Common Core education debate continues today
After months of debate and discussion, the public gets a first chance to look at the new draft of Indiana's state academic standards beginning today. At stake is the future of education for students in grades K thru 12.
The point being to make students college and career ready. But, lawmakers, educators, parents can't seem to agree on the best way to do that.
Teams of educators have met and drafted this new set of standards to make sure students in Indiana are ahead of students in other states.
Common Core was a national standard the state adopted in 2010 along with about 45 other states. But, state educators felt like the plan wasn't rigorous enough. Consequently, a measure to end Common Core in Indiana is moving through the Statehouse.
The superintendent of one of the state's largest district - Indianapolis Public Schools - just hopes for something everyone can rally around.
"More rigorous standards are great and they can be a benefit to our students," said IPS Superintendent Dr. Lewis Ferebee. "But they're only as good as implementation. It's important for us to have the resources to provide professional learning opportunities for our teachers. To unpack those standards and have a deeper understanding so they can implement those standards in the classroom. But, I also ensure they have instructional resources in line with those standards," said Ferebee.
The biggest sticking point is the math component. There was a call by some educators to create standards on par with some of the leading countries in the world. But, others feel this draft falls short.
You can review and share your opinion at one of three public hearings starting today at Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg, the Indiana Government Center South in Indianapolis on Tuesday, and Plymouth High School Wednesday.


Rob Riordan President of High Tech High GSE
January 17, 2013
|Photo credit: usacehq via flickr|
What should students learn in the 21st century? At first glance, this question divides into two: what should students know, and what should they be able to do? But there's more at issue than knowledge and skills. For the innovation economy, dispositions come into play: readiness to collaborate, attention to multiple perspectives, initiative, persistence, and curiosity. While the content of any learning experience is important, the particular content is irrelevant. What really matters is how students react to it, shape it, or apply it. The purpose of learning in this century is not simply to recite inert knowledge, but, rather, to transform it.1 It is time to change the subject.
This is no small matter. For more than a century, the whole point of schooling has been to restrict the curriculum, specify the required content, and limit the entry points to it -- often by means of a watered-down, already obsolete text, mediated by a classroom manager whose task is to transmit the subject matter to 30 or more individuals of diverse backgrounds, experiences, interests, and resources. This is particularly true of the "big four" core subjects that the Carnegie Commission decided, nearly a century ago, to be the subjects that matter. English, math, science (biology, chemistry, and physics), and social studies count for much, and the fine and practical arts for much less. .Read more.


Pronunciation: (ter"i-tôr'ē-ul, -tōr'-), [key]
1. of or pertaining to territory or land.
2. of, pertaining to, associated with, or restricted to a particular territory or district; local.
3. pertaining or belonging to the territory of a state or ruler.
4. (of an animal) characterized by territoriality; defending an area against intruders, esp. of the same species.
5. (often cap.) of or pertaining to a territory of the U.S.
6. (cap.) Mil.organized on a local basis for home defense: the British Territorial Army.
1. (cap.) a member of the British Territorial Army.
2. a soldier in a territorial army.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.


This lesson is based on notes that we made for visitors to our house in Spain. In villages not many people speak English so it is very important to speak a bit of Spanish. If you can learn the vocabulary in this lesson you will be able to defend yourself in a Spanish bar.
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The first word is in English -
The second word is the Spanish translation of the first word.
The third line is the word in English in a sentence.
The fourth line is the word in Spanish in a sentence.
Use this lesson to rapidly increase your Spanish vocabulary so that you can get what you want in a Spanish bar.


Her later career
She “formulated plans for producing Aladdin, a picture she herself would direct from her original scenario.” (New York Times, 25 Aug. 1923)
She dropped Aladdin in favor of producing Rudyard Kipling's Kim, on location in India. She became involved with testing the kodachrome process. The required capital could not be raised for the film. (Maude Adams, an American Idol: True Womanhood Triumphant in the Late-Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth Century Theatre, doctoral thesis, 1984, Eileen Karen Kuehnl)
In the fall of 1922, Frohman Inc. wanted to take away Maude's partial rights to some of the plays she had been in. “In January of 1924, Barrie permanently settled the dispute in favor of Maude's opponents. She would never again be able to act in or produce any of his plays.” (He had sold out to a movie company, basically.)
Questions abounded about whether or not a return to the stage would be successful for her. Her roles were associated with past morals and culture. Management ways had been altered by the 1919 Actors Equity Association strike against Broadway producers. All players had now to join a union, and Maude refused to do so.
She became involved in developing lighting. General Electric developed a light using her specifications, made the light, and then took away the patent.
She wanted to produce color motion pictures. Her original idea was to film Peter Pan and The Little Minister in their theater dresses, called “photo-play.” She dropped her idea due to problems with the holders of the movie rights to Barrie's plays.
She taught at Stephens College for girls; 1943-1950, served as a special advisor died at age of 78 of a heart attack on July 17, 1953


Confederate History Month. Most of the uproar has come from the racism-means-insufficient-pandering crowd. This group prefers a Soviet style retelling of history in which events are fabricated or erased, relatively insignificant people are accorded disproportionately inappropriate significance, and current sensibilities are applied to events that took place 150 years ago.
Today's children are taught that the War Between the States was fought to end slavery. This claim is nonfactual historical revisionism. That war, like virtually all other wars, was fought for economic reasons. Northern legislators were keen to confiscate money that was earned from slave labor in order to build roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals and leave southern states without the means to create similar infrastructure.
At that time the majority of the electorate was in favor of maintaining slavery, in part because people were reluctant to compete for scarce jobs with recently freed slaves who would work for less than the prevailing wage rates. Abolitionists were relatively few in number.
If Lincoln and his cronies had but followed the British example, they would have purchased freedom for the slaves. The tragic loss of life and property resulting from that war was unnecessary. It occurred because Congress and the president took lawfully owned property away from its rightful owners against their wishes. Congress continues this practice today.


Demographics of present day Pakistan
The 165 million Pakistanis are divided ethnically, linguistically and religiously as follows:
|Religious Affiliation of Pakistanis|
|Ethnic Affiliation of Pakistanis|
|Native Language of Pakistanis|
It is noteworthy that Urdu is the official language of Pakistan even though it is the native language of only 8 percent of the population. Brahui is a language of the Dravidian family spoken in southern Balochistan.
In addition to the great ethnic diversity of Pakistan there is a major political problem that most of the ethnic groups within Pakistan are fractions of a number of international ethnic groups. That is to say the Pushtans are divided between Pakistan and Afghanistan; the Balochis are divided between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan and the Punjabis are divided between Pakistan and India.


The presented image, obtained using the MUSE spectrograph installed on the VLT complex, demonstrates the galaxy M 61, which is also known under the designation NGC 4303. It is located at a distance of 60 million light-years from Earth and is one of the largest members of the Virgo cluster.
Like our Milky Way, M 61 is a spiral galaxy with a bar. But there is also one significant difference between them. M 61 is one of the so-called galaxies with flashes of star formation — an unusually large number of stars are born in it. Therefore, astronomers use it as a natural laboratory to study this phenomenon.
Stars are formed by the compression of clouds of cold gas. The high-energy radiation of newborn luminaries heats and ionizes the gas residue surrounding them. It glows — and this glow serves as a kind of lighthouse, indicating that a new star has been born. That’s what you can see in the picture. The glowing gas forms a shining whirlpool of golden hue, which is direct evidence of stars being born in the spiral branches of M 61.
The golden glow in the photo is the result of superimposing images obtained at different wavelengths of light by the MUSE spectrograph. Clouds of ionized oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur are shown in blue, green, and red, respectively. The observations of M 61 were carried out within the framework of the PHANGS project, the purpose of which is to observe close galaxies at all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum with high angular resolution.
You can also admire the impressive photo of the spiral galaxy transmitted by the James Webb Telescope.
According to https://www.eso.org
Follow us on Twitter to get the most interesting space news in time


Teachers are trusted to look after children and teach them the information necessary to be able to excel in the real world. But, sometimes teaching children can be a bit difficult, without adequate resources. Every child hates a specific subject, be it English, Art, or Science, but Mathematics still takes the top position, for the most hated subject. The main reason for why children dislike Math is because it involves a lot of reasoning, which they are unable to process. When it comes to Math, the answer is always correct or incorrect, there is no other solution to a problem. Mixing up classes with interesting situations, will help students not only understand the relevance of the subject but also enjoy it.
Using an Online Learning Site
A popular site among teachers is the website, IXL.com. The website helps students practice mathematics. The aim of the website is to provide students with a wide-array of topics with unlimited questions. The good thing about a website such as IXL, is that it is engaging. It provides the learner with interactive activities and visual representations. The website aims to only provide practice and does not teach children how to solve the problems or how it is done.
PUMAS – Practical Users of Math and science, is a website that is developed by NASA. The website provides students with real-world examples and where math is used in everyday life. It includes the topics such as math magic problems, money maths, probability and traffic signals, etc. PUMAS is a tool that is majorly used in engaging students into older and newer concepts of maths, by presenting it in an interactive way. Not only can the website be extremely engaging and help keep students interested in the classroom, it can also be used at home.
In today’s world, technology is everything. Using technology through websites or maths apps, you can keep the student’s interest and help them learn at the same time. The Mystery Math Museum is a maths app, which is mainly targeted towards children, between the age of 6-12 years. The main mission of the app is to make the student solve math problems while trying to rescue a dragonfly. As they progress in the game, they unlock different rooms and passageways while they earn portraits to store in their gallery. This engaging maths app not only challenges but engages student.
Although maths may be a serious subject and needs a lot of focus and concentration, games help in retention. Playing games that utilise mathematical sums and questions help keep the students’ interest for longer. A popular game for math learning is ‘buzz’. Buzz is suitable for primary school students as they cover the basics of multiplication and counting numbers. To play buzz, every student should count from one, out-loud. when a child gets to seven or a multiple of seven, they must replace the number by saying ‘buzz’. If a student stumbles, says the wrong word or misses one, you must begin all over again. To increase the difficulty, simply use another number that you want to teach the multiples of. The game is otherwise called as ‘7-Up’.


I am excited to share my latest thinking about interactive edits. In the past, I have used D.O.L. (Daily Oral Language) worksheets in my classroom in the hopes that my students would correct all the mistakes in poorly written sentences. I hoped, that by knowing how to correct numerous errors in poorly written sentences, they would be able to write correctly themselves.
My thinking completely shifted when I learned about Jeff Anderson and his idea of showing students well-written sentences, rather than putting poorly written sentences in front of them. If you ever have the opportunity to hear Mr. Anderson speak, TAKE IT! He is phenomenal…and highly entertaining I might add.
Check out this amazing 3-minute video of Jeff Anderson as he explains how to invite students to notice great writing.


Thursday, April 09, 2015
One of today’s biggest mobile problems is that of battery life. When the battery is fully charge the world is our at out fingertips, but when it is running low or flat then we are effectively cut off from the world. Having to recharge the smartphone can be a chore we would rather live without and the time it often takes to recharge can seem an eternity.
So what if you could charge your battery in a minute, it held its charge longer and the battery itself was smaller and more flexible?
Researchers in Stanford University have made a breakthrough that could lead to the fast charging and longer lasting batteries and have published their findings in Nature (April 6th). In an article, the authors note, ‘This was the first time an ultra-fast aluminium-ion battery was constructed with stability over thousands of cycles.’
Using an aluminum-ion prototype, they were able to charge a smartphone type battery in 60 seconds, or 60 times faster than the conventional lithium-ion battery. The protoype consists of a soft pouch, containing aluminium for one electrode and a graphite foam for the other - all surrounded by a special liquid salt. Also they claim that its durability is also greater and that it can stand up to about 7,500 charge-discharge cycles before losing any of its capacity compared to Lithium-ion batteries 1,000 cycles. But it doesn’t stop there and they also have found that there are safety and pliability benefits.
Ming Gong, co-lead author of the Nature study, ‘You can bend it and fold it, so it has the potential for use in flexible electronic devices. Aluminium is also a cheaper metal than lithium.’
Prof Hongjie Dai from Stanford University in California claims, ‘Our new battery won't catch fire, even if you drill through it.’ This could address concerns raised on lithium-ion batteries, which have resulted in recent bans on air transport.
Now the challenge is moving what was discovered in the labs into being a commercial reality. Some question the energy density of these batteries and whether the results in the lab can be scaled up, but irrespective the findings start to point the way to creating new opportunities to connect for longer, more efficiently and could open the doors to many new devices and applications.
We just now have to wait.
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
The Organisational Impact of Communications in Today’s World?
A company may have the best product or service and the smartest technology, but these alone no longer guarantee success. They may have a significant marketing budget, but billboards, page adverts, glossy catalogues and call centres now longer guarantee sustainable success. The supply chain may be well oiled and automated, but reducing waste and delivering to just in time models are by themselves now longer offer unique value and guarantee success. The sales and marketing messages may be slick and focused, but the message in a social networked world is no longer the prize and getting it across to the market no longer a simple process.
Mass market advertising still has its place, but direct marketing now is challenging it even in the mass market. Being able to now effectively engage with consumers and feed their habits, respond to them and truly engage and retain them is the real goal. Creating brand loyalty and through that product and service loyalty and a customer for life is the Holy Grail. Once that was the sole domain of the retailer, or end service provider, but in a world of virtual marketplaces the channel to market is changing and with it the communications with the end consumer. Sharing consumers in non-sharing partnerships is the same as not sharing basic trading information before Supply Chain management.
We now crave the viral hit. That moment when the word of the internet overtakes all the market budgets we could muster and value and perception truly transfer to the mass. When it works it can create instant recognition, market and demand but is just in time world not satisfying it on demand can be as damaging as not creating it in the first place. However, like winning the Lottery it can’t be achieved by all so bets have to be spread and ‘silver bullet’ strategies avoided.
Reputation can be built and destroyed in a click. Consumers, like sheep tend now to follow and identifying the leaders and influences is a challenge to all. It is truer than ever that one bad experience can influence ten others. In fact the numbers are probably significantly higher today and the impact far faster than yesterday’s word of mouth.
So what does this mean to the organisation and its focus?
We would suggest the following thoughts;
Effective trading partnerships across the supply and value chain is more important than ever. In an channel were much is outsourced the performance of others can now often impact a business more than it can imagine. How do you organise your partners and work together for mutual benefit? Who monitors partner relationships and their effectiveness? What information is shared and how does it help the consumer engagement?
What is communicated with who, when and how?
Service extends to more than throwing goods over the wall, or tracking parcels. Knowing what the other party wants to know and responding to them when they want something is as important as the product they bought. How many of us tear our hair out trying to get in touch with a Google, Amazon, eBay, Apple etc. It’s as if the tablets only ever go one way and those that effectively crack this challenge are the winners of tomorrow.
Information is as valuable as revenue. Collecting information for the sake of collecting information may appeal but using that information to engage with all is the goal. However, the challenge is learning to share information in a manner which respects the privacy of the individual but enables partners to help deliver and for businesses to engage with them. Remember when suppliers and retailers started to share forecast and demand information and the resultant benefits that gave to some supply chains?
Should we create a CCO (Chief Communication Officer) as it clearly not a CTO (Chief Technology Officer) or a CIO (Chief Information Officer). Perhaps the role fall within the emerging Digital Director remit. Marketing is an obvious home but is often only consumer focused and lacking technology depth. Is a COO (Chief Operating Officer) the appropriate function as is it about process, touch points, messages and responses?
Different organisations will respond differently, according to size, skills and complexity of the chain, but communications now needs to be at the forefront of today’s boardroom thinking and developing the appropriate strategy and measuring its performance and effectiveness is an opportunity for all who sit around the board table to engage with.
Monday, April 06, 2015
How did we arrive to where we are today?
It now seems a lifetime away when we started our technology journey which we w all take for granted today. Back in ’68 there were only 32 computers in the whole of Sheffield and we can even remember the companies, the computers and what they were capable of. The explosion of computing that followed was first aimed at companies and institutions and automating the numbers and providing the information in near to real time as possible.
PCs and networks then changed the landscape and importantly companies became aware of the huge waste created across the Supply Chains and started to migrate from, ‘slipping notes under closed doors’ with trading their partners to communicating and sharing information with them. Supply Chain Management opened up communications through EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) standards and technology. Home computing was also born albeit over extremely poor network services.
Business then started to look hard at their value chains and their core functions and where they added value. Technology was still see as a generic function but it started to deliver effective ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and later CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions, which were no longer bespoke but packed and configurable. Outsourcing non-core activity became a given. IT finally started to break through the board room glass ceiling and CIOs (Chief Information Officers) and CTOs (Chief Technology Officers) became common seats around the table. The Internet was born and networks started to move from dirt tracks to super highways and deliver and mobile communications, laptop PCs and consumer technology took off.
Then came two major and significant seismic shifts in the form of mobile communications technology and mobile applications. Social networking became something that impacted all; first the individual both young and old and then the corporate, institution and public entity. This explosion of demand was further fuelled by rapid advances in network technology and the emergence of truly mobile devices. We were all permanently switched on and desired to communicate and carried our computer around in our pocket. Where we and other ‘friends’ were, what we are doing and with whom and our thoughts was now often now just a click away.
Harnessing all this mass of information and creating ‘Big Data’ opportunities is now a business in itself.
Computing was no longer owned by the corporate, even warfare was being waged over the airwaves as much as the battlefield. Fame could be instantaneous at the individual level and commercial success was often no longer reliant on huge marketing budgets and programmes alone.
Today commercial businesses now no longer just have a web presence and ecommerce, but an array icons splattered in their sites to link them to every social network where they also have their own presence. We have Blogs, videos, and tweets to promote their products, services and values. In this multi-dimensional world text is no longer enough and communications is no longer one way. We have a new breed of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and analytic services knocking on every door and customer and market insight programmes are the buzz.
So where exactly are you today and more importantly where are you going tomorrow and how do you we achieve that journey?
How should businesses organise themselves for the Communications World of tomorrow?
Tomorrow we will give our thoughts what we believe is one of the greatest challenges today and into the near future.


I remember being taught at school that Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue to prove that the Earth was round and not flat. Mr Columbus seemed to be the only man in Europe to have thought this way and his gullible and rebellious sailors were afraid that they would slip over the edge unto their doom. Why spoil a rollicking good story with the truth (what is truth?). In fact, no one of this period thought that the Earth was flat. The Ancient Greeks had worked out that the Earth was a globe from empirical evidence. By observing a ship pass across the horizon it was noted that the ship started to disappear from the bottom up. This sequence of events could only be compatible with a globe Earth. In 240BC the Greek philosopher, Eratosthenes, measured the circumference of the Earth using a little nifty trigonometry. Considering the crudeness of his methodology his estimate was surprisingly accurate.
The evidence that the Earth is a globe is multivarious and undeniable and you would have to be an absolute and complete nutter to believe that the Earth is flat. Die-hard ‘Flat Earthers’ of the English Flat Earth society finally admitted defeat in the 1960s and disbanded mainly due to evidence obtained from the space programme. Now you would think that would be the end of the discussion and the flat Earth theory would be consigned to the bin of historical curiosities. But nay, it seems that the belief in a flat Earth has had a resurgence in recent years and according to a recent survey 4% of millennials in the US believe in a flat Earth. So in a modern technological society how is it possible to believe such obvious nonsense? I blame the internet. At the flick of the wrist, you can be exposed to all manner of treatises. There has never been an age where so much information has been at our fingertips. But not all information is created the same and therein lies the problem. Not everyone will exercise their critical faculty when obtaining ‘knowledge’ from the internet making them vulnerable to accepting crackpot and unsubstantiated ideas and hypotheses. Furthermore, there appears to be a growing trend to consider science and other authority systems as misleading. This appears allied to a conspiracy mindset. There is no doubt that government agencies lie to their citizens or withhold information on a regular basis. This has always been the case. In the past, people were more trusting of the government than today. And to be fair this is not a bad thing. Everything should be open to critical scrutiny and this sentiment applies especially to government. However, this does not mean that all our leaders and Justin Beiber are shape-shifting alien lizards from the planet Theton.
So what does the modern day flat Earther actually believe in? The mechanics of the flat Earth are extremely fluid and appear to be very much driven by individual imagination rather than sound scientific principles. The following exposition is just a general guide. Thus, the Arctic region is represented at the centre of the Earth and the edge consists of an ice wall (Antarctica) which prevents oceans from crashing over a precipice. The sun, moon and stars are envisaged as being uncomfortably close (a few miles away) and disconcertingly small. After this things get decidedly hazy. A raft of convoluted explanations is put forth to account for observed natural phenomena such as the progression of day/night and the seasons. Flat Earthers generally deny the existence of gravity and other well established scientific principles. Their explanations are heavily dependant on intuition. How can the Earth be round if we can’t observe curvature? Or if the Earth is spinning why is it we remain in the same place if we jump off the ground? Surely if the Earth is revolving thousands of miles per hour we would expect to land elsewhere? Simple well established physical principles seem unknown such as inertia and conservation of momentum. This mindset comes under the umbrella of ‘scientific ignorance’ or the principle of ‘personal incredulity’. Basically, this means that because the individual can’t grasp the principle then it cannot exist. The fact that the greatest minds that have ever existed have grappled and solved nature’s conundrums is completely lost on these folk. And this brings me to the next point. The general level of education is pitifully lacking. Their arguments are farcical to anyone with a half decent school education. Sadly, the flat Earth fraternity represents woeful evidence and advertisement for the Dunning-Kruger effect.
In addition, to believing in a flat world there appears to be necessary add ons. Thus, if the moon is a small disc then NASA did not go there or anywhere as space travel is impossible if the Earth is covered with a dome. The International Space Station is visible to the naked eye if you are patient and prepared to wait for a suitable conjunction. I’ve watched the station through my 10” Dobsonian reflector telescope on several occasions. Due to the high resolving power of the telescope, I can make out features on this man-made object 400 km above the Earth. Explain this away flatties?
|International Space Station through a 10" telescope|
A flat Earth conference was held last year in Denver, Colorado and a second is planned this year. Interestingly the location of the conference is given by GPS coordinates. The fact that GPS is dependent on Earth orbit satellites to provide locational data is lost on the attendees. While watching video coverage of last year’s highlights I couldn’t help but notice that the affair seemed to attract a certain type of person. No doubt they would describe themselves as ‘free thinkers’ but I noticed the usual suspects: ‘the mad, the bad and the sad’. The organisers and keynote speakers are happy to perform in the only arena they could shine and receive almost godlike adulation from their followers. Heady stuff for immature intellects and social inadequates. Although flatties would view themselves as individualistic and innovative thinkers all I can see is a load of intellectual sheep. And of course, where there are sheep there are wolves. Not all flat Earthers are genuine believers. As always the unscrupulous have found an easy mark to exploit and make money through youtube videos and merchandise.
By the way and if you are interested the next conference will cost a mere US$199 for a two-day event if you register early. See you there. I’ll be the blond fella wearing a tin foil hat. Wibble, bollocks.
|Let's take no chances|


Self Care / Coping Techniques
Spirasi uses several stress-reduction techniques for clients who experience anxiety.
Capacitar is a series of techniques developed by Dr. Pat Cane to help people from all cultures deal with stress and trauma.
GROUNDING TECHNIQUES WHEN TRIGGERED
If you have experienced any kind of trauma or a very stressful situation, it can happen that certain things such as specific smells, tastes, touches, shadows, images or something someone says or does can trigger you into a traumatic reaction.
You may find yourself suddenly in a state that feels like panic or terror or mentally transported back to a traumatic event so that it feels like it is happening in the present.
There are some techniques that can really help; here are some possibilities:
Hold your hands under cold running water.
Wash your hands while noticing yourself doing so.
Hold an ice cube.
Splash water on your face.
Smells can help.
Pierce the flesh of an orange, lime or lemon.
Place your hand on your tummy.
Breathe in while counting to 7.
Breathe out while counting to 11.
Both the breathing and the counting are grounding.
Sing a song and pay attention to the words.
Think about what song might support you in this situation so that
you don't have to think of once at the time.
Your body may feel frozen.
If you can, move your body or some part of it.
Get up and move around, if you can. Stretch your arms. Jump.
Stamp around, feel and hear your feet contact the ground.


Rochester Castle, like many of England’s castles, was built in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066 to maintain a strong and visible military presence that would discourage armed resistance from the Anglo-Saxon populace. Situated strategically close to the River Medway, this formidable edifice would have been an intimidating enough sight to give even the most resolved enemy pause when considering an attack.
Standing over 113 feet tall, the colossal structure towers above the surrounding area as a defining feature of the town and one of the most important historic sites in Kent. The castle was built in 1127 in a utilitarian manner with a solely military purpose, and so in spite of its impressive size and atmospheric ambiance, it noticeably lacks the beauty and charm of other more ornamental castles. But sure enough, the castle was besieged on several occasions in the Middle Ages, most notably during the First and Second Barons’ Wars of the 12th century.
The First Barons’ War was a bloody and prolonged civil war sparked by the tyrannical King John of England, who continued to violate the laws of the Magna Carta that he had been forced to sign at swordpoint. A group of powerful barons rebelled against the despot and fomented an uprising to overthrow the regime. In 1216, a contingent of the rebel army seized Rochester Castle and waited for reinforcements from London, but the army of King John burned the city’s bridge, preventing their arrival. This led to a fierce siege by the rebels, who finally had to surrender rather than starve to death, and were granted clemency.
The castle was again besieged in 1264 during the Second Barons’ War. The rebel army was once again led by a group of barons who sought to reassert the terms of the Magna Carta. This time the war had arisen in the face of a constitutional crisis caused by the misrule of King Henry III. During the siege, a greater degree of damage was inflicted on the castle, which is still evident today. Though the rebels were able to breach the outer walls, the defenders stood firm in the castle keep, firing arrows and crossbow bolts at the attackers. Due to the subsequent arrival of royal reinforcements, the army of the barons was eventually forced to withdraw.
Today, the castle is an English Heritage site and museum, where its rich medieval history can be explored to the full and the ruins of this atmospheric edifice may be easily visited on a day trip from London or Canterbury.
Know Before You Go
The castle is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the entrance fee costs £6.40 or £4 if you are a card-carrying student.
The castle is unfortunately not good for those with mobility issues as the entire tour is around irregular rough stone steps, many of them on tight spiral staircases. There are benches throughout. It's 100+ steps to the top, and another 100+ back down.
There are small car parks near the castle, and there is ample pay parking on the Esplanade along the river below the castle.


The very structure of the human brain has something to do with god, religion and spirituality, Dr.Andrew Newberg, a US neuroscientist, says after a study// of brains of people belonging to different religions.
The frontal lobe, the area right behind our foreheads, helps us focus our attention in prayer and meditation.
The parietal lobe, located near the backs of our skulls, is the seat of our sensory information. Newberg says it's involved in that feeling of becoming part of something greater than oneself.
The limbic system, nestled deep in the center, regulates our emotions and is responsible for feelings of awe and joy.
Newberg calls religion the great equalizer and points out that similar areas of the brain are affected during prayer and meditation. Newberg suggests that these brain scans may provide proof that our brains are built to believe in God. He says there may be universal features of the human mind that actually make it easier for us to believe in a higher power.
After spending his early medical career studying how the brain works in neurological and psychiatric conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, depression and anxiety, Dr. Newberg took that brain-scanning technology and turned it toward the spiritual. His specialization is called neurotheology.
Franciscan nuns, Tibetan Buddhists, and Pentecostal Christians in religious ecstasy were among those studied by Dr.Newberg and his team at the University of Pennsylvania.
"When we think of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, we see a tremendous similarity across practices and across traditions," Newberg says.
Some nuns and other believers champion the Pennsylvania brain scans as proof of an innate, physical conduit between human beings and God.
According to them, it would only make sense that God would give humans a way to communicate with the Almighty through their brain functions.
But others say th
e brain scans are proof that the emotions attached to religion and God are nothing more than manifestations of brain circuitry.
Scott Atran, an anthropologist does not think that that religion and spirituality is an innate quality hardwired by God in the human brain. Rather religion is a mere byproduct of evolution and Darwinian adaptation, he asserts.
"Just like we're not hardwired for boats, but humans in all cultures make boats in pretty much the same way, Atran explains. "Now, that's a result both of the way the brain works and of the needs of the world, and of trying to traverse a liquid medium and so I think religion is very much like that."
Or one may take the so-called palmistry as another example. The creases found on the palms are a mere byproduct of human beings working with hands - stretching back to the ages of striking the first fires, hunting the first prey to building early shelter.
Thus though the palm lines are coincidentally formed by eons of evolution and survival, cultures around the world try to find meaning in them through different forms of palm reading, Atran notes.
Today, scientific images can track our thoughts on God all right, but the question why we think of God in the first place remains unsolved.
GPL/B Related medicine news :1
. Use of Cellular Phones associated with Increased risk of Brain Tumors2
. Brain death – How to cope with it3
. “Brain fingerprinting”- The new lie detectr4
. Nasal Spray Could Take Drugs Direct to Brain.5
. Virus Combats Brain Tumour6
. Nasal Spray Could Take Drugs Directly to Brain7
. Control of anger disorder connected to Brain Dysfunction8
. High Levels of Protein Linked to Brain Shrinkage 9
. Brain damage affects artistic skill10
. Brain cells protected by new compounds 11
. Brain changes observed in people with sleep apnoea


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A stall is what happens when an aerofoil can not make enough lift to keep the aircraft in level flight. Stalling is risky and can be dangerous during low-level flying.
The stall is most likely to happen because of low air speed. To make up for low speed, a pilot will raise the nose of the aircraft to increase angle of attack, increase Lift Coefficient and keep the same lift. However, after a critical angle of attack is passed (often around 16 degrees) the lift stops increasing and actually collapses, causing a stall.
The critical angle of attack will always stall the aircraft. It does not matter whether the aircraft is going fast or slow.
Signs of the stall
The signs of the developing stall are:
low air speed, high nose position, less effective controls, and light buffet (shaking) in the stick and rudder pedals.
The signs of a full stall are:
heavy buffet in the controls, nose drops, the aircraft descends (falls).
There is the chance of entering a spin if the wings are not level.
Recovery from a Stall
To recover from a stall, the pilot must push the nose down. Then he must increase the engine power using the throttle. When air speed increases again, the pilot can level his wings and pull up to return to his assigned flight level.
An aircraft with a T tail is at risk from deep stall, because the turbulent air coming back off the stalled wings covers the elevators and makes it very difficult to push the nose down and recover.
A Stall Turn is an aerobatic manoeuvre also known as a hammerhead. The pilot lowers the aircraft's nose to increase speed, then pulls up sharply to the vertical. The aircraft slows to a low airspeed, then the pilot applies rudder to yaw to the left or right through 180 degrees. The pilot then recovers from the subsequent dive once the aircraft has sufficient airspeed. If executed correctly the wing is not stalled at any point, hence the preferred name of "hammerhead" for this manoeuvre.


The wall of dust typically reaches heights between 1,500 and 3,000 feet and can stretch as far as 100 miles wide. To put that into perspective, that's the distance between Phoenix and Tucson.
Walls of dust can stretch as far as 100 miles wide
However, the Valley has seen dust storms that are even bigger. On July 5, 2011, the biggest haboob ever observed in the Valley rolled in. It was estimated at over 5,000 feet tall and stretched the entire length of the Valley, from Goodyear to Apache Junction.
If you get caught outside during a dust storm, seek shelter immediately or you may be hurt by flying rocks and debris being thrown around by winds up to 50 mph.
If you’re driving when a dust storm hits, remember to pull off to the right, take your foot off of the brake and turn off your car’s engine and lights. Wait there until visibility improves.
The effects of dust storms can linger for days, worsening our air quality and causing many people difficulty breathing.


Cats have excellent eyesight, and they rely on their super sharp vision to prosper in the environment they live in, whether that’s outdoors or inside. But in some cases, felines can develop blindness, especially as they get older.
There are a few signs you can look for to help you find out if your cat’s vision is deteriorating. Of course, if you suspect your cat might be going blind, you must consult your veterinarian right away. Regular vet checkups can also help detect and treat eye problems early.
Here’s how to stay on top of finding out if your cat might be going blind or experiencing eye issues.
Watch Your Cat’s Behavior And Check Their Eyes
The most obvious way you might discover your cat is losing their sight is if you notice them becoming clumsy while going about their day to day activities.
Specific things to look out for include:
- Misjudging attempts to jump up or down from furniture or cat trees.
- Seeming like they’re bumping into furniture around the house that has always been in the same space.
- Looking like they’re walking around in a wary and unbalanced state.
- Seeming disoriented while trying to look for their food bowls or litter box.
Beyond clumsiness, you can look closely at your cat’s eyes to see if anything seems amiss. In particular, one of your cat’s pupils might appear bigger or smaller than the other, which can signal the onset of blindness.
Squinting can also be a sign to watch out for. Redness around the eyes or the eyes looking cloudy can be warning signs that should be brought up with your vet, too.
If you notice your cat meowing more, that can be an indicator that the cat is in distress and attempting to communicate this to you for help.
Finally, as a quick test, move a favorite toy up and down in front of your cat. If the cat doesn’t seem to recognize the presence and movement of the toy, that might mean blindness has become an issue.
How Should You Care For A Blind Cat?
First of all, when it comes to caring for a blind cat, you must seek out advice from your vet. They can help guide you through the process. And remember, a blind cat can still live out a loving and healthy life!
You might be advised to switch up your home environment so that it’s easier for the blind cat to make their way up onto a favorite chair or sleeping spot.
Clutter in the house is also something to avoid. Keep things open and clear so your cat can move around without bumping into anything.
Finally, it’s prudent to give any cat with blindness or visibility issues a name tag that documents the ailment. If they happen to get lost or end up at an emergency vet, this will help whoever finds them know what to expect.
Do you have experience with caring for a blind cat? Did you see any signs that they were losing their vision? Tell us your top tips in the comments section below!


Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Most of the clothes we wear are produced in Global South countries. Wages are lower, after all. Producers do have to lower their costs to stay in business, and it's natural that they would seek lower wage costs.
However, the problem comes where there's no minimum wage, no controls on the number of hours worked, no environmental protections, and no protection for workers who try to unionize. Here, the drive to minimize costs comes at a real cost to workers. They have to put food on the table for their families, so they have no bargaining power.
Most companies oppose unions. There are exceptions; Harley Davidson has generally good relationships with its unions (apart from the recent strike), and Cingular stated that it would not oppose its workers joining unions. But exceptions like these prove the rule. Even in the US, which has formal protections guaranteeing the right to organize and bargain collectively, many companies engage in questionable tactics to prevent unions from forming.
At the University of Michigan, there is a campaign to get the University to adopt the Designated Suppliers Program:
"University logo apparel goods will be sourced from a set of designated supplier factories that have been determined by universities to have affirmatively demonstrated full and consistent respect for the rights of their employees. In addition to respect for the standards currently embodied in university codes of conduct, these factories will also be required to meet two additional standards: demonstrable respect for rights of association – as evidenced by the presence of a legitimate, representative union or other representative employee body – and the payment of a livable wage. University licensees will pay these factories prices for their products sufficient to allow factories to achieve these standards, prices which will represent modest increases over industry norms, and will be expected to maintain the kind of long-term relationships with these factories necessary to allow for a reasonable degree of financial stability and job security. These factories will produce primarily or exclusively for the university logo goods market."
The Program contains stipulations for workplace standards, pricing of orders, monitoring, transparency, and enforcement. The University previously relied on its Code of Conduct, which specified standards that the University had to adhere to when sourcing apparel. It was rarely enforced. Those factories that did enforce it became uncompetitive, and went out of business. However, the University has not done anything about it. Although 30 other Universities signed the DSP, the U of M has refused to do so.
12 students from Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality sat in at the President's office yesterday. They were arrested, and President Coleman apparently instructed the county prosecutor to press misdemanor charges. Apparently, President Coleman only told them that she does not accede to demands from students. This demonstrates arrogance and a lack of accountability, as well as a lack of concern for human rights.


They're still not terribly fast, and they don't move terribly far, but I've arrived at the crucial step of getting artificial muscles to actuate something more than just a weight hanging from a string. First up, we have a heterochiral muscle (the type that expand when heated) flexing a piece of paper. Each coil of the muscle is sewn to the paper on one side with a loop of thread, so the coils expand on one side and are constrained on the other, causing the paper to bend. This is almost a no-load movement, and strikes me as being most useful for something decorative, such as an artificial plant. You might notice that the cooling cycle is almost as quick as the heating cycle. I attribute that to chilly ambient temperatures in the upstairs laboratory.
Next we have a homochiral (contracting) muscle, rotating a piece of cardboard on a hinge. The opposing force of the rubber band on the opposite side pulls the cardboard back into its original position during the cooling cycle. The homochiral muscle featured in the video has been annealed with some space between the coils when at rest, so it doesn't have to be put under tension in order to have working room.
Both of these muscles are drawing about 1 A of current. They are made of Trilene Big Game fishing line, test strength 50 lb., diameter 711 um, with a heating element of 10/46 copper litz wire. The homochiral muscle has two strands wired in parallel. The heterochiral muscle was coiled on a rod of 3/16” diameter, while the homochiral muscle was coiled on a 1/8” rod.
Annealing muscles with built-in coil spacing
I determined in some previousexperiments that trying to spread the coils of a homochiral muscle when one first coils it on the rod is a bad idea. At this point there is a great deal of tension on the line – it wants to uncoil itself – and the coils don't cooperate very well. Coiling the muscle on a threaded rod is a possibility that I haven't tried yet; the spacing of the threads would limit the coil spacings one could achieve.
I started looking at ways to adjust the coil spacing after the initial annealing. First, I tried putting the muscle under tension (with no rod in the center) and running a high current through the heating wire, hoping to anneal it into its new shape. This method gives the most even coil spacing one could ask for, but the amount of heat applied to the muscle was only sufficient to “soft-set” it. I noticed that as it sat around for a few days, the coils slowly returned to their original close-packed configuration. When I tried annealing a muscle under tension at full heat in the oven, without a supporting rod in the center, the coils just went flat.
In the end, the best method I found was to put the muscle through its first annealing phase, manually spread the coils on the rod, then anneal it a second time. It's a little tedious – friction holds the coils against the rod, so you have to slide each one into the right position with your fingernail to get the spacing even – but it seems to work.
|A close-up photo of the homochiral muscle with spread coils|
An aside about plastic springs
In addition to artificial muscles, you can make simple passive springs by coiling nylon monofilament around a rod and annealing it (without primary twisting or a heating wire). The spring constant is determined by the thickness of the filament (larger diameters yield larger constants) and the size of the rod (smaller diameters yield larger constants). I got rather excited about this a few months ago, thinking I'd never need to buy a spring again. The problem is, these plastic springs don't necessarily hold up well.
If you follow any of my social media feeds, you might remember when I posted this spider leg video. There's a plastic spring at each joint, made from the 533 um Zebcom Omniflex line, and I'm actuating them by pulling the tendons with my fingers:
I took that video the day I finished building the leg. A few days later, the leg was in sorry shape, merely because I had allowed my house to heat up in the afternoons. This was sufficient to make the springs relax a good deal, so that I had to shorten them to get the same degree of tension I had before.
Naturally, this leaves me in some concern about the muscles as well. How might they be affected by high ambient temperatures? I haven't done any tests in which I compared a muscle's performance across many sessions of operation, with temperature spikes in between.
Comments now require moderator approval, because spammers have been really junking up the place. Sorry.
In the new year, I think I'm going to try to build an “artificial muscle summary” page featuring everything I've learned, for the benefit of others who want to experiment. Once that's done, I may set muscles aside for a while. There are soooo many other things I want to work on.
Have a most excellent New Year!
Have a most excellent New Year!


The chief science officers program teaches students how to bring awareness to STEM at their schools.
Students who participate in STEM programs if they want to pursue a career that requires that knowledge.
“That’s why STEM is so cool because you can go and get a PhD in engineering or some sort of science,” Allison Sweeney, Chief Science Officer program coordinator, said. “You can go to vocational school after high school and start as an electrician or something right away>
As a STEM ambassador, students are a voice for STEM programs at their school. They make action plans that ensure all students in their school are getting a well rounded education in STEM subjects.
The program continues through Wednesday at Southern Oregon University. To end the day on Wednesday they showcase everything they have learned in the program.


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The government of the Northwest Territory was begun in Marietta (now in Ohio) on July 15, 1788. Arthur St. Clair was the appointed governor. Formation of county governments was begun. Knox County was formed June 20, 1790 with Vincennes as the county seat. The county was much bigger than the present state of Indiana.
A major problem for the government of the Northwest Territory was relations with the Indian tribes. There was continuing unrest and hostility between the Indians and the settlers.
American General Anthony Wayne led a major defeat of Indian tribes at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794. The resulting Treaty of Greenville was signed on August 3, 1795. "About two thirds of the future state of Ohio and a small portion of southeastern Indiana was thus freed of Indian claims plus sixteen small tracts at the portages and along the river routes. In Indiana these included the Wabash-Maumee portage, Ouiatanon, Clark's Grant, and the Vincennes Tract around the village on the Wabash." The Indian tribes received $20,000 in goods and were promised annual goods valued at $9,500. The annual goods were split into $1,000 or $500 portions for each individual tribe.
The territory moved to the second stage of government on October 29, 1798. William Henry Harrison was elected the first delegate to Congress from the territory in 1799. There was much political agitation about the new financial burdens of government and about civil rights by residents in the western part of the territory. An example of the agitation, excerpted from a Knox County petition, is provided on this page. Harrison helped in the passage of legislation to divide the territory into two governments.
Sources: Barnhart and Riker, 272-74, 280-94, 301-5, 308-12.


3rd Confederate Infantry Regiment in Cleburne’s Division in late Atlanta Campaign 1864.
On Thursday, September 24, the artist was called to pick up the painting with the explanation that under California’s state law, the local fair district cannot hang the painting to be shown. California’s fair districts are a state run entity and fall under the 2014 law AB-2444 and cannot sell or display Confederate flags and symbols.
As a consolation, the artist was told, “the painting was allowed to be judged” and, “ had it won a place or prize, those would have been awarded to the artist.”
The fair people the artist talked with were sympathetic and showed the June 2015 letter from the State of California that was mailed to all fair districts and to all vendors and concessionaires who are operating their business at California fairs. The artist asked if he was considered a vendor or concession as he was not selling the painting. The reply was no, that the fair cannot display it. He asked for a copy of the letter and was told that they would mail him a copy. He was also told that the fair people had petitioned by telephone call to the California Fairs Director in Sacramento, that the painting depicted an historical scene, and also contacted the state Attorney General. It seemed that everyone’s hands were tied by the legislation. At some point someone in Sacramento had to have decided that the historic depiction did not matter.
Here is the law:
Assembly Bill No. 2444
An act to add Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 8195) to Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to the Confederate flag.
[Approved by Governor September 25, 2014. Filed with Secretary of State September 25, 2014.]
legislative counsel’s digest
AB 2444, Hall. Confederate flag: sales: government property.
Existing law regulates the sale of certain merchandise, including political items and sports memorabilia.
This bill would prohibit the State of California from selling or displaying the Battle Flag of the Confederacy, or a similar image, or tangible personal property inscribed with those images, unless the image appears in a book, digital medium, or state museum that serves an educational or historical purpose.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 8195) is added to Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:
Chapter 2.9. Confederate Flag
8195. (a) The State of California may not sell or display the Battle Flag of the Confederacy, also referred to as the Stars and Bars, or any similar image, or tangible personal property, inscribed with such an image unless the image appears in a book, digital medium, or state museum that serves an educational or historical purpose.
(b) For purposes of this section, “sell” means to transfer title or possession, exchange, or barter, conditional or otherwise, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, for consideration. “Transfer possession” includes only transactions that would be found by the State Board of Equalization, for purposes of the Sales and Use Tax Law, to be in lieu of a transfer of title, exchange, or barter.
As well as the legislature not understanding the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution, notice also, that the law erroneously refers to the “Battle Flag” as the “Stars and Bars.” In the painting is the “Second National” Confederate pattern.
While many may discredit Wikipedia as a source, there is a good discussion of this there at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America
The black and white painting was done for a local art show called “Black and White Show” in May 2015. Red was added to the Confederate States’ Second National flag’s canton in June.
Tim’s book also:
THE DOC ~ Revised Edition
Copyright © 2014 by Tim Desmond
Cover Design by Jackson Cover Design
All cover art copyright © 2014
All Rights Reserved
Print ISBN: 978-1-626941-44-1
Timothy J. Desmond
Amazon author page at: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00694KQQO
Black Opal Books: http://www.blackopalbooks.com/
The Doc page and Writing at: http://timothydesmond.wordpress.com
Art at: http://artbydesmond.wordpress.com