text:
All Entries For stretching
Rise and Shine: 8 Stretches You Should Do Each Morning
One of the best ways to start your day in a healthy way is to take a moment to ground your thoughts by stretching and intentionally breathing. It's amazing what you can accomplish in less than seven minutes to set your day on the right path.
When you stretch deeply, you should always be warm. So performing this series after a morning workout or after a hot shower is optimal. If you do it right out of bed, make sure you stretch more gently.
Here are eight stretches to add to your morning routine to feel strong, flexible and grounded. These exercises cover all your major muscle groups and can be followed any time of day, including after your workouts. Read More ›
13 Ways to Get Moving at Work
Like so many of you, I suffer from back pain, which I keep in check by taking care of my body with daily yoga, weekly Pilates classes, and being conscious about my posture. And though my job is pretty awesome, I do spend my days in front of a computer. I love writing and editing, but I don't love sitting. I am fortunate that the SparkPeople offices have not only a treadmill desk but some standing desk options as well.
When I'm working on large projects, I've been known to spend hours and hours sitting--without much movement. As soon as I do stand up, my body feels it. So I avoid staleness of mind and stiffness of body by finding creative ways to move throughout the day.
Here's what works for me: Read More ›
The 13 Best Yoga Poses for Runners
When I first started running, I thought for sure it would be a bad combination with yoga. Running is repetitive, it can be hard on the body, and it's fast.
After my first few runs, I felt sore and tight, despite my thorough stretching session afterwards. I spent all that time practicing yoga to loosen my muscles; it seemed silly to then tighten them up with one little run.
A few runs and a bit of research later, I changed my mind. Running and yoga complement each other quite well, and I don't need to end up sore and tight after my runs.
The breath control (pranayama) we practice in yoga actually helps me keep my breathing even when runs get tough, and it's especially helpful after a hard run. Plus, there is a certain peace that accompanies running (and walking). That repetitive motion allows your mind to clear, and the path that lies before allows your eyes to focus on the horizon. Add some motivating music, and you've got quite the relaxing and stress-relieving workout!
My friend Bob (BOBBYD31) SparkMailed me recently to ask about yoga. He's a runner and, like many of you, battles tight hips and hamstrings. He wanted to try yoga but wasn't sure where to start. I gave him some suggestions for DVDs and books--and did one better. I'm a certified Ashtanga yoga teacher, so I decided to create a routine for him and other runners to help them stretch out after a run and keep his muscles healthy and loose.
Here are a baker's dozen poses to help runners (and cyclists and walkers). Hold each pose for 5 breaths or longer if you'd like. You'll need a mat and a yoga block (or a chair) for these poses.
Read More ›
8 Hip Flexor Stretches and Exercises for Healthy Hips
The hip flexors are the group of muscles that allow you to lift your knees toward your chest and bend forward from the hips. What is collectively referred to as the hip flexors is actually a group of muscles that includes the iliopsoas, the thigh muscles (rectus femoris, Sartorius and tensor fasciae latae), and the inner thigh muscles (adductor longus and brevis, pectineus and gracilis).
Tight hip flexors are a common problem among those of us who spend a lot of the day sitting at a desk. When you spend a lot of time in a seated position, the hip flexors remain in a shortened position. Over time, the shortened muscles become "tight," which leads to its own set of problems.
Tight hip flexors can result in lower back pain, hip pain and injury. A lot of strain is put on those muscles during activities that involve sprinting and kicking. For example, runners are more prone to hip flexor injuries because of the small, repetitive movement during running. But even if you're not an athlete, hip flexor injuries can occur during everyday activities (for instance, slipping and falling or running to catch a bus). When those tight muscles are suddenly stretched beyond what they are accustomed to, you might also experience pain in the upper groin region, typically where the hip meets the pelvis.
Simple hip-strengthening and stretching exercises can help keep these muscles from becoming tight, therefore decreasing your risk of injury and discomfort. Try these stretches daily and incorporate a few of the strength exercises into your routine 2-3 times per week. Read More ›
5 Exercises for Stronger, More Flexible Feet
Over the past three decades, fitness shoe manufacturers have developed advanced technology to cushion and control motion in our feet and ankles. While this advanced support can feel great, it doesn't allow our joints and soft tissue to articulate normally. As a result, we've disconnected with our feet! Much of our losses in flexibility and mobility can be attributed to the fact that our feet have become stiff and weak. A healthy, aligned and balanced body begins in your feet—and then translates through your entire kinetic chain (ankle, knee, hip, lower back).
As a pioneer in foot fitness (Sole Training®) and barefoot training (The willPower Method®), I've been helping everyday clients and athletes strengthen, stretch and train from the feet on up for more than 10 years. If you're intrigued by barefoot running/training or thinking of trying minimalist shoes, you must start working on your feet first. And even if barefoot training isn't something you're considering, everyone can still benefit from building foot and ankle mobility and strength.
Are you tired of wearing uncomfortable orthotics or getting painful cortisone injections? Are you dealing with an old injury or plantar fasciitis? Are you finding that your balance skills are not what they used to be?
These five exercises will help you to strengthen and stretch all ten toes, and develop flexible strength from the ground up. Over time you will enjoy improved balance in daily activities and workouts, a stronger walking/running stride, increased circulation and mobility throughout the feet and ankles, and significant reductions of foot, leg and lower back pain and injuries. All it takes is five minutes a day! Read More ›
Your 5-Minute Full Body Stretch Routine
I was not blessed with natural flexibility. Unless I stretch on a regular basis, I have no hope of reaching down and touching my toes. My tendency to skip stretching after runs (I know, shame on me) has come back to bite me in the past. I've had a few running injuries that could easily have been avoided, had I been stretching on a regular basis. Therefore, this blog is for both you and me. Maybe it will give both of us a new stretching routine to add to our regular workouts, and if it only takes 5 minutes, it's a short amount of time that's well-spent. Read More ›
Tai Chi: Relaxation Technique and Weight-Loss Aid
Tai Chi has become an increasingly popular form of exercise for all age groups, but current research has shown how it can be especially beneficial for older individuals. This graceful sequence of gentle, flowing movement combines physical postures with mindful focus, making it a great fit for those who find other forms of exercise too strenuous.
But Tai Chi isn't only used for relaxation purposes--it may also be a useful exercise for those working toward weight loss. In a study that observed obese postmenopausal women, the subjects that participated in three 45-minute Tai Chi classes a week lost similar amounts of body fat as the diet-only group, but maintained greater muscle mass (meaning that the group lost less muscle or fat-free mass as a result of dieting).
Read More ›
5 Simple Stretches for Better Posture and Less Pain
I've blogged a lot about the downsides of sitting at work (or school) for hours a day. It can be a real pain in the neck—and back! But just because you sit doesn't mean you're doomed to suffer. The keys to combat the effects of sitting are to be aware of how you're sitting and take steps (literally!) to get up and moving as much as possible throughout your day.
For those of you who spend a lot of time in a seated position, there are a few posture-enhancing stretches I recommend that you do several times a day. These simple moves will help you focus on sitting tall and with proper alignment and help prevent pain and stiffness associated with being a desk jockey. Read More ›
4 Reasons to Stop Stretching Before You Exercise
By now, you probably know how important it is to warm up before you work out. Warming up prepares your body for the increased demands of physical activity, reducing your risk of injury and complications. Beyond sending more oxygen and blood flow to your muscles, a proper warm up also prepares you mentally for what's to come—a workout that may take concentration, coordination and a little motivation.
The one thing you shouldn't do at this time is the very thing that most people do: stretch. So why is stretching before a workout a bad idea? Read More ›
Yoga 101: Poses for Beginners
New to yoga? Try these basic yoga poses to get stronger and more flexible.
Mountain Pose
- Stand tall with feet together, shoulders relaxed, weight evenly distributed through your soles, arms at sides.
- Take a deep breath and raise your hands overhead, palms facing each other with arms straight. Reach up toward the sky with your fingertips.
12 Hamstring Stretches for Greater Flexibility
Tight hamstrings are a common complaint not only amongst runners, cyclists and rowers, but for those who tend to sit most of the day, whether at a desk at work or school, spend a lot of time on the couch watching TV, sitting at the computer, even for those individuals who spend hours in the car every day.
The hamstrings are the group of muscles that make up the back of the thigh and include: the biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus. These muscles are responsible for flexing the knee and extending the hip. For many of us, tight hamstrings can lead to bigger issues down the road such as lower back pain as well as knee and hip problems. This is why keeping our hamstrings limber should be an important part of our exercise routine so that we can hopefully prevent injury and make our physical activities easier.
Read More ›
Yoga Stretches for the Feet and Ankles
In January, I started teaching a new yoga class. Many of my students are athletes, particularly runners and cyclists. My boyfriend, who co-founded a local competitive cycling team, is also a yoga teacher, and the two of us firmly believe that athletes should integrate yoga into their fitness routine. When I teach yoga classes for runners, I like to focus on the hips and hamstrings, which tend to be tight for runners. We also work on building strength. For cyclists, who spend a great deal of time leaning over the handlebars, we also focus on opening the chest and shoulders, undoing all those hours of being hunched over. Both groups of athletes rely on their feet and ankles to perform, but these areas of the body are often overlooked when it comes to stretching. Today I'm sharing some of my favorite stretches for the feet and ankles. Add these to your post-workout repertoire. These stretches can feel quite intense at first, and that's normal. Take your time, use props when needed, and remember to BREATHE! Read More ›
10 Yoga Poses to Strengthen and Stretch
This series of yoga poses will help you open your hips, stretch your hamstrings and energize your body. Designed for someone with a basic knowledge of yoga, use these poses to strengthen and lengthen.
You'll need a yoga mat for this practice, along with a block, if you use one. The photos here show the sequence on the left side of the body. Hold each pose for at least five breaths, and repeat on the other side.
Be sure to warm up, either with some cardio or a few sun salutations.
Before you begin, remember these precautions:
- Do not start a yoga routine or any other workout without clearance from your doctor.
- These poses are not suitable for pregnant women.
- Each pose should be done in a slow and controlled manner, without bouncing or forcing, which can cause your muscles to tighten, increasing your risk of injury. Stretch in a slow, steady motion to the point of "mild discomfort." If you are stretching to the point of pain, you have stretched too far. Learn to "respect your edge"--never go beyond it.
- A breath is one full inhalation and one full exhalation through the nose. Hold each pose for five breaths, or longer if you'd like.
VIDEO: 5 Quick Stretching Tips for Runners
Running is a great way to burn calories, lose weight and get fit, and now that spring is nearly here, more and more people are dusting off their sneakers and hitting the ground running. I recently visited FOX 19 in Cincinnati to share some running tips and wasn't shocked with the anchor, Rob Williams, told me that although he's an avid runner (currently training for yet another marathon), he hates to stretch and usually ends up skipping it. I wasn't surprised, as I hear comments like that from exercisers on a regular basis. Usually when I teach a class, people start to leave when I start to lead the stretches, eager to get on their way now that the workout is over.
A lot of people avoid stretching, either because they're not sure what to do, they don't think it matters, or they simply feel like it's a waste of time—they just want to get going with their workout. They couldn't be more wrong! Everyone should stretch, and runners should take special care to maintain flexibility in specific areas of the body in order to run stronger and injury-free. That's especially important if you're new to running and want to start your training program on the right foot.
So, should you stretch before or after your run? What stretches should runners be sure to do? Read More ›
Stretch Your Muscles with Strength Training
Although not everyone agrees about when to stretch, how long to stretch or what to stretch, most people include stretching as a regular part of their exercise routine. Research has shown that flexibility and range of motion decrease as we age. Regular stretching has a number of benefits, including increased range of motion, reduced muscular tension and increased circulation. But could there be another way to improve flexibility without having to stretch? New research shows that something else can help improve flexibility just as much- if not more- than stretching. What is it? Read More ›


text:
Franchise Encyclopedia ▪ 1986-87 New York Knicks ▪ 1988-89 New York Knicks
Record: 38-44, Finished 3rd in NBA Atlantic Division (Schedule and Results)
Coach: Rick Pitino (38-44)
PTS/G: 105.5 (17th of 23) ▪ Opp PTS/G: 106.0 (9th of 23)
SRS: 0.14 (14th of 23) ▪ Pace: 99.1 (12th of 23)
Off Rtg: 105.9 (20th of 23) ▪ Def Rtg: 106.4 (7th of 23)
Expected W-L: 40-42 (14th of 23)
Arena: Madison Square Garden (IV) ▪ Attendance: 586,752 (7th of 23)
NBA 1988 Playoffs:
Lost NBA Eastern Conference First Round (1-3) versus Boston Celtics (Series Stats)
Sponsor this page for $15 and help Basketball-Reference.com provide this service. Your message will replace this ad.
Transactions listed are from July 1, 1987 to June
30, 1988.
Click on the Team for team roster and stats.
Click on the Player for career stats and accomplishments.
July 13, 1987
Hired Rick Pitino as Head Coach.
October 9, 1987
Signed Ray Tolbert as a free agent.
October 12, 1987
Waived Brad Wright.
October 15, 1987
Traded Jawann Oldham to the Sacramento Kings for a 1988 2nd round draft pick (Fennis Dembo was later selected).
October 29, 1987
Traded Ron Moore and a 1988 2nd round draft pick (Fennis Dembo was later selected) to the Detroit Pistons for Sidney Green.
November 12, 1987
Signed Johnny Newman as a free agent.
Traded Rory Sparrow to the Chicago Bulls for a 1988 2nd round draft pick (Greg Butler was later selected).
November 14, 1987
Waived Gerald Henderson.
November 16, 1987
Claimed Tony White on waivers from the Chicago Bulls.
November 30, 1987
Signed Rick Carlisle as a free agent.
December 9, 1987
Waived Ray Tolbert.
December 11, 1987
Signed Billy Donovan as a free agent.
Waived Tony White.
December 15, 1987
Waived Chris McNealy.
Tony White claimed on waivers by the Golden State Warriors.
December 16, 1987
Waived Bob Thornton.
March 2, 1988
Signed Carey Scurry to the first of two 10-day contracts.
March 13, 1988
Signed Sedric Toney to a 10-day contract.
March 23, 1988
Signed Sedric Toney as a free agent.
March 28, 1988
Waived Billy Donovan.
June 23, 1988
Lost Sedric Toney to the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA expansion draft.
June 27, 1988
Traded Bill Cartwright, a 1988 1st round draft pick (Will Perdue was later selected) and a 1988 3rd round draft pick (Derrick Lewis was later selected) to the Chicago Bulls for Charles Oakley, a 1988 1st round draft pick (Rod Strickland was later selected) and a 1988 3rd round draft pick (Phil Stinnie was later selected).
June 28, 1988
Drafted Rod Strickland in the 1st round (19th pick) of the 1988 NBA Draft.
Drafted Greg Butler in the 2nd round (37th pick) of the 1988 NBA Draft.
Drafted Phil Stinnie in the 3rd round (69th pick) of the 1988 NBA Draft.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Spinal Cord Stimulators: Living Pain Free
At least 100 million American adults – more than the total affected by heart disease, cancer, and diabetes combined – are affected by chronic pain. For those who can't find relief with conservative therapies, implanted devices have been proven effective, but make it unsafe to receive MRI scans. That can make it difficult to diagnose future problems. Now, there is a first of its kind FDA approved device that's changing that.
For years a simple walk with her dog Carmen was just too painful for Susan Hennen.
"On a scale of one to ten, it felt like a fourteen," Susan told Ivanhoe.
Susan has suffered with back pain for more than two decades.
"I was depressed. I didn't want to live a life on oxycodone," Susan said.
She had considered an implantable spinal cord stimulator, a device similar to a pacemaker that works by interrupting pain signals to the brain. The problem was that the devices were not MRI safe, until now.
"It is a breakthrough, a significant breakthrough," Asokumar Buvanendran, MD, Professor, Pain Medicine, Anesthesiology, at Rush University Medical Center, told Ivanhoe.
Dr. Buvanendran says the SureScan MRI neurostimulator has specially designed leads seen here, making it MRI safe.
It allows doctors to still diagnose the possible patient problems of tomorrow, while taking care of the pain today.
"If you're able to get him or her back to functionality, it's huge," Dr. Buvanendran said.
Susan had the device implanted two weeks ago and is already feeling the difference.
"I'm really glad I did it," Susan said.
Patients considering the device can do a trial before making it permanent. Patients wear an external neurostimulator around their waist during the week-long screening test to see what kind of relief they can expect for their chronic pain.
BACKGROUND: Most people experience back pain every now and then but often do not understand what is causing the pain. This pain can sometimes interfere with our daily lives and may interrupt plans. Common forms of back pain occur in the mid to low back and includes fractures, sore muscles and tendons and herniated discs. These injuries develop over an extended period of time, leaving patients with little relief. (Source: http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/guide/understanding-back-pain-basics)
CAUSES: Back pain cultivates from our own individual bad habits. Intense physical activity, poor posture, and sitting incorrectly are all self-inflecting factors that cause our backs to give us a painful and uncomfortable feeling. Generally, back pain exists in the lower part of a person's back, but may sometimes appear at the neck. Sometimes there is not a specific reason why back pain occurs. This may happen when simple motor movements such as walking, stretching and bending become more difficult. Chronic back pain is a constant ache caused from muscle tension. This condition is called myofascial and stems from emotional issues or stress. (Source: http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/guide/understanding-back-pain-basics)
TREATMENT: A change of physical activity is one of the most common treatments for back pain. Because back pain can be so broad, it is hard for doctors to diagnose a patient immediately. Heating pads, ice packs and pain medication are all helpful in aiding back pain, but frequent trips to your chiropractor for weekly adjustments may help as well. If back pain is more serious, surgery may be necessary along with cortisone injections. (Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/back-pain/DS00171/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs)
NEW TECHNOLOGY: An implantable spinal cord stimulator is a mechanism comparable to a pacemaker. The stimulator transmits electrical pulses to the spine through a pulse generator. The pulses hinder the nerve impulses that cause pain in the lower back. This is an outpatient procedure done through local anesthesia. A trial procedure is done first to determine how successful the implant will be. Then a second procedure is done to implant a permanent stimulator. When the surgery is finished, it is expected that the stimulation will be used several times a day depending on the patient's pain level. (Source: http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/spinal-cord-stimulation-for-low-back-pain)
Asokumar Buvanendran, MD, Professor, Pain Medicine, Anesthesiology, Rush University Medical Center, talks about a new treatment for chronic back pain.
First, can we talk about the problem with chronic back pain?
Dr. Buvanendran: Chronic back pain is probably one of the common disease states in the U.S. It spans from the middle age population to the elderly and as patients live longer, you have an increase in patient population with chronic back pain. So, back pain apart from it being debilitating, is probably also one of the most common causes why patients don't go to work in the age. In fact, it is probably the fourth largest cause of pain and disability.
What are the treatments that have been for the most severe pain?
Dr. Buvanendran: Initially, many patients do have back pain. So, 90 percent of patients respond to simple medications and physical therapy. By six or eight weeks, several of them get better and can return to functionality. Then, it is this certain proportion of patients that have persistent pain after the initial back pain that would require conservative therapy. Some of them would have injections and obviously with some medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants in patients that do not respond to conservative treatment may end up having surgery.
Now, you implant a pain blocking device into the back?
Dr. Buvanendran: Typically, patients would have gone through the series of normal processes of injections, muscle treatment, muscle relaxants, physical therapy for 6 months before they end up in surgery. Though patients do get better after surgery of the spine, there are still a lot of patients that do not get better and these patients persist on and with chronic back pain and especially patients who have had back surgery have demonstrated that if you are able to put spinal cord stimulator in them, or neuromodulation techniques, these patients could actually get better and return to functionality. Studies have demonstrated that it is better to do a spinal cord stimulator versus having a reoperation in terms of outcomes.
What is the new SureScan stimulator?
Dr. Buvanendran: Well, the first one that comes out with a MRI compatible electrodes and IPG battery is of significant benefit. As I said at the beginning, the chronic pain patients spend a lifetime from middle age to elderly patients and the ability to do an MRI with a spinal cord stimulator is a significant benefit as there are certain patient populations, these patients obviously have back pain and one of the tools used to diagnose back pain is MRI. So, implanting a neurostimulator in these patients actually prohibits them from having MRI, but now with the ability of an MRI compatible electrodes and a battery, IPG battery, these patients could have the MRI to diagnose have another back pain injury of if they have another problem in the cervical spine. As you probably know, patients who have back pain may also have neck pain. The ease of diagnosis of neck pain again is you could do MRIs. There is a whole host of other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, who have pain. We have seen several of them in our clinic and they are good candidates for spinal cord stimulation prior to this. However, we never implant them because these patients would require MRI frequently and therefore implanting a spinal cord stimulator in them would not be ideal. Another group of patients is cancer patients with chronic pain. Because they would need MRI scans in their future lifetime, if you implant a spinal cord stimulator then you would need to explant it if they needed an MRI for their diagnosis. So, I think it is essential that if having an MRI compatible electrodes and a battery would make that ease in this particular group of patients.
So, the problem with the former generations of the neurostimulators is the fact that you would actually have to go back in and risk, with more surgery to remove it get the MRI, right?
Dr. Buvanendran: Correct, every time a patient needed an MRI, and in our practice ordering MRIs is pretty common. MRIs are done in large quantities by these various specialities, so even though we treat patients when they go out to their individual physicians, they all want to do MRI and MRI is not possible and they have to resort to other modalities of image technology to diagnose the medical condition. If you think of cancer patients and you need an MRI to diagnose a metastases or a screening and even for back pain patients who have recurrent pain; the only way you can diagnose them is another MRI.
How does neurostimulation work?
Dr. Buvanendran: In a simplistic term, normally pain goes from the pain site to the spinal cord from the knee, the hip to the spine, to the brain where pain is actually perceived and modulated and there also is something called a descending pathways from the brain down to the spine to the area where the pain is perceived. So, the ability to interrupt this pathway from the origin of the pain, via the spine to the brain, is essentially the reason why the spinal cord stimulator works. That is in a simplistic fashion the advantage of having a spinal cord stimulator in these patients because of this interruption of the pain pathways and therefore there is no tissue destruction. We are not removing a bone, we are not removing a disc, we are not removing a pathology any part of the body, or essentially interrupting the pain pathways cycle and this is also used for various other conditions, not just back pain, but cancer pain; there a whole host of other disease conditions called neuropathic pain and even in peripheral vascular diseases, spinal cord stimulators are utilized.
How exactly does it work in the body once it is implanted?
Dr. Buvanendran: So, essentially, it sends electrical impulses from a battery source connected to the electrode and there are 8 contact points in these electrodes; there is a positive and a negative and by sending slight impulses to the spinal cord, it is able to interrupt the pathway in the pain site, pain pathways in the spinal cord. So, the battery controls the electrodes and the patient controls the battery.
How big of a breakthrough would you say this is, in the medical community?
Dr. Buvanendran: The breakthrough in the MRI compatible electrodes, I think is a significant benefit because there is patient populations that we do not use this because of the need for MRI. In those patients, this is a significant benefit. So it is a breakthrough, significant breakthrough.
Are there any negative side effects?
Dr. Buvanendran: Of course, everything in medicine has negative side effects. So, obviously there are complications that can happen, like infection and bleeding. The leads can migrate. If you have a major accident or a major fall, the leads could migrate and that happens typically in the early part of the surgical healing process.
So, this is what actually allows it to be MRI safe?
Dr. Buvanendran: Correct, the lead is what makes it MRI compatible.
Deborah Song
Associate Director, Media Relations
Rush University Medical Center
Copyright 2013 by Ivanhoe Broadcast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
You've drunk so many beers in your life, you might be starting to smell like lager, permanently. Well, Duffy's Brew seems to think that's a good thing. The ESB Craft Beer Shampoo uses a medium bodied (extra special bitter) beer for a well-balanced daily shampoo. The mineral-rich hops, malt, and barley provide a restorative coat to your hair, adding body and shine.
100% vegan. SLS-free & phthalate-free. Contains healing botanical extracts (acai berry, jojoba, aloe leaf, sunflower seed). No artificial colors. Made with real beer! Comes in a 12oz bottle.
This product has no reviews yet. Be the first to review this product. Write a review
Enjoy 10% off your first order*


text:
Kepler-452b revolves around a sun much like our own.
2014's Most "Liked" Images of the Day
December 24, 2014|
The best of The Scientist's popular daily image posts
December 24, 2014|
The best of The Scientist's popular daily image posts
November 19, 2014|
Bacteria in the gut of a pregnant mouse strengthen the blood-brain barrier of her developing fetus.
November 19, 2014|
A murine norovirus appears to recover some of the functions of commensal bacteria in the guts of germ-free or antibiotic-treated mice.
November 13, 2014|
Transcription factor levels dictate which neurons in a network store a memory.
November 11, 2014|
Sequencing study reveals low levels of microbes in lab reagents that can create big problems for some microbiome studies.
November 11, 2014|
A light-inducible optogenetic implant in mice, powered by EEG, responds to a human participant's mental state.
October 16, 2014|
The production of new myelin in the brain—a function of non-neuronal glial cells—may be necessary for motor learning, a mouse study shows.
October 15, 2014|
The brain's ability to make new neural connections can be restored in mice by blocking a protein that normally acts as a natural brake on neuroplasticity.
September 30, 2014|
Nearly 600 soil samples from New York City's famous park reveal that the urban environment harbors just as much biodiversity as natural ecosystems across the globe.
September 23, 2014|
Lengthy stints in intensive care units pare down patients' gut microflora, a study shows.


text:
Jackson, TN Pet Groomer
Missys Pet Grooming
Missys Pet Grooming of Jackson, TN is your complete pet grooming center. We service dogs and cats, big or small. With 22 years of local grooming experience, we guarantee quality service at reasonable rates.
Our friendly, caring staff is ready to assist you.
Learn More About Missys Pet Grooming:
- Dogs
- Cats
- Any size
Contact Missys Pet Grooming today at 731-256-2082 for quality pet grooming services.
Contact Information
Hours of Business:
Tuesday – Saturday, starting at 7:30 am


text:
It's murder! Or wait, is it suicide? Music honcho Irv Gotti, who's being profiled on VH1's just-launched sitautionality series Gotti's Way, has spoken to the AP about the negative "stigma" that comes from appearing on a VH1 reality show. Says Irv:
"They have a stigma that even if you do a show, once you do a show with them, you are corny and washed up. We are hoping with my show to change that stigma. That is something I openly talked about. I'm like, 'Your stigma is pretty bad.' Anyone who goes on VH1, you could very well have a hit show, but you are corny. You are washed up. With my show, they are directly trying to remove that stigma."
What do you think — does Irv have a point, or is he deluded by thinking he's somehow better than the rest of VH1's talent? Is this like the pot calling himself a pot, or what? [AP/Yahoo! / Image credit: Getty]


text:
This Week
The New Mexico State men's basketball team meets the No. 5 seed Louisiana Tech, Saturday, March 10 at 10 p.m. in Las Vegas, Nev., on ESPN2. The game is available on KGRT 104 FM with the 'Voice of the Aggies' Jack Nixon, and the pregame show starts 30 minutes prior to tip.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies are 25-9 this season and finished 10-4 in WAC play. NM State advanced to the WAC title game with a 92-81 win over Hawai'i, March 9. The Aggies have three players in double figures with redshirt senior Wendell McKines leading the way with 18.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Senior guard Hernst Laroche provides 12.1 points per game, and senior center Hamidu Rahman adds 10.1 points per game.
WAC Tournament History
Since joining the WAC in 2005-06, the Aggies have a 13-4 record in the conference tournament after the semifinal win, March 9. NM State has won two tournament titles in 2007 and 2010. This season, the Aggies claimed the No. 2 seed, which is the highest placement for NM State since the 2007 tournament. In head coach Marvin Menzies' tenure, the Aggies have played in the championship game twice, 2008 and 2010. NM State fell to Boise State in triple overtime, 107-102, March 15, 2008 in Las Cruces, and defeated Utah State, 69-63, March 13, 2010 in Reno, Nev.
Aggies Advance to WAC Title Game with 92-81 Win
The Aggies are playing in their second WAC Tournament Championship game in three years following a 92-81 win over Hawai'i in the tournament semifinals, March 9. NM State is 2-1 in WAC title games. The Aggies had five players in double-figures with redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines leading the way with a game-high 22 points and a season-high six assists. Senior guard Hernst Laroche contributed 18 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the 3-point line. Sophomore center Tshilidzi Nephawe added a career-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Junior forward Tyrone Watson had 13 points, while freshman guard Daniel Mullings posted his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Aggies Beat Fresno State, Meet Hawaii Friday
The Aggies opened the 2012 WAC Tournament with a 65-49 win over Fresno State in the quarterfinals, March 8. NM State had three players in double-digits with redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines leading the way with 15 points and 13 rebounds for his 19th double-double of the season. Junior forward Tyrone Watson supplied 13 points, and freshman guard Daniel Mullings added 11. The win marked the sixth-straight season the Aggies have made the tournament semifinals, and it was head coach Marvin Menzies' 100th-career win.
Scouting Louisiana Tech
The Bulldogs are 18-15 and the No. 5 seed after a 6-8 record in the WAC. Louisiana Tech has three players in double figures with freshman guard Raheem Appleby posting a team-high 13.9 points per game. Senior guard Trevor Gaskins and sophomore guard Cordarius Johnson add 11.5 and 9.8 points per contest, respectively.
Series Notes
The Aggies and Bulldogs have only met once in the WAC Tournament with a 77-70 win, March 8, 2007, en route to their first WAC title. The Aggies have a 14-3 all-time series lead over the Bulldogs after a season sweep, 83-73, in Ruston, La., Jan. 7, and 83-72, in Las Cruces, Feb. 4.
Previous Game
The Aggies began the second half of WAC play with an 83-72 win over Louisiana Tech, Feb. 4. NM State ended the game with a 20-5 run to hold off the Bulldogs. Senior center Hamidu Rahman had a team-high 20 points. Freshman guard Daniel Mullings added 15 points, with 14 scored in the second half. Redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while junior forward Tyrone Watson had a game-high seven assists, which tied a career high.
Four Aggies Collect All-WAC Honors
Four NM State players earned All-WAC honors, which are voted on by the conference's eight head coach. Redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines was named to the first team, senior guard Hernst Laroche was a second team selection, senior center Hamidu Rahman earned an honorable mention nod, and freshman guard Daniel Mullings was a member of the all-newcomer team. This was the first WAC postseason award for Laroche, Rahman and Mullings and second for McKines, who was an honorable mention in 2010.
Aggies Successful in 2011-12
The Aggies' 25 wins are the most since the 2006-07 season. This is the third 20-win season under head coach Marvin Menzies and highest win total in his tenure.
McKines Named WAC Player of the Week
Redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines was named the Verizon WAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 27-March 4. The honor marks the second career WAC Player of the Week for McKines and third for the Aggies this year. McKines led the Aggies to a 1-1 road record last week. He pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds and scored 20 points in a come-from-behind win at Fresno State in overtime, March 3. The performance marked his 16th 20-point game of the season. He tied personal-best marks with four made 3-pointers, including three in the overtime period, and eight 3-point attempts. He also recorded his 18th double-double of the season and 45th of his career in the victory at Fresno State. At Nevada, March 1, McKines had a team-high 19 points and 13 rebounds. On the week, McKines averaged 19.5 points, 15.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He hit 8-of-16 three-point field goals on the week.
Mullings Lights up the Pan Am
Freshman guard Daniel Mullings became only the third Aggie in school history with a triple-double against Hawai'i, Feb. 23. He had 28 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, all career-high marks, along with five steals on 11-of-15 shooting. He is the first player to accomplish the feat since 1990 when William Benjamin had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Cal State Northridge, Nov. 26, 1990. The first Aggie to achieve the rare feat was Willie Joseph with 12 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds against Simon Fraser, Nov. 22, 1988.
Sensational Senior Class
The three-member senior class has made a significant impact for the Aggies. Wendell McKines, Hernst Laroche and Hamidu Rahman have all joined the 1,000-point club at NM State this season. It is the first time in school history the Aggies have had three players join the 1,000-career point club in a single season.
Career Scoring Rankings
8. Wendell McKines-1,479
17. Hernst Laroche-1,193
23. Hamidu Rahman-1,066
Aggie Double-Doubles
NM State has tallied 23 double-doubles this season. Redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines has 46 career double-doubles and 19 this season. Senior center Hamidu Rahman also has two double-doubles this year. Against San Jose State on senior night, Feb. 25, Rahman tied a career-high with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Bandja Sy posted his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds at Hawai'i. Freshman guard Daniel Mullings his first double-double against Hawai'i in the WAC Tournament, March 9. He had the first triple-double since 1990 with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Hawai'i.


text:
Sketchnotes are a way of capturing ideas in an engaging and visual way by combining the power of sketching and writing.
Sketchnotes are not new – artists and designers have captured their thoughts in a visual way for centuries – but recently, there has been quite a bit of interest and activity around sketchnotes and visual thinking in general in the web and UX community.
This talk gives an introduction to visual note taking by presenting the main characteristics that make it a great tool for designers (and anybody else) to capture their thoughts. It explains why this form of note taking is a wonderful opportunity for designers to practice and refine all sorts of important skills for our profession.
By showing and analyzing lots of examples from different sketchnoters and through tips from personal experience, this talk provides attendants with the main principles and building blocks of sketchnotes as well as lots of inspiration to jump straight into taking their own visual notes at FRONTEND 2011.


text:
Marcia Mellinger
Attorney at Law
Since 1974, I have helped clients with wills, estate planning, probates, and real estate advice. The real estate advice I offer includes purchase and sale agreements, leases, easements, and co-ownership agreements.
What clients have to say:
"Thank you for all your good advice and support.
It's my great comfort to have such a wise advisor
who thinks like I do and is always there for me."
"I would have done my will years ago, if I had
known how easy Marcia would make it for me."
"I can't imagine going through this experience
with anyone else. You have been helpful,
knowledgeable, kind, and compassionate."
To be a satisfied client yourself, set up an appointment by either calling (206) 633-1913 or following the instructions on the
page of this web site.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call or check the
frequently asked questions
page of this web site.


text:
As young children explore their environment, they are beginning to notice relationships that are the foundations for mathematics. They can sort and match things that are the same or different; they can also arrange things in simple patterns, based on their characteristics; they are beginning to understand the meaning of words and phrases like "more," "less," "a lot," and "the same as."
They are starting to use measurement to describe, compare, and order things, using both unconventional tools (like pieces of string, sticks, and their footsteps) or conventional tools (like rulers and measuring cups).
They are also starting to recognize and describe the positions of people and objects and how they move through space in relation to other people and objects. They use their developing spatial awareness as they put together puzzles and build with blocks.
In HighScope classrooms, children acquire math skills and concepts through adult-guided experiences that respect children's concrete thinking and need to learn through exploration. Learning activities planned around HighScope's key developmental indicators (KDIs) in mathematics build on children's natural interests and offer children the time and freedom to construct and reflect on math and science ideas.
HighScope offers publications and training options covering early math. Under a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, HighScope has developed the Numbers Plus® Preschool Mathematics Curriculum in consultation with noted early mathematics researchers and program developers. HighScope's offerings include customized training for Numbers Plus.
Numbers Plus, like other HighScope math materials, is aligned with the early childhood standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Teachers use Numbers Plus to conduct small-group activities and other math-related experiences throughout the daily routine. See the links on this page for more information about HighScope's curriculum resources and training in math and science.
For more information and articles on math and preschool, visit our News and Information section and choose ReSource.
Preschool Curriculum Preview
Math Research
Related Products
Related Training
Contact Us |
Site Map |
customer service |
map & directions |
Privacy Policy
HighScope Educational Research Foundation. Copyright© 2015 All rights Reserved.
The name "HighScope" and its corporate logos are registered trademarks and service marks of the HighScope Foundation.


text:
2011-2012 Catalog
2011-2012 Catalog / Curriculum and Degree Requirements / Course Descriptions / Mathematics Courses (MAT) / aMAT4089 Special Topics in Mathematics [1-3].
aMAT4089 Special Topics in Mathematics [1-3].
A study of selected topics as complex variables and topology. The course may be repeated for credit in different topics.
Prerequisite: instructor's permission.
Catalog Links


text:
Catch of the Day Nodes
Catch of the Day
- Nestucca River Steelhead
- Trinity River Steelhead
- Platte River Rainbow
- Florida Snook
- Alaska Arctic Grayling
- Seychelles Marbled Grouper
- Lake Ontario Brown Trout
- New England Brown Trout
- New Zealand Brown Trout
- Alaska Rainbow Trout
- Tennessee Brown Trout
- Islamorada Redfish
- Southeast Alaska Steelhead
- Saguenay Atlantic Salmon
- Great Slave Lake Northern Pike
- Lake Ontario Brown Trout
- Lake Ontario Tributary Brown Trout
- Maldives Triggerfish
- Louisiana Redfish
- New York Brown Trout
- Pulaski King
- Louisiana Redfish
- Homosassa Spotted Sea Trout
- Pyramid Lake Lahontan Cutt
- Scotland Atlantic Salmon
- Midwest Musky
- Trinity River Steelhead
- Mad River Brown Trout
- Kenai River Rainbow Trout
- Pere Marquette River Steelhead
Slovenian Beauty
Bob Kloskowski of Bozeman, Montana, caught this beautiful rainbow on the River Savinja in Slovenia. Living in Bozeman, Bob is, of course, sporting a lot of Simms gear. He traveled with his G3 Guide waders, Simms Guide Vest and 2 layers of Simms fleece.


text:
The crash of 2 Boeing 747′s in 1977 was cited by a NASA workshop which initiated CRM (Crew Resource Management). Skipping all the buzz words and hoopla, the big deal was crew coordination and to encourage questioning authority… ie, if a FE or copilot saw things going south, not to sit back and wait for fecal matter to hit the fan.
See a recreation of the disaster in this video.
As a result of the NASA study, United Airlines rolled out CRM training to their crews in 1981. While airline safety improved, CRM didnt really drop right into general aviation operations being most are single pilot ventures… It took a while, more buzzwords needed to be created, things needed to be tailored to fit, and lobbyists needed to be plaacted etc… but after 24 years or so, SRM entered the general aviation scene in 2005.
The thing is, most every chief flight instructor I worked for didn't need an acronym and fancy FAA promo materials to utilize the human factors issues from CRM, ie situation awareness, workload management, automation management, and aeronautical decision making. Many adopted CRM as part of their 135 ops, and it was a natural thing that many of these concepts rolled into their 61 flight schools… but, the bit about crew coordination, questioning authority etc was for the most part left out for seemingly obvious reasons.
I think this was and is a mistake… The PPL likely wont be flying as SIC anytime soon, especially as most wont go on to 135 or airline careers. Otoh they will be flying with or even for other pilots…
I about bought the farm years ago as I didn't bug the senior pilot…. with 14,000+ hours, combat experience, and 40+ years as a pilot in all types of aircraft, who was I, a 19 year old n00b to question him? That was a hard lesson, and its one thats stuck with me and something I try very hard to impress upon my students.
Another reason for including the crew aspect early on is despite decades of CRM, crew coordination is still a problem.
Consider the very sad story behind AF447 and TK1951. Granted, there were other problems that started the chain, but all along the way CRM weaknesses are popping up. While its easy to arm chair quarterback, had crew operations been included from the earliest days of flight training, one has to wonder if it wouldn't have made a difference.
Test your own CRM with this scenario simulator from Transport Canada.
"The goal of the airman certification process is to ensure the applicant is ready to safely manage the risks of flight as pilot-in-command, consistent with the privileges of the certificate or rating exercised."
In other words… lets add a bunch of extra cost and time to pilot training in the interest of safety management. Evaluate it not only during a written exam, but also take critical time away from from the stick and rudder arena, and then somehow magically pilots will be safer.
In 1977, the FAA had this nifty illustration as concerns teaching in AC-60-14.
A pilot had a hinge on his head, and a CFI would take a pitcher of knowledge and pour it into the student, and then knowledge would come out of the students mouth. It was a comical example of how learning does not occur…. or perhaps better said, of how long term useful learning does not occur. Short term wise, the pitcher thing can sort of work.
There's a whole subset of aviation instruction specifically built up to make money via leveraging short term memory for the written exam. Such courses have all the test questions, and they go through nearly every one over a 2-3 day period. While doing so, they also present memory tricks and such for a lot of questions which pretty much guarantees someone will pass the exam.
While cram and forget courses seem a questionable sort of practice, there is a need for them by some students. The complexity of the written exam is such that unless one is good with the paper side of things, and/or is a recent student, the written exam can be a barrier. More than a few times over the years I've a recommended a student who has difficulty to go to one of those weekend guaranteed to pass the exam courses over the years just to get it out of the way. The really important info we cover in flight and ground school, and does get checked again during the oral, just not as much in depth as the written. Consider how the exam would need to change if the test questions and answers were not published before hand?
And now the FAA is proposing adding more complexity to the oral and practical (and in time, no doubt the written)? Will it really make a difference in the safety domain? I sort of doubt it, but there will be money to be made in 141′s and a new industry of cram and forget oral and practical prep will come into being. Otoh, how many potential pilots will drop out due to increased complexity?
This is not to say Safety Management etc is a bad thing. The proverbial "A superior pilot is one who uses his superior judgment so as not to have to use his superior skill." is all too true. The challenge is how do we get folks to the superior judgement arena?
Safety by example was promoted, ADM was promoted, FITS was promoted, a subset of airline CPM was promoted, and the accident rates don't change very much. Peripheral matters like doubling the size of the PTS, and poking at means of evaluation at huge expense to our students is unlikely to make much of a dent in rates either.
The overall goal of a flight review is safety. Most assuredly such was in the minds of the legislators when 61.56 was written. The thing is, if one just looks to the regs, things dont work out too well, and in some cases, they can be counterproductive.
Safe operations are not guaranteed by the minimum 1 hour of dual and 1 hour of ground every couple years. Rather safety is a function of pilot skill and judgment on each and every flight. The flight review is an opportunity for a pilot to gain greater awareness as to how they might handle future flight ops safely. Most assuredly, even the best CFI in the world is not going to uncover every area of weakness, or hazardous attitude in a couple hours, or even 10 hours for that matter.
If a flight review was a CFI personally guaranteed signoff that one was good to go for the next two years, flight reviews would become very long, and very evil in short order. We've all heard of or experienced the checkride from a warm spot near the center of the earth. Ie, where in the pilot being evaluated is put in the pressure cooker, and is exposed to every possible emergency ever, all occurring at the same time, all the while being grilled on everything in the PTS, and every distraction known to man kind is then piled on top for good measure.
Granted, there are times and places where such may be appropriate. While a prep course for a 709 ride as a confidence builder comes to mind, such an approach to a flight review is counter productive. The reason being, is in almost any other case, going too hard core becomes a motivation killer, which then often leads to less recurrent training, which then leads to a less than safe pilot. The same can be said when it comes to sending students down rabbit trails for the part 91 portion of a flight review.
By the same token, an untailored 1 hour ground, 1 hour flight canned approach to a flight review is neither adequate nor appropriate. Sure, it might pick up a weak area here or there… but its like most anything. If you dont have a clue where a problem lies before you get started, its like searching for a needle in a haystack. You likely wont find it, and even if you do, it could well be the wrong one.
The FAA preaches tailoring the flight review based upon an initial interview. Likewise, they suggest the time frames be what they may. Ie, short of an already very proficient pilot, the 1 hour ground/1 hour airwork aspect is too short a time slot. Some pilots on the other hand, often view any attempt to go beyond the minimums as a way to bilk them out of money and a total waste of time.
In the past, when one determined such on the initial interview, it was common practice to advocate for the Wings programs, rather than a flight review. Today, being Wings is proficiency based, rather than time, it still may be more aligned with a students expectations than a flight review, but it is critical to be upfront in that regard. There will always be some pilots who will squak, no matter how much you preach safety or the benefits of training to a given level of proficiency.
Shallow fog is defined by the AMS as the following. "In weather-observing terminology, low-lying fog that does not obstruct horizontal visibility at a level 2 m (6 ft) or more above the surface of the earth. This is, almost invariably, a form of radiation fog." It is encoded in a METAR via the symbols MIFG. Some great photos of it are available at Everything Looks Better from Above.
One a positive note, it often burns off pretty fast during the day. On a negative note, it can form incredibly fast at night… and worse, it can be really hard to identify at night. In some cases, it may not be apparent until you are in the landing flare, when all of a sudden, visibility goes from near perfect to almost zero, at the worst possible time. In other cases, it can change from shallow fog, to a thick fog bank in a flash.
On another negative note… automated instrument systems often due not detect it, and worse, it usually occurs either right when ATC is going home, or shortly there after. Its interesting to note AMOFSG places it in group D, where sensors are considered difficult, expensive, unproven, or unreliable to utilize. Apart from the technical aspect, their is a political and economic one as well when it comes to sensors. Airliners, corp jets, and many multis engine a/c do not suffer the same adverse affects from MIFG due to their elevated cockpits… ie eye level is almost always above 2 meters, where as the pilots of many ASEL craft are stuck right in the soup. Ultimately, the lack of automation and sensor capabilities, means that if a METAR includes MIFG… it was observed by a human on the field.
Another fun part about MIFG, is that its not very predictable, rather its an issue of probability. Ie, if the dewpoint/temperature spread is wide, its very windy, and the sky is overcast, it is unlikely that any type of radiation fog will form, much less shallow fog. On the other hand, if winds are below 5 knots, temperature/dewpoint spread is under 6 deg F, the sky is clear, and the sun has recently set… it is more likely fog will form, and in many cases, a thick layer of radiation fog is more likely than shallow fog.
To add further insult to injury, shallow fog often randomly forms in agricultural microclimates surrounding a rural airports far from any weather observers. Some crops have much greater moisture retention than others, some have significantly greater total emissivity than others. The net effect is that some airports experienced drastically different radiative cooling properties and others much less so. While such make an accurate prediction of shallow fog difficult, it also meant that if airport A was socked in, more than likely a nearby airport B is clear.
It should also be noted that some airport industrial parks also lend themselves to localized shallow fog development more so than others. Namely decreased dewpoint/temperature spreads due to cooling towers and the like, combined with large surface areas of high emissivity (vacant bituminous parking lots) sets the stage for its development.
With that much gloom and doom… whats a pilot to do?
First, if a METAR indicates MIFG at night, ie it was observed by a human at the field, landing at such a location in a small aircraft is likely to result in a go-around followed by proceeding to ones alternate. In fact, if temperature/dewpoint spread is that narrow, and the winds are light, the dangers of radiation fog forming are very real… and while an approach could be attempted with most MIFG occurrences, a thick fog bank would mean heading direct to ones alternate.
As one who has encountered MIFG at night many a time, the following was my basic procedure when conditions made its formation likely.
Check in with unicom, or any pilots in the area to see what the conditions currently are. Remember, AWOS does not detect it. Granted, often times it forms after everyone has left for the day.
Overfly the field above pattern altitude and look carefully at the runway lights… it they are not bright and clear, it is likely MIFG is present. Then again, I have had the fun of things changing from when I overflew the field to when I was in the landing flare.
If the landing lights appear even the slightest bit obscured or fuzzy, making a low pass is in order. First, such will serve to scare most animals off the runway… and secondly, the proximity to the runway, in addition to the landing light will make its detection easier.
Always assume if conditions are right, MIFG will form, and your visibility just before, or in the flare may go to near zero. Always, always be prepared for a go around and followed by proceding direct to ones alternate.
Ensure the runway lights are on full bright on base… you do not want to be in the flare, encouter MIFG, and at the same time have them shut down or return to low intensity.
The landing light, and strobes should be turned off on short final… there is nothing more disturbing than having the entire cockpit light up in flashing white lights, all the while you are trying to reconfigure the a/c for a go-around.
I was chatting with a fellow on twitter today who had a gear down problem, and made mention of the fact that sharing his experience could be a great learning tool for others. This got me thinking a bit, and I thought, wow, I should probably do the same… and with almost 30 years of flying I have quite a number of them, so here goes. (this is from 1985)
I knew the engine was slightly over TBO, but the compression figures were still looking good. We'd done a top overhaul about 350 hours previously, and were hoping to eek out another 200 or so, before tearing it done for a major overhaul in the fall. A student had come back in from a solo flight, and was crabbing about poor climb performance. Since the density altitude and humidity was pretty high that day, it would have been easy to leave it at that, but we decided it best to check things out before sending out the next student.
As such, I did a ground run up, and checked max rpm, and it was right on the money as far as history goes and such. There were no unusual noises, nor was there any roughness noticed at all. A pre-takeoff checklist also indicated no problems whatsoever.
I then proceeded to taxi out, and did a second pre-takeoff check at the pad, where everything checked out just fine. Tower clears me for immediate takeoff… there is a DC9 in position and hold on the intersecting runway. During the takeoff roll, everything seemed normal… acceleration was typical, as was the climb to about 100ft, and then things started to go south. My first thought was carb ice, being it was a humid day, and I'd often run into such before with this particular aircraft. Of course, by that time, I'd run out of runway, and was right on top of the post office… and upon hitting the carb heat, it was pretty obvious icing was not the problem this time.
Directly in front of me is a residential neighborhood with wires everywhere. To my left and somewhat behind is the remainder of the intersecting runway… too bad, the DC9 had already been cleared for takeoff, and no way was I going to risk a midair, to say nothing of wake turbulence. To my right and slightly behind, is a long street, with a fair amount of traffic, but no wires. Fortunately, since about day 2 of training, I could hear my primary instructor hollering in my ear, "you just lost your engine, where are you going to land", so I at least knew before takeoff what my options were.
On a positive note, since the engine is still producing some power, I am still able to climb albeit exceedingly slowly. In addition, I'm also making a very shallow bank towards that road. I dont know when or if the engine is going to quit but I figure each foot of altitude gained is a positive. I also knew of a second option, namely that when the long road ended, if I continued the bank another 30 degrees, there was a second road without wires I could use.
As I rolled out of the bank over the road, at now an amazing 200 feet, I called up tower, and said I had engine trouble and needed to land asap. They saw I was in trouble, and cleared me to land any runway… sure, I'd like to use a runway too, but a road will do, turf would do even better, as long as its long and flat enough… but houses or wires would really suck. I also run through the emergency flow at this time to rule out any other problems.
Fortunately, I'm still climbing, and now I've changed my plan to the diagonal road without wires. It was looking to be a lot better choice than having to try and land between cars… and if I kept climbing, I might well be able to make it back to an intersecting runway. Then again, a road at a 30 degree angle, puts said intersecting runway at a near 120 degree turn… and no, I'd rather risk a near zero traffic road without wires, than a 120 degree steep turn at low altitude.
Decision time is now coming up again… the engine is still producing power, I'm at roughly 300 feet, and my ability to land on the road will be questionable shortly as it takes an abrupt right turn. On the other hand, at this point, even if the engine quits I can make the airport boundary, and put the plane down on turf even though it will make for an interesting crosswind landing.
Knowing that the airport boundary and turf is assured, I now start a shallow bank to line up with one of the runways. I leave the power setting alone, and continue to try and climb. In fact, I kept power on until I was assured of making the runway. The landing was uneventful, as was the taxi back to the hanger.
I got in, and after shut down, including a shut down mag check, I pulled the prop through to confirm my suspicions. One cylinder had no compression… and based upon the air rushing through the exhaust system, I figured an exhaust value was toast. After pulling the heads off, it turned out the valve itself wasnt massacred like the one in this photo, but the poor valve seat was a goner in a huge way. It was interesting, when we did the major… short of mandatory replacements, and the heads, the rest of the components were well within spec. Its even more interesting that the top overhaul failed at a mere 350 hours, when it should have lasted close to twice that long.
So, what did I learn…
- Expedited takeoffs while a nicety can serve to massively limit ones options should one run into trouble. I was in the habit of accepting them automatically.
- Its critical to know ones airfield, and have a number of game plans in the event of trouble. Granted, scoping out the area for wires and suitable roads is not always possible. In such an occurrence, it is often best to take the first reasonable choice, rather than making a turn only to find out the 2nd option is loads worse than the first.
- Being I knew the glide ratio of my a/c with the power off, and the prop windmilling, I had a reasonably decent idea of how far I could travel subject to my altitude. It should also be noted, that once one is in ground effect, if the surface is flat, the glide ratio often substantially increases. On the other hand, there were multiple embankments, and drainage ditches, expecting to use ground effect would be a bad deal in this instance.
- In the back of my mind, I knew I was likely causing more damage to the engine, but figured better it, than the airframe, or worse me. Valve guides are dirt cheap compared to an ER visit, even back then.
Tags: Decision making, engine failure
Its interesting to note folks views on the cost of flight training. On the one hand, some hold the view that the cost will be high, and its ok if it goes higher, and its ok if the pilot population shrinks. Others hold to the view that aviation is too expensive, and that if the costs could be reigned in, the pilot population is likely to grow. Both points of view are correct, within the confines of their respective market demographic.
Most assuredly if Walmart entered the flight training arena, and made it possible for eighteen year olds with minimum wage jobs to once again earn a pilots certificate the pilot population would grow. Whenever something heads towards commodity status, everything, and anything is on the chopping block if it doesnt contribute to the bottom line. It may mean an exceedingly spartan flight school, 50 year old aircraft, and few if any amenities, unless such are free, or very close to being free. It may mean their may not be very many rental aircraft available for full weekend trips, as a/c utilization must be very high in order to keep the fixed costs to a minimum.
By the same token, if folks want the latest and greatest gold plated experiences, and can afford to pay whatever the going price is, they are a lot less concerned with price, than they are the experience provided. Its likely such folks would the values provided by the latest and greatest avionics, the newest airplanes, the highest tech wx terminals both in air and on the ground of great value. Obviously, such individuals are unlikely to find much value should they encounter a flight school decorated with 1950′s vintage furniture, paint that hasnt been touched since that era, and the scents of an equally vintage cigar chomping pilot population flying the hanger. in addition, such folks would likely find a minimum charge of 8 hours hobbs as a minimum full day rental fee anathama.
Ultimately the issue is this… there are a multitude of markets, and one size/approach doesnt fit all. The lower end market is one that no one seemingly wants to touch anymore… but it was where money was made years ago. Yes, the allure of gold plate is there, and it can be easier to make substantial cash if the market is large enough to demand such, and most business schools focus on that aspect. On the other hand, when one looks at the churn of Boutique retail vs Big Box discounters and compares it to aviation, it does make one wonder.
Tags: business, operations
I was reading @SusanCain's blog where she writes about approach-avoidance conflict in the public speaking arena, but also a bit more generally as concerns introverts. She presents a short quiz using the terms stop/go which can help folks understand themselves, and how such ties into their decision making process.
Taking this into the flight training arena, someone who scores high on both sections of the quiz looks to be an accident statistic in the making. Ie high scores within the go characteristic often lead to the FAA Hazardous Attitudes Scale factors of Anti-authority, Impulsiveness, Invulnerability, and Macho. High scores within the stop characterization, often lead to the factors of Resignation, and Worry/Anxiety.
In other words, high scores in both arenas would seemingly connect the links of an accident chain; get-home-itis, and impulsivity, often lead to trouble, only to be followed up by worry/anxiety/resignation which pretty much pounds a nail into ones coffin. Whats useful of course, is if a pilot is aware of such, they can be extra vigilant to keep one or more links out of the picture as part of their decision making process.
As we know, self evaluation of HAS factors is a tricky deal. Students don't like the terms, and say, well gee, thats not how I am, and just blow it off as a bunch of FAA nonsense. The stop/go quiz, being so neutral, might help them think, hmmm, I could see myself slipping into that role/factor, rather than just merely self identifying.
One other statement in the public speaking post that I found of issue was the following:
5. Everyone has both a Stop System and a Go System. But many introverts seem to have extra-strength Stop systems that tend to act up as they contemplate doing scary things like speech-giving.
I've often noticed that folks who are more introverted often times have more of a challenge with stalls and or engine out practice, than the go-go-go types. The normal approach to such is to redirect their focus to the end goal, in some cases going so far as to go off syllabi for a bit to re-bolster motivation.
What I had not considered was how introversion / extroversion traits have the potential to link up with HAS. In part this is due to the fact that most hazardous attitude attributes usually don't show up until much later in flight training. It's also true, that as a CFI, I consider each and every student unique… One size fits all will invariably result in missing something critical, and one will get burned. On the other hand, bringing some of this to light early on, may well exercise the law of primacy, and get better, and more tailored decision making rolling from the get go, a very good thing indeed.
While there is some truth in this statement…. "Most people that look for something on the Internet use search engines like Google or Yahoo. If your site is one of the first that pops up when they enter "flight instruction salt lake city," for example, you're more likely to have the person visit your website, and give you a call if they like what they see." The same could be said years ago for naming yourself AAA flight instruction to be first in the phone book, or having a large phone book ad etc…
A form of marketing such as the above is better than just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring, or someone to walk in the door… but only a tiny tiny bit better. Its the same deal with having a twitter or a facebook page, its just a tiny bit better than doing nothing, even though social media gurus likely would suggest otherwise.
Marketing takes work, short cuts dont cut it, no matter how new, or how well they are sold. Marketing also takes risk. Folks fail to see the risk of sitting around waiting for the phone to ring, the door to open, the facebook to get commented, or to be retweeted. Sitting around is perhaps the biggest risk, and one of the biggest reason flight schools dont have students… and also why aviation is so darn expensive.
This is not to say a flight instructor should not be available at the flight school, nor that one shouldnt use social media, nor have an entry in the phone book… but that simply doing the absolute minimum possible, and going back to sitting around and expecting results doesnt work out too well. I'll go a bit further and say one should not dilute their efforts too much either. I've seen twitter profiles with 50 tweets abandoned, facebook pages with a month of entries, and no more, and blogs with 5 entries from 2 years ago. Such ends up a lot like that 4″ 2 column yellow pages ad… Its better than nothing, but its not going to bring in a ton of new customers either.
Consistent effort over the long haul is the answer, albeit testing and followup to see what works is critical. Just as one would not run 5 years of tv ads if they dont bring in business, neither should one pursue other marketing approaches if they cost more in time and effort than the customers they bring in the door.
I came across the following article entitled To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test, and went egads, this is new ??? To me, one could pretty much take the experiment as presented and predict the outcome based upon the FOI. They outcomes observed are not mind blowing in the least, at least not from the point of view of a flight instructor.
Part of it no doubt, as we tend to keep ed psych at arms length, and even then, the ed psych we use tends to be anything but the latest and greatest. The other part is that our focus is to build safe pilots for life, and we tend to look at the standardized written, and even the flight and oral exams as necessary, but that they are far from the endall when it comes to our goals. Ie, no flight instructor in their right mind would be cool signing off on the 8710, if the prospective pilot were not safe, irrespective of how well they could present themselves when it came to said tests. That being said, lets roll through the experiment and see how it spins out from a flight instructors point of view.
The researchers engaged 200 college students in two experiments, assigning them to read several paragraphs about a scientific subject — how the digestive system works, for example, or the different types of vertebrate muscle tissue.
Ok, for our purposes, lets say the material is a POH or flight manual, and the focus will be on one system.
In the first experiment, the students were divided into four groups. One did nothing more than read the text for five minutes. Another studied the passage in four consecutive five-minute sessions.
Depending upon the student, a single read, or reading the material over and over again a few times may be beneficial. Then again, if this is their only exposure to the materials… the students retention a week later is likely to be about nill. Such is a short cut… it works for a bit, but it comes back with a vengeance later.
A third group engaged in "concept mapping," in which, with the passage in front of them, they arranged information from the passage into a kind of diagram, writing details and ideas in hand-drawn bubbles and linking the bubbles in an organized way.
For some students this might be helpful to them. Note, the key fault here though… "with the passage in front of them". Such a process might well help a student learn that a vacuum system includes a regulator, and a filter… they might even remember some of it a week later. In a lot of ways, this method is a short cut… its a whole lot easier to sort of wing ones way through things, than it for the student to go hard core and struggle through things closed book so to speak. (granted, some areas will prove troublesome to some students, and short cuts such as the above may be ok, until the student has more experience) Short cuts functioning like training wheels are not all bad, but they best be short lived, of they too will come back to bite later.
The final group took a "retrieval practice" test. Without the passage in front of them, they wrote what they remembered in a free-form essay for 10 minutes. Then they reread the passage and took another retrieval practice test.
Asking a student what happens when a vacuum filter starts to get plugged, or the difference between a dry and wet pump as a quick check before heading out to the airplane often serves to reinforce what they learned in their home study (and such an approach is about as closed book as one can get). Even more so, bringing up systems type issues through out flight training, reinforces what they are learning, and brings relevance to the materials. Such a process increases retention multifold in contrast with the other methods. A self directed students concept mapping, no matter how well done deal pales in comparison with in your face confrontation with a hypothetical system problem, or even better a real test of understanding with a failure in the sim.
A week later all four groups were given a short-answer test that assessed their ability to recall facts and draw logical conclusions based on the facts.
Yep… the practice retrieval approach proved better than the other approaches, just as the FOI would suggest it would. Reading, rereading, concept mapping ect are useful tools for learning… but experiencing a system issue which tests your understanding and ability to apply what you learned is another deal entirely. Implementing the struggle of an in your face event is really where its at education wise, all other aspects pale in comparison…. and failure early on is ok. Its fine to struggle, in a lot of ways, its even better to struggle than to think you understand when you really dont.
(In a lot of ways, such parallels my experience with pre-med organic chem students…. they flashcarded things to death, but had about zero understanding of the real principles involved. They did not want to struggle, and they needed the A's, they needed the standardized tests… they really saw no need to understand what really was going on unlike a chem major intent on grad school.)
In fairness though, we cant very well approach every possible a/c system or other parts of aeronautical knowledge in such a fashion, especially at the PPL level, and thats ok, the certificate is a license to learn. What we do need to look out for though, is the student who does the weekend cram ground school and aces the test. We need to look out for the student who can parrot the systems manual left and right. Such students need some in your face experience time to really see if they understand and can apply their knowledge, not just parrot back "good" answers.
As flight instructors we need to continuously be evaluating, and encouraging our students learning, as well as giving them tools to help them learn. We may even advocate some short cuts to help a student through an area they are having trouble with… but we also need to be upfront that such is like a training wheel. It is not an end all.
Tags: short cuts
Shorts, the box the airplane came in.
The biggest fear of every Shorts crew is crashing in a trailer park, as the wreckage would never be found.
The Shorts flies by vacuum (it's so ugly that the air is repulsed and gets out of the way)
I gotta admit though… always thought the whole corrugated aluminum skin thing was kinda cool, almost retro like a trimotor.
Tags: humor


text:
Why choose Loadbalancer.org over Coyote Point, Kemp Technologies and Barracuda Networks?
The ENTERPRISE R16 is the only entry level load balancer that doesn't compromise on performance. Coyote Point, Kemp Technologies and Barracuda Networks all limit the performance of their entry level models by using cheaper hardware. At Loadbalancer.org we simply software restrict our popular ENTERPRISE model, enabling us to provide a high-performance solution at a truly remarkable price point. See for yourself here:
The ENTERPRISE R16 is also available as an
HA clustered pair @ $3,495
Graph demonstrating difference in total connections per second between
Kemp LoadMaster 1500 and Loadbalancer.org ENTERPRISE R16


text:
WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Books and backpacks plus clothes and shoes minus sales tax equals a holiday most parents can't wait to celebrate.
This is the weekend to stock up in Virginia.
Virginia 2012 Sales Tax Free Holiday
Starting Friday, August 3 through Sunday, August 5, you'll save the four percent sales tax on clothes and shoes that are $100 or less. And, school supplies under $20 are also included.
In Maryland, you get a full week from August 12 through August 18 to save on clothes and shoes.
Maryland 2012 Sales Tax Free Holiday
But, you will have pay taxes on those back to school supplies. They are not included in thetax-free holiday.


text:
Category Archives: corruption
The Effluence of Influence
"On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh." – Rachel Carson, in her seminal book about the unchecked use of pesticides in post-war America , Silent Spring
Rachel Carson, in 1962, published a book that moved a nation to do something about the devastating environmental impact of DDT. Setting the stage for her argument, she wrote of a hypothetical morning in a not too distant future, where nature will have been stymied into silence by the overuse of insecticide that made its way through the food chain, killing birds, plants and bees. As a result of Ms. Carson's well documented work, laws were passed outlawing the civilian use of DDT, and awareness was raised about just what kind of impact our lifestyle has on the planet we share with the rest of nature. People stood up. Something got done.
This spring, it's time to pay attention to a perhaps more insidious pollutant that affects the way we live. Winter's acrid snowfall of presidential election idiocy has distracted us, muffling the voices of protesters that began screaming last fall about fair access to the ears and hearts of our lawmakers, that didn't involve entering through their wallets. Despite President Obama renewing the call for "fair play, shared responsibility," in the spring thaw, there is only the creaking of Congress' rusty wheels blowing across the election year breeze. It's the practiced deafness of a seized machine – not the gear churning, consensus building, bill producing process with which our legislative branch is tasked.
"Some insecticides affect sensitive plants … retarding root development or depressing growth of seedlings." – Rachel Carson, ibid
Plants can't grow properly in soil infected by toxins, and our Congressional ecosystem has been toxified by money. The laws that come out of Congress have long had their potential stunted by the ugly politics of greed and corporate congressional corruption. We are promised fields of green, spring wheat and acres of blooming flowers, and are presented with AstroTurf and plastic poppies. This isn't what government should look like. This is a painted backdrop of mythical American glory, an artifice created by the corporate manipulators and political strategists, where they can stage a bought Congress that passes the laws they write with the help of ALEC.
For most members of Congress, it seems that Capitol Hill is just another market where power is the commodity and there are plenty of big-monied lobbyists looking to buy. Sure, America is a free market economy, but let's keep the free market in the marketplace, and not in the halls of Congress, where lobbyists and Super PACs line the walls, trading laws for dollars like the moneychangers at the Temple gates. A den of thieves, to be sure.
The first five words of the First Amendment are, "Congress shall make no law." Unfortunately, it seems, Congress has stopped right there, taking the phrase out of context as easily as a super PAC ad, and using it to illustrate their attachment to the meme that government can't do anything. What's really sad is everyone knows they can't do anything. In the recent arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, about the Affordable Care Act, there was an acquiescence to the stymied way the 112th Congress has limped through its tenure.
In one exchange, on the third day of oral arguments, regarding what might happen to the entire law if the so-called individual mandate were struck down, Justices Sotomayor and Scalia had this telling indictment of the current Congressional process in an exchange with Paul Clement, who was arguing that the law should be scrapped. Justice Sotomayor asks Clement (page 7, line 10), "I guess, on the bottom line, is why don't we let Congress fix it?"
"Well, let me answer the bottom line question," Clement responds, "if you strike down the mandate, there's going to be something for Congress to do. The question is really what task do you want to give Congress? Do you want to give Congress the task of fixing the statute after something has been taken out, especially a provision at the heart, or do you want to give Congress the task of fixing health care?"
"[W]hatever you do," Clement later adds, "Congress is going to have options."
It's there that Scalia interrupts the petitioner, with the most practical question of the entire proceeding: "Well, there's such a thing as legislative inertia, isn't there?"
"[W]e all recognize there's legislative inertia," Clement goes on to agree, "And then the question is what's the best result in light of that reality?"
The Supreme Court of the United States has little respect for Congress' ability to get anything done, and they're right to think that. Those attending the proceeding found the whole notion of Congress buckling down to "fix" the healthcare law laughable:
(page 26, line 14)
MR. CLEMENT: At a certain point, I just think that, you know, the better answer might be to say, we've struck the heart of this Act, let's just give Congress a clean slate. If it's so easy to have that other big volume get reenacted, they can do it in a couple of days, it won't be a big deal. If it's not, because it's very –
MR. CLEMENT: — well, but — I mean, you can laugh at me if you want, but the point is, I rather suspect that it won't be easy.
No, Mr. Clement. It won't be easy, because nothing in Congress is easy. They need 60 votes to get anything done in the Senate, and the House is passing budget bills with the goal of "sharpening the contrast," as Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) put it, between the majority party and the president during an election year. It's all done for political points and serves only the perpetual campaigners in Congress, not the American people.
While it may be easy to blame Congress, though, this is our fault too. They lead not just by our votes, but also by our example. If we are silent about our polluted and corrosive system, then they will be too. If we are unwilling to allow our elected representatives to be a cacophony of "sound and fury, signifying nothing," then we have to make certain we don't represent the same thing to them. Meaning, if we want them to actually get in there and do the work of enacting laws that help everyone in this country prosper, then we have to be willing to do the same. We appear to have given up on our federal government being functional, and so have they. There's not much left for them to do except rake in the cash from defanged regulations. If they saw us giving the issues that affect our fellow citizens the due diligence they deserve, perhaps they would too.
I don't know what SCOTUS is going to do about severing the individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act, but just as Scalia argued against presenting Congress with a "false choice" of all, some or none of the act intact, we have a similar choice when it comes to Congress in November – do we re-elect all, some or none of them? Maybe we can just sever the toxic ones. Then, perhaps, the seeds a new Congress plants will have a chance to prosper, for all of us.
"No witchcraft, no enemy action had silenced the rebirth of new life in this stricken world. The people had done it themselves." – Rachel Carson, ibid
The devil and the Democratic soul
A Report from Netroots Nation:
Like singed hair, the aroma of evil hangs in the air. It's the smell from the disintegration of American values in the populist, political discourse, these days.
There is a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. That's what liberal and progressive bloggers and activists were told, Thursday night, at the sixth annual Netroots Nation gathering in Minneapolis. In separate speeches, former presidential candidate and New Hampshire Gov. Howard Dean, and former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, implored the conclave to help restore progressive values to the Democrats.
"Netroots serves as a check" on the values of politics, the government and the media, Feingold said in his keynote address. The success of new media, grassroots politicking, like the online fundraising and outreach in 2006 and 2008, have "terrified" the corporate powers, he said. But what the people of the United States took away from the deep-pocket Republican donors like the Koch brothers, the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, restored in spades. Feingold called it a "lawless decision."
It was a decision that took power away from the American people. The "people know that Republicans are not on their side," Dean told the group. "The American people know the Tea Party is not on their side."
The ultra-conservative movement from the Right doesn't have American values, according to Dean. "Neither," he said, "is intolerance and hate the way to build a great nation."
But here's where the battle comes in. Stinging from the enormous defeat in 2010, Democrats, according to Feingold, established their own Super PACs this spring – a couple of them. If we go down that road, though, Feingold, who has his own progressive PAC, warned, "It's dancing with the devil."
That makes the stickers that many of the conference attendees were wearing, Thursday, very appropriate, especially if the Super PAC wins. They were round, red stickers that read, "I'm going to Hell." Luckily, though, for now, Hell is just a restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. And I, for one, for now, have yet to abandon Hope.
Related articles
- Russ Feingold: 'The Democratic Party Is In Danger Of Losing Its Identity' (huffingtonpost.com)
- Towleroad at Netroots Nation 2011: Opening Keynote (VIDEO) (towleroad.com)
- Feingold slams Dem super PACs (politico.com)
Corporatism rules; corporealism drools
The effort in Washington to institutionalize and Constitutionalize
the Congress-corporate cycle and steal the government from the people
1 or 0. Aye or nay. It's that light. When it goes on, the Congresswoman is on the record.
Aye or Nay.
She will tell you that she didn't start kissing babies just to end up suckling the corporate teat, but in the end, she will protect her seat from exposure, and her true and principled beliefs will disappear behind a vote that is neither, all with the push of a switch. The power behind what makes a politician place that vote can be generated from a significant, real and unlimited source – the people who they were elected to represent, but the button they usually end up pushing – with an audible thud – is powered by a virtual, unauthentic, and mortal poser, corporate money.
The problem is, we shouldn't have to buy our Congressmen to own them, to keep them accountable to us. "Certain things," as Ralph Nader said recently, "should never be for sale."
Nader was speaking at a summit held January 21-22, 2011, in Washington, DC, for a group of national movements who came together to recognize, primarily, the first anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in the case, Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, which legitimized direct donations from corporate entities, effectively giving them the same rights to speech as any citizen, in the form they have in more abundance than almost any single individual – money.
The goal of the event, called Movement for the People, was to discuss ways to throw open the door, to lift the blinds on the prevalent, institutionalized influence of corporate money on our legislative – and even executive – branches of government. Also, of course, to come up with strategies for overcoming the unfair influence on policy that money brings. "Cultivate a culture of resistance" to corporatism in our government, health-care activist Dr. Margaret Flowers advised the gathering on Saturday.
The idea, speaker after speaker said, was to recognize that those who move to endorse, improve and advance the consolidation of corporate power in government, are the enemy of every American citizen. Whether you are liberal or conservative, control of your representatives is being compromised. One speaker even said that whether you are voting for a Republican or a Democrat, you are voting to strengthen corporate power, not weaken it.
It can be a crisis of conscience, wondering if you've thrown away every vote for federal office you have cast. Certainly, corporate influence has worked its way into even the best achievements of this administration, and possibly dominated the worst. Too often we choose our candidates with the same cognitive dissonance with which they run. They know what's waiting for them in Washington, and, sadly, so do we.
For the mainstream body politic, like Congress and the two main political parties, what's waiting for them is institutionalized power, and power means money – the ability to solicit it and do favors for it. For the monied corporate interests, the equation flips, and money means power. Which ever side of the money/power equation they are on, together they aim to keep, stable and predictable, a government run by the rule of corporations. If they cannot maintain that insular status quo, the shadow government they have hoisted onto the Capitol building – and House and Senate offices – will sink the entire toxic process into the marshy shallows of the DC tidal basin.
It has no business standing, other than the artifice of corruption makes it so. By legitimizing the corruption, as SCOTUS did in the Citizens United case, another patch of steel reinforces a structure that, by all rights, should be collapsing under its own weight. Unsupported as it is by what the Framers intended when they created the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the sanctioned corruption of all three branches buries the intent of a government of, by and for the people, behind a glitzy, neon "SOLD" sign.
Still, the Congresswoman, the Senator, the party leader, they are all acting on their political instincts – the uncontrollable behavior that calls them to the meeting, the cocktails, the tee time – leading them to the enticing salt lick like a deer at an NRA "fact finding" expedition.
"Excuse me. Why are you at this salt lick? Don't you know that the corporate dicks have you in their sites? Aren't you afraid of what comes next?"
"Hell! Next? What the hell is is a next? This salt lick is right here and it's good and it will be here every time I need some cash. Don't worry. (Lick.) I'm in control. (Lick.) They won't get the better of mmmmmmm (lick-slobber-gulp-lick)."
No, no they won't get the better of you, because when the smoke that follows their shotgun blast clears, you'll still be enjoying your largess, and the people who you're screwing will be writhing on the ground, wondering what happened to the people's America.
Perry's video about the folly of corporate personhood, produced for the Movement for the People Summit.


text:
good stuff By johnny 5 on 7/5/2015johnny 5 would recommend this product to a friendSaw significantly less hair algae after about 2 weeks. Works for me.
Best GFO By Shawn on 7/4/2015Shawn would recommend this product to a friendOne of the best ways to drop those nasty phoshate levels in a hurry. I honestly never tried another brand but I don't intend to if BRS keeps making quality GFO.
good stuff By peter on 6/25/2015peter would recommend this product to a friendpretty good stuff. works as advertised.
Works great By Ray on 6/11/2015Ray would recommend this product to a friendVery important piece of the algae free puzzle.
Slightly larger pellets are awesome. By Turf on 6/7/2015Turf would recommend this product to a friendThe slightly larger pellet size has made it substantially easier to deal with in a filter sock or reactor the ones I've used in the past.
5 stars hands down By troy on 5/27/2015troy would recommend this product to a friendEasy to use rinse in ro di or with water change water and good to go
You know, Gfo. By Vegareef71 on 5/24/2015Vegareef71 would recommend this product to a friendBrs Gfo is affective and very easy to use. Just follow the instructions on the container or hit up BRS online and the calculator with help you out.
Worth it By Sosee on 5/21/2015Sosee would recommend this product to a frienda good value but don't use the amounts they recommend in the reactor. I followed the advice of a seasoned reefer and used half the recommended amount and it works great! Using too much can effect your alk levels.
great By wiz on 5/20/2015wiz would recommend this product to a friendI'm assuming by my lack of green dlime and hair algae it has worked as promised. Thanks
It really does mean granular By James on 5/13/2015James would recommend this product to a friendI've only had the GFO in for about a week now but I've been testing every day (too much time on my hands) and my phosphate level is definitely on its way down. Not enough time yet to say anything about the algae, but science doesn't lie. I only have one thing, filter socks don't work with this. I put it in and started to rinse it out and it started coming out of the sock like dust (which it is). But that's my lack of experience, not the product.