Every year it's getting more difficult to find a place where there is no Internet access. At the beginning of 2013 an NPD report revealed that Internet-connected devices in the USA outnumbered people, leading to a media storm that predicted robot uprisings and machine apocalypses. Though America constitutes only a fraction of the world and is not a totally all-pervasive mega power, the diffusion of innovations theory hints this US-centric hyper connectivity is only the beginning. The global online population is growing constantly, making the connected world a reality for everyone.
There has been a joke wandering around the Internet lately. It ran "If a person from 1950s travelled to our times what would be most difficult to explain to him? - That I have a device in my pocket that gives access to all information mankind possesses... And I use it for sharing pictures with cats and arguing with strangers". The joke is insightful, not only because it tries to teach us to use resources more effectively, but also because it reflects the way things are now. When the Internet could scarcely be found anywhere, it was expensive, slow, loud and unappealing to consumers. Now the Internet is not only a certain element of reality - it is reality. The web is always in our pocket, on the tips of our fingers, in our ears. Business, communication, joy and entertainment were shifted onto the Internet as the offline world was replicated online.
Software developers were among the first to take advantage of this new reality, developing applications that can be used and are available only through a browser. Development of such apps was a far-sighted step as growing availability of the Internet is going only to increase the popularity of web-based apps. Moreover it is obviously cheaper and easier to build an online one-size-fits-all app than to design it for all devices, Operating Systems and specific platforms. Web apps work virtually on any device that runs a browser.
There are certain facts that make web apps a nice solution for users too. First, users don't have to worry about updates. The web app will always be the last version of itself. Second, as the app does not actually arrive to your device it cannot cause any harm to it. As you don't install anything there is no way a virus can penetrate the system. Therefore no worries as for system security. Moreover, we see a growing tendency of one person owning several devices. To fill them with useful and more or less similar stuff you can use either cross-platform apps which, though being awesome, still do not come along that often. Or you can use web apps, which are available on any device with a browser. What's also nice is that we don't have to go to a webstore or any store and look for an app. We just find it on the net and use it. However, web apps will hardly ever win over "heavy" native software as it needs to employ system resources in order to work properly.
Some online applications have already pushed out their native counterparts long time ago. For example, email. Once when we were young and green we used mostly Outlook Express or Lotus Notes for the purpose. Email service, which naturally needed an Internet connection, was not a web based service. Now most of us access our web based emails from multiple devices. So let's take a look at all those categories of applications which took a serious liking to the Internet.
Online text editors are taking over their offline counterparts especially in cases where collaborative work on a document is needed. This doesn't relate to the cases where complicated text formatting is crucial though. However, common basic needs can fully be covered by such services as Google Docs or Zoho Docs. Google Docs offer a big range of formatting and text editing options. In terms of free collaboration and sharing, Google Docs are ahead, as you can share and work in common for free provided you and your colleagues have Gmail accounts. Zoho Docs pleasure us even with a broader range of features. You can not only create files and download them, but also upload files from your computer or device (most popular formats supported), edit them using the functional not much poorer than the one of Word MS.
Listening to music has gone online even faster than text editors. We've forgotten about overloading our hard drives or device's memories with meters of music bytes. Moreover thanks to all-around available Internet we have broader opportunities for discovering new bands/bits/artists. Online music services are ready to stay our music appetite with no need to download and install anything. This explains growing tendency of changing MP3's for online streaming.
There are several decent propositions on the market. One of them is Grooveshark - a free streaming music service with a deep library and various social networking features. It allows users to upload music and stream it to other listeners. Due to such a mechanism virtually there is no commonly accepted quality standard of the music uploaded, although music quality is satisfactory in general. Soundcloud is another service of the kind. There you can find almost every kind of music from well-known artists to talented beginners, from home made tracks to recorded verse.
The web is full of small accomplished online utilities that perform one function, but do it brilliantly and swiftly. For example, file format converters. With various formats converter by Online-Convert you can upload and convert various audio, video, text, archive formats and download them perfectly converted to your PC or device. Next on the list are dictionaries and translators. Wordreference is nice for one word translation, while with Freetranslation you can render the whole phrases. Another web-goodie on the list is online decompressors. You can unpack archives of almost every format with B1 Online Archiver. Privacy is no problem here as no one but you can see the files you upload and extracted files are deleted few minutes after a you close the page. Online maps found their fair place on the Internet too - where would you find yourself without Google Maps or Bing Maps nowadays?
Now with cameras and Internet in every device, social news feeds are suffocating under the weight of uploaded photos. Competition over who takes the most beautiful pictures is growing. Now taking a photo and putting it just like that on the web is not "comme il faut" and absolutely uncool. Basic editing has become a rule. The web offers many decent picture editing solutions like Fotor, Pixlr and Picmonkey. All of them can be used online on desktop, but to enjoy them mobile you should download the apps. All three offer basic (compared to Photoshop) image editing like cropping, resizing, adding effects, filters, change colours etc. With Fotor you can also create cards, Picmonkey allows to edit your pictures getting them directly from Facebook, Flickr or Dropbox and with Pixlr you can not only edit your photos but also draw them yourself similar to Paint.
Casual gaming for procrastination quickly found its home online. For example, though you might have seen enough of golf-gaming out there, Wonderputt is a real pleasure for eyes due to its polished look and quite an original approach to design. Drifting afternoon is another game of the kind. What makes it cool is a running cat, pastel bubbles and almost lounge music. You just need to make the cat leap from bubble to bubble and enjoy bonuses received. Finally there is Flow. Flow is not even a game in its traditional sense, it is more like a visual tranquilizer and a brain massager. As almost all online games need Adobe Flash Player, there may be trouble with running them on Android tablets or iPhones.
If to analyse what's common among all the apps mentioned and thus what makes them embrace Internet's merits we can easily notice some common details. Web apps usually do not have complicated structure because the only way they interact with device is Internet browser. Virtually their capabilities are limited by those of the browser. They don't use system's resources and therefore cannot fully adjust to specific characteristics of that or another device. However, this doesn't mean they perform badly. On the contrary, developers nowadays do their best to make web apps universally perfect for every device using only one channel - a web browser.
This explains why most successful applications on the Internet are small and compact. Those may also be the apps which require collaborative work, like documents created in common. Or it can be some simple one-purpose small utility. All these features are easily handled by a browser. However, some ten-fifteen years ago no one could imagine even such apps to be fully available online and we can only expect more apps to come in the future.


If you want to keep your device safe from online threats, it’s better to start with discovering what you may face and then how to prevent such situations. This implies that a user gets a general idea about viruses, malware, and other possible threats. Today, we’ll discuss the importance of malware protection and learn more about the difference of malware from viruses.
What is Malware?
The term has a very broad meaning that includes different software designed to bring harm, damage or compromise users’ devices and data. Malware can affect any device starting from a smartphone and up to a desktop. While the signs and troubles differ, the goal is the same. Malware creates chaos and harms your device. Sometimes it may lock you out or keep opening new windows with ads. In other cases, things can get worse and a user loses personal information and money.
Some Examples of Malware Include:
- Trojan viruses. It’s one of the most well-known and harmful viruses. Most users find it difficult to remove this kind of malware;
- Ransomware is also a kind of malware. Very often software description underlines ransomware protection as a separate tool. This malware takes the device hostage, so to say, and demands users to pay for its release;
- Spyware aims to steal personal information like banking details, passwords, and other data;
- Cryptojacking is a new term used to describe malware that uses one’s resources to mine cryptocurrencies.
The Difference Between Malware and Viruses
In fact, a computer virus is a kind of malware, too. It’s a malicious code that self-replicates on one’s device to cause as much trouble as possible. One may say that malware is just a wider term that includes viruses as well.
The Importance of Malware Protection
There is no need to know everything about malware. However, learning some general ideas about the variety of malware is likely to help you pick the most suitable protection. The importance of malware protection cannot be described in one word. Yet, it’s essential to shield one’s device and personal information from such threats. This is sure to make your browsing experience better and simpler.
Keep in mind that virus and malware protection can turn out to be different programs. A user has to have both antivirus engines and malware protection features. So it’s better to look for complex all-round protection. Together these tools will secure the device and prevent malware from getting to it.
The Most Vivid Signs a Device is Infected With Malware
Whenever you come across the following issues, your device is likely to have caught malware:
- Pop-up windows that contain ads and occur unexpectedly are likely the signs of adware;
- Error messages may also appear due to malware that intrudes into the application’s performance;
- Other performance issues like site crashing, programs not loading/glitching, unknown processes in the background, etc. can be caused by malware.
As a rule, it’s very clear whenever you face malware on a device. A user should install a reliable software that removes malware to prevent the loss of personal information or device. In case you already have a program installed but such issues keep happening, it’s high time to pick a more reliable solution.
The Most Reliable Anti-Malware Solutions
In order to protect oneself, a user should take a closer look at products offered by Norton, Avast, Bitdefender, etc. Some companies offer malware protection as a separate tool, others include it in bigger bundles that bring all-round protection. Choose the best one based on your needs and expectations. Don’t forget to install a reliable antivirus as well. Combined, they’ll save your device from online threats, phishing sites, suspicious activities, and other malware.


Spill control can be finished with a selection of approaches. Some methods include an obstacle, drain system, or pneumatic pressure. In addition, there are portable spill control systems These can be installed rapidly and quickly at the website where the spill took place. There are additionally slopped spaces that are suitable for including a spill. spill containment
Mobile spill containment systems.
Mobile spill control systems are a convenient way to protect workers and also property from harmful spills. Portable spill control systems are made from lightweight, semi-rigid product that can be conveniently transferred from one work website to an additional. They are suitable for collecting fluid spills that have overflowed container trucks or dripping drums. They are readily available in a range of dimensions and can contain quantities as much as 10,000 gallons.
Portable spill containment systems act as control barriers that protect against hazardous chemical splashes from spreading out throughout a space and polluting the setting. They can be utilized for chemical as well as sewage spills, and are a fantastic method to keep staff members and also home safe. They likewise work to contain oil spills, avoiding them from reaching nearby locations. Oil spills can be tidied up using a vacuum vehicle or a permeable product.
Absorbent pads are a superb option for spill containment in a variety of environments. They are developed to take in as well as counteract water, chemical and also petroleum-based spills. They are fantastic for day-to-day universal spill clean-up, consisting of around pipelines, equipment, and also messy web traffic areas. Absorptive pads are available in pre-cut or perforated rolls.
They are available in a variety of absorbency, including hefty, medium, and light. Heavy-weight pads can take in up to 22 gallons. Medium weight pads take in up to 20 gallons. Light-weight sorbents can absorb up to 35 gallons. They are typically marketed in plans of 100 or 200. Absorbent pads are typically marked white to separate them from water. The white shade gives great contrast, both in water and oil. Nonetheless, yellow sorbent pads are available for dangerous chemicals.
Sloped areas can assist contain a spill. The incline helps the fluid build up instead of flow under the wall surfaces. Sloped rooms can also help with second containment by enclosing leaks and also protecting against the spread of impurities. Secondary containment measures can likewise consist of spill pallets, concrete wall surfaces, berms, as well as absorbents.
Pneumatically-driven pressure is just one of the most effective alternatives for spill containment This technique is straightforward, yet very effective. It eliminates leakages while reducing system volume and air consumption. Additionally, pneumatic pressure is perfect for moving items as well as products. With this method, you won’t need to stress over contaminated products or downtime caused by oil leaks or burst pipelines.
Pneumatically-driven pressure is used to control the circulation of fluid or solid materials through pipe systems. Pressed air is normally drawn from the air surrounding the system and is generally filteringed system to minimize the threat of contamination. Pneumatically-driven systems are also typically completely dry, free of wetness, as well as can be promptly as well as quickly mounted if a spill occurs.
Wireless spill control.
Wireless spill control systems are a great alternative for spill containment in harmful settings. These devices obstruct the discharge of a spill from a water drainage system to secure the atmosphere. They likewise alert the plant control centre to the spill’s place as well as sharp key workers. Utilizing these systems makes spill containment a simple, routine process.
Wireless spill containment gets rid of the requirement for substantial facilities financial investments. Wireless spill control devices use non reusable gas cylinders and a ZigBee network to manage and also check spills anywhere on the website. Wireless spill containment is perfect for facilities that want to lessen the amount of infrastructure changes needed for installment. It additionally includes a communication system that enables a spill driver to manage as well as keep an eye on the spill from the operations room.


Getting Away with Murder: The Danger Posed by Stand Your Ground Laws
When Markeis McGlotten was killed outside a convenience store in Clearwater, Florida, police knew within twenty-four hours who shot McGlotten: Michael Drejka. But they didn’t arrest anyone for twenty-five days. Why?
Drejka is protected by a statute in Florida popularly known as “stand your ground.” Stand your ground laws allow a person under assault to use force, even deadly force, without retreating first. These laws have been shown to drive up homicides while failing to drive down overall crime. While they are not the cause of America’s gun violence epidemic, stand your ground laws contribute to it, and ought to be repealed.
Several studies over the past decade have confirmed the connection between stand your ground and homicides. Mark Hoekstra, a researcher at Texas A&M, puts the laws in economic terms. “These laws lower the cost of using lethal force,” he said in an interview with NPR, “our study finds that, as a result, you get more of it.” Hoekstra examined homicide rates and overall crime rates, finding that states with stand your ground laws saw homicides increase by seven to nine percent, while overall crime did not drop. The Journal of the American Medical Association found similar increases in a 2017 study, noting that states without stand your ground laws did not see the same increases in homicide and overall crime rates.
Stand your ground rose to national prominence with the case of Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old who was shot and killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman. Like Drejka, police quickly identified Zimmerman as the attacker but did not arrest him immediately. Protected by stand your ground, Zimmerman was later acquitted of second-degree murder and remains free today. National protests erupted in the aftermath of the trial, leading many to call for the repeal of these laws.
Yet in the years since Trayvon Martin’s death, stand your ground laws have taken a backseat to broader issues of racial profiling and police brutality in American law enforcement. One reason is that several states repealed the laws after listening to activists. In 2013, 33 US states had stand your ground laws, while today only 23 states have them.
While this is important progress, 23 states is still far too many. Something must be done about these laws that put citizens in danger every day. Two routes are possible to pursue this: legal challenges and legislation. Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence ’s legal director, Laura Cuttilleta, favors the second route, noting legal challenges have a mixed record in terms of success. Instead, she points to positive legislative efforts in Florida and Vermont which strengthened gun safety laws after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Some fear that reining in stand your ground laws will chip away at the doctrine that currently governs self-defense, but Cuttiletta flagged important distinctions between stand your ground and what is known as the castle doctrine. Rooted in common law, the castle doctrine removes the duty to retreat while in an individual’s place of residence. The castle doctrine is far less problematic than stand your ground laws.
First, there is far less gun violence stemming from home invasion than from street altercations. Second, the historic nature of the doctrine makes it much harder to consider repealing than stand your ground. Finally, far fewer studies condemn the castle doctrine than stand your ground.
So, what can we do to help repeal stand your ground laws? New legislation in Florida and Vermont offers some help, but these reforms did not start in the offices of lawmakers. Both came after nationwide rallies started by the survivors of the Parkland shooting and extensive pressure from protestors. I was part of these protests, organizing a trip for students at my school to go to Washington DC to make our voices heard.
Watching students from Parkland speak brought most of my class to tears, and it was painfully clear we all felt the next shooting could be at our school. But a little research into our state’s gun laws revealed a different kind of threat. North Carolina is a stand your ground state, and while a school shooting might make more news, a resident of North Carolina has just as much to fear when walking down the street. Stand your ground laws manage to stay out of the public eye more than mass shootings do, and I want to change that.
If you feel as strongly as I do that stand your ground laws pose a threat to our safety, check if you live in one of the 23 states that still have these laws. In most cases, a simple Google search will yield state legislators involved in efforts to repeal them. Give those legislators your support, and let them know their efforts are worthwhile.


Companies should stand for principles to protect the environment and the next generation. Here are some ways to do it.
Manufacturing, packaging, distribution, marketing – these are sectors or functions of business in the global economy that play a big role in how the modern world works today. Most companies get caught with the bottom line and earn profits that they forget about their businesses’ harmful effects on the environment.
As everything today is part of a seemingly global conglomerate, it is now more than ever more critical for companies to pay attention to their effects on the environment. Otherwise, there might not be any healthy consumers left in the future to patronize our products.
Current State Of Industrial Waste
The global population continues to grow, and with it comes demands—consumer demands. Companies are forced to meet these demands, and sometimes environmental concerns are overlooked just to meet these quotas.
Based on the Industrial Waste Management market, the industry of waste management is geared to US$1.2 trillion by the year 2025. We can use it as an index of the current state of how much waste we produce as a civilization. Although that industry is enjoying growth and wealth, it says a lot about how much industrial waste we humans produce.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2018, 292.4 million tons of solid waste were collected. That’s almost five pounds of trash per person every day. Among those collected, 32% percent was recycled and was composted.
Electronic waste is any electronic equipment that’s been discarded. This could include non-working, working, or broken items that are disposed of as trash. People should pay attention to electronic waste because of its potentially dangerous toxic chemicals that could leak from the metals, their casing, and other components if improperly disposed of.
Batteries make up a big chunk of electronic waste. In recent years, batteries have been piling up as electronic waste. This is due to portable technologies like our cell phones and other small devices in our pockets and go-bags.
These are the battery types commonly discarded as electronic waste:
- Lithium-ion batteries
The demand for lithium-ion or li-ion batteries is rapidly increasing compared to other types of batteries in the market today. The steadily decreasing costs of producing and purchasing li-ion batteries combined with continued advances with its power capabilities make the Li-ion battery an ideal power source for modern devices. It is utilized for consumer electronics, automotive, medical, and some industrial applications. The industry is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 16.2%. It is forecast that between 2018 to 2024, li-ion profits are estimated to reach US $92 billion from the US $37.4 billion in 2018, a CAGR growth of 16.2%.
Unfortunately, the number of sales dwarfs the number of Li-ion batteries that get recycled. Of all the batteries that are sold in the market, only 5% get recycled. The low recycling rate of li-ion batteries might be because of its perceived complexity. Recycling lithium might prevent future shortages and help meet demand.
What We All Should Do
As technologies get better and better, gadgets and devices become a part of everyday life. Their power sources (li-ion batteries) will become more commonplace, and solutions to properly dispose of them will prove to be of the utmost importance.
Improper disposal of batteries will affect all of us. The sooner we band together and find solutions, the sooner we can guarantee a future for our children and our children’s children.
The irreversible technology trend, the innovations that spring out of this faster than we can even make modern life convenient and easier. However, it also comes with the realization that these produce more waste, especially electronic waste. More than ever, companies must demonstrate a commitment to provide sustainable products that are morally sound for consumers and the environment. This also means pouring more resources into developing more innovative ways to manufacture innovative products.
Bidi Vapor’s Commitment and Corporate Responsibility
Bidi Vapor has poured more resources into its research and development in the vaping industry to demonstrate its commitment and vision to provide premium quality products. As proof, Bidi Vapor and its premium product, the BIDI® Stick, was recently awarded the UL8139 certification.
This certification by an independent body affirms the safety and dependability of the device’s batteries. The BIDI® Stick passed all electrical, heating, battery, and charging systems tests. This is a testament to Bidi Vapor’s commitment to providing quality products for adult consumers.
Bidi Vapor is also one of the few companies with a recycling program where consumers can send in their used BIDI® Sticks for proper disposal and recycling. The BIDI® Stick utilizes high-quality, cell phone-grade, 280mAh batteries of superior quality and easily recyclable.
To learn more about the BIDI® Cares program, please visit our website.


Paws in the Snow. So, for many of us the forests and national parks may sound like the same thing. Even though the circumstances are same in general, the national parks function in more controlled conditions. There are persons who are responsible for the animals and the wild life in the national park. They take care everything to be OK, all animals to be fed and get enough water but also they take care the park to be clean all the time.
Kent works as a ranger in the national park Silver Pine. Every winter he has a job to provide the animals suitable conditions and food for the wild animals that live in the park. Every morning in winter Kent gives food to the wild animal. You may say that they are wild animals so they could find food for themselves easily, but the fact is that in winter this could be little bit hard. Kent makes their life easier, by providing them with food and everything that is necessary for them to survive under those hard circumstances.
Now let’s take a walk together with Kent and see all the beauties of this amazing national park. We will definitely see many things that are not part of our everyday lives in this park and learn something more about the wild animals that live there.


Matt Ridley is the author of provocative books on evolution, genetics and society. His books have sold over a million copies, been translated into thirty languages, and have won several awards.
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My latest Mind and Matter column in the Wall
Street Journal, with added links:
Don't look for the soul in the language of DNA
Back in the genomic bronze age-the 1990s-scientists used to
think that there would prove to be lots of unique human genes found
in no other animal. They assumed that different species would have
many different genes. One of the big shocks of sequencing genomes
was not just the humiliating news that human beings have the same
number of genes as a mouse, but that we have the same genes, give
or take a handful.
Rachel Carson, in her hugely influential book Silent Spring, wrote that she expected an
epidemic of cancer caused by chemicals in the environment,
especially DDT, indeed she thought it had already begun in the
``No longer are exposures to dangerous
chemicals occupational alone; they have entered the environment of
everyone-even of children as yet unborn. It is hardly surprising,
therefore, that we are now aware of an alarming increase in
The increase itself is no mere matter
of subjective impressions. The monthly report of the Office of
Vital Statistics for July 1959 states that malignant growths,
including those of the lymphatic and blood-forming tissues,
accounted for 15 per cent of the deaths in 1958 compared with only
4 per cent in 1900. Judging by the present incidence of the
disease, the American Cancer Society estimates that 45,000,000
Americans now living will eventually develop cancer. This means
that malignant disease will strike two out of three families. The
situation with respect to children is even more deeply disturbing.
A quarter century ago, cancer in children was considered a medical
rarity. Today, more American school children die of cancer than
from any other disease. So serious has this situation become that
Boston has established the first hospital in the United States
devoted exclusively to the treatment of children with cancer.
Twelve per cent of all deaths in children between the ages of one
and fourteen are caused by cancer. Large numbers of malignant
tumors are discovered clinically in children under the age of five,
but it is an even grimmer fact that significant numbers of such
growths are present at or before birth. Dr. W. C. Hueper of the
National Cancer Institute, a foremost authority on environmental
cancer, has suggested that congenital cancers and cancers in
infants may be related to the action of cancer-producing agents to
which the mother has been exposed during pregnancy and which
penetrate the placenta to act on the rapidly developing fetal
My latest Mind and Matter column in the Wall
Street Journal is about how the human brain deals with the future.
Here it is with added links.
I recently came across the phrase
"remembering the future." Rather than some empty poetic paradox, it
appeared in an article about a neuroscientific experiment that
tested a hypothesis of Karl Friston of University
College, London, that the brain is more active when it is
In the study, volunteers watched patterns of
moving dots while having their brains scanned. Occasionally, a dot
would appear out of step. Although there was the same number of
dots, the visual part of the subjects' brains was more active when
the dots broke step. According to Arjen Alink of the Max Planck
Institute in Frankfurt, Germany, who did the experiment, the brains
were predicting what would happen next and having to work harder
when their predictions failed. They were "remembering the
Bishop Hill has a review of Tim Worstall's book Chasing Rainbows, which reminds me that I
meant to write about this book. I wrote a cover quote for it that
described it `fearless, fresh, forensic and funny'.
What is particularly clever about the book is the way that
Worstall makes economic theory so digestible, even delicious. He
refutes the dreary cliche so popular among environmentalists that
economics just `does not get' the environment (by which they
usually mean that they would like to do the equivalent of repeal
the laws of gravity and make things to happen even if they make no
sense for people: like getting people to give up cheap forms of
energy to take up expensive ones). Quite the reverse is true:
environmentalists all too often just don't get what economists are
trying to tell them.
I especially liked this little section which so neatly
eviscerates the Stern Report:
(picture from Eden's Path)
Here's a letter I sent to the editor of The Economist:
Last winter, we were told by scientists that it was `stupid' to
take the cold weather as evidence against global warming. Yet this
winter you are quite happy to speculate, entirely against the
consensus view, that the cold weather is evidence for global
warming (`A Cold Warming', Dec 4th). In
support of this fancy, you cite `some' evidence that summer heat
`may' induce shifts in atmospheric circulation that `might'
encourage seasonal patterns that would `probably' mean more cold
winters in Britain. Spare us the astrology, please.
There is a big new report on shale gas from the No
Hot Air website. It is far too expensive for me, but here is a
summary of what it supposedly concludes:
The key issue going forward for natural gas
is not managing supply, but creating demand.
The US success in shale gas technology can be
replicated in multiple locations world-wide.
My latest Wall Street Journal column is on the work of Sugata Mitra, who is
turning education upside down with the help of the internet:
For some time now I have been aware of environmentalists who
dislike the way their agendas have been hijacked by climate change.
The orthodox view is that climate change is raising the profile of
all environmental issues, but is it?
Can it really be easier to raise money for a wildlife
conservation project in Madagascar or Galapagos when everybody is
saying that the major threat is not habitat loss or invasive
species, but slow warming?
Can it really be helpful for bird conservation when green groups
take money from wind companies which kill golden eagles?
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As a complex religious tradition, or group of traditions, Buddhism has a lot to say about the natural world. Passages in many Buddhist texts reveal sensitivity to the beauties of nature and respect for its various beings. A good example is the Jataka tales (“birth stories”) that describe the previous lives of the Buddha before he became the Buddha. In many of them he is born as an animal, and in some of the best-known tales the Buddha sacrifices himself for “lower animals,” such as offering his rabbit body to a weak tigress so that she can feed her starving cubs. Such fables challenge the duality usually assumed between humans and “nature”— as if we were not part of nature! They suggest that the welfare of every living being, no matter how insignificant it may seem to us, is spiritually important and deserving of our concern. All beings in the Jatakas are able to feel compassion for others and act selflessly to help ease their suffering. In contrast to a Darwinian “survival of the fittest,” which is often used to justify our abuse of other species, its stories offer a vision of life in which we are all interconnected, parts of the same web of life, and therefore also inter-responsible, responsible for each other.
This compassion is not limited to the animal realm. If we can believe the traditional biographies, the Buddha was born under trees, meditated under trees, experienced his great awakening under trees, often taught under trees, and passed away under trees. Unsurprisingly, he often expressed his gratitude to trees and other plants. Some later Buddhist texts explicitly deny that plants have sentience, but the Pali Canon is more ambiguous. In one sutra, a tree spirit appears to the Buddha in a dream, complaining that its tree had been chopped down by a monk. The next morning the Buddha prohibited sangha members from cutting down trees. Monks and nuns are still forbidden to cut off tree limbs, pick flowers, even pluck green leaves off plants.
Yet great sensitivity to nature is hardly unique to Buddhism. So what special perspective, if any, does Buddhism offer to our understanding of the biosphere, and our relationship to it, at this critical time in history when we are doing our utmost to destroy it?
To answer that question, we have to go back to a more basic question: what is really distinctive about Buddhism? The four noble (or “ennobling”) truths are all about dukkha, and the Buddha emphasized that his only concern was ending dukkha. To end our dukkha, however, we need to understand and experience anatta, our lack of self, which seen from the other side is also our interdependence with all other things.
There are different ways to explain anatta, yet fundamentally it denies our separation from other people and from the rest of the natural world. The psychosocial construction of a separate self in here is at the same time the construction of an “other” out there, that which is different from me. What is special about the Buddhist perspective is its emphasis on the dukkha built into this situation. Basically, the self is dukkha.
One way to express the problem is that the sense of self, being a construct, is always insecure, because inherently ungrounded. It can never secure itself, because there is no-thing that could be secured. The self is more like a process, or a function. The problem with processes, however, is that they are always temporal, necessarily impermanent—but we don’t want to be impermanent, something that is changing all the time. We want to be real! So we keep trying to ground ourselves, often in ways that just make our situation worse. For Buddhism the only true solution lies in realizing our nonduality with “others” and understanding that our own well-being cannot be distinguished from their well-being.
Does this basic insight about the intimate connection between sense of self and dukkha also apply to the sense of separation between ourselves and others? The issue here is whether “separate self = dukkha” also holds true for our biggest collective sense of self: the duality between us as a species, Homo sapiens, and the rest of the biosphere.
If this particular parallel between individual and collective selves holds, there are two important implications. First, our collective sense of separation from the natural world must also be a constant source of collective frustration for us. Secondly, our responses to that alienation, by trying to make our collective species-self more real—in this case, by attempting to secure or “self-ground” ourselves technologically and economically—are actually making things worse.
Western civilization developed out of the interaction between Judeo-Christianity and the culture of classical Greece. Greek culture emphasized our uniqueness by distinguishing the conventions of human society (culture, technology, and so on) from the rhythms of the natural world. What is important about this distinction is the realization that whatever is social convention can be changed: we can reconstruct our own societies and attempt to determine our own collective destiny.
Today we take that insight for granted, yet it’s not something that most premodern, traditionally conservative societies would have understood. Without our sense of historical development, they have usually accepted their own social conventions as inevitable because also natural. This often served to justify social arrangements that we now view as unjust, but there is nevertheless a psychological benefit in thinking that way: such societies shared a collective sense of meaning that we have lost today. For them, the meaning of their lives was built into the cosmos and revealed by their religion, which they took for granted. For us, in contrast, the meaning of our lives and our societies has become something that we have to determine for ourselves in a universe whose meaningfulness (if any) is no longer obvious. Even if we choose to be religious, we today must decide between various religious possibilities, which diminishes the spiritual security that religions have traditionally provided. While we have a freedom that premodern societies did not have, we lack their kind of “social security,” which is the basic psychological comfort that comes from knowing one’s place and role in the world.
In other words, part of the rich cultural legacy that the Greeks bequeathed the West—for better and worse—is an increasing anxiety about who we are and what it means to be human. There is a basic tension between such freedom (we decide what to value and what to do) and security (being grounded in something greater, which is taking care of us), and we want both. As soon as one of them is emphasized, we want more of the other. In general, however, the modern history of the West is a story of increasing freedom at the cost of decreasing security, in the sense that loss of faith in God has left us rudderless. Thanks to ever more powerful technologies, it seems like we can accomplish almost anything we want to do—yet we don’t know what our role is. That continues to be a source of great anxiety, not only for us individually but collectively. What sort of world do we want to live in? What kind of society should we have? If we can’t depend on God to tell us, we are thrown back upon ourselves, and our lack of any grounding greater than ourselves is a profound source of suffering. This helps us to understand why our collective sense of separation from the natural world is a continual source of frustration. The stronger our alienation from nature, the greater our anxiety.
Any genuine solution to the ecological crisis must involve something more than technological improvements. If the root of the problem is spiritual, the solution must also have a spiritual dimension.
This brings us to the second implication mentioned earlier: our collective response to this collective dukkha is just making things worse. First, let’s remember how things go wrong individually. We usually respond to the delusion of a separate self by trying to make that sense of self more real—which doesn’t work and can’t work, since there is no such self that can be isolated from its relationships with others. Since we don’t realize this, we tend to get caught up in vicious circles. I never have enough money or power; I’m never famous enough, attractive enough.
When we think about our collective response from this perspective, I think the motivation becomes clear. Lacking the security that comes from knowing one’s place and role in the cosmos, we have been trying to create our own security. Technology, in particular, is our collective attempt to control the conditions of our existence on this earth. We have been trying to remold the earth so that it is completely adapted to serve our purposes, until everything becomes subject to our will, a “resource” that we can use. Ironically, though, this hasn’t been providing the sense of security and meaning that we seek. We have become more anxious, not less. That’s because technology can be a great means, but in itself it’s a poor goal.
Sooner or later, one way or another, we will bump up against the limits of this compulsive but doomed project of endless growth. Since our increasing reliance on technology as the solution to life’s problems is itself a large part of the problem, the ecological crisis does not call for a primarily technological response. Dependence on sophisticated, ever more powerful technologies tends to aggravate our sense of separation from the natural world, whereas any successful solution must involve accepting that we are part of the natural world. That, of course, also means embracing our responsibility for the well-being of the biosphere, because its well-being ultimately cannot be distinguished from our own well-being.
The solution does not lie in “returning to nature.” We cannot return to nature, because we have never left it. That way of describing the natural world is dualistic; it dichotomizes between us and where we are located. The environment is not merely the place where we live and act, for the biosphere is the ground from which and within which we arise. The earth is not only our home, it is our mother. In fact, our relationship is even more intimate, because we can never cut the umbilical cord. The air in my lungs, like the water and food that pass through my mouth, is part of a great system that does not stop with me but continually circulates through me. My life is a dissipative process that depends upon and contributes to that never-ending circulation. Eventually I too will be food for worms.
Any genuine solution to the ecological crisis must involve something more than technological improvements. If the root of the problem is spiritual, the solution must also have a spiritual dimension. And again, this does not mean a return to premodern religious conviction, which is impossible for us today. Buddhism shows another way, which de-emphasizes the role of dogma and ritual. The Buddhist approach is quite pragmatic. The goal of the Buddhist path is wisdom in service of personal and social transformation. When we meditate, for example, we are not transforming ourselves. We are being transformed. Quiet, focused concentration enables something else to work in us and through us, something other than one’s usual ego-self. This opens us up and liberates a deeper grounding within ourselves. Our lack of self is what enables this process; it frees us from the compulsion to secure ourselves within the world. We do not need to become more real by becoming wealthy, or famous, or powerful, or beautiful. We are able to realize our nonduality with the world because we are freed from such fixations.
Although living beings are numberless, the bodhisattva vows to save them all. He or she assumes the grandest possible role, on a path that can never come to an end. Although such a commitment is not compulsory, it follows naturally from realizing that none of those beings is separate from oneself. We discover the meaning we seek in the ongoing, long-term task of repairing the rupture between us and Mother Earth, our natural ground. That healing will transform us as much as the biosphere.


Hyperplasia is a fancy way of saying abnormal increase in cell numbers or cell numbers “gone wild” leading to a size increase of the affected tissue or organ; it can also be used as another term for benign growth, or tumor. Hyperplasia can be induced by many things, including chronic inflammation, hormone dysfunction, and irritants of many sorts. In humans some examples of hyperplasia are calluses (from abrasion), lipomas (fatty tumors), endometrial hyperplasia, and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Hyperplasia in fish is the fish’s response to ward off or block something that irritates its tissues, whether externally or internally, or to quickly heal an injured or irritated site. Localized hyperplasia can encapsulate holdfasts of parasites, and whole parasites such as ICH. If the irritant is in the water, more sensitive tissue like gill epithelium is usually affected first and worst. If hyperplasia is observed externally on the fish, then one might expect the gills to be in fairly bad shape with hyperplasia; such fish should not be bought, as they may not live long due to oxygen starvation.
If the irritant, or toxin, is not strong enough to kill the fish, then hyperplasia may be induced. Hyperplasia can be accompanied by increased mucus production induced by the irritant; this additional mucus may also reduce oxygen uptake.
If one does a Google image search for hyperplasia in fish, you will get about 16 examples, mostly about gill hyperplasia. One can also do a Google web search for hyperplasia in fish to find additional information.
How to distinguish hyperplasia from lymphocystis:
Hyperplasia (increase in cell number) can be confused for lymphocystis (increase in cell size), and various bacterial or fungal infections. Lymphocystis usually appears whitish in color, and distinct clusters of enlarged cells can be easily seen which have a visibly enlarged blood supply system supporting the rapidly expanding lymphocystis cells. Sometimes lymphocystis infected areas appear to have reddish-colored areas, which are from the enlarged blood system. The descriptive term for lymphocystis is hypertrophy, or increase in individual cell size.
Hyperplasia is usually the same color as the surrounding cells as it is an extension or new growth (just new cells growing outward) of those cells, and there is no noticed cell enlargement. If the hyperplasia arises from unpigmented cell tissue, then that hyperplastic growth will be white, or non-pigmented. In cases where lymphocystis and hyperplasia are found on the same fish, hyperplastic tissue (if occurring later) can grow over the already established lymphocystis tissue, then giving the same external color to the lymphocystis area as the tissue from which the hyperplasia originated, and thus giving an abnormal false color appearance to the original lymphocystis infection.
Causes of hyperplasia : Lawler’s irritant list
1. Chemical irritant
- A. Irritant related to fish handling
Hyperplasia can be initiated by many chemical compounds, but in fish is mostly initiated by an irritant used in some way in the capture, transport, disease treatment or prevention, and handling of the fish either by the fish aquarium trade processors, or by the final pet owner. This irritant is introduced to the water to affect the fish, one of its diseases, or other organisms in the water. The irritant could be too much chlorine, algaecide, fungicide, parasiticide, relaxant, antibiotic, etc, etc.
The irritant could also be present as the result of improper tank maintenance (ammonia) or the introduction of tainted water containing too much chlorine, ammonia, acid, base, etc.
- B. Irritant accidentally introduced to tank
- a. Added to tank for decoration or aquascaping, or another reason
Wood that has not been leached long enough releasing acids, or various plastic ornaments leaching plastizers, or anything else introduced to the tank that can release irritants, can initiate hyperplasia. I, Lawler, had one case where foam (which had been treated with a fire retardant according to law) “borrowed” from a shipyard vessel was used in a tank filtration system, severely affecting the tank occupants.
- b. Used outside tank but then contaminating tank
Many chemicals used outside the tank can enter the tank either by settling on the water, or by being taken up by the air system and injected directly into the tank. Some examples are hair sprays, spray air fresheners, spray paints, various spray lubricants, spray medications, spray cleaners, and anything else toxic put into the air.
- a. Added to tank for decoration or aquascaping, or another reason
The presence of large numbers of parasites (for example, Gyrodactylus or Trichodina or ICH, Lawler) attaching to and eating on and thus irritating skin and fins can lead to localized hyperplasia around the sites of attachment or feeding. Some parasites, by their attachment and feeding, can thus induce the host to produce more food (hyperplastic tissue) for them.
3. Fighting, nipping among tank mates.
Nipping, and fighting among fish can lead to hyperplasia at the sites of injury.
4. Physical irritation caused by substrate or tank objects or suspended matter in water.
In the case of fish that swim or fed or hide at the bottom of the tank, a rough substrate can stimulate hyperplasia from the constant irritation of rubbing against a rough surface (Lawler: similar to calluses of humans). An example would be the growths that occur around the mouth, and on the fins and tail of corydora catfish and various other bottom-frequenting fishes.
Suspended material in the water can cause irritation to the gills and skin of fishes, and initiate hyperplasia.
Hyperplasia can be a big problem in the aquarium trade. Fish affected may not get enough oxygen or be disfigured enough to prevent sale. Also note that severe gill hyperplasia can decrease gill function by fusion and enclosing gill lamellae and greatly reducing the respiratory surface area available for oxygen uptake. Such hyperplasia can severely stress the fish, or can even lead to death from lack of oxygen. When the body size and oxygen demand increase with growing fish, and then outweigh the capacity of the affected gills to take up sufficient oxygen, the fish’s tissues and organs become highly stressed from lack of oxygen, leading to death.
Source of irritant
If your fish had hyperplasia when you got it (them), then the irritant was somewhere in its (their) previous waters from initial collection or rearing to retail sale. If this occurred after you got the fish, then the cause occurred in your tank, and you need to find the source.
If the hyperplasia is on the fins and tail, one could assume the irritation is either from an irritation strong enough to affect the tougher (than gill tissue) skin and fins, or from irritation from the tank substrate, or (3) possibly from some fairly minor water irritant that is not manifested until a fin or tail injury occurs.
If the hyperplasia is on the body, suspect a fairly strong water-borne irritant.
If the hyperplasia is on the gills, suspect a water-borne irritant, either chemical or particulate.
Cure and prevention
Hyperplasia, just being excessive cell number growth, will not be “cured” by antibiotics or other treatments. In fact, the application of such medications may have caused the hyperplasia to begin with, or even stimulated more such growth. The use of strong irritants to collect the fish initially (as chlorox, compounds of cyanide, ammonia, etc., A. Lawler), the use of too much medication or relaxants before, during, or after shipment, and the overuse of medications after arriving in a home aquarium can all lead to hyperplasia. A fish that is rapidly breathing in a pet store may already have gill hyperplasia and should not be bought. If there are any unexplained growths on the fins or tail, do not get the fish.
Lawler: You cannot control what went on before the fish got to you, but you can try to prevent further problems. Do not overuse fish medications, or use any irritants or sprays anywhere near your tank or air intake. Have compatible tank occupants, and carefully treat for external parasites. Check roughness of tank substrate, and other objects in tank. Verify tank decorations are not leaching toxins, and your water source is not contaminated.


In the 1960's Dr. Boal Augusto developed a process whereby audience members could stop a performance and suggest different actions for the actors, who would then act on the audience suggestions. Audience members became empowered not only to imagine change, but to generate social action. In 1971, after the publication of his first book, The Theatre of the Oppressed, Boal was arrested, tortured, exiled to Argentina and self exiled to Europe. He continued to teach his revolutionary approach to theatre, establishing several Centers for the Theatre of the Oppressed. In 1981 Boal organized the first International Festival of the Theatre of the Oppressed in Paris. In 1992 Boal ran and successfully won the position of Vereador of Rio, and developed a forum type of theatre, the Legislative Theatre, to identify key problems in the city. Using this forum concept, he employed dynamics of the theatre to discuss what kinds of legislation needed to be enacted to address community problems. The resulting discussions and demonstrations became the basis for actual legislation put forward by Boal in the Chamber of Vereadors. In 1997, Boal was awarded the Career Achievement Award by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education during their national conference.
Last Updated: 9/3/09


Primary School Years
There are approximately 1.7 million children in the 5-14 age group, representing around one quarter of the population.
Children of this generation in Tajikistan will be less educated then their parents. Practically universal during the Soviet era, net primary school attendance (relative to enrolments) has fallen to around 80 per cent since then.
Girls who are dropping out account for the biggest share in this decline. Though official statistics do not show the fact, the drop-out rate among girls, especially in the higher grades, has been increasing. Public awareness of the advantages of girls education is still very low, especially in rural and remote areas. Religious and community leaders are not being adequately utilized in efforts to advocate for the completion of compulsory basic education among all girls and boys.
Instead of attending school, many children are carrying out chores at home. More than 5,000 children are working on the streets, in the markets, or at transit centres. Eighteen per cent of young people are involved in child labour of one sort or another to supplement the meagre incomes of their families or, lacking families, to support themselves.
Children with disabilities have generally been excluded from the regular education system. There are currently no provisions for inclusive education. Children with disabilities are often placed in poorly funded institutions, where the care, family support and education are inadequate.
Much of the educational infrastructure not directly damaged during the civil war is not being properly maintained. Many schools, especially those in rural areas, are without sanitary facilities. Schools that do have sanitary facilities usually have only simple pit latrines, which are unhygienic and spread disease. Many schools (and the surrounding communities) do not possess safe sources of water.
The production of electricity is too low to meet demand, and rationing has been introduced outside the main cities; thus, many schools do not have proper heating in winter. Some schools have coal heating systems, but the Government does not support such systems in the education budget. These schools must usually seek other sources of funding to pay for heat.
There is a serious shortage of teaching materials and learning aids, particularly in local languages. (Available books are predominantly in Russian.) Teacher salaries are low, and many qualified teachers have migrated to Russia seeking higher wages and better teaching conditions. Those teachers who remain have little training and complain of low job satisfaction.
Schools are unable to offer extracurricular recreation opportunities and programmes to provide safe spaces for girls and boys to play and study. Children are deprived of assistance with homework, education in proper nutrition, health and hygiene education, life-skills education and job skills training through after-school activities that would help them reach their full potential. The positive role of sports in promoting family and community participation, healthy lifestyles and gender equity among children is not generally appreciated by schools or by parents.


This market-leading book for the Fundamentals of Music course addresses students' differing abilities. Internationally renowned composer William Duckworth covers the fundamentals in 14 concise main chapters that are supplemented by 11 enrichment appendices. These offer extended coverage for teachers or students who desire additional instruction. With a practical focus on developing skills, Duckworth presents many clear examples that show students the basics. Because students can best learn the fundamentals by using them, written and aural exercises give students the opportunity to creatively apply their knowledge in realistic music situations.


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In film, a match cut is a cut from one shot to another where the composition of the two shots are matched by the action or subject and subject matter. For example, in a duel a shot can go from a long shot on both contestants via a cut to a medium closeup shot of one of the duellists. The cut matches the two shots and is consistent with the logic of the action. This is a standard practice in film-making, to produce a seamless reality-effect.
Match cuts form the basis for continuity editing, such as the ubiquitous use of match on action. Continuity editing smooths over the inherent discontinuity of shot changes to establish a logical coherence between shots. Even within continuity editing, though, the match cut is a contrast both with cross-cutting between actions in two different locations that are occurring simultaneously, and with parallel editing, which draws parallels or contrasts between two different time-space locations.
A graphic match (as opposed to a graphic contrast or collision) occurs when the shapes, colors and/or overall movement of two shots match in composition, either within a scene or, especially, across a transition between two scenes. Indeed, rather than the seamless cuts of continuity editing within a scene, the term "graphic match" usually denotes a more conspicuous transition between (or comparison of) two shots via pictorial elements. A match cut often involves a graphic match, a smooth transition between scenes and an element of metaphorical (or at least meaningful) comparison between elements in both shots.
A match cut contrasts with the conspicuous and abrupt discontinuity of a jump cut.
Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey contains a famous example of a match cut. After an ape discovers the use of bones as a tool and a weapon, he throws one triumphantly into the air. As the bone spins in the air, there is a match cut to a much more advanced tool: an orbiting satellite. The match cut helps draw a connection between the two objects as exemplars of primitive and advanced tools respectively, and serves as a neat summary of humanity's technological advancement up to that point. The satellite is unidentified in the film, but the novel makes it clear that it is an orbital weapon platform, thus linking with the use of the bone as a weapon.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's A Canterbury Tale (1944) is a predecessor for the 2001: A Space Odyssey match cut in which a fourteenth-century falcon cuts to a World War II aeroplane. The sense of time passing but nothing changing is emphasised by having the same actor, in different costumes, looking at both the falcon and the aeroplane.
An early Hollywood example of the technique is the dream sequence in Buster Keaton's 1924 fourth feature film, Sherlock Jr.. The scene contains a number of match cuts as the protagonist's surroundings change sharply around him several times: at one point he dives off a rock into the sea but lands in a pile of snow on a hillside.
Another early example is Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941), which opens with a series of match dissolves that keeps the titular character's lit window in the same part of the frame while the cuts take viewers around his dilapidated Xanadu estate, before a final match dissolve takes viewers from the outside to the inside where Kane is dying.
Another match cut comes from Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) where an edit cuts together Lawrence blowing out a lit match with the desert sun rising from the horizon. Director David Lean credits inspiration for the edit to the experimental French New Wave. The edit was later praised by Steven Spielberg as inspiration for his own work.
One earlier use of the match cut is shown in Satyajit Ray's film, The World Of Apu (1959). The cut starts from a movie screen, which the couple Apu and Aparna are watching, to the windowpane of the carriage they are returning home in. This technique allows for a rather sound montage, moving from a boy burning in fire in the movie they are watching, to the fire dissolving, and finally, to a rectangular faded glass pane as the camera rolls back and reveals the entire carriage.
A match cut occurs at the end of Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest. As Cary Grant pulls Eva Marie Saint up from Mount Rushmore, the cut then goes to him pulling her up to his bunk on the train. The match cut here skips over the courting, the marriage proposal, and the actual marriage of the two characters who had for much of the film been adversaries. Another Hitchcock film to employ the use of a match cut is Psycho. Just after Marion Crane is murdered in the "shower scene", the camera shows blood flowing down the drain of the tub, then cuts (dissolves) to a shot of Marion's eye.
German director Fritz Lang provided early uses of match cuts in his silent and first sound films. In Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, he shows a circular casino from above and cuts to a circle of hands at a seance happening the same night involving Mabuse and others. This smoothly changes into the simultaneous scene and links the two activities as "decadent" pastimes of the rich in pursuit of excitement and celebrity. Lang reused the technique in M while cross cutting between the meetings of Schränker's criminal union and Inspector Karl Lohmann's homicide investigation squad. Schränker and Lohmann are matched in movement and in dialogue (which is carried over the cut to form a coherent phrase) to illustrate their unlikely connection in a shared goal, to capture a serial child killer.
The "Morning in America" campaign commercial for US President Ronald Reagan's successful 1984 re-election bid also uses this technique. Early in the ad there are match cuts between a taxi cab, a tractor, and a bike, all facing the camera with the headlights on. Later there is a match cut between two men, both hoisting the American flag.
For his 1986 fantasy film Highlander, director Russell Mulcahy employs multiple match cuts to indicate movements backwards in time and forwards again to the present day, telling the story of an immortal who relives episodes from his past in the ancient Highlands of Scotland (and later across Europe), as he faces his final challenge in modern New York City. Examples include a World Wrestling Federation match cutting back to the bloody clan battles of his youth, a fish tank cutting back to an experience in a boat on a loch, and an emotional face in the past dissolving into a giant NYC advertising hoarding showing the impassive Mona Lisa. In the case of this film, the match cut is integral to the storytelling, as a potentially confusing back-and-forth narrative is thus held together; with the denouement's final cut to Scotland cleverly revealed to be not a jump in time, as previously, through the inclusion of a modern fighter jet in flight over the Highlands.
In the 1986 film Aliens there is a match cut between a close-up of Ripley's sleeping face and a distant shot of planet Earth.
Yet another example of a match cut can be found in the final episode of the first season of David Lynch and Mark Frost's television show Twin Peaks. In the opening moments as Dr. Jacoby is struck down by a masked assailant and rolls over onto his back, the camera zooms in onto his eye which slowly fades away to a roulette wheel in One Eyed Jack's casino. This transition is a key moment in the episode as it connects two very different story lines together through a strategic cut.
The Simpsons make major usage of the match cut, providing seamless transitions between scenes. Notable examples include the cut from young Homer to current-day Homer in "Bart Star", the transition from Marge to the character in her novel, in "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife", and hundreds more. The usage of the match cut has ultimately become a major recurring trait of the series.
Tarsem Singh's The Fall features a match cut where the costume, hairstyle, and facial expression of a character was matched nearly perfectly to the background of the next scene, without the use of digital enhancement, as well as other examples.
- Hayward, Susan (2013). Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. Routletge. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-203-12994-4.
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- Agel, Jérôme, ed. (1970). The Making of Kubrick's 2001. Signet Film Series Volume 4205. New York: Signet. p. 196 and caption in photographs section. ISBN 9780451071392. OCLC 109475.
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How A Morning Is Made Good. (1974)
Availability of videosources
AnnotationThe film is about pre-school and school children, it answers many questions, which may be asked by children.
Temporary descriptionChildren are sleeping at night in the bedroom of the kindergarten. Text narration provides information for children, what work is carried out in the night city, while the kids are asleep. The technological process of production of bread in the shop of one of the bakeries. Production processes in the shops of one of the printers. Finished printed products. Repair of tramways at night. Washing urban transport: buses, trolley buses. Children ride the carousel. Awakened the children in the kindergarten room in the morning.
Bedroom in kindergarten: children playing - different.
The teacher draws the curtains - LS.
Children lie in bed - LS.
Children sleeping in their beds - MS., CU.
The clock on the wall of the room - MS.
Toys in a shop window - MS.
Night Moscow - LS.; Traffic - LS. (Night).
The building with the lighted windows - MS.
The process of making bread at one of Moscow's Bakery: knead the dough is poured from the vat - MS., CU.
Dough - CU.
Dough on a conveyor belt - MS., LS.
Burke machines work, forming and feed dough into the oven - MS., LS.
Women at work - MS.
Bagels, chips, dried - MS., LS.
The painting on the wall - MS.; Departure on the table - MS.
Animation: stop frame - on the table there are rolls, drying, baguettes, bagels, children sitting at the table eating bread - MS., LS.
Bedroom in kindergarten: is the teacher, corrects blankets - LS.
Typography, where magazine "Murzilka" (magazine on the envelope) - MS.
Typist selects letters - MS. PNRM.
Animation: there are letters - MS.
Operate printing machines - LS., MS., PNRM.
Counter work - MS.
Compositor scans the printed paper - MS.
The magazines out of the car, an employee puts them in a stack - MS., PNRM.
Children read the magazine "Murzilka», PNRM. to children sitting in the grass.
Children ride on the tram - LS.
Streets of Moscow, workers renovating the rails - MS.
Welding of rails - MS., CU.
Rides last trolleybus - MS. (Night).
Wash item: wash tram - LS., MS.
Works automatically brushes - MS.
Children on rides in Gorky Park.
Bitter - MS., LS. (With motion).
Rooster figurine on a building - MS.
Morning Moscow - LS.
The Moscow River floats waterbus - LS.
The pond in the Moscow Zoo - MS., PNRM.
Reflection of trees in water - MS., PNRM.
The zoo polar bear wakes up - MS.
Children look out the window - MS., PNRM., LS.
Smiling faces of children - MS., CU.


Food Characteristics Changed by Nanomaterials
Nanoparticles are being used to deliver vitamins or other nutrients in food and beverages without affecting their taste or appearance. These nanoparticles encapsulate the nutrients and carry them through the stomach into the bloodstream.
In some cases, this delivery method also allows a higher percentage of the nutrients to be absorbed by your body. When encapsulated by the nanoparticles, some nutrients that would otherwise be lost in your stomach are instead absorbed.
Researchers are also looking into developing nanocapsules containing nutrients that are released when nanosensors detect a deficiency in your body. Basically this research could result in a super-vitamin storage system in your body that gives you just what you need, when you need it.
Scientists are also developing nanomaterials that could change the taste, color, and texture of foods you eat. So-called interactive foods are being developed that would allow you to choose the flavor and color of your food. Want lemon-lime soda instead of root beer? Just program your beverage!
The idea is that nanocapsules that contain flavor or color enhancers sit in the food waiting until a hungry or thirsty consumer triggers them. The method hasn’t been published, so it will be interesting to see how this particular trick is accomplished.
Britain’s Daily Mail Online described one such experiment that uses nanoparticles, comparing it to a stick of gum in the Willy Wonka story that produced the flavors of a full roast beef dinner. Apparently the Institute of Food Research (IFR) has stated that current technology could help us program and release certain flavors. Each flavor in the meal is separated by a gelatin layer that has no flavor at all.
Researchers at Harvard are working on nanostructures they call colliodosomes that can capture the flavor of various ingredients. These flavors would be released based on enzymes in saliva or the time spent chewing the gum or other substance.
Unfortunately, at this point, such a product would only give you a taste, but not make you feel full nor provide any nutritional value. (But on the plus side, the product would have no calories!)
Finally, various reports have said that researches are developing nanoparticle emulsions for use in ice cream to improve its texture and uniformity.
The estimates of how many food products or packaging materials have nano components vary widely, to some degree because of differing definitions of nanotechnology. As a result of this and regulatory uncertainty, food companies generally are stating that nano components have not been added to their product.


As food raw and auxiliary materials, powder oil is playing an important role in food manufacturing industry with its incomparable advantages. In some food we usually enjoy, powder oil is often contained. However, there are some differences between powder oil and vegetable fat powder, so we need to treat the relationship between powder oil and vegetable fat powder dialectically.
Powdered oils and fats are made from edible oils, starch hydrolysates and casein, which are mainly used in the manufacturing process of milk powder, that is, oil products made up of emulsification, sterilization and spray drying. Of course, powder oil can also be produced by freeze-drying, microencapsulation and other processes.
Powder oil is sometimes called “powdered shortening”, but in fact, its manufacturing process and equipment are completely different from the traditional shortening. The fat content of various powder oil products varies greatly, ranging from less than 20% to 75%.
The oils used in powdered oils are not necessarily from plants or hydrogenated oils. Almost all edible animal, vegetable oils and edible hydrogenated oils can be processed into powdered oil products, such as powdered lard and powdered tallow products on the market, as well as medical powdered fish oil rich in omega-3 fatty acids, etc.
There is a lot of relationship between powdered oil and vegetable fat powder. The media and consumers often call powdered grease as vegetable fat powder. In fact, there are some differences between them. Plant fat is defined as refined powder oil, maltose syrup, glucose syrup, maltodextrin as the main raw material, casein and other appropriate excipients are mixed, emulsified, bactericidal, homogenized, spray dried and made of powder for food ingredients.
According to the definition of the relationship between powdered oil and vegetable fat powder, it can be seen that vegetable fat powder is in fact a large category of powder oil products, that is, the oil used is limited to edible vegetable oil (including edible hydrogenated vegetable oil). Generally speaking, vegetable fat powder is “Powdered vegetable oil”. The powdered lard, powdered butter, powdered fish oil and other powdered oil products are obviously not suitable to be called vegetable fat powder.
I believe that you have understood the relationship between powdered oil and vegetable fat powder, and many wholesalers of milk tea raw materials are also ready to move. Choosing a responsible producer of milk tea raw materials is a very wise choice. Boduo International’s Boduo brand has a very rich raw material of vegetable fat powder, which is of high quality and low price. Welcome to consult and cooperate with us!


Colorful dyes in powder form.
- Dye is defined as tint or coloring agent used to change the color of something.
- An example of dye is henna.
- An example of dye is what you'd use to turn a white shirt purple.
- The definition of dye is to turn something a different color.
An example of dye is using hair tint to change your hair color.
- color produced in a substance by saturating it with a coloring agent; tint; hue
- any substance used to give color to fabric, hair, etc.; coloring matter or a solution containing it
Origin of dyeMiddle English deie ; from Old English deag, akin to Old High German tougal, dark, secret ; from Indo-European an unverified form dhwek-, dark color, secret ; from base an unverified form dheu-: see dull
Origin of dyeME deien < OE deagian
of (the) deepest dye
- A substance used to color materials. Also called dyestuff.
- A color imparted by dyeing.
verbdyed, dye·ing, dyes
Origin of dyeMiddle English deie, from Old English d&emacron;ag, d&emacron;ah.
(countable and uncountable, plural dyes)
(third-person singular simple present dyes, present participle dyeing, simple past and past participle dyed)
- to colour with dye
From Middle English deie, from Old English dēag (“color, hue, dye”), from Proto-Germanic *daugō (“colour, shade”), from *dauganą, *dug- (“to conceal, be dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dheuk-, *dhouk- (“to be hidden”), from Proto-Indo-European *dhūw- (“to smoke, raise dust, camouflage”). Cognate with Old High German tougan (“dark, secretive”), tougal (“dark, hidden, covert”), Old English dēagol, dīegle (“dark, hidden, secret”), Old English dohs, dox (“dusky, dark”). See dusk.
- Alternative spelling of die.


By Tony D’Altorio
Here’s a riddle for you: How do you fit 37 gallons of water into a single cup?
Answer: Just fill it with coffee. After all, the original beans need water to grow too, just like they need water to convert into a usable form.
Other common food items need even more fresh water to produce…
Take the almighty hamburger, which calls for 634 gallons in all. That includes the amount needed to grow the wheat that the cattle ultimately feed on.
Everyone recognizes water as an important part of the food chain. But people tend to overlook exactly how much they rely on it.
They tend to forget that they can only consume a small portion of the world’s water. And that amount is under increasing stress… even here in the United States.
Is There Enough Water For Everyone?
Studies show that the amount of water people around the world use varies a great deal…
- In the United States, one survey put each person’s annual “footprint” at about 2,500 cubic meters.
- China averages only about 700 a year.
- Globally, the norm stands at 1,240.
So it’s no wonder that about a third of the U.S. looks set to suffer water shortages in the next two decades.
Take the Ogallala aquifer in the Great Plains, globally the third largest of its kind. At its current rate of depletion, it will dry up in 20 to 30 years according to estimates.
McKinsey, the International Finance Corporation – an arm of the World Bank – and a number of multinational companies put together a study on the larger issue at stake.
They found that by 2030, global water requirements are likely to rise from 4.5 trillion cubic meters to 6.9… at least 40% more than the current accessible and reliable supply.
Giulio Boccaletti, associate principal at McKinsey, has an explanation for those findings. “Population growth, urbanization [and] economic growth, especially where it leads to increased meat consumption, are all drivers of demand.”
The Issue of Agriculture’s Global Water Usage
Agriculture accounts for about 70% of all global water usage. It makes sense then that the world should focus there to address the issue.
Unlike industrially and domestically, agricultural water usage isn’t easy to regulate. Yet finding ways to utilize every drop is becoming extremely important.
One way to tackle the problem is by using more efficient methods, like drip irrigation systems. They dole out the right amount of water to crops, allowing farmers to target where they need it rather than spraying everything.
That way, they use only about half the water of the older “broadcast” irrigation systems. And they can also cut the quantity of chemical fertilizers and pesticides substantially too.
Some studies show converting to the newer systems can increase crop yields up to 150%.
Unfortunately for U.S. investors, few American firms focus on water efficiency and irrigation. Some of the best water investments are overseas, like India’s Jain Irrigation Systems.
But a few local players do exist, they’re just tucked inside larger firms…
- That includes Deere (NYSE: DE), with all the farm equipment it sells. The company also happens to be the world’s third-largest irrigation company through its water technologies division. It claims it has the industry’s leading drip and micro-drip irrigation products.
- Then there’s Toro (NYSE: TTC), with over 30 years experience in the business. It has a profitable micro irrigation unit and deals in large-scale irrigation markets too. In fact, it provided the systems used for the Beijing Olympics.
- However, Lindsay (NYSE: LNN) represents the purest irrigation play for U.S. investors. It manufactures center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems, which make up about 80% of its revenues. These GPS and computer-guided systems are ideal for large-scale and developed market farms in the U.S. Lindsay does not, however, provide much in the way of micro-drip versions, which developing countries rely more on.
One way or the other, it’s doubtful the world will find better ways to manage water. And it needs to do something to feed its rapidly growing population… forecast to hit over 9 billion by 2050.
But that’s what makes the aforementioned companies such outstanding long-term investments.
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MONTEVERDE, Puntarenas – Climate change is one of the most troubling problems of the decade. It already has caused significant consequences across the globe, and Costa Rica is no exception.
The cloud forest of Monteverde, in north-central Costa Rica, is one of the greenest tourist destinations in the country, and it has witnessed the consequences of climate change. Since the 1970s, the Tropical Scientific Center, or TSC, has been tasked with recording these consequences in different areas of the country, especially in Monteverde.
At its highest elevation, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve is classified as a cloud forest, and at its lower elevation, it is a tropical rain forest. In the ’80s, its variety of birds attracted the attention of many scientists who settled in the area to study birdlife, particularly the resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) and three-wattled bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus), which arrive in Monteverde to breed. In addition to birds, the golden toad (Incilius periglenes), a species endemic to this area, drew many wildlife explorers. In fact, the reserve was created to protect species like this toad, which was seen for the last time in 1989, although in 1988 approximately 1,000 of them were spotted.
Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve co-founder George Powell and his wife started a global campaign with the TSC and the local Quaker community to collect funds in order to buy land and turn it into a reserve. It now spans approximately 4,025 hectares. Two other private reserves, the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, and Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, bring the total area of protected land in Monteverde to 26,000 hectares.
The Monteverde reserves are an important location not only for Costa Rica and Central America, but also for the entire world. It is one of the most biodiverse areas in the country. According to Mercedes Díaz, manager of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve’s Environmental Education Program, “In Costa Rica, of 852 bird species, [Monteverde] has 468, which is more than 50 percent. The same is true with orchids: In Costa Rica, 1,500 species are found, and according to orchids specialist Gabriel Barboza, 503 species are in this small area, which is approximately 34 percent.”
But climate change has affected Monteverde’s biodiversity over the years. Today, high temperatures sometimes make it hard to believe it’s actually a cloud forest.
“Some years ago, when I first came, we had to wear gloves, boots and hoods because the temperature was approximately 14 degrees [Celsius],” Díaz told The Tico Times. “It rained a lot, and there were strong winds, too. Visibility was approximately 5 percent. But the climate has changed significantly. Now, people don’t even wear sweaters. To us, one degree higher or lower isn’t much, but to the species that are already adapted, one degree can mean death.”
Longer dry periods
One of the scientists who has studied these major changes in Monteverde is Dr. Alan Pounds, a U.S.-born, naturalized Costa Rican who has lived and worked in the country for over 30 years.
According to Pounds, “There have been changes in the temperature and rainfall. There has been a decrease in the amount of drizzle and fog that comes with the trade winds of the Caribbean, which are really important, especially during the dry season. We have perceived a change in the variability of rainfall; it’s not that it rains less, but rather it is more variable, causing longer dry periods that didn’t exist before. In the long term, there are more days without rainfall.”
The mountains are home to several endemic species, meaning they are unique to the area. For some, climate change is disrupting the ability to thrive and survive. In Monteverde, amphibians have been the most affected, according to Díaz. “Almost 50 percent of amphibians have disappeared in Monteverde [since the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve was created], because of the decrease in the rainfall,” Díaz said.
“In addition to the decrease in amphibian population, such as the golden toad and the harlequin frog, we have witnessed a decrease of lizards, and the distribution and abundance of birds,” she added.
Pounds said quetzal populations are declining, too. “The main effect on birds is that low-zone species are extending their range upward in elevation to the cloud forest,” he said. Bats are doing the same, which means “there are species that shouldn’t be here. This affects resident species because of competition and predation, in some cases. There’s danger of losing endemic species.”
Measuring the consequences
The effects of climate change on species vary from one group to another. In the case of amphibians, climate change directly influences disease, particularly Chytridiomycosis, which is caused by a zoosporic fungus.
For orchids, Pounds said, “We are doing experiments by changing the quantity of water for some individual plants to compare their performance with other individuals. … We have found that orchids exposed to dry conditions produced fewer leaves, flowers and fruits, and they are more likely to die.”
He said the rate of change in temperature is approximately half a degree every 25 years, or roughly 2 C per century. Temperature records began shortly after the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve was created, so exact temperature data are still being compiled to conduct useful studies there.
In order to increase awareness about the problem and combat the effects of climate change, the reserve has developed three projects:
1. Inform the public. “We publish many articles about the changes we are experiencing and try to disseminate them so that people will know what is happening, and so that they can become more conscientious,” Pounds said. “There also must be more attempts to reduce greenhouse gases on a large scale, because we must act not only here, but everywhere.”
2. Protect the forest. “It’s pretty important to protect a forest affected by other forms of environmental degradation, [because those] are the most vulnerable to climate change,” Pounds said. “So, it’s important to maintain the integrity of those ecosystems so that they can be more resistant to change. But even so, there will be many changes in the future, and a lot of loss of biodiversity.”
3. Environmental education. The reserve has one of the oldest environmental education programs in the country, with a presence in 12 schools and reaching about 427 students. “We go the schools and talk to them about many environmental topics, such as environmental contamination, water pollution, solid waste management, recycling and endangered species,” Díaz said. “We need to create environmental leaders in future generations.”
That includes identifying future environmental leaders in different age groups and inviting them to a special environmental training camp. “We try to let children know that they can make a change,” she said. “Sometimes they think that because they are young, they can’t do anything to help. But their decisions will have long-term effects.”
In the 1980s, when the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve began the work of preserving biodiversity on the mountain, an abrupt changed was witnessed, particularly after El Niño in 1982-1983. A group of scientists from across the world proved that there was a significant change, a climate transition that affected all oceans and continents, Pounds said.
“It’s important to be aware that climate change is not only a gradual process, it presents seasons with huge changes,” he added. “We have to be aware, because we could, right now, be in one of those transitions. Conditions have been extreme in recent years, and they could get worse.”
Pounds acknowledged that life will become more challenging in coming decades, especially due to the fact that we will lose some species that are important to us. International agreements and commitments, such as those outlined in the recent Climate Change Conference in Paris, are important, he added. “But I think that change is in every one of us. Sometimes, we just wait for governments to resolve everything. It’s important to have these processes and encourage the government and the people to look for more ecological energy sources. But, we have to think about our lifestyle – each of us has a great impact, and by our consumption patterns we have a great power to enact changes.”


Coastal Fortifications of the United States:
A Brief History
By Jim Mathews
During most of this nations history, security against foreign attack was sought largely through defense of its maritime frontiers. The two principal instruments of this security were the Navy and the Sea-coast Fortifications of the Army. The Naval role in coastal defense has elsewhere been well documented, and will only be remarked upon briefly in this column. The Army Fortifications designed for maritime frontiers, harbors, bays and rivers will be dealt primarily in this series.
Early in 1794 the United States, as a new nation undertook its first program of defensive construction for the protection of its seacoast communities against enemy naval attack. This was the first of a series of harbor defense programs that were to continue, virtually without interruption, until shortly after World War II. The large and varied body of coastal fortifications resulting from these one and one half centuries of construction constituted this countrys principal expression of military architecture during most of that period.
These defenses had far more than architectural significance, however, for the fortifications, as well as the history of the legislation that produced them, accurately typified certain basic characteristics of this nations traditional threats from abroad. Not only did they represent the distinctly defensive emphasis of its military and naval policies throughout most of the nineteenth century and much of the twentieth; to a large degree they also symbolized the general attitudes of Americans, public and Congress alike, toward the entire question of national defense.(1).
In the entire history of warfare, few principles have been as enduring or as nearly absolute as the one concerning the superiority of "guns ashore over guns afloat." Accordingly,for several hundred years the permanent emplacement of heavy artillery to defend cities and naval bases on or near the sea was an almost universal practice among maritime nations. for the mere presence of such defenses ordinarily constituted a highly reliable deterrent to naval attack (2).
The European conflict following the French Revolution threatened more than once during the early 1790s to embroil the new United States and led President Washington repeatedly to urge upon Congress the need to provide defenses for its seaports. Finally, on February 28, 1794, a special committee of the House of Representatives submitted a statement of estimates and recommendations as to the kinds of works that should be erected and their locations. On the basis of this report, the first federal authorization was passed within three weeks, on March 20.
The Secretary Of War at once issued instructions concerning the general character of the proposed fortifications, but left the specific plans and their execution to be worked out by the engineer in each locality. Because of the urgency and because funds were limited, construction was in all cases to be simple and inexpensive.
(1)--The existing literature on harbor defense fortifications, is almost all entirely technical. The only contemporary works to give the subject more than passing mention with regard to its place in American defense policy are:
Walter Milis, "Arms and
Men" (New York: G.Putnam and Sons, 1956);
Russell F. Weigley, "Towards An American Army" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962), Chap. 5 and 9.
(2)--The rule was infrequently violated, and very rarely with success. On practically every such occasion throughout history, the naval forces deliberately engaged the fortifications only when at least one of two conditions was met: (a) When the firepower of the attacking fleet was overwhelmingly superior to that of the shore defenses in terms of either the number or caliber of the guns, or (b) when the attacking power had such overall naval superiority that it could afford to risk the loss of ships in order to attack or capture a coastal position of exceptional significance.
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Traditionally, the benefits of steaming include increased energy, decreased incidence of infections, and fewer colds and flus. Many regular steam or sauna bathers have experienced that a good long sweat bath at the early onset of a cold or flu can help ward off the disease before it manifests as actual symptoms.
How does steam work?
The heat from a Steamy Wonder™ treatment raises your core body temperature, inducing an artificial fever. During a fever, the production of white blood cells is increased, as is the rate of their release into the blood stream. White blood cells are the primary agents of the immune system. As the generation of antibodies speeds up, so does the production of interferon, an anti-viral protein. In this manner, your body’s immune system is strengthened as it works to combat the fever.
At the same time, sweating helps eliminate toxins and waste products from the body. After detoxification, your immune system has less “housecleaning” to do and can focus on protecting your body from more serious health threats. produced by sweating, overall health and resistance to diseases is increased.
Mayo Clinic researcher, Dr. Wakim, cites findings that the number of white blood cells increased by an average of 58% during an artificially induced fever.