text:
Appendix D
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
Jacqueline M. Grebmeier (Co-chair) is a research professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Her research interests include: pelagic-benthic coupling, benthic carbon cycling, and benthic faunal population structure in the marine environment; understanding how water column processes influence biological productivity in Arctic waters and sediments, how materials are exchanged between the sea bed and overlying waters, and documenting longer-term trends in ecosystem health of Arctic continental shelves. Some of her research includes analyses of the importance of benthic organisms to higher levels of the Arctic food web, including walruses, gray whale, and diving sea ducks, and studies of radionuclide distributions of sediments and within the water column in the Arctic as a whole. Dr. Grebmeier earned her Ph.D. in biological oceanography in 1987 from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She is the current U.S. Delegate and Vice-President of the International Arctic Science Committee and a past U.S. Presidential appointee to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.
John C. Priscu (Co-chair) is a professor of ecology at Montana State University at Bozeman. His research interests are microbial biogeochemistry in polar aquatic systems emphasizing the roles of nitrogen and phosphorus in microbial growth, as well as life associated with Antarctic ice and its relationship to global change and astrobiology. He studies the biogeophysics of ice-covered lakes and ice cores in northern and southern polar regions. He is a former U.S. representative to the Scientific Committee on
Antarctic Research (SCAR) and convened the Scientific Research Program on Sub-glacial Antarctic Lake Environments (SALE). Dr. Priscu earned his Ph.D. in microbial ecology in 1982 from the University of California at Davis.
Rosanne D'Arrigo is a Lamont Research Professor at the Tree-Ring Laboratory of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) in Palisades, New York. She is also the Associate Director of the Biology and Paleoenvironment Division at LDEO. Her field of study is dendrochronology, specifically the development and analysis of paleoclimatic reconstructions based on tree-ring data. Her research interests include the generation of large-scale reconstructions of Northern Hemisphere temperatures, analysis of the "divergence problem" in tree-ring records from northern latitudes, and the reconstruction of the climate dynamics of Monsoon Asia. Dr. D'Arrigo received her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Columbia University in 1989.
Hugh W. Ducklow is the Director of the Ecosystems Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory. Dr. Ducklow is a biological oceanographer and has been studying the dynamics of plankton foodwebs in estuaries, the coastal ocean, and the open sea since 1980. He and his students have worked principally on microbial foodwebs and the role of heterotrophic bacteria in the marine carbon cycle. Dr. Ducklow has participated in oceanographic cruises in Chesapeake Bay, the western North Atlantic Ocean, the Bermuda and Hawaii Time Series stations, the Black Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Ross Sea, the Southern Ocean, the Equatorial Pacific, and the Great Barrier Reef. Much of the work was done in the decade-long Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), which he led in the late 1990s. He has been working on various projects in Antarctica since 1994. Currently, Dr. Ducklow leads the Palmer Antarctica Long Term Ecological Research Project on the west Antarctic Peninsula, where he is investigating the responses of the marine ecosystem to rapid climate warming. Although his research is primarily experimental and observational, he utilizes mathematical models and collaborates with modelers to gain deeper understanding and derive maximum benefit from the data we collect. Dr. Ducklow received his PhD from Harvard University in 1977.
Craig Fleener is the Director of the Division of Subsistence in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and a lifelong Alaskan from Fort Yukon. He has worked as an environmental manager, project coordinator, wildlife biologist, natural resources director and Executive Director of the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments. Fleener has served in the military for more than 21 years and is currently an Intelligence Officer in the Alaska
Air National Guard. He has served on numerous boards and committees, including Gwich'in Council International, the Alaska Native Health Board, and the Eastern Interior Subsistence Federal Regional Advisory Committee. He served as deputy mayor of Fort Yukon, and is a member of the Alaska Board of Game. Fleener holds a Bachelor of Science degree in natural resource management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and has completed substantial graduate work in resource management at the University of Calgary. Mr. Fleener recently received an MS from the Resources and Environment Program at the University of Calgary.
Karen Frey is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University (Worcester, MA). Karen earned a B.A. (1998) in Geological Sciences from Cornell University, as well as an M.A. (2000) and a Ph.D. (2005) from the Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests involve the combined use of field measurements, satellite remote sensing, and GIS to study large-scale linkages between land, atmosphere, ocean, and ice in polar environments. Over the past decade, she has conducted field-based research in West Siberia and East Siberia, as well as in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. Her most recent work focuses on impacts of permafrost thaw on river biogeochemistry and impacts of sea ice decline on biological productivity in polar shelf environments.
Cheryl Rosa currently serves as Deputy Director and Anchorage-based Alaska Director of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. In this position, she assists the seven-member, presidentially appointed Commission in its efforts to strengthen Arctic research and ties to the State of Alaska and international partners. Dr. Rosa received a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Tufts University and a Doctorate in Biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She is a Research Biologist and Wildlife Veterinarian for the North Slope Borough (NSB) Department of Wildlife Management in Barrow, Alaska. Her term appointment to the USARC, from the NSB, is through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program. Dr. Rosa has been active on the North Slope in a wide range of studies, including wildlife health and zoonotic disease, marine mammal stranding response, subsistence food safety, and oil spill/offshore discharge research. Her fieldwork includes marine and terrestrial mammal research in both the United States and Russia. Dr. Rosa has been active on many different local, state, and federal committees. She has served as an advisor to the North Slope Borough Fish and Game Management Committee, the Joint Commissions of the Inuvialuit Game Commission and the North Slope Borough, and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission. She is also a member of the International Whaling Commission's Scientific Committee,


text:
Force of nature: An unknown cast creates a whirlwind
Cut off from the mainland, surrounded by rising waters, the Bathtub is a desolate wilderness of poverty where a small community struggles to survive. Hushpuppy considers it "the prettiest place on Earth." She is a fierce and unbreakable 6-year-old girl who lives here with her father, Wink, and other survivors who live so close to the earth that it speaks with them.
In the opening moments of Beasts of the Southern Wild, I had no idea when or where we were. Only gradually did I understand that the Bathtub is offshore from New Orleans, isolated by levees, existing self-contained on its own terms. The distant profiles of drilling rigs and oil refineries might as well be mysterious prehistoric artifacts.
A fearsome storm is said to be on the way, but existence here is already post-apocalyptic, the people cobbling together discarded items of civilization like the truck bed and oil drums that have been made into a boat. Their ramshackle houses perch uneasily on bits of high ground, and some are rebuilding them into arks they hope will float through the flood. Hushpuppy is on intimate terms with the natural world, with the pigs she feeds and the fish she captures with her bare hands, and sometimes she believes animals speak to her in codes.
This is only an illustration of the way all small children think, translating the mysteries of an unfolding world into their own terms. But Hushpuppy lives in a desolate world, and her inner resources are miraculous. She is so focused, so sure, so defiant and brave, that she is like a new generation put forward in desperate times by the human race. She is played by a force of nature named Quvenzhane Wallis, who was 5 when the movie was cast, 7 when it was finished, and like many of the cast members, had never acted before. She is so uniquely and particularly herself that I wonder if the movie would have been possible without her. Full ReviewRead more on: Beasts of the Southern Wild

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bicycle companies will often put glossy promotional advertisements on their websites while putting forth their sales pitch. Sometimes, they'll even go ahead and even compare a bicycle model from their line to that of a competitor's.
As you can see, there is no rider on the bikes, and no pedals either (hardly the case in the real world).


text:
0 Reviews
Write your review
No reviews found. Be the first to submit a review!
Thank you for logging in. You may now post your review.
Log Out
Please sign in with your favorite social network in order to post your review.
Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook
Sign in with Twitter
Hyundai's convention-shattering Veloster offers convenience, safety and performance for 2015, with continuing appeal for the popular sporty coupe. Veloster's unique design takes inspiration from a high-performance sport bike. Its distinctive black A-pillars give the glass a motorcycle helmet visor appearance. At the front is an aggressive form of Hyundai's signature hexagonal front grille, hood scoop detailing, and unique Hyundai-signature LED position lights. In profile the Veloster features "Fluidic Sculpture" character lines, muscular wheel arches, body color door handles and mirrors, and wraparound headlights and taillights. Veloster's dynamic rear design has a distinctive glass hatch, dual center-fascia chrome exhaust tips that complement the assertive front fascia.
On the Turbo, the Veloster offers two distinctive, free-flowing round exhaust tips. Further, all Turbo models add Active Sound Design, providing richer in-cabin powertrain sound character for an even more involving driving experience, especially during spirited driving.
Veloster combines the style of a coupe and the functionality of a hatchback, while also incorporating an additional passenger-side door. Hyundai implemented a conventionally hinged door on the passenger side of the Veloster, providing safe and ready access to the surprisingly spacious rear seats. The passenger-side rear door handle is hidden to maintain the coupe design.
In addition to the Veloster and Veloster Turbo models, the 2015 Veloster line-up includes two highly differentiated models, the Turbo R-Spec, and the Veloster RE:FLEX Edition, appealing specifically to both performance and design enthusiasts.
The Veloster R-Spec appeals to driving enthusiasts with unique dynamics and appearance with a unique R-Spec suspension and steering tuning for enhanced agility and feel. The R-Spec is equipped with a short-throw B&M Racing® Sport Shifter for a high-precision shift feel that is connected to a six-speed close-ratio manual transmission. The R-Spec also features red exterior accents on front splitter and side blades (optional) as well as red leatherette bolsters with red/black cloth insert sport seats, R-Spec embroidered-logo floor mats and R-Spec exterior badging.
The Special Edition RE:FLEX model features an exclusive Ice Pearl exterior color. As the newest special edition, the RE:FLEX Edition, is being offered in a limited production run and is equipped with: black or red full leather seating, projector headlights with LED headlight accents, LED taillights, LED illuminated door entrance sills, 18-inch alloy wheels with a PVD chrome finish, chrome hood accents, chrome door handles, RE:FLEX badging on the exterior, and unique floor mats.
Even more standard equipment on the RE:FLEX is derived from the popular Style Package, including front fog lights, piano black interior accents, a 450-watt Dimension premium audio system with eight speakers including a subwoofer, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, alloy pedals and an automatic-up driver's window. A rearview camera is also standard equipment, taking advantage of the standard seven-inch multimedia touch screen display.
Base power for the Veloster is generated by the automaker's Gamma 1.6L four-cylinder engine. The Veloster Turbo is outfitted with a turbo-charged variant of the same engine. Torque is communicated to the street through the standard six-speed manual gearbox. The RE:FLEX is powered by the base engine joined to a six-speed EcoShift Dual Clutch transmission. A six-speed automatic transmission is an available option for the Veloster Turbo.
All Veloster Turbo models offer Torque Vectoring Control (TVC). This active cornering feature, utilizing capabilities from the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and powertrain control systems, allows Veloster Turbo to improve dynamic cornering during more enthusiastic driving. TVC uses wheel speed sensors coupled with ESC algorithms to apply precise braking force to the inside front wheel during spirited cornering. This active braking redirects power to the outside front wheel in the turn, reducing wheelspin for enhanced cornering grip and corner-exit acceleration.
All Velosters are fitted with a McPherson strut front suspension, coil springs, gas shock absorbers and a 24-mm diameter front stabilizer. The rear suspension is a light-weight V-torsion beam, with an integrated 23-mm stabilizer bar to allow bracing of the arms for greater rigidity and to further control body roll. The rear suspension also uses monotube shock absorbers for ride comfort. Veloster also features electric power steering that adjusts assistance to changing driving conditions while improving fuel economy over a conventional steering system.
Inside the passenger cabin, the center stack and controls resemble a sport bike fuel tank and incorporate an available push-button starter. The air vents are inspired by motorcycle tailpipes, while the floor console mirrors the seat of a bike. Metallic accents abound throughout the interior. Alloy pedals and a leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob are also available.
Dimensions & specifications
Wheelbase: 104.3; overall length: 166.1; width: 70.5; height: 55.1
All vehicle measurements are in inches.
Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder – 138 hp at 6,300 rpm and 123 lbs-ft of torque at 4,850 rpm; 1.6L four-cylinder turbo – 201 hp at 6,000 rpm and 195 lbs-ft of torque at 1,750 – 4,500 rpm.
Transmission: six-speed manual, six-speed EcoShift Dual Clutch, six-speed automatic with SHIFTRONIC
EPA Fuel Economy: 1.6L four-cylinder – 26 city/35 hwy. (manual); 27 city/36 hwy. (six-speed DCT); 1.6L four-cylinder turbo – 24 city/33 hwy.
Cargo capacity: 34.7 cubic feet
Safety features
Dual front airbags, front seat mounted side-impact airbags, dual head curtain side-impact airbags, four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock, brake assist, electronic brake force distribution, traction control, electronic stability control, vehicle stability management, daytime running lights, rearview camera, Bluetooth hands-free phone system, remote keyless entry, alarm system, remote keyless entry, and tire pressure monitoring system. Veloster Turbo adds front fog lights and proximity key with push button engine start.
Optional safety features include hill start assist control, Blue Link Telematics system, backup warning sensors, navigation system, and automatic headlamps.
Basic: 5-year/60,000 mile
Powertrain: 10-year/100,000 mile
Corrosion: 7-year/unlimited
Roadside Assistance: 5-year/unlimited 24-hour
The base Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the 2015 Hyundai Veloster 3-door coupe starts from $18,000 for the base model upto $23,600 for the Veloster Turbo automatic. Destination charges add $825.
Glendale, CA 91204
Glendale is the third largest city in Los Angeles County and has a lot to offer. See it all while in your Hyundai Veloster Turbo. See some performing arts at Alex Theatre and Glendale Centre Theatre. Downtown Glendale offers a lot when it comes to arts and entertainment. Check out Roslin Art Gallery and MK Art Gallery. There are many parks in Glendale including Deukmejian Wilderness Park, Brand Park, and Montrose Park. You will also want to enjoy local produce at Downtown Glendale Farmers Market. Catch some live music at Beyond the Stars Palace. Do some shopping at the Glendale Galleria or the Americana at Brand. Glendale Central Library offers educational events for the whole family. If you are travelling through Glendale it is worth a stop. Check it out in a new Hyundai Veloster Turbo.
Expectations are a funny thing.
Come from a certain line, have a certain history, be something for a certain amount of time and people begin to have expectations that are more or less set in stone. This is particularly true for cars of the Hyundai family. Hyundai cars have been around for decades, but no one would ever put them in the same league as Toyotas, Hondas or any others in that echelon of Asian car manufacturer.
The funny thing about expectations is that they are always prime targets for being demolished.
Take the Hyundai Veloster, for instance. Hyundai has had a few sporty cars before. The Genesis has made a splash, but not much of one. Take to the roads, however, and it's hard not to notice that they've begun to take over the road. You won't see them with the frequency of a Honda Civic, but there's no denying that the Hyundai Veloster has gained its own unique velocity when it comes to the devoted drivers who have joined its ranks.
There's a certain sportiness about the Hyundai Veloster that is impossible to deny. It combines the stylishness of a coupe with the utility of a hatchback thanks to its unique design. The Hyundai Veloster is powered by Hyundai's Gamma 1.6L four-cylinder engine and the Turbo variant is outfitted with a turbo-charged variant of the same engine. Torque is communicated to the street through the standard six-speed manual gearbox.
So the next time you're on the road, and you see a Hyundai Veloster zip past you on the road just remember this one thing: Expectations are made to be shattered. The car that just flew past you is tangible proof of that.
Ready to see this 2020 HYUNDAI VELOSTER TURBO in person? Request
that the dealer contact you about scheduling a test drive.
By using this feature, you agree to EveryCarListed.com's Terms of Use.
Open This Map to the Dealership in a New Window
About Us |
Contact Us |
Terms of Use |
Privacy Policy |
Auto Dealer Marketing |
Site Map
©2020, EveryCarListed.com, LLC All rights reserved.


text:
With the Balboa Highlands survey completed, the students will continue their preservation work in the spring by working in groups to research and nominate individual buildings throughout the San Fernando Valley for landmark designation. Ultimately, the Student Advocates will graduate Kennedy High with a basic set of preservation skills and a working knowledge of local history that many people don't develop until well into adulthood.
"I always tell my students that they will take one class that will change them forever," said Kahlenberg. "I think the Student Advocates Program has had a permanent effect on a few of the students. Because of this opportunity, Irene [Guzman-Garcia] has decided to become an architectural historian. That alone makes this program worthwhile."
• Adam Rubin is the Los Angeles Conservancy's Youth Outreach Coordinator.
Photos: John Eng and Adriene Biondo


text:
Item #0200
21-45 days. Our custom mix of specialty Asian greens provides the perfect blend of mild and spicy flavors enhanced by the beautiful shapes, sizes and colors of the leaves. Harvest plants when small to use as fresh and tender baby greens, or grow to full size for adding wonderful flavors as a cooked vegetable. Contains equal parts: arugula, Chinese cabbage, Japanese spinach, mustard-mizuna, mustard-green, mustard-red, mustard-Ruby Streaks, bok choy-Tatsoi.
This packet sows two or four 7-foot rows depending on spacing.
Seedling Image
Days to Emerge:
Seed Depth:
Seed Spacing:
Row Spacing:
When to sow outside: RECOMMENDED. 2 to 6 weeks before average last frost, or as soon as soil can be worked in spring. Sow again in late summer for fall, early winter harvest. In mild climates, sow in fall for winter harvest and very early spring for spring harvest.
When to start inside: Anytime for fresh mesclun year-round! Grow on a sunny windowsill or under grow lights.
Harvesting: Harvest individual leaves at 2" - 4" tall for a continual supply. If you wish to harvest as heads, cut off at 2" above ground level as soon as possible after head forms; new leaves will grow from the center. The earlier the harvest, the more tender the crop.
Artist: Libby Kyer
Item #0200
2.00 grams
What and Where to Sow:
First, consider where you have space from harvested crops or will have space in the next few weeks. Is there room to sow a…More…
Lists help us pull our ideas together, so we can get in the dirt and start gardening! Lists also help us organize our thoughts and remember what to do…More…
Most vegetables and herbs do best in areas with full sun (6 or more hours/day). These include tomatoes, peppers, melons, and squash. However, you can…More…


text:
By Walter Geiger
Other than witnessing up close and personal two undefeated seasons, one of the major joys of covering the Lamar County Trojans the last two years has been meeting and hanging out on the football sidelines with Willie Hamm. Willie never misses a game and he is a blessing to me.
Willie Hamm
A champion in my book
No Trackbacks


text:
French and Malian soldiers wrested control of the central town of Diabaly from Islamist rebels on Friday, its mayor said, and West African reinforcements arrived in Bamako to take on the insurgents dominating the north of Mali.
France, warning that Islamist control over Mali's vast desert north threatens the security of Africa and the West, had targeted Diabaly in an eighth day of air strikes aimed at dislodging hardened Al Qaeda-linked fighters there.
"Soldiers are in the town carrying out mopping up operations," Diabaly Mayor Oumar Diakite told Reuters by telephone. "There are lots of burned-out vehicles that the Islamists tried to hide in the orchards."
A commander in the Malian army in nearby Markala said ground forces were operating in Diabaly, which lies about 220 miles northeast of Bamako, but could not confirm that the town, seized by Islamists Monday, had been recaptured.
If officially confirmed, it would be a second military success for the French-led military alliance after Islamists on Thursday night abandoned Konna, to the north of the central garrison town of Sevare.
Armed with weapons seized from Libya after the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi, the Islamist alliance of Al Qaeda's North African wing AQIM, and home-grown Malian groups Ansar Dine and MUJWA, has put up staunch resistance.
The progress of French and Malian troops has been slowed also because insurgents had taken refuge in the homes of civilians, residents said.
French President Francois Hollande ordered the intervention on the grounds that the Islamists could turn northern Mali into a "terrorist state" radiating threats beyond its borders.
Despite threats from militants to attack French interests around the world, France, which now has 1,800 troops on the ground in Mali, has pledged to keep them there until stability returns to the poor, landlocked West African nation
In the first apparent retaliatory attack, Al Qaeda-associated militants took dozens of foreigners hostage on Wednesday at a natural gas plant in Algeria, blaming Algerian cooperation with France. Algerian security sources told Reuters about 60 foreigners were still being held at the facility where some 30 hostages were killed during an army attack on Thursday.
ECOWAS troops pour in
A total of 2,500 French troops are expected in Mali but Paris is keen to swiftly hand the mission over to West Africa's ECOWAS bloc, which in December secured a UN mandate for a 3,300-strong mission to help Mali recapture its north.
The first contingents of Togolese and Nigerian troops arrived in Bamako on Thursday. Nigerien and Chadian forces were massing in Niger, Mali's neighbour to the east.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, in a letter to the Senate requesting approval to raise Nigerian's force to 1,200 soldiers, said Mali was a threat to the whole of the region.
"The crisis in Mali, if not brought under control, may spill over to Nigeria and other West African countries with negative consequences on our collective security, political stability and development efforts," he said. His request was approved.
The scrambling of the UN-mandated African mission, which previously had not been due for deployment until September, will hearten France, the former colonial power in Mali. With Chad promising 2,000 soldiers, African states have now pledged more than 5,000.
The head of Malian military operations, Colonel Didier Daco, said that Islamists were abandoning their 4x4 pick-up trucks, which made them vulnerable in the desert to French air strikes, to fight in the bush on foot.
Military experts say France and its African allies must now capitalize on a week of hard-hitting air strikes by seizing the initiative on the ground to prevent the insurgents from withdrawing into the inaccessible desert and reorganizing.
"The more painful the militants can make the push into northern Mali and subsequent pacification effort, the more they can hope to turn French, Western and African public opinion against the intervention in the country," global intelligence consultancy Stratfor wrote in a report on Friday.
Malians welcome French forces
With African states facing huge logistical and transport challenges, Germany promised two Transall military transport aircraft to help fly in their soldiers.
Britain has supplied two C-17 military transport planes to ferry in French armoured vehicles and medical supplies. The US is considering logistical and surveillance support but has ruled out dispatching U.S. troops.
Reuters journalists traveling north of Bamako saw residents welcoming French troops and, in places, French and Malian flags hung side by side. "Thank you France, thank you Francois Hollande," read one national newspaper headline on Friday.
"They will do it. We're confident that they will do it well," said Bamako resident Omar Kamasoko. "They came a bit late, it's true, but they came. We're grateful and we're behind him."
Mali's recent woes began with a coup in Bamako last March after two decades of stable democracy. In the ensuing chaos, Islamist forces seized large swathes of the north and imposed a severe rule reminiscent of Afghanistan under the Taliban.
The UN refugee agency said on Friday that refugees from northern Mali had given horrific accounts of amputations and executions, as well as the recruitment of child soldiers.
The agency said it expected 400,000 Malians to flee the fighting in coming months, placing great strain on the scant resources of the arid, impoverished Sahel region.


text:
Posts Tagged 'cruise lines'
Are Cruise Vacations Safe?
I have been watching the CNN news reports about the accident involving the Costa Cruises' vessel, the Costa Concordia. I was listening to the audio from the Italian Coast Guard and I heard how the captain of the ship had abandoned the cruise ship with the majority of 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members still on board. If I had not heard the audio, I would not believe it. Aren't captains supposed to stay on board until everyone is safe?
This whole episode makes one wonder how safe the cruise lines are. After all, people put their trust in the captain and the crew, and from what I have heard on the CNN reports, this captain completely failed the passengers in every way imaginable. But is this a common practice or one bad apple that is spoiling things for everyone else?
According to nonprofit Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), "Accidents such as this one are an extremely rare occurrence in the cruise industry, and cruising continues to be one of safest means of travel among all types of vacationing." After all, in 2011 over 16 million people traveled on cruise lines safely all over the world.
Personally, I have not heard of many major accidents involving cruise ships, at not as many as the many airplane accidents that have happened over the years. So I feel that traveling by cruise ship is very safe. Also, judging from the reports, airplane accidents tend to have many more fatalities that cruise ships.
So I would not be too concerned about the safety of cruise line vacations. As compared to air travel, car trips and train travel, the cruise line industry appears to have a very good track record when it comes to accidents that involve fatalities.
In other words, if you were thinking about taking a vacation cruise, go ahead and schedule it. You should be safe. You are certainly welcome to use this vacation cruise line selection tool in order to choose a cruise ship or cruise line that is to your satisfaction.
If for some reason you are feeling skeptical about cruise line vacationing and rather take a road trip instead, here is a great road trip planning tool that you can use. Also, you can plan your vacation using other modes of transportation such as train travel and of course airplane travel.


text:
Nurse practitioners: They'll save your life... and money
By Dorrie Fontaine
At long last, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued its decision on Health Care Reform. And this, as they say, changes everything.
But not nursing.
These are heady days to be a nurse. With a two-year-old mandate from the Institute of Medicine calling for us to practice at the highest level of our profession, achieve independence from physician oversight as we diagnose, prescribe, and treat sick patients, and care for patients with increasingly complex cases, nurses are poised like never before to continue their march toward the center of health care delivery.
It's high time. More and more of us are turning to nurse practitioners for our primary care. And it's not just because they're easier to get appointments with (they are), spend dramatically more time with patients (they do), have much of the same prescriptive powers as physicians (though not, as yet, in Virginia). It's not even because they get excellent training as healthcare generalists or that advanced practice nurses, like NPs, are everywhere, with some 9,000 new ones graduating each year and joining the ranks of the nation's roughly 140,000.
It's because the care that advanced practice nurses give– at physician-led offices, minute clinics, rural health care centers, and bustling urban hospitals– is second to none.
As gatekeepers of health, advanced practice nurses (those with at least a master's or doctoral degree) are the perfect answer to our 21st century health care woes. With a well-documented drop in the numbers of American family practitioners– fewer than one in five physicians-in-training opt to be family practitioners– nurses stand ready to fill in the gap.
First, there's the cost differential, critical to any discussion about health care delivery. In a physician practice, research has shown that nurse practitioners decrease the cost per patient visit by as much as a third. NPs typically earn less than physicians– about half of physicians' $198,000 average annual salary– and are less costly to educate, as well.
Second, there is a boom in interest in nursing, which, if cultivated properly, will ultimately translate into an increase in access. People want health care that's convenient, not cumbersome. We don't have time to wait four weeks for an appointment, linger 45 minutes in the lobby, thumbing through tattered magazines, hoping for an old, outdated system to heal us. In a 24/7 world, health care must strive to become more immediate and accessible, or– like people scrolling through a web page, stepping into a store or flipping through a catalog– we'll lose the opportunity to treat them.
And losing patients means, quite practically, that we lose a very basic opportunity to keep people well. Unaddressed health problems escalate. They grow exponentially more expensive. It's why a cavity can blossom into an abscess, and, ultimately, cause blood poisoning. Why unchecked diabetes may lead to amputation. Why unchecked high blood pressure spurs strokes. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Already, there is evidence that many are turning to nurse practitioner programs as a way to stabilize and safeguard their employment futures. More mid-career men and women are applying to our programs than ever before– our applications are up 13 percent in a year, and more than 25 percent in the last five years– and our waiting list grows.
By swelling the ranks of all levels of nursing students, places like UVA have the opportunity to change the face of primary care, putting nurses, not physicians, at the forefront. We must continue to fortify our investment in these people: expanding nurse practitioner training programs, finding and training more nurse faculty, encouraging bachelor's and master's level nurses to complete their terminal degree, even offering loan forgiveness for those who promise to work for several years in public service.
We also need to widen NPs ability to act independent of a physician's oversight here in Virginia, as is the case in so many other states, so they can do as the 2010 Institute of Medicine report recommends: practice to the fullest extent of their training.
Even absent the Supreme Court's landmark decision, these are powerful changes that are moving at lightning speed. Nothing in health care is getting less complex. But this pivot toward nurses as gatekeepers of health and bastions of preventative care will have a powerful effect on the health and wellness of our population. If nurses are the link between people receiving care, or not, let all of them stand tall. I'm proud to stand right beside them.
Author Dorrie Fontaine is the dean of the UVA School of Nursing.Read more on: nursing
32 comments
Hear hear.
So well said, Dean Fontaine--thank you!
Patricia Leonard Higgins, MSN, RN, FNP-C
Nurses are less costly to educate because they are poorly educated.
I will have a nurse as my primary care provider when they have the same training as a dr. They choose nursing to nurse if they wanted to be a dr then they should have chosen medical school.
@ A Concerned Citizen and @ No: Your ignorance is showing. Before sounding off it might be wise to get educated yourself. Next time you end up in the Emergency Department you may thank God you had a Nurse Practitioner tending to you. And next time you have brain surgery you will bless the Nurse Practitioner who works hand in hand with the neurosurgeon. Why do you think a surgeon, or any physician, works with Nurse Practitioners as full partners and that Nurse Practitioners submit charges just like a physician? Why do you think nurse practitioners write prescriptions? Because they are uneducated? I do hope you have the chance to be cared for by a Nurse Practitioner so you can let us know that your life was changed for the better or moreover, was saved.
Sorry for the typos.
Nurse Practitioners can handle much of the healthcare load at a fraction of the cost. Doctor billing rates are incredibly high. For many issues, you don't need a doctor, and this is where Nurse Practitioners are a huge help.
We're undeniably moving towards rationed care, and this will help save all Americans a ton of health care costs.
I would expect a large % of primary care is just referral anyway.
Nurses were weeded out of medical school long ago. If you want a dumb doctor, go to a nurse. If you want your doctor to miss things (even more than real doctors, since everyone is human I'll assume that everyone misses something), then go to a nurse.
I think a nurse works with a surgeon because nurses are cheaper than doctors. Nurses submit charges because institutions bill as much as possible to make ends meet (woe to the poor chap who doesn't have health insurance and can least afford the full bill). Nurses practitioners write prescriptions due to desperation in the system to find enough care providers, especially in underserved areas--certainly not because nurses are equally qualified, trained, or experienced. Many medical issues don't require a doctor and "just a nurse" will suffice, except when you do need a doctor, and you better hope the relatively poorly trained nurse knows when that is--the nurse who didn't go to medical school, didn't do internship, didn't go to residency, and obviously didn't go to fellowship.
Here's how I predict this will play out: NPs will garner increased responsibilities. They will take on a greater role in the primary care arena. They will further overburden specialists because all patients will be referred for most basic illnesses, such as diabetes and chronic kidney disease, but that's okay because that trend will shunt more doctors into specialties and further exacerbate the desperate need for primary care providers. But here's the kicker: nurses are selfish actors as much as anyone else and will soon spurn the rural and underserved areas they used as leverage to get more responsibilities and higher pay, because they'll earn more in large cities and institutions, just like everyone else in this creaking, crumbling system.
For all the vitriol above, I actually think nurses play a very important role, but not in assuming the role of the physician.
As usual, Dorrie Fontaine delivers the truth in a simple and classy manner. I was profoundly lucky to have been a student at UVa SON when she was the new Dean. She was immediately known to be progressive, forward-looking, innovative, and ultimately elegant and kind. I'm now halfway through a DNP/FNP, and will consider myself a success when I recognize her in my work! Wa-Hoo-Wa!
@ Kristin: Fabulous. Congratulations on your upcoming degree. I too am very impressed with Dorrie Fontaine. She's smart, personable, thoughtful and sincere. She is a marvelous role model for nurses and all hospital employees. We are so lucky to have her here. Her rally talk on the steps of the Rotunda in support of President Sullivan was absolutely dynamite.
As a Nurse Practitioner I find this comments about being "dumb" or "poorly educated" quite insulting.
It is appearant that you are NOT knowledgeable regarding the in depth training and education nurse practitioners must endure. Furthermore, you have not taken the time to look up what educational requirements are embedded in the NP education. I challenge you to become more informed before spouting off in a article blog about a profession.
Secondly, Nurse Practitioner outcomes for patients are equal to physician outcomes for patients time and time again. I introduce you to the following Peer Reviewed Scholarly Research articles for you to become informed:
Published in JAMA:
Mundinger MO, Kane RL, Lenz ER, et al. Primary Care Outcomes in Patients Treated by Nurse Practitioners or Physicians: A Randomized Trial. JAMA. 2000;283(1):59-68.
Systematic Review:
->Systematic review of whether nurse practitioners working in primary care can provide equivalent care to doctors. BMJ. 2002; 324 doi: 10.1136/bmj.324.7341.819
Published in the American Journal of Critical Care:
->Outcomes of Care Managed by an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner/Attending Physician Team in a Subacute Medical Intensive Care Unit.
Am J Crit Care March 2005 vol. 14 no. 2 121-130
And just to be sure you understand, this article was written in 1974 in the NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE which dates back to how long NPs have been providing competent, safe and cost effective care:
->The Burlington Randomized Trial of the Nurse Practitioner. N Engl J Med 1974; 290:251-256. January 31, 1974.
There are hundreds of scientific articles which provide validity for safe, competent, and cost effective NP healthcare.
Nurse Practitioners are more than competent to handle primary care issues including diabetes and hypertension. In addition to Family Nurse Practitioners, there are Psychiatric, Women's Health, Gerontology, Pediatric and Acute Care Nurse Practitioners. Yes we are specialized to care for the entire spectrum of patient healthcare needs. From birth to critical care emergent management, we do it ALL!
So the next time you decide NPs are not knowledgeable do your homework!
Great piece, I have no doubt that the quality of care from FNP's (NP) is second to none. I know many fine APRN's, DO's, PA's, and MD's, and a few poor ones. Choice is a good thing!
John G Brenner MS MSN APRN
AMEN! ACNP-BC & Thank your lucky stars
This "concerned citizen" sound very educated. Granted I too am a Nurse Practitioner and love it, but I have run up against people like this before. Typically, they are physicians who feel threatened by mid-level providers. If you notice in his/her ranting nothing is ever mentioned about PA's who are overseen by the medical board, whereas, we are governed by the nursing board. Obviously there is a major issue with nurses of all kinds, not just practitioners.
So Concerned Citizen it sounds like to me that you have a major issue with Nurse Practitioners. So I hope & pray that if you ever need the healthcare that we have to offer in this country that you have the luxury to request a "real doctor".
Concerned Citizen is obviously someone who did or should fail out of medical school, or doesn't work in the medical profession at all. There's a thing called evidence. Absolutely none can be produced saying NP care is inferior to that provided by an MD. Carry on without Uneducated Citizen, guys.
And no, they don't cost les to educate bc of any other reason than that doctors with your attitude made medicine a good old boys club. The majority of those idiots are bein phased out, thank god.
You are so right Kristin. Most of the docs I work with would rather have NPs so the don't have to see the new patients and they can leave for the early tee time. Which doesn't bother me a bit cause I have my time.
Whoa dude-time out! My knee jerk reaction is that you are speaking out of a hole, not your mouth. ROFL. The part that made me want to scream is that "primary care" is ..."mostly referrals" to treat chronic medical conditions. It's possible you are not stupid but you are clearly uninformed and are carrying some kind of grudge against nurses (women?). Número UNO, what in the world do you think primary care means? Do you know? It's the medical home model of the future and you DEFINITELY will have your diabetes, HTN, COPD/asthma, BPH, many psychiatric problems, prenatal care, heart disease treated in primary care & increasingly by midlevels, although NPs are better trained for this - PAs trained for physicians is highly procedural. If an NP is graduated from either a masters or doctoral program, they won't make it in primary care setting if they DON'T know how to manage chronic health problems. I definitely give equally competent care to my patients as they would receive from a doctor- have often been told patients after they have been seen by me that they've never had things such good care. Good luck with that bitterness thing. Could be reflux- go see an NP, quick! ;-)
@ concern citizen BITTERNESS! ! Get yourself educated!
"A Concerned Citizen July 2nd, 2012 | 8:50pm
Nurses were weeded out of medical school long ago. If you want a dumb doctor, go to a nurse. "
What's the difference between a Nurse Practitioner and a doctor? A different educational path, a lot of ego, and a significantly larger cost.
The first clear sign that someone is a clown is when they make vitriolic comments about something they clearly know nothing about. Nurse Practitioners work under the supervision of doctors, and are plenty capable of handling much of the health care workload.
Part of universal coverage is more efficient and less costly dispensation of care.
If I knew that I could be a nurse and work independently doing all the same things as a doctor, I don't think I would have gone to U.Va for 4 years and then 4 years to medical school with another minimum of 3 years of Residency training when I could have gone the easy route and been a nurse practitioner and confuse people when I introduce myself as Dr. So and So your nurse practitioner.
@Medical Student
Hmm, I would have to disagree that the road to becoming a Nurse Practitioner is easy by any mention of the word. In my case, it was a very hard and challenging road to get to this position.
As in your field, we have also completed 4 years to obtain our Bachelors. In addition during this time we are actually performing hands on clinical skills in assessment, lab interpretation and patient/provider relationship. In addition we must be thoroughly knowledgeable in Medications as we are actually giving them to our patient. So we must be well versed in the medication's mechanisms of action, side effects and adverse reactions to intervene immediately. We see first hand what flash pulmonary edema looks like, or the real time effects of dopamine on blood pressure and heart rate or adjusting Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump settings, or CRRT settings based upon the patient's condition. What I am explaining here is EXPERIENCE and CRITICAL THINKING. You can't teach EXPERIENCE and CRITICAL THNKING. As a nurse experience and critical thinking are well developed long before we pursue our higher education. Most Registered Nurses work during their degree attainment, which further adds to their inept ability to provide patient care. Secondly, in addition to understanding the medical pathophysiology/diagnosis for the patient we as nurses must always be assessing for spiritual, emotion, mental and cognitive deficits. We provide holistic care to the entire spectrum of human needs, "Holistic Care".
Our per se "residency" experience is gained during work as an RN. Hands on clinical experience.
Some NP programs are two years or three years depending on the higher education degree pursued.
In our NP programs we are specifically specialized to provide care to a specific patient population, more so a "Fellowship". I would say that is where the MD and NP differ. MD can do any type of practice. NPs don't want to be MDs. We prefer being experts in our fields of specialty, not have limited general knowledge in all areas of practice.
It is my understanding that generally MDs attain 16,000 hours of clinical time while in school. RNs who work full time will have this requirement met before they apply to schools for NP.
As far as the Doctorate degree is concerned, I find it interesting that you assume the title "Doctor" is only for MDs. I believe the educators at UVA have secured PhDs and we call them Dr. So and So, right? Physical Therapists and Pharmacist obtain their Doctorates, correct? Engineers obtain their Doctorates, correct? This title is not limited to your field only.
Lastly, I would caution you to understand that you will at some point in time be working with Nurses and NPs. You may want to respect what our field brings to patient care, as we are all in this together for the Patient- not against each other.
Thanks for the reply, me, the Interns and Residents got a lot of good comical relief from it, wheeew, wipes away tears.
Medical student - I'd be crying too if I went to school for ten times the amount of money learning exactly the same thing just so I could join a Good Ol Boys club.
Seriously, though, there is a place for all of us. MDs should be specialized, they shouldn't in primary or family care. It is a waste of money. If you want to go into primary care, be an NP. If you want to have a specialty, like cardiology or surgery or something, be an MD. That's how we should all be thinking. There is a lot I can do that an MD can't, and I can do nothing that a surgeon does.
Also, Medical Student, be careful. It is in medical school that you are supposed to be learning about the different roles and scope of practice of your peers. Laughing at nurses to the point of tears is going to get you not only kicked out of school (especially if you are at UVA), it will get you no where fast when you get into the real world. I and the other nurses on this message chain have FAR more wisdom and experience than you do right now. You would do best to learn from it, and your career will benefit too. I won't laugh at you when you graduate and I have to hold your hand for you to do anything, which I promise you will be the case when you are a first year resident, because I do it every day right now. That said, I understand you are a medical student and are very young. I am sure you will get caught up as you move closer to being a resident.
Well said. We pay way too much for egos in the medical profession, when what we really need is efficient and effective care.
@ Medical Student
I do not know about my peers, as for myself, I have NEVER introduced myself as "doctor". As a matter of fact, when my patients do refer to me as "doctor", I very quickly correct them. I explain "I'm not a doctor- I work for a living". For the record, when I began practicing as a APRN-CNP a few years ago, the patients I saw would often times request to see the doctor. However, after the doctor repeatedly decided to go golfing, or take a spur of the moment vacation those same patients were seeing me. NOW, those same patients are requesting to see me because I "listen" and take the time to explain lab tests, etc. They initially act surprise when I ask ROS questions- I exain that I'm just helping them recall if there was an problems or concerns that they were wanting to discuss with their next office visit. They have also made comments that the doctor had never explained what the various lab results meant.
I find it rather sad that the medical field attempts to keep the general population in "awe" of it's knowledge and workings. Kind of like they are concerned that patients are catching on that NPs are competent to provide primary care- cheaper, and often holistically better than they can- maybe because we do take the time to listen and are interested in what is going on in our patients lives. We include our patients in the plan of care- empowering them if you will to active participants in their own health... Not simply "do this, take this... because I'm the doctor and said so "!
I for one am looking forward to increasing the role of Nurse Practitioners as a more cost effective solution to the provision of health care. It's time for health care to get more professional, and less egotistical. Honestly, we're a bit too much in awe of doctors, and we can't afford the health care system that has evolved. Doctors are just people with a number of years of med school. Their education is a good thing, but doesn't make them infallible.
@Medical Student: You make me very sad. I have been an NP and NP educator for the last 20-25 years of my 42 year nursing career. Consider the following:
1) Enlightened physicians see the value of NPs and other advanced practice RNs. Not all consider NPs a threat or some form of incompetent medical school dropout or inferior physician-wannabe as you suggest...See the following: http://www.jfponline.com/Pages.asp?AID=9173
2) Multidisciplinary authors, including a well-respected Hopkins experts, a professor of medicine (physician)and 2 professors of public health, concluded after a rigorous systematic review of 18 years of NP literature, that NP patient outcomes are the same or better than physician patient outcomes in comparable situations. The practice restrictions placed on NPs by organized medicine in the name of patient safety are not evidence-based. Rather they are based on money, power and fear, and they limit patients' access to much-needed health care.
3). MD-NP roles often do overlap, but NPs are NOT EVER taught that their role is 100% interchangeable with the MD role. Both roles compliment other. Some physicians even choose an NP to provide their own health care. Yes, I have had physicians choose me to provide care for themselves or family members. The reality is that MDs and NPs generally work very well together on the front lines of everyday practice.
4) The number of NPs is predicted to nearly DOUBLE by 2025: http://www.amaassn.org/amednews/2012/07/02/bisb0702.htm - So chances are you WILL have to interact with NPs. I hope you do so in a way that benefits your patients.
5) Finally, no one type of health care provider is all-knowing. A good provider (MD, NP, PA, PT, RD, etc.) recognizes their limitations as well as their expertise.....As you progress through your medical education, I hope you will lose your arrogance and come to appreciate the contributions of all members of the health care team. Much needs to be done to turn around our chronic disease epidemic and to care for our aging population. Patient outcomes are known to improve when the health care team works together.
Here is the article supporting point #2 in my last post:
This is why I do not go to the doctors. It's a joke to me and a waste of
my time.
"Here is the article supporting point #2 in my last post:
People "like" the idea of going to a doctor, but since the research shows that the results aren't even better, why pay the significant premium? In fact, NPs are generally acknowledged to be more perceptive about patient needs than doctors.
Sadly, part of Med School seems to be training docs not to be in touch. They almost need another year of training to erase some of the things they learn there.
@Kristin: "There is a lot I can do that an MD can't, and I can do nothing that a surgeon does." Example(s) please.


text:
Fun with Distributed Hash Tables
May 13, 2009
The keen reader might have previously noticed my interest in distributed hash tables (DHTs). This interest is strong enough to motivate me to build a DHT library in Haskell, which I discuss here at an absurdly high level.
Distributed Hash Table Crash Course
(skip if you've read anything remotely good on DHTs)
A DHT is a sort of peer to peer network typically characterized with no central or "master" node, random node addresses, and uses a form of content addressable storage. Usually implemented as an overlay network and depicted as a ring, we say each node participating in the DHT "has an address on the ring".
To locate data first you need an address; addresses are generated in different ways for any given DHT but is commonly a hash of either the description ("Fedora ISO"), file location/name ("dht://news"), or even a hash of the file contents themselves. The lookup message is then sent to this address and in doing so will get routed to the node with the closest matching address. The routing is fish-eye: nodes have more knowledge about the nodes with closer addresses and sparse knowledge of further addresses. The result is that the average number of hops to locate a node is logarthmic to the size of the network but so are the size of any one nodes routing table, so the burden isn't too much.
To ensure correct operation, DHTs keep track of the closest addressed nodes (typically the closest 8 on each side). These nodes make up the 'leaf set' and are often used for special purposes such as redundantly storing data if the DHT is for file sharing/storage. It's "easy" to keep this correct because the final step when joining a ring is to contact the node who's currently closest to your desired address.
Functionallity of the Haskell DHT Library
Originally I worked toward Pastry like functionallity, but then I read a paper on churn and opted to implement Chord like policies on join, stabilize and key space management.
I've implemented the basic operations of routing, periodic leaf set matainence, join operations requiring an atomic operation on only a single (successor) node, and IPv4 support via network-data. This is built on Control-Engine, so you can instruct nodes to route or deliver using as many haskell threads as you want. Beyond that, adding hooks is what Control-Engine is built for, so its easily to plug in modules for load conditioning, authentication, statistics gathering, and arbitrary message mutation.
Using the DHT Library
The main job in starting a node is building the 'Application' definition. The application must provide actions to act on delivered messages and notifications about leaf set changes and forwarded messages (giving it the opportunity to alter forwarded messages). Additionally, the app is provided with a 'route' method to send messages of its own. I won't go in to depth on this right now as I'm not yet releasing the library.
Using the hook instructions (and a custom Application definition) I've instrumented the code to log when it deals with join requests (sending, forwarding, finishing) and to show the leafset when it changes. Using the resulting logs I produced graphical representations of the ring state for various simulations (graphical work was part of a Portland State course on Functional Languages).
My student site has several simulations, but the most instructive one is LeafSet50 (22MB OGG warning!). Joining nodes are shown in the top area, active nodes are displayed in the ring at the center, thick lines are join requests being forwarded around, and groups of thin lines show the latest leaf set. Aside from revealing corrupt states caused by a broken stabilize routine, you can see some interesting facts for such a crude rendering:
A) Some areas are completely void while others are so dense that four or five nodes are overlapping almost perfectly. This tells us that, at least for sparsly populated DHTs, random assignment is horrible and can result in nodes having many orders of mangnitude larger area of responsibility than their counterparts. If I had bothered to read papers about applications based on DHT libraries then I might have known exactly how bad the situation could be, but it's interesting to see this visually as well.
B) The simulated storm of joining nodes combined with periodic stabilization results in leaf sets being massively out of date. This concerns me less given the less-than realisic cause and the fact that everything eventually settles down (in ~120 seconds), but might bite me when I start thinking about join performance.
Other Ponderings
While I know that simulating 500 nodes takes 40% of my CPU time in the steady state (there is lots of sharing of leaf sets to make sure nothing has changed), this can be dramatically decreased by making the LeafSet data structure more efficient. Other than that, I'm just now considering the types of tests I desire to run. There are no serious benchmarks yet, but I hope to understand much more about the network performance such as:
1) Number of messages for joins
2) Number of bytes used for joins
3) Bandwidth needed for the steady state
4) Message rate in the steady state
Future Alterations:
Its not named! So job one is for me to figure out a name.
Code changes needed:
Remove nodes that don't respond to stabilize messages (they aren't deleted currently – they just persist).
Check the liveness of nodes appearing in the route table (only leaf set nodes are checked right now)
Generalize about the network – don't mandate IPv4!
Polymorphic 'Message a' type – don't assume H-DHT does the serialization to/from lazy bytestrings!
Stabilize is rudementary – check the sequence number to make sure responses are current!
Basic security/correctness mechanisms are still needed. When other nodes send route table rows and leaf sets we just add those entries into our own structure without any confirmation.
Protocol changes:
Implement Pastry proximity work – this will require the application to provide a function "proximity :: (NodeId, IPv4,Port) -> IO Int".
Don't always route to the optimal node, implement some jitter. Perhaps use the provably competative adaptive routing proposed by Awerbuch et al. for MANETs.
NAT Traversal?
9 Responses to "Fun with Distributed Hash Tables"
May 13, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Just a quick question, to get some discussions started. Have you thought at all how to deal with nodes dissapearing? The Paxos algorithm might be useful here.
May 14, 2009 at 2:29 am
If you're not already doing so, you might consider using bloom filters[1] for deciding what to send over the wire. It's a nice trick that seems not to be used often enough
[1] http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/8jipj/bloomfilter_an_o1_probabilistic_data_structure/c09hk7f
May 15, 2009 at 4:21 am
let me know if you have a specific idea here, I'd be interested.
Nothing too specific in mind. You mentioned the problem of redundantly sending the same (large) set of data between peers to ensure consistency, and a common bloomfilter approach is to send the filter over the wire as a cheap proxy for determining if the whole data needs to be sent. The only caveat is that the false-positive rate for element lookup converts into a false-negative rate for when the whole set needs sending. There was a post about this on Planet Haskell in the last few months (perhaps yours?).
May 15, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Paxos, especially certain variants are not that expensive for writing. For reading, there is no cost as you can simply read from any replica.
I don't think you can make the hardening and node failure agreement an afterthought, as it will fundamentally change the design of your system.
July 1, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Hi, how's the library going. I would really like to see it, se how long you've got. I'm looking for a DHT library to Haskell and yours is the only one I've found. =)
July 3, 2009 at 6:17 pm
I haven't touched it much. I've been giving some thought to what Chris said and perhaps I have put off a full/secure design a little too long – namely I shouldn't have been so hasty to switch to a Chord join algorithm as the Pastry algorithm appears better for reliability (but worse for churn – there is some contention between these two issues).
Feel free to ping me again if I don't update the site; I do intend to do more hacking on this on a free weekend. I just wish I could pause the world to give me that time.
April 25, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Hi, have you make any advance on the DHT library?
I would really like to take a look at the code. I have make a naive implementation of Chord in Haskell. But I'm a beginner Haskell programmer and I would like to see more advanced code to improve my knowledge.


text:
Midwife(redirected from Dai)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
MIDWIFE, med. jur. A woman who practices midwifery; a woman who pursues the
business of an account.
2. A midwife is required to perform the business she undertakes with proper skill, and if she be guilty of any mala praxis, (q.v.) she is liable to an action or an indictment for the misdemeanor. Vide Vin. Ab. Physician; Com. Dig. Physician; 8 East, R. 348; 2 Wils. R. 359; 4 C. & P. 398; S. C. 19 E. C. L. R. 440; 4 C. & P. 407, n. a; 1 Chit. Pr. 43; 2 Russ. Cr. 288.


text:
Attend this meeting to:
- Connect with Cloud Builders and IT Pros in your area
- Learn, share and discuss best practices and uses cases
- Experience product demos
Learn more about the event and agenda [Registration Page]
Hope to see you there! Hit the 'REPLY' button to talk about this July 19 event.
// Chapter Champion Auckland


text:
An open letter to those holding our son, Austin Tice:
Our family is longing for the safe return of our cherished son and beloved brother Austin, who was taken captive while working as a journalist in Syria. So many things have happened in the more than 18 weeks he has been missing. We missed him terribly at the family gathering for the feast of Thanksgiving. We are a close-knit family, sharing so many memories and traditions. Now, as we prepare for the joyful celebration of Christmas, we desperately want our family to be whole. Our hearts are heavy to think his chair may once again be empty at our family table; we dread missing his great storytelling and contagious laugh.
Austin is the oldest of our seven children. The Tice kids are very close, and Austin's absence is agonizing. Like children everywhere, they grew up loving, fussing, challenging and, most importantly, supporting one another. Austin is so proud to be the thoughtful mentor and protector of his sisters and brothers, encouraging them to dream big and work hard to make those dreams come true. He has set an example by never settling for less than excellence in himself.
He is an Eagle Scout — Boy Scouting's highest rank — a diligent student and a frequent volunteer, willingly sharing his time and talent to help others. As a Marine, he earned the loyalty and respect of his men by wholly embracing the call to lead by example. Now, as a journalist, he is determined to get the story and tell it with a deep commitment to honesty and thoughtful analysis.
As parents, we encourage our children to learn about and understand other cultures; to discover and explore the things we have in common as people sharing a world that grows ever more connected. Austin has traveled widely, always eager to meet and engage the local people. He has a special affinity for the people of the Middle East; he is especially attracted to your tradition of hospitality. He deeply connects with your intense loyalty to family, faith and ideals.
A passionate and serious man, Austin has no patience for shallow and materialistic pursuits. He went to Syria to see the truth and to share the stories of its people. He wanted to experience and understand the fundamental and essential nature of their challenges.
Austin's big heart holds a special place for children. In his professional photographs, he tried to capture how the events in Syria affected its children.
Austin has always had an interest in journalism. From the time he began reading, he wanted to know what was going on "all around." He has faithfully kept a journal. He has written for the newspaper at every school he attended, from middle school right up through college. He was thrilled to be offered a contract to report from Syria over his summer break from Georgetown law school.
Austin is just one of the many journalists taking great risks to further knowledge and understanding of other people, places and events. There is a global consensus through treaty and convention that the work of journalists is essential and should be protected and respected.
We steadfastly work and pray for Austin's safe return. We are sustained by our faith and by the kind thoughts and prayers that are being offered for Austin and our family. We are humbled, amazed and deeply grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support and assistance we have received from every corner of the globe; affirmation of all the lives that have been touched by our extraordinary son.
We urge you, whoever you are: Let Austin come home for Christmas. Let us hug him, laugh and cry with him, love him in person. Let us be a whole family again.


text:
We've been asked to a find candidates for a fabulous permanent vacancy at one of our clients.
You need to lead and develop their vision of the role of User Assistance and content. This means treating content as a function of design (and user experience), with the appropriate information provided to users at all points during the customer journey. Your role will be discover and incorporate the best ideas and practices from other leaders in content creation into your team.
In effect, this means they are looking for someone who is currently:
- a content strategy manager (media manager/editor) with experience of developing user assistance for software, or
- a documentation/technical publications manager with experience of content strategy.
You can work in Buckinghamshire or in Cambridge, and you can work part of the week from home if you wish.
For more details, see:
#4144 Documentation Manager/Content Strategy Manager, Bucks/Cambs,£55K-£70K DOE


text:
Conservation payments in Calhoun County, Georgia totaled $7.8 million from 1995-2019‡.
Counties in Calhoun County, Georgia Receiving Subtotal, Conservation Programs payments, 1995-2019‡
Source: Environmental Working Group. Compiled from USDA data.
‡ Data for 2019 is incomplete and only includes Market Facilitation Program payments made between January 1, 2019 and October 31, 2019.


text:
All photographs by Andreas Baier
Click to enlarge all images icecycledly
When visiting one of Art|Basel's most adorable places, the «Collectors Lounge» on 2nd Floor, it is very hard to ignore Audemars Piguet's shiny and gleamy «Ice Cycle Lounge», the homebase of Switzerland's oldest watchmaking company on world's best art fair. The object in the spot of this photograph is the «ice tank», composed of illuminated acrylic rods which will flash to mimic the regular rhythm of a heartbeat – and has been designed by Sebastian Errazuriz who is, by the way, responsible for the booth's complete design.
Short before the press conference is about to start the journalists celebrate a relaxed form of open queueing in a professional manner – ça veut dire that they pretend being interested in something else.
In the background there is one piece from Dan Holdsworth's ‹Continuous Topography› series to be seen. Later, during the press conference, we will learn that Holdsworth's pictures are the result of a mixture between analogously manufactured photographs and digital imaging. The artist says that everything is a matter of precision.
And that fits perfectly to skill #1 when it comes to watchmaking: precision. As a visitor of Audemars Piguet's booth you can also gain a deep insight into the richness of detailed work that needs to be done when creating or repairing watches with mechanical clockworks:
It's a bit of a surprise but all journalists made it to their seats unfrozen.
Audemas Piguet's CEO, François-Henry Bennahmias, introduces the design of the «Ice Cycle Lounge» and it's creator, Sebastian Errazuriz, to the audience.
The artist and designer Sebastian Errazuriz explains the way he works. He calls himself «a prodigious and obsessive workaholic». Or, according to Henry Ford's most famous quote: «Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success.» About his creation for Audemars Piguet specifically he announces: «I was humbled by the craftsmanship and ingenuity of the Audemars Piguet watchmakers in Le Brassus. the work they have been doing for almost two centuries is so incredible that any creative person who visits their installations will feel inspired to hold themselves to a higher standard of gravitas, beauty, and precision. the new lounge will hopefully become an experience for its visitors, managing to steal their attention and offering them a space to take a moment to think about time.»
According to his website: «Sebastian's work has been featured in multiple magazine covers and portrayed in thousands press articles by the specialized art and design media. He has also received critical acclaim from The New York Times, The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal, Art+Auction. In addition, his work has been featured in mainstream TV in BBC, CNN, ABC, and NY1. Multiple books and catalogues feature his projects and his first monograph The Journey of Sebastian Errazuriz was published and distributed internationally by Gestalten in 2012.»
The artist Dan Holdsworth's explains that his photographs deal with the phenomenology of technology, place, and consciousness, and are reflective of his profound engagement with photographic history. Holdsworth's scenes are shot on site at exotic locations around the world, chosen for their pre-historic, futuristic, or metaphysical resonance. According to Patricia Low's website «it takes up to one year to produce, the otherworldly effects of his landscapes are achieved through both analogue and digital processes; his images never falsify information, but rather enhance the invisible ‹truths› that are normally imperceptible to the human eye but can be visually evidenced on film. Holdsworth's work has been featured at museums such as Tate, Photomuseum Winterthur, and the Pompidou Centre.»
Monsieur François-Henry Bennahmias cannot help but stating that «the awe-inspiring detail with which Holdsworth's images are created echoes the precision and accuracy at the heart of Audemars Piguet's watchmaking.»
Jasmine Audemars, the VR-President of Audemars Piguet, states that «Dan's work portrays the Vallée de Joux in the Jura Mountains, the watchmaking company's home, in all its glory and perfectly embodies Audemars Piguet's philosophy: ‹to break the rules, you must first master them›» She continues that «each of Holdsworth's works reveals millions of minutely calibrated measurements, showing the surfaces of the Vallée de Joux.».
She also says that «bridging the worlds of science and art, each image is created with the latest photogrammetry and geomapping technologies. It is the result of weeks of meticulous fieldwork in conjunction with a research geologist, amassing hundreds of photographic images. Through a specially configured computer programme correlating these images to GPS coordinates, Holdsworth has created astonishing three-dimensional models of the landscape, which offer us a new form of what he calls ‹future archeology›».
François-Henry Bennahmias and Sebastian Errazuriz.
A soundproof room serving as a private vault is enveloped with custom-designed panels illustrating icicles, stalactites, and stalagmites and feature a series of timepieces on display. At this place you can hear the mechanically ticking clockworks as if they were directly implanted into you ears. This will definitively help to make plastic surgeons jobless. More about this amazing «Ice Cycle Lounge» on designboom.
More about Dan Holdsworth's work on Audemars Piguet's website.
Comments disabled.


text:
By David Eggert
Associated Press
LANSING (AP) — Michigan lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to a measure that would make more low-income adults eligible for Medicaid, positioning the state to become the largest controlled by Republicans to support a key component of the new federal health care law.
In a bipartisan 75-32 vote, the House approved expanding the government health insurance program to almost a half-million Michigan residents within a few years, nearly halving the state's uninsured.
An estimated 320,000 are expected to be eligible in late March if the federal government OKs the plan.
They could have been covered as early as Jan. 1. However, the Senate — where just enough Republicans in a GOP supermajority joined Democrats to pass the bill last week after months of intense debate — fell short of putting the law into effect immediately and did not revisit the issue Tuesday.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, for whom Medicaid expansion was a major priority, will sign the measure after returning from a 10-day trade trip to Asia.
"I would have preferred to have gotten immediate effect, but what I would say is this is still a victory for Michiganders — both in terms of the people getting coverage and all Michiganders," he told reporters.
Medicaid expansion is part of a strategy to ensure nearly all Americans have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. It was designed to cover the neediest uninsured people yet became optional for states because of a Supreme Court decision.
Many GOP-led states opposed to "Obamacare" have declined the expansion, despite the U.S. government promising to cover the entire cost for the first three years and 90 percent later. Michigan is poised to become the seventh state led by a Republican governor to expand Medicaid, and just the third where the GOP also controls the Legislature — joining Arizona and North Dakota.
The program already covers one in five Michigan residents, mainly low-income children, pregnant women, the disabled and some poorer working adults.
The expansion would cover adults making up to 133 percent of the poverty level — $15,500 for an individual, $26,500 for a family of three.
Snyder said Michigan's plan is not a "generic" expansion and differs from other states that have accepted the expansion.
Republican-drawn cost-sharing provisions for 150,000 people making between 100 and 133 percent of the poverty line, along with financial incentives to lead healthy lifestyles and a plan to create individual health savings accounts, still need federal approval.
Snyder and a large coalition of backers ranging from the business and medical lobbies to advocates for the poor say offering health insurance to more low-income residents will make them healthier and minimize expensive trips to the emergency room, preventing cost-shifting to businesses and individuals with health plans.
Opponents question such a big government expansion when the U.S. is trillions of dollars in debt and are suspicious of money-saving claims. Tea party and conservative activists plan to oppose Snyder's expected re-election bid next year because of his push to expand Medicaid coverage.
"I've been on Medicaid. So have members of my family. It's not easy and it's not a great option," said Rep. Ed McBroom, a Republican from Vulcan in the Upper Peninsula who voted against the bill. "We seem to be focused on the overall numbers and the overall dollars rather than on the quality of care provided."
Low-income adults without health coverage in January will not have to worry about incurring tax penalties.
The federal government has decided not to penalize residents in states that decline to expand Medicaid, so Michigan residents are not expected to be fined for a delay out of their control.
Still, Democrats criticized Republicans for not covering people as soon as possible.
Unlike in the House, where Republicans were evenly divided over the expansion, it was staunchly opposed by most Senate Republicans, some in shock that the bill won passage in a GOP-dominated chamber.
By taking a "procedural" vote potentially seen as aiding implementation of the federal health care overhaul, they could have faced repercussions in 2014 primary elections or later in their political careers.
The roughly three-month delay could cost the state up to $64 million in savings primarily associated with paying mental health and substance abuse treatment costs with federal Medicaid dollars.
"To the average citizen, it simply makes the majority sound petulant and petty," said Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat from East Lansing. "Two of you Republican senators are keeping thousands from getting health care coverage your governor says is life and death."
- Posted September 6, 2013
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Lawmakers give final OK to expand Medicaid
By David Eggert
headlines Macomb
- Golden year: Attorney embraces new legal role amid challenging times
- Wayne County Probate Court accepting filings by email, fax
- Judge sentences ex-MSU coach to jail in Nassar-related case
- State police to assist Benton Harbor cops to restore 'order'
- Midland-area dam operators filed for bankruptcy protection
headlines National
- Calls for police reform and racial justice spur a flurry of resolutions before the ABA House
- States should postpone in-person bar exams during COVID-19 pandemic, ABA House says
- New Law's Impact, Census Hearing Kicks Off, Cybersecurity Hiring Gets Harder: The Morning Minute
- Law Firms Must Learn How to Collaborate With ALSPs—Clients Are Waiting
- Wednesday round-up
- Experts tout proposals for Supreme Court term limits


text:
In: ournal of Biomechanics , (2010),
PDF, English
Download (1MB) | Terms of use
In motion capture applications using electromagnetic tracking systems the process of anatomical calibration as- sociates the technical frames of sensors attached to the skin with the human anatomy. Joint centers and axes are determined relative to these frames. A change of orientation of the sensor relative to the skin renders this calibration faulty. This sensitivity regarding sensor displacement can turn out to be a serious problem with movement recordings of several minutes duration. We propose the "dislocation distance" as a novel method to quantify sensor displacement and to detect gradual and sudden changes of sensor orientation. Furthermore a method to define a so called fixed technical frame is proposed as a robust reference frame which can adapt to a new sensor orientation on the skin. The proposed methods are applied to quantify the effects of sensor displacement of 120 upper and lower limb movement recordings of newborns revealing the need for a method to compensate for sensor displacement. The reliability of the fixed technical frame is quantified and it is shown that trend and dispersion of the dislocation distance can be signif- icantly reduced. A working example illustrates the consequences of sensor displacement on derived angle time series and how they are avoided using the fixed technical frame.
|Item Type:
|Journal or Publication Title:
|ournal of Biomechanics
|Date Deposited:
|31 Jul 2012 10:52
|Faculties / Institutes:
|Medizinische Fakultät Heidelberg > Institut für Medizinische Biometrie und Informatik
|000 Generalities, Science
|Controlled Keywords:
|Uncontrolled Keywords:
|Sensor displacement , Electromagnetic tracking , Infant movement analysis


text:
You are here
Physical Education
The Comprehensive Health and Physical Education standards focus on personal decision-making around emotional and social well-being, positive communication, healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco, drug, and alcohol abuse prevention and violence prevention. The standards underscore important skills for navigating today's society with its complex and often confusing messages around health, beauty, and happiness.
Important Announcements:
Click the link above to access a free e-guide from the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE)- What you need to know about the Every Student Succeeds Act and its impact on your health and physical education program.
Instructional Unit Samples in Physical Education
These (k-12th grade) instructional units are based on the Colorado Academic Standards in Physical Education, and were authored by teams of Colorado educators, including general education, special education, ELL, and other school professionals.
Family and Community Guides to the Colorado Academic Standards
To help families and communities better understand the goals and outcomes of the Colorado Academic Standards, kindergarten through high school guides are available for all content areas.
PLC Bytes:
PLC Bytes are 7-10 minute presentations or longer segmented presentations designed to be used in Professional Learning Communities (PLC) or faculty meetings. Find archived PLC Bytes here.
- Integration of Comprehensive Health
This prezi discusses the importance of the integration of Comprehensive Health concepts and skills into other content areas in order to support the development of the "Whole Child".
Comprehensive Health and Physical Education in Colorado is generously supported by:
Fact Sheets:
If you are new to Colorado or are just interested in learning about the overarching headlines regarding PE education, this one page reference sheet is a good place to begin! PE Fast Facts
Use the navigation links on the left side to read even more about the exciting world of Physical Education in Colorado!
Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Training Offerings
Trainer: Jamie Hurley – Comprehensive Health & Physical Education Principal Consultant
Contact Information: email@example.com
Cell: 303.910.3901
My goal with offering regional and district trainings is to develop a training specifically tailored for the needs of the educators in each district/region. The offerings listed below can be combined to create half day or full day professional development.
Each training will provide the following for each participant:
- Substitute pay
- Lunch
- Classroom resources
Training Offerings:
- Health & Physical Education Standards
- District Sample Curriculum Instructional Units
- Lesson Planning Development
- Instructional Strategies
- Student Learning Objectives
- Scope & Sequence development for Health & Physical Education
- Resources
- Formative and Performative assessment development
*** Please contact me directly if you would like to discuss possible training dates and desired content for your teachers.


text:
Use the form below to login to the University Womens Club website.
Please provide contact details of Next of Kin or other nominated person (to be used only in case of emergency):
Please remember to update these details with the Membership Secretary if they should change
Which Club activities are you interested in? Please tick: -
Please upload a passport style image below:
Please complete the following declaration and sign it in the appropriate place below. If this declaration is not
completed and signed, your application will not be considered.
I wish to become a member of the University Women's Club in the following membership category:
I HEREBY AGREE, IF ELECTED, TO BE BOUND BY THE CLUB'S RULES AND BY-LAWS. I consent to the UWC holding, using and/or processing any data contained herein for any legal, personnel, administrative and management purposes and in particular to the processing of any personal data and sensitive personal data (both as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998) relating to me.


text:
Out of stock
This detailed, hand-colored engraving is from Pieter Cramers work De Uitlandsche Kapellan Voorkomende in de drie Waereld-Deelen Asia, Africa en America… Papillons Exotiques des trois parties du Monde l'Asie, L'Afrique et l'Amerique. The work was published in Amsterdam between 1775 and 1791. Pieter Cramer was the primary author, while Casper Stoll completed the project after Cramers passing in 1777. Gerrit Lambertz was the commissioned colorist for the work. Each hand-colored engraving featured exotic butterflies and moths. Papillons Exotiques is the first work on entomology which was arranged according to the Linnean method. Over 1700 species were depicted in the work.