text:
The de-facto visa is suitable for couples who are living together, when one of them is an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
The application process consists of two parts – the sponsorship and the visa application. The Australian citizen or permanent resident acts as the sponsor.
This visa is initially valid for a two year period. During this time you are able to live and work in Australia. After two years, your application will be re-assessed and should your circumstances still be the same, and the relationship still be continuing, your visa will be made permanent.
You will apply for both the temporary and permanent visa at the same time.
To support your de-facto visa application, you must provide a variety of evidence including:
- Documents to confirm you have been living together for at least 12 months immediately prior to application
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- Relationship statements from each of you
- Joint financial/legal commitments
- Evidence of sponsor's employment
- Knowledge of each other's personal circumstances
The fees for the de facto visa are:
£ 60.00 initial registration fee
$6865.00 AUD government fee (£ 3900.00 approx)
£ 995.00administration fee (payable in two parts)
Extra expenses apply if your application is submitted from inside Australia.
For further information, or to submit an enquiry regarding the de-facto visa, please complete our enquiry form below and one of our friendly team will contact you.
If you decide to continue with an application for a prospective marriage visa, we oblige you to first register with our company. An application pack will then be sent to you through E-Mail, including all relevant forms and a check list of required documents. The registration process can be completed either online or by phone.
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The Three Cultures and Children's Television
Richard J. McGowan
In October, 1950, Alan Turing's marvelously provocative paper, "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," appeared in the philosophical journal, Mind. That article marked the introduction, in print, of Turing's operational definition of thinking or "intelligence," and made the further suggestion that machines could think. Turing's definition depended on what is now known as the imitation principle: "if a computer, on the basis of written replies to questions, could not be distinguished from a human respondent, then 'fair play' would oblige one to say that it must be 'thinking' " (415). The upshot of Turing's article was controversy combined with a certain suspicion that his claims, if allowed to stand, meant that human beings were no different from machines. It seems to me that Turing may have exacted his revenge on his adversaries, for instance, Michael Polyani, in the form of children's television programming.
Turing's revenge, so-called, has occurred through an evolution in children's programming that began in about 1959, the year C. P. Snow's The Two Cultures appeared in print. This evolution has involved a shift from the natural to the technological as a focal point for the images children receive. In his 1963 essay, The Two Cultures: A Second Look, C. P. Snow wrote that "it is probably too early to speak of a third culture already in existence. But I am convinced that this is coming" (70-71). If we allow such distinctions to be made as between cultures, we have seen the third culture emerge in children's programming. The first two cultures are those of the artist and the natural scientist; the third is that of the technologist, as Porush says. 1 I will suggest that children's programming shows these three cultures, that currently preeminence is given the technological culture, 2 and that the technological imagery ultimately restricts children's perceptions of the world.
Among the messages of children's television is the lesson that tools - for that is what machines are - have a life and independence of their own. This elevation of tools to the status of living beings ignores and tramples upon a distinction germane to the three cultures made by St. Thomas Aquinas. He spoke of the liberales antes, the "free arts," and the mechanicae antes, the "mechanical arts." 3 The free arts point beyond themselves and do not necessarily serve human ends. The mechanicae artes serve human ends and their objects "borrow" their way of being from human invention. The technological imagery of children's programming misrepresents that distinction so that children see human beings as constrained by their own inventions. Reason and responsibility are presented as the domain of machines, not human beings.
The Technological Culture Emerges
If we accept Snow's claims, prior to 1963, there were two predominant cultural modalities. The artist and the natural scientist were both seekers in a liberalis artes. The mystery of life, the power of discovery, a sense of wonder characterized their pursuits. They explicitly and implicitly recognized both the importance of reason and its limits, standing in awe of the forces which defy being human. Command of nature was not the goal of these two cultures; knowledge was never only or primarily instrumental to human ends.
According to Snow, the original two cultures could trade riposte, but they were not antagonistic nor openly contemptuous of one another. But this situation no longer prevails. Originally, children's programming maintained the harmony of the two cultures. The long history of animal naturalism could be found in such programs as Lassie. The soft scientific narratives and documentaries of Disney, such as The Incredible Journey, used animals as purveyors of scientific knowledge. These shows were staples of an age without a technological culture. They blended the efforts of the scientist and the artist.
Fantasy and natural science were allies in children's shows. Fantastic naturalism, fantasy given a natural explanation, gave rise to children's heroes such as Superman and the Fantastic Four. Superman came from another planet and the differences between Krypton and Earth accounted for his super powers. The Fantastic Four were wonderfully gifted mutants, but explicable in natural terms. Heroes such as those were products of forces outside of human control and design.
Batman existed, too, in comics and then on television, just like Superman. Batman, however, was quite human and not at all a "natural freak." The comic-book Batman solved problems by using a lot of brains, a bit of brawn, and some special devices, products of applied science. The television Batman was different: he was a parody of the comic book Batman in large part because his technology was so dated. An example of this sort occurred when Batman and Robin climbed the side of a skyscraper using drain plungers strapped to their feet. The comic book Batman's relationship to his tools - they were subservient to his reason-became funny on T.V. Then, too, Batman's tools made for drab T.V.: they were not fantastic enough and they did not have enough power.
The image which the incipient technological culture strove for was the elevation of tools to the status accorded objects in the liberales artes, with all the power, wonder, and mystery such objects deserve. An early image hinted at the equality technology would have with the natural in the form of Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spiderman. Spiderman gained his powers when bitten by a natural creature, a spider, which had inadvertently been launched into space. The result, impossible without the advanced technology of rocketry and space probes, was a human being with spider abilities proportional to his human size.
Technology was struggling in children's programming to have a life of its own. The first attempts at a life and independence of machines were farcical. Herbie, the Love Bug and My Mother, the Car gave life, albeit absurdly, to machines. Kids knew full well that Volkswagens could not think and My Mother, the Car gave whole new meaning to the notion of death and reincarnation. We laughed at this image of technology, but we were absorbed by technology, too. Naturalism was being supplanted by technology in children's programming. Furthermore, the earlier images of machines showed machines which looked like machines. Robots looked and moved like machines in the older technological programs such as Flash Gordon. Part of the charm and attraction of the present Dr. Who and even Star Wars can be attributed, in part, to their machine-looking machines. As we know, the technological culture's images evolved to the point where machines appeared and acted like beings worthy of study in a "free art."
First in the evolution of an independent technological culture were the technologically dependent heroes. The derring-do of James West, an extraordinary human being who relies on technology to save the day, or the antics of the absent-minded professor who uses flubber to gain control of his life, replaced our unusual but nonetheless naturally explicable heroes Superman and Spiderman. Despite the fact that technology existed independently and unattached to its human user, the status of the human user became more and more dependent on the available gadgetry. The stage was set for one small increment to extend human capacity by making machines a part of us. Thus, our culture gave birth to the Bionic Man and his counterpart, the Bionic Woman.
Now our heroes were not simply human, but machine-human. Technological advance and gadgetry did not exist separately from their users, but in them. The Bionic Man could perform all those marvelous feats because he and his technology were inseparable. Solutions to problems were no longer couched in natural terms, as with Disney movies, or in human reason, as with Batman but in technological terms of the human machine. Because of technology, we could build Steve Austin stronger and better: his identity came from technology, quite the reverse of My Mother, the Car where the machine's identity came from the human being.
To extend this development, the human being could not merely have parts replaced: heroes had to be replaced in toto by machines. We now have K.I.T.T. in Knightrider, a fully intelligent, responsive machine, and we have Decepticon, Voltron, and a host of other "auto-bots," machines which live independently of human control or pro-gram. Many children's shows no longer feature natural heroes but machines which appear more human and more grand than we are.
Thus, my four-year-old son, upon watching a transformer get "zapped," asked me, "Is it dead, Daddy?" 4 (and prompted this paper). Turing's claims are alive and well in the minds of our children.
The Artist, the Natural Scientist, and the Technologist
Children's programming and culture have evolved to the point where technology and its imagery abound. Children are bombarded by images of machine life, and images of the artist and natural scientist have receded. Often, the image of the artist is consigned to a vision of magic and fantasy that only the reductionist perspective of a mechanical art could devise. Paradigms of the three cultures, He-Man, Transformers, and either Scooby-Doo or 3-2-1 Contact will illustrate my assertions. A comparison of these shows suggests that human reason and responsibility are being joined with or replaced by technology, in most of the programming children are offered.
When He-Man holds his powersword aloft and yells, "By the power of Grayskull, I am the power," he means to call from the netherworld those forces that aid him. He-Man's powersword is a magical and mythical sword: it is supposed to reach beyond human capacity and experience to a source of power beyond human designs. Fantasy and magic are offered as the means to solve problems. So at first sight, the show seems to offer a non-technological slant in the form of magic. But what shall we make of the proffered magic?
Magic, at its best, says something about the unconscious, about the mystery of life, about that which eludes our understanding. Magic, even as "mere" entertainment, transforms and at least suggests some-thing mystical. 5 Illusion in the magician is so appealing because the magician does so much with so little effort. The gentleness of the art belies its effects and defies our understanding. But where in He-Man are these characteristics of magic presented? In show after show, He-Man gains great strength and does physical battle with his adversaries. The magic maintains a superficial connection with the mystical, but problems are solved the old-fashioned, militaristic, non-magical way. 6 There is none of the transforming elegance of magic.
Further, where is any notion of the truly mystical? He-Man is frequently called upon to protect his sorceress and source of power, though the truly transcendent needs no such protection from mere mortals. Mystical forces work through human beings to protect them-selves but are greater than their instruments, even human instruments. He-Man is no such instrument; he is equal to the forces of magic and he knows it: "I am the power." The image of magic presented in He-Man is a reduction of magic to serve human ends.
But if magic is reduced in He-Man, humanity is reduced in Transformers, a show featuring "autobots." Here we have reached the state that I've called Turing's revenge, the elevation of machines to human status. Further, the replacement of human reason and responsibility by machines attaches to the concept of an autobot. A recent typical episode of Transformers shows exactly what the technological images attempt.
The opening scene shows Danny, one of the show's few human characters, writhing in the throes of a nightmare. During a close-up of his pained face, the viewing audience hears a voice comforting him. I, as a father, empathized with that compassionate voice. The scene opens to reveal an autobot sitting at Danny's bedside. Danny's father enters the room later and acknowledges that he cannot provide the relief Danny seeks. Danny's father also acknowledges that the autobot stands the best chance of eliminating Danny's recurrent nightmare, "since he respects you so much."
This episode's plot turns on the premise that a nightmare-inducing machine had been affixed to Danny. The machine, itself controlled by other machines, namely, evil autobots, not only induces nightmares, but can turn those nightmares into reality. By the strength of his will, Danny resists the nightmarish images, thus preventing catastrophe. However, as one of the good autobots says, in an inadvertent yet telling statement, "The images are too overpowering for Danny to control." This is as telling a statement about the nature of these shows as one can ask for.
Humanity was powerless to resist either the nightmare machine or the evil autobots. The individual failures of Danny and his father to confront and control the machines, representative of technology, present perfect metaphors for much of children's programming. Who saves Danny and prevents his dreams from wreaking havoc on the world? It is not human reason or will, nor human efficacy, but another machine that is the saving grace of humanity. The technological culture's imagery presents technology itself as the best hope for over-coming what threatens humanity. But the imagery also shows us that what threatens humanity is, ultimately, the technological culture itself.
In the previously mentioned episode of Transformers, we see two sources of threats to humanity and the technological culture, namely, the fantasy of Danny's dreams and the technology of evil autobots. The non-scientific culture, thus the artist, proves inadequate against the power of technology in Transformers. The forces of magic prove inadequate in He-Man, too, for the problem-solving there is the same old knock-'em-down-till-they-can't-get-up-anymore method. There is no transformation of the problem's context, no reframing of the countervailing forces involved in the conflict, and finally, little difference between He-Man and his adversaries. The proffered solutions in He-Man ignore the transforming and transcendent power of magic so that He-Man's powersword becomes a very non-mythic, non-magical technologically potent tool. Yet, the threat in He-Man emanates from Skeletor, a fantasy figure.
The threat which the artist, now crudely associated with a simplistic notion of magic and fantasy, brings to the technological culture is openly displayed in Ghostbusters. This cartoon presents the battle of the two principal cultures of our day and age: technologically dependent and adept human beings fight non-scientific ghosts and apparitions. The technologically equipped ghostbusters vanquish the ghosts and apparitions as the good autobots vanquished Danny's dreams and the evil autobots. The supremacy of the technological culture over the other cultures is reinforced by these images as the technological culture goes unrestrained and unchecked in children's programming.
Certainly the natural scientist, restrained by an awareness of limits both in intellect and will, does not challenge the supremacy of technology in children's shows. Programs presenting images of the moderate naturalist, searching for knowledge, have all but vanished, and with that vanishing, reason and responsibility seem to have been shunted to no-man's land. In the prevailing atmosphere, reason must be confined to applied science and human ends. Reason, as a means for recognizing our ignorance yet transcending the limits of that ignorance, is infrequently displayed.
But there are a few exceptions. Scooby-Doo and 3-2-1 Contact provide in structure and character what may best be described as images of the natural scientist. Both these shows afford a place for reason to prevail as an effective, wide-ranging, problem-solving aspect of being human. They suggest that solutions to our problems reside within us, and not outside in the form of technology. Responsibility for our situation is within us, then, too.
Reason in the two shows just mentioned is not confined to applied science or strict end-oriented thinking. Rather, it is shown to involve hunches, intuition, and precognitive, non-quantificational methodology. Reason, in short, implies discretion and openness to knowledge. Whereas the technologist looks to knowledge only as it can serve human ends, knowledge in Scooby-Doo and 3-2-1 Contact is not so narrowly constrained. Knowledge, not machinery, has a life of its own and from that life, we gain for ourselves a life of the mind. The life of the mind is a life "borrowed" from that which transcends our purposes. As a consequence, we do not have and can never hope to have complete control over our lives. Scooby-Doo and 3-2-1 Contact acknowledge this, especially as luck plays a role in each show. Harmony between the artist and the scientist, seekers in the free arts, can be maintained.
The apparent antagonism between artist and scientist in the standard plot of Scooby-Doo is always resolved. Typically, the program shows a ghost or apparition threatening someone. Scooby and his pals arrive on the scene and, using hunches, seemingly irrelevant bits of information that turn out to be clues, and their own intelligence, they expose the ghosts and apparitions that frequently appear as elaborate hoaxes. While Scooby-Doo presents a rather facile image of magic in its ghosts and while its solutions are entirely too pat, the show makes it clear that human reason is responsible for problem-solving.
Yet reason alone never solves a Scooby mystery. Luck always lends a hand in the form of stray papers, accidental discovery of hidden trapdoors and passageways, and serendipitous bumbling by Scooby and Shaggy. The implicit limit placed on reason and, consequently, the human being is consistent with the cultures of the artist and scientist. Further, the struggle to remove the source of conflict shows trans-formation. While a problem appears initially as a search for a ghost or apparition, it is resolved when an alternative hypothesis is advanced. Scooby and his friends openly acknowledge that they initially misunderstood the problem. By contrast, when technological problems, such as evil autobots, are overcome using other technological means, namely, good autobots, there is no transformation and no use of reason in moving toward resolution.
All of what is good about Scooby-Doo - the pride of place accorded reason, acknowledgment of its limits, the role of non-human forces in human destiny - exists in public T.V.'s 3-2-1-Contact. Of course, the show is a science show and deals in natural explanation. The scientists who explain, though, constantly remind the viewer of human ignorance. In explaining phenomena, the narrators explain to the audience that "we are trying to find out …" and "we don't know for sure, but we think. …" The gentle, respectful, and plaintive voice of a searcher in free art speaks on 3-2-1 Contact. Reason, in its richness and with its limits, is presented as a means to help us learn about what we do not and may never know.
The show's youngsters are not averse to using technology or sophisticated, scientific instrumentation. They use computers and other machines, but the technology is always there to serve the end of knowledge. Technology is treated as human invention and never given the same status as the truth it might help reveal. Finally, technology is not presented as the only means of identifying and understanding the world or ourselves nor is the show antagonistic toward the artist. Technology has a borrowed and dependent existence on 3-2-1 Contact.
It is exactly this subservience to the human that technological culture resents. It is precisely the independence and life of machines that the technological culture, its images to the contrary, wants but cannot have. Cultures which place human ends above all and define knowledge precisely and only in terms of human purpose are enslaved by their own limits. 7 In them, technology rather than reason defines morality. The artist's way of expressing and exploring reality is lost to such cultures; only a facile distortion of reality can take its place. The natural scientist's way of reframing problems and shifting perspectives - responding, in other words, to what is independent of being human - is closed to such a culture. The kind of culture that is at odds with the artist and ignores the natural scientist will not have "free arts" but be bounded ever so tightly by its own inventions. Thus, can it restrict and damage our children!7
1 David Porush in The Soft Machine implies this division without consciously developing it. He says in his Preface that "literature is as much the product of the technological and scientific milieu as it is of the artistic one" (x). In his choice of words, he suggests that the technological and scientific are, even if of one non-artistic milieu, different enough to demand naming separately. [Back]
2 Children's shows where technology is necessary or plays a leading role for plot and structure include G.I. Joe, Transformers, Inspector Gadget, Silver-hawks, Inhumanoids, Bionic Six, Real Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters, She-Ra, and at times, He-Man and Thundercats. [Back]
3 See Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae 1-11, 34, 1, ad 3, 57, 3, ad 1, 2, and 3; I Metaphysics 3c. [Back]
4 Since I could hardly believe my son asked me that question, I mentioned the incident to a friend. She informed me that her three-year-old son had asked her the same question. [Back]
5 See G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy or C. S. Lewis's The Allegory of Love. The relationship between magic and religion has been written about at length. [Back]
6 The use of magic to serve human ends and only to serve human ends, consistent with the reductionist thinking of the technological culture, is exemplified by MASK Toys. These toys are vehicles with concealed weaponry since "illusion is the ultimate weapon." [Back]
7 This is a much revised and reformulated version of a paper presented at the 1987 Popular Culture Association meeting. I am indebted to Geraldine DeLuca for her many helpful comments. [Back]
Works Cited
Chesterton, G. K. Orthodoxy. London: John Lane, 1909.
Hodges, Andrew. Alan Turing: The Enigma. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983.
Lewis, C. S. The Allegory of Love. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1936.
Porush, David. The Soft Machine. New York: Methuen, 1985.
Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures: and a Second Look. London: Cambridge UP, 1959.

subset: commoncrawl


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Date published:
12 October 2017
"Pragmatic, have common sense, are down-to-earth and commercial-minded."
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By the time you read this the House of Commons will have gone into recess and the House of Lords will be preparing for its own summer break from next Wednesday. So I thought it was worth taking time to reflect on our successes in Parliament so far.
From a standing start after we launched last July, I've travelled across the UK recruiting not just MPs and the Lords and Ladies, but the legislators in the devolved parliaments - MLAs in Northern Ireland, AMs in Wales and MSPs in Scotland.
And the campaign has had a brilliant response. More than 100 MPs signed an Early Day Motion supporting our cause, there have been mentions of Keep Me Posted in debates both in the House of Lords and House of Commons and support for our proposed amendments in the new Consumer Bill. And in the devolved nations Scotland had a motion supporting us while Welsh AMs published a statement of opinion declaring how worthwhile the campaign is.
We've held some events too, accompanied by our giant postcard which we carried around to gather signatures for the cause. A host of MPs and House of Lords members joined us to celebrate our first year and sign the postcard to pledge their support and more than 30 MPs popped in for a separate session earlier in the year to do the same. Our postcards are now hanging proudly on the wall of KMP HQ.
But as well as this support from on high, we've been thrilled by the number of ordinary people who have come on board. One lady in the Rhondda was so fired up that she took her own petition supporting Keep Me Posted around, gathering more than 100 signatures. Thousands sent in our launch postcards supporting our premise that "it is every consumer's right to choose, without disadvantage, how they are contacted by banks, utility companies and other service providers". And others sent cards in to the energy regulator, Ofgem, calling on them to intervene and ensure suppliers offer the choice of paper with no penalty.
So while your MP/AM/MLA or MSP is on their summer break, why not send them a postcard of your own – it's traditional at this time of year after all! – letting them know why you're supporting the campaign. People power can promote all kinds of change – let's hope the year ahead brings more of the same, resulting in greater consumer choice for all of us…
Judith Donovan


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Parenting education is central to the services The Treehouse offers moms. Our curriculum is constantly expanding to provide moms with fresh content and direction. The Treehouse offers daily educational classes that offer practical tools supporting positive parenting success in our families. If you are looking for a way to directly influence and empower families, the programs below need funding to be implemented:
2-10 week sessions per year
$ 3,234 sponsorship
Women's Faith & Growth is a Christian-based program that will help our moms explore their top priorities in life – God, family, emotions, parenting goals and more. This program focuses on helping our moms go deeper into God's Word, walk more fully in His grace, and experience the joy of the abundant life Christ promised. Every 10 week session will follow a certain theme: healing and forgiveness, the 5 Love Languages, women of the Bible, etc.
1-8 week session per year
$ 2,503 sponsorship
Love Notes uses media, realistic scenarios, and lively activities that engage our young moms. Participants work through an interactive workbook and are offered one on one relationship building with the Love Notes Facilitator. Topics include how to build healthy relationship, how to communicate effectively, and most importantly how our relationships affect our children.
2-8 week sessions per year
$ 3,762 sponsorship
Eating Healthy on a Budget provides moms with easy ideas for cooking healthy on a budget presented by the Sedgwick County Extension Office. Shopping tips, healthy alternatives and how to make the most of leftovers are just some of the topics covered throughout the series.
51 weeks per year
$ 2,145 sponsorship
The playroom is a critical part of our educational program model. We offer free childcare and a safe environment for the children while their moms are taking classes. The Treehouse children love story time, crafts, puppet shows, and creating hands-on healthy snacks during Mommy Meetings. We feel that the little ones are also participating in our programs, so we want to provide them with developmentally appropriate stimulation and shower them with love and heartfelt care.
2-7 week sessions per year
$ 1,639 sponsorship
A key focus of Money Habitudes is on understanding the widely differing ways in which people behave around money. Moms examine the powerful symbolism of money– as a sign of power, status, love, security, independence, spontaneity, loyalty and more. Guided discussions also reveal how different behaviors reflect the influence of family, media, culture and life events. Using the award-winning Money Habitudes™ card game by Syble Solomon, moms discover their individual financial style, along with its advantages and challenges. This non-judgmental approach helps them manage their financial concerns in productive ways. Finally, moms learn to use the SMART model for building success in setting and attaining personal goals.
51 weeks per year
$ 19,855 sponsorship
Our Earn While You Learn video program allows moms to come in on their own schedule and view videos with practical information on infant care, toddlers, positive parenting and life skills. The lessons are reinforced with worksheets and homework lessons. Our goal is to continue adding new modules and videos for the moms to learn from.
1 time per month for 9 months
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Lil' Readers guides parents to actively participate in their child's development, create healthy home environments and encourage life-long learning in the hearts of children. Our goal is to strengthen the parent/child bond and stimulate little minds. Each class is centered on a theme that is carried out during the sing along, arts and crafts, story and snack time. Themes include ABC's, nursery rhymes, colors, shapes, farm animals, etc.
2-10 week sessions per year
$ 4,967 sponsorship
Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music and movement program designed for children birth to seven and their caregivers. Music Together is a research-based and developmentally appropriate program based on the premise that all children are musical. The curriculum used in the Music Together classes is aligned with National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) as well as Head Start Performance Standards.
51 week sessions per year
$ 8,844 sponsorship
Monday and Wednesday Mommy Meetings are the building blocks of The Treehouse's educational programs. They are open to all moms and have been available for the past 11 years. The Mommy Meetings cover a wide variety of topics such as Protective Parenting, The Importance of Female Friendships, Surviving Violence, Women's Health, Immigration Policies & Services, etc.
1-8 week session per year
$ 1,139 sponsorship
Crocheting 101 pair's one mom with one member of the local Crochet Guild in order to learn the skills of crocheting. Throughout the 8 weeks, moms learn how to make a dish cloth, hot pad and a scarf. Moms are also taught how to read a crochet pattern so that they are able to make other projects on their own time.
2-4 week sessions per year
$ 941 sponsorship
While attending Baby Basics moms will be able to attend a class with other new moms and learn some valuable skills and lessons. Some of the topics that will be covered are developmental milestones of babies, shaken baby syndrome, how to find quality child care, SIDS, etc.
To sponsor a program or learn more, contact Cristin Coats at 316-686-2600.


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The most common causes that necessitate a root canal are irritation and inflammation of the tooth's nerve and pulp, according to WebMD. These irritations are caused by repeated dental procedures, deep decay, a crack or chip in the tooth, or facial trauma.
Signs an individual may need a root canal are severe toothache pain upon applying pressure or chewing; prolonged sensitivity to color or hot temperatures; darkening or discoloration of the tooth; tenderness and swelling to nearby gums; or a recurring and persistent pimple on the gums, states WebMD. Sometimes there are no symptoms present to indicate the need for a root canal.


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Rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is freaking cool! Like really really cool. Its like I got hold of an advance-tech, sophisticated gadget, a newly invented video game, or a high-end, atomic bomb-proof car! Yeah, that kind of cool! If you get what I mean. Oh well, anyway, this book is not like any ordinary young-adult novel. With its parapsychology and pseudoscience science concept, this book definitely went beyond just being awesome. :DD
I got totally hooked up by this book. Everything is just so cool and exciting. The concept was great and really interesting, the parapsychology thing really got me. I was so excited with everything and with the abilities of the characters. All the characters are so lovable! (Well, except for Rachel) LOL. I just love them all especially Lila, Suki and Nate. And of course Alex! (Fangirling strikes in!)
Lila is so adorable, she's strong, funny and really cute! She knows about her ability and she kind of accepts it but also knows that she's always not in control of it and that it could be dangerous. Her thoughts are really funny and her reactions are really cute (especially when its about Alex) and I can't help myself but grin and laugh at that. I love her relationship with his brother, Jack. He's totally overprotected to her but not really the irritating type. They are so close and really care for each other, and I really find it sweet whenever Jack says he love her little sister (not the sister-complex type, just a real brother-sister relationship)Haha! And then there's Alex.(Fangirling striking in again!) His brother's best friend, whom she has been in love her whole life. Their age gap was a bit big, 4 of 5 years? But it doesn't really matter once you start reading this and met him and found out that he's seriously swoon-worthy! LOL. The last part was totally...*swoons*! And I just totally love how their relationship developed.
And the twist about Demos group was cool. I found myself loving all of them once the revelation kicked in. Especially Nate and Suki. Really funny and cute, and not to mention their abilities are kick ass! Haha.
And yup, the last part was a total action and I love it. Really cool and its like I'm watching a real action-filled movie. The characters are all magnificent and yeah, they all seem like a kick ass movie-star. LOL. >:DD
I applaud Alderson for doing such a great and smart job. A story you would definitely crave for more! Enjoyed it very much. Perfect 5 stars for this book! :))


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Integra brochure
(pdf - 1.6 mb)
(pdf - 1.6 mb)
July 02, 2007
How To Close Balance In a WeekOne of the principal requirements, which the Company set up for the accountability - timeliness of its representation. For acceleration of this process the majority of the enterprises, constituent of Integra Group applied the project "Fast closing of the accounting period on the sixth working day". Its purpose was reception of duly and exact data about results of financial and economic activity. In opinion of the company management, the project has raised efficiency of administrative decisions, both at a level of the separate enterprises, and at a level of group as a whole. The deputy Chief Financial Officer of Integra Group ALEKSEY URUSOV makes comments:In the Soviet enterprises the accounting department closed month only after its expiration. Actually in the end of February the management staff could find out what happened in January. Our innovation allows to receive all accounting reporting on the sixth working day following the termination of the month. Obtainment of the financial information at the earliest allows managers to make operative administrative decisions.To balance the accountsBefore introduction of the project closing of the accounting period in the enterprises of group there was in average on 14-16th working day of the month following the accounting month. The regulation of internal and external document circulation, as well as the mechanism of the control of terms for presentation of primary documents to accounting department, was practically absent. Owing to lack of planning the work during the month was uneven. Work on processing the primary documents fell to the end of accounting or the beginning of next month. As the basic purposes of transformations were are stressed:• reduction of terms of accounting information presentation; • unification of the accounting and tax account (by application of the United chart of accounts, uniform methodology of the account, that is Corporate registration principles and Uniform registration accounting system (in the configuration 1С 7.7.)ALEKSEY URUSOV is telling:"We have made a decision on reforming book keeping at all enterprises of Integra Group. Shareholders of the company did realized, that the qualitative and duly reporting is necessary for making administrative decisions. The situation became complicated by the accelerated rates of development. The monthly turnover of group since January 2006 till beginning of 2007 has increased in 10 times, at the moment the annual turnover for the already concluded contracts is predicted to reach the level of above $950 million in 2007, due to active merges and absorption. As a result, the project was getting more and more complicated ".Realization of the project of reforms has begun in January, 2006. Basic elements of the project of reforming of book keeping were: • fast closing of the accounting period in the 6 working day; United Chart of Accounts (UCA) and corporate registration principles (CRP); uniform accounting system (UAS) with UCA and methodology CRP.ANTON VASILIEV shares experience: In the context of the reform the company has completely ordered procedures of reflection of economic operations under the Russian standards. The company developed and put into operation Corporate registration principles (CRPs) 1) CRPs for the accounting account 2) CRPs for the tax accounting 3) CRPs for differences between RSAA and IAS as uniform formats of Accounting Policies of the enterprises for the accounting and Accounting Policies for the tax account have been developed. Thus, the Russian enterprises of Integra Group using CRPs and specialized formats, before the 30th of March 2007 developed, approved and put in operation the standardized Accounting Policies for the accounting and tax account for 2007:• The CRPs reflect not only the uniformed for the enterprise of Group methods of the account (the order of charge of depreciation of fixed assets, order of write-off of MPR, the order of charge of reserves, etc.), But also complex cases of the accounting, which bookkeepers face in the daily work (the account of operations of rent and leasing, the account of special equipment, overalls, the account of financial investments, the account of tax differences under SA -18, etc.). • The Accounting Policies of the enterprises now reflect not only uniform principles of the account, but also other requirements, made by the legislation with regard to book keeping and which were absent earlier in Accounting Policies of the majority of the enterprises, such as forms of not unified primary documents, the schedule of document circulation, the order and terms of carrying out of inventory, etc. In all enterprises of the Group the new system of mutual relations with counterparts has been built. The main innovation - in all contracts concluded by enterprises "Integra", there was included an item about the accelerated terms of presentation of primary documents, that is papers from counterparts started to be received not in the end of the second decade of the month following the accounting, but from 1 till 4-th working day. Acceleration of document circulation was difficult for the project team. It was most complex to agree with the state enterprises and natural monopolies (power, railway, household services, etc.), but even with them it was possible to find common language.At the same time "Integra" has provided in United chart of accounts (1С 7.7.) the contour of charge (accruals) also has introduced in the enterprises the corresponding Regulating documents. The system of charges includes recognition of expenses at that moment when they have incurred. Advantage of use of charges is a reflection of charges on 6-th working day (even in case of absence of primary documents from the counterpart) and thus the correct calculation of financial result.
To apply in all aspects The automation of book keeping helped to make the accounting in a uniform format. As a basis the program «1С: Enterprise 7.7» has been chosen. "Integra" intentionally refused the eighth version of the program, having preferred the platform of the checked up and tested in practice platform and configuration.
ALEKSEY URUSOV explains: "Program «1С» is rather good help for business. But we have decided that we have not grown to new version (8.0). Besides we decided to look, how it will work in other enterprises. As a result, with no wish to risk, we preferred the checked variant (1С 7.7), finished it and adjusted to our needs. We did not even consider something more powerful - the Company was not ready to spend tens millions dollars for the project for application of, for example SAP R/3, "Integra" spend for the reform of Uniform accounting system 1С 7.7 less than $2 million" . Now the priority in purchase of the new companies is the application of the Uniform accounting system, which already includes UCA and methodology CRP. For adaptation and installation of the program 1С 7.7 the Company "Infotex" has been involved. After realization of the project in the context of it we created the uniform Service of support for UAS, which if necessary provides consultations to bookkeepers of the group. Training bookkeepers in skills of work with the new version of the Uniform program was in parallel performed.Director of department of reengineering of business and monitoring systems of Integra Group ANTON VASILYEV reflects:" As to the new acquired by "Integra " this year enterprises we found it inexpedient to break the accounting period in the middle of the year and to introduce though good Uniform Accounting system. Besides this, the state forbids to make changes in the Accounting policy during the year without special caused by change of the legislation reasons. Therefore process of introduction of Uniform accounting system in the new companies has been postponed till the end of year, while for introduction of Fast closing on 6th working day, any season is just right. In fact this project concerns basically putting in order the document circulation of the enterprises, and this process, as well as "a new life" can be started at once from the next Monday ". Now fast closing of the accounting period is completely realized in 44 enterprises. In 2007 the mechanism of fast closing will be introduced in 11 new the companies of the Group.All CRPs and UCA The Second module - the United chart of accounts and Corporate registration principles - has been developed in January, 2007. Due to the big number of the enterprises, included into the Group, it was necessary to provide comparability of methods of conducting book keeping and to unify directories. For achievement of these goals already on 1st of February, 2007 CRPs and UCA have been approved at all enterprises.ALEKSEY URUSOV shares opinion:There are different approaches to classification of proceeds and expenses. One bookkeeper will refer to expenses for the personnel only wages, another one will include charges on training of employees, premiums, privileges etc. Even such simple question as "charges for the personnel " is impossible to be unequivocally answered without the United Chart of Accounts and Corporate registration principles. Therefore "Integra" undertook significant work in unification of directories."Integra" has ordered accounts not only of the first order, but also and the sub-accounts. And it was necessary to consider needs for analysis both in the machine-building enterprises, and in oil-service. All of them are united in Corporate registration principles, which fixes the general order of the account for each Business-direction, whether it be oilfield service or machine-building. The thus created uniform methodology of the account consists of: • corporate registration principles for RSAA; • corporate registration principles for the tax account; • the corporate registration principles reflecting deviation between RSAA and IAS. On their basis the companies developed and approved the Accounting policy of the enterprises for 2007.ALEKSEY URUSOV ascertains:"Thus we have made "constitution" for bookkeepers. When someone doubts of how correctly to keep account on leasing, it is necessary for him to open the corresponding section of corporate registration principles where the approved variant is specified. " For creation of the United chart of accounts and Corporate registration principles the company involved Ernst & Young experts. This was still not the end of cooperation: twice a year auditors check Corporate registration principles for conformity to the changing legislation. As a result, to the extent of the second stage of the project it was possible to reach: • Standardization of Accounting policies, which provides comparability of data of each enterprise; • Unification of directories in the context of development of the United chart of accounts; • Adaptation of Corporate registration principles for each kind of activity of the enterprises.
Team game For the control of realization of the project in the managing company we used project approach. The project has been headed by the Managing Committee, consisting of Deputy Chief Financial Officer and vice-presidents for the financial control of each direction of business. The project team was presided by the Director of department of reengineering of business processes and monitoring systems (Anton Vasilyev). The project group included professionals with practical experience in accounting. Thus, the Company has created "link" between contractors and chief accountants.ANTON VASILIEV is telling: " For example, the two main corporate methodologists were represented by the project managers for the account and the reporting, with the work experience as the regional heads of accounting services, which had already elements of the system, being started in "Integra". There were no difficulties for them in the communication with colleagues, with chief accountants, and this is a great advantage. The greatest problem, we had to face in course of realization of the project, was resistance of environment ". Th goal of the project team included not only the control of process, but mainly active participation in development of UAS, CRP, testing UAS and interaction with the bookkeepers in regions. To assist the project team the operative committees consisting of three blocks have been organized: oil-service, mechanical engineering and the managing companies.ALEKSEY URUSOV summarizes: "The project has been carried out owing to incredible efforts both of the project team and of the corporate center, and also of every regional enterprise. At the peak moment the Uniform Accounting System was launched in 31 enterprises, and efforts from contractors were insufficient. Many things we had to do by our own efforts, but colleagues sustained and gave within record period qualitative result for all stages of the project.
Especially difficult period was at the end of the year, when the process of testing the renewed program «1С» was started. First the program has been tested within the managing company, and then it was cascaded to the "regions".Now all the documents are entered by the accountants of the enterprises into the Uniform Accounting System in form of the united methodology, the accounting period is closed really quickly, on the 6th working day, and on the 7th working day the accounting data are replicated are available to the colleagues of the head office. In case of necessity to change the program (UAS), the amendments and alterations are performed in a centralized mode, through synchronous dispatch to all enterprises from the Services of UAS support. The main consequences of the made reform is rise of controllability and transparency of the financial and economic activities of the company. "Integra" plans in the nearest future to realize the project in the just acquired enterprises of the Group.


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Doesn't matter if it's a plain apartment building, a gleaming monument to 21st century business, or a heavily embellished structure- there's simply something that gives you pause. Of course I love, love, love Kharkov architecture too, but it tends to be more somber so we'll save that heavy stuff for another day.
On our last trip to the capital we stayed in this apartment. As you can see in the photo above, the view from the window was gorgeous in springtime. The other side of the building was much more modest:
A cool mosaic waited at the very end of the parking lot:
This is by no means unique only to Kyiv, but note how each balcony is different. Everyone aspires to have a balcony and when they've saved up enough money, they add one on according to their budget and taste, creating a hodgepodge of different styles.
The interior was nothing special, just the same institutional two-tone walls that can be found in almost every Ukrainian building.
And speaking of places to stay, I've had my eye on this hotel for ages:
|The Hotel Ukraine
The average apartment building is more like this:
Yes, rather sketchy looking on the outside, but that doesn't necessarily bear any relation to what lies within. Once I read a book about a man who visited the run-down Arctic mining town of Norilsk, Russia, a place that's about as drab, frigid, and depressing as they come. (Maybe it was this book?) He wrote about seeing all the- what else?- drab and depressing apartment buildings from the streets... but was shocked once he actually got to see the inside of someone's apartment. Russians and Ukrainians are crazy about ремонт (remodelling) and like with balconies, people will use whatever cash they can find to beautify the interior of their home. It's a national obsession.
There's one place in Kyiv that's sure to stun you for a moment. Here's a hint:
|It's just around the corner!
It's KNU, or the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
|Almost 200 years old and still kicking ass!
Let's not forget a different building that looks almost identical (and it's my blog background!)- the Kyiv Вокзальна metro station:
(Pssst... it's just as breathtaking inside the metro!)
Anyways, down the street from the shockingly red university is this domed church, decked out in the colors of the national flag:
|St Volodymyr's Cathedral?
Here are some apartment buildings along Крещатик, adorned with fancy balconies:
|I can't even begin to imagine how much one of these places would cost to rent. Any ideas?
Another part of the architecture along Крещатик - a statue of Lenin. In fact, every city has one (or five).
|We happened across this on a day that the communist party had set up shop nearby (red tent).
Independence Square interests me because of those evenly-spaced buildings that ring the square. It's almost like Independence Square is a giant palm and these are the giant's fingers rising up. I'm not sure what all of the buildings are, but the one closest on the left is a massive post office, and there's a Coffee Life (or Time?) and McDonalds somewhere among the others. The giant globe marks Глобус, the underground shopping mall. If you were to turn around and face the other direction, by the way, you'd see the Hotel Ukraine in front of you.
As for churches, ugh, I shouldn't even bring them up. Of course they're gorgeous!
And my pièce de résistance, the first/last thing I see every time I visit Kyiv:
When you encounter such an unusual building only steps off the train, you know the rest of the city won't disappoint!
So there you have it, my photographic justification why Kyiv's architecture rocks. But I've only explored a tiny sliver of the city, there's so much more out there! What am I missing? What's your favorite part?


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Welcome Fair
If you go to one event this week, go to this.
It's your chance to meet ALL the UCLU clubs and societies, ask any questions you might have, and discover services, events and local businesses. As if that's not enough, there will be shows all day at Quadstock festival and loads, I mean LOADS, of freebies. Grab your new friends and don't miss out!


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|Last hidden column for tag filter
Jan 09, 2019 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Jan 09, 2019 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Blind Endeavors
Specialist Steven C. Baskis successfully completed Infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia in 2007 and went on to deploy with the U.S. Army's distinguished 4th Infantry Division, a unit that crossed the Normandy beaches in World War II. While serving as a Personal Security Specialist in 2008, Baskis was severely wounded by an improvised explosive device during military operations in Baghdad, Iraq. May 13th, 2008 marked the day in which Baskis lost his sight and suffered multiple shrapnel injuries to the head, neck, arms and legs which resulted in significant blood loss, hearing loss, loss of smell and nerve damage to left arm. Steve explains how this traumatic experience has forever changed his sight and vision. "I may have lost my physical ability to see, but I have a new vision, a new perspective to guide me through life and all of it's amazing challenges.
After war and debilitating injuries, Steve has gone on to climb 2 of the 7 tallest mountains in the world which include Mount Elbrus in Europe and Kilimanjaro in Africa. A documentary titled "High Ground", captures Steve and 11 veterans' amazing journey to climb a 20,000 foot Himalayan peak, Lobuche, which sits in the shadow of Mount Everest. Another documentary Steve had the opportunity to be featured in is "On Me". The film follows five completely blind veterans down a stretch of white water river rapids in Montana. Baskis has found a love for adventure and physical challenge. Actively pursuing half marathons, a half ironman, cycling nearly 800 miles from the capital of Canada to the capital of The United States, snow skiing down cold mountains in Colorado and white water kayaking 226 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, are just a few of Steve's thrilling adventures.
"I now want to give back to the people who have helped me, through my foundation called Blind Endeavors", Steve says. The Blind Endeavors Foundation's main purpose centers around educating, conducting research and making more people aware of what is possible, no matter the level of adversity faced.
Jan 10, 2019
Jan 12, 2019 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Jan 13, 2019 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
Jan 17, 2019
Jan 18, 2019 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Jan 19, 2019 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Jan 19, 2019 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Jan 20, 2019 1:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Jan 21, 2019 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Jan 22, 2019 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
World's Fastest Reader
Jan 24, 2019
Jan 24, 2019 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Jan 28, 2019 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Feb 03, 2019
Feb 03, 2019
Innovating for Global Health
Sharmila Anandasabapathy, M.D. is a Professor of Medicine in Gastroenterology, and Vice President at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. In her current role, she oversees Baylor's global programs and affiliations, as well as The Baylor Global Innovation Center which seeks to develop innovative approaches to global health challenges.
An advanced gastrointestinal endoscopist by training, Dr. Anandasabapathy's research focus involves the development and validation of novel technologies for the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal cancer. She has been Principal Investigator on several grants funded by the National Cancer Institute (NIH), and has lead multiple international clinical trials focused on the endoscopic diagnosis of esophageal, and gastric cancer. These trials are currently being conducted in the United States, Africa, China, and Honduras. In addition, she and her group are involved in several projects which seek to develop innovative technological approaches to addressing cancer and other chronic diseases in low-resource areas worldwide. These involve the development of remote medical technologies such as augmented (and virtual) reality-based platforms for surgical or endoscopic training, cell phone apps, and portable, battery-operated technologies for medical management in low-resource environments. These partnerships involve close collaborations with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), USAID, multiple US and international universities, NGOS, foreign governments, and Foundations. A recent innovation, Emergency Smart Pod (https://www.bcm.edu/global-initiatives/innovation-center/emergency-smart-pod a mobile, lower- cost shipping-container unit for the management of Ebola and other emergencies, was awarded funding by USAID and The Paul G. Allen Funding and presented at both the World Health Organization and The White House Office of Science and Technology.
In addition to her primary appointment at Baylor, Dr. Anandasabapathy also holds an adjunct appointment in Bioengineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas. She holds a B.A. in English literature from Yale University and an M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine Training at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and her gastroenterology fellowship at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY.
Feb 07, 2019
Feb 12, 2019 6:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Feb 12, 2019 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Feb 13, 2019 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Feb 14, 2019 - Feb 16, 2019
Feb 16, 2019 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Feb 21, 2019 - Feb 23, 2019
Shriner's Hospital
Lisa is the Director of Development for Shriner's Hospital for Children in Galveston and has been an advancement professional in higher education, healthcare, community service and the arts for 30 years. She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego (Ah-swee-Go) and LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY.
Lisa enjoys a long history in Rotary - Her father Richard was a Rotarian, her family hosted numerous exchange students and she too was a Rotary exchange student to Cape Town, South Africa. Lisa was a member of the Cortland Rotary Club, co-chaired the youth exchange committee and subsequently served as club president in 2001. She is now a member of the Galveston Rotary Club. She moved to Texas nearly three years ago to join her brothers who have settled in Galveston.
Lisa is here today to share the powerful story of Shriner's Hospital for Children and their mission of "Love to the Rescue!"
Feb 21, 2019
The Arbor School
JuliAnna Jelinek serves as Executive Director of The Arbor School. Previous to assuming this role, she served as The Arbor's Chief Development Officer for two years. As Executive Director, Ms. Jelinek is responsible for overall management of The Arbor including operations, brand management, business development, and public engagement. Prior to joining The Arbor, Ms. Jelinek spent over seven years in business development and fundraising for public policy and advocacy groups in Arizona, California, and Washington D.C.
Mar 07, 2019
Mar 12, 2019 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Mar 13, 2019 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Mar 30, 2019 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Apr 04, 2019
Apr 09, 2019 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Apr 10, 2019 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Apr 13, 2019 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
located at 125 West Gray #500, Houston, Texas 77019
Apr 16, 2019 5:30 PM
May 04, 2019 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM
May 08, 2019 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
May 14, 2019 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
May 23, 2019 - May 25, 2019
May 30, 2019 - Jun 01, 2019
Jun 08, 2019 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Jun 11, 2019 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Jun 12, 2019 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Gary Gillen will be installing our new officers for 2019-2010.
Jun 20, 2019 8:15 AM
Jun 29, 2019 - Jul 01, 2019
Jul 06, 2019 - Jul 08, 2019


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A benefactor has given the gift of freedom, in the form of a new custom-fitted car, to an Australian mom left paralyzed six months ago after the birth of her third child.
The generosity was completely anonymous.
The SUV, which had been fitted with hand controls, will fit Jessie Bruton's wheelchair as well as strollers and equipment for her three young boys, reports the SMH.
"It was just incredible to get home and see the car parked there with a red bow and a lovely card saying they hoped it would help my family out, and make me smile," Mrs Bruton said.
(READ the story from Sydney Morning Herald)
Thanks to Lola Collins for submitting the link – Photo credit (red bow) b-fick.com


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When it comes to playing Defense, the opponent is yourself. Here, paradox pops up again. As it will, endlessly, in the tussle to win bizness victories. Paradox: have pride with no ego.
Pride gives strength; ego, weakness.
Pride relates to self-perception. Ego relates to others' perception of you.
Pride walks; ego talks.
More paradox. Winning biz championships requires mastering the social game. It would seem, then, that we must care about what others think of us, as ego compels. The truth, and paradox, is, the more we care about ourselves, and the less we care about others' opinions of ourselves, the stronger our social status. And elevating our situational status puts points on the board.
Pride truly motivates the player to up his or her game: personal appearance, physical health, intellectual depth, charisma, charm, positivity, etc. All steps Wannabes must take to escape the apathy of noobism. Ego motivates the player to explain to others, errrrrrr, brag, how he is not a Noob or Wannabe but a true Boss. Bragging grosses people out and has the (paradoxical) effect of lowering status in a lame attempt to elevate status.
I exploit ego weakness mercilessly. Upwardly mobile execs display this weakness the most. They've experienced some success. Their career trajectory has inflected and is accelerating. Adrenaline flows through their workday. They feel they are winning the game. They are little bosses projecting themselves forward into the Big Boss they are 100% confident they know they will become.
I roll into happy hour. There he is, posted up at the St Regis bar, spitting at some hotties. Its an industry trade show. Competitive spirits are juiced. Drinks are poured, the conversational volume steadily rising. I'm introduced: strong eye contact, medium-strong handshake, biz card exchanged, I'm oozing warmth and happy-to-be-thereness. Crack a joke or two, tease the attractive gal, she giggles, quickly find common ground while subtlety shifting into the Alpha position (back to the bar, leaning away, completely relaxed), offer a mild compliment. Rapport fully established in three minutes, with a base of social strength under my feet, it's time to dance.
My opponent subconsciously begins straining to keep his place in the shifting social hierarchy. I"m rising, he's stable, he likes me, but feels the widening gap even though he couldn't explain it.
Another two minutes of convo, and I've demonstrated deep industry knowledge. I make an off-handed comment showing my personal connections at higher industry levels than him. All in the spirit comparing notes, talking shop, industry gossip, all very friendly.
Suddenly, I flip the script. I directly challenge him and his division's performance, and his company's strategy. Surprised by the sudden turn, he's instantly put on the defensive. He has no time to intellectually adjust, he merely reacts. Let the bragging begin.
I've set him up. He's charmed, and startled, and feels instinctively compelled to explain to me how I'm wrong. He feels the need to prove himself, since I appear to have higher status. He brags up and down about his new products, new marketing tactics, new management techniques, blah blah blah, you go Mr Harvard MBA. I look unconvinced. He gets frustrated, tries harder. Offers more evidence: their next big thing, why nobody understands the brilliance they are about to shine.
I'm a complete stranger. Why is it necessary that he prove himself to me? His ego, pricked by a situational social status wind-sheer, betrays him. He just gave me his playbook. Unreal.
Now these junior exec guys don't know enough to get anybody in real trouble; they don't hold the secrets that determine stock movements or anything like that. But before they rise to the C-suites at the big game, they must be broken of ego. A Boss can never talk freely. That's why he has IR, PR, and Corp Comm handlers. They craft the bragging message for him or her. So that it becomes the company messaging, not boss bragging.
Back to pride.
Pride drives excellence when no one is looking. You are your only spectator. You can't lie to yourself, yourself knows you are bag of worthless noobsauce. Pride makes you take steps forward to better yourself, for yourself. And climbing from Wannabe to Boss Baller takes lots of steps. Pride kills apathy.
John Steinbeck wonderfully captures this in his book Cannery Row (actual cannery pic above taken from my kayak in Monterey Bay). The boys (Mack, Hazel, Eddie, Hughie, and Jones) move into their new pad, the Palace Flophouse. Its an empty shack not fit for a animals.
"The Palace Flophouse was no sudden development…only a long bare room, lit dimly by two small windows, walled with unpainted wood smelling strongly of fish meal. They had not loved it then. Their eyes became outraged by the bare board walls."
Then they paint the door.
"The apathy was broken then. The boys outdid one another in beautifying the Palace Flophouse until after a few months it was, if anything, overfurnished. With pride, the Palace became a home."
Paint the door: a metaphor for getting started on fixing yourself up. Do one thing, taking pride in yourself, to better yourself. Only for yourself, though, which brings strength, and not for the sake of others. You cannot be motivated to lift, run, read, converse, grow, by the compliments of others. Those compliments will come too infrequently, and make you needy. Neediness disgusts people.
Every time you walk through your newly painted door, you will be visibly reminded that you are about your business of upping your game, errrrrrrrrday.


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Pro Evolution 2008 features a brand new intelligence system, called Teamvision, that adapts and reacts to players own gameplay styles to ensure that the computer controlled opponents are always challenging and forcing the player to think and change their style of play to avoid being out-thought by the game. It will learn counter attacks that target your weaknesses and look to exploit any repetitive tactics players use. Defenders react better to danger, closing down the ball and charging at shots and the goalkeepers will hold shots that are closer to them as well.
|Submitted by
|Cheat Title


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A Woman's Pray er
My vibrator,
which brings me heaven,
Rabbit be thy name.
You make me cum,
you bring such fun,
on earth - or is it heaven ?
Give me this day my daily thrill,
and forgive me my screams as I forgive those who sold me dud batteries.
Lead me straight into temptation.
Deliver me from frustration.
For thine is the vibration,
the power and rotation.
For ever and ever.


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Slowly over the past 25 years in the United States, the old belief in free will has been replaced by a pseudo-scientific belief in determinism. Faulty genes, bad brain chemistry, neurotransmitters gone bonkersthese are some of our postmodern excuses.
In American Exorcism, however, Michael Cuneo does us the great service of informing us that for a significant minority of Americans, another traditional, anti-scientific excuse is readily at handthat old devil, Satan himself, together with his henchmen. And while the belief in demonic possession may be old and therefore seemingly at odds with modern explanations for behavior, Cuneo's work is highly significant for the way he shows how the resurrection of Satan and the concomitant need for exorcism is ironically more in tune with the Zeitgeist than one might imagine. It is, he persuasively argues, part and parcel of the white, middle-class, entertainment, therapeutic, alternative-medical, consumer culture in which many Americans, desperate for relief from their problems, have come to believe in psychosalvation by gimmickry, a paint by numbers approach to transforming the self. Where millions see unbalanced brain chemicals, genetic predisposition or toxic particles as the source of their troubles, it is oddly fitting that others see little demons. And for both groups there is therapy, a technique, promising liberation for the addicted, hope for the forlorn, solace for the brokenhearted. In a climate where the pursuit of possessions has become a national obsession, it is apt that the business of possessionand its remedyhas become a booming business.
Cuneo maintains that the demon-expulsion is a widespread and growing phenomenon among all types of Protestants and Roman Catholics. Exorcisms, he writes, are readily available, and large numbers of Americans have undergone them. In fact, he wonders why exorcism isn't practiced far more widely, since it's such a great deal. All one's personal problems can be engineered through demon-expulsion: a bit messy perhaps, but relatively fast and cheap, and morally exculpatorya thoroughly American arrangement.
One of American Exorcism's main contentions is that the exorcism rage developed as a direct result of the 1973 release of William Peter Blatty's sensational movie The Exorcist and the publication of Malachi Martin's Hostage to the Devil, which allegedly documented the exorcisms of five Americans. Cuneo argues persuasively that the entertainment industry has manipulated Americans' religious beliefs and behaviors. Up until the early 70's, exorcism and demonic possession remained in obscurity. Then Blatty, Martin and the popular culture industry created titillating spectacles that captured the religious imagination of many Americans anxious for some evidence, no matter how nonsensical, that the supernatural was still a potent force in the modern world. Afterwards, Oprah Winfrey, Geraldo Rivera and other media luminaries had a field day exposing Satan's terrifying hold on so many hopeless victims. Exorcism as a pop sensation was born.
Cuneo, a sociologist who teaches at Fordham University, personally witnessed more than 50 exorcisms, both Catholic and Protestant, official, bootleg, you-name-it. He provides excellent descriptions of some of these and demonstrates how this burgeoning exorcism phenomenon must be seen within a larger social context. As weird as exorcism may seem, he rightly shows how it is congruous with American culture as a whole, a place where free will and personal responsibility are ancient relics and the search for someone or something to blame for one's life is pandemic.
Ironically, however, Cuneo, who can be scathingly funny about those who see real glowering, hell-bent-on-evil demons as the major scourge of our time, is himself conflicted over the issue. He is a sociologist who does not trust his own observations, a failing that places him within the Zeitgeist he skewers. For although he reports that during all the exorcisms he observed he never encountered a demon or anything startling or unusual, he maintains he isn't sure if demons were present, if they literally exist, if people can be so possessed. He says he has no idea and wouldn't want to rule out the possibility.
But why not? For he calls exorcism a ritualized placebo for those who want to avoid responsibility for their own shortcomings by blaming them on demons. When asked by one participant if he had not seen the body of the possessed person levitating two or three feet off the chair, he writes, No, I didn't see it, and the reason I didn't? There was nothing to be seen. Throughout American Exorcism he passes judgment; yet at many other points, he withdraws judgment. He wants it both ways.
This vacillation mars an excellent study. For if he really has no idea about the existence of demons and their ability to possess people, then his conclusions are meaningless. If the believers in demonic possession are rightdespite Cuneo's own empirical observationsthen all his cultural analysis is beside the point. Satan, not Hollywood or social forces, would be the cause of this phenomenon.
Ironically, Cuneo's conflict over passing judgment reflects a culture deeply confused over the very basis for deciding the truth. His fear of judging is the same fear of freedom and responsibility that drives the exorcism craze and suffuses American culture.


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.SHOCKING NEWS: Maine Mendoza to Replace Kapamilya Actress for an Endorsement!
According to Ang Pinaka that was aired last May 28,2016 at Gma News TV , the top 2 spot most powerful endorser was Maine Mendoza. They say a lot of praises to the Phenomenal Dubsmash Queen .
Less than a year ago Internet sensation and Dubsmash Queen Maine Mendoza became Eat Bulaga's Yaya Dub was paired to Alden Richards and became one half of the phenomenal on screen split screen love team AlDub.
According to Direk Jose Javier Reyes
Maine Mendoza was really phenomenal she was recognized June 2015 a year ago and look at what she is like now
And according to Ms. Janelle Barretto Souires
And according to Mr. Third Domingo
Maine Mendoza is really great on how she personified herself, how she packaged herself in social media and then she is cute, and again you know she has this very hindering look that crosses all social classes. I mean she can be yaya, and yet she can become super social ,you know she can do all that stuff you know contortionist facial expression, so you can really make her do anything.
It is the endorsement story of the year of 2015 and 2016 , practically discovered. That's the story of the Filipina. The talent is new , young, discovered, and that's it . That's what Filipino see with Maine Mendoza, that's why she's working.
The Aldub popularity became so big, and was heard of it that in Filipino TV history so Maine Mendoza's face is literally everywhere.
In less than a year Maine get a whooping 29 commercial endorsement for a fast food chain, cleaning bleach, astringent, shampoo, sanitary napkin and the list go on .
According to @showbizbanter on Twitter
Maine Mendoza will replace another kapamilya actress for and endorsement . She will spearhead the brand's newest and biggest campaign yet an up and coming loveteam was supposed to shoot a TVC when the rival threatened to pullout their talents from its campaign . TVC Cancelled.
Watch the video below. and comment your reactions.


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A year seems like such a long time but really our journeys are literally just beginning as we both get ready for some incredible exciting new adventures. I am so incredible happy to have done this project to have pushed my boundaries some even if there are weeks i would do over if i could. But it's part of the process, part of the passage of time & there's no going back to who we were.
Some weeks were harder than others, inspiration didn't always come & i was left grasping at straws but still we both made it to this point & i know should we decide to do another (although after the lil dude does his thing would be preferable) it will be easier in some ways & incredible different!
Maybe i'm not ready to write a conclusion because i don't think this is the end of me & Tali working together ... now it's just a matter of setting ourselves a new challenge, another chapter in our metaphoric photographic journey together & pushing ourselves as individuals, photographers & friends even more. & who knows maybe we'll actually get to hang out at some point through the next one!
Thanks for being a part of our lives ... & i hope you stick around for the next installment of the Tali-Laura show!


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A thunderbolt is about to strike the American and European economies according to the analysis of one US economist.
How will the Asian crisis reach the shores of America and Europe? The currencies of the Asian tigers and Japan have declined sharply in recent months. Their exports have become cheaper abroad and imports have become expensive at home. They have also seen business closures and layoffs. Asian consumers have been cutting back on their household spending. Expensive foreign goods and falling demand will sharply trim imports; but lower prices will stimulate exports. Thus, in the months to come, Europe and the United States will see a sharp increase in their trade deficits with Asia.
Companies in Europe and North America will suffer sales losses; their profits will fall, and that means crushing losses in share prices, which have been soaring from the promise of ever-increasing corporate profits.
At first, shareholders in Europe and North America will be complacent; they will be advised by Wall Street brokers and bankers not to panic, because the US fundamentals are supposedly very sound.
Bill Clinton and Alan Greenspan will reassure the public and possibly lower the interest rates. The experts will sing the glories of long-term investing to the public. As a result, after each downturn, stock markets will recover somewhat.
But the global supply-demand gap will not disappear, and we will continue to see crashes in the financial markets. At some point the public or institutional investors will panic. That is when a thunderbolt will strike the New York Stock Exchange, perhaps in the summer of 1998, or around Christmas, and definitely by the end of 1999.
The thunderbolt could come in one massive jolt or, as with Japan in 1990, in a series of weekly market declines. America, after all, is a...


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South Carolina Business Leader to Direct CIU Business Program
A Lexington, South Carolina businessman and attorney has been named the new director of the Business & Organizational Leadership program at Columbia International University.
Dr. Scott R. Adams has nearly three decades of experience in law and business management for major corporations including Dow Corning Corporation, Insignia Financial Group, Inc., Prysmian Group North America and most recently with TrioIP Group, Inc. in Lexington.
Adams earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) degree from Brooklyn Law School in New York City and a bachelor's degree in Public Administration and Allied Legal Services (double major) from University of Central Florida in Orlando, the area where he grew up.
Adams has been very involved in community affairs in the Midlands of South Carolina, serving in key leadership positions with several civic organizations. He has also garnered several honors, including "South Carolina Ambassador for Economic Development" awarded by Gov. Nikki Haley and State Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt in 2012.
Dr. Bryan Beyer, the dean of the CIU College of Arts & Sciences, says he is pleased to have Adams join the faculty.
"Dr. Adams rose to the top of a strong pool of candidates, and we look forward to seeing continued growth in our program through the very capable leadership he will provide," Beyer said.
Adams becomes program director on July 1. He currently serves as an adjunct professor of International Business at CIU.


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Systematic Solutions for Buildings
Our specialists provide solutions and services for commercial buildings that protect people, values and the environment.
As your reliable partner, we implement connected and integrated solutions to increase safety, comfort and efficiency of your buildings. Your business and buildings benefit from comprehensive expertise, global experience and state-of-the-art technologies - all from one single source and close to you.


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Sexual Harassment can be a difficult topic to discuss, yet it is vital for your employees to be aware of what constitutes illegal behavior. The Sexual Harassment Quiz (the original version) is a set of 28 scenarios involving behaviors that occur in the context of an office setting. Individuals are asked to judge each scenario on the degree to which they believe them to be considered sexual harassment or not. Attorney Jonathan Segal then reviews each scenario with a studio audience, explaining which are examples of sexual harassment and why.
This program covers issues such as "Quid Pro Quo" as well as the Hostile Workplace. It also provides insight into the "grey areas" of Sexual Harassment.
- Learn what legally constitutes sexual harassment
- Explore what is appropriate behavior on the workplace
- Relate your perception of sexual harassment to the law
- Learn how sexual harassment affects morale, productivity, and trust


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For years, plantain fruit pulp has been used as a natural remedy to manage poor libido or erectile dysfunction in men in traditional medicine. Now, scientists have confirmed that also matured unripe plantain peels could also serve the same purpose.
In a new study, researchers found water extract of unripe plantain peels inhibits key enzymes linked to poor libido and prevent oxidative stress in rats' penile tissue. The 2017 study was in the journal, Pharmceutical Biology.
Unripe plantain cooked or roasted has been proven over the years to induce, sustain and maintain erection. It also helps to make semen thick and increases sperm volume.
Unripe plantain also builds stronger bones been rich in calcium which is essential for the growth and building of strong bones and teeth. It also contains some chemical substances which are capable of protecting the walls of intestines and healing them in case of any wound.
In traditional medicine, plantain stem juice is also used for the treatment of urinary stones, nervous affectations like epilepsy, hysteria and in dysentery and diarrhoea.
Erectile dysfunction is a condition that affects a man's ability to achieve or maintain an erection suitable for s3x. The condition can affect men at any age, but with advancing age, its prevalence increases.
It is also common in men with cardiovascular disorders such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus and those that smoke cigarette.
Although there are medications available to reduce ED, some men prefer to take herbal supplements as an alternative. Many herbs show potential to be effective in improving men's s3xual function.
The researchers had tested the effectiveness of the water extracts of ripen and unripe plantain peels on key enzymes linked to poor libido in rat penile tissue harvested from 40 adult male Wistar rats.
They found that unripe plantain peels had higher inhibitory effect compared with the ripe plantain peel, but still sildenafil, what is sold as Viagra, had the highest effect. Also, its effect in improving libido was also dose dependent.
According to the researchers, unripe plantain peels contain chemical substances such as flavonoid as in high proportions that can support s3xual stimulation.
Moreover, they pointed out that unripe plantain peels in useful in the treatment of hypertension and hypertensive-induced ED given that it is rich in chemical substances potent in lowering blood pressure.
The researchers, however, submitted that although unripe plantain peels extract appeared to be the most potent, it may serve as source of nutraceticals in the treatment of poor libido.
Previously, scientists have found listed common foods that could boost libido to include watermelon, onions, nutmeg, ginger or tonic root, date palm, tropical almond, goat head, alligator pepper, tomatoes, banana, velvet bean (werepe in Yoruba and agbala in Ibo), and fluted pumpkin (ugu in Ibo).
Italian scientists in a study published in the journal Urology stated that men who suffer from mild to moderate erectile dysfunction may benefit from drinking watermelon juice.
In a study, they said that watermelon contains a high concentration of citrulline, an amino acid that can improve blood flow to the penis without the side effects of Viagra.
Fluted pumpkin, similarly, a study published in the African Journal of Biotechnology suggests could improve blood quality and sperm quality as well as support good blood sugar control in the body.
The researchers based at the College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin attributed the significant increases in the sperm motility, viability and counts by fluted pumpkin to the actions of some of its active ingredients, which have well-documented sperm boosting activity.
Also, researchers have shown that Mucuna pruriens seeds increase spermatogenesis and weight of the testes, seminal vesicles, and prostate in the albino rat.


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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jim Johnson, whose attacking defenses helped the Eagles to one Super Bowl appearance and five NFC title games, has died; he was 68. Johnson had taken a leave of absence from the team in May as he continued to battle a cancerous tumor on his spine.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jim Johnson, whose attacking defenses helped the Eagles to one Super Bowl appearance and five NFC title games, has died. He was 68.
Johnson had taken a leave of absence from the team in May as he continued to battle a cancerous tumor on his spine. The Eagles announced his death on Tuesday afternoon.
A veteran of 22 years as an NFL assistant, Johnson was considered one of the top defensive minds in the league, known for complex schemes that confused opponents and pressured the quarterback from every angle. His defenses consistently ranked among the best in the league, including last season, when the Eagles finished third in total defense and fell one victory short of the Super Bowl.
From 2000-08, Johnson's Philadelphia defenses ranked second in the NFL in sacks (390). During his 10-year tenure, the Eagles made the playoffs seven times and he produced 26 Pro Bowl selections.
Earlier this week, the team announced that Sean McDermott would replace Johnson, who had been Andy Reid's only defensive coordinator in his 10 seasons as Eagles head coach.
In his first press conference as coordinator, McDermott gave full credit to Johnson.
"What haven't I learned from Jim?" McDermott said. "I don't think it would be fair to Jim, in this setting, to try and limit in one statement, one press conference, the effect that Jim has had on my life."
McDermott paid Johnson the ultimate compliment in describing the style of defense he wanted the Eagles to play: Johnson's style.
"There is one thing I know, and that is that this system, it works," McDermott said. "Jim has spent a considerable amount of time in his coaching career researching and finding things that work and finding things that didn't work, quite frankly, and I'm going to respect that and we're going to build on that. From there, we'll add wrinkles."
Johnson had been treated for melanoma in 2001.
In January, he complained of back pain and coached from the press box in the Eagles' playoff win over the New York Giants and in the loss to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC championship.
An MRI after the divisional playoff win against the Giants on Jan. 11 alerted doctors that something might be wrong. Following the Arizona loss, the team announced the cancer had returned and Johnson would undergo more treatments.
Johnson had recovered sufficiently to coach during the team's first post-draft minicamp in May. But he coached from a motorized scooter during practices and said he wasn't certain he'd be able to return for the season.
The Eagles said Reid and team president Joe Banner would be available Tuesday evening to talk about Johnson.
Johnson is survived by his wife, Vicky, two children and four grandchildren.


text: I just noticed that my app store icon was showing two updates to download. I was surprised that I had to enter credit card info again and sign a legal agreement to complete these free downloads. When I began to read the legal agreement, I noticed that it was35 PAGES LONG!!! Has anyone read all 35 pages of this crap? It reminds me a bit of why I left the Mac world many years ago after being a diehard fan for many years. Quite an unpkeasant reawakening!


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Sterilization Mechanism of Nitrogen Gas Plasma Exposure
Hideharu Shintani*
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27, Kasuga, Bunkyo, 112-8551, Tokyo, Japan.
*Corresponding Author
Hideharu Shintani,
Faculty of Science and Engineering,
Chuo University, 1-13-27, Kasuga,
Bunkyo, 112-8551, Tokyo, Japan.
Tel: +81425922336, FAX: +81425922336.
E-mail: email@example.com.
Article Type : Editorial
Received : March 07, 2015; Published : March 09, 2015
Citation: Hideharu Shintani (2015) Sterilization Mechanism of Nitrogen Gas Plasma Exposure. Int J Bioanal Methods Bioequival Stud, 2(1e). doi:dx.doi.org/10.19070/2470-4490-150001e
Copyright : Hideharu Shintani© 2015. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
As already published by Shintani et al, gas plasma sterilization is the alternative sterilization procedures to the existing sterilization procedures due to applicable to the several sensitive healthcare products and attainable both sterility assurance level (SAL) of 10-6 and material/functional compatibility, which authorities and GMP (good manufacturing practice) are required. In addition there was progress in the field of plasma-based sterilization, there are still some questions. The aim of this editorial is to mention briefly some of un-resolved sterilization mechanisms as well as to draw further perspectives of sterilization technique.
The atmospheric- and low-pressure gas plasma can be used to sterilize bioburden in the surfaces. Several mechanisms have been clearly identified, namely reaction with reactive species as shown in Figures 1-2 were mostly the major contributors. The speculated major contributor was peroxynitrite anion. Nitric monooxide radical detected by us [3] combines with superoxide anion and produce peroxynitrite anion on the biological indicator spores or bioburden to sterilize them. Life period of the peroxynitrite anion, nitric monoxide radical and superoxide anion was a few s, 3-6 s and 5 s, respectively, which are relatively long period compared with most of radicals with μ s life period such as OH radical. As the outer layers of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria have been charged (Figure 3), therefore charged contributors cannot penetrate into the interior of the bacteria to attack interior DNA or RNA. In that sense, nitric monoxide radical can be understood due to neutral, but superoxide anion has a problem to understand due to minas charge. As a whole speculation of peroxynitrite anion was problematic to define and required to consider another reasonable factor to consider without problems. As being indicated charged factors can be neglected as contributors. This indicates that metastables of N or O may be the major contributors due to a few s of life period, neutral and abundant energy produced from the excited state to the ground state emitted energy to destroy bacteria. Radicals may be candidate as they are not charged, but their life period is too short such as a few μ s, so radicals with long life period may be the candidates. In that means NO radical with 3-6 s of life period may also be candidate, but unfortunately NOradical has no sterilization or disinfection function.
UV leads to very effective sterilization when spores are not clumped on the materials. However, UV or VUV alone is not efficient for inactivating bacterial spores, endotoxin or prion proteins, indicating gas plasma produce UV or VUV (Figures 1 and 2), but they are not completely major contributors.
Apart from the problems related to the matrix effect, another practical difficulty in the use of plasma discharges is related to their directionality and their limited penetration at 10-20 nm in high aspect ratio holes and trenches (1ow-pressure plasma discharges, [1, 2]). The former requires special handling of the equipment during treatment, which complicates the operation. The latter requires the procedure to be carried out at intermediate pressures: this limits the efficiency of the chemical sputtering effect, which decreases the sterilization effects.
Finally, plasma treatments are not very compatible with pre-packaged instruments, as the packaging may block the reactive species created by the plasma discharge. This is particularly crucial for atmospheric plasma treatment, since at low pressure, the plasma discharge could in principle be created inside the package, which means gas plasma sterilization is not carried out like γ-ray or ebeam irradiation sterilization. This is seriously obstacle to apply the gas plasma sterilization for the practical use in future.
- Shintani H, Shimizu N, Imanishi Y, Sekiya T, Tamazawa K, et al.(2007) Inactivation of microorganisms and endotoxins by low temperature nitrogen gas plasma exposure. Biocontrol Science 12(4): 131-143.
- Shintani H (2012) Inactivation of prion and endotoxins by nitrogen gas plasma exposure. Pharmaceutica Analytica Acta 3 (8): 177. http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2153-2435.1000177
- Shintani H, Saito T, Nakamur K (2014) Chemical indicator and ink constitute to detect several radicals, metastables and ions produced by gas plasma sterilization. Japan Patent 233387.


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The Gabble (book, Neal Asher, 2009)
From Death Ray 17. It's worth noting that Neal did finally reveal the origins of the Gabbleducks in his book The Technician.
Neal Asher/Tor/£17.99
Ten tales of the Polity from the entertaining Mr Asher.
We seem to have been saying Neal Asher is brilliant a lot recently. Here it is again: We love you, Neal, you and your futuristic hard men, weird monsters and chillingly pragmatic AI. This book serves up a dozen "short" stories set in his Polity universe (we say "short" because some of them are scrape novella length). We'd like to grumble, his heroes are similar to one another (all super-tough killers, with the occasional journalist or researcher thrown in) but we just can't. Fact is, Asher's stories do have a fairly narrow range of themes to them, but who cares? It's brilliantly delivered. And there's a wealth of startlingly alien imagery to distract you besides. We'd be greedy to demand more, but, you know what, he delivers even this too. "Acephalous Dreams" and "The Sea of Death" are two tales in the collection that don't follow his usual "tough bastard solves mystery with extreme prejudice". The first is about a tough bastard murderer (it's not that relevant to the story) who is given the choice of being host to alien technology instead of being executed. The second is a short weird alien SF story. Did we mention Asher does good weird aliens too?
Three of the stories concern the alien oddities known as Gabbleducks (hence the title of the collection), a species that may be more than it appears to be. Asher's become fascinated by the creatures, and promises us a novel about them soon.
But you don't have to wait that long, hey, you don't even have to buy the book to sample the delights of Gabbleducks – turn to the back of this issue of Death Ray where you'll find "Softly Spoke the Gabbleduck", the first story from The Gabble, and an interview with Asher.


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PlantTherapy: Cherry Blossoms & Rabbits in NYC!
The peace and solitude of the BBG on a recent weekday morning stood in great contrast to the crowds and bustle at this weekend's Macy's and Rockefeller Center shows.
I showed up promptly at 8:00 for a stroll around the grounds. I live near the NYBG, which sits on a massive plot of land. The BBG is on a comparatively smaller footprint, but each space is considered precisely and leads into the next area with grace.
The north entry (where I spied rabbits playing in wet grass) leads you down tree-lined paths and under wisteria arbors. It does not give up the next section of the park until you reach the end and the path declines. There you can take a left and wind around through the cherry trees, the Japanese garden, and on to the Conservatory.
I was much too early to be admitted to the conservatory (it opens at 10:00), but the grounds alone are more than worth admission. I then took a peek over the fence at the rose garden, which will be open later in the season. A number of neighborhood residents make the garden their morning walk destination, and the length of the path to circulate the grounds is not too long that it would leave you winded for the rest of the day (as opposed to the epic paths at the NYBG).
The cherry blossoms were in bloom with almost no one in sight to witness the early blossoms falling.
I imagine this weekend will be quite different, with the many people and events that will crowd the field – a truly wonderful weekend excursion. The hanami I remember going to were quiet events. They were usually held on temple grounds, like at our local Chohojia, a thousand year old temple that had cherry trees on all sides. Family, friends and neighbors would gather during the day and set up picnics under the trees.
It was here that I also enjoyed 'yozakura', which is night-time cherry blossom viewing. Lanterns would be strung up overhead and the conversation flowed more liberally than during the day, as did the sake and karaoke. Whichever your style, I do hope you are able to get out and enjoy the blossoms.
This week I want to share with you a link that Sara-Kate sent over to me. Enjoy these photos of Central Park flowers taken from someone who loves flowers as much as food!
And another blog here from flower fanatic Matt Mattus in Worcester, Mass. He is also a superb photographer.