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- Knitting Needles: 4 double pointed needles Size 1 (2.5 mm)
- Yarn: Remnants of KnitPicks Palette Yarn (Fingering weight) hand dyed Orange (MC) and Beige (CC).
- Gauge: ~9-10 sts/inch in stockinette. For a swatch I'd recommend casting on 18 sts and knitting in the round to see if that would fit your finger.
- Misc: Toy stuffing, yarn needle, 2 Googly Eyes (or black yarn to embroider eyes).
- Finished Size: 3.25" long, 0.75" wide at the head. Fits a woman's finger with a size 6 ring size.
Row 1: Cast on 6 sts in MC, join and knit 1 row (This is the tip of the head)
Row 2: kfb across - 12 sts
Row 3: K across
Row 4: Kfb across - 24 sts
Rows 5-8: K across
Row 9: *K2, K2tog* across - 18 sts
Row 10: K across
Row 11: K2tog across - 9 sts
At this point you should stuff the head of the worm. This is the only point in the entire project where you need some kind of polyfill stuffing.
Row 12: Switch to CC. K across
Row 13: Kfb across - 18 sts
Row 14: K across
Rows 15-17: (MC) K across
Rows 18-20: (CC) K across
Repeat the 3-row stripe pattern 4 more times.
With MC: work 2 rows in 1x1 rib (K1, P1 across)
Bind off in the 1x1 ribbing pattern.
Tip: Check the fit as you go. It is easy to see how the puppet is fitting onto your finger as you knit.
Weave in loose ends. Glue eyes to the face of the worm. Alternatively you can embroider eyes on the face.
Eyes are not essential to have fun with this inch-worm. You can inch along and play just fine without any eyes. To become a more authentic Smiley from Sesame Street, then you may want to use a black bead or embroider black eyes.
Princess Smiley? Since the body of the puppet is so small, rings can be used as hats in your play!
Abbreviations Used in this pattern:
Kfb - increase by knitting into the front and back of a single stitch.
K - knit
P - purl
SSK - decrease by slipping two stitches then knitting them together. Alternatively, you could slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass slipped stitch over.
K2tog - decrease by knitting two stitches together.
MC - Main Color
CC - Contrast Color
This this pattern was created by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use. This pattern is not to be replicated, sold or redistributed without permission from ChemKnits. © 2010 ChemKnits


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In La Rioja both platforms coexist in great harmony, due in fact that the leaders of the XO team with their expertise are also in charge of the netbook implementation in the secondary schools. A good model to follow in other settings for a smooth transition when the children finishing primary school return their XO (to be recycled and given to the new cohort in first grade) and receive instead their new netbook for the secondary school. In fact in many families children and adolescents use both equipments in the «expanded school» at home and outside, in the public places with wifi. A new digital landscape is unfolding. I have seen a remarkable video of a show with hundreds of children walking on the streets of La Rioja by night with their XO shining like candles in the dark.
It was really moving to see today the schools transformed in an immense XO laboratory. Classrooms, yards, gardens, corridors were blooming with the green laptops and hundreds of children with their parents and teachers around. The media followed the visit of the Minister who gave several interviews. I also was interviewed working with the children who were fascinated with my blue machine and …my white hat. I was impressed with the immediate reaction of the students. Many wanted to have my blue XO and some told me that the blue keyboard was much better. I agree. One discovered that I had a new program to «play games with numbers». In fact we will test it in the next weeks in some schools of La Rioja. It is a remarkable software produced by a team at the University of Buenos Aires under the leadership of Mariano Sigman, a member of the scientific advisory board of OLPCA. If the result is satisfying we will distribute it to the whole OLPC community around the world.
A continuous flow of information came from remote parts of the province, all the 380 elementary schools were today performing a fantastic concert of digital ideas. A day to be remembered as the celebration of the program Joaquin V. Gonzalez, who started only one year ago and now has fully integrated the whole province, every child without exception, in the digital world. I hope La Rioja will become a leader in the Andean region and we discussed with Minister Flores the possibility of expanding the XO experience to the near province of Catamarca and even to Atacama in Chile.
At OLPC we are educators without borders.

subset: commoncrawl


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Annetje van Woerden
From EastKingdomWiki
Photo |
Caption Needed |
Information |
Resides: Shire of Owlsherst |
Status: Alive and Kicking! |
Awards: Order of Precedence |
Heraldry |
Per chevron azure and gules, a chevron rompu between two quatrefoils pierced and a fireball argent |
Award & Office Badges |
I am Dame Annetje van Woerden, formally Andrea MacIntyre. I am formerly from the Canton of Northpass in the Crown Province of Ostgardr, (one of the founding members of) the Canton of Marwick of Settmour Swamp, the Barony of Bhakail, the Barony of Carillion, and the Barony of the Debatable Lands of Aethelmearc.
I currently live in South Eastern Pennsylvania in the Shire of Owlsherst.
In the SCA, I am a Mistress of the Laurel (Food Arts) and a Mistress of the Pelican.
I joined the SCA in AS 12 as a history fanatic and to cook and brew in a medieval manner , as well as dabble in dancing, and calligraphy and illumination. I currently teach historical cooking and specialize in creative and historical displays. I am available to teach or consult, and would be happy to help if contacted.
I come from a very long line of artisans, and name the late Master Henry McQueen of Longhouse as my father Laurel, and Master Ian of Clan Mitchell as my father Pelican.
I have had the most distinguished honor of being the first person in the East Kingdom to be gifted both peerages at the same time on 08/17/2005, in the barn at Pennsic XXXIV . As a result, it is now my ultimate endeavor to be worthy of this honor at all times.
My true joy in the SCA is to create in my students that little bit of the flame of knowledge that they can take home and feed for themselves,
Member of : Households - The Silver Horde and House Three Skulls
Annetje is a late 15th century resident of the lowlands (currently known as Amsterdam,Holland)*Dutch*
In re-enactment scenarios, Annetje is a cook for a lesser nobleman, scrimping and saving as much as possible to provide the best of quality meals, with the best of possible artistic influences. She can easily be found at just about any event she attends if you check the kitchen.
And currently dabbling in Stained glass, bardic. forestry, and wildcraft pursuits.
Offices & Positions
Order of the Sable Bell (Carillion) 1985,
Order of the Seahorse (Østgarðr) 1996,
Award of Arms 1990,
Order of the Burdened Tyger 2003,
Order of the Burdened Tyger 2008,
Order of the Burdened Tyger 2018,
Gift of the Golden Lyre 2003,
Queens Honor of Distinction (Roxane) 2006,
Queens Honor of Distinction (Gabriella 2008),
Order of the Maunche 1999,
Order of the Silver Crescent 1998,
Order of the Laurel 8/17/2005,
Order of the Pelican 8/17/2005
Retired EK A&S Novice and Youth Regional Deputy,
Retired Mistress of Arts & Sciences for The Barony of Bhakail,
Retired editor of Ars Scientia Orientalis- East Kingdom Art & Sciences Newsletter,
Retired Chancellor of the East Kingdom University,
Retired Seneschal of Østgarðr
Other offices previously held:
Canton Of Northpass Seneschal,
Canton of Northpass A&S,
Canton of Marwick Chronicler,
Barony of Carillion Chronicler
More Information
Active Participant in teaching the Culinary Arts , Forestry, Herbalism
Currently has as :
Martyn de Halliwell (Barony of Bhakail) -Apprentice 4/18/15
Siobhan ingean ui Ghadhra (Shire of Owlherst) - Apprentice 2023
Magdalena Gdanska (Shire of Blak Rose)- Apprentice 2023
Eirikr Thorisson (Shire of Hartshorn-dale 5/3/15)
Conor O Ceallaigh (Crown Province of Ostgardr) -Apprentice 4/26/15
Ascended into the Noble Order of Peerages in the Nether Realm in 2020
John Marshall Atte Forde (Hartshorn-dale)]
Left us on 5/26/23 to join Conor in the Nether Realm.
Graduated and became a Mistress of the Pelican and Laurel!- Brunissende Dragonette (Bailiwick of Ivyeinrust, Bhakail) -Apprentice [1]
Graduated and became a Mistress of the Laurel!- Asa In Svarta (Settmour Swamp) -Apprentice/Protege [2]
Graduated and became a Master of the Laurel John Marshall Atte Forde (Hartshorn-dale)]
Household Devices:


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Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®
Somatrem and somatropin are man-made versions of human growth hormone. Growth hormone is naturally produced by the pituitary gland and is necessary to stimulate growth in children. Man-made growth hormone may be used in children who have certain conditions that cause failure to grow normally. These conditions include growth hormone deficiency (inability to produce enough growth hormone), kidney disease, Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), and Turner's syndrome. Growth hormone is also used in adults to treat growth failure and to treat weight loss caused by acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.
Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to medicines in this group or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.
There is no specific information comparing use of growth hormone in children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) with use in other age groups.
Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults. Although there is no specific information comparing use of growth hormone in the elderly with use in other age groups, it is not expected to cause different side effects or problems in older people than it does in younger adults. However, elderly patients may be more sensitive to the action of growth hormone drugs and may be more at risk to develop adverse reactions.
Growth hormone has not been studied in pregnant women. However, in animal studies, growth hormone has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems. This drug should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan on becoming pregnant.
It is not known whether growth hormone passes into breast milk. However, you should tell your doctor if you are nursing.
Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking any of these medicines, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.
Using medicines in this class with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.
Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco.
The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of medicines in this class. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
Some medicines given by injection may sometimes be given at home to patients who do not need to be in the hospital. If you are using this medicine at home, your health care professional will teach you how to prepare and inject the medicine. You will have a chance to practice preparing and injecting it. Be certain that you understand exactly how the medicine is to be prepared and injected.
It is important to read the patient information and instructions for use, if provided with your medicine, each time your prescription is filled.
It is important to follow any instructions from your doctor about the careful selection and rotation of injection sites on your body. This will help to prevent skin problems.
Put used needles and syringes in a puncture-resistant disposable container or dispose of them as directed by your health care professional. Do not reuse needles and syringes.
The dose medicines in this class will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of these medicines. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.
The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine.
Keep out of the reach of children.
Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed.
Store at temperature directed by your health care professional or the manufacturer.
It is important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits.
Leukemia has been reported in a few patients after treatment with growth hormone. However, it is not definitely known whether the leukemia was caused by the growth hormone. Leukemia has also been reported in patients whose bodies do not make enough growth hormone and who have not yet been treated with man-made growth hormone. However, discuss this possible effect with your doctor.
If growth hormone is given to children or adults with normal growth, who do not need growth hormone, serious unwanted effects may occur because levels in the body become too high. These effects include the development of diabetes; abnormal growth of bones and internal organs such as the heart, kidneys, and liver; atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries); and hypertension (high blood pressure).
Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.
Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:
Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:
Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Portions of this document last updated: Feb. 01, 2024
Original article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/growth-hormone-parenteral-route/description/drg-20069416


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Hydro PLIOLITE™ WL modified acrylate copolymer is now available for wet-look concrete sealers. Based on the company's proprietary emulsified binding system technology, this water-based acrylic binder can reportedly be formulated into a wet-look concrete sealer with a superior appearance and performance vs. traditional latex-based sealers.
Coatings formulated with the material reportedly provide better adhesion and penetration to concrete surfaces and deliver a true "wet look" similar in appearance to solvent-based sealers. The new resin offers blush resistance and is non-yellowing.
For additional information, visit www.omnova.com/hydropliolitewl.


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Your life sucks. But it'll suck less if you buy this thing we're advertising. That, in a nutshell, is the message behind many advertising campaigns. It's just that usually the message comes across in a fairly subtle way. Few ads have had the chutzpah to spread this message as directly and blatantly as the new "Fill the Void" series from the magazine–shopping brochure Lucky.
In the campaign from Lucky, ads appear in print, online and on top of taxicabs featuring lines like these:
"My Boyfriend Dumped Me via Text."
"My Longest Relationship Is with My Doorman."
"My Intern Is the Only One Following Me on Twitter."
After each line, you're encouraged to "Fill the Void" by heading over to the magazine's website to buy some stuff. A blogger at XO Jane had the initial reaction that's probably similar to yours right now if you're seeing this for the first time:
Surely they don't mean fill the empty gaping hole inside yourself where love should be? Do they?
Yes, they do.
(MORE: Study: Guys Spend Stupidly When There Are Fewer Women to Date)
In as straightforward, nonjudgmental a way as possible, AdAge.com described the campaign as one "which urges consumers to handle their problems by, well, consuming." The "humorous ads" are intended to "promote its new e-commerce platform, MyLucky, the first elements of which are scheduled to appear on the magazine's website Aug. 17."
But don't people usually fill the void with things that are bad for them, like alcohol, drugs, casual sex, pornography, and perhaps fantasy football leagues? Is the idea of shopping as a coping mechanism to deal with feelings of depression, loneliness and emptiness actually funny?
Well, the concept probably is amusing to the certain breed of young consumers that Lucky's trying to attract. "Twentysomethings love irony," said Kit Yarrow, a marketing and psychology professor and a co-author of Gen BuY. "Seriously, it's like their team uniform. This campaign reminds me of the Axe campaign in that it's a gross overstatement of a tiny bit of truth all dressed up in irony. The examples of voids are always extremes that by comparison make the reader feel fortunate and good about themselves. This rubs off onto how they feel about Lucky. The wink-wink irony also creates camaraderie between the reader and the magazine."
(MORE: Are Online Dating Services a Waste of Money?)
Yarrow is generally impressed with the campaign, describing it as "psychologically sophisticated." The creators, Partners & Spade, "either 'got' Lucky or had a consumer psychologist helping out," she said.
On the other hand, there is truth to the premise that some consumers do, in fact, go shopping as a desperate attempt to fill the void of their depressed, meaningless lives. To some, that's not humorous at all.
"This is a very disturbing ad campaign," said Susan Krauss Whitbourne, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (and occasional TIME Moneyland contributor) who regularly writes about topics like compulsive shopping. Citing a recent study by German researchers, Whitbourne said via e-mail that certain consumers buy compulsively due to "feelings of low self-esteem, powerlessness and lack of control over their life." This group, unsurprisingly, is more likely to suffer from depression.
"For advertisers, it's a common strategy to manipulate consumers by tapping into their feelings of loneliness, worthlessness and despondency," said Whitbourne. "But because the items that these depressed shoppers may buy can never really 'fill the void,' advertisers set up these shoppers for a further cycle of depression and despair should they drain those designer wallets by overspending."
(MORE: Will Millennials Change the Way Cars Are Bought and Sold?)
In any event, the ads are potentially offensive enough to generate some attention, and that's probably the point. "The campaign will work because it'll be talked about," said Yarrow. "Yes, it'll offend — mostly those who don't shop. But this is, after all, a magazine about shopping."
Tuttle is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @bradrtuttle. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.


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The Impact Twitter has on Mainstream Media
Twitter's impact on traditional media has raised the benchmark for breaking news and its existence has blurred the perception of media credibility vs. reliability. Breaking news is often reported to Twitter first then re-tweeted and immediately broadcasted to the traditional media and other various internet sources. This puts a twist on the way Americans view news outlets.
It's first important to distinguish the difference between credibility and reliability. They are similar but have a distinct difference; reliability looks for consistently good quality of information that can be trusted while credibility looks at whether or not the specific source of information is believable.
Traditional media such as CNN, NBC, CBS and Fox News have been built as reliable sources of information; however, when it comes to breaking news, they are losing the battle to Twitter. The strength, traditional media still holds is its ability to provide credible information to the public – it's a little harder to hack the television station. The purpose of any news outlet is to provide reliable and credible information to the public however as a Gallup poll suggested that U.S. distrust in media is at an all time high in the U.S. This presents a problem for the media.
The decline of trust in media may just be a pattern that occurs as a new medium forms pops up. It already began when the first presidential debate was televised. (Nixon vs. Kennedy in 1960) Kennedy won by a landslide and showed the impact television has and ushered in the subsequent decline of radio power. This shift of media power has occurred again today, and how televised media adjusts can either make or break them. People are beginning to look at Twitter for breaking news instead of waiting for the television to catch up. Does the mainstream media use Twitter or does Twitter use the mainstream media?
For televised media, it takes a much more complicated process when it comes to announcing news compared to Twitter. One has an entire production department dedicate to reporting news and the other requires a computer/tablet/phone and 140 characters or less. This may make Twitter quicker to report breaking news, but its reach is relatively limited. It's when people begin to re-tweet breaking news and the traditional media reports on it that its reach becomes practically speaking, unlimited.
Twitter's impact on the mainstream news feed should not be underestimated. Its strengths rely in its ability to quickly grow a news story and make certain topics trend. When Rand Paul filibustered the nomination of the CIA director, Senator Ted Cruz read tweets to the Senate floor about the trending "#standwithrand" that showed the tremendous amount of support from Twitter and clearly motivated Paul to continue his filibuster. The television media had little to no choice but to report on the internet support Rand Paul had received.
However, as Twitter becomes a reliable source for breaking news, each tweet and account should be heavily scrutinized because many accounts can be subject to internet hacking (As in recently, when the Associated Press's Twitter account got hacked and caused a brief drop in U.S. Stocks). So it is very important for the Twitter community to tread carefully when re-tweeting or claiming to report on breaking news and the same applies to when transcending the tweets to traditional media. Tweets now must be carefully examined before the mainstream media chooses to echo it. The mainstream media gives Twitter the credibility to be a reliable source.
Twitter is used by the mainstream media as well as anyone with an interest in communicating in the 21st century sense, but this comes with a very important aspect. Everyone (including mainstream media accounts) should be very careful not to accidentally report on false information. Twitter should still be able to flourish as the main outlet for reliable "breaking news" but only if the mainstream media continues to give it credibility. Steps should be taken to minimize the impact false/hacked tweets have on the community.
Twitter is obviously used by television media, which shows that these news organization have at least recognized that breaking news happens on Twitter first, however as the internet generation grows older, more people will look at Twitter for breaking news instead of waiting for the television news lag. Twitter should recognize the only reason why they have any reliability for breaking news is because of the credibility the mainstream media provides them to announce tweets on air. Lastly, we must ask ourselves, Is Twitter actually providing the news itself or is the mainstream media just using Twitter as another medium of information, similar to the transition from radio to television. Either way, the media has evolved again into a digital age.


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Paris: There is an App for that
I spent the past weekend in Paris and tried to go paperless with the iPhone. At the same time I wanted to keep data roaming deactivated. So before the trip I researched some offline applications to make the best out of this vacation. And was very surprised by the selection of very good apps that do not need permanent Internet access.
I'll quickly introduce the apps I used.
OffMaps is an iPhone map application using the OpenStreetMap data. That data is now surprisingly complete for many European cities and even includes many POIs such as restaurants, bars, public baths and many more.
OffMaps compiles that POI data into easy to use guides that also allow for offline search. Also you can download the full map of a guide or any area you choose to use it offline.
For the guides you need to pay extra. You can either buy single guides or – as I did – just buy the flat rate so you have great local information wherever you go.
The only information I missed was restaurant recommendations instead of only the locations. And routing does not work offline.
Memonic is the online tool to take notes and save web site clippings I co-founded. Before the trip I saved the hotel reservation and some travel tips to Memonic.
The Memonic iPhone application downloads the whole collection for offline use. So in Paris I had access to all my Items without trouble.
All our traveling in Paris was either on foot or by public transport. Métro is a generic public transport app with data for many cities. Among others of course Paris. Once the data is downloaded you can get routes offline. I didn't get to like the user interface during my few days of working with it but it always gave me correct answers very quickly.
Lonely Planet Paris City Guide
When the Eyjafjallajökull came upon us, Loney Planet decided to make some of their city guides available for free for some days. So I downloaded their Paris guide and used it in Paris.
In summary I didn't like it at all. For starts, the information was too short, contained almost no links between different places and many copy-editing errors such as completely duplicated paragraphs made it into the product. But the real killer was lack of access. The app relies too much on search and doesn't offer a good browsing access to find interesting places.
It does contain some restaurant recommendations and I did try one of those and liked it. But I ended up relying more on OffMaps even for that task.
Stanza is an E-Book reader for the iPhone. It provided me with reading material for the train rides.
I also relied heavily on built-in applications. Calendar for storing itinerary information, Contacts for knowing where to send postcards to, Notes for some on-the-road information and the Clock for waking up in the morning.


text:
Heather Corinna replies:I was reading about the female anatomy on your website and you said that the clitoris was the part that would be the source of pleasure for the woman. If the most sensitive part of a woman's anatomy is on the outside, how can intercourse feel good? Also, I don't understand how intercourse would stimulate the clitoris. From the diagrams on your website, it seems to me that the clitoris is quite far from the viginal entry. How can a penis entering the virgina have any affect on the clitoris? Thank you for your response!
You know, I always feel for heterosexual or bisexual folks when they clearly have paid attention to this stuff, done the reading or just talked to women, put it all together and have that "Whoah!" moment about this issue. With so many people reared to think that male-female vaginal intercourse is THE sex, and how many gender issues are often involved in that social conditioning, even though it's ultimately positive to start reaching these conclusions about the reality of the thing, for plenty of people, it can feel like an awful lot of air is being let out of the proverbial sails. But really, I swear: it's a positive realization that benefits everybody.
Let's take a look at that piece together, okay?
(You might also find it helpful to look at this article, Yield for Pleasure and this one, Vagzilla! (Or, All Genitals Great and Small)).
First of all, understand that the clitoris is bigger than it looks: it isn't just the glans and the hood that you can see on the outside, it's also internal, as explained and illustrated about halfway through that article. Imagine, if you would, if a penis were internal: the clitoris as a whole is about the same size, internal and external combined. A guy can even get a sense of that just by feeling his penis through a pair of jeans. If someone, say, is straddling a male's lap and rocking their weight over the area where the penis is, inside pants, that guy most certainly feels something. That's part of how vaginal intercourse can provide some clitoral stimulus: the pressure of another person's body on the vulva entire, as well as the internal pressure of the penis (or a silicone substitute) stimulating the clitoris in a general way.
Another big why that front portion of the vaginal canal is the most sensitive -- as opposed to the back half of the vagina, where we have no real sensory nerve endings at all -- is that parts of the internal clitoris surround it, and the g-spot is just inside there, too. So, again, women can feel pleasurable pressure on those portions during intercourse and other kinds of vaginal sex. With intercourse, that tends to be more generalized pressure than something more specific and targeted -- such as say, with fingers -- but some women like that feeling of general pressure, and some even prefer it to more direct stimulus.
Too, certain sexual positions put weight and pressure on the internal and/or external clitoris. The clitoris really is not that far from the vaginal opening, nor does intercourse only put pressure on the vaginal opening and vaginal canal. A female partner who wants to have intercourse can let her partner in on which positions are best for her when it comes to her clitoris.
But overall, is intercourse, all by itself, something a majority of women find completely satisfying, physically or otherwise? Is it something which will cause a majority of women to reach orgasm through? No, it isn't. It's also something a great many men don't find completely satisfying all by itself either -- and not just because just like vaginal intercourse doesn't always stimulate the clitoris or g-spot, intercourse doesn't stimulate the prostate gland or the rest of a man's body and sensitive bits. Are women whose sex lives are ONLY about vaginal intercourse usually feeling very fulfilled? No, not usually. But when that is the case, it also often isn't just about not getting enough clitoral stimulus: it tends to also be about how it emotionally feels to only engage in that activity and what the dynamics of sexual relationships tend to be like when intercourse is the only kind of sex being had.
Another truth of the matter is that even when we take away any anatomical issues, having one kind of sex all the time, or making one kind of sex THE sex, is like eating the same meal every single day. Sure, that meal might sustain us in some ways, but it's not likely to stimulate us very much, physically, emotionally or intellectually.
For the most part, with any kind of sex, for most couples and most people it is all about combining more than one activity at a time. For example, it's incredibly easy for women to get very direct clitoral stimulation during intercourse by just having themselves or a partner manually (with fingers) rub the clitoris during that intercourse, or use a vibrator. Too, if women want vaginal insertion that gives more specific, rather than general, pressure, their partners can use their fingers and hands or mouths rather than penises.
I am sure I did not write that the "clitoris is the source of pleasure for a woman." Sure, it's mostly a matter of semantics, but the semantics are important in this case. Pleasure -- for men or women -- and sexual pleasure are far more complex things than to be found or derived in one, small place, and it's really helpful for everyone to really understand and internalize that.
Not only do women differ a lot, but our whole bodies -- whatever our gender is -- are sexual organs and places of pleasure. As well, whether we do or don't experience pleasure during sex, how much or how little, also has, in many ways, a lot more to do with our brains, our whole nervous systems and the specific dynamics involved in sex with someone else than with our sexual anatomy. What was written there is that the clitoris is the primary source of most genital sensation. Not most pleasure. Pleasure is a very multifaceted thing. To give you a solid example, understand that someone being sexually assaulted might get clitoral stimulus and yet be feeling the literal opposite of pleasure. Just touching a pleasurable spot on the body does not always pleasure make.
There was a study that came out a little while ago about the positive motivations for teenage partnered sex which showed that more young women who had sex did so primarily for emotional reasons and benefits than for physical pleasure as compared to young men. My first reaction to that, as a feminist, was that that was likely because so many women have been reared being told that is what they SHOULD enjoy most with sex, and so many women have simply accepted that so much of the sex they are having isn't about their pleasure. For sure, that is going to be part of the issue, and by that same token, young men have the same or similar motivations, but we aren't hearing about it as much because men are so often reared told that they should NOT enjoy the emotional aspects of sex most, or give them any real priority. As well, we also know that for many young men (and plenty of older men), social status and personal validation can be a bigger driver for partnered sex than physical pleasure.
But at the same time, we really can't say partnered (or solo, really) sex is somehow just physical or just emotional, because it is interpersonal and because our sexuality isn't just physical: it is about our identity, our feelings, our unique history and personality, about the intellectual, the psychological and the spiritual. And partnered sex is also about what pleasure we derive from our partner's pleasure. Sexuality is big stuff. We also have to be pretty careful saying that sex is more or less pleasurable for people as a whole because of the reasons why people report to enjoy it. In other words, if a given person finds great enjoyment in intercourse that is very emotionally enriching for them, but which doesn't result in orgasm, we can't really say that it's somehow unilaterally better for people with the opposite experience. Sexuality is very individual, and so are sexual experiences. Obviously, the ideal is for any sexual activity to feel bloody fantastic emotionally and bloody fantastic physically. But often enough, no matter what we're doing, just because our moods, state of being in our bodies, relationship dynamics and the whole lot differ from day to day, even with the same sexual activity, we'll have varied experiences.
So, for those women who say they don't get a lot of physical pleasure from intercourse, but do get a lot of emotional pleasure, not only do we have to believe them -- rather than just presuming they only speak about this in the way they were taught to -- we also have to value their experiences and personal preferences without analyzing them to death. Which part of something they enjoy isn't all that important: what's important is simply that it is pleasurable and positive for them. In the case that some or all of those women were or are only saying what they think they should, and really are not enjoying their sex lives and the intercourse they're having at all, then we have to simply afford them the respect of accepting that they will change that for themselves if they want to at some point.
I don't know if you have girl-parts or boy-parts, but whichever it is, know that whatever sexual activities it is that you and your partners together enjoy most, by whatever merits and in whatever ways or combinations, are just fine. If, in fact, it turns out that for you, or for a partner you have, intercourse isn't that exciting -- even when combined with other activities -- but other sexual activities do the job better, there's not a thing in the world wrong with that. You may find too, as many people do, that what you and your partners enjoy doesn't stay the same, but shifts from partnership to partnership or scenario to scenario: a woman may enjoy vaginal intercourse in some situations and partnerships more than she does in others. And there are also women who just plain don't like intercourse at all, but that gets to be just as okay as men who just plain don't enjoy being on the receiving end of anal sex. Because any one sexual activity isn't someone's thing doesn't mean that a person is somehow missing out: most people will have something that they either don't like or just don't find very compelling, and that's no big whoop.
If you want to delve more into this issue, I have a pretty substantial section of my book which addresses intercourse dynamics and underwhelm, and you might also have a look at this piece, which talks about human sexual response, arousal and orgasm in depth. You might also find this piece, which addresses the metaphysics of entry, of interest.
• Heather Corinna • Scarleteen Founder, Editor & Advice-Slingin' Sister • Author, S.E.X.


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Judge Again Dismisses Wrongful Termination Suit
BERLIN — A visiting Worcester County Circuit Court judge last week dismissed for the second time a lawsuit filed by a former Berlin Fire Department supervisor against the town and its elected officials, alleging wrongful termination and calling into question the town's authority to fire, suspend or discipline emergency services personnel. The plaintiff's attorney said today he has filed an appeal with the state's Court of Special Appeals.
In May, the town terminated EMS supervisor Norris Phillip Donohoe, Jr. after 23 years on the job when at least two EMS employees filed formal complaints that alleged workplace harassment and discrimination. In July, Donohoe filed a civil suit against the Mayor and Council and Town Administrator Tony Carson, seeking at least $200,000 and alleging the Berlin officials did not have the authority to terminate, or even discipline, him over allegations of harassment and discrimination. Instead, Donohoe, in his complaint, said that authority wrested with his immediate supervisors, the fire chief and the fire company president.
In early October, visiting Worcester County Circuit Court Judge David Mitchell dismissed Donohoe's lawsuit without prejudice, but granted the plaintiff 21 days to amend the complaint. On Nov. 1, 2012, which was 21 days to the day of the initial dismissal in October, Donohoe's attorney Robin Cockey filed an amended complaint, which followed the same basic facts as the original, but emphasized the termination aspect of the case rather than the disciplinary actions.
Last Wednesday, Mitchell again dismissed Donohoe's lawsuit against the town of Berlin and its elected and appointed officials, pointing out the defendants were protected by the oft-evoked doctrine of sovereign immunity, which essentially insulates governmental bodies from most civil suits. Berlin Mayor Gee Williams applauded the judge's decision to dismiss the case behind the doctrine of governmental immunity and pointed out Mitchell ruled there was no breach of contract.
"The court has once again disagreed and we are pleased the judge has dismissed the action and found the claims against the town did not have merit," said Williams.
However, Cockey said "not so fast" on Tuesday, pointing out the judge's ruling dismissed the suit under the blanket of governmental immunity and not on the merits of the case. In short, once the judge ruled the town and its elected officials were deemed to be protected by sovereign immunity, there was no reason to move forward with who was right or wrong in the case.
"Judge Mitchell ruled the town's elected officials were immune under what we often refer to as sovereign immunity, but he didn't rule on the legality and propriety of their actions," he said. "The judge did not rule the town acted properly. We don't reach that question because the doctrine of sovereign immunity essentially immunizes the town and its elected and appointed officials from the suit."
In 2009, the town and its fire company entered an agreement under which paid EMS personnel were leased to Berlin as a means of making them eligible for state retirement and benefits. From the beginning, Berlin has asserted the "lease" arrangement puts the paid EMS personnel under the direction and supervision of the town and subject to the same personnel policies and employee handbook as other town employees.
When Donohoe was named in formal complaints filed by at least two EMS employees with allegations the nature of which have still not been made public, he was suspended by the town without pay for 30 days and was informed that upon return to work after the suspension, he would be demoted to EMS-paramedic. Donohoe then filed a formal grievance about the disciplinary action and was terminated by the town shortly thereafter.
Essentially, the case boils down to who exactly has the authority to discipline, or in this case terminate, paid EMS personnel. In his lawsuit, Donohoe asserted the chain of command was first the fire chief, then the fire company president and lastly the Mayor and Council.
The allegations of harassment and discrimination in the EMS department of the Berlin Fire Company were cited as the primary reasons for the town's decision in August to pull all funding for the entire fire company. However, the BFC has alleged the town's decision to defund the fire company was based on control of scheduling and operations.
Williams said the Mayor and Council in early January asked for a full accounting of the BFC's financial status, but have not yet received any information. "In the meantime, we will simply allow the judicial process to follow its due course," he said.
That "due course" will include an appeal of the Donohoe case. Cockey said this week he has already filed an appeal in the state's Court of Special Appeals.
"The judge ruled the town was protected by immunity, but I respectfully disagree," he said. "Mr. Donohoe has lost a 20-plus-year career and we're not simply going to accept the position that this is not a rightable wrong."


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While Walter was returning from New Hampshire in a stolen Volvo and Carrie and Brody were returning from hiatus, Nucky Thompson over on HBO was back from Tampa on a new Boardwalk Empire. And it's all about poker and, tellingly, underlings making career moves this week.
In Chicago, obese, sweaty Capone guy Jake has a heart attack while collecting from a guy who lives at the top of a steep flight of stairs. In Washington, the FBI is mapping out the bootlegging operations across the U.S., and Nucky's a major target; J. Edgar Hoover wants proof from Agent Knox of Nucky's liability, and Knox tells him he'll get that proof from Nucky's "weakest link" — Eddie, it turns out, but we'll get there eventually. At the Onyx Club, Chalky's clearly taken with singer Daughter Maitland, but it's one of those things he doesn't want to let on — he'd rather not compliment her singing, lest she know what he really thinks. Dunn asks Chalky for permission to go home to tend to his ill mother in Baltimore (say, doesn't Chalky know Baltimore pretty well?), which, we quickly learn, means he's really going to visit Dr. Narcisse to do some business.
At the "florist's" in Chicago, Dean O'Banion, after a prank that blows a rifle up in a guy's face, sends Van Alden/Mueller back to make a flower delivery to the hospital room of Jake the Capone guy, and the Capones want to talk a little to Nelson/George (hey, Nelson George!), while in Atlantic City, Nucky offers Arnold Rothstein a piece of the action in Tampa, which Rothstein immediately distrusts, noting Nucky's previous stance that he was happy with what he had. Rothstein invites Nucky to play poker, saying that you don't really get to know a man until you play cards with him. That comment will backfire on him later.
But what about Dr. Narcisse? Dunn didn't wait for him to visit A.C.; he's in Narcisse's Harlem office, which displeases Narcisse greatly. But the moment Dunn walks out of the office, Narcisse quickly pockets the cash. Eddie makes a cash delivery at the train station for Nucky to "Mr. Brown," Ralph "Bottles" Capone, who wants Eddie to take him someplace good to eat lest he "get the trots" from eating at the station. (oh, right, another theme: diarrhea. Not kidding.) The other Capone boys now have Van Alden/Mueller accompanying them on their collection rounds, which is another way of saying they go to a guy's apartment and throw him out the window onto a car roof. This amuses the Capones greatly, because that's how they roll.
While Nucky enlists Eli to deliver the cash they expect Rothstein to invest to Tampa and Eli resists a little, saying he needs to keep tabs on son Willie, Willie is back at Temple with a suitcase full of booze and a plan to spike a rival's drink with drugs to give him diarrhea. Ralph Capone and Eddie are at dinner at the Knife and Fork (a real restaurant in A.C., by the way; I grew up with my Dad talking about having eaten there many times), talking about their families and toasting their "new lives." Dunn catches Narcisse on the street in Harlem to talk business, and offers to be Narcisse's connection in Atlantic City, undercutting Nucky and Chalky; Narcisse tells him that Chalky's time has passed and orders Dunn to beat up a guy, which he does, meaning he's taking orders from a new boss now.
The Capones make Van Alden/Mueller an offer he can't refuse to "bust heads for us until the election," and when they spy a bread truck they recognize as one of O'Banion's booze delivery trucks, they steal it, a very uncomfortable Nelson on board. Rothstein gets Nucky to the poker table, condescending to Nucky and suggesting that "everything you want from me tonight is on the table," the pile of chips in front of them. Going all in, Rothstein gets a marker for $200,000 and there's a pile of chips in the pot but he misread Nucky ("I figured you for a straight." "You guessed wrong"). It's a strange position to see a legendary gambler assume: loser. And Eddie is singing with his fellow German expatriates, to the amusement of Bottles. This, finally, is Eddie's element.
In North Philadelphia, Willie's plan seems to be working when Henry has to go to the bathroom and, the bathroom door being locked, takes a dump in his pants and collapses to the floor, laughter filling the room. Revenge is sweet, but, it'll turn out, temporary. Heading out to Cicero, Al Capone tells Nelson to take the wheel while he snorts some coke, then they discuss O'Banion, the violent prankster, and Capone makes an offer — work for them through the election, get the rights to sell Aquavit in Cicero — but gets interrupted when a voice from the back of the truck surprises them. It's Nelson's cohort from O'Banion's flower shop, the guy whose rifle blew up in his face; they give the man 10 seconds to flee, but tell Nelson to shoot him. After two shots, Nelson's gun's jams, but Al sprays the guy with bullets and they take off, laughing. And Willie's prank goes very wrong when Henry (the dude who barged in on Willie's make-out session last week) ends up dying from the concoction, bloodied on the floor of the dorm bathroom.
Back in Atlantic City, Rothstein is still playing poker, getting very, very testy with the dealer and demanding fresh decks. His man, Meyer Lansky, leans over and asks, "wouldn't it be best if people don't see you like this?" Rothstein leaves the table, and Lansky asks Nucky not to extend more credit to Rothstein. Nucky tells Lansky to tell Rothstein that the Tampa deal's off, that he can't rely on Rothstein, and Lansky offers to invest his own money. He gets Nucky to give him 48 hours to come up with the half million dollars to buy in. Suddenly, Rothstein isn't the boss.
Al and Frank Capone and Nelson/George drop the ex-agent off at his still-unfinished house — "see ya in a few hours" – and Meyer Lansky is in an alley beating the hell out of the guy who won at poker all those hours Rothstein was losing. And Nucky returns home and calls for Eddie, forgetting that Eddie's not his manservant anymore. As he sits down with a drink, Eddie's returning Ralph Capone to the train. They're feeling no pain, but Eddie is about to, as Agent Knox steps forward and takes him into custody without explanation. Will he be the weakest link?
We're looking at some realignment here: Lansky's stepping up, Nelson's perhaps involuntarily switching allegiances, Dunn is most definitely changing his situation, Eddie moved up only to be taken out, and Willie… well, he has his own problems now. Needless to say, we'll probably see none of this progress next week, since there are other story lines to pursue, like Gillian and Mr. Piggly Wiggly, or Richard Harrow. That's been a problem with the series from the start, keeping too many balls in the air in an attempt to be epic and sweeping within the confines of an hour-long weekly show. But with a fifth-season order announced, there's plenty of time to, oh, I don't know, find Margaret, maybe. Hey, Kelly Macdonald's still listed in the cast, so you never know.


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Don't Drink and Drive, Especially Now
On an average weekend, drinking too much and getting behind the wheel is a bad idea.
But this weekend, over the busy 4th of July travel holiday, your chances of going to jail are even greater.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers are among those participating in a "No Refusal Weekend," meaning officers can quickly get blood samples if they suspect you're driving drunk. Lufkin police are among those cracking down on drunk drivers too, and reminding us all to drive the speed limit.
And don't think you can drive to Louisiana, have a few drinks, and then get behind the wheel. The "No Refusal Weekend" is nationwide, and it continues through Sunday.
It's a fun weekend of barbecues, family time, and hanging out with friends. By all means, live it up! Just have someone else drive your happy self home.


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Tag Town is a new book of photos from photgrapher Martha Cooper who, back in the '80s, shot NYC's infant tagging graff scene back when there were just a handfull of people out there doing it. This was the absolute beginning of what you call street art today and Martha recorded it tirelessy. She would sit for hours waiting for one train to pass after getting a call from a writer letting her know it was coming. There would be only one shot for a photo since it was most likely to be buffed out the following day. Martha did this out of curiousness, pure interest and love. She thought this was a movement of the minute. She had no idea that her lens was capturing the very beginning of one the greatest art movements of our time.
Tag Town, published by Dokument Forlag, is the first book to showcase early tags in their context. It's a lesson in street art, containing early photos of tags dating back to the 1960s, with interviews from New York graffiti pioneers such as Blade, Part 1, and Snake 1, artists who tag-inspired work helped found what we know as the street art movement. Also contained are some great early artictles on graffiti and tagging dating back to 1973. It's a 112 paged book worthy of any art lover's collection. Keep your eyes peeled for it. You can get a copy on Amazon for only $18 right here.
Note: We just tore the pages out of the book and scanned them. The images in the book don't have the tears your see above.
Martha Cooper: I was born in Baltimore but left for Grinnell College in Iowa when I was 16. After that I lived in a lot of places- including Thailand, England, Japan, and Rhode Island. I moved to New York City in 1975 because it was the center of editorial photography and I wanted to be where the action was.
I particularly liked tags with features such as crowns, halos, eyes, and arrows. Stay High type stick figures with crowns were my faves.
Many times I tried to develop a decent looking tag but failed miserably. It never looked cool. I found out how hard it was to repeatedly write with style.
This was something I always worried about but never happened. Once someone kicked in my car window showering me with glass while I was in the car but I was able to drive away.
I was shooting some kids building a clubhouse in a vacant lot on the Lower Eastside and a guy started yelling at me to go away. So I got in my car and he came running up and motioned for me to roll down the window. I saw that he had a knife so I refused but before I could start the car and drive away, he kicked in the window. This was in the 70's while I was working on the series of photos I published in Street Play. I will be exhibiting those same photos at Subliminal Projects in LA in mid-January 2009.
As a photographer, I am a collector of images. I have mental lists of categories of things I'm looking for and photograph them when I see them. Tags were a collection as were painted memorial walls (see R.I.P.: Memorial Wall Art). My next book, Going Postal, is about hand drawn postal stickers. That grew out of my collection of sticker photos. Another photo collection is urban vernacular architecture. In addition, I collect vintage images of women photographers and have many on my website kodakgirl.com
I photographed in a spirit of historic preservation. I thought that graffiti was a phenomenon unique to New York City that would disappear and I would have a record of it. I never predicted that New York style graffiti would spread worldwide. Of course I also hoped that I would be able to publish stories about graffiti that would help me reach my primary goal of becoming a solvent freelance photographer.
I photographed anyone that asked me to and tried to stay away from beef.
I saw tags by girls but Lady Pink and Lizzie were the only female writers I actually met.
I intensely photographed graffiti for 3-4 years from 1979-1982. When I first began, I was a staff photographer at the New York Post. Eventually I left that secure job to be able to spend more time photographing trains. I mostly shot trains in the South Bronx and Harlem, and tags in Washington Heights. After leaving the Post, I had to look for photography work to support myself. In 1982, while I was documenting graffiti, I was also shooting freelance stories for National Geographic. For example I shot a cover story about pollen, a far cry from graffiti!
When I went into the yards, I went with writers. When trying to shoot their pieces, I spent countless hours standing alone in vacant lots in the South Bronx waiting for trains with freshly painted pieces to come by. Sometimes writers called to tell me that they had a new piece up and which line it was on. Then I would try to shoot it as quickly as possible before it was buffed by transit or painted over by other writers.
Writers always wanted photos of their work but very few had cameras or could pay for film and processing. Because I always tried to give photos back to the artists, I was accepted as a photographer and trusted as someone who appreciated their art and wouldn't report them to the cops.
Mostly the photos went into my personal archives where they remain today. I tried to pitch articles about graffiti to magazines but in the US, there was such a strong anti-graffiti sentiment that no one wanted to be associated with the subject in a positive way. I was able to publish a few stories in Europe, including a landmark one in the German magazine, Art. One of the reasons that Henry Chalfant and I decided to try to make a book about graffiti was because we had had so little success in publishing our photos.
I shot tags because I wanted a record of them. I wasn't trying to make my own art. I was trying to figure out how they differed from each other and what similarities there were. I defined categories and filed them accordingly. In some cases I wanted to see their context but mostly I just wanted to study what they looked like and to allow others to study them in the future. I was using my camera as a very efficient tool to make a record of something that would otherwise be lost.
In a mass produced world, I am attracted to anything made by hand and this is a persistent theme in my photos. Before I got into graffiti, I was shooting kids playing creatively when their parents weren't watching. Those photos are in my book Street Play. Graffiti was a direct offshoot from that project.
I was fascinated by graffiti because I saw that, in spite of the difficulty in obtaining materials and the threat of arrest, kids had invented their own art form with its own aesthetics. They were painting for each other, not for money. Pure art! Because the art was ephemeral, photos could preserve the process and the pieces. This made subway graffiti and tags ideal subjects for still photography.
Several years ago I bought a house in a crime and drug ridden neighborhood in southwest Baltimore. My idea was to get to know the community and document it over time. I take the bus to Baltimore whenever I can and am enjoying that project a lot.
I don't play favorites!
I'm a big fan and collector of anonymous snapshots.
I mainly work for non-profit institutions in the city shooting for various exhibitions and publications. I have been the Director of Photography at City Lore (www.citylore.org) for over 20 years. I also photograph regularly for TAUNY (Traditional Arts in Upstate New York) www.tauny.org. Lately I've been shooting some hip hop such as the Women in Hip Hop Festival in Berlin in August and the Red Bull BC One in Paris a week ago.
Here's a great video interview with Martha
Get a copy on Amazon for only $18 right here.
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Shedding new light on nerve cell growth
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Amidst the astounding complexity of the billions of nerve cells and trillions of synaptic connections in the brain, how do nerve cells decide how far to grow or how many connections to build? How do they coordinate these events within the developing brain?
In a new study, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have shed new light on these complex processes, showing that a particular protein plays a far more sophisticated role in neuron development than previously thought.
The study, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, focuses on the large, intracellular signaling protein RPM-1 that is expressed in the nervous system. TSRI Assistant Professor Brock Grill and his team show the surprising degree to which RPM-1 harnesses sophisticated mechanisms to regulate neuron development.
Specifically, the research sheds light on the role of RPM-1 in the development of axons or nerve fibers -- the elongated projections of nerve cells that transmit electrical impulses away from the neuron via synapses. Some axons are quite long; in the sciatic nerve, axons run from the base of the spine to the big toe.
"Collectively, our recent work offers significant evidence that RPM-1 coordinates how long an axon grows with construction of synaptic connections," said Grill. "Understanding how these two developmental processes are coordinated at the molecular level is extremely challenging. We've now made significant progress."
Putting Together the Pieces
The study describes how RPM-1 regulates the activity of a single protein known as DLK-1, a protein that regulates neuron development and plays an essential role in axon regeneration. RPM-1 uses PPM-2, an enzyme that removes a phosphate group from a protein thereby altering its function, in combination with ubiquitin ligase activity to directly inhibit DLK-1.
"Studies on RPM-1 have been critical to understanding how this conserved family of proteins works," said Scott T. Baker, the first author of the study and a member of Grill's research team. "Because RPM-1 plays multiple roles during neuronal development, you wouldn't want to interfere with it. But exploring the role of PPM-2 in controlling DLK-1 and axon regeneration could be worthwhile -- and could have implications in neurodegenerative diseases."
The Grill lab has also explored other aspects of how RPM-1 regulates neuron development. A related study, also published in PLOS Genetics, shows that RPM-1 functions as a part of a novel pathway to control β-catenin activity -- this is the first evidence that RPM-1 works in connection with extracellular signals, such as a family of protein growth factors known as Wnts, and is part of larger signaling networks that regulate development. A paper in the journal Neural Development shows that RPM-1 is localized at both the synapse and the mature axon tip, evidence that RPM-1 is positioned to potentially coordinate the construction of synapses with regulation of axon extension and termination.
Note: Material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.
Scripps Research Institute Original reporting by: Eric Sauter & Mika Ono
Karla J Opperman, Brock Grill. RPM-1 is localized to distinct subcellular compartments and regulates axon length in GABAergic motor neurons. Neural Development, Published May 10 2014. doi: 10.1186/1749-8104-9-10
Erik D. Tulgren, Shane M. Turgeon, Karla J. Opperman, Brock Grill. The Nesprin Family Member ANC-1 Regulates Synapse Formation and Axon Termination by Functioning in a Pathway with RPM-1 and β-Catenin. PLoS Genetics, Published July 10 2014. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004481
Scott T. Baker, Karla J. Opperman, Erik D. Tulgren, Shane M. Turgeon, Willy Bienvenut, Brock Grill. RPM-1 Uses Both Ubiquitin Ligase and Phosphatase-Based Mechanisms to Regulate DLK-1 during Neuronal Development. PLoS Genetics, Published May 8 2014. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004297


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SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Dairy farmers frustrated by what they saw as a lack of access to experts have helped to create a new Vermont program aimed at growing the state's milk supply by helping farmers better manage their operations.
DairyVision VT offers dairy farmers a management team to help make them more profitable.
"It stemmed from some frustration and what I thought would be an opportunity for other dairy farmers in this state," said Reg Chaput, a North Troy dairy farmer.
The idea behind it was to grow the production of commercial milk in Vermont by teaching farmers better, more efficient ways to farm, said Mark Rodgers, a West Glover dairy farmer who is vice chairman of DairyVision's executive committee. The focus is on increasing the milk supply in an environmentally and fiscally sound manner.
It's aimed at farms that might be moving from one generation to the next, or farms that might decide to merge, or farmers who want to shift crops or have labor issues.
"This was individual farmers who were frustrated with what they saw as access to the very best technical assistance in the Northeast," said program coordinator Louise Calderwood. The first four enrollees in the new program, including Chaput, were picked this month.
Farmers pay half the cost of an assessment — $3,000 — and DairyVision pays the other half, from a combination of public and private funding, Calderwood said. Once the assessment is done by a team of experts, farmers would pay for any future work.
The team includes two veterinarians and experts in farm business, crops and human resources. Vermont has an array of technical support for farmers, Calderwood.
The difference with DairyVision is that it's focused on the farmers who produce milk that they sell to processors — commodity milk — rather than farmers who produce milk and turn it into value-added products, although the program could be used by those types of producers, as well, she said.
Chaput thinks it's a better tool for farmers to use when they seek financing from banks.
"With this the way we've got it said up now the banker is going to be faced with four consultants who have been working together to bring this together to present it to the dairy operation and supports the financial investment," he said.


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The Marlins plan to sign veteran third baseman Placido Polanco to a one-year, $2.75 million contract if he passes medical tests, an industry source said.
[UPDATE: The Marlins announced the signing at 3 p.m. today].
Polanco, who spent time on the disabled list with back problems last year, was among the most accomplished free agent third basemen remaining in a group of players largely past their prime.
Polanco, 37, hit .257 with two homers and 19 RBI in 90 games for the Phillies last season. He hit .277 with five homers and 50 RBI in 2011 and .298 with six and 52 in 2010.
He has won three Gold Gloves - at second base in 2007 and 2009 and at third base in 2011, when he committed eight errors and became only the second player to win the award at more than one position (joining Darin Erstad). He had only two errors in 80 games at third base last season.
Polanco, who resides in Miami during the offseason and attended Miami-Dade Community College, was voted a starter in the All-Star Game in 2007 and 2011 and was the 2006 ALCS MVP.
Overall, Polanco has hit .299 with 103 homers and 700 RBI in 15 seasons, with St. Louis, Detroit and Philadelphia. He passed the 2000 hit threshold last May.
The Phillies declined his $5.5 million option in October, opting to pay him a $1 million buyout instead.
Other free agent third basemen who were still available, and drew Marlins consideration, include Brandon Inge, Miguel Tejada, Matt Downs and Ryan Raburn.
Former big league third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and ace pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs also will be in camp for the Marlins, who prefer to use Dobbs as a fill-in player and pinch hitter.
Polanco's signing would firm up the Marlins' lineup, unless there are any more trades.
Miami likely will go with Logan Morrison at first base, Donovan Solano at second, Adeiny Hechavarria at shortstop, Polanco at third, Juan Pierre in left, Justin Ruggiano in center, Giancarlo Stanton in right and Rob Brantly catching.
Asked if the Heat is bored with the regular season, Magic Johnson told me Thursday: "We never got bored [with the Lakers]. I don't buy into that they're bored. That can work against them later on. People are not giving the league credit for being better this season. It's different when you're the champion. Everyone will play extra hard when they're playing the champion. You might be tired or not up for the game. Those teams are up for you.
"They're going to be fine. They're still the best team in the East. Dwyane Wade is still one of the best big game players in basketball. The bigger the games, the better Ray Allen performs. At the end of the day, the championship goes through the Heat. They're the best team in the East. The Knicks are the second-best."
### The Hurricanes privately are pleased with the results of what amounts to a tight end swap in the past two days – losing Travis Johnson (ESPN's 102nd-ranked high school prospect) and adding Beau Sandland (ESPN's 12th best junior college prospect and No. 2 tight end).
The Hurricanes were optimistic they would get Sandland when Johnson de-committed on Tuesday but didn't find out for sure until Sandland informed them on Wednesday morning that he was picking Miami over Nebraska.
Though UM – along with Purdue – have been considered the top candidates for Indiana-based Nate Wozniak (rivals.com's 38th-best tight end), Sandland told canesport.com that the Hurricanes have told him that they will not recruit another tight end, beyond Sandland and previous oral commitments Standish Dobard (ESPN's 138th-best high school prospect) and St. Petersburg-based Jeremy Kerr.
Sandland (24 catches, 267 yards last season) will compete with Asante Cleveland, Dyron Dye and David Perry and the two incoming freshmen to back up Clive Walford and play in tandem with Walford in two tight-end sets. Sandland is in line for playing time if he pans out, considering Cleveland hasn't lived up to coaches' expectations.
It actually would make sense for UM to move Dye back to defensive end – a position of need - but UM says it won't seriously consider any position switches for anybody until after the New Year.
"They wouldn't be recruiting a JUCO kid so hard if they didn't need someone to come in and contribute," Sandland told Canesport.
Among junior college tight ends the Canes have added over the years, the hope is Sandland is closer to Jeremy Shockey than Chase Ford.
FYI: UM lost receivers coach George McDonald to Arkansas on Wednesday.
### While many Dolphins fans are very much aware of the six things that need to happen for Miami to make the playoffs (see our next-to-last post for the details), a bunch of Dolphins players said Wednesday they aren't aware and aren't particularly curious to find out. One exception: Richie Incognito.
Asked if he knows the scenario, Reggie Bush said, "I do not." When reporters started telling him, he said, "That's too much to remember."
### Couple receiver notes: Not only is Davone Bess still dealing with a back issue, but Brian Hartline is, too. Both missed practice Thursday. Receiver Chris Hogan -- who was nicknamed 7-11 during Dolphins training camp because (as Bush said) "he was always open," -- was moved up to Buffalo's 53-man roster, but it's questionable if he will get any playing time against Miami on Sunday.
### Last season, the Heat was fifth in field-goal percentage against. This year, Miami is 18th in that category, plus 16th in points allowed. No wonder Stan Van Gundy said, during his weekly 790 cameo with Dan Le Batard on Wednesday, that there's no way the Heat can win a championship if it continues playing defense like this.
The Heat has dropped to last in the league in rebounding but 22nd in rebounding differential.
Offensively, the Heat is first in field goal percentage and fourth in scoring average (103.1).
### Couple broadcast notes: Panthers TV announcer Steve Goldstein relayed to us last week that he has agreed to co-host a morning talk show with Jeff DeForrest on WINZ-940 beginning Jan. 3. The show will run 6 to 10 a.m…. NBA TV on Wednesday hired former FIU coach and Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas as a studio analyst.


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[AndyUU1CC] has put together directions on how he built an Iambic Paddle out of some old hard drives. The iambic paddle is a device for telegraphy. More specifically, it is that piece that you always see people clicking with their finger when they send a telegraph. We hadn't seen an iambic or "dual lever" style before, but we now know that this is not an uncommon design. While it is ultimately just a fancy set of switches, we can't help but be impressed with the looks of it.
[via instructables]


text: > Can anybody tell me if there is an mpi debugger available in the > market? If you're on Linux (or other Unix) platform it's worth looking at our TotalView debugger which has support for most of the MPI implementations and many different Linux architectures (x86, x86-64, Power). You can visit our web site and download a copy and a free (time-limited but full function) demo license (for up to 8 processors, I think). (Disclaimer: I get paid to write TotalView, so I won't make any recommendations :-). -- -- Jim -- James Cownie <jcownie at etnus.com> Etnus, LLC. +44 117 9071438 http://www.etnus.com


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When drug companies like Pfizer and Moderna learned to successfully incorporate messenger RNA technology into a COVID-19 vaccine, experts say they likely opened the door to a significant shift in the future of immunization.
The milestone in vaccine development was met with enthusiasm from most, but the seemingly swift pace and novel approach is causing hesitancy in others.
Experts say the new technique shouldn't dissuade people from getting the vaccine. While the mRNA method is new to inoculations, the actual technology has been around for decades.
The difference now, they say, is scientists have ironed out the kinks to make a useful product.
"It sounds fancy, mRNA, but there's nothing outlandish about it," said Dr. Earl Brown, a virology and microbiology specialist with the University of Ottawa. "This is the way our cells operate — we live by mRNA."
Vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were the first inoculations approved for humans to use mRNA, which provides our cells with instructions to make proteins. In the case of COVID vaccines, the injected material shows cells how to make a harmless piece of the coronavirus spike protein, which then teaches our immune system to recognize the virus and fight off a future infection.
Scientists made the vaccine by programming genetic material from the spike protein into mRNA, a process that theoretically could work for other viruses.
"As long as you know how to create those instructions — that genetic code you need to convince your body to create that target — you can design an mRNA vaccine against any antigen," said Nicole Basta, an associate professor of epidemiology at McGill.
"But the question is whether it will be effective, and whether it will be safe."
The development of future mRNA vaccines might be quick, Basta says, but they would need to go through the usual evaluation process and clinical trials to ensure safety and efficacy. So vaccines for other viruses won't be popping up overnight.
Still, Basta adds, there's potential for using mRNA to either improve upon existing vaccines or to develop new ones against other pathogens.
Dr. Scott Halperin, a professor at Dalhousie University and the director of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology, sees mRNA vaccines as "evolutionary rather than revolutionary."
Part of the reason COVID vaccines came together so quickly was the technology had been developing for years, Halperin said. The global pandemic offered scientists a pressing opportunity — and unprecedented funding and collaboration — to try again for a viable injection.
Previous research had been done on creating mRNA vaccines against Zika and other viruses, Halperin added, and there were earlier efforts focused on cancer treatments. Coronavirus-specific research was further sped up by spike protein analysis from SARS and MERS.
While the mRNA technology itself is impressive, Halperin says improvements need to be made to create a more temperature-stable product before these types of vaccines and treatments "truly take over."
"The logistics of delivering mRNA vaccines right now, we wouldn't want to have to do that for every vaccine we produce," he said, referencing the ultra-cold storage temperature that's currently needed. "But I do think it's an important milestone."
Scientists are expected to continue advancing the technology, just as they did recently in solving two confounding problems with mRNA — its fragility and instability.
Brown says fragility was resolved by packaging the mRNA in a fat coating, giving it something to help bind onto cells so it wouldn't disintegrate upon injection. The instability was conquered by modifying the uracil component of RNA, one of the four units of its genetic code.
"The technology application is new, but the science is mature," Brown said. "We've just reached the point at which we can apply it."
Traditional vaccines typically contain a killed or weakened virus, Brown said. Those methods are still being used in COVID vaccine development, including by AstraZeneca-Oxford, whose product has not yet been approved in Canada.
A benefit to using mRNA is the speed at which a vaccine can be developed or updated once scientists know what to target, Brown says.
While experts believe current vaccines will work against recent variants of the COVID virus — including one originating in the U.K. that's more transmissible — Brown says mRNA's adaptability could theoretically come in handy if new strains emerged that necessitated an update.
"In six weeks they could produce something," he said. "It would still have to go through Phase 3 trials, but it does give you more flexibility and a big leg up."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2021.
Melissa Couto Zuber, The Canadian Press


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Go for the Gold: 15 Gold Leaf DIY Projects
The extreme cold temperatures gripping much of the country this winter have many of us going a little stir crazy (yes, I am hands down one of them!). Fortunately, the Winter Olympics are right around the corner, which will at least offer up some entertainment in my self-imposed house confinement. In the spirit of the Olympics, here are 15 gold-medal worthy DIY projects to try your hand at while taking in a few skiing or figure skating events.
1. Gold Leafed Ikea Desk Hack from Style Me Pretty.
2. Gold Leaf Feather Art from Desert Domicile.
3. Gilded Terracotta Pots by Design Sponge.
4. Thrifted Chair Goes Gold by Brittany Makes via Apartment Therapy.
5. DIY Gold Leafed Ceiling from Eric's Stylish, Sunshine-Filled House Tour by Apartment Therapy.
6. Gold Leaf Jewelry Tray by Homey Oh My!.
7. Cement + Gold Leaf Planter by Ruffled via Apartment Therapy.
8. Gold Leaf Lamp Shade by Design Sponge.
9. Gold Leaf Light Switch Cover by Sarah Hearts.
10. A Glamorous Gold Leaf Desk Makeover by IKEA Hackers via Apartment Therapy.
11. DIY Gold Confetti Dish by Vitamini Handmade via Apartment Therapy.
12. Gold Leaf Chair Upgrade by Design Sponge.
13. DIY Gold Leaf Canvas Art from Innovative Interiors.
14. Gold Leaf Lampshade by Cohesive Randomness.
15. Papier Mâché & Papier Japonais with Gold Leaf Accents by My Little Fabric.


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What Thought If Any Have You Given To Your Social Media Content Marketing Plan?
Traditional marketing techniques are less effective today as opposed to marketing strategies in building sales funnels for over the last 40 to 50 years. Consumers now have a variety of ways of getting around customary advertising by fast forwarding past television commercials, using streaming radio services that have no commercials, gathering information from social media sites, etc. Even newspaper and magazine advertising is less relevant because most people have taken to the internet for their information. Savvy marketers have picked up on this shift and have realized there has to be a more effective way to reach their customer base. It is also worth considering to partner with Orange County IT Services to help setup and manage your website and other software.
What is social media content marketing and how do you apply it to your network marketing business?
CMI defines content marketing as: "the strategic marketing approach of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action."
The old saying, "He who has the biggest advertising budget wins" today equates to "He who produces the Best content wins."
Having a strong social media content marketing plan is imperative to getting your work found online these days.
SEO today has also taken a tremendous shift. Yes, having the SEO basics in place is still important but, the rules have changed! Backlinks don't carry the same weight they once did. Don't get me wrong, having a few backlinks to high authority relevant websites will make an enormous difference in Google's eyes.
Although there was a time when linking back to several hundred website, whether they were relevant or not, made a difference.
Not any more!
What Does Matter? – The Quality of Content and The Number of Social Media Shares.
A few years ago it was fairly easy to do a little keyword research, throw together a four or five hundred word article, and if your on page SEO was done well, you stood a pretty good chance of landing somewhere on the first page of Google.
Those days are long gone!
If you want more quality traffic to your site then its time to hunker down, do your research, get some integrated technology services, and plan on penning 1200 to 1800 (or more) word articles from here on out. Your content needs to be killer and better than everything else out there! You need to be educating your readers, not just entertaining them if you want your content shared.
Do you want your content go viral?
Then take a look at Brian Dean's website and article he did on the 21 SEO techniques you can use to get more search engine traffic. It's practically a Special Report eBook. It is unbelievable the amount of value Brian offers in all of his articles.
Oh and check out his social media share stats, 709 G+, 501 Facebook Likes, and over 800 Tweets. Not to mention the 651 comments the article has.
I would say Brian has his social media content marketing plan in place, wouldn't you?
It's not just great content that Brian delivers either, it is the way he lays everything out that keeps his readers engaged. These days you must include plenty of images in your articles, and make sure to use some LSI keywords for the Alt tags. Of course, don't forget to use your main keyword in the first image.
How To Choose Which Social Media Platforms To Use
Part of your marketing plan must include knowing how and where to have your content found.
Just because you've created amazing content and uploaded it to your blog doesn't guarantee that anyone will ever read it. Here are a few mind blowing facts that illustrate what the competition is like out there on the web.
- Close to 7.5 million blog posts are published each week on WordPress alone. I can't imagine what that number is when you take into account all the other website platforms that are available.
- YouTube has 1 hour of video uploaded every second
- Twitter has over 340 million tweets posted daily
- 219 billion photos have been posted on Facebook and the "Like" button has been hit 1.13 trillion times. (that's with a T)
- Each month close to 18 billion queries are typed into the search engines and most people rely on their social networks for information.
If you choose to upload your content on YouTube, you may consider working with a marketing agency like www.videoveggie.com to help optimize your channel.
Are you beginning to see why having a social media content marketing plan is so important? So how do you insure that your content will ever be found?
First – Know Your Readers and Where They Hangout!
- Are your readers and prospects there?
- Do you provide value on that platform?
- Are you active on the social sites they frequent?
- What do you want your readers to do with the content you share?
If your readers and customer base spend a majority of their time on Twitter and you don't, that is major problem. Twitter takes time to build a following and without that, Twitter's social platform isn't going to do you much good.
Let's Look At Which Social Networks To Share On
My advice would be to get your social media circles up and running and be consistent with participating in them on a daily basis.
The Top Seven Social Networks To Consider Are:
- Google+
- YouTube
No real surprise in that list. Do your research and know exactly which social sites your prospects use the most!
Pick the top two and start sharing and interacting.
Social Media Marketing Plan Key Elements
You've done your homework and have chosen which social sites to share on. Next map out a goal for each channel you plan to share on.
Each channel should have a particular purpose and desired action. Your audience will be different on each social site. Are you looking to create a larger email subscriber base? Is your goal to direct people to a webinar, visit your blog, comment or share your content? Is the intention to drive traffic to an affiliate product, video capture page, or just to register for a newsletter or special report that you have written?
Tailoring your content for social media is key. You will market to people differently on LinkedIn as opposed to Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest right? Know your audience and what is appropriate, structure your social content accordingly to gain maximum results.
3 – Ways To Understand Your Prospects Needs
1. Ask – Your prospect knows best so why not ask them directly? Put together a short survey or questionnaire and get it out to your email list.
2. Join different industry groups on the social sites you are targeting to see what content is being shared, what people are taking about, what solutions are being offered, (if any) then join in the discussion, ask more questions and provide solutions. You will look like a leader and people will naturally begin to follow you.
3. Examine your Google Analytics to get a clear understanding of what keywords are driving traffic to your site. Then simply create more content around those search terms.
Blog Commenting
One of the best methods I have found for having my content shared is by blog commenting and social sharing.
Here are some guidelines to follow:
- Comment only within your niche
- Comment on higher authority sites than yours when possible
- Provide value and add to the conversation
- Be consistent – Comment 3 to 5 times per week
- Find blogs using the CommentLuv plugin
With all the changes Google has made, taking advantage of every opportunity possible is key. The CommentLuv plugin actually rewards your readers by giving them a "DoFollow" backlink to their site and allows them to share one of their most recent articles when leaving a comment. Again, this backlink isn't as important as it was in the old days, but sharing the luv for those leaving a comment is a big incentive for them to share your work with their networks. Allowing that many more eyes to view and potentially share your content.
CommentLuv Plugin At Work:
Adrienne Smith is a blogger who has perfected this method. She blogs twice weekly and offers high quality content. Adrienne has built quite a following and typically receives over 100 comments per post. Her low Alexa score, (the lower the better) proves being consistent and offering quality content does pay off. The more regularly you comment and share, the more people will visit your website to repay the favor. Not to mention everyone will be getting a nice backlink as well.
Having an effective social media content marketing plan in place requires understanding your target market, where to find them, and how to effectively and consistently talk directly to them on a daily basis. Understanding what social content marketing is not, is equally as important. Far too many brands and marketers use social media as a way to constantly spam and blast their campaigns to everyone.
Content marketing follows the theory of attraction marketing – Provide quality content and solve people's problems first without asking for anything in return. Build trust, loyalty, and a relationship, the money is guaranteed to follow. Your social media content plan is a long term strategy, learn to listen to what your prospects needs are and create information that solves problems.
To your massive success!
PS: If You've Been Struggling To Build Your Network Marketing Business and Want More Leads and to Sign Up More Reps, Click Here to Learn How To Generate Leads Starting Today!
I would love to hear your comments and know how you are implementing your social media content marketing plan. Feel free to share this article with your friends over at Google+, Twitter and Facebook.


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Town in the province of Hanover, Prussia. That Jews lived there at a very early date is shown by the fact that some Einbeck Jews were burned at the stake in 1298. In a document of 1355 a Jews' street and a "schole der Joden" are mentioned, and an "old Jewish cemetery" is referred to in a document dated 1454. An old and mutilated tombstone still exists to record the interment of a Jewess in the year 5160 (= 1400). It appears from an assignment of Duke Erich of Brunswick to his wife Ilse (Elizabeth), dated July 14, 1405, and from a letter of Duke Philipp to his brother Ernst, dated 1562, that the Jews of Einbeck paid a yearly tax which formed part of the revenues of the castle of Grubenhagen. When the dukes Wolfgang and Philipp of Grubenhagen forbade all Jews not under their protection to pass through the principality, the envoys of the "Gemeine Jüdischheit" petitioned Emperor Maximilian (Feb. 25, 1570), who annulled their decree. A few years later, in 1579, when the fanatic Magister Johann Velius, pastor of the Jacobior Marktkirche at Einbeck, raised a storm of public feeling against the Jews of the town, the latter were expelled. They reappeared, however, after the Thirty Years' war.
In 1718 the elector Georg Ludwig of Hanover was forced to restrict the influx of Jews in the interest of the Christian merchants. During the French supremacy (1806-13) the district contained forty Jewish families, nine of which lived at Einbeck. On Aug. 31, 1896, a new synagogue was dedicated by Dr. Lewinsky, to which the banker Bernhard Meyersfeld of Brunswick, a native of Einbeck, contributed 20,000 marks. In 1902 the community of Einbeck included 110 persons.
- Harland, Gesch. der Stadt Einbeck, Einbeck, 1854-59;
- Wiener, Jahrb. für die Gesch. der Juden, 1860, i. 176 et seq.;
- idem, in Monatsschrift, 1861, pp. 243 et seq., 251 et seq.;
- idem, in Zeitschrift des Histor. Vereins für Niedersachsen, 1861, pp. 248 et seq.;
- Salfeld, Martyrologium, pp. 28 et seq.;
- Max, Gesch. des Fürstentums Grubenhagen, 1862-63;
- Feise, Zur Gesch. der Juden in Einbeck, in Einbecker Zeitung, 1903, Nos. 23 et seq.;
- Zeitschrift des Histor. Vereins für Niedersachsen, 1899, p. 339;
- L. Horwitz, Die Israeliten Unter dem Königreich Westphalen, pp. 9, 99;
- Monatsschrift, 1901, p. 568.


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Red Deer Heat Pumps
We are your heat pump specialists keeping you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Red Deer Heat Pumps is the largest provider of heat pumps in Red Deer, and the surrounding Central Alberta region. We offer free installation on all purchases. We also offer maintenance and installations of gas furnaces and electric furnaces. Our team of talented HVAC technicians are committed to delivering a superior customer service experience along with the best heating and cooling system specific to your unique needs.
Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education. It is surrounded by Red Deer County and borders on Lacombe County. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills, alongside the Red Deer River. == History == The area was inhabited by First Nations including the Blackfoot, Plains Cree and Stoney before the arrival of European fur traders in the late eighteenth century.
Anders Park, Aspen Ridge, Bower, Bower Place, City of Red Deer Public Art Collection, Clearview Meadows, Clearview Ridge, Deer Park Estates, Deer Park Northeast, Deer Park Southeast, Deer Park Village, Deer Ridge, Eastview, Eastview Estates Community Hall, Evergreen


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Massive Marsupials Once Swung from Treetops Down Under
Some 15 million years ago, mobs of 150-pound (70-kilogram) marsupials roamed the treetops of Australia's rain forests, researchers say.
Nimbadon lavarackorum belonged to a family of large-bodied marsupials known as the diprotodontids that went extinct about 11,000 years ago. During the diprotodontids' reign in Australia, they ranged from sheep-size wombatlike creatures to the mega-herbivore Diprotodon, which stood at 13 feet (4 meters) tall and weighed up to 6,100 pounds (2,800 kg).
Nimbadons were on the small-end of this spectrum, and they lived during the Middle Miocene (about 16 million to 11.6 million years ago). These ancient marsupials are best known from 26 different specimens found at the bottom of a vertical cave in northwestern Queensland, where a group of them apparently plunged to their deaths. In a new study, researchers examined Nimbadon bones and compared them with other species to get a clearer picture of how these ancient animals might have lived.
The researchers said they found striking similarities between Nimbadon skeletons and those of current koalas, including strong forelimbs, large claws and highly mobile shoulder and elbow joints. These features, combined with the Nimbadon's short hind limbs, suggest that the animals had excellent climbing and grasping skills and also could have used their long, flexible arms to suspend themselves from branches and reach for food and supports.
Even though the diprotodontids were thought to have lived on the ground, all these characteristics point to a life in the trees, which would make Nimbadons the largest herbivorous mammals to have ever lived in the forest canopies of Australia — an ecological niche that is now empty, the researchers say.
"The findings presented here indicate that we are only beginning to understand the range of morphological and niche diversity displayed by this ecologically important and widespread group of Australasian marsupials — the diprotodontids," the researchers concluded.
The study, led by a team from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, was published online Nov. 21 the journal PLoS ONE.
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This article is more than 1 year old
Banking Trojan hijacks live chat to run real-time fraud
Simpler, faster, better... for crooks
A new strain of financial malware is hijacking live chat sessions in a bid to hoodwink business banking customers into handing over their banking login credentials or into authorising fraudulent transactions.
The attack is being carried out using the Shylock malware platform*, using a configuration that runs a browser-based man-in-the-middle attack. The assault – which targets business banking customers rather than consumers – kicks in when a victim logs into their online banking application.
Sessions are suspended, supposedly to run security checks (on the pretext that the "system couldn't identify your PC"), before a web-chat screen under the control of hackers is presented to victims. But instead of talking to a customer service rep, the mark is actually chatting to cybercrooks, who will attempt to hoodwink victims into handing over login credentials or other information needed to authorise fraudulent transactions. Unbeknownst to the victims, the fraudsters are relaying authorisation data to the victim's bank during their conversation, carrying out a concurrent fraud in real time.
"This web injection is followed by an elaborate web-chat screen, which is implemented in pure HTML and JavaScript," Trusteer explains. "Within two to three minutes, if the user's login is valid ... the fraudster engages in a live online chat session with the victim. This exchange is apparently used to gather more information from the victim. The session may even be used to perform real-time fraud by enticing the victim to sign/verify fraudulent transactions that Shylock is initiating in the background."
Phishing attacks that incorporate live chat have appeared before but these assaults (like this one detected by RSA in 2009) involved tricking victims into visiting phishing sites. Cybercrooks have refined this approach with the latest attack by embedding similar functionality into a malware platform so that they can present the attack as soon as victims log into banking applications from compromised PCs, avoiding the need to trick victims into visiting a phishing site they have established.
Phishing sites are subject to rapid takedown and blacklisting, so avoiding this step in the process is a major advantage to crooks.
Trusteer has more detail on the attack in a blog post here. ®
*Shylock is so named because every new build bundles random excerpts from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in its binary. The malware, which first appeared last September, has claimed a significant increase in infected machines over recent weeks, Trusteer separately warned earlier this month. Shylock uses a battery of tricks to escape detection by anti-virus scanners, as explained here.