text:
Hamilton Library Moves Forward in Aftermath of Manoa Floods
Access to electronic database restored; limited circulation services being discussedUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Hamilton Library
Arlene Abiang, 808-956-5637
External Affairs & University Relations
HONOLULU — UH Mānoa volunteer and staff at Hamilton Library continue their recovery efforts and assessments of the devastating flood damages received from heavy rains this past weekend. Areas affected by the flash flood included about 230,000 rare maps and aerial photographs, more than 100 computers, thousands of government documents and books, collection services and the Library Information Sciences (LIS) school. Due to the heavy damages, the library remains closed until further notice.
Parts of the library experienced loss of electricity and phone service since Saturday, affecting services including the Voyager Online Catalog System. The system has since been moved to a safe area where it can be remedied. Power has also been restored to Hamilton Library Phase III, which includes the Science Technology Collection. Also restored is the online electronic database system, www.sinclair.hawaii.edu, in which faculty, students and staff can access some online resources.
Efforts are currently underway to preserve the recovered materials. The library's preservation department is currently finishing up the first phase of its disaster recovery where materials are being held in freezers so they are kept stabilized. Contractors have also assessed the damages and have come in with dehumidifiers to control humidity and prevent mold from forming.
"Amid this disaster, I am glad to see we have such dedicated workers and volunteers from the UH community who have been very supportive in helping us recover from our losses," said Jean Ehrhorn, associate librarian at Hamilton Library. "Although we have lost many of our historical pieces, it is comforting to see there are so many who care."
Ehrhorn reports that counselors have been called in to help staff deal with the emotional trauma of working within a disaster area. Volunteers and donors have also come out to offer their assistance with generous donations such as emergency items and lunch for the hard working staff and volunteers. Marc Pollei, a conservator from Brigham Young University-Utah, will be volunteering his services until Nov. 19 to assist with the treatment phase of recovery.
Donations to go towards Hamilton Library's flood disaster relief are being accepted through a library enrichment fund with the University of Hawaii Foundation. In addition to monetary donations, items that are in need include: "D" batteries, battery-operated lanterns, garbage bags, and bottled water/soft drinks and lunch for staff and volunteers. More information can be obtained by calling 956-8849.
Interested individuals and organizations may also volunteer their services towards the flood cleanup by calling 956-7486.
Plans are currently being discussed to have limited circulation services available. In the meantime, the university community and the public are encouraged to visit www.hawaii.edu for continuous updates concerning Hamilton Library.ABOUT HAMILTON LIBRARY
With more than 3 million volumes, the Hamilton Library at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa is the leading research library serving the university, the state of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region. The library supports the teaching, research and information needs of faculty, students, staff and the community. It helps preserve the local cultural heritage as well as provides physical and intellectual access to the world of knowledge.
For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/floodinfo/index.html


text:
In Walk On, Ben Malcolmsom opens up about how he discovered his purpose and how God used him in unexpected ways. Ben was a journalist for the USC school newspaper, The Daily Trojan. He decided to secretly join the walk on try out for the Southern California Trojans football team to get a firsthand story about the experience of trying out. He hasn't played football since he was ten years old. He was determined to never to play football again because he hated it. He also weighed only about 165 pounds at the time and wasn't a big guy. He was only going to be trying out just for the story. But God had other plans. He was picked to be on the team partly because he was a fast runner and he believed that Coach Peter Carroll was playing a prank on him by selecting him to be a walk on player. It wasn't a prank he did make the team and he made the roster for wide receiver. He was picked on and laughed at by a few of his teammates when they discovered he was a reporter. Throughout the book, he shared about how he loved to be a counselor at Deerfoot which was a wilderness camp for boys. He opened up about how his faith became real for him when he was a freshman. His faith helped him to be a witness for Christ on the football team even while encountering setbacks and challenges. He injured his shoulder again and was kicked off of the team. He had to choose to preserve and fight for his spot back on the team. Readers will strongly be encouraged and their faith will be strength by reading about how Ben found his purpose and how God used him.
I would recommend this amazing book to anyone who enjoys reading a story about adversity and overcoming the odds despite the fact that the odds are against you. I haven't ever heard of Ben's story prior to reading this book. I connected with the fact that he was a new reporter and was considered to be unqualified to be a football player. But he found his way amazing placed on a football team. I loved how he included special thoughts and scriptures at the end of all the chapters. He had great takeaways about being on the sidelines and still believing that God has a hope and a future for you. I really enjoyed reading this book about his journey through his news writing career and how everything lined up the way it was supposed to. If you're a looking for a great summer read, then read this book!
"I received an advance book copy free from the Waterbrook Multnomah and was a member of the Walk on Launch team."
If you would like to purchase a copy of Walk On, check it out on Amazon.com:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
8.9m x 13.4m (29ft x 44ft)
In recent years, timber frame houses have become highly recognized and demanded throughout European territory. This is largely due to the low cost of production and short installation time of timber frame structures. The cost for manufacturing timber frame structures is considerably lower than the cost you will have to count on when choosing to build a concrete structure. Timber frame houses are durable in all climate conditions. These houses will be warm during the coldest of winters and you will feel great living in them during the hottest of summers, as they use technology that provides a natural microclimate in their premises.
Living area 104,5 m²
Total area 124,9 m²
Garage 20,4 m²
Cubic capacity 362,2 m³
Height 7,05 m
Roof slope 3 °
Roof area 57,68 m²
Minimum plot size 20,44 x 16,94 m
Rooms 5
Fast production – timber frame constructions do not take time to dry due to the lack of concrete in the manufacturing process, there are no delays in construction due to bad weather conditions, because the frame constructions are manufactured at the factory. Inside works can be done right after the house installation (assembly) has been done. All of this makes the house construction much more faster.
Efficiently – efficiency results from timber frame that has been pre-fabricated (at the factory) – this ensures that the frame will be manufactured in a dry and clean production facility atmosphere giving space to precise, industrial production with high precision and applied methods with experience of many years, this all reduces the risk of manufacturing errors. Construction site is much more vulnerable to building waste, which can cause environmental pollution.
Environmentally friendly – well managed forestry, which isolates the carbon from the atmosphere, actually contributes positively to the improvement of the environment compared to masonry structures, which contribute to the high consumption of water resources in construction of masonry buildings, as well as large quantities of fuel consumed by transportation.
Benefits / Priorities - timber frame buildings are easier to modify / upgrade. For example: it is easier to change, improve the internal layout of a building. It is easier to insulate timber frame buildings because it is easy to fill the frame with insulation and if a necessity occurs with additional insulation. Correctly placed materials in timber frame structures contribute to a smooth heat exchange, which makes it easier to exclude the possibility of cold bridge occurence in the construction. All internal communications can be hidden inside the carcass (electric cables, sewer pipes etc.), which makes it easier to fit furniture in the corners of the house, in places where it would not fit in masonry structures. When it comes to the availability of communications during the repair works, they will be easily accessible, as the frame construction is covered from the inside by a gypsum board that can be easily replaced. Building constructions made out of timber frame are very flexible and adaptable - constructions can be built with domes and curved shapes. Timber frame buildings are permanent buildings that will serve for centuries to come.
Lightweight construction – in house construction, different solutions can be used to construct foundation which are lighter, faster to install and more friendly price wise in comparison to masonry buildings.
Mold and termites? - forget about mold and termites, because the materials used in timber frame structures are pre-fabricated to prevent mold, fungi or unexpected guests, termites.
Increased fire hazard due to use of timber? - Forget about the high risk of fire hazard, in fact wooden structures are much more fireproof and safe in the events such as fire and even earthquakes than masonry buildings.
How will the amount of heat generated in a timber frame construction, heat spread, heat capacity affect me? - Great question! House construction with a high thermal mass or thermal capacity provides protection against high and low temperatures - the amount of heat at night can cool down or heat up the temperature at home. If the house is unable to distribute the amount of heat received, for example during the summer period, then a house with a high heating capacity can become an encumbrance. Team Norge House taking into account the recommendations of the Scandinavian companies experienced in the construction of timber frame buildings has tremendously improved the timber frame house structures to a level where the frame is technologically adapted to different situations and using high quality thermal insulation and with a thorough, well planed house design this all ensures house protection against extreme temperatures.
1) Fully insulated timber frame structure (weather tight). External walls comes fitted with ISOPLAST 50mm ready for render, brick slip, stone clad, timber cladding (no need for external block leaf). Insulated internal walls ready for first fix electrics and plumbing. Insulated roof ready for roof finish.
2) Triple glazed windows and doors fitted (UPVC)
3) Internal doors fitted
4) All internal wall plaster board will be fitted after the first fix electrics and plumbing is completed
5) Roof material
Supply and erect on clients prepared foundation.
1) Site clearance and ground works.
2) Electrics, Plumbing and heating.
3) Heat recovery ventilation
4) Flooring and skirting
5) Sanitary ware
6) Painting materials and labor.
7) Render, brick slip, stone clad, timber cladding (external finish)
8) Foundation
9) Internal wall skimming
10) Fascias and gutters
Insulated exterior wall - thickness 250 mm
Depending on the clients chosen exterior wall design we offer two manufacturing options:
Exterior wall (Option 1):
• Wooden lath 45 x 45 mm
Exterior wall (Option 2):
• Wooden lath 45 x 45 mm
Inner walls
Inner (bearing) walls:
Ceiling panels:
There can be few ceiling cover options included in the manufacturing package depending on the house project.
Roof construction
Depending on the clients chosen house project there are 2 possible options:
PVC windows and doors
• Windows and doors have a triple selective package with a five-chamber PVC frame
► Foundation establishment
Interior finishing works:
► Walls, ceiling filling
Internal engineering communication:
► Electricity installation works
1) Site clearance and groundworks subject to site survey
2) Flooring and skirting
3) Sanitary Ware
4) Painting Materials & Labour


text:
A provisional grade of I (incomplete) may only be given to a student who has not completed the requirements of a course for legitimate reasons, provided that work thus far completed in the course is of passing quality. The student must petition the instructor for this grade and provide the reasons, and the instructor will initiate the process. The grade of I may not be given to a student who has simply failed to meet the academic requirements of the course on time. The professor submits the form to the appropriate Associate or Assistant Dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies. Students initiate the request for an Incomplete using the Incomplete Grade form.
Incomplete grades must be resolved by the mid-semester of the succeeding term as specified in the Academic Calendar, whether or not the student is registered. If the incomplete grade is not resolved by mid-semester, the incomplete becomes a grade of F (failure). Under extraordinary circumstances, but before the date of the mid-semester following the reported incomplete grade, a student may petition the instructor of the course and the dean of the school in which the student is enrolled for an extension of the period normally allowed for removal of the incomplete grade.
Grades and Academic Standing (Undergraduate) Policy


text:
As other broker-dealers continue to embrace acquisitions as a growth strategy, leaders of Commonwealth Financial say that the firm would consider such a move, but it has very tough standards.
"We will look at anything," said CEO Wayne Bloom (left), in an exclusive interview with AdvisorOne on Saturday, during the independent-contractor BD firm's national conference in San Antonio. "But look at the profile of most firms. Maybe 15% or 20% of the advisors could fit our production requirement, business mix and culture. Why would we take on the other 80%-85% of [those] reps?"
Commonwealth, Bloom explains, is more keenly focused on "finding the advisors we want," which generally means those with $200,000 and up in yearly fees and commissions. He admits that this represents "slower growth, but this is the right growth% for us."
As an example of broker-dealer firms growing through acquisition, last Wednesday, First Allied Holdings said it planned to buy the Legend Group from Waddell & Reed (WDR). It would boost the number of reps affiliated with First Allied by about 450 to some 1,500 advisors with $30 billion in assets under administration.
First Allied Securities Chairman Joel Marks says this type of transaction is essential for independent firms of its size. "Margin compression in this business is getting bigger, so you have to grow. It is not an option," he said in an interview on Nov. 1.
Recruiting Momentum
"We actually can recruit," said John Rooney (right), managing partner of the firm in San Diego, during the Saturday group interview with Commonwealth's leaders. "No one is throwing out money in the independent world; only the wirehouses do. You have to compete on service, technology and what makes the broker-dealer effective. There is only a handful on the top tier, and those at that level are doing okay organically. Others are having a harder time."
Commonwealth executives say the firm has attracted about $36 million in yearly fees & commissions to date with newly recruited advisors, with the average production level being about $405,000. (About 70 of all advisors that joined in the past 12 months attended its Nov. 2-5 national conference in San Antonio.)
"Our model does not discriminate, and we provide the same service for all financial advisors," said Andrew Daniels, managing partner of field development, in the same interview. "If we pick up 200 advisors or 20, it has no effect really on our margins and the marginal change that comes from these new reps, because we all rise together."
Still, the firm does need to take scale into account over all, Bloom said, noting that the firm has spent about $120 million on technology over the past five years or so. "But with the right scale, we can weather the things" that are reshaping the industry, he said. "And can keep investing and not let service slip." In Bloom's view, it all comes down to "treating all members of your community well and recruiting the right people," he noted. "It's about managing your business: adapting to change but keeping your core DNA and focus."
Commonwealth's 1,400-plus advisors now produce about $700 million in yearly fees and commissions, 70% of which is fee based. The independent broker-dealer "is marching toward" becoming a $1-billion firm with a $500,000 production average over the next few years, while maintaining its reputation for boutique-level service, Bloom says.
Bringing on a large number of reps with under $200,000 in production, he adds, could "dilute our offering."
As Daniels (left) acknowledges, keeping all advisors happy with its high service level is paramountm and stresses that it's more important than adding a large number of new advisors. "My standard for growth is this: How does a rep who joined us five to 10 years ago feel about us today? adding 'Why does this make us attractive to prospects?'" What is more important, he said, "is having a careful, strategic evolution."
Again, Commonwealth executives say that this all comes back to sharp focus on top advisors, which has brought the firm success in the past. In the independent broker-dealer world, "We believe we have the highest average production and retention rates as a result. We do not want to derail that success," Daniels said.
Recruited advisors, the executives note, do give other reps "an energy boost." "Veteran advisors get energy from seeing how happy the new reps are," said Rooney. "It's new blood," while arguing that new reps gain a lot from their more experienced Commonwealth colleagues.


text:
(Garrison, NY) Chronic illness, already a major and expensive problem in developed countries, is rapidly increasing in developing countries, adding to the longstanding burden caused by high rates of infectious diseases. However, poor countries will not be able to afford the costly medical technologies that wealthy countries use to treat chronic conditions, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, pulmonary disease, and diabetes, writes Daniel Callahan, cofounder of The Hastings Center.
Callahan examines this trend and concludes that it calls for a new, more economically sustainable model of medicine, which he proposes in an article in the Brown Journal of World Affairs.
The causes of the increase in chronic disease in developing countries are changing diets, particularly an increase in meat and processed food consumption, alcohol consumption, smoking, and less physical activity. But chronic illness in these areas has some distinctive characteristics. For one, it is common to find obesity - a major contributor to chronic disease - and malnutrition in the same families. And chronic illness typically begins about a decade earlier than in developed countries.
"The emergence of chronic disease in developing countries is a 'turning point' because they are facing a confrontation with the same kinds of economic pressures that now bedevil developed countries," Callahan writes. But addressing this problem will be even more difficult for the developing countries because of increasing inequities, such as poor access to health care, poverty and economic insecurity, and lack of educational opportunities.
"Chronic disease will only add to the existing inequities," he writes. "Chronic disease treatment is usually expensive, and the rich in poor countries are likely to have better access to it."
Callahan challenges the conventional health policy approach to chronic illness pursued in wealthy countries and particularly in the United States, which assumes that it is simply a matter of finding better ways of organizing and managing health care. Totally neglected is the model of medicine underlying that care. "That model values unlimited medical research and technological innovation: there is no such thing as enough health or medical progress. More, always more," says Callahan. "But it is just that model that driving up health costs here and all the less helpful to poor countries. It is the goals of medicine itself that most needs reform."
He proposes a new set of goals for medicine, applicable to both rich and poor countries, which he calls "sustainable medicine." It is a) affordable for a country in the long run; b) no longer open-ended in its life-extending aspirations, aiming instead for a limited but acceptable population-based average length of life; c) able to keep annual health care costs at the level of the country's annual gross domestic product growth, and d) can be equitably distributed.
"Nothing less than a revolution, one that overthrows the tyranny of an economically and socially unsustainable model of medicine based on a vision of endless progress and technological innovation, is increasingly needed," Callahan concludes. "It will seek to institute a more modest vision, one that accepts the inherent finitude of human life. It will not allow health care to trump all other human goods."
Contact: Susan Gilbert, public affairs and communications manager
The Hastings Center
845-424-4040 x244


text:
Glasses :
Designer Sunglasses
Designer Emilio Pucci Sunglasses
designer emilio pucci sunglasses: emilio pucci, the marquis of barsento, became a fashion phenomenon in the 1950s and was crowned "the prince of prints" by the international fashion press who were smitten by his bold, new designs and radical approach to fashion at the time. pucci's legacy continues to be a major force behind the birth of the "made in italy" style and a milestone in italy's sportswear concept.
the emilio pucci eyewear collection pays homage to an array of vintage prints, adorned monograms, cascading colors and fluid movement. the collection is fused with the design vision of peter dundas.
Designer Emilio Pucci Sunglasses - 100% Authentic Emilio Pucci Sunglasses - Brand New Emilio Pucci Sunglasses
Designer Emilio Pucci EP680S Sunglasses


text:
Isaac Redman steps in, rushes for TD as Steelers get past Browns
CLEVELAND -- They're bruised, limping and not close to being healthy. The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't themselves.
But they are going to the playoffs.
At this point, that's all that matters.
Isaac Redman replaced injured starting running back Rashard Mendenhall and scored a touchdown, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made enough big plays on his sprained ankle and Pittsburgh hobbled into the postseason with a wind-whipped 13-9 win Sunday over Cleveland, the Steelers' 16th victory in 17 games against the Browns.
The Steelers fear Mendenhall tore the ACL in his right knee, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Redman scored on a 7-yard run in the third quarter for the Steelers (12-4), who finished tied with Baltimore for first in the AFC North but lost the tiebreaker because the Ravens beat them twice. Pittsburgh needed to win and hope Cincinnati could knock off the Ravens, who beat the Bengals 24-16.
But the Steelers are in the playoffs as a wild card and will face Tim Tebow and the Broncos in Denver next week.
"Now is the time to go out and play our best football," said Roethlisberger, who went 23 of 40 for 221 yards on his gimpy left ankle. "If you are a great team, you have to win on the road. We'd like to get it together, starting next week. We have not been able to put it all together yet this year, whether because of injury, weather, a lot of factors."
The Steelers may be without Mendenhall, their leading rusher.
He was hurt on the final play of the first quarter, when he went down after a 5-yard gain and immediately grabbed his right knee. Mendenhall walked slowly to the sideline, slapping hands with some teammates on his way to the bench. He didn't return.
After the game, Mendenhall left the stadium on crutches, his head hanging in disappointment.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made it sound as if Mendenhall could miss the postseason.
"It's not good, of course, when a guy goes down in open grass and is not touched by anyone," Tomlin said. "Experience tells me that in general that's not good."
Tomlin said Mendenhall would be examined when the team gets home.
"You should anticipate that he won't be participating next week," Tomlin said.
The Steelers survived two fumbles by Redman in the second half and then held their breath on the final play when Browns quarterback Seneca Wallace floated a pass into a crowd in the back of the end zone. Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu came over the top and got his hand on the ball before rookie wide receiver Greg Little could grab it, allowing the Steelers to escape.
The Browns (4-12) lost their last six games and nine of 10 under first-year coach Pat Shurmur. Cleveland was competitive -- the Browns lost their final three games by a combined 13 points -- but wound up with one less win that last season.
"We intended to win a lot more games than that," said cornerback Joe Haden. "The only thing that kept us going is we didn't really get blown out in any games. We need to find a way to come up with a big play, come up with the big stop, the big score and the season would be totally different."
Shaun Suisham made two field goals for the Steelers, who won 12 games for the second year in a row, something they haven't done since 1978-79. They won the Super Bowl both those years.
Motivated by losing last season's Super Bowl to Green Bay, Pittsburgh opened the season by getting blown out by Baltimore. But the Steelers recovered and will now make another run at a Lombardi Trophy.
"We have a lot of veterans who know what January football is all about," said safety Ryan Clark. "Now's the time to go play it. We kind of limped in and it would have been huge to get a bye and get guys healthy. Now we have to go and play better on the road. I believe this team can win anywhere."
Phil Dawson kicked three field goals for all of Cleveland's points.
Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward had five catches and became the eighth player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career catches.
Ward grabbed a shovel pass in the fourth quarter, and although it lost three yards, it got him to the milestone. Ward and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice are the only players with 1,000 receptions and more than one Super Bowl win. Ward was embraced by his teammates when he came to the sideline after his catch, but it was one of the few things worth celebrating on a sloppy day for the Steelers, who dominated the stat sheet but couldn't put the Browns away.
"It's the happiest negative-yard catch I've ever had," Ward said. "I always try to put team ahead of personal goals. But 1,000 catches and over 12,000 yards is not bad considering I was a third-round pick."
Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison was well-behaved.
The hard-hitting Harrison, who was suspended for one game for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns quarterback Colt McCoy on Dec. 8, had little impact on the game. He was credited with three tackles, but none of them will need to be reviewed by commissioner Roger Goodell.
"We played sub-par today, but got a win," Harrison said. "We need to step up next week and get better -- a lot better."
Without Mendenhall, the Steelers' game plan was out the window.
And with Roethlisberger slowed by his tender ankle, Pittsburgh had to make due and did enough to improve to 23-4 against Cleveland since 1999.
With the score tied 6-6 in the third, Polamalu's interception of Wallace at Cleveland's 43 set up the Steelers' go-ahead score.
On 3rd-and-2, Wallace rolled right, and feeling pressure from backup linebacker Jason Worlids, forced a pass to tight end Evan Moore that Polamalu read perfectly and picked off near the sideline.
"Troy made a great play," said Wallace, who went only 16 of 41 for 177 yards and lost all three starts as McCoy's replacement. "I probably shouldn't have thrown it."
Roethlisberger completed two passes and the Browns jumped offsides to put it at the 7 before Redman took a handoff right and weaved his way in to make it 13-6.
Game notes
Roethlisberger improved to 80-33 as a starter, 34-9 against AFC North opponents and 14-1 vs. Cleveland. ... Steelers TE Heath Miller had 2 catches, giving him 336 for his career, one more than Hall of Famer Lynn Swann. ... Dawson finished 24 of 29 and has 1,155 points -- 194 behind club leader Lou Groza. Dawson is hoping to be back for a 14th season with Cleveland, which placed the franchise tag on him this year. "I gave my heart and soul to this team this year," he said. ... Browns RB Peyton Hillis left with a knee injury after gaining 30 yards on 10 carries.
Information from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Associated Press was used in this report.
NFL News
Fantasy football rankings for rest of 2020 NFL season: Herbert up, Elliott down
We assess which players' values have risen and fallen recently and offer rankings for the rest of the 2020 season to help you evaluate roster needs and trade offers.
Jacksonville Jaguars' Doug Marrone excited to take 'outside the box' approach to rest of season
Doug Marrone said he's fired up about the rest of the Jaguars' season despite the team's 1-6 record, saying he's going to go "outside the box" with the team the rest of the season.
Riddick: Bears' offensive woes are unfixable
After Chicago's offense fails to score a touchdown in a loss to the Rams, Louis Riddick says the Bears lack the offensive firepower to be legitimate contenders.
Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy sticking with playcalling, Nick Foles
Despite the struggles of the Bears' offense, coach Matt Nagy says he's not giving up playcalling or reverting back to QB Mitchell Trubisky.
Clemson Tigers QB Trevor Lawrence hints at staying for senior season rather than opting for NFL draft
Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, who is the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in next year's NFL draft, is hinting at staying in school for his senior season. "Who knows?" he said. "There's a lot of things that could happen."
New York Giants coach Joe Judge says team will deal with maskless players internally
Giants coach Joe Judge says he talked with Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and others about not wearing masks inside a bar.
2020 AFC North Standings


text:
THE SPORTS DOCTOR- Bench press: Celts' back-up boys make the difference
As my tomatoes grow on the vines and the yard needs mowing what seems like every other day, I face no shortage of work to occupy my time as summer hits its stride.
Likewise, there's no shortage of sports to hold my attention. UVA is trying to make it out of the Super Regional, the World Cup (as un-American as it may seem) is not going as badly as anyone thought, local high school teams are competing for state championships, and baseball races are starting to take shape (and the Cubs stink, as usual).
But it's the most unpredictable of sports that has captured my attention: the NBA finals.
Any reader of this column is well aware, there's no love lost between me and professional basketball. I've weighed in on the attitudes, the flagrant flouting of the rules (just the traveling makes me shudder), the preferential treatment of star players. Much of the game is a farce– and even the most die-hard fans know it. But I've noticed something during this year's finals that has piqued my interest.
It isn't the Is-Kobe-as-good-as-Jordan? talk. (Who cares? We know no player, no matter how good, could ever compete with Jordan's ego.)
It isn't the re-emergence of Ron Artest as a solid, non-polarizing player– Artest is to Bryant what Rodman was to Jordan.
It isn't the establishment of the "Paul Pierce Celtics" as a dynasty worthy of a place in the history of that storied franchise.
It's an aspect of the games that has gone overlooked until just recently: the bench.
Bench players are unheralded and unassuming. They rarely show any flair or penchant for the spotlight (the ones who do somehow make it into a starting lineup somewhere). Their skills fall between good and very good, and they know their role on the team. But they, and only they, are the ones who make the difference.
Kobe and Pau Gasol can combine for 60 points, but Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett can easily duplicate that. Throw in 8 to 15 from the other starters from each team, and you have a tie game.
But where Doc Rivers can look down his bench and call on Nate Robinson or Glen (Big Baby) Davis, Phil Jackson looks at the likes of Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic. Vujacic may be serviceable, but he can't put up 20 the way Robinson can. Walton can stand in the paint, but he's no Big Baby.
In Game 4, the Lakers' bench scored 18 points.
The Celtics? Thirty-six– with 30 of them from Robinson and Davis. In Game 3, a Lakers win, the Celtics bench still outscored their rivals on the other side by 4 points. In Game 2, the Celtics bench scored 24 to the Lakers' 15.
Not since Game 1 of this series has the Celtics' bench posted fewer than 20 points. In the four games Boston's bench has come through, the team is 3-1. You can bet that if the Celtics win one of the next two games, the bench will be what gives them the edge.
After a Game 5 win, the Celtics look like they have the upper hand in the series. If they win, it will be their 18th title, an NBA record. And while they may be Paul Pierce's Celtics, they won on the backs of the bench.
I'm not trying to ignore UVA baseball, and I certainly haven't let Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush off the hook (they should be fired, fined, and banned from all football for at least five years. Right– Carroll didn't give Bush money, or know anything about anyone who did– can't we shame them at least?).
And while I'm not a soccer fan by any stretch (see earlier column), Saturday's game was on in my house, and I even allowed myself to get a little bit excited when we didn't lose to England.
But if even the smallest detail of an NBA game interests me, I figure I'd better acknowledge it.
Juanita Giles lives in Keysville where she makes videos and updates her Sports Doctor site.


text:
|WCIT Information
These get-togethers offer a truly excellent opportunity for both existing and prospective members to meet in an informal atmosphere over a glass of wine or beer. Members of the Court are often in attendance and will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the Company and its current activities
The ambience is very relaxed, and prospective members attending on their own will find a ready welcome.
Cost is £20 card or cash on arrival please (to include drinks).
Please see the map below for further location details. When you arrive you will be asked to sign in by Security and guided to our room on the third floor.


text:
Alzheimer's disease as a case of brake failure?
Rutgers researcher Karl Herrup and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University have discovered that a protein that suppresses cell division in brain cells effectively "puts the brakes" on the dementia that comes with Alzheimer's disease (AD). When the brakes fail, dementia results. This discovery could open the door to new ways of treating Alzheimer's disease, which affects up to half the population over the age of 85.
Determining the protein's previously unsuspected role in AD is an important piece of the puzzle and it brings a new perspective to the basis of AD. "It changes the logic from a search for a trigger that kicks off the dementia to the failure of a safety that has suppressed it," Herrup said.
The researchers reported their findings in the in the June 24 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper was previously available online in the PNAS Early Edition.
Herrup has spent a good part of his career seeking to unravel the mystery behind unrestrained cell cycling. Looking at AD through the lens of cancer, Herrup sees the rampant cell division associated with cancer mirrored in AD-related dementia.
In cancer, the seemingly uncontrollable cell division enables the disease to overwhelm normal body cells. Adult neurons, or nerve cells, don't normally divide. (Cancerous brain tumors do not grow from neurons but from glial cells.) Instead of producing new neurons in the brain, the cycling leads to cell death, which causes progressive dementia.
"Every cell wants to divide, and that basic urge never leaves the cell," Herrup said.
"Homeostasis in the brain has worked out a way to successfully suppress cell cycling, but with age even that highly successful program sometimes fails, resulting in a catastrophic loss of neurons."
Herrup's team experimented with a protein family known as cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk). These enzymes power the cell cycle, driving it forward through its various phases. The scientists focused on one particular kinase – Cdk5 – termed "an atypical kinase" because they could find no involvement in propelling the cell cycle. They found that while it appears to be inert as a cell cycle promoter, Cdk5 in the nervous system actually functions to hold the cell cycle in check.
"Its mere presence helps protect the brain," Herrup said. "What we discovered is that Cdk5 acts as a brake, not a driver."
Their latest laboratory research examined the workings of Cdk5 in human AD tissues and in a mouse model. Normally, the protein resides in the nerve cell nucleus, but in the presence of AD – both in the mouse model and in the human tissue – the disease process drives the protein out into the cell's cytoplasm. This disrupts the status quo, overrides the brake and unleashes a chain of events that ultimately leads to the death of the cells and the resulting dementia.
"The ejection of Cdk5 out of the nucleus is probably related to the changed chemistry of the Alzheimer's brain and chronic inflammation that accompanies AD," Herrup said.
Source: Rutgers University
Other sources
- Alzheimer's Disease As Case Of Brake Failure? Loss Of Protein Function In Neurons May Lead To Dementiafrom Science DailyWed, 25 Jun 2008, 13:21:23 UTC
- Alzheimer's disease as a case of brake failure?from PhysorgTue, 24 Jun 2008, 18:28:10 UTC


text:
The Beeb has started running promos for Top Gear's upcoming 18th season. Among the highlights: A very short Richard Hammond looking very worried in a very large NASCAR stock car.
Plus the usual explosions, test track inappropriateness, members of the Stig's extended family, and the greatest crossed-up full-tilt powerslides...in the world. Coming soon to BBC 2 and the global BitTorrent network.
(Hat tip to The true expression for freedom is a 4x4!)


text:
New Toyota Prius for Sale in Stuart, FL
3 Matching Vehicles Found
MPG Disclaimer:
Based on model year EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
*Advertised prices exclude dealer installed accessories, taxes, DMV fees, and $899.50 dealer fee. All vehicle pricing is subject to change. Time to time in the transfer of data on the internet there are errors, and the dealer is not responsible for errors in advertised price. Prices include all incentives and rebates. All sale prices applicable on day of sale and not in conjunction with any other offers, specials, or sales events. Must finance with SETF at standard rates with approved credit. Advertised prices cannot be used in conjunction with special factory APR programs. Discounts available on in-stock units only. Treasure Coast Toyota is not responsible for typographical errors. Stock numbers designate sale vehicles. Art for illustration purposed only. See dealer for complete details.
*For more information regarding WoW Price, see dealer for details.


text:
If you're going to make a rally game, you should do it properly - and that means basing it meticulously on the real sport. As the only game to sport the official WRC licence, WRC3 brings the excitement of the 2003 season to PS2 - including this year's new event, held in Turkey.
Evolution Studios, the game's developer, has managed to add yet more visual sheen to the action, making the rallying look increasingly realistic. New damage models allow the cars to react to the environment in a convincing fashion, with bodywork and glass being torn and smashed from the car if you fail to pay proper attention to your co-driver's advice. The higher attention to detail extends to car handling and even fully working in-car instrumentation, all helping to raise the level of immersion still further.
Another area of the game to receive major improvements for the latest version is the environments you scream through on your quest to become World Rally Champion. This year, they're even bigger, and really bring home the feeling of testing your car to the limits in the wilderness. There are also more built-up areas to hurtle through, with more buildings, bridges and tunnels making each event feel truly distinct. New graphical effects and features, such as packed roadsides featuring crowds who react to your performance, make this the most convincing rally game you'll find.
1-4 Players
See it in action


text:
What would it look like if the man behind Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Life Aquatic, Rushmore and more directed the next Star Wars?
It'd probably look a lot like this. And you know what? I might actually watch that.
Wes Anderson's "Star Wars: Episode VII" Audition Tape - CONAN on TBS [YouTube]


text:
Amongst the massive amount of unbridled enthusiasm for The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, it seemed for a bit that Sony's reboot The Amazing Spider-Man might hit theaters with little fanfare. The pic finally premiered this past Tuesday to a record-setting $35 million and fairly positive reviews, and though we won't know the full box office impact until later this weekend, the film is certainly off to a promising start. With a healthy box office take, a sequel for The Amazing Spider-Man is all but guaranteed (writers were recently hired to perform a rewrite of James Vanderbilt's follow-up screenplay). Now an official message from Sony confirms what we already knew: The Amazing Spider-Man is the first in a planned trilogy.
Hit the jump for much more, including evidence that a great deal of Spidey's origin was cut out of The Amazing Spider-Man at the last minute, and the possible inclusion of the Sinister Six in further films. Beware, MAJOR SPOILERS for The Amazing Spider-Man follow.
Sony made the formal announcement of the planned Spidey trilogy on the film's official Facebook page:
"It's finally here! The Amazing Spider-Man is the first installment in a movie trilogy that will explore how our fave hero's journey was shaped by the disappearance of his parents."
The disappearance of his parents is what leads Peter Parker down the path of eventually being bitten by a radioactive spider in The Amazing Spider-Man, and thus is key. He's engrossed by his parents' disappearance and goes snooping around Oscorp after finding some notes left behind by his father. He's bitten by the spider, shares a formula with Dr. Connors and then…he basically drops his whole investigation into what happened to his parents altogether.
This is one of the many fractures found in The Amazing Spider-Man, and now we may have a good idea as to why some of the film's scenes feel a little odd. Devin over at Badass Digest did some investigatin' to put together a great piece that looks at some of what was edited out of the finished film. It's no secret that director Marc Webb performed significant reshoots, and a number of images that were released just a few months ago show scenes that don't appear in the finished film.
Rumors swirled that the reboot would be tweaking Spider-Man's origin story, with Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker discovering that there's something already in his DNA that activates after the spider bites him, thus making him predestined for superpowers. This revelation doesn't occur in the finished film, but hints of its existence are all over the plays.
Dr. Connors' superior, Rajit Ratha (played by Irrfan Khan) is set up as a villainous presence at the beginning of the film, but after his confrontation with the Lizard on the bridge he disappears entirely. Images and trailers show a confrontation between Ratha and a Lizard-fied Connors in his sewer lair, with Spider-Man showing up as well. Someone at the Supherhero Hype message boards assembled the following based on screengrabs and images:
All evidence points to there being an expository scene during the sequence above, in which Ratha and/or Connors reveals to Parker his true origin. A specific line from one of the trailers, "Do you think what happened to you, Peter, was an accident? Do you have any idea what you really are?" definitely sounds like Ratha, and could have been his dying words.
Another hint to Peter's true origin actually appears in the finished film, per Badass Digest:
"The first major hint is still in the movie. Curt Connors is talking about how every other subject upon whom cross-species DNA merging was attempted died. He does not know that he is speaking to the one success story. But how did Peter survive? The movie leaves this sort of dangling there, but the clues are in front of your face. Peter was bitten by a spider… a spider that Peter's father bred. A spider like the one under glass in the film's prologue. A spider like the one on the chalk board in his father's office."
If you read Devin's full piece, it becomes clear that some major, major changes were made to The Amazing Spider-Man just before its theatrical release. All evidence points to Peter's origin being the main focus of the changes, but the question now becomes why? It's possible that Sony just didn't like how the film played with this "new" origin story, so they opted to go the ambiguous route. Based on their announcement of a trilogy focusing on "how our fave hero's journey was shaped by the disappearance of his parents," it's also possible that decided to save the origin reveal for a further sequel.
Whatever the case may be, I assume we'll find out "the real meaning" behind Parker's parents' disappearance in one of the two sequels that are sure to follow. In the meantime, I highly suggest you read Devin's full write-up on the matter over at Badass Digest. But while we're on the subject of Spider-Man sequels, two of the main Amazing Spider-Man producers recently talked a bit about the franchise going forward, and hinted at including the notorious Sinister Six group of villains in further films. Click over to the next page for more.


text:
Here are a couple of rules/tips that we ask for everyone to please follow when posting on the site:
- Before posting a question, please search the forums first!
Most problems have been answered on here several times and there is a good chance you will find an answer to your problem more quickly by searching rather than posting and waiting for a response. Keep in mind as well that the more time we have to spend answering the same questions means less time that we have to work on new products and make improvements to the existing ones for you.
- Please post a link to your site!
If at all possible, please post a link to your site when asking for help. Most problems can be diagnosed much more easily if we can actually see them in action. There's also a good chance that it may help us to give you an answer much more quickly when a link is included with a support thread.
- Please wait at least 24 hours before bumping a thread.
Though we do try to check the forums as often as possible, we are not on the site 24/7. Once a staff member sees your post it will be answered. We are human though and every once in a while a post may be missed, so if you have not received an answer within 24 hours please bump your thread then.
- Do NOT e-mail or PM staff members for support.
We do NOT handle support requests via e-mail or private messages. If you are having a problem with one of our products, please post in the appropriate support forum.
- Do NOT post or attach entire vBulletin files.
Attaching or posting entire vBulletin files is against your vBulletin license agreement. Instead of attaching or posting an entire file, post 10 or so lines before and after the problem area. This also pertains to any other type of copyrighted material or code.
- Do NOT post links to offensive material without a warning.
Please do not post links that may contain offensive material in them (obscene, sexually-orientated, hateful, etc.). If you must post a link to your site which contains something that may be offensive to others in order to receive support, please post a short and clear warning before the link (ex: "NOT WORKSAFE!"). Keep in mind that many users browse our web site from work and things such as this could jeopardize their job.
- When posting code, please use the [CODE], [PHP], or [HTML] tags.
These tags will help to format the coding and make it easier to read.
Please do not use the QUOTE tags to post code on the website, as it will only cause problems later on.
- Respect other members.
Do not post messages to other vBadvanced members that are hateful or otherwise disrespectful. Doing so will result in an immediate banning of your account.


text:
Export 2 results:Author Title [ Type] Year
Filters: Author is Euskirchen, Eugenie S. [Clear All Filters]
Journal Article
Influence of vegetation and seasonal forcing on carbon dioxide fluxes across the Upper Midwest, USA: implications for regional scaling. Agicultural and Forest Meteorology. 148:288-308.. 2008.
Moisture sensitivity of ecosystem respiration: Comparison of 14 forest ecosystems in the Upper Great Lakes Region, USA. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 148(2):216-230.. 2008.


text:
Moderator: yorick
Sri Lanky wrote:Two things that block it are "atheist arrogance inside" and intellectualization,which go hand in hand. Also,religious fundamentalism. Both. Though both can lead to realization if their "respective" egos are SMASHED.
Sri Lanky wrote:"How about just plain boredom?"
So,boredom isn't our enemy then.
: )
Sri Lanky wrote:That I can't really answer.
The Earth is in the process of shifting from the 3rd dimension to the 5th dimension.
I am what some people would call "a lightworker". I don't like defining myself,however. You put yourself in a box otherwise.
There are about 144,000 of us on the planet at this time.
About 85,000 of us can channel.
6 months ago about 55,000 could channel. I only recently discovered that I can do this.
We all have the capability,however.
Much to the chagrin of some people here,
the answer is in the hands of the Creator.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
U.N. demands evacuation of civilians from Homs
Last Updated 5:11 p.m. ET
(AP) BEIRUT - The head of the U.N. observers' mission in Syria demanded Sunday that warring parties allow the evacuation of women, children, elderly and sick people endangered by fighting in the besieged city of Homs and other combat zones.
Maj. Gen. Robert Mood said the observers had been trying for the past week to bring out families and wounded trapped in Homs by heavily shelling of rebel-held areas. The offensive is part of a broader push by President Bashar Assad's forces to regain rebel-held villages and towns throughout the country.
"The parties must reconsider their position and allow women, children, the elderly and the injured to leave conflict zones without any preconditions and ensure their safety," Mood said in a statement. U.N. "attempts to extract civilians from the line of fire over the past week have been unsuccessful."
"This requires willingness on both sides to respect and protect the human life of the Syrian people," he added.
On Saturday, the U.N. said its 300 observers based in Syria were suspending all missions because of concerns for their safety after fighting intensified over the previous 10 days. But the monitors said they were remaining in Syria in Damascus.
U.N. observers in Syria suspend patrols
Russia: No talks on Syria's future without Assad
Driving through Syria's unofficial civil war
A U.N. official told The Associated Press earlier Sunday that a team of observers had left Damascus for Homs, hoping to evacuate civilians. The plan was not made public for fear that would compromise the mission. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The official said the plan was to arrange a brief cease-fire of up to 90 minutes during which the civilians would have been evacuated from rebel-held areas of Homs through a safe corridor. He said the mission was approved by the Syrian government. But the fighting never eased enough to allow the evacuations.
Regime forces have been waging a fierce offensive through towns and villages nationwide, trying to root out rebels by shelling urban areas with tanks and attacking from helicopters. Rebels also have attacked Syrian forces, mostly trying to burn tanks.
The activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least eight soldiers were shot and killed in one rebel attack, and some 30 Syrian civilians and rebels were killed across the country Sunday.
"The humanitarian situation in Homs is very difficult," said Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the British-based Observatory. "It is very clear that the army wants to retake Homs."
The Observatory asked the U.N. on Saturday to intervene in Homs to evacuate 1,000 families the group said were trapped by violence along with dozens of wounded people in rebel-controlled areas who could not get medicine or doctors to treat them.
On Sunday, clashes appeared particularly intense in the central city of Homs and its surrounding provinces as well as in the town of Douma on the fringes of the Syrian capital, said the Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, another activist group.
Amateur video showed plumes of smoke wafted over Homs as the sound of gunfire echoed and shells appeared to slam into concrete and metal.
In the nearby city of Rastan, amateur video showed the mangled bodies of two brothers struck by a shell. The videos, like claims by the government and activists, could not be independently verified because the Syrian government does not allow reporters or rights groups to work independently in the country.
In Douma, rebels opened fire on a bus of soldiers, killing eight of them, according to the Observatory and amateur footage of the event that showed the men in Syrian military uniforms lying bloodied on the ground.
The statement calling off U.N. observer patrols reinforced fears that Syria is sliding ever closer to civil war 15 months after the rebellion to oust Assad began. Opposition groups say more than 14,000 civilians and rebels have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011.
The Observatory says more than 3,400 soldiers and militiamen loyal to the government have also been killed.
The U.N. observers are the only working part of a peace plan brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan. The international community saw that plan as its only hope to stop the bloodshed.
It called for the foreign monitors to check compliance with a cease-fire that was supposed to go into effect on April 12, but never took hold. They have become the most independent witnesses to the carnage on both sides as government and rebel forces ignored the truce.


text:
Personal Injury Lawyer Michael Perenich
I am a personal injury lawyer in the Tampa St. Petersburg area, I work at Perenich Caulfield Avril Noyes with my father Mark Perenich you can find him at www.1forjustice.com .
Our firm was established by my Grandfather Guy Perenich in 1955 he saw the need to help the community after working for an insurance company.
Michael Perenich is a third generation personal injury attorney. His grandfather, Guy Perenich began the firm now known as Perenich, Caulfield, Avril, and Noyes in 1955. Following in his father's footsteps, Michael's father Mark Perenich began working for the Firm in 1984. Michael spent a lot of time in the office growing up; becoming an attorney and working with his father and grandfather was a natural evolution for him. Michael was born in Clearwater, raised in Tarpon Springs, and now lives in St. Petersburg. He graduated from East Lake High School then studied Philosophy, like his grandfather, and graduated from the University of South Florida.
While at the University of South Florida Michael was selected to be a member of the Ethics Bowl team. Michael helped the team place third in the southeast region. He was also elected to be the Vice President of the campus Philosophy Organization. After USF, Michael went to Loyola University, New Orleans College of Law. While in law school, Michael interned for Honorable Judge Robert Morris of the Second District Court of Appeals. He also participated in a study abroad program in Budapest Hungary, and Istanbul Turkey (International Transactions, and Central European Legal Systems). During his third year of law school he was accepted to study at the University Of Florida Levin College Of Law where he received the Honorable R. Grable Stoutamire Book Award (highest grade) in American Legal Thought, as well as a distinction in Trial Practice.
Before personal injury, Guy Perenich was an adjustor for an insurance company. Guy witnessed the unjust and unfair power insurance companies had over the average person. Michael's grandfather built his firm on the premise of "fighting for the little guy." This is a torch that has been passed down to Michael, and he carries it with pride.
Michael enjoys traveling, wakeboarding, hiking, mountain biking, soccer, reading philosophy, cooking, Volkswagens, and performance car tuning in general. While he was at USF, he worked at Volkswagen, and later worked at Euro Tuning performance shop. Michael's mechanical knowledge is a valuable tool when handling car accident cases. Michael currently lives in Historic Kenwood, Saint Petersburg, with his wife Jayne, and daughter Wilhelmina. He has working conversational knowledge of Spanish (Español), and German (Deutsch).
Michael's grandfather guy would always tell him about stories where the little guy was being pushed around. One particular story he told me was when he was growing up he was fortunate enough to have taken a typing class in school. Through the skill he was able to get a job at the New York Times, instead of selling newspapers he was doing typing for the newspaper. While he was there he told me that a new employee came to work with him. This particular guy told my grandfather that he used to be on the board of the Corporation. That this guy used to high up in the company, and through a process of decisions the company decided that he was no longer going to be on the board and instead was going to work an entry-level position. I think it was this experience amongst many other that led my grandfather practice personal injury. Personal injury is a very specific and interesting practice of law, one has to be mindful that clients cannot pay to have someone represent them in these cases, as the case progresses expenses can become astronomical. Insurance companies have attorneys that they can hire because they have a lot more money on hand. Insurance companies have a greater ability to pay for legal counsel to represent them in cases as they can retain these people, or paying by the hour. Plaintiff's attorneys do not get paid by the hour they get paid by the case, and in some cases we personal injury attorneys will put more than 1000 hours into a case in that case may not pan out the way would like pan out the way the client would like. This is an due to our lack of experience but it is due to the nature of the civil justice system in the United States, when we bring a case in front of a jury we simply do not know how a jury is going to think or feel about a particular issue in the case, or whether or not that jury during trial will feel our case is a good or bad one. But my job as an injury attorney is to help frame my client's case, and tell the story that my client has to tell, argue the law to the court in order to tell that story and its complete entirety.


text:
As we mentioned earlier in this series, one of the goals of these articles is to help forum members separate productive debates from flame wars. If this our goal, we have an obvious challenge: what do we do about the Hitler comparisons?
Comparisons and analogies are a natural part of everyday argument; philosophers have used them as far back as Plato. Educators love them because they help students understand complicated concepts. But propagandists and ideologues also love them, because it is easy to hide a flawed argument inside of an analogy.
Unlike deduction, there are no clear formal rules for using analogies. So how do we distinguish good analogies from bad? In this article, we look at the different ways in which analogies are used in arguments. By understanding why people use analogies, we can come up with some informal guidelines for using them properly. Given these guidelines, hopefully we can give Hitler some rest.
|Part 1: Informal logic and online argumentation
|Part 2: deduction and arguments
|Part 3: Analogies and argument
|Part 4: making analogies precise
Argument by analogy
In an argument by analogy, we assert that there are similarities between two different things. From these existing similarities, we extrapolate that other similarities must exist. If we were to take a typical argument by analogy and convert it to a formal proof, it might look something like the following:
- A has properties x, y, and z
- B has properties x, y, and z
- A has property p.
Therefore, B has property p.
In this argument, statements (1)-(3) are the premises, while the last statement is the conclusion. At first glance, this type of argument is clearly ridiculous. If that is all there is to an analogy, then we could use it to prove just about anything we want. Consider the following (not completely made-up) example:
- Hitler practiced vegetarianism.
- Liberals practice vegetarianism.
- Hitler was a fascist.
Therefore, liberals are fascists.
To most people, this argument looks completely insane. What does vegetarianism possibly have to do with fascism? However, compare this argument to one that we might find everyday on the BattleFront:
- Apple designs its computers for usability.
- Lexus designs its cars for usability.
- We expect to pay a premium for Lexus cars.
Therefore, we should expect to pay a premium for Apple computers.
While not everyone agrees with this argument, it certainly looks more plausible than the vegetarianism-fascism connection. What is the difference?
One way to think of the Apple-Lexus example is that we have an accepted argument for why Lexus cars are expensive, and we claim that this argument should work for Apple as well. For example, cars are primarily utilitarian, and luxury is not the primary design factor. However, people are willing to pay for luxury, so there is a higher-end market for it. Maybe the same is true for computers if we think of them as productivity tools, with user experience as some form of luxury add-on.
Unfortunately, when we present an analogy we often omit these details. In the Apple-Lexus example, we do not give the argument; we simply assert that usability is a major (but perhaps not the only) premise in the argument. Our audience is left to fill in the blanks. The vegetarianism-fascism example looks ridiculous because we have no idea how Hitler's vegetarianism made him a fascist. The Lexus-Apple example seems more plausible, but not everyone agrees on how to fill in the blanks.
Given this observation, the following might a better way to structure an argument by analogy:
- A has properties x, y, and z
- B has properties x, y, and z
- Because of properties x, y, and z, A has property p.
Therefore, B has property p.
Stated this way, the argument looks like another form of deduction. Unfortunately, we have another problem: analogies typically violate the Principle of Identity. In the case of Lexus, usability refers to the driving experience. That is not the same thing as computer usability. We can think of them the same in a metaphorical sense. However, they are still different, and so it is not clear that the Lexus argument works when we replace driving experience with computer usability. This ambiguity also makes it very difficult for us to fill in the blanks with the unsaid argument. Identity is one of the major reasons why analogies have remained an informal, rather than formal, form of argument.
Analogies and validity
Given that analogies may not respect identity, how can we determine that an argument by analogy is valid? While there are some techniques, few of them work for all analogies. In fact, the only general-purpose technique we have is for refuting an argument: we can use one analogy to argue that another is invalid.
Consider our vegetarianism-fascism argument above. Gandhi also practiced vegetarianism, and hopefully we can agree that Gandhi was not a fascist. As we have an example of a non-fascist vegetarian, this refutes the claim that vegetarianism is sufficient evidence for fascism. This process of refuting one analogy with another is called analogical filtering; we find something that has the same similarities in the analogy, but with a different conclusion.
Unfortunately, even this technique has the problem of identity. Hitler's practice of vegetarianism was different from Gandhi's. It is also true that liberal vegetarianism is not particularly well-defined. We recognize that the differences between Hitler vegetarianism and Gandhi vegetarianism are no greater than the differences in the original argument; that is why we accept Gandhi as a counter-argument. In general, an analogical filter needs to be "similar enough" to the original argument to be correct. Beyond that, there is not much more we can say.
While we have an imperfect means for refuting bad analogies, we still have no technique for identifying valid analogies. Part of the problem is that analogies can be used in several different ways, and validity depends upon the context. As a general rule, arguments by analogy can be classified as one of three types:
- Persuasive Analogy: An analogy that persuades an audience to accept some other argument, such as statistics or external authority, supporting a claim.
- Inductive Analogy: An analogy that that ties together different, but similar, observations in order to justify an inductive argument.
- Classification Analogy: An analogy that asserts one thing is of the same "category" as another, and should be treated the same for legal or moral purposes.
Persuasive analogies are what we use when we want to explain something. We actually have some other form of evidence; we are just using the analogy to make the evidence easier to understand. We can think of the Lexus-Apple example as a form of persuasive analogy. We have some unstated argument about companies and markets and pricing that is suppose to work for both Lexus and Apple; we are just using Lexus as an illustrative example.
Inductive and classification analogies are different. In those cases, the analogy is the evidence. Furthermore, confusing inductive with classification analogies is one of problems with the nasty Hitler comparisons. To see the differences between these two types of analogies, we examine them both in more detail.


text:
The 10-Point.
A personal, guided tour to the best scoops and stories every day in The Wall Street Journal.
Capital Journal Daybreak
Scoops, analysis and insights driving Washington from the WSJ's D.C. bureau.
Greater New York
Regional news coverage of New York City and surroundings, including real estate and the arts.
Breaking News Alert
Major world and business news, including political events, takeovers.
Sign Up for Markets Newsletters and Alerts


text:
The most impressive pass in racing history isn't Villeneuve retaking second from René Arnoux at the French Grand Prix, it's this Canadian dirt track racer literally overtaking an opponent by leaping above him on a jump. Amazing.
This form of racing is a little new to us, but it appears to combine a motorcycle/quad dirt track with LeMons style beater cars and demolition derby. It seems super trashy in a fun sort of way until a few seconds into the video when the third car in the line leapfrogs over/on top of the second to edge its way into position.
It's a move that hasn't worked since Super Off-Road.
(Hat tip to MCheese!)


text:
Product Overview
Main Features
- Subscription license renewal (1 year)
- 1 device
Symantec Managed Security Services puts aspects of security operations under the management of experienced specialists to offer your organization a higher level of protection for its mission-critical information assets. Symantec delivers real-time threat monitoring and analysis to minimize any impact on business operations and reduce overall security risk. By leveraging Symantec's world-class analytics and expertise, organizations can improve business continuity and enhance the efficiency of their security operations.


text:
Let the Application Flow Organize Your Objects
While working as a software architect, I have felt an urge to do programming in a style that I call "Focus-Oriented Programming." This is a style of programming that has advantages in the area of application maintenance, testing, and integration for reasons that will be obvious by the end of this article. I wanted to share this style of programming with the wider programming community so that more programmers can have more control on their code while they enjoy life, a practice that is not very common amongst hard-core developers too tied to their desks.
First, I shall describe some conceptual terms I use:
- Focus: Focus is any collection of objects and their behaviors. The only restriction is that you should be able to describe vividly what is going on in the focus in a short sentence and this description should preferably cover every object in the focus.
- Flow: Flow is a sequence of focus objects. A flow should add up the behavior of focus objects and accumulate the behaviors. Flow too should have a concise description that summarises the building of behaviors through the accumulation of their focus objects.
- Context: A Context is that which accumulates all the behaviors in one or more flows and prepares a final stage for an application feature.
- Command Interface: A context can be started with a focus object that implements a command interface. A command interface is an interface with only one method with a signature:
public void execute(Context c);
I have a class for each of the fundamental concepts of Flow and Focus programmming. I have included the full source code of these classes along with the class codes for an application that maintains a list and has add and delete butttons to maintain list entries. The source code is provided in the zip file with this article. You can recompile the code or run with the supplied class files. FlowDemo is the main class to execute. I have tested the code using JDK 1.4. Each of Focus, Flow, and Context is a bean with one special Focus object, termed a CommandFocus object that implements the Command interface. A Flow bean and a Context bean are a listeners of a Focus bean. A Focus bean generates changes in the flowMap property in Flow and the contextMap property in Context. Each of these properties is a hash map containing the name versus objects passed from a different focus. Before going into too much implementation detail, I shall present the style of an application code using Focus and Flow orientation.
Application Style
The simple application is called FlowDemo and the class for FlowDemo appears below.
class FlowDemo { Context myContext; public void FlowDemo(){ } public static void main(String[] args) { //First, set up the CommandFocus object: that is the //aim of this application. FlowDemoCommandFocus flowDemoCommand = new FlowDemoCommandFocus(); //create a context for that aim Context myContext = new Context(flowDemoCommand); //Identify two flows in this application Flow putInListFlow = new Flow("set up a listbox with 2 buttons to put and delete list entries "); Flow frameFlow = new Flow("get the frame to come on the desktop"); //First flow is expanded into 6 focus objects PanelFocus panelFocus = new PanelFocus(putInListFlow,myContext); ListFocus listFocus = new ListFocus(putInListFlow,myContext); AddButtonFocus addButtonFocus = new AddButtonFocus(putInListFlow,myContext); DelButtonFocus delButtonFocus = new DelButtonFocus new DelButtonFocus (putInListFlow,myContext); TextFocus textFocus = new TextFocus(putInListFlow,myContext); ListenerFocus listenerFocus = new ListenerFocus(putInListFlow,myContext); //Second Flow has only one focus object FrameFocus frameFocus = new FrameFocus(executionFlow,myContext); //Context is ready to render/execute myContext.execute(); } }
As the accompanying comments describe, the command focus object is the focus to start with. The command focus class appears below:
import java.io.Serializable; class FlowDemoCommandFocus extends Focus implements Serializable, Command { //standard super constructor public FlowDemoCommandFocus(Flow aflow,Context acontext){ super( aflow,acontext); } public FlowDemoCommandFocus(){ super(); } public void execute(Context cc){ JFrame frame = (JFrame) (cc.getContextMap("flowdemo")); frame.pack(); frame.setVisible(true); // this.synchronize(); } }
FlowDemoCommandFocus implements the Command interface that has got only one method: the execute(Context c) method. The initial command focus establishes our context that is created by using the command focus in its constructor. Next, the two flows are set up; they give us the scheme of actions to take to set up our application. The first flow establishes the panel with all its contents. The second flow sets up the frame and causes it to show itself on our screen. After setting up the flows, we go about expanding each flow in terms of its focus objects. The panelFocus object sets up the panels. The PanelFocus code appears below:
import java.util.*; import java.awt.*; import javax.swing.*; import java.io.Serializable; class PanelFocus extends Focus implements Serializable { //standard super constructor public PanelFocus(Flow aflow,Context acontext){ super( aflow,acontext); //setup panel and ui objects JPanel common = new JPanel(); common.setLayout(new GridLayout(2,1)); JScrollPane jp1 = new JScrollPane(); common.add(jp1); JPanel lowerpane = new JPanel(); lowerpane.setSize(1,2); common.add(lowerpane); //1 item put in Context this.putContextMap("commonpane",common); //the commonpane not needed in the current flow //2 items put in flow this.putFlowMap("panelforList",jp1); this.putFlowMap("lowerpane",lowerpane); //comit all changes: this.synchronizeFlow(); this.synchronizeContext(); } }
The point to note is that PanelFocus object uses its super constructor, which takes the flow and context as parameters. Then, the whole activity of this focus is within the constructor itsef. It sets up one Jpanel object and one JscrollPane object to be accessed and modified in the current flow. To be accessible by a focus object in the current flow, the focus puts that object in the flowMap; however the commonpane is meant for the final frame which is set up in the second flow—the frameflow—to be accessed by a different flow the focus puts the object in contextMap property. The putFlowMap, getFlowMap, putContextMap, and getContextMap methods of the focus class provides the mechanism to put and get named objects from the Context and the Flow objects. Finally, the synchronizeFlow and synchronizeContext methods commit all the changes from the current focus. ListFocus is the next focus in the flow. The code for list focus appears below:
import java.util.*; import javax.swing.*; import java.io.Serializable; class ListFocus extends Focus implements Serializable { //standard super constructor public ListFocus(Flow aflow,Context acontext){ super( aflow,acontext); JScrollPane jp1 = (JScrollPane)(this.getFlowMap("panelforList")); JList l1 = new JList(new DefaultListModel()); jp1.setViewportView(l1); this.putFlowMap("list",l1); this.synchronizeFlow(); } }
The ListFocus acquires the JScrollPane object by its name and attaches a viewport to it while also passing a new list object used in the viewport as an object with the name "list." Similar actions happen with the focus object that follows. When you go to the next flow, the frameFocus focus object acquires the commonpane from the contextMap. Once you have set up all the flows, the context is ready to be executed.
Page 1 of 2
This article was originally published on August 19, 2004


text:
by Charles Poliquin Iron Magazine
A radical approach to achieving unparallel gains in size and strength
If you read some of the hardcore muscle magazines, you might get the impression that every professional bodybuilder is a self-made champion – with the exception of a few respected trainers such as Milos Sarcev and Charles Glass. Through a combination of intense research in medical libraries and thousands of hours of experimentation, they have learned the self-evident truths that led them to become brutally huge, ripped to shreds and [insert your own favorite bodybuilding lingo here]. These mighty men of muscle don't need this article.
But for anyone else who has reached a good level of success and is looking for a challenging workout that will pack on some fresh muscle and result in amazing improvements in strength, have I got a workout for you!
Be warned: This workout is hardcore. Your body will scream. Your mind will rebel. You will want to make changes, thus compromising its effectiveness – but don't. You must follow the program "as is" to enjoy maximum benefits. Before I share it with you, let's talk about it, starting with the man who inspired it: Pierre Roy.
Pierre is one of my earliest mentors in weightlifting methodology, and he is unquestionably one of the most successful coaches in North America, having produced an Olympic silver medalist, many world team members, and more than 50 athletes who have competed in Canadian national championships. I have taken the opportunity to bring him, along with several of his amazing athletes to serve as demonstrators, to the Poliquin Strength Institute on several occasions for seminars. Pierre has always been a coach ahead of his time, and one reason is that he is not afraid to experiment with new training methods.
Pierre once said that unless athletes start complaining of tendonitis, they're not training hard enough. He believes that to reach the highest levels of physical development you should train until you are, literally, depressed – only then do you back off. And when you come back after that rest period, you'll shatter your personal records.
Hypertrophy is an adaptation to a biological stress. The theory is, if something doesn't kill you, then the more you put stress on it, the more it will adapt. If the .22 caliber doesn't work, use a .50 caliber. The workout I'm about to share with you is .50 caliber.
Getting Locked and Loaded
The .50 Caliber Workout can be manipulated to improve pure strength gains or hypertrophy, or to correct a weak muscle group. It is the type of program I'd perform if someone told me I'd make an extra two million a year if I gained 15 pounds (although I might need to hire some psychopath to drag me to the gym and make me stick to it).
The idea of planned overtraining isn't new – I didn't invent this, and many others have come to these same conclusions, often by sheer accident. I call it super-accumulation training. I used it with the national speed skating team for years, and they've won a record number of medals.
The General Adaptation Syndrome is a theory about how the body responds to stress; it was introduced in 1946 by endocrinologist Hans Selye. Selye proposed that when subjected to stress, the body goes through several phases to adapt to that stress. The result is that the harder you stress the body, provided you rest long enough, the higher the peak of adaptation – and the highest peak of adaptation is called supercompensation. The downside of supercompensation is that at first you feel like a zombie in a silly Walking Dead horror movie, but at the end of the cycle you feel like the Incredible Hulk.
"Fatigue masks fitness," they say, but it's an idea that many elite athletes learned the hard way. The idea is that when you run an athlete into the ground, you can't really see where an athlete's potential is. This is a mistake Olympic newbies make: They train more and more as the competition nears, and then perform like crap in the Olympics. But then they take a week off and go to a World Cup and set a world record. Coaches and athletes eventually learned to train really hard until three weeks before the Olympics.
The goal of the .50 Caliber Workout is simple: brutally train yourself into the ground for two weeks, take five days off, and come back to rebound and break your size and strength plateaus. But here's the catch: During the two weeks of loading/forced overtraining, your goal is to lose strength – then keep right on training. To quote an Ayurvedic medicine paradigm, "You have to be weak to be strong."
When athletes get weaker with a program, they tend to stop – that's a mistake on the .50 Caliber Workout. You have to continue working until you get much weaker, actually shooting for a drop of 20 percent in strength. If the weight you use for a certain exercise is 100 pounds for sets of 8, then at the end of the two weeks you should have a hard time completing sets of 8 with 80 pounds. If you lose more than 20 percent, that's even better – I've seen guys lose as much as 40 percent. As a general rule, genetically skinny guys may lose more; mesomorphs may lose less.
The point is, you have to be very clear when you embark on this program that you won't quit for two weeks. You'll get to the point where every joint hurts, and you'll see your weights tank. You may start your squats with 300 pounds on Monday, and by the next Friday only be able to use 240. Not only that, you're also going to lose muscle. It's not uncommon to lose 12 to 15 pounds of bodyweight during the first two weeks. But during and after your off period, if you eat correctly, you'll gain that back and usually another five pounds in one shot. For example, a 200-pound man may go down to 185 or 187 by the end of the two weeks. Then he will slingshot past his previous best and hit 205. That is, of course, if he follows the program and if he has the testicular fortitude to accept the initial losses.
I should also mention that there's research from the US and from Finland showing that at the end of your two weeks of loading with this type of program you actually have a decrease in testosterone levels. But at the end of your period of unloading you have an increase in free testosterone, and there's a high correlation in the amount of free T you have and the amount of strength gains you make.
Let's review: By the end of the first two weeks of this program, if you're doing it right, you will:
1. Lose strength
2. Lose muscle
3. Be chronically overtrained
4. Experience aching tendons and joints
5. Be brutally sore (and train right through it)
6. Experience depression
But let's keep our eyes on the prize here. This isn't just self-torture. If you can get through the two weeks of loading and then properly execute the five-day recovery period, then you will, without a shadow of a doubt, blast though your previous strength and/or hypertrophy goals. Your mouth will literally drop as the recovery process begins. You'll feel like your muscles are about to burst through your skin, and your friends will accuse you of being chemically enhanced.
The Devil's in the Details
I'm not normally an advocate of total body training, but I make an exception with this type of training. The workout requires you to train nine times a week for two weeks. You train twice a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and once a day on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning. Sunday you rest. If you can't make it to the gym this frequently, this program is not for you. Here is the workout:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Morning Workout
A-1. Back Squat, 5 x 4-6, 40X0, rest 100 seconds
A-2. Leg Curl, 5 x 4-6, 40X0, rest 100 seconds
B-1. Lean-Away Chin-Ups, 5 x 4-6, 4010, rest 100 seconds
B-2. Dips, 4010, 5 x 4-6, rest 100 seconds
Evening Workout
A-1. Snatch Deadlift on Podium, 10 x 6, 5010, rest 3 minutes between sets
B-1. Seated Dumbbell Press, Semi-Supinated Grip, 5 x 6-8, 4010 tempo, rest 100 seconds
B-2. One-Arm Dumbbell Row, 5 x 6-8, 2011, rest 100 seconds
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Mornings
A-1. Front Squat, 5 x 4-6, 40X0, rest 100 seconds
A-2. Kneeling Leg Curl, 5 x 4-6, 40X0, rest 100 seconds
B-1. Close-Grip Pronated Pull-Up, 5 x 6-8, 3011, rest 100 seconds
B-2. Incline Dumbbell Press 5 x 6-8, 3110, rest 100 seconds
Here are some crucial details when performing this workout:
* Each set goes balls to the walls!
* Not counting warm-ups, take each set to concentric failure. In other words, don't do a set of 8 with a weight you can rep to 15. Perform sets of 8 with a weight you can only lift 8 times.
* If you have to decrease the weight every set to get the required number of reps, decrease it by no more than 5 percent.
* Use your normal recovery method – you'll need it. And take at least 40 grams of BCAAs during each workout.
* Your appetite will increase at first during the end of the two weeks of loading, and then it will begin to decrease. That's the first sign of overtraining by volume. The second sign is that you find you can't get enough sleep. Sneak in a nap anytime you can; the more sleep you can get, the better.
* Don't change the recipe. If anything, add more exercises.
* If you choose your own exercises, remember that all the movements you use have to be "most bang for your buck" exercises. That means every exercise should involve at least two joints. If you want to use different exercises, you could do back squats in the morning, heels-elevated squats at night, front squats the next day, and cyclist squats next day after that. It doesn't matter. But, week one and week two should look the same to make certain you got 20 percent weaker on those same exercises.
* During the two weeks of overreaching you must consume at least two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
* Don't take testosterone-boosting supplements during the loading weeks. You want to train to the point of depressed testosterone, so save them for the five-day off period.
* Don't worry about direct arm work. You'll gain plenty of arm size without direct biceps and triceps work during this program if you choose to use dips, chins and presses.
* Consume 1 gram of fish oil per body fat percentage point per day during the loading phase. There is no need to do this during your five off days because you'll want more calories from carbs, and you don't want to slow down the insulin response with the fish oil during this off/rebuilding period.
* You have to make a contract with yourself to do the work. Reward yourself with a big dinner on the last Saturday night. If you don't have a coach to push you, train in a team of three partners.
Relax and Recoil
It's important to recover completely from this workout. Here are some guidelines to use during your five-day recovery period.
* Off means off. No "recovery work." Besides, if you squat five times in three days, do you think you're going to want to run around a parking lot dragging a sled?
* During this five days off, you'll want to eat something every two hours maximum. Seriously. Alternate solids meals with liquid meals. Always start with solid.
* Upon arising, have a high-protein breakfast: a buffalo steak and some
L-glutamine is a key supplement in this workout to ensure complete recovery.
L-glutamine is a key supplement in this workout to ensure complete recovery.
cashews, for example. Ninety minutes later, have a protein shake and a carbohydrate powder. Add about 20 grams of L-glutamine to these shakes. You want to consume 80 grams of L-glutamine per day during your five recovery days.
* If you don't adopt a philosophy of "eat and eat and eat," this program is not going to work. Calories are the focus. For example, coconut sticky rice with mangos, is great source of clean carbs, add some whey protein in it.
* Accelerate your recovery with massage, acupuncture and frequency-specific microcurrent. Don't bother with ice massage, as it only raises your cortisol. It is one of those moronic space fillers that Internet information brokers promote.
* Take testosterone-building supplements such as Holy Basil and Pantethine during this period.
*Once you start overeating, your joints and tendons will begin to feel better. In this five-day phase, your whole demeanor and physique will change.
*To accelerate joint tissue remodeling, take 2 Flame Quench with 2 Sinewplex 3 times a day with meals
*Taking Über Inositol or Über Inositol T at a dose of 10 grams in half a cup of water, 45 minutes before bed, will reset your neurotransmitters levels in record time.
The Spoils of War
After your off period, go to the gym and do your Monday morning workout from the loading phase. Take a day off. Then do Tuesday's workout. Your goal here is to evaluate your progress. Prepare yourself to see some major gains. After that, you can start the cycle all over again if you choose.
In weightlifting circles, when you do this program they look for you to walk in looking like a zombie. That's when they know it's time for you to take off. No zombie look? Then you're not training hard enough; you need to train more, and then rest.
I did a strength training version of this program once for the Canadian Olympic luge team. The coach said he had to cut some members of the team because the Olympic gravy train money was over. I told him that after three weeks I'd tell him who on the team had the balls to be a champion.
I walked into the starting house three weeks later and saw five members of the team in one corner looking like someone had shot their dogs. They looked depressed, some were drooling, some had tremors. I told the coach to keep those guys and cut the rest. The other members of the team were on the other side of the room, laughing. They clearly hadn't followed the program. So the coach kept the depressed guys and cut the rest, right then and there.
The zombies took their five days off. After that, one member of the team, who only weighed 172 pounds, came back and did three wide-grip pull-ups with 126 pounds of added weight. He went on to set an Olympic record in the start. His name is André Benoit.
Just as with those athletes, you gotta train when you're weak. You have to push yourself, both physically and mentally, to reap the massive benefits of this type of training. If you want to blast through your training plateaus, you have to pull out the big guns. A .50 caliber will do.
Source: http://www.ironmagazine.com/2014/sup…tion-training/