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Research by MoveStreets, the property portal designed for the mobile generation, has revealed how much current homesellers are likely to have made when it comes to the price appreciation of their property across each region of the nation.
MoveStreets looked at the average length of time a property is owned after purchase across each region of Britain. MoveStreets then looked at how much house prices have increased during this time period based on a homeowner selling up today, adjusting this increase for inflation to find the actual sum made.
Homeowners in Wales typically own their property for the longest period of time at an average of 22.6 years. A homeowner to have purchased a home back in February 1999 would have done so for £48,455, £85,875 once adjusted for inflation. With the average house price across Wales now £196,216, that’s a 128% increase (£110,341), the largest property value percentage increase of all British regions.
The average length of homeownership in the North West is 20 years and since 2001, the average house price has increased by 97% (£100,029), the second largest increase of all British regions, closely followed by Yorkshire and the Humber at 89%.
The average length of homeownership in the West Midlands and the North East is slightly longer at 20.2 and 21.3 years respectively. However, house price growth hasn’t been quite as buoyant and after adjusting for inflation, MoveStreets research shows that the average property has increased by 79% in the West Midlands and 78% in the North East.
In London, the average homeowner will own their home for 19.4 years and had they purchased back in April 2002, they would have seen an increase of 71% once adjusting for inflation. However, while the capital has only seen the sixth largest percentage increase of all British regions, it has enjoyed the largest monetary uplift with those looking to sell now some £211,000 better off compared to when they bought their home.
Scotland is the only region to have seen negative movement when it comes to property price growth over the lifetime of the average homeowner. With an average length of homeownership at 14.5 years, it would have cost £129,092 to get on the ladder in March 2007. However, once adjusting for inflation, the research by MoveStreets shows this cost is actually £183,168 and with the current average property costing £180,334, Scottish homesellers will have seen a 2% drop in the value of their home.
Adam Kamani, CEO and Co-Founder property portal of MoveStreets, commented: “With the festive period now behind us, many homeowners will be getting their house in order with the view to selling in 2022. Over the last year, we’ve seen some explosive rates of house price growth and so those now entering the market are likely to be doing so at a considerably higher sum than the price they originally purchased their home for.
While there are always fears that we may see a repeat of previous house price drops, the cyclical nature of the property market means that there’s a good chance you’ll have seen an increase by the time you do come to sell.
Just remember, a realistic valuation is key to a quick sale and so avoid any unrealistic expectations if you want to avoid an initial period of little to no interest before inevitably adjusting your asking price expectations further down the line.” | 158,615 |
Mind & Happiness 38
This individual Consciousness – our feeling “I am a person, a separate Individual, a Mind or soul confined within the limits of a Body” – is merely an imagination, a false & distorted form of our pure Consciousness “I exist”, but it is nevertheless the root cause of all desire & all Suffering.
Unless we give up this individual Consciousness, this false notion that we are separate from God, we can never be free of desire, nor of Suffering, which is the inevitable consequence of desire. True Self-Surrender is therefore nothing but giving up the false notion that we are separate from God. In order to give up this false notion, we must know who we really are. And in order to know who we really are, we must attend to the Consciousness that we feel to be “I”.
Though the Consciousness that we now feel to be “I” is only a false Consciousness, a limited & distorted form of the real Consciousness that is God, by attending to it keenly we can know the real Consciousness that underlies it. That is, attending keenly to this false form of Consciousness is similar to looking closely at a Snake that we imagine we see lying on the ground in the dim light of dusk. When we look closely at the Snake, we discover that it is in fact nothing but a Rope.
Similarly, if we keenly attend to the limited & distorted individual Consciousness that we now feel to be “I”, we will discover that it is in fact nothing but the Real & Unlimited Consciousness “I exist”, which is God. Just as the illusory appearance of the Snake dissolves & disappears as soon as we see the Rope, so the illusory feeling that we are a separate individual Consciousness confined within the limits of a Body will dissolve & disappear as soon as we experience the pure Non-Dual Consciousness, which is the Reality both of our Self & of God.
We can thus achieve complete & perfect Self-Surrender only by knowing our self to be the Real Consciousness that is devoid of all duality & separateness. Without knowing our True Self, we cannot surrender our false self, & without surrendering our false self, we cannot know our True Self.
Self-Surrender & Self-Knowledge are thus inseparable, like the 2 sides of one sheet of paper. In fact, the terms “Self-Surrender” & “Self-Knowledge” are just 2 ways of describing one & the same state – the pure Non-Dual State of Consciousness devoid of Individuality.
The above themes & 2500 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through www.jpstiga.com
Different blogs (but with graphics) are available on:
http://www.blogger.com as “Being-as-Consciousness, Non-Duality – new & final version” with link:
“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”
– the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada
for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see: www.ajatavada.com/ | 87,959 |
These days, the use of corporate planes by business executives is cause for public scorn.
"It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo," said Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y.
The winds shifted last November when the CEOs of Detroit's Big Three automakers flew hat-in-hand to Washington to request government bailouts - arriving on fancy company jets.
Many Americans saw a new symbol of greed and arrogance.
"'This time CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their pay checks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over," President Barack Obama said on Feb. 24.
Orders for new planes nosedived and aircraft manufacturers slashed jobs. Cessna cut 40 percent of its workforce - 7,400 jobs; Hawker Beechcraft cut 2,800 jobs, Gulfstream 1,200.
Citigroup cancelled its new $50 million dollar jet. Others companies sold their fleets.
But Wes Stowers is no fat cat. And his company plane, a King Air 350, is no ego trip. He also owns a private jet.
"It's comfortable and functional. But not exactly luxurious," said Stowers, chairman of Stowers Machinery Corporation.
Stowers' Knoxville, Tenn. Caterpillar dealership has been his family's business for almost 50 years.
On his company plane, Stowers flies customers to caterpillar factories, in remote places commercial carriers don't fly.
In fact only 500 American cities are served by the major airlines, whereas private planes can access 5,000 smaller airports across the country.
So the mayors of 70 small and medium-sized cities have written to President Obama urging him to help change "toxic perceptions" about this "crucial lifeline to rural America."
They urge the president to save the industry's 1.2 million jobs, and the $150 billion output per year.
Fat cat CEOs are the stereotype, but 85 percent of people flying on private planes for business work for small or mid-sized companies.
If having a private plane was just a fun perk, "We would get rid of it," Stowers said.
But the ridicule goes on and this industry continues to have a bumpy forecast. | 161,093 |
Women have been known to face oppression since time immemorial. The feminist groups came up in as early as the late 1960s to speak up against the oppression of women. These feminist groups took various forms of speaking up for these rights. Poetry was one of these ways. The power of the spoken and written word is known to possess infinite power. Slogans like “The Personal is Political” came up around this time too.
This slogan has been under scrutiny for the longest time, with various scholars trying to delve both the plutonic and deeper meaning. Kelly observes that the phrase the personal is political was conceived as connecting the women’s experience of exploitation and oppression as political issues (p.122). This work seeks to look into the works of a poet and how they incorporated the phrase and its meaning into their works.
The concept of the personal being the political in a woman’s life is one that never gets tired or obsolete. It is a concept that defies time and is always relevant regardless of time and space. It applies to every woman as women are still facing some of the issues that these feminists were protesting against back then. This concept means that most of the personal problems that women undergo are not in their making or fault but are brought about by systematic oppression (Winter, para.5).
This means that women are not to blame for things they go through; also women should not feel guilty, contrary to what many of the women are brought up knowing. Many women in different cultures are put down and made to feel bad. All this is because they are women and that they exhibit female traits that are natural. Women are made to feel stupid, weak, emotionless, hysterical, mad and ashamed of their sexuality.
For the longest time, the society has sought to bring women down and lock them in cocoons so that they suppress their real power and potential. In many cultures, even today, women are still not allowed to hold leadership positions since they are considered weak and emotional hence they are prone to poor judgment.
The phrase “The personal is Political” establishes the notion that most problems that women are said to have are not their fault. This has only been forced upon the women. The phrase is still relevant in the world today as women are still not yet liberated totally. In fact, some are still bound by unreasonable cultures that demean their rights and dignity.
Thesis Statement: The poet Janice Mirikitani was protesting against the issues Violence, anger and silence which women put up with, as she argues the phrase “The Personal is Political.”
In her poem “Breaking Tradition”, Janice Mirikitani explores how every woman has a secret longing to break out of the inhibitions and restrictions that society locks them in and to break the shackles of silence, violence and anger that haunt them. This poem shows how each generation of women wants to break out of the cocoon they have grown up in, and which has also sucked their own mothers. Mirikitani brings out the issue of forced silence very strongly in this poem.
Line seventeen says “I am like my mother she kept her room neat with silence” and goes on “defiance smothered, passion and loudness wrapped, steps confined…” Such phrases are used to bring out the reality that women were there to be seen and not heard. Their opinions and feelings did not matter in any setting or environment. Most Mirikitani’s poems cry out in protest against the internally or externally imposed silence on women (Lashgari p.292). Mirikitani says in her poem: “Guilt was passed in our bones.”
This means that women are brainwashed to think that they cannot think on their own and challenge existing ideals in the society. Therefore, they are forced to silence by that inward guilt. Externally, the society seeks to suppress the potential of women by making them feel stupid for possessing ideas, which promptly ensures they remain silent.
It is anger that pushes the persona in the poem to free her daughter. The persona understands the implications that the political aspect has had on her private life and how the two are interconnected. She wants to free her daughter form the same and ensure that she never has to face the same. She “wants to tell her daughter of the room and about herself”. Knowledge is power, and it is the only way women will be liberated.
The society has managed to keep women in shackles by withholding the truth from the. The truth about what women is that, they are not weak, stupid, and useless. Also, they can contribute to the society just like their counterparts, the men. The poem uses imagery of an open window that provides possible escape from the cocoon. Mirikitani has had her own share of the political influencing her private life.
The poet is embittered by her parent’s silence about what she went through while at a tender age. This is because of having survived violence and sexual molestation at a tender age (Ho & Antonio, p.376). That anger pushed her to fight for the liberation of women. Though she represents the persona in the poem, we cannot help but notice her desire to enlighten her own daughter. She looks determined to free her daughter from the prison of silence and oppression in which the society wants to imprison her.
The last part of the poem portrays civilization and a breaking of traditional ways and culture. The daughter of the persona is engaging in activities that the society she comes from might not approve. She is dancing to modern music “Salsa, the Stones and Teena Marie”. Mirikitani says that her daughter is copying her. She is breaking tradition and thus she will become free. The mere act of her daughter mirrors her own desires and wishes, and in this, she finds hope.
It is without question that women are not yet totally liberated, especially in some parts of the world, but we cannot ignore the fact that this liberation process has made quite some milestones. Women these days can be listened to in the society, some of the practices that undermined their dignity has been done away with globally.
The most glaring impact is in the fact that women can now take up leadership positions in societies, organizations, local government and even nationally. The battle for the liberation of women is still ongoing, but there is hope that women will one day be totally liberated and that the political affecting the personal will be a thing of the past.
Ho, Fred W, and Carolyn Antonio. Legacy to Liberation: Politics and Culture of Revolutionary Asian Pacific America. Brooklyn, NY: Big Red Media, 2000. Print.
Kelly, Christine A. Tangled Up in Red, White, and Blue: New Social Movements in America. Lanham [u.a.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. Print.
Lashgari, Deirdre. Violence, Silence, and Anger: Women’s Writing as Transgression. Charlottesville [u.a.: Univ. Press of Virginia, 1995. Print.
Winter. Feminism 101: The Personal is Political. 2001. Web. 28th March 2012. http://mindthegapuk.wordpress.com/2008/01/27/the-personal-is-political/ | 166,753 |
A scene from Alison Berg and Frank Keraudren's The Dog
The son of Polish immigrants in Queens, NY, John Wojtowicz was a Vietnam vet who married after returning from war and had two children. From there, the story gets a bit more salacious. He later met Ernest Aron (later known as Elizabeth Debbie Eden) and had a wedding ceremony in 1971 in Greenwich Village. The non-legally sanctioned nuptials began a tumultuous relationship that became a media sensation courtesy of an outlandishly botched bank robbery that only gained more notoriety courtesy of Al Pacino and Sidney Lumet, who turned the incident into big screen success in 1975's Dog Day Afternoon.
In August, 1972, Wojtowicz, along with two friends, attempted to hold up the the Chase Manhattan Bank on East Third Street and Avenue P in Gravesend, Brooklyn. Crowds and eventually television news crews headed to a standoff with police in front of the bank. Word spread about Wojtowicz's intension. He needed cash to pay for his lover's sex change operation. Wojtowicz had been a bank teller and used that background to help in planning the heist. But he also found inspiration from The Godfather, which he watched ahead of the robbery attempt. One of his accomplices ran away and another was killed by FBI agents in the final moments of the incident that included a minute by minute standoff in which his mother and lover showed up on the scene.
Later sentenced to 20 years in prison, John “The Dog” Wojtowicz served six years. He made $7,500 selling the movie rights to the story plus 1% of the profits, which paid for Aron's sex change surgery. “I beat the fucking system!” Wojtowicz boasted.
The Dog, which has its U.S. debut at the New York Film Festival on Tuesday, returns to the incident that started it all, and then goes beyond the '70s and discovers John Wojtowicz as the unapologetic, steadfastly honest, promiscuous, gay activist, self-centered, unfiltered, brother, son, father, ex-con who became a firestorm of controversy and, for some, an endearing anti-hero. The Dog looks at the fallout after Wojtowicz's robbery and discovers a man whose zest for life still bordered on the bizarre for the rest of his life—and he was quite fine with that…
FilmLinc Daily spoke with The Dog filmmakers Alison Berg and Frank Keraudren at the recent Toronto International Film Festival about their decade-plus relationship, which began with a late-night phone call and a few gropes.
FilmLinc Daily: How did you first come across John a.k.a. The Dog?
Allison Berg: We were watching Dog Day Afternoon one day and we loved the film. For some reason we thought he was getting out of prison in a year. There was the curiosity and we thought there would be a real-life happening. But we were wrong. He got out in 1978. We Googled it—it didn't take long for us to figure out. But we read articles about his post-prison life and we thought that those sounded interesting.
We then actually looked up his mother in the phone book. She's a very sweet lady and still lives in Queens. We called her up and said we were doing some research and wanted to speak to John and she said she'd pass on the message. And at about 2:00am that next morning we got a phone call. There was this really gruff voice and he said, “My mother said you sounded sexy, so I'm calling. Do you have the password?” And we didn't know what “the password” was. I think we were on the phone for a couple of hours, we kept passing the phone back and forth and trying to stay awake. Already he was a larger than life personality and we set up a meeting with him. This is around 2002.
Francois Keraudren: The day we met him physically, I think, was the real starting point. The phone calls were intriguing and maybe a little creepy. The meeting at a diner in the West Village was surreal. This guy from the first minute had no boundaries or filters. He treated us like he'd known us for 20 years. He brought all kinds of photos and letters and we went to three different restaurants…
AB: By the time we got to the [NYC's Chelsea neighborhood restaurant] The Half King, he was re-enacting things and the waitress kept looking over…
A scene from Alison Berg and Frank Keraudren's The Dog
FD: So at this point were you still in the intrigued stage or were you set for a feature length documentary?
AB: That was the hope, but it was much more an idea to make a vérité film about him, but we didn't know about the treasure trove of material he had, as did other people. So I think we had a little bit of a different idea about the kind of film we were going to make… There were stories that he'd repeat to us, but then we started learning more. He started opening up more and we learned about his brother and that he had health issues. All of this started getting deeper and it took a turn from a superficial entertaining story to something much more about his whole life.
FD: He certainly set the tone at the very beginning of the movie when he said, “I'm a pervert…”
AB: He shook my hand when we met and then sucked my finger. And then he turned and groped him, so yeah…
FK: The abrupt feeling in the beginning of the film was edited in a way that's choppy and loud. And that's kind of how it all felt when we met him.
AB: Yeah, we were trying to do something that allowed the audience to feel the way we felt. You're sort of taken aback, but you're sort of laughing at the same time. You want to go on the ride.
FD: You were both with him for quite an extended period of time, but were you nevertheless surprised by this crazily brash in your face behavior?
FK: I think many people just wouldn't go there. I think many would just turn around and run. But with him, it was always the mixture of things. The same way his personality is layered, he draws you in and is engaging. At the same time, you also want to take two steps back. So it was a long, slow thing. I think if we had not been from New York, there would have been no way we would have made this film. We would have given up and gone home, but we couldn't get rid of him.
FD: You were committed to the project and maybe even couldn't get rid of him. So I suppose the film took on a life of its own…
AB: One film that came up for us was Crumb (1994). We had a certain idea, but we were exploring it. We didn't know he lived with his mother until we got there. We didn't know there was a strange dynamic going on in that house.
FD: So there was one unexpected turn…
AB: I think it was more that he'd reveal something, and then we'd be like, “OK, we didn't know this.” A lot of that also came with his brother. But then we also didn't know that his mother would be so much the soul of the film, in a sense. We immediately liked Terry, but we didn't know she'd be so open and such a great storyteller on camera. In person she was, but it turned out she was such a [compelling] figure in her own right.
A scene from Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon starring Al Pacino
FD: Yeah, and she obviously loves her son. I'd imagine she's disappointed in some respects, though. Did he ever give a sense he regretted that? He was very close with her…
FK: I think that's one of the things. John was one of the most uncompromising persons I've ever met in my life. You can't even imagine it until you've experienced it. It could be something as simple as picking up a half pound of turkey at the deli and it would cause such a problem. It was funny, but then you realized it's how his entire life played out. He antagonized everyone. In the beginning we thought maybe we could meet some of his friends, but John is a complete loner and he didn't care.
AB: Yeah, John was a complete loner. But he's actually religious. The only people in this world that he said he wouldn't hurt are the pope and his mother. He loved his mother, but I don't think he cared about what she thought of his life and his choices.
FK: I'm not a doctor or psychologist, but it's quite obvious there's a degree of mental illness. But it's very borderline because he's quite aware of everything going on around him. That was never an excuse for anything he did, but he had his own beliefs and there was nothing that could change that. It's an interesting thing to watch. In real life that has dire consequences, but in the film it's exhilarating to watch. In a gangster movie, for instance, there's a thrill watching it, but almost nobody wants to do that in real life. So when you see a guy like John who has no boundaries and you can identify with that, it's like riding the mechanical bull. You don't want to go and do that, but it's intriguing.
FD: Was he into the idea of having cameras follow him from the outset?
AB: I think he never pursued it exactly. He was into getting attention on a day to day basis. He'd always have his newspaper clippings and walk around and show them to people. He loved the attention, but it's more like being able to get into a club in the '80s or have everyone listening to him while he's getting his haircut. He loved the idea of telling his story again, but I don't think he was as concerned about how he was perceived.
FK: He didn't crave being the center of attention. He just sort of enjoyed it. Once we started asking him his story we couldn't shut him up…
AB: We're not the first people to approach him, but to get him to go as far as he did took him more time. I don't think he craved more fame exactly, he just loved what he already had and using it to his advantage.
FD: Of course the bank robbery is at the center of his story and it was interesting because that incident was one of the early manifestations of the 24 hour live news we are so used to today. When he held up that bank, the news went live to that scene playing out like a whacked-out Bonnie and Clyde thing, but in Brooklyn. And Clyde getting Bonnie money for a sex change operation…
AB: A few years ago, we were thinking it was like OJ Simpson going down the freeway. I mean, it wasn't as live as that, but there were portable cameras capturing the whole thing live as it was going on. Police changed their crowd control because nobody knew what to do because nothing like this had happened. He was at the center and watching it all go down.
FK: His whole trajectory has to do with the media. If it hadn't been on TV and if there hadn't been a film, he would have been forgotten many, many years ago. I don't know if that makes it important, but it was a blip on the radar.
A scene from Alison Berg and Frank Keraudren's The Dog
FD: It's funny how he said he'd go into the bank carrying a gun but inside a big Wrigley Spearmint Gum canister and he said could just tell people he's carrying around his pop art. It was funny because his whole persona is like a moment of pop art, completely claiming his 15 minutes of fame.
FK: He lived in his own world. He lived in his own movie. I guess we all do in a sense, but in John's case he'd expand it to such a degree… I mean, when he talked he'd quote Gone With The Wind or other movies. He'd constantly attach himself to famous people in conversation.
AB: Yeah, we'd call this the fucked up Forrest Gump. He'd mention something crazy, but then he'd pull out the pictures to prove it.
FD: I would imagine the gay community has quite a mixed reaction to him.
FK: It's easy to lose yourself in the story. What he did was based completely on flawed logic that's indefensible. I mean, I don't know anybody that would agree with the concept of taking people hostage for two days for any valid reason. It's extremism. To this day, I don't know how much of it was really planned. John would tell a story of heroism, but he's not a hero. He was a guy in his 20s that got caught up in this crazy situation based on his crazy beliefs.
AB: And this is an individual story. He's not supposed to represent a group of people. For some people, the fact that he was so open about how he chose to live his life and the fact he was so romantic and wanted to be with the person he loved whether that was a man or a woman, you think back and say, “Wow, there are very few people in 1972 doing that, much less doing so on camera.” So whether you agree with his choices or not—and I think most people would disagree—many would still respect that he lived his life so openly… It might not necessarily be a “good for you” kind of film, but he's a fascinating character.
FD: It will be very interesting to see how the homegrown audience takes to it…
AB: Oh yes, New York Film Festival is going to be so interesting! He pissed a lot of people off in his life and it's not out of the question that some of them may be buying tickets.
FK: He has that attitude that he can take to the [highest] degree and I think it's going to play better in New York than anywhere else.
AB: Toronto and New York were what we were dreaming about… | 238,396 |
Nanotech provides a solution to yet another vexing problem.
From the link:
Membranes made with carbon nanotubes could reduce the amount of energy needed to capture carbon-dioxide emissions from smokestacks, and therefore cut costs, according to a company that will receive $1 million from the new advanced-research projects agency for energy, Arpa-e, to develop the technology.
The company, Hayward, CA-based Porifera, claims that its carbon-nanotube membranes could capture one billion to three billion tons of carbon dioxide a year and save $10 billion a year compared to existing CO2 capture technology. At this point, however, the work is at an early stage, says Olgica Bakajin, Porifera’s chief technology officer. She expects that it will be another year before the first prototype is ready. | 75,698 |
ERIC Number: ED389501
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1995-Oct
Reference Count: N/A
A Comparison of Four Enrollment Groups of K-8 and K-12 Missouri Rural School Districts.
Alspaugh, John W.
This paper compares school district characteristics for rural Missouri K-8 and K-12 districts in four categories of enrollment size. A random sample of 56 K-8 and 56 K-12 districts yielded 4 equal categories of K-8 enrollment: 51-100, 101-150, 151-200, and more than 200 students. Data are presented in graphic form for assessed valuation per pupil; operating tax levy; expenditure per pupil; administrative cost per pupil; teacher salaries; student-teacher ratio; and achievement scores on the Missouri Mastery and Achievement Test (MMAT) for grades 3, 6, and 8. The assessed valuation per pupil--the basis for local taxation--was considerably lower than the state average in all rural districts studied. Expenditures and administrative cost per pupil were lower than the state average in all but the smallest K-12 districts. Teacher salaries were also considerably lower than average in all districts studied. Student-teacher ratio was higher than average in K-8 districts and lower than average in K-12 districts. Despite limited financial resources, all districts studied consistently achieved higher MMAT scores than state averages. The mean K-12 attendance rate was significantly higher than the K-8 rate, but both were higher than the state average. Two final graphs present data from 428 Missouri districts showing that the high school dropout rate was positively related to school size and negatively related to the high school grade span. (SV)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Rural Education Association (Salt Lake City, UT, October 1995). | 199,182 |
A remarkble shell gorget was discovered in situ during the University of Missouri rescue excavation at Fairfield Mound number 2.
Image of the jaguar gorget scanned from the 2007 Missouri Archaeology Poster. The gorget was discovered with the engraved surface facing down.
Drawing of the shell gorget scanned from the cover of The Missouri Archaeologist, Vol. 23 (1961).
Colorized plan of mound number 2 at the Fairfield site. Adapted from Wood (1967: Figure 6). The engraved gorget was associated with a scattered bundle burial (number 2) almost in the center of the mound. Other associated artifacts include several small Scallorn arrowpoints, Rice Side-Notched points, a mammiform artifact, an antler cylinder, a cache of triangular knives, beaver teeth, conch shell beads and snail shell beads.
Colorized profile of mound 2 at the Fairfield site. Adapted from Wood (1967: Figure 6).
Map showing the relationship between the four mounds at the Fairfield site (Wood 1967: Figure 1). Plans for Mounds 1, 3, and 4 are presented at the end of this webpage.
Photograph taken by Professor Wood of Fairfield Mound 2 before excavation, published by Chapman (1980: Figure 4-7).
Arrowpoints including corner notched Scallorn points from Fairfield Mound 2 (Wood 1967: Figure 7).
Rice Side-Notched projectile points from Fairfield Mound 2 (Wood 1967: Figure 8).
Projectile points and drills from Fairfield Mound 2 (Wood 1967: Figure 9).
Pottery and other artifacts from Fairfield Mound 2 (Wood 1967: Figure 10).
Miscellaneous artifacts from Fairfield Mound 2 (Wood 1967: Figure 11).
Large triangular knives associated with the jaguar gorget in Fairfield Mound 2 (Wood 1967: Figure 12).
Drawing and scanned photograph of the mammiform artifact manufactured from gray calcareous quartzose siltstone; it was found a few inches away from the gorget. It is 34 mm high, and the oval top measures 45 by 38 mm. The depression extends 15 mm. This artifact is very similar to an artifact from the Trowbridge Site (14WY1), an archaeological site located near Kansas City, Kansas.
Colorized plan of Fairfield Mound 1 (Wood 1967: Figure 2).
Colorized plan of Fairfield Mound 3 (Wood 1967: Figure 14).
Colorized plan of Fairfield Mound 4 (Wood 1967: Figure 19).
The Jaguar Gorget by W. Raymond Wood [essay published in the 2007 Missouri Archaeology Month Poster].
The jaguar gorget was discovered in 1958 by archaeologist W. Raymond Wood and Rolland E. Pangborn during excavations in what would become the Harry S. Truman Reservoir. The gorget was found in mound 2, a rock-and-earth fill Late Woodland mound within the Fairfield Mound Group in Benton County of southwest Missouri. The gorget, which measures 98 - 104 mm in diameter, is made from a Gulf Coast shell and is engraved with a unique jaguar design. The realism of the engraved jaguar is distorted only by its elongated body and the three-pronged "speech symbol" that projects from its mouth. The art style on the gorget is reminiscent of other Middle Woodland motifs engraved on bone, though the art is distinctive enough that it serves as the type specimen for what archaeologists Philip Phillips and James A. Brown (1978) called "The Fairfield Style." Most archaeologists today consider this gorget to be a Middle Woodland artifact that was curated and interred later by Late Woodland peoples. Images of jaguars are important elements in Mesoamerican art. However, there is no stylistic parallel with anything known in Central America. The gorget represents either the independent use of a jaguar motif, or some form of iconographic diffusion from Central America. some would prefer the former interpretation, since the historic range of the jaguar was far to the west and south of southwest Missouri. The image now serves as the symbol of the Northern Jaguar Project in Tucson, Arizona, and continues to be used as a state icon by Missouri archaeologists.
Webpage constructed by Michael Fuller, 1 December 2007
Revised 21 December 2007 | 104,745 |
He who sups with the devil must use a long spoon - and bring a good agent
Should reputable scholars write 'authorised' company histories? Niall Ferguson can think of two good reasons for doing so ... and money is only one of them
To many professional historians, the word "authorised" is synonymous with "censored", not to mention "whitewashed". When I agreed, nearly five years ago, to write a history of the Rothschild bank authorised by N. M. Rothschild & Sons, more than a few of my colleagues raised their eyebrows. I was soon on the receiving end of a selection of chilling horror stories, the common moral of which was that such commissions were Faustian pacts - with one's academic integrity rather than one's soul as the price.
Yet there can be little doubt that more and more historians will be asked to write authorised or official histories in the future, and particularly company histories or business biographies. Whereas a decade or two ago, the majority of companies regarded their histories with indifference, embarrassment or paranoid secretiveness, today more and more are coming to appreciate that their past is an asset.
The company histories that used to be produced were barely histories at all: more like leather-bound brochures, usually written by an insider in an anaemic style. I speak as a poor sufferer who, as a doctoral student, read scores of such books trying vainly to find out what Hamburg firms had done during the years of German hyperinflation. Nearly all of them had an exceedingly short chapter titled "Difficult years, 1914-45", containing a sentence along the following lines: "In 1923 the German currency collapsed.Only with difficulty could the directors steer the company through the stormy economic seas of the inflation era."
Happily, a few trail-blazing firms realised the pointlessness of such books and commissioned serious scholars to write their histories. I think, for example, of F. C. Gerretson's four-volume History of Royal Dutch, published in the 1950s, or more recently the admirable history of Schroders written by Richard Roberts, which actually tried to understand the bank's business (as opposed to its partners' social lives). Here were serious books that enhanced not only their authors' reputations but also the reputations of the companies that commissioned them.
So when Lord Weidenfeld phoned me up one dank day in Michaelmas term 1993 to ask if I would be interested in writing a history of Rothschilds, I did not rule the idea out. Compared with the other project I was then toying with, there were two attractions. One was (let's not be coy) a decent advance. The other was that the Rothschild archive had never before been made fully accessible for research; and I knew enough to be sure that it contained virgin source material of the very highest quality.
But was there a catch? This is the question any historian should ask when faced with such a tempting offer; for, as others have found to their cost, there can be a big one. I know of at least two histories, commissioned by firms and written by serious scholars, that never saw the light of day because the management got cold feet when the manuscripts were delivered. Whether too academic or too near the bone, these manuscripts vanished into the firm archive (or worse, were then used as the basis for sanitised histories by other writers). Having been paid, the original authors found that they had no legal right to insist on publication.
The other big catch is a more subtle censorship. Key files are not made available. Or, as the price of publication, the author is asked to omit certain embarrassing details.
Even when such things do not happen, authorised historians are quite likely to be accused by suspicious reviewers of having submitted to such pressures. I can think of two eminent historians whose histories of major German companies were denounced for allegedly sanitising the firms' role in the Third Reich.
In reality, it has been precisely the pressure to come clean about the past of German firms that has progressively raised the standard of German business history. Nevertheless, historians who venture into this territory need to be aware of the risks they run. The stakes, after all, are high when historical evidence can form the basis of multi-million pound lawsuits by victims of Nazi policy.
Needless to say, this was not one of the risks I had to run, since the Rothschilds were themselves victims of the Nazis (two members of the family murdered, all the others living on the continent imprisoned or driven into exile, and assets worth millions stolen). Yet I had to be sure that I could write an uncensored history that would be published. How to achieve this?
Tip number one is to put the negotiations in the hands of a professional. I was fortunate to find a first-class agent in Gill Coleridge, who handled what proved to be very protracted talks with both bank and publishers. In the contract she helped to draft, it was agreed that I would be entitled to quote freely from any material in the Rothschild Archive in London predating March 1915; and, of course, from any other archives and private collections of papers as far as their curators gave me permission to do so.It was also agreed that the bank would have the right to comment on the manuscript and that I would "make every effort to take account of and respect" those comments.
The only part of the book whose form, content and scope the bank retained the right to approve was that part that could not be based on archival sources - the last chapter and the epilogue, dealing with the years 1916 to the present. Even for a book beginning in the 18th century, 1915 was a relatively early cut-off point; but it suited me. I was mainly interested in the period before the first world war when the Rothschilds had been the biggest bank in the world.
This arrangement worked far better in practice than I could ever have hoped. Throughout, I was able to abide by the Rankean principle of trying to write history as far as possible "as it actually was". This, however, had more to do with the Rothschilds' fundamental commitment to historical accuracy than to anything written in the contract. And this brings me to the crux of the matter.
When writing about the past of a still-existing entity, the historian is necessarily dependent on the present generation's readiness to know - and make public - the truth. I was fortunate in that all concerned were seriously interested in having an accurate account of their antecedents' lives. When individual family members read parts of the book their response was invariably to correct errors and to provide material I had missed. The moment I always dreaded - when someone would ask me to excise an uncomfortable truth - never came.
I suspect there is no way of ensuring such sustained cooperation. But there may be ways of encouraging it. One tactic I adopted, for example, was to circulate draft chapters as I wrote them. This had the disadvantage that all the rough edges and errors that characterise first drafts were exposed, but the advantage was that those concerned became familiar with my approach and could see the project evolving gradually. Disappearing for four years and then delivering a huge manuscript would have been a mistake.
Even with a good contract and goodwill, however, it was a risk, and I lay awake many a night imagining that it would all somehow go wrong.
Still, the prize - access to the Rothschild archives - was worth the sleepless nights. It was hugely exciting, for example, to see the long-lost archive of the Vienna bank, confiscated by the Nazis in 1938, seized by the Red Army at the end of the war and buried for 45 years in the KGB "trophy" archive in Moscow. I shall never forget opening the silver box containing the private accounts of Prince Metternich, the Austrian statesman, or finding the original of the extraordinary letter he wrote to Salomon Rothschild in 1848 as he fled into exile.
And the treasures held in the archive of the London house were even more dazzling. In particular, the so-called "private letters" between the partners in the bank, which cover the years from 1812 to 1898 and fill 135 boxes, must rank among the most important source materials for 19th-century European history. Extraordinarily well-informed about politics and finance, these letters are also wonderfully candid, especially those written by Mayer Amschel Rothschild's five sons in an almost unreadable Judendeutsch (German in Hebrew characters).
Being an authorised author is certainly more difficult than joining the queues in the Public Record Office. But the benefits of access to previously unavailable sources are immense; and the costs of gaining that access need not be too high.
Niall Ferguson's The World's Banker: The History of N. M. Rothschild & Sons is published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, price Pounds 30.00. | 206,714 |
May 30, 2014
Hi, I had a sexual encounter with a man a month ago and we engaged in oral sex and mutual masturbation. As we were masturbating he used his pre-cum as a lubricant and he rubbed it on the tip of my penis several times and performed oral sex a few times after wards. I am very concerned as I later noticed an area on inside of the opening of my penis that was red. There was no blood, but it was red in colour. I am not sure if it was a small cut or not, but it made me worry. To make matters worse he said he has not been tested over a year.I am worried that his pre-cum could have entered the potential small cut or could have entered into my urethra. I was doing researched and learned that HIV infected fluids do not survive easily out of the body? Is this true? I am at high risk in this situation? I am extremely worried.
| Response from Ms. Southall
Hi Oral sex carries the lowest risk of HIV transmission. Masturbating doesn't carry any risk. HIV transmission can only occur when there is a direct and prolonged exposure to body fluids, semen, vaginal fluid, blood or mother to child through breast feeding. This most commonly occurs through unprotected vaginal or anal sex and sharing of needles. Casual contact, sharing utensils, drinking after someone, etc are not way for HIV transmission to occur. If you go to this link HIV101 it will take you to our page that talks about the ways in which HIV is and is not transmitted. Yes it is true that HIV begins to die once it leaves the body and becomes unable to infect. There is a very low possibility of you receiving HIV through this type of experience. What I would recommend is that you get tested so that you know your status. Not just for HIV but all of the STI's. And of course encourage you that when you are with someone new or anonymous that you use protection. Not just to prevent HIV but all of the STI's.
Be well and stay safe, Shannon
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This forum is designed for educational purposes only, and experts are not rendering medical, mental health, legal or other professional advice or services. If you have or suspect you may have a medical, mental health, legal or other problem that requires advice, consult your own caregiver, attorney or other qualified professional.
Experts appearing on this page are independent and are solely responsible for editing and fact-checking their material. Neither TheBody.com nor any advertiser is the publisher or speaker of posted visitors' questions or the experts' material. | 262,967 |
Literary London Special. How London has inspired writing and writers across the centuries.
Recorded in A Room for London, the creative / living space in the shape of a boat on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank of the Thames, Open Book explores the impact the city has had on literature - from Chaucer and Dickens to Martin Amis and Peter Ackroyd; the themes it evokes and why it creates such a diverse backdrop to novels. Mariella Frostrup is joined by novelists who've all been charmed by London - Will Self, Amanda Craig, Dreda Say Mitchell and Ben Aaronovitch.
Although I've got to say describing Will Self as being charmed by London is a bit disingenuous. It was a really interesting experience and I'm hoping that they edit out the weird incoherent warbling sounds I make on occasion. | 244,228 |
Once upon a time, there was a Bishop in Ancient Myra who cared for the poor. He took them gifts and told them stories about the Savior. He lived a simple life and found joy in serving God and others.
Over time, stories of his generosity spread and were distorted until the myth of 'Saint Nicholas' became the focus of Christmas, pushing Jesus right out of the celebration.
This delightful Christmas read aloud will acquaint you with the origin of 'Santa Claus', a humble bishop who would be stunned by what Christmas has become and that his legend has overshadowed the birth of His beloved Savior.
Note: The way this works is that you click add to cart, checkout, and pay. Then an email will be sent to you with a link for the download. Super easy!!! | 91,439 |
Have you ever wondered how America’s growing prison population is counted? On PolicyMap, under Residential Homes and Buildings on the Real Estate Analysis tab, you can find data on the number of people housed in correctional facilities throughout the country. Released decennially as part of the Census’ Summary 1 files, the Bureau strives to count each person only once and in the correct place. The Census counts people according to the “usual residence rule,” which means that people are to be counted where they “live and sleep most of the time.” While determining usual residence is clear cut in most cases, with some special populations, such as military personnel, college students and incarcerated individuals, it is a more complex task and has been subject to some debate over the years.
The map below shows the percent of the population living in correctional facilities for adults in 2010 by county. As you can see, in areas with a strong prison presence, the percentage of an area’s residence that is incarcerated can be quite high. The highlighted county is Crowley County, Colorado, over 30% of the population of is made up of incarcerated individuals and the neighboring county of Bent, CO.
Some take issue with the Census’ current approach, arguing that it can lead to distortions in demographic data and “misleading conclusions about the size and growth of communities” (Prison Policy Initiative). Critics, such as the Prison Policy Initiative, also maintain that the Census’ policy leads to prison-based gerrymandering and an unequal distribution of voting power. While a movement exists to continue trying to get the Census to change its policies, some states, such as Maryland New York, have passed legislation to count incarcerated people at their home addresses for purposes of redistricting. For more on the potential impact of the Census’ policy on demographic data and research, see here. | 84,521 |
Where do our weird quirks come from?
Do you have unique, peculiar action or behavior that you do? Explain how, why, and where you do it. More importantly, where do they come from? Is it in our genes? Does it come from observing others, particularly our parents?
Why do we do the things we do?
If you can’t think of something you do, does someone else in your life have one?
What’s the weirdest behavior you’ve ever seen anyone do? | 14,571 |
Neck Rash Treatment
As the name suggests, neck rash is associated with the neck. It usually appears as red, pink or irritated skin. It is mostly common in babies. It also causes change in color and texture of the skin, forming bumps and blisters. Neck rashes are very itchy in nature and are mainly due to heat which causes sweating. It generally occurs in summer. There are many treatment of neck rash which are available in the market by which you can reduce the pain and discomfort. Before looking at the treatment of neck rash, it is important to know its symptoms and causes.
- Acne- It is a disorder of the skin resulting from the action of hormones on the sebaceous glands (skin oil glands). In acne, pimples appear mostly on the face and the neck.
- Barber’s rash- It is an infection of the follicles of the facial hair. It is usually due to lack of hygiene during shaving i.e. using dirty razor, shaving brushes or even towels.
- Eczema- It is a chronic skin condition which causes itchiness, inflammation, redness and swelling of the skin. It also includes many types of eczema like atropic eczema, allergic contact eczema, and seborrheic eczema.
- Folliculitis- It is an inflammation of the hair follicles. It is caused due to an attack of bacteria that enter the follicles, causing a bacterial infection. Red, itchy and bumpy rashes appear on the skin.
- Food allergies- It causes an over reaction of the immune system to a particular food substances. These are very common in individuals. It also causes swelling, itching and inflammation of the skin.
- Impetigo- It is an infection of the skin caused by bacteria. It is contagious and can be spread through contact with a person or the use of infected clothing, towels or some personal items. It is generally caused by bacterium Group A streptocococcus.
- Lupus- It is also a chronic disease, which spreads throughout the body including the skin, joints, muscles and other body parts. It is an autoimmune disease which damages and destroys the affected tissues or organs.
- Measles- It is a viral disease that affects the respiratory track including the throat, lungs and bronchial tubes. It can also lead to serious problems, or might be life threatening. It can be prevented with the use of vaccination.
- Psoriasis- It is a chronic disorder marked by raised area of the skin. It includes red or pink patches of skin which is covered with a whitish layer.
Treatment of neck rash
- Stop using soaps, lotion or other things that causes irritation and inflammation to the skin
- Avoid direct rays from the sun, as it can form itchy bumps
- Use olive oil to moisturize the skin
- Maintain cleanliness by using an antibacterial cleanser, as it will remove the irritant that causes neck rash
- Apply hydrocortisone cream to the affected area, as it helps to soothe the rashes and cure itchiness.
- Use Aloe Vera gel over the rash, as it is a natural healing process which helps to soothe the irritated skin
- Use ice packs, as it will cool the rash and provide great relief
- Apply oatmeal paste by mixing oatmeal and water in equal quantity, and apply it for 20 minutes. It also provides great relief from inflammation of the skin
- Drink lots of water because in case of dehydration, the neck rash may get worsen
- Wash the affected area well and remove the dirt and moisture
Despite of these remedies, if the neck rash persists then it is recommended to immediately visit a doctor. The doctor might change the medicine or increase the dose of the medicine depending upon the severity of the rash. Neck rash treatment should not be ignored, since the rash can lead to several other problems. | 63,383 |
Since there is obviously a great deal of interest in it, a rational analysis of what sIFR means is in order.
At WE04 earlier this month I was asked on-stage once and a few times privately what I thought of sIFR, or scalable Inman Flash Replacement, the new Flash replacement technique. While I don’t for a second pretend like I know everything about it, I believe I’m familiar enough with its usage issues to offer an opinion. And that’s what this is, an opinion — take it with a grain of salt.
sIFR has evolved quite a bit in its year-long life cycle. Initially crossing my radar in October 2003, a lively argument between Mike Davidson (creator and maintainer of the code) and myself is still preserved at holovaty.com. Mike won, because he had obviously thought about it in great detail and had good answers for most questions.
Since that time, he and some others (notably Shaun Inman, hence the ‘I’ part of sIFR) have taken it much further, and solved many of the problems with the original version.
sIFR is easier to implement than any image replacement technique. Instead of manually generating each header through an image editor, you’re able to skip the editor completely. Elegantly, it will skim through an XHTML document and find the relevant bits, swap out the text and drop in the typographically rich replacement.
And that is what makes it so exciting. It’s a useful piece of non-intrusive scripting that adds an extra dimension to a page. And the scripted effect is by no means required, it degrades gracefully. sIFR allows for dynamically-generated snippets of text which can use any font, not just VerdanaGeorgiaArial. And that’s a major benefit to those of us resigned to the same five fonts.The immediate reaction of purists and purist wannabes is, inevitably, ‘ew’. Invoking Flash is reason enough to cause the reaction, but using it for such trifling detail as a header? Who could be that insane?
Well, Mike was, and others were, and now sIFR is a real technique to contend with. But on to the cons.
First, as far as I’m aware, the accessibility of the technique is a question mark right now. I haven’t heard of any screenreader testing, and I’m unaware of anyone having done a more in-depth look into the implications on assistive technologies. ( Mike confirms that it has been tested, and appears to work just fine.)
And there are a few usability niggles. You can’t select the text within a sIFR headline. Well, you can… but not in the same swaths as you’d select body text. You have to make a separate pass for each. This is an improvement over image replacement, though, since no text within an image is selectable. ( Mike and others note that the text does get selected, there’s just no visual feedback mechanism.)
Text within sIFR also doesn’t scale. Well, it does… but only according to your font size when loading the page. Any subsequent instances of Ctrl + “+” are ignored, until you reload the page. This is also an improvement over image replacement, since no image-bound text has ever scaled. And I’m inclined to say it’s more a consistency problem than an accessibility problem anyway, since those who need the larger text size are more likely to be browsing with their font scaled appropriately to begin with.
My personal peeve is speed. A page with more than one instance of sIFR has a much longer load time. Jeff Croft has pushed his adaptation of sIFR to the limit, and waiting for the headers to load so I can determine whether I’ll read the block of content below is a little irksome.
Finally just a little thing, but an important one — a sIFR header is able to act as a hyperlink. When I hover over a normal link to decide whether I want to follow it or not, I very frequently check my browser’s status bar to see where it’s taking me, and whether the destination in question is worth viewing. sIFR doesn’t have any way of reporting back to the browser where that link is going, so I don’t get the preview, and links become a little more blind.
One Solution, of Many
At the same conference I referenced earlier, Doug Bowman mentioned in his presentation that advanced techniques come about because someone was trying to solve a problem. sIFR is just that: a solution.
The problem is that there aren’t enough fonts in a web designer’s palette. We are technologically (and quite probably legally) bound to 5 or 10 fonts that we can be reasonably sure the end user has installed, and that’s all we’ve got to work with. Solutions have been proposed, and font embedding was even a part of the CSS2 standard (though it was ditched in CSS2.1 since no one uses it). But the problems are much broader, ranging from font licensing to delivery to rendering, so there’s no clear solution in sight.
sIFR is one proposed solution by those in the trenches. It works, it’s here today, it works around licensing problems, and despite the other problems above, it’s usable. It’s not the perfect solution by any means, but until the standards bodies, font foundries, and browser manufacturers can all agree on one thing, it’s what we’ve got to work with for now.
It may not be for you. Image replacement may not be for you either. I personally plan to continue using the latter, and may investigate sIFR at some point in the future, but I’m in no hurry to shake up my development practices at the moment. It’s one choice amongst many, but the important thing is having the choice.
This article is meant to provoke discussion, it is not the final word. Feel free to fact-check me and report back in the comments. The information in this article is true to the best of my knowledge, but without having used it or tested it I can’t be considered a sIFR authority. | 194,057 |
I recently revisited Ray Daniels’ classic work “Designing Great Beers“, a book written in 1996 and published by the Brewers Association. Though I originally read this book several years ago, I enjoyed it even more the second time. For those of you who don’t know this book, it is advertised as “The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles” and to a large degree lives up to that billing. Daniel’s book is engaging, packed with useful information and unlike many books has practical advice on how to design recipes for many of the most popular beer styles. Mr Daniels’ book is not for the rank beginner, but is targeted to the intermediate to advanced brewer interested in improving their recipe design. The book is divide into two major sections. The first includes a fairly lengthy introduction to beer design including chapters on major ingredient categories (malt, hops, water, yeast) and the role that each plays in the brewing process. These chapters are also accentuated with explanations on how to estimate key beer characteristics such as original gravity, color, bitterness and water profiles. He also reviews key brewing techniques like mashing and explains their impact on beer design. Each section is extremely detailed, well thought out and packed with information. For example the chapter on color explains not only how to estimate color by how various malts contribute to color during the brewing process. In some areas he dives quite deep into each subject, which is why I would not recommend this book for a beginning brewer. In part 2, Mr Daniels presents detailed chapters on 14 classic beer styles and how to design recipes for these styles. Though part one is good, the chapters in part 2 on beer styles were my favorites. For each style he describes the history of that style of beer, classic ingredients used and brewing techniques associated with the style. In a departure from most brewing books, he presents not a collection of recipes but rather detailed analysis of both commercial and top award winning home-brewed recipes. His analytic approach provides, for example, a profile of the main malt ingredients used for each style and the proportion of those ingredients used. For hops, he has analyzed the number of times each hop variety was used for each popular style giving you a solid guide to which hops are most appropriate for the style. Taken as a whole, his analysis provides a detailed guideline on how to design your target beer style that goes well beyond the typical BJCP style guide. For example, in the chapter on Porters his analysis shows that an average Brown Porter has 55% pale malt, 11% Crystal malt, 4% chocolate and 5% black malt. Roast, Wheat and Munich malts are also sometimes used. Goldings hops were the overwhelming favorite, with Challenger, Fuggles and Northdown also popular. Using the BJCP style guidelines along with Mr Daniels’ templates, it is not difficult at all to create outstanding recipes for any of the styles listed. Styles in part 2 include Barley Wine, German Barley Ales, Bitters, Pale Ales, Bock, California Common, Fruit Beer, Mild Ale, Brown Ale, Old Ale, Pilsner, Porter, Scotch Ales, Stout, Oktoberfest, Vienna and Wheat beer. It is not a stretch to call Ray Daniels’ “Designing Great Beers” book a true classic that belongs on the shelf of any intermediate to advanced brewer. I’ve found it not only an interesting book to read but also a great reference book that I frequently go to when starting a new recipe from scratch. I have to give this book four and a half stars (of five)!
- Designing Great Beers – on Amazon.com
You might also enjoy these articles:
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Don't make another bad batch of beer! Give BeerSmith a try - you'll brew your best beer ever.
Download a free 21 day trial of BeerSmith now | 301,616 |
In doing so Mrs Laing pledged her commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who were murdered during the Holocaust while also paying tribute to the extraordinary Holocaust survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people.
Tuesday, January 27 will mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site of the largest mass murder in history.
In the weeks leading up to and after Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of commemorative events involve schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country remembering all the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.
Mrs Laing said: “Holocaust Memorial Day marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau - and is an important opportunity to remember the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and make sure they are not forgotten.
“I encourage all constituents to mark the day and to join members of my community in the fight against prejudice and intolerance.”
Holocaust Educational Trust chief executive Karen Pollock said: “We are proud that Mrs Laing is supporting Holocaust Memorial Day.
“As we mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust and the liberation of the concentration camps in 2015, it is vitally important that we both continue to remember and learn from the appalling events of the Holocaust as well as ensuring that we continue to challenge anti-semitism and all forms of bigotry.” | 144,485 |
This is a story about successful kids (especially boys), common sense, and research.
Most of us spend hours each day sitting at work. Science says it’s killing us, and we have developed all kinds of fads to combat it–from standing desks to smartphone alerts to get us up and moving.
Armed with that knowledge, however, what do we force our kids to do each day at school? Sit still, for six or eight hours.
Yes indeed. Let us teach them to hate school. Let us teach them to hate learning.
Though, if they are on the smartphone, they will sit. We should combat this. Give them a boot outside without the phone.
Now researchers say that mistake leads us into a three-pronged, perfect storm of problems:
1. We overprotect kids, trying to keep them safe from all physical dangers–which ultimately increases their likelihood of real health issues.
2. We inhibit children’s academic growth (especially among boys), because the lack of physical activity makes it harder for them to concentrate.
3. When they fail to conform quietly to this low-energy paradigm, we over-diagnose or even punish kids for reacting the way they’re naturally built to react.
This is all old stuff. We have been hearing about it for years. Yet, nothing ever seems to happen with respect to implementing this knowledge.
Most boys are rambunctious. Often they seem like they’re in a constant state of motion: running, jumping, fighting, playing, getting hurt–maybe getting upset–and getting right back into the physical action.
Except at school, where they’re required to sit still for long periods of time. (And when they fail to stay still, how are they punished? Often by being forced to skip recess–and thus they sit still longer.)
It’s not just an American issue. Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland recently tried to document whether boys actually achieve less in school when they’re restricted from running around and being physically active.
They studied 153 kids, aged 6 to 8, and tracked how much physical activity and sedentary time they had during the day. Sure enough, according to a report by Belinda Luscombe in Time, the less “moderate to vigorous physical activity” the boys had each day, the harder it was for them to develop good reading skills:
The more time kids … spent sitting and the less time they spent being physically active, the fewer gains they made in reading in the two following years. [It] also had a negative impact on their ability to do math.
When I was a wee lad, I liked to do physical stuff, mainly outside. Not all of the time, but most of the time. It is what boys do, it is how they learn the basic ways of the world. When I came home from school, that is what I did. Not schoolwork.
That is what all of the boys did. We did it during our three recesses during school hours. The people who set up the school system seemed to inherently know what boys needed. What were the girls doing during recess? Who knows? They were doing what girls do. Whatever it was, boys did not notice.
The results didn’t apply to girls. I know that sounds sexist; the researchers offered a few possible explanations. Maybe there simply are physiological differences–or maybe the girls were just as eager to move around as the boys, but they were better able to set aside that disappointment and concentrate.
And for that reason, other researchers say, girls are rewarded more than boys in the classroom.
“Girl behavior is the gold standard in schools,” says psychologist Michael Thompson. “Boys are treated like defective girls.”
I see. So it does not apply to girls. Very interesting.
In my individual case, I was very good at “girl learning”. But I could see that lots of the boys were not. When it came to the end of high school, at the top was me and a bunch of girls. The boys just did not really mesh with school; it was so obvious.
Well, things have gotten worse since my days. At least for the boys. Many factors have come together such that one might think that there is a conspiracy against boys. Let us consider,
I. Less recess
II. Less fun stuff to play on during recess
III More stuff you can’t do during recess
IV. Women principals everywhere
V. More difficult material presented earlier
VI. Lots of self-esteem, mostly for the girls
VII. Lots of touchy-feely subjects
VIII. The general feminization of society.
One wonders why they even send boys to school anymore. The women teachers don’t really want to deal with them. They want to teach “girl style” to the girls. The boys will just grow up to be useless men, so why bother with them? Well, maybe not useless, hopefully they will at least work and pay taxes. One might think that it is a shit test applied to boys; the ones that can disregard it with aplomb through it will become worthy men for the women.
Still, it is not a conspiracy. It is just a convergence of many trends; mostly related to letting women do what they want with the educational system. Pretty it is not. Furthermore, apparently it cares little about the future of boys.
Exit question – should classrooms be segregated based on sex with boys having men teachers and girls having women teachers?
Would doing so lead to the thirty-one different genders of classrooms? | 79,576 |
"You canker blossom!" 3 Shakespearean Insults
c.1400, from Latin benedictionem (nominative benedictio), noun of action from bene dicere "to speak well of, bless," from bene "well" (see bene-) + dicere "to speak" (see diction). The oldest sense in English is of grace before meat. The older French form, beneiçon passed into Middle English as benison. | 233,167 |
Many individuals coming to us for assistance have no where else to turn for needed support for themselves and their children. Many face immediate and formidable barriers that require addressing before they are able to secure employment and find a path by which to most successfully address their life challenges. And many more while finding employment and other requisite support and assistance continue to be challenged in their efforts towards a life of economic independence and security. Issues such as affordable housing and child care, transportation, livable wages, and the challenge of continuing education and training while working and raising a family can all, at one time or another, become impediments to envisioning a brighter future and achieving a better quality of life.
The mission of the Employment & Human Services Department is to partner with the community to deliver quality services to ensure access to resources that support, protect, and empower individuals and families. Based on this mission, our dedicated staff working in partnership with our committed community partners will continue to assist our customers as they strive to become self-sufficient.
We hope that in reading through our website you have gained the information you are seeking as well as an understanding of the Workforce Bureau’s services, programs, and outcomes. | 146,825 |
3. Najas gracillima (A. Braun ex Engelmann) Magnus, Beitr. Kenntn. Najas. 23. 1870.
纤细茨藻 xian xi ci zao
Najas indica (Willdenow) Chamisso var. gracillima A. Braun ex Engelmann in A. Gray, Manual, ed. 5, 681. 1867; N. japonica Nakai.
Stems 8-20 cm tall, 0.3-0.5 mm in diam. Leaves often in pseudowhorls of 5, ca. 2 cm × 0.3-0.5 mm; sheath 1-2 mm; auricles orbicular to slightly obcordate, short, minutely serrulate with 6 or 7 teeth, upper margin on each side minutely serrulate with 7-11 teeth. Plants monoecious; flowers 1-4 per axil, male flowers in upper axils and female ones throughout. Male flowers elliptic, 1-1.5 mm; spathe with a short neck, with brownish spine cells at apex; anther 1-thecous. Female flowers conspicuous, 2-3 mm; style 1-2 mm; stigmas 2-lobed. Fruit linear-ellipsoid, 2-3 × ca. 0.5 mm. Seeds narrowly ellipsoid, with more than 20 rows of pits; areoles oblong, longitudinally elongated. Fl. and fr. Jun-Aug. 2n = 12, 24.
Paddy fields, shallow water of ponds and channels; below 1800 m. Fujian, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan; North America].
Najas gracillima is most similar to N. minor, especially in vegetative condition. However, N. gracillima can be separated from N. minor by its fruit often straight and the areoles of its seeds longer than broad. | 209,561 |
I wasn't sure on the exact definition of "Haole" other than it was used to refer to a white person. One of the Hawaiians referred to me as a Haole and then apologized for having used the term. That made me think the term may have some mild deprecative meaning to Hawaiians similar to a black person calling a white person "Honky". When I later looked it up on the computer, several definitions seemed pretty neutral while one definition used the term "pejorative" in describing its meaning. Personally, I'm very comfortable with being a Hawaiian Wannabe and don't mind being called a Haole. How pejorative the word is undoubtedly depends on the attitudes of those who use the word.
The Hawaiians in the ukulele class have all been very gracious and welcoming to me. It's been such a fun time that I have wanted to share it with friends and relations. So far I have brought 4 different visitors to class, comprising Linda, grand daughters Luna and Madelynn, and a friend from church. This past week when I brought my grand daughter, Madelynn, she seemed to have been very inspired by the experience. As I drove her home she was trying to think of a way she could arrange transportation to attend the class on a regular basis.
This past week we spent some time towards the end of the session practicing the music for several hula numbers the group would be doing soon at a luau for the Lake Stevens Senior Center. This included a men's hula dance. I was amazed as one particularly big Hawaiian guy was transformed into the epitome of grace when he started to dance the hula.
I took advantage of some slow time at the bee booths this past week to practice my ukulele. At the "outside" booth, located in the Snohomish County Ag Area, we have a live beehive in a double screen tent( a screen tent within a screen tent), I tell fair visitors that the tent is to protect the bees from the fair visitors. They think I am joking, but I think they really do pose a greater hazard to the bees than the bees do to them. On a few days as things got slow, I sat inside the tent for an hour or so serenading the bee hive. I didn't get stung on either occasion so bees apparently don't seem to mind Hawaiian ukulele music. On the other hand, I also didn't notice any of the girls clapping and a few of them pooped on my ukulele. The main reason for sitting inside the tent with the bees is that it seems to attract the attention of the passers by and questions like, "Why aren't they stinging you?" It provides a good opportunity to explain to the public the usual peaceful nature of the bees in contrast to their more cranky cousins, like yellow jackets and bald face hornets.
While working at the "Outside" booth one of our visitors had some interesting tattoos. While I'm generally not a big fan of body art, I found it difficult to disapprove of these particular tattoos. I didn't notice until later that one bee had a red bow on its head while the other didn't. Possibly they were intended to depict a girl bee and a boy bee. Yet the boy bee still had a stinger. Unlike the bees in the Bee Movie, male bees have no stingers. The only thing they can do when they are annoyed is to buzz angrily.
|The Owner of the Beez Neez meets the owner of the bees knees| | 78,835 |
Shark Week, the Discovery Channel fan favorite that highlights shark heavy programming, began on August 10th and is scheduled to run until the 16th.
This year viewers will enjoy 13 shark specials that span mega sharks to hammerheads. For the duration of the week the special 'shark after dark' will run at night, which fans can tune into or follow via live updates on the channel's social media accounts.
In light of the start of Shark Week, we figured it might be a good time to review some safe swimming practices, especially for ocean, or open water swimmers.
Blood - If you are bleeding or become injured while you are in the water be sure to get to shore as quickly as you can. Aside from the fact that sharks and other predatory sea life have very sensitive noses, it is truly unsafe to swim if you are hurt.
Buddy system – While a day surfing, boating or swimming alone may seem relaxing and meditative, it is important to have a buddy if you are going to be on the water. According to National Geographic, sharks usually attack individual swimmers and avoid groups. Having a partner on the water could just be the extra caution you need to avoid injury.
Color - If you are going to be swimming in the open ocean or you are planning a day at the beach and you are unsure if there are sharks nearby, you may want to wear a subdued-colored bathing suit. According to National Geographic, "Do not wear high-contrast clothing (orange and yellow are said to be risky colors) or shiny jewelry (which may appear to be like fish scales). Sharks see contrast very well."
No matter where or when you will be swimming, Swimmer's Choice has a suit that will work for you. If you are looking for a great suit in cooler tones like blues, greens and purples, try out Dolfin Uglies. | 184,419 |
Lawmakers are divided over whether the short-term funding plan that awaits President Obama’s signature would require the U.S. Postal Service to continue Saturday mail delivery.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced in February that USPS would drop to five days of mail delivery while resuming delivery of parcels six days a week beginning in August.
Since 1987, Congress has enacted legislation requiring six-day delivery by the Postal Service.
The Government Accountability Office issued an opinion on Thursday saying that a provision in the stopgap budget funding the government through March 27 requires USPS to maintain six-day delivery.
But Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who supports the Postal Service’s plan, has argued that the requirement applies to delivery in general, but not mail delivery in particular.
Issa and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) issued a joint statement on Tuesday saying, “The Postal Service is not eliminating a day of service, but is merely altering what products are delivered on what day.”
The two Republicans have encouraged the Postal Service to move forward with its plan for ending Saturday mail delivery under that apparent loophole.
Lawmakers opposed to delivery cutbacks said on Thursday that the GAO report proves the Postal Service must maintain the status quo.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in a statement that Issa’s interpretation parses the existing law “in a fashion that frustrates both the nature and the purpose.”
The GAO made clear that its opinion did not address what types of delivery would meet the six-day requirement. “We do not consider whether the planned service changes USPS has announced would comport with the provision,” the agency said in its report.
E-mail firstname.lastname@example.org with news tips and other suggestions. | 88,024 |
Foetal 2:1 atrioventricular block in a patient with Timothy syndrome (LQT8) (RCDD code: VI‐1B‐1.2)
Long QT syndrome (LQTS) may be a cause of foetal bradyarrhythmia and an important cause of death in children with arrhythmia. We present the case of a patient of Kadazan Iban descent with LQTS. He was detected prenatally to have foetal 2:1 atrioventricular (AV) block and tetralogy of Fallot. His postnatal electrocardiogram revealed a functional 2:1 AV block with QTc interval of 690 ms. Dysmorphism and cutaneous syndactyly of both hands and feet pointed to a diagnosis of classical Timothy syndrome (TS) type 1. This diagnosis was confirmed molecularly with a heterozygous mutation c.1216G>A. p. (Gly406Arg) at exon 8A in the CACNA1C gene. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of TS in a Kadazan Iban child. JRCD 2019; 4 (2): 42-46.
Crotti L, Celano G, Dagradi F,et al. Congenital long QT syndrome. Orphanet J Rare Dis 2008; 3: 18.
Splawski I, Timothy KW, Sharpe L, et al. Ca (V)1.2 calcium channel dysfunction causes a multisystem disorder including arrhythmia and autism. Cell 2004; 119: 19–31.
Splawski I, Timothy KW, Decher N, et al. Severe arrhythmia disorder caused by cardiac L‐type calcium channel mutations. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2005; 102: 8089 – 8096.
Walsh MA, Turner C, Timothy KW, et al. A multicenter study of patients with Timothy syndrome. Europace 2018; 20: 377–385.
An HS, Choi EY, Kwon BS, et al. Sudden cardiac arrest during anesthesia in a 30‐month‐old boy with syndactyly: a case of genetically proven Timothy syndrome. J Korean Med Sci 2013; 28: 788–791.
Gillis J, Burashnikov E, Antzelevitch C, et al. Long QT, syndactyly, joint contractures, stroke, and novel CACNA1C mutation: expanding the spectrum of Timothy syndrome. Am J Med Genet A 2012; 158A: 182–187.
Etheridge SP, Bowles NE, Arrington CB, et al. Somatic mosaicism contributes to phenotypic variation in Timothy syndrome. Am J Med Genet A 2011; 155A: 2578–2583.
Krause U, Gravenhurst V, Kriebel T, et al. A rare association of long QT syndrome and syndactyly: Timothy Syndrome (LQTS 8). Clin Res Cardiol 2011; 100: 1123 – 1127.
Schwartz PJ, Priori SG, Cerrone M, et al. Left cardiac sympathetic denervation in the management of high‐risk patients affected by the long‐QT syndrome. Circulation 2004; 109: 1826–1833.
Horigome H, Nagashima M, Sumitomo N, et al. Clinical characteristics and genetic background of congenital long‐QT syndrome diagnosed in fetal, neonatal, and infantile life: a nationwide questionnaire survey in Japan. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2010; 3(1):10–17.
- There are currently no refbacks. | 114,265 |
The TH Interview: Dan Porras of Better Energy Systems/Solio
Dan Porras is Vice President of Sustainability at Better Energy Systems, makers of the hugely popular Solio solar charger which we have reported on here, here and here. In this interview Dan discusses the core appeal of Solio, its role as a ‘trojan horse’ for renewable energy, and he gives his views on why Solio really is more than just a gimmick for ‘green consumerism’. He also reveals a little more about the next products that Better Energy Systems are working on, and he gives us his thoughts on what every TreeHugger can do to speed the transition to a society based on clean, green energy.
TreeHugger: There is no doubt that Solio has been a hugely popular product - what do you think is its core appeal?
Dan Porras: I think it’s empowering to hold a piece of clean technology in your hand. In a small but tangible way, Solio frees you from the grid, reduces your footprint, and says something optimistic about the future. Mostly, people like Solio because it’s practical. But I also like to think that people who buy the product are making a sort of declaration to do something positive.
TH: The Better Energy Systems website describes Solio as a 'Trojan Horse' for renewable energy - can you explain a little bit more about what that means?
DP: Putting PV cells in a portable charger with a cool design, and making it accessible to the average person, is actually a great way to inject awareness of renewable energy into the mainstream. Chris - the founder of Better Energy – saw a gap in the solar market big enough to drive a bus through back in 2002. Between tiny solar cells on calculators and enormous rooftop arrays, there were basically no practical consumer products that integrated solar. So, I guess penetrating an electricity grid-based economy with a sexy product that promotes energy independence is basically what the ‘Trojan Horse’ metaphor is about.
TH: George Monbiot recently rounded on green consumerism , calling it a 'pox on the planet'. Is there a danger that devices like Solio will remain a statement, or even gimmick? How much net energy (and pollution) can one small device like this really save?
DP: The energy saved by replacing all of your wall and car chargers with one Solio is more significant than just the amount of carbon offset by plugging Solio into the sun to charge your mobile devices. Over the next five years, we will import and use 2.5 billion chargers for handheld electronics in the U.S. alone. Over this time, these chargers will create a total of 9 billion kilograms of carbon in the form of embodied energy. This is equivalent to the pollution created by five year's-worth of driving by 1.8 million cars in the U.S. With Solio, whenever you get a new device, you just swap out a small tip rather than get new chargers. So, contrary to Monbiot’s observation that a gas-saving Prius gives owners ‘permission’ to drive (consume) more, owning a Solio gives consumers permission NOT to buy more chargers. It's a small step in the right direction. Now we just have to get more telecom companies to offer sustainable charging solutions and do away with wall chargers altogether.
TH: Aside from its obvious attraction to travellers and outdoor enthusiasts, the Solio has caught the attention of aid and disaster relief agencies. Can you tell us more about your work to bring power where it is most needed?
DP: Studies show that there are numerous benefits - what economists call 'positive externalities' - to providing cellular communications to off-grid villages in the developing world. With a cell phone, a farmer can find out the true price of corn, for example, to better negotiate with middlemen; a mother can call a hospital to make sure it's open before walking 10 hours to get there; a park ranger can call for back-up to confront poachers in a preserve. The problem is, there are plenty of cell phones and not a lot of reliable power, especially in places like East Africa. We supply Solios to many amazing non-profit groups and individuals that are engaged in Aid and development work. Also, we are working with experts in the field of LED lighting to bring solar-powered light to impoverished regions of the world.
TH: What's next for Better Energy Systems? When will we be able to plug our laptops into the sun?
DP: We have two new Solios coming out this fall that will give customers more of a choice. There's the super portable and simple Hybrid 1000 as the 'entry' model and the highly advanced Magnesium Edition for people with higher energy needs. We've also just announced a partnership with Working Assets Wireless who've created the world's first carbon-neutral wireless plan. Moving forward, I will be putting more focus on our projects in the developing world and really trying to leverage our products and customers to create sustainable change. As for laptops, let's just say that we're working on it.
TH: Are we on the cusp of a tipping point regarding renewable energy, clean technology, and solar in particular?
DP: The solar market is definitely moving in the right direction, but the limiting factor is polysilicon. Polysilicon is very expensive and there is not currently enough of it being processed to meet the demands of both the solar and semiconductor industries. Thin film solar, however, uses a fraction of the polysilicon as traditional PV and could be just what we need to make solar cost-competitive and boost it into the mainstream for good. In California, where the cost of electricity is high and we have decent incentives for solar, we are closer to seeing the day when solar will compete with fossil fuel-based electricity.
TH: What can every Treehugger do to help speed this transition from fossil fuels along?
DP: Write your congress people and demand that they eliminate subsidies for the oil, gas, and coal industries and channel funds into appropriate incentives for renewable energy. With the right amount of government intervention, Germany transformed itself into the world’s biggest solar market. We can do that here in the U.S, if we try. Also, change your wireless plan to Working Assets!
[Disclaimer: Sami Grover, who conducted this interview, is Director of Sustainability at The Change. At the time of commissioning this interview, no business relationship existed between Better Energy Systems and The Change. However, since that time, The Change has been involved in some limited work with Better Energy Systems on projects largely unrelated to subjects covered in this interview. Sami was not directly involved in this work.] | 274,156 |
This story originally appeared on NewRetirement. We all know that we need to save for retirement, but that is hard. However, it might be even harder to figure out how to invest for retirement. Investing requires some level of expertise and a way of thinking about money that is not innate for most people. Furthermore, the way you need to think about investing definitely changes as you age.
Read more: moneytalksnews.com | 229,891 |
The therapy provision at Baston House School is designed to support the students’ overall development by addressing their individual identified needs. We make effective use of the students’ Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) to design appropriate support and intervention programmes.
There is a strong focus on enabling all students to develop socially appropriate communication skills, alongside their academic, social, emotional and physical development.
There are many needs that students with an Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC) have that can adversely affect their learning and ability to engage positively at school and at home. At Baston House School we endeavour to provide support at both the individual and environmental level to ensure that specialist tailored support is delivered to every student to better enable them achieve their full potential.
We have a multidisciplinary team consisting of Clinical Psychology, Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy. We work from a multi-disciplinary team approach. This means a combination of different skills and knowledge to provide a holistic understanding of the difficulties students may present. In this way we are able to design interventions to meet the unique needs of each student from a variety of perspectives.
Therapy is delivered individually with students to address specific needs that are highlighted by teachers and parents and specified in their EHCPs. Group sessions are also delivered by the team as well as supporting teachers to use the strategies developed within their daily teaching. | 198,854 |
The Road Safety Association have released their report into fatal collision statistics on Irish roads for 2017.
Overall 2017 saw a 15% decrease in road deaths with 158 fatalities compared with 186 in 2016 while the same period saw fatalities of cyclists increase by 50% with 15 deaths up from 10 in 2016, a record for the decade.
Of the cyclist fatalities:
- all 15 fatalities involved motorists
- 13 fatalities occurred during the hours of daylight
- 2 occurred during darkness
- the majority of fatalities occurred in zones of 80km/h and above
County Kerry had 8 road fatalities, an slight increase from the 2016 figure (7) with 38% (3) of these deaths being cyclists in stark contract with the national average of approximately 10%.
Of these 3 deaths one was a tourist, and one a sport/recreation cyclist cycling with a group. | 155,848 |
We need your help!
- Community spay and neuter programs
- Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR)
- Rescue efforts to recover stray animals
- Coordination for recovery efforts during natural disasters
- Fundraising Events
- Adoption Events
- Public Awareness Events
- Fight for new laws and better legislation to decrease over-population and protect animal rights
- Raise public awareness to current animal over-population problems within the Tri-County area
- Distribute brochures for our classes and educational materials for our outreach program (including statistics of our current situation and our plans to help those problem areas)
- Responsible Ownership Education
- If necessary, picket those shelters and facilities that do not give animals the proper attention or provide medical care and clean, safe housing
- Procure funds and sponsorships from local and corporate businesses
Volunteers are the backbone of any non-profit organization. We are blessed to have a strong leadership of volunteers who want to bring their energy and ideas to help our efforts with planning Adoption, Fundraising, and Political Events. Organization is key in order to take on the events and projects that we are planning.
If you want to and can help with whatever spare time you have (even an hour here and there), we need you to help with our efforts. We will be running adoption events, outreach recovery, and spay and neuter trips throughout the communities. We also need to raise public awareness by distributing brochures and picketing facilities that do not treat animals with compassion.
Our fundraising events will utilize our group of corporate sponsors and vendors who will join forces and raise funds to help our efforts. Everything from sponsor donations and gifts for raffles will be needed. Volunteers will definitely make the difference in the success of these efforts! | 53,071 |
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In the city of Enugu, Nigeria, fifteen-year-old Kambili and her older brother, Jaja, lead a privileged life. When Kambili's loving and outspoken Aunty Ifeoma persuades her brother that the children should visit her in Nsukka, Kambili and Jaja take their first trip away from home. Once inside their Aunty Ifeoma's flat, they discover a whole new world. When a military coup threatens to destroy the country and Kambili and Jaja return home changed by their newfound freedom, tension within the family escalates. And Kambili must find the strength to keep her loved ones together after her mother commits a desperate act.
Maps For Lost Lovers
In an unnamed town in England, Jugnu and Chanda have disappeared - and Chanda's brothers have been arrested for their murder. What follows is an unravelling of all that is sacred to the family, as the pious Kaukab tries desperately to square the traditional justice of her culture with the more personal consequences of their murder.
Clear: A Transparent Novel
[Not yet published]
The Island Walkers
"Across a bend of Ontario's Attawan River lies the Island, a small, working-class neighborhood of whitewashed houses and vine-freighted fences, black willows and decaying sheds. Here, for generations, the Walkers have lived among the other mill workers." The family's troubles begin in the summer of 1965, when a union organizer comes to town and Alf Walker is forced to choose between loyalty to his friends at the mill and advancement up the company ranks.
Havoc, In Its Third Year
From the bestselling, Whitbread-shortlisted author of The Catastrophist, a dark historical thriller akin to The Name of the Rose; murder, politics of religion and mob rule stalk England in this extraordinary new novel.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory. But at Hurtfew Abbey in Yorkshire, the rich, reclusive Mr Norrell has assembled a wonderful library of lost and forgotten books from England's magical past and regained some of the powers of England's magicians.
Always the Sun
What do you do when your son is bullied? How far will you go to protect him from those who seek to cause him harm? Jamie is thirteen years old, an only child. His mother has recently died. He and his father Sam have moved to Sam's home town. A fresh start. An aunt to lend support. A new job for Sam, a new school for Jamie. But one day Jamie comes home, bearing the scars of every parent's nightmare. Something must be done... So it begins.
This novel provides insight into the intricacies of a changing South Africa at the end of the 1990s. Silas Ali, a former political activist, now a middle-aged civil servant working on the final Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, is shopping in the Killarney Mall in Johannesburg when he bumps into a ghost from his past-Lieutenant François du Boise, a retired security policeman. This chance encounter brings back a memory that Silas and his wife Lydia have been avoiding for 20 years.
Jan has been dying for six years, bringing his unhappy marriage with Annemieke to an end in middle age. Their sons have given them one last gift, a holiday in the Caribbean. Dorothy and George have also been given a holiday, by their granddaughter - their first and probably last trip overseas. In the rain of Bexhill-on-Sea, two weeks at a beach resort seems irresistible. Alone together, in perfect surroundings, they are unable to escape their troubles, until a few chance events - a disappearance, an assault and a man called Bill Moloney - allow them to make something out of the ashes of their love.
A Blade of Grass
Set on the border between South Africa and an unnamed neighboring country in the 1970s, A Blade of Grass is a novel about a bitter struggle over a small farm and its dramatic consequences for two women, one white and one black.
The Electric Michelangelo
Beginning as a humble apprentice in Morecambe Bay, Cy flees to America, where he sets up his own tattoo business on the infamous Coney Island boardwalk. In this carnival environment of roller-coasters and freak shows, Cy becomes enamoured with Grace, a mysterious circus performer.
Cooking With Fernet Branca
Gerald Samper, an effete Englishman and ghostwriter for celebrities, lives on a
hilltop in Tuscany. His idyll is shattered by the arrival of Marta, a vulgar
woman from the Soviet Republic. The neighbours' lives disastrously intertwine as
the English obsession with Tuscany is satirized.
"The first time that Gordon meets Annie they make love in a park. Soon afterwards, on the forty-fourth anniversary of D-Day, they are married. Gordon, though American-born, has never had a home; instead, he led the life of barren privilege, travelling through the capitals of Europe with his mother." Over the course of a year in London, Gordon and Annie construct an idea of married life for themselves, until their long-delayed honeymoon finally takes them to Venice. But once there, the city's brilliance seems to distort rather than illuminate, and the story gathers an almost unbearable intensity before - in a single act of absurd but devastating violence - their bubble is pricked and the emptiness at the core of their gilded lives revealed.
The Great Fire
The year is 1947. The great fire of the Second World War has convulsed Europe and Asia. In its wake, Aldred Leith, an acclaimed hero of the conflict, has spent two years in China at work on an account of world-transforming change there. Son of a famed and sexually ruthless novelist, Leith begins to resist his own self-sufficiency, nurtured by war. Peter Exley, another veteran and an art historian by training, is prosecuting war crimes committed by the Japanese. Both men have narrowly escaped death in battle, and Leith saved Exley's life. The men have maintained long-distance friendship in a postwar loneliness that haunts them both, and which has swallowed Exley whole. Now in their thirties, with their youth behind them and their world in ruins, both must invent the future and retrieve a private humanity.
The Line of Beauty
In the summer of 1983, twenty-year-old Nick Guest moves into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: conservative Member of Parliament Gerald, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their two children, Toby-whom Nick had idolized at Oxford-and Catherine, highly critical of her family's assumptions and ambitions. As the boom years of the eighties unfold, Nick, an innocent in the world of politics and money, finds his life altered by the rising fortunes of this glamorous family.
In 1860 Lucy Strange and her brother Thomas are orphaned, and so begins Lucy's adolescent journey of discovery. It will take her away from her childhood home in Australia to London and Bombay and, finally, to her death, at the age of 22.
A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan's California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified "dinery server" on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation -- the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other's echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.
The setting is present day London; a familiar scene you may think, but the people who inhabit this London are not the office workers, the shoppers, who form the lifeblood of the city, but those who move around its edges, the dispossessed, who live quite a different existence, under the tunnels and the waste grounds that the rest of us hurry by. Some are refugees, some are escaping from the blanket of domesticity; some have fallen through violence. They all try to survive.
A young Englishman visits Cold War Leipzig with a group of students and, during his brief excursion behind the Iron Curtain, falls for an East German girl who is only just beginning to wake up to the way her society is governed. Her situation touches him, but he is too frightened to help. He spends the next 19 years pretending to himself that he is not in love until one day, with Germany now united, he decides to go back and look for her.
Who or what is Cherry? Steve Ellis doesn't know and he's beginning not to care. All he knows is that as soon as his perfect woman came into his life all the flatness and misery went away. But happiness comes with a price. When you meet a man in a bar and he arranges for you to fall in love there's bound to be some strings attached. Steve might be suspicious about playing along with the game, but he's convinced he can handle it, a belief that may well lead to his downfall ...
Like Michael Cunningham in The Hours, Colm Tóibín captures the extraordinary mind and heart of a great writer. Brilliant and profoundly moving, The Master tells the story of Henry James, a man born into one of America's first intellectual families two decades before the Civil War. James left his country to live in Paris, Rome, Venice, and London among privileged artists and writers.
I'll Go To Bed at Noon
Britain's answer to The Corrections - Woodward's dysfunctional family lurches from tragedy to farce and back again in this stunning second novel from Whitbread short-listed novelist and award-winning poet Gerard Woodward. | 24,298 |
There could be a different approach for Morgan County Re-3 School District students to start learning a foreign language at a young age.
The school district is exploring the possibility of creating a dual-language immersion program, according to Superintendent Ron Echols.
In such programs, students typically are educated in both English and a second language with a goal of becoming proficient in both languages. Some such programs include a mix of native English speaking students and those raised with the other language primarily spoken in the home.
Echols raised this idea with the Re-3 Board of Education previously, gaining support from the board members for him to look into it and what it would take to create such a program in the Fort Morgan schools, likely with English and Spanish.
"I've been to five different road shows now," he told the school board Jan. 9, including visiting already existing dual-language immersion programs at Front Range schools.
Echols has been seeking to learn about the purpose of such programs and what they are trying to accomplish.
And because parents often contact their students' teachers about things they have heard may be happening, the superintendent next plans to pass on what he has learned about dual-language immersion programs to "make sure staff is knowledgable" about this concept.
Echols said he also planned to hold parents meetings "to get some fairly firm numbers on interest."
"Overall, there's excitement," Echols told the board about what he's been hearing. "Interest is very strong, and it's growing every day."
Board Treasurer David Keller asked whether it would be an optional program, and Echols confirmed that it would be something parents would opt their child into.
"We're never going to force any kids into this program," the superintendent said.
Over the next few weeks, Echols said he and district staff would put together a more formal proposal for creating such a dual-language immersion program. Then the superintendent likely will present about the potential costs and goals for the potential new program to the school board at the Feb. 6 regular meeting.
Jenni Grubbs: email@example.com or Twitter @JenniGrubbs | 105,562 |
Ice Dynamics® - a full-year training plan for off-ice conditioning
Figure skating is a year-round sport with changing on-ice demands over the course of a year. Weeks or months at a time focus on choreography or accomplishing new jumps or lifts, other times of the year may concentrate on frequent program run-throughs in preparation for an upcoming competition. Each of these time frames represents different phases of the annual on-ice training plan to help skaters achieve the goal of performing at or close to their full potential at competitions.
A benefit of this cyclic on-ice training plan, either intentionally or unintentionally, is that skaters who vary their training are less likely to burnout or become injured. Figure skaters do not have the advantage of a true off-season to recover, compared to other sports such as football, baseball and hockey. By cycling the intensity of the on-ice training throughout the year, skaters recover, recuperate, and prepare for the upcoming phases and while staying on the ice during the “off season” and can train to peak for competitions and tests during the “in season”.
Figure skaters need more than just ice time to become competitive athletes. In addition to the requisite ice time to acquire and refine skating skills, it is accepted that figure skaters in all disciplines and levels need to participate in off-ice conditioning to stay ahead of the highly athletic demands of the sport. Strength, power, aerobic/anaerobic conditioning, balance, and flexibility are developed off-ice to match or exceed the on-ice needs. Ice time is then spent refining moves, rather than getting in shape. Injury rates are reduced when skaters develop strong muscles to protect joints, and when flexibility is developed throughout the body to safely attain the desired aesthetic line. For example, the flexibility for a Beillmann spin is steadily developed off-ice by consistently practicing a whole series of shoulder, spine, hip and thigh stretches with progressive intensity, not by solely attempting to do 25 Beillmann spins per day.
The Ice Dynamics® program provides skaters with a full-year 6-phase training plan that effectively matches on-ice demands. Key competitions during the year for each skater dictate the exact timing of the off-ice training phases. Each phase in a multi-week cycle with a specific conditioning focus.
Each phase serves as the foundation for the next phase, and in this way, the off-ice training program builds upon itself over the course of the year to progress skaters gradually and consistently. Each week within the phase has different daily workout plans; variation keeps the training interesting for the athletes. | 302,548 |
Thich Nhat Hanh shows us the connection between personal inner peace and peace on earth. –His Holiness the Dalai Lama
About Calligraphic Meditation: The Mindful Art of Thich Nhat Hanh
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is best known as a prolific author, poet, teacher, scholar, and peace activist. Yet he is also a master calligrapher, distilling ancient Buddhist teachings into simple phrases that resonate with our modern times, capturing and expressing his lifetime of meditative insight, peace, and compassion.
Calligraphic Meditation: The Mindful Art of Thich Nhat Hanh is a collection of some of Thich Nhat Hanh’s most poignant and most recent calligraphies. On display in the United States for the first time, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to spend time in the presence of his art, which can be a meditative practice in itself.
For Thich Nhat Hanh, creating calligraphy is more than creating art—it is also a meditative practice. He is fully present for every moment, from drinking his tea, to sitting down and taking a brush, and using the tea to make the ink. He has said that he cannot write poetry if he does not garden the lettuces; the same is true with his calligraphy. Each calligraphy is made of mindful sitting, breathing, walking, smiling – and love. In his own words:
“In my calligraphy, there is ink, tea, breathing, mindfulness, and concentration. Writing calligraphy is a practice of meditation. I write the words or sentences that can remind people about the practice. For instance, breathe and enjoy the kingdom of God in the here and the now or breathe and enjoy this wonderful moment. I think the word ‘wonderful’ means full of wonders. If you are truly there in the moment, you can recognize so many wonders in that moment. The Kingdom of God, the Buddha land is there. So breathe in, bring your mind back to your body and you can touch many wonders in this moment.”
About Thich Nhat Hanh
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, loved and revered around the world. He is the man Martin Luther King, Jr. called “an apostle of peace and non-violence” when nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, and has been described by The New York Times as “second only to the Dalai Lama” among Buddhist leaders influential in the West. His powerful teachings and bestselling writings on the practice of mindfulness have reached an audience of millions.
For more than fifty years, Thich Nhat Hanh has been a pioneer of ‘Engaged’ and ‘Applied’ Buddhism, applying ancient Buddhist wisdom to a wide range of contemporary concerns, including ecology, politics, consumption, relationships, cultivating peace, community building, and global ethics. He is the spiritual head not only of his lineage within Vietnam, but also of an international Engaged Buddhist community of more than 700 monks and nuns, and tens of thousands of lay practitioners who apply his teachings on mindfulness, peace-making, community-building, and serving society in their daily lives. Thich Nhat Hanh and members of his community offer these teachings all over the world—on campuses, at community centers, at outdoor gatherings—and at his global practice centers.
What is Mindfulness?
Thich Nhat Hanh’s key teaching is that through the transformative practice of mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment instead of getting lost in the past or worrying about the future. Dwelling in the present moment, he teaches, is the only way to truly develop peace, both in oneself and in the world, and is a practice that provides us with the opportunity to transform our suffering. He teaches the practices of mindful walking, mindful eating, deep listening, and mindful speech, adapting the teachings of the Buddha to resonate with contemporary life. He encourages us to ‘wake up’ to the beauty of our planet and our interbeing nature, fostering respect for each other and the animals, plants, and minerals that share this planet with us.
About Blue Cliff Monastery
Blue Cliff Monastery is one of three mindfulness practice centers founded in the United States by Thich Nhat Hanh. Nestled on 70 peaceful acres of woodland in the southern Catskill region of New York State, it is home to a thriving community of Buddhist monks and nuns who share the art of mindful living with hundreds of visitors every year.
Like Plum Village in France, Deer Park Monastery in California, and Magnolia Grove Monastery in Mississippi, Blue Cliff’s doors are open throughout the year for people of all backgrounds, ages, faiths, and no-faith to practice mindfulness. Visitors follow the monastics’ daily schedule of walking, eating, sitting, and working mindfully. They learn to practice mindful speech and deep listening, and benefit from deep relaxation meditation. As they become familiar with the mindfulness tools offered by the community, adults and children alike learn that it is possible to transform their suffering and awaken to the joys of the present moment.
Throughout the year, Blue Cliff and its sister monasteries offer special retreats as well as general stays and days of mindfulness (most Thursdays and Sundays) for those interested in learning how to stop, look deeply, and enjoy the wonders of life within us and around us. www.bluecliffmonastery.org
About ABC Home
An iconic NYC destination, ABC Carpet & Home offers choice at the cutting edge of art, sustainability, and design. Through the preservation of indigenous artisanship, working with global cooperatives, and a commitment to environmental consciousness, ABC aims to be a catalyst in creating home as an expression of vision and values. Our collaboration with Thich Nhat Hanh, which will bring the message of mindfulness into the heart of the city, expresses our core ethos of using beauty as a tool for positive change allowing the urban community to access this profound wisdom and tap into interconnectivity. read more…
Amplifying mindful living with Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphies at ABC Home
A Note by Paulette Cole, CEO, ABC Home
Thich Nhat Hanh truly embodies mindfulness – to be in his presence is an invitation to be present. For me, his teachings demystify the path of enlightenment and awareness. To witness his wisdom is not to read a map telling one how to go, it is to be there – here and now – to exist in mindfulness.
ABC is deeply honored to take part in this sacred and very special exhibit. For us, home is a mirror – a reflection of self. The mindful art of Thich Nhat Hanh brings that moment of self-awareness, that connection, into the home and into the everyday practice, whether as a reminder, a guide, a message, or a mirror.
In my own home, I have welcomed the message Open mind, Open Heart, a daily reminder to shift my perspective and that to expand my mind is to expand my heart. At my altar, I have placed Breathe, for when I forget to and am holding on to chaos. I absorb the message in stillness – taking it in and letting it go.
Truly resonating with ABC is No mud, No lotus – such a simple archetype, which can affect the collective spirit. Its message, for us, is an affirmation to continue peacefully on our path. It is a metaphor for our commitment to this vital work and in all that we do, wherein the heavy lifting manifests magic. It is the shadow that supports the light.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s work is purity, clarity, and beauty in one form. It sparks an awakening. We feel at the core of our ethos aligned with these inspirational composures, where through beauty, participants are inspired to connect to mindfulness. It is a privilege to amplify the messages of this Zen Master and gifted teacher to create ripples of awareness, opening the doors for others to explore this practice.
To sit with Thich Nhat Hanh, to engage with his work, is to breathe. It is experiential Buddhism, guiding us all to guide ourselves, together. | 193,517 |
The Anhinga or snake bird
The Anhinga has an incredibly slender, S-shaped, long neck, a body length of about 35 inches, an impressive wingspan of roughly 45 inches across, and weighs in at a light 46 to 47 ounces. It is also known by several other names such as American Darter, Water Turkey, Darter, or Snakebird.
This is a swimming bird that appears like a snake preparing to strike when it is in the water. Only its long, dark-colored neck can be seen above the water as it swims. This is why it has also been dubbed the Snakebird. It is also called a Water Turkey because of its broad tail and similar swimming habits.
This bird prefers warmer climates and can be found in both South America and North America. They chooses to live in swampy areas, freshwater ponds, shallow coastal bays, marshes, lakes, and mangrove swamps, with thick vegetation and tall trees. They use the vegetation and trees to escape predators. The Anhinga is a fish eater, so it makes sense that this bird would live near the water. This species has a pointed beak resembling an arrow, which comes in handy for spearing fish. The thrust with which they spears their prey is so powerful at times that he has to swim to the shore and use a rock to pry the fish from his beak before he can eat.
One would assume that this bird species, being a swimming bird, would have feathers like a duck, containing oil to keep the feathers from getting wet and weighing down the bird. However, they are unique in that its feathers actually do get wet when they swim, sometimes causing it to become very heavy. Instead of being a hindrance, this is very helpful to this light bird as it is able to dive under the water more easily and can stay under for significant amounts of time, hunting prey. When it is necessary, they will perch, with wings outstretched, for as long as it takes for its wings and feathers to dry out. If 0ne of these birds are on the water's surface with waterlogged wings, it will "run" across the surface and flap its wings furiously until it is able to take flight.
The male Anhinga is a blackish-green all over, with black plumage that features silver patches on the wings. The female is colored less dramatically, with a brown head, neck and chest, and a black stomach. Both sexes have long, fan-shaped tail feathers. Their appearance is altered a bit during the breeding season. They develop a blue ring around their eyes.
An Anhinga's nest is built in a tree, created from sticks, and lined with leaves. The female lays anywhere from three to five eggs that are light blue or light green in color. Occasionally, the eggs will feature brown speckles.
The chicks hatch within about one month and are in the nest for three weeks or so. An interesting fact about Anhinga chicks: if they are in the nest and threatened, they have the ability to drop into the water below, swim away and then later climb out of the water and back into their nest. Chicks will fledge around six weeks and continue staying on with their parents for several more weeks before going out on their own.
is not considered a threatened species at this time and is protected in the United States under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
other water birds
you can have pay-per-play on your site and get paid. | 129,374 |
6 November 2008
The 1.5% interest rate cut came as a bit of a surprise to most people. However, we are in new territory and it is territory with which those economists who love their macroeconomic forecasting models will be uncomfortable. We have a constipated interbank market; bank lending and the monetary aggregates are probably falling rapidly (though the figures are very difficult to interpret); and the financial system is dreadfully short of capital. You cannot simply put an interest rate cut through an econometric model and see what the forecast is for the impact on inflation and growth (if you ever can do that). We are in the realm of intuition and judgement here. Should it have been 1.25% or 1.75%? Who knows? The important thing now is to monitor the effect.
The proof of the pudding will be whether the rate cut keeps bank lending and the money supply at reasonable levels. If banks are still under so much pressure that lending keeps falling and if the consumer is under so much pressure that there is no appetite to borrow, then the time may come when the Bank of England will have to think of using other tools to manage monetary policy. Interest rates may not be enough. Having said that, we should leave it to the Bank of England to manage the situation – under no circumstances should the government pursue a policy of deliberately increasing government spending to stave off a recession.
Indeed, I have been asked today whether the Bank of England has done enough to keep away recession and whether consumer confidence will recover. In fact, the Bank should not try to avert recession and it is probably not good if consumer confidence recovers too much either. As a result of the Bank’s past mistakes – and the mistakes of households too – a recession is inevitable. If we try to postpone a recession there will just be worse to come. Furthermore, households must rebuild their balance sheets and rein in spending after recent profligacies. The good news is that, if there is a permanent decline in consumer spending relative to incomes, there could be lower interest rates for a long time to come: this is tough if you are a saver though. | 278,599 |
Position sometimes comes with power. Everyone craves powerful positions but only a few merit them. To know the true nature of a man, expose him to power and position, then you will see his true colour. It is fallacy to believe you are a leader because you occupy a position. If that’s what leadership is about, anybody can do it and anyone will excel at it. But it goes beyond that; people don’t follow leaders just because of their position or influence.
Yes, influence makes people emulate you as a person. But do you know that people can emulate you and not follow you? Do you also know that people might work with you because of your position, yet not follow you? People only follow leaders, and this is why you should determine to be the kind of person that people will follow.
Often, men begin to place an emphasis on their position when they’re unable to lead properly and as such do not command a following. If a person has to remind others that he is the leader then he is probably doing something wrong – and trying to make up for it (poorly) by conscripting others to follow him. Also, some managers impose a fine to punish people working with them just to get them to do a task. When that happens, they are also trying to conscript the people working with them to follow them. Followership cannot be enforced, it must be earned.
No doubt, influence is important in leadership. But beyond that, there are attributes people look out for before they choose to follow anyone. People follow leaders who care, leaders whom they trust, respect and admire, leaders whom they can approach.
How to Lead Beyond Your Position
What do people want to see in you as a leader, before they follow you?
1. A leader who cares
This is a very important attribute. This is because everyone somehow wants to get value for value. People do it both unconsciously and consciously.
A caring leader creates an influence that is far reaching and long lasting in the mind of people. When the mind of a person is won by his leader in that manner, he becomes a faithful follower. That is why Dalai Lama, the Buddhist leader, said “We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.”
Human affection is shown when a leader shows keen concern over those around him. This is the reason the leader wins their loyalty and they choose to follow him. As a husband to your wife, pay keen interest and care for your wife’s emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual needs. When you do that, there will be no need to conscript her to follow you. She will naturally do so.
2. A leader they trust
This is often a difficult one for people. Trust is earned and not just given. People develop trust for a leader based on his displayed character over time. When they are able to determine his character based on his reaction in certain situations and their experience with him over time, they associate it with his integrity. A wife has no reason not to be at rest over a faithful husband. The man might have been faithful to her for years. But a man that goes after any lady in sight will leave his wife restless.
It works the same way with leadership. A leader that has been tested over time with no traces of character flaws wins people to follow him.
3. A leader they respect
Respect is attached to competence. When a leader demonstrates competence in situations that others shy away from, he earns respect. A wife looks up to the husband for direction when faced with chaotic situations in the home. If the husband proffers a solution, he earns the respect of the wife. The wife begins to see him as a solution provider in chaotic situations. If he demonstrates such competence over and over again, the wife begins to follow his directions without being conscripted. Once you demonstrate competence at work, or anywhere you find yourself, be sure that people will tend to follow you.
4. A leader they can approach
People relate with those they can approach. These sets of people don’t immediately condemn others when they present their issues before them. Instead, they empathise with them and look for possible ways to proffer solutions. They don’t put on a high look to scare people from them. They are open with a warm spirit, always ready to receive people. Such leaders are consistent in their relationships with others.
5. A leader they admire
Before people can look at a person with admiration, there must be something he or she is doing right. One thing that makes people admire a leader is his commitment to his cause. A female eagle before committing to a male eagle will always test his commitment to providing. Once the male eagle displays this commitment, he wins his place of leadership over the female eagle.
I conclude with the definition of influence, according to John Maxwell. In one of his books titled The 360 Degree Leader, he defined influence with an acrostic as follows:
(I) Integrity – Builds relationship on trust.
(N) Nurturing – Cares about people as individuals.
(F) Faith – Believes in people.
(L) Listening – Values what others have to say.
(U) Understanding – Sees from their point of view.
(E) Enlarging – Helps others to become bigger.
(N) Navigating – Assists others through difficulties.
(C) Connecting – Initiates positive relationships.
(E) Empowering – Gives them the power to lead.
This is what it means to lead beyond your position! | 299,835 |
What you will find There:
This Town of Brighton park occupies 52 acres in the area historically known as Corbett’s Glen. It includes land extending up to Penfield Road. This adjacent area is sometimes refered to as Corbett’s Glen North.
The park’s two miles of trails allow quiet walks with a variety of scenery. From the parking at the top of Glen Road, your visit begins with a dramatic entrance through a stone tunnel. If you walk to the right you enter a loop trail that takes you along a cascading stretch of Allens Creek then around a successional meadow and cattail marsh. You are walking at the base of steep slopes forested with large oaks and other species. Before arriving back at the tunnel entrance you may turn right on a trail that climbs the forested slope and takes you beside a glacial esker, supporting some large oaks, then gently up on a winding trail through relatively young woodland to the Penfield Road entrance.
Keep in mind when you visit that the park is designed for short visits of an hour or two and does not have restrooms.
There are two private residences in the Park, visable one behind the other, as you enter from the tunnel. The one in front you will recognize from the history pages on this site as the house built by Patrick Corbett in 1896. The residents of these homes have been strong supporters of the Park since its creation.
We invite you to browse the history pages here to enhance your next visit. | 272,771 |
am a Holocaust survivor, born in Vilno (Vilna), Poland. In 1941, under the Nazi occupation, most Jews of Vilno were placed in the ghetto. About 50,000 Jews of the city were led to Ponar, a place in the forest outside Vilno, shot to death an thrown into pits. Most of my family are buried there. At the liquidation of the ghetto in 1943, I was shipped with my mother to concentration camps, Riga in Latvia, Stutthof and later Torun, Poland. There, I went through the tunnel of death, but survived by many miracles. My father never returned, my mother and brother survived. I am able to turn my experiences of horror and degradation into artworks. The last journey is from my memories of the Stutthof concentration camp. I saw these wagons with dead bodies taken tot he crematorium. | 5,380 |
It is amazing how the data centre world has changed in the last few years. A Data Centre used to be a collection of network elements to interconnect static servers (and their associated storage), with traffic patterns that were highly predictable and mostly north-south. Cloud and virtualization have changed all of this: a data centre is now a collection of compute and storage resources which can be securely sliced up into virtual networks and placed anywhere according to real time needs, interconnected by a fabric. The virtualization of servers, network services such as firewalls and load balancers, and even network devices such as switches and routers, has created a very dynamic landscape in terms of how fast you could configure a virtual network, in a way where location shouldn’t really matter, and where compute and storage resources can be added on the fly, based on demand. Multi-tenant Data Centres, such as the one to deploy Virtual Private Clouds, need to support 10000’s of these virtual networks. And every one of these virtual networks needs a lot of different service instances to stitch together the virtual network across virtual servers, virtual switches, virtual firewalls, virtual load-balancers, and virtual routers. Traffic patterns have shifted to East-West, because of the new applications which spread processing across many hosts, and because of the ‘location freedom’ that virtualization allows. Network infrastructure needs to be cost-effective to handle all this traffic, while the increased lookup-table size caused by the any to any traffic patterns often led to increased cost.
Traditionally Ethernet based forwarding has been deployed to cope with the mobility and agility aspects. Ethernet is great here because of its plug and play behaviour: no addresses have to be configured or provisioned to identify the servers, and the location of the servers is learned dynamically. The industry has been creating Next Generation Ethernet solutions to add more functionality in this realm such as Equal Cost Multi Path (ECMP) and SAN and LAN convergence while trying to retain the plug and play behaviour. However, these solutions didn’t take into account the above shift.
Virtualization Vendors could no longer wait for the networking industry to support these needs, and therefore started creating overlays. An overlay is created when a virtual switch encapsulates Ethernet packets into some form of IP based encapsulation. The fabric only needs to be IP aware from that point on. Initially overlays like VxLAN and nvGRE were still using Ethernet flooding and learning to associate the location to the identity of end-stations. But there is a growing trend to add a control plane to map end-stations to locations, where the end-station identity can be an Ethernet address, as well as an IP address, effectively creating overlays which can use IP routing for IP traffic, and Ethernet forwarding for non-IP or non-routable traffic.
Taking a step back, such overlays should :
- Reduce Operational Complexity as the Underlying network is a fairly static IP based network, while the edge only needs to know the location of where some end-stations have moved.
(Note: The underlay could leverage protocols that allow very easy ‘self-clustering’ of network nodes, and individual network nodes could then leverage network wide ‘intent’ to form the underlay).
- Should support an orchestration driven approach of mapping end-station identifiers to locations.
- Work with existing Ethernet L2 and L3 switches.
- Support concurrent L2 adjacencies and L3 adjacencies between end stations, as the control plane to map locations to end-stations identifiers can leverage multiples address families in both the ‘identity’ name space as well as the ‘location’ namespace. Migration from IPv4 to IPv6 is eased by this.
- Support network infrastructures with a large amount of access devices, each serving a lot of VMs.
- Support the creation of a lot of Virtual Networks
- support VM mobility and server clustering.
- Support both Network based solutions well as hypervisor/virtual switch based solutions, in a unified manner.
- Enable scalable table sizes and scalable controlplanes to create and maintain these forwarding tables, as well as potentially maintain the associate policies associated to certain destinations.
The IP Underlay network will:
- Allow the efficient use of the entire topology, in other words ECMP
- Enable optimal forwarding for both unicast and multicast.
One technology which can meet these needs is LISP, the Location-Identity Separation Protocol. LISP has been used already successfully to deploy overlays, mapping IP end-station identifiers to IP locations, enabling applications such as multi-homing, high-scale multi-tenancy and seamless mobility (including VM mobility). LISP uses a centralized mapping system to achieve this, where the edge devices are responsible to populate this mapping system, as soon as a new device is discovered, or a device is discovered to have moved. Edge devices can request the mapping system about the location of a certain end-device, and these entries are cached for further use, until they age out. Entries that point to ‘old’ locations are dynamically altered by an interaction between the mapping system and the edge device owning the ‘new’ location of this end-station. LISP can scale to an unlimited number of instances of global cross organizational reach. The mapping system is modular and can be changed without changing sites that run LISP. The existing mapping database transport system is designed with the same design principles as DNS has. That is, one can deploy private or public mapping databases, as well as allowing multiple instances of the mapping system or supporting multiple tenants with a private or public mapping system.
LISP can be made to work very easily with the current proposed VxLAN proposed overlay dataplane, as the encapsulations are very similar. Other proposed dataplanes such as nvGRE can be made to work with a LISP control plane very effectively. This will allow for concurrent support of IP and mac-address end station identifiers across the IP Underlay, solving all the different use cases. Because of its pull-based , on-demand nature, the LISP control plane scales very well in environments where table space is limited, extending its use to both physical switches with limited table space and virtual switches. More-over the mapping system can hold more state than just the mapping between end station and location. It could also hold policy information for certain locations or groups of end station identifiers. It could also hold service path information, where the mapping system could recursively resolve through which services a certain flow needs to be pushed through to eventually reach its destination. And because the mapping system is an open system, north-bound interfaces can be created into it to write policies, mappings and service paths into it , or to read network state from it in a centralized, but network wide manner.
LISP has been designed by the LISP IETF WG, with representation and collaboration not only from Cisco, but operators, researchers and other vendors. The experimental nature of the WG is very convenient in allowing the technology to mature quickly and flexibly as drafts can be adjusted rapidly as we learn from new developments. Don’t let the word ‘experimental’ misguide you as after six years of deployments and testing , LISP is indeed fit for production, regardless of the technicalities the IETF process may impose on the documents. As a matter of fact VxLAN is another experimental draft, and adoption hasn’t been hindered by that. And adding ‘warning messages’ in other drafts that refer to how ‘bad’ experimental RFCs are is unfortunately part of the politics amongst equipment vendors.
A new working Group in IETF (Network Virtualization Overlay using L3 or NVO3) has been created to investigate whether new control planes have to be created to deal with the functions described above, or whether existing control planes can be used. LISP can be a very good candidate in being that control plane, effectively creating a Unified L2 and L3 IP based overlay solution that can work across both physical and virtual network equipment, as can be seen in this draft.
LISP brings mobility, scale and segmentation to the global network, without resorting to elaborate BGP policies or ‘flat-earth’ network designs. The global network is inclusive of any private portion of the network (Campus, DC, WAN, Metro) and the public Internet. So although we have talked about the data center here, the benefits of LISP are easily realized across all places in the network seamlessly. Think Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in Enterprise networks, and the associated network and mobility challenges it can bring. Another use case for this unified solution based on LISP? Most definitely! | 50,480 |
EADS HC-144 Ocean Sentry
|HC-144 Ocean Sentry|
|Manufacturer||Airbus Military (prime contractor EADS North America)|
|Status||In active service|
|Primary user||United States Coast Guard|
|Developed from||CASA/IPTN CN-235|
The EADS HC-144 Ocean Sentry is a medium-range, twin-engined aircraft used by the United States Coast Guard in the search-and-rescue and maritime patrol missions. Based on the Airbus Military CN-235 it was procured as a "Medium Range Surveillance Aircraft." The HC-144 is supplied by Airbus Group, Inc formerly EADS North America and is built in Spain by Airbus Military.
Design and Development
Intended to replace the Dassault HU-25 Guardian jet, the HC-144A Ocean Sentry is part of the Coast Guard's Integrated Deepwater System Program of recapitalization and new-asset acquisition. Based on the CN-235-300 MP Persuader, the maritime patrol version of the CN-235 military transport, the HC-144 offers a longer endurance than the HU-25 it is replacing in U.S. Coast Guard service, as well as better performance in the low-level observation role.
The HC-144A has an eight-hour endurance, which makes it suited for the command and control and search and rescue roles. Its rear ramp provides for transport of standard cargo pallets. It also features short takeoff and landing capability.
The HC-144A uses electronic systems on the Mission System Pallet roll-on, roll-off electronics suite from Lockheed Martin, that connects to the aircraft's systems upon installation. The HC-144A's equipment is similar to the Coast Guard's HC-130 aircraft, which reduces maintenance and training costs.
The first HC-144 was delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard in December 2006. Initial Operational Capability (IOC) was achieved in April 2009; thirteen Ocean Sentry aircraft were operational with the Coast Guard in January 2011. A total of 36 aircraft were planned to be procured, with twelve Mission System Pallets being swapped between the operational aircraft.
The HC-144A has been involved in several missions during its career, including involvement in the Marquis Cooper search-and-rescue mission, the response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, environmental missions monitoring the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, transporting endangered marine animals for rehabilitation, and being involved with Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. In June 2014, the Coast Guard's fleet of 17 HC-144s reached 50,000 flight hours, five years after achieving IOC. The Ocean Sentry is flown more hours per airframe in a year than any other Coast Guard aircraft.
The 15th HC-144 was delivered in June 2013. The Coast Guard was considering supplementing the HC-144 with former Air Force C-27J Spartan aircraft. Budget strains have caused the service to reconsider acquiring a 36-plane fleet. Cancelling the remaining 18 to be manufactured and replacing them with up to 14 decommissioned C-27Js would save between $500-$800 million. Converting the Spartans to search-and-rescue aircraft would be faster and cheaper than funding and delivery of the full order. EADS responded by stating that the HC-144 is half as expensive to maintain and operate compared to the C-27J in terms of direct maintenance and fuel costs, calling into question the idea as a cost-saving measure. With the signing of the U.S. Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2014 on 26 December 2013, the Coast Guard was given control of the 14 remaining C-27Js available. The 16th HC-144 was delivered on 22 January 2014, the 17th on 7 April 2014, and the 18th and final HC-144A was delivered on 7 October 2014.
Data from
- Crew: two
- Length: 70 ft 3 in (21.41 m)
- Wingspan: 84 ft 8 in (25.81 m)
- Height: 26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)
- Wing area: 636 sq ft (59.1 m2)
- Empty weight: 21,605 lb (9,800 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 36,380 lb (16,502 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × General Electric CT7 turboprop, 1,870 shp (1,390 kW) each
- Maximum speed: 272 mph; 437 km/h (236 kn)
- Range: 1,801 mi; 2,898 km (1,565 nmi)
- Endurance: 8.7 hours
- Related development
- US Coast Guard receives 18th HC-144A Ocean Sentry - Shepgardmedia.com, 8 October 2014
- "MRS: Project Description". USCG:HC-144A "Ocean Sentry" Maritime Patrol Aircraft. United States Coast Guard. May 5, 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
- "Acquisition Update: HC-144A Maritime Patrol Aircraft Project Achieves Initial Operational Capability". USCG:Acquisition Directorate Newsroom. April 22, 2009. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
- "USCG:HC-144A "Ocean Sentry" Maritime Patrol Aircraft". United States Coast Guard. January 3, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
- Porter, Suzette (March 2, 2009). "Coast Guard confirms rescue of Nick Schuyler". Tampa Bay Newspapers. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
- "EADS North America awarded U.S. Coast Guard contract for HC-144A Maritime Patrol Aircraft". EADS North America. August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
- "Endangered sea turtles get a ride home from the Coast Guard". U.S. Coast Guard Visual Information Gallery. December 12, 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
- Airbus HC-144A Ocean Sentry Aircraft Fleet Surpasses 50,000 Flight Hours With US Coast Guard - Marketwired.com, 26 June 2014
- EADS North America Delivers 15th HC-144A Ocean Sentry to U.S. Coast Guard - EADSNorthAmerica.com, 5 June 2013
- Surplus C-27J Spartans Could Mean Big Windfall for Coast Guard - Nationaldefensemagazine.org, August 2013
- US Coast Guard to acquire USAF's remaining C-27J Spartans - Flightglobal.com, 6 January 2014
- USCG receives 16th Ocean Sentry MPA - Shephardmedia.com, 22 January 2014
- Airbus Defense and Space Inc. Delivers 17th HC-144A Aircraft to US Coast Guard - Marketwired.com, 7 April 2014
- U.S. Coast Guard: HC-144A "Features". Accessed 2011-01-07.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to CASA HC-144 Ocean Sentry.| | 167,016 |
Windows in fine art.
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881 -1973) This picture of him was taken by photographer Robert Doisneau: Picasso's hands are a testament to his creative skills pressed against the panes of glass they become emphasised through a window.
There are many instances of windows being used in art, often seen is, a model poised next to A window. Light illuminating from one side, a fine tool for an artist to show their skills be it as a compositional tool or part of a narrative.
Seen and unnoticed we look through the window. Rarely at it. Paintings and photographs are often described, "as a window into the life and times".....".its a window into the soul......" descriptions of work were, “woman in front of window by.......".
Indeed, they have been used to create perspective even drama. Like a bellowing curtain in a Hitchcock movie..
Throughout all forms of art the Window has been a tool of storytelling and folklore.
Clear windows in dreams signifies bright hopes and open possibilities.
Consider the location of the window and where you are looking in or out, the weather outside the window, your emotions at the time, and finally the people and objects that you see through the window. All these connotations directly influence interpretation.
The window has also been used as a model for communication theory.
Based on disclosure, self-disclosure and feedback, the Johari Window can also be used to improve a group's relationship with other groups.
Galye Gifford wrote in 2016 that....” The Johari Window is used to improve interpersonal communications and teamwork. It was developed by and named after psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955 (Joe + Harry =Johari).
One idea behind the Johari Window is that we all have blind spots about ourselves that we want to diminish. Reducing these blind spots requires seeking out feedback from others.
We also have information about ourselves that we hold back from others or that they are not aware of just by interacting with us.
The Johari Window provides an opportunity for self-awareness and trust building by asking us to be more forthcoming and transparent as well as soliciting feedback through a process of self-discovery.”
The grid or window is broken up as follows.
Unknown Area: what is unknown by the person about him/herself and is also unknown by others
Hidden Area: what the person knows about him/herself that others do not know
Blind Area: what is unknown by the person about him/herself, but which others know. This can normally include things like anxiety, fear, incompetence, unworthiness and so on, whereby it is difficult for people to face up to, but others can easily see them clearly in you.
The Open area: what is known by the person about him/herself and is also known by others. This normally includes your behaviour, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and ‘general knowledge’ history.
(above.) Appledore church windows at sunrise.
Silverleaf on Plywood board taken from a wardrobe dismantled.Dyed with Walnut ink and black acrylic.
The window was offset at an angle to experiment with the shadow and appears to open from its mount.
St. Ives. 2020
St. Ives. 2020
Created from that which you have looked at but never seen. (I'm not telling)
KEEP IN. 2021
another window of two sides.
Two masked figures stand in front of the viewer looking back.
Created using copper and gold leaf on a enamel background and spray paint on mdf board.
This window was inspired by reading about graffiti art and the work of King Rob and Banksy.
"If climate change continues unchecked then wearing masks are the least of our worries.."
A new narrative.
The cement grout was an endeavour to remove however did help to identify the possible age.
The corners of the window were rebuilt sympathetically.
Stained glass window research
The chevron represents the roof of a house, derived from the French word "chevron" meaning rafter. It signifies protection. The chevron was granted to those who had participated in some notable enterprise, had built churches or fortresses, or had accomplished some work requiring faithful service.
The chevron is also said to represent the rises and falls that we encounter in life. How a chevron ring is worn can affect its meaning: a chevron pointing downward is associated with Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. When pointed upward, it is associated with Mars and all the gods of war.
This window is approximately 100 years old, maybe an artist had looked through this old widow. Painted now with Black acrylic With real gold leaf one side and a alloy gold leave on the other. Only glass panes cracked but not broken are covered with gold.
It is only in part a window now.
It hangs in space, above a black painted box with an abundance of gold leaves.
On top of a mat of money, two hundred pounds.
Supplied with two optional installation instructions. not returned.
A new narrative.
what's the narrative ?
That's for you to make your mind up, the curators did........
and I already know !
Would love your thoughts.
Landscape of disbelief.unfinished.
A consideration to what Duchamp may of made using the idea of a window today in the now.
What he might have made today, looking at the hundred anniversary of his creation then.
Could Fresh Widow be a consideration to the Spanish flu by Marcel Duchamp.
he often joked about the title.
The readymade element is the canvass……there is an opposition, a defying that the very thing Duchamp might appreciate, it is in landscape but not a landscape.
Art does not need to be beautiful. Should I make it beautiful?
Would it really matter?
I want a positivity.
Is it the cerebral state of mind that gives the idea of beauty? beauty is subjective just as art is, In the eye of the beholder and all that.
The landscape of disbelief unfinished is partly ready made. Components of its existence are reclaimed and manipulated. The brush and paint can, the elements of bare wood demonstrate that it is Quite literally unfinished. elements that contradict its self.
A comment made during its exhibition was, that it was a shame the internal beads were not painted”. I despair.... But to rebuff , better to be done than perfect. However, the unfinished is also part of the story. An element of the work itself.
(a special Thanks to Sarah that, better done than perfect quote, I said I would appropriate that one. (unfortunately my children have also tried to pinch that one too.when it comes to a tidy room.)
“The readymade” defied the notion that art must be beautiful. Duchamp claimed to have chosen everyday objects, yet the Fresh widow was a commissioned piece by duchamp himself, made by a carpenter and influenced by the artist using leather and left with instruction that it be polished every day.
Hence considering its beauty.
This I think has a direct relationship with how he was to demonstrate that cerebral. The idea of action was the cerebral. A duality if you will.
Duchamp combines the black leather so one might argue that his work is a contradiction in regard to the influence and purpose.
The visual indifference that is between the two sides of the piece. The brain changes its response between each visual.
Duchamp said that ….“based on a reaction of visual indifference, with and at the same time it should have a total absence of good or bad taste….”
The work was literally a contradiction of its own existence.
I'll let the audience decide if this works on that level.
Landscape of disbelief unfinished. 2021. On show at Kind Gallery and studio. Braunton, Devon.
A landscape of disbelief (unfinished) is on both sides completely different in presentation. the importance of action and thought,
An instruction that the polishing of the empty can that sits next to an inch brush left on the sill on one side, and that this must be carried out daily.
A frame that is a window frame and an artistic frame. Each side has a conflicting and shared narrative.
A consideration of Vermeer and interior and exterior. light and colour.
The gold frame on one side the importance, finished in gold leaf the image created from lace with connotations to class and the elements of space the blue window frame, a link to the NHS staff clapped for from open widows.
The delivery of paint through aerosol and a similar of the shared image in a historical context.
The u.v lights. instead of shadow are;
Reference to -how u.v lights were and are being used as treatment in the early stages of Covid lock down by eastern countries.
As a delivery method to share between the two sides this was lost in the gallery, this was supposed to bleed around the edges of the window side and was washed out by a large spotlight. it will change between galleries.
And viewed in the dark under U.V light it transforms to a flower impressionistic in nature yet dark in delivery.
And of course, the handles, made from 4 pawns, a nod to Duchamp.
spatial advantage. it’s a chess thing which makes it an art thing, You can google me.
“Fresh widow” was made in the 1920s. The title amused him as he exclaimed, " it is what an English man might sound like if pronouncing French window with a cold".
In conclusion one might say that the “Landscape of disbelief (unfinished)” is not firstly a conceptual piece of work as the “Fresh widow” was. It might be a social documentary on the cultural happening that has been 2020.
It could be a link to the material process and association? I leave this for the viewer to decide.
It was however the first in a series of windows that I have been working on during these strange times. Exploring past and present mixing the anthologies of artists that never met or are meeting for the first time in this way.
“The work has been displayed. However not with the permission of the artist. Left with the instruction that it needed to be displayed no less than 70cm from the ground and if should this not be possible then it would be collected and submitted at a later date. The gallery went ahead and displayed it without this consideration and hung it anyway, and after the exhibition comments and in regards to its showing height it became something relevant to the wheelchair user, the eye line of the artist. That's not this piece of work.
"It wasn't about that !"
It was about the interior and exterior , the internal and external, juxtaposition and space it was a contemplation of then and now
It wasn't a social out cry to spatial qualities and inequalities, not this one.
Whilst angry and feeling disregarded I decided to let it stay in the exhibition. It may have brought a new element to the work it brought a new element to me! It led me to understand its ok and some don't get it. That's ok too!
Not everything is about disability in my Art just because I use a wheelchair.
"The elements of a window in space is a topic that gave the piece a hint of the surreal and because of the method of display in the gallery it seemed grounded and lost a considered quality but gained another......."
To demonstrate the surreal . A photo.
In the Gallery the piece would of given the impression of the window having legs, I think this image demonstrates the loss of a considered element.
Accessibility Statement for www.crackedpainter.com
This is an accessibility statement from cracked painter studio.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. www.crackedpainter.com is fully conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. Fully conformant means that the content fully conforms to the accessibility standard without any exceptions.
Additional accessibility considerations
Every effort has been made to conform to accessibility requirements. Should there be anything that does not meet your requirements please feel free to contact me.
via the comment section found on the about page and we will endeavour to make it right.
We try to respond to feedback within 7 days. | 75,552 |
by Emily Waldrep
Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford wants to warn citizens of several phone and Internet scams circulating in the area recently. According to Weatherford almost all of the scams require people to send money outside of the country where law enforcement has little to no recourse to capture these types of criminals.
Nigeria, one of the main countries from where these scams originate, is not interested in stopping these types of crimes, so it is up to citizens to remain aware and diligent to prevent falling victim to a scam.
"One current scam is a Facebook lottery scam," Weatherford said. "People will hack into Facebook accounts and send them a message through Facebook that appears to come from a good friend and they say they want to let you know about a prize they won, and will say that they can win too. Then, the hacker will get you to send some amount of money to 'claim' your prize."
Chief Deputy Phil Ryan says that if someone asks you to send money to receive a prize, it is probably a scam.
"Scammers will also call the elderly pretending to be a bonds company saying a relative is locked up," Ryan said. "They usually will not be very forthcoming with information and will ask for an amount of money to get them out of jail."
Weatherford and Ryan want citizens to know that if someone calls and wants money to get a relative out of jail, make sure to do your research before sending any amount of money because it is probably a scam.
A third type of scam is something Ryan calls a 'Pay day Loan' scam.
"Scammers will call and say that you have defaulted on a payday loan and will threaten felony charges if you do not pay it immediately," Ryan said. "That is a scam too."
Ryan says if you have any questions about scams or if you think you may be being scammed, you should call the police.
"Sadly, if you have fallen victim to a scam there is almost nothing we can do," Ryan said.
Weatherford warns citizens that the elderly are often victim to these types of crimes, and if there is any question about whether something is a scam, call the police or the Sheriff's Department. | 163,643 |
Coast Guard Icebreaker Requirements
T-RCED-89-24: Published: Apr 12, 1989. Publicly Released: Apr 12, 1989.
- Full Report:
GAO discussed the Coast Guard's plans to purchase a new icebreaker, and identified alternatives to purchasing a new vessel. GAO found that the Coast Guard estimated that it would cost $330 million to acquire the icebreaker, and about $7 million in annual operating costs. GAO also found that, although it could not determine whether the Coast Guard actually needed the new icebreaker, it believed that the Coast Guard needed to resolve: (1) the impact of budget constraints on its and other agencies' ability to use the icebreaker to conduct planned research; (2) proposed cost-sharing arrangements with other agencies, which provided little or no incentives for agencies to identify those needs that could be funded; (3) disagreements with the National Science Foundation (NSF) regarding the need for a backup vessel for resupply activities; (4) the uncertainties regarding the number of days the icebreaker would be used, since other agencies planned to obtain their own vessels; (5) the availability of the icebreaker for wartime use; and (6) the adequacy of the new vessel's design to support the type of research and activities performed by current icebreakers. GAO identified alternatives for the Coast Guard to meet its icebreaker needs, including: (1) assigning a third crew to alternate between its existing vessels; (2) relocating its two icebreakers from their current home port to reduce transit time; and (3) obtaining icebreakers from other countries. | 201,051 |
Library, University of Maine, Orono, ca. 1930
Contributed by Maine Historical Society
Purchase a reproduction of this item on VintageMaineImages.com.
Carnegie Hall library was built in 1903 at the University of Maine, Orono. Andrew Carnegie, who funded libraries across the country did not usually give to college libraries, but made a personal donation of $50,000 for this building.
It was used as a library until 1947.
- Title: Library, University of Maine, Orono, ca. 1930
- Creator: Machleith Photo System
- Creation Date: circa 1930
- Subject Date: circa 1930
- Town: Orono
- County: Penobscot
- State: ME
- Media: Postcard
- Dimensions (cm): 9 x 14
- Local Code: Postcards 2005.134
- Object Type: Image
For more information about this item, contact:
Maine Historical Society
489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
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If you'd like to privately share a comment with MMN staff, please use this form. | 153,174 |
Statute of Limitations Explained
By Sandy Attwood [July 19th, 2012]
Guest post contributed by Sandy Attwood, for Attorneys.com. Sandy is a criminal defense attorney and in her spare time she enjoys writing about various other aspects of the law.
The statute of limitations is a policy in the legal system that enforces a time limit on prosecuting someone for a crime. It applies to both criminal and civil cases. Whether minor or significant, cases must be reported within a preset period of time; however, the statute of limitations does not apply to a heinous crime like murder. The maximum time to file a case can vary widely depending on the location and the offense. After the time limit, an institution called prescription will prevent the case from being filed.
By law, there is no loophole that can overturn this statute of limitations policy after the preset period of time has passed. However, the time will reset if the individual commits the same crime again. While on trial, the defendant must be prosecuted within the maximum time or the case will be dismissed. If, however, the defendant goes on the run during the trial, the statute of limitations will be suspended.
The purpose of the statute of limitations is to ensure that justice is done, both for the defendant and the plaintiff. The persons involved are encouraged to go to trial as quickly as possible because when a case is prolonged, evidence can be corrupted or disappear and memories can fade, leading to inaccurate testimony. There are countless defendants who have been wrongfully convicted due to a prolonged case.
Even those who have been suffering unknowingly long after an event took place will have to go by the statute of limitations. Cases such as medical malpractice, for example, still fall under this policy. If a person were to discover that their illness or injuries stemmed from negligence, they would have to file a suit within the time limit set by their state.
The subject of repressed memories has been a controversial issue within the legal system recently. A victim of abuse is given a set number of years after their 18th birthday to report the crime, but a victim testifying from repressed memories may have problems going to trial on their testimony alone. A case can be successfully prosecuted only with sufficient evidence, but reliable evidence of the abuse may be impossible to produce initially.
The statute of limitation is a code enforced throughout the world. However, the United States and most other nations do not apply the statute of limitations to heinous crimes, such as genocide and war crimes. Treaties have also inducted this code into international law.
The need to go to trial for any type of case is a hardship. It is an experience that could bring about significant emotional trauma, especially if the incident was violent. However, in order to ensure justice for a person's wrongdoing, the victim must react promptly. The police and a lawyer should be contacted as soon as possible. The individuals involved should cooperate and all evidence must be present to avoid any problems or lapses of justice in the case. If you are the victim of some type of crime, make sure you consider how the statute of limitations will affect your case. In some situations, it can be easy to lose track of how much time has passed. Your attorney can advise you how best to handle your specific case. | 23,754 |
MAYOR Bloomberg’s campaign volunteers are hit ting subway platforms to tell voters about his “plan to reform mass transit.”
In unveiling the plan Monday, candidate Mike said of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority that it “has not done enough,” and pledged to use the mayoralty’s “bully pulpit” to spur change.
But one key element is missing: the will to find the billions of dollars to pay for this investment in transit.
That the mayor said anything is good. No elected official has wanted to be accountable for transit for decades — even though transit is second only to policing in shaping quality of life. Now, Bloomberg is asking voters to hold him responsible.
The mayor has even told the press not to allow him to use one handy excuse: that he doesn’t control the MTA. Monday, he compared his new efforts to what he’s done with education, which he didn’t control either when he took office.
The improvements that Bloomberg has proposed are mostly sound, including reinvesting in F-train express tracks (which have lain dormant for decades) to give hundreds of thousands of outer-Brooklyn commuters a faster, less crowded commute.
He also called for faster bus service, to be achieved with police enforcement of bus lanes as well as better technology.
“Smart cards,” which riders would wave or tap instead of swipe, would speed bus boarding, while GPS technology would allow the MTA to track buses, control traffic lights and provide waiting customers with a real-time schedule. (The mayor’s proposal for free crosstown buses is a good idea only as a stop-gap before technology allows customers to pay quickly.)
Bloomberg further proposed that the MTA make use of similar technology on the subway so riders can learn when their train is coming.
The MTA is already doing some of this stuff. But Bloomberg’s interest would add political urgency — particularly if he folds all of his ideas into an easy-to-understand vision.
He could work toward a goal of “30 Minutes by 2030” — with the projects he outlined as the first steps in a 20-year plan to get commuters from well-populated outerborough neighborhoods to Midtown in half an hour. But it will all remain mere talk unless Bloomberg backs it up with cash.
Mass-transit investment is expensive. The mayor’s desire to offer waiting customers count-down clocks is part of a multibillion-dollar project to upgrade subway communications from Depression-era technology.
Sufficient money won’t come from the feds or state. Tackling bureaucracy is a fine idea — but not enough. To speed the projects he’s suggested and gain leverage over the MTA’s management, the mayor should dedicate $1.1 billion in city money each year — just 10 percent of what city taxpayers spend on education — to the MTA’s $5 billion annual capital budget.
Bloomberg could help fund projects that he thinks are most important for New Yorkers. And he could keep a close eye on what the MTA does with the money, hopefully cutting cost and schedule overruns and contract mischief.
Because the city is already so tax-saturated, finding that money requires cutting spending elsewhere — especially in the $13.6 billion that it will spend on pension and health-care benefits for public-sector workers this year.
To get big benefits reforms, Bloomberg needs use his “bully pulpit” and more to push the state — and success here would set a good example for the MTA, which has similar problems. Indeed, the mayor could push the state to cut MTA spending on union labor, so that new money goes toward service improvements for average New Yorkers, rather than benefits of a few privileged union members.
In his proposal, the mayor offered support for changing some union work rules to give the MTA more flexibility in scheduling workers. He should push state pols to address the contract’s too-young retirement age (55) and mostly taxpayer-paid health coverage, too.
An open letter to the state officials drawing up the next Transport Workers Union contract could explain how important it is for transit customers and taxpayers to get more from the union, including work-rules freedom to cut labor costs without endangering safety.
The mayor has given himself a tough task — but if he embraces it and succeeds, he’d leave New Yorkers with a valuable legacy.
From city-journal.org. Nicole@city-journal.org | 64,331 |
Text / Font Color:
Box Shadow Color:
box-shadow: 2px 2px 4px #004b00;
Text Shadow Color:
text-shadow: 2px 2px 2px #004b00;
The #004b00 HTML color code is made up of 0 Red, 75 Green, and 0 Blue. This color's complement is #4b004b, which is the opposite on the color wheel. The hue is at 120 degrees, with a saturation value at 100 percent and a lightness value of 14.71 percent. Therefore, this color can be considered to be dark, and have cool color temperature. In the CMYK color model (used in the printing process), the composition is 100% Cyan, 0% Magenta, 100% Yellow, and 71% key (black). Colors that look similar, to the #004b00 color, may be found within the Green Color Codes Group. | 93,652 |
Earlier today, President Obama delivered remarks at the Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection Summit at Stanford University. During his speech, he also signed an executive order promoting information sharing on cyber security threats between the private sector and government agencies.
“This is not a Democratic issue, or a Republican issue,” he said during his speech. “This is not a liberal or conservative issue. Everybody is online, and everybody is vulnerable.”
[ image courtesy of Pete Souza, Official White House Photo ] | 214,403 |
The question is as follows:
A wholesaler buys items at £25 each. Then sells this items in batches of 8 to the retailer at price of £36 per item. On average there are 25 faulty items in a thousand items.
Construct the probability distribution table for number of faulty items in a batch of 8 items.
Any help will be highly appreciated. thanks alot in advance | 265,139 |
But more interestingly, while as the latter piece states that in the decade before 2006 "the number of lone mothers had increased by 11% to 2.3 million", the proportion of families headed by a lone parent has barely changed over the past 10 years - increasing by less than 1%. Evidence that the tax and benefit system - or the "couple penalty" referred to in the first article - is driving people to live apart seems distinctly lacking.
This would be obvious to the 20,000 lone parents who call our helpline each year. They know that children who grow up in lone-parent families face twice the risk of poverty as those who live with two parents together.
Indeed, many of the poorer health outcomes reported for lone parents and their children - "more likely to develop long-term illnesses" - may well be explained by their poor financial situation, which was not researched. We know that poverty has a clear, independent effect on children's outcomes; we don't know the same for lone parenthood.
But most lone parents have been married, and the proportion of births which are registered to only one parent is declining. The stereotypical teenage mother on benefits recedes further into the distance when you consider that only 2% of lone mothers are in fact teenagers - their average age is 36. And despite still facing a lack of affordable childcare, flexible hours and appropriate training, nearly 60% are now in paid work.
So the idea that we are seeing a huge rise in family breakdown - or a "lone-parent nation" as your later report put it - all fuelled by the tax and benefit system, perhaps owes more to political expediency than to the facts.
Next week sees the opening of an exhibition on lone parenthood at the Women's Library. As it shows, lone parenthood is not a recent phenomenon - in the 19th century lone parents headed around the same proportion of families as today. Viewed as unfortunates after both wars, the 1950s saw a move towards a view of unmarried mothers as damaged, and the 1980s a move towards talk of an "underclass".
Misleading suggestions that lone parents are favoured by the tax and benefit system could lead to cuts in these benefits - despite all the evidence that tackling poverty in lone-parent families will be vital if the government is to meet its ambitious child-poverty target.
And these distortions also matter because they help to create prejudice which affects people's everyday lives. As one lone parent told us in recent research: "You're either a benefits scrounger or you're a man-hating career woman who neglects her children. And actually most of us are just trying to do the best we can." | 250,162 |
Only the meaning of the vectors denoted by , is different. At it can be seen from (50) and (51), Lorentz's definition of these vectors still allows, to separate the contributions of aether and matter to electromagnetic energy and electromagnetic momentum; however, formulas apply to these contributions, which do not allow a simple interpretation any more.
§ 11. Consideration of the temporal change of and .
Up to now, we have considered the dielectric constant and the magnetic permeability as quantities, which have constant values for a given material point, or at least (see § 10) are varying in a specified way with velocity. The case, that these values depend on the state of deformation of the body, and thus on time, we haven't considered yet. Now, as to how are these considerations to be modified, when and are not equal to zero?
A) Theories of H. Hertz and E. Cohn.
If we employ formulas (23) of Hertz's theory, or formulas (26) of Cohn's theory, then we find in the case that and are depending on time, that instead of (18) the following relation takes place
where it is set
there it is assumed, that the earlier expressions (24) and (27) hold for the momentum density.
B) Theories of H. Minkowski and H. A. Lorentz.
The calculation becomes somewhat more complicated, when one employs the connecting equations (36) and (37) of Minkowski’s theory. The terms
are not only to be inserted in the right-hand side of (38), but also – when the terms which contain and are calculated – the variability of and is to be considered in (38c). Also a relation in the form of (54) is given, when the value of is not changed; though the | 46,446 |
A discovery at Rice University aims to make vehicles that run on compressed natural gas more practical. It might also prolong the shelf life of bottled beer and soda.
The Rice lab of chemist James Tour has enhanced a polymer material to make it far more impermeable to pressurized gas and far lighter than the metal in tanks now used to contain the gas.
The combination could be a boon for an auto industry under pressure to market consumer cars that use cheaper natural gas. It could also find a market in food and beverage packaging.
Tour and his colleagues at Rice and in Hungary, Slovenia and India reported their results this week in the online edition of the American Chemistry Society journal ACS Nano.
By adding modified, single-atom-thick graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) to thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), the Rice lab made it 1,000 times harder for gas molecules to escape, Tour said. That's due to the ribbons' even dispersion through the material. Because gas molecules cannot penetrate GNRs, they are faced with a "tortuous path" to freedom, he said.
The researchers acknowledged that a solid, two-dimensional sheet of graphene might be the perfect barrier to gas, but the production of graphene in such bulk quantities is not yet practical, Tour said.
But graphene nanoribbons are already there. Tour's breakthrough "unzipping" technique for turning multiwalled carbon nanotubes into GNRs, first revealed in Nature in 2009, has been licensed for industrial production. "These are being produced in bulk, which should also make containers cheaper," he said.
The researchers led by Rice graduate student Changsheng Xiang produced thin films of the composite material by solution casting GNRs treated with hexadecane and TPU, a block copolymer of polyurethane that combines hard and soft materials. The tiny amount of treated GNRs accounted for no more than 0.5 percent of the composite's weight. But the overlapping 200- to 300-nanometer-wide ribbons dispersed so well that they were nearly as effective as large-sheet graphene in containing gas molecules. The GNRs' geometry makes them far better than graphene sheets for processing into composites, Tour said.
They tested GNR/TPU films by putting pressurized nitrogen on one side and a vacuum on the other side. For films with no GNRs, the pressure dropped to zero in about 100 seconds as nitrogen escaped into the vacuum chamber. With GNRs at 0.5 percent, the pressure didn't budge over 1,000 seconds, and it dropped only slightly over more than 18 hours.
Stress and strain tests also found that the 0.5 percent ratio was optimal for enhancing the polymer's strength.
"The idea is to increase the toughness of the tank and make it impermeable to gas," Tour said. "This becomes increasingly important as automakers think about powering cars with natural gas. Metal tanks that can handle natural gas under pressure are often much heavier than the automakers would like."
He said the material could help to solve long-standing problems in food packaging, too.
"Remember when you were a kid, you'd get a balloon and it would be wilted the next day? That's because gas molecules go through rubber or plastic," Tour said. "It took years for scientists to figure out how to make a plastic bottle for soda. Once, you couldn't get a carbonated drink in anything but a glass bottle, until they figured out how to modify plastic to contain the carbon dioxide bubbles. And even now, bottled soda goes flat after a period of months.
"Beer has a bigger problem and, in some ways, it's the reverse problem," he said. "Oxygen molecules get in through plastic and make the beer go bad." Bottles that are effectively impermeable could lead to brew that stays fresh on the shelf for far longer, Tour said.
Co-authors of the paper are Rice graduate students Daniel Hashim, Zheng Yan, Zhiwei Peng, Chih-Chau Hwang, Gedeng Ruan and Errol Samuel; Rice alumnus Paris Cox; Bostjan Genorio, a former postdoctoral researcher at Rice and now an assistant professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Akos Kukovecz, an associate professor of chemistry, and Zóltan Kónya, a researcher, both at the University of Szeged, Hungary; Parambath Sudeep, a research scholar at Cochin University of Science and Technology, India; Rice senior faculty fellow Robert Vajtai; and Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and of chemistry at Rice. Tour is the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry as well as a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of computer science at Rice.
The Air Force Research Laboratory through the University Technology Corp., the Office of Naval Research MURI graphene program and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research MURI program supported the research.
Read the abstract at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn404843n
This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2013/10/10/tanks-graphene-rice-advances-compressed-gas-storage/
Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews
Tour Group: http://www.jmtour.com
Rice researchers unzip the future: http://news.rice.edu/2009/04/15/rice-researchers-unzip-the-future/
Images for download:
A composite material created at Rice University is nearly impervious to gas and may lead to efficient storage of compressed natural gas for vehicles. A 65-micrometer-wide polymer film, photographed edge-on with an electron microscope, contains a tiny amount of enhanced graphene nanoribbons that present gas molecules a "tortuous path" to escape. (Credit: Changsheng Xiang/Rice University)
A close-up cross section of graphene nanoribbon-enhanced polymer shows the ribbons as white dots dispersed through the material, where they effectively block gas molecules from passing through. The material created at Rice University could be useful for storing compressed gas in a lighter, stronger vessel and for food packaging. (Credit: Changsheng Xiang/Rice University)
An electron microscope image shows graphene nanoribbons embedded in a block copolymer. The composite material created at Rice University shows promise for containing compressed natural gas and for food packaging. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,708 undergraduates and 2,374 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 2 for "best value" among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to http://tinyurl.com/AboutRiceU.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system. | 120,490 |
All humans are 99.5% genetically similar to any other human yet there is tremendous variation among us. Why is there variation in skin color? Why do most of us suffer from altitude sickness but there are people in the Andes and the Himalayas who live at extreme elevations? How does malaria explain why, for over 30 years, all the finalists in the men’s Olympic 100-meters had a recent ancestry in Sub-Saharan West Africa? To understand variation we need to understand how evolution has shaped us and how the environment has influenced our evolution.
We will use empirical approaches to understand patterns of variation in appearance, in physiology, and in (athletic) performance among individuals across the world. The questions that we will address are important, not only to understand diversity among individuals, but also because the foundational approaches that you will develop in this class will provide you with skills to understand how science is done. You will learn to think like a scientist and to interpret data. In the future when you read in the New York Times about the latest discoveries, you will be able put these discoveries into context and make your own evaluation about the validity of new findings | 223,295 |
Subsidies certainly are a form of authorities economic support that helps businesses pay for a portion of their development costs. They will are often times offered in the form of taxes credits or perhaps reimbursements. These types of programs may be effective in encouraging specified businesses to purchase research and development. Additionally , they can help start-up businesses survive deficits and be large enough to be profitable.
Financial assistance are also within encouraging the availability of a number of products. That they reduce the costs for producers, increasing the number of systems produced although keeping the value the same. However , they can likewise lead to excessive generation. Subsidies could also be used to reduce costs in other industrial sectors, such as food, healthcare, education, and water.
Some forms of government financial and financial assistance are roundabout and provide value to both government as well as the recipient. For instance, cash subsidies from the authorities help to increase the expansion of industries like myrrdin-inc.com/2020/03/30/digital-technology-in-the-modern-world renewable energy and small businesses. A few of these subsidies can be interest-free financial loans and federal government loans with lower interest rates than individual lenders. In addition , government loans might have better terms and conditions, including deferred repayments and flexible payment plans.
Financial aid are a common feature of economies around the globe, and they are specifically prevalent in China. The Chinese economy alone is the greatest consumer of food subsidies, with subsidies totaling $2. 3 trillion in 2015. The United States, Spain, and India are among the other major contributing factors of financial assistance. | 85,005 |
The standard model of Mercator projection shows a cylinder wrapped around a spherical earth eg Wiki.
Many sites describe the resulting square map like this:
"...spherical Mercator maps use an extent of the world from -180 to 180 longitude, and from -85.0511 to 85.0511 latitude. ... a cutoff in the north-south direction is required, and this particular cutoff results in a perfect square of projected meters."
This would result in a mapping from degrees latitude (Φ) to Y from the X axis of Y = R.tan(Φ), but this does not return 85.0511 as the angle for which the map is a square where Y= 2 Π R
The standard mapping equation provided in the literature is Y = R ln (tan( Π/4 + Φ/2)). I am looking for a physical interpretation of this formula, as it is certainly not the classical one of a sphere inside a cylinder. Can anyone throw some light please? | 167,097 |
We offer our clients gold standard anaesthesia with Propofol and gas anaesthesia, which is monitored by our nursing team. We also offer all our patients pre- anaesthetic blood test to screen for any underlying disease such as diabetes, liver problems or kidney problems. We would particularly advise this for older patients.
The practice has two ultrasound machines. This is very useful for pregnancy scans as well as diagnosing womb, bladder and prostrate problems and imaging the liver bowel and heart.
We have state of the art Digital X-Ray on site for rapid accurate diagnosis.
It is very useful after road traffic accidents where we suspect fractured limbs as well as diagnosis of foreign body and other internal problems.
We have our own in house blood machine where haematology and biochemistry can be done on site and results are provided within an hour. This can often mean the difference between life and death for very sick patients.
We have a microscope where skin scrapes can be examined on site. We can also do full skin work ups for accurate diagnosis
In the practice we have facilities for examining the eye in more detail. Glaucoma and anterior uveitis are common conditions in dogs and cats, which are painful but can also cause blindness. We have a special device called a tonapen to measure the intra-ocular pressure, which helps us to make an accurate diagnosis and treatment for these cases.
Over three quarters of cats and dogs over three years of age suffer some degree of dental disease. Our nurses are trained to examine your dog or cat for dental problems. We have a dental machine on site to provide full dental care for your pet.
We now offer keyhole surgery as an alternative to open surgery for certain procedures. Keyhole spaying was pioneered in Ireland in 2011, by our vet Eamon Walsh.
Keyhole surgery is achieved through small incisions using a camera to view inside the abdomen, and specialised instruments to manipulate tissue. Keyhole spaying can be carried out on both cats and dogs.
This minimally invasive method is virtually bloodless, less painful than open surgery and has a very fast recovery time for your pet.
Find out more here
Government legislation came into effect on April 1st 2016, making it compulsory for all dogs to be microchipped and registered with a Government approved database. Under the new legislation, dog owners must also obtain a Dog Microchipping Certificate from the database provider to prove that their dog is properly microchipped and registered. Dog owners must also keep their contact details up to date and register any change of contact details or change of ownership on the database.
“Compulsory Microchipping and Certification will have huge animal welfare benefits, by ensuring a much loved lost dog is returned to it’s owner in a timely and efficient manner thus reducing the stress and trauma to owner and dog alike. The law will also ease the pressure in pounds throughout Ireland by reducing the number of stray dogs entering the pound system. Mandatory registration and certification will also help to promote responsible dog ownership. We are pleased to support this initiate by offering low cast microchipping at The All Care Veterinary Clinic . | 96,210 |
Success Story: Fishkill Elementary
Engaging Families at Fishkill Elementary
Fishkill Elementary is a school of nearly 500 students in New York’s Hudson Valley, approximately 90 miles north of New York City. It serves a diverse community in which many of the parents commute to full-time jobs or take care of younger children at home, making involvement in the school difficult.
To make volunteer opportunities more accessible and more appealing, and thus increasing parent involvement in the school, the Fishkill School Leadership Team decided to initiate PTA Three for Me. The principal introduced the program at Parents as Partners Night at the start of the school year. Teachers wore “Ask Me About Three for Me” badges, used in-class introductions to invite parents to complete Three for Me promise cards, and explained how parents could volunteer on committees, at events, in the classroom, or even from home. Throughout the year, the PTA newsletter featured volunteer opportunities, while the program’s coordinator regularly distributed program reminders, progress reports, and volunteer stories.
Three for Me was a catalyst for parent involvement. Seventy percent of the school’s families now complete at least three hours of volunteer work during the year, with a significant number continuing to volunteer beyond their original commitment. The school has developed a more welcoming climate and a culture of volunteering, thanks to this growing network of parent volunteers. Parents who previously just crossed paths when picking up their children now have relationships with each other through their volunteering efforts, and everyone is invested in the common goal of supporting every child’s school success. | 100,482 |
Moms Go Where Angels Fear to Tread: Adventures in Motherhood
by Joan Wester Anderson
New York: Guideposts, 2009
Joan Wester Anderson,
New York Times best-selling author of "Where Angels Walk," has turned her attention to motherhood in "Moms Go Where Angels Fear to Tread: Adventures in Motherhood." Anderson is the mother of five grown children. As such, she has much wisdom and experience to impart to those of us still in the trenches. For example, "If you rely on God's help and second on your own good instincts, you'll be happier for it."
Anderson regales her audience with humorous tales of her own experience of motherhood that will have fellow mothers nodding and laughing in agreement. Anderson tackles such topics as attempting to remodel a house, the stress that is the month of February (how can such a short month cause so much trouble?), sending children to school for the first time, taking children to the doctors only to have them be miraculously healed in the waiting room, and watching a child perform onstage for the first time. Anderson concludes each chapter with a wise quote regarding the topic at hand. One of my favorites was from Father Ron Rolheiser: "A mother rearing children . . . is forced, almost against her will, to constantly stretch her heart. For years, her time is never her own, her own needs have to be kept in second place and every time she turns around a hand is reaching out and demanding something. She hears the monastic bell many times during the day and she has to drop things in midsentence and respond, not because she wants to, but because it is time for that activity and time isn't her time, but God's."
"Moms Go Where Angels Fear to Tread" is an enjoyable romp through the experience of motherhood. It will both make you laugh and tug at your heartstrings. | 232,340 |
- Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building - http://inhabitat.com -
BOOKLAMPS by Atelier Bomdesign
Posted By NK On April 16, 2007 @ 2:00 pm In Art,Green Lighting,Green Products,Recycled Materials | 4 Comments
The Dutch design shop Atelier Bomdesign features several products fabricated from recycled materials. By far, our favorite is the Booklamp (or Boeklampen, in the native tongue), a clever take on reading light- proving that books are for both learning AND lighting. Used books are beautifully re-crafted and shaped into shades that emit a soft glow. As they are handcrafted, the Booklamps are perhaps more art than everyday fixture, and are priced accordingly (200-400 euros).
Article printed from Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building: http://inhabitat.com
URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/booklamps-by-atelier-bomdesign/
URLs in this post:
Image: http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/booklamp.jpg
Atelier Bomdesign: http://www.bomdesign.nl/index.html
Booklamp: http://www.bomdesign.nl/productshop/boeklampen.html
Copyright © 2011 Inhabitat Local - New York. All rights reserved. | 127,841 |
imagine1day + WE
imagine1day is pleased to announce it is joining forces with Canadian non-profit WE Charity.
The two organizations will be working together to grow the impact in Ethiopia, support sustainable development in East Africa, and provide efficient shared governance, management, and operations.
Over the past 10 years, imagine1day has built 43 schools, trained 12,000 teachers and leaders, and enrolled 68,000 previously out-of-school children. Through its holistic and sustainable focus, imagine1day has improved education in 487 schools, and directly impacted more than a quarter of a million people.
WE Charity, through WE Villages, has been engineering an international development model to end poverty for over 20 years, and currently operates in eight countries. In East Africa, WE Charity has 15 years’ experience working in partnership with communities in Kenya and Tanzania. Like imagine1day, this work has focused on community ownership and sustainable solutions for rural communities.
Development in Ethiopia will continue, building off the incredible success of imagine1day’s work to date, and expand to include WE’s five Pillars of Impact model, which includes an holistic approach to education, health, water, food and economic opportunity.
This is an exciting and monumental merger of ideas, innovations, and passion, where imagine1day and WE will build off each other’s strengths to create a new, exciting and impactful future together. Together, imagine1day and WE will tackle more of the causes of poverty and barriers to quality education faced in Ethiopia, and create a new future for the children of Ethiopia.
How does this impact development work in Ethiopia?
WE and imagine1day will continue to partner with rural Ethiopian communities and build on imagine1day’s 10-year track record of success in the country, through its focus on partnerships, leadership development, school construction, and pedagogy training. Our dedicated on-the-ground staff will continue to make an incredible impact, and we will honour all our commitments to communities, teachers, students, and donors.
Going forward, we are committed to creating a new, impactful future together. We will unite our organizations and build on the strengths each one offers. WE will look to implement the WE Villages model in Ethiopia, starting in the first communities over the next year-and-a-half. The focus on education will continue and, through WE’s holistic development model, more of the barriers to quality education will be addressed.
What alignment is there between imagine1day and WE?
Our two organizations share similar visions and values. Both organizations support holistic development, community involvement and buy-in, and partnerships with local and regional leaders – all of which ensures our impacts are sustainable.
WE has been helping build up sustainable communities in Kenya and Tanzania for over 15 years, and around the world for over 20. Through this time, WE has developed expertise in working in an East African context, and in remote and semi-arid regions.
With this depth of experience, WE will continue and grow the impactful work of imagine1day in Ethiopia and lead projects moving forward with the incredible team there, under the leadership of Country Director Seid Aman. With imagine1day’s focus on education, WE will help to bring coordination from WE’s headquarters in Toronto to the team on the ground. WE will also share insights into expanding projects within its other Pillars of Impact, including clean water and sanitation, health, agriculture and food security, and income and livelihood opportunities, to ensure the incredible work being done in Ethiopia continues to be holistic and sustainable.
What does this mean for the ‘Imagine 100%’ donation promise?
imagine1day has directed 100% of its donations to our programs in Ethiopia, thanks to a generous endowment that covered our administrations costs. imagine1day and WE are strategically reinvesting some of this fund directly into programmes that will drive further innovations and impact in Ethiopia.
Any donations you have made or pledged to imagine1day to date will be 100% directed towards our on-the-ground programme in Ethiopia.
Going forward, WE is committed to delivering the greatest impact per dollar donated. On average, at least 90 cents of every dollar goes directly to support WE Charity’s projects and programmes — less than 10% of money raised is spent on administration.
What does this mean for the imagine1day USA Foundation?
The imagine1day USA Foundation is an independent US-registered charity, separate from imagine1day International Organization. The imagine1day USA Foundation will continue to operate and raise funds for education in Ethiopia.
I want to know more!
Visit the WE website to learn more about their five-pillar development model.
Contact us if you have further questions. | 14,283 |
Stephan A Padoschâ 1, Dirk W Lachenmeier*â 2 and Lars U Krönerâ 3
Addresses: 1 Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany; 2 Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt (CVUA) Karlsruhe, WeiÃenburger Str. 3, D-76187 Karlsruhe, Germany; 3 Institut für Rechtsmedizin der Universität zu Köln, Melatengürtel 60â62, D-50823 Köln, Germany
The theory of a previous gross overestimation of the thujone content of absinthe may have been
verified by a number of independent studies. Based on the current available evidence, thujone
concentrations of both pre-ban and modern absinthes may not have been able to cause detrimental
health effects other than those encountered in common alcoholism. Today, a questionable
tendency of absinthe manufacturers can be ascertained that use the ancient theories of absinthism
as a targeted marketing strategy to bring absinthe into the spheres of a legal drug-of-abuse.
Misleading advertisements of aphrodisiac or psychotropic effects of absinthe try to re-establish
absinthe's former reputation. In distinction from commercially manufactured absinthes with limited
thujone content, a health risk to consumers is the uncontrolled trade of potentially unsafe herbal
products such as absinthe essences that are readily available over the internet.
Absinthe â a bitter spirit containing wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) (Figure 1) and other herbs â was one of the most popular alcoholic beverages of late 19th century Europe. The emerald green drink was consumed by people from all walks of life, including the bohemian upper class, artists, poets and intellectuals. While the lower classes celebrated l'heure verte (the green hour) in numerous bars and cafés, painters and poets created famous paintings and poems dedicated to the "green fairy." Absinthe was popular in fin-de-siècle Paris and la vie bohème of Prague. The most remarkable celebrity known as an absinthe drinker is the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853â1890, Figure 2), whose illness is still a matter of debate among neurologists and psychiatrists [ 1 -7]. Other famous painters of the time, such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gaugin, and illustrious poets like Oscar Wilde, Charles Baudelaire, and Edgar Allan Poe were all fond of absinthe.
|Wormwood, Artemisia absinthium L., drawing of plant, flowers, seeds and fruits (drawing by W. Müller, 1885 reproduced from Thomé )||Vincent van Gogh: Still Life with absinthe (Paris 1887). The picture shows one of the countless cafés in Paris, in which absinthe was served. Next to the glass filled with absinthe, a |
water bottle is illustrated, which was necessary for drinking
Because absinthe consumption reached excessive and alarming proportions at the turn of the 19th century, many European governments, as well as the U.S. administration, successively banned the icon of la vie bohème by several prohibition acts. Absinthe was used as an easy target of the temperance movement with the aim of later prohibiting alcohol in general. But absinthe remained a singularity as the only kind of alcoholic beverage with a long-term ban. In some European countries (e.g. UK, Spain, Czech Republic), however, the "green fairy" survived, but consumption was comparatively low. The European Council enacted in 1988 the directive "on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to flavorings for use in foodstuffs and to source materials for their production," that re-allowed wormwood as ingredient of alcoholic beverages. However, maximum limits of the wormwood ingredient thujone (Figure 3), which was speculated to be the most probable cause for absinthism, were issued .
Because of this change of policy, absinthe has seen a recent resurgence. In contrast to the social, legal and medical problems of the late 19th century, today the image of the "green fairy" has markedly changed, but still remains titillating. Today's so called "new absinthe" is offered as a newly fashionable, exclusive drink for yuppie parties with claimed properties ranging from spiritual elucidation to aphrodisiac stimulation â with corresponding pricing. In parallel, a fan club within the internet community has emerged. Absinthe can be purchased via the internet from various countries worldwide, making it possible to receive it in countries where it is not legally available. Moreover, numerous recipes for the self-production of absinthe are available on the internet. To date, it is unclear if the re-licensing of absinthe will cause similar or even new and different forensic, medical and social problems as it did in the late 1800's.
Structure of ±- and ²-thujone, the principal components
of wormwood oil (Artemisia absinthium L.).
This article provides information on the history of absinthe and a prime constituent, thujone. Medical and toxicological aspects experienced and discovered before the prohibition of absinthe are discussed in detail, along with their impact on the current situation. It is the intention of the authors to provide a comprehensive overview of this topic of multifaceted interest and to discuss this issue objectively.
The rise and fall of wormwood spirits
Documented medical use of wormwood can be dated back to the Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian medical document dating from about 1552 B.C. and the oldest preserved medical document . This papyrus is believed to be a copy of the even more ancient books of Thoth (3500 B.C.). The name "wormwood" is derived from its anthelmintic properties, which were recognized by the ancient Egyptians.
Wormwood, in the context of its bitter taste, is mentioned several times in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 9:15, 13:15). In the biblical context, the plant represented a curse, calamity (Lamentations 3:15) or injustice (Amos 5:7). In Revelations 8:11, the Greek equivalent ho apsinthos is used as a name for a star that fell into the waters and turned them bitter. The Greek word apsinthion â undrinkable â is most probably the ancestor of the word absinthe. The Greek mathematician and philosopher, Pythagoras of Samos (569-475 B.C.), recommended wine-soaked wormwood leaves to alleviate labor pains; Hippocrates (~460-377 B.C.) used wormwood extracts for the treatment of menstrual pain and rheumatism .
Pliny the Elder (23â79), the Roman scholar and scientist, also mentioned extracts of wormwood in his opus Historia Naturalis [11 ]. In the Middle Ages, wormwood was used as a purge and vermifuge, and it developed towards a "general remedy for all diseases" and was "a herb of Mars" for its medical powers . Wormwood's bitter taste inspired women in those days to apply it to their nipples to encourage the weaning of their babies. In fact, Shakespeare has Juliet's nurse expound upon this in Romeo and Juliet.
The image of just a bitter medicine changed to a popular drink among the masses in the 16th century. The so-called Purl of Tudor England was a drink composed of hot ale and wormwood. Dried leaves of wormwood were infused in proof-spirits, distilled, and sweetened with sugar as prescribed in Smith's Complete Body of Distilling in 1731 [12 ]. The French physician Pierre Ordinaire is supposedly the originator of the classic absinthe recipe. Being acquainted with the ancient use of wormwood, he began to develop a recipe for an alcoholic drink, which probably contained wormwood, anise, hyssop, dittany, sweet flag, melissa and varying amounts of coriander, veronica, chamomile, parsley and (allegedly) spinach. Dr. Ordinaire, who had fled the French revolution, settled down in Val-de-Travers in western Switzerland, which has remained an important centre of absinthe production. In the small town of Couvet, the elixir (68%vol) soon attained the nickname fée verte.
After Dr. Ordinaire's death, his recipe came into the possession of Henri-Louis Pernod, who began the commercial production of absinthe in 1797. In 1805, Pernod moved to Pontarlier, France, to serve the French market; the distillery had one still with a daily capacity of 16 litres. The widespread use of alcoholic drinks containing wormwood extract might have also resulted from the use of wormwood as a preventive measure for helminthiasis and fevers during the French conquest of Algeria (1830â 1847). The soldiers returning to France discovered absinthe as a tasty substitute for their wormwood medicine [13 ].
Due to a rising interest in anise-based spirits as well as increased promotion and advertising, the production of Pernod's absinthe was increased up to a 125,000 liter scale in 1896. This was aided by the drastically reduced production of red wine in these years due to major damages caused by the vine pest. The emerald spirit was, however, known to be enjoyed excessively on both sides of the Atlantic [ 14].
The annual per capita consumption of absinthe in France increased fifteen-fold between 1875 and 1913. According to an article in The Times (1915), French consumption of pure alcohol in 1876 was 15,500 hectoliters; it was 10 times that amount in 1908, and in 1913 it had reached the figure of 239,492 hectoliters, representing 60 liters per inhabitant . Parallel to this mass consumption and its consequences, anti-alcohol movements, winegrowers and clergy called for the banning of absinthe. Many murders and other acts of violence were attributed to the influence of absinthe.
Furthermore, the medical community had developed a strong scientific and medical case against absinthe, attributing an increase in insanity and other serious medical problems to an overindulgence in the drink . It was widely believed that the problem with alcohol was not the quantity consumed but the quality. The absinthe prohibition crusade in France was a paradoxical campaign in which the wine-producers, suppliers of the vast majority of alcoholic drinks consumed, backed the temperance movement . The attention being given to absinthe's supposed unique qualities can be seen as an attempt to reduce alcoholism without specifically touching alcohol. However, it also may have diverted efforts away from the genuine dangers of heavy alcohol consumption [ 16].
At first, concerns about absinthe were ignored, especially by the French government, due to lucrative revenues resulting from the enormous scale of absinthe sales. By the end of the 19th century, temperance forces had succeeded in getting the attention of almost all of France through educational programs and public awareness campaigns. In 1908 a bill was passed that, ironically, increased the amount of alcohol in absinthe, the argument being that the requirement for higher alcoholic strength would eliminate those producers who used artificial essences with lower standards of purity [13 ]. Only rising concerns about a weakening of military power in the light of absinthe abuse, especially in the army, pressured the French government to ban absinthe in 1915. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had already issued the Food Inspection Decision 147, which banned absinthe in the U.S., on 25th July 1912. Belgium, Switzerland and Italy had also passed laws prohibiting absinthe in 1905, 1908 and 1913 respectively; finally, Germany outlawed the green fairy on 27th April 1923 [ 17 ].
Prestwich concluded that the prohibition of absinthe did little to improve the health of the French people as deprived of their traditional absinthe consumers merely switched to similar drinks. In addition, by stressing the problem of essences and impure alcohol, temperance campaigners distracted both medical research and the public from the real cause of alcoholism, namely the excessive consumption of any type of alcoholic drink .
For further information about the social history of absinthe, which goes beyond the scope of this review, the book of Adams is recommended . Further informa tion is available in the works of Arnold [19,20], Baker [ 10 ], Conrad , Lanier , Marrus , and Prestwich [ 18 ]. Information about absinthes' paraphernalia and the drinking ritual is available in an article of Hood .
Definition of pre-ban absinthe
The drink to which we refer as "pre-ban absinthe" was the icon of the belle époque. When dealing with good quality absinthes, recipe books distinguished between absinthe Suisse, with an alcohol content of approximately 68â72% vol, absinthe demi-fine, with 50â68% vol and absinthe ordinaire, with a content of 45â50% vol. Absinthe suisse was considered the highest quality and consisted of pure herbal distillate, while in the other types, the distillate was diluted with ethyl alcohol. According to these widely ranging contents, these absinthes must have contained different concentrations of thujone.
A definition of absinthe was provided in Swiss law at the time of the prohibition of absinthe. According to this definition, every spirit drink, without regard to its method of production, that contains aromatic compounds of wormwood herb in combination with other aromatic compounds derived from plants such as anise and fennel, is defined as absinthe . Thu jone was regarded as being the determining factor amongst the aromatic compounds in terms of detecting wormwood spirits .
In the first step of traditional recipes for distilled absinthe, wormwood and other dried herbs (e.g., anise, fennel) are macerated. The macerate of the wormwood herb is of greenish-brown color, smells aromatic, like all Artemisia species, and reminds one of the composite herbs, like camomile. The taste is lightly stinging, strongly bitter and camphoric. The following distillation of the macerate results in a distillate that is reduced from the bitter compounds, which are relatively non-volatile. The distillation is conducted in a still with a very flat helmet slowly heated in a water or steam bath to avoid boilover that would negatively influence the product quality [ 26 , 27]. The distilla tion process is usually stopped at an alcoholic strength of 60%vol [27 , 28]. The characteristic, lightly volatile, fine aromatic components of the wormwood aroma appear in the first fraction between 80 and 60% volume, while the middle fractions posses a cinnamon or clove-like aroma [ 29 ]. Distillation of absinthe should never be carried on to the end, as the taste of the product would be too strong, and less fine . Therefore, only the main fractions (heart) are used for the production of high-quality absinthe. The heads and tailings are collected separately and added to subsequent macerations or used to make absinthe ordinaire after renewed rectification [ 28 ].
As emphasized by Arnold , the distillation of absinthe may have been a type of "steam distillation" as significant amounts of water were added to the alcoholic macerate prior to distillation. Due to the influence of steam distilla tion, higher thujone may have been distilled over .
In the second step, wormwood (usually Artemisia pontica) and other herbs are added to the colorless distillate. This is done to accomplish the characteristic green colouring by chlorophyll and to achieve a mild bitter taste, as well as to extract other aromatic compounds. Because of the easy denaturation of chlorophyll through light and warmth, the characteristic color of a traditionally produced absinthe is pale greenish-yellow. Afterwards, the beverage is diluted with water until drinking strength is reached.
Typical historic recipes are given in the books of Duplais [ 30 ], Fritsch [ 27], Bedel [ 31 ] and de Brevans . The composition of herbs used along with the wormwood differs from recipe to recipe. To improve the taste or add coloring, anise, star anise, lemon balm, hyssop, juniper, nutmeg, veronica, angelica root, melissa, coriander, camomile or parsley were added. Each country produced its own types of absinthe. For example, in the Czech Republic, peppermint was added, but neither anise nor fennel. In Switzerland, melissa, hyssop or angelica root were added to the Swiss alpine wormwood, which was a valued ingredient due to its strong aroma , while in France, coriander was added.
Because the essential oils from the diverse herbs can be kept in solution only in high alcohol concentrations, the addition of water causes a precipitation visible as an opaque clouding of absinthe. This phenomenon is called the Louche effect. The characteristic bitterness is caused by sesquiterpene-lactone absinthin, which can still be organoleptically detected in a concentration as low as 1 g in about 70 liters. Due to different historical aspects of absinthe, a sub-division into the historic "pre-ban absinthe" and the currently available "modern absinthe" will be used in this article.
Pre-ban absinthe â a target for food adulteration
Besides the above-mentioned herbal ingredients, different manufacturers of absinthe sometimes used strange or even toxic additives such as methanol, sweet flag (Acorus calamus L.), tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.), nutmeg (Myristica fragrans HOUT), antimony, aniline green, copper sulfate and cupric acetate indigo.
The Lancet reported that, in the days of pre-ban absinthe, antimony (antimonyl tartrate) was added with the well-meant intent to decrease absinthe's toxicity. However, it was questionable even in 1873 if "quantities of tartar emetic" would not rather adulterate the spirit as it would cause nausea, sickness and toxic effects of its own . From today's view it is more likely that antimony salts were added to make absinthe turn milky when adding water simulating the Louche effect. Increasing consumption, which arose competition among the manufacturers, flooded the market with such imitations of absinthe. Absinthe can so easily be adulterated that Emerson won dered if the genuine article was still in existence .
In addition, instead of traditional production by distillation, absinthe could be made using herbal essences. According to Tibbles, the color of properly made absinthe is entirely due to chlorophyll derived from the green leaves of wormwood, hyssop, spinach, parsley, nettles and veronica; however, in the years preceding 1912, the spirit was most frequently colored by artificial agents . Con venience products like absinthe extracts, which had only to be dissolved in alcohol and colored with food dye , were also commercially available at that time. As food adulteration, the light green color of chlorophyll was sometimes enhanced with inorganic salts like copper sul phate or copper acetate . Inferior and falsified prod ucts were typically made by mixing industrial alcohol with flavorings and artificial food dyes, in the worst case with antimony trichloride, and copper salts.
Another general problem at that time was that heads and tailings, which were separated from the product fractions during distillation by legal manufacturers, were purchased by illegal manufacturers and used as a main component for adulterated absinthe products. The alcohol employed for absinthe was described to have been "frequently very impure" . Emerson also wondered if total abolish ment had occurred if the beverage had remained in its purity [ 34]. Given these facts, it is easily comprehensible that the prohibition of such a mixture could successfully eradicate a whole syndrome overnight.
Most absinthe brands available today contain mainly the same herbal ingredients and extracts as pre-ban absinthe. Absinthe produced within the European Union is limited in its thujone content to 35 mg/l (maximum limit for bitter spirits) [ 8 ].
Top grade absinthe products are still manufactured according to traditional recipes, without the addition of dye or other additives. Some products are made of herbal distillates and are differentiated by a mild flavor. Because such products are colorless, they are sold as Blanche or La Bleue. Types with a lower alcoholic strength and added sugar are sold as absinthe-liqueurs. Independent of traditional recipes, many products sold nowadays are made with readily bought finished extracts of wormwood or other plants, which are blended with ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin. For the coloring artificial dye is used, especially mixtures of tartrazin (E102, FD&C Yellow No. 5) and patent blue V (E131) or brilliant blue FCF (E133). Inferior products contain no herbal extracts and are made solely by the blending of artificial flavors, coloring and ethyl alcohol .
In cases like this, sometimes even the macerated herbs are not distilled but only filtrated, diluted to drinking strength and bottled. These products have a strong pronounced taste of wormwood and a very strong, bitter taste. Further falsification is possible with the addition of extracts of other thujone-containing plants (e.g., Thuja occidentalis L., Salvia officinalis L.).
Nineteenth century studies about absinthism
Clincial effects of absinthism
When discussing the clinical effects of thujone and absinthe, it should be kept in mind that the majority of the data available was derived from clinical observations made in the late 1800's and are therefore lacking reliability and clinical significance.
With the increasing mass consumption of absinthe, more and more of the chronic â and most probably high-dose â absinthe consumers developed seizures, speech impairment, sleep disorder, mental prostration, auditory and visual hallucinations and finally death. This collection of symptoms gave birth to the term "absinthism;" it is unclear, however, if this syndrome ever really existed at all. Absinthism in these days was supposedly further characterized by brain damage, gastrointestinal problems, risk of psychiatric disease and even suicide . Even an increased incidence of oesophageal cancer in absinthe drinkers was noticed . In contrast, other authors rec ommended moderate doses of absinthe as a valuable remedy against depressions [ 40].
|Table 1: Main acute and chronic effects of absinthe reported in the 19th century|
| Acute effects ||Chronic absinthism|
softening of the brain
Both the serious and the populist medical literature of the day demonized absinthe, in many cases laying the groundwork for the anti-absinthe temperance movement. The definition of absinthism as a particular syndrome separate from alcoholism is intimately connected with the French physician Valentin Magnan. A biography of Mag- nan is available in a recent review article .
In Magnan's work about absinthism between 1864 and 1874 he described visual and auditory hallucinations accompanied by alterations in consciousness after consumption of absinthe [42,43]. Other authors described acute symp toms of absinthe, such as hallucination, restlessness, con fusion, delirium and seizures (Table 1). Symptomatic differences between the drinker of absinthe and the ordinary alcoholic were presented at the First International Eugenics Congress: in absinthism, the "hallucination insanity" was described to be "more active with sudden attacks of delirium, more terrifying, sometimes provoking most dangerous reactions of extreme violence" . In addition, complete statistics of the central service for the admission of insane persons for the town of Paris were given. In the years 1867â1912, a number of 16,532 patients were treated for alcoholic intoxication. 70.3% of all patients were diagnosed as "chronic alcoholics," but only 1.0% of all patients were found to have symptoms of absinthism. Due to the high consumption of absinthe in Paris of that time, one questions if very severe forms of chronic alcoholism were misleadingly described as absinthism.
In a clinical report on a case of absinthe intoxication, published in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal (today the New England Journal of Medicine) in 1868, Amory, a former pupil of Magnan, observed "pleural effusions", "epileptiform seizures" and a "reddish discoloration of the urine" [ 38 ]. The latter symptom can be interpreted â among other possible causes â as an episode of acute porphyria. It has been shown in vitro that thujone and other terpenes exhibit porphyrogenic properties. In primary chicken embryo liver cell cultures, an acute porphyria-like state was mimicked by the addition of the iron chelator desferrioxamine. Upon addition of thujone, a marked accumulation of protoporphyrin was observed. Bonkovsky et al. concluded that the tested terpenes, i.e., thujone, are porphyrinogenic and hazardous, especially to patients with underlying defects in hepatic heme synthesis .
Animal experiments with wormwood extract
It has to be stressed again that clinical reports of these days were more or less only descriptive or speculative, as causal connections between absinthe and thujone and the above-mentioned symptoms could never reliably be
proven. However, experimental studies were performed on animals to prove that wormwood was the causing agent of absinthism, especially the seizures. All these studies were carried out using so-called "essence d'absinthe" (pharmaceutical wormwood extracts) or pure etheric oil of wormwood, however, often only the term "absinthe" was used for these extracts. Even in current history books the terms "absinthe" and "essence d'absinthe" are misleadingly used as synonymous .
|Table 2: Comparative table between symptoms of absinthism and alcoholism according to animal experiments of Amory (1868) .|
|Absinthism (Injection of pure wormwood extract (0.8â4.5 g)||Alcoholism (Injection of alcohol (0.8â5 g) into the stomach of into the stomach of different animals) different animals)|
|Animal perfectly well for fifteen minutes, at the least after the ingestion; with the exception of a few muscular twichings and a slight uneasiness.|
Muscular agitation, commencing in the anterior portion of the body.
Epileptiform convulsions and rigidity, resulting in a rapid death. No apparent lesion, except, perhaps a slight cerebral congestion, showing the cause of death to be intoxication of the poison.
| In a very few minutes symptoms of inebriation resulting in torpor. |
Paralysis, commencing in posterior extremities, and then extending to the anterior.
Paralysis of both posterior and anterior extremities in succession. No convulsions. Stupor, coma, resolution and a gradual death.
Lesions of the brain and of the alimentary canal; gastritis and enteritis might have supervened, had the animals lived long enough for their development.
If injected in pure form, wormwood extracts and alcohol showed distinctly different symptoms (Table 2). These results were generalized and transferred to humans who drank high concentrations of alcohol in combination with low concentrations of wormwood extract. In further experiments, guinea pigs â among other small animals â were placed in the presence of wormwood essence, while the control guinea pig was "shut up with a saucer of pure alcohol." In contrast to the animal breathing alcohol, which was reported to have simply become drunk, the guinea pig inhaling the vapors of wormwood experienced initial excitement and subsequently seizures [43 ].
These experiments and deductions of Magnan et al. were criticized as early as 1869, when The Lancet commented upon the inadequacy of the evidence produced in order to prove that absinthism was different in its nature from chronic alcoholism. The sleeplessness, the tremor, the hallucinations, the paralysis, and even the seizures, were described to be well-known symptoms of simple alcoholic excess. The effect of inhalation of concentrated wormwood fumes was seen as not transferable to the effect of very small, continuous oral doses . In Great Britain, the hostility against Magnans experiments led so far that the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals prosecuted three English doctors for assisting Magnan in 1874 in demonstrating that intravenous injection of wormwood extracts into a dog induced epilepsy. The prosecution failed as Magnan had discreetly returned to France .
Further investigations were undertaken to determine the origin of the fits in wormwood epilepsy by Boyce . For this purpose, numerous lesions were made both in the brain and spinal cord of cats, and wormwood administered immediately or after a lapse of days or weeks. It was found that wormwood, acting upon the bulbo-spinal centers (including the cerebellum) alone, could produce a series of "clonic fits", differing from the cortical in the slower rhythm of the contractions. In experiments of Ott upon rabbits those results were disputed as no "spinal" but only "cortical convulsions" were determined, which raises the question if the crude techniques of the 19th century were suitable at all to determine the physiological origin of epilepsy [ 50 ].
In the noteworthy work of Ossipow, the problem of different wormwood extracts to achieve epilepsy in animals was discussed for the first time . The failure of some researchers to replicate the experiments of Magnan was explained by misunderstandings between "absinthe", "essence d'absinthe", and "extrait d'absinthe". Ossipow stressed that only the "essence d'absinthe" (alcohol-free wormwood oil) and not the ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage (in France called "extrait d'absinthe") is usable to trigger seizures in animals.
Further studies were conducted by Cunningham [52 ] and Lesieur . The only consistent conclusion that can be drawn from all these animal experiments is that wormwood oil but not absinthe is a potent agent to cause seizures in animals.
Degeneration and absinthism
A further strong argument of the anti-absinthe phalanx was grounded on the Lamarckian theories of the inheritance of diseases (Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, 1744â1829). According to these theories, any traits acquired by absinthe drinkers would be passed on to their children. The idea of degeneration was also used by Magnan to explain mental illnesses . It is interesting to note that this hereditary feature was also ascribed to alcoholism.
|Table 3: Summary of data about toxicology of thujone|| |
|Toxicity data|| |
|oral LD50 in rats||192 mg/kg bw|| |
oral LD50 in rats
500 mg/kg bw
iv LD50 in rabbits
0.031 mg/kg bw
NOEL for convulsions in rats
12.5 mg/kg bw (males)
NOEL for convulsions in rats
5 mg/kg bw (females), 10 mg/kg bw (males)
NOEL for convulsions in rats
5 mg/kg bw
TDI (based on NOEL with safety factor of 500)
10 µg/kg bw/d
2-,4-, and 7-hydroxylation
Mechanism of toxicity
GABA Type A modulation (α-thujone neurotoxicity, convulsant effects)
Mechanism of toxicity
Porphyrogenicity (determined in cultures of chick embryo liver cells)
5-HT3 receptor modulation, but no conclusive evidence for psychotropic actions of thujone
The condition of absinthism was introduced into late 19th century medicine together with the first emerging descrip tions of alcoholism . Intriguingly, this fact could hold the key for the solution of the debate about whether absinthism was a clinical pattern of its own and how it should be distinguished from chronic alcoholism. As mentioned previously, due to the low solubility of etheric oils, absinthe usually contains high concentrations of ethanol, which means that there was no ingestion of thujone without ingestion of remarkably high quantities of ethanol.
Recently, in an editorial, Strang et al. raised the question of "absinthe: what's your poison?" . To us, however, the question is really what happened to the symptoms of absinthism after its prohibition. Did this mysterious syndrome disappear abruptly or did these symptoms simply continue to exist among chronic alcohol abusers under the name of alcoholism, which seems to be more tolerated by society? Finally, as with so many facets of the green fairy, this issue remains controversial and perhaps will never be solved.
Modern studies about pharmacology and toxicology of thujone
In the 20th century, as a consequence of the description of the bicyclic monoterpene thujone as the main component of wormwood oil, the main focus of scientific studies was changed from the research of wormwood extract to isolated thujone. It must be stressed, however, that besides the β-thujone chemotype of the wormwood plant further chemotypes were described, which contain cis-chrysan-thenylacetat, cis-chrysanthenol, cis-expoxyocimene, sabi nylacetate or bornylacetate as principal component [57 63]. In the west alpine area above 1000 m the cis-epoxyo-cimen type is predominat, while the β-thujone type rather exists in the lower zones . In wormwood oil from the Tuscany or the Pyrenees neither α- nor β-thujone could be detected. These significant differences in composition of wormwood may also be attributable for the previously described failure of some researchers to replicate the animal experiments of Magnan.
The acute and chronic toxicology of thujone were reviewed in the WHO Food Additives Series 16 and more recently by the Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission [66 ]. The principal data are sum marized in Table 3. The toxicological evaluations led to the establishment of maximum limits for thujone (35 mg/ l in bitters) by the Codex Alimentarius Commission of the FAO/WHO [ 67], which were adopted by many countries including the European Union and Switzerland but not the USA, where manufacture and importation of absinthe is still prohibited [69,70]. It was noted, however, that in the USA consumption and possession remained legal, so that travelers returning to the USA with a bottle or customers buying it from Europe on the internet are not guilty of any crime, though they could have their bot tle confiscated [71 ].
Until today, only little valid data are available concerning the effect of α-/β-thujone, especially in regard to the influence on the central nervous system after absinthe consumption. In comparison to β-thujone, α-thujone is believed to be 2.3 fold more toxic . A recent study of Dettling et al. showed that the administration of alcohol containing a high concentration of thujone (100 mg/l) had a negative effect on attention performance [73 ]. When the subjects were under the influence of alcohol or were administered both alcohol and low thujone concentrations (10 mg/l), these effects were not observed. Similarly, it was found that only high concentrations of thujone could temporarily counteract the anxiolytic effect of alcohol.
The interaction of α-thujone with γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) dependent chloride channels can explain its convulsant effects [ 72, 74 - 76]. It was determined that α-thu-jone acts like many naturally occurring and synthetic convulsive agents (e.g. picrotoxin) by blocking GABA mediated inhibition. The effect on the brain is excitatory (analeptic). Anxiogenic and possibly alerting effects of GABA antagonists were also noted. However, Olsen commented that in absinthe one is balancing the effect of thujone with the intoxicating, disinhibitory, and depressant effects of ethanol .
Deiml et al. were not addressing the toxicity but instead were researching the 5-HT3 receptor as a potential site of psychotropic actions of α-thujone. In homomeric receptors, α-thujone enhanced the inherent channel-blocking potency of the natural ligand, 5-HT. In heteromeric receptors, α-thujone recruited an additional channel-blocking component of the agonist. The authors could, therefore, prove a reduction of the 5-HT3 receptor activity, but it stayed open if this inhibitory action on serotonergic responses contributes to behavioral effects of thujone [ 77 ].
Interestingly, the activation of human bitter taste receptors by α-thujone was recently proven by Behrens et al. and it was found that the receptor is sufficiently sensitive to serve as protection against the ingestion of toxic amounts of this substance . However, it is questiona ble if these findings can be transferred to the ingestion of thujone in alcoholic beverages. Possible receptor interactions between thujone and ethanol as well as differences between sober and inebriated persons must be taken into account.
The sometimes observed porphyrinogenic effect of thujone and other terpenoids is explained with the pathway of metabolization by the hepatic cytochrome P-450 sys tem [46 , 76 , 79]. Under the presumption of relatively high thujone concentrations of 260 mg/l, Bonkovsky et al. speculated that if there is an appreciable hepatic first-pass extraction and if the rate of hepatic metabolism is not unusually rapid, the concentrations in the livers of absinthe drinkers could have been in the 20â200 µM range. Such concentrations would be sufficient to produce porphyric crises in patients with underlying defects in hepatic heme synthesis. An additional effect of ethanol, perhaps acting synergistically, was also anticipated, since ethanol and other short-chain alcohols found in alcoholic beverages are porphyrogenic .
Intoxication due to wormwood or thujone rarely occurs, either due to a misconceived belief in folk remedies or simple ignorance [80 ]. In 1862, Smith described a case of ingestion of about 14 ml of oil of wormwood by a male adult. The patient was insensible, convulsed, the jaw clenched, and foaming at the mouth; tendency to vomit was also present . To our knowledge, there is only one recent clinical case report by Weisbord et al. from the U.S. dealing with obvious acute thujone intoxication . A 31-year-old male had ingested "herbal oil," which he had assumed to be the spirit absinthe and had purchased over the internet from a website that sold essential oils for aromatherapy. Several hours later, the patient became listless, suffered tonic-clonic seizures and finally developed rhabdomyolysis and then acute renal failure. It is tempting to speculate that these symptoms were caused by thujone, however other ingredients of the herbal oil cannot be excluded as the culprit.
Very few data published only in non peer-reviewed literature exist about the pharmacology of thujone. Max pointed out that the typical 2â4 mg of thujone, which were consumed per drink were far below the level at which acute pharmacological effects are observed . This is confirmed by Hinkelbein, who states that by the consumption of absinthe, up to a blood alcohol concentration of 2.5 g/l, approximately 3.5 mg of thujone are ingested (0.005 mg/kg bodyweight) . In this order of magnitude, it is highly improbable that central effects can be caused by thujone.
A pilot drinking study by Kröner et al. resulted in high blood alcohol concentration, but as expected no thujone was detected [ 85]. The probands examined did not show any central effect caused by the terpenoids besides the effect of the alcohol. Therefore, the adverse potency of absinthe can be neglected, if the EU limit is obeyed.
The German federal institute for risk assessment holds the view that, even if the legal limit of 35 mg/l is significantly exceeded, the consumer does not ingest health-threaten-ing amounts of thujone. Because of the high alcoholic strength it is advised against a continuous and excessive consumption [86 ].
Toxicological rehabilitation of absinthe
Until recently, the thujone content of pre-ban absinthe was largely unknown and was calculated in 1992 by Arnold [ 20 ] to be as high as 260 mg/l (a value very often cited in the newer literature, e.g. Refs. [ 10 , 16, 46 , 56 , 87, 88 ]). The value of 260 mg/l was determined on the basis that 100 l of absinthe employed 2.5 kg of dried Artemisia absinthium (1.5% oil, of which 67% is thujone; corresponding to 251 mg/l of thujone in the final product) and 1 kg of dried Artemisia pontica for col-oration (0.34% oil, of which 25% is thujone, correspond ing to 9 mg/l of thujone in the final product) . Max independently calculated a similar concentration [83 ].These calculations assumed that the total amount of thujone would be recovered in the final product. The following three points were given by Arnold to support his calculation of relatively high concentrations. First, by adding water to the first decoction before heating, a type of "steam-distillation" was achieved wherein the amount of any constituent distilled over depends on both its vapor pressure and molecular weight. In this way the effect of a low vapor pressure for a particular compound may be counteracted to some extent by its high molecular weight relative to that of water. Second, the distillation head of the industrial apparatus was simple and little attempt was made to restrict carry-over by aerosol entrainment. And third, the purpose of the secondary extraction at moderate temperature was twofold, to achieve a green coloration and to add additional flavor [ 20 ].
However, it cannot be totally disregarded that during distillation a discrimination of thujone occurs. Historic recipe books prescribed the removal of the heads and tailings [ 26 -28 ]. Duplais, for example, indicates that after maceration in 16 l of alcohol (85%vol) and addition of 15 l of water, only 15 l of product are withdrawn. 1 l of alcohol is discarded in the process . In a non peer-reviewed magazine article, Turner described first experiments conducted by T. Breaux on a French distillery built in 1834. After distillation in a historic still built for absinthe, the thujone originally present in the macerate was not recov ered in the distillate [71 ]. The thujone content of absinthe can then only be caused by the second coloration step, which would lead to a concentration of 9 mg/l according to Arnold's calculation.
Baker reports another calculation that resulted in thujone concentrations of 60â90 mg/l . Wilson estimated in 1936 that absinthe made from essences contained 1.8 to 45 mg/l, and absinthe made with wormwood contained 2 to 34 mg/l of thujone.
Hutton pointed out that the thujone content of pre-ban absinthes could have been overestimated because of the insufficient analytical methods that were available at the time [ 88]. Historically applied methods for the determi nation of levels of thujone in absinthe were based upon iodometric titration or color reactions ; these sometimes provided only detection limits as high as 20 mg/l and were therefore unfit for the detection of small quantities. At the beginning of the 19th century, the most modern methods were based upon the reaction of thujone with sodium nitroprusside, sodium hydroxide and acetic acid and provided a limit of detection of 5 mg/l [ 92 ]. However, this color reaction was highly unspecific and therefore other essential oils, aldehydes and ketones led to a similar reaction to thujone. Even by improved sample preparation, it was not possible to avoid these interferences. A positive reaction in the case of thujone analysis could not automatically be interpreted in such a way as to prove that the spirit in question was made with wormwood. However, a negative result was regarded as proof of the absence of wormwood oil .
The sensitive and selective determination of thujone in spirits was only possible by using modern chromatographic methods. The first gas chromatographic method with a flame ionization detector for the determination of thujone in alcoholic beverages was developed by Mérat et al. in 1976 . In a recent study of our working group
[ 95 ] absinthes produced according to historic recipes did only contain relatively low concentrations of thujone (mean: 1.3 ± 1.6 mg/l, range: 0â4.3 mg/l), which is 50â 100 times below the NOEL (No observed effects level) of thujone for convulsions determined in animal experiments. A vintage absinthe from Tarragona (1930) showed a relatively low thujone concentration of 1.3 mg/l. Swiss Val-de-Travers absinthes from traditional small distilleries contained 9.4 and 1.7 mg/l of thujone. Krumm et al. verified our results by their production of absinthes after authentic French recipes. All manufactured products had thujone concentrations below 1.5 mg/l . Hutton found 6 mg/l of thujone in a Pernod absinthe from 1900 [ 88 ]. In a non peer-reviewed magazine article, Ashcraft reports tests on pre-ban absinthes conducted by T. Breaux, who found thujone amounts around 5 mg/l . Schaefer et al. found such low thujone concentrations (<0.01 mg/ l) in a legal French absinthe dating from 1904 that the authors even proposed the "toxicological rehabilitation" of absinthe [98 ]. In a current study of the neuropsychiatric toxicity of absinthe by Luauté et al. it was concluded that recent toxicological studies do not prove, any more than in Magnan's time, that the beverage itself was epilep togenic . The toxicity of pre-ban absinthes, as that of modern ones, was found to be essentially due to their alcohol content.
The theory of a gross overestimation of the thujone content was, therefore, verified by six independent studies [ 88 , 95- 99]. The discrepancy between the experimental findings of pre-ban absinthes (low thujone concentrations) and the calculations of Arnold and Max (high thu jone concentrations) [20,83] could not be resolved so far. Further research is needed to study the behavior of thujone during distillation. Considerable differences to the composition of the distillate may result between batch-wise distillation of diluted alcohol and fractional distillation of an undiluted macerate.
Currently no experimental evidence does suggest that historic absinthes had such high thujone contents to cause toxic effects. On the contrary, the analyzed historic products appear to have complied with today's maximum limits derived to exclude toxic or other unwanted effects. The feared return of absinthism, proclaimed e.g. by Hein et al. [ 100 ], Holstege et al. or Müller is therefore exaggerated. The effects of the recent types of absinthe are predominantly caused by the naturally high alcoholic strength (>50%vol), although it is possible to reach effective thujone blood levels, if illegally produced and distributed absinthe is ingested.
Present impact of absinthe due to change of policy in the European Union
The policy change in the European Union was primarily based on the fact that absinthe was never prohibited in some European countries including United Kingdom and Spain. Under regard of the toxicological studies given above, the prohibition in other European countries was seen as a trade barrier, so that a harmonization of the European law was enacted . Even if a renewal of absin thism can be ruled out, the recent re-emergence of absinthe led to some new problems.
In a recent study it was noted that thujone concentrations of more than 10 mg/l were found in 22% of commercial samples . Some of today's commercial samples appear to have higher thujone concentrations than pre-ban absinthes. This may be due to the questionable tendency of some absinthe manufacturers and suppliers to advertise the thujone content and supposed psychoactive or aphrodisiac properties of their products on their web-sites. The ancient theories of Magnan et al. are used as a targeted marketing strategy to bring absinthe into the sphere of a legal drug-of-abuse.
Baker alluded some of the anecdotal reports on the power of absinthe, which are detailed in a number of internet forums, to a mere placebo effect, especially since the brand in question contained virtually no wormwood at all [ 10 ]. A placebo effect is also a possible interpretation for the "vaunted aphrodisiac powers" of absinthe that were advertised in a 1971 Playboy feature on absinthe by Zol otow . We found no scientific evidence supporting the conclusion from the article that "absinthe is one of the best and safest aphrodisiacs ever invented by the mind of man". However, the aphrodisiac effects are nowadays even promised on some absinthe bottle labels.
In addition, slogans such as "contains the maximum allowed thujone concentration of 35 mg/l" should be critically judged by the appropriate authorities. Some so-called absinthe essences (with high thujone contents of 750 mg/l) are even sold on the internet as a possible means for customers to "regulate the thujone content" themselves, so that "it is no problem anymore to step behind the 35-mg border." Absinthe is also often misleadingly advertised as having a cannabis-like effect. This is based on a hypothesis â again â from Magnan that absinthe acts in the same way as hashish . The hypothesis was renewed in 1975 by relatively far-fetched findings stating that, because of structural similarities between thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), both substances might activate the same receptor in the central nervous system [ 104]; this could not be proven in later experiments by Meschler and Howlett . The THC-absinthe connection may serve as an archetype of how conjectural scientific evidence can enter our modern culture. A search on Google for "absinthe and THC" produces approximately 36,400 hits mostly of shopping sites, which advertise absinthe for psychoactive effects. In one case, the declaration "cannabis-like effect" was even found on a bottle label.
In closing it should not remain unmentioned that some high-quality distilleries have re-created absinthes according to pre-ban recipes [ 97 ]. Hopefully, after the recent de-restriction of absinthe in Switzerland, absinthe's country of origin, further high-grade products may show up on the market. Switzerland also proposed to introduce protected geographic denominations of origin and protected geographic indications on the labeling of absinthe, as well as the ban of artificial food dyes.
From this critical review of the literature, it is concluded that chronic abuse of absinthe did not cause any distinct syndrome. The so-called absinthism cannot exactly be distinguished from chronic alcoholism. The literature gives proof that the thujone concentrations of pre-ban absinthes were not able to cause such toxic effects (e.g. seizures) that were found in animal experiments with pure wormwood extracts. However, much of the literature is focused on thujone as the potentially toxic component of absinthe. The possibility remains that other constitutents found within wormwood or other ingredients of absinthe may cause potential health problems. The paucity of good scientific studies about absinthe, especially in the realm of chronic human consumption and long term effects of thujone-containing beverages must again be pointed out.
Based on the current available evidence, commercially manufactured absinthe appears to not cause detrimental health effects other than those encountered in common alcoholism. The exceptionally high alcoholic strength of absinthe (>50%vol) alone may lead to major health and social problems, but is not unique to this spirit. However, misleading advertisements of aphrodisiac or psychotropic effects of absinthe try to re-establish absinthe's former reputation. A health risk to consumers is also the uncontrolled trade of potentially unsafe herbal products such as absinthe essences that are readily available over the internet.
On absinthe, Marie Corelli once said: "Let me be mad, mad with the madness of absinthe, the wildest, most luxurious madness in the world" [ 105 ]. After having been banned from most European countries for almost a century, the emerald green, mysterious drink has returned to the market, resuming all the myths and legends of former years. After the green fairy had inspired the artistic and literary set of the belle époque and at the same time supposedly poisoned numerous people, the impact that absinthe will exert on modern society remains unclear.
The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.
SAP and LUK were responsible for the original concept and design of the article and drafted the sections "The rise and fall of wormwood spirits" and "Nineteenth century studies about absinthism". DWL contributed the sections "Definition of pre-ban absinthe", "Pre-ban absinthe â a target for food adulteration", "Modern absinthe", "Modern studies about pharmacology and toxicology of thujone", "Toxicological Rehabilitation of Absinthe", "Present Impact" and revised the final draft. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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* Corresponding author â Equal contributors
Published: 10 May 2006
Received: 28 March 2006
Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 2006, 1:14
Accepted: 10 May 2006
This article is available from: http://www.substanceabusepolicy.com/content/1/1/14
© 2006 Padosch et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access articl e distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
A Classic Cocktail
Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930
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CDC updates Zika guidance for Miami-Dade County, Florida
For Immediate Release: Friday, June 2, 2017
Contact: Media Relations,
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated guidance for people who travel to or live in Miami-Dade County to lift the Zika cautionary (yellow) area designation. There have been no new cases of local Zika virus transmission identified and no cases under investigation in Miami-Dade County for more than 45 days. Lifting the yellow area designation means that there are no longer any travel recommendations related to Zika virus for Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Although we do not know the level of risk of Zika virus transmission after a yellow area designation is lifted, it is likely to be low. However, sporadic cases may still occur. Zika virus can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus during pregnancy. Infection can cause microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. For this reason, we recommend that people living in or traveling to Miami-Dade County continue to protect themselves from mosquito-borne illnesses, including Zika virus.
- Because we do not know the level of risk for local transmission of Zika virus in Miami-Dade County, women and men who live in or travel to this area should remain aware of any new reports of Zika virus transmission in their area and should consider following steps to prevent mosquito bites to reduce their risk for illnesses spread by mosquitoes, including Zika virus.
- Pregnant women and their partners who live in or travel to this area who want to reduce their risk of Zika virus infection should use condoms every time they have sex or they should not have sex during the pregnancy. Because Zika virus can persist for months in semen, there may still be a continuing risk for sexual transmission, whether or not the partner had symptoms of Zika virus infection.
- Women who are not pregnant and men who live in or traveled to this area before June 2, 2017, who want to reduce their risk of Zika virus infection should consider using condoms every time they have sex, or not having sex. Men should consider condom use for at least 6 months, and women should consider condom use for at least 8 weeks from the last day of their visit, if traveling, or from June 2, 2017, if they live in the area.
- For additional testing and pregnancy planning recommendations, visit https://www.cdc.gov/zika/intheus/florida-update.html
As of May 24, 2017, a total of 5,300 cases of Zika virus infection have been reported in the continental United States and Hawaii through CDC’s ArboNET. These cases include 224 locally transmitted mosquito-borne cases, 48 cases believed to be the result of sexual transmission, one case that was the result of a laboratory exposure, and one case that was the result of person-to-person transmission through an unknown route.
For more information about Zika virus, visit https://www.cdc.gov/zika/. | 269,077 |
Can you change gears when bike off?
Anytime there is load on the transmission, it’s not going to want to shift gears, so the trick is to eliminate that load on the gear sprockets. Once the load is gone, you can shift. … When the throttle is all the way off, this will take pressure off the gear sprockets and allow your bike to shift into the next gear.
What gear should I ride my bike in?
A high gear, sometimes referred to by cyclists as a ‘big gear’, is optimal when descending or riding at high speeds. The highest, or biggest gear on a bicycle is achieved by combining the largest front chainring size with the smallest rear cog or sprocket — expressed as ’53×11′, for example.
What gear do you use to go uphill?
Step 1: Use the right drive gears.
While going uphill, use the D1, D2, or D3 gears to maintain higher RPMs and give your vehicle more climbing power and speed. Note: Most automatic vehicles have at least a D1 and D2 gear, while some models also have a D3 gear.
Is 7 speed bike enough?
7 Speed vs 21 Speed Bikes
The 7-speed is adequate for most riders, which is why many people choose the slower option. Because there are fewer gears and the bike’s build is less complicated, 7-speed cycles tend to be cheaper than 21-speed options.
Why are my bike gears so hard to change?
Cable tension and limit setting
The most obvious and common causes for poor shifting are down to poor adjustment and the most common thing to go out of adjustment is cable tension. … In the simplest of terms, sluggish upshifts can be caused by too little cable tension; while slow downshifts could be too much tension.
Why can’t I change gears on my bike?
This is usually caused by an overly tight gear cable or the low limiting screw that needs adjusting. You can test this by shifting to the lowest gear and seeing if your front derailleur is in line with the smallest chainring. If not, try adjusting the limiting screw. Alternatively, your gear cable may be too tight. | 79,985 |
Canstar Community News - ONLINE EDITION
These poles were made for walking
In the 1970s, we all heard about the average Swedish senior citizen being in better shape than the average 30-year-old Canadian. That taut old man was a call to arms. ParticipACTION commercials and the Canada Fitness Test in gym classes spurred us to get into shape.
I’m not sure if we’ve made much progress.
According to www.canadafacts.org, Canadian adults watch more an average of 28.8 hours of television a week. A 2010 Ipsos Reid survey reveals that Canadians spend more than 18 hours a week online. How many people do you know with gym memberships who rarely use them after an opening month flourish? How often do we uncover a new set of startling national obesity statistics?
If you’d like to increase your fitness level, an energetic lady in Norwood may be able to help you.
Lori Hildebrandt is a certified Nordic walking instructor and she loves to get people moving.
On any given night in Norwood, she leads a pack of cross-country walkers as they stride through neighbourhood streets with what look cross country ski poles.
Lori notes that urban poling, as it’s also known, is all the rage in Europe and is just beginning to take a foothold in Canada. The sport is very popular in B.C., with its year-round warmer climate. More and more people in Winnipeg are discovering this novel form of walking.
If you’re looking to emerge from your winter cocoon and are still a bit distressed about our reluctant spring, Nordic walking is an easy and convenient way to lift your spirits. No drive to a gym or expensive equipment is necessary. You simply pop out your door, pick up your poles, and get moving.
Lori learned about Nordic walking about seven years ago when her mother, an avid runner, was diagnosed with osteoarthritis, and had to find an exercise that was kinder to the joints.
Lori beams about the sport’s fitness benefits.
"It gets your arms involved in a big way and gets your heart rate up. It’s a full-body activity."
Participant Teresa Maguet loves the workout, both in a group and on her own. She joined after she saw Hilldebrandt’s signs in Norwood.
"It improves my posture, works my arms, and tones my stomach and core area," Maguet says.
Lori, a certified Nordic-walking instructor, recommends a little instruction before beginning. She can teach you the proper technique for different surfaces and how to adjust the poles for maximum performance.
All ages can participate. Lori has introduced the sport to Frontenac School in Windsor Park, where she teaches and leads a club of young Nordic walkers in a popular spring time extracurricular activity.
To learn more about the depth and breadth of this unique activity, check out www.urbanpoling.com. The blog at the site offers many personal and insightful comments about what you’d be getting into.
If you want to start a Nordic-walking group, purchase good quality poles or connect with Lori for quality instruction, check out her website, www.nordicwalkingwinnipeg.weebly.com.
Adriano Magnifico is a community correspondent for St. Boniface. You can contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
tables and css woodshop
Today in the CSS wood shop, the 3rd and 4th grade students made rockets as you can see in the photo above. They started with drawings last week and explained to me what they needed in preparation for today... nosecones and nozzles. So I turned those on the lathe prior to class.
The 1st and 2nd grade students continued work on their wooden Kangaroos, which they will finish next week.
This afternoon, I have been finishing my contemporary rustic tables, using modern walnut table bases to support rough edged, spalted fiddleback maple planks. Some would think the wood beautiful, some perhaps not. Some might find the unfinished textures offensive, but in my view, wood is nearly always beautiful and interesting, and making things from it can make it even more so. | 301,336 |
The project was of to a bad start: an inherited legacy codebase, a waterfall contract, and a projected loss. The promise of Kaizen or Continuous Improvement seemed very appealing. But when we tried to incorporate this into our process, it didn’t catch on. Biweekly retrospectives didn’t seem to expose any problems we could improve upon. The ceremonies we tried, like Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles, added too much overhead. We were doing something wrong.
Continuous Improvement implies that you know exactly where to focus your efforts. Like scientists, we started to experiment, without deciding upfront what we expected the outcome to be. The rules? Make every experiment as small as possible. No meetings, no consensus, no cumbersome evaluation process. We let the results speak for themselves. This talk explores the successes and failures of a team that went from survival mode to learning mode over the course of a year. | 104,861 |
Cliffs is turning to its pipeline of organic projects and development properties for growth. Through global exploration, we are expanding our resource base with drilling campaigns on mining tenements secured over recent years.
|Cliffs’ strategy to build scale in the steelmaking raw material sector is based on our belief in certain megatrends within the commodity industry.
- Demand is supported by continued global urbanization, specifically in emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil.
- Urbanization will increase the steel intensity rates, driven by housing and infrastructure.
- Rising disposable incomes also encourage construction related to leisure activities and personal services.
This development is anticipated to increase demand and is not expected to be matched by corresponding increases in supply. Quality from mature producing regions is deteriorating, while logistical networks for new mining districts are becoming more complex and costly to build.
Global Business Development
We have aligned our Global Business Development strategy to build a diverse mineral portfolio that supplies the steelmaking raw material industry. This is accomplished through the identification of acqusitions, exploration assets and partnerships that diversify our products and end markets, along with potential to expand production volumes.
Global Exploration Group
Our Global Exploration Group (GEG) is responsible for establishing partnerships with mining and exploration companies, with the primary objective of securing resources through direct investment and cooperative exploration efforts.
Our relationships with exploration companies allow us to invest capital in prospects for various commodities throughout the world. Presently, Cliffs has multiple exploration projects worldwide. | 228,052 |
If you're getting the sense that's the case, you'll want to do everything you can to turn things around.
"The relationship between you and your boss is likely the most important work relationship you can cultivate, so it's worth spending intentional time and effort building trust and fostering a good relationship," says Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author of "The Humor Advantage."
If your boss doesn't like you, it can negatively affect almost every aspect of your work and your overall happiness. "You may be unfairly passed over for promotions or raises; miss out on important assignments; never receive fair feedback; or be subjected to an atmosphere of resentment and distrust ultimately leading to increased levels of stress that eventually force you to search for a new job. It can also reflect poorly on your performance reviews and mean that you miss out on getting a fair referral when you move on to another job," Kerr explains.
But know that building trust and maintaining respect with your boss isn't about being a "suck up" or "cloying sycophant," he says. "It's about earning their respect. It's about being true to yourself and being authentic. And it's not about becoming best buddies with your boss."
Also keep in mind that there are terrible bosses out there who are bullies and rule through intimidation and fear. "In these cases, you may never win and you need to realize that the best thing you can do is to not compromise your own integrity and principles and move on to a better work situation," Kerr says.
Here's what to do if you think your boss secretly hates you: | 187,162 |
Harrison, one of scores of Allied servicemen who tried to flee Stalag Luft III during the Second World War, passed away aged 97, his care home said.
The former RAF pilot was waiting to go down the tunnel when the underground escape attempt was noticed, and he frantically burned his forged documentation before changing back into a PoW uniform.
A total of 76 prisoners broke out of the camp in March 1944, but only three reached safety. Fifty of those recaptured were shot.
The episode was featured in the blockbusting 1963 film, which starred the likes of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner and Richard Attenborough.
Mr Harrison had been working as a Latin and classical teacher at Dornoch Academy in Sutherland when he was called up to serve in the RAF as a pilot.
He was shot down on his first mission in November 1942, to bomb German supply ships at the Dutch port of Den Helder.
After being captured by German forces, he was eventually transferred to Stalag Luft III on the Polish border.
On the night of March 24, 1944, around 200 prisoners prepared to escape through a tunnel code-named Harry about 33ft (10m) under the ground. Two other passages, called Tom and Dick, had already been discovered by the camp guards.
Mr Harrison was number 98 on the escape list, but the breakout was noticed as the 77th PoW was making his bid for freedom.
The veteran pilot spent his last years at Erskine veterans' home in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, and died on Friday last week.
A joint statement from Mr Harrison's son and daughter, Chris and Jane, said: ''To others he was considered a war hero, but to us he was much more than that.
''He was a family man first and foremost as well as a church elder, Rotarian, scholar, traveller and athlete.
''He took up marathon running in his 70s to raise money for charity. He was a caring father and grandfather and he will be missed by the whole family.
''We are indebted to Erskine for the care and attention that he and we have received over the past two and a half years.''
After the war, Mr Harrison returned to his wife Jean in Glasgow and resumed his career as a teacher.
In 1958 the family moved to Rothesay, where Mr Harrison was appointed director of education for the Isle of Bute. | 271,778 |
This page is part of the web mail archives of SRFI 43 from before July 7th, 2015. The new archives for SRFI 43 contain all messages, not just those from before July 7th, 2015.
The prototype of vector-find does not specify the function's return value, which should probably be "value". It might also be mentioned that the return value is ambiguous with regard to #f, which might be a vector element that satisfied the predicate, or signal that the end of the vector was reached without satisfying the predicate. The return value of vector-find-tail, on the other hand, should probably be "vector" instead of "value", as the reference implementation will return an empty vector in case no element satisfied the predicate. The prototype of vector-any should probably be (vector-any pred? vec1 ... vecn), otherwise the variable "n" in the following discussion would be unbound. In many other functions defined in section 4.7, the arity of the predicate is not specified. Is this deliberate? Regards Michael Burschik | 99,784 |
A break-up of the eurozone would lead to faster growth and spare weaker members of the single currency decades of depression and deflation, one of the UK's leading forecasting groups said today.
Capital Economics said that, far from being a potential disaster that would result in economic chaos, the return of national currencies would enable Europe to break out of a prolonged period of weak expansion.
Christopher Smallwood, the author of the report, said the problem was that Germany refused to expand its demand to help countries such as Greece and Portugal grow their way out of difficulty.
"The eurozone with Germany at its core operates as a system with a strong deflationary bias – one in which the whole burden of adjustment falls on deficit countries obliged to take strong deflationary action. As long as the eurozone continues to play by these rules, there is no alternative to many years of economic pain," he said.
Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland have all announced austerity packages to cut their budget deficits and to stimulate export-led growth.
Smallwood, formerly an economic adviser to Barclays, said that Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain would be better off outside the euro area since that would result in a fall in their currencies and restore the competitiveness lost during their membership of the single currency.
He added, however, that this would still leave a problem for other core members of the euro area, such as France, which would continue to suffer from the "deflationary bias" in German economic policy unless Berlin agreed to restore the Deutschmark.
Smallwood said the result of such a move would be a rising currency that would wipe out Germany's trade surplus and force the country to boost domestic demand to prevent the country sliding into deflation. "Restoring the mark would lead to the rebalancing of the German economy which cannot occur as long as it remains in the eurozone. "This is the best option for Europe. For the sake of the future economic health and success of the European Union, the eurozone needs to break up." | 120,340 |
There are a lot of articles and blogs out there which talk about the importance of having a solid business plan when launching a new business, but what does a business plan need to include? It can seem a daunting task when you’ve never been faced with writing a business plan before, but it’s a crucial task that will enable your venture to start and continue on a solid foundation. A business plan is also necessary when you’re looking to secure funding or investment. Essentially, a business plan is your vision for how the business will run, what you expect to achieve, and how you will achieve those things. To help you get started, here are seven aspects you must cover in your business plan.
A business plan should begin with a simple summary of the business plan, which catches the attention and imagination of the person reading it. They should want to know more about your company, so keep it short and engaging. Although it will sit at the start of your business plan, it’s often best to write it last when the rest of your plan is in place. This will help you to focus on what’s important. Generally speaking, the executive summary should include the name and location of your business, the services and/or products you offer, your vision and mission statements and the purpose of the plan, e.g., to secure funding or investment or to set out your strategy. If you are applying for a business loan, it’s best to compare as many options as possible to ensure you’re getting the right option. Websites like www.biz2credit.com/ are a great place to start.
The company description explains what the business is, what the goals are, and how it operates. This will usually include its legal structure, its history, the demand it will meet, an overview of services/products, who your customers and/or suppliers are, any growth already achieved, your business objectives (long and short term) and where profits will come from.
When describing the product or service you’re selling you should focus on the benefits offered to customers, why your product or service has a place in the market and how it improves on what is offered by competitors. You should also specify information about suppliers and costs and what net profit our expect from sales and any relevant patents or copyright information. Learn how patents can help increase your profits and prevent your competition from copying your products or services here.
You should have already completed detailed market research, and it’s important to show your analysis and key findings in your business plan. This may include your target audience by demographics and customer segmentation, an overview of the sector with statistics, an evaluation of your competitors and their strengths and weaknesses as well as historical and projected marketing information for your service or product. You can include detailed statistics in an appendix.
You need to tell the reader how you will promote your business and sell your products, what it will cost, the processes and logistics involved, labor and employees required, operating hours and where the business will operate from. This should cover the whole lifecycle of the product from sourcing supplies to delivering to the customer.
When you’ve completed your market research and analysis, you should work in collaboration with a professional accountant to include several aspects of financial information. This should include any historical financial information such as balance sheets or income and cash flow statements, forecasted income, business funding needs, and expenditure as well as projected turnover and profits.
Your business plan should also illustrate your company’s organization structure, including owners, directors, managers, departments, and employees. You should include the names of owners, and what percentage of the business they own, how involved they are in the company’s operation and their relevant skills and experience. If you have any advisors such as attorneys, accountants or board members you should include these too. | 185,485 |
Although we have invented EuroEngineers to illustrate the points in this article, it would be typical of many other mid-size enterprises in Germany and other parts of the Eurozone. EuroEngineers has an annual turnover of around €2 billion and 3,500 employees. The main markets for its sales are the EU, US and, to a lesser degree, Asia. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and mainly finances its operations through bank loans. The company’s IT, treasury and HR functions, as well as its R&D and production, are centrally located in Germany. However, some minor production facilities are located in Ireland and Hungary and supply of components and assembly takes place in the sales markets. So, what are the extreme scenarios which EuroEngineers might be confronted with in the short and long run, and what is the likely impact on the company?
The fate of the euro will have a significant influence on demand within EuroEngineers’ markets. There are essentially two extreme and disruptive outcomes that the company will need to plan for. On the one side is the preservation of the common currency within the Eurozone through structural reforms, austerity measures and shared fiscal policy in a more deeply integrated EU. On the other is the collapse of the euro in its current form and breakup of the Eurozone. The breakup might range from a single state leaving the monetary union to the full deconstruction of the shared European currency.
The structural reforms and austerity measures of the first scenario would primarily consist of reduced public spending and higher income taxes. These cutbacks, together with significant cuts in pay in troubled Eurozone member states, would cause a drop in demand in these countries. Suppliers in weaker Eurozone markets are especially likely to suffer from these difficult conditions and might fall into bankruptcy. Falling demand would also curtail exports in more stable Eurozone markets and lead to lower growth prospects within the Eurozone. Growth would become more and more reliant on emerging markets. Thus companies in Europe would face increasing pressure to lower costs to cope with global competition in emerging markets. This increase may even accelerate in the long run: While the current period of uncertainty is causing investors to seek safe havens and the euro to depreciate, its value is expected to increase again in the long run as trust in the European currency returns. With a stronger euro the global competitiveness of EuroEngineers decreases further.
To offset these risks, the preservation of a common currency for most of Europe would keep transaction and administrative costs at a relatively low level and enhance planning security. In the long run, the structural reforms that are likely to follow in the wake of austerity measures might cause markets in weaker Eurozone member states to grow, equalise European tax systems and push further deregulation. Over time, low interest rates and regained trust in capital markets would also boost investments and growth in the Eurozone. Figure 1 compares the risks with the opportunities.
The opposite scenario describes a breakup of the Eurozone in its current form. The breakup might lead to an immediate drying up of orders and investments, and plunge the Eurozone into an even deeper recession than in the first scenario. Again, the value of the euro is likely to drop in the short term. However, once a smaller Eurozone with stronger member states is established, its value would probably rise even higher relative to the first scenario. Thus, EuroEngineers’ products would become less competitive and exports might decrease further over time. Conditions in the credit markets would also deteriorate in a similar way to the first scenario, though a rapid collapse of the euro would squeeze liquidity even further.
Weaker member states exiting the Eurozone would probably return to their former currencies. In such cases, those currencies can be expected to decrease in value, leading to a corresponding decrease of the value of the assets in these countries. This, in turn, leads to depreciation and corresponding losses on EuroEngineers’ books. Should the new currency decrease in value, the exiting state is widely expected to impose capital controls to stem sudden outflows from a deeply devalued new currency. Such controls would greatly restrict EuroEngineers’ ability to bring money out of that country.
Alongside these risks, there are also long-term opportunities emanating from a Eurozone breakup. Should the former Eurozone markets have to go through a massive devaluation, while some markets find their currency’s value increased, our company, with its German headquarters, may benefit from these foreign exchange (FX) opportunities, for example, by finding chances to cheaply acquire companies in those weaker states. As a company’s credit rating also reflects country-specific factors and Germany currently enjoys higher political and economic stability relative to the troubled Eurozone markets, EuroEngineers might find easier access to capital for investments. Governments in former Eurozone markets might also offer lower taxes and investment incentives in order to attract investment. Figure 2 compares the risks with the opportunities.
Looking at the risks and opportunities surrounding each of these scenarios, what practical conclusions could EuroEngineers draw from the outcomes?
To prepare for these extreme scenarios, EuroEngineers might open its short- and long-term contingency planning with a focus on sales, procurement, financing, treasury, legal issues and IT. While some of these contingency measures are useful in both scenarios, others are specific for an eventual breakup of the Eurozone.
Sales: As both scenarios would, at least in the short run, deteriorate EuroEngineers’ growth prospects, the company should assess how prolonged recession in Europe would constrain consumer spending. Given the immediate risk of insolvent business partners, EuroEngineers may also wish to think about enhancing its contract and claims management for business partners in crisis markets, for example, by insisting on bigger upfront payments for services and products or by reducing payment periods. If the company has its own retailers, EuroEngineers might—in the long run—also think about consolidating its network of stores in troubled markets into fewer and bigger outlets to cope with plummeting sales there. The company would also benefit from a broader customer base, which would reduce dependency on any individual group. For example, it could invest outside the Eurozone in emerging markets. By diversifying its sales regions, the company would certainly reduce its vulnerability.
Procurement: To address falling demand in the short term, EuroEngineers might also move to more flexible payment and delivery arrangements with suppliers. Whether the company is able to introduce flexible payment to suppliers and at the same time tighten contract and claims management with customers depends on its bargaining position in the supply chain. In addition, our company should figure out whether critical suppliers are located in troubled markets and pay particular attention to their financial stability. To enhance supply chain security, EuroEngineers could work with critical business partners on some win-win propositions for both sides. It could offer credits to its suppliers to make best use of its cash resources, as this can generate a good interest income and secure supply. In the long run, the company could try to diversify procurement markets and suppliers.
Finance: As both scenarios might cause liquidity problems in the short term, EuroEngineers should check its readiness to fund its operations for the next 12 months and to pay back its debts in the absence of its usual access to bank credit or bond markets. The company should also take into account that its loans and bonds might have covenants linked to specific key performance indicators, its rating or the country where it is located.
In both scenarios it is important to check readiness to fund operations, to enhance supply chain security and contract and claims management, and to broaden the customer base.
Treasury: A Eurozone breakup would raise the question of how to safeguard cash. To limit its exposure in the short term, EuroEngineers should verify how much cash it actually needs in a possible crisis country. It might move spare cash out of a troubled country into currencies such as the US dollar or the Chinese renminbi and transfer its cash deposits to the safest possible bank. For example, some big companies such as engineering group Siemens and carmakers BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen have already acquired banking licences and are therefore able to deposit funds with the ECB, the safest of all safe havens in the Eurozone. As a breakup of the Eurozone raises FX uncertainties for trade with former Eurozone members, our company should set up procedures to deal with currency uncertainty. Beyond financial hedges for each currency, which become pricier at times of vulnerability, EuroEngineers might also think about ‘natural hedging’ in the long run, which means localising supply chains within the Eurozone and balancing production as much as possible with where it sells and where it buys. This diversification into the biggest possible basket of different currencies would reduce the company’s exposure to currency risks.
Legal issues: In addition to measures in treasury, EuroEngineers should include contractual issues in its contingency planning. Most contracts usually fail to foresee a collapse or partial disintegration of the euro, so existing contracts might need amendments to reflect the new legal requirements. Moreover, the status of supplier contracts should be reviewed. Our company should, for example, determine whether supplier contracts remain in euros or convert into the successor currency.
IT: EuroEngineers should also check whether its IT systems are ready for a potential change in the invoicing currencies and in cash flows, which would follow the introduction of new currencies. IT systems should also be prepared to support internal reporting with new currencies.
Procurement, production and administration: Finally, contingency planning should include measures to take advantage of opportunities arising from the Eurozone crisis. Lower wage levels in troubled markets relative to those in stronger Eurozone member states allow EuroEngineers to gain maximum competitive advantage in the long run from moving production, procurement, financing back office activities and IT services to former Eurozone member states.
Figure 3 summarizes ways that the company can respond to the issues in each of these main areas.
Given the serious impact of the Eurozone crisis, contingency planning could provide a valuable way to reduce risks and make sure the business is prepared for different eventualities. However, the multitude of potential scenarios should not confuse CFOs and risk managers, as the impact of most scenarios differs less in quality than in intensity and timing. Instead of getting lost in theoretical scenarios, they should be geared up with a comprehensive overview of the major risks caused by the Eurozone crisis, and develop short- and long-term action plans to adequately manage them. Certainly, a proper contingency plan has to be specific and focus on the peculiarities of the industry, size and location of a company’s operations, as well as its individual investment, sales, procurement, finance and treasury strategy. Therefore, a specific in-depth analysis is important and should be the starting point for all further actions. This will make sure that companies can see through what really matters in these uncertain times and come through stronger. | 188,231 |
3. How much dissolved oxygen is in Narragansett Bay?
The surface waters of Narragansett Bay are at or near dissolved oxygen saturation all the time. Wave and wind motion help get oxygen into the water from the air and phytoplankton produce oxygen in the water.
The bottom waters of Narragansett Bay are more variable. Bottom waters can become very low in oxygen when the conditions are right (see the "What is dissolved oxygen?" page). The bottom waters in parts of Narragansett Bay are sometimes hypoxic or anoxic. This mostly happens in the upper Bay. | 40,879 |
How to import area & line markers
This article explains how to import area and line markers.
👉 If you want to add area markers without importing, visit the article "How to add regions as area markers."
👉 If you want to import point markers, visit "How to import point markers."
👉 If you want to style your area and line markers, visit "How to style area and line markers."
To add areas (like settlement boundaries) and lines (like subway lines) to Datawrapper Locator maps, you need to import a GeoJSON. To do so, turn on the switch in step 1: Add markers:
There you have the option to upload a valid GeoJSON. You can also copy and paste a GeoJSON into the text area at the bottom.
Where to get GeoJSONs from
There are multiple ways to get your hands on a GeoJSON file:
- Open Data portals sometimes offer GeoJSONs. For example, here are more than 2000 datasets that you can download as GeoJSON on data.gov
- If your data only exists as a TopoJSON, Shapefile, as KML or another geospatial format, you can convert it to a GeoJSON in online tools like mapshaper.org or geojson.io.
- You can search for files with the extension .geojson on Google or Github.
- Or you can draw and download your own GeoJSON on geojson.io. It's a simple tool that lets you place dots and draw areas and lines. Click on "? Help" in the top right corner of geojson.io to learn how it works.
Prerequisites for your GeoJSONs
In order to import your areas and lines in Datawrapper, your file needs to...
- be a GeoJSON and a valid JSON file (check validity with this online tool).
- be smaller than 2MB. The larger your file, the longer it takes for your map to load for both viewing and editing. Try to keep it as small as possible. If your GeoJSON is too big, go to mapshaper.org, upload your GeoJSON, and try to simplify the geometry. Click the "Simplify" button in the upper right, followed by "Apply." Then drag the slider at the top as far to the right as you can while the geometry still looks good enough. The displayed percentage tells you how much of the data size is left. Typically you can go down to 10-15% without noticing a big difference. When you're done, click "Export," select GeoJSON, and re-upload the data to Datawrapper.
- use the WGS-84 coordinate system (EPSG:4326 projection).
- include coordinates.
- have fewer than 20 differently styled features. Scroll to "How to import your GeoJSON to Datawrapper" to learn more.
It's ok if your GeoJSON includes additional information and properties, like this one that shows the metro lines in Shanghai as of 2016:
How to import your GeoJSON to Datawrapper
Once you have a GeoJSON ready, copy and paste it into the text area or click on "Import GeoJSON or CSV":
You will see that Datawrapper shows all lines with the same stying properties (like "color") as one marker. In our GeoJSON, no lines but two have a color defined. These two subway lines have the property "color":"red". That's why they're shown as a single marker and appear red on the map. If you want to style the individual subway lines, you need to give them properties before importing them to Datawrapper.
👉 You can also add properties to the GeoJSON, to style the areas and lines before importing them to Datawrapper. For more information and a list of supported property names, visit the article: "How to style your markers before importing them to Datawrapper."
If you upload GeoJSONs that are very big or that have many different markers, your map will be slower for both you (in the editing process) and for your readers (when they view the website where you embedded the map). Consider styling lines and areas in the same way, so that they get imported to Datawrapper as one marker.
How to change the order of areas and lines
Maybe two or more areas overlap on your map, and you're not happy with their order. To change that, you can grab and drag your markers around in the marker list:
Please note: If your map shows not just areas and lines, but also points, then they will always be on top. It's not possible to get point markers to appear below line or area markers. | 124,727 |
This transformer oil purifier plant utilizes physiochemical means to recover deteriorated transformer oil and breaker oil
Transformer oil is generally mixed with gas, water and contaminants. The content of the contaminants generally increases with time. In the oil treatment plants£¬these associated gases, water and contaminants are separated from the oil and taken away. In transformer applications, it is electrically critical that the oil does not contain too much of these substances. After treating the oil in the oil treatment plant, the stabilized oil is then again ready to be used in power transformers.
Some details about the transformer oil filtration device.
ZYD transformer oil filtration device utilizes physiochemical means to recover deteriorated transformer oil and breaker oil while removing the acid content, suspended matter and precipitated residues from the oil. It utilizes a special purification, which allows transformer to stay running in normal manner without switch off of power and change of oil.
The basic content and anti-oxygenic property of oil remains the same after treatment, and is brought back to the specification of new oil. Insulator property and safety of equipment are enhanced while cost is reduced by 90%, compared with conventional way of oil-change.
It is recommended to use the transformer oil treatment firstly, when the oil withstand-voltage is treated at an acceptable range by the transformer oil treatment, and then use the BZ device; you will find that the effect will be better.
Please contact:Kris A
Keywords: oil filtration, hv oil filtration, transformer oil filtration, oil purifier machine, oil reconditioning, oil purification, oil purifier unit, transformer oil purifier, transformer oil filtering, oil reclamation,transformer oil treatment oil dehydration,hydraulic oil filtration
oil purifier,transformer oil purifier,oil purification,oil filtration,transformer oil treatment
This transformer oil purifier plant utilizes physiochemical means to recover deteriorated transformer oil and breaker oil Transformer oil is generally mixed with gas, water and... | 211,793 |
Common side effects can include: nausea, drowsiness, irritability and cognitive impairments. ! Any comments?
Learn about the prescription medication Klonopin (Clonazepam), drug uses, dosage, side effects, drug interactions, warnings, reviews and patient labeling.
What are the side effects of taking iron tablets by pregnant reasons for side effects? My wife is pregnant and women and what are the is in her third trimester ( 7th month). W
Coladapin treats seizures and panic disorder. Its active ingredient is called Clonazepam.it is a blood pressure medication. More:http://www.chacha.com/question/what-are-the-effects-of-coladapin
Augmentin is an antibiotic used to treat a variety of illnesses. Its most common side effects are diarrhea, nausea, vomiting or other stomach irritation. More:http://answers.ask.com/Health/Pharmacy/what_are_the_side_effects_of_augmentin
Common side effects of Wellbutrin are constipation, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, headache, increased sweating, loss of appetite, nausea, nervousness, restlessness, taste changes, vomiting, weight changes, and trouble sleeping. Severe s… More:http://answers.ask.com/Health/Pharmacy/what_are_the_side_effects_of_wellbutrin
Mar 11, 2011 Drinking alcohol can increase certain side effects of Klonopin. This medication may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or
Klonopin Side Effects. Klonopin (clonazepam) is a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of panic disorders, anxiety, Detail:http://www.ehow.com/facts_5484378_klonopin-side-effects.html
Powered by: WordPress | 166,521 |
Statistics on the number of opioid and heroin overdoses in this country recently, and they are staggering.
The Surgeon General's report revealed that every 19 minutes, we lose a life to an opioid or heroin overdose in America.
The report claimed alcohol and drugs misuse, and addiction, are having a greater economic impact than diabetes, costing $442 billion each year.
It has folks at the pharmacy checking prescriptions twice. At the U-Save-It pharmacy Dr. Ed Dozier says if he comes across a red flag, there is a website here in Georgia where he can see patients' drug use patterns.
"It is helpful. We can monitor a patient's drug use on that, and see what doctors and pharmacies they are going to, and see what controlled drugs they've had," said Pharmacist Ed Dozier.
Dozier says he typically knows his patients and doctors, but he has had to use the site to check a patient's history in the past.
Copyright 2016 WALB. All rights reserved. | 49,937 |
A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics
This provocative book is a tractate—a treatise—on beauty in Japanese art, written in the manner of a zuihitsu, a free-ranging assortment of ideas that “follow the brush” wherever it leads. Donald Richie looks at how perceptual values in Japan were drawn from raw nature and then modified by elegant expressions of class and taste. He explains aesthetic concepts like wabi, sabi, aware, and yugen, and ponders their relevance in art and cinema today.
80 pages; ISBN 9780893469740
, or download in or
Title: A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics
Author: Donald Richie | 14,346 |
What does "Reactive White Blood Cells" mean?
I have a host of symptoms, which could point to thyroid, poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, autoimmune conditions.
Throughout the course of testing for various things, over the past 10 years or so, I noticed that for at least the past few years the blood tests always indicate "mild lyphocytosis" due to elevated white cell count (blood tests are done at least a dozen or more times a year - and I'm not often sick with a virus etc). I pointed this out to Dr late last year, and now they are looking into it as it still comes back elevated.
I was sent for a 'lymphocyte marker studies' test, never saw the results (could see majority of parts were 'red' meaning too low/high, am guessing must have been mild). The lab and Dr said I needed to have it tested again in 2 months. I just had it tested again (different Doc cos mine was away) and she gave me a test for 'Leukaemia marker studies' - not sure if this is same test or a bit different.
Anyhow, had test done and rang for results today - apparently I have to get it checked again in 2 months, and the only comment I got from the receptionist was "Reactive White Blood Cells". Does anyone know what that means? I'm guessing its not bad because I don't have to go in to Doc, but why keep checking it - what could it mean?
I have an appt with doc but not for a week as he's still on holidays and I want my normal GP. Any ideas greatly appreciated - especially if they may indicate something to do with the abovementioned conditions as still trying to get diagnosis/treatment for them. | 86,409 |
When I was first diagnosed, everything I read said there is no pain with MS. But I did have pain, some intermittent, but pain just the same. Why wasn't there information about it?
Now, it is generally accepted that pain is no stranger to MS. The National MS Society talks about living with MS, and specifically living with MS and the pain that comes with it.
The article covers medicines used for MS pain, other treatments that help manage pain, current research dealing directly with pain. There are eleven types named and described, including types of pain and discomfort associated with common treatments.
So if you hurt, it may be associated with your MS, but it can be treated. | 122,559 |
Certain personal documents, such as a birth certificate, must be provided to the immigration authorities when filing immigration applications or petitions. In some cases, these documents may be unavailable or impossible to obtain. For example, the facility where birth certificates were stored may have burned down, or the immigrant may live in a war-torn area where government authority was non-existent when he or she was born and such documents were never created.
What If You Cannot Locate or Obtain the Required Documents?
If you can’t obtain the required document, even after contacting all the appropriate government offices, the U.S. immigration authorities will recognize certain types of substitutes. For example, if your birth certificate was destroyed in a fire, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may accept an affidavit by people who knew you; to prove your date of birth and who your parents are, along with a letter from the government agency in your country stating that the fire took place and that all records from the relevant time period were lost.
The instructions included with USCIS forms typically outline the other types of evidence that USCIS accepts. Read them carefully. If you still have any questions about substituting affidavits in lieu of documents required by the USCIS or any other immigration matters, contact our immigration attorneys at the Law Offices of Azita M. Mojarad, P.C. Our experienced immigration attorneys can advise you on what actions to take to ensure proper submission of your petition or application to avoid any processing delays. | 69,559 |
WTI Crude Oil reached $92 amid US sanctions against Iran, Turkish military intervention in Iraq, a rebel attack on a oil rig in Nigeria, fall in crude oil inventories and unprecedented weakness in the U.S. dollar. Despite the recent supply increase by OPEC and the announcement they will do it again on November by 500,000 barrels a day, prices are likely to rise further.
Can the effect of oil prices increase be significant for the global economy? Yes and no. In the past, high oil prices led for two times to bear markets and severe recessions in the developed world, reaching three times $100 inflation adjusted level. However, this time it seems that the increase in oil prices may only have a considerable influence on U.S. economy since a weak dollar makes other countries less vulnerable to the surge in energy prices.
Oil price inflation has not outstripped economic growth, according to Veronique Riches-Flores of Société Générale. In her research, she uses the concept of the oil burden” - the proportion of the world economy devoted to buying oil which is the volume of oil consumed multiplied by the average price and divided by nominal gross domestic product. Oil was very cheap in the late 1990s and in this decade before the invasion of Iraq triggered the long-term rise in crude prices. With the world economy growing steadily, the oil burden at the end of the second quarter of this year was well below the level it touched in the middle of last year (when high oil prices did appear to weigh on the stock market). It was no higher than the levels seen in 2005. If prices are sustained at around their current levels, or even move forward to $100, then, she says, the most recent trends in crude oil prices might be more difficult to absorb.
A good reason for concern is that oil production seems to be declining, according to a newly published global oil supply report to be presented by the Energy Watch Group. World oil production peaked in 2006, the report said and by 2020 global oil supply will be noticeably lower. This will create a supply gap which can hardly be closed by growing contributions from other fossil, nuclear or alternative energy sources in this time frame. | 57,334 |
This is a great RC Heli / Drone if you are looking for an option INSIDE the home. If you need fast and easy instructions on how to get this RC helicpoter flying, look for a few videos on Youtube. This dron helicpoter is a bit of work, so plan to practice flying it.
Made of high composite material, light-weight and durable. Overload protection for Battery.
Today we are going to spend a minute on flying your drone and UAV inside. It is a great place to practice without having to deal with the wind, trees, weather, etc. It can be a bit tight, so you need to take a few things into account. I have put together a list of 10 tips that should help you. If you have other thoughts to add, please do.
10 Tips for Flying Drones Inside
High Contrast – Drones with cameras like the Parrot AR. Drone 2.0 use their camera to maintain their XY position. You can help by laying down tape to help the drone gain a frame of reference.
Clock down your drone controls – many drone will allow you to set different profiles where you can tweak the control settings. The last thing you want is to have your controls on sensitive when inside. One quick movement on the controls can send the drone or UAV smashing into the wall or ceiling.
Reset the Drone – Clearing the memory of your drone will help you fly better every time. A good rule is to refresh the drone at least every 3 flights. You can hit the reset button, but the better way is to actually unplug the drone from the battery and give is 15 seconds. If you fail to unplug and set the drone, it will build up memory that can make flying your dron quite difficult.
Indoor Hull – When flying your drone inside, make sure you have your indoor hull installed. The hull will protect the drone from damage if it bumps up against something, but will help you avoid hitting anyone or anything in a way that could cause damage.
Clear Out the Furniture – If you are flying your drone indoors, especially for the first time, make sure you have enough room. Find a room with a lot of open space, or clear it to make it so.
10 Second Flying Rule – Make sure you give the drone time to evaluate the environment around it. Many drones need at least 5 seconds, we suggest 10. Take off and let the drone hover and take in the surroundings. This will make your flights much more successful.
Avoid the Ceiling & the Ground – The Parrot AR. Drone and others have a difficult time when you get the unit near the ceiling or ground. This is all aerodynamics: the blades create air pressure higher under the unit and lower above it. If you get close to the ceiling it will suck itself to it. Near the ground, flying is very unstable as the air current created by the blades is effected. Avoid doing so, you are only asking for a crash and potentially damaged drone.
Be Prepared for Drastic Altitude Changes – The drones like the Parrot AR. Drone ping the ground with their sonar. If you are flying in a room with a coffee table, you may notice the drone bounce up altitude-wise. Keep these adjustments in mind when you pick a room. Either avoid a room with changes in the ground when the drone uses its sonar or choose a room with a high enough ceiling.
Put the Dog or Cat Away – Playing with the dog or cat can be a lot of fun, but it can also make you and your drone pay the price. Parts aren’t cheap and if you don’t have them stocked you could be out of the game for a few days waiting for them to arrive. Consider letting your dog or cat our first before flying inside, especially the first few times when you don’t know how they will react.
Buy Spare Parts Now – Accidents are going to happen. If you are really excited about buying a drone and flying it, please pick up a few spare parts. It will cost you, but believe me, you will need them. I will put together a list of the top spare parts to consider keeping stocked, but for now you can check out our Drone Accessoriespage.
There you have it, a great Top 10 Tips List for Flying Your Drone Inside. I hope you enjoyed the read and learned something new. If you have a few ideas to add, please comment. Cheers! DroidDrones – out.
Welcome to DroidDrones.com. Today we are going to take a look at 5 of the best ready to fly Drone Quadcopters on the market. The drone and UAV market is exploding and the remote control drones are becoming more and more popular by the month. Flying these quadcopters, thanks to technology, has become very simple and very fun!
If you are looking to purchase your first drone or UAV quadcopter, then you have come to the right article. We will review 5 options on the market today.
Civilian drones are becoming more popular here in the United States. A decade ago most individuals had a hard time telling you what is drone was. Today, 99% of the folks you meet on the street can give a pretty good description. The term drone has become a household name.
Drones seem to be everywhere today: in the news, in our neighborhoods, overseas fighting wars, etc. On the civilian side, every month new Drone and UAV products hit the market. The demand for drones at home is growing exponentially. The business of Drones and UAVs is no longer just for the military, as mentioned they can be found being used commercially and as a hobby. Today, drones have begun to hit our educational system here in America with a number of colleges and universities around the United States now looking to or already offering Drone classes and courses.
In 2013 there are 32 colleges and universities offering drone classes, drone courses and drone degrees. It is a greatly expanding field, we expect this list to double in 2014. If you have a classes at your college but don’t see it listed, send us a note and we will add it.
When thinking of careers, it is always important to calculate future demand. When it comes to the drone and UAV field, estimates today have this sector blowing up in the next 5-10 years. Some estimates, depending on how the government decides to regulate the industry, have most companies utilizing drones in some shape and form. Big demand is here and growing in governments across the globe, hobbyists at home and commercial businesses in every state. Below is the list we have gathered of schools currently offering drone and UAV classes.
List of Universities and Colleges Offering Drone Classes and Courses
California State University, Fresno
Eastern Gateway Community College
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Indiana State University
Kansas State University
Lorain County Community College
Middle Georgia College
Middle Tennessee State University
Mississippi State University
New Mexico State University ‐ Physical Science Laboratory
Nicholls State University
Northwestern Michigan College
Oregon State University
Pennsylvania State University
Texas A&M University (TAMU) ‐ Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University (TAMU) ‐ Texas Engineering Experiment Station
2. Bookmark our Drones and UAV News page, there you will find many of the best daily articles on Drones and UAV activity around the globe.
The best site for Drone majors, Drone Minors, Drone Classes, Drone Courses. Here you will find the best list of drone classes in the United States. The best degrees for drones. Looking for Drone Courses, check out our list.
What a beautiful time of year to get out and start using your drone or UAV. If you are like us, you are researching the newest models and looking to make a few purchases for the coming season. Our site has a ton of drone reviews, so if you are in the market to buy a drone you have come to the right place. Make sure you read our reviews and check out the posted videos. Also, don’t forget two quick items:
Great stable reliable heli, the price is outstanding and the 2.4 ghz is the way to go for holding a signal, crashed this thing a dozen times badly and it flies vibration free as it did the day I bought it. Needs a little more tail for the wind and swapping a gt 3006 did the trick.A taller landing gear keeps rotars out of tall grass etc. Overall the best buy by far for fun and learning platform. Not a bad place to look if you are in the market to buy a toy drone.
1) This unit is built solidly. Absolutely no complaints. The holes in the tale section are not drilled true to horizontal therefore the horizontal stabilizer is not true to the ground. The variance is so slight, I don’t know if it affects flying or not. I simply ordered a new piece at $6.99 No big deal. Parts are easily purchased on the Net.
2) Transmitter is basic but for the price, who can complain?
3) Have not tried flying at a distance yet as it is too cold outside.
RECOMMEND THIS HELICOPTER FOR BASIC FLYING FUN.
2.4GHz technology allow more than 20 aircrafts to fly at the same time
NEW Gyroscope System for simplest controls and stabilities
Wl Toy 2.4g V949 2rc Beetle 4-axis Quadcopter UFO Ladybird 4ch RTF with LED
If you want to fly at night or in the dark, this is the best quadcopter out there right now. The stock canopy is a little bit heavy but it does a good job of protecting the flight control board. The LED’s turn on and off using the right hand index finger button on the transmitter. Try doing some flips outside at night with the lights on and you will quickly have a bunch of people stopping and asking about UFO’s. You can fly it very far away and still maintain orientation with the lights. It’s also a good platform for micro-fpv if that is what you are interested in.
Syma 16.5CM S026G 3.5Ch 3 Channel Mini Chinook RC Helicopter Gyro Small Toy Gift Army-green
Very stable that almost anybody of any age can fly, trim tab forward and it really gets moving. All of the syma heli’s fly very nice, this one once trim forward, it is the fastest. I recommend any of the syma series. I have ordered once from those one day deals, and they were terrible. Can’t go wrong with these.
Flight time is about 6 minutes with a quick 20 minute charge.
An incorporated auto stability system making it easy to fly.
A pre-installed 3 channel proportional wide beam infra red,Recharging takes place via the included transmitter.
The transmitter has an Alignment Trim, a Charging and Power Indicator, a Left/Right Lever and a Trimmer.
Lightweight Integral 3.7V 150mAh Lithium Polymer Battery
A charge of 20 minutes is equal to a 6-7 minute flight
A very durable heli at a price that really can’t be beat. The flight time is a bit short, 6 minutes with a charging time of 45ish.
It’s also a helicopter that’s very quick on its toes. The two speeds don’t make very much of a difference, but you can hear the little tail motor spinning more quickly on the higher speed. Lateral movement is a little tricky, being on the throttle stick, and it takes a bit of practice to adjust it without nudging the throttle. Rotation and forwards or backwards movement are nice and responsive just as they were on the Syma, but the extra power seems to have given it a bit of an Achilles’ heel. Moving forwards or backwards tends to make the helicopter drop slowly, so you really have to be attentive on the throttle to fly well. I can’t really hold this against it though, it just makes the thing more challenging and fun to fly. This is one that you can pick up and fly within a few minutes, but will take much longer to master. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a little more than the Syma S107/S107G.
Gaui 540H Hex Copter super combo kit with GPS perfect for Aerial Photography
HIGH STABILITY EXTRA EFFICIENCY OUTSTANDING WIND RESISTANCE ADDITIONAL PAYLOAD CAPABILITY EXTENSIBLE SYSTEM FUNCTIONS Foldable arms for easy storage. Integrated power connector on main frame for ESCs for easy connection. Crane II & III Camera Gimbal mounting adapter plate included. Newly designed landing gear for Aerial Photography. GA-608 Hexa-Octo Adapter (for GU-INS) support Hexa-copter & Octo-copters Diagonal wheelbase: 540mm Weight (without battery): 1150g Maximum takeoff weight: 2500g Flying duration: 5~15 minutes Depending on weather condition,battery capacity, payload and flying style Included Main frame x 1 Motor x 6pcs(225413) ESCs x 6pcs(225183) 10 in. Props.(10A and 10B) x6pcs GU-INS x1pc(924503) GA-608 x1pc(924608) | 267,764 |
Friday, May 15, 2009
standing up for money
Friedrich Hayek described it as “one of the greatest instruments of freedom ever invented by men”. The sociologist Georg Simmel noted that it “means more to us than any other object of possession because it obeys us without reservation”. Yet if some marketing gurus are to be believed, its pre-eminent position in the psychology of consumers is on the wane. The object in question is money. It is not just the lending of money that is in crisis. A variety of business models are emerging which look set to challenge the previously unquestioned role of monetary prices in the relationship between retailers and consumers. Where products are intangible or experiential in nature, it is these models that look set to survive the current bout of creative destruction sweeping the high street. The eyeballs of London commuters are now fought over by the distributors of free newspapers, London Lite and Thelondonpaper. Radiohead released their highly acclaimed album In Rainbows, on a pay-what-you-want basis via their website. Michael O’Leary of Ryanair has said that his goal is to offer all flights for free in the future. Google terrifies various publishing and software industries by making free what was previously sold, probing the limits of copyright. Examples such as these have led Chris Anderson, business guru and editor of Wired magazine, to declare that “$0.00 is the future of business”.more from The Liberal here.
Posted by Morgan Meis at 10:05 AM | Permalink | 260,362 |
Applying for a job using LinkedIn's Easy Apply feature is tempting, but you should use it with caution.
Applying for a job in today's market can be tough — and time consuming. You'll spend anywhere between 15 minutes to more than an hour filling out a single application.
While some of those job applications will parse information from your resume, partially filling in the blanks, others will require you to dig through files to find every residential address, job, and supervisor you've had for the last 10 years.
This leads many frustrated job seekers to turn to simpler methods, like LinkedIn's "Easy Apply" button. But is that really the best way to apply for a job?
What is the "Easy Apply" button?
LinkedIn has become a first-stop for many job applicants; why shouldn't you go to LinkedIn to look for a job? There are over 20 million jobs listed, with some companies only using LinkedIn to find candidates. To make applying easier on job seekers, LinkedIn created the “Easy Apply” button.
This option provides you with a simple way to apply for a job: You click the button and enter your email address and phone number, and that's it! Sometimes you'll be required to upload your resume, while sometimes it's optional. Either way, it makes applying to a job as easy as clicking a few buttons.
Should you use LinkedIn's “Easy Apply” feature?
Unfortunately, the "Easy Apply" button is similar to emailing your resume to a bunch of hiring managers and hoping someone opens the email. When you choose to apply to a job without uploading your resume, the only thing employers get is access to your LinkedIn profile.
Initially, all they will see is “[Candidate Name] applied to [Job Title]” along with your profile photo, headline, and location. If you haven't taken the time to perfect your LinkedIn profile and write a catchy headline, then you're not standing out from the crowd.
This means there's no incentive for the employer to look at your profile in detail. If they're not reading about your experiences, what's the point in applying?
“So what … ?”
Everything you send in response to a job opening must answer the employer's “So what…?” question. As you are probably aware, hiring managers only spend about six seconds glancing at a resume before deciding if the candidate is a fit. Imagine how little time they're spending sifting through a bunch of emails from LinkedIn with a candidate's name and profile headline.
How long do you spend scanning your own email looking for the messages you're going to open? Which messages do you ultimately read? Usually the ones from people you know or has a compelling subject, right?
The headline on your LinkedIn profile is your subject line, so make sure it covers the following:
Does your LinkedIn profile have a headline that answers the “So what…?” question?
Will it entice a hiring manager to open your application?
If not, then your application will end up in a black hole.
Why LinkedIn doesn't answer the hiring manager's questions
The information contained in your profile provides a high-level overview of your professional accomplishments, experiences, skills, and education. It is your personal brand and is meant to be used as a networking tool, with LinkedIn providing the platform for you to reach out to people in your industry, relevant recruiters, and even hiring managers.
Of course, your LinkedIn profile can be optimized so you show up in searches that recruiters perform when they seek candidates. However, they still need to know what value you add to their company — and hiring managers may not be able to tell if you're a good fit from your LinkedIn profile alone.
Your targeted resume to the rescue
Meanwhile, your keyword-rich resume shines a bright spotlight on career accomplishments as they relate to a particular job. Resume writers, hiring managers, HR personnel, and recruiters all advise that you tweak your resume with each job to which you apply.
That specificity and customization are what helps companies gain an understanding of how you add value to their team. If they feel like you're a good fit, then you win an interview.
Does all of this mean you should never use “Easy Apply”?
Never is a heavy word; there are two acceptable times you can effectively use the “Easy Apply” button:
1. When you intend to upload your targeted and keyword-rich resume with the application
Be aware that even if you're intending to attach a resume to your “Easy Apply” application, that hiring managers will still see your LinkedIn profile first. The resume you upload is provided to the employer as a hyperlink on your application.
Your resume will only be read if the hiring manager doesn't feel they're getting enough information from your LinkedIn profile. If your LinkedIn profile turns them off in any way, they may not bother reading your resume at all.
2. When you intend to follow-up
Companies have become savvy to the fact that job seekers only glance at job descriptions when there is an “Easy Apply” button. For them, the “Easy Apply” option tells them that you just clicked a button and probably have no clue as to the full extent of the job.
However, when you follow up with them, it shows you're truly interested. Following-up also gets your name in front of them more than one time.
In a world where “there are no shortcuts to any place worth going” (Beverly Sills), using the “Easy Apply” feature for your dream job is less than advisable. You will be able to properly market your skills to a job with a great resume. Use your LinkedIn profile for what it was intended — networking.
Ready to impress prospective employers? Make sure your resume is too by working with one of our expert resume writers. | 289,797 |
In this study, we prepared a novel triple-network (TN) structure hydrogel composed of polyacrylic acid (PAA), agar and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The obtained TN hydrogel has a superior mechanical property as well as self-healing property feature. In the TN hydrogel system, PAA-Fe3+ polymer mainly providing hydrogel self-healing properties by the ionic coordinates between COO− and Fe3+ as the first network, while, agar and PVA polymers gel mainly providing hydrogel high mechanical properties as the second and third network. The structure of TN the hydrogel can be controlled by adjusting the content of Fe3+ and composition in the three polymers. When 1.5 wt% Fe3+ in the TN hydrogels, the PAA/Agar/PVA TN hydrogels possess high mechanical strength, the fracture strain and fracture stress were 497% and 450 kPa, respectively, and the compression strength reached up to 1337 kPa under the compression deformation of 80%. Besides, the TN hydrogels exhibited excellent self-healing ability, when healed 72% at tensile stress and 84% at tensile strain after 24 h without adding any solvent or additive. The research offers a novel design strategy to improve mechanical strength and self-healing ability of hydrogels by controlling the compositions and interactions in the three networks.
Polymer – Elsevier
Published: Jan 17, 2018
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physical, emotional, mental
Nerolina is a great stress reliever for body and mind. It’s soothing and calming effects make it beneficial for anxiety and restoring emotional balance. Energetically it balances male and female (yin and yang) energies on all levels. Nerolina is an uplifting oil making it a good choice when you are feeling exhausted or fatigued. It can raise self-esteem and heighten intuition. When dealing with uncertainty or fear of the unknown, Nerolina can bring clarity and self-awareness and help us live in the present moment
Like all melaleuca oils, Nerolina is strongly antiseptic. It is a good choice when dealing with any sickness or infection, whether bacterial or viral, and has been specifically mentioned for use with malaria, viral hepatitis, and urinary tract infections. Nerolina is also an expectorant and decongestant, not only helping with colds and respiratory flus, but also with allergies and asthma. Nerolina’s anti-inflammatory properties are said to be especially effective for mucous membranes. Nerolina is a great disinfectant and can be used topically to deter the growth of bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. This also makes it a great addition to cleaning products, and it has the added benefit of helping to remove bad odors.
Inhaling Nerolina can promote stamina and physical endurance. Nerolina acts as a stimulant for many functions within the body strengthening immunity and encouraging excretion of hormones, enzymes, and other bodily fluids. Nerolina is said to be an adrenal tonic and adrenal stimulant, ideal for extreme fatigue and stress. Nerolina benefits many digestive issues including ulcers, slow digestion, intestinal parasites, sluggish liver, pancreatic problems, and the production of digestive enzymes. It stimulates the excretion of hormones, and is especially beneficial for male hormonal action and impotense. Other uses for Nerolina include headaches, arterial hypertension, and sleeplessness.
Nerolina is a miticide and many sources recommend its use for lice, applying it to the hair and spraying on infested areas such as sheets, blankets, and furniture. It can also be used for insect bites and rashes.
Nerolina is a cousin of Tea Tree and has the same latin name as Niaouli. The difference between Niaouli and Nerolina is their chemotype. Where Niaouli is high in cineole (think eucalyptus), Nerolina is high in linalool (think lavender) and nerolidol (found in neroli, jasmine, and lavender). This is why Nerolina has a much more pleasant flowery smell. It also means that Nerolina is much gentler on the skin than other melaleucas and would be a good choice for use with babies and small children. | 300,397 |
Home » economics (Page 2)
Category Archives: economics
B y now, the fallout from the epic financial crisis is both familiar and tangible: foreclosed mortgages, failed banks, lost jobs, recession. On the less tangible side, the meltdown also shook faith in a widely accepted economic principle: Markets are efficient. Since the mid-1960s, many academics have embraced the theory that prices paid in large public markets, such as those in stocks and bonds, reflect the collective wisdom of investors acting rationally on all available information. Yet there’s been growing recognition during the past 15 to 20 years that human psychology — including irrationality — can play havoc with the wisdom of crowds. The historic bursting of the real estate and financial bubbles further undermined the belief that investors and markets behave with machine-like perfection.The crisis also gave new relevance to the work of Charles M.C. Lee, who joined the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a full-time faculty member in July 2009. The professor of accounting has been at the forefront of the debate about market efficiency for nearly two decades. He was an early believer in the relevance of human behavioral patterns to market dynamics. Lee is among the pioneers in developing computer-based strategies for stock selection that take into account behavioral factors such as the tendency for investors to be overconfident or to ignore statistical likelihoods. The techniques he developed for valuing companies and predicting stock price movements help investors systematically evaluate and trade equities by taking advantage of market mispricings.
When we confront a situation, our mind looks for a precedent among past actions without regard to whether a decision was made in emotional or unemotional circumstances. Which means we end up repeating our mistakes, even after we’ve cooled off.I said that Eduardo and I wondered if past emotions influence future actions, but, really, we worried about it. If we were right, and recklessly poor emotional decisions guide later “rational” moments, well, then, we’re not terribly sophisticated decision makers, are we?To test the idea, we needed to observe some emotional decisions. So we annoyed some people, by showing them a five-minute clip from the movie Life as a House, in which an arrogant boss fires an architect who proceeds to smash the firm’s models. We made other subjects happy, by showing them—what else?—a clip from the TV show Friends. (Eduardo’s previous research had established the emotional effects of these clips).Right after that, we had them play a classic economics game known as the ultimatum game, in which a “sender” (in this case, Eduardo and I) has $20 and offers a “receiver” (the movie watcher) a portion of the money. Some offers are fair (an even split) and some are unfair (you get $5, we get $15). The receiver can either accept or reject the offer. If he rejects it, both sides get nothing.Traditional economics predicts that people—as rational beings—will accept any offer of money rather than reject an offer and get zero. But behavioral economics shows that people often prefer to lose money in order to punish a person making an unfair offer.
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I introduced a few terms namely:
PV/BCWS , EV/BCWP -,AC/ACWP, CV , SV , CPI , and SPI.
Now, before using EVM , you first need to put in place a structure so that Earned Value Methodology can be used.
This is relatively simple if you are familiar with breaking down your project into products and/or work packages, work packages that can be broken down into its component parts.
This procedure is called creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). You then make a list of the activities that produce the products and sub-products. This post will not go into the details of creating a WBS. That can be the subject of another post.
Once you have gone about and drawn up a schedule for your project and allocated resources to your project, assuming you have done your homework, you should ideally execute your plan and have everything done by the planned date, with the budgeted cost and execute the planned scope per the expected quality. (Its about scope, cost, time & quality and a quality product needs a quality plan and I’m not talking just testing plans and/or testing for quality, but the project plan itself should be of the highest quality.)
But its not an ideal world and you have to track your project cost and progress to make sure that you are on the right track.
"We have usually made our best purchases when apprehensions about some macro event were at a peak. Fear is the foe of the faddist, but the friend of the fundamentalist." - Warren Buffett
Image by Pete Zarria via Flickr
"Since the long-term corporate outlook changes only infrequently, dividend patterns should change no more often. But over time distributable earnings that have been withheld by managers should earn their keep. If earnings have been unwisely retained, it is likely that managers, too, have been unwisely retained." - Warren Buffett
Inflation is a tax on the poor. | 197,364 |
We’re approaching the halfway point in the Parlando Project’s first year, and my plans for 2017 are to feature more 21st century words, when and if I can get permission from publishers/authors to use them here. Today’s audio piece features words from the first “external” 21st Century author to be used here: Philip Dacey.
This year has been much commented upon for the death of musician/lyric writers, two great cultural stylists and movers, David Bowie and Prince, foremost among them. It would be careless to extend the list of 2016’s lost musician/poets for fear of who would drop off the bottom for reasons of length. After all, Merle Haggard or Phife Dog or Greg Lake mean as much or more to some listeners as Prince or Bowie. For me personally, two Fall 2016 musician/poet deaths hit me with specific force: Leonard Cohen and Mose Allison. You might have guessed that, for this is the place “Where Music and Words Meet”—though both are better composers than generally realized, both Cohen and Allison were known for their lyrics.
A Cohen and a Mose
But that’s not exactly why. You see Mose Allison and Leonard Cohen shared a writing sensibility that I particularly prize: they’re funny as hell. “Funny as hell”—not as merely the common idiom— “Funny as hell,” in that both saw clearly the fallen human limitations and made us laugh at it. Laughter can be a good teacher, and as the profoundly comic blues sensibility tries to teach us, even what we can’t learn or think our way out of can be better endured knowing that it’s not right, that it’s incongruous, illogical, unexpected—in other words, that it’s funny.
The importance of our musician/poets may be falling in the 21st Century, though the speed of that decent is hard to judge, as we, their human society, are falling too. And if we look below we see the poets of the past: Dickinson, Whitman, Keats, Blake, Frost, Sandburg, Yeats, Eluard and all their heavenly host, and Shakespeare, Sapho, Basho, Homer, Li Bai, and many more that we cannot name and have never heard. We are falling toward all of them.
not Phil Dacey
And Philip Dacey falls with us, and he smiles “Look, we are all falling.”
Dacey too is funny as hell. So if you are coming to this podcast from a musician/poet listenership, you could think of Philip Dacey as a Midwestern Leonard Cohen without all the sackcloth and ashes; or that Dacey is Mose Allison without the constantly modulating piano. And there’s another difference: Dacey’s poems find forgiveness more consistently and honestly than Cohen or Allison, or most any other writer.
We are all falling, and Philip Dacey falls with us, and he says “I’ll bet there is an end to this fall, but who knows?”
Butterly: Upon Mistyping Butterfly is a love poem based on simple mistake (as love sometimes is). Phil, like Leonard Cohen—but like Phil—wrote a great many love poems. This one is uncomplicated (as love sometimes is). Mose Allison, wrote far fewer love songs, though I can think of one that is goofy and joyful, like these words of Dacey’s.
It’s not a coincidence that I put my remembrance of Philip Dacey as one of the first Parlando posts, because when I heard that Phil had died I was working on gathering, performing, and producing material for the Parlando Project. I’m grateful for the permission to present the LYL Band performing my reading of this poem of Phil’s. If you like this, you may want to seek out one of Philip Dacey’s books or read more about him online at the philipdacey.com web site. If you’d like a taste of how Phillip Dacey presented his poems, there is a 30-minute video of a late reading by him here.
To hear the LYL Band perform Butterly: Upon Mistyping Butterfly, click on the gadget you’ll see below. | 41,067 |
Today we had our first school field trip!
We decided to take the students to go berry picking, then make some Akutaq with our bounty. Fields trips in the bush are very different from field trips in the lower 48! For one we don’t have a school bus so field trips consist of walking or loading everyone into the school truck. Since our trip today was going to be by the airport we had to take the truck.
After we arrived at our location everyone unloaded and started picking Berries! We were very lucky that a few parents let us borrow Alaskan Berry Picking claws! This is a big help because otherwise you have to pick each berry one by one.
We spent an very successful hour picking berries. We came back with 3 gallon freezer bags and 4 sandwich bags of blackberries. I think if the students had saved all the berries they ate we probably could have had 8 gallon bags!! We had a lot of blue/purple mouths when we were done!
After getting back to school we made Akutaq (also named Eskimo Ice cream). This consists of berries, crisco, and sugar. The traditional way of making it is using animal fat or fish instead of crisco. To love Akutaq I feel like you really have to have a developed taste for it. I have had it made with fish and it was a little rough for me to finish. I have also had it done with lots of berries and sugar and just a little crisco and it’s definitely better. | 104,787 |
In 1965, Bob Dylan put down his folk guitar and picked up an electric. This change made a huge impact on the world. Some time ago, but not that far back, an artist stopped painting with paint and... More > switched to pixels. This change broke the heart of the girl who worked in the frame shop.
A visually psychedelic tale from an artist who cites the Beatles and MAD magazine as his childhood mentors, "Ain't gonna hang no pixels" is the break-up conversation about CHANGE, CREATIVITY and MISUNDERSTANDING with delightfully irreverent references to Emily Dickinson, Jack Kerouac, Marilyn Monroe, Alfred Hitchcock and more!< Less
An artist takes us on a tour through the rooms of his house where he claims The Belle of Amherst visited. On the journey, he shares the secrets of a "love affair" with his poetic muse.... More > Another brilliant-color highly visual tale from Kevin Slattery's "Picture Books for BIG kids" series.< Less | 52,617 |
FLINT, Michigan — Area conservationists have a new vision for the city’s dead and dying trees.
Instead of mulching them or tossing them in a landfill, usable trees will be cut down into “urban wood” and sold to local consumers for alternative uses, such as craft projects, or for charity to build Habitat for Humanity homes.
The product will even be branded as “Flint Urban Wood” so consumers will know it was grown right here in the city.
The Genesee Conservation District’s “Wood for Good” program is funded by a $55,000 grant from the Southeast Michigan Resource Conservation and Development Council.
The District is hosting a workshop Friday on sustainable uses for city trees. Registration ends Thursday, and information can be found on their website.
About 230 trees in Flint have been taken down already. Next year’s goal is 500, said District Forester Margaret Studer.
“It’s kind of funny because a lot of people don’t see the value in them,” she said. “But we’ve taken down 230 of the most hazardous trees in Flint, and shown here’s what we can do with the worst trees in the city.”
Studer said the goal is to open up a lumber show room at the new Genesee County Habitat for Humanity ReStore, across from the Flint Farmers Market.
The removed trees would be processed at a wood waste facility in Genesee County and taken to the showroom. Some of it would be donated to build homes for the poor, and some would be sold with the proceeds shared between Habitat and the Genesee Conservation District to continue the program, Studer said.
So the city’s dead and dying trees could instead become a jewelry box, or a new kitchen table.
“There would be a diverse selection of many species of wood and also specialty sizes,” she said. “Instead of going to a Home Depot or other large store, you could get it here.”
There are more than 22,000 trees in Flint and 1,100 of them — or 5 percent — have been deemed hazardous and targeted for removal, Studer said.
“We’re not going to rebuild the city but it’s enough to get the showroom up and running,” she said.
The surplus of dead trees is owed in part to the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive insect that attacks ash trees and has since spread to 14 states.
Studer said the “Wood for Good” program is a environmentally friendly way to keep these dead trees from taking up space in area landfills.
About 29.6 million tons of municipal wood waste is disposed of each year, she said, which is the equivalent of about 1,350 acres, or more than 2 square miles. | 185,276 |
“Speaking Freely” show recorded May 20, 2003, in New York.
Ken Paulson: Welcome to “Speaking Freely,” a weekly conversation about free expression in America. I’m Ken Paulson. Today we’re joined by a man who had a successful career as a baseball pitcher and then rewrote sports journalism. He changed the path and history of sports journalism. Jim Bouton, great to have you here.
Jim Bouton: Thank you. Nice to be here.
Paulson: Of course, your book is Ball Four, a much honored book. Sitting here, reading that the New York Public Library selected Ball Four as one of its books of the century, the only sports book on the list among some pretty heady company.
Bouton: Well, I, I had the good fortune of playing with a great team not as far as winning ball games go, but as far as characters are concerned. It was an expansion team, the 1969 Seattle Pilots. And we were, you know, a collection of sort of guys who were over the hill from a whole variety of different teams. And they couldn’t hit or pitch or field, but they’re great storytellers, so I had all the great stories from the different teams all in, all in one place.
Paulson: And this book is groundbreaking, because it was, in effect, a diary of a full season, and you talked about both what went on on the field and what happened off the field, which earned you some complaints, let’s say … some anger from people in high places, including the commissioner of baseball.
Bouton: Yes, Bowie Kuhn called me into his office and had a statement for me to sign that he had typed up that basically said that this book is exaggerated, I made up some of the stories, and my editor had a lot to do with it, et cetera. And I read the statement. I said, “This is ridiculous. I’m not signing this statement. I’m proud of this book.” And, so, then that was the first 15 minutes of the meeting. The next 45 minutes was discussing what I should be allowed to say about the meeting in the first place.
Paulson: Well, he issued a statement, and, you know, this is a show about free speech. And it’s just fascinating, the language here: “I advised Mr. Bouton of my displeasure with these writings and have warned him against future writings of this character.” It — it’s an almost governmental memo, you know? It’s as repressive a remark as you can get from somebody in public office.
Bouton: Exactly. One of the great things about censors is that they really know how to sell products, you know, whether it’s a book or an art show or whatever it is. And, so, the publisher had only printed 5,000 copies on the grounds that nobody would want to read a book about the Seattle Pilots. And then when the baseball commissioner called me into his office, now everybody wanted to read the book the commissioner didn’t want them to read. So, they had to print 5,000 and 50,000 and, you know, on up. And, so, I dedicated my second book to Bowie Kuhn.
Paulson: The revelations in the book, you know, by comparison to today, they’re not terribly shocking and appalling. But do you recall what got you in the most hot water?
Bouton: I think the story about Mickey Mantle hitting a home run with a hangover. And this was — do you want to hear the story?
Bouton: Anyway, we were playing in Minnesota. We’d been out the night before, having a few drinks. I don’t want to say Mickey was drunk, but he spent about a half an hour trying to make a telephone call from a grandfather clock.
Bouton: Showed up at the ballpark. He couldn’t play, so we had to put somebody else in center field. The game goes extra innings. And Ralph Houk says, “I’m going to need a pinch hitter in the 12th. Go — somebody wake up the Mick.” We wake him up. He comes out into the dugout, staggers up to the plate. Fortunately, he’s a switch hitter; it doesn’t matter what side he gets on. Steps into the batter’s box and hits the first pitch into the center field bleachers. A tremendous blast. And after the game was over, I walked over to Mickey’s locker, and I said, “How did you do that? You couldn’t even see up there.” He said, “It was very simple. I hit the middle ball.”
Paulson: [Laughs] Well, what’s funny — people have written about this since, of course — is that fans who read that loved Mickey all the more.
Paulson: Because a guy — they could relate to a guy with a hangover who could hit a home run. It is — it has probably been forgotten just how good a ballplayer you were. My peak baseball collecting years would have been about ’63 and ’64, which —
Bouton: Well, that’s about — that’s — you caught the — you caught my entire career there.
Paulson: [Laughs] That’s right. It was two years. Those were years that we coveted your baseball cards. And, actually, a couple of extraordinary years. You won 21 games in 1963. And, of course, you won your ring in 1964. I guess you won 18 games, and then you beat the Cardinals twice in the World Series. And that was quite a remarkable achievement for somebody who, as late as 15, 16 years old, actually couldn’t get off the bench and didn’t get into ball games to pitch. Lightning strike? How did you develop your skills?
Bouton: I, I always had a good overhand curve ball, even when I was 10 or 12 years old. And I had a knuckleball. So, I had good stuff. I just happened to be on a high school team that, that had a good team already. It was a lot of great players, and, you know, I really didn’t get into the games until my senior year. And I was a non-scholarship walk-on at Western Michigan University. And in the summer after my freshman year at college, I played on a team that won the Chicago Park District championship. I was about the number four pitcher on the team or number five. We got into a national tournament in Battle Creek, and the way the double rotation worked out in a double-elimination tournament, I ended up having to pitch against the best team about a week into the, into the tournament. They hadn’t scored less than 18 runs in any game, so they were supposed to knock us out. That afternoon, there were about 300 scouts coming to see all these hitters on this great team from, from Cincinnati. And I beat them with a two-hit shutout. And the scouts were swarming on the field, ’cause they wanted to meet this kid. “Where’d you come from?” You know, “What’s your phone number?” “Where did you go to school?” “How come we don’t have you in our files?” So, based on that one game, really, I was offered a contract, and I played three years in the minor leagues. And I just sort of — I guess you could call me a late bloomer.
Paulson: Well, you did, in your year with the Seattle Pilots, record baseball as it had never been recorded before. And there was a major backlash. I suppose there was a — to some extent, the book that had come first would have been Jim Brosnan’s book, in the late ’50s, which was a relatively realistic look at the game. Is that something you’d read?
Bouton: Yes, I read Brosnan’s book. I think it came out in ’57, if I’m not mistaken. It was right about the time I was a senior in high school. And I loved the book. And I thought the best parts of the book were the quotes. When he was talking about what Solly Hemus was saying to Brooks Lawrence or what the guys were saying to each other in the bullpen during the game, it all came alive for me. These guys, that’s what they say during the games? You know? And, so, I remembered that when I started keeping the diary for, for Ball Four: capture what they’re saying, ’cause that really captures who they are as people. And, so, I spent most of my time writing down just the dialogue, because the dialogue would remind me of the story. And at the end of the day, I would take my notes and spread them out on the bed, talk them into the tape recorder. But it was the, but it was the dialogue of the players that, you know, enabled me to remember the stories and pretty much capture who they were.
Paulson: All the heat you took for Ball Four really illustrates that there, — no matter if we have free speech or not, whether we have free press or not, and you touch on this in your new book, as well — there is often resistance to challenging institutions, the status quo. It can be an uphill battle. And you had to be surprised at the kind of powerful reaction you faced after Ball Four.
Bouton: Yeah, it was pretty well organized. Not organized, but I mean it was pretty overwhelming, basically from the sports writers, who, I think, were partly jealous because I had access that they didn’t have. I was in the bullpen. I was in the dugouts, et cetera. I was on the buses. So, so they might have been a little jealous of that. And I think they had decided what should and shouldn’t be said about baseball. They had established the boundaries. And when I crossed those boundaries, they were almost angrier, angrier at me than the players were. And, of course, the baseball owners were upset but not because locker room stories and behind-the-scenes secrets, but the owners were upset with Ball Four because it was the first book to tell people how difficult it was to make a living in baseball. It changed — I think what I’m most proud of is, I think it changed the perception of how people felt about ballplayers in terms of, you know, making a lot of money, that they made a lot of money. They didn’t. And it showed that baseball players were basically mistreated by the owners. And it was that climate, that new climate that I think made it possible for the arbitrator to rule in favor of the players and against the owners at the arbitration hearing in 1975. As a matter of fact, Ball Four was part of the evidence against the owners at that hearing.
Paulson: The irony of the controversy about the book is that so many of those people you wrote about later wrote books, including Mickey Mantle —
Paulson: — that were much more self— much more confessional and told many more stories than you’d ever told.
Bouton: Sure. Well, that was the other thing, too. I was at the end of my career. I was certainly a marginal pitcher with the Seattle Pilots. And the thinking has always been, if you’re going to pop off, if you’re going to mouth off, then you should be hitting .300. You should be winning 20 games. A great player can do that, not, not some guy in the bullpen. But, in fact, most of the, I think, better books about inside of an industry come not from the top guy or from the top people but usually from the people on the fringes, the ones who have a lot of time to sit around and watch and listen and think, you know? So, if you said I could read a diary of the White House by the president or the vice president or by the doorman, I’d say, “Let me read what the doorman has to say.” [Laughs]
Paulson: Your teammates didn’t know you were writing the book while you were writing it.
Bouton: Well, that’s not entirely true. They knew I was writing something. I’m not sure what they thought I was writing. But I was constantly taking notes. I was taking notes in the bullpen, taking notes during team meetings. As a matter of fact, there’s a line in the book where one of the players says, “Hey, no, no taking notes during a team meeting.” And another time, somebody says, “You know something, Bouton? Keeping notes like that, it’s worse than whispering.”
Paulson: [Laughs] The — so, the heat from the baseball establishment, did that include your teammates? Did they feel betrayed?
Bouton: Well, yeah, sort of. I had been traded during the season from the Seattle Pilots to the Houston Astros. So, when the book came out in the spring of 1970, I was with the Astros at that time. So, I was hearing feedback from, from some teammates through other teammates about how the Seattle Pilots felt about the book. And — but the biggest, the biggest outcry came from Yankees and Yankee fans, even though the Yankees were probably discussed on fewer than 10 pages in the entire book. And yet it was, you know, “Say something about Mickey Mantle, then, then, then you’re going too far.” I think it should be made clear that I did not name names on the sexy stories. I didn’t quote anybody making anti-Semitic remarks. I didn’t quote anybody making racial comments.
Paulson: So, you protected people.
Bouton: Yeah, I felt that I was invading people’s privacy and that there was a line that I shouldn’t cross. It just was a different line than, than they thought. That’s all.
Paulson: Yeah, I see. That book has stayed in print since publication?
Bouton: Well, I haven’t really let it go out of print. I’ve updated it three different times: once in ’80, once in ’90, and once in 2000, so. But that’s the last version, so, if you buy that one, you don’t have to buy any others.
Paulson: So, people who love the 1970 edition should be now looking for the final edition, it’s called?
Bouton: Yeah, Ball Four: The Final Pitch.
Paulson: And what, and what, what’ll they find in this — I guess they’ll find 30 additional years.
Bouton: Well, it’s actually the 10 years from 1990 to 2000, but there are some events that occurred to me — occurred during that period of time and sort of put a closure on the book. I guess the most significant one was the passing of my daughter, Laurie. But then my reconciliation with Mickey Mantle.
Bouton: My invitation to Old-Timers’ Day.
Paulson: Oh, we need to tell folks a little bit more about that. After the loss of your daughter, your son wrote a column for The New York Times.
Bouton: Yeah, he wrote a surprise Father’s Day letter to the editor, which they ran as their Father’s Day piece. And I knew nothing about it until my other son, David, called me Sunday morning and read it to me over the telephone.
Paulson: And, and he suggested that it was time for the Yankees to set aside any resentment. And, and what’s so odd about that is that the Yankees of 1970 bore no relationship to the Yankees of today.
Paulson: And yet a team with tradition, apparently, is also traditional about its grudges, and they weren’t inviting you back. And, so, they saw that there’d be probably some benefit in inviting you back, and they did that. Can you talk about that day you walked back on the field at Yankee Stadium?
Bouton: Well, it was a very emotional day, obviously, the first time back in 28 years. And mixed emotions. You know, I was happy to be back, and it was great to have those fans accepting me and cheering me and no, no feeling at all about “I shouldn’t have said that about Mickey Mantle,” none of that. My teammates were really good to me. Except for a couple guys, most of them were, you know, really glad to see me. So, that was fun. But then the sad part was, I knew why I was back there: because Laurie had died and Michael had written this beautiful letter in which he made a reference to Laurie and, “Let bygones be bygones. Life is short,” you know? So, I went back and forth between, you know, having a broken heart and a silly grin on my face at the same time.
Paulson: Well, speaking of life being short, it was a loss in Mickey Mantle’s life that brought the two of you together. I guess you never actually had a conversation—
Paulson:— but a message was left?
Bouton: Yes. Mickey never spoke to me after Ball Four. And that was — I guess the last time I saw him was with the Yankees in 1967. I may have seen him in the role of a sportscaster. But in any case, in 1994, his son Billy passed away. Or it might have been ’95. And I sent him a note telling him how badly I felt, that I had a nice memory of Billy running around the clubhouse in spring training. He was always a polite little boy. And I told Mickey I’ll take this opportunity to say I hoped he was feeling OK about Ball Four these days. I never wrote it to hurt him. And I never expected to hear back from him. I told him I was also proud to be his teammate. And I never thought he’d respond to it. You know, Mickey’s not the kind of guy that spontaneously reaches out very easily. Ten days went by, and I walked into my office, and my secretary was standing by the answering machine of my telephone. She says, “I want you to play this one yourself.” So, I punched the button, and I heard that Oklahoma twang. “Hi, Jim. This is Mick. I got your note about Billy. Thank you. And I just want you to know something,” he said, “I, I’m OK about Ball Four these days. And one more thing,” he said, “I want you to know I’m not the reason you don’t get invited back to Old-Timers’ Day.” He said, “I heard that going around,” he said, “That’s not true. I never said that to anybody. Anyway, thanks for your note.” So, I saved it, obviously. I still have it. And it meant an awful lot to me. So, while we never spoke, we, we, we sort of, we sort of made up there.
Paulson: Well, after the — what appeared to be the end of your career with Houston — do you believe, by the way, that they released you because of the book? Or was it just baseball?
Bouton: No, it was just baseball. Believe me, if I could have gotten hitters out, I’d still be pitching. As I once said, “Charles Manson would be playing third base if he could hit .310.”
Paulson: [Laughs] Well, so, you were done with baseball, or so it appeared. And then you pick up the ball again, and you get into your head that you want to pitch professionally again. What drove that?
Bouton: I don’t know. Some — it was a crazy period in my life, and I guess I was having a midlife crisis, and I needed to — a challenge. And a voice in the back of my head over in the crazy section said, you know, “Go back to baseball. See if you can make it back a second time. It might be fun.” So, I played Minor League ball. Two years.
Paulson: And you, you probably had a knuckleball to rely on then.
Bouton: Yeah, it was all smoke and mirrors. A little of this. A little of that. Throwing knuckleballs. And then, of course, they thought a knuckleball was coming, and then something slower would come. It was very confusing.
Paulson: [Laughs] Does it surprise you, the longevity of some ballplayers now?
Bouton: No, no, because they take care of the guys today. They count their pitches, and they have all sorts of training devices. They pitch once every five or six days, not once every four days. They, they treat the players like thoroughbred horses, you know, we were farm animals.
Paulson: You have written a novel with a baseball theme.
Bouton: Yeah, baseball theme. It’s a story of an umpire, a home plate umpire that’s fixing a game. And it’s told from two points of view: the umpire who’s fixing the game and the pitcher against whom the game is being fixed, in alternating chapters, inning by inning. I write the pitcher’s side of it, and Eliot Asinof, the author of Eight Men Out, wrote the umpire’s side of it. So, he’s the umpire. I’m the pitcher.
Paulson: Having written the book with Asinof, whose book on the Chicago White Sox becoming the Black Sox is, is, you know, thorough and compelling and obviously laid the foundation for a pretty remarkable film—
Paulson: — as well, it does raise the question, “Could somebody throw a game? Today?”
Bouton: It would be hard to do. You’d have to have the umpire, I think, home plate umpire. Or you’d have to have a pitcher, a pitcher and a catcher, almost, a combination. But there’s really no incentive to do that. There’s so much money to be made playing the game legitimately —
Bouton: — you don’t need to do something to make money illegally. Like, you know, the guys in 1919, you can understand what their motivation might have been.
Paulson: And now you have a new book. It’s called Foul Ball: My Life and Hard Times Trying to Save an Old Ballpark. An unusual topic. And this is the, although much of your work revolves around baseball, this has to do with a ballpark that is, is one of the most historic in the nation. How did it come to your attention?
Bouton: Well, I live in Egremont, which is not far from Pittsfield, where Wahconah Park is located. And there had been a battle raging up in Pittsfield over whether or not to build a new stadium or, or save the old ballpark. Those are some of the two choices. And I’d been watching this go on for a couple of years, and I loved Wahconah Park. I love old ballparks. That’s one of the last of the wooden ballparks. They’d been playing baseball at that site since 1892. So, my partner and I said, “You know, we could get some money together, get some investors, renovate the ballpark, put a professional team in there from the Northern League or the Atlantic League, and, and give Pittsfield its own locally owned baseball team.” They won’t be held hostage, as they are year to year. You know, “Build us a new stadium, or you’ll never see your team again,” which is the threat that team owners make to cities all over the country. So, we wanted to sort of turn that upside down, and we would have a locally owned team at no cost to the taxpayers. We bring this idea to the city of Pittsfield, and we think it’s a no-brainer. They’re gonna go for this. Nobody has ever volunteered to invest money in this historic ballpark. And then we get attacked and, and beat up by — not physically beat up but rhetorically beat up and editorially abused by The Berkshire Eagle, which, which wants to build a baseball stadium on property that it owns. So, you have The Berkshire Eagle against us. It’s the only daily newspaper in town. And, so, we have the tyranny of a one-newspaper town.
Paulson: I want to read a paragraph that caught my eye here, because the show is about freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and, and all the fundamental liberties of expression. And you’ve got a paragraph in here referring to a Founding Father. You say, “The most insidious of the new stadium supporters are the media, the so-called free press that Thomas Jefferson once said was more important to democracy than a legislature.” Pretty tough stuff. You believe that to be the case for all press, or are you limiting your comments to The Berkshire Eagle?
Bouton: No. I, well, I don’t have firsthand experience with a lot of the media. I’m extremely nervous about the concentration in fewer and fewer hands. I don’t like corporations owning media. I don’t think they should be allowed to do that. So, that makes me nervous. But I never expected to run into anything like this in my life. And it was only after, you know, about a month of being involved in this project that I decided, you know, “I should start taking notes here.” I mean, here you have a city of Pittsfield, and the decisions are being made behind closed doors, and the City Council is beholden to the publisher of the newspaper, and the publisher of the newspaper needs to call his boss in Denver, Colorado, Dean Singleton, who owns MediaNews Group. So, the decisions on people in Pittsfield, their, their future and their baseball destiny, is in the hands of a guy in Denver. I just thought that was, you know, outrageous and needed to be written about.
Paulson: I loved your description of the ballpark. I mean, you convey so clearly why this has to be preserved, beginning with the people who played in this park. Can you talk about the history of, of, you know, this extraordinary facility?
Bouton: Well, it’s, you know, it’s an old wooden park. It’s situated backwards so that the sun sets in center field, which shines in the batter’s eyes. So, there’s always a ten-minute period where the umpire has to call time out because of a sun delay, which is a, you know, a nice marketing opportunity. Everybody goes and gets a hot dog. So, that’s part of its charm. It’s got quirky distances: a deep, deep right center field and a shorter left field. The stands are very close to the field. You can hear the players, you know, calling to each other. It’s just a, you know, sweet old venue that’s been called “Rockwell-esque” and “a baseball cathedral.”
Paulson: Lou Gehrig played there.
Bouton: Lou Gehrig, yeah. Casey Stengel got thrown out of a game there. Sugar Ray Robinson boxed there. Jim Thorpe played there.
Paulson: Wow. Well, we don’t want to give away the end of the book, but, I think, suffice it to say that you fight the good fight. You document very carefully what’s going on in the community. And you make the case for the need to preserve not just this ballpark but a lot of historic ballparks and, for that matter, American history to the extent we haven’t torn it down and razed it. There are a lot of beautiful things from a century ago that we can’t afford to lose.
Bouton: Yeah. That’s, that was the first point I wanted to make, was to try to save this old ballpark and talk about why these buildings are, are important to people. But the point that I ended up making inadvertently, I think, deals with this issue of free press and to what extent, what obligation does a local newspaper have to its community in terms of at least staying out of anything that would give it a conflict of interest, which is what we had here.
Paulson: Yeah, that’s an excellent point. And I think that’s one of the challenges you have when — look at the Chicago Tribune owning the Chicago Cubs.
Bouton: Exactly. Why should you have to wonder—
Bouton: — whether what you’re reading is influenced by the cross-ownership of various corporations?
Paulson: Like all of your books, Foul Ball is a thought-provoking work and will probably prompt all kinds of responses from people in power. Have they read the book yet?
Bouton: Yeah, The Berkshire Eagle has read it. They’re already starting to tee off in advance.
Paulson: I see.
Bouton: Get their shots in. It’s OK. The, the book speaks for itself.
Paulson: As do you. Our guest today has been author and former Major League pitcher Jim Bouton.
Tags: Speaking Freely | 79,375 |
Either a blank website page or a fatal error as shown in the example below:
Class ‘ZipArchive’ not found
Class ‘WP_Role’ not found
Class ‘DOMDocument’ not found
The only cause for this fatal error is that requested class does not exist in the scope of the executable code. In other words – your website simply does not know about the requested class. It is one of the most common errors when a website has multiple plugins installed that depend on each other or website server is missing one of the required PHP libraries like ZipArchive or Memcache.
In order to fix this fatal error, you should have good knowledge in PHP to debug the source code. Additionally you have to be aware of different PHP libraries that are available for PHP and how to activate them whenever is required and possible.
Read Me First
This error can be automatically fixed with CodePinch. Download CodePinch on your website and within hours we will be able to provide you with solution.
The ideal way to resolve this error is to find out where missing class is declared. Pay attention to the namespaces because sometimes developers mistakenly requesting a class from the wrong namespace.
When missing class is declared in the PHP core (e.g. DOMDocument, ZipArchive, DirectoryIterator) then you would have to check in the official php.net what PHP version and library you need to have to support this class.
When missing class is declared in one of the files of your application, then you would have to make sure that class exist before calling it. The example below shows how to fix very common fatal error “Class ‘WP_Widget_Recent_Posts’ not found”. This solution ensures that your website get executed even when the class WP_Widget_Recent_Posts does not exist anymore in the website’s codebase.
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@
- $widget = new WP_Widget_Recent_Posts();
+ $widget = (class_exists('WP_Widget_Recent_Posts') ? new WP_Widget_Recent_Posts() : null);
Note! This solution should be considered only as emergency/temporary. You still have to consult with professional software developer to find out the root cause of the fatal error and, if necessary, refactor the code-base. | 270,911 |
The petition by Amy King, calls for no changes to the current definition of marriage, as being a union between one man and one woman, regardless of what happens in Westminster.
The Scottish government has published its proposed legislation to introduce gay marriage.
Ministers, who previously decided they want to make the change, are now asking for people's views on a draft bill to be put to the Scottish Parliament.
Under the plans, religious and belief bodies would need to "opt in" to perform same-sex marriages.
Both the Church of Scotland and Roman Catholic Church are opposed to the proposals.
Scottish ministers have insisted no part of the religious community would be forced to hold same-sex weddings in churches.
Independent MPS John Finnie described some of the content of the petition as "offensive" and initially called for no further action to be taken on it, before agreeing with the rest of the committee that it should be kept open until the Scottish government legislation came under scrutiny.
SNP MSP John Mason said he "slightly" disagreed that the petition was offensive, saying it had a strongly held view.
MSPs then considered a response from the Scottish government to the committee's inquiry into homelessness among young people.
The second part of the committee can be viewed below:
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| Jesus died for me|
The just penalty for our sin, the wrong things every one
of us have done, is spiritual death; separation from God.
In the old testament times, God allowed animals to be sacrificed
for the people's sin and would accept the shed blood as a
substitute for the people's own life. But ever since man
had first sinned, God had planned a permanent solution. The
ultimate sacrifice that could pay the punishment for everyone's
sin and see justice done.
The plan was this, to send his
own son, Jesus who was himself God, to be born as a human
baby and live on this earth leading a perfect, sinless life,
and when He had done this, to voluntarily offer His own life
as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sin. Not just death
but separation from God, the only time Jesus had ever been
completely separated from His father.
This was prophesied hundreds of years before Jesus' birth
by Isaiah in ch53v6 "We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten
lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
GOD has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him".
And this is what He did. The fact that Jesus lived and walked
on this earth is historically undeniable. There is more evidence
of the existence of Jesus than there is of Julius Caesar.
He was born in Bethlehem, grew up as a carpenter, lived a
perfect life never sinning once. He loved & healed people,
taught them about God and was then falsely accused and crucified
by the Romans outside of Jerusalem. He did all this willingly
because He loved you so much that He wanted to save you from
the judgement you deserve. Hebrews 12v2 says "...for
the joy set before Him [Jesus] endured the cross, scorning
its shame...". Then
Jesus came back to life again after 3 days in 'hell' since death could not
hold the son of God.
This wonderful plan is summed up in one of the most well
know Bible verses, John 3v16-18. "This
is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, His one
and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed;
by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting
life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending His Son
merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how
bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted; anyone who refuses
to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence
without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure
to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced
to Him" (The Message).
You might think that's the end of the matter but there's
one more, all-important point that makes the difference between
life & death.
Click here for point number 4. | 20,455 |
NEW YORK – What is the point of a presidential debate? In the context of American presidential elections, “debate” is something of a misnomer. When former French President Nicolas Sarkozy faced his Socialist challenger, François Hollande, that was a debate – addressing substantive issues and lasting more than two hours. By contrast, presidential debates in the United States are more like staged performances, where the answers to every possible question have been rehearsed endlessly with teams of coaches and advisers.
The candidates in US debates address carefully selected journalists who rarely follow up on a question. And the candidates’ performances are scrutinized less on the substance of their arguments than on their presentation, body language, facial tics, unguarded sighs, smiles, sneers, and inadvertent eye rolling. Does the candidate come across as a snob, or a friendly guy whom one can trust? Do the smiles look real or fake?
These “optics” can be of great importance. After all, Richard Nixon’s race against John Kennedy in 1960 is said to have been lost on television: Kennedy looked cool and handsome, while Nixon scowled into the camera, with sweat trickling down his five o’clock shadow. In his debates with Ronald Reagan in 1980, Jimmy Carter came across as smug and humorless, and Reagan as a friendly old uncle. Carter lost.
In 2000, Al Gore, was unable to make up his mind about which role he wished to play in his debates with George W. Bush, so he looked shifty and inauthentic, changing from arrogant to patronizing and back again. He had the better arguments, but he lost the “debates” (and the election) nonetheless. | 55,243 |
Subsets and Splits