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On 'Great Debate': No One Best Way
To the Editor:
Your April 21, 1999, special section on the long philosophical debate over "progressive" vs."traditional" education ("The Great Debate," April 21, 1999) illustrates the futility of seeking a single best approach to organizing learning.
There is no royal road to learning suitable for all students. They come from different backgrounds and have different needs. In particular, they have different learning styles. Some students learn best in a highly structured, subject-centered environment. Others learn best in an open, flexible, student- centered environment.
Students can acquire knowledge and skills if they are in a learning environment geared to their backgrounds, needs, and learning styles. Some charter schools provide such an environment. Public schools, if they hope to survive, must do so as well.
Carl O. Olson
Cary, N.C.
Is Retention Policy a Form of Abuse?
To the Editor:
The Commentary, by Robert M. Hauser, was yet another of a large number of attempts to inform educators of the impact of social-promotion-vs.-retention decisions ("What If We Ended Social Promotion?," April 7, 1999). Mr. Hauser's comments were in agreement with the very large number of research reports and policy recommendations offered by scholars who have studied the matter. Unfortunately, a majority of classroom teachers and policymakers continue to ignore the facts and prefer grade-level retention over social promotion.
Effective alternatives to either retention or social promotion return low-performing students to regular classes with their same-age classmates. The tested alternatives tend to be expensive and seldom convert low-ability students into average-ability students.
Educators need to accept the challenge to provide education fitted to each student's needs so that every student will optimize his or her learning. Fitted instruction must match students' level of learning, modality of learning, and rate of learning. It must take place with each student's same-age classmates.
Because of the large number of publications that have presented material similar to that contained in Mr. Hauser's Commentary, no educator or informed policymaker has an excuse for being unaware of the facts. Mr. Hauser was very kind to national, state, and local leaders who advocate dramatic increases in the number of students retained at grade level, calling them "well-meaning leaders." I have not been so kind-hearted. I refer to such persons as criminal child abusers because they know of the research studies and yet continue to press for abusive actions.
National recommendations made by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, then repeated by President Clinton, and similar plans proposed by or placed into operation by governors and state legislators in Florida, Texas, California, Oregon, and several other states clearly are attempts to inflict academic damage and lifelong torture on children of lower-income families.
Informed persons might wonder if the plans to increase retention rates are part of a strategy intended to ensure a large supply of young people to fill the increasing number of new jobs offering minimum-wage salaries. Why should children from low-income families be the focus of such an attack on American youth?
Robert R. Lange
Professor of Education
University of Central Florida
Orlando, Fla.
It's the Dynamic, Not the Place
To the Editor:
The recent interest in learning organizations may serve to resolve the errors experienced when implementing schoolwide reforms, as described in your article, "Following the Plan," April 14, 1999.
But instilling the notion of a "learning organization" also falls victim to implementation errors. A case in point: A learning organization is a dynamic, not a place, and not a culture. The dynamic creates a culture, which then resides in a place. The conceptual framework, then, of the learning organization is of a dynamic.
The dynamic at work is one of putting values into operation. Dialogue between professionals, which channels this dynamic, accomplishes that by bridging the gap between tacit knowledge and action. Dialogue shortens the time lapse between thought and action by providing clear knowledge. That generates action, then commitment.
Such a value-revealing technique removes some of the pathologies surrounding the poorly implemented schoolwide reform plans, and may serve as the professional-development vehicle for the 21st century.
Lisa L. Sharp
Ellensburg, Wash.
Setting Up a Straw Man on Hirsch's List
To the Editor:
The Commentary, "Deciding on 'Essential Knowledge,'" April 21, 1999, by Robert J. Marzano, John S. Kendall, and Barbara B. Gaddy creates a straw man to characterize E.D. Hirsch Jr.'s views on what knowledge every student should learn.
The authors say Mr. Hirsch values "familiarity of knowledge over the significance of what students should learn." In fact, Mr. Hirsch's argument is that increasing literacy (that is, the ability to read and understand written material on various subjects written on various levels of difficulty) crucially depends on students' knowledge of information, and that what information they need to know can be empirically determined. His list (which he has changed over the years and continues to change based on real-world experience and research) is an attempt to provide a blueprint for putting his theory into practice.
Mr. Hirsch's goal is not to make students "culturally literate" in the sense of knowing the items on the list; the point is to make them "literate" in the sense that we usually use this word, able to read. Knowing the items on the list is the means to literacy, not the goal of Mr. Hirsch's project. The test of his theory is how well students who are educated with "cultural literacy" learn to read--in general and in the various subjects they study.
Mr. Hirsch is empirically minded and constantly in touch with top cognitive psychologists on the latest findings in learning theory. He also advises a foundation that helps many "Core Knowledge schools" throughout the country implement his theory, which is constantly being tested in the real world of classrooms.
Given Mr. Hirsch's goal and the work he has done to implement it and prove his theory, the answer to the authors' question about his list--"Does it contain the right information?"--cannot be answered by looking to see if you think the items on it are important. The question can only be answered by finding out if the ongoing experiment in Core Knowledge schools--to produce students who are more "literate" in the usual sense of that word--is successful.
Paul Regnier
Washington, D.C.
Personnel Unarmed
To the Editor:
As the children, parents, and community members of Jefferson County, Colo., struggled for their lives and their mental health, our office received hundreds of inquiries about school security from across the nation. Among the many requests for information, I was continually asked why this happened and how similar occurrences could be prevented elsewhere. ("A Colo. Community Looks for Answers After Deadly Attack," April 28, 1999.) While responding to these questions, I have felt strong, but mixed, emotions as I recall having provided the same answers to the same questions after each of the school shootings last school year.
Although public attention to school safety withered between the time of the Springfield, Ore., incident up to the Columbine High School tragedy, the stark reality is that serious threats to school security have been occurring daily across this nation. Hostage situations, shots fired, guns and other weapons confiscated, and many other incidents have not captured America's continued dialogue and action, since they have not culminated in mass murders. In fact, in some areas we have seen the political spin on the topic grow as the memories of last year's incidents have faded.
We know that there are a variety of social and economic factors that motivate children to commit violent acts. We know that our schools reflect our broader communities, including the violence they experience. And we also know that our schools, while not intentionally creating this violence, must take some risk-reduction measures to ensure student and staff safety.
Our experience, however, has consistently reinforced the fact that we send our school personnel to work each day unarmed in terms of training and support for addressing school-security and crisis-preparedness issues. Educators receive little to no training in undergraduate and graduate school on recognizing and managing concealed weapons, drug sales, gang presence, homemade bombs and bomb threats, technology-related offenses, and other emerging terrorist-like threats crossing the schoolhouse doors. In addition, while educators receive little on-the-job training and resources to address these issues, schools' support-staff members (such as bus drivers, secretaries, and custodians) receive even less training and preparation.
Our schools have traditionally approached school safety through prevention and intervention programs such as curricula, conflict-resolution programs, counseling, and related services. While these and other education programs are critical to our mission of shaping long-term student behavior, we have failed in many cases to also focus on providing a secure environment for these strategies to be safely implemented. Ironically, if we learned anything in college, it was that Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" identified our immediate safety as our first and foremost concern.
Professional school security is often falsely taken to mean fortress-like approaches and dramatic increases in costs. Yet the most effective approaches consist of a balance of strategies associated with security-related policies and procedures, staff-development training and awareness, security assessments of school sites, and the development, testing, and training of staff members on crisis-preparedness guidelines. In knowing that a stranger's walk through a fast-food restaurant will produce more responses of "Good morning, may I help you?" than a walk through many of our schools, I can assure you that we are far from reaching the minimal level of basic security needed to provide even the lowest level of a true security presence.
Many progressive school officials have indeed moved forward with assessing their school security and preparing crisis guidelines. Others, unfortunately, still believe "it can't happen here."
Kenneth S. Trump
President and CEO
National School Safety and Security Services
Cleveland, Ohio
Operant Conditioning
To the Editor:
An important question should be examined in the wake of the tragedy in Colorado: "What was going on inside the brains of the two boys who committed this terrible crime?"
Not only should Americans point the finger at violent television as a reason for copycat violence, they should also examine the effects of computers and computer games on the human brain. I am no expert, but I know that the computer is an operant-conditioning machine, and no less than the late Harvard University psychologist B.F. Skinner, the father of operant conditioning, referred to it as his "box." Operant conditioning bypasses the brain, with all the important functions that distinguish man from an animal: memory, conscience, imagination, insight, and intuition, functions by which human beings know absolutes and truths.
Use of computer programming (simulation and virtual reality) to train individuals to fly an airplane, perform surgery, and so forth serve a useful purpose. But the same simulation/virtual-reality computer programming, when comprising war-game videos that allow the individual to engage in killing in a bloody and violent atmosphere, can, if played over and over again, desensitize the individual to the evil act of killing. The player, like a programmed robot, may find it increasingly easy to carry this distorted vision of reality outside into other areas of his life, such as a school building or playground. If that individual happens to be full of hatred, it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what "programmed" action he or she may want to take in order to vent the hatred and frustration.
The use of computer-assisted instruction in school, which unfortunately has been accepted as an alternative to traditional education, should also be of some concern to those seeking an answer to school violence.
The same operant conditioning, upon which school programs for all disciplines is based, can be used for training an individual to perform. Skinner said, "I could make a pigeon a high achiever by reinforcing (rewarding) it on a proper schedule" and "What is reinforced (rewarded) will be repeated." Such "training" is not education in the traditional sense. With traditional education, a student is capable of transferring what he learns to other areas of his life, at some future time. He can store the information for future use; it is in his brain where it is able to be reflected upon, where his soul, memory, and conscience are able to influence the information and decisions he makes.
Not so with operant conditioning, where no such transfer occurs. Children who spend their school years being trained in this manner can be expected to experience a certain frustration and dehumanization in their behavior, since the creative functions of the brain are being constantly cut off. Operant-conditioning experiments on animals have caused similar frustration and violent behavior.
Unless we examine the use and effect of video games and of 12 years of computer use in the classroom that stresses operant conditioning, we may experience more Littletons. Is it too far-fetched to assume that he who is trained like an animal may just end up behaving like one?
Charlotte T. Iserbyt
Bath, Maine
The writer, a former senior policy adviser to the U.S. Department of Education's office of educational research and improvement, is the author of the forthcoming book The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America: A Chronological Paper Trail.
A Principal's Insights
To the Editor:
As I watched the tragedy at Columbine High School unfold, I found to my dismay that I knew what the outcome would be. I knew that the perpetrators would be outcast students who were filled with anger and hatred. I knew they would blame others--students, teachers, administrators--for their problems. I also knew their parents would not be bad people, only neglectful parents. And I knew that in the aftermath, others would say that these students gave many warnings.
I didn't know this because I'm clairvoyant. I knew it simply because I see it every day in my job as a high school principal. I have had death threats from students and been vandalized. It has become an occupational hazard. No one who has spent much time in schools can have been completely surprised by what happened, only by its terrible magnitude.
Every school has students who blame everyone else for their shortcomings. They resent those students who work hard to accomplish something and experience success. They believe these students have "sold out" to the establishment. They don't have the courage or the perseverance to accomplish the same things themselves, so they take out their frustrations on those who do. Occasionally, a teacher will inspire these students to try, and they will realize that they, too, can achieve something positive. But all too often, they, like these killers at Columbine, would rather spew hatred and envy at those who achieve. Yes, I see these students every day.
Kids can be cruel to each other. Many schools have bullies who verbally or physically terrorize weaker students. This has always been the case, but the difference today is that many teachers and administrators are afraid to intervene. They are afraid because a good percentage of the time they intervene, they will become the targets of hatred--from both the kids and their parents. Parents who don't have the courage to discipline and teach their kids respect are often resentful of administrators and teachers who do.
I remain optimistic, however, because I see so many good kids. I see so many of them rise above abusive parents, neglectful parents, or no parents at all. I see some who spend more time raising their parents than their parents spend with them. I see others who are respectful and try their best with limited talent and limited success. They have no idea how inspiring they can be to a tired or frustrated teacher or principal. This is why we do what we do.
Even as our jobs assume potential dangers we never envisioned when entering the field, we persevere, trying to teach kids about life in a society that doesn't seem to value it. Often, what we say flies in the face of what our students see and hear every day--in the movies, on TV, in their video games and their music, and even at home. If I have anger in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings, it is for parents who don't take the time to realize that there is no greater occupation than to raise a child well.
I will honor the memory of the victims of this tragedy by continuing to teach respect and honor and love. And I will stand up to the bullies and the thieves and the liars in our midst so that the decent kids can go to school in a safe and comfortable environment. And if this gets me fired or makes me the target of someone's anger, then so be it. What a way to go.
Chuck Schmidt
Mission Valley High School
Eskridge, Kan.
Vol. 18, Issue 34, Pages 44-45
Vol. 18, Issue 34, Pages 44-45
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text: Preschoolers Behavior & Emotions How to Help Your Child Handle Teasing By Amanda Rock twitter linkedin Amanda Rock, mom of three, has spent more than a decade of her professional career writing and editing for parents and children. Learn about our editorial process Amanda Rock Updated on January 07, 2020 Print LWA/The Image Bank/Getty Images On the face of it, teasing seems like a rite of childhood. It happens every day on the playground on playdates and in school — kids making fun of one another, playfully calling each other names. Family members tease each other all the time, right? It's just a little good-natured fun. The thing about teasing, however, is that it can quickly turn into bullying, especially with little kids who don't necessarily know how to stop a situation from spiraling out of control. Here's an explanation as to why kids tease as well as some tips on how to help your little one cope and what to do if your child is the teaser. Why Kids Tease The preschool years are ones of great growth and development, particularly in the language area. As your child adds new words to his repertoire and increases his interactions with others, he begins to understand that some phrases carry greater weight and cause more of a reaction (good or bad) than others. This is an important lesson to learn, but one that often leads to teasing. If a certain saying, "You're a baby!" for example, causes someone else to get upset, your preschooler (or another) may appreciate the extra attention. Kids also tease because it is simply what they are used to. If a child comes from a home where teasing and sarcasm are the norm or, if they watch a lot of television programs where the characters have barbed tongues, it's likely that the child will model the behavior and take it on as their own. What to Do If Your Child Is Being Teased Short of following your preschooler around and taking control of all her social interactions, you cannot stop her from being teased. But you can help her cope. Here's how: Let Her Know You Understand Sometimes, for a child, just hearing from a parent that they can relate to what is going on and that you are going to help them figure out how to solve this problem is a big relief.Talk out what has been going on. Even if you have seen the teasing in action or heard a version of the story from a teacher or caregiver, find out your child's perspective on it.Knowing how your child views what is going on will help you decide how to approach the situation and come up with an appropriate solution. Empower Your Child While it would be incredibly easy (and let's face it, liberating) for you to march over to the child or children who are teasing your little one and let them have it, that's probably not the best idea.Instead, equip your preschooler with the tools she'll need to stand up for herself. Teach her to say something like, "I don't like it when you say that!" or "Please stop teasing me now."Often a child who teases isn't expecting the person they are teasing to stand up for themselves, so a simple, strong response often works wonders.So does simply walking away, another technique that is very effective in quieting preschool-aged teasers. How Kids Can Defend Themselves from Bullies Teach Her It's Fine to Ask for Help While some kids have no problem speaking up and letting everyone within hearing distance know that they've been wronged, others shy away, afraid of being labeled a tattletale.If your child is constantly being teased by someone else, tell her it's O.K. to ask a grown-up for assistance.If you have confirmed or suspect your child is having issues at preschool or daycare, then it is a good idea for you to ask for help as well in the form of talking to the teacher. Try to get a handle on what is going on and find out what you can do on your end to help your child. Make Sure There Is No Teasing at Home A child who is being teased at school or daycare will probably not take too kindly to the same thing going on at home, whether it is you or a sibling doing the jesting. Right now your little one needs a supportive environment and any ribbing — even good-natured ones — could be met with an outbreak of emotion and/or cause your child additional stress. What to Do If Your Child Likes to Tease Well this is an interesting scenario, isn't it? You've just watched your little one tease someone else, or it's been reported to you that your child has been teasing a classmate. Now what? Most preschoolers who tease aren't intentionally trying to be cruel. There is usually a good reason for your child's actions. Here's how to find out what that is. Look at Your Own Behavior and Other Home Influences How do you interact with your child? Are you a tease yourself? No one is saying that harmless teasing between parent and child is awful, but make sure you aren't taking it too far.Is your preschooler being teased by an older sibling or relative and carrying the behavior over to someone else? What kind of television programs is he watching? Try to Figure out Why There are myriad factors as to what could cause a child to tease another. Try to get to the root of the issue. Is your child jealous of the other child?If it's a sibling issue, are the kids competing for your attention?You can even try asking your child what is making her act this way. Understand, too, that major life changes such as the birth of a new sibling or parents that are going through a divorce, could be causing your child to act out. Explain Why Teasing Is Hurtful Whatever the reason your child is teasing someone else, the reality is that this is a behavior that needs to stop.Have a talk with your preschooler about how teasing can be hurtful. Ask her to put herself in the shoes of someone being teased — how would she feel if someone said mean words to her?Talk about how every person is different — the way we dress, look, talk, etc. — and just because someone is unlike us in some way, it doesn't mean they should be made fun for it. How Do I Stop a Preschool Bully? Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Quinlan NP, Hoy MB, Costanzo PR. Sticks and Stones: The Effects of Teasing on Psychosocial Functioning in an Overweight Treatment-seeking Sample. Soc Dev. 2009;18(4):978–1001. doi:10.1038/oby.2005.167 Brown TT, Jernigan TL. Brain development during the preschool years. Neuropsychol Rev. 2012;22(4):313–333. doi:10.1007/s11065-012-9214-1 Keery H, Boutelle K, Van den berg P, Thompson JK. The impact of appearance-related teasing by family members. J Adolesc Health. 2005;37(2):120-7. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.08.015 Lee SH, Ju HJ. Mothers' Difficulties and Expectations for Intervention of Bullying among Young Children in South Korea. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(6):924. Published 2019 Mar 14. doi:10.3390/ijerph16060924 Wolke D, Lereya ST. Long-term effects of bullying. Arch Dis Child. 2015;100(9):879–885. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2014-306667 Jerome L. Teaching children to ignore teasing: A cognitive behavioural family strategy for dealing with teasing and reactive bullying. J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2006;15(2):91. PMID: 18392201 Finan LJ, Ohannessian CM, Gordon MS. Trajectories of depressive symptoms from adolescence to emerging adulthood: The influence of parents, peers, and siblings. Dev Psychol. 2018;54(8):1555–1567. doi:10.1037/dev0000543

subset: commoncrawl


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Hello hello - this is just a very quick check in with some pictures that I really like, but they're pretty similar so I'll keep it short and sweet. My amazing hair is by Jac at Tip Top Hair Design, the pictures are by Steve Bond, and the dress is from Lindy Bop.
Let's get social!
7 comments
Glam and gorgeous as the day is long!ReplyDelete
♥ JessicaReplies
Thank you so much!Delete
You look absolutely stunning, Helen! Such a darling and classic color combo looks great on you <3 And your jewelry, I'm swooning!ReplyDelete
Carla, Tiny Angry CraftsReplies
Thanks Carla, it's some of my favourite jewellery too.Delete
Very cute! I love the houndstooth pattern on the dress - that will make practically any piece a winner in my book.ReplyDelete
Jessica, Zella Maybe
Gorgeous!!! xReplyDelete
What a beautiful and glamorous shoot - this dress suits you brilliantly and I love how you have styled it! KxReplyDelete


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Do you really understand GPA?
GPA is perhaps a new vocabulary that you pick up as you enter a university in Singapore. Like many other universities in the world, the four universities here adopt a Grade Point Average scoring system where a student's academic performance is reflected as a number—the higher the better. Knowing the importance of GPA, Digital Senior would like to give you an introduction to the grading system on a personal basis and its differences in the three universities where strategies of getting a high GPA may differ in some important way. Interested in knowing how to stay ahead of the game? Please read on!
Max is 4 or 5?
Out of the four universities, NUS, NTU and SUTD have similar grading method. The maximum GPA is 5.0, corresponding to a grade A or A+ for a particular subject, meaning that if you score A or A+ for all the subjects that you take, you will get 5.0 GPA in the end. However, as the slogan of the SMU suggests, it is 'a different U', and the difference is seen in how SMU assesses students. The highest GPA is 4.0 instead of 5.0. Moreover, getting an A+ for a module in SMU actually gives the student a point of 4.3.
Grade Point Table of NTU and NUS
Letter-Grade Grade Point
Grade Point Table of SMU
Grade Grade Point Mark Range (%)
A+ 4.3 86 and above
A 4 83 to 85
A- 3.7 80 to 82
B+ 3.3 77 to 79
B 3 74 to 76
B- 2.7 70 to 73
C+ 2.3 66 to 69
C 2 63 to 65
C- 1.7 60 to 62
D+ 1.3 53 to 59
D 1 50 to 52
F 0 49 and below
If you look into the grading system used by SMU, you will realize that to get the same grade it is perhaps more difficult in SMU than in other universities. B+ in SMU corresponds to 3.3 out of 4.0, while B+ in other universities corresponds to 4.0 out of 5.0, creating a larger margin for students to maintain their grade. Moreover, B+ in SMU represents the mark range of 77 to 79, while that in other universities represents 65-70. Keeping all other factors equal, it can be seen that competition in SMU is stronger.
Pulling up your average
If you are coming from SMU, then you should have known that getting an A+ carries extra reward. A higher-than-maximum point for one or a few subjects can effectively pull up your GPA that is essentially an average of the grades for the subjects you take. If you are particularly good at one subject or are very passionate about it, Digital Senior advises you to work extra hard for the subject so that you can aim for A+. However, if you are coming from NUS, NTU or SUTD, getting an A+ is no different from getting an A, but to get the former you probably need to work much harder because as little as 5% of the cohort gets that grade. Hence, to maximize the value of your study time, Digital Senior advises you to aim for A and leave more time to pull up your weaker subjects. At the end of the day, it is about balancing your strengths and weaknesses.
The Magic S/U
The last aspect Digital Senior would like to bring across is a special 'opt-out' option that is currently offered in NUS and NTU. It is students' favorite S/U option. You can choose to convert four modules, subject to specific requirements, into S/U modules and you are only required to pass the modules. Your GPA won't be affected. It is recommended that you reserve the precious option only for cases where you make a mistake in choosing a module that you know you won't score well. Don't just use it as a kind of insurance for laziness. Lastly, if you are taking a minor or a second major, then you should have known that you cannot use S/U for any modules that are required by the minor or the second major.
Let's getting harder when you do it later
Regardless of which universities you are considering, if you look into specifically how GPA is calculated, you will encounter a term called CGPA (Cumulative GPA). Your GPA of the present semester is dependent on the CGPA of all your previous semesters. The final GPA, the one you will graduate with, is calculated cumulatively. The implication of such a calculation is that CGPA towards the start of your university academic study, especially in your year 1 and 2, carries greater weight in determining your final GPA. That is why we often see students who do not do well for their year 1 struggling a lot to catch up, while students who get a relatively high GPA face fewer worries when they go to year 3 and 4. Digital Senior once knew a student who could graduate safely with a second upper even if he scored straight C for his last final in university. Do you want to have such a peace of mind? If yes, work hard now instead of later.
If you continue to read till here, congratulations! That means you know how to work hard and also how to work smart. Understanding the system is the first step to working hard and Digital Senior wishes you all the best in your studies!
Image source: InternetReview your course Have something to say about your course? Help other people with your review and get rewarded at the same time. Find out more about submitting a review to Digital Senior.


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Contact Us
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Showing 1–2 of 2 results.
Students order important events from the 19th and 20th centuries.
This resource is a discussion guide and worksheet about the call to priestly ministry based on the film clip from There Be Dragons.


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Kenyan parliamentarians on Tuesday debated a bill that would allocate a third of all seats in parliament to women, with campaigners optimistic that it would pass in spite of previous failures.
Women hold 23 per cent of seats in Kenya's lower and upper houses of parliament combined, says the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
This arrangement is on a par with the global average, but lower than neighbours Rwanda, Ethiopia and Burundi.
Kenya's 2010 Constitution states that not more than two-thirds of any elected or appointed political bodies can be of the same gender.
However, it does not set out a mechanism for attaining that goal.
The new legislation proposed by Aden Duale provides for special seats to be created if parliamentary elections fail to achieve the required numbers, with female candidates nominated to fill them.
"We want to fix the historical injustices done to women in the past.
"And, for us to do that, we need to empower the women of this country," said the ruling Jubilee Party representative as he presented the Bill in the National Assembly.
"We must give them the seat of leadership. Women must be present at the decision-making table – in the executive, in the legislature, in the judiciary and in the private sector."
Kenya's economy has grown on average of five per cent annually over the last decade.
Nevertheless, the benefits have not been equally shared, and women and girls remain disadvantaged socially, economically and politically.
"Women make up only a third of the 2.5 million people employed in the formal sector," says the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
And, while women provide 80 per cent of Kenya's farm labour, they own only one per cent of agricultural land.
Gender experts say that a stronger women's voice at the top will have a trickle-down effect.
It would lead to the development of policies and laws that would help women at the grassroots level fight abuse, discrimination and inequality.
Since 2012, women's rights groups in Kenya have fought to have legislation passed in spite of the Supreme Court directing parliament to enact a law.
Previous attempts have failed largely due to quorum hitches.
The Bill has the backing of President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader, Raila Odinga, and its supporters say they are confident it will pass, but it is not without opposition.
Critics said creating additional parliamentary seats would cost Kenyan taxpayers millions of dollars in extra salaries.
Others have questioned how nominations of candidates would be conducted, suggesting that politician's wives, girlfriends and mistresses would be given seats by proxy.
Wilberforce Oundo from the opposition Orange Democratic Movement, said it would be "extremely difficult to trust the process of nomination".
"The executive, women activists and rights campaigners must invest heavily in the capacity building of women, instead of looking for short term gains and short term escapes," he told parliament.
The debate is expected to continue on Wednesday. (Reuters/NAN)


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Wine Industry Insight
ShipCompliant's MarketPlace platform violates New York law, according to last night's ruling from State Liquor Authority (SLA).
The ruling, was issued in response to a special full board meeting on January 17, 2013 in which ShipCompliant requested a ruling to declare that its direct sales system was legal in New York.
In denying that request, the SLA said:
The facts developed during the Authority's inquiry and at the Full Board meeting indicate that ShipCompliant's Request does not provide an accurate or complete description of the actual relations among these business associates.
Contrary to the representations made in the Request regarding the control exercised by the licensed seller, the Authority found that, in fact, the business model among the participating entities placed the licensed sellers in a passive role.
Examples were legion:
- The advertiser's agreement with the wholesaler provided that the wholesaler would receive a flat fee per bottle sold;
- The advertiser's initial agreement with the retailer provided that the retailer would receive a flat fee per bottle sold;
- The advertiser selected the wines to be sold through agreements with suppliers;
- The advertiser set the prices at which to sell the wine. While the retailer could request a different price) so far as the Authority is aware the retailer never did so;
- The retailer had no agreement with the warehouse to which the wine to be sold was delivered, and did not know where the warehouse was located;
- The advertiser had an agreement with the warehouse, which included terms relating to shipping the wine from California;
- All wine sold by the retailer through the MarketPlace Platform was sold from the warehouse. None was sold out of the retailer's store;
- Initially, the retailer could "accept" an "order request" by simply not rejecting it within a prescribed time. While the Authority understands that during the pendency of this request the process was changed to require a computer keystroke by the retailer, the Authority was further advised that the retailer never rejected an "order request."
During the Authority's inquiry, the advertiser's agreement with the retailer was revised to eliminate the flat fee per bottle sold. The advertiser then submitted monthly advertising bills to the retailer.
However, the significant variation in the amounts of the advertiser's monthly bills, the lack of detail, and the retailer's lack of concern with the bills (as expressed during our inquiry), indicates that the arrangement likely remained, in its practical effect, a flat fee to the retailer per bottle sold. Notably, the retailer never reviewed or approved any advertisements prepared by the advertiser.
While many of the Authority's concerns relate to the relationship between the advertiser and the retailer, the agreement between ShipCompliant and the retailer also raises questions.
The very detailed and restrictive "Control Account Instructions" governing "all access to the Retailer Control Account [i.e. the escrow account], including, without limitation, the deposit and disbursement of all funds into and out" of this account, calls into question what, if any, control the participating retailer exercised over funds paid for the alcoholic beverages.
The Authority also noted that the agreement between ShipCompliant and the retailer provides that when the retailer accepts an order request such that it becomes an "Order," "the retailer will be bound to the terms of that Order, including, as applicable, the Product, quantity, pricing, fulfillment Agent and Wholesaler specified in the Order."
While such a provision might appear on its face to be reasonable, when combined with the passive role of the retailer and the pervasive role of the advertiser, it supports the view that, in their current operation in New York, the model of ShipCompliant and its business associates does not comply with the ABCL or applicable Authority Rules.


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Whatever the so-called "Jesus' Wife Gospel" is authentic or not, the media marketing around this fragment has the advantage of making more visible the presence of women in Ancient Christianities and speaking to a wide audience about some Gnostic texts such as the Gospel of Philip. This is of benefit in itself.
But the authentic "scoop" of this announcement stands at another level: in an article written by Jeanna Bryner in LiveScience, on the 19th of October, we learn that the Harvard Theological Review renounces to publish Karen King's article in in the January 2013 issue, a draft of which is available online. As I suggested in another blog, the most interesting point of this episode is probably its impact in terms of digital culture. It forecasts and figures the transformation of the peer-review process of the scientific articles in Humanities, a strongly established point in the scholarly life.
The withdrawal of the article by HTR raised diverse reactions, as J. Bryner informs us: Andrew Bernhard, an Oxford university graduate, considers that it is an historical moment in the academic process, with a moove to more transparence and openess in the peer-review process. Hershel Shanks (Biblical Archeogical Society) considers this withdrawing as a «shame» and something «coward», whereas Robert Bagnall waits prudently for the more recent analysis of the document.
We have here an interesting example of the turning-point announced by Kathleen Fitzpatrick in her excellent book Planned Obsolescence. Publishing, Technology, and the Future of the Academy, available online: «I want to suggest that the time has come for us to consider whether, really, we might all be better served by separating the question of credentialing from the publishing process, by allowing everything through the gate, and by designing a post-publication peer review process taht focuses on how a scholarly text should be received rather than whether it should be out there in the first place».
Karen King's article's draft leads to such a transformation. First, it mentions some opinions of the peer-reviewers of the article, something unusual and new. Secondly, it is now reviewed by a number of other scholars on diverse websites, including this one. What is missing here is the centralisation and the moderation of the debate. As I told in my preceding blog, the Harvard Divinity School did not dare to propose also a blog / forum of discussion, kind of a first «post-publication peer-review » process of the draft article. It should have been done, it should be done, rather than to count of an old mode of publication in a journal.
A historical point of view is here required: at the 17th century, the scientific journals emerged, because they were because they were a more appropriate means of quickly diffusing opinions. In the English speaking world, the «Philosophical Transactions» have begun to s to disseminate widely scientific articles from 1662. In the French speaking world, as Dominique Vinck reminds (Hermès 57, 2010), the «Journal des Savants» succeded in 1665 to the informal network of scientific letters, held by Father Mersenne with 200 scholars in Europe.
It is almost evident to assert today that we are facing a similar turn. The quality of the scientific exchanges requires now the transformation of the academic literary production. As Kathleen Fitzpatrick proposes it, one has now to dissociate the moment of the publication from this one of the credentialing. One needs an efficient post-publication peer-review process, with the moderation of the opinions of the best scholars in the field.
If we go in that direction, we will only realize what Charles S. Pierce discribed several decades ago:«The very origin of the conception of reality shows that this conception essentially involves the notion of a COMMUNITY, without definite limits, and capable of an indefinite increase of knowledge. And so those two series of cognitions – the real and the unreal – consist of those which, at a time sufficiently future, the community will always continue to reaffirm; and of those which, under the same conditions, will ever after be denied» (Peirce, The Essential Peirce, vol. 1, Houser et alii (ed.), p. 52).


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- fixed RecipeRadar compability issue
This is an inventory replacement, which merges all bags into one, and seperate your items into a sorted view.
Still working on it.. Lots of changes to come.
Sorry for the buggy 20050822 version. I did a lot of changes to it and as a bit too eager to upload it, but it had some serious flaws with config data. (the data was set during development on my system, but failed to start up properly on clean installs)
The latest version is going to reset your config for you, in part to wipe out any lingering bugs due to bad data, and also because of the many changes. Sorry for messing up your customization. I'll try to keep the settings wipes to a very very minimum.
Need help:
I need item ID's of all the class items. To do this, go in edit mode, right click on your item, and hover over "debug info". For example, a warlock's Infernal Stone has an item link of 5565:0:0:0
Big question: are all the item ID's the same on every server and every localization? I tried the mod on a "private server", and the item ID's don't match at all. I want to know if I've just created more problems by using ID's instead of actual names. If they don't match, let me know and I'll switch the code back to using names.
LOCALIZATION: (non-english will have strange behavior)
At this point, localization is hopelessly messed up. I'm using the english player class names and trade skills, so these features won't work properly. For trade skills, you're going to get a freaky reset everytime you load. Does anyone want to take on the localization work for this?
Just unzip to your addons directory, and make sure you're not using another inventory replacement.
Open your bags with your normal hotkey (B), or press any of the bag icons. Make sure your hotkey is bound to "Open backpack", and not something like "Open all bags", or the window won't close when you use your hotkey.
in-game config:
press the "edit" button. Click on an item to select it's class, then click on a numbered target to put that class in that location. You can also right click on the numbered targets for more options, or to select a class that you have no items of.
You can also right click on many different things for some more options. When not in edit mode, you can only right click on the main window. In edit mode, you can right click on any button or numbered target.
For configuration menu, right click anywhere in the main window, and click on "Advanced Configuration"
The matching algorithm:
During an inventory resort, the follow procedure occurs:
1. It looks for the item in the "override placement list". When you right click an item (in edit mode), and select to override it's placement into a specific catagory, this is where it gets matched. This is top priority.
2. It searches through the "Item Search and Assignment" list as seen in the config window. It will use the first matching catagory that it finds, unless that catagory is not linked to a bar. By default, class items are not linked to a bar, unless it's your current player class. (You'll be able to change this behavior in the future). All items in the list must match for the line to be a successful match.
- Keywords: These are special keywords as defined in various parts of the code. In edit mode, right click on an item, and look at the debug info. You'll see a list of keywords that the item matched. Every item gets the keyword ITEMRARITY_# .. By default, I'm only matching ITEMRARITY_0 to the "GRAY_ITEMS" catagory, but you could add more matching lines to, for example, move epics and such into their own spot.
- Tooltip Search: During the matching, the default game tooltip is loaded into a hidden control, and is checked against this using the string.find() library function. Any valid pattern match would work here. (do NOT ask me for a tutorial on regular expressions. See http://www.regular-expressions.info/ .. if you don't understand it, just keep your string searches to something simple.)
- ItemType: This matches the itemType string as returned by a WoW API function. This is a direct string compare, so no regex patterns. Again, you can view the item type for something specific in the right-click=>debug info list)
At this point, if no match is found, the item is placed in OTHERORUNKNOWN.
I currently don't have any way for you to add a line to the list. I'm working on it.
command line switches:
/ei lock -- lock window
/ei unlock -- unlock window
/ei scale 0.64 -- change the window scale between 0.64 and 1.00
/ei resetdefaults -- reload default settings
/ei config -- opens config window
*** Must keep on top of localization. I added so much stuff too quickly, and missed quite a few strings in the localization file. I'll clean it up... It will also need more translation.
- Need complete lists of class items, so far I just have a few, and it's incomplete. (I'm doing this by item ID, not by item name)
- Textures
- French localization
- Bag Icons
- Create a seperate bar for new items
- Add option to change the window anchor position. (Currently locked to bottom right)
- Add buttons to add or delete items in the search list (as seen at the bottom of the configuration screen)
- Use a proper scroll frame for the scroll bar (hopefully the mouse wheel would work after)
- Make a check for catagories that don't have a bar asignment, and give them a default value
- Check for catagories that aren't used at all, and wipe them out
- Make a "sort now" button
- Give some options in the config screen to change when to auto-sort.
ie: "sort always unless at vendor", "sort only on bag open", ...
- Add checkboxes and dropdown lists to my config templates
- Per Player/per server config
** Document how the search list works. I'm sure I'll be bombarded by questions because people don't understand it. (Could someone else figure it out and do a long post in the comments section? :) )
Suggestions under consideration:
- Integration with bank to provide same functionality.
(I'll look into this once I'm done with some of the above TODO's)
Things I don't want to do:
- Autoselling items
Mods that work by themselves, with no extra code in my mod:
- KC_Items
- ReagentInfo
- German localization!
- Note: He worked on one of the first versions. I've added so much stuff, completely messing up his work. I've asked him to wait before doing more translations, as I'm still adding things to the localization file.
Sarf of AllInOneInventory
- Used AIOI as a learning base, and some pieces of code have been completely cut'n'pasted.
Lozareth of Discord Action Bars
- Ripped your font and learned how to make a big number inside a button
- Made Packrat work


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Running Is MentalPosted by Jeanne Filed Under: Running Tips
I know you've all heard the adage that "running is 90 percent mental and the rest is physical." I'm not sure if that ratio is exactly correct (it feels a lot more physical to me), but I do agree that there's more than a little psychology involved in running.
To wit:
How come:
Six miles can often feel farther than 10?
Twenty km sounds harder than a half marathon?
I can run 18 miles but can get out of breath just thinking about walking up the stairs?
Oh sure, some of it has to do with physical readiness. But I'm here to tell you that mental preparedness is as—if not more—essential.
Herewith, my rules for getting your head on straight before running:
- Don't think.Schedule your workouts if at all possible. Mornings work best for me because nothing can get in the way. I operate on automatic pilot. Dress, drive, run. No thinking allowed.
- Think. I find I do best if I imagine my long runs in detail. I can tell you early in the week if a long run on Saturday will be good or bad. For me, it has to do with how confident I feel on Monday about Saturday. Visualization techniques have long been used in competitive athletics. I don't know how exactly it works … I just know that it does. So imagine yourself running that long mileage with a smile on your face. It just might happen that way.
- Surround yourself with supportive people. I still remember my first 20k like it was um … three weeks ago. (It was three weeks ago.) I was afraid of racing that distance and was once again tempted to treat the race as a training run. But I remembered the words of my mentor and coach telling me I can do more than I think I can, that I had such long legs, that I was built for running. Who knows if she was lying? Who cares? Her words gave me the stamina and courage I needed—exactly when I needed them. And I had the time of my life.
- Lose the losers. Similarly, you don't need to be around people who doubt your abilities. You don't need to read articles or comments on running boards from people who are critical of your achievements or speed or athleticism. When you're new to running, unless you are blessed with an abundance of confidence and natural ability, harsh comments can really cause you to doubt yourself. Don't go there.
- Sign up for an event. Sign up for several events! And make sure one is just beyond what you think you can do. I ran my first 10 miler last spring, never having run 10 miles. Until I crossed that finish line I was pretty sure I couldn't do it. But I did. Finishing a distance you never thought you'd be able to run is an amazing confidence builder.
- Learn to forget. Forget yesterday's rotten run. It's a new day and you get a free do-over.
- Remember. Learn from yesterday's rotten run. What went wrong? Not enough sleep? Too many weeks of junk food? Whatever it is, if you can isolate it, you can learn from it.
- Whatever you do, don't wear headphones.
- Whatever you do, make sure you wear headphones.
- You'll never find your answers in a list. That's because you need to experiment and come up with your own ways to prepare mentally. Pick and choose those things that sound right to you. And then follow your intuition.
As with most things, there are levels of mental preparedness. I'm calling a general Code Red for myself. What level are you at?
About Jeanne
Cocky, headstrong, and genetically insecure, Jeanne is known by her friends as the Tall One. Whether its running a marathon, or ringing bells in choir, this love-able rapscallion finds ways of landing in all kinds zany, madcap adventures. You can find Jeanne musing about life, running, bell ringing, and other things at her favorite hangout, Not Born to Run. When not regaling her public with tales from the trails, Jeanne works as a Web editor for a national newspaper. She is also a freelance writer. Jeanne lives in the leafy suburb of Bethesda, Md., just outside the Beltway.
- Web |
- More Posts (38)
Jim on
September 7th at 10:20 am
This was great! I really enjoyed, looking forward to reading the rest of the site.
air-run on
September 7th at 11:26 am
A quote I like is that running marathons is 90% mental, and the rest is in your head!
Soozan on
September 7th at 11:55 am
Yeah, sometimes it is 100% mental with me.
Dawn - Pink Chick on
September 8th at 4:24 am
I'm code PINK of course. 🙂
21stCenturyMom on
September 8th at 8:32 am
That was clear! Do this – but don't do this. I like it.
Running is 100% physical. You just get out there and run and don't let the voices in your head tell you to stop. Less mental and more physical = keep running.
Karen in Calgary on
September 8th at 3:22 pm
Love the contradictory list, and then tip #10 takes the cake 🙂
I do think I will try the "Don't Think" tip more, though. I've been thinking myself out of too many runs lately.


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HÀ NỘI – The Ministry of Education and Training is setting up a programme to retrain surplus teachers in secondary and high schools, to deal with current shortages in kindergartens.
Under the plan, about 40,000 teachers will be retrained to work in kindergartens.
According to the ministry, Vietnamese education is facing an excess of teachers in secondary and high schools, while pre-schools lack sufficient staff.
The ministry's statistics have recently shown an excess of over 40,000 secondary and high school teachers across the country, while infant schools lacked more than 30,000 teachers.
To address this situation, some localities have transferred redundant teachers to teach in preschools. However, these teachers are facing difficulties due to the differences in teaching between schools.
The most common difficulty was that many secondary and high school teachers lacked of teaching skills for preschool-age children, said Nguyễn Thị Vân, a secondary school teacher who was assigned to teach in a kindergarten in the central Nghệ An Province.
"Although we have knowledge, we lack teaching skills for preschool. Teaching in kindergarten is very different to teaching in secondary and high schools, and it requires pedagogical skills and talent. Teaching in kindergarten will become torture if teachers do not have talent," Vân told vietnamnet online newspaper.
In Thanh Hóa Province, more than 100 redundant secondary school teachers in Thạch Thành District were switched to teach in primary and preschool. However, more than 40 teachers were instructed to do other work, instead of teaching, the newspaper reported.
Discussing the situation at a conference held last week, the Education and Training Minister Phùng Xuân Nhạ said, at present, using excess teachers to fill the shortage in preschools was a temporary solution, but it posed risks for the quality of teaching in kindergartens.
According to the minister, unqualified teachers in preschools were one of the main causes behind violence in some classrooms.
To deal with this problem, the ministry had assigned teacher training colleges to set up a programme to retrain redundant teachers to teach in preschools which lack of teachers, the minister said.
This programme would be designed scientifically to improve the quality of teachers and will be used across the whole country, he said.
Teachers could learn in their locality or through online programmes to reduce overloading on teacher training colleges, Nhạ said.
The programme would also be flexible for teachers who specialise in math, English, literature, science, history, said Prof Nguyễn Văn Minh, rector of Hà Nội Teachers Training University which was assigned to set up the programme.
The ministry would work with educational departments and locals to develop exact statistics on the number of surplus teachers, Minh said.
Under the plan, the programme would be implemented in February, he added. - VNS


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We are excited to announce an exclusive Buy One Get One Free discount on interactive iBook textbooks from Ridgevue Publishing that is now available for NOSA members.
These advanced digital textbooks incorporate videos, term definitions and flashcards to create the richest learning experience possible. The available iBooks cover a wide range of subjects including Optics, Binocular Vision, Contact Lenses and more.
The iBooks can be used on all Apple devices, but are not compatible with PC's and Android devices.
To receive this exclusive offer follow these steps
1) Purchase any iBook priced at $29.99 or above from the Ridgevue Publishing catalog.
2) Choose a second iBook (of equal or lesser price) to receive for free.
3) Email your Apple receipt to email@example.com and state which iBook you'd like to receive for free.
You can choose to receive a second copy of the same iBook and give it to a friend.
Share on:


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The Faculty of Science Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science (CCIS)—a vibrant environment for learning and discovery.
Undergraduate and graduate programs, degrees, and admission information.
Detailed Program Requirements
Ph.D. candidates are expected to have background in computing science similar to our B.Sc. Honors in Computing Science program. Normally three-year degrees do not meet the university requirements. Applicants for the Ph.D. in Computing Science must have an M.Sc. degree in Computing Science or a related field. Exceptionally qualified applicants having the equivalent of a First-Class Honors B.Sc. degree may be admitted directly to the Ph.D. program. Deficiencies must be addressed by taking appropriate undergraduate courses.
You must have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale, over the last 20 half courses to apply.
When applying, Ph.D. students are required to select a research area and name up to 3 professors as potential supervisors. Ph.D. students will only be admitted if a professor agrees to supervise. Browse through our research areas and faculty members to find a professor whose research is of interest to you. By choosing a name, you will be directing the professor's attention to your application. You are not required to contact this professor before you apply.
Once accepted, the candidate must plan and carry out high-quality research leading to an advanced knowledge in their field of study.
Outstanding students from other disciplines are encouraged to follow these Department approved guidelines (PDF, 111kb).
CS Doctoral student explores interactive storytelling in games
Email: email@example.com


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Video games are the new biotech. That was the sentiment conveyed yesterday by college administrators, elected officials and others who would like to see the video game industry grow and thrive in Massachusetts.
Video games are the new biotech.
That was the sentiment conveyed yesterday by college administrators, elected officials and others who would like to see the video game industry grow and thrive in Massachusetts.
With some help from the government in the form of tax credits and other incentives, the video game industry could flourish in Massachusetts as the biotech industry has, advocates argued at a conference at Becker College's Southboro campus.
One way to help the industry would be to create a campus-based policy and research institute, said Timothy Loew, director of academic planning and operations at Becker College.
To the delight of college administrators, Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray announced at the conference that such an institute will be established.
Over the next 90 days, state officials will work to establish the Massachusetts Video Game Institute at Becker College, the lieutenant governor said. He said the state would also work toward implementing a broader plan to support the video game industry here.
"We think there's a unique opportunity right now to begin work on this comprehensive statewide plan," Mr. Murray said.
The decision to establish a video game institute at Becker was another victory for the small Worcester college, which was ranked 4th in video game design this year by The Princeton Review.
College President Robert E. Johnson said he is thrilled by the designation, even if it doesn't come with any state funding. Investment could come from the private sector, he said in an interview.
Mr. Murray said the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative may be able to provide some seed money to get the institute up and running.
The goal of the institute would be to create a hub where members of the public and private sectors and academia can meet to share ideas about how best to prepare students to work in the video game industry and how to keep the industry growing in Massachusetts.
Mr. Loew and lawyer Michael J. Cavaretta, founder of MIT Enterprise Forum's New England Games SIG, presented several other ways yesterday to support the video game industry and create jobs through a sweeping, "first-in-the-nation" policy plan.
The plan called for allowing video game startup companies to use state-owned buildings for free or reduced rent, developing low-interest loan programs, providing tax credits and other ideas.
"We have an incredible opportunity to become a global leader," Mr. Loew said.
About 16 other states have policies targeted specifically at the video game industry, he said.
Mr. Cavaretta said that even without special incentives, Massachusetts has developed a strong video game industry. The industry in this state, which accounts for roughly $2 billion of the $50 billion global industry, faces competition from Quebec, Texas and California, among other markets.
Unless the state takes action, it could lose its biggest game companies to other places, Mr. Loew said: "It's possible, given our lack of energy in supporting this industry, one of these big companies could leave."
Rhode Island successfully offered a $75 million loan guarantee that lured away 38 Studios LLC, a Maynard game company founded by former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.
State Rep. Vincent A. Pedone, D-Worcester, said that with help from advocates, he plans to file a bill to help the video game industry. In just the last 10 weeks, the topic has received a lot of attention from lawmakers, he said.
"We want to be on the right side of history here, because we were on the right side of history for biotech, and look what it's done, with this biotech corridor starting from Cambridge and coming all the way through Worcester," he said. "It is an industry that we have to harness."
In an interview after the conference, Mr. Pedone said he would consider a bill that included tax credits for the video game industry, even during a difficult budget season.
"Any bill that is going to bring jobs should be looked at," he said. "If it's tax credits that'll do it, it's tax credits we should be looking at."
State Rep. Carolyn C. Dykema, D-Holliston, said, "It's an extremely challenging time to look at something like that now" and that tax credits may be a better idea for the long-term.
"I don't think it's anything you're going to see in this budget," the lieutenant governor said when asked about tax credits.
The Massachusetts Video Game Institute at Becker College is scheduled to open next fall.


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Tarot questions? Enter here the keyword or query.
by Vinicius
(Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil)
Rick is a man with no emotional needs, or at least, just a few.
His science doesn't let him to have this kind of personality.
Sometimes he tries to show some sensibility with his family, but he does everything wrong.
Search for it and you can find all the evidences that RICK is King of Swords.
Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Court Cards Personalities - free tarocchi italiani.
Subscribe to my free newsletter and get a tarot deck!


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It's almost Mother's Day, and there are probably some Mothers at your office, why not celebrate through food? Show them some love. Contact us at email@example.com to place an order.
1. Head Over Meals | Avocado Toast Bar
2.Kitchenette | Fried Chicken & Waffles
3. Kitchenette | Quiches & Salad
DailyFoodtoEat is the official blog of FoodtoEat. We help build corporate culture by bringing the best local food to offices for team meals and special events. We believe in investing in your team. That's why we're committed to improving employee happiness through food – feed your team today with FoodtoEat! Check out the deliciousness here:FoodtoEat Catering


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Enter into the world of Beyond Tone
As we prepare the groups forth coming Album project due for release early 2018.
We slip out this little juicy teaser dub plate for those selectors that like to mash up a dance floor or two.\
A track guaranteed to send the jazz house dancers into a spin.
Another tried and tested dub plate track that has had the Broadcite heads calling for the rewind in the club.
Harking back to some of that good old Broken beat flavour. Simple and deep and works a treat :)
If this is for you the bump it HARD
Broadcite music X
Loving the vibe, mates! Thank you, will play this one. - Michal B DJ / Radio
Nice dub sure to work on the uk und Gnd - Good Vibes DJ
Cool dub! Dope! Will spin it for sure..Thanks - Pascal Morais DJ / Netherlands
Nice dub. Useful for radio and club! - Boogie Bwoy Garth DJ /UK
This promo is not for me thanks - Audio Texture radio Radio / FM
Nice vibe - Alex Attais Freedom Sounds
VERY nice track…will play it out loud! - Frank J Soul Parlour / EU
Funky FUNKY fresh..... :O) - Mystic vibes radio USA / Radio
yeeeeeees! - Rhythm Warehouse DJ / Radio
Deepness with a twist ! nice one. - Les Gammas


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Visit the Castle and Discover Its History in Virtual Mode
In the framework of the valorisation of its patrimony, the Loiret signe in March a partnershipconvention with the Google Cultural Institute for the castle of Sully. Goal : making the Loiret's patrimony more accessible to a wider range of people and develop the valorisation of the castle by giving it an international visibility. Thanks to the digital tools and technologies implemented by Google, you can now visit the castle online, admire images in ultra HD of the Psyché curtain, discover thematical virtual exhibitions.
- The castle of Sully, partner of Google Cultural Institute
- Other castles that are partner in the project Google–Val de Loire
The Castle in 3D
In the framework of the Loiret's partnership with the Google cultural Institute, you candiscover an astonishing 3D view of the castle of Sully. To do that, planes equiped withcameras flew above the castle to take vertical and 45° photographs to model into 3D the exterior architecture of the location. To visualize this in Google Maps or Google Earth, yousimply need to activate the satellite mode.
Visit the Castle in 360°
Thanks to the Street view capture technologies, you can visit the castle's outdoors and indoorsin an innovative and interactive way. From your computer or smartphone screen, places usually closed to the public are exceptionnally opened for you (towers and moats). To access this visit on your computer, you need to go through Google Maps and activate the Street View mode. You can also access the visit in enhanced reality with you smartphone by downloading the Street View App on the App Store or on Google Play. After finding the castle of Sully, you just have to put your phone into a special enhancedreality headset as seen on the cardboard. The result isfairly impressive!
The Tapisseries of Psyché in Ultra-High Definition
Thanks to the technologies of ultra-HD takes set up by Google, dive into the heart of the 10 tapestries of the Psyché curtain in the castle exhibit ans discover by zooming the details of thisremarkable ensemble of the XVIIth century
Three Virtual Exhibitions to Discover
The castle of Sully finally offers to discover 3 thematical virtual exhibitions online. Thoseexhibitions are realized thanks to an important documentary fund, with more than 200 images uploaded on line on Google Cultural Institute's website. Within the next months, otherexhibitions will be created by the castle you will be abble to find on this page.


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From memory, he had...
- Hero General
- 1 Knight
- 1 Rider
- 1 Behemoth
- 4 Spear
- 4 Hordes
...all the while planning to use my Air Boat's mobility to fly it over to strengthen where the real action was about to ensue!
I even made space for it by shunting across my Steam Tank. Ha! Get it? Shunting!
In the meantime, my flyer faced off a horde of foe. Or more particularly, two Hordes and a Rider.
The hole in front of the enemy Behemoth duly plugged, in we rolled.
At least my Steam Tank Behemoth was at least facing a mounted element. So, I had the advantage there, right?
To try to seed some confusion, I flew my flyer over into the rear of his end line.
And so the clash began.
Not very well for me, as it happened.
On the other end of my line, my Steam Tank was getting itself into all sorts of bovver. Rather than killing the enemy mounted, it just pushed them back. And back. Until...well...
So, the successful Spear block turned to face more Red Coats. Who were in turn supported by the Royal Naval Brigade.
Not that it did them much good.
On the other end of the line, in rolled the Hordes. Urghh!
Worse still...you know how my Steam Tank was sticking it's neck out?
Worse still, the dratted Rider had finally managed to cross into the centre, to the detriment of my brave boys in blue.
Still, against the odds (even though, with the tank being overlapped, the odds were even), the mighty power of steam managed to shrug off the Hero and pursue the enemy.
Talking of against the odds, even though they were even...how did that Gattling gun survive.
So...ummm...yeah...by this time in the game there were a lot of holes in my line.
And it gets worse!
That's another element of Blades. Bother.
Still, at least my Steam Tank was having some success. Not great success, but anything at this point is a plus...
Well, at least I didn't loose my General!
Ha! And I'd managed to kill...a Horde!
But, well...things were looking really dodgy for my General!
He survived (I'm pretty sure this time it was against the odds!), so I pulled him back for some support from the Air Boat.
And that was the end of that. Time was called, so it was considered a draw. Even though I was on a hiding to nothing. Big time.


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Yiruma is the stage name of I Ru-ma (born February 15, 1978), who is considered to be the world's greatest South Korea pianist and composer. The name "Yiruma" translates into accomplishment in Korean.
Yiruma leads the modern piano movement through his expressive and introspective songs. Although he is only 32 years old, Yiruma is internationally known for creating colorful crescendos which uplift all spirits. He frequently performs at sold-out concerts in Asia and is also known in Europe and North America. His Alma Mater King's College in England helped him gain European popularity and recognition. Several of his most popular songs include, "River Flows in You", "Kiss the Rain", and "Maybe". His most popular album is "First Love", which was released in 2001. Yiruma was born in South Korea and moved to England when he was five years old in order to pursue piano. He possessed dual citizenship of South Korea and England until 2006. In 2006, he gave up his UK citizenship and served in the Navy of South Korea.


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This week Thursday was not a good one for my country. We woke to the news that a horrific crash had resulted in the death of three young girls from a prominent high school in central Jamaica, Holmwood Technical. An institution which was still celebrating victory at the Inter-secondary High School Championships for girls and boys, arguably, one of, if not the most competitive in the entire world. Further, that a policeman, in a fit of rage, had shot and killed four members of his wife's family, seriously injured his wife and then killed himself! Then just tonight, it was reported that yet another teenage girl (two others committed suicide recently ) had killed herself. This has, therefore, not been a good week for my country. And unless we can find a reason and remedy for these tragic deaths, the reality is that, unfortunately, more shall follow. Not just here in Jamaica, but in Brazil, in Afghanistan, in Palestine, in the Ivory Coast, and wherever humans live and have their being. So what is to be done?
This week, in response to the deep longing of my heart about the state of my nation, the Lord sent a message about the need for His people, whom He left in the world to be minsters of reconciliation, and to be salt and light in the midst of the pain and grief, to depend on Him totally. But for this to happen we must have a change of attitude towards Him and to all our neighbours.Those we love and especially those who persecute and abuse us. As a major part of the problem in Jamaica is that we have warring factions in our communities, in our families, in the entertainment industry and worse of all, as a series of editorials in the Daily Gleaner has highlighted this week, warring factions and " gangs" in our politics. Thus sending the wrong signals to a whole new generation of youths and fostering a culture of violence, impatience, indifference to the plight of your neighbour, and a vulgar pursuit of pleasure and gain regardless of the constraints of existing moral and social norms and values. And so a nation suffers, and wonders what is to be done. This then is what the Lord said in respect of those who are called by his Name, but it would do well for others to listen and obey.
This is how it started:
My own reflections : You have to need God. And need Him desperately. Otherwise the Christian journey does not lead to maturity, but remains being sustained by " milk", and not solid food. We are all placed in situations where there is a need: for rescue from evil - trials or frank persecution; from the temptations of the lust for worldly things; from the unholy and sinful thoughts that " come out of the hearts of men and women". We only mature if these situations move us to acknowledge our complete helplessness and need for rescue by the Atonement wrought by God in Christ on the Cross of Calvary.
God's Word. " I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better". Ephesians 1:17 NIV
And continued:
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to your cross I cling.
Naked, come to you for dress;
Helpless, look to you for grace.
Foul, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me Savior, lest I die.
Verse from an old hymn.
Then a call to trust and assurance of comfort:
" I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you". John 14:18 NIV
Then a powerful Word that speaks to our need to rely completely on God and His mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead. And that there is no situation from which we cannot be rescued, especially when we are literally at " our wits end".
" I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead.....". Ephesians 1:18-20. NIV.
" We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we may not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
2 Cor. 1:8-9 NIV
Finally a word about how we should respond to the " misusing of God's grace". ( Words from a hymn :And now O Father, mindful of thy love). Which is what Lent is all about. And more importantly, not about.
" Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done." 2 Cor. 7:10-11 NIV.
And the climax for the salvation of our nation, bleeding literally and metaphorically, on account of rebellion against God.
" Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" - part of the gospel for today.
Lord, if that policeman, that gunman, that corrupt politician, that outrageous dance hall artiste, that misguided talk show host, that......had turned to Jesus, and relied completely on God, my country would not be in this state.
" You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven....If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Matthew 5:43-46. NIV
Jamaica, and indeed the world, will only be rescued, when we learn to be " imitators of God" and " live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God". ( Eph. 5:1-2 NIV) .
I give myself away, that you can use me. I give myself away.... Words from a contemporary hymn.
As like us, non- believers are desperately in need of God. Thank God for Jesus, by grace, through revelation by God's Word, we know that we need Him every hour.
Pray God, then, that we may share Christ's love with those who don't. Even "the vilest offender". In our home, family, community and nation. Wherever! For God raises the dead. These " dry bones" ( the OT reading for today) can indeed live. Forgive us Lord for we have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed. In what we have done and in what we have left undone. We have not loved........ Amen. That is how the message ended.
Finally, an e-mail message sent a to few selected individuals whose ability to influence the state of affairs in my country is not inconsequential. But I would suggest a worthwhile read for all of us, believers and non-believers, who wish to see meaniful change in our country.
"When you were slaves to sin, you were set free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:20-23 NIV
The reality is that all human beings are faced with the above mentioned choice, and will reap the benefits or consequences. What a great benefit would redound to the people of Jamaica were more of us minded to make the right choice! For it is the choices that we have made as a nation which are coming to haunt us now. In our homes. On the roads. Over the airwaves. And in our parliament.
Question is, are we ashamed, and willing to declare and show godly sorrow which leads to repentance and peace? Or are we just concerned, and not really desperately in need of an Almighty God who can do abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. God responds to one - the humble - with grace, but opposes the other - the proud. Good Friday will be celebrated next week. It's a good time for making choices. Amen


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Every year for my birthday – I ask for the same thing: Snickers Cake. The gooey caramel with the chocolate and peanuts is a heavenly combination. When I came across these Snickers Brownie Bites from The Domestic Rebel, I knew I had to give them a try! With the brownie bottom and classic Snickers taste – I think I may have found a new birthday tradition!
Serves: 24
Snickers Brownie Bites Recipe
1 hrPrep Time
30 minCook Time
1 hr, 30 Total Time
- 1 (18.4 ounce) box brownie mix (we used Betty Crocker)
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1(7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 (11 ounce) package Kraft caramels
- 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cups dry roasted peanuts
- 12 ounces chocolate almond bark (or chocolate chips)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- Prepare brownie mix according to package directions mixing together the brownies mix, water, oil and eggs and pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the brownies completely.
- In a medium bowl combine the marshmallow creme and peanut butter with a hand mixer until blended.
- Spread the mixture on top of the cooled brownies in an even layer.
- Unwrap the caramels and microwave in a medium bowl with heavy cream for 1 minute. Stir, then heat for an additional 30 seconds or until melted and smooth.
- Spread the caramel layer on top of the marshmallow nougat layer evenly. Immediately sprinkle on the peanuts and press them gently into the caramel. Pop the brownies in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set.
- Melt the almond bark according to package directions until smooth. (If using chocolate chips melt in a microwave at 15 second intervals stirring after each time until smooth. Using a sharp knife sprayed with cooking spray, cut the brownies into 1-2 inch squares.
- Dip the tops of the squares in the melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off.
- Place on a foil-lined baking sheet to set.
- Repeat until all the bites have been coated.
Six Sisters Stuff
Recipe From: The Domestic Rebel


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What's on your Media?
joshl last edited by
Spendlove and South on BBC Cambridgeshire now.
joshl last edited by
Isle of Wight Radio: all Wight students got "A" at the exam.
No word about Bhlaghk students:D
joshl last edited by
Independent Scotland 'to pay to receive BBC services' - says former director general Lord Birt
Lord Birt, former director general of the BBC, has claimed that an independent Scotland would lose access to the public broadcaster's TV and radio programming, if it does not pay for it "one way or another".
If Scotland votes yes in less than a month's time, Birt told the Guardian that the broadcaster would immediately see a 10 per cent cut in license payer funding.
F-bomb dropped on BBC Radio 2 Drivetime
One particular incident on Tuesday heard special guest Sofie Gråbøl, who was talking about filming a television show scene said: "Give me my f***ing jumper", to the amazement and amusement of the audience. Simon interrupted and said "It's my job to say at this point.." Sofie then apologised and said "I meant bloody"
The stories are obtained via media.info.
joshl last edited by
On Manx FM, Alex in the Afternoon asks
what man-made artifacts can be seen from the Moon.
linuxmint7 last edited by
Great Wall of China
joshl last edited by
The first guess, actually, was 'the American flag there':D
But Alex immediately ruled that out and clarified "on Earth";)
linuxmint7 last edited by
From the moon
On the moon
joshl last edited by
From media.info:
joshl last edited by
Oscar Pistorius has been cleared from the murder charges.
He can still be subject to homicide/manslaughter (was it a womanslaughter?).
Just in on Connect FM...
joshl last edited by
Just engaged JimBro on Facebook!
He said he was like coming! :eek:
joshl last edited by
On BBC Newcastle, pupils in schools are now like forced to eat free school lunch. There have even been cases of confiscating pupils' packed lunch.
And an "adviser" on phone told 'you need to go to the cook' :chef:
Right. :doh:
Folks, I like England - but I can't get their 'laws'. Don't they have rights?
joshl last edited by
BBC Locals - Mark Forrest's horror show -- talking about spiders, insects, :yuck: in people's homes.
joshl last edited by
The Scottish independence referendum's closing in. Thursday.
Let me try some
pollhere: hit if you care, hit :down: if you don't
Deleted User last edited by
Aye, laddie. Scottish independence, ye say?
joshl last edited by
Yeah. Your better half's gonna get independent from.. your other better half. :drunk:
Deleted User last edited by
My better half? Have ye not been paying attention, laddie? My "better half" got independence some time ago, in case ye haven't noticed.
Deleted User last edited by
Special note: I have an interest in Scotland voting "Yes" just to watch one of the regulars on another forum go ballistic. It should be something to see when the resident "Orangeman" finds he's no longer part of the Union.
joshl last edited by
Listening to TeamRock Radio, the presenter's pronunciation belongs to one of those peculiar patterns of very Scottish English.
linuxmint7 last edited by
Och aye!!!.
joshl last edited by
BBC York:
Nottinghamshire vets warn that single rabbits as pets may suffer from loneliness. :awww:


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***We are still posting orders but less frequently, due to Covid-related movement restrictions here in NYC. Some special order metals may not be available. Please get in touch if you'd like to know when items will ship. Stay safe and healthy everyone***
For "sold out" and Jenco items listed on other sites, please click the contact link and I will get back to you with availability ASAP!
Large, lovely faceted prehnite drops hang from nail-head 14k yellow gold earwires. The 20mm stones have light, feathery inclusions and the earrings hang 1 1/4" total.
Satin-finished, solid gold earwires link to a small cloud of faceted rainbow moonstone briolettes. The...
Sweet simple, summery blue drops of natural amazonite are pinned with polished sterling silver earwires....