape.
Step 17. For each tail, make a snake in matching color.
Step 18. Curl the ends of the tail and let dry.
Step 19. Glue the heart in front of the 2 cats.
Step 20. For the front legs (arms), make two snakes in each color! Flatten and indent the toes.
Step 21. Model 4 front legs (or call them arms!). Each leg will be glued at shoulder.
Step 22. Glue 2 arms (1 for each cat) holding the heart.
Step 23. Attach other 2 arms with glue. Position in back in a loving hug.
Step 24. The nostrils are small triangles. One white, one black.
Step 25. Glue the little nose to the middle of each face.
Step 26. Dimple the middle of the nose with a small mark. You could give nose a heart shape, if desired.
Step 27. Let cats dry and then paint eyes. Design your own eyes or follow these instructions. Start with an base coat of white in an oval or almond shape.
Step 28. Paint a second layer of blue for the boy cat.
Step 29. And paint hers pink.
Step 30. Outline in black using paint or a Sharpie marker. Add pupil. Make an inverted V for mouth right below the nose.
Step 31 Once the tails have dried, attach each to back of body.
The finished Cute Cat Couple! Make some more as gifts! | 2019-04-26T10:21:47 | http://coldporcelaintutorials.blogspot.com/2011/10/couple-of-cute-stylized-cats.html |
0.999808 | Labour has tabled a no-confidence vote in the government after Theresa May's Brexit deal was comprehensively voted down by Parliament.
MPs rejected the prime minister's Withdrawal Agreement on Tuesday by a majority of 230 - the biggest Commons defeat for any government in more than a century.
It comes after Mrs May's supporters put out an eleventh hour appeal to win round critics.
Under the terms of an amendment passed last week, Mrs May must table a motion on her Plan B by January 21.
Reacting to the result, she said: "The House has spoken and the Government will listen."
Jeremy Corbyn described the defeat as "catastrophic", and said that Labour would table a vote of no-confidence in the government.
The Commons defeat was the biggest in more than a century.
There were calls to extend Article 50 from the SNP and a call for a People's Vote from the Liberal Democrats.
ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston said the defeat meant that Mrs May's deal was "in essence dead".
And ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen said that the European Union would be unlikely to offer further concessions considering the scale of the defeat.
But the option to extend Article 50 is something that is being seriously considered in Brussels, according to ITV News Europe Editor James Mates.
Mrs May earlier made a last ditch attempt to win support from MPs in the Commons.
Wrapping up a final debate, the prime minister predicted the vote would be a "historic decision" which would "set the future of our country for generations".
She told the House: "I believe we have a duty to deliver on the democratic decision of the British people, and to do so in a way that brings our country together."
The prime minister is now expected to go back to Brussels in another bid to win further concessions.
With Britain set to leave the EU in just 73 days, Mrs May also offered cross-party talks with MPs to determine a way forward.
How did we get to Brexit and what happens next?
Peston: A vote that changes nothing and possibly everythingSuffering from Brexit confusion?
Mr Corbyn tabled the no-confidence vote immediately after the result was announced.
But Peston predicted the party would "almost certainly" lose the vote, which will take place on Wednesday.
Speaking of the prime minister, the Labour leader said: "At every turn the prime minister has closed the door on dialogue....In the last two years she's only had one priority - the Conservative Party.
"Her governing principle of delay and denial has reached the end of the line. "She cannot seriously believe that after two years of failure she is capable of negotiating a good deal for the people of this county."
Which Conservative MPs voted against the deal?
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage called on Mrs May to step down, claiming she had showed a "catastrophic failure of leadership".
"If she has any sense of honour then she will resign," he tweeted.
Ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson told ITV News that he believed there was time to negotiate a new Brexit deal with the EU before March 29.
But EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker indicated that this may not be the case.
"I take note with regret of the outcome of the vote in the House of Commons this evening," he tweeted.
"I urge the UK to clarify its intentions as soon as possible. Time is almost up."
And Donald Tusk tweeted: "If a deal is impossible, and no one wants no deal, then who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?"
Scotland first minister Nicola Sturgeon called for the Article 50 process to be halted and a second referendum held to avoid the UK crashing out without a deal.
"It has been crystal clear for months that the prime minister's approach was heading for a crushing defeat," she said.
"Instead of facing up to that fact, she wasted valuable time with her postponement of the meaningful vote in December. There is no more time to waste."
Transport secretary Chris Grayling defended the government's deal despite the heavy loss and insisted it is unthinkable to have a second referendum.
“I think the idea to go back to 17.4 million people and say to them - 'you know you voted to leave, well actually, we're not going to let this happen' is completely unsustainable", he said.
Conservative MP for Loughborough Nicky Morgan told ITV News that a red line has now been drawn for the Prime Minister.
"If she (Theresa May) wants an agreement that's going to get a majority of MPs, she is going to have to get something that commands a consensus across the House of Commons", she said.
Prominent Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg MP told ITV News that despite the loss inflicted by the House, Brexit is still alive.
“The Prime Minister is still committed to Brexit, and it's easier said than done for the House of Commons to take over as the executive.
Speaker John Bercow appeared to suggest he would allow a vote on extending Article 50 if enough MPs pushed for it.
Labour's Yvette Cooper had asked him: "Can you advise the House on what we might be able to do to urge the Prime Minister, for the sake of businesses and jobs and people across the country, to seek an immediate extension of Article 50 now so that this can be sorted out?"
Mr Bercow said: "This will be discussed I'm sure in the days ahead on the floor of the house."
He added: "Of one thing I am sure; that which members wish to debate and which they determine shall be subject to a vote, will be debated and voted on. That seems to me so blindingly obvious that no sensible person would disagree with the proposition.
"If MPs want to debate a matter and to vote on it, that opportunity I'm sure will unfold in the period ahead." | 2019-04-26T06:03:59 | https://www.itv.com/news/2019-01-15/theresa-may-brexit-deal-withdrawal-agreement-parliament-vote/ |
0.999999 | Read each sentence carefully and rate each sentence 1 through 5.
Pick the best possible answer.
1. My child is considered the top of her class.
2. My child has very good reading comprehension skills.
3. My child does very well on spelling tests.
4. My child has mastered all of his/her phonics skills.
5. My child is very good with numbers.
6. My child knows the rules of grammar and can use them to create proper sentences for his/her age.
7. My child can answer every word problem or math concept problem without assistance.
8. My child's vocabulary level is outstanding.
9. My child has very strong math skills.
10. My child loves studying.
Your child needs challenging materials to stimulate his/her learning interest to prevent boredom.
Find out your child's true learning potential through comprehensive assessments from Up!Grade.
An individualized learning plan from Up!Grade can ensure that your child�s work is neither too easy nor too hard.
Find out what is preventing your child from getting full points through a comprehensive assessment.
Filling in skill gaps through individualized curriculum can help build a solid foundation for future learning.
Help your child get ahead by learning advance materials.
Help your child catch up quickly with Up!Grade.
Comprehensive assessments will determine where your child's skill gaps lie.
Individualized curriculum pinpoints exactly where your child needs help the most. | 2019-04-23T12:11:11 | http://www.upgradeteaching.com/en/need_tutoring.php |
0.999999 | Q.) Can you combine Zuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha salat while traveling? What do the different madhabs say about this? JazakAllahkhair.
A.) According to the Hanafi school, it is not permitted to combine the prayers and take a prayer out of its prayer time by either delaying it or performing it before its time. The only exception they have in this, based on the narration of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, is in Arafat (where Zuhr and 'Asr are combined) and in Muzdalifa (where Maghrib and 'Isha are combined). The remaining three schools permit combining in other circumstances too as when a person is traveling, or it is raining heavily, etc.
There are many ahadith related on this issue and have been discussed by the four schools. The Hanafis have judged all the narrations on this issue to be based on the method of "apparent combining" [Jam' al-Suri] not "real combining" [jam' al-Haqiqi]. This position is based on the fact that we are told to make every prayer on time, and there are ahadith of Ibn Mas'ud which clarify that the Prophet never combined the prayers together [by taking a prayer out of its time] except in 'Arafat and Muzdalifa during the pilgrimage.
I never observed the Messenger of Allah perform any prayer out of its time except at Muzdalifa. He combined Maghrib and 'Isha at Muzdalifa (Sahih al-Bukhari 1:227, Sahih Muslim 1:417, Sharh Ma'ani 'l-athar 1:164).
The Messenger of Allah combined two prayers whilst on a journey. He would combine Maghrib and 'Isha by delaying Maghrib until just before its expiry time, and performing 'Isha immediately as its time entered (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 2:458).
The Messenger of Allah whilst on a journey, would delay Zuhr and perform 'Asr early and would delay Maghrib and perform 'Isha early [i.e. perform each prayer in its own time] (Sharh Ma'ani 'l-athar 1:164, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 2:457).
I performed eight rak'ats together [four of Zuhr and four of 'Asr] and seven rak'ats together [three of Maghrib and four of 'Isha] with the Messenger of Allah . [One of the narrators says,] "I asked Abu 'l-Sha'tha', 'I assume he delayed Zuhr [to the end of its time] and performed 'Asr as soon as it entered, and delayed Maghrib [likewise] and performed 'Isha early.' He replied, 'I also think the same'" (Sahih Muslim 1:246, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 2: 456).
This hadith of Sahih Muslim is very clear about the exact description of combining two prayers. The method described by the narrator is jam' al-suri.
The muezzin of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar informed him it was time for prayer. Ibn 'Umar, Radi-Allahu anhu, instructed him to continue on the journey. When the red of sunset [shafq ahmar] had nearly disappeared, he got of from his mount and performed Maghrib, then he waited until the red had completely disappeared and performed Isha. He then said, "Whenever the Messenger of Allah was in a hurry for some reason, he would do just as I have done" (Sunan Abi Dawud 1:178).
As we can see, the method of combining mentioned in the above ahadith is none other than that of jam' al-suri. It is an agreed upon method which nobody has any argument with. How can there be an objection to two prayers being performed together in a way that does not cause them to be performed either before their stipulated time or after it? Undoubtedly, this is the safest method of combining two prayers, and would be the most suitable way to explain the ahadith on combining.
It is also common knowledge that the Fajr prayer should not to be performed before its time or intentionally delayed beyond it. Similarly, other prayers should not be performed out of their stipulated times either, especially not while considering it to be sunna. This indicates that the sunna method of combining two prayers is jam' al-suri, as has also been substantiated through the Qur'an and Hadith. This is the Hanafi opinion in this issue. | 2019-04-19T08:53:54 | http://albalagh.net/qa/0082.shtml |
0.999977 | It wasn't very long ago that Jean-Christophe Péraud was a regular top contender on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. In 2008, he earned the silver medal in the elite men's cross country race at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Then in 2009, Péraud won the French time trial national championships and drew the attention of some road team directors.
He made the switch from mountain biking and committed to racing the road with Omega Pharma-Lotto in 2010. Fast forward to 2014, and he has just earned himself and his AG2R team a podium place at the Tour de France.
Despite a flat tire and subsequent bike change in the Tour's final 54km time trial on Saturday, Péraud went fast enough to secure second overall in this year's race, after moving ahead of Thibaut Pinot in the final race against the clock.
Overcome by emotion after his time trial finish on Saturday, Péraud said with tears of joy in his eyes, "I came for a top five place, but when [Chris] Froome and [Alberto] Contador were out, it opened up my possibilities, and little by little, I started to think about second place, so for me, it's a little victory."
What a difference a year has made for Péraud. In 2013, he crashed out of the Tour de France during a wet stage 17 time trial in the final week of the race. He had been racing with a non-displaced collarbone fracture he had gotten in a course-scouting crash earlier that same day, and when he went down, it was right in front of his family, who'd lined up at the very same corner to cheer him on.
So what's more satisfying - a second place overall at the Tour de France or a silver medal at the Olympics? The 37-year-old told Cyclingnews that his silver medal in cross country mountain biking in the 2008 Olympics remains his greatest achievement.
"It's still the Olympics, because it's the event that always made me dream, with the Coubertin spirit and everything else," he said.
Given his age, Péraud is obviously nearing the end of his pro racing career, but he said he's not ready to hang up his cycling shoes yet.
"I still want to discover things. I've never done the Giro [d'Italia], for instance, but I think I have two years left in front of me to do it."
Péraud, who spent three years racing on the same Orbea mountain bike team as his compatriot, Julien Absalon, was quick to credit his AG2R squad for his success at this year's Tour de France.
"I'm proud of this team, who brought me to here," he said.
On Sunday afternoon, he raced into Paris on the Champs Elysee as the second place finisher at the 2014 Tour de France. | 2019-04-20T03:20:26 | http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/former-mountain-biker-peraud-excels-at-tour-de-france/ |
0.999933 | What is the most important information I should know about triamcinolone topical?
Do not cover treated skin areas with a bandage or other covering unless your doctor has told you to. If you are treating the diaper area of a baby, do not use plastic pants or tight-fitting diapers. Covering the skin that is treated with triamcinolone topical can increase the amount of the drug your skin absorbs, which may lead to unwanted side effects. Follow your doctor's instructions.
Triamcinolone topical will not treat a bacterial, fungal, or viral skin infection.
Triamcinolone topical is used to treat the inflammation caused by a number of conditions such as allergic reactions, eczema, and psoriasis. The dental paste form of triamcinolone is used to treat mouth ulcers.
Triamcinolone topical may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before using triamcinolone topical?
FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether triamcinolone topical will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication.
How should I use triamcinolone topical?
Wash your hands before and after each application, unless you are using triamcinolone topical to treat a hand condition.
Contact your doctor if your condition does not improve or if it gets worse after using this medication for several days. It is important to use triamcinolone topical regularly to get the most benefit.
Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222, especially if anyone has accidentally swallowed this medicine. An overdose of triamcinolone topical applied to the skin is not expected to produce life-threatening symptoms.
Avoid getting this medication in your eyes, mouth, and nose, or on your lips. If it does get into any of these areas, wash with water. Do not use triamcinolone topical on sunburned, windburned, irritated, or broken skin. Also avoid using this medication in open wounds.
Avoid using skin products that can cause irritation, such as harsh soaps or skin cleansers, or skin products with alcohol, spices, astringents, or lime. Avoid using other medications on the areas you treat with triamcinolone topical unless your doctor tells you to.
What are the possible side effects of triamcinolone topical?
What other drugs will affect triamcinolone topical?
It is not likely that other drugs you take orally or inject will have an effect on topically applied triamcinolone topical. But many drugs can interact with each other. Tell your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin, and herbal products. Do not start a new medication without telling your doctor.
Your pharmacist can provide more information about triamcinolone topical.
Copyright 1996-2017 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 7.03. Revision date: 6/9/2014. | 2019-04-24T21:53:43 | http://drdoleary.com/PatientPortal/MyPractice.aspx?UAID=%7B07AEB1A3-E386-4662-B9AE-39676E37C4A5%7D&ID=HW5d03206a1&Title=Pediaderm-TA |
0.998941 | Dutch ovens are tools that can last a lifetime; good thing, too, because some of them can get pretty pricey. The only caveat? You have to care for them properly. You don't have to season or love them quite as much as a cast-iron skillet (that enameled coating really helps make your job easier!), but there are some things you should never do.
Here are five mistakes to avoid with your prized Dutch oven.
1. Using it on very high heat.
I confess to making this mistake for years before I realized the truth. Because Dutch ovens do such a great job of retaining heat, using them on medium-high or high heat is actually too hot. The pot can scorch if it's this hot and food can burn and actually stick to the surface. Cooking at medium heat is more than sufficient for the pot.
Follow this tip: Always cook on medium or low heat, even when frying or searing. Use high heat only when boiling a full pot of water, or reducing a stock or sauce.
2. Preheating it empty or on high heat.
Just like above, preheating a Dutch oven on high heat is as bad as cooking with it on high heat. It can heat up too fast and the surface and food can burn. Also, you never want to preheat it while empty -- this can cause the enamel to crack -- so drizzle your olive oil in first and then switch the stovetop on.
Follow this tip: Pour oil or drop that pat of butter into the pot before you start heating it -- and make sure that heat is no higher than medium. Also, never place an empty pot in a hot oven. If you're baking no-knead bread, we've found that it's OK to put an empty pot in a cold oven and preheat both together, slowly, but know there still could be a risk of the enamel cracking. If you're concerned, the safest bet is to use a non-enameled Dutch oven when baking bread.
3. Not using enough oil or butter to coat the bottom of the pan.
While the enameled coating on a Dutch oven may look glossy and nonstick, it's actually not. Like all other nonstick pots and pans, it needs a sufficient amount of hot fat on its surface to ensure food won't stick to it. You'll want to drizzle enough oil or melt enough butter to completely coat the surface before sautéing those onions.
Follow this tip: Don't skimp on the amount of oil or butter you're cooking with. Follow the recipe and make sure the fat completely covers the bottom of the pot before you start cooking.
4. Using metal utensils when cooking.
Again, I am a culprit here: I've definitely scraped the bottom of my Dutch oven with a serving spoon before and completely regretted it when I saw the scratch it left behind. Play it safe and use utensils that won't run any risk of scratching that precious enamel coating, like silicone, wood, or heat-resistant plastic.
Follow this tip: Opt for using silicone, wooden, or heat-resistant plastic utensils with your Dutch oven. If you have to use a metal spoon or whisk, be careful not to scrape it on the enameled bottom or sides.
5. Not drying it completely.
While Dutch ovens can technically go in the dishwasher, doing so can dull the enamel coating, so your best bet is to hand-wash your pot. When you do so, make sure you dry it completely, as any excess moisture that lingers could cause rust to form.
Follow this tip: Hand-wash your Dutch oven, and dry the base and the lid completely before putting it away. | 2019-04-18T15:08:09 | https://www.mccormick.com/articles/the-kitchn/5-mistakes-to-avoid-with-your-dutch-oven |
0.999999 | Choose a word in each line that has the different stress pattern.
Câu 9: Those ladies often go to pagoda to pray _______ happiness and luck.
Câu 10: Of the three sisters, Mary is the most beautiful ________ .
Câu 11: The whole family usually try to "get-together" at Christmas.
Câu 12: Tet is a ________ occasiom for all members of famillies to gather.
Câu 13: A: Would you like some more tea?
Câu 14: Would you mind__________for a moment ?
Câu 18: __________out of the window, he saw the cat climbing over the fence.
Câu 19: They volunteer to work in remote or_______areas to provide education for children.
Câu 20: _______in some developing countries may be the cause of poverty and hunger.
Câu 23: How many _______ are there in the competition?
Câu 24: I would like to take part in the "competitions" like these?
Câu 25: My brother suggested _________ to the movies tonight.
Câu 26: Your idea is quite different _______ mine.
Câu 27: My friends congratulated me _______the final examination.
Câu 28: The lawn needs "mowing" again.
Câu 29: Banh Chung is made_________ sticky rice, green beans and fatty pork.
Câu 30: My brother has always dreamed to be a famous film star .
Câu 32: If you came to my party yesterday, you would have seen your former friend.
Câu 33: Who suggested come here for the picnic ?
Câu 34: Could you telling me the way to the post office?
Read the following passage then choose the word A,B,C or D that best fits each of the blank spaces.
More and more young people are ... (35) ... voluntary work abroad. The wild variety of jobs and destinations available is making it an increasingly attractive option for those who have just left school and have a year free before university. Many choose to spend these twelve months working in poor countries. There they will earn little ... (36) ... no money. But they will be doing something useful - and enjoying the experience.
The work may ... (37) ... of helping the local communities, for example by helping to build new road or provide water supplies to isolated rural villages. Other projects may concentrate more on conservation or environmental protection. ... (38) ... kind of job it is, it is certain to be ... (39) ... and worthwhile, and an experience that will never be forgotten.
Every four years people all over the world watch the Olympic Games. It is a time for all kinds of people to unite in peace. Some of them join together to compete for gold medals. Millions of other people watch them on television.
Why do we have the Olympic? How did they begin?
The first Olympic Games were inGreecein 776 B.C. There was only one event. People ran a nice the length of the stadium. The Games lasted one day.
Slowly people added more events. The Games were only for men, and women could not even watch them. Only Greeks competed. They came from all parts of the Greek world. The time of the Games way; a time of peace, and government let everyone travel safely. The winners became national heroes.
The first modem Games were in 1896 inAthens. The Greeks built a new stadium for the competition. Athletes from several countries competed. Then there were Olympics every four years in different cities in Europe and theUnited Statesuntil 1952. After that they were inMelbourne,Tokyo,MexicoCity, andMontrealbesides in European cities. Each year there were athletes from more nations. The first Winter Olympics were in 1924. The athletes compete in skiing and other winter sports.
Câu 40: How often do people all over the world watch the Olympic Games ?
Câu 41: Where were the cities where the Olympics were held between 1896 and 1952?
Câu 42: How long after the founding of the modern Olympics were the Winter Olympics introduced?
Câu 43: In what city were the 1952 Olympic Games held?
Câu 44: Which sport is competed in the Winter Olympic?
Câu 45: "I didn't break the mobile phone," Lan said.
Câu 47: The bag was heavy, so we could not take it with us.
Câu 48: “Why don’t you put a better lock on the door?" said John.
Câu 49: “ If I were you, I wouldn’t buy that coat,” she said.
Câu 50: “I’m sorry I have to leave so early,” he said. | 2019-04-24T02:01:09 | https://tuyensinh247.com/de-thi-hki-truong-thpt-nguyen-hong-dao-binh-dinh-nam-2012-2013-ec2241.html |
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