text:
I was at wits last night until about 10:30, and I had two thoughts as I was driving home at 50km/hr ebcause I was so tired I thought I'd crash otherwise.
1) I can do this. Which is weird because I'm really struggling, but I felt ok, and now I can almost breathe gain.
2) I really want to do masters next year. In fact, I want to do so much stuff that maybe going straight to PhD would be a good idea.
That's all.
And my paragraphs aren't too short! Are they?
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
two quick thoughts
I was at wits last night until about 10:30, and I had two thoughts as I was driving home at 50km/hr ebcause I was so tired I thought I'd crash otherwise.
Posted by Helen at 9:40 am 4 comments Links to this post
Sunday, October 29, 2006
stupid blogger!
I made a whole post the other day and blogger ate it! SO not what I need right now!
Briefly: I have 5 days to finish my write-up. Progress-wise I'm behind (VERY behind), I have my results and methods almost done, all that's missing is a paragraph in my methods. I got my intro back with comments on Friday, there's a lot to do on it, but it's workable. and I haven't even thought about my discussion. I was supposed to finish my results this morning and have a rough version of my discussion done by now, but my results took a LONG time. I fixed up 8 graphs this morning until I realised that I would end up with 32 graphs and I didn't care enough to do that. So I went back to tables. Right now I have 15 tables and 6 graphs, which is a bit ridiculous, but when you have 120 dependent variables (2 sets of 60) it's a bit impossible to cut it down any more.
On Thursday I realised that my results were meaningless and sat up until 10pm at university redoing my stats. The I got home and worked a few more hours and then the next morning I finished redoing them and went to my supervisor to find out that they're actually irrelevant and should be relegated to appendices. We also had a little bit of an argument about my attitude on the importance of publishing (basically I don't care, I'm trying to get my write-up done and then I'll think about it, while he wants it ready for publication just about immediately).
I also went to the Live concert on Friday, after a lot of stressing about the amount of time I have and that I didn't have time and it was all horrible until Laura kicked me out of the honours room and I went anyway. It was a lot of fun, I needed a chance to scream a bit and go slightly crazy! There were even the occasional 10 minutes when I didn't think about my write-up, which was awesome!
On Saturday I was so stressed I felt really sick, and ended up going for a 3 hour lunch break with Luke and EEbEE and we ended up buying tea and having another argument about the pronounciation of Schnitzel and getting funny looks from people.
And then today I worked.
Posted by Helen at 7:52 pm 5 comments Links to this post
Saturday, October 28, 2006
On Thursday I realsied all my stats was wrong and I had to redo it. I had a full-on panic attack (I can't breather!!! style thing), then sat at wits until 10pm doing stats. Then I went home and carried on until midnight. WhenI woke up yesterday I realised I'd arranged it wrong, so I had to redo it again...
Finally after all that I went to my supervisor, who pointed out that that section of stats is actually irrelevant and just goes into an appendix that nobody will ever read.
Plus I got my intro back. It's not too bad, there are a lot of comments, but it's the section I'm always least comfortable writing, so I'm relieved that there's some rearranging stuff, one or two more paragraphs to research and write and a lot of irrelevant tuff to take out but that's all. There was even a full apge without comments!
The problem was that I was so stressed that when I saw a whole lot of comments everywhere I panicked. I was gonig to the Live concert last night an dI proceeded to panic and try find a way to not go so that I could get my work done.
Then Laura kicked me out the honours room (in a well-meaning way) and I ended up going ebcause I didn't have the heart to call everyone else and cancel. Plus I already paid for the ticket...
So I went and met up with Lara and we had lunch and by the end of it the stressed-going-to-be-sick feelign was nearly gone (I'm not sure if it's because I inhaled some second-hand nicotine or because we got to talk about non-university stuff).
And we went to the concert. I realised just how isolated we've got this year. I got to see Claire and Linda and Darryl and Lara and I just didn't know what to say to them. Linda and I went into our usual long-winded explanations about what we're studying (she does genetics and generally has to explain it in baby-talk for me) and then went into a rather de[pressed session about how we're such losers. Back in first year we always used to say how we'd never become pale nervous people who never come out of the lab. Oops.
The concert was awesome though, I really had fun. I've been so stressed it was nice to jump around and scream and just go nuts. They played really well also, and I got to laugh when the lead singer took his shirt off and Lara nearly fell over she was screaming so hard!
Anyway it's already 11am and I have a lot of work to do...
It's nearly over, but I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing...
here's my bird:
Posted by Helen at 11:46 am 0 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
no pressure!
I have 9 days to finish my write-up. And that's a completed, final draft that is worth 40% of my entire honours degree mark.
I went to see my supervisor today. He was really nice, I hope it stays that way until I hand in (and until the end of masters, but one thing at a time)...
He's also developed a weird tendency to sit there with the trying-very-hard-not-to-laugh look on his face. and when I go "You're laughing at me! Stop laughing at me!" he packs out laughing while insisting that he isn't. I'd believe him if I didn't spend most of the time I'm talking to him with a similar look on my face. I figure that the best way around it is to laugh and be done with it.
We also discussed (da da da dummmmm) My Future. Mostly that I must make my mind up. He's ok if I freeze my masters to go overseas for a year.
Otherwise, the Australian introduced me to some music he heard at a frisbee club people party. It's really awesome (the music. Not the other stuff). He's also getting a bit annoying in that he's being all "You work so hard!" at me, when I. Don't. Have. A. Choice.
He's also completely full of shit, in a way that reminds me very much of my brother when we were younger. I get to laugh a lot!
Otherwise I'm so stressed that I'm completely calm, and considering going to bed now. Which is a bad thing because I have work to do.
plus if I go to bed now, when they walk in tomorrow to find me sitting at the same spot, in the same position (hunched over in front of a computer, with a cup of tea and a pen and paper), I'll get the usual "Did you go home last night?" speech.
The sad thing is, when they left, he came back to fetch something and I said "Didn't you go?" and he said no, it wasn't worth it. and I said "Not worth going home?" and he said "This is home." and I said "No, it's my home and it's only big enough for one of us!" and it didn't sound too far from the truth! It also ended the argument.
so I'm going to bed. As soon as I finish streaightening my methods and putting the last touches on my intro.
Very funny, I'm going to bed.
Posted by Helen at 10:49 pm 9 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
I need validation!
Last night I was planning to finish my essay, but i realised I'd forgotten to back up all the work I'd done on the weekend onto my flash drive. So i went home to work on it to find that we had no electricity.
I had a minor breakdown, threw a tantrum at some poor unsuspecting Eskom person on the phone and went to work for some sympathy. Joey and Lara were very sympathetic. chris isn't speaking to me again for some reason. Don't know what I did this time...
Then I went home (buying peanutbutter curry - don't knock it till you've tried it on the way in case there wasn't any power yet) to find that the electricity was still out,and the Eskom workment weren't there anymore. So I threw another tantrum ast a very annoying Eskom guy, who responded by putting me on hold.
I read a few books that I needed for my write-up and fell asleep as the candles slowly sucked the oxygen out of my vicinity. I woke up to find wax pouring all over my first draft, narrowly missing two library books, and forming a gleaming puddle on my carpet.
My birds also panicked, and Rerra hurt his wing by flying around their cage in a panic. he was bleeding pretty badly, but it clotted ok.
the power came on at midnight, so i got up, saved everything to my flashdrive and worked for about half an hour before I got bored. I also got to read a very amusing email from the lady who we're going to the desert with (how's that for bad grammar?). she's trying very hard not to pry, but has to know if Luke and I are 'just friends' or a couple, plus a list of every possible eventuality in sleeping arrangements, from us haivng a bedroom and her taking the couch, to kicking Luke out the the living room while the two of us get the bedroom...
It's very sweet of her to try ask it so discreetly, but it's also so funny to read it that I just can't reply because I start giggling.
Oh, and speaking on giggling, the Australian inadvertently learned 'Poepel' today, but keeps getting the definition confused. I think he's also trying to get me back for forcing him to repeat all of his Afrikaans phrases over and over, by forcing me to repeat Aussie slang and then commenting on my pronounciation. Which is pretty good considering I speak English! He's also messing with me a lot, it's like having my brother around all the time, except I can't tell him to 'root' off.
I also got the first 2 sections of my write up that I sent to my supervisor back, COVERED with comments. Some of it's really little stuff that I just didn't know (like if you have a measurement you have to have a space between the numbers and the units. And instead of bullet points you number each point and separate them with semicolons), and some of it's basic stuff that I should have known, like naiming the brand of soap I used.
and some of it is major points that I knew I should have addressed, except that I don't know the answers.
So I'm feeling partly good that I've got feedback and I can fix stuff, but also really stupid and tired and annoyed with myself.
I've also been thinking about the future (if one more person asks me about what I'm doing next year I might just cry). I mean, everything I've ever really worked at has had a mark at the end. I learned music to get into orchestras and play exams. I went at school to get matric. I went to university to get a degree, I'm doing my honours to get a good honours degree. And the thought of doing two years of research without a nice little symbol (preferably an A) to keep me feeling validated and ok with life. I don't think I have the motivation.
Plus, as much as I love the department (I mean going shopping to find a 'poepoel' to raise frogs in?) and the people and the stuff I learn, I don't know...
Sorry you guys have to sit through this again, it's what happens after 10 pages of putting spaces between numbers and letters.
Here's Max again...
Oh, and some information on Hexane (courtesy of wikipedia). I have 2 years and 10 months until I'm clean!
"The acute toxicity of hexane is relatively low, although it is a mild anesthetic. Inhalation of high concentrations produces first a state of mild euphoria, followed by somnolence with headaches and nausea.
Chronic intoxication from hexane has been observed in recreational solvent abusers and in workers in the shoe manufacture, furniture restoration and automobile construction. The initial symptoms are tingling and cramps in the arms and legs, followed by general muscular weakness. In severe cases, atrophy of the skeletal muscles is observed, along with a loss of coordination and problems of vision.
Similar symptoms are observed in animal models. They are associated with a degeneration of the peripheral nervous system (and eventually the central nervous system), starting with the distal portions of the longer and wider nerve axons. The toxicity is not due to hexane itself but to one of its metabolites, hexane-2,5-dione. It is believed that this reacts with the amino group of the side chain of lysine residues in proteins, causing cross-linking and a loss of protein function.
The effects of hexane poisoning in humans are not permanent, and usually disappear gradually over one to three years after the end of exposure."
Posted by Helen at 8:52 pm 3 comments Links to this post
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Blogger FINALLY let me post pictures! This is the desert trip (as I said, courtesy of google earth). We start in Johannesburg (well, more Pretoria, but anyway) on the East and then work our way clockwise until we get home again. the first trip down to Darling is a 12 hour drive (to get a sense of scale. Highway speed limits are generally 120km/hr).
Here's a grown-up version of Jesse when not attacking Max. The only time I can get her to sit still for a picture is when she's sleepy/sleeping.
and, because I can't leave him out, here's Max:
They're in black and white because I don't like the way colours come out under artificial light, and I don't know my camera well enough to fiddle with the balance and stuff.
That's all. I'm sure once I have time to figure out my camera I'll be posting a lot more photos. It's so annoying, Canon was too stingy to actually print the instruction manual, it's in Pdf mode on a cd. So now instead of my usual lying on my bed figuring what all the buttons do, I have to sit by the computer. I've got the basics, but the cool stuff is still to come!
Posted by Helen at 2:40 pm 5 comments Links to this post
15 random things
Sarah tagged me, so I tag... Travis! hahahahahahaha! (sorry Luke, I don't want you to feel left out, but i know how much work you have...).
1. If I come within a square kilometer of a large open body of water I will fall in. It's like a law of nature.
2. I'm a zoologist, but until about 2 1/2 years ago I was terrified of insects. When I went on Marine and Coastals I was too proud to tell anyone so I just had to come to terms with them (within about 2 days that we spent just working with insects) I still don't like all of them very much, but mostly I'm ok.
3. I had my first music lesson when I was 4 years old. I had my last music lesson when I was 18. I miss playing in an orchestra sometimes, but otherwise I never think about it.
4.I just wrote the introduction to my honours thesis. I'm too scared to read it.
5. When I graduated in April I forgot to actually take my degree and they nearly had to call me back on stage, but they caught me in time.
6. I don't know anything about stats. I just fake it well. Really.
7. When I was 8 we went to Germany for 2 weeks and I put down the shopping on the side of the road while we were waiting for a robot to change and didn't pick it up again. i was the one carrying pretty much all the important stuff. the banks were closed the next 2 days (Sunday plus some holiday or something?) so we ended up living on the Oatso Easy and Cuppa Soup my mom had packed in case. We only had 1 spoon and my Dad had to use his shoehorn (he washed it first).
8. When I was little I was really quiet and I used to get locked in the classroom at the end of the day about once a week. I was too shy to shout for help so I just used to sit there until someone walked past.
9. I could read before I started school and nobody knows how I learned.
10. When I was a baby they had to separate me and my brother because we had a sign-language type thing going and he got me whatever I asked for, so I didn't start talking properly until really late.
11. I had a lisp and had to have speech therapy.
12. Whenever we had a braai I always used to get marshmallow in my hair.
13. I put cheese wax in my hair once and we nearly had to shave a chunk off. Nearly.
14. when I was 10 I read 'The Power of One' for the first time. I loved it but my grandparents were horrified because of the swearing. It's still my favourite book (hitchhiker's guide is a close second).
15. i used to sleep walk. Once I attacked my own arm in a semi-asleep state and pinched it so hard I had a bruise that was so big I could I could explain it away by saying I got hit by a cricket ball. I was 16.
I have to write my essay for Ecophys now. I really don't want to. I thought for a horrible split-second that the wits website was down again, then I realised that for some reason we weren't connected to the internet so I was able to breathe again.
Blogger still won't let me upload pictures. It says they're uploaded, but then they are nowhere to be seen.
It's so frustrating!!!
I'm going to go write an essay now.
Very funny.
Posted by Helen at 10:28 am 1 comments Links to this post
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Just a quick note
Last night I was supposed to go go-carting, but it was raining, and i was really tired, so I stayed home. Bad plan. My broother and his fiance had two friends (who are getting married in February) over and I had to join them for dinner. What do you get if you sit in a small room with 2 couples getting married within the next 6 months? Wedding plans. I am so glad I'm going to the desert!
AnywayI just had to post to say this: MY NEW CAMERA RULES!!! I'm tempted to run around shouting that a lot. But people already think I'm strange. So anyway I got my camera, with a lot of compliments from Daniel (the guy behind the counter) who earned a lot of commission off me today because I also got a new memory card (a multi-media card at a SD card price because they were out of stock) and batteries and a camera bag. Apparently I make the world a better place by knowing exactly what I want when I walk into a camera shop.
Of course. I'm going to meander around with large amounts of cash asking for advice from someone who earns commission? I've been researching cameras for months. More like years.
And if you get a really nice camera you have to get stuff like cases and batteries because otherwise it'll get damagedor you'll be running to buy batteries ever ten minutes (respectively).
Anyway I have to write my intro now. I HAVE to have my first draft done today. Please beat me up if I don't. I finished my reading. Out of the articles that I downloaded I read about 180 papers in the last 2-3 days and of those, maybe 60-70 are actually usable (I didn't say useful, because the 'useful and relevant' count if just depressing).
So I'm going to make lunch and sit down with all my paper summaries. I'm not even allowed to turn my camera on until it's done!
I hope everyone has an awesome weekend! I'll put up my amazing 15 facts a bit later, when I have breathing time!
Oh and here's where we're going on the desert trip (courtesy of google earth):
It hates me and won't upload :(
Maybe tomorrow.
Oh well! I'm going to go and WORK!
P.S if anyone out there is considering doing honours: Don't!
Posted by Helen at 2:23 pm 2 comments Links to this post
Friday, October 20, 2006
number 40!
I just realised that this is post number 40! I never thought I'd keep this up so long.
I've been readnig articles all day. I have about 70 more until I can start the real writing (intro and discussion). to tel the truth I could probably start the discussion alrady, but I don't want to do anythign until I get my M&M and Results back from my supervisor.
Anyway there was the most amazing article. Apparently our pigment for seeing blue light actually can absorb down to the UV range, but our cornea and lens don't allow UV light through. So if you have cataract surgery or something you shold be able to see UV! They should totally make a UV-transparent artificial cornea and give it to cataract patients. It would be so amazing!
The really frustrating thing about working with colour is that you can analyse UV colours, and work with them and manipulate them, but you can't SEE them. Like for us, red +blue = purple. so what does Orange +UV look like? We can't even imagine because it's a colour that doesn't exist for us. so two totally different colours both look orange for us.
Anyway, back to work.
I'm fetching my camera tomorrow!!!
Posted by Helen at 1:02 pm 3 comments Links to this post
Thursday, October 19, 2006
My camera-to be!
I ordered my new camera today, I'm so excited!!! It's a 6m.pixel, 12x optical zoom, with a supermacro that's so good you can practically balance the lens on what you're photographing!
My history as a photographer has been relatively awful. In 2004 I was unable to take a photograph that people would actually be able to identify what was in it. really. I was that bad.
It was really horrible because I loved photos and would spend hours looking at them and going through books and internet sites...
So at the end of my second year I worked full time selling dog and cat food and saved up, and on new years eve I went and bough a beautiful little Casio QV-R51 camera. I think I took about 70 photos that day.
By the end of the holidays I was an average photographer and the camera went everywhere with me.I became the queen of taking photos of people in awkward moments and stuff.
After about a year the camera started to bug me. I had qualified as a speciality diver with underwater photography in the meantime and the limited zoom and macro was annoying and restricting, and I started considering selling it and getting a better camera.
The dicision was made for me when, about a year later I went on a field trip and somebody (possibly me, I really don't know) didn't zip up the camera case and it fell out and landed on the rocky shores one night. I realised how much I loved it because I missed it SO much, but fixing it would have cost more than getting a new, better, camera.
So I got a little Samsung on special and it's been getting me through since then, but I really don't like it, I use it because I must have a camera, but I don't like it particularly. I don't know it very well and there are severe limitations in terms of EVERYTHING being automatic when I want manual.
so now I'm moving up to a nice new, shiny camera. I'm fetching it on Saturday. I can't wait! The desert trip is going to be so cool now that I can take photos with a cool camera! and I will... lots of them...
Here it is: (not my photo, it belongs to canon (the website is www.canon.co.uk or something, so please don't sue me!).
Isn't it pretty...
Posted by Helen at 6:14 pm 3 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
DESERT!!! MOLE-RATS!!! part 2
Luke and I looked at the map today to see where in the deert we're going.
It's SO cool! We're literally driving all around South Africa (well minus a lot of the South-East, but I've been there...). Plus we've arranged to be able to go on schedule, so it's so exciting! I'm so excited I'm really battling to work. Plus I think I overdid the sugar and my head hurts...
I was just sitting outside with Luke and Sarah and laughing about people wakling past and stuff and Oliver told this really disturbing story about dressing in a speedo and some leaves for a school play.
So anyway we get back to the lab and Sarah tells the Australian and then he said that the Australian word for a speedo was 'budgie-smuggler' and then it got out of hand and we ran to the honours room and collapsed in giggles...
So now I'm sad, because I'm exhausted, but this afternoon was kind of a prfect snapshot of what this year's been like. Lots of running around and giggling and getting into trouble and running away and hiding... and work work work...
And I'm sad that it's nearly over. And I'm sadder that I didn't make work a bigger component because I'm SO BEHIND!
I'm going to go work now...
Oh, and in the desert we're going to Darling (it's a town, really), Kamieskroon and Tswalu nature reserve.
Posted by Helen at 4:01 pm 5 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
fuzzy thinking
I just gave my flash drive to the Australian so he could listen to a sound-clip. I forgot that it has a folder called 'to be read when I'm feeling particularly intelligent' on it. He laughed.
He was listening to the 'how to speak English with an Afrikaans accent' clip. He found it funny, but most of the humour was actually lost on him. Quite sad.
I'm downloading articles again. on colour this time. Hopefully I'll actually get some work done today! I need to have my results done by the end of today, which is probably why I'm spending all my time on my introduction...
Anyway, just checking in to say hi. The Desert trip is going to be almost a month long, so I won't be blogging very much afer about a month's time...
Posted by Helen at 11:11 am 6 comments Links to this post
Saturday, October 14, 2006
I slept until 8am this morning! It was so good! Then I got up to find that my dad had decided to show his support by washing my car. My mom always tries to support me by telling me to stop working, or by offering to help (I'm tempted to give her some stats to analyse and then she'll never do it again)!
So I went from home to the zoo where I helped with another workshop. Well, mostly I sat giggling with Anoushka and Neville (Luke said OK a lot. I counted 86 before I gave up, and Neville kept asking for the running total). I also got to know some of the kids. They're nice, but also very much little teenagers and I felt very old after about half an hour of discussing learner's tests and cycle tests and getting drunk and falling down the stairs (and the 'Oh my gosh,what a coincidence I wear contact lenses too! from Ashley was really a highlight).
After that I had to go to my brother's engagement party. It actually really sucked because I was havving fun, and I was chatting to some of the people who work there (the one guy had a hectic cast on his arm from a crocodile attack, and was nice and sensible about it, saying that if you work with big animals with big teeth it's a bit inevitable). They even offered me a behind-the-scenes tour of the reptile section!
The party was amazingly cool for a family function (except Luke smsing to say he'd met the baby chimp :( ... So not fair!) mainly because I had very little to do with either family. A few friends had been invited, and they happen to be good friends of mine too, so I had an awesome catch-up session. Plus the best man and some other guys were there so I got to listen in to the bachelor part plans.
The best was to get him really drunk (how they plan to do that is beyond me, he's a pretty light drinker, like me) and then get a cast put on to his leg or arm and leave him to wake up with a note saying 'we're so sorry!' and then leave it for a week or 2 before telling him it's a joke. There was also the full-body mercurochrome bath (so when wearing a suit there's no problem, but after the wedding...).
My uncle, who taught me to dive, also invited me to Sodwana bay for 2 weeks in December. I think I'm in the desert then though :( which is really horrible because it's with his friend (incidentally also called Neville) who is a total marine life expert and will teach me all about the stuff I always see but can't remember long enough to get to my field guides. That was also the first time my parents heard that the desert trip was happening, so there's a bit of drama there too.
After that I went to work, because it's just down the road, and I had to plan the concert itenerary with the friend I'm going with.
I got home to have a serious talking-to from my mother along the lines of 'promise me you'll have 5 litres drinking water with you at all times!' and as far as 'remember that the desert is bigger that you are!' and so on. I promised her that the university couldn't lose me because it's bad PR and they wouldn't want to jeopardise their funding. It seemed to work.
Still no word from the German lady though...
And I'm going dam-diving in the next few weeks to sort out my weighting!
Jo is going to kill me!
Here is the view from where I was working on the roof (courtesy of Luke who isn't afraid of standing on the wall). I hope it helps to explain why I'm so desperate to get out of Joburg!
Posted by Helen at 7:36 pm 4 comments Links to this post
Friday, October 13, 2006
stats is evil!!!
So I ran my stats again, and suddenly I had a whole bunch of significant difference. Not the differences that I wanted, but at least something happened. So I ran all excitedly to my supervisor, and he laughed at me (weirdly enough) and then settled down to itnerpret them.
The problem is, they make NO SENSE! I can't explain it because nothing happened in logical patterns...
So after a day of being decidedly unhappy with life, I went to my supervisor and (got something in my eye which made the whole situation mildly more awkward than usual) was all stressed out (something along the lines of 'I don't understand it and I don't know what to do!') which I never do usually. I'm supposedly a very calm student, so it really freaked him out. and he did the usual making-me-feel-better-while-doing-nothing-to-help-me thing, and said we'd look at it this morning.
So I went home and fell asleep over my ecophys paper (again) and came back this mornign to find that he's not here.
So I'm going to go and try and figure it out all over again.
Posted by Helen at 10:27 am 4 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
what is this world coming to?
October 10, 2006 Edition 2
Melanie Gosling
THE Marine Living Resources Fund, which had R53 million in its coffers at the end of March 2005, is now R45m in debt.The fund is the operational budget of the Department of Environment' s Marine and Coastal Management (MCM), which is tasked with managing thecountry's multibillion- rand fishing industry.The financial crisis facing MCM is likely to affect almost every facet of the fishing industry, from the control of illegal fishing to thecountry's international markets.
The annual budget for the 2005/06 financial year was slashed to less than the budget of 2002.Yet MCM's travel and entertainment costs have gone up from just overR2m in 2004/05 to R23m in 2005/06.Lack of money has meant that MCM scrapped its annual scientific hake survey in 2005, the first time this survey has not been run since itsinception in the 1970s. The survey forms the basis of MCM's setting quotas for how much hake can be caught the following year. The fishingindustry pays levies on hake landed, in order to fund the research surveys.
Other services that were cut were a scientific trip to Marion Island in December, the Marines anti-poaching project in the Overstrand and the Smit-Amandla contract for anti-pollution control and fishing surveillance. Marine pollution, such as oil spills, is regarded as one of the biggest threats to marine resources.MCM carried out no significant anti-poaching trips on the high seas last year, nor any joint international training programmes to curb illegal fishing.MCM has not created any new fisheries since 2004, although its three-year business plan commits it to introducing three new fisheries in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Many of these issues were published in Feike News, the newsletter of acompany called Marine Regulatory Law and Environmental ManagementAdvisors, run by former MCM head Horst Kleinschmidt and former MCMchief director Shaheen Moolla.Kleinschmidt said in an interview: "We are not interested in name-calling, but we need to set the record straight. MCM is now making out that they inherited a financial mess we created, that they inherited a fund that was broke. That is simply not true. In 2004/05 we ran MCM and all its vessels on our budget, and we still came outwith R53 million in the kitty.
"MCM also makes out that we committed them to excessive expenditurebecause of the running costs of the patrol vessels. The fact is that the patrol vessels were commissioned by parliament in 1998, when Monde Mayekiso was head of MCM and Pallo Jordan was environment minister.
"The new state-of-the- art vessels are regarded as essential in curbing illegal fishing inshore and to patrol the country's exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles out to sea.Moolla said when he managed MCM's vessels, he budgeted for running costs of between R88 million and R150 million a year, depending on the price of fuel and on how many days the vessels were in use.
"We used to charter the vessels to pay for their costs. For instance,the European Union paid e30 000 for a 5-day charter. The Eagle Star now lies in the harbour doing nothing, but we chartered it for up to 260 days a year," he said.Moolla queried how MCM could justify the R30 levy on every kilogram of commercial abalone caught. He said the levy had been increased to this amount with the blessing of the legal abalone industry in order to fund the Marines anti-poaching unit in the Overstrand. But the Marines had been disbanded in July.
The Cape Times asked the department of environment' s communications department in Pretoria for comment, but had not received a reply at the time of going to press.
Posted by Helen at 4:47 pm 2 comments Links to this post
Monday, October 09, 2006
Desert, here I come!
Ok, here's what's been happening...
I spent the weekend measuring lizards (and being bitten by them. I have a very embarassing bite-mark on my nose...). Today my supervisor was back (with poofy, poofy hair - made meetings difficult... I never learned how to control my giggling!) and I sat and processed my data. There's still a lot to do on it, but I made relatively good progress. I'm aiminy to be done by Wednesday (famous last words) so I can do my analysis and have all my results done by the end of the week.
I also have to do a presentation tomorrow for one of my courses, so I've been writing my essay. I've written about 6-7 pages, nothing groundbreaking in terms of content, but it's ok.
I also got my feedback from my presentation. It was all really nice, I got lots of 'confident delivery' and 'entertaining' and a lot of stuff I just couldn't read. Academic's handwriting is worse than doctors! It was a boost that I really needed. I also showed it to my supervisor and he couldn't read it either, but seemed pleased/relieved.
The Australian is also back, so I have someone to talk to in labs. He's a bit scared of Melville, they had a shaky start, but getting along ok right now. He also spoke some Afrikaans and I nearly fell over I laughed so hard!
After he (and my supervisor) left, I got to work on my essay and actually made some headway before I left at about 8. It's about 3/4 done, so I'm hoping I can finish and do a presentation before 11, otherwise I'll be reading excerpts in class tomorrow!
Anyway I just got an sms to check my email from Luke. Last year we went to catch mole-rats with one of my supervisor's post-docs. It was fantastic and a lot of fun and I've been wishing I could do it again. Anyway Luke and I went to a talk on fossilised termitaria and what we can understand about the evolution of eusocial behaviour from them. The guy also mentioned mole-rats and it quickly became apparent that he had what he was talking about (and that's not just my 'know-it-all scientist speaking, he was confusing rodents and insectivores!). Anyway, he introduced us to the newest mole-rat student, who was very German and equally hopeless, albeit in a very inexperienced way. She needed field assistants, but we were too busy, so she took our names an email addresses so that she could get in touch with us about a trip in December.
In the meantime I was supposed to go to a herpetology conference in November but didn't get around to submitting an abstract. To tell the truth, I'm a lousy herpetologist (no, really lousy) and felt that it would be a bit wasted on me.
Anyway I ran to check my email tonight to find an email from this girl, saying that she still needs helpers, and it's 3 locations, one right by Cape Town, one in Namaqualand, and one in a private game reserve in the kalahari!!! I've never been to a desert before, but always wanted to go to one! Which was partly why I was fighting so hard for Namibia.
The only thing that could be a problem (seeing that I managed to free myself up for the end of November by being unenthusiastic) is that we have to be around to meet the external examiners at some stage at the end of November. I need to check dates and I'll email her tomorrow.
It's so exciting!!!! DESERT!!! and mole-rats!!!
sorry about the punctuation, I'm just a bit over- excited at the moment!
hee hee! DESERT!!!
Good night.
Posted by Helen at 10:49 pm 6 comments Links to this post
Thursday, October 05, 2006
I uploaded my photos!
I used to do a photo-a-post thing, but it just ran out of steam because all of the photos I have are of fantastic trips, when I wasn't stuck in Joburg and exhausted and angry with my supervisor (who called by the way, and asked a whole lot of questions about stuff that we'd duscussed before). Lookng at those photos is very therapeutic sometimes, but right now it's just frustrating.
So anyway I've taken photos at wits now (Luke helped) and I finally uploaded them.
here goes:
Here is Melville being all scary. She's really cute, but if you'd ever been mauled by her, you'd also call it scary!
She's doing a lot better at the moment, I stuck some newspaper along one side of her tank, so now she has a 'secure' area to sit. She was still clawing at the door, and she shredded her newspaper again, but I think she actually ate a bit and her water bowl was still upright by the end of the day so it's progress. In the meantime I'm fending off questions from people who think I'm suicidal because of all the cuts on my wrists from her claws. Fortunately today wasn't as hot as it has been, so I could wear long sleeves.
Here's an example of some of her more minor work. I googled 'iguana attack' yesterday and saw some photos of people who have really been attacked, and I must admit, my little cuts and scratches look pretty minor when compared to some of the bite marks. She's agitated and a bit aggressive, but she never tried to bite me, except once when she got stuck on top of a computer monitor and I think my detaching her was a bit traumatic to both of us. She sat and threatened me for a while afterwards.
Here she is being scary again. I wish I could get a photo of her being cute. Today she was sitting staring at the newspaper on the side of her tank, and it looked like she was reading it. It was so sweet! And at night when she lies down flat and spreads her dewlap out and she goes so fast asleep you could drop a grenade next to her and she probably wouldn't notice.
I finished my reading for that essay today. I'm going to work on a skeleton for it before I go to bed and then work on it tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have at least a draft done by the weekend so I can spend the weekend measuring animals and starting on that set af analyses. Hopefully the stats will be a bit nicer to me this time! I'll be so upset if the results aren't significant again. It's not that I don't understand the importance of a non-significant result, it's just that when you're doing something that nobody has done before it would be so exciting to find out something significant as it would open up so many new research possibilities!
I must really stop whining, I have an awesome field to work in,with a lot of passionate (and odd) people. It's just a bit tough at the moment, and I guess that if I get through it, I'll be able to call myself a qualified researcher, and I wouldn't want a researcher to not know how to work hard!
Posted by Helen at 10:42 pm 5 comments Links to this post
Malpighian tubules? - vertebrates RULE!
I've been reading and reading and reading for my osmoregulation in deserts essay. The entomology guys all laughed at me because I had no idea what Malpighian tubules are until I was readnig a really cool article on tenebrionid beetles (I know what tenebrionids are at least).
I always thought my ecophysiology was better than it's proving to be. I thnk it's because of the focus on deserts. I've never been to a desert. I want to go to one (as my rather confused atempts to care for the Lithops show - I feel awful because I'm not watering it, but watering it will kill it...). But I know all about temperate region physiology and I'm really good with diving physiology. I hope the next part of the course covers diving physiology. Bird metabolism and deserts in general have been disappointing.
I stuck up newspapers on one side of Melville's tank so she'd have a nice quiet 'refuge' and would stop being crazy. For a while it seemed to work, she sat and stared at it (it looked like she was reading!) but now she's standing on her back legs scraaaatching the glass at the door. IT sounds horrible... but I can't let her out, she keeps trying to go into small dark places that I can't get her out of and when I try stop her she attacks me. After yesterday I look like I've been trying to kill myself, I have deep scratches all over my arms.
Anyway I'm going to email the university I want to go to next year about possible projects. I have some ideas that are really interesting, and pretty cutting-edge where the field is at the moment.
Then I'm back to osmoregulation. Frogs are really cool when it come to living in deserts!
Posted by Helen at 1:53 pm 0 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
shitting bricks is a good term...
I did my presentation yeserday and I think it went ok. To tell the truth I really don't care anymore. The fact that I was the last person on the day meant that most people went home so I ended up talking to all of 10 people. The feedback in question time was scary, it looks like I have a lot more explaining to do because my study was pretty bad.
I have no idea how the actual presentation went. I remember standing up and seeing the first slide and then 12 minutes later I was on the last slide, butI have no memory of wht happened inbetween. My supervisor hasn't contacted me to see how it went, so I'm not gonig to let him know. If he wants to know he knows where to find me.
On the crappy side (besides the fact that I have so much work to do in so little time), it turns out that the animal ethics committee is on my case because I haven't put the sick guys on the roof. I'm sorry, they told me on thursday, on Friday I started prepping a box for them, on Friday night my flashdrive crashed and I had to spend my weekend redoing my presentation (well the graphs anyway, which took ages) and yesterday I was in presentations, running out inbetween to feed them. So if they want to give me crap about it they can shove it!
The lecturer who's been bugging me about it is really starting to piss me off. He didn't even bother asking what's been happening. I'm working as fast as I can! And today is cold and damp and probably will be rainy soon and he wants me to take sick animals from their warm dry tanks and put them out in the open?
I really hate wits right now. To tell the truth I really hate the idea of doing anything else here. Whenever I think of masters I just want to run in the opposite direction.
I'm starting to think of looking for a job for next year, and if I get in and get the scholarship I'll go overseas. I hate this place so much at the moment.
Posted by Helen at 10:27 am 4 comments Links to this post
Sunday, October 01, 2006
It's my presentation tomorrow and I'm feeling strangely ok about it. It looks good, tons of graphs and pictures and very few words, which leaves me free to waffle. I also times myself today and it looks like I might be able to actually fill up the 15 minute slot, rather than using half of it and then sitting through an eternity of question time!
James and I are ok again, I'm not sure what happened, but it's all good. I'm glad, I missed him!
I sent off an sms to see what my ideal job would be. It's when they send you those arb 'ever wonder what you should be doing with your life?' messages and you reply out of morbid curiosity. It said:
'You like telling people what to do and you do it so well! A career as a movie director would suit you down the the ground. Lights, camera, action!'
I find it amusing. Like when you ask what your past life would be, and they always tell the guys that they were Cleopatra or something, and I was always a guy. Last time I was a sheriff or a cowboy or something. Today apparently I was a musketeer who won a great duel when my opponent's sword got stuck in my moustache. the weird thing is they ask for your name when you sent the message. Helen is a very masculine name apparently. I bet Helen of Troy shaved. Or bleached. I bet Paris got a nasty surprise!
I had the weirdest dream last night. I was driving from my house to wits, and the Australian and my supervisor were sitting int he back of my car. As we drove I spotted the Erythrina tree I drive past every morning and found myself explaining the various common names and the basic ecology of it. and for some reason the Australian knew it all already and thought I was rather silly for telling him. So I identified some fever-trees and I don't remember if he was impressed or not, but somehow the road to wits was also the road to Sodwana bay (I think I made the connection because I first learned about Erythrina on the way to Sodwana, along the route therre are hundreds of fever trees as well as Erythrina).
I'm not sure if it means something, although I am mildly disturbed that I identified trees correctly in a dream!
Anyway, I'm going to go to bed now. I didn't feed any lizards today, so I've got a super-early start in the morning!
I will continue posting photos again as soon as I get around to uploading all the ones I've been taking recently!
Posted by Helen at 8:59 pm 3 comments Links to this post


text:
Deryan Everestha Maured
Share Mozilla Project,Pilot Content Team,Webmaker Mentor sometimes
Young Programmer by profession and a part of Mozillian also Firefox Student Ambassador. Love eating and code. Indonesia !
Tagsaddons, creative, mozilla indonesia, mozillians.org, persona, sf-monument, summit2013, summit2013-santa-clara, webfwd, webmaker, womoz, firefox, firefox student ambassadors
Skillsandroid development, asp.net, basic java, cakephp, ccent, codeigniter, css, database, fuelphp, html, html 5, mysql, oracle 10g, oracle database admin, phalcon, php
LanguagesEnglish, Indonesian
External Accounts
- Mozilla Add-ons: deryan
- Facebook: deryan.maured
- LinkedIn: https://id.linkedin.com/in/deryanev
- Skype: fsndem
- Twitter: akkudErry
- Mozilla Webmaker: deryan
Vouched By
Irayani Queencyputri
Deryan is one of the success case of Wikufest an annual event in SMK Telkom Malang - Indonesia. Mozilla joined WikuFest as education partner in the event for the laat three years.
She was attending Mozilla Summit 2013 (sa ta Clara), and always involve in Mozilla projects afterwards.
This year, 2015, Deryan leads Webmaker App content project team, and she is amazing in curating those Webmaker projects!
Dian Ina Mahendra
She's one of the most progressive and hardworking team pilots throughout our Webmaker App Launch Initiatives in Indonesia. She's responsible with creating and curating project contents, and successfully become one of the Mozillians to go to for presenting coding and programming related sessions in Jakarta.
Yofie Setiawan
Deryan is a passionate programmers that helps many on Mozilla projects, such as testing, webmaker, etc.
Dino McVouch
An automatic vouch for attending Summit 2013 Day 1
Dino McVouch
An automatic vouch for attending Summit 2013 Day 2
Dino McVouch
An automatic vouch for attending Summit 2013 Day 3

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Vineyard. The village with church. Morgon, Beaujolais, France
Beaujolais Cru villages, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.
THIS IS ONLY A SELECTION OF SAMPLES. Use the image SEARCH function to find more relevant photos.
Beaujolais is the southern-most wine region in Burgundy in France. It is mainly producing red wines from the gamay grape, but it also makes some white wine using the chardonnay vine variety. The wines are generally fruity and aromatic. Most of it is drunk young, but the better qualities can be aged and then develop quite different taste and aroma profiles. Beaujolais is the largest sub-region in the Bourgogne wine country, covering some 20,000 hectares planted with vines.
The vines mostly grow on sandy or granitic soils. Traditionally vines have to be trained in the gobelet style (bush vines) and grapes must be harvested manually, quite different from what is practiced in other parts of Bourgogne. In recent years experimental plantings with vines trained on wire (cordon, guyot) have been allowed in Beaujolais to make it possible to harvest with machine. (However, there are vineyards that have been trained in cordon since long time back.)
The Beaujolais appellation is structured in the following levels: Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages (better quality but without mention of the village, coming from 39 communes), and Beaujolais Cru. The top level is the "crus" (NB it is not called "grand cru") which always mention name of the village (cru) on the label. The cru wines come from ten villages considered to be the best areas for wine growing in Beaujolais: Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Morgon, Moulin à Vent, Juliénas, Chénas, Saint Amour, Régnié, Chiroubles, Fleurie.
All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.
Bourgogne Beaujolais Cru Villages – stock photo samples – Images by Per Karlsson
If you want to see more photos on this: follow the link above.


text:
Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter
There Is No Unconditional Love in This World
As for why she was grateful, Kang Yi had her own reasoning, as she said to the Empress: "Coming from Qian Zhou in the North, Qian Zhou is covered in snow and ice throughout the year, and it is most suited to this type of dance. On the way to the capital, Kang Yi met with Prime minister Feng a few times and talked about it a few times. I never thought that Prime minister Feng would take it to heart and would bring this information back to his manor and have the fourth young miss learn. It is truly too wonderful. Being able to see the dance of Qian Zhou in another country, Kang Yi's heart has truly been warmed. I thank your Majesty and your Highness of Da Shun for this grace and thank Prime minister Feng for putting in this effort.
These words managed to make it sound like Fen Dai had danced this for her, so they could not help but stare blankly at each other. The eldest princess of Qian Zhou was clearly helping Feng Jin Yuan. If someone else were to say it, it definitely would not have been proper, but with the princess of a foreign country saying it, the Emperor could only give her a bit of face.
At this time, the dance and the sound of the flute stopped. A palace servant went over to Fen Dai and quietly whispered a few words into her ear, causing her to drop to her knees in fear. Previously, she did not feel cold while dancing, but now that she stopped, her entire body shivered.
The Empress heard what eldest princess Kang Yi had said then looked at the Emperor. She felt that the anger in the Emperor's eyes gradually began to fade, thus she understood what she should do. She revealed a smile then said to eldest princess Kang Yi: "This one did not expect that this insignificant snow dance would actually bring eldest princess such joy. That's fine too. Since eldest princess liked it, this girl shall accompany you for a few days. This will also help reduce any feelings of homesickness. Whenever eldest princess has grown tired of watching her, just send her back to the Feng family!"
Kang Yi looked at the Empress and did not seem the slightest bit angry over the sarcastic remarks. Instead, she smiled and appeared even more dignified, "With that being the case, Kang Yi will thank your Highness the Empress." After saying this, she saluted the Empress then turned to walk out of the hall, personally bringing Feng Fen Dai in.
Fen Dai was incredibly surprised, and even the fifth prince was dazed. He had only been focused on Fen Dai performing this beautiful snow dance. For a while, he had forgotten that this dance would bring trouble when performed in the palace. When he finally managed to recover his wits, Feng Jin Yuan was already kneeling and begging the Emperor for forgiveness. Xuan Tian Yan also wanted to go beg for forgiveness, but he knew that if he said anything, it was possible that the Emperor would become even more incensed, thus he could only endure. He never thought that it would be the eldest princess from Qian Zhou that would ask for her to be forgiven.
Fen Dai had been personally helped from the snow by Kang Yi. Kang Yi also ordered for her own servant to cover her up in a coat. Her body had instantly warmed up from feeling ice-cold. She followed Kang Yi back into the hall. At this time, the singing and dancing had started once more, and Feng Jin Yuan was fiercely glaring at Fen Dai, nearly causing her to turn around and run away from fear.
It was Kang Yi who held her in place and quietly said: "Quickly go acknowledge your mistakes to your father. He has been kneeling in front of the Emperor the entire time for the sake of saving you."
Fen Dai's eyes went red. She did not understand why the Emperor would become angry. She had clearly ask around, and it was said that the females would be able to perform some arts during the new year's banquet. Even if the performance was bad, it would still receive a reward. Because it was a celebration of the new year, everyone would be filled with joy. She originally hoped that she would be able to move the heavens with this dance, but she never thought that she would nearly end up losing her own life.
Thinking of this, she quickly walked over and was about to kneel in front of Feng Jin Yuan, but Kang Yi, who was behind her, grabbed her arm, "There are too many people here. If you want to kneel, do it at home. Just speak while standing."
Only then did Fen Dai react and look towards Kang Yi gratefully. Because she had been preparing outside the entire time, she did not know who Kang Yi was. But regardless of what was said, she had helped her; moreover, in this glance, Fen Dai felt her eyes light up. Kang Yi's appearance and aura that gave people a comfortable feeling rushed at her, causing her to unknowingly develop a feeling of intimacy and trust towards Kang Yi.
Hearing what Kang Yi said, she did not act fragile, as she slightly bowed to Feng Jin Yuan and said: "Although daughter does not understand what she did wrong, father was punished by his Majesty because of daughter. It was daughter's mistake. Would father please forgive daughter."
Feng Jin Yuan was about to snap because of Fen Dai. How could he possibly forgive her with just a few words. He flicked his sleeves and did not say a word.
Fen Dai saw that his face was dark like ink, and her mind was thrown into a panic. She could not help but cast a look at Kang Yi for help.
Kang Yi smiled and patted her shoulder then lightly said to Feng Jin Yuan: "This child is still young. How could she possibly understand matters between adults. Prime minister Feng should not blame her."
Feng Jin Yuan was very polite to Kang Yi. Letting out a long sigh, he was a bit embarrassed to express his gratitude: "Jin Yuan thanks eldest princess for speaking up for my youngest daughter. You are my youngest daughter's benefactor. When the banquet concludes, I will definitely have this girl kneel and kowtow to you."
Only then did Fen Dai manage to react. So this was the eldest princess from Qian Zhou! She was truly beautiful! She could not help but stare blankly.
Kang Yi simply smiled after hearing these words, saying: "The younger generation kowtowing is something that should be done, but Prime minister Feng should not be so modest towards Kang Yi. While Kang Yi is in the capital, I hope that Prime minister Feng will take good care of me."
"That is natural. Eldest princess, do not worry. Jin Yuan will definitely act as a good host."
The conversation between this group was all seen by Feng Yu Heng. Feng Jin Yuan was facing Feng Yu Heng, so she was able to understand what was being said by reading his lips.
Meanwhile, Kang Yi and Fen Dai had their backs turned to her, so it could be seen by Xuan Tian Ming, thus everything was understood by him in the same manner. In that same manner, he conveyed everything to Feng Yu Heng. With this back and forth, the conversation between the three was completely understood by Feng Yu Heng.
Seeing Feng Yu Heng curve her lips into a wicked smile, Xuan Tian Ge frowned and asked her: "Has something happened?"
She coldly snorted: "It's still the same. Currying favor for no reason to hide evil plans."
The banquet no longer had a celebratory atmosphere after Feng Fen Dai's snow dance. Everyone would occasionally observe the Emperor's changes in expression while speculating and carefully enjoying food, drink and dance. Finally reaching the end, after the eunuch announced the end of the banquet, everyone quickly stood up to pay respects to the Emperor and Empress then quickly left Fei Cui Hall.
The Emperor looked at the departing people and helplessly sighed. At his side, the Empress asked: "When your Majesty saw eldest princess Kang Yi, did you think of imperial sister-in-law?"
The Emperor nodded, "That's right! When We were young, We were fortunate to have imperial sister take care of Us. Otherwise, We would have passed away early on in the fight for the throne. Unfortunately, imperial sister did not live long. Before We were coronated and could give her a good life, she passed away. Now that I saw eldest princess Kang Yi, it truly caused Us to recall and miss imperial sister!"
The Empress did not know how to console him, so she could only sigh. At their side, none of the other imperial concubines said anything. It was imperial concubine Gu Xian who turned her head and whispered something into her attendant's ear. That attendant then sneakily left the hall.
At this time, outside Fei Cui Hall, everyone was moving together. Eldest princess Kang Yi led Ru Jia and Fen Dai and stood in front of Feng Jin Yuan. Feng Jin Yuan once again thanked Kang Yi for the grace of inviting Fen Dai then made use of the opportunity to make a request of Kang Yi: "Since eldest princess will be remaining in Da Shun for a few more days, I wonder if you would grace our manor with a visit? My old mother is very interested in the snowy country of Qian Zhou. Knowing that princess is from Qian Zhou, she would be very happy to welcome you."
Ru Jia had a very good impression of Feng Jin Yuan. Hearing him extend an invitation, she happily spoke up before Kang Yi: "Mother, let's agree! I heard that the manors of Da Shun's government officials are both large and beautiful. Just let Ru Jia go take a look!"
"Kang Yi laughed helplessly and said to Feng Jin Yuan: "This little girl is unruly. Prime minister Feng, please do not tell such jokes."
"Hah!" Feng Jin Yuan also began to laugh, "Princess Ru Jia is lively and cheerful, which is something my daughters are lacking!"
Hearing someone praise her daughter, Kang Yi was quite happy, thus she nodded, "Since Lord Feng has invited us, Kang Yi will be obedient and go pay a visit to elder madam in the manor tomorrow."
Walking at the rear, Feng Yu Heng and Xiang Rong heard that Kang Yi would be personally visiting. They could not help but look at each other. Feng Yu Heng saw the confusion in Xiang Rong's eyes and patted the back of her hand, saying with a smile: "Don't worry. It's fine."
Xiang Rong furrowed her brow tightly and said: "Although this eldest princess looks very nice, why do I keep feeling like she does not have a good heart?"
Feng Yu Heng laughed and thought to herself, dear Xiang Rong, you've truly grown up with the new year. "Remember, there is no unconditional love in the world. Nobody will treat you well for no reason. Concubine mother An treats you well because she is your birth mother. I treat you well because you are my younger sister. But just being my younger sister is not enough. She must also be a younger sister that stands on my side. Understand?"
Xiang Rong pondered for a while then nodded vigorously: "Xiang Rong understands. Second sister means to say that there was no reason for eldest princess to beg forgiveness for fourth sister. There must be another reason."
"That's right."
As the two spoke, someone suddenly stumbled over towards them. Without worrying about anything else, they grabbed Fen Dai from Kang Yi's side and eagerly asked: "How are you? Were you frightened?"
Everyone was stunned. When they looked more carefully, they found that it was the fifth prince, Xuan Tian Yan.
Fen Dai's face turned bright red from having suddenly been grabbed. Lowering her head, she said in embarrassment: "I'm fine. Many thanks to your Highness for the concern."
Feng Jin Yuan snorted. This time, he really did not give Xuan Tian Yan any face. Staring at the hand that grabbed Fen Dai, he said: "This is inappropriate. I hope your Highness the fifth prince will not ruin my youngest daughter's reputation."
Xuan Tian Yan was startled, and he glared over at him, wanting to say something. But he was a prince that was not favored. It was also because of such a reason that he lost his father Emperor's love. Facing the court's standard first rank official, he truly was a little afraid to get into an argument. Thus, he could only awkwardly let go, but he also said: "Prime minister Feng is mistaken. This prince will be taking fourth young miss in as a wife someday."
Feng Jin Yuan looked at him in confusion: "If this prime minister recalls correctly, your Highness forcibly pushed your proposal letter to my Feng manor while this prime minister was away. What was promised to my youngest daughter was the position of secondary princess, right? Where is the idea of wife coming from?"
Xuan Tian Yan also knew that he had made a mistake. Originally, he was not very serious about Fen Dai, but Fen Dai's beautiful snow dance had truly captivated his soul. He pondered a little then gritted his teeth and resolutely said: "Prime minister Feng, do not worry. The position of official princess of my Li Palace is indeed no good, but this prince will disperse all secondary princesses and concubines. Until fourth young miss is of marriageable age, not a single new person will enter my palace. After fourth young miss marries into my palace, she will be the only secondary princess of Prince Li. Prime minister Feng, what do you think?"
TN: Age goes up with the celebration of Chinese new year.


text:
On August 18, 2015, three of the leading indices for trading were demonstrating a decline in numbers, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average showing a -.01 percent or 16 points drop to 17,529.
The Wholesale industry index dropped .5 percent while the S&P 500 dropped .2 percent, and the NYSE had 98 advancing and 2,001 declining with the remaining 166 staying unchanged.
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network (ANW) was established in the mid-1990s and features its headquarters in Athens. The founder of Aegean Marine Petroleum, an independent fuel company, is Dimitris Melissanidis, and the company has a stock ticker of ANW on the New York Stock Exchange. By the 18th of August, the company's stock was down by 18.3% and the remainder of the week demonstrates a five-day average, of the stock at $8.31 a share, down .72% or .06 points.
Arrow Electronics, headed up by CEO Michael J Long, also demonstrates a decline on the 18th of the month, dropping 1.8% on the NYSE. The Colorado-based Fortune 500 Company focuses on the delivery and successful distribution of computer products and components. With a stock symbol of ARW, the company that's is the parent company of subsidiaries like Microtronica, and Arrow Europe GmbH, had a five day overall decline of 3.05% or 1.69 points, landing at $53.79 a share.
Rockwell Automation, a Milwaukee, a Wisconsin-based company headed up by the Chairman & CEO Keith Nosbusch, specializes in industrial automation and manufacturing execution systems. The company trades on both the S&P 500 and the NYSE on the ticker symbol ROK. As of Tuesday, August 18, the company's stock dropped by 1.0%. Over the last five days, the stock has dropped by 2.06% or 2.29 points, landing the stock at $108.94 a share.
Genuine Parts is not doing much better. The Genuine Parts Company trades on the NSYE under the ticker symbol GPC. GPC is the parent company of the National Automotive Parts Association, BALKAMP, Motion Industries, Altrom America Corp, and eight other subsidiaries. As of the 18th, the nearly 90-year-old, Atlanta, Georgia-based company headed up by CEO Thomas C. Gallagher dropped by .7%. The five-day average for the company dropped 2.71% or 2.32 points leaving the company stock at $83.43 a share.
There were other stocks that really helped in bringing the Wholesale industry down this week, including Tech Data, the Hain Celestial Group, and McKesson Corporation. The Tech Data Corp trades on the NASDAQ under TECD, and by the 18th, the company was down by 5.7% at $56.25 a share. Thankfully, an upswing was demonstrated by Friday, with an increase of .66% up to .42 points and $64.07 per share. By Friday of the same week, Hain Celestial Group (HAIN), showing an initial decline of 5.4% earlier in the week, shows an increase of 3.71%, 2.33 points, up to $60.49 a share.
Finally, also showing a decline earlier in the week Ws McKesson, trading on the NYSE as MCK. The company has a -0.6% decline drop t o$214.94 a share. This decline continued and resulted in a 3.37 percent or 7.85 point drop to $202.64 USD per share over the course of the next five days.


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The use of the title PRIMATE in the context of meetings of the Anglican Communion denotes the chief archbishop or bishop of a province of the Anglican Episcopal family of churches.
The "chief" designation is of importance here as in some provinces, such as Ireland and England, there are actually two archbishops holding the title "primate" So the chief archbishop of these two provinces becomes Primate of "All" Ireland and "All" England.
The normative style for a Primate is "The Most Reverend" but this can vary from time to time and occasionally "The Right Reverend" is used. The whole style and title of a primate can vary: in the USA for example further designations are added: "The Most Reverend [x], The Presiding Bishop, Primate and Chief Pastor", is the official legal title of the holder of the primatial office.
In certain provinces the primate is also called Archbishop and/or Metropolitan, while in others for historical reasons, the term Presiding Bishop, or as in Scotland, Primus, is preferred. In some provinces the term is translated to their own language such as Obispo Primado, in the Province of the Southern Cone (South America).
In the "United Churches" of South Asia, it is the Moderators of the churches who are invited to the Primates' Meetings by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Upon retirement archbishops properly revert to the status of bishop, but may be given the style of an archbishop as a courtesy.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is recognised as the primus inter pares, the first among equals, of the college of Primates, and attendance at a Primates' Meeting is by invitation from him.


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So the debt crisis passed when Congress grudgingly agreed to raise the federal debt ceiling and promised to cut trillions of dollars in future government spending. While hardly a cause for celebration, avoiding the first-ever default by the U.S. government counts at least as mildly positive news, as did the July jobs report on August 4, but that didn't stop investors from sending the stock market to new lows for the year in the days following the agreement. This week, following the downgrade of the U.S. on Friday, more volatility is possible in the markets.
Why the negativity? As the debt ceiling agreement was taking shape, newly arriving economic data signaled increasingly clearly that not only is the U.S. economy growing at a slower rate than would be expected during a period of economic recovery, but it is decelerating from even the 1.3% rate witnessed during the second quarter of 2011. Fixed income markets apparently got the news early: while bond yields for heavily indebted European governments like Greece, Spain, and Italy have spiked higher on the threat of potential default there, the yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note fell below 2.6%, its lowest since November 2010, as the deadline for lifting the debt ceiling approached, and is now within 40 basis points of the low of 2.20% set in the darkest hours of the financial market meltdown in January 2009.
The lack of growth in the second half of 2011 has major implications for investors today, as a cooling economy often drags equity markets down with it. Dividends, of course, will be paid, but with the Standard & Poor's 500 index yielding a lean 2.0% currently—and the threat of price depreciation rising—only a committed optimist would bet that stocks are the place to be in the waning months of 2011.
Among other asset classes, commodities have performed well in recent months, but they are volatile and—like equities—tend to follow patterns in global economic growth. For those seeking acceptable returns with some measure of safety, fixed income assets are looking increasingly attractive.
In order to find funds that have the potential to deliver respectable returns in the coming months, we searched the world of taxable fixed income funds for those that have delivered consistently strong results over the past three- and five-year periods and have the highest five-star rank from S&P. With the U.S. dollar expected to come under further pressure if the economy slows, we took special note of funds that had at least a portion of their assets invested in foreign currency instruments. Three funds stood out for their above-average historical performance, high current yield and currency diversification.
Three Taxable Bond Funds to Consider
For those willing to forgo some yield in favor of a globally diversified portfolio of government-backed bonds, the Templeton Global Bond Fund (TPINX) is one choice. Its current yield of 3.06% is well above the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note despite the fact that the portfolio has an average duration of just 1.74 years—important if interest rates unexpectedly rise. With $59 billion in assets, it one of the largest bond funds in the U.S., and its portfolio manager's tenure of 10 years is a welcome sign of stability. The fund has delivered an average annual return of 11.94% over the past five years, second best among S&P's five-star-ranked taxable fixed income funds, and 13.25% over the past three years, a top 10 showing for that group. Also, less than half its assets are U.S.-dollar denominated.
For those willing to take on more risk for more yield, the TCW Emerging Markets Income fund (TGEIX) offers an enticing 7.51% current yield. The fund's performance has been outstanding in recent years; over the past five-year period, it delivered an average annual return of 12.98%, best of all U.S. taxable fixed income mutual funds open that long, and its 17.63% average annual return over the past three years is the best for that period as well. Such strong returns and high yield hasn't come without taking on risk, however; the fund invests in debt that is either unrated or rated BB and lower. On a country basis, Brazil was its largest holding as of June 30, followed by China, Russia, Argentina, Mexico and Turkey. About 25% of its holdings are in non-U.S.-dollar assets and its average duration is high at 10.76 years.
The Payden Emerging Markets Income Fund (PYEMX) could be said to represent a happy medium. Its current yield is 5.84%, and it has about 45% of its assets in investment-grade debt. More than three quarters of its holdings are government issued, compared with 27% for the TCW fund. The fund's performance has been strong over time: its 9.42% average annual return over the past five years is fifth best among five-star taxable fixed income funds, and its three-year return of 12.25% is well above average for that group. Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Venezuela and Mexico are its largest country exposures. Most of the fund's assets are dollar denominated, and its average duration is 7 years.
S&P Senior Editorial Manager Vaughan Scully can be reached at [email protected]. Send him your ideas for ETF and mutual fund stories.


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Chicagoans and their city have played integral roles in the evolution of motion picture technology and the history of film. As producers, distributors, writers, actors, audiences, and as backdrop and setting, the city and its residents shaped the development of the medium. But did the medium in turn affect or reflect the city? Can a film or television show-produced by a relatively small group of people-offer insights into the history of a particular place? What do efforts to control or censor these images reveal about politics and the power of popular culture? Using a variety of clips, seminar participants will discuss how film-makers and television producers have portrayed Chicago, and the extent to which these portrayals have revealed and influenced life in the city.
Seminar led by Sarah Marcus, Independent Scholar


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BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian officials warned Monday that they would deploy chemical weapons against any foreign intervention, a threat that appeared intended to ward off an attack by Western nations while also offering what officials in Washington called the most "direct confirmation" ever that Syria possesses a stockpile of unconventional armaments.
The warning came out of Damascus, veiled behind an assurance that the Syrian leadership would never use such weapons against its own citizens, describing chemical arms as outside the bounds of the kind of guerrilla warfare being fought internally.
"Any stock of W.M.D. or unconventional weapons that the Syrian Army possesses will never, never be used against the Syrian people or civilians during this crisis, under any circumstances," a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdissi, said at a news conference shown live on Syrian state television, using the initials for weapons of mass destruction. "These weapons are made to be used strictly and only in the event of external aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic."
Mr. Makdissi said that any such weapons were carefully monitored by the Syrian Army, and that ultimately their use would be decided by generals.
Though it has for many years been an open secret that Syria possessed a large cache of such weapons, the government has traditionally tried to retain some strategic ambiguity to keep its enemies guessing. Then on Monday, after Mr. Makdissi appeared to confirm that reality, the government quickly retreated to its familiar position, saying its remarks were misinterpreted.
Asked whether Syria was finally acknowledging that it had chemical weapons, Mr. Makdissi repeated roughly the same response, but began it by saying that any stock of unconventional weapons or chemical weapons "if they exist" would not be used domestically, but would be used against foreign intervention.
But the attempt at verbal sleight of hand did little to conceal what appeared to be Syria's intent, experts and Western diplomats said.
"Look, any talk about any use of any kind of a weapon like that in this situation is horrific and chilling," said Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokeswoman. "The Syrian regime has a responsibility to the world, has a responsibility first and foremost to its own citizens to protect and safeguard those weapons. And that kind of loose talk just speaks to the kind of regime that we're talking about."
For outside experts, any remarks about chemical weapons meant that Syria calculated the value of reminding anyone weighing any direct military intervention just what it could hit them with.
"The thing about W.M.D. is that they are useless unless the other side knows you have them," said Joseph Holliday, an Iraq war veteran who tracks the opposition Free Syrian Army for the Institute for the Study of War in Washington. "So despite the fact that the regime has not been open about its weapons program, it has to make it clear to neighbors that it has the capability, so it has to be relatively public."
Analysts dismissed the idea that any part of what Mr. Makdissi said, including the second statement, was anything less than calculated. The statements, coupled with recent information that Syria has been moving its chemical weapons around the country, were part of the calculation, said Randa Slim, an adjunct research fellow and Syria expert at the New America Foundation, a public policy institute based in Washington.
Syria is simultaneously trying to break its international isolation and to make the United States, Turkey and Israel, among others, rethink any offensive action they might be contemplating against it, she said. "The chemical weapons remain one of the Syrian regime's strongest few trump cards, and they are threatening to use it in order to improve their rapidly weakening negotiating position."
In ruling out their domestic use, Mr. Makdissi said Syria was facing "gang warfare" in its main cities where the weapons could not be used. Fierce street fighting continued in Syria's largest city, Aleppo, for a fifth day on Monday, while government troops maintained a mopping-up operation in and around Damascus.
Over the past four decades, Syria has amassed huge supplies of mustard gas, sarin nerve agent and cyanide, according to unclassified reports by the Central Intelligence Agency.
In a report to Congress covering last year, the C.I.A., referring to chemical weapons, said, "Syria has had a C.W. program for many years and has a stockpile of C.W. agents, which can be delivered by aerial bombs, ballistic missiles, and artillery rockets. We assess that Syria remains dependent on foreign sources for key elements of its C.W. program, including precursor chemicals."
In Southern Turkey, Syrian Refugees Wait Out the War
10 Photos
View Slide Show ›
In a similar report for 2006, the C.I.A. said Syria's arsenal included "the nerve agent sarin, which can be delivered by aircraft or ballistic missile." The report also said that Syria "is developing the more toxic and persistent nerve agent VX."
Syria has long left deliberately ambiguous what exactly it possesses in terms of chemical weapons, with government leaders only rarely discussing them. A United Nations diplomat said that in a meeting this month with Kofi Annan, the special envoy for Syria and former United Nations secretary general, President Bashar al-Assad had also said that any chemical weapons were stored in a safe place.
Mr. Assad also told Mr. Annan that they would not be used except in the case of foreign invasion, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic delicacy of the topic. The Syrian leader had said that the weapons had not been mixed yet, so that anyone who captured them would have to know how to combine them. The weapons are considered "binary," meaning that they do not become lethal until they are mixed.
Israel employs a similar ambiguity about its nuclear arsenal — usually stating it will not be the first to deploy nuclear weapons in the Middle East — which is believed to have inspired the Syrian stance. Syria and Israel are also among only eight countries in the world who have not agreed to the convention to eliminate chemical weapons that went into effect in 1997. (Israel has signed it but not ratified it.)
Leonard S. Spector, deputy director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute in California, said the Syrian spokesman's comments were paradoxically both menacing and reassuring.
"It's a mixed message," Mr. Spector said in a telephone interview. "One side of the message is fist-shaking, a warning of retaliation if there's an invasion. The other side seems to be an attempt to be responsible."


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Union Pacific 4014 Rolls Into Cheyenne [PHOTOS, VIDEO]
If the lines of local enthusiasts and community members standing in cold, misty weather was any indication, it appears the Union Pacific 4014, or "Big Boy," is absolutely welcome in our city.
Parking lots surrounding the Depot were jam packed, with onlookers spilling out of buildings, taking up space on sidewalks, and circling the block...even as the steam engine rolled into town around 1 p.m. on Thursday.
The largest steam engine in the world, the 4014, made its way from California to be spruced up, fixed and fully restored to its original glory. Rumor has it, the restoration project could take as long as 5 years. So if you weren't able to see it up-close-and-personal today, you'll have some time in the future to take a gander. We've been assured there will be showings and other informative tours to come.
In the mean time, enjoy the videos and photos our staff were able to snap as we relived our childhood dreams of seeing one of these bad boys up close.
You can also see a rare look inside the train's steam engine or find out about it's temporary location.


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Meet and Eat: Ben Jay, Serious Eats Editorial Intern
Getting to know the folks behind the food and drinks you love.
Name: Ben Jay
Location: New York
Occupation: Photographer / Journalist
Website: Benjayphoto.com
Twitter: @FakeBenJay
Guilty pleasures? In college, I found a recipe for "toxic ramen," which I can't find anymore and I'm assuming has been removed from the internet for public health reasons. Basically, you boil two things of beef-flavored ramen, strain the water, add both flavor packets and two eggs, cook for a few seconds until brownish-yellow, and enjoy! It's really salty, but I ate it regularly after late production nights on the school paper, and it's the quickest thing I can make aside from toast.
Describe your perfect meal. A big plate of curry, poutine, brisket, shawarma or a really good bacon cheeseburger, all with the right beer.
What food won't you eat? I really don't get why people love tapas so much. It's just a really good way to spend a lot of money for not very much food, and every time I've had tapas, I've had to buy a second dinner afterwards. Vegetables—I'm a fanatical carnivore. Mexican food is overrated, but Canadian food is really underrated.
Favorite food person? Noah Bernamoff. Mile End is easily my favorite restaurant in New York, and his take on Montreal Jewish cooking just fits perfectly in Brooklyn. He also gave me and my friend free smoked meat sandwiches one time because I told him how great his restaurant is. Honorable mentions: Anthony Bourdain and Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai.
When did you first realize you were a serious eater? Probably a few years ago when I was a photo intern at the Village Voice, where I had to do a lot of restaurant photography and find lunch everyday in the East Village, which is still one of my favorite food neighborhoods in New York.
What do your family and friends think of your food obsessions? I think they wonder how I don't weigh 500 pounds and haven't had several heart attacks yet.
Favorite food sites or blogs? The Village Voice's Fork in the Road
Everyone has a go-to person they call for restaurant recommendations. Who's yours? My friend David, who has a constant desire to explore the NYC foodsphere, especially in Queens, and knows the city so well that he memorized the Subway map by the age of four.
What is your favorite meal of the day and where do you get it? Breakfast at any place that can make me waddle after a good brunch and has good coffee.
Do you ever cook? What's the best dish you make? Pancakes. It's one of those foods that can be really good if done properly, but really mediocre if done wrong. I use a recipe Cook's Illustrated ran in 2003, but I add vanilla extract and cinnamon and skip the blueberries.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Vimal Has Been Manufacturing Quality Products In The categories Like Trackpants , Caps , Tshirts , Capris , Shorts , Innerwear , Thermals etc . All The Products Are Manufactured From Special Cotton Blend Fabric, Making The Product Durable , Stylish And Long Lasting. Vimal Also Offers Products In Various Combos Making It More Value For Money Product.Feel Vimal.
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A Sandwich a Day: Southwestern Crepe at It's Just Crepes in Cincinnati
A different sandwich profiled every single day.
In this great nation of ours, one could eat a different sandwich every day of the year--so that's what we'll do. Here's A Sandwich a Day, our daily look at sandwiches around the country. Got a sandwich we should check out? Let us know. —The Mgmt.
While I imagine die hard crepe-eaters might turn their nose up at any liberties being taken with the traditional concept, the creative ingredient combinations and quick, friendly staff obliterated any hesitation I might've had after my first visit to It's Just Crepes.
Since the opening of their first location in downtown Cincinnati, their explosive popularity has led them to expand to several new locations in the past two years. Their raging success must be due in no small part to the fact that the items on their menu are far from what you might expect from a standard crepe shop. The menu encompasses both sweet and savory options, such as a Buffalo crepe with blue cheese and a "s'mores" crepe made with Nutella.
It's fun to skip around and order different things on the menu, but I usually stick with one of their most popular offerings: the Southwestern ($6.19) made with pepper jack cheese, diced chicken, chipotle mayo, sautéed onions, and red peppers. The peppers add a nice crunch, the chicken is tender, and the chipotle mayo adds just a teeny bit of spice. Substitutions or additions are easily accommodated and encouraged; I've seen people order the Southwestern with bacon or jalapeños (or both!). I usually add green bell peppers to mine for a double dose of the peppery goodness.
Every crepe is made-to-order, so when it's handed to you, it's piping hot, making it a great grab and go lunch during chilly days. The crepes are also quite hefty, and be forewarned—some of the combinations with lots of sauces (like the Italian pizza crepe) can be a bit messy. They don't skimp on the fillings, so come hungry.
I'm aware that this post's classification is up for debate. Are some sandwiches crepes? Are some crepes sandwiches, in the same way that a wrap can be sold alongside its more traditional counterpart? You decide. But if you are at It's Just Crepes for lunch in Cincinnati, order the Southwestern. You can thank me later.
It's Just Crepes
39 East Court Street, Cincinnati OH 45202 (map) 513-632-7373; two more locations listed at itsjustcrepes.com
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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We don't know why ESPN is posting a plea on Facebook for the celebration of Black History Month. Black History Month is, after all, nearly 75% over. (Maybe ESPN was consumed with celebrating Michael Jordan's birthday.) Also curious is ESPN's use of American sport's most notoriously racist franchise in the header image, as well as a player who led to an awkward discussion of race on ESPN's on network.
Regardless, the imperative that we celebrate the month "loudly" has been roundly rejected by commenters to ESPN's Facebook page; lest you think we're cherry-picking the worst comments, go look for yourself. It's all cherries, and no tree.


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[via ucanr.edu]
We captured these photos today of a honey bee nectaring on catmint (genus Nepeta). The bee was moving fast. To blur the wings, we set the shutter speed at 1/640 of a second with an f-stop of 13 and IS0 of 800.
But just how fast can a honey bee fly?
Its wings beat 230 times every second, according to Douglas Altshuler, a researcher at California Institute of Technology who co-authored research, "Short-Amplitude High-Frequency Wing Strokes Determine the Aerodynamics of Honeybee Flight," published in December 2005 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"The honey bees have a rapid wing beat," he told LiveScience in an interview published in January 2006. "In contrast to the fruit fly that has one-eightieth the body size and flaps its wings 200 times each second, the much larger honeybee flaps its wings 230 times every second."
"And this was just for hovering," Altshuler said. "They also have to transfer pollen and nectar and carry large loads, sometimes as much as their body mass, for the rest of the colony."
The Hive and the Honey Bee, the "Bible" of beekeeping, indicates that a bee's flight speed averages about 15 miles per hour and they're capable of flying 20 miles per hour.
If they're not carrying nectar, pollen, water or propolis (plant resin), they'll fly much faster!
[read original article via ucanr.edu]


text: Brand Marketing Microsoft Campaign Leverages Google's Privacy Woes Ad is a nod to privacy debate in WashingtonBy Katy Bachman |February 8, 2013 Share By Katy Bachman |February 8, 2013 Share Microsoft's new marketing campaign for its Outlook.com email service is tapping into consumers' growing fears that their privacy is being compromised on the Internet. This being Microsoft, it's doing that by taking aim at its prime rival, Google, which scans Gmail messages to target users with paid ads. The "Don't Get Scroogled by Gmail" campaign (sporting the Google logo colors, of course) also does double-duty as an advocacy campaign that is likely to catch attention of the privacy hawks in Washington. Google's privacy policy travails have been constant fodder for policymakers and regulators in Washington. Most recently, Google paid a $22.5 million fine to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it circumvented privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser, violating a settlement it reached with the regulator in 2011. "We've seen what has been happening with Google and their privacy gaffes. This is an area they clearly aren't taking as seriously as they should," said Stefan Weitz, senior director of online services for Microsoft. "It's important policymakers see this." The TV ad, which launched Thursday night on network TV and cable, attempts to turn a Washington privacy debate into a selling proposition for the average consumer. "Privacy issues can be complex to explain. Most of us involved in tech and advertising understand it. So we're looking to find issues that are not clear to the everyday person and use this kind of creative to educate in bits and bites," Weitz said. Nothing fancy, the TV ad features a young couple, Jeff and Susan. Jeff notices that all of a sudden, ads for full service bankruptcy started showing up in his email. Jeff doesn't understand why, but Susan does. "Google goes through every single word of your Gmail and uses that information to sell ads," Susan says. Jeff: "Google uses my personal information to sell ads? So I get scroogled." "This taps into American's fear they are being spied on," said Weitz. Microsoft is carrying through the "Scroogled" meme on a branded web site and in full-page ads that ran in national publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The web site encourages people to comment on twitter, share their "scroogled" experiences" and sign a petition, which Microsoft intends to share with Google. "Google earns money by violating your privacy," the petition says. "Sign this petition and tell Google to stop going through your emails to sell ads." As of Friday, the site had 2,500 signatures and comments. Microsoft's Weitz said that Google's decision to leverage its privacy advantage over Google was based on a GfK Roper poll commissioned by Microsoft that found that 70 percent of people didn't know services scanned personal email for ad targeting. When asked, 88 percent said they disapproved of the practice. Asked if Microsoft might create a similar privacy campaign to tout its Do Not Track browser, Weitz dodged. "We'll see how this one works," he said. The campaign will run into March. It was created for Microsoft by Wunderman, Y & R and VML. Share http://adweek.it/2jGzg8G copy Adweek Adweek


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From Openmoko
--Chaowei.Song 01:32, 14 September 2006 (UTC)
Q1:At the View Active Applications, there is a application area, what will be display on this area? The original application view?
A: Correct. This is the just the orginal application (grayed-out perhaps) and shifted to the right by around 200 pixels. The specifics will be up the graphics designers.
( Mickey)
Q2: Usability-wise, it might be better to donate all the screen space to show thumbnails for the different applications and just highlight the current application "thumbnail".
--xkr47 19:57, 19 February 2007 (CET)
Q: I think the wording in "I want to be able to quickly switch between previously run applications" is perhaps slightly misleading, perhaps "currently running applications" would be clearer?


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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drinking yogurt with extra vitamin D may help people with diabetes regulate their blood sugar, a study from Iran finds.
In the trial, 90 adults with diabetes were divided into three groups, all given daily yogurt drinks: one group received plain yogurt, one got yogurt with extra vitamin D, and one was given yogurt with extra vitamin D and calcium.
At the end of 12 weeks, "we found a relatively remarkable improvement" in blood sugar levels in the groups that got extra vitamin D, compared to the plain yogurt group, co-author Tirang Neyestani, associate professor at National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute in Iran, told Reuters Health in an e-mail.
Past studies on the role of vitamin D in diabetes have not been able to show cause and effect.
It's noteworthy that this study does, and that it suggests vitamin D has a positive effect on people with type 2 diabetes, said Dr. Anastassios Pittas, assistant professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. He was not part of the study.
In type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, the body has trouble using insulin to process glucose from foods, resulting in excessive levels of the sugar in the bloodstream. Vitamin D is thought to help regulate the body's sensitivity to insulin and possibly insulin production by the pancreas.
Going back to the 1980s, numerous studies have linked vitamin D to a lowered risk of diabetes, however others have found no benefit. A recent report showed no link between women's blood levels of vitamin D and their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, for example. (See Reuters Health story of February 22, 2011.)
Few studies have directly tested the theory by giving people vitamin D and then seeing how they compare over time in diabetes-related measurements with similar subjects who did not consume the vitamin.
In the new study, 55 women and 35 men were divided into groups of 30, and all drank their assigned yogurt twice a day. The plain yogurt contained150 milligrams of calcium, the vitamin D-fortified yogurt had 500 international units (IU) of vitamin D and 150 milligrams of calcium, and the doubly-fortified yogurt contained 500 IU of vitamin D and 250 milligrams of calcium.
After three months, the plain yogurt group's average blood sugar increased from 187 to 203 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL). In both the fortified-yogurt groups, blood sugar dropped from 184 to about 172 mg/dL. Blood sugar levels above126 mg/dL are considered to be diabetic.
It's odd that the blood sugar of those who didn't receive extra vitamin D got worse, Pittas said. This could make it seem that the improvement in the vitamin D-fortified group was greater than it actually was, overstating the finding.
The plain-yogurt group also had an increase in hemoglobin A1C, a sign of raised blood sugar levels over time, while both vitamin-D groups' A1C numbers decreased.
In addition, people who got the fortified yogurt lost an average of two to five pounds during the study, while the plain-yogurt group stayed about the same.
Although this difference may seem small, it may have affected the participants' blood sugar levels, Pittas said.
"Weight loss by itself, regardless of what causes it, can improve diabetes," he told Reuters Health.
It's also important to note that the vitamin D was given in yogurt, instead of as a supplement, Pittas said, and taking the vitamin alone might produce different results.
Yogurt contains probiotics, the good bugs that help us digest food, and "there is some evidence that these may also be important in diabetes," Pittas explained.
The study, published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was funded by the National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute in Iran. The yogurt was donated by the Dairy Industries of Iran, and was a substitute for the equivalent amount of dairy in the participants' normal diet.
People with type 2 diabetes should follow the current Institute of Medicine vitamin D recommendation of about 600 IU a day, Pittas said.
The study is "a little bit of a 'too good to be true' observation," he added, but it does "provide additional evidence for more, longer-term studies. I would not say that we should all be eating yogurt with extra vitamin D yet."
SOURCE: bit.ly/ebYb02 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online February 2, 2011.