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New York City: Prohibition Prison On January 26 the California Assembly passed a bill that would ban all tobacco products in state prisons (Assembly Bill No. 384). According to sponsor Tim Leslie (R-Tahoe City), the bill ?is a win, win, win for California.? But the ban may be a loser for everyone else concerned, including prisoners, staff and the prison system. According to Leslie, about 80,000 California prisoners smoke. At 1½ packs per day and $3 a pack, prison sales of cigarettes in California is worth $131 million. One hundred million dollar markets just don?t disappear with the stroke of a legislative pen. They transform, and often in ways that don?t please prison officials. First, the California prison system will lose the revenue generated by sales of legal tobacco products. But over-the-counter revenue lost is under-the-table revenue gained, as smuggling takes over and entrepreneurs compete for the lucrative tobacco market. In Colorado prisons, where tobacco prohibition was instituted four years ago, an $11 can of Bugler loose tobacco generates $5,000 in hand-rolled cigarettes?a 45,000% markup. In other moved here words, the Colorado ban spawned an instant black market serviced by prisoners and their families, guards, teachers and supervisors. Officials have conducted 154 investigations ? at considerable additional cost -- and made dozens of arrests. All because Colorado officials chose in effect to ban nicotine, the consumption of which is absolutely legal everywhere in the US except behind bars. Absolutely legal. And almost absolutely safe. Nicotine is among the most powerful of addictive substances, but it is not the reason that smokers die. In fact, nicotine itself is about as safe as caffeine, another widely consumed addictive drug. It is the other 3,000 agents in tobacco smoke that are responsible for the diseases that kill smokers. Smokers who switch permanently to other, safer forms of nicotine, including smokeless tobacco products, live longer and healthier lives and don?t pollute the air around them. There is a very simple alternative to a complete ban on tobacco and nicotine: corrections officials should offer smokers alternatives in the form of smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco satisfies smokers and serves as an effective permanent substitute, because it rapidly delivers a dose of nicotine comparable to that from smoking. For comparison, nicotine medications provide only about one-third to one-half the peak nicotine levels of tobacco products, which is unsatisfying for many smokers. In addition, medicinal nicotine is expensive and designed to be used only temporarily. All of these reasons are why nicotine replacement has a paltry 7% success rate among American smokers. Smokeless tobacco use is vastly safer than smoking, which is entirely consistent with the stated health goal of Leslie?s bill. Our research documents that smokeless use imposes only about 2% of the risk of smoking. The only consequential adverse health effect from long-term smokeless tobacco use is oral cancer, but even this risk is much lower than that associated with smoking. In fact, the average reduction in life expectancy from life-long smokeless tobacco use is only 15 days, while the average smoker loses almost 8 years. For further context, the risk of death from long-term use of smokeless tobacco (12 deaths in every 100,000 users per year) is about the same as that from automobile use (15 deaths in every 100,000 users per year). Newer smokeless tobacco products deliver the nicotine kick smokers crave and they can be used almost invisibly. Spitting, once the stigma of smokeless tobacco use, is nonexistent with these products. New products are neatly packaged as wafers or small pellets of tobacco. Some modern products are the size of breath mints and completely dissolve during use, leaving no tobacco residue. Data from Sweden show that smokeless tobacco can easily substitute for smoking. For 50 years men in Sweden consistently have had the lowest smoking rate and the highest smokeless tobacco rate in Europe. The result: Rates of lung cancer ? the sentinel disease of smoking ? among Swedish men have been the lowest in Europe for 50 years. World Health organization statistics reveal that Swedish men have the lowest rates of lung cancer among 20 European countries. In the US smokeless tobacco is already working for many Americans. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that 1.5 to 2 million former smokers have chosen this option on their own. In summary, when prison systems provide smokeless tobacco as a substitute to inmates who smoke, they accomplish several goals. First, they promote the health of smokers by offering a cigarette substitute that is 98% safer for users (because smokers who switch to smokeless tobacco reduce their risk for all smoking-related illnesses, including mouth source cancer). Second they ensure the health of nonsmoking inmates and staff (because passive smoke is eliminated). Third, they restore the prison tobacco market to its rightful balance, in which revenue from tobacco sales is removed from the black market and returned to the correctional facility. In other words, corrections officials can meet both health and fiscal goals by providing an environment that is smoke-free, not necessarily nicotine and tobacco-free. Unfortunately local, state and federal officials have blindly embraced tobacco prohibition. Mayor Bloomberg?s policies have made New York City a tobacco prison, with cigarette prices, at $12-15 a pack, the highest in the nation. Now he wants to prohibit cigarette sales to anyone under 21 years of age ( here ), which will force more of today?s legal consumers to the black market. Half of the cigarettes sold in New York State are illegal, shifting a quarter billion dollars of government revenue to criminals (article here ). Prohibitionists love to claim the moral high browse ground, but they are bootleggers? best friends.

By Jonathan Jarry, January 11, 2017 "Why so serious?" - The Joker, The Dark Knight First impressions are important. A coworker's connection reportedly took a quick look at this website and its post titles and complained about the negativity that was wafting from them. With so many words about why this and that don't work, he wondered what it was that we did believe in then. If you are used to a steady diet of wellness optimism, Oprah-style takes on happiness and health, and self-reported "open-mindedness", this website might turn you off. I get that. Likewise, if you are accustomed to the type of science communication exemplified by I F-ing Love Science!-what I often refer to as "waving the flag for science" or science cheerleading-, The Body of Evidence and similar critical outlets might strike you as cynical and, at times, irate. Before answering the opening question-what do I believe in, then, if I seemingly reject so much health advice?-, I want to address the necessity of the type of critical assessment that we do here and that is being done by Science-Based Medicine, Timothy Caulfield, Dr. Joe Schwarcz, and many others. Flag Waving versus Critical Science Communication I am aware of two broad categories of science communication. The goal of the first seems to spark an interest in science in the eyes of the public mainly by displaying its coolness. Science is what has carried us to space, and it is what allows us to see the nanoscopic world and create amazing new materials. The second type of science communication exists to criticize bad science, bad reporting of scientific findings, and all-out pseudoscience. To separate everything into these two boxes would constitute a false dichotomy; it's more of a spectrum, though I do find it useful at times to use this distinction. While science cheerleading is needed (and certainly more popular), I am personally much more interested in scrutinizing the gap between the ideals of science and its practice. I am fascinated by the human element and how it "contaminates" the world of science and knowledge gathering. This is crucially important to protect all of us against delusions and charlatans. Inaccurate ideas about the world can be disastrous. If you leave your apartment by the second-floor window to flaunt gravity, you will quickly find out that there is a world out there with laws that do not change based on your beliefs. Truthful information is required for our picture of the world to align with reality. Moreover, critical science communication can provide an antidote against the wallet-emptying cures of quacks. There are immoral people who simply want to use your gullibility to gain power and money. Those of us who are critical of these charlatans represent an important line of defence against them. This type of scrutiny and criticism means that, by default, I will more often condemn than embrace, which obviously turns off certain sections of the population. But critical analysis of the sort is necessary if our society is to reject bad practices. Avoiding Cynical Agnosticism If I dismiss chiropractic, acupuncture, Reiki, applied kinesiology, crystal healing, and many preliminary scientific findings which cannot be replicated, what could I possibly believe in? Am I not just saying that nothing works, that it is futile to try anything, that open-mindedness is for fools, and that we should just enjoy the nihilistic ride in this cold, dark, meaningless universe? I am critical precisely because I "believe" in science. I "believe" that the best decisions are made in the presence of accurate information about the world around us. I "believe" that science is the single best approach we have ever devised to gain reliable knowledge about the world around us. I "believe" that medicine is made more dependable when it is based on a solid scientific foundation. I "believe" that we can improve our health by following simple, evidence-based advice, like improving the quality of our sleep and exercising regularly. I "believe" that we can ignore fad lifestyle advice focused on obsessive fine-tuning of our health because, at best, it will lead to insignificant improvement and, at worst, might make us worse off (see antioxidant supplementation in cancer patients). I "believe" that open-mindedness applies to new claims, but that thoroughly debunked assertions do not merit an endless supply of patience. These "beliefs" are not anchored by blind faith (the most unreliable truth-seeking mechanism we have), but by predictive power. I know that science is the best system of knowledge gathering and assessment we have because, of all the ones we have tried, it has made the largest number of accurate predictions. We didn't send rockets to the moon based on our intuitions. Perhaps I ought to repeat this creed more often so as to give the optimists something positive to hang onto.

Prince Caspian Essay Topics & Writing Assignments Essay Topic 1 Throughout the novel, Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis has several prominent animal characters that have very specific and unique human attributes. Write an essay that describes two or more of these characters and illustrates how they have taken on human-like characterizations. Also address why C.S. Lewis would have given them these characterizations and how they are effective in adding to the overall creation of the mythical land of Narnia.Essay Topic 2 A theme that runs as an undercurrent in Prince Caspian that is applicable to contemporary issues today is that of racism as particularly seen between the Telmarines and the Old Narnians. Using textual examples, discuss how C.S. Lewis establishes this theme and how it is relate-able to racism as seen in popular culture today.Essay Topic 3 Throughout Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis utilizes a unique chapter structure to illustrate the ambiguity of time...(read more Essay Topics)

For some of you, “Traveling more” might be on your list of New Year’s resolutions. I hear it from people all the time. “I wish I could travel more! I’m so jealous!” or, “I wish I would have spent more time traveling when I was younger.” I hear it often because I make an effort to travel often. I’ve been to about 25 countries or so over the past 14 years and it’s changed my life for the better. Perspective changes you. I was a missionary intern for a year in Slovakia, for 2 ½ months in Ethiopia, and have been blessed to travel all over the world for other missions projects. Having a steady desk job for five years has also finally given me the opportunity to travel for fun too. When I was much poorer than I am today and had less than $100 in my bank account, I still made the necessary sacrifices to travel. Irresponsible? Maybe. But all these years later I still have the photos, memories, and perspectives that continue to change my life. Photo by Ande Truman – Taken last week in Slovakia, 2013 What holds you back? “I have a well-paying job but I don’t have enough to save.” I often hear from people who make a good living say, “I’m so jealous! I wish I could do that.” And I ask, “Well, why can’t you?” If they’re single, more often than not, the answer has something to do with bills. They go on to explain that they have pricey rent or mortgage, and when they add up the cable/internet/phone bill, car payment, and entertainment budget, they never have enough to save at the end of the month. If you’re one of those people, I have to say something that you won’t like. You have to make a choice. Are you willing to make sacrifices in your current lifestyle? Are you willing to downgrade your apartment, cut your cable out, start cooking at home more, or cutting out other unnecessary expenses? Are you willing to get a second job or other form of income? If you’re not willing to make budget cuts, and if your income barely covers your expenses, then you’ll need to accept the reality that you can have this resolution every single year and it will probably never happen. You’ve got to have the resolve to make changes. To prove that it’s possible, I’ll tell you how I do it. I share a house with 2 girls and pay $250 per month, we live in a not-so-great part of town, we don’t have cable (we use an antenna, Roku, Netflix, and Amazon Prime), I finally paid off my car, I usually cook lunch at work and dinner at home, I don’t spend much on clothing, and I don’t buy what I don’t need. That’s my sacrifice. I keep my expenses low so every year I can take a sweet trip somewhere. It’s my trade-off. I could live in a killer house and wear expensive clothing, but I would have to kiss traveling goodbye and I’m not ready for that yet. Photo by Ande Truman – South Africa 2012 “I don’t have many bills, I live in a dump, and I still don’t make enough.” If traveling is still a priority for you, don’t worry. It’s still possible. It’ll take a little more time to save, but it’s possible. Can you put away $50 per month? $20? $10? The first step to taking action on this travel goal is to start saving little by little by little. Is it time to get a new job? Are you working toward your goals? Some of you may have low-paying jobs that you really like, but you’re just scraping by. Would you consider getting a desk job for a while? Super Practical Ways to Save Put cash in an envelope every month if you’re a cash person. Put change in a jar if you’re a change person. Put the jar in public sight with a funny sign and see if your friends and family will contribute change. For birthdays and Christmas, tell your friends and family you prefer cash for your trip. Second income. There are plenty of opportunities out there for second incomes that don’t make a ton of cash, but don’t take a ton of time either. In college, I met a professor who studied the way shoes wear on the soles. So he gave me $1-$5 for every pair of old crappy shoes I found. Sell Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, make your own crafts or baked goods and sell them at work or in public, or heck, collect cans if you have to! Start a separate savings account and slowly put money in. Wells Fargo has something called Way2Save and every time you use your debit card, $1 goes in to the account. You’ll barely feel it and before you know it, you’ll have some serious cash. I have this set up as my travel account. Almost all banks can set up a direct deposit so that a certain percentage or dollar amount can be transferred into your account monthly. I have this as well. It’s always on autopilot and you don’t even have to think about it. Sell stuff you don’t need. Go through your house and liquidate. Not only do you simplify your surroundings but you’ve also put a dent in your goal. Shannon from Facebook also mentions, “Keep driving your car after it is paid off, but keep making the “payment” into your savings account. You then have that money for your next car, or travel, or whatever.” Same could go for credit cards or other debt payments. “I have kids! Traveling with kids sounds hard.” Well, you’re probably right, but that depends on what kind of travel you want to do. Want to stroll the romantic streets of Paris hand in hand with your spouse or spend a weekend at Disneyland? Some vacations are meant for kids, while others may be nicer alone. I don’t have kiddos, so really, if you want to bring them, where you go and what you want to do will be up to you. It all depends on your patience level and their maturity level. Can your parents or a friend keep the kids at home while you and your spouse go on vacation? If they can’t do it for free and your babysitter prefers payment, that could be part of your budget. Perhaps they’d be willing to accept different kinds of payment, such as services you can offer or anything you’d be willing to part with, such as furniture or electronics. If you definitely want to bring your young kids, is there a family friend, nanny, or family member that would be willing to come along and be the designated kid-watcher? By paying for their ticket, or a portion of their ticket, they could go into it knowing that they have to babysit for portions of the day so that you and your spouse can have alone time. Double-whammy: Is this person a good photographer? By paying even more of their ticket, they could be your designated vacation photographer too! (P.S. I am for hire.) Where do you want to go? What’s a place you’ve wanted to see for years? Don’t worry about how much it costs or how far away it is. When you see photos of this place, does your heart skip a beat? Then that’s where you should go. Do you have friends or contacts in the places you’d like to travel? Call them up! Last year I went to South Africa and this year I went to Germany/Netherlands/Slovakia. I worked at a summer camp 10 years ago and made friends with international counselors, and after all this time, we’re still friends and still see each other. Not only do you get to catch up with old friends, but you get a personal guide and get to stay in a home of a true native. Don’t want to save thousands for an international trip? Stay local! Your country has a lot to offer and road trips are a pretty cheap way to go. Vacationing anywhere will help reset your brain and give you fresh perspectives. If you’ve never really traveled much, this may be a great first step and whetting your appetite for international travel. What Should I Do Next? Save. Start saving right now. Put a dollar somewhere and label it. Then, don’t touch it. Keep saving. Research where you want to go. Find out about how much it would cost to go several months in advance. This is important: don’t let this step discourage you. You may find out it’s a LOT more than you thought. That’s okay! No one said saving for it would be easy or fast. But knowing how much is a huge step to moving forward (similarly to paying off your debt). Keep researching your destination. Research cheap ways to travel there and cheap transportation when you get there. Research the cheapest month and day to fly, and alternate nearby airports. For example, you may want to get to Austria, but flying into Vienna is super expensive. Research flying into Prague or Frankfurt and either flying or taking a train to Vienna. Once you get into Europe, travel is super cheap. I flew to 5 countries for $50 USD because a Slovak friend showed me a trick on Ryan Air! Research cheap restaurants or markets as well. Plan Like it’s Going to Happen. Tell people about your trip. Let people get excited for you and talk about it like it WILL happen. Because it will. Post a picture of the attraction you’re looking forward to the most in your house or cubicle—anywhere you need to be reminded to keep going. Heck, even try to start making connections in your destination. Maybe your research into friends and connections could turn into free or cheap boarding or money-saving advice. Once you’ve reached your goal (and you will), purchase your plane tickets several months in advance. Actually, as far in advance as you possibly can. If the dates don’t matter, research which months are the cheapest to fly to that destination. While you’re saving for your trip, do what you can to continue saving for other goals. You should always have backup savings in case of emergency. Perhaps consider splitting your monthly savings between your travel fund and your savings account. There are so many more travel tips I hope to share in the future. This is just the tip of the iceberg. You might get asked, “Why would you spend your money on travel when you should save?” Actually, you might even ask yourself this question. What has given me the resolve to continue traveling is the fact that every trip changes me. It makes me better. It gives me new eyes. It resets my system when I’m bogged down with everyday life and messy things. It gets me outside of my own self and my own ego and preconceptions. If you haven’t traveled yet—especially internationally—I promise you won’t regret the sacrifices you’re about to make to get there. “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller “All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” – Samuel Johnson “When we get out of the glass bottle of our ego and when we escape like the squirrels in the cage of our personality and get into the forest again, we shall shiver with cold and fright. But things will happen to us so that we don’t know ourselves. Cool, unlying life will rush in.” – D. H. Lawrence “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain Some great tips! As someone who has been traveling the world with my 3 children and husband I can tell you that travel with kids, any sort of travel, is wonderful and can absolutely work. In fact I would argue that it is a the best way to travel. I have learned so much about myself, my parenting, and my children by traveling with them. Its not always easy sure but the benefits far outweigh any negatives. Seeing the world through your children’s eyes is an amazing thing that only enhances your own travel experience! They bring me outside of my comfort zone, teach me things i’d never learn on my own, and bond with me on a deep level through our travels. To experience these things together with them connects us in a way that I just cannot even explain thoroughly. Give it a try, they can manage way more than a trip to Disney!

Perspectives in Career Schooling Much hand-wringing accompanies today’s discussions about education. Kids don’t learn enough reading, writing and arithmetic. Drop-out rates are too high. Colleges are turning out graduates who cannot find jobs. Companies cannot find qualified applicants. Robert Kaplan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, recently cautioned that we must do more with vocational education. Going forward, he sees problems developing as the nation grapples with automation, new technologies, and an aging workforce. These looming effects on unemployment and productivity are very real. Some background Agriculture was fundamental to the United States economy in the early years of the nation. It began some 400 years ago with William Bradford. He was faced with organizing the colony of Pilgrims in Massachusetts. His solution derived from real-life, on-the- ground experiments. The first Bradford plan decreed that all colonists got an equal share of the year’s bounty, whether or not they worked the land. No matter how much sweat or hours worked, everyone shared equally in the harvest. This commune failed. It was the early 1600s--predating Marx and Engels by more than 200 years. That failure caused Bradford to devise a second plan. It succeeded. Families got plots of land, worked them, owned the harvest, and sold the excess above their own needs. Bradford had put individual greed to work, and it succeeded. Individual greed is a human trait and it is fundamental to capitalism. In my view, Bradford should be credited with the experiments that led to the future success of the United States. Of course, rules and regulations must be put in place to keep greed in check. But the basic ideas of private ownership of property, together with rules to regulate it against excess, were first set in motion by William Bradford. Manufacturing arrives While agriculture prevailed in the early years in America, it was manufacturing that propelled the United States economy to its full flowering. This gradual transition occurred over a very long period of time. Farming in the beginning led to animal husbandry, blacksmithing and the building trades. Youngsters grew up in families that were expert in various business endeavors. Or they apprenticed themselves to others, headed toward their own careers. Growth was slow in those early years, but it was forming a solid foundation. Youngsters learned the science, technology, engineering and math requisite for surveying, canal building, the glass and metal industries, railroading, and more. Manufacturing caught fire following the Civil War. Major industrial processes and inventions began tumbling over each other in the latter part of the 1800s, and they continue to this day. Industry and manufacturing expanded at a terrific pace. Inventions and processes included photography, electricity, internal combustion engines, airplanes, telephones, elevators, running water, sewerage systems, motion pictures, home appliances, steel and chemicals, and much more. More recently came computers, aerospace, the Internet, search engines, robots, artificial intelligence--the list continues. Just as agriculture was never left behind completely, so, too, manufacturing will never be left behind completely. At major transition points, some cultures and their economies take a sharp left or right turn, choosing a socialist or an authoritarian path. Neither is a good idea, and the world has seen the failed results of each of these. Other cultures and economies, like our own, develop more slowly into new realities. Today, alarmists will point to robotics, artificial intelligence, automation, and other headwinds in the current economy. The question becomes how to deal with all this. It is a transition from the purely manufacturing age to the new information age. Hello tomorrow The residuals of the manufacturing age will always be with us, just as the residuals of the agricultural age are still with us. Computers and computing form the basis of the information age. But remember that computers and computing require hardware and software. Transitioning from agriculture to manufacturing saw thousands of farm workers leave crops behind to seek jobs in factories. Transitioning from manufacturing to the information age is seeing people leave factories to learn programming skills. All of this calls into question how we educate young people. We have moved up the technology ladder, and tomorrow’s challenges are already with us. All kids need to know reading, writing and arithmetic, but this does not mean that every kid should head to college. Remember Kaplan’s cautionary advice to do more with vocational education. Alternatives today It’s time for balance in our educational systems. A certain kind of cultural bullying pressures youngsters to head to college. They know nothing of business and economics--the fundamentals of the nation. Frequently, they get degrees in subjects that offer no real career path. Sensing no future, these snowflakes join demonstrations promoted by the media-defined narrative of the day. Where are the nascent plumbers and welders and programmers among them? Going into a trade should not be viewed as a consolation prize. Dream careers begin when young people find their futures early on, getting a leg up on their life’s work. This is more likely to occur outside the public school system. The Future School of Fort Smith is an example of a step in the right direction. Director Trish Flanagan notes that “We want students to be able to test drive their careers.” This means real-life, on-the-ground interaction in a field of the student’s choice. In addition, vocational schools across the country are offering youngsters opportunities to start early. Further, the growth of Internet-based courses to train youngsters in various trades, including programming, reflects needs not being elsewhere met. Over the past 40+ years, Al has founded, operated, grown and expanded several small businesses. He knows the acid burn in his stomach when the cash flow stops flowing. For 10 years, Al headed the Business Owners Institute in New Jersey. Helped over 2,000 business owners work through problems. Currently he writes a daily Free blog HelpMySmallBusiness.Blogspot.com. In his spare time, Al has written over a dozen books--find them online at Amazon.com/Kindle. fShare

Activist believes companies will comply with GMO law Big seed companies on Kauai will comply with a new GMO disclosure-pesticide restriction law, an anti-GMO activist predicts. Dan Wheat/Capital Press Mary Norris, an organic vegetable grower displays petition for GMO law at Waipa Farmers’ Market west of Hanalei on Kauai on Aug. 20. She predicts companies will comply with new disclosure law passed in November over the mayor’s veto. Buy this photo KILAUEA, Hawaii — Genetic engineering of crops will likely continue to be a hot button issue in Hawaii as seed companies deal with a new disclosure law on the island of Kauai.At least one of the companies is exploring legal options to block the new law, the “PBS Newshour” reported Dec. 30.But a proponent of the law, an organic fruit and vegetable farmer in the small town of Kilauea on Kauai’s north shore, says she thinks the companies will comply with the law.“There have been super good, pro bono attorneys look at this for the county and I don’t think the companies can win,” said Mary Norris, 63, who has raised lettuce, vegetables and fruits on 3.5 acres in Kilauea for 30 years.The companies have nine months to comply, Norris said, and she thinks they will. “Otherwise there will be more uproar, more marches and stronger bills,” she said.The original bill was stronger but was watered down to pass, she said.But Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. has said nine months won’t be enough time and that a first draft of rules will be done by the end of February.Several thousand people marched in support of the bill before the Kauai County Council passed it Oct. 16. Carvalho vetoed it but the council overrode his veto in November.Bill 2491, now Ordinance 960, requires large agricultural companies to disclose when and where they spray pesticides and restricts spraying to a certain distances from public areas. They also must disclose which genetically engineered crops they grow on Kauai.Norris, an activist with the group called Stop Poisoning Paradise, is among those who believe pesticides the companies use are making people sick.“I would love to see them ban GMO here and the poisons or at least do environmental impact studies on people, wildlife and fish,” she told Capital Press.Norris sells produce at two farmers’ markets, a restaurant and health foods stores. In the summer and fall, she distributed information in favor of Bill 2491.Mark Phillipson, general manager of Syngenta-Hawaii and president of Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, a seed trade group representing Syngenta, BASF, Dow and Pioneer, said the companies carefully follow state and federal guidelines on pesticide use. He said no workers have gotten sick, that seed companies have developed genetically engineered plants to withstand drought and pests and that disclosure of practices inhibits competition.“Syngenta is considering next steps including assessing what it will take to comply with the ordinance,” he told Capital Press.The company follows strict regulations enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture and state of Hawaii and voluntarily follows the state Department of Agriculture’s Good Neighbor Program, Phillipson said.Almost 90 percent of corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified and the seed business in Hawaii is valued at more than $240 million a year, he said.

Tweet Game Artist Career Career Description: The job of a game artist is to create computer and video games. They not just create the layout of the game but also think and design the plot theme and the rules that the game will contain. Creating audio and video portions of the game is also their job and a great deal of creativity and technology know how is needed. How to become a game artist: To become a game artist, it’s advised to do a bachelors degree in subjects like fine arts, architecture, traditional painting and diplomas like web designing. This will help the student to become familiar with the requirements of the career of a game artist. Game artist courses, training and programs: To become a game artist a four years bachelor’s degree (B.A.) or diploma in design, animation will help. Experience as interns in web design companies are also a good way to train. Game artist schools/ colleges, education: For a career of game artist, web design and animation are the most suitable courses. These courses are offered all around US in various universities and colleges on under graduate as well as post graduate level. Top 5 colleges/ universities: Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts) in Valencia Test analyst job opportunities, salaries, recruitment: As this career is new and is made for young fresh minds which can think out of the box, the opportunities are many. Despite the presence of opportunities, the competition in this field is very high as a lot of people are coming and taking up game designing as a career option. Thus educational qualification and experience has become necessary. Game artists usually get a salary of $40,000 to $65,000 per annum though the salary increases with the performance, breakthroughs and experience.

We have formed a protest group called SaveCayman.org which points out the fallacy of destroying the very reefs that are the most popular for our cruise ship customers, etc. etc. and the severe economic fallout from so much environmental destruction as well as crowds, traffic, noise, and so on ad infinitum. If you would like to help in this cause, you can go to our web site and sign our petition as a tourist who likes the reefs intact. I chose these groups to support. Most people do not have the time to lobby, study, fund, and fix our environmental problems. By yourself, your tiny little voice will get lost and misplaced. But when we form massive groups, we can flex enough muscle to fix virtually anything! Everyone Should Support Three Environmental Organizations -- One World-Wide-- One Nation-Wide -- One Local We Cannot Join Them All, So You Must Pick And Choose Your Battles. I have personally chosen two battles: stop shark finning and save leatherback turtles. You may choose to protect elephants from poachers, or stop over fishing. But concentrate on one thing and do something -- anything, over and over. There is no single cause that is more important than another, as they all work together. For shark finning, I support http://www.sharktrust.org, an effective UK group. Many of you contributed to my request for money to install billboards in China where the famous Chinese basketball player Yao Ming is pictured asking everyone to just say no to shark fin soup. We collected enough $20 donations to pay for 100 billboards! This campaign was immensely successful. Collectively that money worked well. For two good world-wide organizations try and . These and other similar organizations provide programs to fight for sharks, tigers, elephants, rhinos, marine protection and climate as well. World Wildlife Fund in the US is called World Wide Fund elsewhere. They have programs for animal and habitat protection in almost 70 countries. -- . By supporting a world-wide organization, you can help with issues that cross boundaries. I am currently supporting SeaSave.org. This is a tiny but hearty group of people dedicated to the oceans. They have been an important ally to Cocos Islands and single handedly made sure that two patrol boats got repaired to go out and patrol for poachers. I am considering supporting oceana.org. Their web site has more than just a little beach clean-up or just trying to "spread the word" about conservation. These guys are big and have a lot of projects that are specific and valuable. (Shark finning is one of their key issues and Oceana has campaigned in the United States, where finning is illegal but sale of shark fin products is still allowed, to ban the sale of shark fins and help reduce the global demand and killing of these critical apex sea predators. Recent victories include the ban of shark fins’ sale in the state of Texas (making it the 10th state to enact a ban in the U.S.) and the removal of shark fin products from GrubHub (a online ordering service with 35,000 restaurants in 900 cities). Oceana will continue to campaign against shark finning and the sale of shark fins. Oceana has a number of ongoing campaigns across the globe – both site specific and internationally connected. Oceana’s approach to all campaigns is fact-based, multi-disciplinary and policy change focused. The Save the Oceans, Feed the World campaign is a global initiative to promote consumers’ responsible seafood eating and science-based fisheries management to restore the oceans to the biodiversity and abundance needed to sustain a growing world population. For a terrific, all-around US organization, nothing beats Natural Resources Defense Council . They combine lobbying with scientific research and find solutions that are good for both the environment and often good for businesses. They have been voted by the US congress as the best informed and most effective environmental lobby group. They have wonderful on-line communications to help you sign petitions, and direct your donations. They cover all aspects of environmental concern from habitat, air pollution, endangered species and more. I especially like the way that they prioritize habitats with their "BioGems" program --www.savebiogems.org. Finding your favorite local group should be easy, and if you don't have one, start one. For specific animals such as the leatherback turtles, look for groups that have an effective program on the ground. That is better than just a big web site. Look at saveourleatherbacks.org and see the incredible work that this tiny organization has done to physically and actually SAVE leatherback turtles. Almost single handedly, Larry McKenna has lobbied the UN, Japan and else where to stop long-lining for tuna in the Pacific to reduce loss of turtles. He has not won this battle at all, but he pays local residents in Indonesia to protect their eggs from feral pigs. He and his paid local guardians move egg nests to safer ground and they have watched the improvement of successful hatchings. This is a fund worth contributing to if you really love turtles. If you have a favorite animal or a favorite part of the world, then you should get online and support them through an effective organization. Pick just one or two so that you are not spread out too thin, and just DO IT!! Then the next time you wish you could see a whale shark, or visit the Spirit Bear coast of Canada, you will know in your heart that you have personally helped to save them. And if you do nothing, and they ALL disappear, you will share in the blame.

and their mayors 2011 Elected US mayors Mayors from Canada and the US (Former mayors in italics) | Akron | Albuquerque | Atlanta (Franklin) | Atlanta (Reed) | Baltimore | Boston | Calgary | Chicago Emanuel | Chicago Daley | Columbus | Dayton | Denver | Detroit (Bing) | Detroit (Kilpatrick) | Edmonton | Harrisburg | Honolulu | Houston (Parker) | Houston (White) | London (Ontario) | Los Angeles | Louisville | Memphis | Miami | Minneapolis | Mississauga | News Orleans (Landrieu) | New Orleans (Nagin) | Newark | New York | Oakland | Oklahoma City | Phoenix | Philiadelphia | Pittsburgh | Pomona | Portland (Adams) | Portland (Potter) | Providence | Salt Lake City (Anderson) | Salt Lake City (Becker) | San Francisco | Seattle (McGinn) | Seattle (Nickels) | South Bay | Southfield | Stamford | Surrey BC | Toronto | Trenton | Tulsa | Washington DC | Winnipeg | City Mayors reports news from towns and cities around the world. Worldwide | Elections | North America | Latin America | Europe | Asia | Africa | Events | Mayors from The Americas, Europe. Asia, Australia and Africa are competing for the annual World Mayor Award. More City Mayors ranks the world’s largest as well as richest cities and urban areas. It also ranks the cities in individual countries, and provides a list of the capital cities of some 200 sovereign countries. More City Mayors reports political events, analyses the issues and depicts the main players. More City Mayors describes and explains the structures and workings of local government in Europe, The Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa. More City Mayors profiles city leaders from around the world and questions them about their achievements, policies and aims. More City Mayors deals with economic and investment issues affecting towns and cities. More City Mayors reports on how business developments impact on cities and examines cooperation between cities and the private sector. More City Mayors describes and explains financial issues affecting local government. More City Mayors lists and features urban events, conferences and conventions aimed at urban decision makers and those with an interst in cities worldwide. More City Mayors reports urban environmental developments and examines the challenges faced by cities worldwide. More City Mayors reports on and discusses urban development issues in developed and developing countries. More City Mayors reports on developments in urban society and behaviour and reviews relevant research. More City Mayors deals with urban transport issues in developed and developing countries and features the world’s greatest metro systems. More City Mayors examines education issues and policies affecting children and adults in urban areas. More City Mayors investigates health issues affecting urban areas with an emphasis on health in cities in developing countries. More City Mayors examines the contributions history and culture make to urban society and environment. More City Mayors examines the importance of urban tourism to city economies. More City Mayors describes the history, architecture and politics of the greatest city halls in the world. More City Mayors invites readers to write short stories about people in cities around the world. More City Mayors questions those who govern the world’s cities and talks to men and women who contribute to urban society and environment. More City Mayors profiles national and international organisations representing cities as well as those dealing with urban issues. More City Mayors reports on major national and international sporting events and their impact on cities. More City Mayors lists cities and city organisations, profiles individual mayors and provides information on hundreds of urban events. More Following graduation Ravenstahl worked as an account manager for a courier, before standing for the city council and successfully beating the incumbent, just four months after graduation. Ravenstahl was elected council president after only two years on the council and had already begun to direct its administration once Mayor Bob O'Connor was diagnosed terminally ill. As a result of his elevation, Ravenstahl will face a general election in November 2007, as decided by the local electoral commission. In May he faced his first electoral test in the city primary, receiving the highest number of votes in the city’s history. Since his elevation to the mayoralty, Ravenstahl has promoted a ‘Neighbourhoods first’ approach to quality of life issues, as well as pushing for a return to beat cop policing. He also convened a summit of Pennsylvanian mayors to discuss how to tackle budget deficits across the state. Pittsburgh is noted for its strong performance in national liveability indices, the only big city to score highly across all, owing to its low cost of living, low crime rate and cultural vibrancy. In 2005 it was ranked joint top in the US (alongside Cleveland) by The Economist and 26th worldwide. Traditionally the city has been host to large German, Polish and Irish communities, which led to its distinctive dialect. Pittsburgh has the highest number of Croat residents outside of Croatia, as well as higher than average concentrations of other Balkan nations. The city has been heavily Democrat (registrations currently run at five Democrats to each Republican in the city) since the Great Depression era, with the mayor and nine-member council elected to four yearly terms of office. The mayor has faced a degree of controversy in the recent past following a drunken altercation with a police officer in 2005 and his accepting sponsorship for a golf tournament in June 2007.

Edgewater Hall 245 Virtual Relaxation Room Home Guided Meditations and Guided Imagery Handle Stress Better and Get Help for Negative Thoughts Hard on Yourself? Read about Self-Compassion Resources Articles on How Therapy Can Help: http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/9-myths-and-facts-about-therapy/ Articles on the Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindfulness Meditation Benefits Health: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/mindfulness-meditation-benefits-health_n_3016045.html About ADD/ADHD: Attention Deficit Disorder Association: http://www.add.org Half of Us: http://www.halfofus.com/about-half-of-us Active Minds: http://www.activeminds.org JED Foundation: http://www.jedfoundation.org U Life Line: http://www.ulifeline.org Tips for College Students: http://www.mhai.org/College_Students.pdf The College Spill Blog: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/college JED Foundation: http://www.jedfoundation.org/assets/Programs/Program_downloads/parentsguide.pdf GLBT Resources: PFLAG National: www.pflag.org Georgia Equality: http://georgiaequality.org Human Rights Campaign: http://www.hrc.org Gay Straight Alliance Network: http://www.gsanetwork.org GLBT Scholarships: http://www.scc.net/~t-bonham/EDLINKS.HTM CDC GLBT Health: http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth.htm Gender Identity Gender: http://www.atlantagender.org/index.html Trans-Academics: http://www.trans-academics.org Henry House Domestic Violence Shelter: http://henryhavenhouse.org Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence: http://www.wrcdv.org Mental Health Websites: Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: http://www.dbsalliance.org National Alliance on Mental Health: http://www.nami.org Mind Your Mind: http://www.mindingyourmind.org Recovery Road Map: http://www.reneweveryday.com/roadmap-to-recovery/ Narcotics Anonymous: http://www.na.org Alcoholics Anonymous: http://www.aa.org Eating Disorder Resources: National Eating Disorders Association: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders: http://www.anad.org http://www.nami.org/Find-Support/Diverse-Communities/African-American-Mental-Health National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health: http://www.nrchmh.org Mental Health Brochures: Suicide Prevention Websites: I’m Alive Online Crisis Network: https://www.imalive.org National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: http://www.afsp.org

25Sep 2016 Importance of Maintaining Oral Health by Jake ⋅ Leave a Comment The role of dental care and treatments to improve your oral health cannot be ignored. It involves taking proper care of not only your teeth but also gums and mouth. Good dental care will help prevent and treat gum and teeth diseases. It also includes repair or replacement of defective teeth. You’ll surprise to find out that a huge percentage of people who suffer from dental problems because of lack of knowledge and laziness. Even though most of them are children, many adults do not pay attention to oral health. They ignore the need for healthy teeth and gums and overlook the fact that teeth health and impact overall health. In addition, having healthy teeth can enhance your physical appearance, and make you more confident. Dental is essential. It is recommended to visit a dentist regularly but you will also have to educate yourself. Learn about the right dental care techniques, preferred changes to diet and recommended oral care routine as these can reduce the frequency of dentist visits. If you practice right dental care, you will not have to worry about gum diseases or bad breath. It will also improve general health and help save money as you will be avoiding expensive dental procedures. Regular Flossing and Brushing for Dental Health The beginning of proper dental health is clean teeth. If you want to maintain strong and healthy teeth and gums, you must floss regularly. You must also brush your teeth at least twice daily with fluoride toothpaste as these can prevent cavities and tooth decay. While brushing, take time and brush thoroughly. Make sure that your toothbrush is right for your teeth placement and mouth structure. The bristles must be rounded and soft. You can avoid bad breath by carrying out tongue cleaning. It is ideal to replace toothbrush after every 2 months. It is mandatory to floss every day as it provides access to rigid spaces under the gum line and in between the teeth. You can gently rub the sides of teeth with the floss. Maintain a Healthy Diet

Nacelle manufacturers optimize hand layup and consider closed molding methods Focused on optimizing traditional hand layup, nacelle and thrust reverser manufacturers cast an eye on future use of automation and closed molding. Sara Black Source: BoeingLayup of a nacelle panel underway in a female Invar mold. Laser projection facilitates ply placement. Source: BoeingA large underwing nacelle has hinged panels that open for jet engine inspection. Note the inlet cowl and lipskin at the front. Source: Goodrich AerostructuresAn exploded diagram shows the various components that make up a nacelle. Source: Goodrich AerostructuresA closeup of a DynaRohr acoustic panel, showing both the core buildup and the perforations that help attenuate noise energy. Dassault Systèmes Gerber Technology Hexcel Siemens PLM Software Inc. Solvay Composite Materials The smooth shape of an aircraft nacelle, the structure that surrounds the jet engine, belies its underlying complexity. While providing an aerodynamic shell for minimum drag, a nacelle also incorporates deicing capability, noise attenuation and mechanisms to reverse engine thrust for braking. First conceived and manufactured in the mid-1970s, composite nacelles are designed for lower weight to provide better engine fuel economy and, more importantly, to attenuate engine noise to meet increasingly stringent airport noise regulations. Today most commercial aircraft - particularly those with long-range capability - are outfitted with composite nacelles. Nacelles and thrust reversers are big business: total market size is about $2.8 billion annually, including commercial transports, business jets and general aviation aircraft, according to Nigel Barker, director of research and development at Goodrich Aerostructures (formerly nacelle pioneer Rohr Inc., Chula Vista, Calif., U.S.A,). Research firm Jane's Information Group cites a current demand of about 1,000 nacelles annually for Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Major manufacturers include Goodrich Aerostructures; The Boeing Co. (Wichita Division, Wichita, Kan., U.S.A.); NORDAM Group (Tulsa, Okla., U.S.A.), GKNAS (formerly GKN Westland Aerospace, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.A. and Isle of Wight, U.K.); Vought Aerospace (Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.); Middle River Aircraft Systems (MRAS, Baltimore, Md., U.S.A.), a division of General Electric; and Hurel Hispano, a new division of Snecma Group (which includes former bizjet nacelle maker Hurel Dubois). Hurel Hispano makes nacelle structures for Airbus (Meudon-la-Foret Cedex, France). A large number of smaller firms manufacture spares and replacements under U.S. Federal Aviation Admin. (FAA) type certificates. Here, HPC gets under the skins of these complex structures and, in conversation with three of the top nacelle manufacturers, sees what fabrication strategies may lay beyond traditional layup. Nacelles in a nutshell In simplest terms, a nacelle is analogous to the hood of a car. Cylindrically shaped, the nacelle forms the outer, aerodynamically smooth covering for a jet engine. The nacelle wraps around and encases the engine - wider at the front or inlet and narrower at the back or aft end. By way of background, a jet engine takes air in through the inlet. Part of that air is compressed and burned in the combustion chamber and expelled as high-velocity exhaust jet. A larger amount of air bypasses the combustion process, pushed rearward by a high-velocity, internal fan like a propeller through a bypass fan duct. The bypassed air mixes with the hot core exhaust to gain overall thrust with less expenditure of fuel and with less noise. The forward one-third of the nacelle, termed the inlet cowl, is the smoothly contoured opening that directs air into the engine's fan and compressor blades. While the inlet is primarily composite, the leading edge, referred to as the lipskin, is often metal because of the potential for damage from ground vehicles or debris kicked up during landings. The inlet cowl typically has a built-in de-icing system, heated by hot air from the engine to prevent ice buildup. Making up the middle third is the fan cowl, the cylindrical sleeve that covers the fan and compressor as well as the combuster portions of the engine. This cowling typically features two, three or more hinged panels that can be raised for engine inspection and maintenance. A number of small access doors are cut into the cowling, to facilitate visual inspection of key engine components as well. The aft third and most complex, highly loaded part of the nacelle is the thrust reverser. As its name implies, the thrust reverser redirects the flow of the jet engine's exhaust and/or bypassed air from backwards to forwards to decelerate during landing or rejected takeoffs. Composites are selected for nacelles for several reasons: the most obvious being weight, says Kevin Jackson, technical sales manager of NORDAM Nacelle/Thrust Reverser Systems Division of the NORDAM Group. "Most business jets have a rear-mounted engine, as far back from the center of gravity as you can get. By making the engine nacelle and thrust reverser lighter, it not only saves weight at the engine location, it saves overall aircraft weight, because you don't have to add as much weight in the nose to balance the plane," explains Jackson. The nacelle, and particularly the thrust reverser, has to be strong enough to withstand air loads during flight and braking, but, according to Jackson, "If we make it stiff enough to resist deflection, typically it will be strong enough for those loads." Eccentric loads are even more important, says Goodrich's Barker. "If the engine loses a fan blade, the unbalanced fan creates forces in the inlet worse than anything you'd see in flight," he says. "You also have to consider shock loads, which could occur if, for example, a line ruptures in the engine, as well as acoustic vibration fatigue and rejected take-off air loads. Nacelle design is really a tradeoff among a number of different performance requirements." Temperature resistance is yet another design driver, especially for thrust reversers. The cooler bypassed air tends to insulate the nacelle and thrust reverser panels from the hot core exhaust flux, making high-temperature (177°C/350°F cure) epoxies an appropriate choice, as long as components in the immediate vicinity of the engine are protected with insulation, says Boeing's Mike Borgman, of the stress engineering group at Wichita's Strut, Nacelle & Composite Responsibility Center. "But, even with our insulation protection, we're close to the service threshold for epoxy. We would, of course, like to get rid of the weight and expense of the insulation. A composite resin system with a service temperature even greater than BMI [bismaleimide] is required. Polyimide and high-temperature oligomers offer potential, but material costs and processing difficulties currently limit their use - but we're always looking for materials with higher service use temperatures." Adds John Welch, associate technical fellow at Wichita, "Research entities like NASA are continuing to advance material systems." Increasing pressure to reduce aircraft noise has driven manufacturers to incorporate sound attenuation characteristics into nacelle and thrust reverser structures. While some panels and smaller access doors are solid laminates, the majority of the parts are structural cored sandwich panels, specifically designed to absorb acoustic energy yet strong enough to transmit loads between the engine and the aircraft. The inner panel skins that are in contact with engine airflow are perforated with thousands of holes, typically in the range of 1 mm/0.04 inch in diameter. The perforations help to attenuate the jet engine's noise by damping the energy response, directing the sound into the honeycomb core, rather than presenting a hard surface that simply deflects the sound. Most suppliers add a perforated inner septum or porous layer to the honeycomb core, effectively doubling the number of cells, for greater noise suppression and a wider range of attenuated frequencies. Cores are "septumized" using a variety of proprietary methods, such as dipping the core in resin or sandwiching material between two or more honeycomb layers. Nacelles are complex assemblies of multiple curved panel components, of varying thickness, that are fitted together to encase the engine. Manufacturers typically hand lay up the panels, in both female and male molds. For example, the cascade-type thrust reverser for the Boeing 777 is made up of a smooth outer sleeve (ultimately painted), which can be either a sandwich panel or a solid laminate with rib stiffeners; an inner acoustic lining sandwich panel as described above; and a smaller inner wall assembly that conforms to the engine combustion chamber. The gap between the inner wall and the outer/acoustic panel forms the duct for the bypassed air. All components are fitted with a combination of composite and metallic connectors that enable attachment to the engine. In addition, the panels also support hydraulic hoses, electrical and air lines related to the engine's function. A metal mesh is typically included in the outer sleeve's laminate for lightning strike protection. The engine is bolted to a pylon structure or strut, which is part of the aircraft's structural airframe, and the nacelle panel is shaped to fit around the pylon. Design and manufacturing efficiencies streamline hand layup Boeing is both a buyer and fabricator of nacelles. While many components for its commercial aircraft, including some nacelle components, are subcontracted to Tier 1 suppliers, Boeing's Wichita Division fabricates and assembles nacelle components, for the 747, 757 and 767 aircraft, and thrust reversers for the NG737 (next-generation) and 777 models. The company takes an established approach to nacelle fabrication, using standard qualified materials, but adding innovative twists. Doug Scott, director of NG737 and 777 thrust reversers, says the Wichita group makes parts for thrust reversers that accommodate all of the "big three" jet engine suppliers - General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce. "We have a history with metals, but in terms of composites, we're coming down the curve and are competitive with metals on a cost basis - we practice lean manufacturing and have partnered with our suppliers to reduce our costs and cycle times." Composite nacelle assemblies have been designed for fast manufacturing, says Welch, accomplished by consolidating to achieve the lowest part count while minimizing part complexity. Current transcowl assemblies integrate a large number of parts that existed as separate assemblies on prior designs. "Our NG737 and 777 transcowl designs have reduced part count by 66 percent, while reducing weight by 25 percent and assembly time by 22 percent," says Welch. The hand layup process has been streamlined as much as possible. A dedicated material cutting and kitting area is outfitted with several automated cutting tables that prepare part kits as needed. The kits are packaged and delivered to technicians, who lay up the materials in metal Invar molds, both concave and convex. Materials come from "typical suppliers," says Scott, whose materials are qualified on most Boeing aircraft programs. Laser projection systems from Laser Projection Technologies Inc. (Londonderry, N.H., U.S.A.) enable efficient ply placement. Boeing Wichita produces its own tools in-house for the nacelle parts. "Our current tendency is to use Invar tools," says Borgman. "They offer a life-cycle advantage compared to carbon composite tools, and also provide a more uniform cure temperature profile over the component surface area. We've found that's very important for consistent part quality when curing large components in a large autoclave." Scott notes that one of his company's manufacturing innovations is dedicating a tool to each part throughout the manufacturing process - from fabrication to cure to final machining, the part stays in one tool until finished. "We can control part variation with this procedure," says Scott. "By breaking a part out of a layup tool and placing it in a different milling fixture, you can induce variation." Boeing's nacelle panels incorporate patented innovations for noise suppression that have been developed over time by the Wichita group. The group uses a proprietary method to form the acoustic perforations in the panels' inner skins. "We mold the holes in the sandwich facing skins during cure, which makes them stronger compared to other methods like drilling, with a resulting weight advantage," says Welch. A variety of core materials are used, including aluminum, fiberglass and pitch-based carbon fiber. Boeing's acoustic septum is inserted in a proprietary process that involves laser drilling to produce the holes, effectively doubling the number of cells. Borgman points to the company's expertise in producing very thick sandwich structures for thrust reversers, which provides room for the "blocker doors" to nest when not deployed. (Blocker doors are the inner panels that block the bypass air, directing its flow through the cascade.) "We provide a pocket for them to fold into by stacking a thicker core (more than 3 inches) on a thinner core (about 1 inch) separated by an intermediate laminate," explains Borgman. "We then machine the thick core down to the laminate, to form the pocket." To address raw honeycomb edge issues, Borgman says that edge closeout material is added during fabrication so that no edge dressing is required after final panel machining. He notes that the 76 mm/3-inch thick honeycomb can be formed to contours as tight as 1.1m/44-inch radius curves. Repair of nacelles is a huge consideration, especially for aircraft with engines mounted below the wings and vulnerable to damage. The round fan cowling and thrust reverser panels are made in segments (halves, thirds or even quarters of the total circumference) allowing easy removal of the damaged segment. But, says Borgman, the tradeoff is more seams, which can cause aerodynamic disruption. To ensure minimal aero drag, sub-structure support and structural joints that support the nacelle are engineered with tight tolerances. Scott notes that the company is working with Wichita State University's National Institute of Aeronautical Research (NIAR) on continuous improvement of repair technology. In addition to collaborative repair research efforts with NIAR, the FAA and other entities, Boeing has developed repair kits for fleet customers, which, with support from Boeing company personnel, have enabled repairs in the field in a matter of days. The Boeing Wichita facility is an FAA-certified repair facility that, on average, repairs 200 nacelle components per year. "The diameter of a 777 nacelle is about the same as the fuselage diameter of a 737," says Scott. "We've made hand layup a good solution, but as we move toward the 7E7, we're looking at automated methods." The company also is investigating new resins and additive materials to increase high-temperature performance, such as the addition of phosphorous amides to polyimides for extreme heat situations. A legacy of nacelle design Goodrich Aerostructures comes to the nacelle and thrust reverser market through its acquisition of aircraft part manufacturer Rohr Inc., the first to produce a commercial composite nacelle. Goodrich supplies complete nacelles for Airbus' A300, A310, A320 and A340 and Boeing's 717. The company also makes nacelle components for Boeing's 747 and 767, and produces the inlet cowls and fan cowls for the 737NG. Most recently, the company was selected to provide nacelles for a new Japanese military cargo plane, the C-X. "For longer-range aircraft, the designs are driven to composites for weight and other advantages, like resistance to corrosion from deicing fluids," says Barker. Like other suppliers, Goodrich uses standard engineering design tools, including CATIA from Dassault Systemes (Woodland Hills, Calif., U.S.A.), NASTRAN and PATRAN for structural analysis, and internally developed codes for laminate design. The company's acoustic panel structures, branded as DynaRohr, are made in a unique fabrication process, says Barker. Goodrich perforates the carbon fiber/epoxy face skins of its nacelle and thrust reverser sandwich panels with an "erosion" technique called NPT (New Perf Technology). The method places a perforated sheet over the selected honeycomb material, (aluminum, fiberglass, aramid or titanium). A proprietary blasting medium propelled by compressed air is used to creates the holes. To make the septum within the core, Barker says that a very fine areal weight woven mesh is "bonded into the core blanket" to create a double cavity within each core cell. "Our DynaRohr acoustic panels have been shown in testing and through modeling to suppress a wider frequency range of sound than other designs," he maintains. Barker's group is constantly searching for new materials and manufacturing methods. While most fabrication is hand layup in Invar tools, the company investigated has investigated filament winding for improved efficiencies. Today, Goodrich is experimenting with liquid molding techniques, including resin film infusion (RFI) and resin transfer molding (RTM), to drive down costs, based on some successful prototype parts built for NASA's reusable space launch vehicles. A proprietary method of sealing honeycomb core material against resin ingress has been perfected so that the core can be used in the RTM process, says Barker. "A new manufacturing method is hard to introduce into existing programs. We're currently making small access doors and other small parts to gain acceptance." On the materials side, the company has investigated the use of high-temperature polyimide resin for the inner panel of a thrust reverser and engine core cowl. These included both honeycomb sandwich acoustic structures and hollow, hat-stiffened, solid laminates. Temperatures in that area, close to the engine core and jet exhaust, can reach 315°C/600°F, and the parts are traditionally made with aluminum panels or carbon/epoxy protected with insulating blankets. When flight-tested for more than 5,000 hours, the carbon/polyimide part "microcracked badly," says Barker. "But we're continuing the search for composites that can take those kinds of service temperatures." Goodrich, a member of the Commercial Aircraft Composite Repair Committee (CACRC), includes "repair schemes" with all of its products, says Barker. "We have an extensive product support network, including representatives to the airlines and structural repair manuals to help facilitate needed repairs. Of course, we can do larger, custom repairs at our facilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia," he says. CACRC airline operator members are advocating a single repair material and streamlined procedures, and progress is being made toward that goal, reports Barker. The bizjet market At the other end of the spectrum, NORDAM is the largest manufacturer of nacelles and thrust reversers for business and small jets, as well as a major repair facility. Customers include Cessna, Dassault, Gulfstream and Bombardier. The company makes many types of nacelle components, some all-metal, some metal/composite and some all-composite. NORDAM makes its parts in open Invar production tools, using 177¡C/ 350¡F cure carbon/epoxy prepregs supplied by Cytec Engineered Materials Inc. (Tempe, Ariz., U.S.A.) and Hexcel (Dublin, Calif., U.S.A.). Invar tools are preferred because of the relatively high production rate and large number of parts produced each year. Jackson reports that the company uses an automated cutting and kitting table from Gerber Technology Inc. (Tolland, Conn., U.S.A.) to prepare material kits for layup. FiberSIM laminate design software from VISTAGY Inc. (Waltham, Mass., U.S.A.) interfaces with the company's CATIA design programs and a Virtek Laser Systems Inc. (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) laser projection system, to facilitate layup in the molds. All composite nacelle and thrust reverser parts are cured in the company's two large production autoclaves. After post-cure, the inner skins of the acoustic sandwich panels are drilled in a customized jig to produce the holes that align over the honeycomb core, for noise suppression. At the current time, says Jackson, the company does not add a septum to the core. NORDAM is close to introducing a new thrust reverser product, made with carbon fiber/BMI prepreg and a fiberglass honeycomb core. "Our epoxies have a hot/wet service temperature of about 138°C/280°F," says Jackson. "With the BMI, we can go quite a bit higher." Despite significantly higher cost for BMI prepregs, the new thrust reverser saves 400 lb per aircraft compared to the metallic part that it replaces, which will translate to overall aircraft cost savings in the long run. NORDAM is somewhat unique in the industry in that it has an active engine and thrust reverser test facility, capable of not only measuring engine thrust levels up to 24,000 lb but also testing installed nacelle and thrust reverser components. Says Jackson, "Thanks to our location in the country, so far we haven't had noise restrictions imposed upon the facility." The test pylon can measure pressure, temperature, strains and vibrations on nacelle components and can determine static noise levels in compliance with FAA requirements. The company also is FAA-certified to perform repairs and maintains facilities at its Tulsa headquarters and in Singapore and South Wales, U.K. as well. NORDAM also maintains ties with NIAR's repair and material certification programs, and is currently in the process of using NIAR's testing laboratory to qualify composite materials. With optimized hand layup, nacelle manufacturers are producing very high-performance parts designed for multiple performance requirements, but automation and advanced high-temperature materials are likely options. A. Schulman opens fifth Innovation & Collaboration Center at Quantum Composites The two-day event featured golf on June 6 followed by a tour of the facility and concurrent technical sessions on June 7.

Is this the oldest outdoor advert in Cork? The Cork Harbour Festival Week has come and gone, and a very enjoyable week it was, but the exhibition A City by the Sea at St Peter’s in North Main Street goes on and is well worth a visit. A large number of info panels illustrate, mainly in words, the city’s relationship with the sea, the good things and the bad things, tourists and invaders. And food and drink of course, flowing in and flowing out, and that was the thread that I noted on my read-about. And the first thing I see is Bertha’s Revenge! The exhibition, curated by Turtle Bunberry, had many helpers and there, in among the librarians and historians, I spotted the name Justin Green (of Bertha’s). Well done to all. And then I spotted another name, my family name. Apparently, in the 4th century, the Uí Liatháin ruled the region and had colonies in South Wales, also Devon and Cornwall. Must go and see my cousins sometime! Brian Boru Bridge. Although no longer opening, the bridge is an important reminder of the history of the river and quays. Did you know that in 1273, Richard Wine was the Mayor of Cork. Indeed, in the following centuries, many Cork mayors were closely connected to the French and Portuguese wine trade. The Flight of the Wild Geese begins in 1691 when 14,000 Jacobite soldiers, along with 6.000 women and children, set sail from Cork for Europe. The mainly Catholic exiles, many of them merchant families, included the Galwey family who became prominent wine merchants in the Loire. Fitzgerald's Park, site of the 1902/3 exhibition Among those who fled in Penal Times were the O’Murphy draper family. Their daughter Marie Louise, also known as La Petite Murfi, became mistress of Louis XV. Legend holds that her fortune helped the Murphy family establish their brewery a century later! A revealing portrait of Marie Louise now hangs in the Alta Pinakothek in Munich, a city well known for its beer. Cruise liner at Cobh In 1756, France and Britain were at each other’s throats in the Seven Years War and “the Great Ox-slaying city of Cork” emerged as the Royal Navy’s preferred supplier for beef, pork and butter. Less than a hundred years later, that beef boom was long forgotten as famine struck. In 1847, the USS Jamestown warship arrives in the harbour with 800 tons of food and clothing. The commander is shown around the stricken streets of the city by Fr Matthew. The Firkin Crane, a reminder when Cork led the world in butter. In 1859, Sir John Arnott, originally from Fife in Scotland, is elected mayor for the first of three times. He is a well known and successful businessman. He was involved in shipping in Cork and Passage, founded the Cork racecourse (later Henry Ford built on the site), the Arnott shop and a brewery (St Finnbarr’s). By 1861, the Cork Butter Exchange becomes the largest butter exchange in the world. Exports peak in the 1870s. By 1880, the spectre of famine rears its head again. It is a borderline case but enough to see more help from the USA. Five hundred tons of provisions and clothing arrive on the sloop of war Constellation and the distribution of supplies is supervised by the Duke of Edinburgh. Outward bound; passing Cobh In 1902, the Cork International Exhibition took place in the Mardyke. Harutun Batmazian, an Armenian exile, is an exhibitor and his Hadji Bey’s Turkish Delight is such a treat that he stays and opens a shop in the city, a shop that lasts for decades. Though it is no longer made in Cork, you can still get the treat (produced now in Kildare). We'll finish on that sweet note. Catering whilst Volcano Wood Fired Pizza will serve up delicious artisan pizza from their mobile wood fired pizza oven. According to Festival Organiser, Billy Garvey, “Visitors to Camphire will be able to sample some wonderful local food produce whilst enjoying all the equestrian action of the Trials. Furthermore, the wonderful views of the Blackwater valley provide a truly unique setting to enjoy what will be a great weekend in our outdoor Don’t miss the Free wine at Felix Dennis's poetry readings this week in Dublin and Cork - there's gallons of it, according to Stuart of From Vineyards Direct. Dennis is “one of the most popular, critically acclaimed poets of recent times attracting thousands of dedicated fans across the globe”. Check him out here. €20 - Tickets / €10 Concessions (Includes pretty much unlimited FVD Wine.....a good time guaranteed). Dublin - Thursday 11th July The Button Factory Cork - Saturday 13th July The Firkin Crane Galway’s Masquerade A carnival of masked revellers, led by a lively band, will wind through Galway’s medieval streets on Saturday 28th September during the highly anticipated Gala ‘Mardi Gras’ style masquerade event, sponsored by Tindal Wine Merchants. Combining five bands, three venues and one great party, the evening is tipped to be the 2013 festival highlight! Guests are invited to don their most colourful clothes and captivating masquerade masks as they venture on the movable feast. In each of the three venues, guests will indulge in a different course of delicious seafood while being entertained by live performances ’til the wee hours. The Galway Oyster Festival has been hailed by the Sunday Times as “one of the 12 greatest shows on earth” and ranks in the AA Travel Guide among Europe‘s 7 Best Festivals as well as most recently winning a place in the Independent UK 10 Best Food Festivals. As this vibrant city pulls out all the stops for The Gathering, 2013 is the year to taste the celebrated hospitality and vibrant atmosphere that is gloriously Galway. More info from [email protected]

Behind the Curtain: Moroso Shop Tour For most of us, oil pans are an afterthought, the last piece of our intricate engine puzzle. In reality though, oil is the lifeblood of an engine, and the oiling system is more important than most people realize. Not only does it keep an expensive engine from tearing itself apart, but the right oiling system can actually add horsepower as well as extend the life of your engine. Few companies know oiling systems as well as Moroso. Founded in 1968 by a successful drag racer by the name of Dick Moroso, the company started as many do, by accident. Noticing Dick’s dominance on the track, other racers came to Dick wanting to buy his custom built parts. When Dick retired from racing, he started selling parts, mostly for Chevy engines, but has since expanded to include just about every major automobile manufacturer, from Ford to Subaru and beyond. Moroso started out just making oil pans, and their deep-sump oil pan designs were among some of the innovative parts that got their name out across the national stage. But Moroso makes more than just oil pans, and with over 3,000 products spread out across a 300 page catalog, Moroso is one of the most diverse aftermarket parts manufacturers around. They are a company of gearheads and speedfreaks, and many of them have worked at Moroso for a decade or longer, and they even volunteer their own cars to use as testbeds. I was given a chance to tour their manufacturing and distribution center in Guilford, Connecticut. Thor Schroeder, the National Sales and Marketing Manager, took me through the extensive warehouse Moroso calls home. “Most car manufacturers design the oil pan around the rest of the engine,” Thor says as we stand in the R&D department. “But oil is the lifeblood of an engine. It is the single most important ingredient in a successful race car and can affect everything from engine longevity to horsepower.” Every desk in the development department is cluttered with paperwork and engine parts and every computer screen has a CAD design program on it. “Sometimes it just starts with an idea on a piece of paper before it even makes it to the computer screen,” says Thor. “But we’re always looking to improve and develop our parts further, to stay ahead of the market and respond to the customers.” To those ends, Moroso is constantly pushing the envelope when it comes to designing new products and improving current ones. One example is their computerized distributors, which 95% of NASCAR teams currently use under the hoods of their cars. But because of heat issues under aforementioned hoods, Moroso had to figure out a way to deliver the equivalent performance without the high-tech computer chip wizardry. NASCAR engine builders are a picky bunch, and they want everything and more, but that just pushes Moroso to further enhance and fine-tune their products. But making a quality car component is about more than just design. The products need to be tested, early and often. That is why Moroso has its own engine dyno…along with eight or nine different engines just sitting around, waiting for a new component to be tested. While I was there they had an LQ9 engine on the dyno, testing an oil pan and electric waterpump among other bits. “We’ve gone through three or four of these,” Thor says, referring to the engine dyno. “They get used a lot.” One of the ways Moroso tests their products is with a see-through oil pan, so they can learned exactly how the oil reacts to different designs. After listening to the sweet symphony of the LQ9, Thor led me to the warehouse where all the parts get stamped, welded, built, and shipped. This place just kept going and going and going. Moroso has many cutting edge CNC machines on site to handle much of the precise cutting work, but when it comes to welding, it is all done by hand. There were at least a dozen different welding stations and even more engine blocks to insure proper fitment. Each worker had a specialty, whether it was welding steel or aluminum, though all were equally capable of building any of the various oil pans and other parts on hand. Moroso also works with customers to build custom one-off pieces, though these sometimes end up being produced en masse as other customers seek them out as well. “We’ll work with a customer to find out what fitments and specifications they need,” says Thor. “We get different feedback from different racers, and this helps us actively improve our product line.” Moroso In Motion The extensive testing Moroso puts their parts through can be epitomized with the two cars in the back garage tucked behind all the CNC machines. Right now the garage holds a 2008 Mustang and a 2009 Dodge Challenger. These two cars serve as testing beds for many of Moroso’s products. While the Challenger is currently stripped down, the Mustang is all but finished (is any project car ever really finished though?) The list of parts equipped to what Moroso calls the “GTM” Mustang is too extensive to go into detail, but some of the parts include control arms, an exhaust kit, 8-point roll bar, and valve covers. A RoushCharger supercharger system has also been added to beef up the power output. Thor also hinted that a 2010 Camaro should be coming into the garage soon as well. With so many parts under one roof, you can almost assemble a whole car from Moroso’s parts bin. Well, not quite. But you can find just about anything you might need, and even if you don’t, just ask. They might be able to make it for you anyway. That’s how Moroso got started, and it is how they will keep on going forward.

USD0.3010 (-0.5%)EUR0.2701 (-0.0%)GBP0.2371 (-0.2%)CNY2.0550 (-0.1%)JPY33.5449 (+0.5%)CAD0.3998 (+0.0%)CHF0.2932 (-0.2%) Convert 5 Brazilian Real (BRL) to Hungarian Forint (HUF) For 5 BRL, at the 2017-06-21 exchange rate, you will have 417.42735 HUF Convert other quantities from Brazilian Real to Hungarian Forint HUF 1 BRL = 83.48547 HUF 1 HUF = 0.01198 BRL The forint (sign: Ft; code: HUF) is the currency of Hungary. It is divided into 100 fillér, although fillér coins are no longer in circulation. The introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step of the post-WWII stabilization of the Hungarian economy, and the currency remained relatively stable until the 1980s. Transition to market economy in the early 1990s deteriorated the value of the forint, inflation peaked at 35% in 1991. Since 2001, inflation is single digit and the forint was declared fully convertible.

USD0.7530 (-0.5%)EUR0.6755 (-0.0%)GBP0.5932 (-0.2%)CNY5.1402 (-0.1%)JPY83.9087 (+0.5%)CHF0.7334 (-0.2%) Convert 930 Canadian Dollar (CAD) to Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY) For 930 CAD, at the 2017-06-21 exchange rate, you will have 4780.42491 CNY Convert other quantities from Canadian Dollar to Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY 1 CAD = 5.14024 CNY 1 CNY = 0.19454 CAD The renminbi (RMB, sign: ¥; code: CNY; also CN¥, 元 and CN元) is the official currency of China (People's Republic of China). Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of China. Its name (simplified Chinese: 人民币; traditional Chinese: 人民幣; pinyin: rénmínbì) means "people's currency". The primary unit of renminbi is the yuán (元). One yuan is subdivided into 10 jiǎo (角), which in turn is subdivided into 10 fēn (分). Renminbi banknotes are available in denominations from 1 jiao to 100 yuan (¥0.1–100) and coins have denominations from 1 fen to 1 yuan (¥0.01–1). Thus, some denominations exist in coins and banknotes. Coins under ¥0.1 are used infrequently.

Yet, it must not be forgotten that underage drinking is illegal in the United States. Teens accused of possessing alcohol will face heavy fines that often increase with the number of repeated charges. Here in Maryland, a minor in possession is a misdemeanor offense, meaning any convictions will be shown on the teen’s criminal record. The law, then, treats underage drinking as a very serious issue, even though it is quite a common thing. The public opinion about underage drinking is mixed; though some families accept it as inevitable, others view it as extremely objectionable. This debate recently centered around the figure of the Maryland Attorney General, who was recently spotted in a photograph of a teenage party attended by his son. The son had visited a beach house for “beach week” with a number of other high school friends. The AG was photographed visiting the house during a drinking party, which he apparently did nothing to stop. He later questioned whether he had a “moral imperative” to put a stop the party. The debate over the Attorney General’s responsibilities will continue, though the illegality of the party seems certain. One attorney noted that although parents have the ability to give their teenagers permission to drink in their homes, they cannot allow other people’s children to drink on the premises. Any underage teen caught at such a party could be subject to a misdemeanor charge.

Supersharrows? Posted on September 17, 2013 by Richard Masoner. Tweet Do you remember that shared lane lane with green painted along 2nd Street in Long Beach California way back in 2009? The city of Oakland is apparently painting part of 40th Street with green. The East Bay Bicycle Coalition calls these Supersharrows, and wants to know what you think of them. Supersharrows are essentially sharrows with a vibrant punch! These are not bike lanes where bicyclists have priority over cars, but rather a shared space for both users, with a visible reminder to driviers to look for bikes. Ride the supersharrows and tell us what you think. If successful, Oakland intends to stripe more on streets such as MacArthur Blvd in the Laurel District, Harrison St toward Piedmont, Market St north of Adeline St, a couple blocks either way at Broadway & Grand, and Lakeshore Ave east of El Embarcadero. Here’s Market Street Oakland as it appears now, and with a strip of green. Mark Dreger, the 40th Street super sharrows are smack dab in the middle of the lane, and not to the right. Here is a set of pictures I took of the actual implementation (however, please note that the first several pictures were from before the white sharrows were added in top of the green stripe): Sorry, my last comment should have been directed to Max Power, not Mark. I was skeptical about the installation as well, but after riding on it for about a week I have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised, as are most of the other cyclists I have head from who are riding it. Car and bus drivers who used to buzz cyclists here frequently are now increasingly changing lanes to pass, and cyclists who used to hug the door zone are now riding further left, from my observations. However, I’ll reserve my judgement until the data collection comes in regarding cyclists usage and lane position. I recommend any other skeptics to come try it out for themselves, maybe on their way from the MacArthur BART station over to the new Bay Bridge bike path. The City of Oakland will be striping additional green bikeways by the end of the year, in the form of dashed green paint in a bike lane “conflict zone” where it is crossed by another travel lane, as well as solid green in a dedicated bike lane which is flanked by a right turn lane to the right and a straight through lane to the left, to just make the bike lane stand out more as a bike-priority space. In this sense the super sharrows also follow this same concept, not as a “no-car zone”, but one where bikes have priority and car drivers should be on the lookout for them. If the idea is that green paint will somehow stop drivers from parking or driving in a bike lane, I would say that my experience in SF has shown that even this doesn’t work. Just look at the green lanes on Embarcadero, with cars, taxis, and trucks blocking them constantly. Only physically protected bike lanes will stop double parkers, but we can still use green paint to at least highlight conflict areas and bike-priority zones. Oakland’s draft guidance on using green paint in standard bike lanes can be found online here (although since this was released they have changed it to use dashed green paint in the conflict area, with an area of solid green paint on each end as a “landing zone”): I also recommended that they add hwy on and off ramps that cross bike lanes to their citywide locations map. AP Thornley (@apthornley) September 18, 2013 - 11:09 am | Permalink I agree with Mark Dreger’s comment, I hate to see Oakland garble the rhetoric of bikespace color that we’ve been working out (Salt Lake City and Long Beach both made this same goof five years ago) — extending the long-established “solid vs dashed” principle for lane striping, continuous green means “cars stay out” and dashed green means “cars may pass through” — dash the green to express shared space and run the green solid to express “bikes only” and we’ll get everyone on the same page sooner . . . “Principle of Least Astonishment” is the philosophy of 1960s traffic engineering and results in faster traffic and more danger for cyclists (and pedestrians). Modern traffic safety creates a perception of “interest and uncertainty” to the road to force everybody to slow down and watch what they’re doing.

Up in Smoke: Germans Develop Exhaust Pipe Power Jason Mick (Blog) - June 6, 2008 3:01 PM New technology promising to cut CO2 and save gas Alternative energy comes from unusual sources -- huge rivers, massive arrays of silicon panels, nuclear reactions, and massive spinning metal blades. But German researchers are getting power from a source that might strike scientists from decades past as particularly peculiar -- they're making power from automobile exhaust gases. In an era of ultra-expensive fuel and concerns about emissions fueling global warming, the automobile has come under increasing scrutiny with users looking for ways to extend gas mileage and cut emissions. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, a leading German research organization, is developing materials and designs for a thermoelectric generator which will help to solve both problems. In automobiles, two-thirds of the fuel used is emitted as waste heat. In total, 30 percent of the energy is lost in heat from the engine block and a further 30 to 35 percent is lost to exhaust fumes. Many teams of researchers have began to look at how to recapture some of this heat and heat from similar industrial engines and transform it into electricity. Such devices are known as thermoelectric generators or TEGs for short. The TEG generator takes a temperature gradient, driven by the difference between the waste heat and the ambient temperature and uses that gradient to produce electricity. Greater temperature differences yield great results. The Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM has a number of thermoelectric materials under development that will harvest this heat in automobiles. Dr. Harald Böttner, head of the Thermoelectric Systems department states, "The temperatures in the exhaust pipe can reach 700 degrees Celsius or more. The temperature difference between the exhaust pipe and a pipe carrying engine cooling fluid can thus be several hundred degrees Celsius." The thermoelectric converter the team is developing takes the gradient created by the exhaust gas and uses it to drive charge carriers through a semiconductor. This creates a looped current flow similar to a battery. The technology is relatively straightforward, but the real challenge is finding optimal thermoelectrics with high carrier mobility. The research team is hoping that the device will make the alternator obsolete, providing power to the car's consumer electronics, onboard computers, and charging the battery. Böttner states, "This would make it possible to cut gas consumption by between five and seven percent," Researchers point out that with 50 million cars on the road in Germany with an average on-road time of 200 hours a year per car, if only one kilowatt each was produced by the TEGs, this would amount to ten terawatt hours per year. The researchers are hoping to begin to construct prototypes of their designs very soon.

Intel’s 3D Transistors Boost Performance, Lower Power Consumption for “Ivy Bridge” 32nm Planar transistor on the left versus 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistor on the right. The yellow dots represent current flow. (Source: Intel) The 22nm 3D tri-gate transistor (Source: Intel) New 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistors will boost performance by up to 37 percent compared to existing 32nm technology comes to making advances in manufacturing technologies for semiconductors, we can always look to Intel to lead the way. Today is no exception as the Santa Clara, California-based company announced today that it will incorporate 3D transistors into its upcoming 22nm microprocessors. Intel says that its 3D transistor design, which it calls Tri-Gate, marks the first time that a three-dimensional structure has been incorporated into high-volume production. Ivy Bridge will be the first recipient of Tri-Gate. "Intel's scientists and engineers have once again reinvented the transistor, this time utilizing the third dimension," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. "Amazing, world-shaping devices will be created from this capability as we advance Moore's Law into new realms." Intel goes on to describe 3D Tri-Gate as follows: The traditional "flat" two-dimensional planar gate is replaced with an incredibly thin three-dimensional silicon fin that rises up vertically from the silicon substrate. Control of current is accomplished by implementing a gate on each of the three sides of the fin – two on each side and one across the top -- rather than just one on top, as is the case with the 2-D planar transistor. The additional control enables as much transistor current flowing as possible when the transistor is in the "on" state (for performance), and as close to zero as possible when it is in the "off" state (to minimize power), and enables the transistor to switch very quickly between the two states (again, for performance). Just as skyscrapers let urban planners optimize available space by building upward, Intel's 3-D Tri-Gate transistor structure provides a way to manage density. Since these fins are vertical in nature, transistors can be packed closer together, a critical component to the technological and economic benefits of Moore's Law. For future generations, designers also have the ability to continue growing the height of the fins to get even more performance and energy-efficiency gains. Tri-Gate will provide unprecedented levels of performance and power savings according to Intel. The technology will allow processors to run at lower voltages while at the same time limiting the amount of leakage current. In fact, Intel says that processors using 22nm Tri-Gate transistors offers up to a whopping 37 percent performance boost at low voltages. Naturally, higher performance at lower operating voltage will do wonders in Intel's never-ending quest to chase down low-power ARM chips with its Atom-based processors. low-voltage and low-power benefits far exceed what we typically see from one process generation to the next," said Intel Senior Fellow Mark Bohr. "It will give product designers the flexibility to make current devices smarter and wholly new ones possible. We believe this breakthrough will extend Intel's lead even further over the rest of the semiconductor industry." Ivy Bridge processors using Intel's 3D Tri-Gate technology will enter production later this year. You can watch a YouTube clip on 3D Tri-Gate here.

What does juvenile delinquency mean? Definitions for juvenile delinquency Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word juvenile delinquency. Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:delinquency, juvenile delinquency(noun)an antisocial misdeed in violation of the law by a minorFreebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:Juvenile delinquencyJuvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, or youth crime, is participation in illegal behavior by minors. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers, and courts. A juvenile delinquent is a person who is typically under the age of 18 and commits an act that otherwise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult. Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed, it is possible for persons under 18 to be charged and tried as adults. In recent years, the average age for first arrest has dropped significantly, and younger boys and girls are committing crimes. Between 60–80% percent of adolescents, and pre-adolescents engage in some form of juvenile offense. These can range from status offenses, to property crimes and violent crimes. The percent of teens who offend is so high that it would seem to be a cause for worry. However, juvenile offending can be considered normative adolescent behavior. This is because most teens tend to offend by committing non-violent crimes, only once or a few times, and only during adolescence. It is when adolescents offend repeatedly or violently that their offending is likely to continue beyond adolescence, and become increasingly violent. It is also likely that if this is the case, they began offending and displaying antisocial behavior even before reaching adolescence.U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:Juvenile DelinquencyThe antisocial acts of children or persons under age which are illegal or lawfully interpreted as constituting delinquency.NumerologyChaldean NumerologyThe numerical value of juvenile delinquency in Chaldean Numerology is: 8Pythagorean NumerologyThe numerical value of juvenile delinquency in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2Images & Illustrations of juvenile delinquency Translations for juvenile delinquency

[muh-lair-ee-uh] /məˈlɛər i ə/ Spell Pathology. any of a group of diseases, usually intermittent or remittent, characterized by attacks of chills, fever, and sweating: formerly supposed to be due to swamp exhalations but now known to be caused by a parasitic protozoan, which is transferred to the human bloodstream by a mosquito of the genus Anopheles and which occupies and destroys red blood cells. 2. Archaic. unwholesome or poisonous air. Origin of malaria Expand 1730-40; < Italian, contraction of mala aria bad air Related forms Expand Examples from the Web for malarial In malarial zones, by contrast, the life expectancy at birth was only 22.5 years. David's Book Club: The Conquest of Malaria July 30, 2012 People born into malarial regions have a fierce Darwinian pressure placed upon them—the disease affects everyone in the area. A Malaria Vaccine That Cuts 46% of Infections Is a 100% a Big Deal October 8, 2013 Historical Examples The climate was excessively damp, and we were never free from malarial fever. Under the Red Crescent Charles S. Ryan Typhoid and malarial cases, sent in from the lines, were also here in abundance. The Long Roll Mary Johnston Owing to the prevalence of malarial fever, and the intense heat of the plains, two capitals are maintained. Seven Legs Across the Seas Samuel Murray But how was the malarial parasite to pass from one human being to another? The Popular Science Monthly, July, 1900 Various In early life he was sickly and weakly, never having fully recovered from a malarial fever contracted in the Mexican war. History of Circumcision from the Earliest Times to the Present Peter Charles Remondino The castle is malarial, rickety, like many of Maeterlinck's buildings. Iconoclasts James Huneker Italian physicians recommend it highly in malarial diseases. Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 3 [March 1901] Various Whether they were malarial or not I cannot say, but certainly they were unfragrant to a degree. A Year in Europe Walter W. Moore British Dictionary definitions for malarial Expand

East Windsor Historical Preservation Commission , ChairmanAddress:Town Hall, 11 Rye Street Broad Brook ,CT 06016 Phone:860-623-8122Hours:The Historical Commission meets at the East Windsor Town Hall, 11 Rye Street, Broad Brook, the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. except in July and August. The East Windsor Historical Commission is a group of concerned citizens; members of the electorate appointed by the Board of Selectmen. The task of the Commission is to identify, archive, and preserve structures, sites and monuments significant in the town’s history and cultural development. The Historical Commission provides the citizenry with publications and programs to promote awareness and appreciation of the town’s history and offers assistance to private citizens who wish to preserve individual properties of significant historical or architectural value. Why Preserve old Properties? For many of today’s citizens the idea of preserving the old is contrary to the idea "newer is better". Recently, however, communities have begun to acknowledge the fact that with the increasingly rapid neglect, endangerment and disappearance of old buildings, sites, and monuments; a town’s significant past and the roots of its citizenry, the town’s heritage, is lost forever. In any community there are structurally sound buildings that are representative of significant architectural and historic eras of the town. Often rehabilitating these buildings is wiser than destroying them, both aesthetically and financially. What is Preservation? Preservation is the conservation of any architectural or historical structure, site or monument. It is the maintenance of the basic design and building materials of such a structure. In adaptive preservation the emphasis is on saving the appearance and authenticity of the exterior of a building. Then the interior can be adapted to a more modern use as a residence, commercial or municipal facility. How does the Historical Commission serve the community? The commission exists to support the preservation of the town’s historic and cultural heritage. This is accomplished first by identifying properties suitable for preservation. Then the commission can provide assistance with the registration of these properties with the state and national registers of historic buildings. As historic properties are identified and registered the commission will also assist in the development of expert presentations, slide shows, and walking tours to educate the community about the town’s heritage. The commission will establish individual and thematic landmarks, as well as historic districts, in order to better preserve the town’s heritage for future generations. In order to accomplish this goal, the commission will need the active participation and cooperation of the municipality and its citizens. How can an individual support the efforts of the Historical Commission? 1. Contact a commission member if you are willing to explore the possibility of identifying or preserving your individual property as a significant historical or architectural site. 2. Contact a commission member if you are aware of any endangered property significant to the town’s heritage. 3. Contact a commission member if you are an individual or business that is able to donate services or make a financial contribution to assist with preservation projects. 4. Contact a commission member if you are a member of the legal profession who is able to donate your services in drafting legislation to further preservation. 5. As a member of the electorate support the commission’s efforts to preserve sites in the community and lobby the legislature for support and funding for continued preservation. 6. Attend with your family and friends any informational programs sponsored by the commission to promote the historical and cultural heritage of East Windsor.

Custom Metal Fabrication Tools, Metal Fabricating Equipment Usage Metal Fabrication Equipment By Joe Richardson, Product Developer and Eastwood Expert In the world of modern car restoration and custom building, there are many steel reproduction panels available for the more popular collector cars. If a replacement panel is available for a damaged area of your particular car, the task is relatively straightforward. What happens then if there is no prefabricated piece available for your particular application? You could search for a used section at a salvage yard specializing in collector cars, but this not always the solution. The only alternative is to make it yourself. You may think that, since the original part was created in a huge press at a stamping plant, this is impossible, right? Well, fortunately the tools and equipment are readily available to create just about any shape in metal you could imagine. Keep in mind that in the early 20th century, before modern stamping equipment was developed, automobile, locomotive, airplane and marine panels were all fabricated by hand. In fact many exotic European sports and race car bodies were created entirely by hand as recently as the 50’s and 60’s. Many of today’s one-off customs have bodies fabricated by hand. Tools and Equipment Used in Custom Panel Fabrication: English Wheel – This device has been around for a long time. The early versions were somewhat basic, and constructed with extremely large and heavy castings. This was a requirement when fabricating airplane radial engine cowlings, and especially heavy gauge steam locomotive panels. The English Wheel functions by passing a sheet of metal between the upper (or rolling) wheel and the smaller, lower (or anvil) wheel with a slight adjustable tension applied. The anvils are interchangeable, with the choice of radii based on the final contour desired. Though simple to operate, the English Wheel requires a great deal of patience and practice to master. All the advantages of today’s machining and welding technology, as well as metallurgy science, means that modern wheeling machines are available at a relatively low price, while also offering a high degree of precision and quality. Eastwood offers a comprehensive array of English Wheel sizes and accessories designed to help form virtually any metal item ranging from intricate artwork pieces and motorcycle components such as tanks and fenders, to large automotive panels such as hoods, roofs, and more. Planishing Hammer – The term “planish” means to smooth. The basic idea is to first create a shape in a piece of metal by rough forming it with forming tools or mallets, followed by smoothing out the surface by planishing it with a planishing hammer. Before today’s modern pneumatic designs were available, these were generally manually foot or hand powered. This was quite effective, but very time consuming and tiring. With precision pneumatic components and controls, this step can now be accomplished quickly and accurately with very little effort. The planishing hammer essentially functions by passing the formed piece between a reciprocating “hammering” hammer and a stationary “die”. The dies, like the anvils of the English Wheel, are interchangeable, with various surface radii chosen to most closely match the contour of the finished project. Shrinker/ Stretcher – These tools are invaluable when there is a need to create those impossible-to-buy pieces such as auto body windshield/rear glass openings, wheel opening lips, door opening doglegs, and headlight openings. Starting with a piece of metal of any length and having a 90 degree angle bend (where each side is an inch or so), you can produce any combination of curves and in any direction you need. The Shrinker functions by actuating a set of jaws which draw the edge of the metal inward from opposite directions causing it to “shrink” and generating an inward curve in the piece. The Stretcher is the opposite of the Shrinker, in that it functions by actuating a set of jaws that spread the edge of the metal outward in opposite directions causing it to “stretch,” and generate an outward curve in the metal. You only need to cut a strip of metal about 1-1/2” to 2-1/2” wide in any length, bend it to 90 degrees along its length at about the center line (our Versa-Bend Sheet Metal Brake is perfect for this), and, using some easily-made cardboard templates, make your parts. You have a choice of actuation: The hand operated Shrinker-Stretcher Set has been in the Eastwood catalog for many years with thousands in use. These can be mounted on most any work bench, or a number of Eastwood tool stands. The ultimate is the Heavy-Duty Shrinker-Stretcher Kit. This has an integral stand and powerful, extra-large capacity jaws with a foot pedal control. This allows a user to shrink or stretch up to 16-gauge mild steel.

Annex D3(a) provides a good example of sizing your overcurrent protection device (OCPD). This example shows a common problem. The size you come up with doesn't fit a standard breaker. That's where the rule for the next size up comes in handy. But what exactly is this rule, and where does it come from? It's shorthand for the rules found in 240.4(B) and 240.4(C). The essence is that, if you've calculated an OCPD size that doesn't fit the standard sizes [240.6(A)], you can use the standard size that is next on the list of standard sizes (going from smaller to larger). In this example, the calculation is 136A so you can use a 150A breaker. 240.4(B) lets you use the next size up without increasing your conductor size, while 240.4(C) requires you to ensure your conductor ampacity is equal to or greater than that of the OCPD rating. Doing your calculations in the same sequence shown in all the Annex examples will provide you with several advantages. One of becomes clear in this situation. To comply with 240.4(C), you just recalculate the VA by using the OCPD rating instead of the actual load. Depending on the application, other Articles may apply [240.4] and those will complicate or even prevent your use of the next size up rule.

Change in Season Move to spring test welcomed in Conn. Printer-Friendly In Connecticut, where the state attorney general is suing the U.S. Department of Education over new federal testing requirements, at least one change in the student-assessment system isn’t sparking a backlash. State testing there has been moved from the fall to the spring, meaning that for the first time in two decades, students aren’t returning from summer break knowing that they’ll have to sit for state exams in a matter of weeks. “Now, the students come back to school and you have the opportunity to focus on them adjusting to school, engaging them in learning, and reviewing what they did before, but you don’t have to drill for the test,” said Rosemary Coyle, the president of the Connecticut Education Association. The initial idea behind fall testing was to get results back by the middle of the school year so educators could use them to adjust their instruction. But many teachers complained that the effect was to tie up the first weeks of school with prepping for and administering the tests. State officials moved the annual rite now because so many other changes were being made to their assessments as a result of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Those other changes include requirements to test in more grades than Connecticut traditionally has done—the crux of the state’s dispute with the federal government. The state filed its lawsuit last month. ("Connecticut Files Court Challenge to NCLB," Aug. 31, 2005) Now, students will be tested in March rather than at the end of September and the beginning of October. Roberta Kurlantzick, the principal at West Woods Upper Elementary School in Farmington, Conn., said that rather than feeling pressed to review for the test in September, teachers will be able to cover the required material over the coming months. “It gives us a chance to kind of imbed it in instruction and just make it a part of what we do,” she said. But Connecticut Commissioner of Education Betty J. Sternberg cautions that the school year will be at an end by the time test results come back. And those results may not fully reflect students’ abilities when they return to school the following fall, she said. “The test score is only as meaningful as kids have retained that learning over the summer, and disadvantaged kids are less likely to have retained it,” she said. By

RE: Cw activity will die after 2037 There is a strange paradox in the way humans view technology.Something which is mass produced, perfect, and machine made is generally viewed as common and not particularly desirable.Yet something which takes a SKILLED artisan months to produce and which is not perfect, can be viewed as expensive and desirable.In the same way, PSK31 and the other digital modes are machine made, very efficient but do not require much skill to produce.C.W. on the other hand, requires years to master, is slow, inefficient, subject to poor sending and receiving, but is viewed as a skill.In many cases rarity goes along with value.A stamp of which only two are thought to exist will be more valuable than one which has 100 million brothers.Another example is aluminium.Although common as an oxide, it is rare in metallic form in nature, which is why it was used for Napoleons' childrens' rattles and the cap of the Washington monument.Once a technique was discovered for producing aluminium by industrial process, it's price and prestige dropped to common status.Rarity in skill generally goes with training and intrinsic ability.So, we value athletes who are exceedingly good at their sport, knowing that apart from natural ability, they need to put huge amounts of time into developing those skills.Another interesting human trait is the concept of uselessness.The old nobles of history displayed their wealth and power by employing many people doing essentially useless things.They also liked to collect works of art which took a great deal of someones time to produce.Art, although beautiful, is essentially useless in the area of survival.Another example is the learning of complex manners and dead languages.All of these activities were to show that they did not need to learn real world skills for basic survival.Once CW was no longer necessary for commercial and safety use, it went from utility to art.It was now a "useless" mode, which required skill and time to master.It's machine mode cousins were quicker, more efficient and robust - but they did not rely on human skill and had no "soul".A master at CW would have spent much time in obtaining this level of skill.To copy CW by machine would demote it to the level of PSK31, and so remove its primary appeal - that of human skill.So CW after 1999 joined the ranks of other "useless" activities which became art.Fencing, sailing, celestial navigation by sextant, playing musical instruments, singing, archery, CW - all useless.And by being useless, they have become exalted to the level of prestigious and desirable skills.73 - Rob You may be right, but I think there is a difference between tools and the artisan.For example, a skilled carpenter can make a beautiful piece of furniture with simple hand tools, probably decades old.If you gave me a fully equipped machine shop with power tools, I would be hard pressed to make a decent spice rack.The human need to face and overcome challenges is a very strong one.People climb mountains for no particular purpose except to see if they can do it.I can't talk for others, but if CW were all done by machine what would be it's point?In the same way, we use unreliable H.F. propagation to talk to others around the world.Why not just pick up the phone?Nietzche the German philosopher put this concept in words:"The discipline of suffering, of great suffering - do you not know that it is this discipline alone that has produced all the elevations of humanity so far? " - Friedrich NietzscheWhen societies lose the ability to accept adversity and transcend challenges, they inevitably wither and die.It happened to Rome, and just about every other great civilization - and it can happen to individual people too.While people have difficulties to overcome, and refuse to let themselves be turned into drones, they will be mentally alive.We must never let machines have all our fun, while we simply oil and tend them.73 - Rob W7ASA While there probably will be such ‘progress’ in computer power that machines might someday be more ‘efficient’ than humans at reading weak, hand-sent Morse down in the noise, my question would be why? I really have no use for automated CW contest stations working other automated contest stations so that we can sit in our cubicle at work late into the night and monitor our computer's 'progress' via automatic e-mail to our work address as it's very expensive software racks-up a big score in some contrived 'contest'. Thats great - right? Only the numbers matter - rght? That way, we'd never have to leave work, thus producing more tax revinue for bloated politicians - that's 'efficient' - right? Noooooo - Much of what we call 'progress' with machines doing for us, what we should actually be doing as human beings might not be 'progress' at all. For example: the math shows that artificial insemination is more ‘efficient’ and controllable for producing offspring than standard biological reproduction methods, which is why it’s so wide spread among certain specialized livestock operations. For me personally, efficient or not - I don’t want it to replace sex . ;^) or human Morse - though, if I were forced to choose one . . . 73 de RayW7ASA ..._ ._ « Last Edit: November 03, 2012, 10:46:25 AM by W7ASA » KE7WAV I'll only be about 60 and I will be on the air using my sideswiper and still trying to make a contact whenever time permits. Which will hopefully be a lot more than now.KE7WAV N9KX In 2037, if still alive I will be 75. As of today, I have 171 LoTW confirmed entities, 155 of which are CW. Those CW confirmations are all using a Brown Bros. straight key, and I suspect I will still be using it in 2037. Perhaps by then I will have switched to the Brown Bros. paddle I have, but I kind of doubt it. CW is something that really resonates in some of us; and despite the no-code era it still is alive and well. After almost 30 years of being QRT, I remembered code like only a day had passed and can easily send my call and 599 at DXpedition speed... At some point using technology to read and send squeezes out all the fun. It is like losing your 'key' to the car and letting an auto pilot drive. Seriously though, I still have hand tools and a manual can opener despite more 'advanced' technological alternatives. I still have a bicycle although it is for fun and not my main mode of travel. Probably bicycles and even horses will still be around in 2037. CW op.s hold all the keys; if you don't know CW you don't know dit. Logged So in 2037 when I am 80 years old and I find myself half-naked stranded on a South Seas Island with only a flashlight..... what should I use the flashlight for?Making shadows on the sand of animals with my hands and fingers? I doubt if I will have my computer or tablet with me or a cell phone for that matter.If a ship passes nearby, even though they have no clue at first what the light flashes mean, they can "Google" it with their computer.There will always be a need for NO TECH, human brain decoding, whether it is for Morse Code or speech, no matter how it is generated.Unless of course if in 25 years, the average educated person gets even worse in that they can't make change for a dollar unless they are behind a cash register or use a calculator, can't spell a five letter word without a computer or other device,and have no knowledge of history more than 50% of their age."Knowledge is Power, lack of knowledge is Control". KE6EE Quote from: KA1BIN on November 04, 2012, 01:33:05 AMSo in 2037 when I am 80 years old and I find myself half-naked stranded on a South Seas Island with only a flashlight..... what should I use the flashlight for?Unless of course if in 25 years......sea level rise puts that island awash.

How to Add Distilled Water to Sump Pump Batteries Sump pump batteries are used as emergency backup power to the pumps. Different types of batteries are employed for the backup power. Most typically a deep cycle battery is used, which is not the same as a regular car starting battery. Maintaining these batteries is crucial to the longevity of the backup power source. Keeping the water level at optimum is key to a well performing system. Only unsealed batteries can have distilled water added to the separate cells. Sealed batteries are identified by not having removable caps on the top of the battery. Slotted screwdriver (optional) Place the safety glasses and rubber gloves on your body to protect yourself from any possibility of spillage from the acid water mixture. Remove all electrical power from the charging system to the battery. In most cases this is simply pulling the plug from the AC charger that feeds the battery. Clean the top of the battery with a paper towel. Discard the towel immediately as it might contain dried acid. Remove the caps of the battery. Various unsealed batteries may have different caps. Individual screw on caps will cover each separate battery cell, which will be six in total for one battery. Unscrew the separate screws caps and set to the side. Use the slotted screwdriver to pry off the caps if they are part of an assembly. Most typically these pry off caps will cover three cells. There will be two caps for one battery. Observe inside the openings of the battery. There will be a plastic ring that extends down inside each cell. Check the fluid level of each cell. The fluid height must be kept to just below the level of the interior ring. Add just enough distilled water to raise the fluid level to the height of the lower end of the interior plastic ring. Replace the caps on the battery. Thoroughly wipe the top of the battery dry with the paper towels. Reenergize the battery charging system. Tips & Warnings The acid contained in the battery is highly corrosive and can also be extremely flammable. Do not expose the battery to any open flames as the fumes from a charging battery are highly explosive. Follow the battery manufactures specifications for keeping the batteries in a well ventilated area.

Preservatives on Restaurant Salads Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images Salads at fast-food places and restaurants are likely to contain preservatives, particularly if they are part of buffet or are likely to be on display for long periods of time. Their function is to stop the salads from turning rancid due to the growth of bacteria or mold, and extend their shelf life. If you're avoiding preservatives, try to steer clear from salads that have been left out on the counter all day, particularly if they contain mayonnaise, as the raw eggs can spoil. Choose freshly made salad instead whenever possible. Benzoic acid is used as a preservative in salads that have mayonnaise or salad dressing. It prevents the growth of fungus as well as certain bacteria. The chemical was first discovered in the 16th century, and it is used widely as a preservative because it is cheap to prepare. Sorbic Acid Sorbic acid prevents mold, fungus and bacteria from growing on food, however it does not kill mold or bacteria that has already formed. It is often added to salad dressings to preserve salad ingredients. Sorbic acid occurs naturally in certain fruits. It was first chemically synthesized in 1895. Propionic Acid This substance is used as a preservative in mayonnaise and salad dressings. It prevents bacteria from forming, therefore extending the shelf life of the salad. The chemical itself has a very strong smell, and very small amounts are used in food. Lactic Acid Lactic acid can be used as a preservative for salads and their dressings. It was first produced by isolating the sugars and water in cow's milk, but nowadays it is made by fermenting corn, therefore those with dairy intolerance don't need to avoid it. It has a tart flavor, so it is sometimes added to sauerkraut. Related Searches

The Netherlands among the best places to live in the world The 4th edition of the Social Progress Index (SPI) was recently published, revealing the best and worst countries worldwide in terms of the social and environmental health of the population. The Netherlands was ranked 8th overall in the list of 133 countries, improving slightly from the 9th place spot the country held in last year’s edition of the index. The SPI indicators The SPI ranking was created by the Social Progress Imperative network in order to expand the understanding of a country’s progress beyond the standard indicators of economic development such as GDP. Instead, the index evaluates the social and environmental performance of countries and assesses indicators which directly affect human lives. In 2016, all of the SPI indicators were compiled into three groups: The Basic Human Needs group comprises of social aspects such as nutrition, access to medical care, shelter, personal safety, and water and sanitation. The population’s access to basic knowledge, information and communication, as well as health and wellness and ecosystem sustainability were evaluated in the Foundations of Wellbeing category. The Opportunity group covers a country’s progress in personal rights, freedom, and choice, tolerance and inclusion, and access to advanced education. The Netherlands’ results In the 2016 edition of the Social Progress Index the Netherlands received a score of 88.65, placing itself in 8th position worldwide, ahead of countries like the UK, Germany, the USA, Belgium, Spain, and France. The table below displays the Netherlands’ position per category and details its major strengths and weaknesses: Basic Human Needs (9th) Foundation of Wellbeing (2nd) Opportunity (11th) water and sanitation (99.26 points) nutrition and basic medical care (99.24) shelter (92.44) personal safety (90.00) access to basic knowledge (99.16) access to information and communication (94.70) ecosystem sustainability (87.21) health and wellness (74.39) personal freedom and choice (89.63) personal rights (87.70) tolerance and inclusion (76.52) access to advanced education (73.54) The SPI top 10 This year’s edition of the Social Progress Index reaffirmed the top positions of Nordic and Australian countries, while countries located in Middle Asia and Africa mostly occupied the bottom positions in the list. The top 10 countries were ranked as follows: The complete SPI list and detailed results for each country can be found on the Social Progress Imperative website: socialprogressimperative.org.

How to Understand the Difference Between Home Equity Loans and Second Mortgage By Brown Ezilon.com Articles Published 06/15/2011 | Home Equity Loans There seems to be a lot of confusion between home equity loans and second mortgages, for the terminology associated to important issues such as loans and borrowing is not always as straightforward as it should be, leading to confusion and even financial problems. Many people often remain doubtful as to the real meaning of home equity loans and mortgages as quite a large percentage of consumers still do not clearly understand the difference. People still regard these two loan times as basically the same, when in fact they are quite different as their names are too. In order to clear up these two differences, let us start with defining a second mortgage. An authentic second mortgage is a loan that has a fixed rate that runs from fifteen to thirty years. The terms, rates and other conditions are determined by your bank credit and this will also help determine whether you will pay any points to obtain the second mortgage. What a second mortgage involves is that it denotes a kind of home equity loan and is not the same as the latter. A home equity line of credit is the definition most loaning companies will use to describe a simple home equity loan. This means that if a loaning company proposes a home equity loan of credit, what they are offering is in fact a primary home equity loan. This kind of home equity loan has a line of credit that revolves and will be centered in terms of fees and will end up offering a better option in terms of monthly rates you will be paying back. The second mortgage loan is the opposite, which means that the monthly rates will be higher but the fees you pay for the second mortgage will be lower. It is clear why people can get confused over these different terms and mix them up often. However, they are clearly distinguishable between each other and will provide two separate service types if you take the time to examine each of these loan types in depth. Furthermore, home equity loans of credit will even issue a credit card which you may use for any needs you may have as long as the bank issues you with one at the moment of the closing. Home equity loans can have a line of credit with fluctuating rates, which start from the moment you sign up for the loan or after a certain period has passed. Although home equity loans come with a variable rate you can fix the rate at the moment you close the deal and not after. Home equity loans can be an advantage when interest rates are low, provided they stay that way for some time.

Tug of War: Sex, Pronouns, Forenames and Gender DANIEL MOODY Jane spotted Andrew walking towards her and realised they had not seen each other since the good news. Her bump gave it away. "Congratulations! Do you know which sex it is?" he said. "James and I are expecting a boy," replied Jane. "That’s wonderful! What are you going to call him?" This fictional encounter illustrates the relationships between sex, personal pronouns and forenames (we are concerned with third-person pronouns only – He/ Him/His and She/Her/Hers): it may seem impersonal for Andrew to have initially referred to the child as "it", but he used that word only because he did not yet know the child’s sex. On learning the child was male, Andrew referred to the child as "him", because third-person pronouns are those words through which we refer to a person via that person’s sex. Given that personal pronouns flow out of sexual difference, and given that nobody can change sex, personal pronouns track a person for the whole of his or her life. Our sex is gifted to us by God at conception; our pronouns are given to us by virtue of the relationship between sexual difference and language; and our forename is chosen. Language Unlike pronouns, which derive their content from sexual difference, forenames have no inherent sexed content. Rather, their content is derived through socio-cultural association: the name Andrew translates as manly, but we cannot say Andrew is a male name – we can say only that it is a male-associated name. It cannot be wrong for Andrew to change his name to, say, Andrea. Indeed if Andrea travels to Italy his name becomes male-associated again. In contrast it is always wrong to refer to Andrew/Andrea through female pronouns, because to do so would be to act against the proper nature of the relationship between sexual difference and language. Gender or sex, not gender and sex All of this is apparent to most people but things become obscured when we enter the realm of the ideology named Gender, because Gender claims we have something called a gender identity, which is subjective (yet fundamental?) and defined without reference to sexual identity. For our purposes it is not necessary to define what a gender identity is, beyond saying it is not a sexual identity. What we do know is this: Gender says that if Andrew claims to in some way feel female he can denote the feeling through a word, and the word is… "female". Of all the words to choose from or invent, "female" is the exact wrong one because one word then denotes both being female (sex/body) and feeling female (Gender/mind). Gender has surreptitiously helped itself to the language of the body, using words such as "boy" and "woman" to signify a mere state of mind. This usurpation of the body’s language exposes how Gender relates to sex: with the language of sexual identity now being used to describe states of mind, we have two distinct and contradicting concepts sharing one set of words, but we do not have, say, two sets of loos – a Ladies (sex) and a Ladies (gender) – or two legal definitions of the word "female". Law and identityRather than running parallel to sexual identity, Gender has replaced sex in law and is attempting to replace it linguistically too. To embrace the ideology is to do far more than downgrade the significance of the body: the ideology amounts to an active legal denial of sexual identity. Sex and Gender, then, are mutually exclusive. There can be no peaceful co-existence. It is as though they are the two teams in a tug of war, with the weight of reality holding firm at one end and the weight of law straining itself at the other. At the left-hand end of the rope is sex; at the right-hand end is Gender; and in the centre are forenames. Personal pronouns are left-of-centre because they belong to the body. Gender wants to pull pronouns over to its side, leaving the body speechless.Looking down the rope from a sex perspective we see sex, then personal pronouns anchored to the body, and then forenames – the body (objectivity) gives rise to forenames (subjectivity). But, from a Gender perspective, we see gender identity, then forenames, and then personal pronouns. One way to see the problem with the Gender perspective is to think of what it means for somebody to change his or her forename. If Andrew changes his name to Andre, he tells the world "I have a new forename despite being the same person." If Andrew instead changes his name to Andrea, he almost certainly chooses that name on the basis that he wishes to be thought of as female – new name because new person. But his sex has not changed so his pronouns have not either PronounsGender identities cannot have personal pronouns for the same reason that ages and skin colours cannot, namely that sexes do have pronouns. Yet proponents of the ideology insist that we refer to Andrew/Andrea through female pronouns – "Andrea is a female name; my name is Andrea; therefore I am female." Thus the claim is that there is an objective link between forenames and personal pronouns. By extension, the claim is that gender identity (subjectivity) can give rise to objectivity. Gender says Andrea is a female-gendered name.Invisibility or revelationOut of respect for sexual difference a member of the male sex should always be referred to through male pronouns. To do otherwise would be to sever the link between his body and language, thereby rendering his body linguistically invisible. We would be talking about somebody without referring to some body. We are being asked to turn our back on the body; to shroud it in silence. In the same way that a mannequin gives its clothes their shape, it is sexual difference which gives personal language its shape. If we click our fingers and make the mannequin’s clothes vanish, the mannequin retains its shape; whereas if, instead, we make the mannequin vanish, its clothes fall to the ground in a heap. The ideology named Gender clothes itself in the language of the body but underneath the clothes there is no body. The clothes are wearing no Emperor.Words such as "son" and "wife" are in danger of falling to the ground. Concepts such as sexual orientation and gender identity catapult huge stones into the pool of language, kicking up its surface and causing waves to spread outwards. The people best situated to ride the waves will be those who are most able to attach themselves firmly to reality through language. We must proclaim the stillness of language.A red-line issueFor this reason, proper pronoun usage has to be considered a red-line issue: if we allow pronouns to be pulled off of the body, we leave ourselves with no set of words through which to recognise, reveal and respect sexual difference. It is difference which allows us to know the nature of things: sexual difference allows Andrew/Andrea to know he is male by allowing him to know there is something he cannot be – female. If instead we can choose who we are, there is nothing we cannot be. How, then, can we know who we are?We cannot declare male and female to be interchangeable and also retain the language of their differences. We either defend God-given fixed sexual identity (and in doing so allow ourselves to continue to use sexed language), or we accept mind-based fluid gender identity, leading to gender-neutral (de-sexed) language. When words which flow out of the body’s nature start to vanish it is a sign that something has gone terribly wrong.Sexual differenceWhen confronting Gender, the key, always, is to point to sexual difference. If Andrew changes his name to Andrea and insists on being referred to through female personal pronouns, it is not necessary to argue whether he is or is not female. We can instead point to what Andrew/Andrea cannot be some body: given that there are two sexes, we need two names to denote sexual difference; given that Andrew/Andrea cannot change sex he cannot not be the sex he is; given that his sex is named "male", he cannot not be male.Human capacity for knowledgeWe may have been disembodied in law but in reality the body is still here. Sexual identity has God-given authority whereas gender identity can appeal to no authority bar the human mind. Cats will never come to believe they are dogs, because cats cannot come to know themselves to be cats. Only the human person has the capacity to know he is what he is. It is in our nature to know the nature of things, and therefore to know the nature of the thing we are. This, of course, means that only the human person has the capacity to misunderstand his own nature and to believe he is not what he is.As though by magic, the difference between Gender and sex serves a purpose: in confronting us with what we are not – homogenised states of mind – the ideology named Gender points us back towards the nature of sexual identity, sexual difference, language, and knowledge itself. The body is a mysterious fact, but a fact nonetheless.Daniel Moody is an independent philosopher from Dorset, England, specialising in the ideology named Gender. He is the author of The Flesh Made Word and he blogs at gentlemind.blogspot.co.uk Share:Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google PlusFaith MagazineJuly - August 2016DownloadSubscribeRelated ArticlesOur Lady, Fatima and the Future

Chester Step Test Exercise heart rates are then plotted on a graph and an aerobic capacity and fitness rating may be calculated. Equipment needed: 30cm /12″ Step Chester Step Test CD (available through the site) CD player. Procedure for the Test If you are doing your step test as part of your medical examination or for any other part of your recruitment process for the fire and rescue service, then this will generally be the procedure that you will go through: Both your maximum heart rate (220 – Age) and your 80% of maximum heart rate. These values will be entered in the appropriate box on the Chester Step Test Record sheet and two horizontal lines will be drawn on the graph to represent these values A heart rate monitor will be attached to you, and you will be told what will be required of you during the test, followed by a brief demonstration of the initial stepping rate (15 steps /min) When the CD is turned on you will be encouraged to commence stepping at the appropriate stepping rate, and will continue to step for the next 2 minutes After the first 2 minutes of stepping (stage 1) your heart rate will be recorded during the last few seconds of stepping. (You may also be asked to indicate your rating of perceived exertion (RPE) from a chart numbered 6 to 20, low scores being very, very light exertion and high scores being very, very hard exertion Providing your heart rate is below 80% of your maximum heart rate and the RPE is below 14, you’ll be asked to continue stepping at the slightly faster rate in stage 2 (20 steps/min) After another 2 minutes of stepping your heart rate will be recorded during the last few seconds of stage 2, and again you may be asked to indicate your RPE from the chart provided Providing your heart rate is below 80% of your maximum heart rate and the RPE is below 14, you’ll be asked to continue stepping at the slightly faster rate is stage 3 (25 steps/min) The test will continue until either you report an RPE greater than 14 and/or an exercise heart rate greater than 80% of your maximum heart rate (stage 4 = 30 steps/min, stage 5 = 35 steps/min) Your results will then be plotted and a decision will be made by the Occupational Doctor as to whether or not you pass the criteria for the step test.

Say "Om" to Cure Disease Meditation may be your way of nixing stress or easing a bit of anxiety. But for some people, meditating is the key to helping them ease the effects of various diseases. The breath, visualization and blissed-out feeling of meditation are reasons enough to adopt the Zen-like habit. But some people are also leaning on the practice to help ease painful disorders like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. Both of the ailments are known to lead to pain, fatigue, and even depression. The good news? Meditation is known to help ease such symptoms. And the proof is in the numbers: 51% of 77 fibromyalgia patients reported a moderate to considerable improvement in their symptoms. Finding a meditative state is a way for someone to find a spiritual connection, whether it is with the universe, God, or your own core self. However, meditation is not all about deep breathing, although that is one of the factors. Many forms of the exercise also use visualization, the repetition of a mantra and peaceful sound meditation, like playing specific music. Your gain? Meditation can make you more relaxed, clear-minded and peaceful. The emotional benefits include decreased depression, less stress and anxiety, increased energy, and fewer mood swings. When it comes to the physical benefits, you'll notice a reduced heart rate, lower blood pressure, better sleep and a more stable immune system. All of these factors make chronic disorders a bit less painful. Experts say all it takes is 20 minutes a day to start noticing the effects of meditation.

Choosing Wisely We learned at a young age when you drive up to a sign with an upside down triangle bordered in red that you pause (yield) and make certain there is no cross-traffic (or danger) before you proceed. Across the nation there is an effort to encourage health care providers and consumers to yield (pause) before agreeing to tests and treatment. The Choosing Wisley initiative, led by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation (ABIM), is geared toward improving health care quality and reducing the cost of care by decreasing unnecessary tests and treatment. The Greater Detroit Area Health Council [GDAHC] is spearheading one of seven initiatives in America that have been awarded funding for the next three years. Our lead partners are DMC PHO, Henry Ford Physician Network and the Michigan State Medical Society, along with supporting partners Blue Care Network, Health Alliance Plan (HAP), Michigan Health and Hospital Association, and the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust. GDAHC and our Choosing Wisely partners focus on decreasing the use of antibiotics for viral infections among adults, diagnostic testing for low back pain, and screening for Vitamin D deficiencies. To learn more and fore ways to get involved with Choosing Wisely, please visit our microsite. Through the ABIM Foundation and Consumer Reports, the Five Questions to Ask Your Doctor materials have been created. We encourage you to pass this along to your colleagues, family and friends. In the near future, you will see locally-branded, with GDAHC and our partners, materials for your use. In addition, you may access the resources on our microsite, created by Consumer Reports, and keep posted to this webpage and our Facebook and Twitter for updates about specific projects with our Choosing Wisely partners.

Columnist: Debrah, Richard Kwame 2005-06-04The Beautiful Aburi Botanic Garden of Ghana The Aburi Botanic Garden is one of the most beautiful, peaceful and fascinating places in Ghana. Opened in March, 1890, and covering 64.8 hectares and overlooking the Accra coastal plain from an elevation of 370 to 460 metres above sea level, the Aburi Botanic Garden is a must experience for every Ghanaian as well as visitors to Ghana. The beauty and uniqueness of this garden stem from its relatively bracing, relieving Climate and the lushly scenic setting. Its serenity makes it an ideal place for the stressed who wants relief, the writer who wants solitary to write, the thinker for reflections, newly weds for honeymoon, campers, nature lovers, recreationists and sanatorium for the recuperating. It is also an excellent place for picnic activities. Butterfly and bird lovers would love Aburi Gardens for the presence of many species of butterflies and birds that would come so near as if wanting to perch on one?s head. Another delight of Aburi Botanic Garden is the blossoming mixture of indigenous and exotic trees of global importance, aesthetics and medicinal properties. How to get there. It is easy to go by public transport as mini busses or trotros can be boarded at Tema Station in Accra central, or at Odawna station near Kwame Nkrumah Circle, and also at Madina. Aburi is just 35 Km away from Accra and probably less than an hour?s drive. Driving your own car, from Accra makes is even easier, you will have to go through Achimota, Dome, then through Kwabenya town, then drive straight through Brekuso village and within the next 10 minutes you find yourself at a T-junction, then you take the left turn and in 10 minutes you find yourself in the Aburi town where you cannot miss the entrance to the beautiful garden. Just look up and you will see the huge matured royal palm trees lined up along the street that seems to be welcoming you. The small Brekuso village you will find on your way itself has an interesting piece of Asante related history that l wish to chip in here. There is a shrine in Brekuso where lives a deity called Otutubanase. History has it that Nana Obiri Yeboa (1660-1697) who was once Asantehene had only one sister called Manu. In Akan custom, when a king dies, his sister?s son succeeds a him. Manu who was expected to produce the next king was not having a child, so when they heard that the deity Otutu could be of help to them, Manu traveled all the way from Asante to Brekuso then part of Akwamu kingdom, to pray for a child. Her prayer was granted and she had a son called Osei Kofi. She also named him Tutu obviously after the god. So Osei Kofi became Osei Tutu who succeeded Nana Obiri Yeboah as Asantehene and really built the Asante Empire with his friend Komfo Anokye. The present occupant of the Golden Stool of Asante kingdom Otumfuo Osei Tutu II took his stool name from King Osei Tutu I. Today, Brekuso is under Akwapim jurisdiction, certainly the powerful Akwamu empire had expanded to the area at that time. A visitor to the Otutu shrine would see a hole covered with a metal case, within that is a sword that is said to have been planted there by Komfo Anokye. Is that mere coincidence? Or is it that Osei Tutu might have visited the shrine with his friend? There is also the belief among some historians that Brekuso must have been the place where Komfo Anokye and Osei Tutu met for the first time. At the entrance to the garden, visitors are greeted by a tour guide who will do the welcome palm walk with you after you have paid a cheap gate fee. The palm walk is an avenue of elegant palm (Roystonea regia) of about 274 metres long stretching from the main entrance of the garden to the car park. The knowledgeable guides do well to educate visitors, about the origin, age and medicinal properties of most of the plants in the garden Among the many exciting attractions within the garden are The Bush House, The Rock Garden, The Pergola or Lovers lane, The Ficus tree, the retired helicopter, and the school of horticulture. The bush house, which is a relic of history is an open shed with thatched roof supported on stone pillars. The floor is made of mud and decorated weekly with red clay as is practiced in rural Ghana. There are two bamboo groves one on either side of the house. These have formal bamboo hedges and in front of the house are collections of species of exotic flower plants so beautiful that you will forever keep remembering them even long after you have left the garden. On the lawn surrounding the Bush House is the very sensitive plant called mimosa pudica. When you visit the Bush House, remember to touch any of the mimosa and look at what happens. The famous Ficus tree, that was first discovered in 1906, has successfully strangled its host and has now taken its place. For the evidence, ask for the Ficus tree when you find yourself within the garden. There are also many species of medicinal and economic plants reserved to be managed for conservation of plant genetics. The array of personalities who have pilgrimmed to the garden and have planted many plants there is worth mentioning. Notable among the dignitaries who have planted trees to commemorate their visit to the garden include: Queen Elizabeth 11, in 1961, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo in 1979, Prince Charles in 1977, Gen. I.K. Acheampong in 1973, etc Aburi?s attractiveness to adventure tourist has been greatly enhanced recently with rental bicycle for tours on the mountain. There are marked out three self-guided mountain bike trails of 2 to 3 hours? duration in the vicinity of Aburi, as well as a network of guided trails of up to five days in duration. Just take a weekend, away from the noise and the pollution, to Aburi Gardens and you will experience the magic that comes from the relaxation your body has desired for a long time. Of course, you don?t have to worry about accommodation and food, as there are enough food and drinks joints as well as accommodation for the size of your pocket. The Aburi Gardens Rest house is housed in a former sanatorium inside the garden. This accommodation has TV and fridge. You can book for your room in advance on telephone number: 0876 22037.

Why “Free Software” is better than “Open Source” By Richard M. Stallman This page mirrors the essay from http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html which is also published in the book Free Society: The Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman. While free software by any other name would give you the same freedom, it makes a big difference which name we use: different words convey different ideas. In 1998, some of the people in the free software community began using the term “open source software” instead of to describe what they do. The term “open source” quickly became associated with a different approach, a different philosophy, different values, and even a different criterion for which licenses are acceptable. The Free Software movement and the Open Source movement are today separate movements with different views and goals, although we can and do work together on some practical projects. The fundamental difference between the two movements is in their values, their ways of looking at the world. For the Open Source movement, the issue of whether software should be open source is a practical question, not an ethical one. As one person put it, “Open source is a development methodology; free software is a social movement.” For the Open Source movement, non-free software is a suboptimal solution. For the Free Software movement, non-free software is a social problem and free software is the solution. Relationship between the Free Software movement and Open Source movement The Free Software movement and the Open Source movement are like two political camps within the free software community. Radical groups in the 1960s developed a reputation for factionalism: organizations split because of disagreements on details of strategy, and then treated each other as enemies. Or at least, such is the image people have of them, whether or not it was true. The relationship between the Free Software movement and the Open Source movement is just the opposite of that picture. We disagree on the basic principles, but agree more or less on the practical recommendations. So we can and do work together on many specific projects. We don't think of the Open Source movement as an enemy. The enemy is We are not against the Open Source movement, but we don't want to be lumped in with them. We acknowledge that they have contributed to our community, but we created this community, and we want people to know this. We want people to associate our achievements with our values and our philosophy, not with theirs. We want to be heard, not obscured behind a group with different views. To prevent people from thinking we are part of them, we take pains to avoid using the word “open” to describe free software, or its contrary, “closed”, in talking about non-free So please mention the Free Software movement when you talk about the work we have done, and the software we have developed—such as the operating system. Comparing the two terms This rest of this article compares the two terms “free software” and “open source”. It shows why the term “open source” does not solve any problems, and in fact creates some. The term “free software” has an ambiguity problem: an unintended meaning, “Software you can get for zero price,” fits the term just as well as the intended meaning, “software which gives the user certain freedoms.” We address this problem by publishing a more precise definition of free software, but this is not a perfect solution; it cannot completely eliminate the problem. An unambiguously correct term would be better, if it didn't have other problems. Unfortunately, all the alternatives in English have problems of their own. We've looked at many alternatives that people have suggested, but none is so clearly “right” that switching to it would be a good idea. Every proposed replacement for “free software” has a similar kind of semantic problem, or worse—and this includes “open source The official definition of “open source software,” as published by the Open Source Initiative, is very close to our definition of free software; however, it is a little looser in some respects, and they have accepted a few licenses that we However, the obvious meaning for the expression “open source software” is “You can look at the source code.” This is a much weaker criterion than free software; it includes free software, but also includes semi-free programs such as Xv, and even some proprietary programs, including Qt under its original license (before the QPL). That obvious meaning for “open source” is not the meaning that its advocates intend. The result is that most people misunderstand what those advocates are advocating. Here is how writer Neal Stephenson defined “open source”: Linux is “open source” software meaning, simply, that anyone can get copies of its source code files. I don't think he deliberately sought to reject or dispute the “official” definition. I think he simply applied the conventions of the English language to come up with a meaning for the term. The state of Kansas published a similar definition: Make use of open-source software (OSS). OSS is software for which the source code is freely and publicly available, though the specific licensing agreements vary as to what one is allowed to do with that code. Of course, the open source people have tried to deal with this by publishing a precise definition for the term, just as we have done for “free software.” But the explanation for “free software” is simple—a person who has grasped the idea of “free speech, not free beer” will not get it wrong again. There is no such succinct way to explain the official meaning of “open source” and show clearly why the natural definition is the wrong one. Fear of Freedom The main argument for the term “open source software” is that “free software” makes some people uneasy. That's true: talking about freedom, about ethical issues, about responsibilities as well as convenience, is asking people to think about things they might rather ignore. This can trigger discomfort, and some people may reject the idea for that. It does not follow that society would be better off if we stop talking about these things. Years ago, free software developers noticed this discomfort reaction, and some started exploring an approach for avoiding it. They figured that by keeping quiet about ethics and freedom, and talking only about the immediate practical benefits of certain free software, they might be able to “sell” the software more effectively to certain users, especially business. The term “open source” is offered as a way of doing more of this—a way to be “more acceptable to business.” The views and values of the Open Source movement stem from this decision. This approach has proved effective, in its own terms. Today many people are switching to free software for purely practical reasons. That is good, as far as it goes, but that isn't all we need to do! Attracting users to free software is not the whole job, just the first step. Sooner or later these users will be invited to switch back to proprietary software for some practical advantage. Countless companies seek to offer such temptation, and why would users decline? Only if they have learned to value the freedom free software gives them, for its own sake. It is up to us to spread this idea—and in order to do that, we have to talk about freedom. A certain amount of the “keep quiet” approach to business can be useful for the community, but we must have plenty of freedom talk too. At present, we have plenty of “keep quiet”, but not enough freedom talk. Most people involved with free software say little about freedom—usually because they seek to be “more acceptable to business.” Software distributors especially show this pattern. Some GNU/Linux operating system distributions add proprietary packages to the basic free system, and they invite users to consider this an advantage, rather than a step backwards from freedom. We are failing to keep up with the influx of free software users, failing to teach people about freedom and our community as fast as they enter it. This is why non-free software (which Qt was when it first became popular), and partially non-free operating system distributions, find such fertile ground. To stop using the word “free” now would be a mistake; we need more, not less, talk about freedom. If those using the term “open source” draw more users into our community, that is a contribution, but the rest of us will have to work even harder to bring the issue of freedom to those users' attention. We have to say, “It's free software and it gives you freedom!”—more and louder than ever Would a Trademark Help? The advocates of “open source software” tried to make it a trademark, saying this would enable them to prevent misuse. This initiative was later dropped, the term being too descriptive to qualify as a trademark; thus, the legal status of “open source” is the same as that of “free software”: there is no legal constraint on using it. I have heard reports of a number of companies' calling software packages “open source” even though they did not fit the official definition; I have observed some instances myself. But would it have made a big difference to use a term that is a trademark? Not necessarily. Companies also made announcements that give the impression that a program is “open source software” without explicitly saying so. For example, one IBM announcement, about a program that did not fit the official definition, said this: As is common in the open source community, users of the … technology will also be able to collaborate with IBM … This did not actually say that the program was “open source”, but many readers did not notice that detail. (I should note that IBM was sincerely trying to make this program free software, and later adopted a new license which does make it free software and “open source”; but when that announcement was made, the program did not qualify as either one.) And here is how Cygnus Solutions, which was formed to be a free software company and subsequently branched out (so to speak) into proprietary software, advertised some proprietary software Cygnus Solutions is a leader in the open source market and has just launched two products into the [GNU/]Linux marketplace. Unlike IBM, Cygnus was not trying to make these packages free software, and the packages did not come close to qualifying. But Cygnus didn't actually say that these are “open source software”, they just made use of the term to give careless readers that impression. These observations suggest that a trademark would not have truly prevented the confusion that comes with the term “open Misunderstandings(?) of “Open Source” The Open Source Definition is clear enough, and it is quite clear that the typical non-free program does not qualify. So you would think that “Open Source company” would mean one whose products are free software (or close to it), right? Alas, many companies are trying to give it a different meaning. At the “Open Source Developers Day” meeting in August 1998, several of the commercial developers invited said they intend to make only a part of their work free software (or “open source”). The focus of their business is on developing proprietary add-ons (software or manuals) to sell to the users of this free software. They ask us to regard this as legitimate, as part of our community, because some of the money is donated to free software development. In effect, these companies seek to gain the favorable cachet of “open source” for their proprietary software products—even though those are not “open source software”—because they have some relationship to free software or because the same company also maintains some free software. (One company founder said quite explicitly that they would put, into the free package they support, as little of their work as the community would stand for.) Over the years, many companies have contributed to free software development. Some of these companies primarily developed non-free software, but the two activities were separate; thus, we could ignore their non-free products, and work with them on free software projects. Then we could honestly thank them afterward for their free software contributions, without talking about the rest of what they did. We cannot do the same with these new companies, because they won't let us. These companies actively invite the public to lump all their activities together; they want us to regard their non-free software as favorably as we would regard a real contribution, although it is not one. They present themselves as “open source companies,” hoping that we will get a warm fuzzy feeling about them, and that we will be fuzzy-minded in applying This manipulative practice would be no less harmful if it were done using the term “free software.” But companies do not seem to use the term “free software” that way; perhaps its association with idealism makes it seem unsuitable. The term “open source” opened the door for this. the featured speaker was an executive from a prominent software company. He was probably invited on account of his company's decision to “support” that system. Unfortunately, their form of “support” consists of releasing non-free software that works with the system—in other words, using our community as a market but not contributing to He said, “There is no way we will make our product open source, but perhaps we will make it `internal' open source. If we allow our customer support staff to have access to the source code, they could fix bugs for the customers, and we could provide a better product and better service.” (This is not an exact quote, as I did not write his words down, but it gets the gist.) People in the audience afterward told me, “He just doesn't get the point.” But is that so? Which point did he not get? He did not miss the point of the Open Source movement. That movement does not say users should have freedom, only that allowing more people to look at the source code and help improve it makes for faster and better development. The executive grasped that point completely; unwilling to carry out that approach in full, users included, he was considering implementing it partially, within the company. The point that he missed is the point that “open source” was designed not to raise: the point that users deserve freedom. Spreading the idea of freedom is a big job—it needs your help. That's why we stick to the term “free software” in the GNU Project, so we can help do that job. If you feel that freedom and community are important for their own sake—not just for the convenience they bring—please join us in using the term “free software”.

Musky Killers! Catch, Photo, Release (CPR) is the common practice of musky anglers. The results of CPR have become obvious, more and bigger musky! CPR sounds easy, but even the most experienced musky hunter will tell you it can be difficult at times. Poor handling of a musky can defeat your best intentions of a safe release. Basic CPR can help ensure your musky-pike-walleye lives to grow and fight another day. Please help educate others on Quick-Safe-Release methods. A common practice! It is still not unusual for people to use gaff hooks and clubs to subdue muskies either in the boat or on the side of a boat. Things like a gaff/bat combination called WAK-N-GAFF was advertised back in a 1990 Musky Hunter magazine….. You would think the editor of a magazine dedicated to the preservation of muskies would have stopped an ad like this from running. What was he thinking? Release practices was in full practice when the ad ran! The type of novice buying and using such a stupid piece of equipment surely had or has no idea when to use it, killing many muskies for no reason at all. Using things like this isn’t a whole lot different than shooting a fish with a gun at boat side, which is still going on! ANOTHER KILLER! VICKTORY FOR WHO? SURELY NOT THE MUSKY! WHEN WILL THE KILLING STOP?? Here are a few facts you should know; According to the old FIELD $ STREAM magazine contest records from 1935-1961, there were only five (5) Muskies over forty pounds caught on live bait (suckers, minnows & chubs) out of the 295 muskies recorded. Way back in the day, a common method to fish for Muskies was to use Suckers for bait. When a Musky did latch on to the sucker, the recommended way to make sure that you would not loose it, would be to wait for the musky to turn the Sucker around in its jaws to swallow it head first with the scales. Sometimes, it would take an hour or so depending on the size of the Sucker and the size of the Musky. After setting the hook and fighting the fish, many Muskies died on the bottom of boat because of the damage caused by trying to get the hook out of its belly. The excessive time out of the water, bleeding and shock also killed many muskies later on, even if released, as well. Today, there are many people that are using SUCKERS, gold fish, pan fish, and even small walleyes to fish with! I have seen some jerks actually chumming with cut bait and dead minnows, as well. Talk about hard up! All of this kind of stupid activity must end! There is no proof that fishing with live bait is more productive than casting or trolling with artificial lures. Fact is, there are more trophy muskies caught by people that don’t fish with live bait. Here is a Musky Hunter that knows what he is talking about, for a change! A few reasons why I think the use of live bait for muskie should be banned in NW Ontario…. 1) It is a tradition in other jurisdictions, it is not a tradition here 2) Improper use of live bait (waiting too long to set the hook) results in high mortality. There are no regulations around the proper use of quick strike rigs, nor is it even illegal to use a single hook sucker rig. I can buy them today at Bobbys Bait Shop here in Vermilion Bay. 3) A quick strike rig used improperly is not much better than a single hook in my opinion. 4) Many waters here are managed as a trophy fishery. It is foolish to allow a method such as live bait that has such a bad track record to be used on trophy waters. 5) Transferring adult fish (large suckers) from one water body to another has the potential to transfer unwanted disease from one area to another. 6) With the one rod rule here in Ontario, there is the temptation to use a second casting rod while soaking a sucker over the boat. I have heard many reputable reports that this is already happening……..I find this unacceptable. Here is a study and confirmation that Sucker fishing does kill Muskies: Effects of a Single-hook Live Bait Angling Technique on Muskellunge Survival Terry L. Margenau Use of live bait is a popular method to fish muskellunge during fall months. However, muskellunge anglers have expressed concern that certain live bait techniques may cause muskellunge mortality to be unacceptably high. This study monitored the survival of adult muskellunge (31.5 to 42.3 in) for a period up to one year after being angled using a single-hook live bait rig where muskellunge were allowed to swallow the bait prior to hook set. Over a two-year period a total of 40 muskellunge (20 fish/year) were field transferred into a 1-acre lined hatchery pond in early September. After allowing muskellunge several weeks to acclimate to the hatchery pond, angling was initiated using live suckers (approximately 12 in) with a 10/0 single hook attached to the suckers snout and suspended from a bobber. A total of 22 muskellunge were hooked with the single-hook rig. Hooked fish were landed as quickly as possible, inspected for hooking location and injury, and released after cutting the leader. Average time from a strike until hook set averaged 17 minutes. Play-time (hook set to landing) averaged less than one minute, and handling time averaged approximately 5 minutes. Immediate mortality (first 24 h after hooking) of muskellunge was zero. Short-term delayed mortality (24 h until ice formation; approximately 45 d) was 22%. Cumulative mortality (hooking until one year) was 83%. Results from this study have several implications for management agencies and anglers. First, all fish hooked appeared healthy after being caught and released, thus leading an angler to believe that the release was successful. Second, delayed and long-term mortality appeared related to the extent of internal damage suffered from the hook. Finally, while mortality to one year is unacceptable for fisheries that rely upon successful release, not all fish perished. Those fish surviving to one year maintained good relative weight values and appeared externally healthy. This is what one dork said about Musky Fishing: I launched out of the Alter Rd. launch on Thursday & took the long way out to the river. As I was passing by the burnt out marina there were 2 guys docked there at the end in a tan Lund. The one guy asks if I was going out jigging for walleye. I told him I might after I’m done fishing for musky. He says to me, “Make sure you kill those musky!” I told him I strictly catch & release on musky. He replies, “If you really loved fish you would kill any musky you caught, damn things are eating all the perch & walleye out there“. WOW! What would happen it all Pan fisherman thought like that?? The myth that motor trolling for Muskies is hurting the Musky population is stupid and wrong! The idea that it is too easy a method to catch a Musky is total “BULL SHIT!” If there is one thing I learned about how to catch a Musky, it’s this: There is no one method that can be used to catch Muskies consistently, and anyone that says there is, is full of it! I don’t just make a statement like that without some proof ! Over my many years of fishing for Muskies , I have used every method known to the human race to capture a trophy large enough to mount! (30 lbs +) It doesn’t take a mental giant to know that you can cover more water, with more rods, much easier by trolling. However, that is where any advantage ends! Musky hunters that cast can use some tricks that trollers can’t. They can cast where the big girls hang out, like drop offs next to weed beds, or openings and pockets in a large weed bed. They can use figure eights, or change quickly to another rod with a different lure. Casters can work shorelines, small bays, inlets, shallower fish holding boulders and rock bars etc. How about those stumpy areas? Try trolling those areas, which account for most of the legals caught every year. Many of your better Musky lakes have banned motor trolling anyway, and the ones that are left are far and few between! Open water trolling is only effective on some lakes, and certainly not enough to bother anyone! The authorities should spend more of their time worrying about SUCKER FISHERMAN and poachers! They probably kill more small Muskies than all the motor trollers combined. There should also be more attention given towards the polluters and the boaters that use our great Musky lakes for their play grounds. I’m talking about the nut jobs that disrupt the natural habitat with their jet skies, water skiing and speed boating! My final thoughts about releasing Muskies: You may be getting tired of hearing about release, but with the pressure of Musky tournaments, more and better equipment, media hype and more and better musky hunters, everyone must strongly consider releasing his/her fish to maintain and improve the musky fishing we have today. How can anyone KILL something that has fought so valliantly and given so mush pleasure? If you want a 20 pounder, we have to release 10 pounders. If you want a 30 pound trophy, you must release 20 pounders, and if a 50 pound beast is what you are after, you must consider releasing 30 and 40 pounders! If we don’t, soon there will be no pounders! Except for Sucker fishing and netting, I really don’t have a problem with any method, as long as it is legal….. I do troll on lakes where it is legal, but I only do so as a relief from casting. Generally, I troll later in the day when my arms and legs are about to fall off! To me, it’s a way to keep a line in the water while I sit on my ass to take a much needed break! GO FOR IT…..GOOD LUCK!

Interview of Greg Hollingshead by rob mclennan, December 2007 1 - How did your first book change your life? It taught me that there would likely continue to be a distance between my estimation of my work and other people’s estimation of it but that the situation was not necessarily hopeless. 2 - How long have you lived in Edmonton, and how does geography, if at all, impact on your writing? Does race or gender make any impact on your work? I have lived in Edmonton since August 1975. About a third of that time I have spent, in descending order of amount of time, in rural Ontario, Montreal, Paris, and London. The three sorts of geography that affect my work most are tract development and strip mall suburbia, the open prairies, and the Canadian Shield. Race and gender questions have been coming up in the novel I’m working on now. My interest has always been in marginalized people but usually for class or age or psychological reasons, not race or gender. 3 - Where does a piece of fiction usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning? It can be anything: a mood, the rhythm of a phrase, an image, a scene, a story, a character. With a novel I spend from a couple of years to ten or more gathering pieces of everything—words, phrases, images, aphorism, titles, characters, story ideas, thematic ideas—until I’m ready to start, at the beginning. But with this latest novel, I’ve written most of it out of sequence. 4 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Part of. Giving a voice to what you’ve written in a public space while watching the faces of your audience is a chance to hear very clearly what’s wrong with it—sentiment, rhythm, tone—in a way that isn’t available in private. 5 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questions are? Two mainly, with the novel. First, maintaining a complexity-in-simplicity of texture in the prose that pleases me aesthetically but doesn’t tire my reader. Two, finding non-banal ways to exert the pull of the narrative from start to finish. Morally, my central concern is the gulf between what our brains know and what the structure of our selves normally limits us to knowing. The current public questions are mainly—as a reflection, I would say, of the atmosphere of helplessness and despair that has gripped the West—political, as if short-term, patchwork answers are the only ones possible, yet nobody really even believes this. I don’t know how long we can continue to pretend that knowing ourselves is not the first principle of everything. It’s the only way to begin to understand that human society needs to be built on obligations not rights. 6 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)? Essential, not difficult. By the time an editor sees my work I know what I’m trying to do well enough so that I know which suggestions to accept and which to reject. Having a good editor is a joyous experience, because it’s having a fresh mind as good as, or better than, your own, inside your work doing what it can to improve it. A writer suffers a disability who can’t hear what is true in what an editor is saying. A big part of learning how to write is learning how to distinguish good advice about it from bad. 7 - After having published more than a couple of titles over the years, do you find the process of book-making harder or easier? Harder. With age and fatigue, inspiration can come and go. Also, you don’t want to be doing the same thing again, so you’re always starting from what feels like scratch, at the same time as you’re setting your aim higher. This is necessary, but it doesn’t get easier. 8 - When was the last time you ate a pear? A couple of weeks ago. There are some in the bowl right now. A good pear is really something, but the skin bruises easily, they rot suddenly and fast, and they’re often grainy. I recommend slicing them at right angles to the core, lifting the slices free of it and of the fibres that connect the core to the stem. That way, working down the fruit from the stem, you lift off slices with a hole at the centre of each in the star shape of the core. Our back yard when I was growing up was filled with vines and fruit trees: apples, cherries, grapes, pears. I still associate pears with wasps. A friend says the forbidden fruit was really a pear: sexier and more dangerous. 9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)? Know yourself. 10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (fiction to non-fiction)? What do you see as the appeal? As long as it’s narrative I find the move easy enough. Writing nonfiction narrative can teach, or remind, a writer a lot about what is needed to create realism in fiction. A true story will often be a wealth of strange detail that puts most fiction, with its conventional imaginings, to shame. 11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin? I get up at six. After breakfast and a look at the paper, I start writing shortly after seven. I write for four hours, longhand, starting with correcting the clean copy I made the day before. Later in the afternoon, about four or so, I make the clean copy for the next day. That takes an hour or more. I do this weekdays. On Saturday I finish the clean copy by noon. Sunday is my day off. Working on a novel, I’m usually working on 20 to 40 pages each day, adding new material at a page a day at best and retiring pages as finished “first draft” as I go. Taking Sunday off means I’m not fully back on track till Wednesday. By Friday I’m getting tired. I probably have about four terrific writing hours a month. I probably need to change or at least vary my method. 12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration? Reading (fiction, nonfiction, poetry). Music (pop). Nature. 13 - How does your most recent book compare to your previous work? How does it feel different? As I said above, the current one seems, so far, to be more about race and gender (as well as age) than the previous ones. Also, this time I’m working from autobiographical circumstances in a way that I have only in the short stories. And it’s coming together—if it is—in a very haphazard way. I’m trying to make a certain comic-realistic tone work in a novel and plot it in a way that particularly satisfies at the end. Also, I’m not paying as much attention to setting and its atmosphere as I have with my other novels. The focus is very much on the six characters. 14 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art? Yes, all of the above. I read a lot of popular science. And for a while I was collaborating with the visual and installation artist Blair Brennan, here in Edmonton. For a while we worked on an Enlightenment Machine, based on the machine in Kafka’s “The Penal Colony.” We stopped when we found out that Janet Cardiff and George Burs Miller have already done a terrific one. Different but terrific. Ours would have written on the body what you as an individual needed to know before you died. 15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work? At crucial stages of my life, certain writers have been very important to me: Laurence Sterne, Samuel Beckett, William Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Emily Bronte, Cormac McCarthy, Raymond Carver, W.G. Sebald, Marcel Proust, Leo Tolstoy. The usual suspects, for writers, most of them. Some I come back to again and again: Alice Munro, Anton Chekhov, Mikhail Bulgakov. 16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done? Spend time in India and Bhutan. Live in New York and Berlin for a while. 17 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer? The only thing I wanted to be as a child, after fireman, was a stuntman. Now my alternative occupation would be stand-up comedy. It’s a writer’s profession. 18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else? The greatest challenge I could think of—and the greatest fun—was communicating the “truth” of the contents of my imagination. And I liked the idea of working alone and the lack of complicated or expensive gear. When I started, there was no talk of readings or promotional tours. Also, I soon learned that I’m happiest when I have a mental project developing, preferably a big one. It helps me to organize the experiences that come in. Otherwise, as the song says, it all “blows right through me like a ball and chain.” 19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film? I don’t find many books “great.” The last for sure would be Middlemarch, which I finally got to only a couple of years ago. But from more recently, I thought Coetzee’s Disgrace could fit that description. I’ve read it a few times now. I find it amazing how he can do something so powerful with such ordinary, even banal, language. I just didn’t think it was possible, making something like that work so well for a reader like me. As for a film, again, time will tell if it’s “great,” but it’s pretty damn good: the Coen brothers’ No Country For Old Men. They did full justice to Cormac McCarthy’s smarts. 20 - What are you currently working on? I’ve talked about this a lot already. It’s set mostly in a small town just north of Toronto. It still has only a working title and keeps threatening to collapse on itself, so I won’t say any more. Greg Hollingshead

How To Ensure The National Unity Of Yemen? Two Countries Geographically Far Apart But Very Close In Heart And Soul; Yemen and Turkey Yemen, But What Sort Of Yemen? How Can Yemen Best Make Use Of Its Natural Wealth? The Importance Of Individual Rights And Freedoms In Yemen Women’s Place in Yemeni Society Lowest common denominators the parties in Yemen can agree on Continue… Yemen While European countries have been working on ways to achieve more unity, Middle Eastern countries have been busy seeking ways to further separate from each other. Clashes and conflicts have become a common sight in the region due to ethnical and sectarian differences in the population. Yemen is one of those countries hit by separationist winds. The South Yemen Movement, founded in early 2007, has declared its desire to break away from the North, claiming that the ‘South’s national resources have been exploited by the central government’. To help address the issue, the Yemeni government has chosen to move to a federalized system of governance in order to prevent a breakaway. According to the plan, Sana is going to be the federal capital city while Aden will be given a different status, as it is a commercial center. Yemen will be officially divided into six states; four states in the north and two in the south to be ruled by their own federal governments. This plan is also said to be giving the states independent judicial and executive powers, and will come into effect if approved with a referendum. But will this new system really be a solution to the problems of Yemen? To understand that, we first have to examine what powers will be given to the states and what kind of ties will be built between the states and the federal capital city of Sana. This has yet to be clarified. Federal governments and unitary governments are the most common methods of administration used in the countries of the world today. In unitary governments, the country is an inseparable whole. Even if it has cities and provinces, they are merely administrative regions and are governed by officials appointed by the central government. The central government makes administrative, judicial and financial decisions that impact the entire country. This is how the system works currently in Yemen. In a federal government, the country is divided into multiple states and even if the state seems to stand as one, every state acts like a separate region within itself. They can independently make administrative, judicial and financial decisions and put them into practice. However, their powers are not unlimited; they report to the central government and this level of accountability is regulated by the federal constitution. In federal systems, the issues that will occur in terms of division of power between federal administrations and the central government usually creates sluggishness in the enforcement of policies that concern the entire country, which in time may turn into large crises. In federal systems, every state tends to look out for their own interests and naturally, it would be far more difficult to equally distribute the wealth to the entirety of the country. In other words, a shift to a federal system in Yemen has the potential to escalate separatist sentiment, rather than alleviate it. The new states will be shaped by ethnic and sectarian differences. Therefore, it is likely that there will be regional wave of immigration, and ethnic cleansing, which would surely add fuel to the fire. Even if there are measures that can be taken to prevent states from seceding and turning into independent countries, this happens quite frequently, and if the federalized states are based on ethnical or religious divisions, such as in the case of Quebec in Canada or Kashmir in India, the request to ‘secede’ inevitably comes. Varying levels of economic development also fuel such desires. For instance, Catalonia, which has awell developed industrial base and economy, wishes to break away from Spain claiming that its resources are being used by the other states. Needless to say, the people of Yemen will decide which option is the best for them after evaluating the pros and cons of all the alternatives being presented to them. No matter what system they choose, every Yemeni should know that being united is a command of Allah for Muslims, and therefore they should unite and set aside their differences. Allah orders Muslims in the Qur’an that they should act in unison as a ‘single community’: Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not separate. Remember Allah’s blessing to you when you were enemies and He joined your hearts together so that you became brothers by His blessing. You were on the very brink of a pit of the Fire and He rescued you from it. In this way Allah makes His signs clear to you, so that hopefully you will be guided. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 103) Preserving the integrity of Yemen within a democratic framework is surely possible through an alliance of good and reasonable people in Yemen, regardless of the system chosen. If Yemen can do this, it will set a great example to the Islamic world. Muslims need unity, not separation. Yemen has a great opportunity ahead: it can be the country that chose the long-awaited union of Muslims, rather than choosing artificial divisions. Go to site Darwinism's Social Weapon Go to site Holocaust Violence Go to site Mahdi According to Holy Scriptures http://www.mahdiaccordingtoholyscriptures.com/ Go to site Returning to Faith www.returningtofaith.com Go to site Dark Side of Darwinism Go to site The Stone Age Go to site The Islamic Union Go to site Rise of Islam www.riseofislam.com Go to site East Turkestan www.eastturkestan.com Sun will shine again For a Better Future with the Millennials The road to peace in Syria When Will Turkey’s Journey to Join the EU End? Erdogan-Trump Meeting, the Deep State and the Reality of YPG There should be No More Guantanamo's in the World Turkey-Russia: an important alliance Much like chemical weapons, conventional arms kill innocent civilians ⇐ ⇒

by Phyllis Putman In a July 9, 1772 advertisement in the Virginia Gazette Margaret Hunter, a Williamsburg, Virginia, milliner, listed among other items for sale, "Suits of Childbed Linen". The same phrase appears several times in other advertisements. Just what were child-bed linens? Who made them? How do we know about them? Obviously, the advertisement tells us that baby linens could be purchased. They were also made in the home. Planning for infant clothing both in a well-to-do household and a poor family was considered essential for a young woman preparing for marriage. For years sets of these linens were made, loaned out, or handed down from one generation to the next. Primary sources such as instructional books, diaries, and letters are important for providing information about the type of items that a set of child-bed linens should include. One source suggested that no more than three pieces are necessary for a child's first habit: a shirt, a robe, and a cap. It advocated that the robe and cap should be quilted material of a proper thickness to be sufficiently warm. Also for the health and comfort of the infant, it recommended using flat buttons instead of tie strings and knots, and sleeves that were easy to put on. A book with the overwhelming title, Instructions for cutting out apparel for the Poor; Principally Intended for the Assistance of the Patronesses of Sunday Schools, And Other Charitable Institutions, But Useful in all Families Containing Patterns, Directions, and Calculations, whereby the most Inexperienced may readily buy the Materials, cut out and value each Article of Clothing of every size, without the least Difficulty, and with the greatest Exactness: With a Preface, Containing a Plan for Assisting the Parents of Poor Children belonging to Sunday Schools, to Clothe them; and other useful observations, was published in London in 1789. It listed "necessities for the lying-in women" and suggested how arrangements could be made for a "set" of baby clothes to be loaned out for a month to a poor family. The last chapter of the book, Child-Bed Linen for the Use of the Poor, gives us an idea of what a customer might be purchasing at a millinery shop. It included the following items: 2 Frocks 24 Squares of Double Diaper 1 Pair Sheets 2 Bedgowns 2 Robe Blankets 2 Pillow Cases 6 Shirts 1-1/3 yard of white Baize Flannel 6 Caps 2 Shifts 2 Shirts 6 Under Caps 2 Shifts 6 Under Caps Mary East Thresher suggested a list of child-bed linen items in her seventeenth-century almanac. Following is what she considered necessary in a well-to-do household in 1698: My small child bed linning 1 pr of pure fine holland little pillow (boor) ME 6 fine shirts 6 fine callico dimitty wascoats 6 fine bellibands 6 fine neck cloths lacet 6 pure fine night caps lacet 6 pure fine forehead cloth doublelacet 6 pure fine bigons 8 fine long stays 4 pr of pure fine holland glove 2 pr of pure holland gloves lace 4 holland beds: M E in white 6 head sutes of fine stript cambrick lacet 6 double lacet forehead cloth to ye sutes 2 sticht caps (quilted) 2 pure fine holland bed, short, belliband, whole bigon and a long stay markt 2 pure fine holland half shift lacet att neck and hands In order to learn more about these objects for interpretive purposes, it was necessary to try to reproduce them. First the terms used in the instructions had to be researched and defined before any clothing was made. The process was frustrating. For example, only after working through the directions was it possible to discover that the two shifts and two skirts listed in the book are for the mother rather than the infant. As the shift was being constructed, it became obvious it was shorter than is usual for shifts. Now the instructions, "the bosom opens a quarter deep, and a hem to draw with a narrow tape before, as far as the turning on each side," began to make sense. We realized the garment was for the nursing mother. After examining many sources, it appears children were not being swaddled. The practice of swaddling an infant has been a custom from biblical times to the present in various parts of the world. Swaddling an infant was done to protect fragile limbs. However, the rollers and wrappers that were recommended in many books were often so tight they almost acted as swaddling. Dr. William Buchan in his book, Domestic Medicine, stated that he was aware that although deformities might exist at birth, nine-tenths of them were the result of improper clothing. Stays for infants were still used throughout much of the eighteenth century and were available in Williamsburg stores. However, not all people approved their use. Buchan suggests (as does the book of Instructions for cutting out apparel for the Poor. . .) that the only purpose of clothing an infant was to keep it warm, and that the clothing should be soft and loose. He believed that too many layers of clothing as well as tight clothing caused convulsions. He does not suggest specific items of clothing, but says, "That a child have no more clothes than are necessary to keep it warm, and that they be quite easy for its body. Stays are the very bane of infants. A volume would not suffice to point out all the bad effects of this ridiculous piece of dress."

: Colonial Williamsburg eNewsletter, June 1, 2011 JUNE 1, 2011 VOLUME 9, ISSUE 10 "Teaching Visitors About the Consumer Revolution" Already by 1750, the downward and outward spread of luxury had been a preachers’ and pamphleteers’ favorite target for going on fifty years. People up and down the social order had discovered and were indulging the most extraordinary passion to purchase consumer goods in quantities and varieties that were unknown, even unimaginable, to their fathers and grandfathers. It was indeed revolution, but a consumer revolution in the beginning. The better-known industrial revolution followed in response. Primary Source of the Month Earthenware coffeepot and cover, ca. 1765, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Whimsical tea and coffee wares in the shape of richly colored pineapples and cauliflowers were popular in colonial America in the third quarter of the eighteenth century. However, "green and gold" items were already out of fashion in England. The Next Electronic Field Trip is A More Perfect Union Looking for Funding Resources for Electronic Field Trips? If you are searching for federal funding sources to help purchase Electronic Field Trips, we can help. Download the "Federal Funding Resources Chart" from our website. The Electronic Field Trips Series is a unique distance learning content experience that blends media and downloadable print (PDF) resources for your classroom. Don't miss out on this great opportunity! June Podcasts 06/06: George Washington's Whisky Still 06/13: Pamunkey History Comes Home 06/20: Meet the Weaver 06/27: Weapons of War The Idea of America A digital American history program that inspires and prepares high school students for active citizenship, developed by Colonial Williamsburg and distributed by Pearson Education. Colonial Williamsburg for Teachers 2011–2012 Electronic Field Trip Scholarships "Teaching Visitors About the Consumer Revolution" Primary Source of the Month Teaching Strategy Colonial Williamsburg Teaching Resources Quotation of the Month Teaching Strategy: Consumer Revolution Imports Map American colonists were accustomed to being able to buy goods from around the world at their local shops. Increased trade combined with a relatively high standard of living meant consumer goods were more common and more affordable than ever before. In this lesson, students will create a class bulletin board that demonstrates their knowledge of the interconnectedness of the trade of the American colonies with many other nations of the world. Colonial Williamsburg Teaching Resources for Your Classroom

Most Effective Sunscreens By Tiffany Glenn, M.S., R.D.,L.D. Registered Dietitian The best sunscreen is a hat and a shirt. No chemicals for the skin to absorb, no questions about whether the product works, no bogus claims like "sunblock." (No conventional product blocks out all rays. That's why the FDA is trying to ban the term. ) But when you can't avoid exposing your skin to the sun, find top-rated sunscreens with broad spectrum (UVA and UVB) protection but fewer hazardous chemicals that penetrate the skin. U.S. sunscreen makers are seeking FDA approval for UVA-screening chemicals approved for use in the European market. In the meantime, all top-rated products contain either zinc or titanium minerals to filter UVA rays. Top-rated sunscreens contain the minerals zinc or titanium. They are the right choices for people who want the best UVA protection without any chemical considered to be a potential hormone disruptor. None of the products contain oxybenzone or vitamin A, and none are sprayed or powdered.

How to Write Children Books Learning how to write children books can be a good idea if you wish to create nice literature products. With children's book, you can also include nice illustrations and display your talent to the world! And you can use a variety of subjects! You can talk about relationships, school, kid's problems or just invent a cool imaginary world! Anything is possible! Another advantage is that most child's stories are short and simple. You don't need to create several characters evolving in a complex environment! Simplicity is the key!Talking about every day problems like the fear of dark, bullying or school issues is also quite easy. After all, we've all experiment these problems sometime in our life!The best thing to do is choose a subject and create attaching characters. Then, try to create an imaginary world and use an allegory to talk about the problem of your main character.You can also use an everyday situation to display your message to the kids. Both methods are working fine with this audience!Kids also like to be scared a little. They need to know right away who is the good character and the bad guy in a story. If your character's motivation are too vague or unclear for them, you won't reach your goal!Build strong characters with strong personalities! One last advice might be to avoid being too preachy. Kids are like us. If the message is too obvious, they won't enjoy the story as much as they usually would. Being subtle (but not too much either!) is always appreciated!Once your story is written, it's time to draw your illustrations! Make them colorful and simple! You can draw complex images too, but this public is not too demanding. No need to create photorealistic images here!They will enjoy simple drawings simply because they are also creating simple drawings! If your story is good, they will enjoy it and read it over and over again! They are a nice public when the product is attractive! Now you know how to write children books! I hope you have some nice ideas for a children's book! Enjoy and good luck!

Wolves Exterminated on Alaska Military Base By Alaska Dispatch News The wolves of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in north Anchorage have paid the ultimate price for their fascination with people and their pets. Officials of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says state wildlife biologists, with help from a state-sanctioned trapper and military personnel, have over the course of the winter managed to kill nine of the animals. They are thought to be members or former members of a pack that had developed a taste for dogs. Dogs, unfortunately for the wolves, are often accompanied by dog owners. Some of them became frightened when wolves threatened their pets, and state wildlife officials began to get increasingly nervous about the lack of respect wolves were showing the pet owners. Two women runners treed by wolves told wildlife officials they got the impression the animals seemed almost as interested in making a meal of them as in trying to catch their dogs. That was a red flag for wildlife biologists in the wake of what happened in Western Alaska a year ago. On March 8, 2010, 32-year-old teacher Candice Berner went for a run on the roads near Chignik, a village on the Alaska Peninsula 450 miles southwest of Anchorage. A petite woman originally from Slippery Rock, Penn., she was met by a pack of wolves that killed her. Some began to wonder if a similar attack could take place on the northern edge of Alaska's largest city, given the boldness the wolves were displaying there. "The wolves were considered a significant threat to public safety on the military installation and in surrounding residential areas,'' noted a Friday press release from Fish and Game announcing the wolf kill. The announcement heralded the official belief that all those wolves were exterminated. "The effort was successful. We feel confident we have minimized public safety risks by removing specific wolves and significantly reducing wolf numbers in the area," said Mark Burch, a Division of Wildlife regional supervisor. But he did ask people on the bases, especially those engaged in recreation in the remote and still quite wild back corners of the bases, to be alert for wildlife. Had dogs become a dietary staple for Anchorage wolves? The wolves now appear gone, but it won't be long before the bears are emerging in Alaska, and northern bears -- both grizzlies and black -- have killed far more people than wolves. "People should enjoy outdoor pursuits, but recognize risks and take precautions when recreating in wolf and bear country,'' the state cautioned. "Children should always be accompanied by an adult and dogs should be on a leash." Read the complete story only at Alaska Dispatch.

Behind the Scenes: My Autistic Daughter This child with autism suffers from Obsessive Compulsive tendencies Autism falls on a spectrum. That means that no two causes are exactly alike. Sometimes this can make it very hard to diagnosis. The following video is a look inside the behaviors of a child with autism that is living in middle class home. You will see that this child has various Obsessive Compulsive tendencies. In the video, this is demonstrated, with her need to leave certain things certain ways. One thing is her need to leave the door to the fireplace open. Another example of this obsessive compulsive disorder that is playing into the child’s autism is her need to keep the lights off. Notice that she is approximately 6 years old and is also non-verbal.

The return of the school year is an exciting time for teachers, students, and parents…sometimes the start of the school year is also a good time to think back on summer experiences as well. The past few months brought an interesting collection of workshops to the IfCM table--strings, jazz, improv, songwriting, recording, lots that we're excited to share! IfCM co-Director and Teaching Artist Chris Teal was asked by Dr. John Fetter to be a guest for the Hochstein School of Music's "String Jam: Alternative Styles for Strings". Dr. Fetter has been presenting this camp for over a decade to give bowed string players (for students grade 6+) the experience of working with new music and improvisation in styles varying from jazz, rock, fiddling, klezmer, Indian music, and other World styles. It was a great joy to work with Dr. Fetter and the students on music by Bjork (Innocence), Radiohead (Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box), and Miles Davis/Red Garland (Blues By Five). Dr. Fetter would present the material to students by wrote first to get everyone listening to each other as a group and mimicking the sharp rock and jazz articulation that is favored with this material. The ensemble also worked with Teal and the rest of the band Quintopus (including Mike Kaupa, Mike Frederick, and Danny Ziemann) on improvising together as a group on these pieces and several students took great solos in rehearsal and on the concert. The students had a big role in deciding on the final arrangements of the songs as well! Here's a video of the students and Quintopus performing a version of Innocence (including some group singing--a great idea for the arrangement!):Kyle Vock (bassist for the Mighty High and Dry/Nazareth College) and IfCM co-Director Chris Teal coached a week-long (5 hours a day!) collaboration for the Little America Rock Camp, July 21-25th 2014. Little America runs cultural exchange programs between Europe and the US that focus on providing people to immerse themselves in a different language and culture. What could be more fun for 5 Italian kids and one American to get to know each other than through forming a rock band! Kyle has the scoop:We started the sessions with a conversation about what they liked to listen to, and jumping right into the familiar 'Twist and Shout' as performed by the Beatles as a nice first-day ice breaker to engage with them musically. The simplicity of the chords allowed everyone to concentrate more on playing with one another. Singing came in the form of a four-part seventh chord in the song, with emphasis placed on listening to each other and adjusting if necessary.The second day stepped up a notch: choosing, learning and performing music after only a few rehearsals. Improvisation and laughter ensued from engaging in simply rhythm exercises and clapping games - using a metronome showed that the discipline of adhering to a beat or replicating a pattern could be easy for some but challenging for others, but the session made everyone feel comfortable playing and improvising around each other, developing patterns as they wanted in interesting ways.Day three was more about sound: using the two guitarists, I showed the two the difference in sound you can get by either using bar chords or more open chord voicings, tailoring the demonstration to their relative ability.We used the majority of the penultimate session to rehearse our four songs for the concert, stopping during run-throughs to ask if they could hear certain features in the music, like the drummer turning the beat around or the guitars rushing ahead. We also talked about microphone do's and don'ts - vital for performance. Finally, for the last session, I brought in the upright bass so I could play and talk about the history of the instrument as well as its various roles in different musical settings. None of them had seen or heard a bass up close so this was a new experience! I spent the rest of the session discussing jazz music and the fundamental roles of the piano/guitar bass and drum set, identifying twelve bar blues form and also demonstrating the difference between traditional blues changes and jazz blues chord changes. Additionally, we spent time talking about the concept of swing and compared it to straight 8th note feel. showing them visually what swing looks like on the staff.I had a great time working with the Italian students. They were extremely receptive, and had both great questions and enough musical background to allow more breakthrough than overwhelm. Alan Murphy writes about 'Come Join the Band: Creative Music Making for Everyone', a University of Rochester Pre-College Program, July 14-25 that he instructed with Chris Teal:This year I was happy that we could help meet the students’ requests for instruction in songwriting. I used some examples and created some exercises around “writing from the title” and students all took a stab at writing. We were able to record about a half dozen new songs/ideas, and I hope that students continue to develop that they started. I also enjoyed watching beginners and more advanced instrumentalists really go head-on into practicing and expanding their skills at their instrument(s) of choice. Newer PostSave the date! "Jazz is Ugly... Jazz is Beautiful" Showcase and Panel DiscussionOlder PostRational Chaos: Entropy Re-imagined

The following weapons were used in Season 3 of the television series The Walking Dead: 1 Revolvers 1.1 Colt Python 1.2 Colt Detective Special 1.3 Colt Police Positive 1.4 Smith & Wesson Model 442 1.5 Smith & Wesson Model 36 1.6 Webley "WG" Army Model 1.7 Colt Official Police 2.1 Beretta 92FS 2.2 Beretta 92SB (nickel) 2.3 Glock 17 2.6 Browning BDA 2.7 Colt MK IV Series 70 2.8 Desert Eagle Mark VII 2.9 SIG-Sauer P226 2.10 Smith & Wesson 3913 2.11 Smith & Wesson 3913 "Ladysmith" 2.12 Vektor CP1 2.13 Walther P38 3.1 Accuracy International Arctic Warfare (airsoft) 3.2 Remington 700 BDL 3.3 Remington 700 VLS 3.4 Springfield M1903 (sporterized) 3.5 Steyr SSG 69 3.6 Winchester Model 70 3.7 M4A1 3.8 Colt Law Enforcement Carbine 3.9 Mark 18 Mod 0 CQBR 3.10 Crossman M4-177 3.11 AKMS 3.12 Norinco Type 56 3.13 Norinco Type 56-1 3.14 FN FAL 3.15 Ruger Mini-14 3.16 SKS 3.17 Steyr AUG A1 3.18 M1A 3.19 Valmet M76 4 Submachine Guns 4.1 Heckler & Koch MP5K 4.2 Heckler & Koch MP5K-PDW 4.3 Heckler & Koch MP5A2 4.4 IMI Uzi 4.5 IMI Micro Uzi 4.6 Beretta Cx4 Storm 5 Shotguns 5.1 Mossberg 500 (KNOXX SpecOps NRS stock) 5.2 Remington 870 Police Magnum 5.3 Remington 870 Police Magnum Riot 5.4 Remington 870 Field Gun 5.5 12 Gauge Double Barreled Shotgun 5.6 Ithaca 37 6 Machine Guns 6.1 Browning M2HB 6.2 Browning M1919A4 7 Other Weapons 7.1 Horton Scout HD 125 7.2 Stryker Strykezone 380 7.3 DefTech 37mm 7.4 M203 7.5 SBD M136 AT-4 8 Weapons Cache & Arsenals 8.1 Rick's Bag of Guns 8.2 Morgan's Arsenal 8.3 Prison Weapons Cache Oscar (Vincent Ward) also is seen using Rick's Python in "Killer Within" (S3E04). Rick with his Python in "Home" (S3E10). Rick reloads his Python in "Clear" (S3E12). Closeup of the Python in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). When the gun is heard going off, the sound of a casing is heard hitting the floor (not usually associated with a revolver). Colt Detective Special Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) continues to use the Colt Detective Special in Season 3. She uses the revolver in "Seed" (S3E01) and "Killer Within" (S3E04). Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) is seen keeping the Colt DS in her back pocket and fires this revolver in the air to stop a fight between Glenn and Merle in "Arrow in the Doorpost" (S3E12). Production image of Lori with the Colt from "Killer Within" (S3E04). Lori Grimes is seen using the Colt DS in "Seed" (S03E01), when Lori shoots a round from it, it is visible that there's no recoil and the muzzle flash is clearly CGI animation. Lori Grimes with the Colt from "Killer Within" (S3E04). Another CGI muzzle flash. Beth Greene fires this revolver in the air to stop a fight in "Arrow in the Doorpost" (S3E13). Colt Police Positive Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) is seen carrying what appears to be the Colt Police Positive revolver in "Home" (S3E10). Colt Police Positive - .38 Special Smith & Wesson Model 442 In "Sick" (S3E02), Tomas (Nick Gomez) brandishes a hammerless Smith & Wesson Model 442 revolver during a confrontation with Grimes and the rest of the group, which he claims that a prison guard gave to him before the prison was overrun by walkers. Carol (Melissa McBride) is seen using the revolver in "Killer Within" (S3E04). Smith & Wesson M442 Airweight - .38 Special In "Sick" (S3E02), Tomas (Nick Gomez) brandishes a hammerless Smith & Wesson Model 442 revolver during a confrontation with Grimes and the rest of the group. Carol is seen using the revolver in "Killer Within" (S3E04). Smith & Wesson Model 36 Hershel (Scott Wilson) is seen with what appears to be a Smith & Wesson Model 36 revolver taped to his thigh in "Arrow on the Doorpost" (S3E13). Smith & Wesson M36 - .38 Special Hershel is seen with this revolver taped to his thigh in "Arrow on the Doorpost" (S3E13). Webley "WG" Army Model A Webley "WG" Army Model revolver appears to be the handgun used by the Spanish-speaking survivor in "Home" (S3E10). Webley "WG" Army Model - .455 Webley A Webley "WG" Army Model used by the Spanish-speaking survivor in "Home" (S3E10). Colt Official Police In "Say The Word" (S3E05), the Colt Official Police revolver used by Daryl Dixon in Season 2 appears again, holstered to Daryl's motorcycle. Colt Official police - .38 Special A Colt Official Police is holstered in front of Daryl's motorcycle in a production image from "Say The Word" (S3E05). The revolver is seen in the bottom right in "Say The Word" (S3E05). The Beretta 92FS is the weapon seen used by Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) in Season 3. He is seen using it with an improvised suppressor in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S3E01). In the same episode, the group find several in the armory and T-Dog (IronE Singleton) is briefly seen handling one. Andrea Harrison (Laurie Holden) continues to carry a Beretta 92FS in Season 3. Michonne (Danai Gurira) is seen taking out Andrea's Beretta and giving it to her after seeing the helicopter crash in "Walk With Me" (S3E03). Andrea is later seen using it again in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) takes Andrea's Beretta as she enters the prison in "I Ain't a Judas" (S3E11). Andrea gives up her Beretta in "Prey" (S3E14). Carl is later seen holding the pistol on a Woodbury soldier in Season 3's finale "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Beretta 92FS - 9x19mm Carl (Chandler Riggs) is seen using the Beretta with a suppressor in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S03E01). His suppressor appears to have been fashioned from an aluminum baseball bat. Several Berettas are found in the prison in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S03E01). Michonne (Danai Gurira) is seen taking out Andrea's Beretta and giving it to her after seeing the helicopter crash in "Walk With Me" (S3E03). Andrea Harrison (Laurie Holden) fires her Beretta 92FS during the fire fight in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Closeup of Carl's suppressed Beretta in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). Carl holds the Beretta in "Clear" (S3E12). Carl fires the Beretta in the Season 3's finale "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). The slide doesn't appear to move after the round is fired, making the muzzle flash likely added via CGI. Beretta 92SB (nickel) The Governor (David Morrissey) carries a rare Beretta 92SB with a nickel finish in Season 3. In "Walk With Me" (S3E03), he keeps the pistol in a crossdraw holster and is first seen using it when confronting a group of National Guard survivors. He also notably uses the pistol in "When the Dead Come Knockin" (S03E07), "Made To Suffer" (S3E08), "The Suicide King" (S3E09) and "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15). Nickeled Beretta 92SB Compact - 9x19mm In "Walk With Me" (S3E03), The Governor (David Morrissey) pulls his Beretta 92SB. In "Walk With Me" (S3E02), The Governor (David Morrissey) pulls his 92SB when confronting a group of National Guard survivors. The Governor (David Morrissey) uses his Beretta to threaten Maggie in "When the Dead Come Knocking" (S3E07). The Governor (David Morrissey) holds up his Beretta in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). The Governor (David Morrissey) with his Beretta in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). The Beretta appears to have a rounded trigger guard, thus confirming it is an SB and not an FS. The Governor (David Morrissey) draws his Beretta in "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15). The Governor (David Morrissey) fires his Beretta in "This Sorrowful Life" (S03E15). The Glock 17 is used by Oscar in Season 3. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) holds a Glock 17 in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). In the same episode, Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) holds a Glock 17 during the fire fight and aims the pistol on Michonne. Glock 17 Gen. 3 - 9x19mm Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) holds a Glock 17 on Woodbury resident in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Glenn holds a Glock 17 during the fire fight in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Glenn (Steven Yeun) aims the Glock 17 on Michonne in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Seen on the table what appears to be a Glock 18, when the Governor (David Morrissey) checks the bag of guns seen in previous seasons in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). Glock 18 early model - 9x19mm The Glock 18 can be seen at the bottom of the screen in "The Suicide King" (S3E09) Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) continues to use T-Dog's Glock 19 from Season 2, in Season 3. He is seen using it with an improvised suppressor in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S3E01). Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) also uses a Glock 19 in Season 3 before losing it in "Hounded" (S6E06). Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson) appears to carried a Glock 19, later he fires it at walkers in "Home" (S3E10). Caesar Martinez (Jose Pablo Cantillo) carries a Glock 19 in "I Ain't A Judas" (S3E11). Glock 19 - 9x19mm Production image of Rick with a suppressed Glock. It appears that the suppressor has been improvised from a MAGlite flashlight in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S3E01). Rick holds the Glock fitted with a suppressor in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S3E01). Rick uses the Glock fitted with a suppressor in the prison yard in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S3E01). Glenn (Steven Yeun) is seen with the pistol in "Say the Word" (S3E05). Production shot of Glenn aiming a Glock 19 in "Hounded" (S3E06). Glenn draws the Glock on Merle in "Hounded" (S3E06). Hershel (Scott Wilson) carries a Glock 19 in a cross-draw holster in "Home" (S3E10). Hershel fires his Glock 19 at walkers in "Home" (S3E10). Browning BDA Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) continues to carry a Browning BDA in Season 3. He uses the gun in "Killer Within" (S3E04). He kills a few walkers with it at the beginning of "When the Dead Come Knockin" (S3E07). Carl uses the gun during the fire fight in "Home" (S3E10). Carl loads the gun in "Arrow on the Doorpost" (S3E13) Browning BDA - 9x19mm Closeup of the BDA in "Killer Within" (S3E04). Carl seen with the Browning in "Home" (S3E10). Colt MK IV Series 70 Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) is seen armed with an Colt MK IV Series 70 as his sidearm, notably in "Walk with Me" (S3E03) and "Hounded" (S3E06). He carries the Colt in a quick-draw holster on his hip. Colt MK IV Series 70 - .45 ACP Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) is seen armed with an Colt MK IV Series 70 and his new bayonet prosthetic in "Walk with Me" (S3E03). Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) holds the stainless Series 70 in "Walk with Me" (S3E03). Desert Eagle Mark VII Philip Blake (David Morrissey) is briefly seen checking what appears to be a Desert Eagle Mark VII in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). Desert Eagle Mark VII - .357 Magnum. Phillip Blake checking the Desert Eagle in "The Suicide King" (S3E09) SIG-Sauer P226 Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) is seen using the SIG-Sauer P226 in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S3E01), "Say the Word" (S3E05), and "Hounded" (S3E06). SIG-Sauer P226 - 9x19mm Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) is seen using the SIG in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S3E01), CGI is used here too. Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) is seen pulling the SIG in "Hounded" (S3E06). Smith & Wesson 3913 Axel (Lew Temple) is seen with the Smith & Wesson 3913 and asks Carol how to use it in "Home" (S3E10). Smith & Wesson 3913 - 9x19mm Axel holds the pistol in "Home" (S3E10). Carol shows Axel how to operate in the pistol in "Home" (S3E10). Smith & Wesson 3913 "Ladysmith" T-Dog (IronE Singleton) continues to carry Smith & Wesson 3913 "Ladysmith" that was used by Andrea in the previous seasons. Smith & Wesson 3913 "Ladysmith" - 9x19mm T-Dog (IronE Singleton) is seen with Andrea's Smith & Wesson 3913 "Ladysmith" in Season 3's premiere "Seed" (S3E01). T-Dog (IronE Singleton) pulls the Smith & Wesson 3913 "Ladysmith" during a confrontation with inmates in "Sick" (S03E02). Production image of T-dog with the gun in prison riot gear. Vektor CP1 A Vektor CP1 is used by Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) in "Seed" (S3E01). This is the only time she is seen with this pistol and the weapon in general. Vektor CP1 - 9x19mm Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) is seen using the Vektor in "Seed" (S3E01). Tim (Lawrence Kao), one of the Governor's men, is seen carrying a Walther P38 as his sidearm, notably in "Walk with Me" and "Hounded" (S3E06). Walther P38 - 9x19mm Tim (Lawrence Kao), a Woodbury guard, is seen using a Walther P38 with a makeshift suppressor in "Walk with Me" (S3E03). Tim (Lawrence Kao) holds the Walther when he's ambushed by Michonne (Danai Gurira) in "Hounded" (03E06). In "Hounded" (S3E06), a Walther P99 is seen carried by Gargulio. Merle (Michael Rooker) is later seen with the handgun in the episode. Maggie Greene uses the Walther P99 in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Maggie has the P99 holstered in Season 3B. The Walther is seen on the ground in "Hounded" (S3E06). This appears to be an airsoft replica. Maggie (Lauren Cohan) holds a Walther P99 on Michonne in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Accuracy International Arctic Warfare (airsoft) What appears to be an Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is carried by a Woodbury guard on the wall in "Home" (S3E10). The rifle is actually an airsoft replica based on the bright silver ejection port, bull barrel with no muzzle brake and lack of a finger cut-out in the magazine well. Airsoft Accuracy International Arctic Warfare An airsoft Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is carried by a Woodbury guard on the wall in "Home" (S3E10). Remington 700 BDL In "I Ain't a Judas" (S03E11), Carl is seen taking up the Remington 700 BDL last seen in Season 2. In "Clear" (S3E12), Rick is seen holding the Remington he gave to Morgan (Lennie James) in Season 1's "Days Gone Bye" (S1E01). Remington 700 BDL - .308 Winchester In "I Ain't a Judas" (S3E11), Carl is seen taking up the Remington 700 BDL last seen in Season 2. In "Clear" (S3E12), Rick is seen holding the Remington he gave to Morgan (Lennie James) in Season 1's "Days Gone Bye" (S01E01). Remington 700 VLS The Remington 700 VLS rifle with a Simmons ProHunter® scope continues to be one of the weapons carried by Rick. This appears to be the rifle that was carried by Dale in the previous seasons. Carol also is seen with the rifle in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). Remington Model 700 Varmint with Laminated Stock (VLS) - .308 Winchester Rick has the rifle slung over his shoulder in "Seed" (S3E01). Rick fires the rifle from a guard tower in "Seed" (S3E01). Springfield M1903 (sporterized) A Sporterized Springfield 1903 appears to be the rifle held by Maggie in "I Ain't a Judas" (S3E11). Sporterized M1903 Springfield - .30-06 Springfield Production image of Maggie with the rifle. A Sporterized Springfield 1903 held by Maggie in "I Ain't a Judas" (S3E11). Maggie (center) holds the rifle in this production image. Steyr SSG 69 Tyreese (Chad Coleman) is seen firing a Steyr SSG fitted with an improvised suppressor in "Prey" (S3E14). He is shown not to be very accurate with the rifle, and fires it left-handed (which makes him awkwardly cycle the bolt). Steyr SSG 69 - 7.62x51mm NATO Tyreese holds the rifle in "Prey" (S3E14). The optic appears bent, for some reason. Tyreese takes aim with the suppressed rifle in "Prey" (S3E14). The rifle's bolt action can be seen in "Prey" (S3E14). In "Walk With Me" (S3E03), Shumpert the Bowman (Travis Love), one of the Woodbury guards, is armed with a Winchester Model 70 bolt-action rifle. In "Walk With Me" (S3E03), Shumpert the Bowman (Travis Love) is armed with a Winchester Model 70 bolt-action rifle. M4A1 rifles, being rare in previous seasons, are now more common and being seen used by several of the survivors in Season 3. Since Rick's group didn't have these rifles at the end of Season 2, it is likely they acquired them in the interim between Season 2's end and the beginning of Season 3, a gap of several months. Hershel (Scott Wilson) can be seen using one in "Seed" (S3E01). An M4A1 is also found among the weapons in the prison in "Seed" (S3E01) and is briefly handled by T-Dog. In "Walk with Me" (S3E03), M4A1s are carried by the Woodbury guards as well as Georgia Army National Guard soldiers, Merle (Michael Rooker) also fires one fitted with a makeshift suppressor. Other M4A1s seen in the series so far include at least one with an M203 grenade launcher attached, one fitted with a makeshift suppressor in use by the Woodbury guards, and flattop M4s used by the National Guard survivors. Rick is seen using the M4A1 in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08) and both him and Maggie are seen firing it in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). Michonne (Danai Gurira) uses the rifle in "Home" (S3E10). Hershel is seen wielding an M4A1 in "Arrow on the Doorpost" (S3E13). Colt M4A1 with M68 Aimpoint reflex optic and Knight's Armament RAS railed handguard and Troy vertical forward grip - 5.56x45mm NATO Hershel fires the M4A1 in "Seed" (S03E01). Note the Aimpoint on his rifle is mounted backwards. At the bottom, an M4A1 is found in the prison in "Seed" (S3E01). In "Walk with Me" (S3E03), Merle is seen using an M4A1 fitted with a makeshift suppressor. M4A1 carbine 5.56x45mm with M68 Aimpoint red dot scope, flip-up rear sight, and M203 grenade launcher 40mm In "Walk with Me" (S3E03), a Georgia Army National Guard soldier is armed with an M4A1 fitted with an M203 grenade launcher. Rick is armed with an Aimpoint-equipped M4A1 in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Maggie fires an M4A1 equipped with a scope in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). Michonne (Danai Gurira) holds the M4A1 in a production image from "Home" (S3E10). Michonne (Danai Gurira) with the M4A1 in "Home" (S3E10). Merle uses the scoped M4A1 in "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15). He aims it rather awkwardly, holding it in his left hand but shouldering it on his right. The rifle also seems to be equipped with a rail riser on which the scope is mounted. A Colt Law Enforcement Carbine, taken from a Georgia Army National Guard soldier, is used by The Governor (David Morrissey) in "Walk with Me" (S3E03). The carbine has had the carry handle removed, and it lacked a rear sight, although it is possible to aim without it. Colt Law Enforcement Carbine - 5.56x45mm NATO The Governor (David Morrissey) takes aim with a Law Enforcement Carbine taken off a dead Guardsmen in "Walk with Me" (S3E03). Mark 18 Mod 0 CQBR One of the Woodbury guards guarding the wall is armed with what appears to be a Mk. 18 Mod 0. The rifle is notably seen held by a Woodbury guard in "The Suicide King" (S03E09). Merle appears to hold a similar rifle in "I Ain't A Judas" (S03E11). Glenn is seen using this same rifle during "Welcome To The Tombs" (S3E16). Mk 18 Mod 0 with LMT rear sight, Crane stock, and RIS foregrip - 5.56x45mm NATO One of the Woodbury guards guarding the wall is armed with what appears to be a Mk. 18 Mod 0. The rifle is notably seen in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). The sight appears to be mounted backwards. Merle appears to hold a similar rifle in "I Ain't A Judas". Note that the front and rear sights are folded down. (S3E11). Crossman M4-177 One of the Woodbury guards guarding the wall in "Home" (S3E10) is armed with a Crossman M4-177 air rifle (most likely standing in for the above Mark 18 Mod 0 CQBR), identifiable by its distinctive front sight block. Crossman M4-177 - .177 pellets/BBs The guard on the right is carrying a Crossman M4-177 with camouflage wrapped stock and handguard. Carol is seen firing an AKMS-type rifle from a prison watchtower in "Seed" (S3E01). The rifle appears to be fitted with rails at the top as well as a tactical handguard and slant compensator. Like the M4A1 above, this rifle was not among their weapons in the previous season, thus was most likely found in between Seasons 2 and 3, as the group was on the move for several months scavenging. In "When the Dead Come Knocking" (S3E07), Oscar loads the AKMS along with several other weapons into a car trunk and later Daryl (Norman Reedus) can be seen carrying it. Daryl is seen using the AKMS in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). When he is captured, it is confiscated along with his crossbow. When he is rescued in "The Suicide King" (S03E09), the rifle is not recovered. AKMS with underfolding stock and RIS - 7.62x39mm. The weapon pictured here is from the inventory of The Specialists, Ltd. Carol fires the rifle from a watchtower in "Seed" (S3E01). On the right, the AKMS is seen here carried by Daryl in "When the Dead Come Knocking" (S3E07). Daryl is seen using the AKMS in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Norinco Type 56 Shumpert the Bowman (Travis Love) uses a Norinco Type 56 during the raid on Woodbury in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Several Woodbury Guards can be also seen using them in the same episode. Later they are seen using the rifle in "The Suicide King" (S3E09) and "Home" (S3E10). Several other Woodbury guards in the same episode also use them. Norinco Type 56 - 7.62x39mm Shumpert the Bowman (Travis Love) with the rifle in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). A Woodbury guard can be seen using an Type 56 at the end of "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Shumpert the Bowman (Travis Love) fires the Type 56 rifle in "Home" (S3E10). Note the full-circle "hooded" front sight. A Woodbury soldier holds the rifle in "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15). Norinco Type 56-1 In "Prey" (S3E14), Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) is seen carrying a customized Norinco Type 56-1 while guarding the Woodbury wall with Tyreese. This rifle is likely standing in for Daryl's custom AKMS. It can be differentiated from Daryl's rifle by the different RIS setup and the hooded front sight. Allen (Daniel Thomas Ray) holds the rifle in "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15) and "Welcome to the Tombs" (S03E16). Norinco Type 56-1 fitted with a slanted muzzlebrake - 7.62x39mm In "Prey" (S3E14), Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) is seen on the right carrying this weapon while guarding the Woodbury wall with Tyreese. In "Prey" (S3E14), Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) holds the rifle. Note the hooded front sight. On the left, Allen (Daniel Thomas Ray) holds the rifle in "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15). Allen (Daniel Thomas Ray) holds the rifle in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). The hooded front sight is much more visible here. An FN FAL fitted with an ELCAN sight appears to be fired by Caesar Martinez (Jose Pablo Cantillo) in "Home" (S3E10). Several Woodbury soldiers carry the rifle (sometimes without the sight) in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S03E16). FN FAL - 7.62x51mm NATO An FN FAL fitted with an ELCAN sight appears to be fired by Martinez in "Home" (S3E10). Martinez fires the FN FAL in "Home" (S03E10). The Woodbury soldier on the left with the rifle in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). A survivor runs with the Rifle in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). The Woodbury soldier on the left carries the rifle in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). The Ruger Mini-14 is seen in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Ruger Mini-14 - 5.56x45mm NATO The Ruger is seen on the left in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). At the end of "Ain't a Judas" (S03E11), a Woodbury Guard can be seen holding a SKS fitted with a scope and an ATI Fiberforce "Dragunov" stock. SKS with flash hider and ATI Fiberforce "Dragunov" stock - 7.62x39mm. At the end of "Ain't a Judas" (S3E11), a Woodbury Guard can be seen holding a SKS fitted with a scope and an ATI Fiberforce "Dragunov" stock. The Governor opens fire with a Steyr AUG A1 in "Home" (S3E10), hitting one of the prison survivors in the head (an impressive shot, considering it was done at a long distance with a 1.5x magnification scope). Despite his right eye being useless, he still fires right-handed instead of left. The weapon is likely meant to be a full-auto conversion of an AUG SA, a semi-automatic variant of the A1 which was imported to the US for civilian use before being banned in 1989. Fully-automatic AUGs are extremely rare in the United States, as unlike the M4A1 they are not military issue and are not used by any law enforcement entities apart from US Customs and Immigration Enforcement. The civilian variant of the AUG is the STG-556 which has a different design than the A1. He later uses the rifle in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Steyr AUG A1 - 5.56x45mm NATO The Governor opens fire with a Steyr AUG in "Home" (S3E10). Firing the AUG in "Home" (S3E10). As is typical of action movies, the Governor fires far more rounds than the AUG could realistically hold, and is not shown reloading. The Governor with the AUG A1 in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). The Governor runs with the AUG A1 in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Allen (Daniel Thomas Ray) can be seen carrying what appears to be an M14 in "Prey" (S3E14). A Woodbury soldier can be seen carrying the same rifle at the episode's beginning. A Woodbury soldier fires the M14 in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Springfield Armory M1A - .308 Winchester A Woodbury soldier can be seen carrying an Springfield Armory M1A at the beginning of "Prey" (S3E14). A Woodbury soldier fires the M1A in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Another rifle used by the Woodbury army is the Valmet M76 in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Valmet M76 - 5.56x45mm NATO The Valmet's barrel can be seen right above the MP5A2 in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). A Woodbury soldier in the background holds the rifle in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Heckler & Koch MP5K A Heckler & Koch MP5K is the main firearm carried by Caesar Martinez (Jose Pablo Cantillo). Heckler & Koch MP5K with SEF trigger group - 9x19mm Martinez holds the MP5K in "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15). A H&K MP5K can be seen on the left carried by Caesar in "Walk With Me" (S3E03). Heckler & Koch MP5K-PDW A Heckler & Koch MP5K-PDW can be seen carried by Woodbury guards. Heckler & Koch MP5K-PDW - 9x19mm In "Walk with Me" (S3E03), a H&K MP5K-PDW is carried by a survivor guarding Woodbury. Heckler & Koch MP5A2 In the Season 3 finale "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16), a member of the Woodbury army opens fire with a Heckler & Koch MP5A2s equipped with a SureFire dedicated forend weaponlight. Sasha is seen wielding one when Rick and the others go to Woodbury with Karen. Heckler & Koch MP5A2 with SureFire dedicated forend weaponlight and Navy trigger group - 9x19mm The MP5A2 is used by the Woodbury soldier on the right in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Sasha is seen wielding one while guarding the fence in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). An IMI Uzi is seen in the hands of both Merle (Michael Rooker) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). It is then seen again in "Welcome To The Tombs" (S3E16) IMI Uzi - 9x19mm An IMI Uzi is seen in the hands of Maggie in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). The IMI Uzi is seen in the hands of Merle in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). An inhabitant of Woodbury runs with an IMI Uzi in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). The woman in the middle carries the Uzi in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). In "Made to Suffer" (S3E08), a Woodbury survivor named Haley (Alexa Nikolas) carries a suppressed Micro Uzi when Rick and his group come to save Maggie and Glenn. After the guard dies, Andrea (Laurie Holden) picks up the weapon in the same episode. A survivor named Ben (Tyler Chase) also is seen with this weapon in "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15). Micro Uzi - 9x19mm In "Made to Suffer" (S3E08), Haley is seen with a suppressed Micro Uzi. Ben holds the micro Uzi in "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15). Beretta Cx4 Storm In "Made to Suffer" (S03E08), a Woodbury guard can be seen using a Beretta Cx4 Storm. The SMG is also seen in "Home" (S3E10). Beretta Cx4 Storm - .45 ACP In "Made to Suffer" (S03E08), a Woodbury guard can be seen using a Beretta Cx4 Storm. On the left, a Cx4 Storm is carried by a Woodbury guard on the wall in "Home" (S3E10). Mossberg 500 (KNOXX SpecOps NRS stock) The shotgun that used to be carried by Shane (Jon Bernthal) in Season 2 appears again in Season 3 as Rick is seen carrying it in "When the Dead Come Knocking" (S3E07). In the same episode, Oscar (Vincent Ward) is shown loading it along with several other weapons into a car. He later uses it in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Glenn also is seen carrying the shotgun. While the shotgun seen in earlier seasons was a Mossberg 590, the shotgun seen in this season appears to have changed to a Mossberg 500 (judging from the shotgun's endcap). Mossberg 500 with 5-shot tube and a KNOXX SpecOps NRS stock - 12 gauge Mossberg 590 with the same stock and with 7-shot tube, for comparison - 12 gauge The Mossberg 500 carried by Shane in previous seasons is seen here slung behind Rick's back in "When the Dead Come Knocking" (S3E07). Oscar holds the Mossberg in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). The shotgun's extended mag tube appears to indicate that this is a Mossberg 500 instead of the 590 seen in earlier seasons. Michonne holds the shotgun in Season 3's finale "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Remington 870 Police Magnum A Remington 870 Police Magnum with black furniture is seen in the hands of Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) in "Home" (S3E10) and at the end of "I Ain't A Judas" (S3E11). Remington 870 Police Magnum with 5-shot tube, black synthetic foregrips and buttstock - 12 gauge. A Remington with black furniture is seen in the hands of Beth Greene in "Home" (S3E10). A production image from "I Ain't A Judas" (S3E11) shows Beth Greene (middle) holding the Remington 870 with black furniture. On the right, Beth holds the shotgun in "I Ain't A Judas" (S3E11). Remington 870 Police Magnum Riot A Remington 870 Police Magnum Riot is seen used by Bowman (Travis Love) in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). In the same episode, Rick sees a vision of Shane (Jon Bernthal) with a Remington. A young Woodbury soldier named Jody holds up his Remington when in a confrontation with Carl in the Season 3's finale "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Remington 870 Police Magnum Riot with 5-shot tube - 12 gauge A Remington 870 is seen used by Shumpert the Bowman in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). Rick sees a vision of Shane with a Remington in "Made to Suffer" (S3E08). One of the Woodbury guards is seen with the Remington 870 in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). Remington 870 Field Gun A Remington 870 Field Gun shotgun makes a appearance in Season 3 as the Governor is seen taking it out of the bag of guns in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). Remington 870 Express Field Gun with raised barrel ribbing and 28" barrel - 12 gauge The Governor is seen taking it out a Remington 870 Express Field Gun shotgun of the bag of guns in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). 12 Gauge Double Barreled Shotgun In "When the Dead Come Knocking" (S3E07), Rick and the rest of the survivors confront a crazed hermit wielding a 12 Gauge Double Barreled Shotgun. Strangely, the sound effect of a pump action shotgun is heard when he aims it at Rick, despite this firearm not having such an action. 1960s-era Commercial Stevens hammerless side by side shotgun - 12 gauge In "When the Dead Come Knocking" (S3E07), Rick and the rest of the survivors confront a crazed hermit wielding a 12 gauge double barreled shotgun. Ithaca 37 An Ithaca 37 is seen briefly held by a Woodbury guard who beats up Merle in "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15). Ithaca 37 - 12 gauge Browning M2HB A Browning M2HB machine gun is mounted on a National Guard HMMWV that the Governor brings back to Woodbury in "Walk With Me" (S3E03). It appears to be a mockup identical to the one was fitted on the fake M1 Abrams tank in Season 1. The heavy machine gun is later seen again in "Prey" (S3E14) being removed from storage and mounted on the HMMWV to be used as a mock technical by the Woodbury army. The Browning here is an actual machine gun as Bowman opens fire on walkers with it in the Season 3 finale "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). When Allen attempts to fire the machine gun, it appears to have jammed and is thus abandoned. Browning M2HB - .50 BMG The M2HB is seen on the left next to the Governor in "Walk With Me" (S3E03). This machine gun appears to be a mockup, judging from the crude mount and no ammo feed present. In "Prey" (S3E14), the Browning is seen being removed from storage and mounted on the HMMWV to be used as a mock technical by the Woodbury army. This appears to be an authentic M2HB and not the mockup seen in earlier episodes. In "Prey" (S03E14), the Browning M2HB is mounted on the HMMWV. Bowman fires the Browning in the Season 3 finale "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). It was noted that it cost $5 per blank round. Bowman (Travis Love) is seen opening fire on walkers with the Ma Deuce in the Season 3 finale "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Note the blank rounds. Bowman fires the Browning. A behind the scenes image shows Travis Love talking about the Browning M2. Browning M1919A4 A Browning M1919A4 machine gun can be seen mounted on the wall at Woodbury in "I Ain't A Judas" (S3E11). This machine gun is seen manned by Caesar Martinez (Jose Pablo Cantillo) when a car pulls up to the wall later in the episode. Browning M1919A4 - .30-06 Springfield A Browning M1919A4 machine gun can be seen mounted on the wall at Woodbury in "I Ain't A Judas" (S3E11). The Browning is manned by Martinez when a car pulls up to the wall in "I Ain't A Judas" (S3E11). Horton Scout HD 125 Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) carries a Horton Scout HD 125 crossbow as his weapon of choice for the first half of Season 3. Shumpert, the Bowman, is seen holding it in the mid season finale "Made to Suffer" (S3E08) after Daryl is captured in Woodbury. Production image of Daryl with his crossbow inside the Prison Daryl with the crossbow at the ready in "Say the Word" (S3E05). Stryker Strykezone 380 Michonne picks up a Stryker Strykezone 380 crossbow in "Clear" (S03E12) from Morgan's weapons stockpile. She later gives it to Daryl Dixon. Daryl then switches his Horton Scout HD 125 for the Strykezone 380, and uses it as his main weapon for the remainder of the season. He is most notably seen using it in "Arrow on the Doorpost" (S3E13). Weapons as seen in "Clear" (S3E12). The Strykezone Crossbow is seen in the upper left. Daryl with his new crossbow in "Arrow on the Doorpost" (S3E13). DefTech 37mm The DefTech 37mm launcher fitted with an ELCAN sight is used by Martinez to destroy a guard tower in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Defense Technologies - 37mm The launcher about to be fired by Martinez in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). The launcher is held by Martinez in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). In "Walk With Me" (S3E03), a Georgia Army National Guard soldier is armed with an M4A1 affixed with a M203 grenade launcher when he is shot by ambushers from Woodbury. M4A1 - 5.56x45mm NATO fitted with an M203 grenade launcher - 40mm In "Walk with Me" (S3E03), a Georgia Army National Guard soldier is shot by ambushers from Woodbury; M4A1 fitted with an M203 grenade launcher in hand. SBD M136 AT-4 In a deleted scene, Martinez is seen using an M136 AT4 to destroy one of the prison guard towers in "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16). Saab Bofors Dynamics M136 AT-4 - 84mm Jose Pablo Cantillo shows how the AT4 is fitted with a electrical charge in the back to simulate back blast. Filming the Saab M136 firing on the guard tower. This was not seen in the final cut of the episode. Weapons Cache & Arsenals Rick's Bag of Guns Rick's bag of guns is seen once again in "The Suicide King" (S3E09) as the Governor inspects the guns still left in it. A Remington 870 Wingmaster shotgun makes a return appearance in Season 3 as the Governor is seen taking it out of the bag of guns in "The Suicide King" (S3E09). Morgan's Arsenal In "Clear" (S3E12), Rick, Carl, and Michonne discover the massive amount of arms gathered by Morgan Jones (Lennie James) in his hideout. Weapons as seen in "Clear" (S03E12). A box of MK II hand grenades are seen at the bottom. Note the Model 24 Stielhandgranate also in the box. On the green crate is an M16A2, and two MP5K's. Several AK-pattern rifles are seen in the back, along with what appears to a Strykezone 380 crossbow on the left. A crate of M4-type rifles. The M4-style rifle with camo wrapped around the fore arm and stock appears to be the same rifle carried by a Woodbury guard on the wall in "Home". On the left, a Remington 700, and an SKS is seen among the rifles. "Clear" (S3E12) Wide shot as the rifles are seen. "Clear" (S3E12) The crate of M4-type rifles are seen on the right. "Clear" (S3E12) Some handguns are seen in the bottom left. "Clear" (S3E12) Prison Weapons Cache In "Arrow on the Doorpost" (S03E13), the weapons taken from Morgan's arsenal are laid out on a table. Several M4s and shotguns are seen on the table in "Arrow on the Doorpost" (S3E13). More shotguns and some handguns on the right in "Arrow on the Doorpost" (S3E13).

With the student debt mountain showing no signs of shrinking, it is little wonder that more undergraduates than ever are on the lookout for part-time or holiday work to bring in some extra cash.While the main reason to get a job pulling pints at the union or delivering mail shots is purely financial though, will that sort of mundane employment look acceptable on a CV? In the view of many colleges and universities, part-time work during term time equates with tired students, inferior grades and may even reduce the likelihood of a decent degree at the end. Prospective employers too are unhappy at the notion of their brightest talent washing up or laying tables in the evenings; although most say they do approve of proper work experience arrangements. Would-be doctors and journalists have traditionally been encouraged to consider unpaid or voluntary work to get a feel for the job, but the pool of students who can afford such a luxury is dwindling. In reality, many large organisations would prefer even low-grade, paid work experience flipping burgers or handing out leaflets to no experience at all and may penalise graduates who have never even attempted a car-washing job or a stint with a promotions firm. In order to keep both tutors and recruiters happy then, it appears that full-time holiday work with a reputable employer is far better than casual, part-time work in the periods when there are essays to be written. According to the recruitment firm employment4students, full-time holiday jobs with reputable employers tend to have more status than hourly paid, part-time work in the local hotel or bar and may even lead to full-time career positions when you graduate. A decent holiday job can allow you to try different career roles before you "buy" and if you use the position to find out more about the firm, or about the career you are interested in, it can look very respectable on an otherwise unremarkable CV. A firm such as Tesco, for example, regularly recruits trainee managers from its army of student cashiers. Recruiters agree that in practice, it doesn't necessarily matter how you earn that extra money - be it at call a centre or hypermarket - just as long as you use it as an opportunity to understand how commercial organisations actually function. Dealing with customers as a shop assistant can help any student build valuable skills in communication and customer service, and may well offer important experience in working under pressure and being part of a team. The lowliest factory job may not be challenging intellectually, but if it helps a budding manager to develop leadership skills, those six weeks assembling toy planes will not go to waste later on. Although neither part-time nor holiday work should be taxed when you are a student, the weekly or monthly wage packet that will be offered for a full-time holiday job with M&S or with the Post Office will usually be far larger than the cash-in-hand payment you get for shelf-filling in a supermarket. And whatever job you do to make ends meet, it is important to remember that employers meet graduates with good honours degrees every day of the week.

Global risk of deadly heat Climate change can increase the risk of conditions that exceed human thermoregulatory capacity. Although numerous studies report increased mortality associated with extreme heat events, quantifying the Nature Climate Change Heat Waves JSW-The Times of India 8th edition calls out green warriors to apply for Earth Care Awards While recent developments like the US abandoning the Paris accord have caused a major setback to the fight against the devastating impact of climate change, scientists are warning that time is running Economic Times (New Delhi) Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) World Meteorological Orgnisation ('WMO) JSW Steel Ltd Exhibition on wheels to raise awareness on climate change A mobile science exhibition will arrive at the city railway station today ‘Science Express,’ a mobile exhibition focusing on climate change, will arrive at Puducherry railway station on Thursday. Hindu (Chennai) Climate change evident in Cape storm and Knysna fires The mother of all storms. The worst drought in a century. More intense fires than any in living memory. The hottest years on record. This is the new normal. South Africa’s climate is changing and with Mail & Guardian (Africa) Timeabu cocoa farmers heighten risk of climate change as they cut down trees on farms Cocoa farmers at Timeabu in the Ejisu-Juabeng Municipality of the Ashanti Region are cutting down trees on their farms, impeding efforts to tackle climate change effects on cocoa production. Ghana Web (Ghana) Africa feeling the heat of climate change Researchers are still trying to learn why the population of African penguins has dropped precipitously over the last 15 years—some estimates say by 90%—but most agree that climate change is a major factor Southern African Cabinet regrets USA's decision on Paris Agreement Pretoria – Cabinet has expressed regret at the decision taken by the United States of America (USA) to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement, which will be fully operational by 2020, SA News (South Africa) Climate Agreements COP 21 (Paris) Brazil's coastal cities more vulnerable to climate change Brazilian cities in coastal areas are more vulnerable to climate change, especially to the sea level rise, but also to such events as heavy rain, storms, floods, and coastal erosion, all of which cause COP 22 (Marrakech) Senegalese scientists monitor climate change effect on the ocean As world leaders criticise the United States for pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, scientists are trying to work out exactly what a warmer world will mean. That includes researchers in Senegal, Amplification of flood frequencies with local sea level rise and emerging flood regimes <p>The amplification of flood frequencies by sea level rise (SLR) is expected to become one of the most economically damaging impacts of climate change for many coastal locations. Understanding the magnitude Environmental Research Letters

Sorry Symantec - Antivirus Is Not Dead by Adam Winn, Senior Product Manager at OPSWAT Each time someone reports that antivirus is dead, a hacker gets his wings (and I get furious). With our industries becoming increasingly data-driven, the need to protect our networks, devices, and archives has become more important than ever. In a world of weaponized emails and polymorphic, self-replicating malware, entertaining the idea that endpoint antivirus protection is dead is both ignorant and dangerous. Brian Dye, vice president of Symantec and Norton, told The Wall Street Journal that traditional antivirus software is dead because they only detect roughly 45 percent of all attacks, and that of threats detected, most are so dynamic that containing them is too difficult. Furthermore, security provider FireEye was quoted saying, "the function signature based AV serves has become more akin to ghost hunting than threat detection and prevention." Ghost hunting? Really? - C’mon. Yes, we are aware of the new challenges affecting those in the cybersecuity community, but neither I nor anyone at OPSWAT are as defeated as those at Symantec. We know the internet isn't exactly a small space, and that the rate at which mass amounts of data travelling this space is increasing exponentially. This has raised the importance (along with the challenges) of having up-to-date threat detection software. David Harley, senior researcher at ESET, discussed the glory days of anti-malware protection by describing how the: "Speed of [malware] spreading was restricted by the fact that the internet was a far smaller place, and that restriction also meant that once a malicious program had been identified, an AV customer who diligently updated his anti-virus as soon as signatures were available was likely to see his signatures before he saw the malware (if at all)." Today, even the most diligent AV customer may still fall victim to malware threats, which can be taken to support Dye’s belief that the anti-virus industry may be dead. However here at OPSWAT, we aren't so quick to throw in the towel. We agree with Dye up to the point that traditional AV software may be out of pace to keep up with advanced persistent threats (APTs), but we have a new innovative solution- and there’s nothing "traditional" about it. Traditional, or stand-alone AV software, lacks the multi-layered protections necessary to keep up with polymorphic threats. Harley reiterated Pierre Vandevenne's (an ex-colleague of Harleys) views on the future of AV in his article, Vandevenne says that: "Traditional stand-alone AV (essentially the scan-detect-protect-clean paradigm) should definitely be dead. Multi-layered protections with web browsing protection, DNS monitoring, in the cloud file checks and heuristics, real time analysis of new or infrequent or unique executables (of all kinds) are definitely needed but won’t ever reach the near perfect protection levels the AV industry offered at very specific and short lived moments in the history of malware." Traditional antivirus may be dead, and Dye's pessimism might be alluding to how the industry can no longer market itself on 100% protection, 100% of the time; because perfection is simply no longer a reality for the challenges the cybersecurity industry faces. However, just because no single antivirus software can offer complete perfection, does not mean there are no security solutions available. Utilizing multiple scanning engines, with layers of network check points, can offer the kind of multi-layered protections that both Harley and Vandevenne have prescribed. Truth is, the Internet is still not a safe place (surprised? - didn't think so). What's worse is that it isn't getting any safer. Criminals, as with any crime, will seek out the path of least resistance. Cyber criminals seek out your network’s weakest link, manipulate your software, and can rob you blind of highly valuable information. By infiltrating the networks of healthcare facilities or financial institutions, cybercriminals can use the sensitive personal information of your employees, patients, or customers to make themselves a fortune overnight. And with the rise of high-tech exploit kits ( crimeware), the bar for being an effective cybercriminal continues to get lower. Crimeware has allowed near novices (maybe even AOL users?) the ability to become cybercriminal "masterminds." Which is why the need to protect all of your network's endpoints has become so important. As long as there are highly valuable sets of data and personal information, you can count on some desperate hacker trying to make a fortune off of it. Hackers of all levels believe that if there’s a will, there's a way through your 20th-century windows defender firewall- and they’re right. Now, attacks targeted at big corporations with APTs may make the headlines (Target, Home Depot, Sony and Anthem breaches to name a few), but there’s still a vast array of 'everyday' malware out there infecting personal computers. These infections have been spreading, and overall data-theft incidences have increased year by year. IBM just released a study that estimated that over 1 billion data records were leaked in 2014 alone; a significant jump from 2013. An article in Security Week also reported that of those attacks, "the most commonly attacked industries were computer services (28.7%), retail (13%), government (10.7%), education (8%), and financial markets (7.3%)." These type of infections have continued to spread throughout our home, banking, and healthcare networks, rendering our personal information exposed and up for grabs. The CERT/CC is still tracking these malware breaches for PUAs, which is expected to raise the 2014 infection toll from 8,000 to 30,000. Techtarget attributed this increase in reach, source, and damage to their ability to lay dormant within your network and self-replicate to any desktop, server, mobile device, or printer (yes, even your printer). This has made detecting advanced threats both a high priority and a complex task for any serious network security administrator. In order to detect advanced threats, you need to utilize all of the resources you have at hand. Maintaining control of all devices in your network in order to prevent PUAs from being downloaded is your first line of defense. Our GEARS software utilizes advanced multi-scanning technology, and strict endpoint configurations to detect and protect your devices from being another IBM statistic. Our January market share report shows how OPSWAT GEARS found that 3.3% of devices contained previously undetected malware and PUAs. Based on this data, it is safe to assume that no single antivirus software can provide complete and comprehensive network security (Okay, so maybe Dye was kind of right). In order to prevent the unwanted spread of malware, all network devices should utilize our multi-scanning technology and endpoint management system to secure each device entering their network. APT protection is good and necessary for enterprise-level companies, but it shouldn't come at the cost of a well-managed and enforced endpoint security policy. Think of it this way, a brand new luxury car may come with a fancy high-tech alarm that disables the ignition, has GPS tracking, etc., all to deter theft; but, the owner will still lock the doors and roll up the windows as a general best practice. APT protection is like the high-tech alarm, while endpoint anti-malware protection is the less-sexy but equally important door locks. I would even argue that locking your doors and rolling up your windows is the most important line of defense against theft. Anti-malware is much more than just antivirus. Spyware, greyware, exploit kits, and all manner of PUA/PUP can be just as dangerous to an organization. These types of malware seek to phish out valuable user data for their own monetary gain. That is why protecting against viruses alone is only a fraction of what good endpoint anti-malware software can do. Think of it this way, if you went to the doctor for a terrible sinus infection, and you were only given Dayquil, you would only be addressing the surface symptoms and not the problem (problem is you also have a terrible doctor). With anti-malware software, you can zero in on the source of the infections, and protect yourself from future phishing scams by managing your devices in the same way you would enforce your immune system with proper diet and exercise. Anti-phishing precautions across the industry are growing in importance as a response to how advanced malware have become. Phishing scams have often operated under the guise of a fully functional website, with their sole purpose being to extract sensitive personal information such as passwords, usernames, and banking information for monetary gain. This has lead web browsers like IE, Firefox, and Chrome to take these security threats into consideration, as it was leaving their customers completely vulnerable. Today, Google Chrome users will definitely notice the new built-in security features. Chrome has essentially made it so that any known phishing sites are completely blocked unless the user actively goes through and disables the security features altogether (why anyone would do this is completely beyond me). These features are intended to add an additional layer of defense against endpoint infections from untrustworthy websites, but the fact that a user can disable these functions can be disconcerting for IT admins. With Gears, an IT admin can require that each and every device uses a browser with anti-phishing features enabled. Thereby making the browsers themselves another "door lock."

Global #gtchat Sponsors Rock; It’s Time to Share Your Gratitude! Global #gtchat has become a vibrant hub of sharing, dialogue, and collaboration among parents of gifted learners, educators, psychologists, scholars, and advocates throughout the past 18 months. We’ve grown from small group of early adopters to a wide range of participants from all over the world. New faces continue to pop up in our #gtchat stream each week. It’s a privilege and an honor to see the interactions, learning, and outcomes resulting from this growing group of impassioned advocates. Your Voice Matters – A Chance to Thank Our Sponsors I wanted to give you each an opportunity to say a quick thank you to our Global #gtchat Sponsors. If you have benefitted in any way throughout the past year and a half from your interactions on #gtchat and/or via the connections you’ve made, would you “Leave a Reply” for our Global #gtchat Sponsors below? Taking a minute or two to share your appreciation and how you’ve benefitted from #gtchat will help our Sponsors realize how valuable their support is to you – and all of us who have dreams of growing awareness and collaborating on behalf of gifted learners! Our #gtchat sessions would not be possible without the generous support of our Global #gtchat Sponsors. Personally, I cannot thank the Gatton Academy and the Summer Enrichment Program at the University of Northern Colorado enough for their early support of this new platform. I’m also pleased to announce the Gifted Development Center (GDC) in Denver has become our newest Global #gtchat Sponsor. You’ve likely heard me raving about GDC’s services recently, and I’m thrilled to be able to have this organization on board for the next year. In addition to commenting below, be sure to “like” these inspiring organizations on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and/or check out their Web sites. You’ll find lots of useful information! Here are the links for you: Gatton Academy: Twitter, Facebook, Web Site Summer Enrichment Program at UNC: Web Site Gifted Development Center: Twitter, Facebook, Web Site Thank you in advance for taking time out of your busy schedules to acknowledge these supporters! You rock too. CALL TO ACTION: Making Gifted Education Relevant Today The educational world is in motion, in spite of the fact it seems to be shifting backwards at times and/or fully stagnating. As Sir Ken Robinson points out in his inspiring TED talk, every country in the world is in the process of reforming education today. In the United States, we’re struggling to find our way toward hope and success, as we untangle the contradictory challenges No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has brought upon our diverse learners, administrators, teachers, educational spending, curriculum models, evaluation policies, and ultimately, our educational prowess. Here’s a clip showing Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) introducing the Setting New Priorities in Education Spending Act a few weeks ago (May 13, 2011). The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) tweeted the clip this morning. Javits is among the supposedly “inefficient, wasteful” programs on the chopping block. Amid all the debate between top education reformists, technical proponents, standards gurus, curriculum writers, instructional coaches, policy makers, teachers, lobbyists, and local school board members, we’re left wondering…Is it even possible to make the radical shifts needed to instill creativity, critical thinking, and newfound fresh approaches to a system born of the Industrial Age? Given that the top 10 jobs in 2010 didn’t even exist in 2004, can we give learners the skills – including the vital technical knowledge – they will need in order to survive and thrive in a global world? In a day and age when nearly all third graders are still learning cursive as opposed to keyboarding and college graduates are no longer guaranteed a job, how do we – as adults and advocates – make sense of what’s essential, what’s not, what to advocate for, and/or how to be a part of the solution? How do we avoid the thinking that policy makers are untouchable and that the voices of parents and visionary educators are not only valuable, but also essential to the solution and the shift needed to find our way out of the complexities toward meaningful, relevant education reform? And finally, where in the world does gifted education fit into this picture? It’s clear that despite 25+ years of empirical research and dogged advocacy efforts, the needs of gifted, talented, and creative learners are not being met in the majority of public classrooms throughout the United States. Myths continue to promulgate and the potent paradoxes inherent in scholars’ findings and stances have further dimmed the light. The gap between public and private schools’ support of these learners only continues to grow. It’s a sad day when a $17,000/year price tag is what stands between a high-potential student being challenged and fully supported or being left to languish. Phenomenal administrators and teachers do exist though. I see them on Twitter and online platforms every single day. They’re in classrooms engaging learners. They’re educating teachers and conducting critical research. I see them sharing the type of thinking and resources that could, in fact, help us find the threads of hope, construct them in ways that work, and give all learners a chance. Insightful, concerned parents exist. They’re the engines who help keep public schools working, vibrant, and positive. Gifted education advocates exist in large numbers as well; however, allow me to be the first to say, “The current course for advocating on behalf of gifted learners is doomed; a radical shift in mindset is needed.” Here are my top five suggestions for making gifted education relevant in today’s world. Take a look at these straightforward, yet radical ideas and tell me what you think. Comment, argue, debate and/or agree. The time to crowdsource is upon us. 1. Get rid of the word gifted. I don’t care if it’s been around forever. There’s no consensus and far too many definitions. The term “gifted” has proven to be one of the single, biggest inhibitors to the movement’s success. Like it or not, words matter. I know the majority of empirical research to date has utilized the term. What if we stopped and started using Asynchronous Learners or something related to the Columbus Group’s definition of gifted? I personally have been a fan and ardent proponent of “gifted” for a long while; however, it’s time to wake up to the fact the term is too loaded, causes too many negative connotations (and confusion with high-achieving students), and truly does more harm than good to the laudable efforts aimed at supporting these kids. The same holds true for the term “gifted behaviors.” FYI – I’m well aware of the domino implications, including renaming associations, conferences, publications, research shifts, legislative wording, etc. However, it’s time to face this deterrent once and for all. It might just be the ideal launch pad needed to ignite change. Before immediately dismissing it, think about it. I’m not 100 percent ready, but I’m certainly open to contemplating it. 2. Focus research on big picture education reform and simplify focus. This recommendation will likely cause raised eyebrows. Allow me to shed light on my thinking. If all of the research (e.g., contents of the Gifted Child Quarterly, the Roeper Review) were being put to use, we wouldn’t be in this situation (albeit much of it is contradictory). Nevertheless, I’m well aware of the need for ongoing research. Javits proved extremely important. However, what if thought leaders in gifted education focused research more on a singular, yet collaborative area that could offer the most impact throughout the next five years and/or decade? Yes, we need to know how gifted fare in IB schools and whether certain discussion group formats work better than others (fascinating research to me). I think we would all be aghast though, to realize the raw numbers of how many classrooms employ some of the most forward-thinking models and best practices available. The approaches may be sound, but they’re not being used nearly enough. It’s time to ask the cold, hard question – how many of leading scholars’ recommendations have found their way into the majority of classrooms in all states? I’m happy to be first in line to kiss the feet of Renzulli, Van Tassel-Baska, Dweck, Rimm, Siegle, Tomlinson, Delisle, and Piechowski, and so many more. I’m in awe of their work. Nevertheless, if gifted education were an organization or business, we would have declared bankruptcy long ago. I’m not saying learners aren’t better off than they were decades ago. They are. Far, far more school districts allow acceleration and early entrance than ten years ago. My own kids benefit from Renzulli, Stanford’s EPGY, William & Mary curriculum and the like in a public school setting. I’m utterly grateful to all who have devoted their lives to make these realities possible. I do believe, though, that it’s time to reevaluate exactly how past research and future research will fit within the context – yes the context – of today’s economic realities and reform efforts. It’s time to boil down the most vital empirical findings to a simple, straightforward foci with bullet points and utilize our advocacy platform wisely. As important as the next research project might seem, isn’t it even more important to enlighten the public about needs of asynchronous learners and ensure funding and professional development for all teachers, so alignment among top policy makers actually occurs? Underfunded and/or non-funded mandates have plagued the movement for far too long. I’m well aware that there is no universal curriculum for these students and that individual needs vary greatly. Nevertheless, the need for influence exists amid customization and also requires coordination or the result is a mishmash of poorly implemented programs without strong backing. For instance, if 2012’s focus is cluster grouping, then find a way to advocate for cluster grouping for asynchronous learners in a way that doesn’t make people cringe. And make a goal of guaranteeing it happens broadly. Find alliances within the gifted community AND with general education reformers and policy makers to garner consensus. Stay in a room until the fighting stops about the best way to identify for cluster grouping – knowing full well there will always be exceptions and that identification needs to be flexible and ongoing. SIMPLIFY. And then focus efforts accordingly. We can’t have it all, but right now, we propose so much, our most powerful messages get lost in the shuffle. It doesn’t have to be cluster grouping; it can be professional development of all general educators. Regardless, the time for narrow focus and rapid, collective movement is now. 3. Change the descriptor to the Talent Development Movement (no more “Gifted Education Movement”), and start tearing down protective, yet ultimately inhibiting walls. After all, that’s what has allowed the Gifted Education Movement to stagnate. It’s understandable. Leaders respect other leaders; they feel a kinship. They collaborate and want to support each other. They apply for grants together, work tenaciously with each other on boards, and accomplish a lot. Unfortunately, gifted education as a movement has become a lowly island unto itself. It’s time to go across the bridge – aisle – and be linchpins for reform and learners. Separate silos of scholars, gifted specialists, administrators, general classroom educators, parents, psychologists, and policy makers have naturally led to misperceptions, miscommunication, lack of awareness, and ultimately – diminished impact. 4. Overhaul national and state nonprofit gifted associations’ missions and purpose. What started out as an important mission – ensure the rights of gifted learners – has forcibly turned into a profit and loss game of cat and mouse between speakers and gifted education specialists. Worries about budget cuts now have state gifted education leaders in a corner; however, teachers aren’t the only target audience. State organizations have vastly underserved parents of asynchronous learners and the general public for decades. And we wonder why our funding is in the toilet? It’s time for state organizations to get lean, eschew bureaucracy, and start modeling futuristic behaviors relative to a successful Talent Development Movement. If state orgs simply started by cutting the number of presentations at their annual conferences in half, doubled efforts to engage parents, and started viewing and treating the Web and Social Media as their single greatest educational advocacy tool available, our students – and those who serve them – would be far better off. Stop printing, stop mailings, and start blogging, tweeting, creating posts, wikis, podcasts and online conferences. Create thumb drives for administrators, educators, parents, and school board members. Read The Networked Nonprofit. Get training. Take risks. 5. Give things away. Be generous. Make research, articles, tips, events and conferences available online without roadblocks, sign-ins, and/or memberships. Read books by Seth Godin. Start following Mashable and embrace social media. Let go of APA style online. Be human. Nonprofits, schools, and leaders will be relevant in the future only through a complete about-face. Still not think it’s necessary? Well, that’s what Tower Records, Kodak, Borders, and scores of newspaper and magazine editors thought too. That’s why they’re out of business today and/or well on their way out. The Office Depots of the world will not survive in an Amazon world. Nonprofits will not thrive unless they learn the Rules of Engagement and find donor support from new sources and new constituents online. You’ll see financial returns on influence. Revenue streams will be altered. Times are changing and relevancy matters. Still not sure? Think on this…How abhorrent is it today that most administrators and classroom educators across the United States – the ones who spend the most time with this critical population – have never heard of overexcitabilities, asynchronous development, multipotentiality and/or grasp the needs of twice-exceptional learners? How sad is it that the gifted world speaks primarily to itself? The time has come. The walls must come down. Are you ready to be relevant? Are you curious about Global #gtchat and/or want to learn more about how to participate? Click here. Please know that even if you don’t tweet, you can keep up with happenings on the Ingeniosus Facebook Page. Together, we’re advancing the world of gifted education one tweet at a time. So, here’s to our Global #gtchat Sponsors – and each of you – as we continue learning, growing and impacting during our second year! Beyond the Classroom: The Value of Research Experiences What are the benefits of giving gifted and talented learners at the high-school level the opportunity to have research experiences beyond the classroom? According to Corey Alderdice, Assistant Director, Admissions and Public Relations at the Gatton Academy, students who engage in research experiences are better apt to: Draw tangible connections to classroom concepts Enjoy lessons embedded in real-world experiences Appreciate that highly-relevant learning occurs outside of the classroom Explore their interests outside of set parameters and assignments Have the door opened to remarkable scholarship opportunities and co-curricular contests Here’s a quick peek at what Gatton Academy students enjoy: Beyond the Classroom – YouTube. It’s both inspiring and relevant, as we look to foster future leaders. For more information on the Gatton Academy, click here. Posted in Advocacy, Funding, Gifted Education, Global #gtchat Sponsors, Programs, Research | No Comments » “From Kentucky to Taiwan” – Thoughts on a Relevant, Engaging & Transformative Education By Kia Allen, a Gatton Academy Senior I was fifteen when I first moved two-and-a-half hours away from my friends and family, and made the decision to put my education first. I was ready to be challenged in a way that I had never been before. And–believe me–it has been very challenging. Not only has the Gatton Academy pushed me and my peers mentally but it also opened doors for us to wonderful opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else. Last year, I was presented the opportunity to spend the summer in Taiwan with another academy student and five other Western Kentucky University students. I was told that I would be doing chemical engineering research at National Chung Hsing University in Taichung, Taiwan. When I was first presented with the idea I was quite nervous, and I didn’t know what to expect. But this was one opportunity that I couldn’t pass up! To me the trip wasn’t exclusively about working in a lab; it was about learning and experiencing a new culture. The Taiwanese were some of the nicest people I have ever met. Every day there was always a random stranger saying hello and helping me as much as they could when I looked very confused. Each weekend in Taiwan was a different adventure, we went to night markets, amusement parks, we climbed mountains, saw the second tallest building in the world, and many other things, too. Most of all, it was an opportunity for something both intellectual and personal that not all gifted young people get to do. One day while I was walking to the university to start my full day of work, I realized how much I have changed as a person. I was living thousands of miles away from home and I wasn’t scared. I really grew up on the trip and I realized that if I could live on my own at the age of sixteen, then I was going to be just fine when I actually go to college or move away from my family. I have never felt so good about myself and my future then how I did that day. It wouldn’t have been possible without the support and the guidance of the Academy as well as legislators, educators, and other leaders who believed in the Academy and gave it a chance to exist, grow, and thrive. I hope you realize how much you—and all advocated for young people who are gifted and talented–have changed the lives of students. From me and all the other Academy students, we thank you for changing our lives by making this and other wonderful opportunities possible.

The Movie Theater Experience The alternative to memorizing or superficial verbal processing is absorption. This is what it means to dive in to the text. Get immersed in it. Generate images. If you are a college student, relate it to your other classes. Imagine performing the actions that are described in the text, or imagine you carrying out the experiments. What do expert memorizers, sports fans, and musicians demonstrate? Expert memorizers take an interest in the material they want to memorize. They inspect the internal details of it. This type of mental activity is familiar to any sports fan who analyzes an important athletic contest, or any musician who learns the details of a favorite song. Superior memory occurs when the inner details of a situation are perceived with fascination. The absorbed state of mind might be called the movie theater experience, because it occurs naturally when we watch a good movie. People become absorbed in the details of what is in front of them. If the movie is good, the result is a deep sense of involvement. Natural Memory through Absorption The movie theater experience is a powerful aid to memory. The average moviegoer could repeat the plot and many details of a good movie after seeing it only once. If he or she likes a movie enough to see it a second time, the person becomes a virtual encyclopedia of knowledge about it. A tremendous amount of information is memorized in a short time. Yet such a person does not try to memorize. He or she does not watch the movie thinking, "I must remember this" or "How do I recall what happened in the last scene?" The memory comes naturally due to the state of absorption. How does the movie theater experience differ from typical memorization approaches? A similar state can occur during pleasure reading. Many people report a sense of waking up from a dream when they reach the end of a good book. That shows deep involvement of imagination. Unfortunately, not every book is enjoyable, just as not every movie is enjoyable. If a movie repulsed you, you would not want to "drink it in" or remember every detail. The same is true of reading. Sometimes a book is unpleasant. Also, reading is not as easy as watching a movie. Not every student in college is capable of reading at a college level as defined by standardized tests of reading ability. We can admit all these things, yet still recognize the core insight. An experience of being interested and absorbed is far superior to meaningless memorization, both as a form of learning and as a pleasurable experience, if only you can achieve it. Some students do little pleasure reading. When I asked a large introductory psychology class how many of them were familiar with the sensation of waking up from a dream, after reading a good book, about two-thirds of the hands went up. The implication was that about a third of students had no personal experience with a trancelike state of absorption during reading. How many students in a large introductory psychology class were familiar with enjoyable absorption in reading? This called for some missionary work. I had to convince those students that such a thing was possible! They could actually lose track of time because they were so deeply involved in reading. If it can happen in any college class, it should happen with introductory psychology class, because psychology covers many interesting topics. If you have never gotten "absorbed" while reading, give it a try. It is possible, and it can happen. This state of absorption typically does not happen if there are excessive interruptions. The details of a movie are not easily absorbed if the movie is on a TV playing in the background while you are constantly interrupted. For similar reasons, it is probably not a good idea to study with the TV going on or while attention-grabbing music is playing. What can break the spell in a movie, and what are the implications for studying? Some students report that they can study effectively to music that has no vocal track, or to music that is very familiar to them, because it does not grab their attention. For most people, the ideal environment for absorption is an environment with no distractions. That is why we do not like it when people throw popcorn or talk to their neighbors during a movie. It breaks the spell. Distractions during deep reading can have the same effect: they break the spell and ruin enjoyment. The biggest problem, for some students, is getting interested in what they are studying. Here there are no easy answers. People genuinely differ in what they find interesting. Among students in my classes, the same chapters might be singled out as love or hate objects by different students. Some hated Chapter 5 (Conditioning); others said it was their favorite. The same thing happened with Chapter 7 (Cognition). For some students who loved animals, Chapter 8 (Animal Behavior and Cognition) was the high point of the course. Others said they have no interest in studying animals. I suppose we should celebrate this normal variation in human beings, although of course I wished everybody could enjoy everything. Almost everybody liked Chapter 16 (Sex, Friendship and Love), and the test scores showed it. People who struggled all term suddenly learned effortlessly. Obviously an ability to take interest in a subject is crucial to effortless learning and memory. You might be able to take an active role in making a subject matter more interesting for yourself. When I was a student studying the brain, I reminded myself of the fact that I was using a brain to study how brains worked. That was quite remark­able, I thought. That might not hit your buttons. Use whatever works for you. One way a textbook author can help students is by using stories and examples. Examples make an abstract idea into something concrete that a person can grasp. Stories are naturally interesting and easy to understand for humans. I use all the examples and true stories I can. Many of the stories are essays by previous introductory psychology students. These are marked Author's Files and are used by permission.

Prosocial (Friendly) Interactions Invitation displays among group-living animals are ways of inviting friendly interaction. Long-necked birds such as ostriches commonly crane their necks upward and gather in a friendly group, as if engaging in a dance. What is the function of an invitation display? The photographer Marion Kaplan observed a group of ostriches apparently attracted by the upright rifles of marching soldiers. Free ranging ostriches lined up behind soldiers The event took place in Tsavo National Park in Kenya, in 1969. "A group of park rangers were practicing their drill as several ostriches, wild but used to human presence, wandered near by. Quite soon the ostriches, unherded and without encour­agement, were in a tidy line behind the rangers. Their mood was curious, playful, imitative, not at all threatening" (Marion Kaplan, personal communication). Kaplan adds that the rangers enjoyed the ostriches, but higher authorities disapproved. Ultimately the two groups were separated. How do dogs and cats typically react to contact with the vulnerable underbelly area? Grooming is a common prosocial activ­ity, so group-living animals commonly use a posture suitable for grooming as an invitation display. Dogs who like to be scratched on their bellies may convert the universal canine submission posture (lying on the back) into an invitation display. Dogs expect to be scratched by a friend­ly human in this position, particularly if they have a history of belly rubs. With cats, that posture is more ambiguous. Cats use lying on the back to indicate peaceful intentions, but (with rare exceptions) they do not use it as an invitation display. For cats, showing the underbelly is an appeasement gesture, showing trust and affection but not inviting contact. Therefore, cats normally do not like a human touching their underbelly fur. People who own dogs sometimes misinterpret a cat's display of belly fur as an invitation posture. Thinking the cat wants to be scratched, they reach down to scratch the cat. To most cats, that is a violation! The cat bites or scratches or flees. Several students informed me of exceptions to this rule. Perhaps their cats were raised from early kittenhood to expect belly rubs. A dog may lie on its back as an invitation display to invite grooming by a human. Cats use the same display as a submission posture and may react badly to contact with their exposed underbelly fur. Monkeys solicit grooming from other monkeys by presenting their backs. If the other monkey is interested in a grooming session, it will pick through the present­ing monkey's back fur, removing dirt or insects. After a while the grooming monkey will turn and display its back to the other, which will groom it in turn. What is a typical pattern of mutual grooming, in monkeys? Pandora grooms Virgil (photograph: Barbara Smuts, used by permission) Psychologist Barbara Smuts (1986) spent three years living with baboons to study their prosocial behavior. The picture shows Pandora grooming Virgil. You can see Virgil's blissful expression. Virgil's belly fur was being groomed. Smuts used the technique of habitua­tion. She spent every day with the baboon troop but refused to interact with them. Eventually the baboons simply ignored her and went about their business. How did Smuts interact, or not interact, with the baboons? Smuts documented many examples of prosocial behaviors. She found that long-term friendships and alliances often extended to different age groups, such as parents and children. The blissful scene of Virgil and Pandora above was soon transformed into a scene of play. After a few moments they were joined by two of Pandora's off­spring... Pyrrha was in a rambunc­tious mood, and she used Virgil's stomach as a trampoline, bouncing up and down with the voiceless laughter that accompanies baboon play. Every now and then Virgil opened his half-shut eyes, and, gently touching her with his index finger, he grunted as if to reassure her that he did not mind the rhythmic impact of her slight body against his full stomach. (Smuts, 1986, p.4) Despite refusing to interact with the baboons, Smuts became accepted as if she was a friend. "Once I fell asleep surrounded by 100 munching baboons only to awaken half an hour later, alone, except for an adolescent male who had chosen to nap by my side. "We blinked at one another in the light of the noonday sun and then casually sauntered several miles back to the rest of the troop, with him leading the way." (Smuts, 2003) Harry Harlow, whose learning-to-learn experiments we reviewed earlier, set up one of the nation's best-equipped primate laboratories at the University of Wisconsin. There he did a famous series of experiments focused on contact comfort in baby monkeys (Harlow and Harlow, 1962). Harlow raised rhesus monkeys from birth. He thought it was necessary to keep young monkeys separate from each other for health reasons. This separation began soon after birth. Harlow noticed that young monkeys deprived of contact with their mothers appeared to suffer mental distress. The babies became very attached to cheesecloth diapers in their cages, clinging onto them like security blankets. What vision did Harlow have while on a champagne flight over Detroit? As the story goes, Harlow was on a champagne flight over Detroit in 1957, wondering which would be more power­ful, contact comfort or food. Suddenly he got the idea of providing the babies with a choice between two mothers, one providing something soft to embrace, the other providing milk. To make a cuddly mother, Harlow's assistants covered a wire frame with terrycloth. A second mother was identical to the first but had no terrycloth. It was just a wire frame with a built-in milk bottle and nipple. Harlow found that baby monkeys prefer­red the terrycloth mother, spending as little time as possible on the wire frame mother. Contact comfort was more important than food, except when the baby monkey was actually eating. What finally made babies reject the Terrycloth mother? A baby rhesus monkey clings to the terrycloth mother Harlow found baby monkeys were very forgiving of their terrycloth mothers. One "mother" was designed to occasionally catapult the baby off, throwing it to the other side of the cage. But the babies always came back. Another had spikes beneath her terry­cloth, but the babies put up with the pain. The only manipulation that made babies abandon a terrycloth mother was running cold water through tubes inside the mother, making the body cold. Then the baby monkeys rejected it and retreated to a corner of the cage. Harlow found that the monkeys who grew up without proper parenting showed lasting signs of emotional disturbance. They were unable to provide proper parenting themselves when they got older: a finding with clear implications for human society. If you think Harlow's research sounds rather unfeeling and cruel, you are not alone. Harlow became bete noire for the animal rights movement. The fact that he was a notorious alcoholic did not help. Many people were astonished that he was willing to tolerate so much suf­fering in his research subjects. In 2016, research remarkably similar to Harlow's (taking baby rhesus macaques away from their mothers and addicting them to alcohol) was conducted at a National Institutes of Health lab. This time, 55 years after Harlow, there were protests, ultimately leading the NIH to "review the ethical policies and procedures surrounding work on monkeys, baboons, and related animals." The year before, in 2015, The NIH ended all support for invasive chimp research in the U.S. Animal researchers reacted defensively against pressure by animal rights organizations. Researchers noted the importance of animal research for developing vaccines against threats such as ebola and the zika virus. However, many universities were closing primate labs. Ohio State closed their chimpanzee research center in 2006, interrupting the research of Sarah Boysen. Harvard closed the New England Primate Research Center (NEPRC) located in Southborough, Massachusetts in 2015. In Harlow's defense, his research showed the importance of touch and cuddling for basic nurturance of primate babies. That had many positive consequences. For example, it encouraged research on positive effects of touch and massage on human babies. Researchers like Tiffany Field identified several positive effects of touch and massage on premature human infants. It is now standard practice in the U.S. to given premature infants daily treatments of massage and cuddling. Fagen (1983) pointed out that play expends energy and creates a risk of injury. Therefore it must have counter­balancing benefits. Otherwise it would not be positively selected in evolution. What is the adaptive function of play? One hypothesis born out by field studies is that social bonds formed in childhood might be helpful later in life. Smuts, who took the picture of Pandora grooming Virgil the baboon, found friendship appeared to be helpful to baboons. Friendships formed in childhood lasted into adulthood. What are benefits of play? Another obvious benefit of play is that it exercises and refines skills to be used in adulthood. Byers (1981) noted: Most play is vigorous, repeated, and often spectacular exercise. Repeat­ed performance of motor tasks in mammals results in a physiological "training response" in which muscles and bones hypertrophy [grow stronger], endurance increases, and the economy and precision of the movements increase. ...In the few species studied, play accounts for almost all vigorous exercise performed by young animals and...many aspects of playfighting are strikingly congruent with exercise programs designed to develop skill in humans. (p.1494) Play is often repetitious, and often the play behavior is not carried to its usual conclusions. For example, in play-biting the mouth is not closed. Play is often exaggerated in form (e.g. the bounding of a kitten, the jumping of baby goats). Social play (pouncing, rough-housing) is often preceded by a stereotyped pose or behavior indicating a lack of serious aggression or intention to harm. Rhesus monkeys have a play-face they make before bothering an adult. Dogs display a distinctive posture with forelegs on the ground as a play signal. How do young animals signal that play attacks are not serious? How do adults start episodes of play with youngsters? Hinde (1970) pointed out that play behavior is often elicited by an older animal. The lioness twitches her tail and cubs play with it. Female chimpanzees tickle and roll their infants while pretending to bite them. Playing with young offspring is evidently pleasurable to adults, too, in moderate amounts. These behaviors are mutually reinforcing. Reproductive Activity Reproductive activity has always been a focus of scientists studying animals be­cause it forms such a prominent part of the behavioral repertoire of all species. Most acts of most animals are geared, ultimately, toward production of success­fully reproducing young. Odor is a widely used form of communi­cation in the animal world. It is especially useful for tracking or attracting a mate. Odor bearing molecules are both durable and highly specific. They convey directional information if carried in the air or water. To find the source of an odor, animals go where it is strongest. Salmon use odor as a homing signal before spawning (laying eggs). This drive is so powerful that salmon will beat them­selves to death against a dam if one is built across a stream between the spawn­ing pond and the sea. How do salmon find their home stream during spawning? Scientists wondered how salmon found their way back hundreds of miles to the same exact pond where they were born. It turned out odor was the key. Scientists put a few drops of a chemical with a powerful odor in a spawning pond. When the salmon were grown up and returned from the sea, the scientists put the chemical in a new, different pond. The salmon went back to this new, different pond. A similar experiment showed that frogs return to a pond with the same odor as where they were born. What is a pheromone? Odors called pheromones play a role in mating activity. Technically, a pheromone is an intraspecific distance hormone, which means it is a chemical used within a species (intraspecific) to communicate at a distance. A pheromone is not necessarily a sexual attractant. Insect responses to odor include swarming, grooming, exchanging solid foods and exchanging liquids. A few parts per billion of a pheromone floating in the air can trigger a response. For example, male dogs will travel many city blocks to find a female dog that is sexually receptive (in heat) and emitting pheromones. Do humans respond to pheromones for sexual attraction? The makers of the fragrance Andron claimed it had pheromone-like effects on the opposite sex, although the chemist who designed Andron said he did not believe it. The vomeronasal organ in the nose of humans may possibly be involved in pheromone-like sexual attraction. However, so far, nobody has shown a consistent human response of romantic interest in response to a specific odor. Social status often has a direct impact on reproductive success. Less dominant animals may be excluded from mating entirely. Tournaments where males gather to compete for dominance are common in many species. The winners get the healthiest, highest ranking mates. That does not prevent lower status animals from trying to reproduce, but they may not be successful. In many group-living species, males who fail to achieve a dominant position are relegated to the outskirts of a communal territory or banished altogether. When humans try to breed domesticated animals, they often do so without regard to the status relationships worked out between animals in a social group. That can backfire. Watson (1975) explains: Apparently, a class structure is strong among sheep, and mating is related to dominance. A dominant ram mates best with a dominant ewe, a less dominant ram with a less dominant ewe, and so on, down to the least dominant sheep. However, when a lone ram is released among a flock of ewes, he will invariably attempt to mate with the ewe that is most obviously at the height of estrus. But she will probably reject him if he is not at the right dominance level (Watson, 1975). New Zealand researchers found they could improve the fertility of flocks by sending a whole group of rams into a flock of ewes, instead of sending them into the flock by themselves. Under these more natural conditions, rams found ewes at their own level of dominance, and more lambs resulted.

Asad Raza Religion If man acts according to his natural instinct which goad him not to harm others or show empathy when others need it, he will not be inhuman. According to this school of thought, the more he has control over his carnal or material desires, the more he will be humane.In the present context, the piracy and loot of international aid ships and blockade of impoverished Gaza resulting in deprivation and poverty of its residents by Israel raises questions about the criteria of humanity. What is humanity? How do we determine if one is human or inhuman? What determines the loftiness or meanness of people? Who are the more humanly high ranking and who are the low ones? The answer to these questions lie in the understanding the determining factors of humanity. Knowledge Many people claim that the level of one’s knowledge determines the level of humanity. According to them, knowledge makes us more humane, and lack of it takes us to brutality. This viewpoint is flawed, because if we consider only knowledge to be the sole determiner of humanity, then where will we put those who have been knowledgeable but still have persecuted others and have colored their hands with the blood of innocents? So of course, knowledge is a great jewel for man, but not the only one to measure his character and conduct. Character and Disposition Another important criteria discussed is the character and disposition of a person. The proponents of this school emphasize on moral values in one’s life. The character has different dimensions and related aspects, one of them being love. They claim that the more a person’s heart is full of love for other human beings, the more he will be philanthropic and humane towards others and vice versa. The deep feeling of love will always prevent us from harming others and helping them whenever they are in need. Will Power and Resolution Some people argue that man does wrong to others when his desires and passions dominate him. If he acts according to his natural instinct which goad him not to harm others or show empathy when others need it, he will not be inhuman. In their view, the more he has control over his carnal or material desires, the more he will be humane. Freedom or liberty is said to be one of the criteria for determining humanity. According to this view, if one makes his choices free of any external force or pressure, he will be a good human being. He will deny all negative forces and fulfill his duties towards others. The knowledge is a great guiding force in our life. It separates virtue from the evil, and gives us wisdom to comprehend the distinction between the right and wrong actions. The Holy Qur’an has praised the truly knowledgeable ones: [3:18] “Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and (so do) the angels and those possessed of knowledge, maintaining His creation with justice; there is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise.” [4:162] “But the firm in knowledge among them and the believers believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and those who keep up prayers and those who give the poor-rate and the believers in Allah and the last day, these it is whom We will give a mighty reward.” But as mentioned earlier, only knowledge cannot make us more humane. Character and moral chastity is a great criterion. And so is will power and resolution. The Holy Qur’an says about purification: [91:7-10] “And the soul and Him Who made it perfect. Then He inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it; He will indeed be successful who purifies it, and he will indeed fail who corrupts it.” The purified soul is more humane because it is not dominated by material desires and so is not prone to trample down others for material sake. A person who has accomplished self control and purification is more towards loving others and helpss whey they are in need. Ayatollah Murtadha Mutahhari writes: “….why do we think Hadrat Ali, peace be upon him, is a perfect human being? Because he felt society’s pain, and his ‘I’ had become ‘We’. His personality attracted all others. He was not an individual separated from others. He was a limb or organ of a whole body. He himself said that a pain in one part of society, as in a body, made itself felt in the other parts, one of which was himself. Ali had declared this long before the humanistic philosophy of the twentieth century claimed it as an ideal. “Islam has laid great emphasis on self-control. I relate a story here in connection with it. It is narrated that the Prophet was passing by a place in Medina where a number of young men were testing their strength by lifting a heavy stone. When they saw the Prophet, they asked him to act as judge. The Prophet agreed, and at the end of the competition he said, ‘Do you know who is the strongest? It is he who controls his anger and does not allow it to overcome him. He must not use his anger in a way contrary to God’s satisfaction and should be able to dominate over his own desires.’ On that day, the Prophet transformed a physical contest into a spiritual one. What he meant was that physical strength shows manliness but it is not the only sign of it. True manliness is in the strength of will power.” The question of freedom in determining one’s humanity is also an important one. If one does not bow before others’ whims and follows Divine guidance, he is more likely to be a good human being. We do not rise against the exploiters and persecutors because we fear them and we let them take sway over our freedom. Again, Martyr Mutahhari writes, “Hadrat Ali says in his testament to his son, Imam Hasan, peace be upon him, ‘Consider yourself and your life above every mean deed. In return for what you pay out of your life for desires, you receive nothing. Do not make yourself a slave of others, for God has created you free.'” In truth, humanity is a combination and balance of the abovementioned virtues. But from the Islamic point of view, the most important one is love of Allah and seeking His pleasure when doing anything. All other factors are relative and may lose their meaning in changed circumstances and contexts. Only the love of Allah and seeking His pleasure and nearness is the true and abiding criterion for making us true human beings: As Imam Ali said to his children, “Love Allah, and for the sake of His love, you love His creatures, your children, and fellow beings too. I love you for the sake of Allah.”

7 ways to mitigate age discrimination in your job search Age is just a number -- but it's a number that can hurt your ability to land a great job in the IT industry, where youth is equated to innovation, efficiency and success. Here's how to make your age an advantage, not a deterrent. By Sharon Florentine IT salaries 2015: Cash is back! 6 ways to make your resume stand out 5 things you MUST do after a job interview There's no good reason your age should hinder your job search. But that doesn't change the very real perception, especially in the IT industry, that age is an impediment to innovation, efficiency and, ultimately, success. While you can't do much to change the widespread unconscious biases against older workers, you can take steps to mitigate their impact on your own job search.Look for a cultural fitWhether you're 24 or 64, finding a good cultural fit is imperative for success and for your own happiness in the workplace. To that end, research companies that are known to be friendly to mature, seasoned workers - you'll have a much better chance landing a job, says Ford R. Myers, career coach, speaker and author of "Get The Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring.""You won't fit in at a cutting-edge, new-age, groovy Internet ad agency if you're 67 years old; you have to be smart about where you're looking. There are plenty of companies out there that really want -- and need -- 'adult supervision,' and a more mature perspective and wisdom to counterbalance the millennials they're also hiring," Myers says.Make sure to focus on a cultural and environmental match in your job search, otherwise, you're tilting at windmills trying to get into a startup tech firm that doesn't hire anyone over the age of 26.Stay physically fitSure, you're just as sharp, insightful and intelligent as ever, but make sure your physical abilities are on par with your mental acuity, says Myers. Staying physically fit allows you to take on challenging projects, keep up with the fast pace of business, and get things done efficiently."There are 21-year-olds who act like they're 94, and vice versa. You have to project an aura of energy and vitality and bring a sense of urgency to everything you do. So make sure you exercise to stay fit, show up early, move fast throughout the day and work hard.Don't be the old codger in the corner who's slowing down the pace," Myers says.Pay extra attention to your personal appearanceFirst impressions count, so make a deliberate, consistent effort to present yourself in the best light. Take an honest, objective look at your appearance and the way you dress, and then adjust as necessary to be more contemporary and stylish."I've had clients who come to me and they're wearing a suit straight out of Saturday Night Fever -- you have to look in the mirror and say, 'Do I look like I belong in this era?' I'm not talking about spending thousands on a new wardrobe, or getting a facelift or hair implants. But you have to update your image, within reason," Myers says.It's easy to lose perspective as we age, and become so comfortable with our own status quo that we don't understand how our appearance can work against us, Myers says, especially in a job search. While you shouldn't go too far to the other end of the spectrum and wear clothing or a hairstyle that's too young for you, make sure you're stylish and age appropriate; otherwise, you'll be rejected before you even begin, he says.Leverage technology skills and stay currentNow that appearance is taken care of, make sure you're also current on technology and skills needed in the current workforce, says Myers. Employers are much more likely to hire mature workers who can demonstrate strong computer skills and possess a demonstrated comfort level with technology. If your technology skills are lacking, now is the time to get additional training, he says."When you walk into an interview and you're over 50-years-old, it's automatically assumed that you don't have tech skills. Your first job is to dispel that myth. You're guilty until proven innocent, so you better have the killer skills that will put those concerns to rest, immediately," says Myers.Even as a digital immigrant, not a native, take advantage of tutoring, classes and training that can boost the skills you already have or add new ones to your repertoire. Especially in technology, there's no excuse for not knowing and understanding topics and skills that are relevant to your work.

Use and Trade Nasua nasua South American Coati Achuni, Coatí, Tejón Viverra nasua Linnaeus, 1766 Emmons, L. & Helgen, K. Duckworth, J.W. This species is listed as Least Concern because it is widespread and apparently common in an area of largely intact habitat, population density varies greatly from region to region and there are no major threats (although the species is probably declining locally through hunting and habitat loss). Range Description:Nasua nasua is broadly distributed in South America, ranging from Colombia and Venezuela in the north to Uruguay and northern Argentina in the south (Gompper and Decker 1998). The species is absent from the Llano grasslands of Venezuela (Eisenberg 1989). It has been introduced to Robinson Crusoe, one of the Juan Fernández Islands of Chile (Miller and Rottmann 1976, Pine et al. 1979, Colwell 1989).Countries occurrence:Native:Argentina; Bolivia, Plurinational States of; Brazil; Colombia; Ecuador; French Guiana; Guyana; Paraguay; Peru; Suriname; Uruguay; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofIntroduced:ChileAdditional data:♦ Upper elevation limit (metres):2500Range Map:Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. Population:The population density of Nasua nasua varies greatly from region to region. Densities reported range from 6.2 individuals/km² in a region of low-lying deciduous forest, to 13 individuals/km² in taller gallery forests (Gompper and Decker 1998).Current Population Trend:DecreasingAdditional data:♦ Population severely fragmented:No Habitat and Ecology:The species is an occupant of forested habitat. It has been reported from multistratal deciduous and evergreen rainforest, riverine gallery forest, xeric chaco, cerrado and dry scrub forest (Handley 1976, Mondolfi 1976, Schaller 1983, Emmons and Feer 1990, Brooks 1993). It is found over a wide altitudinal range, with Andean individuals found at elevations up to 2,500 m (Lönnberg 1921). Nasua nasua is omnivorous, eating predominantly invertebrates and fruit (Gompper and Decker 1998). The consumption of vertebrates has been noted, but is never common (Kaufmann, 1962, Russell 1982, Schaller 1983, Bisbal 1986, Gompper 1996, Beisiegel 2001). It is essentially diurnal. Adult males are solitary, while females and immature males travel in groups up to 30 individuals (Crespo 1982, Schaller 1983, Emmons and Feer 1990).Systems:TerrestrialGeneration Length (years):7.6 Use and Trade: This species is hunted for its meat and fur. Habitat loss through deforestation and hunting for their meat by local people are potential threats to the species. This species is protected under CITES Appendix III as N. n. solitaria in Uruguay. It occurs in numerous protected areas. Beisiegel, B. M. 2001. Notes on the Coati, Nasua nasua (Carnivora: Procyonidae) in an Atlantic forest area. Brazilian Journal of Biology - Revista brasleira de biologia 61: 689-692. Bisbal, F.J. 1986. Food habits of some neotropical carnivores in Venezuela (Mammalia, Carnivora). Mammalia 50(3): 329-339. Brooks, D.M. 1993. Observations on procyonids in Paraguay and adjacent regions. Small Carnivore Conservation 8: 3-4. Colwell, R. K. 1989. Hummingbirds of the Juan Fernandez Islands: natural history, evolution and population status. Ibis 131: 548-566. Crespo, J.A. 1982. Ecologia de la comunidad de mamiferos del Parque Nacional Iguazu, Misiones. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" 3: 1-162. Eisenberg, J.F. 1989. Mammals of the Neotropics. The Northern Neotropics. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA and London, UK. Emmons, L.H. and Feer, F. 1990. Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: a Field Guide. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA and London, UK. Gompper, M. and Decker, D. 1998. Nasua nasua. Mammalian species 580: 1-9. Gompper, M.E. 1996. Sociality and asociality in White-nosed Coatis (Nasua narica): Foraging costs and benefits. Behavioral Ecology 7: 254-263. Handley Jr., C.O. 1976. Mammals of the Smithsonian Venezuelan Project. Brigham Young University Science Bulletin, Biological Series 20: 1-91. IUCN. 2016. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016-1. Available at: . (Accessed: 30 June 2016). Kaufmann, J.H. 1962. Ecology and social behaviour of the Coati, Nasua narica, on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. University of California Publications in Zoology 60: 95–222. Lönnberg, E. 1921. A second contribution to the mammalogy of Ecuador with some remarks on Caenolestes. Arkiv för Zoologi 14(4): 1-104. Miller, S. and Rottmann, J. 1976. Guia para el reconocimiento de mamiferos chilenos. Editora Nacional Gabriela Mistral, Santiago. Mondolfi, E. 1976. Fauna silvestre de los bosques humedos tropicales de Venezuela. In: L. S. Hamilton, J. Steyermark, J. P. Veillon and E. Mondolfi (eds), Conservacion de los bosques humedos de Venezuela. Second edition, pp. 181 pp.. Sierra Club, Consejo de Bienestar Rural, Caracas. Pacifici, M., Santini, L., Di Marco, M., Baisero, D., Francucci, L., Grottolo Marasini, G., Visconti, P. and Rondinini, C. 2013. Generation length for mammals. Nature Conservation 5: 87–94. Pine, R.H., Miller, S.D. and Schamberger, M.L. 1979. Contributions to the mammalogy of Chile. Mammalia 43: 339-376. Russell, J.K. 1982. Timing of reproduction by Coatis (Nasua narica) in relation to fluctuations in food resources. In: E.G. Leigh, Jr., A.S. Rand and D.M. Windsor (eds), The ecology of a tropical forest: seasonal rhythms and long-term changes, pp. 413–431. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA. Schaller, G. B. 1983. Mammals and their biomass on a Brazilian ranch. Arquivos Zoologia 31(1): 1-36. Emmons, L. & Helgen, K. 2016. Nasua nasua. In: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41684A45216227. . Downloaded on 22 June 2017.

JUDÆO-GREEK AND JUDÆO-ITALIAN: Richard Gottheil, L. Belleli Bible Translations.Poetry.Use of Venetian.Apulian. Although the Greek which is spoken and written by Jews in various parts of the Balkan Peninsula differs scarcely at all from that employed by the non-Jewish inhabitants, the term "Judæo-Greek" is convenient as distinguishing this dialect from that spoken by Jews elsewhere. The same is true of the term "Judæo-Italian," which refers hereonly to the Venetian and Apulian dialects. The island of Corfu, being, so to speak, a bridge which joins the Balkan Peninsula with Italy, may be regarded also as the rallying-point of modern Greek and of the Venetian and Apulian dialects as spoken and written by Jews. The exclusive sway of the Greek language among the Corfiote Jews was of short duration, and lasted only as long as the first stratum of the community which had come from the so-called Romania remained homogeneous—until from the Angevin possessions of southern Italy other Jews slowly but steadily joined them of their own accord between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. There were Greek-speaking Jewish communities in various other parts of the Balkan Peninsula (see Greece): in Constantinople, Salonica, Chalcis, Janina, Arta, Zante, and Crete, where Jews are still found, as well as in various places where at present none remain.Bible Translations. For the Greek-speaking Jews of the Balkan Peninsula modern Greek translations of several parts of the Bible were made, e.g., that of the Pentateuch printed in Constantinople in the year 1547, and that of Job made thirty years later, which unfortunately is no longer extant. In Candia, a town on the island of Crete, a modern Greek translation of Jonah, manuscript copies of which are preserved in the Bodleian and the Bologna University libraries, was read as part of the afternoon service of the Day of Atonement. No record is extant, however, of a similar custom in Corfu, despite all statements to the contrary. These translations are strictly literal versions of the original, and, although in places very ingenious, show but little knowledge of Hebrew on the part of the translators. The complete absence of Turkish words and the apparent fact that the translators did not know the commentaries of the western European exegetes lead to the belief that the Greek Pentateuch was written at least two centuries before the date of publication. The Greek Jonah is even older and seems to be the earliest known monument of the modern vernacular; it offers, indeed, forms much nearer to the ancient Greek than any remains of the late Byzantine literature. Following the originals very closely, these translations can not be set up as models of Greek style and syntax; but they supply trustworthy material for scientific study in so far as phonology and morphology are concerned. Their value from this standpoint is greater than that of other documents owing to the fact that the translators wrote in Hebrew characters the precise words and sounds of the every-day language, with no attempt at literary improvements.Poetry. That the Jews in Greece used to speak without change the same language as their Christian fellow countrymen is proved by their non-Biblical, and therefore freer, translations as well as by their original works. To the first class belongs a rimed poem for Pentecost in lines of unequal length, each stanza of which was chanted after the original Hebrew it purported to translate. A few quatrains of this poem without the Hebrew were sung in the Corfu Greek synagogue and other Jewish places of worship as late as 1884. There are also more or less free versions of some post-Biblical lamentations over the vicissitudes of the Jewish people, in all of which the genuine character of the Greek is noticeable. But the most important specimens in this branch of literature are two original dirges published, with many errors, in Ἐπετηρὶς Παρνασσοῦ (1902). They show the fifteen-syllable line of modern Greek poetry; and the only internal evidence of their being Jewish lies in the subject-matter. The Jews of the Greek-speaking places have drawn freely from the local stock of tales, unwritten poetry, etc., including all subjects except religion. The circular singing-dance, χορὸσ, is still much in favor with the Jews of Corfu; and an original Greek dirge of a mother over the loss of a son in a far-distant country was mistaken for a specifically Jewish composition only because a copy was found written in Hebrew characters and with the words and substituted for others which in the original signified perhaps "dignitaries of the Orthodox Church." This dirge, the second of the two mentioned above as having been published in 1902, is valuable, however, for lines 26-29 (probably containing a lacuna), which were wrongly inserted in the piece, and which evidently are part of a lost festival song. They run as follows:Κ ἡ γὶς πρήπει νὰ χαίρεται, | πρέπει νὰ καμαρώνειτὴν πασκαλιὰ καὶ τὸ Πουρήμ | καὶ τἡ Μεγάλη Μέρα . . .Πρέπει νὰ τὴ (?) στολίσουμε | καὶ τρεῖς φορὲς τὸ χρόνο,γιατί μοῦ συμμαγόνουνται | μικροί μου καί μεγάλοι.In Corfu a song beginningἬρταμεκαὶ καλὰ σᾶς βρήκαμεused to be sung on the first of Adar, which for this reason was called de ἤρταμε; and at Janina and Arta a song for Purim is still sung which contains a few Turkish words, and which must therefore have been composed after 1453. In this song the rules of meter, rime, and accent are observed as strictly as in the rest of Greek literature. It consists of quatrains with eight syllables to the line, except in the case of the introductory stanza:Κίνα γλῶσσα νὰ μιλεῖς,θαμάσμαπα νὰ μολοεῖς,κοιμημένους νὰ ξυπνεῖς,μὲ κρασὶ νὰ τοὺς μεθεῖς.In a copy of the song in the British Museum (MS. Or. 5472) two stanzas near the end each lack two lines, and is apparently used as the most approximate rendering of the broken palatal sounds "ke" and "ki" of the modern Greek pronunciation. The concluding quatrain, referring to Pharaoh's rush into the Red Sea, is as follows:Μπῆκε νὰ μᾶς κυνηγήσει,εῗπε νὰ μᾶς σιγυρίσει,τοὒκαμ' ὸ θεγὸς τὴν κρίση,οὐδὲ ἕνας νὰ μ' ντὴ γλύσει.The Jews of Zante composed Greek verse to commemorate the granting of civil equality to them by the French occupiers of the island after the fall ofVenice. In their speech they sometimes use words derived from the Hebrew (, etc.), but in a Greek form; whereas the same roots in Corfu are inflected according to the Venetian or the Apulian morphology.Use of Venetian. The better class of the Jewish community of Corfu speaks the Venetian dialect with some modifications, due to the influence of the Greek, which was the only means of oral communication among the first Jewish settlers of the island. The latter language, while gradually disappearing as a living one before the newcomer, bequeathed to it a certain amount of its vocabulary and some of its syntactic peculiarities. The constant solution of the infinitive ("che digo" = νὰ 'πῶ, "che ti vegna" = νὰ ῤθῇσ) is the most important phenomenon. The Venetian of the Corfiote Jews accordingly differs from the same dialect as spoken by non-Jews in the same town. A characteristic of this dialect is the formation in "ò" of the plural of nouns ending in "à," a formation which originated in the Hebrew ending , simplified, according to the Italian laws of phonology, into "ò," e.g., the Italianized plural of "berakah" is "berakhò" (for "berakot"); hence "novità," "novitò"; "cittò," "cittò." There has presumably been no Jewish literature in this dialect, since Venice herself very early adopted pure Italian as her official language, and all documents of the Corfu Jewish community were written in that language, which served too in Hebrew schools as the means of translating the Bible.The not very numerous Jews who went directly from Spain to Corfu did not long speak their own language, but soon adopted one or the other of the two predominant vernaculars of the place. In Arta is preserved the recollection of a Catalan as well as of a Sicilian and a Calabrian synagogue. All three were obviously built by Jews who went thither after a stay in Corfu which was so short that the very names of such congregations are unknown to the Jews of that town. There was also in the Albanian seaport of Valona (Arlona) a congregation called the , formed by refugees from Spain; but all these congregations must have removed very early from Albania and Epirus to Salonica, where they subsequently had maḥzorim printed according to their own rites.Permanent residence, however, was found in Corfu by the Apulians, who brought from the Italian coast their vernacular and a few specimens, still preserved, of their literature. Apulian is still spoken by the lower section of the community. Two Apulian love-songs, seemingly original, exist in manuscript, of which one is an independent composition of a rather scurrilous purport, while in the second each stanza is preceded by one of a religious Hebrew poem on a quite different subject. Both are written in Hebrew characters, as is a semioriginal composition containing the rules for the Passover supper, of which the following paragraph (with Italian words retransliterated) may be cited:" Pigiamu la cu li doi signali, e la spartimu a menzu, edizzimu: Comu spartimu chista , cussi spardiu lu Mari Ruviu, e passàra li padri nostri intra di issu e fizzi cun issi e . Cussì cu fazza cu nùi; chistu annu accà, l'annu che veni a la terra di omini liberi.—Menza mintimu sotto la tovaggia pir , e l'altva menza infra li doi, pir cu farrimu ."Apulian. The Apulian dialect, in supplanting the Greek of the original settlers, took from it more material than did the Venetian. The borrowings extended to words expressing family connections: e.g., "patri," "matri," "fratri" (plural, "fraturi"), "soru," "figgiu," "niputi," "maritu," "muggeri," "carussu"; but γalγμαρὸ, νύφη, πεθερὸ, πεθερὰ, λεχῶνα, κουμπάρο-α, ἀνύπαντρο-η, and γάμu(= "wedding"; plural, γάμuri) (to express "they married," however, the Apulian "si spussàra" is used). Some vegetables and fruits are known only by their Greek names, both to the Venetian- and to the Apulian-speaking sections, e.g., σέσκλο, σέλινο, κοκκινογοῦμ, χεμονικὸ; and many of the terms used in the game of buckle-bones are Greek: κότσι, ἐνέση (?) μία, ἐνέση δύο, ένέση τρεῖς, ἕνας δύο τρέις, βούρδαλο, χάσουλο; but "panza," "buso," and "re," for which last the Epirote Jews say κερδουλός, while they call its opposite χασουλός.The simple past tense ("vitti," "vidisti," "vitti") is the only one in use among the Apulian Jews, who agree in this respect with the Apulians of the Italian coast; they differ from the latter, however, in forming the future, which is expressed by means of the auxiliary "anzu" (= "I have"), as on the Continent, and a following infinitive, which is always, as in modern Greek, resolved. Such resolution occurs quite frequently in Apulia itself (with the particles "mu" or "mi"), but not as regularly as in Corfu, where with the exception of the substantivized forms "lu manzari," "lu mbiviri," and a few others, the unresolved infinitive is absolutely unknown. So to-day "dirò," "aggiu diri" and "aggiu mu dicu" occur on the Continent, but only "anzu cu dicu," in Corfu.The Apulian diminutive suffix "-ddhu" gave way to the Italian-looking"-llu," and is retained only in idiomatic expressions, such as "scazzamurieddhu" (= "funny little fellow"), "javaneddhu" (from ), "bekozzerjameddhu" (from ), "cavaddhu" (="horse"), "capiddhu" (="hair"), "chiddhu" (="that"), although "indu," from "ille," is found.This dialect has brought all borrowed words under its own laws of accidence; but its original vocabulary has been hopelessly impoverished and deprived of its finest elements. A Corfiote Jew visiting any part of Apulia would find difficulty in understanding the spoken vernacular or the songs of the natives, although the grammatical structure is exactly the same as that of his own dialect.The Jews can boast of having preserved the oldest text in the Apulian dialect, a collection of translations of Hebrew dirges dating from the thirteenth century and now in the British Museum (MS. Or. 6276). It contains many obsolete terms which are very close to the Latin and many of the older and fuller grammatical forms. Among its points of interest are words and phrases such as "tamen sollicitatevi" (="mind"), "etiam Ribbi Ismahel," "lu coriu" (="skin"), "di la carni sua," "la ostia" (="army"), and "di li cieli." In the fourteenth century the decay of Apulian in Corfu had so far advancedthat readers were no longer able to pronounce correctly the words of this Hebrew manuscript or to grasp their meanings. Vowel-points were accordingly inserted, but very inaccurately; and later an incompetent scribe incorrectly substituted "duzzini" (= "dozens"), "douzelli" (= "young men"), "macchina" (= "machine") for "magina" (= "image"), and attempted to erase the superlative termination of "grandissima." It was perhaps owing to the influence of the Venetian that he spared all the simple futures; but in four or five places where the pronoun of the first person was erased the substituted words have so thoroughly obliterated the original readings that it is impossible to discover what was the old form of the peculiar "joni" which is now used side by side with "jò."An adequate idea of the plurality of languages which prevailed among the Corfu Jewry during the last seven centuries may perhaps be derived from the various changes undergone by Biblical and other proper names, of which the following are some examples:Abraham: Abram, Abram-άκι, Bambi, Bamboli, Abramino, Nino.Solomon: Selomò, Σελωμάκι, Mάρκι, Salamon, Salomon.Sarah: Sarà, Sarina, Ωάρη, Ωάρω, Ωαρουλα, Ωαρινιὼ, Sandra.Rebekah: Rifgà, 'Pίκω, Richetta, Enrichetta.Simḥah: Mίχω, Mιχώνη, Mihhetta, Σιμιχουλα, Allegra, Allegrina, Eύθυμια.Στάμω (Stametta, Stamettina, Metti, Mattilde), Xάϊδω, Kόκω (from Byzantine Ωύδοκία), and Zαφείρω came from the Greek peninsula.To-day the Jews speak Venetian, Apulian, Italian, and Greek in Corfu; Greek in Arta, Zante, Chalcis, Crete, and Volo; Spanish and Greek in Athens; and Spanish in Larissa and Trikala. In all these places Jewish children attend classes in the various Greek schools.G. L. Be.

Antioxidant Activity of Sulfated Polysaccharides Isolated from Sargassum fulvellum Choi, Dae-Sung ; Athukorala, Yasantha ; Jeon, You-Jin ; Senevirathne, Mahinda ; Cho, Kyun-Rha ; Kim, Soo-Hyun ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 65~73 Sargassum fulvellum, a marine brown alga, is a popular low priced edible plant in Korean markets. The polysaccharide fraction of the alga was separated and investigated for its radical scavenging activities and the results compared with those of commercial fucoidans (Fucus vesiculosus and Undaria pinnatifida), BHA and -tocopherol. The polysaccharide fraction of S. fulvellum showed a promising DPPH radical scavenging activity than did other fucoidans. Moreover, the sample exhibited a dose-dependent activity on hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity in the V79-4 cell line. Interestingly, all the tested polysaccharide counterparts were more potent NO. scavengers than were the commercial antioxidants, BHA and -tocopherol. The sulfated polysaccharide of S. fulvellum had an approximate molecular weight of 529 kDa and mainly consisted of fucose and galactose, and minor amounts of mannose, rhamnose and xylose. Effects of Fucoidan on Neuronal Cell Proliferation: Association with NO Production through the iNOS Pathway Lee, Hye-Rim ; Do, Hang ; Lee, Sung-Ryul ; Sohn, Eun-Soo ; Pyo, Suhk-Neung ; Son, Eun-Wha ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 74~78 Fucoidan, that is high-molecular-weight sulfated polysaccharides extracted from brown seaweeds has been shown to elicit various biological activities. Here, we investigated the effects of fucoidan on cell proliferation and nitric oxide (NO) production in neuronal blastoma cell (SH-SY5Y). In the present study, we demonstrated that fucoidan treatment resulted in increase of cell proliferation and NO production. When cells were treated with amyloid- (A) in the absence or presence of fucoidan, fucoidan recovered the cell viability decreased by A peptides. To further determine whether nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is involved in proliferative effect of fucoidan, cells were treated with NOS inhibitors in the absence or presence of fucoidan. Selective constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) inhibitor, diphenylene iodonium chloride (DPI), caused a decrease of cell viability, whereas cell viability was increased by specific inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor, S-methylisothiourea (SMT), in the fucoidan-untreated cells. Treatment with fucoidan inhibited the cell viability decreased in DPI-exposed cells. In contrast, fucoidan had no effect on cell growth in SMT-treated cells, indicating that cNOS may not play a role in the proliferation of fucoidan-treated cells. The present data suggest that fucoidan has proliferative and neuroprotective effects and these effects may be associated with iNOS. Effect of Sulfur Enriched Young Radish Kimchi on the Induction of Apoptosis in AGS Human Gastric Adenocarcinoma Cells Bak, Soon-Sun ; Kong, Chang-Suk ; Rhee, Sook-Hee ; Rho, Chi-Woong ; Kim, Nak-Ku ; Choi, Keyng-Lag ; Park, Kun-Young ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 79~83 The effects of young radish (YR, yeolmu in Korean) on the induction of apoptosis were examined in AGS human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. The young radish kimchi (YRK) were made of YR cultivated in the soil without (Control YR kimchi: C-YRK) and with 1,818 g/m sulfur (Sulfur YR kimchi: S-YRK), respectively. Methanol extracts from S-YRK exhibited higher inhibitory effect on the growth of AGS human gastric adenocarcinoma cells in a time dependent-manner compared to C-YRK at the same concentration. 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining showed that S-YRK induced apoptosis accompanied by the increased Bax but decreased Bcl-2 in mRNA expression. Moreover, S-YRK decreased the levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA expressions. The results suggested that S-YRK cultivated in the presence of sulfur elicited stronger anticancer activity than C-YRK in vitro. Dietary intakes of S-YRK may be beneficial to decrease the risk of cancer. Antimutagenic and Anticancer Effects of Leaf Mustard and Leaf Mustard Kimchi Kim, Yong-Taek ; Kim, Boh-Kyung ; Park, Kun-Young ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 84~88 In this study, we investigated antimutagenic and anticancer activities of leaf mustard (LM, Brassica juncea) and leaf mustard kimchi (LMK) during their fermentation period. Methanol extracts were prepared from raw mustard, brined leaf mustard in 10% Gueun salt solution for 2 hrs, leaf mustard fermented at 15 for 5 days after brined in 10% Guenun salt solution for 2 hrs (Fr-LM), fresh leaf mustard kimchi (Fresh-LMK) and optimally ripened leaf mustard kimchi fermented at 5 for 30 days (OR-LMK). OR-LMK showed the strongest inhibitory activities against the mutagenicities induced by aflatoxin B1 in Salmonella Typhimurium TA100. LMs and LMKs inhibited the survival or growth of AGS human gastric adenocarcinoma cells and HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells in MTT assay and growth inhibition test. Among the extracts, OR-LMK and FR-LM exhibited strong antiproliferative effect against cancer cells, especially HT-29 cells. DAPI staining assay showed that OR-LMK induced apoptosis cell death of HT-29 cells in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that leaf mustards and leaf mustard kimchi have chemopreventive activities. Nutritional Quality of Dried Pig Placenta Jang, Ae-Ra ; Kim, Il-Joon ; Lee, Moo-Ha ; Jo, Cheo-Run ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 89~94 Nutrients and hormone levels of dried pig placenta were studied. Placentas were freeze-dried (FD), oven-dried at 60 (OD-60), and 90 (OD-90) and then crushed by a blender into small pieces. FD and OD-60 pig placenta had a higher moisture content than did OD-90, with no difference between FD and OD-60. There were no large differences in compositions of crude protein, crude fat, and crude ash of dried placenta among the treatments and the contents of K, Fe, and -tocopherol were highest in FD (p<0.05). Glutamine and glycine were the most abundant amino acids in all dried placenta and tyrosine was highly retained in FD placenta, compared with OD (p<0.05). Estradiol was the major sex hormone, followed by progesterone and testosterone in all dried placentas. Antibiotics including amoxicillin, sulfamethazine, tylosin, and chlorotetracyclin were not detected from the pig placentas tested. These results demonstrate that placenta is a good biomaterial with high nutritional quality, and that freeze drying is superior to oven drying for processing pig placenta. Relationship Among Body Mass Index, Nutrient Intake and Antioxidant Enzyme Activity of Postmenopausal Women Lee, Haeng-Shin ; Lee, Da-Hong ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 95~102 To elucidate the relationship among body mass index, nutrient intake and blood antioxidant capacity in the postmenopausal period, 60 women residing in Iksan area were recruited. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated base on height and weight, and food and nutrient intakes were estimated by 24-hour recalls of 3 non-consecutive days. Parameters of antioxidant capacity including the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacity (TA) were measured in fasting blood samples from the subjects. The average age, height, weight and BMI of the subjects were 65 years, 151.1cm, 59.5 kg and 26.0 m/kg, respectively. The macronutrient intake rate of carbohydrate : protein : fat were 65:17.5:17.5; the mean intakes of energy and protein were 1532.7 kcal (86.3% of RDA) and 67.1 g (122.0% of RDA) respectively. The mean intakes of phosphorus, vitamin A, niacin and vitamin C were higher than Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for Koreans. On the other hand, calcium and riboflavin intakes were only 84.6% and 70.4% of RDA. Among the parameters of antioxidant capacity, SOD activity was significantly lower in lean subjects (BMI<20) than in the normal or overweight subjects (BMI20) (p<0.05). TAs of the subjects with the highest intakes of vegetables and fruits were significantly higher than those of subjects with lower intakes (p<0.05). Antioxidant capacity was compared among subjects according to 3 different nutrient intake levels according percentage of RDA for Koreans for selected nutrients with the following results: The high protein and niacin groups exhibited significantly lower TA status than those of the other intake groups (p<0.05). In conclusion, the low BMI was associated with lower SOD activity in postmenopausal women. Higher consumption of fruits and vegetables was associated with higher TA. When protein and niacin intakes were excessive, SOD activity and TA tended to be low. SOD and TA, among antioxidant indexes, seemed to be mostly influenced by other factors. Therefore, more studies on the effects of nutritional intake and the activity of antioxidant enzyme should be conducted. Wei, Chuanha ; Kwon, Oh-Yun ; Liu, Xi-Wen ; Kim, Hyoung-Chin ; Yoon, Won-Kee ; Kim, Hwan-Mook ; Kim, Mee-Ree ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 103~110 The protein profiles among Korean rice cultivars were assessed by total protein determination, solubility fractionation, SDS-PAGE analysis and scanning densitometry. In the extraction of protein, the SDS/urea system at a neutral pH was more efficient than that at alkaline pH. The determination of total protein showed that the protein content was similar among cultivars, ranging from 87.9 to 92.7 mg/g dry weight. Additionally, the water/NaCl-soluble protein fraction, containing 1416 kDa albumin and 22 kDa globulin -globulin, was also similar among cultivars, with a range of 9.94 to 11.98 mg/g dry weight. The SDS-PAGE/densitometry of total protein showed that there was no discernable difference in proteins of higher molecular weights among various cultivars, whereas the amount of lower molecular weight proteins (1416 kDa) is somewhat variable among cultivars. Furthermore, SDS-PAGE analysis of water/NaCl-soluble and propanol-soluble fractions indicates that there is a discernible change in the content of albumin, globulin or prolamin among cultivars. Thus, the PAGE/densitometry method, preceded by solubility fractionation, is useful for examining differences in protein profiles of rice cultivars. Kinetics of Initial Water Vapor Adsorption by Inonotus obliquus Mushroom Powders Lee, Min-Ji ; Seog, Eun-Ju ; Lee, Jun-Ho ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 111~114 Water vapor adsorption kinetics of Inonotus mushroom powders were investigated in temperature and water activity ranges of 20 to 40 and 0.30 to 0.81, respectively. Initial water vapor adsorption rate of mushroom powders increased with increases in temperature and water activity. The temperature dependency of water activity followed the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. The net isosteric heat of sorption increased with an increase in water activity. Water vapor adsorption kinetics of the mushroom powders can be well described by a simple empirical model. Temperature dependency of the reaction rate constant followed the Arrhenius relationship. The activation energy ranged from 56.86 to 91.35 kJ/mol depending on water activity. Kinetic compensation relationship was observed between k and E with the isokinetic temperature of 790.27 K. Oxidative Degradation Kinetics of Tocopherols during Heating Chung, Hae-Young ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 115~118 Tocopherols are important lipid-phase antioxidants that are subject to heat degradation. Therefore, kinetic analyses for oxidative degradation of tocopherols as a function of temperatures and times were performed. Alpha-, gamma- and delta-tocopherols dissolved in glycerol were heated at 100250 for 5～60 min. Oxidized tocopherols were analyzed by HPLC using a reversed phase -Bondapak C-column with two kinds of elution solvent systems in a gradient mode. The degradation kinetics for tocopherols followed a first-order kinetic model. The rate of tocopherol degradation was dependent on heating temperatures. The degradation rate constants for - and -tocopherols were higher than those for -tocopherol. The experimental activation energies of -, - and - tocopherols were 2.51, 6.05 and 5.34 kcal/mole, respectively. The experimental activation energies for the oxidative degradation of - and -tocopherols were higher than that of -tocopherol. Tyrosinase Inhibition and Mutagenicity of Phenolic Compounds from Mulberry Leaves - Research Note - Kim, Young-Chan ; Takaya, Yoshiaki ; Chung, Shin-Kyo ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 119~121 The tyrosinase inhibition activity and mutagenicity as assessed by the Ames test on phenolic antioxidants (5-Caffeoyl quinic acid, 3,4-Dihydroxy cinnamic acid, Quercetin 3-O--D-glucopyranose, Kaempferol 3-O-- D-glucopyranose) and the ethyl acetate fraction isolated from mulberry leaves were examined. The ethyl acetate fraction and chlorogenic acid exhibited weaker tyrosinase inhibitory activities than kojic acid. In addition, the ethyl acetate fraction from mulberry leaves, containing phenolic antioxidants, showed no mutagenicity by the Ames test. Ku, Kyoung-Ju ; Seo, Yung-Bum ; Song, Kyung-Bin ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 122~125 Gelidium corneum films were prepared using cinnamaldehyde as a cross-linking agent and their physical properties were determined. Tensile strength (TS) value of the film containing 0.01% cinnamaldehyde was higher than the control by 8.31 MPa. However, increasing cinnamaldehyde from 0.01% to 0.1% significantly decreased TS from 9.54 MPa to 0.03 MPa, and no film was formed at 1% cinnamaldehyde. On the contrary, when cinnamaldehyde content was increased from 0.01% to 0.1%, % elongation was increased from 1.44% to 2.75%. Water vapor permeability (WVP) of the film containing 0% and 0.01% cinnamaldehyde were 1.64 ng m/msPa and 1.42 ng m/msPa, respectively. There was no significant difference in Hunter values among treatments. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed that both cinnamaldehyde and control films had similar surfaces. These results suggest that 1.5% Gelidium corneum treated with 0.01% cinnamaldehyde should be the most suitable condition for film formation. Detection of Oyster-Associated Norovirus by Microchip Electrophoresis of an Amplified cDNA - Research Note - Oh, Ho-Kyung ; Sin, Yeong-Min ; Kim, Ki-Hyun ; Park, Kun-Sang ; Kim, Dae-Byung ; Ahn, Byung-Yoon ; Kim, Ok-Hee ; Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, volume 12, issue 2, 2007, Pages 126~130 Noroviruses, members of the family Caliciviridae, are often found in shellfish grown in polluted water and are emerging as a leading cause of foodborne disease worldwide. As the presence of norovirus in food commodities becomes an important medical and social issue, there are increasing needs for designing improved detection methods for the virus. In this study, we tested the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer for the analysis of norovirus DNA amplified from oyster samples. Microchip electrophoresis provided us with more accurate information, compared to conventional agarose gel electrophoresis, in the resolution and quantification of amplified products. The development of an improved method for food-associated noroviruses would contribute to a rapid identification of contaminated food and improve our understanding of the modes of food contamination and norovirus transmission.

The Lakeshore Story 1954 Ethelyn opens first store In 1954, Ethelyn Kaplan, a single mother, defies the conventions of 1950s America—packing up her family and heading west to California to open a toy store. When educators start requesting her products, she realizes a higher calling—service to teachers. 1958 Lakeshore’s first catalog debuts Lakeshore prints its first-ever catalog to supply teachers with classroom materials. It quickly becomes a trusted source of high-quality learning essentials among teachers. 1969 First Los Angeles store opens After the store in West L.A. opens its doors, Lakeshore quickly becomes an educational focal point and resource for the community—offering in-store teacher workshops, free crafts for kids and many neighborhood events. 1976 Mike & Charlie take charge Mrs. Kaplan’s sons, Charles and Michael, join the business—expanding operations and turning Lakeshore into a million-dollar company within just a few years. When Mrs. Kaplan retires, Michael assumes the duties of president and CEO, while Charles becomes vice president in charge of merchandise and buying. 1988 Product development begins Lakeshore begins researching and developing its own brand of products. At the helm: a talented team of former teachers who put their real-world classroom know-how to work, creating unique products designed to enhance the teaching and learning experience. 1992 On-site preschool opens Kids & Company preschool opens at Lakeshore’s Carson, CA, headquarters. Licensed to serve up to 72 children, it provides care for employees’ children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. The school is a certified Nature Explore® Classroom, promoting active learning through the sights, textures and beauty of nature. 1997 Lakeshore develops elementary products Lakeshore introduces Grades 1-2-3, its first catalog featuring elementary materials. In 2004, the catalog expands to include grades K–6. Renamed the Elementary catalog, it is packed cover to cover with standards-based learning materials designed to supplement language arts, math, social studies and science curriculums. 2003 New distribution center opens Lakeshore’s state-of-the-art distribution center has come a long way from the old days—when roller-skating warehouse employees filled customers’ orders! Now Lakeshore processes thousands of orders every day in over 1 million square feet of warehouse. 2005 Lakeshore launches Custom Solutions Knowing that when it comes to learning, one size doesn’t always fit all, Lakeshore introduces Custom Solutions. The service specializes in working with districts and schools around the country to customize materials for educational programs that include special education, Head Start and Early Head Start, STEM, after school, family engagement and more! 2007 Bo and Josh lead the company Michael’s sons, Bo and Josh, are an integral part of the business—having worked their way up from summer jobs in the warehouse. Bo is now president and CEO, and Josh is president of merchandising. 2012 Complete Classrooms® launches Recognizing that setting up new classrooms is often a challenge for busy educators, Lakeshore introduces Complete Classrooms®. The service provides complimentary classroom design, delivery and installation to new and expanding school programs throughout the country. 2015 Gifts for Growing Minds® catalog debuts Lakeshore’s Gifts for Growing Minds® catalog is designed to bring learning home, engaging kids and their families through the wonder of play. The catalog is filled with creative, hands-on products designed by teachers to spark young imaginations and make learning fun. 2015 Lakeshore introduces Infant & Toddler environments Knowing that child care programs need a variety of safe and nurturing classroom spaces to accommodate the youngest children, Lakeshore introduces Infant & Toddler environments. Developed to ITERS and NAEYC standards, the environments are available as individual interest areas or complete classrooms. 2016 Eastern distribution center breaks ground Lakeshore breaks ground on a brand-new distribution center in Kentucky, which is scheduled to be open by 2018. With 500,000 square feet of storage space, the facility will bring faster delivery times to customers in the eastern United States. It is the perfect complement to the home distribution center in California, increasing the company’s storage capacity to more than 1.5 million square feet! Lakeshore is dedicated to creating innovative educational materials that spark young imaginations, instill a sense of wonder and foster a lifelong love of learning. With materials for infants and toddlers through the 6th grade, we help children reach developmental milestones and achieve educational goals—while still having fun! Inspiring our littlest learners since 1958 Explore, discover, play and learn! Our products are specially designed to motivate and encourage little ones to investigate and engage with their world…preparing them for grade-school success! Creating targeted elementary materials since 1997 No one understands what school-age children need more than Lakeshore. That’s because all of our product developers are former educators who apply real-world classroom experience to every product we develop. Using the power of play to make learning fun Our products for learning at home made an instant connection with parents—and even received national attention on the TODAY® show and in People Magazine. Our People At our headquarters in Southern California, we have talented individuals who do everything from developing products and filling customer orders to designing our catalogs and managing our digital marketing space. Plus, we have knowledgeable representatives across the country—both in our stores and out in the field. Also, 30% of our full-time employees have had careers at Lakeshore for more than a decade! Check out our Careers page for open positions. We also have an employee preschool, Kids & Company, which is a fully certified Nature Explore® Classroom. Product Innovation Lakeshore has been developing innovative products since 1988. Our developers take Lakeshore products from ideas to realities—from first sketches and 3-D simulations to rigorous testing and classroom use. To ensure quality and safety, every product we carry undergoes an average of more than one hundred hours of development and testing before it reaches our customers. Stores from Coast to Coast The first Lakeshore Learning Store opened in San Leandro, California…and now we have stores from coast to coast—with plans to open more every year. Stop by one of our store locations for free teacher workshops, Free Crafts for Kids and more. Community and Partnerships Over the years, Lakeshore has been able to achieve a great deal. But when we join forces with others, the results are truly something. Because of our collaborations with nonprofits and other important players in the field of education, we have been able to affect the lives of millions. See some of the exciting work we’ve been doing in the community, and check out our partnerships page for a list of organizations we’re proud to call our friends.

Higher credit score now norm in prime lending Lew Sichelman, United Feature Syndicate With the resurgence of tighter underwriting standards, some mortgage-market observers have been predicting that lenders would again rely more on a would-be borrower's overall worthiness and less on his credit score. But if anything, credit scores have become more critical.Lenders are giving more credence to each of the so-called "Five C's" -- character, capacity, collateral, capital and credit. But your credit score, a numerical snapshot of your credit history at a single point in time, is still paramount, says David Chung, managing director of CreditXpert, a Towson, Md., firm that sells credit-management tools to lenders.Just a few months ago, a credit score of 620 would garner the best mortgage rates and terms. But many lenders now require a minimum of 680 for a prime loan. And some won't lend to anyone whose score is below that."The gold-rush era is over; 680 is the new 620," Chung says. Since the significance of a good credit score cannot be overstated, it is important for borrowers to understand how to raise their bar. Start by making sure the information in your credit reports is accurate.Check your histories with all three repositories -- Experian, TransUnion and Equifax -- because each receives information from different creditors. In addition, information often is reported at a different time, say, at the end of the month or once every three months.If you are one of the estimated 50 million Americans who have little or no credit records on file, you can still have a credit score if you pay for rent, cable television and phone service, child care, insurance, utilities, appliance and furniture rentals, health-club memberships, transportation and security systems.These recurring bills are not typically included in the data used to compile a credit score. But people who tend to pay with cash or money orders can use them to create a "non-traditional" credit history.

L.A.'s Chefs Remember Their Favorite and Most Mortifying School Lunches Thai Street Food Officially Takes Over L.A. as Another Restaurant Opens Tuesday, September 6, 2016 at 8:57 a.m. By Susan Hornik Adam Gertler Courtesy Dog Haus L.A.'s food-obsessed and the people who cook for them were all at the Taste this past weekend, enjoying a wide sampling of the city's best food and drink. We asked the cooks what they remembered most about school lunches of years past. Some of them grew up in food-loving households. Some got nothing but apple slices and nutritional yeast. (Seriously.) Duff Goldman with customer Erin Davis Duff Goldman, Charm City Cakes I grew up in a town called Sandwich, Massachusetts, which is the town next to Plymouth. Thanksgiving was a big deal, with a lot of that type of food at school. When it was turkey and gravy lunch day, that was the best! I miss my favorite meal so much. T&G was so good — they took a huge scoop of mashed potatoes and put it right on your lunch tray. And they had these perfectly diced, cubed pieces of turkey, floating in a white gravy. And they would take the same scooper and put a huge amount of gravy in the middle of the mashed potatoes. They had cornbread, too. Then there was the time in preschool, I knew how to eat a hot dog. You put mustard on it, and that’s it. So one day, they gave it to us with ketchup and I was like, "I don’t eat it with ketchup, just mustard." And the adult was like, "You have to eat that." And I did, and then barfed all over the place. To this day, the thought of ketchup on a hot dog makes me nauseous! Susan Hornik Rika Yukimasa, NHK World TV’s Dining With the Chef My favorite back-to-school memory is having wonderful public school lunches in Japan. Overall, Japanese lunches use healthy ingredients and are very well-balanced meals. Parents would only have to pay for a small part, but the government would subsidize most of it. My mother never really made bento box lunches, so I was really happy to go back to school. While she used to make simple ramen or soba noodles every day, at school, they would provide various kinds of lunch options, such as a bowl of red or yellow curry or stew. There were different types of meat; chicken, pork or fish were common. Of course, the schools would also serve noodles or rice and vegetables. I always liked sharing bread with my friends if there was any left over. Andrew Gruel, Slapfish One of the reasons I became a chef is because I had a working mother. One of the things she taught me was when I was 5 years old — she actually made me make my own lunch for school! I loved making sprout turkey sandwiches. My mother would provide really good ingredients and gave me free rein. It was a fresh-baked bread my neighbor made, fresh roasted turkey with alfalfa sprouts and Swiss cheese. For some reason, I loved creating it! Padmini Aniyan, Mayura Born and brought up in Kerala, the Southern Indian state noted for its rich stock of spices, I have very sweet memories of my childhood and going to school. My father had a restaurant and my mother was a great chef who prepared all the masalas from the organically cultivated spice farms. She created this delicious food for me, using idli, dosa, upma, fish curry with garcinia cambogia and appam. These are my favorites! I would take the food to school, which I loved sharing with my friends there too. The mixing of masalas, and my mom teaching my older sister and I to cook, inspired me to bring the Kerala food culture to Los Angeles. Related StoriesSchool Districts Bailing On More Healthful Lunch ProgramCongress to USDA: Pizza is So a Vegetable, Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah NahHere's an Event You Should Go to: L.A. Weekly's Sips & Sweets Anthony Carron, 800 Degrees Pizza My favorite back-to-school lunch memory was pizza day, of course. My private school was unique in that we all ate family-style, with 12 students and one teacher at each table. Everybody ate the same meal every day. This was back before people had special diets or allergies. If you didn’t like the meal, there was a salad bar with a few options, like tuna salad and cold cuts. About once a month, we would get pizza day, which was of course everyone's favorite. Technically it was awful pizza, big sheet trays of cafeteria dough and cheap topping, but delicious in that special way — even bad pizza is still good pizza. L&E Oyster Bar Spencer Bezaire, L&E Oyster Bar Back to school is always an exciting and dreadful time of year. When I was a kid, I never got Lunchables. Sometimes my mom would slice apples and toss them in protein powder as my lunch "entree.” I would be so envious of the kids who had something good. I went to a small private school growing up in Altadena — there were no hot lunches or anything like that. But at the beginning of the year, my mom knew first impressions were important. Because I was always made fun of for my lunches, she allowed the coveted Lunchable into a clear Ziploc bag that was my lunch box. (I always lost my lunch pail so she refused to buy new ones.) Unfortunately, after the first week, it was back to apple slices and protein powder, an orange and a juice box. Still, the occasional sandwich did make its way to me though — I had Oroweat loaf bread, sliced deli-style turkey breast, a dollop of Dijon mustard, with a bit of lettuce. And the Crystal Light bottled water to wash it all down, probably kiwi-strawberry flavored. Or I had the standard compressed pink cylinder ham, yellow cheese food and enriched flour Ritz crackers! All the good stuff. Scott Howard, Citizen My favorite back-to-school food memory was when my mom would go to the gourmet market and pick up all the things necessary for a muffaletta sandwich. It was something unheard of in rural North Carolina, and kids wanted to know where I got it. The ingredients had such distinct tastes — we used Genoa salami, pepperoncini, Italian olives, mortadella and mozzarella. It was all layered and stacked high on Italian bread, with the splash of acidity from the red wine vinegar. It resembled a sandwich like you would see in that cartoon, Blondie, with Dagwood Bumstead. Ryan Steed, Wild Poké I was always excited for lunch mostly because that meant I got to eat! Even at a young age, I considered myself a culinarian, putting the French fries inside my burger and boasting about my great accomplishments to my friend. I would devour it with copious amounts of ketchup (the good stuff) and mustard from those tiny packets. Pizza day was a personal favorite,. I would collect all the tiny pepperoni nuggets from my single square slice and set them aside for my last bite. I would make a sort of sandwich, bursting with tiny pieces of savory, salty nuggets. Lastly, there were those glorious pudding cups — having to use a spoon was something I overlooked often! I remember for the last bit of creamy deliciousness, I would dig my stubby fingers into that plastic cup and swipe at it until I could see through it, sometimes using two empty cups as a sort of goggle to amuse the other kids. Now I had reached a sort of bliss. Overwhelmed with sugars and processed foods, I could retire back to the classroom, where i would daydream of the next meal to come. Fabienne Soulies, Pitchoun! Bakery What's good is that in France you have two hours off for lunchtime. So you can have lunch and then have time to play before going back to class. I remember the time at 4 p.m. when we got out of school, I was always so excited for my afternoon snack: a piece of baguette, butter and milk chocolate tablet cut in squares and put in the bread like a sandwich. My husband, Frederic, has the same memory from his youth — I guess it's very French! Typically, the cafeteria was not great for lunch so we were starving for a snack. At the school, the French cafeterias are not self-serving like here. You sit with seven other kids, and the lunch ladies would go to each table with large pans and serve each child. Meat, veggies, then a piece of cheese and a fruit. Tap water to drink, and nothing else. In my Catholic school you needed to finish your glass of water and your baguette before leaving the table. On Wednesdays, we had a short day. We left school at noon and I would walk home to have lunch with my parents. This is my favorite lunch memory. We often would have the same lunch: steak or chicken and mashed potatoes and fresh baguette, with a piece of cheese and a fruit for dessert. I could relax at home, do my homework and go to exercise in the afternoon. Jeff Lustre, Demitasse Roastery & Kitchen I went to school in a small town in the Philippines. We did not have a school lunch, so I was able to go home and eat mom or grandma's home cooking every day. My favorite meal that they would make was a grilled besugo (a type of sea bream). Even though it was just a simple grilled fish, it was so fresh and caught by a local fisherman that same morning. They would serve it with steamed rice and a dipping sauce of soy, calamansi lime and shallots. It's a meal I liked so much growing up, I put it on the menu at Demitasse. As I think about my own children starting school, I want them to have the experience of eating a home-cooked lunch as well, even if they cannot eat it at home. EXPAND Susan Hornik Henk Drakulich, La Brea Bakery When I was a kid, most of my friends would travel with their families during the summer and so I wouldn't get to see them. But when school started, we would get back together in the school cafeteria and grab a pizza and talk about our summers. This was in Italy, so the pizzas were pretty good, for school cafeteria standards. I got to live vicariously through my friends’ adventures while enjoying a great slice of pepperoni. Good times! Tony Esnault, Spring Growing up in France, we had a hot lunch in the school cafeteria. One of my favorite meals there was beef Bourguignon with mashed potatoes, a small baguette roll and crème caramel for dessert. It was fun to catch up with friends when coming back to school and talk about what everyone had done with their families over the summer. When lunch was over, all the kids had to return their trays to a conveyor belt that went to the dish pit. My friends and I played a game of trying to get out of this task by placing our trays on a different table, without being caught by the dining room supervisor. I managed to not get caught for an entire year. But when I did, my punishment was cleaning all the tables in the cafeteria after lunch for a month. EXPAND Susan Hornik Jenny Ross, 118 Degrees I was blessed to always have a "from home" lunch, so that meant every year I got a new lunch box! Lunch box shopping was actually pretty emotional. Colors, favorite cartoon characters and, most important, does it have a matching Thermos. I remember fondly my Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony boxes (both with matching Thermos, of course). If you had a cool enough lunch box, you could trade its contents with almost anyone, as they would be focused on your box. This was the early chef in me, who got to taste lunch from practically everyone. Now my kids have their pick of lunch boxes, and guaranteed, they are pretty cool! EXPAND Susan Hornik Michael “Mick” Schepers, Hache L.A. Growing up in Spain, we didn’t have lunch back at school; we would all go home on our lunch breaks. I enjoyed my mother’s cooking, which usually consisted of fresh yogurt with bee pollen and beer yeast if I was to have something breakfastlike. It wasn’t a traditional Spanish dish, and not ethnic either. It was just her creation. For lunch, she would make things like lamb cutlets, sheep brain and calf liver (they were not my favorite, but they were supposedly good for me). This was always accompanied by a salad of endive or escarole with various fruits and vegetables with wheat germ sprinkled on the top, due to the lack of nutrients in the farmed food. And if for some reason my mother was unavailable, I would eat at a private club. Adam Gertler, Dog Haus My mother made my lunch for me from kindergarten through junior year of high school. As a kid, I was extremely jealous of all the kids who ate a "hot lunch.” It was a crazy mystery to me that some kids had things like pizza and hamburgers, while all I had were the salads, tuna or egg, many PB&Js, or turkey with mustard and soggy lettuce. I don't think I had a hot lunch until I was 14. Actually that's a lie, sometimes I "charged" lunch and threw out my own meal so I could relish one of those pieces of square pizza heaven. I unknowingly made my loving mother appear neglectful, by claiming no lunch. I was a fool, as all that hot food was garbage and mom's PB&J with some homemade cookies and a note that read "Enjoy your lunch, love Mom" was all I needed. My favorite lunch that mom prepared was a bologna and cheese with a little deli mustard. By the time I ate lunch, the sandwich would get just warm enough so that the American cheese would be all melted and delicious. My favorite non-homemade treat had to be the Jell-O chocolate pudding Snack Pack.

Images for 1 November 2016 Progress of baked beans Topic: food and drink How much water and colouring do you put into baked beans? Last time round they were a little watery. This time I put in less—I think—but I also took photos to show the progress of the cooking, when first mixed, during cooking, after finishing, and the last this morning after the mess had cooled down: Beans and onions 3 taken on Monday, 31 October 2016, thumbnails taken on Monday, 31 October 2016, small Diary entry for Monday, 31 October 2016 taken on Tuesday, 1 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Tuesday, 1 November 2016, small Diary entry for Tuesday, 1 November 2016 It's interesting to note that the beans appear to absorb water while cooling. At a guess, that'll be the correct quantity. At least I have something to compare with. Lens test charts Topic: photography Last week's lens tests were quick and dirty, though they did show significant differences between the lenses. But how do you do it right? With a lens test chart, of course. In the past I have printed some out in A4 format, such as this one, but it should be possible to find a real chart printed more accurately than a laser printer can Surprise, surprise! I can't find anything worthwhile for sale. About the best I have is this guide. Maybe I'll end up printing things out again after all. Display protector pain Topic: photography, general, opinion I use plastic foil protectors on the back of my camera displays, but the current ones are wearing out. So I ordered some new ones, and the ones for Yvonne's E-PM2 arrived today, not in the best of condition: Damaged packaging 2 taken on Wednesday, 2 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Wednesday, 2 November 2016, small Diary entry for Wednesday, 2 November 2016 And yes, the folds went all the way through to the the foil itself: Clearly a case for a return. But in the meantime, tried it out on the camera. Not an unqualified success. First, how do you attach it? There are two foils stuck together, along with two numbered tabs. Clearly you start with 1. But what do you do with it? Answer: throw it away. It's number 2 that comes onto the surface: LED foil 2 The lifted edge is clear: that's the fold in the foil. But why so many bubbles? I didn't have anything like that before. It looks as if there's dust in some of them, but I was able to move them, so it's not clear what the spots mean. As if that wasn't bad enough, the second tab was glued to the foil with an almost unremovable adhesive (bottom left in the first image). Maybe I should try a different brand. 21st century junk Topic: multimedia, opinion While walking the dogs, found an interesting device: Antenna amplifier 1 taken on Thursday, 3 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Thursday, 3 November 2016, small Diary entry for Thursday, 3 November 2016 Clearly an antenna amplifier, for once well marked. And the reason for its demise is also clear: Potentially it would work if the capacitor were replaced. But it's interesting to think that this sort of thing could hardly have existed 50 years ago, let alone be discarded due to a simple failure. Buying beer online Topic: food and drink, opinion Yesterday I got an email from Dan Murphy's offering me Becks Beer for a bargain price. Only yesterday and today. But I could buy online and pick up in Ballarat. tried, they gave me a pickup date of 10 November. So I chose 2 hours. And then the order was to go through stages. Order confirmation. Preparation. Ready to collect (what's the difference?). And when it was ready, I would receive an SMS. How? I don't have mobile phone coverage. Did I even give them a phone number when I signed up? Yes, I did—without a mobile phone number I can't sign up. Stupidly, I gave 0401 234 567, not my number. So presumably somebody else got my SMS. 80 years of high definition TV Eighty years ago today, the first regular high definition TV broadcasts began. How High definition? That's a moving target, of course. In those days it meant “more than 200 lines” (vertical resolution including non-displayed timing lines). There were two resolutions: the 405-line system (“377i” in modern parlance) that continued in use until 1985. But there was an alternative: John Logie Baird's Intermediate film system with its staggering 240 line resolution, which only lasted 6 months. Haven't we come a long way? It's clearly visible when you compare old TV serials like Upstairs, Downstairs with newer ones like Downton Abbey: the topics are similar, but the image qualities are worlds apart. Have we reached the resolution goal yet? I think so. In the 1950s and 1960s great progress was made with HiFi, but since then nobody cares any more: the sound quality is now good enough. And I think we can pretty much say the same for TV, certainly once 4K TV catches on. Identifying rye meal Topic: food and drink, language, opinion Why did I get rye wholemeal in a sack marked “rye meal”? Called up Weston Milling (according to the bag), who call themselves Mauri™ anz online, on 1800 649 494, and asked how I could identify the stuff. After a lot of searching came the answer: wholemeal is in bags with brown print, normal meal is in bags with green print. Congratulations for the obfuscation! Even the phone consultant I spoke to agreed that it was silly. Into Ballarat for a number of errands, and to the Wendoureee Wholesalers (conveniently located in Delacombe, not Wendouree) with my bag. They changed it without any issues—didn't even look at my receipt—and on the green bag I found the inscription “rye flour”. What's wrong with this? Firstly, wholemeal is only one kind of meal. Secondly, as I have already noted, all definitions I have seen confirm that the term “flour” implies wheat. Now, however, I find that Wikipedia, the fount of all knowledge, writes: Pumpernickel bread is usually made exclusively of rye, and contains a mixture of rye flour and rye meal. They don't define what that is supposed to mean. But wouldn't it be nice if they described the contents more accurately? In Germany it's required by law to categorize the flour depending on its mineral content. That doesn't seem to happen at all in Australia. Instead it contains an analysis more suited to processed food, including a “serving size” of 100g. Picking up the beer To Dan Murphy's to pick up my beer, which took longer than if I had just purchased it off the shelf, and included having to show my driver license (“If you don't drive, you can't drink”) and signing a glass device with a squiggle. They're going to have to improve things if they expect to make money that way. Topic: general Coming out of Dan Murphy's I was about to turn into Mair Street when a shape caught my eye. Goddess? No, not quite: a Citroën SM: Citroën SM 1 I don't think I've seen one of them in over 25 years. The owner came along while I was looking and gave me some details: it's a 1978 model with 3.5 litre engine and left-hand drive (thus the club permit; left-hand drive cars can normally not be registered in Australia). Also got some photos under the bonnet: The green elements are the hydropneumatic suspension, somewhat better laid out than in the DS. In the last image they are, from left to right: right-hand suspension sphere, steering (behind), high pressure pump, pressure accumulator, left-hand suspension sphere. The grey items should be more recognizable: clearly the right-hand one is the alternator, and the left-hand one looks like air conditioning (probably not original equipment). It's interesting to note that there's only one belt for the hydraulic pump; the DS had two, in case one failed. Kitchen slicer: the issues I was relatively positive about the kitchen slicers I bought recently, but that situation hasn't lasted. The last couple of times I tried to slice bread, I had multiple problems. Firstly, the tray didn't travel far enough: it stopped before the bread was completely cut. Further investigation showed that the pressure needed to hold the bread against the blade was sufficient to deform the body of the slicer, causing the edge of the tray to run into the blade: taken on Friday, 4 November 2016, small Diary entry for Friday, 4 November 2016 Slicer 4 detail And the blade housing is so thick that the bread needs to be bent through about 30°, which doesn't make for clean cutting: Kitchen slicer 4 taken on Thursday, 27 October 2016, thumbnails taken on Thursday, 27 October 2016, small Diary entry for Thursday, 27 October 2016 So I think that this, too, will go back. We're more or less resigned to buying one in Health record transfer Topic: health, opinion I haven't just changed GPs, I've also changed “healthcare providers”, the company that herds the GPs. We asked for transfer of the records, and I received an invoice for $19.95 from Tristar, the old provider: $13 “Patient Record Transfer Fee”, and $6.95 postage. Postage? These things are kept electronically. Why don't they send them electronically? And if they have to send them by dead tree, why $7? In addition, they didn't do the Today I got a reminder, along with a stamp Pre-payment required. I smell an attempt to annoy me. To whom do I complain? Called up Consumer Affairs Victoria on 1300 55 81 81. As expected, they weren't the correct address, but were able to give me a pointer to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency on 1300 419 495 or (not advertised) 03 9275 9009. But they weren't the right one either; for this particular case it's the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner 1300 363 992, also (not advertised) 02 9284 9666. There I was told that they were entitled to charge for the service, as long as the charges were reasonable, and that yes, indeed, I could put in a complaint, but it would take several months to process. And quite possibly there might be some animosity between providers that might explain their behaviour. That sounds reasonable enough advice. What do I do next? Acquiesce? Eureka Village again Off with Yvonne, Nikolai andLeonid today. For once, Bill was not in form to accompany me round the house, and instead Debbie asked Bronwyn, a volunteer (that's my status too) to accompany me. That turned out to be a good idea; she's much more outgoing than I, and that made a lot of difference to the people we visited. Bill's brother John spoke just about for the first time. Clearly I'm not the right kind of volunteer for this job. Hopefully somebody will archive all old issues of Datamation some time soon. Dereel → Melbourne → Dereel Sasha qualifies Topic: animals Off to Melbourne today with Sasha to have him assessed as a Delta society dog. It was only his second longer journey in a car (the first was when we got him), and he was not feeling overly confident when he arrived. The assessment was indoors—we note the difference between town and country—but well organized. There were two assessors, and Sally, the one Sasha got, was considerably stricter. Assessment 22 taken on Saturday, 5 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Saturday, 5 November 2016, small Diary entry for Saturday, 5 November 2016 There was even another Borzoi there, a bitch from Western Australia whom Yvonne thinks we might have considered buying a few years ago. She showed considerable interest in Sasha; unfortunately the cramped quarters made it difficult to get good photos: Victoria Market again After that, to the Victoria Market, the first time for food on a Saturday. The outdoor vegetable stalls are not open on Saturdays; instead there are various other salespeople there. But the indoor delicatessen, meat and fish people are still there, and we got most of what we wanted before escaping, screaming, out of Melbourne. Do I need a Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II? Topic: photography, opinion Finally the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is available for pre-order—at a price well over double what I paid for its predecessor. Part of that is a change in the exchange rate of the Australian dollar, but even in US dollar terms it's very expensive. Is it worth it? The instruction manual is also available, so I was able to answer some of the questions I had at the end of September. Here a brief comparison: The instruction manual is just as superficial as those for older models. And it has its share of nonsense. I haven't finished reading it, but I went looking for anything that would suggest that the viewfinder has the same sensitivity to sunlight that the predecessor had. And indeed, this seems to cover it: Do not leave the viewfinder exposed to a strong light source or direct sunlight. The heat may damage the viewfinder. Of course, there's a question of the interpretation of “leave”. With the predecessor, half a second is enough. And considering the company this statement is in, it's not clear how accurate it is. Here are some other gems: Never hold or operate the camera with wet hands. This may cause overheating, exploding, burning, electrical shocks, or malfunctions. And that's for a camera which is advertised as being water resistant. Where do they get this nonsense from? There are more: If battery fluid gets into your eyes, flush your eyes immediately with clear, cold running water and seek medical attention immediately. Battery fluid? In LiIon batteries? If rechargeable batteries have not been recharged within the specified time, stop charging them and do not use them. Of course they don't specify a time. Never remove the batteries with bare hands, which may cause a fire or burn your hands. So how do you remove them? The high resolution mode really does do 80 MP—maybe. It would be nice to have adequate documentation; the raw image description is half a sentence. It uses the same new file format that the Pen F has, and so far I haven't seen any evidence that DxO Optics “Pro” supports it. As I feared, focus stacking and focus bracketing appear to not have been improved since the predecessor. In particular, focus stacking takes exactly 8 images. The HDR functions are also unchanged. The flash synchronization speed has really been lowered from 1/320 s to 1/250 s. I wonder if this is CYA or a real In summary, what the new model brings appears to bring is speed: up to 60 full-resolution shots per second, faster focus, faster storage. It also has a slightly higher resolution sensor. Is that worth $2,800 to me? I think I'll wait until DxO supports it. Maybe by then the price will have dropped slightly. years, and I still didn't know their surname. Had a pleasant afternoon, though somehow lunch no longer fits our lifestyle. I think we should invite people for brunch instead if they don't want to come for dinner (or tea, as Graeme insists). Rebuilding Melbourne in Melbourne. It's definitely not the town I grew up in nearly 60 years ago. And today I found this page, which appears to agree. More sausages On Saturday we bought more ingredients for Bratwurst: 4 kg of pork shoulder and 2 kg of pork belly. The shoulder is a better cut, but the belly cost more than double the price of the shoulder. Clearly that's an indication of relative popularity, but why? My best guess is that people grill belly, while shoulder is considered only a poor relative of other roasts. Both came with skin, of course, which I had removed when I bought it. But I didn't realize how much the skin weighs: 25% of the total, so instead of my 6 kg of meat, I only had 4.5 kg. For once, I barely changed the recipe, just halved the garlic. And the results were pretty much the same as last time. The only issue was the length of skin, which I greatly overestimated. The skins (“casings”) aren't cheap, and I ended up with an entire skin which I can throw away. More gardening Topic: gardening Mick and Mick along this afternoon to do more gardening work. At the end there wasn't much to show for it. The Strelitzia nicolai is now planted in the ground, along with our spectacularly unhappy looking lime Strelitzia nicolai In passing it's interesting to note how unhappy our Gallipoli Rosemary is looking: I fear it didn't like the wetness of the last couple of months. Hopefully it will survive. I had wanted to flush out the sprinkler lines, but the sprinkler controller (or possibly the power supply) seems to have failed, and presents a display NOAC, flashing so quickly that it's barely visible. Somehow it can't supply the current that the solenoids draw. That can't be the solenoids, since it happens with all of them. I never liked that controller anyway; should I buy something better or build my own, run off the computer No news today Topic: multimedia, technology Recording the Deutsche Welle news is always touch and go: just about any excuse is good enough for the Special Broadcasting Service to forget its charter and broadcast football games from obscure places at the other end of the world. And today it didn't record either. What came instead? Nothing. It was in the programme listings, at any rate. So what happened? Was the football game cancelled, and they updated the EPG too late for greg-GA-MA785GT-UD3H (the immutable name of what should be called ceeveear) to notice? There was no mention in the log files that it had even tried to record the programme. But maybe it could be something more sinister. To be sure, tried to record a couple of random programmes. Mythweb hung, and I couldn't get it to respond. OK, Microsoft time. Restart the server (daemon). How? From the man page for mythshutdown I got nothing useful; it's a modern program, so I needed a mythshutdown --help. And there it seems I need the option --shutdown, just to emphasize the intent. Tried that, and was disconnected. The system didn't shut down, just went partially catatonic. I could switch VTs, which showed something die with a general protection fault, probably on the VT with the X server, but I couldn't enter anything via the keyboard, and I wasn't able to shut down any more: big red button time. After that it worked. But how did this happen? I've been running this version of MythTV for less than two months; the previous version ran better for 8 years. Cooking from the Queen Victoria Market Topic: food and drink, multimedia, opinion One of the programmes I recorded for test purposes was the rest of a cooking programme featuring food from the Queen Victoria Market. The first was mussels with Pulse Noodles (spaghetti made with pulses). Beautiful close-ups of them serving empty mussel shells. And then chicken with fresh mumbleissa, probably intended to be harissa. You can buy it from one of relatively well, I really don't know where I would go to find that. What use is the programme? More to the point, though, are the quantities. Harissa is an extremely hot sauce, and a portion is about 1 g. Here they smothered chicken thighs in about 100 g of the stuff. Either it's not real harissa, or the resultant dish will knock your block off. More blood tests thought would be a number of things to do, but in the end it boiled down to yet another blood test (this one not so expertly taken) and picking up my health records for transfer to the new clinic. Why, oh why, did they have to print them out? We still seem to be in the 9/11: Catastrophe! Topic: politics, opinion How should I title my reaction to the USA presidential election? I thought of several captions, including “The people have spoken—the idiots”, “The system is rigged”, “Well, there goes America”, “USexis?t (that last one is a Regular Expression matching “USexit” and “USexist”). But the fact is, I just don't understand how this could happen, and I don't really understand what the consequences might be. All I know is that I'm horrified. “Make America Great Again”? I think he'll take America into meaninglessness. But how could this have happened? It hasn't been a good year. There were three rounds of voting for matters that I considered important this year, and they all went the wrong way: Australia (barely) elected a conservative government that doesn't address (and hardly acknowledges) any of the pressing matters of our times. The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. And now, it seems, the USA has voted to leave the world. I have seen many pages discussing the matter, but for some reason this one resonates. And why didn't anybody expect it? That might be part of the problem: the silent majority, probably also the issue in the United Kingdom. They're so silent that even the opinion polls didn't find them. In that point, at any rate, Trump is right. But maybe it won't be that bad? The constitution of the USA has many limitations on what the president can do. Maybe Trump will become more sensible. That's what I said about Tony Abbott three years ago. I was wrong. Maybe he'll disqualify himself? A possibility. I could imagine impeachment as a real possibility. But that's not going to help the USA. A sad day indeed. Somehow it's in good company. In 1923, 93 years ago, Adolf Hitler staged an abortive coup in München. And 15 years later he was Supreme Leader when his thugs vandalized Jewish property around the country. US election fallout In the course of the day got to hear more opinions about the US elections, notably from European sources. I was gradually coming to the conclusion that there might be light at the end of the tunnel, but they're all surprisingly negative. This article in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung mainly confirms the opinions I expressed yesterday, even using the same wording in places. Surprisingly, Google Translate translates it relatively well. I respect the NZZ because, like Switzerland, it's neutral. It doesn't harm that it agrees with me in many ways. But it makes one point that I didn't know: most of the checks and balances in the US Constitution relate to domestic politics, and there's little to stop him doing what he wants in foreign affairs. No wonder people are worried. Then there was the German reaction. Angela Merkel made her opinions clear in a masterpiece of diplomacy, congratulating Trump and emphasizing and enumerating the shared values of the US and German people, to many of which Trump apparently doesn't “Germany and America are connected by values of democracy, freedom and respect for the law and the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views. I offer the next President of the United States close cooperation on the basis of these values.” was blunter, and stated “... nothing will become easier, many things will become more difficult”. All in all, not a rosy picture. Trump of democracy? How did Donald Trump get elected? By a remarkably complex and almost certainly not rigged voting system. But it's interesting to note that Clinton got more votes than Trump, and in most countries she would have been votes are consolidated on a state level, and based on the outcome each state casts a predetermined number of votes that contribute to the final outcome. It probably made sense 240 years ago, but it's not clear that it still does. But why did people vote Trump? It surprised almost everybody, possibly including Trump himself. It shows how little people understand the demographics of the country. And it also shows a fundamental issue with representative democracy: the voters don't have to pass any kind of test to vote, and they don't have to prove that they agree with the US constitution, human rights, or many other things of importance to running the country. So: the question people should ask is whether human rights, climate control and international relations are important to a country or not. If they are, then Trump is the wrong person. If it's democracy the way we know it, then he's the right person. I hope I still have the right to express my opinion. Topic: gardening, technology My current sprinkler controller is suboptimal. It is difficult to use, even more difficult to reprogram, and it seems to have a problem—after only 1½ years—that interrupts the flow at random. Twelve years ago in Wantadilla I had a relay board connected to an old computer, and a program and cron job to go with it. Why can't I do that again? For one thing, I don't want a computer running all the time just for that. But what about an Ethernet-connected relay board? Do they exist? A quick search on eBay shows: Accordinng to the description, 8 Channel Relay Network IP Relay Web Relay Dual Control Ethernet RJ45 interface Ethernet RJ45 interface. onboard WEB server, you can access and control through the web . 8 channel 250V / AC 10A independent output relay , relay output line tin layer thicker . 8 Road stem node ( passive / active ) input, you can directly control the relay output. 7-24V DC power supply, and with self- recovery fuse. can pick a router, access control via Android , for Apple, tablet , windows system For Apple systems , and can be controlled in the world can access any one place . support state return , you can display the current status of the real-time relay a key parameter to restore the parameter setting error or forgotten password can not connect to the network , you can use a key parameter to restore . Firmware V5.0.5 update : modify web pages , more humane, add fully open, fully closed operation optimized mobile access , mobile phone screen adaptation, big screen small screen are suitable ; deepen memory pool , speed up response ; Repair IE, 360 and other browsers can not control and garbled bug, yet even UCweb browsers such agents can be used ; Adding touch capabilities, and you can set the time for touch 1-255s Add for mac modify , easy LAN networking ; relay power-down state memory function, the function can be configured ; inputs and outputs can be configured association ; secondary development can modify TCP port ; can modify the HTTP port , port mapping easier to solve the 80 and 8080 ports are shielded telecommunications issues So I ordered one. Hopefully I won't find any serious issues with it. Football fields as unit of measure Topic: general, food and drink, opinion I've been watching a marginally interesting series, For the love of meat, on SBS television, about where Australian meat comes from. Some of the information is at variance with other sources—for example, he states that Australians as a nation are the second biggest consumers of meat in the world, eating 90 kg a year, conveniently 250 g per day. He doesn't say who the first are, nor the method of measurement. Wikipedia comes up with 111.5 kg carcass mass availability per person in 2009, third in the world. That is significantly more than the actual weight eaten—the article suggests round double. And most of the programme is similarly vague. One thing that got me, though, was the way beef is raised in Australia. He showed a breeding farm in Queensland, 1,000,000 acres in size. Acres? What's that? 4,047 m². So this corresponds to about 400,000 ha, 4,000 km², or a square about 64 km on a side. I can relate to that. But then he talked about forest clearing. It seems that half of Australia is already being used for cattle breeding, and they're clearing the rest. And here was me thinking that half In any case, it seems that about 300,000 ha per year (yes, this time he used hectares) are being cleared for cattle farming, a square of about 55 km on a side. Thit is, apparently, 40 football fields per hour. I don't play football. I can relate to an area 55 km on a side, but how big is a football field? If I knew the time they worked, I could work it out, but like this I have to guess. If they're talking a 40 hour working week, 50 weeks a year, then a football field must be about 3.75 ha in size. If they're talking about the number of hours in a year (8766), then we're down to 0.85 ha. Which is it? The fact is, there's no definition of the size of a football field. Practical football fields in Australia are “typically between 135–185 metres long goal-to-goal and 110–155 metres wide wing-to-wing”. That gives areas between 135 × 110 × π / 4, or 1.16 ha, and 185 × 155 × π / 4, or 2.25 ha. Yes, we're in the same ball park, to mix metaphors, but somehow the size is meaningless. It's all the more so if you look at other games like Soccer and Rugby. Soccer fields should be between 100 to 110 m long and 64 to 75 m wide, considerably smaller at 0.64 to 0.825 ha. The latter comes relatively close to one of the calculations. I haven't found the dimensions for rugby fields, but so far we have a size ratio of nearly 4 to 1 between the smallest and largest football fields. In summary, then, the figures he gave are meaningless. Why do they do it? xkcd sums it up: Yet another tagine We had decided on tagine for one of the meals this week, but weren't sure which. What makes a tagine? Partially the pot, of course, and certainly lots of vegetables, just about anything at hand. And Mohamed Ifadir has told me that the idea is to put everything in at the beginning, not to fry, and just cook gently for a number of hours. Then it occurred to me that we had a number of green tomatoes from last autumn's harvest still in the fridge. Are they suited? Worth a try. So I faked up yet another recipe, based loosely on this one, but without the chick peas. I also couldn't find any dried apricots, so I left them out too. Yvonne returned later and showed me where the apricots were, so I put some of them in later as well, And while so doing I tasted the (far too copious) gravy and discovered it was far too salty. Thinking about it, that's understandable: the base recipe has 400 g of potatoes and 300 g of chick peas, both of which soak up the salt. Mine had neither. What to do? In the end, I decided to put some chick peas in, rather late, and only to eat them if they were cooked. And I added some honey as well, so in the end the recipe wasn't that different from the base: ingredient step 1.5 kg lamb, cut into 3-4 cm “cubes” ginger, finely chopped garlic, pressed ras el-hanout carrot, in about 10 pieces courgette, in thick slices aubergine, in thick slices And the result? After about 2 hours, the chick peas were almost cooked, and certainly edible. But there's a big difference between tinned red tomatoes and raw green tomatoes: the latter don't thicken the sauce at all, but they do release a lot of liquid, and the result was watery and clear. The taste was acceptable, but I don't think I'll go in that direction again, and that's one of the reasons I'm not putting this recipe on my recipes A couple of other changes were more positive: more ras-el-hanout and ginger, and they'll go in to the base recipe. By the end of the day it was looking like a configuration problem, and (fortunately) not a FreeBSD port issue. At least I was able to do something; most of these bugs tend to hide in a maze of twisty little library dependencies, all different. Tagine: no juice Comment from Mohamed Ifadir on yesterday's tagine attempt, pointing me at this video clip: its also ok if you use carots bar as foundation for meat/chicken to not burn not use a lot of water a cup of water is enough let everything dry. to optimize little bit let meat/chicken dry little bit for 15min on carots bars foundation, then add other vegetebles and oil and water close everything and let it cook quality test: at the end you need to find. 1-little bit of water 2-some burning smell That's very interesting; certainly it confirms that my last tagine had far too much liquid. But it doesn't quite match the video clip, and I can see other recipes where liquid is required. From the (chicken) recipe in the clip I note that the chicken is placed on an onion bed, and by the time it is cooked, there's quite a bit of liquid, half covering the taken on Friday, 11 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Friday, 11 November 2016, small Diary entry for Friday, 11 November 2016 But then it gets cooked uncovered for 15 minutes. I don't think that would cause all that liquid to evaporate. Still, the concept of drying out and charring just a little is certainly interesting. It's also interesting that there are no Moroccan spices at all. She also uses a heat diffuser on the flame, which probably makes sense with traditional ceramic tagines; mine is made of aluminium, so there's no need. Hugin bug: identified Topic: technology, photography, opinion More examination of the Hugin bug today. It's quite simple, in fact: I have seen it before, but on that occasion I ran into the combined problem of C++ and poor problem reporting. This time I was able to establish that the real problem is that Hugin uses the temporary file path as the executable path—shades of firefox: 39331 hugin CALL execve(0x81b60d380,0x81b605fd0,0x81b007000) 39331 hugin NAMI "/home/var/tmp/icpfind" 39331 hugin RET execve -1 errno 2 No such file or directory But where does it set it? Once again I'm lost in a maze of twisty little wxWidgets. From src/hugin1/base_wx/AssistantExecutor.cpp: CommandQueue* GetAssistantCommandQueue(const HuginBase::Panorama & pano, const wxString& ExePath, const wxString& project) How I love libraries! Orchids in Dereel To the Hall this afternoon to hear Emily Noble of Field Naturalist Ballarat talk about orchids in the Dereel and Enfield areas. To my surprise, 98 different species have been identified. After the presentation, off to look for some orchids, first in the same place we went to last month. But this time there were flowers that we didn't see then: Diuris sulphurea 2 taken on Saturday, 12 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Saturday, 12 November 2016, small Diary entry for Saturday, 12 November 2016 Orchid outing 7 detail Caleana major 11 Well, I've seen the first one before: it's a Diuris sulphurea, commonly known as Tiger Orchid. And of course the second one has already flowered, but Emily tells me that it's a Sun Orchid. The third is a Caleana major, not surprisingly known as Duck orchid. You really need to look to find any of them. After that, off towards Berringa, not far from the old Mount Misery Creek Bridge that I've taken so many photos of, and exactly where I took a panorama of the road in May: Berringa Road taken on Saturday, 14 May 2016, small Diary entry for Saturday, 14 May 2016 There Emily asked me if I had noticed the Spider orchids (Arachnorchid) along the side of the road. I hadn't been looking, but she pointed some out at a distance. There's something about them that she can recognize, and after a while I saw a couple: Caladenia tentaculata 14 Emily tells me that they're a Caladenia tentaculata (or was that Arachnorchis?), though the common name she mentioned was a kind of mantis orchid, which would be Caladenia atrovespa or Caladenia attingens. So far I haven't found any images to confirm or deny it. There were also a number of Pterostylis species. In the past I had assumed that there were many, but I still have my difficulties telling them apart. How many do we have here? Pterostylis 3 And then there was this flower: Dillwynia 2 Emily wasn't completely sure what it is, but it's apparently a species of Dillwynia. It's very different from the bush I identified as a Dillwynia last year: taken on Sunday, 11 October 2015, thumbnails taken on Sunday, 11 October 2015, small Diary entry for Sunday, 11 October 2015 On the way back, I kept my eyes open for where Emily said she had seen orchids. I recognized nothing. Emily also mentioned a third location, in Bliss Road, just round the corner from where we live. We didn't go there, but there's plenty of opportunity for me to do so. More Hugin debugging I consider myself relatively proficient at debugging code I have never seen before. But somehow Hugin has me beat. The problem, as I have identified it so far, is that the configuration variable tempDir (which, as the name suggests, is the name of a directory for storing temporary files) somehow ends up as the path for searching for executables. As I said, shades of firefox. So an obvious approach to searching for it would be to find where the configuration file gets read in. The file is called ~/.hugin, so I can brute force search the source tree for And it's not mentioned! Does it maybe derive the file name from the executable name (hugin?). That would almost make sense. So I went looking for config instead. And still I found nothing. What about tempDir? Yes, there's lots of stuff like this, in src/hugin1/base_wx/Executor.cpp: wxString tempDir = wxConfig::Get()->Read(wxT("tempDir"), wxT("")); These wxWidgets again! Presumably the member function Read doesn't really read the configuration file; it has already been read in, and Read just extracts the value (conveniently obfuscated as a wxString). But this must mean that it's wxWidgets that reads in the file. What puzzles me is how few of the entries show up when scanning the sources. In particular, though, I can't see anything that points to the other end of the puzzle. Probably the correct way to do this would be to run the thing in a debugger and see where things get referenced. But for that I need to build everything with debug symbols, including at least the wxWidgets library. And there's no shortage of libraries, 131 of them: === grog@eureka (/dev/pts/29) /usr/ports/graphics/hugin/work/hugin-2016.2.0 12 -> ldd /usr/local/bin/hugin | wc -l Yes, having standard libraries is supposed to make things easier. But that only works if you understand at least the interface, and here there are just too many. More mystery plants? One of the more interesting things I saw on Saturday's outing wasn't an orchid at Emily Noble says it's a species of Dillwynia, also known as Parrot Pea. But that's a problem: I had identified a very different plant as Dillwynia: Mystery 2 2 taken on Monday, 14 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Monday, 14 November 2016, small Diary entry for Monday, 14 November 2016 Mystery 2 11 And that's clearly something completely different. But what is it? I'm back to the start. entrance north to the turnoff to Progress Road): Could that be what Emily called a sun orchid? Here's one (already flowered) that she showed me on Saturday: And finally there's this insignificant bush: Mystery 3 1 detail Investigating medical records Topic: health, technology, opinion Now I have my medical records, it's time to scan them in. There were over 60 pages of them! First the notes made by the doctors, conveniently in reverse chronological order, then the pathology results in chronological order. Neither set had page breaks, making it very difficult to understand. Somehow I begin to understand how a new doctor can come to incorrect conclusions after reading them, especially as some of the information about me is just plain incorrect (no allergies, never smoked). How can we do it better? A few months ago I made a table of various blood test results. Table? Doesn't that sound like a database? Of course it does. Why don't they use them? Somehow we're a sixth of the way through the 21st century, and doctors are mainly using computers to emulate 20th century paper records. When will the breakthrough come? More mystery flowers Looking round the wildflower photos I've sen recently, there's a Caesia calliantha (also known as Blue grass-lily) on the Field Naturalist Ballarat site if you look for it hard enough (currently they don't display more than one photo at a time, and you have to search). It's small and purple. Here a photo from NatureShare: Is that the thing we have growing all over the lawn? Today I picked one and took some photos, challenging enough in itself: Arthropodium strictum 9 taken on Tuesday, 15 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Tuesday, 15 November 2016, small Diary entry for Tuesday, 15 November 2016 No, clearly it isn't. More searching suggests that it's an Arthropodium strictum (or, for people who like breaking grammatical rules, Dichopogon strictus), also known as chocolate lily. Here the Wikipedia photo: Garden flowers in late spring It's mid-November, time for the garden flower photos for late spring. Things still aren't as good as I had hoped,a but the real surprise were the roses: Given the lack of protecting, they're doing remarkably well. The Solanum laxum that we planted last year still isn't dead, but you need to look for it: Solanum laxum 1 I think it's getting both too much sun and too much wind. But where can we put it? The Anigozanthos that Sasha chewed up last year seems to have completely recovered: Anigozanthos The Iris in the bathtub (to be put in the trough round the verandah, if we ever finish it) flowered relatively briefly earlier in the month, but they're already as good as done for: But gradually Gladioli and the Strelitzia reginae are Gladiolus 1 Strelitzia regina Indoors, it seems that we have finally found the right lighting for our Spathiphyllum: Previously it was either too dark (no flowers) or too bright (flowers that went greenish and died quickly). Recovering underexposed photos When taking the garden photos, the camera was set to manual exposure (after having taken the photos of the Arthropodium strictum). So the first photo was completely underexposed (by 4 EV): Borage 2 OK, set automatic exposure and try again: But when processing the images, it processed them all, and the recovery was amazing: Run the cursor over either image to compare with the partner. Bore water filter One of the issues of using ground (“bore”) water is that it needs filtering. In particular, there is some iron compound dissolved in the water which precipitates what looks like ferric oxide after some time. So we have a filter, and from time to time I clean it. The last time was two days ago, and it looked pretty much the same as the mess from the previous time: Water filter 1 taken on Sunday, 31 July 2016, small Diary entry for Sunday, 31 July 2016 But today Yvonne complained that there was no water at all. Indeed, it had already clogged up again. But this time it looked different: That appears to be clay, or mud or something. Is this the result of the heavy rain we've had recently? You wouldn't expect it to have much effect 40 m below the surface. What focal length standard lens? When I got my first SLR, I decided against a wide-angle lens; it wasn't until six months later I bought a Super wide angle lens, 28 mm. And I was the envy of all my friends. My first digital cameras didn't come close; it wasn't until November 2004 that I found a camera with this focal length, and it was one of the main reasons I bought it. But now it seems that every camera worth its name comes with a zoom lens covering the equivalent of 28 to 85 mm on a full frame camera. And where possible (electronic zoom) they set the default at full wide angle. Here's Yvonne's first attempt at the water filter: I've been looking for alternatives to this extreme wide angle for some time now, and that's part of the background for buying the 45 mm Zuiko and the 25 mm Summilux (equivalent to 90 mm and 50 mm respectively). I still need to see whether it's worth buying another 17 mm lens, but so far the images she takes with those two lenses show promise. From time to time we eat red cabbage, which is available in prepared form from many places. Just heat up and serve. But recently we bought some red cabbage from ALDI. Heat up. Oh. Raw red cabbage, not prepared in any way. So today I finally got round to doing something about it. Here's the recipe, loosely base on this one: ingredient step 400 g red cabbage, chopped salt (check!) Peel the apple and onion and chop into small cubes. Fry gently in goose fat until the onion becomes glassy. Add other ingredients and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve. That's what I did today. There's also a recipe page that may change. Counting in the time of the web I have a number of saved searches on eBay for which I get graphic, incomplete, badly rendered and often misspelt emails every day. The number of entries displayed is limited to 12 and the text is broken almost beyond recognition. They made some changes recently. The good news is that they have discovered that the singular of “matches” is “match”, and not “matche” (presumably because they know that the singular of “lenses” is “lense”). But that's about the only improvement. The limit of 12 entries is still there, and the rendering, at least on firefox under FreeBSD, is completely broken: different colour (usually without price adjustment) can be worth over $1,000. And is the Summicron really that good? It might have been 60 years ago, but my comparisons suggest that times have moved on, and my own Summilux 25/1.4 is also very sharp. And it retails for $600. of Pterostylis. But today, in the house forest, I found a couple of Diuris sulphurea: taken on Wednesday, 16 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Wednesday, 16 November 2016, small Diary entry for Wednesday, 16 November 2016 Nothing overly spectacular about that—I've found them elsewhere on a couple of occasions—but it's nice to know that they are here too. Now what else? More doctor stuff Into town to see Dr Paul Smith about my blood test results. All normal, maybe. But what about iron? It's nothing that we've looked at before, but it seems that the iron-related levels are not quite what he expected (ferritin 422 μg/l, should be between 20 and 300, and transferrin saturation, 51%, should be between 13 and 47%). So even now he has planned a blood test for them in February. Also my finger is not healing quite the way I expected, so I need another X-ray to see what's going on there. Dillwynia or Cytisus? Topic: gardening, opinion I got mail from Kai Peters a couple of days ago, commenting on my “Dillwynia”. He says it's Ginster, the German name for gorse, and it's definitely not that. But he called it broom, a word I didn't know in that context, and on further investigation it seems that Germans call all species of Genista „Ginster“, while in English there are two names, gorse and broom. But the German name for gorse is Stechginster, or Ulex europaeus, not even a Genista species. Is he right? Out looking for photos, and found a couple of convincing ones, from this page and Wikipedia: That compares well with my plant: But they're not Genista at all, they're Cytisus scoparius, also known as Scotch broom. Further investigation shows that while the botanical term “broom” includes Genista, it's also applied to other genera, including Cytisus and Chamaecytisus. Somehow I've opened a can of worms. Sasha does Eureka Into Ballarat this morning with Sasha to visit the Eureka Village Hostel. It was his first time with me, and he was very excited. He certainly didn't want to go in, probably because he had to go past the smokers sitting near the entrance; I'm not sure he has ever smelt tobacco smoke before, and he certainly didn't like it. Bill was again not well, and Bronwyn took us round, this time much more quickly: many of the residents weren't there. How to lose a billion One of the things that surprised me most about Donald Trump is the lack of transparency about his business dealings. About the only thing we know for sure is that he had a big bankruptcy decades ago, and that he has frequently refused to pay bills. So this satire seems to hit the point for me. Fast cars of the 1970s Recently I had cause to remember the (legendary) Jaguar E-Type, one of the leading sports cars of the 1960s and 1970s. But how fast was it really? When I knew the car, I was in England, where the speed limit is 113 km/h. When I got to Germany, the land without a general speed limit, I no longer knew the car. So I was intrigued to read this table, showing a top speed of only 217 km/h. Even the Citroën SM was faster (220 km/h), as were my Citroën XMs, cars that I could really drive to the limit. The E-Type wouldn't have been able to keep up. Of course, the table as it currently stands is missing a number of real competitors, still surprised how slow the E-Type was. We've eaten quiche lorraine before, but we don't have a saved recipe. Went looking for one today and found precious little. Joy of Cooking has one that includes cheese, which Yvonne considers ridiculous. Finally I found one in « la Cuisine de Madame Saint-Ange ». And for the first time an obvious error: for the pastry she wants 100 g of flour and 75 cl of water. That would be a slurry, not a dough. And how much dough do we need? Our form is 24 cm in diameter and about 4 cm deep. Decided on the quantities below. Schinkenspeck Mix flour, butter, water and salt to a dough and let stand an hour. Mix again, roll out and line the form. Cut Speck into strips and blanche. Drain. Place pieces of butter on the dough, add Speck. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Add sour cream. Pour into form and bake for 40 minutes at 190° with recirculation and heat from below. Quiche lorraine 2 Things didn't quite work out as planned. There wasn't enough Speck or salt, the sour cream wasn't sour enough (I'm not sure what I can do there), and there was nearly double the quantity of dough. I'm keeping the definitive recipe up to date. Breakfast with Lorraine again of Donald Trump. He may have a strong following in the USA, but so far here I haven't see anybody here who is anything but horrified by his election. Off the net Lorraine doesn't have an Internet connection, so Yvonne wanted to show her some of the caricatures of Trump that she had found. But then she came to me and said “we're off the net”. How would she know? It could be a firefox hang or anything in the local network. But she was right. We went off the net at 11:25, and didn't come back until 13:46, only to go off again for another 6 minutes at 13:53. When it did come back, the status indicators on the NTD were not normal: at irregular intervals the left two status LEDs flashed amber (should be green; the status LED is a primitive signal strength indicator). It didn't seem to affect the connectivity, but off to look for an explanation. Found this page, which already grates by separating the menu with backslashes: Home \ Connect home or business \ Already connected? \ nbn equipment One of the entries what looked like a video, titled: The nbn™ Connection Box is a Network Termination Device (NTD). Find out what your nbn™ Connection Box does, what the ports are for and the indicator lights tell you. Also find out how to tell if your nbn™ Connection Box is working on backup battery power. But that's “Error #2035”. And clearly it only relates to fibre NTDs. There's also a user guide—for fibre only, which irritatingly insists on referring to the NTD as “nbn™ connection box”. It does describe the LEDs, but they're completely different from fixed wireless. Tried to look at the directory (http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco/documents/), but they're too 1337 to allow me to look at that. About the only thing that gradually dawned on me is that the network is called nbn™, not NBN. How long has that been the case? nbn, you've been active now for several years. When will you get your act together? Nonstandard nbn installation Topic: technology A number of people in Dereel have problems connecting to the National Broadband Network because of the lie of the land, trees, etc., including at least one property in Stones Road. While looking for status LED information, found this page by an antenna company with the descriptive name “Telco”. But what they offer looks interesting, and next time somebody has a problem, I'll point them to it. More wildflowers Lorraine arrived with a couple of wildflowers she had picked on the way: a Goodenia lanata and Pimelea linifolia (Rice flower). She also told us of orchids up near the letter boxes at the end of Spearys Road, so when we walked the dogs, took a look. Yes, there are lots of tiny little flowers, but I'm pretty sure they're peas of some kind, not orchids: Wildflower 4 Many ducks Rani 2 Rani 10 NTD status docco: found More searching the web for documentation for the NTD today, and finally I was successful. Not on the National Broadband Network web site, of course, but on boombroadband.com.au, apparently an RSP. The document clearly comes from nbn™, but I can't find it on their site. Here's the description of the signal strength LEDs: Image title: ntd status detail Show for Sunday, 20 November 2016: In reality, they look like this: NTD detail taken on Friday, 6 June 2014, thumbnails taken on Friday, 6 June 2014, small Diary entry for Friday, 6 June 2014 Based on the markings, any sane person would assume that the LEDs light from left to right with increasing signal strength. But what I see is an alternation between all three LEDs showing green, and the two on the left showing amber, with the third not showing any colour. Is this telling me that the signal strength is inadequate (and if so, why?), or something that hasn't been documented? And why did they choose such a primitive interface, when even simple, cheap electronics modules now include a web server? Finally the sun orchids We've been walking the same stretch of road for several days now, looking at suspected “sun orchids”. Today summer came, and the temperature went up to nearly 32°. Success! Thelymitra pauciflora 8 taken on Sunday, 20 November 2016, thumbnails taken on Sunday, 20 November 2016, small Diary entry for Sunday, 20 November 2016 They're clearly Thelymitra pauciflora, and it's interesting to note that the photo on the Wikepedia page was taken at Rokewood Junction, less than 10 km from here. Also a couple of other flowers that I need to identify: Another Google Maps failure Used Google Maps to show me the distance from here to Rokewood Junction. But it doens't know where it is either: Image title: Google Maps fail detail Rokewood Junction is the road junction at the extreme south-west of that map, as the name of the road leading there indicates. How did Google Maps place it in the middle of nowhere? And why can't I find a “report maps error” any more? Firefox bloat Yvonne complained that her system was slow, particularly firefox. That's nothing unusual, but I wasn't prepared for what top(1) showed me: last pid: 77440; load averages: 0.51, 0.63, 0.79 up 20+21:20:14 17:17:53 72 processes: 1 running, 71 sleeping CPU: 3.7% user, 0.0% nice, 0.6% system, 0.0% interrupt, 95.7% idle Mem: 523M Active, 3358M Inact, 1129M Wired, 469M Cache, 806M Buf, 2444M Free Swap: 20G Total, 91M Used, 20G Free Where did that memory go? Looking at the swap usage, it seems that the additional memory wasn't memory at all, at least not initialized. But once again I'm left wondering what these modern programs are doing. Understanding the NTD display My NTD is still showing alternate amber and green signal status: NTD 3 What does that mean? It took a lot of differential reading the documentation and the markings on the NTD to come to a potentially meaningful conclusion: the signal strength LEDs do show progressive signal strength. One LED means low signal strength. Two LEDs mean “medium” (acceptable) signal. Three LEDs mean good signal. But in addition, the one LED is red, two LEDs are amber, and three LEDs are green. This is pure guesswork deduction, since it's not documented anywhere. But if that's the case (and Aussie Broadband support confirms the meaning of the colours), then something is wrong. When the system was installed two years ago, the measured signal strength was -86 dB, well over the (presumed) range for 3 LEDs. Why is it now amber? And what can I do about it? To quote Aussie: Unfortunately as long as there is no fault present we are unable to raise a ticket through to NBN to ask them to do any further investigation. What a company! Autofocus reliability Taking photos of the NTD wasn't easy due to the position. Normal tripods are too high, so I used my mantis: NTD Photo 3 It's not the strongest of things, so I used the smallest zoom lens I had, the M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 II R. Getting it to focus wasn't easy, but finally I got the “beep” indicating that it was in focus. But it wasn't, not by a long shot. Here the worst and best images: NTD 6 detail 1913 x 926, 163 kB What caused that? First I replaced the lens with the M.Zuiko 12-40 mm f/2.8 “Pro” and tried again. And that worked with no problems at all. Why the difference? Yes, there's a big difference in quality (and size!) between the two lenses, but I hadn't expected such a difference in the autofocus. It certainly explains some of the problems Yvonne has been having getting things focused properly. Nikolai injured Somehow Nikolai has managed to injure himself, with an open wound on his side. Pene Kirk recommended ointment, along with a shirt to keep him from licking it off: Nikolai 8 Nikolai 10 Not a happy dog. NBN: not communicating Yesterday I pondered over the meaning of the status lights on the NTD, but today things were different again: only amber. So it looks as if the signal strength is deteriorating. Posts on Facebook show that I'm not the only one to notice that. At the moment, that's not an issue, but how is this going to continue? Amber, amber/red, red, nothing? Is NBN monitoring the situation? You'd expect them to, and maybe they're in the process of replacing a defective transmitter module: there are three antennae on each tower, and if something relating to one of them has failed, then they can fall back to another until they replace it. Maybe that's what's happening, but how can we know? Coincidentally got an unsolicited call from Aussie Broadband support, in which they confirmed that NBN doesn't communicate with them. But do they monitor? How can we know? In this case, we can. It seems that Saturday's outage was quite widespread (which kills the antenna hypothesis), but NBN support didn't know anything about it until Aussie informed them. If there's one thing that's essential for running a modern computer network, it's monitoring. Communication with others is high on the list of importance, but monitoring must be at the top, possibly just behind maintenance, possibly not. How can we get the NBN to fulfil their charter? What's a Watsonia? I thought it might be this, which is growing in front of our house: Watsonia 2 taken on Saturday, 22 October 2016, small Diary entry for Saturday, 22 October 2016 But after a couple of warm days we found these down by the “schoolyard” at the junction of Stones Road and Bliss Road: Are they the same species, or a closely related one? I need to examine the flowers more There are also a number of strange grasses that I have noted before, but for some reason never taken a photo of: Finger X-ray To the Ballarat Base hospital today to have my little finger X-rayed. The biggest issue was finding my way in. The hospital is enormous, and the referral slip showed four different entrances. On the way to the car park I saw that one (the main entrance) was shut, and returning from the car park it seems that the second had disappeared. The third was near the emergency entrance, where they don't like you going in, and the fourth was the other side of the hospital, about 500 m away. Fortunately they seem to have recognized the problem, and we're now allowed in via the emergency entrance. Hopefully they'll soon have their building work completed. By contrast, the X-ray itself was trivial—almost no wait. But it's not clear if they'll get the results to my doctor by tomorrow. Why? They're in digital form, and they should be able to send them by email in a matter of minutes. $90 Android tablet I've been doing a lot of macro photography lately, and one of the issues is the viewfinder. Clearly the one on the camera is seldom in a place where I can access it easily, and the LCD screen is not really ideal for careful focusing. If my Android tablet hadn't died, I could try Olympus' appalling OI.Share. But as it happens, ALDI has a special at the moment, a 10" Android tablet for only $90, so while in town, I picked one up. What can you expect for that price? Not even a charger, just a USB cable to connect to (and charge from) a computer. No GPS, not even phone connectivity. But the rest seems relatively normal, except that of course it has been a few years since I bought my last one, so of course there's a new version of Android with a completely different user interface. The only thing that remains constant is the lack of documentation. Spent a bit of time playing around with it. First to install OI.Share, of course. “Your device isn't compatible with this version”. Ah, right, this stupid app wants the tablet to have GPS functionality. And that for a viewfinder! What else can it do? 2½ years ago I came up with a list of 6 things I could potentially do with a tablet. Of these, three don't work on this browser: I can't use it as a phone, it can't control my camera, and I can't use it as a GPS navigator. In fact, I found the previous tablet pretty useless for these functions too, not because of the tablet, but because of the platform and the appalling quality that nearly all apps seem to share. So what am I left with? Reading documentation. This proved to be quite useful with the old tablet. It had a relatively low-res but acceptable 1280×800 display. The current one is too 1337 to describe its resolution, but it could even be higher. Use as a mobile web browser. This was also useful, mainly for access to recipes while Use to play streaming radio. I'm not sure I need this. So do I keep it? I have 2 months to decide. If only I could find some apps that were worth using, I could buy a full-featured tablet instead. In the meantime, it's good for having something to read in waiting rooms. While in town, finally bought a new battery for the lawn mower. The last one was only 3½ years old, but dead as a doornail: it only held any kind of charge overnight. And in that time the going price has gone up from $75 to $105! I had hesitated because I couldn't get any sign of life out of the mower even with a fully charged battery, but clearly the battery was part of any solution. And, as it turned out, it was all I needed. Though the old battery showed a normal voltage after charging, it must have dropped to nothing when I turned the ignition So finally we have got the lawn mowed. mower, so went round with a whipper snipper instead, and got correspondingly little done. I'm working on some photos that I took on 5 August 1969. They need a lot of work to improve them. DxO Optics “Pro” helps up to a point, but somehow nothing seems to help recovering gradations, particularly in green. Then I have COLOR projects 4 , which, like all the PROJECTS software I bought, seems to offer nothing worthwhile. I tried that a couple of months ago and failed. It's really “special effects” software, not something that I can use for fixing colour casts. In general, the money I spent on PROJECTS software has proved to be a complete waste. So I went looking for “photo recovery software”. Sorry, wrong magic word. That's synonymous with “file recovery software”. It seems that the correct term is “photo restoration software”, and I found a few. First was Perfectly Clear, which, though expensive, is on special this week—some Black Friday horror. Is that like Black Saturday? I hope not. In any case, downloaded it, installed it, and went looking for the program. I couldn't find it. Then I RTFMed: it's only a plugin for various other software, such as Photoshop, so it's useless to me. For that, at $150 normal price, it's very expensive. Moving on, another promising program was Old Photo Restoration Software for Windows, a name that could be improved on. Sure, there's a free download, but first I need to sign in, either with Facebook or Google+. People, don't do that! It's a particularly good way of increasing the damage done by any breach of password. So I went off and checked. I once had a second Facebook account, but it seems to have atrophied. OK, sign up again. User “My Privacy”, email [email protected]. Sorry, says Facebook, we want real names. That can only mean that they have recognized these specific names. So, with thanks to Anthony Burgess, entered my name as “Tahi Panas” (a name which I later discovered I had referred to close to the photos in question, on 1 August 1969), which worked, sort of. I set up an account, but I couldn't access it. Do I need friends to be on Facebook? In any case, nothing to be done there either. Photo restoration continued Yesterday's search for photo restoration software was held up by my registration for a second Facebook user. The email finally arrived this morning at 8:00, after 17 hours! What held it up? Manual checks for validity? NSA vetting? Who knows? So off I went to the Softonic web site, where I ran into many false leads trying to download other software that I didn't want. Sorry, people, you've just lost my trust. Who knows how good the software is? I no longer want to find out. Another lead was Fotor, which I downloaded, but at first sight it seemed to do nothing useful. I might go back and look more carefully some time. More searching brought me to this page, from a reputable site. Of course it describes the functions relative to Photoshop, specifically the Levels tool. Does GIMP have something similar? Yes, it's Colors/Levels. And how about that, the first results didn't look that bad. But on closer examination, it seemed that I adjusted the previous JPEG image, not the scanned TIFF image. So I tried again. “GIMP can't handle 16 bit images”! Still! What's complicated about 16 bit images? GIMP has been around for over 20 years! Further searching showed that release 2.9 does promise to support 16 bit images, so went looking for that. No FreeBSD port available. Tried frobbing the 2.8 port, and soon ran into trouble. Do I care? These modern software packages are a maze of twisty little dependencies, all the same. One way or another, other activities took over, and I didn't get much further. Making friends with Android, again I had to to to the doctor today, a typical time for using my Android tablet (in the waiting room). Spent some time uploading documentation, in the process discovering that them any more. Somehow Android has completed the destruction of file system hierarchies started by Microsoft and Apple. OK, I still need something to display them with, and that's clearly Acrobat Reader. The good news is that it instantly found the documents, though it's not clear whether this was luck or design. Acroread has changed its interface too, and it took me something like 10 minutes to discover how to get it to display a page at a time. Even then, several screens wouldn't rotate with the device, requiring me to hold it with the charge cable at the bottom. Then there was the question of a mail message that I had received, sent only to me, telling me that somebody had logged on this device as me. What good does that do? In any case, time to set up Gmail. I use Gmail as a spam filter, so I'm relatively accustomed to it on a web browser. But this display looked so different that I couldn't work out what it was trying to tell me. Where has the Inbox gone? I have “Primary”, “Social” and “Promotions”. “Promotion” is probably a euphemism for “Our Spam”, but what does the rest mean? And is that really an index, that collection of large panes in the middle, showing only five? Why do they do that? At the end, thoroughly frustrated, gave up. At least I had found my documents. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II insights One of the documents I put on the (still anonymous) Android tablet was the manual for the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, and I started reading it in the waiting room. I didn't get very far, but there were a couple of interesting items. Firstly, what is the resolution of the new “High Resolution” feature? I've heard things like 50 and 80 MP, but the manual only describes 50 and 25 MP; the latter is so close to the native 20 MP resolution as to be completely useless. Then there's the “ProCapture” feature, where the camera saves 14 images taken before pressing the shutter (and quite a number after). Everything I have read so far says that it happens at 60 fps, but the manual says 30 fps. That might actually be better, since we're talking of times of 0.23 or 0.47 s. The former is probably shorter than normal reaction times. What hasn't changed At All is the HDR functionality. Still only an odd number of images in manual mode or an even number (exactly 4) for HDR1 and HDR2, and still this silly “HDR2 provides a more impressive image than HDR1” that I ranted about three years ago. And that's as far as I got. More to come. Doctor again Into town to hear about the results of my X-ray yesterday. He nearly forgot; he was much more interested in analysing my blood test results for the past 5 years, and wanted to go even further back. I'm quite impressed, especially in view of the brittle nature of the But finally he got to the fingers. The good news: nothing broken. The bad news: nothing recognized. So I'll have to go for ultrasound investigation. Improving traffic in Sebastopol The traffic on the main road in Sebastopol is obstructed by two roundabouts. The council has recognized this and has come up with a solution: enlarge the roundabouts: Sebastopol roundabout name greg-GA-MA785GT-UD3H, but that's (barely) running MythTV, and I don't want to break it. But I had a virtual machine called eucla, which had Ubuntu 14.04. It seems I never completely installed it: the Ethernet card was set up to talk to the wrong interface on the host machine (and thus take me off the net). Time to fix the configuration and reinstall. Reinstalling version 16.04 was relatively painless. In particular, I didn't have quite the issues with the display size that I had earlier this year. After making a mess trying to do an upgrade installation, I blew it away and started from scratch. Then they usual question: where's xterm? There's a simple but not obvious answer: a key combination that does just that, and after I had found an alternative method, some unsolicited popup told me so. Unfortunately I don't know how to solicit the popup, and selecting “Help” from the settings menu doesn't tell me. But I can also press Alt-F2 to “pop up command window for quickly running commands)” (something much quicker and easier using an xterm, which also supplies an environment). And finally, as I discovered, there's a menu under the right mouse button that does the same thing. All nice and relatively logical. So what's the problem? I don't know the short cuts. I've been using the same key/mouse bindings (something that the Ubuntu window manager doesn't seem to support) for 25 years. I've been using the same editing bindings (Emacs-based) for 35 years. They're wired into my fingers. If I have to think about them, it will take me some time. Why should I learn a new user interface, one for Ubuntu, another for Android, a third for “Windows” 10, a fourth for Apple? There may be some advantages, but by the time I find them, they will probably have changed the interface Fortunately I don't have to use that interface. I can pop up an xterm on my main machine and use it almost as if it were FreeBSD. All I then need is NFS, for which I need the same user numerical ID as on eureka. How do I do that? New interfaces again, but they're too polite to talk in numbers. And chsh really only does what it should do, change the shell. In the end I tried just editing /etc/passwd, and how about that, it worked. GIMP 2.9 So finally I have a machine to run GIMP 2.9. How do I get it? There are instructions here, and they work. GIMP has developed a singularly ugly new appearance, but it seems to work, and unlike far too many programs nowadays, it doesn't have any issues running over the net (apart from a slowness which I expect wouldn't otherwise be there). Finally I can start to recover my photos. American holidays take over the world Today was Thanksgiving in the USA, and the day after is called Black Friday, apparently not because of the way people feel after overindulging, and though it's on the same say of the week, also not related to our Black Saturday: it's the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, one of the best things I can say for Thanksgiving; here people try to start in mid-October). But globalization doesn't just mean other countries adopting American pronunciation: it seems that Black Friday has made it at least to Germany, and Australia. Here from my inbox: Show for Friday, 25 November 2016: What's that? It proved to be a naked URL: is the base URL of their web site, though of course they have to redirect you immediately. Who should be US president? Interesting article by Lawrence Lessig in the Washington Post today, addressing the discrepancy between the popular vote and the Electoral college votes in the USA presidential election. Apparently the latest counts show that Hillary Clinton got two million votes more than Donald Trump, but the way the system works meant that he won by a landslide. Lessig thinks that the Electoral college should have chosen Clinton. Is he right? I don't know, but it makes convincing reading. Clearly “One person, one vote” has failed badly here. I wouldn't care—not my country—except that I am still terrified that Trump will do something really stupid to put the future of mankind at risk. Cannelloni again We used to eat cannelloni relatively frequently, but the combination of laziness (can't be bothered to make our own fresh pasta) and poor quality of pre-made cannelloni tubes put us off. The last time we made it I still wasn't very happy. Today I started again from the base recipe, and came up with quantities that varied only slightly. Instead of 100 g onions, I only used 60 g. Both are clearly considerably more than the ¼ cup in the original recipe. And instead of 20 g garlic (“1 teaspoon”), I only used 8 g. The other issue was the number of cannelloni per person. In the end we ate 8 of them between the three of us (3 each for Chris and myself, 2 for Yvonne), so I'd say 3 is the right number. And this time I did it in a rectangular form 20×27 cm in size and only 3.5 cm deep. That's a bit of a crowd for the 11 we put in there, but about right for 8. Unfortunately, the depth isn't sufficient. One significant difference was the besciamella (béchamel). Don't do it with an induction cooker! Despite constant stirring with a hand mixer, it burnt: In the past I have never had enough béchamel, but this time, for the first time ever, I ended up with more béchamel than I could use. I had only used half the filling, and the shallowness of the form meant that I couldn't use the rest. Here's the result. And yes, despite the dried tubes, it was almost OK. But next time we really need to make our own pasta. Cannelloni 5 Early morning burnoff Round 9:00 this morning, without warning, we saw an unexpected sight in the driveway: Burning off 1 detail That was the CFA coming to burn off the pile of rubbish we had down the back of the paddocks: Burning off 5 Burning off 13 Burning off 18 19 It was all over in a little over half an hour, but unfortunately the big stumps weren't burnt: wanted to leave for Chris' place, after about 45 minutes, it had only transferred about a third of the file. So I gave up and tried with FreeBSD, where I ran into other trouble. Somehow the partially copied file had not gone away, though it also didn't show. Here the list of the 8 GB file system: === root@eureka (/dev/pts/6) /src/Downloads 150 -> mdel d:* === root@eureka (/dev/pts/6) /src/Downloads 151 -> mdir d: Volume in drive D has no label Volume Serial Number is 6E72-D777 Directory for D:/ No files === root@eureka (/dev/pts/6) /src/Downloads 152 -> mformat d: mformat: Unknown geometry (You must tell the complete geometry of the disk, either in /usr/local/etc/mtools.conf or on the command line) Surely we still don't need to know CHS for SD cards? So finally I gave up and “formatted” it in dischord, the Microsoft box. Then it copied at 5 MB/s, taking still a considerable time to complete: === root@eureka (/dev/pts/6) /src/Downloads 157 -> time mcopy Love-of-meat-3 d: real 13m29.850s user 0m0.357s sys 0m1.557s We've had FAT file systems for 40 years. Why is this all so complicated? No grog One of the things that came out of Paul Smith's analysis of my blood readings on Thursday was that he thinks I drink too much alcohol. He's not the first, and there are certain indications that he could be right. But I've been there before, 35 years ago. At the time I stopped drinking alcohol completely for 6 months, and it made no change. And apart from the blood levels, there are no other symptoms. Why? Clearly there was some other cause, but I never identified it. Still, that was half a lifetime ago, and things could have changed. I've agreed to take a month off in January (after Christmas) and see what my blood looks like then. In the meantime, it can't do any harm to scale back a little. More gardening stuff Mick the gardener along again today, mainly whipper-snipping, though he also planted some plants, including this Senna aciphylla which may or may not survive: Senna aciphylla But it couldn't stay where it was, so there's nothing much to lose. I'll keep an eye on it. It's also time to finally do something about the irrigation, although the new controller hasn't arrived. Discovered that (irrigation) circuit 1 wasn't working at all—why? It's difficult to measure the output voltages on the current controller, so for the time being I left it alone: it'll be much easier to test with the relay board. Then on to circuit 2, where a union had blown apart, conveniently behind two rose bushes. Put that together with only minimal harm to my person, and off to flush the hoses. Even before I had finished, the union blew apart again: I hadn't put it together tightly enough. Another attempt, this time with the tap on the solenoid turned down low, but it looks as if I don't have enough control like that, so we'll need a pressure limiter after Somehow this is all so frustrating. Umbel photography We have a considerable quantity of parsley and dill in the garden, now happily setting seed: Dill parsley The umbels are very pretty. But how do I get a good photo of them? Here a couple of attempts: The first of each pair was taken at f/4, the second at f/8. There's really not much difference to be seen in the dill. How can I improve that? Extending the driveway Only 2 days ago I looked out to the street to see: And today it seemed almost the same: Warrick 1 That was Warrick Pitcher come to extend the driveway into a loop, and also do some other Driveway 2 By the time he left in mid-afternoon, things were almost complete: Your IP address is compromised! Call from James Watson of Telstra today to tell me that my computer was in danger. I had a bit of time, so I strung him along. First, of all, he wanted to know whether I was running “Windows”, Mac OS or Linux, to which I honestly answered “No”, and volunteered that I was running FreeBSD. What? I repeated a couple of times, and he decided to call his team leader, who introduced himself as Stephen. He told me the same spiel, but didn't ask about what operating system. Instead he asked me to open a browser and go to Google to find support.me. I resisted a desire to say “OK, it's open, and doesn't it look filthy inside!”, and searched. All he really wanted me to do was to go to the site. Why the diversion via Google? While I was at it I searched and found this page, which gave me some idea of what they were trying to do. file Support-LogMeInRescue.exe. Double click on it. OK, “This link needs to be opened with an application”: Image title: need application Show for Tuesday, 29 November 2016: He didn't understand. Try another code (130000). Download another copy of the file. Dammit, the same thing happened again! So he asked me to try searching for logmein123.com, which specifically asked me if I trusted the person asking me to do the download. So I read it out to him and asked if I could trust him. Oh yes, we're from Telstra calling to help you, and I can trust him. I suggested that that sounded rather like Donald Trump, which at least got a laugh out of him. Whatever, I continued. It seems that it downloads exactly the same file. By the end of the exercise, I had: -rw-r--r-- 1 grog wheel 1,870,376 29 Nov 14:26 Support-LogMeInRescue.exe -rw-r--r-- 1 grog wheel 1,870,376 29 Nov 14:28 Support-LogMeInRescue(1).exe -rw-r--r-- 1 grog wheel 1,870,376 29 Nov 14:31 Support-LogMeInRescue (1).exe -rw-r--r-- 1 grog wheel 1,870,376 29 Nov 14:32 Support-LogMeInRescue (1)(1).exe Next he asked me to look at the keyboard, at the extreme bottom left. Do I see a key labeled “Ctrl”? No, it says “Find” (this is a Sun Type 7 keyboard, and the Control key is labeled, well, Control, but it's not at extreme bottom left). OK, what do I have at extreme bottom right? “Enter”, like most conventional keyboards I know. That didn't satisfy him either, though he didn't say what he expected. It occurred to me later that he considered the possibility that I couldn't tell right from left. Then he asked for the broken window key. Sorry, don't have that either. Much of this discussion was complicated by people making noise in the background, in some Indian language—Tamil, I think—in which “Stephen” joined. But finally he tried a different tack. Which version of “Windows” was I using? 7 or 10? I suggested that X must mean 10, though I prefer to call it X, and he accepted that. Final attempt: download TeamViewer. At least I know that one. Normally I access the site from Microsoft, but it seems there's a version for Linux too. So I asked hie whether I should select “Ubuntu, Debian” or “RedHat, CentOS, Fedora, SUSE” or “Other systems”. Not Linux, “Other systems”. That downloaded a compressed tarball of nearly 30 MB: -rw-r--r-- 1 grog wheel 29,009,560 29 Nov 14:35 teamviewer_11.0.67687_i386.tar.xz Double click on it. How about that, it requires an application! I read out the exact file name, which should have rung a bell, but it didn't. Clearly we were getting nowhere, so I asked why Telstra, of all companies, should contact me, considering that I had had no business dealings with them for years, and that they couldn't even provide support when I did. It seems that Telstra is responsible for allocating IP addresses, and mine had been that ICANN was responsible for allocating IP addresses, and in any case my block had been allocated by RIPE decades ago (possibly before he was born, though this didn't occur to me until later). He didn't appear to have heard of either OK, how do you compromise an IP address? I know a little about networking, but I don't understand that one. Please explain. Click. But at least I had strung him out for 25 minutes, 22 seconds. And interestingly, though the caller phone number was suppressed, my call log from MyNetFone tells me that it came from COFFS HARBOUR. I wonder if that is dependent on the (compromised?) caller IP address. In any case, it seems that next time I should give them TeamViewer access to one of my test machines and see what they try to do. That, too, could be fun, as would be the ability to record the conversation. I found it in the forest at the back of the property this afternoon. It's only just starting to flower, so I might get some better photos soon. Driveway: complete! Warrick back again today to finish off the earthworks. When he started, I was concerned that the driveway loop wouldn't be big enough for Chris Bahlo's big horse float, but I no longer have any concerns: Sprinkler controller arrives Topic: gardening, technology, opinion The Ethernet-connected relay board that I ordered a couple of weeks ago has now arrived. No power supply—that was almost to be expected from the description—but absolutely no instructions!. That must be a new low. Hopefully I'll be able to make sense of the markings on the circuit board. Found a suitable power supply (I hope): the board has a marking “12 VDC”, but no information about the current required. The description above says “7-24V DC”, again with no current spec. My power supply delivers 1 A, which will hopefully be sufficient. I should find time tomorrow to look at it. Modern file transfer Topic: technology, general, opinion Yvonne back from shopping having scraped somebody's car in the car park. It seems that her car sustained most of the damage, conveniently limited to a single panel: Car damage 1 taken on Thursday, 1 December 2016, thumbnails taken on Thursday, 1 December 2016, small Diary entry for Thursday, 1 December 2016 The owner of the other car showed up and showed her how to take video with her phone, for which I admire her (the owner of the other car). We deliberately don't have “smart” phones because of the interface, and we've never used the photographic capabilities of our phones. But how do I move the image somewhere sane? The phone does not have any 802.11 connectivity, and it doesn't have a removable SD Card. Played around with the menus and discovered I could upload images via Bluetooth. What has Bluetooth connectivity? My new Android tablet. OK, try to pair, not made any easier by the fact that the Android user interface has changed since I last did it. Continued getting timeouts and refusals on both sides, until suddenly the message “Accept download from phone” appeared on the tablet—just long enough for me to read it. Then it disappeared again, and the phone timed out again. At some point I got a message something like “Unfortunately, the Bluetooth downloader has stopped working”. Look for Bluetooth downloader. Nothing. Look in the toyshop. Yes, Bluetooth File Transfer available. Downloaded it, all 1.8 MB, which took about 10 minutes for no obvious reason. And finally I was able to download (upload? sideload?) the image. So it seems that the initial failures were a combination of missing apps and inadequate error reporting. That was only half the story, of course. I still didn't have the clip in a place I could use it. But looking at it, it hardly seemed worth the trouble, so I put it into the “too hard” basket, to be looked at tomorrow. Garden on last day of spring Gradually the weather is getting warmer, and things in the garden have changed even since my last garden photo series two weeks ago. In particular, we have our first Strelitzia reginae flower, the first of about 5 that I can see coming up: Strelitzia 1 Old colour photography Topic: photography, history, opinion I've been doing more slide scanning, sometimes with relatively acceptable results: Dave Alex Paul 2 taken on Thursday, 24 July 1969, thumbnails taken on Thursday, 24 July 1969, small Diary entry for Thursday, 24 July 1969 This was taken on Kodachrome X, probably on 24 July 1969. The colours came up quite well. But there are other issues. This one, taken on the same film on 5 August 1969, is clearly out of focus: Bau Lake 1 taken on Tuesday, 5 August 1969, thumbnails taken on Tuesday, 5 August 1969, small Diary entry for Tuesday, 5 August 1969 Why? You can't blame it on autofocus, though the fact that the exact centre of the image is in focus could give you that impression. But there was no autofocus in those days. On the other hand, it was taken with a Asahi Pentax “Spotmatic”, probably with the standard 50 mm lens. That is a really easy camera to focus. So clearly the fault is my own. In general I find that the image quality I achieved was not the maximum possible, and by modern standards it's only barely acceptable. But I have significantly older photos. This week I found, scanned and re-processed some from the 1950s. These ones are from the oldest colour photos I have, probably the first that my father took: taken on Monday, 1 August 1955, thumbnails taken on Monday, 1 August 1955, small Pulau Perhentian 3 I had thought that they were taken in 1956, but my father had written on them “P.I. 55 Malaya”. The “P.I.” was clearly an abbreviation for Perhentian Islands, and it's to be assumed that “55” is an abbreviation for the year. They were clearly taken on Kodachrome I (with its blazingly fast sensitivity of 12°/12 ISO): Kodachrome slides 1584 x 770, 1065 kB But with what camera? My father bought his Canon rangefinder in Tokyo, and I had thought we had gone there in April 1956. There's no way of knowing the camera settings, but the photo of the burning house would have required an exposure of 1/50 s at about f/2.8 or f/2. But the next couple of slides are even more interesting: Grattan Street 1 They were taken outside our house in 177 Grattan St, Carlton. When? We lived there from September 1957 to February 1959, but my father was away for most of 1958. I put the date at 1 November 1957, but on reflection that's probably too early. The car, a Wolseley 6/80, was the one we had in Malaya, and we had had it shipped to Australia. And the extension work on the house, which my father had performed in the spring of 1957, was complete. On the other hand, the leaves on the tree look fairly fresh, and we were wearing relatively warm clothing, so it couldn't have been much later. The real thing of interest, though, is the image quality. It's much worse than the 1969 photos, and also worse than the 1955 photos. The slide was completely underexposed, not difficult with the film speeds of the day and without a light meter. Here a crop of Image title: Greg Show for Friday, 1 November 1957: small images For a modern-day comparison, this is about the same crop factor that I used for this image, taken today: Epacris 4 detail All in all, it seems that a number of things have conspired to keep the image quality of my slide scans well below the quality of modern images. Long live progress! Since finding the Thelymitra pauciflora (sun orchid) on the roadside, I've been looking for some on our own property. There are lots of them, more than I've so far identified on the roadside. These three are at the front of the property, close to the road:

Spring is a beautiful time of the year, with the temperatures warming, birds singing and many wildflowers starting to put on their annual show of colors. Each species is unique with various shapes of flowers and leaves, scents ranging from sweet to pungent and colors covering the spectrum of the rainbow. If you visit the park during April, slow down on your hike or ride, look to the forest floor, and you may see some of the following flowers. Bloodroot is one of the earliest bloomers of the spring with a single white flower and a uniquely-shaped, single leaf with 5 to 9 deep lobes. The poisonous roots have a bright red-orange sap (hence the name “Bloodroot”) that was used by some Native Americans in painting the skin and as a natural insect repellent. Wake-robin trillium is one of a number of trillium species present in the park. Trilliums all have a single whorl (growing in a circle) of three leaves and a single flower in the center. The wake-robin trillium’s flower is pollinated by flies attracted by its maroon color and ill scent. Violets are a very common flower in our area but one unique species at the park is the Halberd-leaved violet. It produces a yellow flower shaped like other violets, but its leaves are much larger and arrow-shaped. The crested dwarf iris is unique in that its sepals (modified leaves that protect the petals) look like the petals of the flower. The sepals are bluish/purplish and have a whitish crest near the base. The leaves are short when the plant blooms but may grow up to a foot long during the summer. A very showy flower in April is the foamflower. It sends up a flower stalk 8 to 18 inches high with numerous white flowers. Its leaves resemble that of a maple leaf, are hairy and often have purplish veins. A very common flower that you will see along many trails in the park is the ox-eye daisy. It will grow 1 to 3 feet tall. It is a member of the composite family (along with sunflowers, asters, thistles) so its flower head has yellow disc flowers and white ray flowers. South Mountains State Park has more than 100 different species of wildflowers blooming from March through September so you can see something different every time you visit. Remember that all plants, minerals and wildlife are protected in all of our state parks and should be left alone so that others can enjoy them. Stop by our office and pick up a wildflower blooming guide to help you find the locations of the different flowers and to see which ones are blooming.

Foreign exchanges The long tails of the crisis It was a week full of reports. The US treasury department released its semi-annual assessment of global exchange rates and regimes, and called the Chinese currency’s value troublesome. The Rockefeller Institute of Government published its report on the finances of the states in the US and called them perilous. Six German research institutes revealed their dour outlook on German and the eurozone economies for this year and the next. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development pared back growth estimates for central and eastern European economies for 2009 and raised them slightly for 2010. In addition to these, there were two important pieces of statistics. One was the admission by the Chinese government that its foreign exchange reserves had risen to $2.27 trillion by the end of September. It was hard to make out if the increase in foreign exchange reserves was due to valuation changes or actual accretion to reserves. The other was the report on foreign purchases of US assets for the month of August. Foreign appetite for US assets remains low and is declining too. Of course, the mother of all news was that key Wall Street firms would pay bonuses to their employees that would exceed the 2007 bonus payouts! The two key challenges, as 2009 winds down, are global exchange rates and the divisions that are coming out in the open in US society and the impact this would have on US social stability and global standing. First, we turn to currencies. In the course of 2009, ironically, the world’s worst performing currencies against the US dollar are from Asia. Given all the hype about the region’s potential, one would expect its currencies to be leading the charge. It is the other way around. The Chinese currency has remained anchored at a nominal exchange rate of 6.82 against the dollar this year. In fact, Latin American currencies have performed the best against the dollar this year. If general dollar weakness persists and if it leads to a resumption of boom in commodities, then perhaps one should be looking at the Latin American region for real decoupling rather than Asia, with its obsession with undervalued exchange rates. The US treasury, while refraining from naming China as a currency manipulator, spoke plainly, however, on the issue of renminbi undervaluation. It also added that the real effective depreciation of the Chinese currency this year undermines the global demand rebalancing that has begun to take place. The president of the European Central Bank and the head of the council of European Union finance ministers are to travel to China before the end of the year to discuss the renminbi exchange rate. Clearly, if China refuses to show leadership on exchange rates, not only does it risk international tensions, but also domestic inflation. As Bare Talk mentioned last week, if the credit crisis and recession ended the US’ excess spending, a nasty bout of inflation would be required to rid China of its reserve accumulation obsession. On state finances, the Rockefeller Institute said that “for the second quarter in a row, tax revenues collected by states across the US plummeted sharply in April-June 2009. When compared with the same period one year earlier, second quarter 2009 tax revenues in the 50 states dropped a record 16.6%—the second consecutive quarter in which revenues fell more sharply than during any previous time on record. Preliminary figures for July and August for 36 early-reporting states show continued deterioration, with overall tax collections dropping 8%”. M. Vidyasagar, former senior executive at Tata Consultancy Services in Hyderabad and now Cecil and Ida Green Chair professor at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas, adds his powerful anecdotal information to this story: “My colleagues at the University of Illinois are facing the problem that the state of Illinois is not paying physicians, as a result of which the physicians are not seeing state employees! Consequently, the medical insurance for state employees (including professors) is now essentially worthless! Professors in the California system have been given a ‘furlough’ whereby they have a ‘temporary’ salary cut of 8%.” Given these two key issues that could snowball in the coming years, one is left scratching one’s head on the predictions of a surge in operating margins in the US (operating profits/sales) to record and unsustainable levels. From 60 years of data, it is clear that the levels of operating margins that analysts project were seen only twice—in 2000 and 2007. On both occasions, they could not levitate at those levels and crashed. Despite the backdrop painted above, analysts are implicitly predicting a return to such levels (see ) Kenneth Rogoff reminds us pointedly in his latest syndicated column () that if financial crises hold one important lesson, it is that their after effects have a very long tail. Enough said.

Flip-Flops or Boots Polar Bears Go With the Floes Activities All About Ice The All About Ice suite of activities sets the stage for Explore! Ice Worlds! Ice in the Solar System and Ice on Earth. Children investigate ice, learn about its properties, and explore how it can change states to a liquid or a gas. Through hands-on experiences, they observe ice, find its melting and freezing point, and learn about some of its unique properties, including that ice, the solid phase of water, is less dense than the liquid! Ice Bingo: An Icebreaker Activity Ice Bingo is a 15-minute icebreaker activity for children ages 8 to 13 that introduces ice and its properties and sets the stage for further explorations and activities in Explore! Ice Worlds! Children are given cards that contain squares with different types of ice experiences — like getting their tongues stuck on ice! — interspersed with ice facts and information about ice in our solar system. Children have five minutes to find as many participants as they can who have had experiences described on the card. States of Water: A Snow Mobile (Getting Started) To introduce the properties and states of water, children ages 8 to 13 prepare the materials for a mobile. As they undertake the activities in the module, the children discuss the questions posed by the mobile and questions or ideas they may have about ice, water, and water vapor. At the close of the module, they complete the mobile. An Ice Magic Show In this 20-minute activity, cool magician, I.C. Melton (the facilitator) demonstrates the amazing State Change Trick for children ages 8 to 10. Based on what they have observed in I.C.'s performance, the children brainstorm what it really takes to make a state change happen! Around the Block: An Ice Tour In Around the Block: An Ice Tour children ages 8 to 13 spend 20 minutes investigating the basic properties of ice. Using common tools such as magnifying glasses and magnets, along with their own senses of sight, touch, and smell, they examine a large block of ice and then discuss and record their observations as a team. The Melting Point! In this 15-minute companion activity to That's a (N)ice Temperature!, teams of children ages 8 to 13 predict which ice cube will melt faster, one sprinkled with salt or one without salt. After making their predictions, the children pour salt on one ice cube and leave the other untouched, then observe for 2 minutes to see if their predictions were correct. Children learn that salt — and other substances — lowers the melting point of ice. Finally, they put their knowledge to the test by making ice cream! That's A N(ice) Temperature In this 30-minute companion activity to The Melting Point, teams of children ages 8 to 13 experiment to find the melting and freezing points of water and ice. Amazing Expanding Ice Children experiment with freezing water to observe another special property of ice — that it is less dense as a solid (ice) than it is as a liquid (water). Amazing, Expanding Ice! is an "overnight" activity requiring 20 minutes of preparation, overnight freezing of the experiment, and 10 minutes of follow up discussion. The Tip of the Iceberg Children ages 8 to 13 observe an ice cube in water and — literally — draw conclusions about properties of ice based on their observations! Flubber Flows Flubber Flows is a 30-minute activity in which teams of four to five children ages 8 to 13 experiment with Flubber and investigate how a solid can flow! They predict and model the properties of glaciers, view images of advancing glaciers, and create their own Flubber flow! States of Water: A Snow Mobile (Wrapping Up) After answering questions and recording their discoveries about water in its solid, liquid, and gas states on their Snow Mobile pieces, the children assemble their mobiles! Part Two of Explore! Ice Worlds — Ice in the Solar System investigates the who, what, where, why, and how of exploring ice in the solar system. Children ages 8 to 13 examine different types of ices, discover where these different ices occur in the solar system, how scientists determine what ice is where, meet some of the scientists who are exploring these ice worlds, and explore why their work is so important! Ice and Seek: What is Ice? In this two-part, 60-minute activity, children ages 8 to 13 begin explorations of ice on planets and moons in our solar system by building an understanding that there are different types of ice. As teams, the children examine three types of ice — dry ice, alcohol ice, and water ice. They identify the ices based on clues and then match the type of ice to the planet or moon on which it occurs. Reflections on Ice: How We Look for Ice To build an understanding of how scientists study ice properties remotely, children ages 8 to 13, observe ice through different wavelengths of light. In this 60 minutes of exploration, teams of children travel to three ice stations and examine the ice with black lights, flashlights, and colored lenses to discover that there is more to ice than meets the eye! Ice Zones: Where We Look for Ice In this 30-minute activity, children ages 8 to 13 draw conclusions about where on a planetary body scientists might look for ice — and why. They learn that even planets and moons as close to the Sun and as hot as Mercury may have areas with ice! Ice Quest! In this 45-60-minute activity, children ages 8 to 13 take on the roles of NASA scientists! They seek information collected from remote locations to ultimately answer questions about ice on Earth and in our solar system and discover why ice is so important. Children work individually or in teams of three to four on a quest for ice! Each team rolls a die that directs them to one of six posters at each turn. They collect information that will help them construct solutions — or challenge their advancement — in the game. Ice on Earth activities investigate where ice is found on Earth, how important ice is to our planet's climate, what changes in polar ice could mean for our future, and, finally, what children and their families can do to help mitigate those changes. Know Your Poles! In this 60-minute companion activity to Polar Bears or Penguins?, children ages 8 to 13 divide into Arctic and Antarctic teams to investigate Earth's polar regions. Each team reads, discusses, and records information about their region to share and to use in Polar Bears or Penguins? In this 60-minute companion activity to Know Your Poles, Arctic and Antarctic teams of children ages 8 to13 become familiar with the geography of, and amount of ice in, Earth's polar regions. Children create a "Polar Geographic Features Map" with an ice overlay. In teams, they play a fast-action matching game that challenges them to use their knowledge of North and South pole facts. On the Rise In this 60-minute interactive demonstration, children ages 8 to 13 use ice blocks and heat lamps to model what will happen to coastlines around the world as glaciers melt. They explore why glaciers are melting as a consequence of global warming and how human activity has added to the amount of warming. Catching a Heat Wave or Balancing Act may be incorporated into this activity. Balancing Act Children ages 8 to 13 construct a mobile that models the balance of warming and cooling influences, represented by craft materials, on the Earth's global temperatures. The children find that the Sun's energy alone leaves the mobile unbalanced and the Earth is too cold. They need to add additional warming and cooling factors to balance it and create Earth's moderate temperatures. Adding human sources of greenhouse gases, such as factories, power plants, cars, and farms, unbalance the mobile again, and Earth's temperatures become too warm. Children ages 10 to 13 model the effect of greenhouse gases on the Earth's atmosphere. Softballs represent the invisible infrared radiation emitted by the Earth as it is heated by sunlight. Armed with softball gloves and oven mitts representing greenhouse gases or embroidery hoops representing the inert gases nitrogen and oxygen, the children attempt to catch and throw the balls! They find that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane are uniquely shaped to catch and pass on infrared radiation, and so they are responsible for the warmth we enjoy on Earth. The children discuss how the addition of greenhouse gases by human activities leads to further warming and what steps we can take to slow it. Flip-Flops or Boots Children ages 9 to 13 undertake a long-term reading program to discover that, while weather is what helps you decide to wear flip-flops or boots on a given day, climate determines the ratio of the warm-weather shoe type over the cold within your closet. Children work in teams to research one of seven regions of the United States, collecting information about the climate, weather, crops, plants, and animals typical of the area. They share their findings on a regional map, and when assembled on the wall, the completed map of the United States indicates the key climate-related characteristics of each region. As a wrap-up, teams may put on a play or fashion show, create an exhibit for the library, or write a book showcasing their assigned region. The community can be invited to participate in a celebration showcasing regional foods and activities or in a photo contest. In this 45-60-minute "high-stakes" board game, everyone wins or everyone loses! As they play, groups of three to four children ages 8 to 13 build an understanding of how human actions impact global change. As teams, children play a game in which chance and choice determine the fate of a lone polar bear on an ice floe!

By Robert Bennett | How to beat the casino in craps is the question running through every dice player's mind as they throw their money down. While you can never guarantee a win, with the right knowledge you can put the odds in your favor. Dice Control. The only way to beat the casino in craps in the long run is to learn and use dice control. According to Yuri Kononenko, author of Dice Control for Casino Craps, if a player learns to control them perfectly, and makes the proper bets, then they can get a 2.38% to 9.5% edge over the casino. Dice control is handling and throwing the dice in such a way as to increase the chances that a certain number will appear before the 7 does. Dice control requires long hours of practice on a craps table because a player must hold and throw the dice in the exact same way time after time. Since the dice have sharp edges and the house rules require that they bounce off of the opposite wall of the craps table, it takes a great deal of skill to accomplish this task. When you add the chips spread across the table, waiting to throw off a dice roll the skill level required increases even more. Learning which bets to make. While knowing the proper bets to make doesn't guarantee that a gambler will beat the casino at craps, it does maximize the chances. The best bet on the craps table is the placing of full odds behind the pass line or on the come bets. While the odds favor the house on every other bet on the table, the actual "odds" bet behind the pass line or on the come bets are paid at true odds, giving the casino no edge at all on this bet. Of course, they still have a slight edge on the actual pass or come bet. Systems. There are books filled with systems to beat the casino in craps. One of the most famous is the Craps 5 method set forth in Frank Scoblete's 2005 book, "Beat the Craps out of the Casinos". The 5 count method of play involves weeding out the players who "7 out" quickly, and make the gambler more likely to be able to take advantage of a hot shooter while earning comps for being at the table a long time. Wait The basic system is not to start betting until a player has made 5 rolls without a craps. Comps. Another way a player maximizes his return is to take advantage of the comp system while at the tables. Casinos know that time at the table equals money in their pockets and they are happy to return some of that money through the comp system. Comps may include meals, souvenirs, cash back, hotel rooms for free or at a discount, and even airfare. Sign up Players should sign up for the players clubs at any casino they visit and allow themselves to be "rated" so they begin accumulating points. The most common method of being rated is to throw the player's card on the table along with the initial cash buy in. Once the information is recorded the accumulation of points begin. Learning how to increase your odds in craps will give you the edge in this dice game. Craps is a high-speed, complex gam …

RSA: How To Share The Road With Emergency VehiclesBy MAG Training Officer – December 6, 2012Posted in: News & Media The RSA has released a booklet to advise drivers on how to react when they encounter emergency services vehicles on the roads. As the RSA put it: To help road-users to understand how to share the roads with emergency vehicles, the RSA has joined forces with a number of emergency service organisations to produce a booklet called ‘Sharing the Road with Emergency Service Vehicles’. The purpose of the booklet is to advise motorists how to summon emergency services when required, what to do when they encounter emergency vehicles on the road and how to share the road safely with these vehicles. The booklet is available in hard copy by request from the RSA and is also available to download from: and the websites of the individual emergency services. Hard copies of the new booklet will also be distributed by the various emergency services. For further information or media queries, please contact: RSA Communications Office: 096 25008 Some Basic Tips when sharing the road with Emergency Service Vehicles (ESVs) It is important to be alert and attentive at all times. Remember to keep noise levels in your vehicle at a level that allows you to hear the sirens from emergency vehicles. Be particularly alert at intersections. Observe your surroundings as emergency vehicles may come from behind you or from a secondary road. When an emergency vehicle approaches and you see blue flashing lights or hear sirens: Clear the way as soon as you can do so safely. Never mount the kerb unless you absolutely have to and, even then, only if you are certain that there are no pedestrians in the area. Check your rear view mirrors to gauge the speed of the emergency vehicle/s and also look out for pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and other road users. Indicate your intention to pull over. Pull over only in a space that has enough space for the emergency vehicle/s to pass safely. Stay there until the emergency vehicle has passed. Watch out for other emergency vehicles as there may be more than one. Indicate that you’re going to pull out again. When it’s safe to do so, gradually merge back into traffic. Tailgate or overtake an emergency vehicle Race after an emergency vehicle to get through a traffic light Break a red light or speed to allow emergency vehicles to pass unless you’re directed to do this by the Gardaí or emergency services personnel Pass a moving emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights We in MAG Ireland would advise riders to take the time to read and understand the content of the booklet. It’s also important to note that some drivers, when they become aware of an approaching emergency services vehicle, may take evasive action without being aware of the presence of a motorcycle. Always prepare for the unexpected and be particularly aware of your surroundings when you hear sirens.

Godzilla vs. the Intuitrons By: Joel Cronkite Hollywood’s nineties-revisionist Godzilla pissed off the Japanese. Such a crass interpretation of an unofficial but nevertheless beloved national symbol was an affront like few others. Once again, Hollywood missed the point. A better CG lizard was not, in the end, a better Gojira, as he’s known in Japan, since everyone ought to know the soul of the beast resides in the man who wears the rubber suit. They still make Godzilla movies that way in Japan — with costumed actors lumbering through miniature sets of Tokyo — even though they can produce, with great ease, cell phones the size of a thumb or semi-intelligent robotic dogs. Which reminds me of an argument I keep having. Being a young graphic designer, I’m often in contact with other young designers, not a few of whom like to say to me, "design is all about intuition." Occasionally, I feel compelled to ask them what they mean by that, since I often get the impression that they haven’t really thought about the consequences of what they’re saying. In a lot of ways, they’re like Hollywood: just as rubber suits, though they represent everything essential to the concept of Godzilla, are discarded in favor of the momentary and shallow pleasures of digital models, so too these young designers abandon the essentials of design in order to champion a catchphrase they haven’t begun to explore with any depth. This is not to say that a few intrepid designers haven’t tackled this question and come away from the brawl with clever and useful methods of making graphic objects. Drawing on the postmodern tradition and its now-familiar stance on things like certainty and meaning has led to such purported virtues as audience-exclusive design authorship, and, in turn, to the insistence on intuition as the primary means to achieve that virtue.(1) I have to admit that these ideas can be compelling, and that they have, on occasion, produced some very good work. Nevertheless, despite the relative merit of the best arguments, the young designers in question seem to have heard only a single line: design is all about intuition. This then becomes the basis for further reductions: designers don’t need to know color theory; they don’t need to learn about classical typography; they don’t need to study early twentieth century design. Some don’t stop there: designers need not understand history in general; they need not have the ability to draw or write; they have no use for literature, or languages, or protozoology. If something does not contribute to a sophisticated understanding of Photoshop filters, it must not be worth learning. Or so the story goes. I understand that not everyone has the access, the finances or the patience required for a broad education. I also empathize with the never-ending quest for better technique. I question, however, the intentional pursuit of a narrower field of vision. One of the consequences of such a pursuit is that its proponents fail to see that everything they are saying has been said before. Not long ago I picked up a book of twentieth century writings on graphic design.(2) This anthology covers everything from an 1893 William Morris lecture on books to a 1983 Massimo Vignelli essay about design criticism. What I find most fascinating about this collection of historical documents is that the entire contents of the argument I’m addressing in this essay have been put forth again and again throughout the history of graphic design. The Futurist ranting of F T Marinetti in 1913 can at times be easily confused with the "radical" ideas designers have been tossing around throughout the 1990s. "My revolution," Marinetti declares, "is aimed at the so-called typographical harmony of the page… On the same page, therefore, we will use three or four colors of ink, or even twenty different typefaces if necessary. For example: italics for a series of similar or swift sensations, boldface for the violent onomatopoeias, and so on."(3) This declaration reminds me of an art school catalog I received in the mail recently. Some of my favorite comments are made by the man who art-directed the venerable CBS eye-logo, William Golden. Golden deftly deconstructs the "immature avant-garde designer" as a person who mistakes the printed page for an art gallery, and who thinks that abstraction and self-expression are worthwhile characteristics in design. Stressing responsibility to the craft, he asks "that the word ‘design’ be considered a verb in the sense that we design something to be communicated to someone." "I think," he says, "[we] should avoid designing for designers.’(4) Designing for designers has led to some admittedly stunning work. What is sometimes lacking in such work, however, is a grasp of things like language and context. Clichés and grammatical inconsistencies are dangers when a designer is unable to recognize them. Imagery chosen according to instinct may not be appropriate if content is not understood. Intuition may lead us in the right direction at first, but it has a somewhat murky relationship to final products. Part of what we need, I think, is a good definition of the word "intuition." The way that this word is handled in our phrase-in-question is limited at best. Originally, intuition was meant to express one of the ways in which the world was transmitted to our minds: a response to an idea or fact that we have not yet learned during formal processes such as education. Its usage in our phrase, however, suggests that an intuited idea cannot be articulated in any way. Rather than meaning, "I knew the answer before I read the chapter," it has been recast as, "I know the answer, and by the way, the chapter was not written by me so I didn’t bother to read it." Intuition used in this way becomes a synonym for self-expression, which in turn becomes a synonym for exclusivity. This approach, which sees theory in competition with the gut, resolutely ignores the possibility that theory has been written — and is rewritten — for the sole purpose of satisfying our guts in a consensual way. There are plenty of reasons why our guts may not be at eye-level with theory, but it could very well be that few of those reasons coincide peacefully with the everyday practice of design. The gut does very little to enhance a meeting with a client or employer, who demand of us coherent arguments for what we do; it does little to make sense of our solutions, or to place our work in a broader context. Regardless of what genius it may belong to, it lacks perfection, or even the ability to recognize when it’s not being perfect. Don’t get me wrong: the gut is a great tool — maybe the only one you need… if, as William Golden pointed out forty years ago, you’re an abstract expressionist painter. If we were comfortable divorcing the ideas of intuition and self-expression, we might be able to adequately explore the role of the gut in everyday practice. Good intuitive responses are clearly and indisputably an important part of being a good designer. I don’t think that anyone would ever argue, "Ignore your gut; pay attention only to this list of rules." Holding a strong, innate feeling for design against a designer would, after all, make no more sense than resenting Godzilla his peculiar shade of green. Similarly, people who rely entirely on a schematic approach to design, on regimented scientific principles of composition, are rarely inspired to be interesting. Designers who know all the rules but haven’t got a sixth sense are only getting lucky when they come up with an effective solution — or else they produce the same effective solution over and over. People overfed on academic jargon pie don’t always have all of the answers they think they do, which has given the young designers in question plenty of ammunition. Nevertheless, we seem to find it very difficult to pry intuition away from self-expression. Since self-expression places first priority on the visual, on esthetic pleasure, it becomes very easy to miss what I’ve noticed about my favorite designers: that the act of design is often but a little magma flow on a much larger mountain, and that the pleasure of the esthetics is the result of far more than some magnetic attraction to what is pleasurable. There’s more in play than the contrast between what’s good for my eye and what’s bad for my eye. There is, for example, the eye of the client, and the eye of the client’s audience. Both of these carry two immense bodies of thought which include everything from smart contract negotiations to semiotics. Since these are the eyes — and not those of other designers — which ultimately will judge the worth of our work, the claim that we should ignore them is strange. My recognition of this kind of thing somehow signals to certain young designers that I am in opposition to new ideas, to experimentalism. Yet to me the lack of that recognition signals someone who is so self-absorbed that they have forgotten the human-to-human component that necessitates design in the first place. Never mind that they’re presenting an incredibly shallow approach to self-expression, or that they’re unwittingly rehashing some early twentieth century avant-garde rhetoric; the level of pretense — of ignorance masquerading as bravery — reveals people backing up into themselves, away from the edge they like to trumpet upon. As a result, yet another consequence of the self-expression hard-line is the dilution of experimentalism. The communicative nature of design makes this especially true. Self-expression should be a tiny portion of the vast network of potentially experimental ideas in design, not the end-all experiment. At any rate, if self-expression is the only tool at our disposal to blur the line between graphic design and fine art, this has pitiful portents for fine art, which already has in its own student population an unnerving number of people who can only define art as, simply, "self-expression." To some, that’s probably a small consequence. A friend of mine makes pamphlets for an insurance company. Her distance from experimental design vocabularies is, as you might expect, quite remote. Still, the majority of designers who hold most fervently to the concept at hand are students, who traditionally are very interested in at least pretending that they are on the edge of things. Since it is this sense of experimentalism, however misplaced, that seems to fuel future movement in design, granting it the barest minimum of thought cannot be good for our discipline. Though the first Godzilla film was created by a few talented individuals (director Inoshiro Honda and effects man Eiji Tsuburaya, to name a couple), the concept is in many ways community property in Japan. Godzilla’s legacy represents an intellectual trust established for future generations, one that can only be preserved by an authoritative mastery of the lizard’s historical significance. Design should be the designer’s Godzilla. It should be everyone’s Godzilla. Nevertheless, a movement persists that seeks to jettison meaningful, contextually significant, intelligent design for a flash of self-aggrandizing expressionism. The last Japanese actor to play Godzilla, Kempachiro Satsuma, once said, "After a rampage, Godzilla always returns to the sea… I try to express with my back the silent message that Godzilla will always come back and fight as long as people keep making nuclear weapons."(5) If a man in a rubber monster suit can make such a claim, it is no burden to expect designers to come up with ample motivations beyond their own personal satisfaction. This is an idea explored in greater detail in a Rick Poyner column ("Where is here? Here is me!" Graphis 320, March/April 1999, 16). Poyner’s concern is the "profound consequences for design" posed by the "new religion of the self," concluding that such self-centeredness results in a "reluctance to learn anything from the experience of our predecessors, or to sustain an imaginative grasp of posterity." Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller, and Rick Poyner, eds., Looking Closer 3: Classic Writings on Graphic Design (New York: Allworth Press, 1999). This is one of those few graphic design books that actually has something to say; designers must have at some point given the publishing industry the idea that we can only handle picture-books. F. T. Marinetti, "Destruction of Syntax—Imagination Without Strings—Words-in-Freedom," in Ibid., 10. William Golden, "Type is to Read," in Ibid., 120-121. I get the feeling William Golden would not have been comfortable having his words show up in an essay like this. His distrust of theorists and critical writing about design is obvious. Such work, he makes sure to point out, serves "to confuse the simple purpose of our perfectly honest, useful little craft" ("Visual Environment of Advertising," (in Ibid., 130.). I’d tend to agree with him that too much criticism at the expense of actual design-work muddies the waters, but even so I can’t seem to help myself. Mark Schilling, The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture

"...Paradise will be a kind of library." Thank you Ben Franklin for public libraries,our soul and our connection with all humanity, their joys, sorrows and triumphs through all time. Mom, Ben Franklin gave our fledgling country so much, but public libraries have to up there at the top of the list. Thanks for the reminder!

The Myth Of FrontPage Placing Garbage In Your HTML code It must be rather annoying for the vast multitude of Microsoft FrontPage users to keep hearing comments and criticism leading to think that Microsoft FrontPage creates bloated and not really well formed HTML code. Microsoft FrontPage users find this critiques particularly fastidious because most have indeed coded hundreds of web pages with the tool and all such pages are "up" on their Intranets and web sites and they are all seemingly working just fine. If the issues of a) guaranteeing maximum accessibility, b) generating clean and fast code HTML that allows pages to load in less time, c) obtaining HTML code that is easy and fast to maintain and update are really important to today content publishers in large and small organizations, a deeper look at what is going on when FrontPage is utilized, is indeed required. According to most respected resources, including my own technology advisor Massimo Curatella, hand coding is still the only way to ensure clean code, though this may not be what most users like, prefer or have been trained or mistrained to do. There is yet no better way to ensure code that is lean, well constructed, easy to scan and read, and which is also fast to load and highly compatible with all browsers versions and operating systems around. Since most users are not aware and educated about what good HTML code is and how browser compatibility is tested they will take for granted that Microsoft FrontPage produces good and reliable web pages. Especially in medium and large organizations where Microsoft Office is indiscriminately utilized across the board, the use of Microsoft tools has become so engrained without the IT/MIS departments ever realizing how bad and detrimental the use of such an information tool can be on the overall accessibility issues of the content being published. FrontPage is being adopted because it is a Microsoft tool, and because it is a WYSIWYG tool that allows webmasters to create pages without ever needing to know any HTML code or rule that governs the proper publishing of content on the web. Fact is, and you can test this out right now, that pages created in Microsoft FrontPage do not look the same when viewed outside FrontPage and the Internet Explorer browser installed on your machine. The look of the same page will vary greatly when viewed with Netscape, Opera and other browsers, and in some circumstances other browsers will not be even capable to display the FrontPage generated code. Unfortunately, as I will demonstrate to you in this article, FrontPage truly adds unnecessary, useless code to web pages created and modified with this software. Hard to believe I know, but true. And here are the facts: If we use bold and font tags (using the Georgia font) in the phrase "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog," the clean HTML code looks like this: <p><b><font face="Georgia">The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.</font></b></p> If I change my mind and remove the bold and change the font to Arial in FrontPage, it can become: <p><font face="Arial">The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.</font><font face="Georgia"></font></p> The Georgia font tag is still there, even though there is no code between the <font> and </font>. This is typical FrontPage behavior after repeatedly modifying a page. Each new version of FrontPage improves, but it still lags behind the other WYSIWYG editors. Author Dori Smith did a comparison of editors and how much code they produce. "The goal was to produce a simple Web page containing just a single linked image that rolled over to another image." The summary of the results: - Macromedia Dreamweaver MX: 49 lines, 1,733 characters - Adobe GoLive 6: 55 lines, 1,453 characters - Microsoft FrontPage 2002: 730 lines, 16,380 characters !!! - Hand-coding: 29 lines, 858 characters http://www.backupbrain.com/ 2002_11_17_archive.html#a003122 If anybody out there thinks that 10 to 15 times more code will not slow down a page upload on the Internet, well he should look well at those number above and make a few simple calculations. Microsoft FrontPage is a particularly nasty offender in certain specific areas. One of them is code nesting. One of the rules of good HTML code is to nest tags in the correct order. For example: <b><font color="blue">MasterMind</font></b> This is the correct way to nest tags. The <b> tag is placed on the outside while the <font> is on the inside. There have been instances in FrontPage where the tags were out of order and incorrect: <b><font color="blue">MasterMind</b></font> Please note that while Microsoft Internet Explorer will parse and display such code in your browser, many other browser models and versions may feel to do the same. In general it would be wise to ensure that any web page created loads quickly and that it can be properly viewed in other non-Microsoft browsers, in order to guarantee maximum effective accessibility to all types of users. The only simple cure to Microsoft FrontPage mishaps is serious investments in reliable content management solutions that allow content owners to publish directly on the web as well as better training for technical staff and webmasters with the provision of pre-selected authoring tools and techniques guaranteeing maximum accessibility (lean, compatible, readable and code and fast loading pages).

Antidepressants: Selecting one that's right for you Antidepressants: Selecting one that's right for youConfused by the choice in antidepressants? With persistence, you and your doctor should find one that works so that you can enjoy life more fully again.By Mayo Clinic Staff Antidepressants are a popular treatment choice for those with depression. Although antidepressants may not cure depression, they can reduce your symptoms. The first antidepressant you try may work fine. But if it doesn't relieve your symptoms, or it causes side effects that bother you, you may need to try another. But don't give up. A number of antidepressants are available, and chances are you'll be able to find one that works well for you. Finding the right antidepressant There are a number of antidepressants available that work in slightly different ways and have different side effects. Most work equally well to relieve depression, so choosing the right one generally involves subtle differences. When prescribing an antidepressant that's likely to work well for you, your doctor may consider: Your particular symptoms. Symptoms of depression can vary, and one antidepressant may relieve certain symptoms better than another. For example, if you have trouble sleeping, an antidepressant that's slightly sedating may be a good option. Possible side effects. Side effects of antidepressants vary from one medication to another and from person to person. Bothersome side effects, such as dry mouth, weight gain or sexual side effects, can make it difficult to stick with treatment. Whether it worked for a close relative. How a medication worked for a first-degree relative, such as a parent or sibling, can indicate how well it might work for you. Interaction with other medications. Some antidepressants can cause dangerous reactions when taken with other medications. Whether you're pregnant or breast-feeding. Many antidepressants may not be safe for your baby when taken during pregnancy or later when you're breast-feeding. Work with your doctor to find the best way to manage your depression when you're expecting or planning on becoming pregnant. Other health conditions. Some antidepressants may cause problems if you have certain mental or physical health conditions. On the other hand, certain antidepressants may help treat other physical or mental health conditions along with depression. For example, bupropion (Wellbutrin) may help relieve symptoms of both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression. Other examples include using duloxetine (Cymbalta) to help with pain symptoms or fibromyalgia, or using amitriptyline to prevent migraine headaches. Cost and health insurance coverage. Some antidepressants can be expensive, especially if there's no generic version available. Types of antidepressants Certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters are associated with depression — particularly serotonin (ser-o-TOE-nin), norepinephrine (nor-ep-ih-NEF-rin) and dopamine (DOE-puh-meen). Most antidepressants relieve depression by affecting these neurotransmitters. Each type (class) of antidepressant affects these neurotransmitters in slightly different ways. Many types of antidepressant medications are available to treat depression, including those below. Discuss possible major side effects with your doctor or pharmacist. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Doctors often start by prescribing an SSRI. These medications are safer and generally cause fewer bothersome side effects than other types of antidepressants. SSRIs include fluoxetine (Prozac, Selfemra), paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro). Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Examples of SNRI medications include duloxetine (Cymbalta), venlafaxine (Effexor XR), desvenlafaxine (Pristiq, Khedezla) and levomilnacipran (Fetzima). Norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs). Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Aplenzin, Forfivo XL) falls into this category. It's one of the few antidepressants not frequently associated with sexual side effects. Atypical antidepressants. These medications don't fit neatly into any of the other antidepressant categories. They include trazodone (Oleptro), mirtazapine (Remeron) and vortioxetine (Brintellix). Both are sedating and usually taken in the evening. A newer medication called vilazodone (Viibryd) is thought to have a low risk of sexual side effects. Tricyclic antidepressants. Tricyclic antidepressants — such as imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), amitriptyline, doxepin, trimipramine (Surmontil), desipramine (Norpramin) and protriptyline (Vivactil) — tend to cause more side effects than newer antidepressants. So tricyclic antidepressants generally aren't prescribed unless you've tried an SSRI first without improvement. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). MAOIs — such as tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil) and isocarboxazid (Marplan) — may be prescribed, often when other medications haven't worked, because they can have serious side effects. Using an MAOI requires a strict diet because of dangerous (or even deadly) interactions with foods ― such as certain cheeses, pickles and wines ― and some medications, including birth control pills, decongestants and certain herbal supplements. Selegiline (Emsam), a newer MAOI that you stick on your skin as a patch, may cause fewer side effects than other MAOIs. These medications can't be combined with SSRIs. Other medications. Other medications may be added to an antidepressant to enhance antidepressant effects. Your doctor may recommend combining two antidepressants or medications such as mood stabilizers or antipsychotics. Anti-anxiety and stimulant medications might also be added for short-term use. 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Make it decafComplete blood count (CBC)Complicated griefCompulsive sexual behaviorConcussionConcussion in childrenConcussion RecoveryConcussion TelemedicineCoping with the stress of hidradenitis suppurativaCoping with the emotional ups and downs of psoriatic arthritisCreating a hidradenitis suppurativa care teamCreutzfeldt-Jakob diseaseCupping therapy: Can it relieve fibromyalgia pain?Cushing syndromeCyclothymia (cyclothymic disorder)DeliriumDepression and anxiety: Can I have both?Depression, anxiety and exerciseDepression: Diagnosis is keyDepression during pregnancyDepression in women: Understanding the gender gapDepression (major depressive disorder)Depression: Provide support, encouragementDepression: Supporting a family member or friendDiabetes and Alzheimer'sDiabetes and depression: Coping with the two conditionsDiagnosing Alzheimer'sDissociative disordersVitamin C and moodDrug addictionEarly-onset Alzheimer'sAlzheimer's elder careElectroconvulsive therapyEmpty nest syndromeFatigueFibromyalgiaFibromyalgia or not?Fibromyalgia and acupunctureFibromyalgia: Does exercise help or hurt?Fibromyalgia misconceptionsFibromyalgia coping optionsFibromyalgia: Self-care tipsIs gabapentin an effective treatment for fibromyalgia?Fish oil and depressionFolic acid supplements: Can they slow cognitive decline?Foods and sleepGinkgo biloba: Can it prevent memory loss?Global BridgesHabit ProgramHangover preventionHangoversHashimoto's diseaseHeadacheHidradenitis suppurativaHidradenitis suppurativa and diet: What's recommended?Hidradenitis suppurativa: What is it?Hidradenitis suppurativa: When does it appear?Huperzine A: Can it treat Alzheimer's?HyperparathyroidismHypoparathyroidismHypothyroidism: Can calcium supplements interfere with treatment?Hypothyroidism dietHypothyroidism and joint pain?Hypothyroidism: Should I take iodine supplements?Hypothyroidism symptoms: Can hypothyroidism cause eye problems?HypothyroidismIBD and depression: Is there a connection?InsomniaInsomnia: How do I stay asleep?Insomnia treatment: Cognitive behavioral therapy instead of sleeping pillsStaging an interventionIs depression a factor in rheumatoid arthritis?Is fibromyalgia hereditary?Depression and dietLack of sleep: Can it make you sick?Lexapro side effects: Is breast tenderness common?Living better with hidradenitis suppurativaLow blood pressure (hypotension)Male depressionManaging depression in MSManaging HeadachesManaging hidradenitis suppurativa: Early treatment is crucialMAOIs and diet: Is it necessary to restrict tyramine?Marijuana and depressionMeditationMediterranean diet recipesMemory loss: When to seek helpMental health: Overcoming the stigma of mental illnessMental health providers: Tips on finding oneMental healthMental illnessMigraineMigraine medications and antidepressantsMigraine treatment: Can antidepressants help?Migraines and gastrointestinal problems: Is there a link?Migraines and VertigoMigraines: Are they triggered by weather changes?Alleviating migraine painMild cognitive impairment (MCI)Mild depression: Are antidepressants effective?Mindfulness exercisesMonoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)Music and Alzheimer'sNatural remedies for depression: Are they effective?Nervous breakdown: What does it mean?New Alzheimers ResearchNicotine dependenceNot tired? Don't go to bedOccipital nerve stimulation: Effective migraine treatment?Ocular migraine: When to seek helpOppositional defiant disorder (ODD)Pain and depression: Is there a link?Pancreatic cancerPancreatic Cancer SurvivorPancreatic cancer treatment: Why is it so challenging?PerimenopausePerimenopause birth control optionsPet therapyPhosphatidylserine supplements: Can they improve memory?Pituitary tumorsPolymyalgia rheumaticaPremenstrual dysphoric disorderPremenstrual syndrome (PMS)Prescription drug abusePrescription sleeping pillsProgressive supranuclear palsyPsychotherapyRapidly progressing Alzheimer's: Something else?Rebound headachesReducing the discomfort of hidradenitis suppurativa: Self-care tipsSalt craving: A symptom of Addison's disease?Savella may help fatigueSchizoaffective disorderSeasonal affective disorder (SAD)Choosing a light boxSelective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)Skip booze for better sleepSleep disordersSleep tipsSmoking and rheumatoid arthritis: What's the risk?Soy: Does it worsen hypothyroidism?Staying active with hidradenitis suppurativaStop your next migraine before it startsStress symptomsSundowning: Late-day confusionSupport groupsSymptom CheckerTinnitus and antidepressantsTranscranial magnetic stimulationTraumatic brain injuryTreating hidradenitis suppurativa: Explore your optionsTreatment-resistant depressionTricyclic antidepressants and tetracyclic antidepressantsUnexplained weight lossUveitis and depression: What coping strategies can help?Vagus nerve stimulationValerian: Sleep aid?Vascular dementiaVitamin B-12 and depressionVitamin B-12 and Alzheimer'sVitamin D: Can it prevent Alzheimer's & dementia?What are the signs and symptoms of hidradenitis suppurativa?What is reflexology?Will lidocaine injections help fibromyalgia pain?Wilson's diseaseWilson's syndrome: An accepted medical diagnosis?Show moreShow less

Some neurons turn to neighbors to get rid of old mitochondria Published: Thursday 19 June 2014 Published: Thu 19 Jun 2014 email It's broadly assumed that cells degrade and recycle their own old or damaged organelles, but researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Kennedy Krieger Institute have discovered that some neurons transfer unwanted mitochondria - the tiny power plants inside cells - to supporting glial cells called astrocytes for disposal. The findings, published in the online Early Edition of PNAS, suggest some basic biology may need revising, but they also have potential implications for improving the understanding and treatment of many neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders. "It does call into question the conventional assumption that cells necessarily degrade their own organelles. We don't yet know how generalized this process is throughout the brain, but our work suggests it's probably widespread," said Mark H. Ellisman, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences, director of the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) at UC San Diego and co-senior author of the study with Nicholas Marsh-Armstrong, PhD, in the Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University and the Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. "The discovery of a standard process for transfer of trash from neuron to glia will most likely be very important to understanding age-related declines in function of the brain and neurodegenerative or metabolic disorders," Marsh-Armstrong said. "We expect the impact to be significant in other areas of biomedicine as well." Pictured is mouse optic nerve and retina, responsible for relaying information from the eye to the brain. The tissue has been fluorescently stained to reveal the distribution of astrocytes (yellow), retinal ganglion cell axons (purple), myelin (green) and nuclei (cyan). Retinal ganglion cell axons transfer mitochondria to adjacent astrocytes in the optic nerve head behind the retina. Astrocytes degrade the mitochondria in a process called transmitophagy. Credit: Image courtesy of Mark Ellisman, NCMIR, UC San Diego. The researchers looked specifically at the axons of retinal ganglion cells in mice, a type of neuron that transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. The investigation was prompted by observations by Marsh-Armstrong while studying a mouse model of glaucoma that protein products from the retina were accumulating in the optic nerve head (ONH) just behind the eye. Using a combination of advanced microscopy and molecular techniques developed at the Ellisman and Marsh-Armstrong laboratories, they discovered that damaged mitochondria in retinal ganglion cells were shed at the ONH where ganglion cell axons exit the eye to form the optic nerve leading to the brain. These mitochondria were taken up and degraded by adjacent astrocytes, the most abundant form of glial cell in the vertebrate nervous system and the only cell which bridges between nerve cells and the brain's blood supply. The discovery refutes the common assumption that all cells internally isolate, degrade and remove damaged materials - a process generally known as autophagy (Greek for "to self-eat"). When the process involves mitochondria, it's called mitophagy. The process described by Marsh-Armstrong, Ellisman and colleagues has been dubbed "transmitophagy." The surprising findings still leave questions to be answered. For example, do the mitochondria removed at the ONH originate only from the population residing in the long conducting nerve fibers from the eye to the brain or are some actively transported from the retina itself? Ellisman said the findings could potentially improve understanding - and perhaps eventually the treatment - of diverse disorders. "Mitochondria play prominent roles in the health of axons, which are fundamental to connecting neurons and transmitting information. It should be a priority to further explore what happens in transmitophagy and whether defects in this phenomenon contribute to neuronal dysfunction or disease."

Genetics & Stem Cells News Six New Obesity Genes Found Active In Brain Cells by priya on January 10, 2009 at 1:21 PM Font : A-A+ An international team of scientists has identified six new obesity genes that are active in brain cells. In addition to the FTO and MC4R genes already known, it was now possible for six more obesity genes to be identified: TMEM18, KCTD15, GNPDA2, SH2B1, MTCH2, and NEGR1. The gene expression analyses have shown that all six genes are active in brain cells. In the study involving 59,000 participants conducted by GIANT consortium, the German researchers believe that these newly discovered genes for obesity have a neural effect. "Definitely, the two main causes for obesity are poor nutrition and lack of physical activity. But the biology of these genes suggests genetic factors underlying the different reaction of people to lifestyle and environmental conditions," said Prof. H. Erich Wichmann and Dr. Iris Heid from the Helmholtz Zentrum M�nchen, Institute of Epidemiology. Except for SH2B1 gene, which plays a role in the leptin signalling and thus in the regulation of appetite, none of the other five genes was hitherto discussed as obesity genes. "The purely statistical approach of the genome-wide association analysis can depict new aspects of the biology of weight regulation, which were previously unanticipated," the researchers added.Source: ANIPRI/SK

Finding Careers That Fit Your Military Experience Military.com| by Courtney Trusty - Hire Our Heroes When military members finally get out of the military, they find that they are entering into a very different job market. Success After Service: Veterans Make Mark with Nonprofits For those who have spent their adult lives serving their country, moving into a life of nonprofit service just makes sense. But... Famous Veterans: Gregg Popovich Military.com| by Justin Sloan Gregg Popovich five years in the U.S. Air Force set him up nicely for his role as head basketball coach for the San Antonio Spu... Top 5 Ways the Private Sector Assesses Potential Employees Worried about how to translate your military experience into the civilian workforce? Here are 5 ways companies evaluate value w... Success After Service: Entrepreneurs Forge Their Own Path Many of us aspire to pursue our dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. The hard part is that we don't always know how to do so. Featured Veteran Employer See all featured veteran employers Hot Career Advice The Top 10 Paying Jobs in the US What are the highest paying jobs in the U.S., based on median annual salaries? Some of the results may surprise you. Management: Top 10 High-Paying Jobs Following their time in the military, many veterans feel they are meant be managers. Here are 10 high-paying jobs in management. Upcoming Job Fairs ASMBA Attend a Job Fair in Your Area If you hear about a veteran job fair that's not on this list, let us know by emailing... Best Veteran Employers: A Top-35 List What are the best employers of veterans in the nation? Here's a top-35 list. The Walking Dead: Don't Get Bitten in the Workplace "The Walking Dead" teaches us that you don't want to get bitten by zombies -- this lesson can be applied to the workplace. JOB SEARCH TOOLS FOR TRANSITIONING VETS Veteran Job Search Military Skills Translator Find Job Fairs Get an Expert Resume Career Benchmarking For Wounded Veterans Job Hunting Archive Vets Facing Difficult Transition to Civilian Jobs by Derek Turner WASHINGTON — Nearly two-thirds of new veterans say they faced a difficult transition to civilian life, partly because of the bleak economic environment but also because they seem to be speaking a different language than the business leaders who might hire them, according to a survey on post-military employment released this week. Servicemembers leave with unrealistic visions, said Tom Tarantino, chief policy officer for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Eighty percent of respondents said they were looking for "the right job," not just any job, but nearly half said they were unprepared for the move to the civilian workforce, according to the survey conducted by Prudential Financial and IAVA. "Expectations of people leaving the military are higher than reality. Not just in terms of, ‘I'm going to get this $100,000 job,' but in terms of work and life blance, work environment, types of employee services are available," Tarantino said. "That tells me we don't do a good job of training people leaving the military to look for work. We need to do a better job to set them up for success." He stressed that it's less a matter of veterans overestimating their skills than it is miscalculating how their experience translates to nonmilitary jobs and how well business leaders comprehend what veterans can offer. "The civilian business community does not understand military service skills and how to translate them," he said. "But they want to." The Obama administration in July announced an overhaul of the military's Transition Assistance Program. The effort involves the creation of a "reverse boot camp," a mandatory five- to seven-day program to educate departing troops on job skills, veterans benefits and personal finances. The administration has launched several other veterans jobs initiatives in recent months, including offering tax credits to businesses that hire veterans. Tarantino said his group has gotten positive feedback on the development of the new TAP program. He's hoping that future research into precisely how military specialties prepare troops for specific post-military jobs will yield a resource for civilian hiring managers, something of a cheat sheet that puts military experience into understandable terms for those who have never worn the uniform. The survey of 1,845 post-9/11 veterans found that 22 percent were unemployed, much higher than the numbers typically reported by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. In December and January, the months the Prudential/IAVA survey was conducted, BLS reported recent veteran unemployment rates of 13.1 percent and 9.1 percent. "We weren't looking for statistics," he said. "We're looking for trends." The challenge now, Tarantino said, is to help line up more closely the expectations of veteran job seekers and civilian employers. "The military gives you this amazing sense of purpose and ownership over your job," Tarantino said. "You give 21-year-olds responsibility for the lives of up to 30 men and women. That is profound. When you leave at 27, 28, it's hard to not still want that."

Strength & Power Training Discussion of strength training as part of your MMA conditioning program. > Adding Mass to Muscle Thread Starter nicknite86 Adding Mass to Muscle In this time of the year many people are interested in building muscle mass, you could see the gyms begin to pack up by January and then again in the Spring/Summer season as everyone is wanting to attain that “Beach Body”. Due to this, you’ll see health and fitness center parking lots usually packed with vehicles driven by people looking for the infinite advantages of good fitness health. However, many of these people are also looking for a quick fix, and they do not realize that building muscle tissue takes incredible amounts of dedication, time and energy. The “fast food” mentality won’t work in this area, and so a person is setting up failure if they expect to “get ripped” overnight. There are also no healthy or reputable products aimed at gaining lots of muscle fast, despite what some products may claim. Yet, there are a few ways to build muscle tissue in a short amount of time and a few of these starting points are easy to apply. 1.) Large Muscle Groups- First thing anyone should know about gaining muscle mass is that you should focus on exercising your larger muscle groups from the outset. Many beginners dedicate and waste lots of time trying to perfect smaller muscles like calves, stomach muscles, and biceps, not realizing that by building the larger muscle groups your smaller muscle groups will grow more substantially. For example, working on your chest and back will automatically push your smaller muscle groups to workout too. 2.) Select an Appropriate Weight- Another point I want to mention is being selective in the weights you choose. So if you want to build bigger muscle or bulk up you should utilize heavier weights, and stay about ten to twelve repetitions for each set. Something to take note of are professional bodybuilders, notice how any exercise with heavy weights is made up of a small amount of repetitions, so it’d be smart to adopt this technique. The reason for quicker gains with this approach is that you’re putting extra strain on each muscle area, and with more strain eventually comes larger muscle tissue over a span of time. The saying “no pain no gain” comes to mind because in order to achieve any evolution in fitness it’s mandatory to increase resistance at higher levels but in short bursts. In order to gain muscle mass in a reasonable amount of time the weight has to be right, so the ability to do greater than 15 repetitions (reps) for every set indicates that their too lightweight. On the other hand, if you cant complete a set with about 10 repetitions (reps) then the weight is too heavy. So your focus should be to find a middle ground, and this would be having a tough strain on the muscle while still being able to carry out a set with the weights; having this balance would be the correct path in building up more muscle. 3.) Take Small Breaks- With muscle building comes the (sometimes overlooked) process of muscle repair; it makes sense that to rest is to repair. Resting is an essential part of bodybuilding, and the truth is that your body responds to your prior workout sessions while resting, and therefore you develop the muscle mass at these times. Constantly pushing your muscles to the limit when exercising means that you’re “hurting” them as an advantageous result to the fact that resting will be the “recuperation” phase, the part where you make your muscles bigger and more powerful. When referring to small breaks, typically 2-3 days spread out between your muscle building program is a good idea, but you could also choose to schedule a resting day in the week. Another way of approaching this process is focusing on different muscle groups throughout your visits to the gym; whether it’s at home or not. For example, when working out your chest today your legs could be resting from the previous day of working them out. To conclude, these are just a few of the many suggestions for beginners to learn how to build muscle the right way. Of course further research for bodybuilding should be done; especially if you want to learn about the right nutrition, water intake, and all the things that would be helpful in paving a more resourceful path. My main recommendation though is to focus on what really works; such as techniques and strategies that stand the test of time, rather than always searching for the next big thing.

Palladium/Gold Ratio Doesn’t Bode Well For U.S. Economy or Stock Markets – Here’s Why …Understanding palladium is more important than ever, because there are important correlations between the palladium/gold ratio and stock market prices and, currently, the ratio of palladium/gold ratio is giving warning signals for both the economy and the stock markets. The comments above and below are excerpts from an article by I.M. Vronsky (Gold-Eagle.com) which has been edited ([ ]) and abridged (…) to provide a faster and easier read. Without any doubt palladium is more an industrial metal than a precious metal. Only a small portion of total palladium demand is attributed to its precious metal characteristic as shown per the following table of uses. Source: napalladium.com Though it is less popular and beloved by investors than gold…[it] is actually a far better economic indicator. This is because palladium happens to be the most industrially used metal of the precious metals class. Demand for palladium is overwhelmingly (90%) derived from industrial uses (primarily emission controls)…Platinum is perhaps better known for its uses in catalytic converters but palladium has become the main emission control catalyst in vehicles using gasoline…[primarily because it is] less expensive than platinum. Palladium is also widely used in electronics of all kinds because of its excellent conductivity and durability. gold receives less than 10% of its demand from industrial applications… The palladium/gold relationship to the direction of both stock markets and GDP The palladium/gold ratio is important because…there is a strong trend between palladium to gold and the direction of both stock markets and GDP. Consider that the price of palladium has collapsed over the last year vis-à-vis gold. From March in 2015 to end of May in 2016, the palladium/gold ratio has plummeted from 0.70 down to the present approximately 0.44. This is a shocking decline of 37% in about a year’s time. You can see this sharp move downward over the last year on the chart here: Source: sophisticatedinvestor.com Below is a 36-year chart of the palladium price super-imposed with the S&P 500 stock index. Clearly, the S&P 500 runs in tandem with the price of palladium. In fact this industrial metal might be considered a leading indicator of the U.S. economy. Moreover, it is imperative to notice the price of palladium has been declining since mid-2014, while the S&P500 Index has levitated higher…indubitably fueled by the U.S. Fed via quantitative easing with a view to giving the impression all is well (when in actuality the U.S. economy is faltering on many fronts). Therefore, if history is testament, US stocks will again follow the price of palladium downward (as the S&P500 did in 2000-2002 and 2007-2008 bear market periods). Indeed, On June 23 the UK approved the Brexit… A realistic sign of what looms on the horizon are the stock market reactions on June 24, 2016. Stock markets on all continents were mercilessly hammered down….in a rout of epoch proportions. While panicked investors stampeded to the safe havens of gold, silver and platinum on Friday, palladium sold-off…duly reflecting the declining trend in industrial usage especially now in the wake of Brexit. Palladium Short-Term Price Forecast The daily palladium chart shows a bearish head and shoulders pattern in formation. In the event the neckline at $532 is cut, palladium would have a downside price objective of about $428. The chart above shows that… [the price of palladium has been] in decline for nearly 2 years, and might decline to about $428 if the bearish head and shoulders neckline is cut. Consequently, the S&P500 would most likely soon follow suit by heading south…which means the rebirth of a bear market in stocks. The Dow Stock Index/US Bond Ratio …Another technical factor signaling that a bear market looms on the horizon [is the fact that] the Dow Stock Index/US Bond ratio is showing a bearish triple top. The last TWO times this ratio topped a ravaging bear market in US stocks began: Based upon the above rationale, the Dow Stock Index might eventually be hammered down to old support at about 7500. Previous A Bullish & Bearish Perspective On What Brexit Means For Gold

Nitrogen (N) flux to waters is increasing worldwide as a function of the intensification and expansion of agriculture, car use and other fossil-fuel combustion in both developed and developing countries, while increased concentrations of phosphorus (P) from agricultural sources and human waste are a major cause of degradation in the ecological status of inland waters. Despite significant management effort to reduce theses fluxes, while N & P concentrations have recently levelled off or decreased in some European catchments, in others an increase is reported, particularly in rivers draining through rapidly developing economic regions. A rising trend in Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) flux to freshwaters & coastal areas such as the Baltic Sea is also widely reported, particularly in the Temperate & Boreal regions. Impacts on ecosystem health are extensive & undesirable in both freshwaters & coastal waters, & there are implications for human health where DOC & DON are also known to support carcinogen formation in water supplies. In Europe the control of nutrient flux to all freshwaters & the coastal zone is required in order to meet the target of restoring waters to Good Ecological Status under the EU Water Framework Directive. Simultaneously, the UN has listed coastal nutrient pollution and hypoxia as the one of the greatest current threats to the global environment. Impacts include eutrophication of coastal waters and oxygen depletion, and the associated damage to ecosystems, biodiversity & coastal water quality. A detailed understanding of the nature, origins & rates of nutrient delivery to waters is essential if we are to control these impacts through management intervention, yet much of the necessary evidence base is lacking. Routine water quality monitoring is largely based on inorganic nutrient fractions, and substantially underestimates the total nutrient flux to waters, while research confirms that dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays an important role in ecosystem function including supporting microbial metabolism, primary production and pollutant transport, suggesting that its oversight in routine monitoring may undermine international efforts to bring nutrient enrichment impacts under control. The DOMAINE project will address this knowledge gap, building on the specific expertise of project members, undertaking a suite of interlinked experimental & observational research from molecular to catchment scale. We will use a combination of well-established approaches widely used in catchment research, with a range of cutting-edge approaches which are novel in their application to nutrient cycling research. The DOMAINE project will deliver improved understanding of: The role of DOM in the transport of N & P from source to sea & the ways in which this might alter nutrient delivery to freshwaters & the coastal zone under a changing cimate. The ecological significance of DOM as a source of nutrient uptake & utilisation by algal, plant and microbial communities in waters of contrasting nutrient status & DOM character. The impacts of DOM flux from soils, livestock & human waste fluxes on the ecological status, goods & services provided by freshwaters.

Best Beginner Guitar Lessons Kickstarter Course – Lesson #9 – Chord Family – E-A-B7 Video Guitar Lessons| Best Beginner Guitar Lessons Kickstarter Course – Lesson #9 – Chord Family – E-A-B7 The Chord Family E – A – B7 In this video, I want to show you another chord family. This is the chord family of E, A, and B7. Guitar Chords for Beginners Kickstarter Lesson #9. Let’s start with playing the chords E, A, and B7. If you’re just starting in here, I made some videos before this which showed the chords so we’re not going to spend time on that now. Key Of E Let’s play the chords together, and B7, back to E. E is the one chord in the family, E, F, G, A is the four chord and B… E is the one chord, A is the four chord and B is the five chord. We’ll make it a B7. Let’s play it. E, A, B7 and back to E. “E” Is The One Chord Now one of the things that makes this a family is that in that order it sounds like it wants to go back to the one chord or the home chord. In this order, sounds like it’s moving, and most people experience this, feel like it wants to go back to one. Play it with me one more time. Ready, E, faster, A, B7 and back to E. E, A, B7 and back to E. Keep Practicing. See you in the next video.

Human Facial Muscles that are Responsible for Different Expressions S.V. Arul Shiju Human Anatomy, This article will be useful for Drawing artists, Actors and for Medical Students. The Muscles that give rise to different expressions have been detailed here. First, let us remember certain common facial expressions like Fear, Anger, Happiness and Sadness. Then we have to understand the muscles that are responsible for those expressions. Total number of facial muscles is 18 (Anterior View). They all are shown in this picture given below. Zoom the picture in a new window and read the names of all muscles once before you continue reading the article. All facial muscles can be brought into three categories for our understanding as 1) Muscles in Orbital 2) Muscles in Nasal and 3) Muscles in Oral. The muscles function by the support of nerves. The job of these muscles is only to pull the fleshy face here and there as per the emotions experienced by the person. So it is very easy to understand, right? Now let us see what are the muscles participate in common emotions like Fear, Anger, Laugh and Cry. Great Artist 'Andrew Loomis' in his book 'Drawing the Head and Hands' described the relationship between the emotional expressions and facial muscles well for the people who are interested in drawing and painting. Fear: Fear is an emotion which separates people away from their desires. Fear is a personal enemy which never allows anyone to realize the love in relationship. Okay, let us take a look at the involvement of muscles during fear. Frontalis plays a major role in Fear. Platysma, the muscle in the neck also reacts to fear by pulling the flesh downwards. Anger without divinity brings only destruction. Anger brings destruction to the person who creates it and also to the people who surrounds him. It spoils the creativity of the mind. During anger Dilator naris (two wings of the Nose) will be expanded, Corrugator and Depressor anguli oris will be pulled down. Depressor septi also plays a minor role in creating an expression of anger. Happiness is an emotion which creates unity. Laugh is an expression which fulfills our desires. Mainly three muscles are responsible for smiling or laughing. They are 1) Zygomaticus major 2) Depressor anguli oris 3) Orbicularis oris and Orbicularis oculi. All these muscles will be pulled up and create a beautiful smile or laugh. Sadness: The healthy side of the sad people is that they absorb more and fully whatever they perceive. But happy people miss to absorb and learn the world. Happy people enjoy the experience. Sad people absorb and study the experience. The facial muscle that shows major participation in sadness is levator labii superioris, depressor anguli oris and levator anguli oris. Spend few moments and study the names and locations of all muscles. Then go in-front of the mirror and study your own facial expressions. You yourself find the muscles responsible for all the emotions like frown, joy, surprise, anger, fear etc. Spend more and more time until you get the clear picture of it and so that you can draw any Human beings with any expression effortlessly. The true fact is that only by adjusting the facial muscles properly no one can bring the exact expressions what they desire to bring. The proper expressions can be created only by mindfulness. The trick for an actor to act perfectly is 'Mindfulness'.

HomeResourcesTransfer Student Resources Transfer Student ResourcesAs you earn your associate's degree or work toward completion of the Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum, you should try to take classes that will satisfy requirements for your degree at NIU. For example, you must choose either a B.A. or B.S. sequence in environmental studies at NIU. Students with interests in biodiversity and environmental restoration, energy studies, or water will need the B.S. while students in the human experience, environmental policy, and non-governmental organization can choose either the B.S. or B.A. option. A B.S. at NIU requires you to take a combination of math and science courses (check here to see which classes at your community college are equivalent to required courses at NIU). A B.A. requires completion of the second year of foreign language. If you choose a B.A. in environmental studies, it doesn't matter what language you take, but if you have specific interests in particular regions of the world, it makes sense to take a language appropriate to that interest (e.g., Spanish for Latin America). What is most important is that you complete as many of your B.A. or B.S. requirements as possible at your community college (these include math, statistics, chemistry, physics, English, communications, foreign languages, and general education classes as appropriate). Which classes are offered at my Illinois community college and will transfer to NIU for this major? Useful Links

Allies The following are additional topic specific resources you can browse to learn more about a particular skill or subject pertaining to survival skills, emergency readiness, disaster preparedness, or self-reliance. FoodWaterStorage.com – is a great resource for learning all things food and water storage related. Helpful pictures, HD videos, and clear written how-to articles makes this site a favorite. Deflation Economy – In the current deflation economy the best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system. Hurry & learn how to survive the Greater Depression! The Household Cyclopedia of General Information is a great resource that contains thousands of how to and instructional passages pertaining to various self-reliant skill sets of days gone by. Subjects include agriculture, farrier skills, horticulture, weights and measures, metallurgy, and many more. Survival UK is a survival site biased towards survival in the UK. Be it simply living in a more sustainably manner in our economic climate or living through some natural or political event. They intend to tailor articles to allow everyone to benefit from the information so they can live within their means and supplement their standard of living and also prepare for a potentially worse situation – all while staying within UK law. Adventures in Self Reliance contains lots of relevant and useful information pertaining to a variety of survival and self-reliant concepts and skills. Be sure and check out the great posts in the Food Storage category! The Survival & Self-Reliance Studies Institute is a comprehensive database of self help, self reliance, survival, emergency preparedness, outdoor adventure and Do It Yourself information. This site has thousands of unique articles and resources and has been around (in some form or another…) for over 20 years! If It Hits The Fan is dedicated to helping families prepare for hard times and thrive during the good times. Your employer has a Continuity of Operations Plan; shouldn’t you? The Survivalist Blog has one of the most active survival and preparedness communities on the web and contains hundreds of practical articles!

Conquering Reverb: Behind Recorded Music's Oldest Sound Effect Accounts vary on the first use of artificial reverb, but the most widely acknowledged origin story just turned 65. That was the harmonica instrumental "Peg O' My Heart," and it was a No. 1 hit in the summer of 1947. It owes its hypnotic tone to a crafty production trick. YouTube "The engineer, Bill Putnam, did it by putting a loudspeaker and a microphone in the studio's bathroom. And it created this great, deep, rich echo," explains Atlantic contributor William Weir, whose recent article "How Humans Conquered Echo" chronicles what he calls the "oldest and most universal sound effect" in music. Later generations have found ever-craftier ways to manufacture reverb — from Duane Eddy's sessions in a 2,000-gallon water tank to the digital effects available in modern recording software. More interesting than the technology, however, is the motive. Why use reverb at all? "In a way, it suggests a presence beyond ourselves," Weir says. "Regardless of what you believe spiritually, when you shout 'Hello' into a stairwell and hear your voice ringing for a few seconds afterward, it's hard not to think of something beyond." To hear Weir's full conversation with NPR's Guy Raz, as well as plenty of reverberant moments from music history, click the audio link on this page. Facebook

PR 'Education' Is Being Oversold PR students and recent grads need practical job advice. But from what they tell us and what we read in PR textbooks, they’re not getting it. Rather, they’re getting a lot of abstract bafflegab and flapdoodle that will ill equip them to face the harsh realities of the marketplace. They’re being sent into battle armed with cardboard shields and papier mache swords. GenovaVeteran writer and PR pro Jane Genova wrote a Dec. 7 column for odwyerpr.com that is worth a stack of textbooks and years of college PR courses. She quotes an article on the “Education Bubble” that compares it to the real estate bubble—an over-priced, over-hyped commodity fueled by excessive credit mostly underwritten by the government. Genova says PR is an intensely practical and personal activity and that time in the trenches trumps anything that comes out of a book or instructor. “PR is like plumbing, sales and journalism,” she writes. This writer’s experience with PR is that if someone knows what’s working, they’re going to keep it to themselves. Writers don’t go around telling the competition how to pen good articles or novels. Genova tells fledgling PR pros to knock on doors--“cold call” all the merchants and businesspeople in town and offer what they can do to publicize and promote their businesses. Do Anything They Want We would go a step further. Do anything they need including sweeping the floor and washing the windows. Do what the regular employees won’t. Bring them news of new products or what the competition is doing. Show them how to create a website if they don’t have one. A local liquor store we know of markets an Australian wine nationally because he has bought a quantity of it and has the best price. First client could be a restaurant. Many a PR person started out working for meals. There’s plenty to do starting with asking customers what they really think of the food. They’re not apt to tell the owner. “Spy” on all the other restaurants in town and see how your restaurant stacks up. Pitch parties and special events to the businesses and associations in town. Treat community and business leaders to dinner at the restaurant, building its reputation as a “place to be seen.” Join all civic and business groups. Sonnenberg Should Be Studied Best “textbook” for a PR careerist is the bio of “America’s Greatest Publicist” -- Ben Sonnenberg -- "Always Live Better than Your Clients" by New York Timesman Isadore Barmash. Sonnenberg, who became rich enough to fill a 12-story townhouse with valuable art objects, was a fountainhead of ideas. He would give as many as 100 to a client. His goal was to get as close as possible to clients—be the first person they saw in the morning and the last one they saw at night. He found out what was in their “heart of hearts” and worked on that. For well-off businesspeople, it wasn’t more sales or profits. It might have been a son or daughter who couldn’t get into college. Do a favor for a client’s child and you’ll never lose the account, he advised. For many years he did the humblest of PR chores but eventually worked for many blue chip CEOs. The title of his book was the “revenge” he got for all those years of humiliation. Students Not Told About Sonnenberg We recently gave away O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR Firms to about 60 PR grads and undergrads in return for them telling us about their job-hunting experiences and how their educations suited them for that. None ever heard of Sonnenberg nor did any teacher ever tell them to knock on doors and talk to proprietors. What they got was a lot of theory, process and methodology. They read a lot about how national PR crises were handled although such materials were readily available in the press. What employers were interested in, they told us, was not what they majored in but how many PR internships they had served. Two were good but three were better. Only a small percentage of PR grads are going to get “real” jobs these days. The rest are going to have to fend for themselves. What’s ironic about this essay is that almost no PR professors would allow their students to see it. FiskeRosanna Fiske, 2011 chair of PR Society of America, gave her first interview last week, jumping the gun even before becoming chair. Her remarks portend what her tenure will be like—delusionary and ducking. She will pick and choose whom she lets interview her rather than facing the entire PR press at once. If she follows the practice of her predecessors, she will speak to a half dozen or fewer of the 110 chapters and this schedule will be a tightly guarded secret. Odds of her addressing the New York chapter are about zero. Fiske’s interview with PR Newser on Dec. 7 had her proclaiming the Society’s interest in ethics and diversity, two areas it should be ashamed of. It’s unethical for PRS to espouse democracy in its Code and then block rank-and-file members from seeing the national list of delegates, knowing what they said, or knowing how they voted. Blocking full press coverage of the Assembly while espousing “the free flow of accurate information” is also unethical. While professing to follow Robert’s Rules, PRS breaks at least five of them including the rule that if there is an assembly like PRS has, it must “sit over” the board. Proxies were again used in 2010 although this mocks Robert’s. This is a very small list of wrongful practices at PRS. The Society’s Code says “Ethical practice is the most important obligation of a Society member.” “Ethics” or “Ethical” appears 11 times on the first page of the Code. The word “politics”—meaning what faction has the most votes in the Assembly-- should be substituted for each of these. Diversity Record Is Almost Nil Even worse is the Society’s record on diversity—only two African-Americans on its board in 63 years. Ron Owens joined in 2006 for three years but quit after five months. Rejected this year was African-American Regina Lewis, head of communications for the Potter’s House mega-church in Dallas, a 25-year member. The at-large seat went instead to Susan Walton, associate teaching professor at Brigham Young and a member only since 2005. Lewis has a much bigger job. Ofield Dukes, African-American and 2001 Gold Anvil winner, was rejected for the at-large seat in 2009. PRSA last December closed the Multicultural Section after 26 years. Director Lynn Appelbaum said a survey of members found diversity was “a very low priority” with them. She noted the section was a money-loser since it only had 73 members, far below the 200 required. Section members posted more than 20 complaints on Twitter. VP-PR Arthur Yann said remarks by one of the complainers were “ignorant” and “irresponsible.” Section members were also angered that the decision to close was made without consulting them and just before Christmas when h.q. closed completely for an 11-day break. They found no one to talk to or take their e-mails. Chair Gary McCormick promised a Strategic Planning Committee in 2009 that would have blacks and journalists on it. The board did not allow this. Fiske should listen to 2011 board member Marisa Vallbona who said as a candidate that the Society “is dominated by a specific type of member and I can count on two hands the number of Hispanic members I’ve met in the past 20 years.”

Quick Facts on Jaylen JAY-lin No known meaning Characteristics of Jaylen Hard-working Etymology & Historical Origin - Jaylen The name Jaylen is a modern coinage originating from the United States. Essentially, it’s a made-up name and as such, there is no known etymological origin or known meaning. It’s basically the marriage of the popular “Jay” prefix with the also-popular “-len” suffix. It was probably invented in reaction to the super-popular JAY sounding names, like Jason and Jayden. Jaylen is a unisex name (although it’s far more popular for males). Popularity of the Name Jaylen The number Four personality is marked by stability and discipline. This is the personality that follows the rules and is conservative by nature. They have an earth-bound energy that prefers to build things methodically on top of firm foundations; they don't cut corners. Fours take their time and don't like to be hurried. But the outcome of their endeavors is likely to result in some strong and useful structure, which makes them great engineers and inventors. Fours are anything but frivolous or controversial. This is a trustworthy, straight-forward personality that embodies dedication and organization. They are the backbone and anchor in their relationships, careers and communities. They are tidy, punctual, and full of integrity. Hard-work comes naturally to a Four and they are immensely reliable. This is the personality you can always count on. Variations of the Baby Name - Jaylen

4 Easy Ways to Incorporate Permaculture Into Your Life Permaculture design principles are changing the world for the better. Sadly, many people are not aware of this simply because they do not understand what permaculture is. First, it is about creating a ‘permanent culture’, which is why avid growers Bill Mollison and David Holmgren called it ‘permaculture’ back in the 70s. But, as with the term ‘sustainability,’ it can be difficult to grasp what the abstract concept of a ‘permanent culture’ means. So let me give you an example. Let’s say that you want to grow carrots in your back garden. You dig up the soil, which encourages dormant weed seeds to grow and disturbs the life living in it. Then you sow your seeds. You water them every day using treated tap water. When the carrots refuse to grow, you apply shop-bought chemical fertilizers, and take to spraying them with chemicals to make them grow. You also spray them with pesticides to keep the pests away, and weedkiller because all those pesky weeds would take forever to pull up by hand. This entire scenario is certainly not sustainable behavior, and does not contribute towards creating a permanent culture, not only because it involves a lot of unnatural behavior – i.e. it is dependent on you in order to continue, but also because it is damaging to the environment. So what’s your other option? This is where permaculture comes in, to say that there is an easier, more natural, and perhaps more ‘common sense’ way to grow your carrots. 1. Cultivate observation. In the case of the carrots, this means observe the land. By doing so, you will save yourself a lot of time, energy, and probably money. Instead of digging straight in and planting your carrots in the worst part of your garden, take the time to look at what your garden is telling you. Is the soil in some parts naturally too boggy to grow carrots in, or too shaded? If carrot flies are a common pest where you live, it may be worth putting in simple raised beds to keep them away from your crops, as they cannot fly high above ground-level. Next, look at what’s the soil is like. If you have never grown in it before, consider growing a different crop first, as carrots have been shown to grow well in soil that was previously planted with a different crop. Also, improve the soil the natural way by putting down mulch such as hay and grass cuttings over newspaper. On top of this can go a layer of home-made compost. Adding mulch and compost will add much-needed nutrients to the soil and keep the sun and light away from the weeds, which will discourage them from growing. 2. Work with nature, not against it. When the climate is right for carrots to grow, they will grow. Instead of trying to force them to do so, work around the problems. Planting seeds directly into the mulch will prevent you from having to dig up the soil, which disturbs the soil’s natural ecosystem and also activates otherwise-dormant weed seeds. Most people equate gardening with digging, but as countless grassroots revolutionaries have demonstrated, not digging can actually produce better yields in the long-term. It is also a lot less work. In the 1930s Japanese farmer Masanobu Fukuoka’s no-dig food forest was widely celebrated and led to the development of ‘Fukuokan philosophy’, or ‘Do Nothing Farming’. People from all over the world flocked to see Fukoaka’s food forest, which was extremely abundant while neighbouring farms that employed typical agricultural practices were not. This is all because he chose to work alongside nature, instead of attacking it to make it do what he wanted. This is the meaning of permaculture. 3. Apply permaculture to your entire lifestyle. Although permaculture design systems were founded based on trial-and-error gardening techniques, they are not limited only to growing. Consider again the gardener with the chemical sprays who will have carrots at any cost. This is a high-intensive way of growing, and an environmentally damaging one. He makes life harder for himself, because he is ruining the soil and will have to rely on sprays to keep growing crops in it. Instead of fighting nature, permaculture teaches us to listen to it. If we look around our homes and workplaces, we will see equally unsustainable habits and activities that can be changed for the better simply by applying the permaculture principle. Is it a closed-loop, or does it depend on constant interference from you to be sustainable? Why water carrots with treated tap water, when chlorine-free rain is best for all plants? Equally, laying down mulch first will help the soil to retain moisture so that it will require less manual watering. Why not install several rainbutts and use rainwater not only for watering plants, but for things like bathing or washing clothes? This is exactly what people did for centuries before we became reliant on treated tap water for everyday activities. The fact that the water we use to bathe in, wash our clothes with, and even the water we flush down the toilet is heavily treated with chemicals to make it suitable for drinking, is extremely unsustainable – and unnecessary. A permaculture design system would advocate using rainwater instead, and avoiding flushing clean water away so often by watering plants with urine or using the humanure from a home-made compost toilet. Over time, you can cultivate this mindset and start to see the world around you from a common sense perspective, where you look for natural low-impact solutions instead of battle against problems. A solution that works well in your backyard may not work well in your neighbor’s, which is why permaculture design principles are tailored to each specific location and time. On a wider scale, why don’t we teach permaculture education in schools? In a time of food shortages and high inflation, children could immensely benefit from learning to grow some of their own food. Numerous studies have shown that more time spent outdoors is beneficial for children, especially those with behavioral or learning problems. And while people in developing countries do benefit from learning mathematics and English skills, what good is it if they are at risk from their own habits of defecating onto night soils or in public places? A project called SOIL is currently recycling human waste into valuable fertilisers in Haiti through the composting process, which is also helping with the impact of the country’s current battle with cholera. This is permaculture at its best. Now that you know what permaculture is, it’s time for you to look around you and see where these principles can be applied to your own lifestyle. If you live in a cold climate, is your home insulated as well as it could be? If you’re in a sunny place, why not have solar panels installed to generate your own electricity? Do you live out of your means? Can you trade or barter where you normally buy, and have you considered sharing goods with others to cut down on consumption and encourage neighborliness? There’s no end to where this mindset can take you – and the number of carrots you can grow. Why You Shouldn’t Release Doves at Your Wedding It’s easy to think: well, what’s wrong with releasing doves into the air? The bride and groom are freeing the birds, how could that be a bad thing? These 5 Pit Bulls Are Scared of the Strangest Everyday Things (VIDEOS) These pit bulls are proving the stereotypes wrong with their fear of strange things. 3 Natural Ways to Protect Your Dog From Summer Pests Fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and biting flies are annoying, plus their bites can cause irritation or, in some cases, illness in pets. Some people choose a completely natural approach to protect pets from these pests, while others use a combination of natural remedies and prescription preventatives from their veterinarian. New Documentary Reveals the Lives of Orcas and Bottlenose Dolphins at Marineland Antibes It was partly for this reason that Jonny Meah, a British producer and presenter, decided to film his new documentary, ‘Inside the Tanks,’ at Marineland Antibes. His intention went beyond drawing attention to the existence of this European marine entertainment park and its practices; he wanted to enrich the debate surrounding cetacean captivity.

Companion Virus GlossaryCompanion VirusCompanion viruses use a feature of DOS that allows software programs with the same name, but with different extensions, to operate with different priorities. Most companion viruses create a COM file which has a higher priority than an EXE file with the same name.Thus, a virus may see a system contains the file PROGRAM.EXE and create a file called PROGRAM.COM. When the computer executes PROGRAM from the command line, the virus (PROGRAM.COM) runs before the actual PROGRAM.EXE. Often the virus will execute the original program afterwards so the system appears normal.

Topic: Can a married (ex)Catholic priest be an Orthodox priest? Can a married (ex)Catholic priest be an Orthodox priest? There has been a case in the news lately of a popular Catholic priest who wants to marry. However, he has taken the promise of celibacy and besides, marriage is not allowed after ordination. The Episcopal Church, however, has said that if he were to marry and drop out of the Catholic Church, he would be most welcome with his wife in the Episcopal Church. I know that the rule in Catholic and Orthodox is that a priest must be married before ordination. However, suppose a Roman Catholic priest were to marry and leave the Catholic Church. Suppose further that his wife to be was a fervent Orthodox Christian and he had been studying and reading and praying and thinking about joining the Orthodox Church for some time. Would then the Eastern Orthodox Church accept him as a candidate for a married priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church or Western rite were he to apply for such?I know of a case where an entire Byzantine Catholic Church, including the priests and much of the congregation, went over to the Eastern Orthodox Church. There was a certain ceremony and prayers were said, but other than that, it did not seem to be that difficult to accomplish and the whole process went smoothly. Would the Eastern Orthodox see it as a problem to accept a married (ex) Catholic priest, since he was ordained as a priest in the RC Church and then after Catholic ordination, he got married. Or would it be not a problem, since there will be new prayers and ceremonies according to which he would be installed in the Orthodox Church, either Eastern or Western rite?In the Catholic view, once a priest, you are always a priest and the ordination leaves an indelible mark. However, I have used the phrase (ex)Catholic priest, since after his marriage, he would not be allowed to function officially and licitly as a Catholic priest within the Catholic Church. « Last Edit: May 10, 2009, 03:53:23 AM by stanley123 » Quote from: mike on May 10, 2009, 07:59:47 AMAs far as I know all local Churches consider Catholic sacraments valid (eg. Catholic Priests are converted to EO Church by confession and Eucharist and they become Orthodox Priests) so such a situation won't take place. He would be reposed and given an Orthodox marriage (I suppose the shortened rite as divorced and widowers get) but he won't be able to serve as a Priest.The Church cannot get back the sacrament of Priesthood from the man but can forbid to make Priest's duties. He will be in the same situation as a cradle EO Priest who got married second time and was reposed for that. He is still is a Priest (eg. takes part in Priest retreat) but he does not serve.One example: the indonesian priest Fr.Dionysios.He was RC priest, convert into Orthodoxy through EP by baptism——the EP's priest who baptized him didn't believe the theory of "valid heretical mysteria".He got married (mysterion)in EP.Then studied in MP;ordained by E.M. Hilarion of ROCOR.So,Fr. Dionysios had experience in three jurisdictions,non of them taught him such theory like"valid heterodox sacraments" "(ex)Catholic priest can not be ordained" or "The Church cannot get back the sacrament of Priesthood from the man". In fact ,in all of those jurisdictions ,things are opposite from what you described. The answer would be no simply because the Catholic Priest married, violating his vow of celibacy.In the Orthodox Church, that would be like an Archimandrite (celibate Priest) committing bigamy by marrying a woman in addition to being married to the Church. No amount of economy could justify an ex-Catholic Priest, after marriage, being received as an Orthodox Priest. Quote from: mike on May 10, 2009, 03:49:49 PMHow easy it is to blame someone for heresy... Oh,that's too bad to blame somebody for heresy....But not as bad as advocating "papist vows valid for orthodox" and by this way implying many pious orthodox priests(former RC priests)are anaxioi even pseudopriests,and their presbyteras intrigantes,their children bastards! Logged Quote from: ialmisry on May 10, 2009, 03:56:01 PMAre we going to decanonize St. Cosntantine because he was baptized by an Arian?hearsay Logged Personally I've never heard of RC Priests leaving their Church, getting married and being re-ordained in the EO Church. I would not allow them to marry because they proved that they aren't reliable people and do not keep their promises. They do not convert because of theology but because of getting married. They broke their wows once so why not to break them again? They can be very religious EO laymen but not Priests.Each man bot in RC and EO Church is aware that he cannot get married after have being ordained and still be a priest. It's even not about validity of sacraments but about do not changing ones mind and keeping promises. « Last Edit: May 10, 2009, 08:57:34 PM by ialmisry » Quote from: Elpidophoros on May 10, 2009, 03:22:08 PMQuote from: SolEX01 on May 10, 2009, 03:02:41 PMThe answer would be no simply because the Catholic Priest married, violating his vow of celibacy.In the Orthodox Church, that would be like an Archimandrite (celibate Priest) committing bigamy by marrying a woman in addition to being married to the Church. No amount of economy could justify an ex-Catholic Priest, after marriage, being received as an Orthodox Priest.Aha,ti kala! Now we not only consider heterodox "sacraments" valid,even should accept their "vows". Read carefully, I drew an analogy to explain why the answer was no. Logged Usually an RC priest who quits to get married and then becomes Orthodox isn't allowed to serve as an Orthodox priest. The Russians in the late 1800s didn't let Birkbeck do it.But there are a few exceptions.I think in Manassas, Va. a few years ago a Greek Catholic priest did just that and is serving as a priest in ACROD. But IIRC they reordained him, which they wouldn't do for a man married before ordination. (Historically ex-Greek Catholics almost always are received economically, as happened 71 years ago when ACROD was started. Sacraments aren't repeated.)Once was slightly acquainted with another Greek Catholic priest (Ukrainian Catholic) who did it and served as a priest with the South Bound Brook Ukrainians in the US before they became canonical. When they became canonical he was grandfathered in. So he is an Orthodox priest to this day.Economy. Quote from: Elpidophoros on May 10, 2009, 05:20:36 PMSo you think no one RC should "convert"into Orthodoxy,because by the action of conversion they broke their "promises(to be loyal to 'Holy See of Rome'klp klp)".They broke the promises they had made to the other people. Not even religious vows, but even lay ones. Thay promised to live in celibacy and broke it. If someone borrows money from me and do not gives it back I do not lend him more.They can/should convert to Orthodoxy but why insisting on being a Priest? There are plenty of EO people who weren't ordained.QuoteAnd how can you make such judgement like"They do not convert because of theology but because of getting married. "? If they do no more believe in the heresy of RC,why they should still keep the "vow" they made before and not get married? They proved their words aren't worthy. They lied once while having been ordained and they should not be granted for that. Being a Priest is a distinction. Not everyone should be one. If they do not longer believe in RC heresies being an EO laymen would be enough for them. There aren't grades or levels in Heaven. QuoteYour ecclesiology is terrible! No one can convert into Orthodoxy unless he changed his mind——this is "metanoia ". How can you blame people for their metanoia?Who knows whether they would change their mind again, convert to Mormonism or Islam and get married a few more times. « Last Edit: May 11, 2009, 04:53:31 AM by mike » TinaG I am not a pessimist - I'm just grimly realistic! If only my family were this normal ! I'll bow out of the canonical discussion, but it seems to me that ordination can't correct a basic character defect and what makes someone morally objectionable to remain as a RC priest isn't going to make them any more acceptable to be an Orthodox one. If you were a big enough lech to break your vows, do it in a very public way, then try and use your own weakness to support a change in celibacy requirements and priestly marriage once you're caught, than repentance, not the priesthood (either RC or Orthodox) is your only recourse. This guy's just too "cutie" for his own good - a mild case of ugly might have been an equalizer to keep him on the narrow path. On the spiritual path somewhere between the Simpsons and St. Theophan the Recluse, but I still can't see the Springfield city limits sign yet. Quote from: The young fogey on May 10, 2009, 09:34:16 PMUsually an RC priest who quits to get married and then becomes Orthodox isn't allowed to serve as an Orthodox priest. The Russians in the late 1800s didn't let Birkbeck do it.Sorry. It was J.J. Overbeck. I was re baptized when coming into Orthodoxy from the RCC. The issue of whether or not Catholic sacraments are valid has not been decided one way or another by the whole Orthodox Church so there can be varying opinions on this issue. Wasn't there a recent controversy when the Greek Orthodox Church in Europe voted to accept all converts to Orthodoxy without re baptism, provided that they were already baptized in a Church in the Trinitarian formula? I also remember that the ROC issued a statement claiming that they were not entirely in agreement with he Greeks on this issue and the matter was still up for individual priest to decide? Quote from: mike on May 10, 2009, 04:59:54 PMPersonally I've never heard of RC Priests leaving their Church, getting married and being re-ordained in the EO Church. I would not allow them to marry because they proved that they aren't reliable people and do not keep their promises. They do not convert because of theology but because of getting married. They broke their wows once so why not to break them again? They can be very religious EO laymen but not Priests.Each man bot in RC and EO Church is aware that he cannot get married after have being ordained and still be a priest. It's even not about validity of sacraments but about do not changing ones mind and keeping promises.It probably doesn't happen much in Poland considering all the bad blood that tends to exist between Orthodox and RC's. I cannot imagine an ethnic Polish Catholic priest from Poland converting to Orthodoxy considering the low opinion that most Poles seem to have towards the East, even Greek Catholics for that matter. I do hope that I'm wrong and that relations between both Churches have improved a lot since those dark days I speak of (between the wars mostly). Quote from: Robb on November 24, 2009, 08:23:57 PMQuote from: mike on May 10, 2009, 04:59:54 PMPersonally I've never heard of RC Priests leaving their Church, getting married and being re-ordained in the EO Church. I would not allow them to marry because they proved that they aren't reliable people and do not keep their promises. They do not convert because of theology but because of getting married. They broke their wows once so why not to break them again? They can be very religious EO laymen but not Priests.Each man bot in RC and EO Church is aware that he cannot get married after have being ordained and still be a priest. It's even not about validity of sacraments but about do not changing ones mind and keeping promises.It probably doesn't happen much in Poland considering all the bad blood that tends to exist between Orthodox and RC's. I cannot imagine an ethnic Polish Catholic priest from Poland converting to Orthodoxy considering the low opinion that most Poles seem to have towards the East, even Greek Catholics for that matter. I do hope that I'm wrong and that relations between both Churches have improved a lot since those dark days I speak of (between the wars mostly).I know there is an Orthodox Church of Poland, with the greater concentration of Orthodox in the eastern part of Poland. Are these Orthodox in Poland mostly ethnic Poles, or are they other ethnicities? Quote from: Robb on November 24, 2009, 08:23:57 PMIt probably doesn't happen much in Poland considering all the bad blood that tends to exist between Orthodox and RC's. I cannot imagine an ethnic Polish Catholic priest from Poland converting to Orthodoxy considering the low opinion that most Poles seem to have towards the East, even Greek Catholics for that matter. I do hope that I'm wrong and that relations between both Churches have improved a lot since those dark days I speak of (between the wars mostly).There is a Monastery founded by several Byzantine Catholics Monks, who coverted to Orthodoxy via confession and Communion. I also know two Priests who converted from RCC but they had not been ordained in the RCC.The relations improved a lot of course, but in some places they are not as good as they could be. On the other hand we have very bad relations with Ukrainian Catholics and Neouniates.Quote from: StGeorge on November 24, 2009, 09:22:35 PMI know there is an Orthodox Church of Poland, with the greater concentration of Orthodox in the eastern part of Poland. Are these Orthodox in Poland mostly ethnic Poles, or are they other ethnicities?The majority of EO believers in Poland have Belarusian/Ukrainian/Lemko/Russian roots, but many of the people tend to cut them off and pretend to be ethnic Poles. I know some ethnic Poles converts but there aren't many of them.There are also Georgians, Greeks, Romanians, Bulgarians etc. Quote from: mike on May 10, 2009, 04:59:54 PMPersonally I've never heard of RC Priests leaving their Church, getting married and being re-ordained in the EO Church. I would not allow them to marry because they proved that they aren't reliable people and do not keep their promises. They do not convert because of theology but because of getting married. They broke their wows once so why not to break them again? They can be very religious EO laymen but not Priests.Each man bot in RC and EO Church is aware that he cannot get married after have being ordained and still be a priest. It's even not about validity of sacraments but about do not changing ones mind and keeping promises.Mike, I think it is unusual but it does happen. For example, there was a priest in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada in the cathedral parish in Toronto for about 40 years. It was only after he died and his extensive obituary appeared in "The Toronto Star" in English that many of his parishioners found out he had bee a Ukrainian Catholic Redemptorist Monk until the age of 39!But his was a story of a tragic childhood. He & his brother had been born to Ukrainian immigrants in PA in the USA. During the depression, his father died in an accident and he, his brother & mother were deported back to Galicia, Ukraine. Soon after his mother died. The 2 young boys (8 & 10 years) were placed in a Redemportorist monastery. So he was rejected by his mother's family (maybe for financial reasons) & placed in a monastery with many monks of Belgian origin. Who knows what pressures were placed on his to become a monk? He was very bright and sent to the Theological Academy to study for his Ph.D. He was also the prefect for the rest of the students who were almost all sons of married priests. At this time there was a class division between the middle class intelligensia of priest families & his own birth family who were of peasant origin. He was also influenced by his studies to reject the Latinizations of the Retemptorists he encountered inthe orphanage & noviatiate.Then World War 2 broke out. Some how he ended up in a DP camp in Germany. He had a crsis of faith and left the Catholic Church. A few years later he married. Then in the 1950's he met Metropolitan Hilarion of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. Metropolitan Hilarion Chrismated him & his wife, re-married him in the Orthodox Church, and then ordained him an orthodox priest after some further education. Metropolitan Hilarion did not accept the man's prior ordination in the Catholic Church to be valid for the Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Hilarion Ohienko even today is considered to be a great scholar and is highly respected.The end of the story is that the man, now a priest was a greatly loved pastor. Without his ordination, his many decades of ministry & service to the church would have been lost. And he spoke excellent English without hardly a trace of an accent due to his American birth, so he was great in all contacts with the non-Ukrainian community. Also highly intelligent and knoweldgable because of his doctoral studies. What a tremendous loss it would have been to the church if he had not been ordained. mike:Is there still an Armenian rite Catholic community in Poland? I remember reading that they used to have a Cathedral in Lvov back in the days when it was Lwow, but have not heard what became of them after World War II? The answer is Yes! I can provide a first hand anecdote. A Catholic priest left the Catholic priesthood and married. After the couple had fathered three boys they approached us to become Orthodox. They had an interview with the Serbian bishop. He directed me to baptize them all. He said that if the ex-Catholic priest were able to gather together a small congregation he would ordain him as an Orthodox priest to serve them. Quote from: mike on May 10, 2009, 07:59:47 AMAs far as I know all local Churches consider Catholic sacraments valid (eg. Catholic Priests are converted to EO Church by confession and Eucharist and they become Orthodox Priests) so such a situation won't take place.Dear Mike, please see this message about the reception of a group of French Trappist monks by the Ecumenical Patriarchatehttp://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php/topic,14020.msg197731.html#msg197731 Basil 320 Bishops make decisions based on circumstances, too. We have a parish priest in our area who had left the RC Byzantine Rite as a priest and got married. He was accepted into the Ukrainian jurisdiction that was under the Ecumenical Patriarchate before the recognition of the Ukrainian majority jurisdictions in diaspora. I would guess that Bishop Vsevelod (sp) was the bishop who made the decision. I do not know what the circumstances of his conversion or his Orthodox ordination were. This priest remains happily married and is active in national Ukrainian Church affairs. "...Strengthen the Orthodox Community..." Quote from: Robb on November 28, 2009, 03:22:06 AMmike:Is there still an Armenian rite Catholic community in Poland? I remember reading that they used to have a Cathedral in Lvov back in the days when it was Lwow, but have not heard what became of them after World War II?Yes, there are three Parishes left. I, like others, would not be too thrilled about having an ex-Catholic priest who got married and then applied for ordination in the Holy Orthodox Church. It would make me suspicious of his sincerity of the Orthodox faith. This is not to say it should not be done, but if it is, it should be extremely rare.In Christ,Andrew Gorazd Quote from: Michał Kalina on November 25, 2009, 10:46:56 AMOn the other hand we have very bad relations with Ukrainian Catholics and Neouniates.What exactly do you mean by "Neouniates", please? Self-used name of the Catholic Church of Byzantine-Slavonic Rite in Poland (now consisting of one Parish). ag_vn Quote from: Michał Kalina on November 11, 2010, 02:17:19 PMSelf-used name of the Catholic Church of Byzantine-Slavonic Rite in Poland (now consisting of one Parish).Is this Catholic Church of Byzantine-Slavonic Rite connected with the Resurrectionists in Krakow?I'm asking because there are Polish Resurrectionists in Bulgaria who serve in a few Byzantine Catholic parishes as well as one Roman rite parish in Bulgaria and I was told by two friends of mine (one of them is Polish) that they have built a Byzantine Catholic church or chapel (I'm not sure) in Krakow, which follows the Bulgarian Byzantine-Slavonic tradition, unlike all other Byzantine rite Catholic churches in Poland, which are Ukrainian. No, it isn't. These Monks in Kraków built a Byzantine chapel a year ago and I suppose they aren't officially connected to the any Eastern Catholic Church. IMO they are Latins who are allowed to serve in Byzantine Bulgarian rite. I see, thanks From what I have been told, the Resurrectionists are really Latins who are allowed to serve in the Byzantine rite in Bulgaria and this chapel is purposed mainly for training seminarians, and also that it was consecrated by Bishop Christo Proykov who is the head of the Bulgarian Byzantine Catholics.I was confused about this 'Catholic Church of Byzantine-Slavonic Rite in Poland', because Bulgarian Byzantine Catholics sometimes also call themselves Catholics of the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite, that's why I decided to ask you.As for this Neouniate Catholic Church of Byzantine-Slavonic Rite in Poland, do you know part of which Eastern Catholic Church it is? Quote from: ag_vn on February 07, 2011, 10:17:11 AMAs for this Neouniate Catholic Church of Byzantine-Slavonic Rite in Poland, do you know part of which Eastern Catholic Church it is?Byzantine-Slavonic Catholic Church in PolandQuoteWho we are.Welcome dear web pilgrim and web tourist! You are just visiting a website of the only Greek Catholic Byzantine rite parish in Poland and at the same time the Sanctuary of Uniate Podlasie Martyrs. We realize that the name seems to sound mysteriously and exotically. However the truth about us is much simpler.Who are we?We resemble Orthodox Christians with respect to the organization, liturgy, language and chant. But we are not them. WE ARE CATHOLICS!!! Our ancestors were Orthodox. However in 1596 as a result of the Brześć Union in Brześć on the Bug river, the Orthodox along with the Roman Catholics, decided to rebulid the lost unity of the Church. Both we and the Roman Catholics regard the Pope as the head of the Universal Church.Why are we unique?There are a lot of Greek Catholic communities and churches in the world. Our uniqueness lies in the fact that being the only parish in Poland we celebrate the liturgy just as the Orthodox do. The other Greek Catholic communities such as the Byzantine – Ukrainian Church in Poland introduced their own liturgical modifications.Are there many of us?We are a small community which numbers only 120 people, but we are spiritually strong.sourcehttp://unici.pl/content/view/74.html Thanks a lot, Michał.It's the first time I hear/read about them. There are about 120 of them in one Parish so I'm not surprised. « Last Edit: February 07, 2011, 11:49:27 AM by ialmisry » Quote from: Michał Kalina on November 11, 2010, 02:17:19 PMSelf-used name of the Catholic Church of Byzantine-Slavonic Rite in Poland (now consisting of one Parish).Are there not still fairly large numbers of Greek Catholics remaining near the Slovak border who are of Galician background? Logged

Abravanel, Isaac (1437–1508) a medieval philosopher and biblical commentator. He fled from Portugal to Spain to escape a sentence of death in a supposed plot ... Abravanel, Judah (1460–1521) physician, poet, and philosopher, and son of Isaac Abravanel. His Dialogue on Love (published posthumously) argued that love was the structural principle ... Abulafia, Abraham ben Shemuel (13th century) a leading kabbalist and mystic of Spain. Abulafia taught a method of mystical insight that involved contemplating the letters of the ... The hero of the Aeneid , the epic poem in Latin by Virgil. The name was indeed well known in the 1st cent. and ... Aḥad HaʿAm (Heb “one of the people” or “the people are one”) pen‐name of Asher Ginzberg (1856–1927), Zionist writer. Source: Oxford Biblical Studies Online Aharoni, Yohanan ( 1919 – 1976 ), Israeli biblical archaeologist and historical geographer . Born in Germany, Aharoni went to Palestine as a young man. His ... Albright, William Foxwell ( 1891 – 1971 ), the acknowledged “dean of biblical archaeology.” Born to self-supporting missionary parents in Chile, Albright grew up in a strict, ... Alexander III (“The Great”) Macedonian, born in 356 BCE . After the assassination of his father, Philip II , at Aegae in 336 , Alexander ascended to the ... Alt, Albrecht ( 1883 – 1956 ), Hebrew Bible scholar and founder of the discipline of historical geography. Alt was born in Stübach, near Neustadt/Aisch, in ... Andrae, Walter ( 1875 – 1956 ), archaeologist , scholar , and museologist . Andrae was born in Anger, near Leipzig, Germany. After finishing school at ... Warmly greeted by Paul in Rom. 16: 10 . It is known to be a name borne by members of Caesar 's domestic staff; ... The Apostolic Fathers ( Clement of Rome, Ignatius , Hermas , Polycarp, and Papias ; and the authors of the epistle of Barnabas, the ... Son of Herod the Great, who inherited the territory of Judaea , Samaria , and Idumea , but after popular disturbances was banished to ... The English translates two unrelated Hebrew nouns: The first is that of the vessel of three storeys in which Noah and his family and ... Ashi, Rabbana (ca. 335–427) Babylonian ʾamoraʾ of the Sura academy; one of the primary editors of the Babylonian Talmud. Source: Oxford Biblical Studies Online Baḥya ben Asher (d. 1320) biblical commentator of Spain. He used the Zohar' s method of distinguishing four levels of meaning in Scripture: peshat (contextual sense), ... Bar Kappara 3rd century ce scholar; he lived in the land of Israel. Source: Oxford Biblical Studies Online Bar-Kochba The name means ‘son of a star’ (from the prophecy in Num. 24: 17 ); he was the leader of guerrilla forces who fought ... Bar Kokhba, Shimeon (Aram. “son of a star”) sobriquet of Shimeon Bar Kosiba (d. 135 ce), leader of the second Jewish revolt against Rome. Source: Oxford Biblical Studies Online

(Heb “my Lord”) a divine title and the word generally substituted for the Tetragrammaton , Yhvh, when the Bible is read aloud. Source: Oxford Biblical Studies Online ʿAkedah (Heb “binding”) the story of the binding of Isaac (Gen. ch 22). Source: Oxford Biblical Studies Online ( 356 – 323 bce ) King of Macedon from 336 who conquered the Persian Empire. Greek culture then permeated the Mediterranean region and ... alterations to text Variations among MSS are sometimes due to scribes having misheard a word being dictated or through some other human error. But also sometimes alterations ... An Aramaic expression used in e.g. Dan. 7: 9 for God as Judge. It conveys the notion of wisdom associated by the Jews with ... ancient translations In the translators' notes to the NRSV and in some of the study materials, there are references to various ancient translations of the ... Ancient Versions and Textual Transmission of the Old Testament Introduction This essay will first give a schematic outline of the history of the Hebrew text in four stages. The elements that readers will ... Source: The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies Greek = anxiety, perplexity ( Luke 21: 25 ) in tempest: in NT criticism used for an abrupt transition or inconsistency in the narrative, ... The Arabic Infancy Gospel This is another collection of material that has made use of the Protevangelium of James (= PJ) and Infancy Thomas. Chapters 1–10 are based ... Source: The Apocryphal New Testament ʾatbash a form of cipher in which a word is transformed into a code by letter substitution, in which the last letter of the ... Formerly Luz, it was renamed by Jacob ( Gen. 28: 18–19 ). In the northern part of the divided kingdom, it became notorious when ... ( Heb., “House of [the god] El” ), site located 16 km (10 mi.( north of Jerusalem, on the border of ancient Israel and ... The Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls Until the discovery in the Judean Desert, near the Dead Sea, of more than 200 scrolls containing various parts of the Bible, historical and ... Source: The Jewish Study Bible The Bible in the Synagogue During the period of the Second Temple (from the return to Zion [538 bce ] until the destruction of the Temple [70 ce ]), ... Bible Societies With their concern for the translation, production, and distribution of the scriptures, Bible societies are relatively recent institutions, but the concept underlying their worldwide ... Chapter and Verse Divisions The complete Bible of today is ordinarily divided into chapters and verses, but such divisions were not part of the original texts. They were ... Circulation of the Bible By the end of 1992 , translations of the entire Bible had been published in 329 languages, the New Testament in 770 additional languages, ...

To Vaccinate or Not: A Vet's Perspective Some holistic veterinarians think all vaccinations are actually harmful and destructive (and ignore the fact that diseases such as smallpox and polio are almost non-existent today due solely to the use of vaccines to protect the population from the diseases). My personal belief is that we may not need to vaccinate dogs and cats yearly for a number of diseases. Conversely, if the goal is protective levels of immunity, maybe we should vaccinate more often than once a year for some others (such as Kennel Cough). But since I have no way to know which individual dogs/cats do need protection and what individuals do not need additional vaccination, I must take a stand for vaccinating to provide my patient (with the owners' informed consent, of course) with the best level of protection I have available. And that is just to vaccinate. Through 38 years of managing pet diseases and seeing tens of thousands of patients live well into their teens that have had numerous vaccines almost yearly throughout their entire lives, I am not convinced by experience that vaccinating has a destructive effect on the overwhelming majority of animals. I am, however, convinced that vaccinating has saved uncountable lives from the ravages of parvovirus and distemper... not to mention potential rabies cases. If a animal has an allergic reaction to a vaccine then obviously, a different approach is needed than to repeat that vaccine. If I see a very old pet that has very little exposure potential to contagious diseases and that has been vaccinated numerous time throughout its life, I intellectually and experientially have less inclination to revaccinate that animal yearly. But I must assume it has some level of immunity because I have no way of really knowing. In addition, older pets are known to have less potential to contract parvovirus and distemper. The rabies topic needs to be treated very carefully because any warm blooded animal of any age or health status has potential to contract rabies if exposed. Not to be forgotten, unlike some other animal diseases, rabies is nearly always fatal in humans. This is why nearly every state requires dogs get their rabies vaccine, but the law varies on how often to give dogs rabies shots. According to the ASPCA, some states require dogs get their shot every year, while other states require dogs to get their rabies shot every three years. The response above is my personal opinion, based upon 32 years of small animal practice and seven years of college study. My personal, experience-driven practice protocols may be different from another veterinarian's. So the bottom line for per caretakers is this: In arriving at a decision about vaccinating your dog or cat, get the facts about vaccinations, listen to your veterinarian, then get a few other opinions from other veterinarians. (Remember that any individual could have an adverse reaction to a vaccine. If that does happen, of course it might be risky to revaccinate for that disease and it may be best not to vaccinate for that disease in the future.) If someone tells you that vaccines cause disease or weaken an animal's immune capabilities, ask to see the data that proves that position. Then you make the call. You are the final authority regarding your pet's health care. Once you feel you are comfortable with your assessment of the vaccine topic, no one should pressure you into doing something different.

After launching, most start-ups struggle to come to grip with acquisition thus limiting their growth potential with a likelihood of going bankrupt subsequently. This arises mainly from not setting a defined path to acquisition.Enabling online acquisition can be quite tricky and may pose a slippery-slop especially in selling software online. Why? It is important to note there are a number of steps involved before a visitor becomes a customer and acquisition is the first of such steps.Thus if acquisition – which is at the top of the funnel – is broken, the entire funnel becomes redundant. For instance, you may have returning customers but if you cannot acquire new sets of customers, growth becomes stall and maximum business potential may never be hit, thereby likely affecting sustainability.In this article, I intend highlighting the main keys to understanding acquisition. Be rest assured it is pretty much easy to comprehend.Clarifying AcquisitionInside the Pirate Metrics framework, Acquisition is the very first step of the funnel. It refers to people who arrive on your website and sign-up.Note that people who sign up are in the “Acquisition” process. The next step, Activation, refers to when they really start using your software.This article will focus on the first half of Acquisition – getting visitors to your website to sign up. More details about the other half in another article.Do we really need Acquisition?Focusing on retaining customers – although worthwhile – is not enough. To an extent it could even be transcribed as an anti-growth concept.Creating negative Churn is also one possible solution, although it’s also limiting your growth. (Negative Churn – It’s not that I don’t dislike it, I do)Focusing solely on one part of the funnel will only limit your growth potential. Thus, each part of the funnel must be equally evaluated and optimized from time to time. Putting all energy in one part (be it Acquisition or any other) will most certainly harm your business.Convincing customers to pay for your product or software is the first step to building a successful business. Without this, there is no cash and without cash it is almost impossible to grow your business.To ensure that customers go through the funnel stages (to Revenue), you have to make sure that there is enough customers at the top of the funnel. Without those customers, there will be no customers at the end.Acquisition is one of the primary activities of every growing SaaS businesses. Be sure to invest the necessary time and energy.Main issuesStart Acquisition too earlyMany Entrepreneurs would say that you should start to sell your solution as early as possible. I completely agree.Selling your solution will allow you to verify that you’re fulfilling a need and that your solution fits in the market. It’s primary if you want to be successful. Without that, people won’t see the value of your service.However, starting to create a “scalable & repeatable” acquisition system, during the early days of your startup can harm your business.Start scaling the Acquisition before the Product / Market Fit, reduces your agility to pivot. Startups pre-PMF are very likely to pivot and change their value proposition overnight. If you pivot after implementing your Acquisition, you’ll struggle to iterate easily.Before the PMF, you should focus solely on doing things that don’t scale.Don’t start to build your acquisition machine too early. Start by satisfying few paying customers. When you validate a fit between Customers and your Product, then you can start by developing & scaling your Acquisition.Too ExpensiveThis question boils down to the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), in other terms: How much money do you have to spend to acquire one new customer?Depending on what you’re selling, Customer Acquisition may represent a very high proportion of your cost structure. Some companies spend more than $150 to acquire one customer.They’re of course profitable. Without profitability, they could not continue doing it. However, for most young startups, spending $150 per new customers may not be the way to go.Acquisition is expensive. Customers have to go through many steps before becoming paying customers. Acquisition needs to populate your funnel in order to get as many people as possible to the last step of the funnel (Revenue).Acquisition is expensive until your funnel is fully optimized. Once you reached this step, you can calculate your CAC / LTV. Then you know how much you need to invest in order to get back this investment.The complexity of your Sales Funnel will have high impact on your Acquisition. If you sell a software to companies for 10k$ per month, you won’t develop the same acquisition system as a self-service software for SMBs.Acquisition is only expensive before you figure out which tactics works. After developing a robust Acquisition system, you can calculate your CAC / LTV and get a clear forecast of each methods.Time consumingBuilding an audience and optimizing a website takes plenty of time. It’s not something you could easily do in your spare time. Some people specialize in Acquisition and there is a reason for this; acquisition is not a walk in the park.Why so? It is because there is plethora of channels and techniques to boost your Acquisition. However, you have to test all of them, measure what works, and what doesn’t.Why time-consuming? Once you have found what’s working and what’s not, you now have to implement everything. Running a Content Marketing strategy could need a full-time employee. So if you are handling the support, the development of the product… You won’t have time to do everything.Best Practices? Hacks?We can see more than enough best practices and growth hacks to boost your acquisition. The keyword “best practices online acquisition” returns more than 95 million of results.It’s even quite easy to spend all of your time trying to follow all the best practices of customer acquisition. Should you follow them? Sure. However, be sure to test them…Everything is not good to apply to your business and you may even harm your business. Your Acquisition is fully integrated inside your specific Business Model. So take it into consideration.If you want to read more about this last point, you can read the article “Are You Using the Right SaaS Customer Acquisition Model?“.Following guidelines (not best practices), is a good thing. Blindly following everything you read out there can be damaging for your business.SolutionVerify PMFTake good care of REALLY verifying your Value Proposition before starting Acquisition: the later you discover your mistake, the more you’ll struggle to pivot. As a key guideline, don’t start your Acquisition before attaining the Product / Market Fit.Starting your acquisition too early can have disastrous outcome for your organization. You need to get your product ready before starting to think about acquisition.Do you think Apple would have put on the market the first iPhone if they had no idea it would be successful? No, of course not. To ensure this, they tested the product before putting it out there.Starting your Acquisition too early can kill your business. You could spend your last dollars trying to acquire customers when your solution is not yet ready for the market.Acquisition is part of the “search for a repeatable & scalable sales model”, so start when you’re in this phase.If you’ve already started (pre-PMF), stop right now. Re-focus on your product. Verify you’re fulfilling a need and that there is demand for your product. When you are, you can start testing your Acquisition.Know your CustomersGetting to know your customer is generally the first step of any Marketing Strategy (Segmenting / Targeting). Same with Online Marketing…Try to understand what are their problems. What do they search for, where and how? This will help you to select your channels and to craft your marketing message.Understanding your Customers is primary, in Marketing, but also in Business (& Product Development). You have to create an offer (& Marketing Strategy) that is customer-driven and compelling to them.Search for Targeted TrafficPlenty of Entrepreneurs in Acquisition are focusing on visitors. Visitors is only a vanity metric: it doesn’t say much.You could have 10k visitors with 1 conversion. Is that good? No. You’d rather after 100 visitors with 20 conversions.If you want your acquisition to be successful, you have to aim for the most targeted traffic you can have. In the best possible situation, all your traffic is a potential customer. But it doesn’t work that way…When you are looking at metrics, look at Usage & Engagement metric (Bounce Rate, Time on Page…) in order to figure out if you traffic is really targeted.Compelling Value PropositionStartups often struggle in figuring out what their Value Proposition is. Explaining your product is primary to the success of your organization.When people arrive on your website, you only have a few seconds to catch their attention. So be sure to have a Clear & Compelling Value Proposition that appeal to them.You should start by talking to your customers to discover what they truly value in your offer. You should also remember the words they use to describe it. Crafting a message that resonates to your audience is even better.ExperimentAcquisition is something you have to test if you ever want to drive results. You have to think about new tactics and techniques, implement and try them.When you experiment, thoroughly measure results in order to understand (quickly), what is working and what is not, you’ll then be able to modify your strategies to take into account results and progress.The main issue with Experiments is the duration. For how long should you run this new experiment? It has to be long enough to prove the value (or lack thereof), but short enough to ensure agility.Don’t forget to document your experiments and their results. Experimenting is almost the job of a scientist. Be thorough. Experiment often, and you’ll be the Acquisition (and SaaS) winner.If you want to be successful at experimenting, you need to follow a process such as The Growth Hacking Process.Diversify ChannelsThere are more than enough Channels to think about. However, young startups generally only focus on one or two and completely forget about experimenting others.Relying only on SEO or Social Media can hurt your Business. Google may release a new version of their algorithm. Twitter may ban your account. You never know what can happen.Diversifying is primary if you want to be successful in Customer Acquisition. Experiment new channels when you have some spare time and it will payoff.I’m not saying you should be active on 20 channels at the same time. I’m saying you should experiment plenty of them. Once you know what works, you need to go deep, not wide.FocusIf you don’t have a lot of resources, both human and financial, focus on what matters. Meaning that, if you have a specific channel with a conversion rate of 20%, focus on this one.I’m not saying that you should stop experimenting. I’m saying you should focus your energy on what is driving results. Continue experimenting new techniques, but allocate most of your time to the techniques that already work.Once you get more resources you’ll be able to invest more time in acquiring customers and therefore rely on more channels / tactics.ConclusionCustomer Acquisition is of primary importance for your business. You actually don’t have a choice. Without a good Acquisition strategy, your business may die overnight.Follow the path of successful startups. Don’t start Acquiring users if you can’t yet prove the value of your service. Once you proved it, people will jump over the table to buy your products; you’ll see the sparkle telling you that you can now proceed to the next step.Learn from your customers. They have the key to your success. If they use your product frequently, there is a reason. Figure it out.(Most) People are eager to discover new tools that can help them save time / money. However, you have to make sure that your solution is really keeping on its promise.It’s your turn now: What do you think? What channels worked in the past? What have you done to make them work? How many did you try?Pierre Lechelle This iframe contains the logic required to handle AJAX powered Gravity Forms. Popular Posts AARRR: Pirate Metrics for SaaS Growth Hacking Strategy Bootstrap your communication: 20 ways to communicate about your startup for free [Infographic] Growth Hacking Process & High-Tempo Testing SaaS Free Trial: Everything you need to knowDate May 7, 2014Author Pierre LechelleCategory Growth Hacking Marketing SaaSComments 4 Comments Consumer Decision Journey | Pierre Lechelle 06/03/2014 - 8:29 pm[…] customer in order to bring more leads & prospects. Although you would still need to focus on Acquiring more customers. Retaining existing ones is generally […] AARRR SaaS: Pirate Metrics | Pierre Lechelle 06/09/2014 - 8:18 pm[…] Acquisition: people come to the website and sign-up for a free trial […] When & Where to start Paid Acquisition? | Pierre Lechelle 07/07/2014 - 3:21 pm[…] Acquisition is the very first step in getting customers. Without Acquisition, you would have no lead to enter you funnel, and therefore, no customer at the end of your funnel. […] Business Startup Checklist: Steps to Growth & Success 10/06/2014 - 10:08 am[…] Start your Acquisition […]

When to stop breastfeeding 31st October 2013 05:53 PM I have a 22 months old daughter. I am still breastfeeding my daughter until now, and I plan to continue until she is 2 years old. When is the best time to stop breastfeeding and how to do it? Because she is very addicted with my breast, she even can't sleep before I breastfeeding her. Thanks for sharing Last edited by Adinda; 31st October 2013 at 06:09 PM. Reply With Quote 2nd November 2013 11:14 AM Hi Adinda, Congratulations on breastfeeding for 22 months! Breastfeeding a toddler is a wonderful bonding experience and has great benefits for your daughter. I had one baby that breastfed until about 3 years of age, and three babies that breastfed until 2 1/2 years of age. They all self weaned, which means that they became distracted with other things as they got older, and would forget about a feeding. My babies always enjoyed breastfeeding before going to sleep, so the first feedings to go were the ones in between naps and at night. The last feedings to go were the ones before going down for a nap, going down at night, and waking up in the morning. Those are all precious times to cuddle and don't interfere with mum's "me" time. I would keep those as long as baby wants. As long as you are offering nutritious food for baby (high quality fats, protein, fruits and vegetables, with just a little carbohydrates) your baby should be able to fill up on solids without needing breast milk as her main food. Here's a video showing you a very nutritious way to get fruits and vegetables into your baby's diet. Babies and toddlers LOVE green smoothies! Reply With Quote 3rd November 2013 01:59 AM Originally Posted by 5Homebirths4Kate Thanks for sharing, I will breastfeed my baby until she doesn't want to breastfeed by herself. Though sometimes I feel tired Reply With Quote 3rd November 2013 05:29 AM Well done Adinda - you should feel proud that you are giving your daughter the very best in your breastmilk. Children get huge nutritional, developmental, social and emotional advantages from breastmilk in the first and second year of life and beyond. One study (by Dewey in 2001) found that in the second year of life 448 ml of breastmilk gives a toddler: 75% of vitamin A requirements 36% of calcium requirements 29% of energy requirements 43% of protein requirements 76% of folate requirements 94% of vitamin B12 requirements 60% of vitamin C requirements You mention in your other post that I have replied to that your daughter does not always swallow her food. Breastfeeding her means you can be happy that she is getting many nutrients from her milk. You also mention the link between breastfeeding and sleep for your daughter. This is very common and normal. However, breastfeeding is a relationship between mum and baby and if the sleep association with breastmilk is something that you are no longer happy with then I can recommend the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. Here is an excerpt from this book. Pantley writes about a technique where you feed your baby until she is nearly asleep and then unlatch her and wait up to 10 seconds to see if she settles if she doesn't you give her the breast again and repeat. The aim is to gradually and gently get her to stop actually falling asleep at the breast until she is eventually happy with just being cuddled to sleep/ put down to sleep. I would really recommend this book in light of what you describe. Thinking of you, Reply With Quote 3rd November 2013 01:15 PM Hi LJ, Will try to do that. Thank you so much Reply With Quote 4th November 2013 06:49 AM You are very welcome. Let me know how you get on! Thinking of you, Reply With Quote 4th November 2013 04:36 PM Thank you so much LJ Reply With Quote 5th November 2013 02:03 AM loanngab Wow! That's your lucky, my son only breastfeed around 1 month. I have to stop breastfeeding him because he had allergy. Then I consulted the doctor what happen, then I told the doctor that I drink coffee and whenever I eat chocolates because sometimes i have a craving I cannot resist. So, that's the cause of his allergy. I drink coffee because I have to stay awake in the morning because, you know I'm a single mum taking care of my bub alone. Thank goodness I'm done with that Thanks, Loann I'm sorry to hear you had difficulties breastfeeding your son. The early days can be very difficult. It is actually fine to drink caffeine and eat chocolate when breastfeeding; although it is wise to eat and drink these in moderation. There are no foods that breastfeeding mums should absolutely ignore. Allergies to something in the mum's diet (by a breastfed baby) are very rare. Signs of this would be excessive vomiting and a rash as well as colic. It is most likely when there is a family history of allergies. The baby may also have mucous or blood in his poo. But hardly any breastfeeding mums will see these as it is, as I say, extremely rare. The most likely food allergy in breastfed babies (although this is still obviously rare) is to cow's milk. Mum can then eliminate this from her diet and, in most cases, successfully continue with breastfeeding. I really hope your doctor didn't simply say because you ate chocolates and coffee you could not breastfeed as this is not the case. Unfortunately not all health professionals are well-trained in the latest breastfeeding knowledge. For any new breastfeeding mums reading this thread; if you have any problems we would highly recommend you consult a lactation consultant who is extremely well-trained in everything concerning breastfeeding. That must have been so hard as a single mum with a new baby Loann - you should feel proud of the breastmilk you gave your son in the first month. Warm wishes,

How to conceive twins? With my next pregnancy, I am thinking how wonderful it would be to conceive twins. But how? I know one factor depends on your genes/ heredity. But what are other important factors to consider in order to conceive twins? Especially a boy and a girl? Reply With Quote 27th February 2012 10:13 AM Hi momikatie, This is a question that I've seen numerous times which means you're not the only one who would like to influence the ability to conceive twins. Things that increase the likelihood of having twins are most often linked to genetics, as you mentioned. If there are twins in mom's blood line (Grandma, Auntie or Mom had twins) then the likelihood of you releasing more than one egg at one time, and conceiving twins goes up. The other thing that increases the likelihood of twins is maternal age. As a woman gets older, her chances of conceiving goes up slightly. Otherwise you would need to consider taking a medication such as Clomiphene (Clomid) which stimulates the ovaries to release an egg. The doctors will actually warn mothers that they may release more than one egg at a time, which could result in multiple pregnancies. Though having 2 or 3 babies may be desirable, you could end up conceiving more than that, which then puts you at higher risk of problems during pregnancy. Another risk associated with taking an ovarian stimulating drug is something called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This is when the medication stimulates the ovaries too much and the ovaries become very swollen with fluid. This can cause mild to severe complications (can even be life threatening). Here's a good article that explains more about Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. As for whether you can "sway" your chances of having a boy or a girl, this is very possible, and, in fact, I did this with my first child. My husband wanted a girl, so I learned all about how to sway the gender towards a girl, and we conceived a girl. Please ask your question about "gender swaying" in a new thread and I'll be happy to give more tips, if you're interested in learning more about this, even if you can't do much to increase your chance of having twins. However, I also knew that pretty much the only things that increase the odds of having multiples is if the mum has multiples on her side or if the mum is of later maternal age (the odds increase as you get older). It is very important for any woman who is thinking of getting pregnant to be taking a high quality prenatal vitamin with folic acid and you can start this 6 months before conception. Of course if you're already trying to conceive you will want to start it right away. And be sure you're following a fertility diet and getting really good preconception care.