text:
Skip to 0 minutes and 4 seconds The question of what distributed leadership is, is an interesting question. And it's a much more complex question than you assume. Distributed leadership is often used very loosely.
Skip to 0 minutes and 17 seconds And there are a plethora of other terms around: collective leadership, participative leadership, team leadership, strategic leadership, pluralistic leadership. I can go on and on. Now, these aren't all the same thing. They have specific meanings. Now, I don't want to be an academic pedant, but I am going to layout that specific meaning for you. For those of you who want to look at what the other forms of leadership mean alongside distributed leadership, go and look at Jean Louis Denis' synthesis of this in the Academy of Management Perspectives in 2012. But I'm just going to focus on distributed leadership. That's the question you asked me. I draw on John Peter Gronn's work, which was published in Leadership Quarterly in 2002.
Skip to 1 minute and 4 seconds And Peter Gronn defines distributed leadership in the following way. And I think this is the most accurate definition. Distributed leadership has two dimensions. One, as it suggests, it's distributed. So it's about the extent, the extent horizontally across the organisation or across organisations if it's a network of organisations and the extent to which it's distributed vertically. So what you should see with distributed leadership is a vertical slice of actors across the organisation or organisations that lack leadership influence. But it's more than that, because, if you just distribute leadership, it may have the effect of being fragmented or dispersed, i.e., people are pointing in different directions.
Skip to 1 minute and 47 seconds So a second dimension of distributed leadership that's important is the extent to which the leadership actors align in their influence. So you should have this sort of what's called conjoint agency and concertive activity so that everything's going in the same direction. Yeah. I mean, not just in healthcare but more broadly, if you were to make the case for distributed leadership, there is some limited evidence that distributed leadership has a performance effect, i.e., improves organisational performance. And when you start unpicking why that's so, you'd go, well, the decisions that are made, if leadership influence is distributed widely are more likely to be sensitive to context. And healthcare context is very specific.
Skip to 2 minutes and 35 seconds So you need a decision made with a lot of people exerting influence so that any decision– let's say about service development, innovation– sits nicely in that healthcare context, which is heavily professionalised and heavily performance managed from the top. The second reason is– and this is quite intuitive– if you get people exerting leadership influence over decisions about service development and innovation, then they're going to be more committed to that decision when you try and operationalise it. The third reason for distributed leadership– and I think this is particularly important in the development and delivery of public services– is we've got a democratic deficit in this country.
Skip to 3 minutes and 13 seconds So what the distribution of leadership allows is other actors to have leadership influence upon the decision, in particular users of service. So in healthcare, you know, we've got the patients and public. They should be involved, you know, for normative reasons. In education, you'd have the parents and the students. So it's part of democratic governance. Typically, if we think of professional organisation in healthcare, it consists of a myriad of professions. So in a hospital, for example, there might be 100 different clinical professions, let's say. And what typically happens with clinical leadership is we operate in silos. So, for example, if you have a nurse team leader, the nurse team leader in the main will manage his or her peers.
Skip to 4 minutes and 2 seconds So as far as the leadership influence is concerned, it will be orientated towards other nurses. The doctors will do the same. The dietitians will do the same, et cetera. So typically what you get, even where you do engender a cohort of strategic leaders, is they tend to focus on their own group. So what you need in terms of clinical leadership is someone who is prepared to and a context that allows clinical leadership to enact influence across a myriad of professions. And, of course, in healthcare that can be stymied by the way the professions are organised hierarchically. So it can be very difficult, for example, for a nurse to exert influence upon a doctor. So you think about this carefully.
Skip to 4 minutes and 55 seconds And if you're having a multi-disciplinary team, either you co-opt a doctor into the leadership of that team and/or you co-opt a nurse to work alongside that doctor and/or you co-opt a manager to work into that clinical team, a traditional tripartite arrangement where there's three people working together in that synergistic way, aligned in the right direction that cover management and two of the main clinical professions. And that's the way to go about it.
Alternative notions of distributed and collective leadership
Now we will consider alternative perspectives on leadership, which have become popular in healthcare and other public services, associated with the notion of leadership that is 'distributed' or 'collective'. In this video you will hear from Professor Graeme Currie, Warwick Business School.
The origins of the term 'distributed leadership' (DL) can be traced back to the work of Peter Gronn (2000) who described it as an alternative to existing views of leadership as exclusively understood in terms of the traits or behaviours of individual 'leaders'. Gronn and others argue that management thinking has been enamoured with the 'romance of leadership', the idea of leaders as great men or heroes (such as Gandhi and Luther King, Jr). This idea is central to the traditional trait, situational, style and transformational theories of leadership which we described earlier this week. However, while individual leadership should not be ignored, the risk is that it may be too narrow and underestimates the contribution of other actors.
As an alternative Gronn and others propose a more systemic perspective, in which 'leadership' is conceived of as a collective social process emerging through the interactions of multiple actors. In this way leadership can be be understood in a holistic sense rather than simply as the aggregation of individual contributions. Implied is that the work of groups or teams may also be conceived of as forms of leadership or that leadership is not just the preserve of those who hold formally designated 'leadership' (or management) roles.
In a summary of the literature Boldem (2011) suggests that most accounts of DL share three broad assumptions:
- 'Leadership' is not a fixed trait or capability, but emerges from groups or networks of people who interact together,
- The boundaries of this emergent 'leadership' are open and fluid, depending on the situation;
- The expertise needed to perform this leadership is potentially distributed across many people and is not restricted to a select few.
A key implication therefore is that leadership may be both 'vertical' (top down) and 'horizontal' and that it is essential to recognise informal, emergent and collective acts of influence as well as those initiated by managers or people in formal positions of authority.
As noted, these ideas have become increasingly popular in the context of public services, notably healthcare. In the NHS, for example the Kings Fund has developed a series of reports calling for notions of collective leadership, with less reliance on heroic individuals. Collective leadership they argue can be defined as:
"…everyone taking responsibility for the success of the organisation as a whole – not just for their own jobs or work area. This contrasts with traditional approaches to leadership, which have focused on developing individual capability while neglecting the need for developing collective capability or embedding the development of leaders within the context of the organisation they are working in."
It is suggested that collective leadership has the potential to transform the way in which care is provided and may hold the key to unlocking cultural change. Some argue that this approach to 'collective' or 'team' rather than individually based change leadership forms is also more appropriate to health organisations and is more likely to achieve results (Fitzgerald et al., 2013). In this way, collective leadership models have the potential to overcome many of the problems of coordination between different worlds of care, cure, control and community, outlined in the previous week's materials.
Bolden, R. (2011) Distributed Leadership in Organizations: A Review of Theory and Research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13: 251–269.
Denis, J.L., Langley, A. and Sergi, V. (2012). Leadership in the Plural. Academy of Management Annals, 6 (1): 1-73.
Fitzgerald, L. Ferlie, E., McGivern, J. & Buchanan, D. (2013) Distributed leadership patterns and service improvement: Evidence and argument from English healthcare. The Leadership Quarterly, 24 (1): 227-239.
Gronn, P. (2002) Distributed Leadership as a Unit of Analysis The Leadership Quarterly, 13 (4): 423-451.
Gronn, P. (2000) Distributed Properties: A New Architecture for Leadership Educational Management & Administration 28 (3): 317-338.
West, M., Eckert, R., Steward, K. & Pasmore, B. (2014) Developing Collective Leadership for Health Care, London: Kings Fund
© University of Warwick


text:
Today we embarked for Tetiaroa with a two hour boat trip from Moorea. As we arrived at Tetiaroa we were fortunate enough to see humpback whales and spinner dolphins greeting us. Tetiaroa atoll was purchased by Marlon Brando in the 1960s and today the Brando Ecohotel is operated on the atoll. Over the next 10 days we will be studying the distribution of introduced terrestrial species on the atoll and making recommendations for their management, but today we endulged with the marine biota.
As we approached Tetiaroa atoll this morning we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by breaching humpback whales. In this case a female and her baby were lying just off the coast and enjoying the unseasonal climate. The strong Pacific El Niño event last summer have apparently delayed the arrival of whales in French Polynesia this year. This sighting was one of the few off the coast of the atoll. Then, as we approached the atoll a pod of spinner dolphins were also excited by our arrival and launched themselves in front of the bow of our vessel.Spinner dolphins before Onetahi, Tetiaroa (Photo by James Russell)
Our team will be based on Tetiaroa where we will undertake atoll-wide terrestrial surveys of key invasive species such as invasive ants and rats. These surveys will allow us to prioritise eradication and biosecurity operations, and ensure the protection off the atolls existing biodiversity, and enhance opportunities for future conservation and restoration. Ultimately, we hope to contribute to Marlon Brando's vision "to maintain the natural beauty of the atoll setting".

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The 10 Foods You Need to Lose Weight in 2015
Take stock of these health-boosting superfoods to rev up your metabolism and lose weight faster
Stock Your Fridge for Weight Loss Success
The journey of losing weight starts in your kitchen, and the first step is to remove all refined, sugary packaged foods from your pantry and fridge. Refined foods are highly processed and have been stripped of their nutrient content and fiber. But wholesome foods like vegetables and fruits, whole grains, beans and other legumes, and healthy fats such as avocados, nuts and seeds, and olive oil are packed with essential nutrients and antioxidants that are beneficial for optimal health and weight loss. However, there are some foods that offer exceptional nutritional value. Check out my list of top power foods.
Packed with nutty flavor and a hearty crunch, almonds are also a great source of monounsaturated fats, which have been shown to help reduce your heart disease risk by lowering your LDL cholesterol levels (the bad stuff). Moreover, research suggests that people who eat about a handful of almonds a day tend to have healthier body weight and live longer than people who don't.
From chickpeas and lentils to soybeans and peanuts, beans make a colorful and fiber-rich addition to your soups and salads; they're also a good base for spreads, salsas, and dips. Best of all, beans are rich in manganese, folate, potassium, magnesium, and iron, and have more protein than any other vegetable, which makes it ideal for vegetarians. The filling fiber and complex carbohydrates in beans also help keep blood-sugar levels stabilized, keeping hunger and cravings at bay.
Bell Peppers
You get a nutritional bang for a small buck with sweet bell peppers. Only about 35 calories each, bell peppers impart a wealth of nutrients, including vitamins A, B6, and C and folic acid, which helps lower levels of the heart disease-related protein called homocysteine. Prepare a comforting confetti pasta dish made with chopped bell peppers, whole-wheat pasta, low-fat cheese, and a tomato- or extra-virgin olive oil-based sauce.
Blueberries may be small but they pack big benefits. The powerful antioxidants in blueberries called anthocyanins, which are responsible for their gorgeous royal blue color, have been shown to help reduce your risk of certain types of cancer, vision loss, and heart disease. Moreover, they are rich in waist-friendly fiber to help curb hunger. Enjoy whole-wheat blueberry pancakes for breakfast, and get double dose of their antioxidant power by cooking some in a saucepan to prepare a naturally sweet and guilt-free syrup.
Mom told you to finish the broccoli off your plate for a good reason! A half cup of this vogue veggie gives you the same amount of vitamin C as an orange. The added bonus is that broccoli offers a wealth of the phytonutrient sulforophane, which helps clear potential carcionogenic toxins and inhibits tumor growth. Glorify this green by baking them into a quiche or tossing them in a salad.
Their vibrant colors and bursts of sweet and tart flavors make citrus fruits one of the most popular fruits around the world. Studies show that the vitamin C found in oranges and other citrus fruits can help boost the immune system and decrease the risk associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, and stroke. But vitamin C is just part of the story, citrus fruits also have plenty of potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure and boosts heart health. Grapefruit, in particular, has been shown to aid weight loss, keeping blood sugar levels stable. Citrus fruits add a natural sweetness to salads and can be used to prepare a flavorful vinaigrette. Use their rind to add zest to your dishes.
Greeks and Romans considered these black pearls of fruit as gifts from the gods. A base for wine, grapes are packed with heart-protective antioxidants. Moreover, grapes help improve blood pressure and circulation in the body, as well as help boost your immune system. Enjoy grapes with some low-fat cottage cheese or use them to prepare a fruit salad.
Olive Oil
Not all fats are created equal. In fact, olive oil is a great source of healthy monounsaturated fat, which helps lower levels of "bad "LDL cholesterol as well as blood fats called triglycerides. I recommend using extra-virgin olive oil to enhance the flavor of your meals; it is rich in antioxidants and has been shown to help prevent obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. Use extra-virgin olive oil to prepare a delicious homemade salad dressing or vinaigrette. Or, substitute extra-virgin olive oil for butter when enjoying whole-wheat bread.
Whole Grains
From brown rice to quinoa, buckwheat, and hulled barley, whole grains are essential to a healthy diet. Unlike refined grains, whole grains deliver slimming and filling fiber, which helps absorb bad cholesterol and lower blood-fat levels. Enjoy a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast with fresh blueberries, or pair a lean-protein main dish with a quinoa side salad.
Lose Weight in 2014!
Did you resolve to lose weight this year? The New Sonoma Diet can help! Take advantage of our special offer to get a one-week free trial to join the online program. You'll get my expert advice on how to eat mindfully, shed unwanted pounds (and keep them off!), and lead a healthy lifestyle.


text:
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
This morning, I had gotten as far as I-12, the twelfth box of the first group, which brought me to the letter H, and as I climbed on a little step stool to reach the top shelf, I came on the rather small Hegel collection. There I saw a book I had clearly never opened, by Willem A. deVries, entitled Hegel's Theory of Mental Activity, published by Cornell in 1988. I checked and there is no reference to me in the Bibliography or Index.
Now, I mean, how likely is it that deVreis hit on this title completely independently of my 1963 book, Kant's Theory of Mental Activity?
7 comments:
- Tom Cathcart said...
I'm told that he could have called it "Gone With the Wind" if he wanted to. Apparently, titles aren't copyrightable. Still, you'd think he'd reference your book.
- May 3, 2017 at 1:24 PM
- levinebar said...
I don't imagine that scholars of Hegel read broadly. Somewhere in Hegel, they can find an argument or phrase that can be interpreted to mean anything they're looking for.
- May 3, 2017 at 5:34 PM
- Danny said...
I'm curious about the history of the phrase 'mental activity', which sounds like it is part of a project of inquiring what reasons there may be for saying that 'mental activity' is real, although it never confronts us as an object. So, for example, there could be a biological account of mental activity -- which analyzes it into an awareness of bodily processes. All the 'activity' centers in the organisc processes. Or maybe we reject this notion of a bare awareness of physical objects or processes, in order to consider whether mental activity may be analyzed into a complex of mental objects, -- sensations, feelings and images. These mental elements belong to a sort of objective and describable world, and are 'contents'. And are objects, if you will, but this is not Positivism, is not Neo-Realism, is it? They are subjective objects. Maybe we distinguish the mental activity of combining, from that which is reliably there to be combined. Consider that mental acts transpire in time: they begin and end, and they can be repeated and individually counted. Numbers, in contrast, are timeless. There is a notion which I associate with Husserl, off the cuff, that what is psychological (or empirical) comes on in discrete individual instances--ones--and you can examine their edges. Interesting stuff, sure, but I'm confident that Kant never presented a 'theory of mental activity' in so many words. I'm interested in what were his words? I perhaps quibble, but what if I were to see this: 'Kant's theory on unconscious spontaneous mental activity'. --and, actually, I *have* seen this.
One can be agreeable, and speculate that the idea is that unconscious mental activity is arguably central for any theory of the mind. Though what are we talking about? Something that perhaps is rarely studied directly, I suppose. But maybe the unconscious is fundamental to Kant's theory of knowledge. Though he didn't call it the unconscious. And though he didn't call it his theory of knowledge. I'm being satirical, I personally am impatient when I read about the 'so-called Copernican revolution', which I find out can be paraphrased as the insight that the epistemological subject does not etc. etc. but rather etc. etc. And this epistemological construction, I'm paraphrasing Kant of course, trust me, is not conscious but unconscious. And this is...Kant's view, which is central to the critical philosophy..one way to put it..
Shall we just say that I don't think 'Hegel's Theory of Mental Activity' is a good title for a book, and nevermind why I don't think so.
- May 3, 2017 at 11:45 PM
- Danny said...
A Hegel quote:
'The logic is the *most difficult* science, inasmuch as it has to do, not with intuitions nor even, like geometry, with abstract sense-representations, but with pure abstractions, and inasmuch as it requires a trained ability at withdrawing into pure thought, holding onto it and moving within it. It could, on the other hand, be viewed as the *easiest* science, because its content is nothing but our own thinking and its ordinary determinations, and because these are both the *simplest* and *what is elementary*. They are also what we are *most familiar* with: being, nothing, etc.; determinacy, magnitude, etc.,; being-in-itself, being-for-itself, one, many, and so on.'
Now, I don't insist on putting in terms of what Hegel 'defines mental activity as'. Surely, he treats something as being, put it this way, an activity of the human mind, on a level quite separate from physical life. Can we say that he thinks there are these determinations of thought, that are implicit in all our mental activity? Sure. And he wants to isolate them, to consider them abstractly, and he says that magnitude and one and many are elementary, and they operate in our thinking even when we are not conscious of their doing so. My problem here is the phrase 'mental activity'. One can say that 'thought' is one of several mental activities. I think that would be a common understanding. But what is his conception of thinking? Using the phrase 'mental activity' doesn't help, from my perspective, and I don't know that it helps with expounding Kant either. Anyways, here is a Hegel quote:
'But we can say, too, that it has been the conviction of every age that what is substantial is only reached through the reworking of the immediate by our thinking about it. It has most notably been only in modern times, on the other hand, that doubts have been raised and the distinction between the products of our thinking and what things are in themselves has been insisted on.'
'It has been said that the in-itself of things is quite different from what we make of them. This separateness is the standpoint that has been maintained especially by the critical philosophy, against the conviction of the whole world previously in which the agreement between the matter and thought was taken for granted. The central concern of modern philosophy turns on this antithesis.'
So that is what we know versus some 'thing in itself', which could be tortuously called Kant's theory of mental activity, though I wouldn't insist on putting it that way.
- May 4, 2017 at 12:12 AM
- Aardvark said...
Just don't do what we did on our last move (although we had professional help packing) and forget to keep the cookbooks together.
- May 4, 2017 at 10:28 AM
- Robert Paul Wolff said...
Sheesh. It is hard enough keeping the Kant books together.
- May 4, 2017 at 11:42 AM
"Now, I mean, how likely is it that deVreis hit on this title completely independently of my 1963 book, Kant's Theory of Mental Activity?"
If we assume that Professor deVreis's book treated Hegel's theory of mental activity, the likelihood seems rather high.
- May 5, 2017 at 12:56 PM


text:
By: Christen da Costa
Dell finally set a launch date for the Latitude E4200 and E4300 laptops, which we originally announced 8/13. Expect them September 16th. Course, Dell transposed the intro copy from the E4300's page to the E4200's, so who knows what's accurate. But since their specs are similar, excluding screen size and a few other things, it's probably safe to say they'll go public together.
Hit this Dell page for a complete breakout of specs and to clock a chick grasping one with her 'cold dead arms' – at least that's what she looks like she thinking if you were to try steal it.
Also why not check out:


text:
Many thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers for taking time out of their busy work day schedules to read to a classroom of students one day a week. Not only are the volunteers engaging the students, their efforts are helping to support our dedicated teachers at Dorothy Hains Elementary School.
Reading aloud is fun, but that's not why Communities In Schools is involved. Reading is a foundational building block needed by every student to achieve success in school. Unfortunately, not every student is read to or encouraged to read at home for a variety of reasons. Extra reading at school is a win-win for everyone!
Some reading factoids to think about.
- Reading aloud is widely recognized as the single most important activity leading to language development. Reading aloud builds word-sound awareness in children.
- Reading aloud gives children the opportunity to practice listening – a critical skill for student success.
- Reading aloud encourages children to use their imaginations.
- The more adults read aloud to children, the larger their vocabularies will grow.
- Reading helps children to learn and dream about the world around them and their place in it.
- Reading aloud introduces the language of books which is different from the language heard in daily conversations.
- Reading aloud builds motivation, curiosity, and memory.
- Reading aloud helps children develop positive associations with books and reading.
- Children who value books are more motivated to read on their own.
- Academic success is tied to a student's ability to read and comprehend concepts.
A landmark study by Hart-Risley on language development documented that children from low-income families hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers before the age of 4. Many of these children enter school considerably behind their peers in reading skills and continue to have difficulty throughout their school lives, resulting in greater incidents of absenteeism, dropping out, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy – all issues that continue to perpetuate the cycles of poverty and dependency. Reading – it's a big issue that can be improved considerably with support and help from the community.


text:
Load Balancer (SLB) distributes traffic among multiple instances to improve the service capabilities of your applications. You can use SLB to prevent single point of failures (SPOFs) and improve the availability and the fault tolerance capability of your applications.
OnlineNIC ECS provides secure, resizable compute capacity to make web-scale cloud computing easier for developers and save their costs. All ECS instances come with Anti-DDoS protection to safeguard your data and applications from DDoS and Trojan attacks.
We all know that finding a cheap, reliable web hosting with unlimited user accounts is not a simple task so we've put all the information you need in one place to help you make your decision.
cPanel Contrl Panel
Full-Featured Linux Plan
Unlimited Domains
DB Support
The hosted Email platform that Adapts to your business
Traditional Business email is out! Try your new experience of Intra Communication Solution with OnlineNIC now!
.COM domain
World's most popular domain
On SALE now! Starting at
$8.59* $6.99*/1st year
Your account manager has more information.
.POKER is the only internet address that is dealing out domain names that are perfect for all things related to the game of Poker! You can bet that .POKER will make your website stand out among in the pack because a .POKER domain means that your site (and you!) are "all in" about poker and are truly dedicated to players and the game.
Poker is a multifaceted game, and therefore are many ways to use .POKER. Organize a local poker night on neighborhood.POKER. Attract players to a virtual table at play.POKER. Share tips and strategies with other players at strategy.POKER, or create a site featuring players that are at the top of their game at sharks.POKER.
.POKER domains are also perfect for Poker suppliers and online retail stores. Watch a video of how chips are made at chips.POKER or get a brand new deck of cards at shop.POKER
The possibilities are endless and we're not bluffing, .POKER is an easy, effective and affordable way to help connect with the seemingly limitless appetite for Poker online! And, the best names are still in the deck
It can be registered by any individual or business in any country.
1 to 10 years.
1 to 63 characters.
No, .POKER can't be deleted after registration.
Yes. The domain name will be extended for 1 year after transfer completion.
OnlineNIC implements domain's lifecycle in accordance with ICANN's policy. You may also check the related article in our service term. Please understand that there is fee incurred to pull domain name from "Redemption Period", we call it redemption fee. The typical redemption fee is $120, but varies from each TLD. Please check and confirm it with our live support when you require such process.
No, OnlineNIC doesn't provide IDN.POKER at the moment.
Join our free reseller program with more than 10,000 resellers worldwide
Join Our Newsletter & Marketing Communication
We'll send you news and offers.
1998-2020 OnlineNIC is an ICANN-accredited registrar. Please read our Privacy Policy, Service terms , and Dispute Policy


text: Sundance: The Short Film Challenge Winners Screen 9:16 PM PST 1/28/2015 by Gregg Kilday FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME The program, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, featured nine short films that addressed global problems. A program of nine short films premiered today at the Sundance Film Festival as part of the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge. Beginning Feb. 3, the films will begin to become available on a variety of digital platforms. With support from a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, five of the films were selected from among 1,387 submissions from 89 countries on Tongal.com, which solicited films designed to encourage discussion about such global problems as hunger and poverty. See more Sundance: Exclusive Photos of Kristen Wiig, Jack Black, Ethan Hawke and More The winning short films and their directors were: Man in the Maze by Phil Buccellato and Jesse Ash (United States), Dropping In by Willem Van Den Heever (South Africa), Isabelle's Garden by Jeffrey Palmer (United States), 175 Grams by Bharat Mirle (India) and A Will of Iron by Seyi Fabunmi and Mobolaji Adeolu (Nigeria). Each filmmaker or film team received a $10,000 grant and was invited to attend the festival. See more Next Gen at Sundance: Inside The Party With Hailee Steinfeld, Emile Hirsch The screening also included short films by Sundance Institute alumni Marialy Rivas (Melody), Diego Luna (Nana), Gael García Bernal (The Visible Hand), Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (The World Is As Big Or Small As You Make It). As the films become available online, Rivas' film Melody will launch Feb. 3 on the New York Times Op Docs page, Palmer's Isabelle's Garden on Indian Country Today Media Network, Van Den Heever's Dropping In on RYOT.org, Mirle's 175 Grams on Fast Company, Buccellato's Man in the Maze on theArizona Daily Star, Ewing and Grady's The World Is As Big Or As Small As You Make It on Upworthy and Luna's Nana on Al Jazerra. Additional platforms will be announced after the Sundance Film Festival. Keri Putnam, executive director of the Sundance Institute, said, "The Short Film Challenge has been an opportunity for a group of filmmakers from around the world to illuminate under-told stories and raise awareness about important issues. Through the support of the Gates Foundation, we are proud to present this selection of short films by emerging and more established voices at the festival and hope they inspire dialogue and conversation." FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Gregg Kilday firstname.lastname@example.com @thr


text:
- Sekitar 7000 'suka' Adam Adli turunkan bendera Najib di Facebook
- Adlin Aman Ramli lancar perang terhadap Chef Wan
- Kita nak ambil alih kuasa dari orang gila - Dr Dzulkefly
- Tunjukan skandal2 kerajaan di 1Malaysia TV ... cabar Kit Siang pada Najib : Ada berani ke Najib?
Sekitar 7000 'suka' Adam Adli turunkan bendera Najib di Facebook
Posted: 19 Dec 2011 06:08 PM PST
By Lisa J. Ariffin December 20, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 — Close to 7,000 people have backed a Facebook campaign supporting student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim, who came under fire for the infamous "flag incident" last Saturday.
During Saturday's march for academic freedom, Adam had lowered and then raised a flag with a picture of Datuk Seri Najib Razak in front of the Umno headquarters here, immediately drawing criticism from the public and several government officials.
However, the Facebook page, believed to have been set up a day after the march by the 100-strong group, has been attracting "likes" from university students who demand the repeal of the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), which they say denies them academic freedom.
As at 11.06 last night, "We Are All Adam Adli" had garnered 4,894 "likes", with the number increasing as netizens now appear to be "sharing" the page on their respective walls. It was 7,031 at 9.13am today.
"Finally undergraduates are no longer being controlled and fed by Umno/BN. Back then, undergraduates were a minority in voicing out public interest opinions, NOW... the world has changed. See the gangster ways used by Umno to threaten the students. Don't you dare touch Adam Adli!" user Selva Vathany Pillai commented.
Yesterday, Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin said the government remains committed to amend the UUCA to provide for greater academic freedom despite the incident.
The Umno deputy minister is among several from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) who have backed a proposal to amend the university law for greater academic freedom.
On Saturday, the student activists representing Solidariti Anak Malaysia had demonstrated outside the Umno building before Saifuddin agreed to meet them and accept a six-point demand from the group staged a sit-down protest a few roads away.
He said he believed in "undergraduate idealism" and supported their right to freedom of expression in a democracy, adding that "the flag-lowering incident is not a part of the democracy that is meant".
Saifuddin, who chaired a roundtable on the proposal for the law, said talks were going well and would be continued to seek wider and more open views.
"It strengthens the commitment to uphold true democracy that is desired by amending the UUCA," he said in a statement.
He said the committee to amend the UUCA would begin work shortly and expects the government would be ready to present the revised law in Parliament next year -TMI
Adlin Aman Ramli lancar perang terhadap Chef Wan
Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:59 AM PST
Hanya sekadar perang di laman sosial Facebook, nampaknya masing-masing bertegas menegakkan benang basah mempertahankan kenyataan masing-masing. Kenyataan Chef Wan yang dilakukan di laman sosial Facebook miliknya dibalas secara pedas oleh Adlin juga di laman sosial Facebook.
Nampaknya, tidak cukup di kaca televisyen dan di sidang media, masing-masing menggunakan platform media sosial yang bebas tanpa sempadan meluahkan apa yang terbuku di hati masing-masing.
Kalau GUA senaraikan apa yang telah ditulis memangnya panjang lebar kenyataan mereka. Tidak perlulah GUA salin kembali, cukuplah sekadar pembaca melayari laman sosial "Adlin Maharaja Lawak Mega" dan "Chef Wan Public Figure" dan nilaikan sendiri.
Kita nak ambil alih kuasa dari orang gila - Dr Dzulkefly
Posted: 19 Dec 2011 04:35 AM PST
SHAH ALAM 19 Dis. - Ahli Parlimen Kuala Selangor Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad menafikan PAS kini terlalu ekstrim dalam merebut kuasa Kerajaan Pusat sebaliknya hanya berusaha untuk mengambil alih kuasa daripada Pemerintah Kerajaaan sedia ada yang digelar sebagai orang gila.
"PAS tidak gila kuasa tetapi berusaha mengambil alih kuasa dari orang gila," kata Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, anggota Parlimen Kuala Selangor.
Beliau membuat kenyataan sedemikian sebagai serangan balas ke atas beberapa Pemimpin UMNO yang menuduh Pimpinan Pakatan semakin gila kuasa dalam merampas Putrajaya daripada gengaman BN.
"Kita hanya berusaha yang terbaik...supaya kita sentiasa optimis, saya letak sasaran kita adalah untuk mendapatkan pilihan raya yang adil, bebas dan telus," kata Dr Dzulkefly yang menjadi tuan rumah malam tadi.
Ahli Jawatankuasa PAS Pusat itu berkata demikian pada Majlis 'Bersama Dr. Dzul, Malam yang akan Diingati" di sini malam tadi. Turut hadir di Majlis tersebut termasuklah beberapa Pemimpin Pakatan iaitu Naib Presiden PKR Nurul Izzah Anwar dan Setiausaha Publisiti DAP Tony Pua.
Majlis berbentuk dialog itu turut menjemput Profesor Undang-Undang dari UIAM Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari - klpos
Tunjukan skandal2 kerajaan di 1Malaysia TV ... cabar Kit Siang pada Najib : Ada berani ke Najib?
Posted: 19 Dec 2011 03:49 AM PST
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Lim Kit Siang today dared Datuk Seri Najib Razak to fulfil his promise of solving the country's "information vacuum" by publicising controversies affecting his administration like the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal and Malaysia's low corruption index score.
The DAP veteran said the prime minister could make good his pledge by airing these stories on the government's new internet protocol television site "1 Malaysia TV" launched yesterday.
"Will Najib demonstrate a change of this information 'blackout' mindset and strategy and use 1 Malaysia TV to break his silence and speak up to give an accounting and perspective as the nation's prime minister on these issues?" he asked in a statement here.
Apart from the NFC scandal and Malaysia's ranking on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Lim also suggested the prime minister highlight the call by 17 international organisations for Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to be prosecuted for alleged corruption, The Penang High Court's award of RM225,000 to DAP's Lim Guan Eng against Utusan Malaysia, and the Global Financial Integrity's (GFI) latest report on illicit capital flight here. .. MORE
STONE : Macam cerita Sharizat Lembu ke. atau cincin 24juta hajjah Rosmah ker atau keluarga Taib Mahmud ker .... hahahahaha rakyat tunggu wei ketelusan Najib
|You are subscribed to email updates from MIMPI SENJA
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.
|Email delivery powered by Google
|Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610


text:
2Tbsp Olive Cart Italian Oregano or Tuscan Herb Olive Oil
1 Red Pepper (seeded, diced small)
1 Onion (diced small)
2 tsp Garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 lb Ground Beef
2 Eggs
3/4 C Bread crumbs
1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp Olive Cart 25 Year Aged Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Chopped Basil Leaves
1 Tbsp Chopped Parsley Leaves
1 tsp Michigan Flaked Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 Cup Olive Cart Puttanesca Sauce (or Olive Cart Vodka Pink Peppercorn sauce, but eliminate black pepper above)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat and add the peppers, onions and garlic. Saute until just soft, remove to a plate and cool.
When peppers and onions are cool, combine all of the remaining ingredients together EXCEPT for the puttanesca sauce. Pack the meat mixture into an oiled loaf pan (if you do not have a loaf pan shape mixture on an oiled oven tray or baking dish). Top with puttanesca making sure to spread evenly over the top.
Bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes or until and instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F in the middle of the meatloaf. Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
Adapted from The Food Network, Michael Chiarello
2Tbsp Olive Cart Italian Oregano or Tuscan Herb Olive Oil


text:
Oakland, Berkeley, And East Bay News, Events, Restaurants, Music, & Arts
Not too many labels can boast having Buzz from the Melvins as their A&R guy, but Alameda's Ipecac (www.ipecac.com) ain't following any other standards of conformity, so it's no big whup. The label was formed in '99 when Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas) and Greg Werckman (formerly of Alternative Tentacles) wanted to find a place to put out Patton's various weird side-projects that weren't exactly "label friendly." Then Buzz called up and said his band needed a label, and Ipecac began to build up its roster. "From there," says Werckman, "we started to just put out stuff that we liked, and it's drawn us to all different types of bands." All types indeed: Japan's Ex-Girl, Kid606, and the Lucky Stars couldn't be more different from one another. Fantomas has already accrued a dedicated following, but look out for Tomahawk, featuring members of the Jesus Lizard, Melvins, and Helmet. There are plenty of labels that put out a wide variety of stuff, but Ipecac can honestly say that none of its stuff sucks -- unheard of! The main question is, Why Alameda? Well ... Werckman calls it "the music capital of the world."
Contact the author of this piece, send a letter to the editor, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
Week of October 21


text:
Accommodations & Facility
Manitoba Lodging and Cabins
From the moment you arrive at Eagle Nest, our professional, personable staff will greet and escort you to your cabin.
A short and unformal orientation will take place to help you get situated on the island. We have a total of 5 guest cabins and 41 beds. Breakfast and dinner are served in the main lodge. Extended fun generally takes place in the cabins or clubroom facility.
Parties are not required to share accommodations with other visiting guests. Our cabins have been newly upgraded to include comforts of your own home. All cabins have two, 4-piece bathrooms, fridges, separate bedrooms with double and single beds, linens, new mattresses, satellite TV, fireplace, heating/air-conditioning units and a spectacular waterfront view off each dock and patio door. Wifi is available throughout the resort. Dancing Bear, our 5 bedroom cabin is the largest with a total of 12 beds. Peeping Otter, our 2 bedroom cabin is smallest with only 5. Walking Eagle comfortably sleeps 10, Laughing Moose and Sleeping Wolf have beds for 7.
Our clubroom facility is open 24 hours for your convenience.
Kick back and relax by the fireplace with a book or watch a movie on our large screen satellite TV. You will be pleased with our fully equipped gym, pool table, dartboard, or air hockey table leaving not a moment to spare unless you choose. Catch up on emails then join the others in the cedar hot tub or throw a round of horseshoes and test your luck.


text:
- 0.3
- 0.4
- 0.5
- 0.75
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
A more compact, lighter version of our versatile ATC-Guide, the ATC-Alpine Guide is built for smash and grab ascents in the mountains. At just 73 grams, this featherweight belay/rappel device is optimized for ropes between 8.1 and 8.5 millimeters in diameter yet works with ropes from 6.9 to 9mm. The oval-ized anchor-hole allows for easy feeding and pulling of rope, and the device's guide mode lets you belay one or two seconding climbers off an anchor. Multiple friction modes provide the optimal amount of stopping power when lowering or rappelling.Learn More
Out of Stock
That's right. We've done it again. Behold the new, Redesigned Camalot C4.
Now 10% lighter, these bad boys have eclipsedour classic, cornerstone
cams, and feature a more modern design that gives climbers everything
they love about the old Camalots but add new touch-points like a wider
trigger for easier handling, and our innovative trigger keeper for compact
racking with sizes #4, #5 and #6.


text:
Lets Plays — Way of the Devastator
Raiding With Randoms Part 03 | Destiny 2 Leviathan Prestige Raid | Season of Arrivals
Raiding With Randoms Part 02 | Destiny 2 Leviathan Prestige Raid | Season of Arrivals
In the second installment of Raiding With Randoms, the gang tackles their first full Raid together!
How will they fair? Can Astro explain everything perfectly? Will Gryphon provide outrageous strategies? Find out if our heroes prevail!
Raiding with Randoms, is a Lets Play series featuring completely random strangers cooperating on a task for some sweet sweet loot. This is the Prestige Leviathan Raid and for some of them it is their true raid. All done during the Season of Arrivals.
For Build Videos or links to the discord to join a future adventure click below!...
Raiding with Randoms. This is how you LFG | Destiny 2 | Season of Arrivals
As promised to the Random Raiders met just the other day, here is part one of a 6 PART series.
This was our first meeting where we have our wild host GryphonTheMighty, joining into a Random LFG Squad full of randoms going for the Raid Emblem and that sweet sweet loot. Will they survive the encounter? Will they make it to the next part?
Aside from all of the craziness that is in this series I wanted to take a moment and talk about the real reason that this video is here. I wanted to showcase the reasons that I...
SAFTB Part 1 | Saturdays are for the Boys | Destiny 2 Lets Play
Welcome to the middle of the week!
I hope everyone is surviving out there!
Here is a little treat of me and the gang tackling the new Prophecy Dungeon in Destiny 2 Season of Arrivals! Want to be a part of the gang? Make sure that you join our community so that you are aware of when we are doing carries and help!


text:
Physics in a Void
Doubts about the existence of "dark energy" have been echoed by Fraser in a Universe Today post. Fraser cites a paper published by Timothy Clifton of Oxford, Living in a Void. Clifton speculates that we could live in a "void" less dense than the surrounding Universe. If so, our region would appear to decelerate slower than distant galaxies, making the Universe appear to accelerate. There would be no need for a hypothetical "dark energy."
Questions about DE have also reached the audience of Amanda Gefter's New Scientist blog.
"Most cosmologists believe that a furtive anti-gravity-like force known as dark energy is to blame...But no one can explain why the observed value of the dark energy is 120 orders of magnitude smaller than what's predicted from quantum physics. In fact, the level of fine-tuning needed to produce such a specifically small but non-zero cosmological constant is so absurd that the best explanation anyone's come up with is that our universe is merely one of an infinite number of universes."
"Scientists shouldn't dismiss ideas just because they might undermine some deeply cherished assumptions...One cosmologist wrote to me in an email: 'There is no fractal or inhomogeneous physical model of the universe of any kind. Therefore although there are particular observations that present a challenge to the standard model, there is no sense in which there is a preferred model that predicts or is explained by inhomogeneity . . . So the observations are interesting, but without a physical model to back them up, they are unlikely to have an impact on our thinking about cosmology.'
"I found this statement rather shocking. Cosmologists are willing to dismiss observations because they don't fit with theory? Isn't science supposed to work the other way round?"
New ideas take a long time to be accepted. Like Ptolemy's epicycles, the "dark energy" hypothesis may take a long time to die. It has produced a divergence of theories to keep physicists employed. Expensive space projects and even trips to Stockholm are dependent on DE existing. Resistance to alternative theories can be expected.
When Earth was believed to be the centre of everything, a divergence of epicycle theories kept academics employed. The Copernican Principle stated that Earth was not the centre, doing away with epicycles. This principle forms a basis of modern cosmology. The hypothesised "dark energy" leads to epicycles not solutions. Before throwing Copernicus away, scientists should consider a changing speed of light.
Labels: dark energy


text:
A Singaporean theatre practitioner for over 25 years, Verena Tay has published three collections of plays: In the Company of Women (2004), In the Company of Heroes (2011) and Victimology (2011). An Honorary Fellow at the International Writing Program, University of Iowa (Aug–Nov 2007), she now writes fiction, conducts the occasional creative writing workshop, and is studying part-time for an MFA in Creative Writing (City University of Hong Kong, 2012–14). Spectre: Stories from Dark to Light (2012) is her first collection of short stories.
She had heard the place was popular. It had only opened a few weeks ago. Yet she was not prepared for queues and queues of people stretching from the counter and beyond the glass front doors.
What am I doing here, she thought, I don't belong here.
In those few moments of doubt, she became a rock around which potential and satisfied customers had to flow around. She sensed their irritation and felt all the more that she, an old woman, was not welcome in this day and age, that she should just dissolve and disappear through the cracks of the tiled floor beneath her feet so that they could move past her with youthful ease and speed.
She tightened her jaw and clutched her handbag tighter to her chest. No. I will try this. They will not stop me. This is 1979! I have my rights! Carefully, she descended the stairs that led to the front door of McDonald's.
She joined a queue filled with school uniform-clad teenagers, all chatting careless nonsense. Beyond, other bouncy youngsters behind the counter received orders, dashed about rows and rows of shiny metallic kitchen equipment collecting food and drinks, and then filling the trays back at the counter. To her right in the eating areas, all the tables and seats were filled with even more people. From squeaky styrofoam boxes, they picked up and stuffed meat-filled bread into their mouths, biting off huge chunks. From oil-soaked paper containers, they picked up greasy yellow strips and threaded them also into their mouths. From striped straws, they sucked unknown water from paper cups.
It was a long wait. Her knees protested. She persisted. The longer she stood, the more overwhelmed she was. Strange smells surrounded her: the sweating teenagers in front of her stank in the crowded heat (despite the air conditioning), the walls and ceiling and plastic furniture breathed out whiffs of new paint and construction glue, the kitchen area and the yellow strips on people's food trays seduced with the aroma of fried oil, a child had puked and the acrid reek of vomit shot out for a few moments before an efficient staff member cleaned the mess away. All around her were talking and laughing people, and the latest ungraspable American pop music blared from overhead speakers.
She felt giddy. Releasing the top button, she reached beneath her blouse for the handkerchief that she always kept secured under her shoulder strap of her bra. From her bag, she brought out a bottle of hong you. She was so busy dabbing medicinal oil on her handkerchief that she did not realize that it was her turn to be served, especially since the fresh-faced girl at the counter addressed her in English, 'Good afternoon, 'Mam. Welcome to McDonald's. What would you like?'
She raised her head from her task only when she realized that there was a strained silence around her: the uncomfortable pause in the efficient services of the girl at the counter, and the annoyed impatience of the teenaged army boy behind her. She tried to open her mouth and respond. Not a word came out. The counter girl tried again to speak to her in English. She did not understand her at all. An older girl, a supervisor, came to check the cause of the hold-up. This girl was wiser and asked, 'Ah Umm, le ai xi mi?'
She pointed at the tray of food being carried by the businessman walking away from the counter in the next queue. The wait staff and supervisor conferred in English and punched the right buttons in the cash register. The supervisor said, 'Ah Umm, gor kor gau.'
She was shocked. So much money, more than she spent at the market for a week's worth of meat and vegetables. Slowly, she opened her purse, determined to pay for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. From her beaded purse, she carefully unrolled dollar notes and tipped out coins. Within seconds of surrendering her money, she was holding a tray filled like other trays with a styrofoam box, a waxed paper cup, a striped straw, free white napkins, a paper container of greasy yellow sticks and two small rectangular packets of sauce.
'Ah Umm, chia zei!' called out an elderly man as he got up from his seat to depart with his two hyperactive grandchildren. Thankfully, she sat down at the old man's table. A service staff zipped by and cleared away the debris from the family's meal. She placed her own tray in front of her. She looked around carefully to see what others were doing. Like them, she opened her styrofoam box. It squeaked. She could not understand how the lump of minced meat between the two slices of bread amidst her fingers could be so delicious that so many people would pay so much money for it. Slowly, she picked up the burger and bit into it. She gagged. It was beef. She could not stand the heavy odour. Grabbing one of the napkins, she spat what was in her mouth into the white paper. Trying to wash the taste away, she took a sip from the waxed cup. She made a face: How can people drink such thick cream? She sniffed at the yellow sticks. They looked and smelt a little more familiar, like yow char kuay. She picked up a piece and threaded it between her lips like how everyone else was doing. Ah … Potato. These were edible. One by one, she placed each fry into her mouth and chewed and swallowed, while she continued to gaze at the people around her, this younger generation so comfortable with this new kind of eating style.
When she finished her fries, she looked at her uneaten burger and un-drunk milkshake. She really did not want them. Then she remembered she had spent $5.90 on the meal and felt pained by the expense. Taking a deep breath in, she brought the burger to her mouth and took another bite …
It took her at least another half hour to finish her meal. To overcome her nausea, she took out her hong you and handkerchief again. She found scant relief. She longed for home. Anyway, it was time for her to catch her bus before the rush hour crowd started. As she stood up to leave, she sat down again. The empty burger box caught her attention. Throughout her meal, she had seen service staff throwing away trays and trays of these styrofoam containers. She could not waste hers. Using the unused portion of her remaining free paper napkin, she carefully cleaned dripped mayo and lettuce shreds away from the squeaky styrofoam. She placed the two unopened sauce packets inside the box and the box within her handbag. Her bag bulged. Although it was uncomfortable, it was the right thing to do. She could at least pour the sauce over her rice during some future meal and wash, dry and reuse the box to hold some small knickknacks in her one-room flat, making the most of what she had spent that day.
Possible query programming error. Error:Got error 28 from storage engine


text:
Menu of Suggested Provisions For State Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Laws
Definitions for Consideration
Descriptive Note: Defining TB, the measures for preventing and controlling it, and other relevant terms is a critical component of TB prevention and control statutes and regulations. As with state TB prevention and control laws in general, TB-related definitions found in statute or regulation vary considerably from state to state. Definitions listed in this section are not intended to define these terms appearing in other sections of the Menu; rather, they were selected from definitions currently found in some states' laws based on the view that they may be particularly useful to jurisdictions contemplating changes to their legal TB-related definitions.
- "Active tuberculosis" means a disease that is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis or other members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex family in any part of the body and that is in an active state as determined by either:
- 1) A smear or culture taken from any source in the person's body tests positive for tuberculosis and the person has not completed the appropriate prescribed course of medication for active tuberculosis disease.
- 2) Radiographic, current clinical, or laboratory evidence is sufficient to support a medical diagnosis of tuberculosis for which treatment is indicated.
- "Case management" means the coordination of the necessary medical, nursing, outreach, and social service systems which ensure that all persons with confirmed [or] clinically suspected tuberculosis are started on appropriate therapy, and that all persons with confirmed tuberculosis complete an appropriate and effective course of treatment. 105 Mass. Code Regs. 365.200 (2010). [NOTE: "Or" in brackets replaced the word "and," and the legal citation was retained].
- "Case management services" can include, but are not limited to:
- Patient education regarding the transmission of TB, how to prevent it, and the importance of keeping appointments for clinical assessments and completing treatment;
- Facilitating the continuity of care for a patient with suspected or confirmed TB until treatment completion by scheduling diagnostic evaluations in a timely manner, monitoring adherence to prescribed therapy, and intervening as appropriate and necessary to address non-adherence;
- Assessing adherence to community infection control precautions and intervening as appropriate and necessary to address non-adherence;
- Coordination of TB care with the care of co-existing medical conditions among multiple medical providers;
- Assessing the quality of care provided by both public and private health care providers with intervention as necessary;
- Identification of psychosocial barriers to adherence and treatment completion, including, but not limited to: housing, food, transportation, communication, child care, parenting, incarceration, substance abuse and mental illness and intervention as necessary to promote the continuity of treatment;
- Coordination of contact or source case investigation and care, including identification, evaluation and appropriate treatment of all identified contacts;
- Coordination of investigations for all Class B1 and B2 referrals (defined as referrals from the CDC's Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, which informs the Department of persons who are refugees, parolees, asylees, or recent legal immigrants to the United States, and who were screened overseas and classified as either B1 meaning TB, clinically active, not infectious or B2 meaning TB, not clinically active, not infectious) including location, evaluation, and initiation of appropriate treatment;
- Coordination of all field services, including provision of directly observed therapy (DOT) as prescribed by a health care provider; and
- Building and maintaining effective working relationships with infection control professionals at hospitals and private health care providers that identify and report tuberculosis in the designated coverage area.
- "Communicable disease" means an illness caused by an infectious agent or its toxins that occurs through the direct or indirect transmission of the infectious agent or its products from an infected individual or via an animal, vector or the inanimate environment to a susceptible animal or human host. New York, N.Y., 24RCNY Health Code § 11.01 (2010).
- "Confinement" means the restriction of an individual with TB to a specified place, including, but not limited to, a health facility or other public or private premises, in order to prevent transmission of the disease to others, to prevent the development of drug-resistance, or to ensure that the individual receives a complete court of treatment.
- "Contact" means a person identified by the public health department who has had exposure to a patient with suspected or confirmed infectious or potentially infectious TB sufficient in both duration and proximity to make him or her at increased risk for recent transmission of latent TB infection. N.J. Admin. Code § 8:57-5.3 (2009).
- "Cure" means a medically successful complete course of anti-tuberculosis treatment. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 36-711 (LexisNexis 2009).
- NOTE: "Medically successful complete course of antituberculosis treatment" means that a [person who has or who based upon reasonable grounds is suspected of having active tuberculosis] has successfully completed a prescribed course of antituberculosis treatment and has been medically discharged from further medical treatment for tuberculosis by a licensed physician. ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 36-711 (LexisNexis 2009).
- "Cure" or "treatment to cure" means the completion of a course of antituberculosis treatment. Fla. Stat. Ann. § 392.52 (LexisNexis 2009).
- "Directly observed therapy" means a course of treatment, or preventive treatment, for a contagious disease in which the prescribed medication is administered to the person or taken by the person under direct observation as specified by the Department. New York, N.Y., 24RCNY Health Code § 11.01 (2010).
- "Examination" for tuberculosis infection or disease means conducting tests, including, but not limited to, Mantoux tuberculin skin tests, interferon gamma release assays or other tests for tuberculosis infection approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, laboratory examination, and X-rays, as recommended by any of the following: 1) the local health officer, 2) the most recent guidelines of the state department, 3) the most recent guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or 4) the most recent guidelines of the American Thoracic Society.
- Extensively Drug-Resistant TB (XDR TB): TB that is resistant to isoniazid and rifampin, plus any fluoroquinolone and at least one of the three injectable second-line drugs. CDC definition (https://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/drtb/default.htm).
- "Immediate or imminent public health risk" means a patient with suspected or confirmed infectious or potentially infectious TB disease and who does any of the following: 1) Threatens to leave an acute care facility against medical advice, 2) Leaves an acute care facility against medical advice, 3) States he or she will not adhere to infection control measures, 4) Does not adhere to infection control measures, 5) Refuses to take anti-tuberculosis medication as prescribed, or 6) Threatens to travel on a public conveyance. N.J. Admin. Code § 8:57-5.3 (2009).
- "Isolates" means a population of Mycobacterium tuberculosis observed in cultures obtained from clinical specimens of persons with active tuberculosis. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 215.511 (LexisNexis 2009).
- "Isolation" means the separation of ill persons who have a communicable disease from those who are healthy, and the restriction of their movement to stop the spread of that disease or illness.
- "Latent TB infection" (LTBI) means the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria in the body as evidenced by a significant reaction to a Mantoux tuberculin skin test or positive interferon gamma release assay. A person with latent TB infection does not have an illness nor is he or she infectious. N.J. Admin. Code § 8:57-5.3 (2009).
- "Least restrictive environment or manner" means the intervention that limits the patient's activities the least while providing protection for the public against the likelihood of TB transmission. N.J. Admin. Code § 8:57-5.3 (2009).
- "Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis" (MDR TB) means TB that is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin. CDC definition (https://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/drtb/default.htm).
- "Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex": Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, or Mycobacterium africanum. (NOTE: This definition was suggested by the APHL TB Steering Committee for the purposes of the Menu. There are actually seven organisms, but these are the three that are by far most clinically important).
- "Suspected or confirmed infectious or potentially infectious TB disease" means any of the following: 1) A patient with a smear positive for AFB and/or nucleic acid amplification test positive for M.tb and/or a culture positive for M.tb or M.tb complex (this applies only to specimens from sputum, bronchioalveolar lavage, gastric aspirate, lung tissue or other tissue of the respiratory tract such as the larynx or epiglottis); 2) A patient with a chest radiograph, computed tomography scan, or clinical findings indicative of pulmonary tuberculosis sufficient to warrant treatment with anti-tuberculosis medications; 3) A patient whose chest radiograph or respiratory symptoms improve while taking anti-tuberculosis medication; or 4) A patient with respiratory symptoms indicative of pulmonary tuberculosis until a diagnostic evaluation is completed to rule out TB as a cause of these symptoms.
- "Suspected or confirmed TB disease" means one or more of the following: 1) A patient meeting the definition of suspected or confirmed infectious or potentially infectious TB disease; 2) A patient with a smear positive for AFB and/or nucleic acid amplification test positive for M. tuberculosis and/or a culture positive for M. tuberculosis or M. tuberculosis complex from a location outside the respiratory tract; 3) A patient with extra-pulmonary clinical findings indicative of tuberculosis sufficient to prescribe treatment with anti-tuberculosis medications; 4) A patient whose extra-pulmonary symptoms improve on anti-tuberculosis medications; or 5) A patient with symptoms indicative of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis until a diagnostic evaluation is completed to rule out TB as the cause of these symptoms. N.J. Admin. Code § 8:57-5.3 (2009).
- "Threat to the public health" means that a person has active tuberculosis and: 1) Is not taking medications as prescribed, 2) Is not following the recommendations of the treating physician, 3) Is not seeking treatment for signs and symptoms compatible with tuberculosis, or 4) Evidences a disregard for the health of the public.
- "Treatment" means medication or medical therapy prescribed by a licensed physician to cure a person of active tuberculosis. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 36-711 (LexisNexis 2009).
- "Tuberculosis" means a disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, or Mycobacterium africanum. Fla. Stat. Ann. § 392.52 (LexisNexis 2009).
- "Tuberculosis", as demonstrated by:
- 1) Positive culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex; or
- 2) Positive DNA probe, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or other technique for identifying Mycobacterium tuberculosis from a clinical or pathology specimen; or
- 3) Positive smear for acid-fast bacillus, with final culture results pending or not available, on either a microbacteriology or a pathology specimen; or
- 4) Clinically suspected pulmonary or extrapulmonary (meningeal, bone, kidney, etc.) tuberculosis, such that the physician or other health care professional attending the case has initiated or intends to initiate isolation or treatment for tuberculosis, or to continue or resume treatment for previously incompletely treated disease, or, if the patient is not available, that the physician or other health care professional would initiate isolation or treatment if the patient were available; or
- 5) Biopsy, pathology, or autopsy findings in lung, lymph nodes or other tissue specimens, consistent with active tuberculosis disease including, but not limited to presence of acid-fast bacilli, caseating and non-caseating granulomas, caseous matter, tubercles and fibro-caseous lesions.
Page last reviewed: September 1, 2012
Content source: Division of Tuberculosis Elimination


text:
Infants and toddlers need spaces that are designed to encourage active learning. These planned spaces provide a place where materials are grouped together around a specific idea to encourage exploration and manipulation. The materials included in this kit will capture infants and toddlers interest and provide meaningful ways to practice their developing abilities. Note: Kit components change occasionally due to availability. We will substitute developmentally appropriate items for the purpose for which they were intended.
We add a surcharge for expedited delivery of a few items because of their weight, size or dimensions. This charge is in addition to our base shipping charge for Next Day or Second Day Air.
|The Next Day Delivery Surcharge for this item is:
|The Second Day Delivery Surcharge for this item is:


text:
This year's Steam Summer Sale is one of the worst kept secrets in PC gaming. Ever since it showed up as a slip of the enter key on VKontakte, I've been holding back on buying anything on Steam, GoG or the Humble Store. The only thing I've bought is a pre-order of Shadowrun: Hong Kong purely based on previous outings by Harebrained Schemes. I'm sure I'm far from the only one.
But we're almost there, and I definitely have certain titles that I will be looking for.
The only 'triple A' title that I'm looking at is Shadow of Mordor. Put bluntly, I wasn't sure if my computer could run it. Tried overclocking the CPU to play a similarly spec'd game and it worked, so now I'm definitely wanting to buy it. I'm also looking at getting the spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper, War for the Overworld; it looks really fun and what I actually wanted when I bought Dungeons. Darkest Dungeon and Chroma Squad are my blind picks; hearing the good about these titles and being on the hype train for Chroma Squad since it's Kickstarter.
There's titles like There Came an Echo, Republique: Remastered and Ori and the Blind Forest that I may get if they're super cheap. I may also get Fantasy Grounds depending on how heavy it is discounted, since I plan on getting a Dungeons and Dragons group together online and it's had glowing reviews for people that want to splash out. We'll see.
My budget is flexible as it's always been. I'm trying to stick to the £50 wallet credit I grabbed yesterday but Steam will always manage to tease me.
Am I ready for a miracle? Ready as I can be.


text:
Quitting smoking can lead on average to 4kg to 5kg in weight gain within a year but experts say the benefits far outweigh the extra kilos.
A large international study published this week in the British Medical Journal analysed 62 clinical trials of people who sought medical help to stop smoking. After 12 months of abstinence, people gained on average 4kg to 5kg. However, 16 to 21 per cent of people actually lost weight.
A larger portion, 35 to 38 per cent, gained less than 5kg, 29 to 34 per cent gained 5kg to 10kg, and 13 to 14 per cent put on more than 10kg.
However, the wide variation in weight gain mean the results cannot be applied to everyone who quits smoking, the study's authors said.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Simon Chapman from the Sydney School of Public Health said the results were concerning because they could deter people indefinitely from quitting.
Professor Chapman said the data was unreliable because it was gleaned from clinical trials of people who sought help to stop smoking, not the general population.
Smokers who enrolled in trials differed from those who quit without help, he said.


text:
|Project by JimArnoldChess
|posted 02-27-2016 01:15 PM
|3735 views
|1 time favorited
|7 comments
First time back to Lumberjocks in over a year now I think. I took off most of last year to let my hands recover from carving chess sets for the last 20 years. During the year 'off' I added a 500 sq' screened in porch to the house a new front deck with roof, cleared 5 acres of land and made about 15 chess sets, so I'm glad all that is over and I can get back to making chess sets again.
I absolutely detest 'painting' my carvings (mostly because I'm no good at it), but this one had to have it. The hardest part of this set was carving 'Gators' on the side of the football helmet knights in cursive in a space about 3/4" long and 1/4" tall.
Kings about 6" tall, pawns (the footballs) about 3" tall. Pieces hand carved from solid walnut and poplar. Chess board made from solid walnut and poplar at about 22" square. In making this set I have opened up a whole new line of pro, college, and high school themed sports themed sets. All I've made so far are 'one-offs' so I've managed to stay away from the cease and desist orders! lol.
Glad to be back and look forward to seeing all the great work you folks put out!
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/JimArnoldsChessSets
7 comments so far
#1 posted 02-27-2016 02:45 PM
Your chess sets always are amazing,add another one to the list,Great job.
#2 posted 02-27-2016 05:25 PM
#3 posted 02-28-2016 05:06 AM
The coolest chess set I've seen. The American football theme is just not expected here. Colours are great too.
-- Ivan, Croatia, Wooddicted
#4 posted 02-28-2016 02:01 PM
I wonder if there is a market for two long time rival teams on the same board. Of course there would be the need to select who is the home team.
#5 posted 02-28-2016 05:06 PM
Very nice. I understand how we hate to paint wood carvings but you have to have the team colors.
-- J.C.Sellers, Norcross, Ga. Just cut it right the first time. The best carpenters make the fewest chips.
#6 posted 02-28-2016 10:33 PM
#7 posted 03-08-2016 01:17 PM
Mighty fine fine fine!! Wow!
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Keep your dust collector fed. [email protected]
Have your say...
You must be signed in to post the comments.


text:
Mali Pivot Door options available, we can also CUSTOMISE YOUR DOOR to any design,
variations or size you require. Or pick from our stock variations as shown below.
Our unique stainless steel glazing surrounds complement a wide choice of Glass Glazing Options
also see our Door Sidelights for more ways to enhance your front entry, and Australia's largest and most innovative Hardware & Accessories to compliment your doors.
Create your own unique, individualised front entrance to showcase your home, you can also match Sydney Woodworkers Gates and Custom Garage Doors to complete the big picture.
Also refer to FAQ 8 Fact Sheet Woodworkers Pivots for more details.
Fusion Pivot Doors have engineered construction and are recommended for fully protected external or internal locations only. All metallic faced designs are priced with flush fitted metallic composite to outside face only, unless otherwise stated, additional costs apply if inserts are required to both sides. For an additional $360 we can apply 2 coats of sealer and 2 top coats
sprayed to the door blank prior to machining metallic inserts. We do not do finishing coats, refinishing service for completed doors not available.
Note: House numbers/corporate logos can be incorporated into Fusion doors for an additional cost.
All doors are 40mm thick unless otherwise stated.
All Fusion Doors can be made to 2340 high without additional cost. Stock subject to availability.
RED FIRE SYMBOL indicates door suitable for some bushfire zones.
GOLD FIRE SYMBOL indicates door can be adapted at an additional cost
to block fill lower glazing below 400mm.
Click here for Bushfire Codes.
Just ask our sales representative in store or fill in our quick and easy Enquiry Form below
and we will contact you, to discuss your requirements.


text:
It's tempting to think that once you've set up your MacBook that you never need to do anything to it again; its internal wizardry will just take care of things for you.
This is a mistake though, as every machine, from a diesel engine to a solid-state laptop, needs regular maintenance. Of course, you're not going to be performing oil changes on your MacBook, but you should be looking through old files, searching for apps that need to be either updated or deleted, as well as some other routine maintenance that you'll find out about here.
Comb through old files and apps
You will almost certainly have downloaded apps that you only needed to use once, or that you simply don't use anymore. They are now just gathering dust in your disk space.
Go into a Finder window and look at Applications – you'll see all your apps and if you see a few that you had forgotten about, then maybe it's time to drag and drop into Trash.
You'll also do exactly the same thing with lots of files – install files or even old essay or article files that you long since got paid or an A grade for. You can either trash these, or put them on a Flash drive.
Back it up
Despite all your best intentions, sometimes the worst happens and your MacBook is lost or stolen, or damaged beyond repair. Backing your files up to an external drive daily is one of the best things you can do; you'll keep all your work, books and memories even if your MacBook ends up under a steamroller. Sadly, such an encounter is beyond even the best places for MacBook Repair or anywhere else for that matter!
Review and maintain your login items
All those new apps you install over the years probably add themselves to the list of apps and items that start up whenever you boot up. Some of them, you'll want to do this, but others you won't and they'll just make your booting up process longer and slower. Restrict your login items to your essentials for a speedy wake-up.
Go into System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items, then edit the list by clicking on items then hitting the minus icon.
Power off and restart your MacBook regularly
People think that there's no need to restart their MacBook – or any other device – anymore; all they need to do is put them to sleep, ready to start all over again the next day. However, powering down and rebooting your MacBook is an important maintenance task and should be done at least once a week. It's the equivalent of restarting your router.
Restarting clears your RAM and essentially gives you a clean slate – it's why people recommend "turning it off and on again" when someone's having issues with any computer. Very often, this does the trick and it's not just voodoo, it's because your MacBook has had the equivalent of a good night's sleep and a clear out.


text:
Drivers who flout traffic laws and cause traffic jams at road junctions by blocking traffic and ignoring yellow box rules will from 1st May be fined BD20. Traffic police have announced that from this date they will begin to enforce the law relating to yellow bxes at key intersections throughout Bahrain.
Yellow box junctions are criss-cross painted boxes on the road. The signify that drivers should not enter unless their exit is clear, even if the light is in their favour. Their purpose is to stop bottlenecks when impatient drivers pull across junctions but then cannot get out because of other traffic blocking the exit.
"These boxes are aimed at keeping the flow of traffic moving and the junction clear and are place at junctions that have a history of traffic jams" said a traffic police spokesman.


text: It was quite a surprise, back in 1973, to be informed by an eminent professor of obstetrics and gynaecology . . as a Roman Catholic specialist, that "there is no place for to practice within the National Health Service . . ." [I]n order to stay in the specialities in the United kingdom, I would have had to compromise a conscientiously held abhorrence to the direct taking of human life. I refused and as a consequence became unemployed with a wife and three children and had to leave country, home and family in order to practise my chosen specialty in full freedom.[Full text]


text:
NICE is the health technology assessment [HTA] agency in England, the one upon which others in many countries are modelled. More generally, HTA is increasingly being used by governments for more than simple economic evaluation of medicines and devices, but is being used as a form of rationing of access to technologies (medicines or devices are considered technologies in this sense), and for budgetary control. The more mundane scientific assessment of technologies alone, required for licensure, is gradually being replaced across Europe with a patchwork of regulatory HTA systems. Their operation has a direct bearing on what technologies enter health system use in specific countries and therefore what benefits patients and clinicians derive from the use of those technologies.
So much is not new.
With release of the Commission's findings in its Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry Report, 9 July 2009, there is the opportunity to reflect further on HTA methods across Europe. The report notes that one reason given by industry why fewer novel medicines were reaching the market was uncertainty about financial rewards (a factor in whether technology assessment would lead to regulatory and reimbursement approval). The report notes that with prescription medicines the patient is not the ultimate consumer, it being the doctor or pharmacist; to some extent this is true, but these clinicians are making decisions based on what products are on the market at any one time, and it is regulatory systems and the structure of formularies that determine this. In more extreme cases, decisions are embedded in prescribing guidelines and substitution protocols, which a child could follow.
The report also misunderstands how HTA works, and this may reflect the fact that member states pursue HTA for various reasons. Using the rather oblique term "added value" they see HTA as essentially linked to the "budgetary situation and health priorities of each member state". This is, of course, precisely the problem. HTA IS an economic assessment, based on value add, but it is NOT defined purely in terms of affordability. It provides information to decision-makers about what the economic and social costs are for different thresholds of health outcome — a polite way of pricing rationing. In other words it informs decision-making, it does not determine it. It is quite possible to arrive at a Europe-wide HTA finding on anything you like, and leave it up to member states to quantify in their own terms where this sits within their own national system of affordability and a desired health benefits.
I doubt the pharmaceutical industry would think of advocating for a European Health Technology Assessment Agency, using consistent scientific and economic standards applicable to all countries, thereby simplifying their own regulatory hurdles (HTA is referred to as a 4th hurdle), because they dislike the 4th hurdle in the first place. But HTA is not going to go away, but misuse and abuse of HTA methods will likely continue.
My view is that the industry should advocate for such a system.
The argument is straight-forward. A "Euro-NICE" would bring order to the HTA process, and establish EU-wide standards for the application of HTA methodologies and enhance regulatory certainty which industry should like. It would have the additional benefit of creating a level-playing field amongst the different health systems, which would be a general benefit to patients.
It is important to understand that the pharmaceutical industry and individual member state health systems are locked in a very tight embrace, helped along by a country's regulatory system and medicines pricing mechanisms. Movement by either has an impact on the other — reimbursement policies signal industry behaviours, availability of medicines determines what clinicians get to use and the medicines budget, regulatory 'style' links to investment in research, research investment acts to attract the big brains. It is a complex system, not a simple set of linear relationships (an impression one gets from the Commission Inquiry, unfortunately). And complex systems can cause perverse behaviours, which are invariably embedded in the rules themselves, and particularly important rules are HTA practices, not codified with in the formal medicines regulatory system, but which condition different member state markets.
While there is action on European HTA, through EUnetHTA, it is necessary to distinguish between doing HTA itself, and how HTA is used in decision-making within national policy systems, and regulation. A Euro-NICE would provide consistency in the former, to ensure transparency with the latter.


text:
October 21-23, 27-30
Seymour Krelborn - Adam J Rineer
Audrey - Stacia Smith
Mr. Mushnik - Jim Landis
Ronette - Jordyn McCrady
Crystal - Julia Howey
Chiffon - Cara Ditzler
Audrey II (Voice) - Adam Dienner
Audrey II (Manipulation) - Elizabeth Boyer
Orin Scrivello - Bob Checchia
Director : Nick Smith, Tim Monaghan
Stage Manager : Kathy Ingoglia
Technical Director : Scott Mackison
Assistant Technical Director : Stephen Bair
Costume Design : Jacqueé Johnson
Sound Design/Effects : Kristin Heydt
Lighting Design : Tyler Hoffman
House Manager : Amy Hoffman
Box Office Manager : Amy Hoffman
Publicity : Mary Gildea
Poster & Program Design : Jason Spickler
Meek flower shop assistant Seymour pines for co-worker Audrey. During a total eclipse, he discovers an unusual plant he names Audrey II, which feeds only on human flesh and blood. The growing plant attracts a great deal of business for the previously struggling store. After Seymour feeds Audrey's boyfriend, Orin, to the plant after Orin's accidental death, he must come up with more bodies for the increasingly bloodthirsty plant.


text:
Preview: Timberwolves vs. Trail Blazers
MINNEAPOLIS -- Two consecutive contests that were close in the second half quickly turned into runaway victories for the Minnesota Timberwolves as they stretched their win streak to four games Friday night.
The Timberwolves are learning how to close out games and punish opponents in the second half.
Portland learned earlier this season that Minnesota was coming together with its new veterans meshing with its holdover young stars.
The Trail Blazers now hope to get healthy and start a run of their own, beginning Sunday against the Timberwolves.
"I feel good about where we are," Portland point guard Damian Lillard told The Oregonian. "Obviously this whole year we've been saying we wish we could have eight or nine games back that we feel like we should have won. But considering all those things, I think we're in a good spot. A lot of other teams are going through things as well. Looking at the last two seasons, since we had the big turnover in our roster, this is the best we've been at this point of the season. So I'm happy with where we are. We just have to keep getting better, keep growing."
Minnesota has shown its growth with Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague joining Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. The most important development has been an improving defense to aid one of the league's most efficient offenses.
The Timberwolves (28-16), who have won their past four games by an average of 18 points, wrap up an impressive five-game homestand against the Blazers.
Minnesota beat New Orleans and Cleveland in the first two games of the homestand, leading each game by as many as 34 points. A close game against Oklahoma City turned into a 16-point win as the Wolves pulled away in the third quarter.
On Friday against New York, the Wolves took control in the fourth quarter of a 118-108 win.
"I think we've grown a lot as a unit," Gibson said. "You can tell that the urgency to win in this locker room is real important. From pretty much in the early months, it's a different attitude. Guys understanding that we really have a chance to do something special. So, guys just want to win. Whoever's out there, we're going to do it."
Towns was one assist shy of his second career triple-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds. But it was Towns' work with four reserves that led to the win. Nemanja Bjelica scored eight points and Gorgui Dieng had six in a 17-3 run at the start of the fourth.
The Wolves had eight players score in double figures and four bench players chipped in 37 points.
"I think we just have a good chemistry right now," Towns said. "We know where people are going to be. We're doing a great job of putting ourselves in spots that we know the person dribbling or facilitating the ball is comfortable getting into them."
Unlike Minnesota, Portland's calling card this season has been its offense, while the offense has been inconsistent. One reason has been the injuries that have hit the Trail Blazers (22-20).
Lillard has missed seven games. Fellow starters Jusuf Nurkic (three games) and Al-Farouq Aminu (13) have also missed time. Portland has used 10 starting lineups with 13 players making a start.
"It's been a long 41 games," Blazers coach Terry Stotts told the Oregonian.
Portland has lost two games in a row, which snapped a streak of six wins in eight games. Lilliard, CJ McCollum and Shabazz Napier all started Friday in a three-guard lineup used for the first time. Evan Turner missed the game with an illness.
"When you look back ... there's always problems that strike you during that course of the season," Stotts told The Oregonian. "Losing a lot of close games early was a topic. Certainly, the home losing streak was a topic. Not finishing in the paint has been a topic. I still think there's room to grow. The season's so long, you really can't afford to look back too much, so we're looking forward."
Turner's status for Sunday's game is uncertain. His return would provide the Blazers with a rare game with full health. Minnesota, too, is healthy after Teague returned two games ago.
The Wolves allowed more than 100 points for the first time in eight games on Friday, but are learning to rely on their defense.
"There's going to be nights in which you don't shoot the ball great," Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. "If you defend and you rebound and you don't turn it over, you'll still be in position to win. You should be able to win with your defense. Those are some good signs. But we got another team coming in Sunday that can put a lot of points on the board. We need to be ready."


text:
The NBA's Eastern Conference is worse than Andrew Bynum's hairdos.
If the playoffs started today, five Eastern Conference teams with losing records would go to the postseason. In the league's history, no more than three sub-500 teams from a single conference have ever done snuck in.
The Western Conference, by contrast, is about as strong as it's ever been. Consider this: The Denver Nuggets are currently in line for the eighth and final playoff seed in the West; they'd be the number three seed if they played in the East.
There are only two teams in the entire Western Conference that have worse records than the East's eighth seed, the Toronto Raptors. In other words, every team save two in the West could have a playoff spot were they based in the East.
So yeah, there's great disparity between the conferences right now. And as a result, there have been some calls for eliminating the conference alignment altogether.
On the surface, that's a nice idea. It would mitigate the odds of bad teams sneaking into the playoffs from weak conferences, ensure the playoffs have the most deserving teams, and so on.
But the push for such a radical realignment is a myopic one that overlooks the league's season-to-season parity.
Yes, the Eastern Conference is historically awful this year. Through early December, the conference as a whole had a 43.2 percent winning percentage and just a 29.2 percent wining percentage against the West. Over a full season, that would be the biggest disparity between the two conferences since 1960 — when the East won more than 70 percent of its games against the West.
That gets at the problem with decrying imbalance in a given season. What often drives disparity in the NBA is that basketball, more than any other major sport, is prone to dynasties (bear with me here, Yankees fans).
In basketball, one superstar can alone make his team a title contender — think Michael Jordan or LeBron James. By contrast, other sports rely far more on the efforts of an entire team to be competitive. It's why Barry Bonds, for all his (alleged) juicing and home runs, never won a title. And it's why Peyton Manning, despite being one of the best quarterbacks ever, has won one Super Bowl title while his inarguably less talented kid brother has won two.
In the 1960s, the Celtics won nine titles in ten years, and in the 1990s,the Bulls won six in eight. And in those decades, the East generally beat up on the West. In the last decade and change though, the dynasties have come from the West.
With its dynastic tendencies, the league is prone to having one conference dominate the other from time to time. In other words, when you have the Spurs and Lakers winning almost 70 percent of their games for a decade straight, its going to screw with inter-conference parity.
But that doesn't mean the conferences should be thrown out. It just means that a few great teams can so skew the imbalance as to make it look laughable.
On the whole, the league actually has pretty decent parity from season to season, compared to other major sports. That's because, with just one good draft or trade, teams can turn from basement-dwellers to true contenders. The Boston Celtics won less than 30 percent of their games in 2006-07 and finished with the second-worst record in the league. Then they picked up Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in the offseason and won a title the very next year.
Then there's the problem with focusing on this year as a case for nuking the conferences.
The East was supposed to be good in 2013 — or at least better than it is now. The Knicks and Nets were supposed to challenge the Heat for dominance, but both have been beset by injuries and rec league coaching. The Bulls were supposed to be a fearsome team too, but then Derrick Rose went and blew out his other knee.
But why not just kill the conferences and ensure this gross imbalance, even if it's fluky, never happens again? Well, it would make the playoff travel schedule a logistical nightmare. And though the league has no true rivalries anymore, the conference format at least adds a another layer of competition to the playoff picture, when you have teams fighting each other for the last spots in two smaller conferences rather than one huge pool.
A more reasonable proposition would be to do away with divisions, something incoming NBA commissioner Adam Silver has, to an extent, endorsed. Or the NBA could just bar teams with losing records from the playoffs, and then give a few good teams automatic byes to the second round.
Bad teams are going to make the postseason every year no matter what. With a 16-team field coming out of a 30-team league, someone below the median will always get in.
Wanting to kill the conferences may sound great if you're a fan of a Western Conference team on the bubble. But in practice, it would turn the league into a shapeless blob for no real reason than to ensure a marginally better team gets the honor of being blown out in the first round.