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A look at Bayesian statistics
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An introduction to Bayesian analysis and why you might care.
Fight club
The subject of statistics is about how to learn. Given that it is about the unknown, it shouldn't be surprising that there are deep differences of opinion on how to go about doing it (in spite of the stereotype that statisticians are accountants minus the personality).
A slightly simplistic division of statistical philosophies is:
- frequentist estimator
- frequentist tester
- Bayesian
We'll explore that division with the coin in my pocket.
Flip a coin
What's the probability — sight unseen — that a flip of my coin will be heads?
The frequentist estimator will say that without data there is no way to tell — it could be anything. We're in complete ignorance.
The frequentist tester will probably hypothesize that the probability is one-half, then say there is no evidence to reject that hypothesis.
A Bayesian will say that the probability has a distribution centered on one-half and is close to it. Something like the distribution in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Bayesian prior distribution for the probability of "heads".
A smarter Bayesian will take account of whose pocket the coin is in, and say the distribution is more like that of Figure 2.
Figure 2: Alternative Bayesian prior for "heads", point masses in gold.
The coin could be two-headed, could be two-tailed, could be bent.
Figures 1 and 2 are prior distributions — what is thought before seeing any data.
Now let's start flipping the coin.
first flip
The first flip is heads. That rules out that the probability is zero.
first 6 flips
The first 6 flips are all heads.
The frequentist estimator estimates that the probability is 1 with confidence intervals that go from 1 down to some value. The 95% confidence interval goes down to 54%.
The frequentist tester may reject the hypothesis that the probability is one-half because the p-value is rather small.
The Bayesians will combine their priors with the data to arrive at a posterior distribution. In this case these will look like the priors but will be shifted (somewhat) towards 1. The posterior after 6 flips is the prior for flip 7.
first 100 flips
There are 53 heads and 47 tails — so still 6 heads ahead.
The frequentist estimator has a point estimate of 53% with a 95% confidence interval that goes from about 43% to 63%.
The frequentist tester will have to unreject the null hypothesis.
R> binom.test(53, 100) Exact binomial test data: 53 and 100 number of successes = 53, number of trials = 100, p-value = 0.6173 alternative hypothesis: true probability of success is not equal to 0.5 95 percent confidence interval: 0.4275815 0.6305948 sample estimates: probability of success 0.53
The posterior for the first Bayesian will look fairly similar to the prior. The posterior for the second Bayesian will look a whole lot like the posterior for the first.
Statisticians in action
As you learned more about the coin in my pocket, you probably went through a process similar to the Bayesians (though you probably allowed the initial 6 heads to have too much impact). The Bayesian way of thinking is more natural to a lot of people.
Yet Bayesian statistical analyses are in the minority. Why? Two reasons:
- computing power
- necessity
Bayesian analyses of more than textbook interest tend to require substantial computing power. It is only recently that the requisite computing power has arrived.
For a lot of analyses, there is no need to be Bayesian. If there is enough data, then the prior distribution makes essentially no difference at all.
Note 1: Frequentists will likely complain at this point that the real reason that frequentist analyses are predominant is because they are more valid. Even conditional on that being true, I don't think that is the reason for their ascendancy. If frequentist analysis were computer intensive and Bayesian were not, then Bayesian would dominate.
Note 2: I consider myself a pragmatist. I'm not particularly attached to any philosophy.
Fields like physics, agriculture and medicine can operate just fine without resorting to Bayesian statistics. Mainly, at least — there may be cases where Bayes would be useful.
Bayes goes to the bank
Finance is different. While we have lots of numbers, we don't necessarily have lots of information.
Finance is ripe for Bayesian statistics. We are often in the situation where our prior guesses do have a material effect on results.
But we don't need to do a formal Bayesian analysis to benefit. The key element of Bayesian statistics is shrinkage.
After 6 coin flips we had all heads. But our Bayesians didn't believe the probability of heads was 1, that estimate was shrunk (somehow) towards 0.5. (Real Bayesians resist producing estimates, they want to just give you their posterior.)
Here are a couple of examples of using shrinkage.
expected returns
If you have a model that predicts asset returns, it is not going to be perfect. The Efficient Market Model says that the expected return is zero. That model is not correct, but it's pretty good. You'll be able to make your predictions better by shrinking them towards zero. We have a prior that the expected returns are close to zero.
predicted variance matrix
Ledoit-Wolf variance estimation starts with the usual variance estimate and then shrinks it towards a simple model. In particular, it shrinks towards all of the correlations being equal. Thus we are using a prior that all the correlations are roughly equal.
R for Bayes
The first stop for learning about Bayesian analyses in R should probably be the Bayesian task view.
Hot off the press is Stan which has an R interface.
See also
Jarrod Wilcox has a piece on Bayesian investing.
You can learn more than you want to know at Wikipedia and Scholarpedia.
Yo ye pharoahs, let us walk
Through this barren desert, in search of truth
And some pointy boots, and maybe a few snack crackers.
from "Camel Walk" by Rick Miller
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Charm Lessons From Legendary Ladies' Men
The Secret To Making
Beautiful Women Smile
Page 1 of 2
One thing every man should be able to do is learn from his betters. Successful men take cues from other successful men. Whether they're working on their jump shot or their conversation skills, savvy men are always on the lookout for good advice. To that end, we've assembled these charm lessons from legendary ladies' men.
Charm is a hard thing to master, partly because it's difficult to define; to some degree, it's ineffable. But we've done our best to narrow charm down to a certain set of behaviors as epitomized by a series of legendary ladies' men. We submit that charm isn't necessarily something you're born with: it's a skill you can learn. It's something you can develop with the right knowledge and enough practice.
Have compliments ready
Sean Connery will be a ladies' man until the day he dies. Despite getting on in years, the Scottish actor still looks like the kind of guy you wouldn't trust with your girlfriend (or your mom). And though we can't all have sexy Scottish accents (at least not convincing sexy Scottish accents), we can all approach women with the same sense of daring bravado that Sean Connery did in his role as James Bond. Connery's Bond was always quick with a compliment, and while you want to avoid cheesy pickup lines, you should follow Sir Sean's suit and make sure to have some compliments ready in advance of meeting a beautiful woman. A little preparation will help you seem more charming when the moment arrives.Smile
One never sees Jack Nicholson without his trademark shades and his million-dollar smirk. Nicholson's is a perfect smile, equal parts "go to hell" and "let's have a drink." It exudes self-confidence and charisma. It's a smile indicative of a certain devil-may-care mindset, which women find irresistible. Smiling may seem too simple to be on our list of charm lessons from legendary ladies' men, but it's too important to skip over. A genuine, inviting smile is among the best ways to convey charm. You should always have a smile on your face when you walk into a room or when you meet someone for the first time. Put serious effort into smiling more often; you'll be surprised by the results.Be self-deprecating
When one begins looking for charm lessons from legendary ladies' men, Hugh Grant, immediately comes to mind. The guy has made an entire career out of charm. And he's been able to do that because women love that slightly self-destructive but ultimately kindhearted character Grant consistently plays. Grant has charm down cold, because he knows how to be self-deprecating. This is perhaps the most difficult skill on this list to master, but once you have it, you're golden. We understand that putting yourself down by being self-deprecating flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but it's one of the key elements of charm. The key is to say something disparaging about yourself, while simultaneously making it clear you don't mean it. Imagine telling a woman, "I'd make a terrible boyfriend," with a seductive smirk on your face. It's a gesture that paradoxically communicates both humility and confidence, and women love it.What charm lessons from legendary ladies' men does George Clooney have to offer...
Facial Hair

subset: commoncrawl


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STOP PRESS: NRC 9 day "Equine Extravaganza" – Sat Aug 31st to Sun Sept 8th inclusive.
Talk about setting ourselves some work to do !! OK where do we start? We have rented the big house next to the stables, Biallid Farmhouse (www.biallid.com) for the duration so we have a focal point and for somewhere for people to stay – please book early to avoid disappointment. (Estimated cost from £100.00 for 7 nights bed only) We will also have stables, paddocks, grazing and a lorry, trailer and camping/caravan field too. We will have a housekeeper in Boaiild to look after everybody and to cook meals as well as prepare packed lunches and sumptuous banquets. Click here for full details.
Watch Facebook for weekly updates.


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Stimulus: What's in it for businesses
The final bill doesn't contain nearly as much as large businesses had hoped for. But there are still provisions that can help, at least at the margins.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The $787 billion economic recovery package President Obama will sign on Tuesday contains more than $290 billion in tax provisions, according to estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Of that amount, $23 billion are breaks to encourage companies to invest in equipment or renewable energy initiatives, or to help them secure a cash cushion to get through the downturn and minimize layoffs.
But in some cases, the final business breaks are shadows of their former selves as originally conceived in earlier versions of the bill. The biggest example is the net-operating loss carryback extension -- a provision that broadens businesses' ability to make hay of their losses.
The provision was "gutted," according to Anne Mathias, policy director of research at the Stanford Group, a policy research firm. "As they say in Africa, in the battle of the elephants, it is the grass that gets trampled. And so it is for corporate America and the economic stimulus," she said.
That said, the bill contains numerous tax breaks that businesses will appreciate. In a statement late last week, Bruce Josten, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's executive vice president of government affairs, said "the Chamber is disappointed that the net operating loss provision is not expansive enough to apply to all businesses, but we're pleased that the current bill will provide some help to smaller Main Street businesses."
Josten also noted that the Chamber supports another key provision that makes it easier for companies to buy back their own debt without getting hammered with a big tax bill.
"We support the cancellation of indebtedness tax provisions that will encourage businesses to restructure and reduce debt, enabling them to preserve jobs, renew investment, and begin to grow once again," he said.
Here's a rundown of some of the biggest business-related tax breaks and what they will cost the government in lost tax revenue.
Credits for renewable energy production: The bill extends a credit that businesses may take for electricity produced by wind energy through 2012 and for electricity produced by other renewable resources through 2013. The credit typically benefits those who fund wind farms and other renewable energy production sites. Estimated cost: $13 billion.
There is also a new credit created by the legislation for companies that produce the equipment used to generate renewable energy, such as wind turbines. Estimated cost: $1.6 billion.
Bonus depreciation: The bill extends for one year a special allowance that was in place last year. It accelerates how quickly companies can write off expenses by letting them deduct half the cost of new capital equipment purchases made in 2009 if the equipment is also put into service this year. The other half of the cost would have to be written off over time according to a fixed depreciation schedule. Estimated cost: $5.1 billion.
Delayed recognition of cancelled debt: The bill allows certain businesses that buy back their own debt at a discount in 2009 and 2010 to defer paying the income tax owed on the difference over 10 years. The companies may defer tax payments for the first four or five years and then pay the income tax due over the next five years. By repurchasing its own debt at a discount, a company can boost earnings. Estimated cost: $1.62 billion.
Small businesses loss write-offs: The bill temporarily broadens the "net-operating loss carryback" to five years, up from two years currently, for businesses with gross revenue of $15 million or less. Eligible companies could apply their 2008 losses to past and future tax bills so they can get money back on taxes they've already paid or would otherwise have to pay. Estimated cost: $947 million
That's a considerably reduced break from earlier versions of the stimulus bill, which had allocated $17 billion to make the NOL provision available to all businesses for two years of losses -- both 2008 and 2009.
"Our best estimate is that taxpayers with less than $15 million of gross receipts are 98% of all corporations, but only 5% of taxable income. So, they have covered most corporations, but not the ones who account for 95% of corporate activity," said Clint Stretch, managing principal of tax policy at Deloitte.


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Join the Party in Vegas |
May 23, 2008 | |
The Las Vegas International Chess Festival (June 5-9) kicks off with a simultaneous exhibition by World Championship candidate Gata Kamsky on Thursday at 3 PM. Kamsky will also be playing in the main event, the National Open (June 6-8). The tournament schedule also includes the U.S. Game 10 Championship and the National Open Blitz Championship on Thursday June 5. The Susan Polgar World Open for Boys and Girls spans from June 6-8. Tournament co-organizer Alan Losoff emphasizes that for West Coast players, gas prices are down and it's not too late to join the party in Las Vegas! Once the event begins, watch the games live on Monroi.com and look for daily coverage of the festivities on CLO. |


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November 28, 2018
CONTACT: Lindsey Wiles
Communications Manager
MARIETTA – The Marietta Fire Department is excited to announce that Santa has kindly agreed to help them promote and educate our City's children about fire safety!
As local Mariettans know, the Marietta Fire Department has always been one of Santa's most steadfast and dependable helpers, after all these fine men and women drive Santa up to the Marietta Square each year on an antique fire truck. Because Santa is a real team player, he has graciously agreed to help our Fire Department. If you and your children live within Marietta City limits, Santa will mail your children a letter from the jolly old man himself reminding children to be nice to one another and will also include a friendly fire safety tip!
This is where the Marietta Fire Department comes in, Santa will then give those letters to our fire fighters and they will mail them out to the kids and include a little bit more information about some wonderful and helpful tips relating to fire prevention.
If your home address is within Marietta's City limits, then please email the City's Communications Manager, Lindsey Wiles at firstname.lastname@example.com by Friday, December 14, 2018. Please include the name of each child at that residence, their age and the City of Marietta address.


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Lawyers call it a "meat chart." It's the schedule of payments for car crash injuries used by what they call "no fault" vehicle insurance companies – this much for losing an arm, that much for a leg.
That system is coming to the Insurance Corp. of B.C. in April 2021, after Premier John Horgan and Attorney General David Eby started digging into the soaring costs and rates faced by ICBC and its monopoly customer base. A battle with personal injury lawyers that began with capping "pain and suffering" payments and diverting smaller ICBC injury disputes to an independent tribunal is about to heat up.
The role of the "Civil Resolution Tribunal" will expand next year to deal with disputes in all injury cases, saving ICBC an estimated $1.5 billion in legal fees, courtroom experts and related costs.
Attorney General @Dave_Eby says lawyers take a third of uncertain injury settlements with #ICBC #bcpoli #bcleg pic.twitter.com/9wUXpHTluQ
— Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc) February 7, 2020
The Trial Lawyers Association of B.C. was quick to challenge the tribunal approach, in a letter to Eby as it took into effect last April.
Calling it "independent" is questionable, "given that tribunal members are appointed by government for modest fixed term, and who render decisions that directly impact ICBC, a Crown corporation that answers directly to you as Attorney General," the letter states.
The trial lawyers went on to attack the government's definition of minor injury, and described an injured person's ability to estimate lost future earnings as "a supreme feat of clairvoyance heretofore unknown to British Columbians."
Announcing the change Thursday, Horgan defended it as a return to the spirit in which former premier Dave Barrett created it in 1973 as a break-even proposition. "It was not a for-profit enterprise, it was a for-people enterprise," he said.
Premier @jjhorgan invokes Dave Barrett's 1973 vision for the creation of #ICBC #bcleg pic.twitter.com/AM123nXxxn
— Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc) February 7, 2020
Horgan said the payment schedule includes a 24-fold increase in the maximum payout for serious, disabling injuries, from about $300,000 to $7.5 million, and in some cases more to cover costs of life-long nursing care.
He rejected the idea that taking disputes out of a slow, expensive trial process means there is "no fault" assessed to people who cause accidents.
"Fault matters still," Horgan said. "You can't run into someone without consequences. Your rates will go up. If you're found criminally responsible or negligent, you can be sued. So we're not taking the opportunity for claimants to sue. We're saying in most instances, let's provide the care first."
Eby described the effect of lawsuit-based insurance on the health care system.
"I've had a number of meetings with doctors where they express increasing concern about the role they're asked to play in the litigation system," Eby told reporters at the B.C. legislature. "They have lawyers calling them and asking them to run certain tests on their patients that they don't feel are medically necessary. They're asked to spend an increasing amount of their time writing reports for the purposes of litigation, which they feel is distracting them from care-giving."
RELATED: B.C. to cut ICBC rates 20% before 2021 election
RELATED: Horgan regrets ICBC rate hikes for young people
With a $5,500 cap on pain and suffering awards in place since last April, ICBC estimates it will save $1 billion in the current fiscal year on legal costs. But if the current lawsuit system continued, it estimates the capped payments would total more than $900 million by 2022, paid out to people who had temporary discomfort rather than a permanent disability.
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Dora Campbell's Home Page
Thanks for stopping by!
I am a licensed, ASHA certified speech Language Pathologist with over twenty years of experience helping students with language learning needs.
I provide diagnostic and therapy services to children with language learning difficulties.
On this website, you will have access to current information on development of reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. My focus is to help children become better students and better communicators.
I hope this site is a good resource for literacy and learning in the exciting field of speech language pathology.


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By John F. KellyArt by Danny HellmanThe Associated Press recently reported a story about a group of St. Joseph, Missouri workers who--puzzled as to why their morning coffee had been tasting so foul for the past few weeks--rigged up a secret videocamera to monitor the office coffee nook for possible clues. Sure enough, after viewing the first day's highlights, workers at the Wire Rope of America company discovered the root of the problem--although they may have wished that they hadn't.The tape clearly showed one of their office mates, 41-year-old Milton Ross, urinating into the coffee pot. Ross was immediately fired from the company--it's amazing that he wasn't murdered on the spot--and later charged with assault. The story goes on to say that local health investigators "didn't believe that any communicable diseases could have been contracted by drinking the spiked coffee." Dean Shepherd, Buchanan County Assistant District Attorney, says that Ross was "trying to injure a co-worker when he used the pot as a urinal." Perhaps. But it's also possible that Ross was merely attempting to improve the general health of the workers at Wire Rope of America with his controversial prescription. In fact, according to certain alternative health guides, Ross was actually following medicinal directives laid down centuries ago. In his book, The Water of Life: A Treatise on Urine Therapy (State Mutual Books, NY), John W. Armstrong details numerous case histories of people suffering from gangrene, various types of cancer, diabetes, consumption, disease of the heart valves, Bright's Disease, bladder problems, malaria, fevers, wounds, burns, bronchial asthma, and many other afflictions. While their afflictions vary greatly, all of these patients have one thing in common: They were all cured by drinking their own urine. And as Armstrong says in his book, since Urine Therapy for virtually ailment is virtually the same, no diagnosis is required. All one needs to do is to consume a quantity of urine daily to be set on the road to wellville. Contrary to the medical opinion that urine contains dead tissue and as such, can not be assimilated into the body, Armstrong maintained that urine actually contains "flesh, blood, and vital tissues in a living solution." Deemed unfit for the British Army during World War I due to consumption, Armstrong consulted a number of doctors in an attempt to strengthen his weakened physical condition. After years of dead-ends with the British medical establishment, Armstrong set out to affect his own cure. Feeling week and ill, he recalled the Bible proverb, "Drink waters out of thine own cistern," and began a strict regimen of fasting on his own urine and tap water for a period of 45 days. After breaking the fast, he ate cautiously and continued to drink his urine. The treatment proved to be his deliverance, as he gained weight and saw his energy restored and his skin rejuvenated. He became convinced of the healing properties of urine. And he's not alone. The history of drinking urine for therapeutic purposes dates back at least to the Holy Roman Empire when great urinal troths were erected in the public squares of each city-state for residents to both contribute to, and benefit from. For centuries European Gypsies have known about the curative properties of pee, using cow urine to cure Bright's Disease (several acute and chronic diseases of the kidneys which produce albumin in urine). It has also been reported that the Yogis and Lamas of Tibet reach extended ages by drinking their own urine. Through the ages there have been literally thousands of champions of this curious practice: In the early 1800s, a book titled One Thousand Notable Things describes the use of urine to cure scurvy, relieve skin itching, cleanse wounds, and many other treatments. An 18th century French dentist praised urine as a valuable mouthwash. In England during the 1860-70s, the drinking of one's own urine was a common cure for jaundice. In more modern times, the Alaskan Eskimos have used urine as an antiseptic to treat wounds. Some Modern CasesHere in New York City, alternative health guru Gary Null has devoted several segments of his popular radio program on WBAI (99.5 FM, 12 noon, Monday through Friday) to extolling the benefits of the urine cure. One's urine, Null explained during a program broadcast in October, 1992, should be stored in a jug in the refrigerator and then consumed while mixed with orange juice to mask the taste. He went on to say that the first few days of urine therapy often made patients extremely ill, but added that they recovered once the body adjusted to the treatment. Null then interviewed a number of patients who verified the healing powers of urine therapy, including one woman who began drinking her urine after being diagnosed for ovarian cancer. After a few weeks of the urine cure, the woman says she passed a stone "the size of a lemon" while urinating one morning and her health has improved greatly ever since.According to Dr. Beatrice Bartnett in her pamphlet, Urine-Therapy: It May Save Your Life, morning urine is the richest and best urine to drink. This is partially due to the greater level of hormonal secretion that takes place in the late night hours when the body is totally relaxed and repairing itself. She offers some further advice for the novice uring drinker: "Saying 'thank you' to your body just before drinking urine will help you to realize the value of this golden liquid. Your body produced it for you. Celebrate life and put the urine into a beautiful wine glass. After all, it is the most valuable water on earth." While many people are aware that Gandhi drank his urine, few know that leather-clad rocker Jim Morrison (who, like Gandhi, had an unwatchable movie made of his life) began the practice of drinking his urine while on an LSD-induced spiritual quest in the Mojave Desert. And like Gandhi, Morrison is now dead. As is John Lennon, another reputed fan of urine therapy. In fact, an entire legion of herion-addicted, long-haired rock and rollers are said to have tried Urine Therapy in the early 1970s following Keith Richards (unsuccessful) experimentations with the cure. One of the more famous modern day cases involves movie star Steve McQueen, who, it is said, in the last stages of cancer, survived solely on a diet of urine and boiled alligator skin prescribed by his Mexican doctors. Worse AlternativesWhile the thought of drinking piss is surely repulsive enough to have made many people stop reading this article long ago, those that have made it this far should take comfort in the fact that things could actually be far worse.The standard authority for drugs in Europe until the end of the eighteenth century was Lamery's Dictionnaire Universelle des Drogues. One of the late editions, published in 1759, contains a list of remedies under "Homo." It explains: "All parts of man, his excrescences and excrements, contain oil and the sals volatile, combined with phlegm and earth..." The book recommends the drinking of two or three glasses of urine each morning to cure gout, to relieve obstructions of the bowels, and to dispel hysterical vapors. It also includes the following cures: Burning hair to counteract vapors; the saliva of a fasting young man to cure bites of reptiles and mad dogs; ear wax, well chewed, for the cure of whitlows [whatever that is]; powdered toe- and finger--nail pairings, taken with wine, as a good emetic; woman's milk for inflamed eyes. Worse yet, it prescribes human dung, eaten after it's dried out, as a cure for epilepsy, adding that it can also be eaten fresh as a cure for quinsies or anthrax. While today there are many Freudian explanations as to why humans are attracted to the consumption of feces (consider the alleged case of actor Jack Klugman, for illustration), for centuries it was a common prescription for a variety of ailments. Dried white dog turds were stocked by the druggists of the 1600s, pigeon droppings were used to "draw the humors out," and pleurisy was cured by a drink made with stallion manure. We will draw this analysis to a close with a description of our favorite arcane medical treatment--oil of puppies! This concoction involved cutting up and boiling two newly born puppies with earthworms, in oil. The result was used to treat paralysis and was also used as a common nerve tonic--it was said to have had a calming effect on all those who drank it. Perhaps the workers of Wire Rope of America would have been less upset if Milton Ross had been secretly spiking their morning coffee with oil of puppies, rather than his urine. Recycling Fever Reaches New Lows"Utica, Michigan - Realising it is flushing potential profits down the drain, an enterprising young company has come up with a way to trap medically powerful proteins from urine. Enzymes of America has designed a special filter that collects important urine proteins, and these filters have been installed in all of the men's urinals in the 10,000 portable outhouses owned by the Porta-John company, a subsidiary of Enzymes of America."Urine is known to contain minute amounts of proteins made by the body, including medically important ones such as growth hormone and insulin. There is a $500-million-a-year market for these kinds of urine ingredients. "This summer, Enzymes of America plans to market its first major urine product called urokinase, an enzyme that dissolves blood clots and is used to treat victims of heart attacks. The company has contracts to supply the urine enzyme to Sandoz, Merrell Dow and other major pharmaceutical companies. Ironically, this enterprise evolved from Porta-John's attempt to get rid of urine proteins-a major source of odour in portable toilets. "When the president of Porta-John began consulting with scientists about a urine filtration system, one told him he was sitting on a gold mine. "The idea of recycling urine is not new, however. 'We thought about this,' says Ian Whitcome of Amgen, a Los Angeles biotechnology firm, 'but realised we'd need thousands and thousands of litres of urine.' "Porta-John and Enzymes of America solved that problem. The 14 million gallons flowing annually into Porta-John's privies contain about four-and-a-half pounds of urokinase alone. That's enough to unclog 260,000 coronary arteries." (Hippocrates magazine, May/June 1988) |
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The First Fully Stretchable OLED
Stretchable electronics promise video displays that could be rolled up and tucked into a shirt pocket, or cell phones that could swell or shrink. Electronic sheets that could be draped like cloth would be a boon for robotic skin and embedded medical devices.
Now engineers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have taken a step toward these handy electronics by creating the first fully stretchable organic light-emitting diode (OLED). Previously, researchers had only been able to create devices that are bendable but can't stretch, or stretchable pieces that connect smaller, rigid LEDs.
One challenge in creating stretchable electronics is to develop an electrode that maintains its conductivity when deformed. To achieve this property, some researchers have turned to carbon nanotubes because they are stretchable, conductive, and appear transparent in thin layers, letting light shine through. However, for carbon nanotubes to hold their shape, they must be attached to some surface. Coating carbon nanotubes onto a plastic backing has not worked well, because the nanotubes slide off or past each other instead of stretching with the plastic. While some researchers have gotten around this problem, they still were not able to make a completely stretchable OLED.
To make their device entirely pliable, the UCLA researchers devised a novel way of creating a carbon nanotube and polymer electrode and layering it onto a stretchable, light-emitting plastic. To make the blended electrode, the team coated carbon nanotubes onto a glass backing and added a liquid polymer that becomes solid yet stretchable when exposed to ultraviolet light. The polymer diffuses throughout the carbon nanotube network and dries to a flexible plastic that completely surrounds the network rather than just resting alongside it. Peeling the polymer-and-carbon-nanotube mix off of the glass yields a smooth, stretchable, transparent electrode.
"The infusion of the polymer into the carbon nanotube coatings preserved the original network and its high conductance," says Qibing Pei, professor of materials science and engineering and principal investigator of the project.
"The approach we used is very simple and can be easily scaled up for real production," says Zhibin Yu, previously a researcher in Pei's group and now a researcher at University of California, Berkeley, and first author of the work, which was published online last month in Advanced Materials.
To create the stretchable display, the team sandwiched two layers of the carbon nanotube electrode around a plastic that emits light when a current runs through it. The team used an office laminating device to press the final, layered device together tightly, pushing out any air bubbles and ensuring that the circuit would be complete when electricity was applied. The resulting device can be stretched by as much as 45 percent while emitting a colored light.
"The fact that the fabricated OLED can work under stretched conditions is quite impressive," says Jay Guo, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Michigan who works on manufacturing plastic electronics.
The proof-of-concept device is a two-centimeter square with a one-centimeter square area that emits a sky-blue light. This week, the group published an additional paper showing that swapping in more-conductive silver nanowires for carbon nanotubes in a similar process made a more efficient light-emitting diode.
This work is interesting and significantly different from past work, according to John Rogers, a professor of materials science at the University of Illinois who develops stretchable, deformable electronics.
Another benefit of the electrode is that it is less likely to short out. "Typically, carbon nanotube film is rough, so that can cause shorting in electronic devices," says Zhenan Bao, a Stanford professor of chemical engineering who works on stretchable solar cells. "Using this method, they ended up with a relatively flat surface that can be used for an electrode."
She adds that the stretchable electronics demonstrated thus far lose conductivity after being stretched too far or too many times, so more research is needed in this area.
"We are still some ways off from having high-performance, really robust, intrinsically stretchable devices," says Bao, but "with this work and those from others, we are getting closer and closer to realizing this kind of sophisticated and multifunctional electronic skin."
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By TOM HAYS
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A woman stabbed five people — including three newborn babies — and then slashed her wrist on Sept. 21 inside a New York City home that was apparently being used as an unlicensed neighborhood nursery for new mothers and their children, authorities said.
State records indicate that a business called Mei Xin Care Inc. was registered at the address, but there was no listed phone number for that company.
All of the victims in the attack were hospitalized but expected to survive.
The 52-year-old suspect — an employee at the nursery — was taken into police custody and was being treated for her wounds and undergoing a psychiatric examination, authorities said.
No immediate charges were filed, and police said the motive was under investigation.
Investigators were trying to piece together what happened inside the building, a three-story, multi-family townhouse in a neighborhood popular with Chinese immigrants in the Flushing section of Queens. Nine babies were there during the attack, and the place had at least 11 cribs, the district attorney's office said.
Local elected officials said it appeared it was an unlicensed facility for new mothers and their babies to convalesce for a month, in keeping with Chinese tradition.
"This is every parent's worst nightmare imaginable,'' said state Assemblyman Ron Kim. He said it had apparently been operating for more than 10 years.
Police responding to a 911 call discovered a 3-day-old girl and a 1-month-old girl who had been stabbed in the abdomen, and a 20-day-old girl with cuts on her ear, chin and lip. The father of one of the children and a woman who worked there were also stabbed, police said.
A butcher knife and meat cleaver were found at the scene.
The woman suspected in the attack was discovered bleeding and unconscious in the basement, and after officers applied a tourniquet, she regained consciousness and was taken to the hospital, police said.
"We pray that all of the victims will be fine and will survive these injuries,'' Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. "We are hoping these young babies — small and so very fragile — are also strong enough to overcome this horrible act of senseless violence.''
A Pampers box could be seen outside the building's front door. In the afternoon, a woman emerged from the house carrying a baby in her arms. She was driven away in a police vehicle.
Dr. Anderson Sungmin Yoon, who works at a nearby community center offering counseling, came by to offer comfort to neighbors. He said there is often a stigma in the community about seeking counseling for psychological problems.


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Logion Web Design
One of the most important locations to be in for your business is just where you are - if you have a physical address - a "bricks and mortar" business - or at least an address that receives mail. This "amazing space" - your physical business address - gets some "local grace" with the free Google Places and Maps listing. However, to be at the top of this Places section is the challenge, and where SEO (search engine optimization) needs to be deployed. Out of the 10 million searches done every month, 20% are using local space from desktops and up to 50% from mobile devices. This is expected to increase.
At the top of many Google search result pages there is a section - below the paid ads which many people skip over - titled "Places". Occasionally there are web sites that are placed above these that are not ads....and that is the best placement for an organic listing. Here's a screenshot example of a client web site listing that shows above the Google Places.
Your Google Places free listing may or may not show up at the top of page one the Google search results page. However if it does, it may generate much more traffic to your web site than the regular listing shown below the Google Places section. Usually, it needs to have professional SEO services to rank high and compete with other web sites in the same search result.
In a "normal" Google Places display on a search result page you will see a similar placement:
Optimizing a Local Listing
There are a number of methods to optimize a local listing. In fact, there are too many to list here and they are all a part of an SEO campaign that is targeted to help both the web site, Google Places, and a Facebook page if needed. One of important strategies is to be listed on as many free directory web sites as possible that allow a link back to your web site and a display of your local address. There are also paid directory listings and in some cases the link juice is worth the value of the listing. Google picks up on some of these and gives some "local listing" credit with their algorithms that calculate page ranking. The following is a list of some of the directory sites that will help optimize your local listing.
Insiderpages.com - It's becoming more common to see references from insiderpages in Google search result pages, so get a free listing here. Other sites to check out are the following:
David Brown is the owner of Logion Web Design and Development. Since 1999, Logion Web Design has evolved into a boutique of integrated solutions ranging from web site design and development, Internet and Facebook marketing, copy writing, blogs, news releases, and staying strong with customer support. Our advanced services include programming in Adobe Cold Fusion for Content Management and E-commerce web sites, advanced Facebook marketing, page development, and ad campaigns. We have experience in developing marketing plans, managing email programs, SEO or search engine optimization including top of Google page rankings in Portland, Salem, and Eugene for certain keywords. We also engage in market and competitor research, Twitter marketing, Google webmaster tools, Google Places, and current trends. Our recent upgrade to the Adobe Creative Cloud shows our commitment to use the latest cutting edge web design and development software for our clients. Creativity and inspiration are the cornerstones of our business. While based in Eugene, Or, our target markets are Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Eugene, Salem, and Nationwide. > Facebook page


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Missoula Business Community Donates Trees – Cash to Replace Vandalized Trees [AUDIO]
The Missoula business community has come forward to replace the trees damaged or destroyed by vandals last weekend.
Director of Missoula Parks and Recreation Donna Gauckler said Thursday that several businesses and one service club have stepped forward to replace the 12 trees that were vandalized.
"Northwestern Energy has come forward with cash, $5,000, and a volunteer day," Gauckler said. "Lowe's Home Center has offered trees, Montana Ace Hardware's Fancy Plants has also offered trees, and Southside Lions has offered funds to replace the trees damaged in Southside Lions Park."
Gauckler was surprised and delighted by the offers to help from local businesses and organizations.
"It is very heartening, and I think it shows how much I think our citizens and our businesses value their community," Gauckler said. "Not only the beauty and aesthetics, but all the other benefits that the urban forest and those parks and open spaces bring to us."
Gauckler said some of the trees may be replaced this summer, but most will be replanted in the fall, when the businesses and organizations can participate.
Parks and Recreation Director Donna Gauckler


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It's a fair cop, and we're guilty. There never was an "Osborne Effect," and the fate of Osborne Computer wasn't sealed by pre-announcing hardware that didn't exist.
The phrase has been much in use this month, after Apple pre-announced its intention to move to Intel hardware that doesn't exist. But leave poor old Adam out of it, say readers familiar with the industry in the early 1980s.
Usenet veteran Charles Eicher was "the repair geek who could fix any Osborne," he tells us, "even the factory sent me some of the machines they couldn't fix." Charles offers a caveat about the figures, but condenses the tale told by Osborne himself in Hypergrowth, the 1985 memoir co-authored with John C Dvorak:
"They had transitioned to a new model, and it was finally shipping. Sales were going well, and money was flowing back into the company after months of postponed sales (the alleged Osborne Effect). But then a VP discovered the company had $150k of fully equipped motherboards from the previous model, but no parts to build them out, no CRTs, RAM or floppy disk drives, and in worst of all, no plastic cases and bezels. The injection molding company that made the complex Osborne cases had already destroyed the molds since the product was discontinued and no further orders were expected."
"The VP pitched Osborne to build out the old models, so they could get some money out of their stock of old parts, but Osborne didn't realize what sort of expenditures would be involved. Before Osborne pulled the plug, the VP spent $2 million to build out the $150k of old parts, the biggest expense was getting the injection molding company to build new molds and start up production on cases. Osborne described this as the classic example of 'throwing good money after bad.'"
"So that was what really killed Osborne. They had made the transition to the new model, sure sales had slowed for a while, but they were starting to show a profit. Then after the transition, a rogue VP made some really bad decisions that sucked all the money out of the company, and sank it into debt at a time when it couldn't afford ANY new debt. And then when Osborne realized what happened, the company died."
Dvorak confirms the story, and thinks that people are really getting their micro pioneers mixed up. Think North Star, he says -
"The pre-announcemnt myth used in the desktop computer business stems from the late 1970's. It came from within the microcomputer industry which was unprofessionally run and where everything was played by ear as entrepreneurs made up their own rules and axioms as they went along."
"The pre-announcement fiasco stems from around 1978 when North Star Computers, one of the two or three major hardware companies at the time, was selling a disk controller for the first 5 1/4-inch floppy drives. With a subsystem you got their OS and their BASIC, which by all accounts was superiror to Microsoft BASIC since it did BCD math which engineers needed.
"One day the company announced that it it had developed and would market a double density controller doubling the disk capacity from 80K to 160K, as I recall. There was no product to ship, it was a preannouncement. Furthermore, the company said it would sell the new controller for the exact same price.
"Sales of the old controller stopped dead and the company nearly went broke scrambling to produce the new controller. This is where the myth began."
"Note that the company did not go broke in the process. They ALMOST went broke. I know of no instance where anyone went broke with a pre-accouncement. It's possible, but I'm sure, as with Osborne, it just looked that way and there were real and more substantial underlying reasons.
"The North Star example of the risks of preannouncing continued as an anecdotal myth until about 1990 when the specifics of the situation were mostly forgotten and it - the pre-announcement bogeyman - became essentially an urban legend that is told to new marketing people to scare them."
And, he points out, pre-announcements never killed anyone: "just look at Microsoft (or IBM before them)."
Thanks to Charles and John. Now who will tell that highly emergent oracle, Wikipedia? Or Answers.com, or the Opentopia, or ... ®
Related stories
The Osborne Effect spooks Apple
Waiting for Intel, Apple faces massive Osborne chill
Obituary: Adam Osborne 1939-2003
Portable computer pioneer Adam Osborne dies


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Being involved with the ACE Mentor Program has shown me how interesting and challenging an engineer's career can be. The program taught me the complicated building process step-by-step. It showed me what the real world of an engineer is like and now I know for sure that this is what I want to do for my career life.
Palm Beach/Martin County
High school students in the Palm Beach/Martin County area can now benefit from a nationwide program designed to introduce them to the wide range of career opportunities open to young people in architecture, construction, engineering, and related areas of the building design and construction industry. Schools currently involved in the program are Atlantic High School, Lake Worth High School, Seminole Ridge High School, Wellington High School, Forest Hill High School, William T. Dwyer High School, and South Fork High School.
At weekly meetings, students work directly with professionals from leading area firms, who volunteer their time to mentor the teams as they design hypothetical projects, tour local construction sites, and visit architectural, engineering, and construction offices.
For students, it's a unique chance to discover and develop new skills, solidify future goals, and get on track to exciting, rewarding careers. In addition, many students form positive relationships with industry professionals who can provide important references for obtaining college admissions, scholarships, internships and full-time employment.
Our Team Projects
Students in the ACE program typically work closely with their mentors on projects that provide hands-on experience in solving the types of design, engineering and construction challenges industry professionals confront every day.
The teams often learn how to use advanced computerized tools, such as AutoCAD, while special exercises and activities illustrate the industry's demand for young people skilled in math, physics, economics, art and other disciplines.
Many ACE affiliates culminate their program year with special events at which teams present their concepts to mentors, families, teachers and community leaders.
Cheri Pavlik
ACE Mentor of Palm Beach/Martin County
Board Chair
The Weitz Company
Mentors and Sponsors
Thanks to our many mentors and sponsors who have helped us this past year in making our affiliate such a success!
Why Choose ACE?
Board of Directors
Our board is comprised of local industry leaders who make a significant contribution to our affiliate. We are grateful for their continuing support.
View Our Board of Directors.
Participate in ACE!
If you'd like to experience ACE's challenges, opportunities and rewards for yourself, contact us today!


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Munawar Bijani made his foray into the world of videogames at age 8, as Ryu tossing fireballs at enemies in Street Fighter, and as Sub-Zero laying down sheets of ice in Mortal Kombat. He was pretty good, able to beat both computer and human opponents regularly enough to be a formidable foe.
Especially for a guy who's completely blind.
Bijani could handle fighter games like that because they were two-dimensional—the characters could only move left and right—and because he could memorize how long it took to run from one side of the screen to the next, what it sounded like when they started into a spinning flying kick, and when to time his responding uppercut. He had fun, but he wanted more.
Two years ago, Bijani finished designing the world's first combat flight simulator for the blind: It is called Three-D Velocity, and it is now hugely popular. Gamers say it takes entertainment for the blind to the next level. Three-D Velocity sells for $43.99 on Bijani's website, and it has been downloaded more than 11,000 times since it first launched. All for a game with no graphics, on a computer screen that is blank, except for the name at the top. It's widely regarded as one of the best "audio games" on the market.
"It's scaled down, but it's detailed enough to where a blind person actually feels like they can fly a plane," said Patrick Kelly, of Shawnee, Kans., blind since he was born prematurely and an avid "TDV" player.
Bijani was born with retinopathy and glaucoma, and his sight gradually disappeared during his first four years. Now he can barely remember what the world looks like, beyond a few basic colors. He grew up in Orlando, Fla., and always attended public schools in regular classrooms. He graduated high school with honors, two years after he designed his first game. Now he is at the forefront of a newly expanding field for blind entertainment options.
The first audio games were rudimentary, "turn-based." The user typed basic commands—"a" for "attack number one" or "b" for "attack number two"—and then awaited the resulting announcement: how many points lost, whether the attack was successful, that kind of thing. They were played, largely, on a small device called "Braille Lite," which is effectively a notetaker equipped with a modem, email capabilities, word processing, and some one-key commands.
There wasn't much emphasis in those days on entertainment for blind people. Most research and technology went into making life more navigable for the blind: on transportation options, on software to allow them to work, or communicate. But everyone's got down time, Bijani told The Daily Beast. "What do I do when it's raining outside and I can't go anywhere?" he said. It was with the Braille Lite that Bijani designed his first game, at age 16, called "Treasure Hunt," in which the player uses a keyboard to search for treasure and avoid bad guys, with the vocal guidance prompting: "There's an enemy here; do you want to fight it and get points, or just move on?"
He started selling Treasure Hunt in 2004, but by then there were others who'd begun to blaze a trail in more complicated audio games. The first three-dimensional game to hit the market may have been "Shades of Doom," a Windows-based effort that uses a "multi-dimensional multi-layered sound" in which players use their ears to navigate from one level to the next, pinpointing enemies with pre-recorded voice warnings and increasingly intense beeps. The company also made a submarine game, and Bijani was quickly hooked on it. "My dad bought me that game for my 12th birthday," he told The Daily Beast. "It was the best thing. I played it nonstop for hours at a time."
Bijani wanted to try his hand at making 3D games, too. Watching "Top Gun"—with the help of a "descriptive video service" that reads out the action taking place on the screen—the youngster came up with his next big idea. "I thought, it would be so cool, if a blind person could actually fly a fighter jet," he said.
To make a game that complex, though, Bijani had to learn Windows-based programming software by reading manuals in Braille that were hundreds of pages thick. He also taught himself how fighter jets move, recruited volunteers to help record the voiceovers and to program other sounds, and he found legions of other blind people eager to help him test the game. Three years after he started working on the project, Bijani unveiled Three-D Velocity, a game played on a nearly blank screen that allows users to imagine themselves taking off and landing, dodging helicopters firing rockets, and shooting their own missiles at enemy aircraft—all with only their fingers and ears. In the first two hours after launching it, Bijani recouped his $2,000 investment into Three D Velocity. Even after two years, the game continues to fly off the virtual shelves.
"When it first came out, I was losing sleep, playing until midnight or 1 in the morning," Kelly said. "It's the first real, accessible flight simulator the blind have ever had. I feel like I'm more in tune with the sighted world."
Now, Bijani is working on the next version, which will come with multiplayer capabilities. After that, he'll hire someone to add graphics to the game, so that sighted people can play online, against the blind. Once he finishes college this spring.


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Answering Krauthammer's Question
Mr. Charles Krauthammer posed the following questions in an editorial published in the Washington Post on Friday, July 28 2006 titled 'Disproportionate' in What Moral Universe?
What other country, when attacked in an unprovoked aggression across a recognized international frontier, is then put on a countdown clock by the world, given a limited time window in which to fight back, regardless of whether it has restored its own security?
What other country sustains 1,500 indiscriminate rocket attacks into its cities -- every one designed to kill, maim and terrorize civilians -- and is then vilified by the world when it tries to destroy the enemy's infrastructure and strongholds with precision-guided munitions that sometimes have the unintended but unavoidable consequence of collateral civilian death and suffering?
Let us recall a question that was asked some 65 years ago in order to answer Mr. Krauthammer's question.
This question, with life and death implications for the Jewish community in Japanese-controlled Shanghai, was posed to two representatives of that community who had been summoned to the Admiralty in Japan.
Preceding this question put to Rabbi Shatzkes, the Rav of Lomz and the Admor of Amshinov, who had been chosen by the community to represent them in what was anticipated as a fateful confrontation, was an explanation of the summons to this meeting.
Our German allies, explained the chief Admiral through an interpreter, have been steadily urging us to annihilate the Jews living in Shanghai just as they are doing to Jews in Europe. We are not really familiar with the "Jewish Problem", he went on, but the Nazis' insistence has prompted us to call you here to ask why they hate you so.
The Rav of Lomz turned to the Admor of Amshinov and asked him to offer a reply.
"They hate us," he answered this great Chassidic leader in a flash of inspiration, "because we, like you, are Orientals, and when they finish with us they will turn against you!"
This bit of diplomatic brilliance succeeded in saving the day for the Jewish community in Shanghai, which included hundreds of Mirrer Yeshiva students who had miraculously escaped Europe, and enabled its members to survive the war in a territory under Axis control.
But is that the real answer as to why Jews have been hated by others throughout a history replete with pogroms, crusades, inquisition and holocaust – and the vilification of the Jewish State defending its right to exist in peace?
Perhaps the real answer lies in the name of the mountain upon which
Our Talmudic Sages note that the name Sinai corresponds to the Hebrew word sinah, which means hatred. When Jews agreed to receive the Torah they were reminded that there was no way of copping out of their responsibility to be the moral pacesetter for the entire universe. Should they attempt to shirk their responsibility and assimilate as a "nation among nations", they would not succeed because the sinah of the nations would remind them of their special nature and unique role.
"Jews have failed to be accepted as just another nation despite their efforts to abandon their religion," a wise fellow once put it, "because you can change your Moses but you can't change your noses."
It has always been our hope that Jews would not require the reminder of sinah and would follow the path of Sinai so that there would be no reason for hatred and the entire world would live in peace.
This message is particularly appropriate with the approach of the Fast of the Ninth of Av (August 3) commemorating the tragedy of the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, which was a monumental expression of the sinah towards the people of Sinai.
Let us hope that the present problem facing Israel from the sinah of Arab terrorists and a collaborating world will inspire Jews to return to the path of Sinai – and bring closer the day when Israel will live in peace and security and merit the rebuilding of the Temple in our days.
Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, who resides in Jerusalem with his family, is a founder and Dean of Ohr Somayach Institutions. He is the author of the critically acclaimed "Love of the Land," book on Israel and Judaism (Targum/Feldheim) and other works. He is a world-renowned speaker and educator.


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The PLATINUM Suite is one of the biggest at the Waldorf Hotel , located on 2 floors with living area and sleeping area. The Bright environments fruit of a combination of design elements and customized furniture with a minimalism with simple and clean lines create a perfect style, where luxury and comfort come together to give a feeling of harmony and well-being.
The very large terrace with a panoramic view at 180° on the beach and the sea and it is great for sunbathing with absolute privacy. The day area is marked by a large living room with large windows with natural light where there are a piano and various zones dedicated to lounges for friends, guests or family with large television screen. To complete the services free Wifi and a bathroom for guests. A beautiful glass spiral staircase leads upstairs where there is a sleeping area with 2 bedrooms each with private bathroom and panoramic terrace facing the sea and a spa area with jacuzzi, turkish bath and emotional shower surrounded by a green garden partially shaded by a remote-controlled sailboats.
Size: 115 m² + 130 m² terraces.


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The Rose and Crown 79 Kew Green Kew TW9 3AH
Well located pub! It is next to Kew Gardens.
This Rose and Crown has a great location next to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, commonly named Kew Gardens. It is a wonderful place for taking photos of flowers of course but also insects as you can see below. Back to our pub! It is a nice looking pub with a rustic appearance inside, with many separate and cosy areas to sit and low ceilings. It has a nice front garden overlooking Kew Green but we went out to the back garden which was more pleasant cut from the traffic noise.
The tables in the back garden (not the photo above, which is of the path taking you to the rear garden) are quite large and the seats, in wood too, are incredibly heavy. You do not lift them easily with one hand.
Great Leffe
We ordered a seared teriyaki surf & turf (grilled teriyaki sirloin and battered coriander prawns, finished with chips and teriyaki dip – £11.25) and a classic fish pie (topped with cheesy mash and served with vegetables – £8.25). Other meals that looked interesting were the Moroccan spiced lamb burger (served in a light flatbread with peppernatta, sweet potato wedges and a cucumber mint dip – £9.45), the free range extra thick pork chop with cider and Calvados sauce (with mash and vegetables – £10.25) and the pork escalope (marinated in its own sauce, served with stir fried fresh vegetables and noodles and completed with a sweet chilli dipping sauce – £10.95). We ordered a pint of Leffe beer (great beer) and a pint of lemonade with lots of ice.
Classic fish pie
The fish pie was very good. Nice creamy potato topped with plenty of cheese. Inside the main fish was salmon, but there was also plenty of smoked haddock and shrimps to keep things interesting. Good pub food at a reasonable price here.
Seared teriyaki surf & turf
Excellent fries
I chose the seared teriyaki surf & turf because lately I cook quite a lot of meat marinated in teriyaki sauce on BBQs so I wanted to see how I was doing compared to the pub. The grilled teriyaki sirloin was not bad but a little dry and the teriyaki taste was very light. I cook better 😉 The battered coriander prawns were very good and the chips were excellent: tasty, and crispy outside without being dry inside.
Cost and conclusion: it was about £26, without the optional 12.5% service charge of course. Nice pub food, pleasant surrounding, and it was sunny! A good stop before visiting the gardens!
Some photos taken at Kew Gardens:
Taken from the botanical glasshouses with a Nikon D700 and a 14-24f2.8 through the glass.
Taken with a Nikon D700 with a 70-200f2.8
A bee at work. Nikon D700 with a 70-200f2.8


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Shocking, but true. Tim Worrell retired today after a 14-year career that ended with the Giants. The Giants are now, more than ever, standing behind closer Armando Benitez (which, to be fair, is not all that difficult given his girth).
I'll miss Worrell, but I'll miss his 7.52 ERA even more. Hopefully Benitez will fill that hole nicely.


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CLAREMONT, Calif. (PRNewswire) — Lisa Anderson, president of LMA Consulting Group and a supply chain management expert who helps manufacturers and distributors elevate business performance with increased margins, cash flow and customer service performance, in conjunction with the APICS – Inland Empire chapter, conducted a skills gap survey honing in on how manufacturers and distributors are hiring, training and retaining employees to prepare for success in 2014. From the data, 77% of hiring managers and human resources professionals surveyed struggle to find and develop the needed skills to respond to challenging business demands.
"Employees and new recruits not only lack the technical skills, but are also falling short on the needed communication and professional skills to do project management, run meetings and take notes," says Anderson. She and her team identified that many of the needed skills are still being developed in house but that there is a growing trend to move outside of the organization to seek professional training and development options that also include certification.
"This is a real transition time for manufacturers and distributors," explains Anderson. "We used to focus solely on the development of technical skills including demand planning, capacity planning, and supply chain and operations management. Most employees already had a baseline of those technical skills, and we were trying to elevate performance by enhancing skills and conducting training programs. Now, we must meet the growing need for improving communication skills such as writing persuasive emails, leading meetings and giving presentations. Without these types of skills, not only will internal promotions to management or leadership positions in the company will be difficult, but career and company success will be limited as these skills are considered essential to delivering bottom line business results."
While on-the-job and in-house training comprise the majority of training methodologies used, survey respondents also use mentor programs and leadership development training programs for dual purposes of training and retaining employees.
"It is a smart investment to not only improve the communication and leadership skills of current employees, but to also let the employees know you value them and are investing in their future with the company," says Anderson. "With the costs to recruit and train new employees, implementing a mentor or leadership training program is a very effective way to groom future leaders and maintain continuity within the organization."
The complete Manufacturing and Distribution Skills Gap report will be available in mid-January. To automatically receive the free report when it is available, register here.
For information about Lisa Anderson, go to http://www.lma-consultinggroup.com/ or call 909.630.3943.


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In a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson sent Sunday, Al Armendariz says he regrets his words and stresses that they do not reflect his work as administrator of the five-state region including Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Find people who are not compliant with the law, and you hit them as hard as you can and you make examples out of them, and there is a deterrent effect there...
...So you go out, you look at an industry, you find people violating the law, you go aggressively after them.
...So you put some financial pressure on a company, you get other people in that industry to clean up very quickly. So, that's our general philosophy.Wait a minute! He says it's his philosophy (which he iterated on at least two occasions) and then he says of the EPA, it's our philosophy, but then tells us that philosophy did not "reflect in his work". If you feel a warm, yellow stream emanating from Mr. Armendarizo, he may try to tell you it's raining. Give that statement equal credence with the rest.


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• badger •
Pronunciation: bæ-jêr • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun, Verb
Meaning: 1. (Noun) A carnivorous burrowing mammal of North America with short legs, long claws, a grizzled, gray coat, and a white head with a black mask around the eyes (family Mustelidae). 2. (Verb) To pester with constant nagging for something, to harass continuously with a request or demand.
Notes: Today's Good Word doesn't offer any stable derivatives, though badgerly "badger-like" and badgerer "a badger-hunting dog" have been used sporadically in the past. Like stodgy, this word contains an unnecessary D, but it represents no spelling problem if we remember that badger is based on badge (see Word History).
In Play: "Badger" is a popular name for dachshunds, whose German name means "badger hound" because of this breed's ability to enter badger burrows in pursuit of the animal: "Badger has been out badgering badgers again, I'm afraid". However, these days anyone can badger: "Mom constantly badgers me to get rid of my pet groundhog."
Word History: Today's Good Word first made print in 1523 as bageard "something with a badge", from bage "badge" + -(h)ard "who does X, has X, or is X". This suffix is related to Middle German hart "bold" and Modern English hard and hardy. It is visible in many names like Gerhard, Richard, Bernhard. This suffix apparently was added to badge for the badge-like white blaze on the animal's forehead (see picture). The verb came along in 1794, reflecting the behavior of dogs hunting badgers or badger-baiting. (Margie Sved did not have to badger us a bit to run today's Good Word, which she very kindly suggested.)
P.S. - Register for the Daily Good Word E-Mail! - You can get our daily Good Word sent directly to you via e-mail in either HTML or Text format. Go to our Registration Page to sign up today!


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As beautiful as winter can be, it can also be a nuisance to your home's exteriors, mainly the roof. Accumulated snowfall can leave a significant amount of damage to your roofing. Due to the below-zero temperature outside, snow will start piling up on your roof but the warmth of your home will cause it to melt. The trickling ice water will freeze again and literally create a dam that blocks the melted ice water. This added weight to your roof may cause a lot of damage. Homeowners tend to remove the ice dam by themselves not knowing it can lead to accidents and very severe injuries. Decatur ice dam removal should only be left in the hands of experts. With Furthur, they can proficiently do the job without risking the well-being of any of your family members.
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Furthur offers high quality and professional ice dam removal Decatur services. They are equipped with state-of-the-art technology to remove any hazardous dam build-ups, guaranteeing not only the roof's fixture but also the gutters lining the house. Furthur maintains a high demand of excellent work from their servicemen and hold them to the highest standards of expertise, ensuring the safety of your family all throughout the process. For your own safety and comfort, call Furthur for your Decatur ice dam removal services.
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FAQ for Ice Dam Removal in Decatur
How can I tell if a given Decatur ice dam removal expert is using steam?
Many specialists of ice dam removal in Decatur, who assert to be utilizing vapor, are in fact using high-temperature pressure washers. Here is how to differentiate. When you're still interviewing them, ensure to ask if the machine they are using has a triggered gun. If they say no, it's an actual steamer. You're probably wondering why this matters. Well, since the high-temperature washers not only take a considerably longer time to get rid of ice (more time, more money), but they can also damage your ice-cold, stiff roof (further increasing the cost due to repair).
What's the cost of an ice dam removal in Decatur service?
Most homeowners typically pay between $420 and $820 per hour for an ice dam removal in Decatur service. However, it's critical to note that hourly rate is not the only factor in determining what the dam removal will cost. Other factors include the roof height; a higher ceiling is harder to handle than a lower one. The roof pitch; a steeper one is also difficult. Snow load; if there's a large amount, depth and thickness of snow, it'll take more time. Also added is the cost of protection of properties below the work area to avoid damage that can be caused by falling snow. Some companies also include the trip charge.
What can I do before the Decatur ice dam removal professionals come over?
You can get rid of snow in advance to help save up on the time that Decatur ice dam removal experts will spend on your property. They also need water for the cleanup, and you can ensure they get some when they arrive. Be ready to give them directions on where the ice is to be removed. You can also make sure they have a place to pack, as this will save you a few bucks.


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Based in Boulder, Colorado, one of the communities heaviest hit by recent flooding, Smiling Moose Deli witnessed the devastation from the fast-rising waters first hand. Because of the massive geographic area this storm covered, Smiling Moose Deli employees on the Front Range found themselves displaced from their homes or faced with extensive property damage.
"Being a part of the solution was a 'no-brainer', we knew it was the right thing to do," says Chris Lynne, brand manager. With the help of Mo the Moose, Smiling Moose got serious about a sweet deal called 'Cookies for Colorado'. Without hesitation, nearly every franchise owner, across the country agreed to participate – eager for the opportunity to help return local Colorado communities back to normal.
For every cookie sold between now and October 31, 2013, a portion will be donated to Boulder and Broomfield Counties' Community Food Share Inc. This well respected food program has specifically committed to extend their efforts for long-term recovery and funds will allow food banks to ensure a sustainable source of food for displaced community members and those impacted economically by the floods.
These fresh-baked cookies are a finish to any of the hearty sandwiches, homemade soups, and salads offered at Smiling Moose Deli, but they also serve as an afternoon snack. Guests are encouraged to pick up a dozen to take home or bring back to the office to share, rebuilding Colorado one cookie at a time.


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WASHINGTON – A vulnerability test by the electric-power industry of the national electrical grid shows the system would fail during certain catastrophes – and would fail even if only some of the impacts of certain catastrophes were experienced.
That is the sobering message from a preliminary readout of the results of a vulnerability test called Grid Ex II.
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It revealed that even though the test was done under circumstances that didn't represent the full impact of what would occur in the event of a grid blackout – caused either by a cyber or electromagnetic pulse attack – the system failed.
The North American Electric Power Reliability Corporation, or NERC, led the nationwide exercise to examine just how vulnerable the nation's electric power grid would be under a limited nationwide cyber or EMP attack.
TRENDING: USDA colludes with left-wing group to turn out voters, documents reveal
The test, regarded by experts as presenting less of an impact than a real EMP, comes as the sun is about to "flip" its own magnetic poles at the peak of its expected 11-year cycle.
The sun flips the polarity of its magnetic north and south, causing huge intergalactic geomagnetic storms which can affect the earth's grid and communications including satellites.
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The sun's 11-year cycle started peaking a few months ago, and will continue through 2014, according to NASA scientists.
Todd Hoeksema, director of the Wilcox Solar Observatory at Stanford University, said the polarity change builds up throughout the 11-year cycle, and the sun's magnetic field goes to zero before coming back with the opposite polarity.
It is during that time that flares sometimes are huge, and if one hit the earth directly, it could deliver a life-changing EMP blast.
"Something big is about to happen on the sun," according to an August 2013 NASA statement. At the time, Hoeksema said the big event, the solar flip, was three to four months away – placing that time in a November-December 2013 time-frame.
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When that happens, cosmic rays (which are high-energy particles) accelerate to nearly the speed of light by supernova explosions and other violent events in the galaxy that could have a major impact on the electrical grid if earth sustained a direct hit.
As space scientists watch the effects of the solar flip, that is, the reversal of its magnetic polarity, the utilities in the U.S. undertook the limited test of the grid called Grid Ex II.
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While the final results won't be known until they are published months from now, experts said the impact scenario created by the drill fell far short of what would occur in the event of a real EMP – which would greatly diminish or even knock out the grid and life-sustaining critical infrastructures that rely on the grid to function.
The two-day Grid Ex II exercise revealed what Matthew Weld in a Nov. 14 New York Times article said put tens of millions of Americans in simulated darkness, with hundreds of transmission lines and transformers declared damaged or destroyed and "the engineers ... rushing to assess computers that were, for the purposes of the drill, tearing their system apart."
The fragility of the national grid was illustrated in real life in 2003 by a cascading power grid failure from Ohio throughout the northeastern United States and into Canada.
It left 50 million people without power for at least 30 hours, and up to four days in a number of cases. And it showed real-life conditions of an entire region being without water, food, transportation and other life-sustaining critical infrastructure necessities. It also showed how dysfunctional the national grid regulation was, revealing that no central authority was in charge of operations of hundreds of power companies.
That remains the case even now.
Efforts have been made in the past three sessions of Congress to give the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission, or FERC, authority over the hundreds of power companies to regulate integrated operations of the grid.
During that time, legislation such as the SHIELD Act has been introduced and passed with overwhelming support in the House, but failed to pass the Senate.
Last June, Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., along with 24 co-sponsors, introduced the Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act, HR 2417.
It would give FERC the authority to protect the reliability of either the bulk power system or the defense critical electric infrastructure whenever the president issues a determination identifying an imminent grid security threat.
"The electric power lobby has managed to block passage of these bills, now proposed in the third congress in a row," said former Ambassador Henry Cooper, director of the Strategic Defense Initiative under President George H. W. Bush and now one of the leaders of the newly formed EMP Coalition.
"In particular, the NERC has irresponsibly denied the reality of existential threats such as from natural or man-made electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events," Cooper said.
"Such activities as NERC's Grid Ex II exercise are academically interesting, but actually do little to deal with this serious threat, now well known for over a decade, including by our enemies and terrorists," he said.
Cooper said that time is being wasted by such piecemeal exercises as Grid Ex II every other year which, he said, seems to be NERC's anticipated pattern.
He pointed out that this most recent exercise included the use of telecommunications.
"Maybe the next one – e.g., two years from now – will examine what happens without communications, sure to be lost in an EMP event – or even (in) a competent terrorist cyber-attack."
Cooper insisted there are "affordable fixes" for the national electric power grid's vulnerability, and added: "Cost should not be an issue. Current estimates are that several hundred million dollars may be needed to harden the key elements of the electric power grid to EMP, to protect perhaps a trillion dollar investment … and more importantly the lives of several hundred million Americans."


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CHINESE ACROBATS (February 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd)
Spectacular performance of a 23 elements' group of extraordinary acrobatic skills accompanied by recorded music. Repertoire: Martial Arts, Hula Hoops, Pass Through Barrels, Lion Dance, Foot Juggling, Group Contortion, Jar Juggling, Diabolos Girls, Hoop Diving, Group Bicycles.
CONCERT OF TEN CHINESE FEMALE MUSICIANS (February 19th, 20th and 21st)
One of the most popular Chinese music group, entirely formed by women, executing with the most singular and various instruments, traditional music mixed with the Western musical culture.
CHINESE DRAGONS (February 23rd)
(by the Chinese Circus Company)
Performance of Chinese dances with traditional music and the typical Chinese dragons, a big one (manoeuvred from the inside by two persons) and two smaller ones (also manoeuvred by one person from the inside). For children in Campo san Polo.
IN THE DIRECTION OF A LYRIC ACTOR (February 23rd)
A journey through acting techniques, starting from the grotowskian training to Harlequin passing through Margherita Gautier, Orissi and Kathakali and crossing Mei Lan-Fang in Moscow at the presence of the Bali Topeng monkey. "In the direction of a lyric actor" seals a series of oriental dance performances, underlining not so much the contamination, but instead, the real continuity of the actor's eastern and western techniques.


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"The three biggest time wasters in business are poorly run meetings, no meetings, and meeting with no follow up."
Nervous about making presentations? This one will prepare you to get your message across by making your presentation exciting. Meetings seem to be a way of life in business. Are they effective? A great topic for a management meeting. Deals with different types of meetings, how to prepare for, participate in and/or run a meeting, and what to do after the meeting.
"Fred's sense of humour is often the medication that heals the wounds of broken egos and relieves the stress of uncertain and difficult situations."
"When my board suggested I use Fred's services I didn't how I could afford it. Now I don't know how I could not afford it."
Mel Stevens - Founding Director, teen Ranch
All Business Solutions, Seminars and Special Engagements are tailored to your company's needs. Visit our website at http://www.dymanmgt.com/


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wiki5313: Nto650TiOmap3530BeagleTrunkReleasenotes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Release Notes for the QNX Neutrino 6.5.0 BSP for OMAP3530 Beagle Board#System requirements#Target system#
Host development system#
System Layout#The tables below depict the memory layout for the image and for the flash.
The interrupt vector table can be found in the buildfile located at src/hardware/startup/boards/omap3530/beagle.build Getting Started#Step 1: Connect your hardware#
Step 2: Build the BSP#You can build a BSP OS image from the source code or the binary components contained in a BSP package. For instructions about building a BSP OS image, please refer to the chapter Working with a BSP in the Building Embedded Systems manual.Step 3: Transfer the OS image to the target using the ROM monitor#On your host machine, start your favorite terminal program with these settings:
Setting up the environment#For OMAP3530 Beagle Board#Apply power to the target board. You should see output on your terminal console, similar to the following: Texas Instruments X-Loader 1.4.2 (Feb 19 2009 - 12:01:24) Reading boot sector Loading u-boot.bin from nand U-Boot 1.3.3 (Jul 10 2008 - 16:33:09) U-Boot 2009.01-dirty (Feb 19 2009 - 12:22:31) I2C: ready OMAP3530-GP rev 2, CPU-OPP2 L3-165MHz OMAP3 Beagle board + LPDDR/NAND DRAM: 256 MB NAND: 256 MiB MUSB: using high speed In: serial usbtty Out: serial usbtty Err: serial usbtty Board revision C Serial #7842000300000000040323090b017014 Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0 OMAP3 beagleboard.org # SD card download#OMAP3 beagleboard.org # mmcinit; fatload mmc 0 0x80100000 ifs-omap3530-beagle.bin; go 80100000 At this point you should see the ROM monitor download the boot image, indicated by a series of number signs. You'll also see output similar to this when it completes downloading: OMAP3 beagleboard.org # mmcinit; fatload mmc 0 0x80100000 ifs-omap3530-beagle.bin; go 80100000 reading ifs-omap3530-beagle.bin 6198048 bytes read ## Starting application at 0x80100000 ... Beagle Board Revision: c3 CPU0: L1 Icache: 256x64 CPU0: L1 Dcache: 256x64 WB CPU0: L2 Dcache: 4096x64 WB CPU0: VFP-d32 FPSID=410330c1 CPU0: NEON MVFR0=11110222 MVFR1=00011111 CPU0: 411fc083: Cortex A8 rev 3 600MHz Loading IFS...decompressing...done System page at phys:80010000 user:fc404000 kern:fc404000 Starting next program at vfe04e604 cpu_startnext: cpu0 -> fe04e604 VFPv3: fpsid=410330c1 coproc_attach(10): replacing fe07e01c with fe07d8bc coproc_attach(11): replacing fe07e01c with fe07d8bc Welcome to QNX Neutrino 6.5.0 on the Texas Instruments OMAP3530 (ARMv7 Cortex-A8 core) - Beagle Board Now you can test the OS, simply by executing any shell builtin command or any command residing within the OS image (e.g. ls).
Flashing the IPL on to the target#Step A: Create the IPL image#Run the mkflashimage script, inside the /images directory of the BSP. The output file from this script is a binary IPL image called ipl-omap3530beagle.bin and nand-ipl-omap3530beagle.bin.First, you'll download ipl-omap3530beagle.bin file to the board's memory using the pserial tools, and then you can burn the ifs image ifs-omap3530-beagle.bin and NAND IPL image nand-ipl-omap3530beagle.bin into the board's NAND flash. The IPL is padded to 24K. The following steps describes how to generate the ipl-omap3530evm.bin and nand-ipl-omap3530beagle.bin:
Here is the mkflashimage script: #!/bin/sh # script to build a binary IPL and boot image for the OMAP3530 Beagle board set -v # Convert IPL header into Binary format ${QNX_HOST}/usr/bin/ntoarmv7-objcopy --input-format=elf32-littlearm --output-format=binary ../src/hardware/ipl/boards/omap3530beagle/arm/le.v7/boot_header.o ./tmp-boot-header.bin # Convert IPL into Binary format ${QNX_HOST}/usr/bin/ntoarmv7-objcopy --input-format=elf32-littlearm --output-format=binary ../src/hardware/ipl/boards/omap3530beagle/arm/le.v7/ipl-omap3530beagle ./tmp-ipl-omap3530beagle.bin # Cat boot header and ipl together cat ./tmp-boot-header.bin ./tmp-ipl-omap3530beagle.bin > ./tmp-header-ipl-omap3530beagle.bin # Pad Binary IPL to 24K image, this is the image used by boot from UART mkrec -s24k -ffull -r ./tmp-ipl-omap3530beagle.bin > ./ipl-omap3530beagle.bin # Pad Binary IPL with Header to 24K image, this is the image to put on NAND and boot from NAND mkrec -s24k -ffull -r ./tmp-header-ipl-omap3530beagle.bin > ./nand-ipl-omap3530beagle.bin # clean up temporary files rm -f tmp*.bin echo "done!!!!!!!" Step B: Booting an IPL image#Refer to the AM/OMAP Boot Resource Pages for options for installing the IPL to flash. Creating a new flash partition#
You should now have a /fs/etfs directory which you can copy files to.
Summary of driver commands#The following tables summarize the commands to launch the various drivers. For the OMAP3530 Beagle board #
Some of the drivers are commented out in the default buildfile. To use the drivers in the target hardware, you'll need to uncomment them in your buildfile, rebuild the image, and load the image into the board. Startup #Command:startup-omap3530 -L 0x87E00000,0x200000 -v -D8250.0x49020000^2.0.48000000.16 beagle SD card #Command:resource_seed i2c-omap35xx pmic_tw4030_cfg devb-mmcsd-beagle cam quiet blk cache=2mNote: To start the SD driver, you'll need to execute resource_seed, the I2C driver and pmic_tw4030_cfg utility first Audio#Command:resource_seed i2c-omap35xx pmic_tw4030_cfg io-audio -domap35xx-twl4030 wave testfile.wavNote: To start the audio driver, you'll need to execute resource_seed, the I2C driver and pmic_tw4030_cfg utility first Graphics#Command: i2c-omap35xx pmic_tw4030_cfg io-display -dvid=0,did=0Note: To start the graphics driver, you'll need to execute the I2C driver and pmic_tw4030_cfg utility first USB OTG Host Controller driver#Command: io-usb -domap3530-mg ioport=0x480ab000,irq=92 -dehci-omap3 ioport=0x48064800,irq=77,verbose=5 Note: 1. Min A to min B usb cable is required. 2. Connect to the micro usb adapter as we do not support the larger one yet. 3. Press and hold the S1 (User) button at power up or reset until board starts booting (~1 sec). 4. May need to power cycle board to get S1 (User) button working depending on how/if the power management chip has been reconfigured. 5. Start io-usb with the stock options from the bsp build file. SGX Graphics Accelerator driver#Command:In build file: #GRAPHICS_ROOT=/usr/lib/graphics/omap3530 #/usr/lib/graphics/omap3530/pvrsrvd #gles1-egl-gears & In command line: #export GRAPHICS_ROOT=/usr/lib/graphics/omap3530 #cd /usr/lib/graphics/omap3530/ #pvrsrvd ## validate application #gles1-egl-gears & Note: 1. io-display have to run first 2. The Composition_Manager patch-650-2258-CompMgr.tar need be installed first.
# cd beagle_workdir # tar -xvf patch-650-2258-CompMgr.tar # cd patches/650-2258/target/qnx6 # cp -r armle-v7 ../../../../prebuilt/ # cd beagle_workdir # make clean all WiFI driver #Command: ## WIFI start ram filesystem devb-ram ram capacity=16384,nodinit,cache=0m waitfor /dev/hd0 fdisk /dev/hd0 add -t 6 mount -e /dev/hd0 mkdosfs /dev/hd0t6 mount -t dos /dev/hd0t6 /fsram ## SDIO WIFI driver ## Note: please insert SDIO WIFI card. and then run ". ./root/wifi.sh" /root/wifi.sh io-pkt-v4 -d /proc/boot/devnp-mv8686.so dir=/root/io-pkt,verbose=1,poll=0 -p tcpip mclbytes=4096,stacksize=65000 random ifconfig mv0 up wpa_supplicant -Dwext -imv0 -C /fsram/tmpfs & wpa_cli -i mv0 -p /fsram/tmpfs Note: 1. Because SD and SDIO wifi cards using the same slot, please slay the SD driver first before running the SDIO wifi driver. 2. Please refer to WIFI_HOW_TO_RUN.txt which is included in the BSP to setup the wifi connection in wpa_cli cmmand line. 3. Please refer to QNX document:WiFi Configuration Using WPA and WEP. Edit /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file in build file to configure the wifi connection.
Known issues for this BSP#


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In my article, I would like to create a section "Mathematical Notation" that lists all the arcane mathematical symbols I'm using.
This is similar to an index or a list of figures. An example of what I have in mind is given by the section "Standard Notations" in the following book.
I'm not aware of a standard way to do create such a list, however. Any recommendations?
Disambiguation: I'm not asking for a list of mathematical symbols and their LaTeX counterparts. Not that Google would listen to me.


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If you want your health care to be run like the post office, government medicine is for you. Otherwise, not so much. From the U.K., another in a long series of sad stories about government malfeasance, arising out of an inquest into the death of a four-year-old boy:
A four-year-old boy who died on a "shambolic" hospital ward was so neglected that he resorted to sucking moisture out of wet wipes, his parents told an inquest today. …
[A]fter the operation he was moved out of intensive care too soon because his bed was needed for other patients, his parents told the inquest. They also claimed doctors missed a series of warning signs, including continuous vomiting, a high loss of fluids and huge blood clots and high blood pressure.
His mother Yolanda, 45, said she begged for help but "nobody would listen" on Ward 32 at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
Why would they listen? The nurses don't work for the patients, they work for the government.
On February 12, 2012 Sean began to throw up once more and complain of a pain in his foot. He became reliant on his oxygen mask again and became more and more dehydrated – even sucking moisture from tissues to quench his thirst.
"I could see he was bad but nobody listened," said Mrs Turner, a foster mother. "I asked so many times if he could go back to PICU but I was told there were no beds or he was not critical enough. "He was so dehydrated he was grabbing the tissues used to cool his head and sucking the fluid from them."
Of course, if you ask American liberals who favor government medicine, death isn't necessarily so bad. John Nolte notes the views of Bill Keller, recently retired as editor of the New York Times, and his wife, who criticized a young woman who blogged about her fight to stay alive:
On the pages of the Sunday Times Keller reveals a monstrous philosophy that in so many ways is revealing of the elite left as a whole — especially as it pertains to ObamaCare. In so many words, Keller just can't bring himself to understand why Adams doesn't give up her fight and die. In his mind, her death is inevitable and all she's doing is spending a lot of money that could be better spent elsewhere. …
Keller's primary fear seems to be that Adams will serve as an example to others to never give up — to keep spending someone's inheritance or The State's money as opposed to dying with dignity like a good little socialist. …
Keller isn't even paraphrasing poet Dylan Thomas properly, who urged us "Do not go gentle into that good night … rage, rage against the dying of the light."
We don't expect literary competence from liberals.
[N]ow this brave woman, who is understandably desperate to see her children grow up, and who believes sharing her story will help others, is being life-shamed on the pages of the Guardian and New York Times because the Kellers are made uncomfortable by the idea of someone making the personal choice to stay alive for every possible day and minute she can.
What the Kellers appear to be doing is worse than lobbying for euthanasia, which at the very least is a personal decision. From their elite perches, the Kellers are tag-teaming a woman hospitalized with Stage IV cancer as a selfish and narcissistic financial drain over the twin sins of aggressively fighting for her life and, through her example, possibly encouraging others to do the same.
If this represents your vision of the future, hey: your course is clear. Vote for Democrats. This is what they want.


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Recognized year after year as one of America's Best Children's Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, 216-bed* Wolfson Children's Hospital is the only full-service tertiary hospital for children in the region, serving North Florida, South Georgia and beyond. We provide care for all children, regardless of their ability to pay.
Wolfson Children's Hospital is a part of Baptist Health, the region's most comprehensive healthcare provider. Baptist Health's circle of care includes five nationally accredited hospitals and more than 70 primary care and specialty offices, as well as home health, rehabilitation and urgent care.
The world-class pediatric care available at Wolfson Children's Hospital is made possible by the support of Baptist Health Foundation and enhanced through physician partnerships with Nemours Children's Specialty Care, Jacksonville, the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, Brooks Rehabilitation and Mayo Clinic.
Front view of Wolfson Children's HospitalA non-profit organization, Wolfson Children's Hospital relies on charitable donations to provide world-class care for all children in the region. With the aid of an initial $500,000 donation from the Wolfson Family Foundation, the hospital opened in 1955 as a place for all children to be admitted and treated without regard to creed, religion, race or financial position. That original mission remains today.
In addition to providing the best pediatric care, as evidenced by Wolfson's selection as one of only two children's hospitals in Florida to receive Magnet™ status in 2007 and again in 2012, Wolfson Children's Hospital is a growing center of research and a leading teaching hospital dedicated to training tomorrow's pediatric doctors, nurses and technical staff.
Serving as the main teaching facility for the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville Pediatric Residency Training Program, Wolfson is also affiliated with premier nursing programs, including those at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Florida State College Jacksonville, St. Johns River Community College, the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Central Florida.
* Wolfson Children's Hospital manages an additional 14 NICU Level II beds at Baptist Medical Center South.
To learn more, visit our website.


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if you're still not using any kind of version control in your development projects, you're really doing yourself (and your fellow developers) a disservice. Lorna Mitchell wants to help nudge you down that road. To do this, she's provided a whitepaper about version control systems - what they are, how they're helpful and some cool stuff you can do with them.
Last week I wrote an email to a client who hasn't yet implemented source control, but who is thinking about it. It turned into rather a long email as I attempted to convey WAY too much information in one long email. After some twitter banter, I repackaged my thoughts into a whitepaper on Source Control entitled You're not using source control? Read This! (PDF, no registration needed).
The whitepaper looks at three different tools - Subversion, git and Mercurial (Hg) - and includes a "sales pitch" you can give to the people involved in your project about how it can help them. There's also a few helpful links included at the end for more information about each piece of software.