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In big cities, research on geographical tendencies in crime incidents, along with mapping technology, have helped police departments target their patrols efficiently and cut crime where it happens. In small cities and rural areas, however, crime incidents show a different geographical distribution, so both technology and policing methods must be adapted for greatest impact. In a 2015 pilot project, researchers took a mobile phone-based mapping technology that was informing policing methods in the large city of Lahore, Pakistan and adapted it for use in Sargodha, a semi-urban district in Punjab province. This case examines the kind of human adaptations that technology needs to be scaled across geographical areas and be taken up by users, and it shows how data is informing a major shift in how Pakistan’s police deal with crime.
At dawn on the February 8, 2012 Dr. Ali Cheema was woken by his wife telling him that his newly bought car had been stolen.
Cheema, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS), was shocked that this had taken place in his neighbourhood – the relatively quiet, affluent Defence Housing Authority near the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) where he teaches economics. “I always thought that I was in a really secure area,” he says.
Cheema called his insurance company to file a claim, and was surprised to receive a visit from the company’s senior vice president later that day. “I was a bit perturbed,” he says, “as I am prone to cynicism, so I thought oh-oh, they’re going to try to get out of it. But it turned out his own car had gotten stolen, just ten streets away from me.” The VP told Cheema that six cars insured by the company had been stolen in the area over a period of two weeks. “And they were all Toyota Corollas!” he adds.
Cheema discussed the incident with Zulfiqar Hameed, a long-time acquaintance whom he had instructed in economics at LUMS and was working as Senior Superintendent of Police Investigations, the number-two position in the investigation hierarchy in Lahore police. Hameed confirmed Cheema’s suspicion that certain neighbourhoods were more prone to crime. To that point, police practice did not take that into account. The two agreed that this represented the kind of opportunity they had often discussed, to use data and research evidence to improve police practice.
For decades, researchers and police officials around the world had debated whether crime happened in a random geographic distribution – in which case it made sense for police to patrol widely in police cars – or whether it was concentrated in certain neighbourhoods and on certain street corners, in which case police should focus on such ‘hotspots’. This was an important distinction, because it led to a number of related questions that had relevance for spending and strategy. For example, if police visibility deters crime then governments should invest in creating a broad presence, which is expensive in terms of both man hours and petrol.
To determine spatial distribution of crime in Lahore, Cheema and Hameed had to overcome certain hurdles. Pakistan doesn’t use specific street addresses or postcodes, which makes it difficult to pinpoint locations, and although the Lahore Police Department had a data-entry system in place, it did not geocode information. So the research team began in quite a low-tech manner: they handed out detailed paper maps to precincts and asked officers to mark crime scenes with pushpins.
Soon, they saw pins start to cluster in certain spots. But soon after that, the maps started to fray, the pins to fall out, and departmental attention to stray.
Evidence on random-patrol versus hotspot policing in the U.S.
Researcher and Police Officer: Dr. Ali Cheema (left) and Zulfiqar Hameed (right) at the 2014 BCURE Policy Dialogue on Civil Service Reform, Lahore.
The team enlisted the help of Professor Sohaib Khan, director of the Technology for People Initiative (TPI) at LUMS. TPI collaborated with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to develop the tool that allowed the next stage of the research: an app that allowed for real-time digital record-keeping. When police arrived at a crime scene, they used smartphones to take a picture and punch in the answers to a number of questions. The app then sent the information along with the geo-stamped location to a central server. The TPI/PITB team developed an interface that automatically generated both spatial patterns and time trends from the data.
In March 2014, the team attended a Policy Dialogue event on Civil Service Reform in Pakistan, part of the Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence (BCURE) programme funded by UK Aid from the UK government and implemented by Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) at Harvard Kennedy School in collaboration with the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP). Cheema and Hameed presented crime maps at an afternoon reserved for breakout sessions – small groups that gave members of the research and policy communities an opportunity to sit face-to-face, make connections, field ideas around a central theme.
Distribution of crimes around High Court, Lahore’s highest-crime neighbourhood.
The maps gave compelling visual evidence that crime was concentrated in neighbourhoods and within neighbourhoods around hotspots.
Describing how the Policy Dialogue audience reacted to the mapping tool and its data, Cheema says, “There seemed to be an appetite for it. People were very interested, quite intrigued.” To roll out the tool across all of Lahore would require further piloting, however, especially if it were to lead to the kind of changes that seemed to be in order. The Lahore Police Department had a shortage of officers, so wide testing would have to take place before it made any change in patrolling strategy.
Another question that emerged from the discussion was whether smaller cities and rural areas would show the same kind of crime hotspots as Lahore.
The BCURE initiative also supported a number of pilot projects intended to create ways for policy actors to utilize data and research evidence to improve their decision making. An idea emerged from the Policy Dialogue and subsequent discussions, to pilot the mapping tool in a small city. This would serve the dual purpose of further testing the tool and gathering data on spatial distribution of crime in another environment.
Cheema and his team identified a small city where the police superintendent was eager to have their help to use the tools of data and evidence to improve crime-monitoring. Before long, however, that official was transferred and replaced by one with little interest in the project. His scepticism of the tool and of data in general was evident, and the project ground to a halt. (For thoughts on the dangers – and unexpected benefits – of frequent transfers among evidence-minded policymakers, see the BCURE case on Tax Visualization).
The pilot was at risk of failing, yet an aspect of the BCURE agenda was to exploit existing relationships with governmental ‘evidence champions’. Zulfiqar Hameed was transferred and made Regional Police Officer of Sargodha, a region that included a city of 500,000 inhabitants as well as rural areas. To this point, there had been no attempt to analyse crime across spatial dimensions in Sargodha, and Hameed was keen test the system he had helped develop. Cheema saw this as an opportunity to test the system in a less urbanized setting in collaboration with a proven supporter.
The team had to adjust the tool for the setting. In Pakistan, districts are divided into police stations (the equivalent of precincts in the US), which are divided into several ‘beats,’ each overseen by a police officer. Prior to this research, the police station was the smallest unit at which crimes were recorded. In urban areas of Sargodha – as in Lahore – police beats were geographically small, so they served as a good basic level at which to aggregate data for mapping. In rural Sargodha, however, beats were far larger geographically, often containing several villages, and their borders less defined.
In the course of the BCURE pilot, the team mapped all 27 police stations in Sargodha district, defining boundaries of villages and beats. They entered into the map a year’s worth of crime data that had been recorded but not geocoded. They also trained officers in how to use the tool and developed with Hameed a plan on how to continue building capacity and institutionalize the tool into day-to-day practice. Finally, they produced initial reports on the spatial distribution of crime incidents.
Along the way they encountered some of the resistance that is common when trying to change practice in a department where employees are used to acting based solely on their own – often substantial – knowledge. Police officers knew their own beats, they said, knew where crimes happened, and shouldn’t be asked to change based on a machine-made map. However, Hameed performed an experiment that helped change their minds. He called a meeting with patrol officers and asked them to sit down with a map and mark the areas of highest crime. He then revealed the actual saturation of crime incidents in their beats as recorded by the mapping tool and showed the significant mismatch between their perceptions and fact. This meeting helped thaw resistance to evidence and analysis and led to greater openness to the crime mapping project.
A short-term result of the pilot project was that it changed decision-making regarding patrolling plans in Sargodha police. As the team had hypothesized, crime concentrations were much clearer in urban areas of Sargodha than in rural areas, and Hameed altered patrolling patterns accordingly. Also, the research team and their police partners observed that the mere act of mapping beats naturally created new rigor and accountability: delineating boundaries highlighted the need to re-evaluate the beats’ borders based on crime incidents and population density, while naming who was responsible called for rationalization of staffing decisions.
The project promised long-term benefits, too, in proving that the tool could be a useful permanent part of policing in Sargodha. With the completion of the pilot project, the researchers turned the tool over to the Urban Unit, to support its institutionalization in the Sargodha district with support from TPI and the computer wing of the Sargodha Police. The pilot showed that a built-in algorithm for capturing clusters was not relevant for rural use, so technicians are now writing the code for the app to be used widely and creating a data dashboard for Sargodha. Already Hameed has identified a way to deal with more dispersed crime in the countryside: he has installed tracking devices in police vehicles to allow dispatchers to swiftly send officers to rural crime sites.
The answers he received were that the tool was relevant, and the evidence of hotspots could lead to a change in practice. Eventually, in Lahore the team showed that 7.5 percent of neighbourhoods were the site of more than half of the city’s crimes, and that these hotspots stayed constant over time. Such crime concentrations are not as dramatic as in American cities, but they are high nonetheless.
It is a major step forward that Lahore is considering moving away from random patrolling and toward targeted policing. The choice may seem obvious, however it is one that was never entertained before the crime mapping project. Another policy response on the table is to invest in intelligence-gathering in areas of high crime saturation.
In Sargodha, while hotspots were clearly visible in urban and semi-urban areas, further analysis is needed to determine their degree. The policy response may be different, as options exist in small cities that don’t exist in large ones. Population churn and estrangement from neighbours kept Cheema from knowing about the wave of car thefts in his Lahore neighbourhood, but these factors are far less relevant in Sargodha. A neighbourhood watch programme might be more feasible.
Decisions have yet to be made and their effects measured. Yet there are more options on the table now, and they are being discussed at a deeper and more informed level than ever before. Hameed describes a “huge realization” of the power of data across Punjab police.
"There’s a sense that the old, conventional way of doing things is not really serving anymore, so officers now keep coming up with new ideas and new initiatives that are getting entrenched in the police. Three or four years ago, we thought it would be very difficult, but now it’s almost become a reality that in 760-odd police stations across Punjab, all police stations have at least a couple of computer-trained civilian staff who attend to people coming in, log in their complaints, send them feedback through SMS, and monitor the case through IT. Increasingly, all crime incidents are fed into the new software that was developed. So I don’t think this is going to go away, I think has actually reached a state where it will develop further." |
If people suffer from cold hands and feet in the mountains a common misconception is thinking that thicker gloves and socks are what will keep their hands and feet warm when in the mountains. However, this is not necessarily true. In fact, thicker socks could actually make your feet colder.
Base layers for your extremities.
Sweat is the enemy, particularly for feet which can sweat on steep, fast ascents. I use a very thin sock beneath my thicker pair which makes a huge difference. The thin sock wicks sweat away from my skin meaning that when I reduce exertion levels my feet are dry and therefore stay warm.
Constricting blood flow is bad.
Gloves which are too small, crampon straps cranked on soft boots, laces done up too tight, walking pole straps, a hole in a glove fingertip, thumb loops or socks which are too thick for the boot can all cause restricted blood flow which equals cold hands and feet. Consider all these things and adjust clothing and equipment accordingly.
As warm blood moves from your body’s core through the limbs it gets increasingly closer to the surface of the skin and starts cooling. This particularly occurs around the ankles and wrists where arteries are located close to the skin. Blood won’t be able to warm the extremities as much as it otherwise would if these areas are exposed to the elements or aren’t well insulated.
To ensure that you don’t have unnecessary heat loss there are a few things you can do. For hands make sure wrists are not exposed. Gloves with long cuffs together with jackets and top layers which have big enough cuffs to be able to tuck a thick glove cuff beneath them, as well as good Velcro so that jacket cuffs can be done up nice and snug, are best. If you need to increase insulation for the wrists you can buy purpose made wrist warmers, but if you’re a cheap skate like me you can easily make them out of an old pair of socks by cutting off the toe and making a hole for a generous thumb loop.
For feet, I wear long socks which come up my calves (mid-weight ski socks are good). If your boots don’t come with gaiters, use gaiters as well to both keep calves warm and stop snow going into the top of the boot, melting and causing boots to become wet.
How to wear a watch.
Bulky mountaineering watches can be difficult to tuck beneath gloves and cuffs. If a watch is beneath layers, it is both almost impossible to view the watch or, if it is viewed, exposes wrists to the cold. Instead of wearing a watch on my wrist, I put it on my rucksack strap, meaning that I can easily keep an eye on the time and use the stopwatch and altimeter to aid navigation, and my wrists, and therefore my hands, stay warm.
Is your core warm enough?
If your core temperature is too cool, then your body uses several different processes to keep the all-important core from cooling further. One of these processes results in the body restricting blood flow to the extremities. If this is the case then warmer gloves won’t help much, but another layer on your body will. Warming the core will also help cold feet, but also consider what you’re wearing on your legs. The thighs are big muscles which hold a lot of blood. If you think your cold feet are due to cold thighs, there’s not much you can do on the hill apart from putting on a pair of waterproof trousers which can keep you warmer by reducing wind chill, but once off the hill reassess the layers you were wearing on your legs for next time you get out into the mountains.
The cold and wet climate in the UK means that it is easy to get wet from walking through rain, bog and wet snow. Once boots are wet, feet can quickly become cold. Keep boots well waterproofed by reproofing regularly. Make sure that boots are bone dry at the start of the day. Each evening I remove foot beds and boot tongues (if removable) and use a boot dryer. Finally, I find snow can accumulated behind laces which then melts and wets out the top of the boot. To prevent this happening, I’ve cut a sliver of foam mat and inserted it behind the laces. Works a treat.
We have the same problem with gloves. It is possible to reproof gloves but this is more difficult. I keep any leather gloves as waterproof as possible and guard against the leather cracking by using a leather dubbin on them regularly. However, gloves are subject to a lot of wear and tear so it is quite common for them to wet out during the day. The solution for having dry gloves is having LOTS. In Scotland, I usually carry four pairs; a light leather pair, a power-stretch or windstopper fleece pair and then two thicker pairs. When I’m exerting myself, I use a thinner pair and expect to need to change them. I keep the gloves I’m not wearing dry in a dry bag. When I’m working in Scotland if it’s a ‘one pair of gloves’ day it’s a cause for celebration!
Ask any winter climber when their hands get coldest and they will say it’s when they are climbing. This is because their hands are above their head and the blood flow reduces. This leads to the dreaded hot aches, when warm blood rushes back to the finger tips.
When we have cold hands, a reaction is to tuck them under our armpits to warm them up. However, there are better ways to warm hands up again, it’s all about getting blood flowing efficiently to them. The technique I use it to bring my hands down by my sides, flick my hands out and up, keeping my arms straight and bending at the wrists, then I shrug my shoulders vigorously. Jogging on the spot also helps. If you feel like a penguin when you do this, then you’re doing it right. It is also a problem I’ve noticed using walking poles, due to the hands being raised somewhat. A trick I use is to shorten the poles more than usual so that my hands are a touch lower.
Don’t put your gloves on the ground, ever.
Putting gloves on the ground means that they get cold and damp, fill with snow, and could blow away. If I need to take my gloves off I tuck them down the front of my jacket, there they stay dry and are nice and warm by the time I need to put them back on again.
Change gloves in plenty of time.
If our hands get too cold we lose the ability to use them properly, to unclip rucksack straps, open dry bags and put on an extra layer or dry pair of gloves. Never allow yourself to get close to this stage in the mountains. If you think you need to adjust your clothing to stay warm, then you probably do. Take the time to do this and don’t think ‘it’ll be OK’, it won’t.
Shorten those breaks and keep moving.
Winter isn’t the time for leisurely lunch breaks. Instead, keep breaks short and regular.
Not surprisingly holding a metal tool in your hand leads to cold hands as metal readily conducts heat. Unfortunately, it’s not practical to insulate the head of the axe but, especially useful when climbing, is to insulate the shaft of the axe with plumbers tape (known as self-amalgamizing tape).
Mitts are warmer than gloves.
If you really suffer with cold hands, and don’t need the dexterity of gloves, try using a pair of mitts. They are also great to have as an emergency item as a large pair will fit most people so can be given to anyone.
If you’ve tried all these and still aren’t able to keep your hands and feet warm in the mountains, then it’s time to invest warmer gloves and socks. You could also try hand warmers or even battery powered boot heaters. |
While I enjoy landscape photography, my favorite images to “shoot” are detail-oriented. As I sorted through my own image archives, I tried to figure out why my travel photo files of battlefields are intermixed with pictures of barn rafters, porch flags, stone steps, tiny flowers, historic medicine bottle labels, etc.
I guess it’s because I like to note and remember the details. What type of wildflowers did the artillery shells crash into during the August campaigns? What did a wounded soldier see as he lay looking into the barn rafters? How many buckles on a certain style of cavalry saddle? Sometimes, it’s just random details that are fairly useless. Other times, those little observations or snapped photos provide the authentic life and “color” writing needs.
Here are detail images of historic doorways. Entrances to where history was made. Or doors that were closed to keep observers and history records out.
Looking out a doorway at the Henry House, Manassas Battlefield. Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.
Exterior door handle detail; Stonewall Jackson Shrine. Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.
Close the door. Rest. Dream of rivers and shade trees.
Interior door handle detail; Stonewall Jackson Shrine. Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.
Grasp the handle. Don’t give up – no matter how hard the battle, how crushing the grief.
Exterior door detail at 103 N. Braddock Street, Winchester, Virginia, (McGuire Home during the Civil War era). Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.
A knock at the door. A friend? Or enemy soldiers to search the house?
Exterior door at Fairview House, between Front Royal and Winchester, Virginia. Photography by Sarah Kay Bierle, 2016.
Closed doors – safety or danger? It depends which side you’re standing on.
Open doors – opportunity or vulnerability?
Doors: entrances and exits to the world stage for the famous and unknown figures of history. |
Smart pointer type for a Frame object.
Smart pointer type for a constant Frame object.
Forward iterator for const frames.
get the fixed transform of this frame.
The parent of the frame or NULL if the frame is a DAF.
The dynamically attached parent or NULL if the frame is not a DAF.
Iterator pair for the fixed children of the frame.
Iterator pair for all children of the frame.
Iterator pair for the dynamically attached children of the frame.
FixedFrame is a frame for which the transform relative to the parent is constant.
A fixed frame can for example be used for attaching a camera, say, with a fixed offset relative to the tool.
A frame fixed to its parent with a constant relative transform of transform.
name [in] The name of the frame.
transform [in] The transform with which to attach the frame.
Move the frame such that it is located with a relative transform refTtarget relative to refframe.
refTtarget [in] the transform relative to refframe .
refframe [in] the reference frame.
state [in] the state giving the current poses.
Sets the fixed transform of this frame.
THIS IS NOT THREAD SAFE. If you need thread safety then use MovableFrame instead or make sure multiple threads are not using this frame when changing the transformation. |
In this essay I intend to present a set of reasons why the free-wheeling, outdoors-loving, climbers of our community should embrace that bane of their work-a-day lives, the world of paperwork, spreadsheets and conformance, at least, in as far as demanding that it apply to the fixed infrastructure on which we confer such trust. Sometimes, paperwork is exactly what is needed.
However, don’t panic, I’m not suggesting that we have to stop climbing and start filling out forms, but, I am saying that we need to get used to paying others to do the paperwork for us. In the case of climbing bolts this means we need to get used to paying a premium for an EN 959 / UIAA 123 compliant product.
It seems strange to me that Australian climbers have accepted the enclosure of ropes, harnesses, slings, carabiners, cams and nuts within a regulatory framework imposed by the European Union without so much as a murmur. At no point has anyone suggested that such safety standards are a restriction of their right of free choice, that, really, a length of rope from the local hardware would do just fine. On the other hand, looking over the same period of development of the sport, the imposition of an similar dictate with respect to bolts has been to the larger extent ignored, and, as a consequence, today’s climber can be confronted on the rock with a bewildering array of fixed protection of unknowable provenance and uncertain performance.
Why is this? Is it because there is a difference between what we would do for ourselves versus what we would do for anonymous others – because ropes and gear are exclusively personal property and cliff infrastructure is not? I’d like to think not. I’d like to think that, as a community, we were smarter than that.
Finally, I should state that we in Queensland have been lucky to have had a decade of leadership and guidance through the active community initiative of Safer Cliffs Qld. This initiative has tracked evolving ‘best practice’ and done much to discourage ‘rogue’ bolting within the State. Thus, I see my call for a move to standards compliance as something that builds upon the efforts of Safer Cliffs, not as a criticism of them.
In drawing up a safety standard for say, a climbing rope, the first thing that needs to be done is to define how the rope will be used within the intended application space. We safety engineering geeks like to define formal use-cases within a formal domain. The idea of this is that it allows us to be very clear about what is normal use and what is abuse. Thus, doing things like using the rope to tow your car, or to tie up the dog, are outside the domain, whilst taking whippers when working a sport climb is within the domain.
Within the restrictions of the domain, we then consider what the properties of the rope should be, given that risk to the climber is to be mitigated. For example, given a worst case fall of factor two, the impact force on the climber should be less than the nominal 12kN considered as the upper limit of survivability for the human body. Accordingly, we see prescribed within the standard for dynamic climbing ropes, a drop test, and an associated maximum impact rating of 12kN.
In conforming with a product safety standard, a manufacturer vouches that his product is ‘fit for purpose’ within the restrictions of a particular domain.
It is worth pointing out that the domain reference is critical, and it is absolutely unsafe to take products from one domain to another. For example, a standard applicable to the integrity of an anchor employed in the height-access domain, should not be taken as applicable within the recreational climbing domain and vice versa. Similarly, a nice shiny stainless steel carabiner product from your local ships chandler is not fit for the purpose of a climbing anchor lower-off.
Firstly, I’ll discuss a viewpoint that is perhaps uncharitable, but nonetheless a reality that comes with exposure to the public gaze. So, I’m standing at the base of the cliff at KP and, as far as I am concerned, minding my own business, when I am confronted by a self-important fellow who wants to share with me the insight that climbers, and by inference, myself, are few pence short of the pound. “What makes you think those fixtures in the cliff will hold your weight? What makes you think that rope is strong enough?” And so on. “Ah…. ok…. time to unwrap the krytonite”, thinks I. So I point to the figures on the spine of a biner…”Oh look it has a CE mark. Oh look 23kN, strong enough to lift your car into the air”. The corporeal dimming is evident as we move on to study the dyneema sling at my waist…”Oh look, another of those CE marks. Oh look 23kN again, that’s another car off the ground”. By this stage my antagonist has diminished to a mere wraith, so I finally hit out with, “And those fixtures on the cliff are EN 959 compliant you know, strong enough to hang your car on” to conclude the vaporization process.
When, as climbers, we are confronted in the manner above, either by members of the public or by officialdom, we often find a cultural divide that is hard to bridge with words alone. However, citing a standard legitimizes our activity, and suddenly everyone is happy. I know this is bizarre, but it is something I have seen work time and again. When the lycra-clad super-hero, defender of the common decency, arrives to challenge your behaviour, it is good to have kryptonite to hand.
Whilst it is personally satisfying to tranquilize the officious, it is better from a public policy point of view to understand the arguments that can be made regarding the recreational values of the public estate. In this regard, we can say that bolting a bunch of sport climbs at an otherwise unfrequented crag undeniably adds to the recreational value of the area. Such value will increase into the future as the popularity of the sport grows, but it comes with a maintenance cost that has to be borne by the public purse. These costs range from that of having to manage increased visitor impacts, through to the payment of public liability claims.
As a community, we need to be adept at arguing the case for climbing as a net value-add recreation. We need to understand which of our actions add value, and which work to minimize potential costs. The value-add of bolted infrastructure is easy for us climbers to comprehend, the issue of public liability, less so, especially given that, for most climbers, the taking on of personal responsibility for the control of risk is a big part of the appeal of the sport.
However, It is inescapable that the act of ‘putting on the mantel of land manager’ brings with it a plethora of issues over which the manager is obliged to exercise ‘duty of care’. These obligations are neither trivial, nor straightforward, being under-pinned as they are by the very broad principles of Common Law. And where that land manager is a government agency, failure to provide ‘duty of care’ can elevate public liability claims to being a substantial drain on the public purse, and ultimately the tax payer.
Of particular relevance to the climbing community, is the issue of the public liability associated with bolts. This one issue alone, has dampened the development of recreational climbing within the NPRSR estate over the last twenty years. I have written a long piece on the history of this subject here. In recent years, the ‘Civil Liability Act’ of 2003, and the ‘Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 2013’, have been introduced with the intention of reducing the stifling effect of a litigious public environment on the development of outdoor recreation. And it is pleasing to see indications that this is starting to happen.
However, put yourself in the shoes of the land manager sitting at his desk in George St. You know items of infrastructure are being installed throughout the estate you manage, and the best you can do is hope that a) the installers are adequately discharging their ‘duty of care’ , and b) if they aren’t, the ‘dangerous activity’ provisions of the Civil Liability Act will be sufficient to shield the public purse.
Enter the kryptonite – nothing discharges ‘duty of care’ like a an international standard. It brings independent, third party, internationally recognized opinion to the table. That being said, we need to flag the corollary that nothing leaves lingering questions about the discharge of ‘duty of care’ like the failure to apply a standard when one exists. Step into the land managers shoes again for the moment. What would you rather do? – get involved in arguing the details of the specification of a bolt, or stand back and apply internationally recognized third party opinion? And how much does that third party opinion cost when it is built into a EN 959 conforming bolt? Lets say $3 extra per bolt, times eight bolts, is $24 for a typical sport route. With a life span of twenty years and one thousand ascents per year that comes to an amortized cost of 0.12 cents per ascent. One has to wonder why we even need to discuss this.
EN 959 is a standard produced by Technical Committee CEN/TC 136 of the European Union. On the other hand, UIAA 123 is a standard of the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation. The latter builds upon, and adds further requirements to EN959. In practice, the differences from the manufacturing point of view are minor, and thus we find that commercially available bolts, if rated, tend to be rated for both standards.
We don’t need to sweat the engineering details, and instead, can concentrate on what these standards do for us. A conformable bolt will withstand at least 15kN (EN 959) or 25kN (UIAA 123) outward pull when properly set in the rock. There are other desirable features of a climbing bolt, but this performance figure is the big one.
Unfortunately, UIAA and CEN/TC don’t show their working, and thus we don’t know the reason for the minimum load values they specify. However, it is possible to show that using a UIAA/EN conformable dynamic rope, harness, slings, carabiners etc, that the possibility of generating a force in excess of 15kN on a bolt is extremely remote. Of course, we have every reason to want to quantify ‘extremely remote’. With thousands of folks out climbing most days of the week, you’d think it likely that someone is going to get unlucky.
Firstly, anecdotal evidence shows that even with the fairly patchy bolting standards of the past, severe harm arising directly as a consequence of bolt failure is very rare. The reason for this is that the exposure to harm is not as great as it might seem to the casual observer. Climbers are taught to avoid exposure to single point failure and will employ redundant safety systems to the greatest extent possible.
Secondly, when we calculate the probability of a load exceeding 15kN at a bolt, we find it is very, very low. I know this from the probabilistic models I have built in my attempts to quantify the risks associated with bolt failure. For example, if we assume a typical mix of male and female climbers, each category having a typical distribution of body weights, and we have them climb using some ten to twenty different ropes each of different impact force rating, and then have them fall at different heights above bolts set at a range of heights above the ground, we can estimate the distribution of impact forces experienced by a typical first bolt, a typical second bolt and so forth. As we might expect, the forces involved with first bolts, far and away exceeds that at the higher bolts due to the dominant effect of the fall-factor.
For a typical first bolt, we can show that less than one in one million falls on that bolt will exceed the 15kN limit. For second and third bolts the chances of failure are vanishingly small. Given that the majority of climbers are not going to fall on all the first bolts we have out there, it would take a participation rate of millions of ascents per annum before the EN 959 specification could be shown to be insufficient.
EN 959 provides a specification that ensures compliant bolts are ‘fit for purpose’ within the recreational climbing domain. The level of structural integrity can be considered just right for the application space.
Can home-made bolts be EN959 compliant?
Yes they can, but there are caveats. To fully understand the gravity of the caveats we need to take a look at how product safety works within the European Union, because this is the framework that is driving the safety standards of recreational climbing equipment worldwide.
Without getting mired in European law, we need to understand that the standards applicable to things like dynamic climbing ropes, harnesses, biners, in fact most items of gear, are drafted to support a presumption of conformity with the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive, 89/686/EEC, of the European Parliament. Whilst the PPE Directive is the law, the standards themselves are not law. However, by complying with the standards, a manufacturer can argue that they meet the requirements of the law, and thus should be free to apply the CE mark to their product, and likewise free to place it on the market within the European Community.
In practice, the PPE Directive holds up two further hurdles one must clear. These are generic process requirements which reflect the seriousness of the consequences of failure to conform with the applicable standards. The first of these is that conformance of a sample with the standards must be confirmed by a type-approval body at random intervals of not less than one year. The second is that a quality system must be in place to oversee the manufacture of the product. This is where the paperwork, and additional cost comes in.
These latter hurdles appear insurmountable for any small operation wishing to manufacture bolts, but there is “wriggle-room”. Personally I don’t believe such wriggling is good for the climbing community, or the industry, but I’ll describe it so we can understand what is possible here, and especially what claims can be made for a product that comes into use.
Any system placed on the market in conjunction with PPE for its connection to another external, additional device shall be regarded as an integral part of that equipment even if the system is not intended to be worn or held permanently by the user for the entire period of risk exposure.
Thus ropes and slings are clearly in, but points of attachment to the rock such as bolts, maybe, not so much. Yet we have harmonised standards for pitons, ice-screws, cams and nuts called-out as supporting compliance with the PPE Directive, but not bolts. Go figure! It looks like EN 959 fell into the EU ‘too-hard-basket’.
So if you market a piton in Europe, then there is no escaping the need for it to be CE marked indicating its compliance with 89/686/EEC, which in turn means it is has to be EN 569 compliant. But a climbing bolt? No such requirement exists. Of course, the usual principles of product liability would apply, but the fact remains you are not going to have anyone chasing you because it is not CE marked.
Thus, provided the home workshop yields a product that conforms with the design requirements of EN 959, there is no reason why EN 959 compliance can’t be claimed for this product. In my opinion this is both a good thing and a bad thing – good because it sets the bar for acceptable bolt design at a level that is robust, inexpensive and within the capabilities of folks who like to do their own thing – bad because, whilst the design is specified, the manufacturing process is not, and without things such as compositional analysis of incoming stainless steel stock, we can expect to see a lot of ‘rogue’ stainless ending up on our cliffs.
Can home-made bolts be UIAA 123 compliant?
No they can’t, or more exactly, they can’t carry the UIAA certification mark. The UIAA standard requires samples be submitted to the UIAA certification authority for inspection. It also goes further than EN 959, and places a requirement for the verification to type of incoming steel stock. In this sense, the UIAA standard has more of the intent of a standard pendant from the PPE Directive. Thus UIAA 123 compliance involves a quality system and paperwork, a show stopper for the small home workshop.
New route developers are a special breed – highly individualistic, and given to ‘secret squirrel’ bolting operations. Because not all of this group will embrace standards, we can expect to see that as new routes spring up, there will be some with good bolting, and others less than good. Personally, I don’t see this as a problem because the risk from bolt failure is strictly proportional to the traffic, and if a route is ignored, the bolts are a matter of tiny concern. Providing the bolting itself is not visually intrusive, the route will fade into obscurity.
However, not all new routes are doomed to oblivion, and if a crag offers sufficient quality routes, and if it is within 20 minutes of a car park, it is inevitable that it will become popular. At some point in the growth of its popularity, the integrity of the bolting will become an issue. It is this second phase of crag development where standards are clearly appropriate.
Firstly, being popular, the crag will be on the radar of the land manager who rightly will have concerns about the bolting quality. If a crag is to be shut down, it will be at this emergent stage of its existence. Thus, being able to point to an international standard for the infrastructure is invaluable.
Secondly, being popular, if there is to be an accident arising from bolt failure, this is when it is most likely to occur. That is, at the point when there is a marked increase in traffic on aging or incompetent hardware. On the positive side of the equation, however, we have the fact that it is far easier to raise the funds needed to rebolt a popular crag than someone’s pet project. So the issue comes down to one of community awareness and leadership.
We are well into this second phase, a maintenance phase if you like, for a number of crags in South East Queensland.
It should be obvious that replacing one lot of poor quality bolts with another does little more than line up a third phase of maintenance, and beyond that, a fourth and so on every five to ten years down the track. I would hope that, as a community, we have sufficient vision, and are sufficiently caring for the climbing generations that follow, that we don’t entertain a course of action that creates the pock-marked mess of continual bolt replacement that we see blighting some overseas climbing destinations. The UIAA are onto this problem, and are addressing the issue of bolt life span with a view to specifying bolt designs which should achieve a truly inter-generational service life of fifty years. This seems a very worthy aim, and if such bolts could be installed at the second phase, imagine what it could do for the sustainability of a crag over several generations. Surely this is an initiative we can all support. |
What makes plastic decking different from composite?
More often then not you will hear the term "synthetic" used which is really just a euphemism for plastic. This deck above is plastic, PVC with a tropical grain pattern and it looks very nice.
No one, particularly manufacturers, wants to toss around the word plastic because it can evoke some negative sentiments in homeowners. But not to worry.
Plastic deck boards have come a long way!
So I am going to quickly explain the two main types of plastic used in this kind of decking. I will also give you quick comparison of the advantages and disadvantages.
What Kind Of Plastic Are They Using?
Poly Vinyl Chloride is the higher quality material that is used in the better decking boards of this category. Some of the most popular brands you may hear of are the Trex Escapes line and the Azek Deck products.
But there are other manufacturers who have been around for a while and have a good track record with PVC decking.
A deck board that contains only polyethylene is not common because it is too soft and flexible.
You may recall many years ago some of the very first recycled plastic boards sometimes used in benches. The bench seats tended to sag even between 16" centered joists.
Polyethylene is almost always used as the base for composite materials with would have wood fiber and other chemicals to stiffen and harden it enough to span 16" joists.
PVC is the best plastic decking to be using.
It can have embossed grain patterns and is known to perform well outdoors.
Polyethylene on the other hand is much softer and would not be good as the sole ingredient in a board. However many plastics articles are made of polyehtylene and are the principle source of recycled materials for use composite decking.
This allows for a great second life of many otherwise wasted plastic items.
Opponents of PVC say it looks too shiny and unnatural.
So while you get a great strong, durable, stain resistant board you lose the look of wood.
Polyethylene on its own is far to flexible and soft to be used as a deck board. Nor does it look like wood.
Both materials shrink and expand in hot or cold temperatures including lengthwise. Be absolutely sure to provide adequate spacing between ends of long lengths of boards.
Plastic, particularly PVC is a proven performer as a decking material. It will provide you years of low maintenance enjoyment. But if you are still in the research stage check out these other articles. |
The grid-tied, on-grid or grid-interactive solar system is the most common type of PV system.
In this battery-less system, the solar generation is first used to meet the demand of the existing loads and any excess generation is exported to the grid. If there is a short-supply or no solar generation, then the required energy is imported from the grid. A bi-directional net meter records the exported and imported electricity and the consumer is charged only for the net electricity consumed from the grid at the end of the billing cycle.
WHICH INVERTER SHOULD I USE?
If you are considering a solar system for your home, one of the key decisions you have to make is the type of inverter to install. Inverters convert direct current (DC) electricity generated by your solar panels into usable alternating current (AC) energy. There are three types of inverters available in the market: string (also known as centralized) inverters, micro-inverters, and power optimizers.
String inverters are the most commonly deployed option globally because of their relative lower cost. They are suitable for a roof space that is not shaded at any point during the day and does not face multiple directions (such as a gabled roof). In this system, a string of solar panels will only produce as much electricity as its least productive panel – if one or more of your solar panels is shaded during any part of the day, the power output from that entire string would be reduced to its level.
Micro-inverters are rapidly gaining popularity, particularly for residential solar systems. They are installed on each individual solar panel and convert DC electricity into AC electricity at the panel level itself with no need for a separate central inverter. This way, shading on one or more panels does not affect the output of the other panels and panels can be placed in different orientations. Also, the performance of each solar panel can be individually monitored.
It is known that shading of as little as 10% of a solar system connected to a central inverter, can lead to a system-wide decline in power output of over 50%. So, although, a solar system with micro-inverters tends to be more expensive than one with string inverters, it results in greater savings on account of system efficiency.
Power optimizers, which are usually integrated into the panels themselves, also reduce the impact of panel shading on system performance and offer panel-level performance monitoring like micro-inverters. However, instead of converting the DC electricity to AC electricity at the panel level, they dynamically “condition” the DC electricity for maximizing the output and send it to a string inverter. This approach results in higher system efficiency than a string inverter alone and lower costs than micro-inverters.
Providing the facility of net metering through which the system owner pays only for the net power consumed after subtracting the solar energy exported to the grid from the energy imported from the grid.
Offering a tax benefit under Section 32 of Income Tax Act, 1961, for commercial organizations by allowing 40% “accelerated depreciation” for the solar system.
Offering a financial subsidy of 30% project/bench mark cost in residential/institutional/social sectors.
By adopting solar energy, you can see an immediate reduction in your energy bill, get a pay-back in as early as 4 years and enjoy free electricity for over 20 years! Ever heard of a safer investment that gives a rate of return (IRR) of 15%-20%?
Take the leap and get your unutilized roof space to power a brighter future for yourself and the planet!
An off-grid solar system is best suited for remote areas with poor or no access to the grid. As the name suggests, this solution is completely independent of the grid and can be configured to power a wide range of appliances from lights and fans to fridges, washing machines, computers and even air-conditioners!
In this setup, solar panels convert sun rays into direct current (DC) electricity, which is used to charge batteries. An inverter then converts the electricity stored in the batteries into alternating current (AC). The AC electricity can then power the dedicated load. Any excess power generated is stored in the battery bank for use later.
A hybrid solar system combines the best from the grid-tied solar system and the off-grid system: it can interact with the utility grid and also store energy in a battery bank.
In an on-grid solar system, the system shuts down during a power outage for the safety of any linesman making repairs to the power lines nearby. However, a hybrid system can safely disconnect from the grid and provide electricity even during a power outage.
This feature makes the hybrid system a more economical and environment-friendly alternative to an on-grid solar system with a backup diesel generator.
In principle, the hybrid system works similar to an off-grid system. However, after charging the batteries and meeting the load requirements, the hybrid system is capable of exporting the excess solar generation to the grid.
Moreover, any shortfall in solar generation is compensated by importing electricity from the utility grid, e.g. for charging the batteries or powering the load.
The net energy is measured by a bi-directional meter based on the energy imported and exported between the system and the grid.
In remote areas with infrequent or no power supply, the lack of a reliable water supply is a major concern. Solar powered water pumps are ideal in such situations to draw water from bore wells or water reservoirs for diverse applications such as irrigation, supply of drinking water or meeting household needs. These versatile pumps can run directly on solar panels, or on single phase grid supply or even on batteries if there is no grid supply.
The pumps are available in various capacities with head heights ranging from 15m to 120m. The solar modules can be mounted on a customized mounting structure and the pumps can run even in low sunlight conditions with a voltage range from 30V to 300V DC. They are equipped with a sensor that protects them from a dry run and they can be remotely monitored via a data logger. |
Medieval church with a thirteenth century tower. The church of Church of St Thomas a Becket was restored in 1853-55 by E.M. Goodwin of London. A north aisle was built in 1854 and rebuilt 1881 by E.H. Lingen Barker. The cost of the 1854 restoration was £1200. |
Family Friendly This is a very easy and accessible trail that passes through beautiful mineral formations from the hot springs.
The Rainbow Terraces in Hot Springs State Park are formed by springs that discharge more than 3 million gallons of 135-degree-Fahrenheit water laden with minerals every day, making them the largest such mineral hot springs in the world. This is the primary trail in the park that highlights all of the main pools and terraces. You'll get to see many vibrant colors from the algae that feed on the minerals in the 135-degree water. The colorful travertine terraces built from millions of years of mineral build-up are reminiscent of the Mammoth Springs in Yellowstone, but quite a bit smaller. The western and northern half of this loop trail are made from slightly elevated boardwalks that take you through the springs. The eastern half of the trail is paved. |
A spine fusion is a surgery performed to link together individual segments, or vertebrae, within the spine. The spinal column, or backbone, is made up of individual bones called vertebrae. These bones are stacked together. Between each of the vertebrae is a soft cushion called a disc. The disc spaces allow each vertebra to bend slightly. This motion allows us to bend forward and arch backward.
A spine fusion is a surgery that is done to link together two or more vertebrae. When there is a problem with the vertebrae (often a problem with the disc space), your doctor may recommend a spine fusion to eliminate the motion that occurs within that portion of the spine. By linking together the vertebrae, your doctor is trying to eliminate the source of your back problem.
During spine fusion surgery, your doctor will attempt to stimulate bone growth between the vertebrae. Once new bone forms, the vertebrae will be linked together, and there should be no further movement between the fused segments.
As part of the process to perform spine fusion, your surgeon may recommend spinal instrumentation. This means that your surgeon will also place metal within your spine to hold the vertebral bones together. Spinal instrumentation exists in many different types. Your surgeon will recommend a particular type of instrumentation, depending on many factors including the underlying problem being treated, the age of the patient, the number of levels of the spine being fused, and other factors.
If the segments do not fuse: One of the most difficult parts of spine fusion surgery, is that often it is hard to get the new bone to grow. There are ways to stimulate bone growth in spine fusion surgery, but like everything else there are potential drawbacks. The possibilities to stimulate bone growth include using extra bone from the pelvis (autograft) to stimulate new bone growth, using bone chips from a donor (allograft), or using a manufactured bone substitute.
If the vertebrae and discs next to the spine fusion develop problems: This problem tends to develop years after the surgery. When the bad segments of spine are fused together, the segments next to the fusion have more forces applied. This so-called 'adjacent level' degeneration can cause problems after successful spine fusion. This is one reason why spinal disc replacement is being developed.
Other risks of spine fusion include blood loss and infection. The potential for one of these complications depends on the extent of the surgery being performed. You should discuss these possible problems with your doctor.
The other complication which concerns many people is the possibility of damage to the spinal cord or the nerves which exit the cord. Again, these risks will vary depending on the type of surgery being performed. While the majority of patients will improve following spine fusion surgery, there are potential risks. In some type of spine fusion surgery, your doctor can use special monitors to measure nerve function during the surgery.
Smokers often feel as though they are being constantly harassed by doctors about the risks of smoking. Well, here is one situation where you should listen. If you are a smoker, and you are having spine fusion, you should stop smoking. The risk of spine fusion failure—the lack of the new bone forming—goes up about 500% in smokers. We know that smoking impedes new bone formation, and nowhere do we see this more than in spine fusion surgery. |
Overuse injuries occur at the musculotendinous junction – the area of muscle where it becomes tendinous and generally attaches to a bone. In most instances, overuse injuries affect tendons and occur when the load from exercise is too great for the body to adapt and repair in time for the next workout.
Exercise leads to stress on our joints and muscles, and normally the body is able to cope with this stress, the result being strength gains and improved fitness. This is the remodelling process or adaptation to exercise. When this equilibrium is interrupted, degeneration and micro tearing occurs and the body can no longer cope with the demands placed on the tissues which ultimately leads to injury.
A rapid acceleration of the intensity, duration, or frequency of activity. Eg. Too much too soon.
A sudden spike in load when returning from injury (or a holiday) and trying to make up for lost time by pushing too hard in the early stages of training.
Lack of appropriate muscle strength or endurance.
Incorrect equipment. Eg. Poor fitting footwear.
Change in running surfaces. Eg. Bitumen vs trail running.
These type of injuries can be extremely frustrating. So how can you detect if you are on the slippery slope towards an over use injury? Being aware of your body is the most important starting point. Generally the first sign will be stiffness in the morning which disappears once you are warmed up.
Pain lasting beyond the warm up.
Treatment for overuse injuries typically involves decreasing the intensity, duration and frequency of the aggravating activity. It is also worth trialling a change in training methods and incorporating easy and hard training days or utilising cross training to maintain fitness. When changing your training program it is advised to contact a health professional to ensure you are getting the correct program for where your body is currently at. If you do not have access to a trainer, it helps to remember the 10 Percent Rule whenever you are thinking of increasing your training load. This rules states never to increase your training load by more than 10 percent per week. The aim is to allow sufficient time for the appropriate adaptation to take place.
This applies to distance, frequency and intensity of training. If in doubt speak to your Osteopath or therapist for further advice.
As with all injuries, prevention is always better than cure and a Remedial Massage or Osteopathic treatment can help alleviate muscle soreness and remove any dysfunctions caused by training and daily living that can lead to pain. Always remember to do a proper warm up and cool down before and after activity. Improving flexibility, strength and core stability will also help minimise overuse injuries. This will allow you to train more efficiently and ultimately produce a better result come race day. |
Prior to the 1700s little is known of the history of Batley and in particular Upper Batley. The name Batley is believed to have derived from the Old English personal name ‘Bata’ and ‘leah’ meaning forest or glade. The 1086 Doomsday Book lists the village as having “6 villagers and 4 smallholders with 5 ploughs”. Much has changed since then. During the 1700’s Batley grew in the form of small settlements.
Batley and Upper Batley really began to develop around 1813 as the textile industry developed. As Batley gained wealth, Upper Batley began to develop as a favoured suburban location for the wealthy mill owners.
The larger Victorian properties such as Blenheim House were built, the grandeur, the design and the attention to detail can still be seen today. Blenheim House was built for a wealthy Victorian mill owner, Joseph Jubb and his wife Hannah and has been privately owned ever since.
Blenheim house became the headquarters of the Scarborough Lodge of Craft Freemasons and the Scarborough Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in December 1925.
Many possibilities were explored, conferences held, plans discussed until on 21st July 1925, the Lodge authorised the purchase of Blenheim House, from Mr John Joseph Jubb and the freehold from Mr David Stubley J. P. Structural alterations were carried out, central heating installed, decorated, furnished and ready for a social gathering of brethren and their ladies in November of that year.
The purchase price of Blenheim House together with the freehold and alterations in 1925 was £4,090. 14s. The dining room extension in 1939 cost £1,486. No repairs could be carried out during the war, when permission was given at a later date, this cost was £1,187.
The lodges continue to prosper and carry on their useful Masonic work and long may that continue. |
As a kid, I remember Summer, baseball, and sunflower seeds. Kids throughout my neighborhood enjoyed munching on this healthy treat during baseball games both in the dugout and in the stands. While most adults don’t eat sunflower seeds like their kids, many do consume sunflower oil even if they aren’t aware of it.
In recent years, sunflower oil has become a very popular fat to use in natural and/or organic snacks and chips. It is also popular as a cooking oil. This trend is in response to growing consumer awareness of the dangers of other polyunsaturated oils such as soy, corn, and canola which are also usually of GMO origin.
Since the oil comes from the beloved seeds, it seems logical that sunflower oil is a healthy fat to choose for the kitchen. Let’s dig in and see if this conclusion makes sense.
Most people are familiar with the source of sunflower seeds – the beautiful and stately sunflower. These lovely, large, and very diverse plants are grown across the country as parts of gardens and landscaping for their beauty, pollinator attraction, and other benefits.
Sunflowers are an excellent plant to help the birds, bees, and other wildlife in and around your property (1).
Speaking of seeds, sunflower plants are prolific seed producers. A single plant may produce close to 1,000 seeds! While most people are familiar with eating sunflower seeds, many do not realize soaking and drying seeds prior to eating makes them even more digestible and nutritious.
Another popular use of sunflower seeds is for animal feed. They make a quality replacement for lots of processed or genetically modified ingredients.
Tip: If you grow them for animal feed, you may need to take measures to protect the plants from the birds, squirrels, and other creatures who also love to snack on this nutritious seed!
In recent years, sunflower seed oil is commonly used in food manufacturing. If you check ingredients on the chip aisle of the healthfood store, many list sunflower oil as a primary ingredient.
The general nutrition data on sunflower oil gives the following breakdown of the fatty acid profile.
Beyond the fatty acid profile, there isn’t much else to say about sunflower oil save that it is high in vitamin E and lecithin, which isn’t chemically extracted like soya lecithin. This is only true if it is cold pressed and unrefined, however! Refined versions processed with heat are low nutrients oils.
Nonetheless, it is still high enough to be a concern. Note that rice bran oil, used by Chipotle for cooking, is significantly lower in PUFAs at 38%. The peanut oil used by Chick-fil-A and Five Guys Burgers has a PUFA content of 32%. However, Chipotle uses sunflower oil to fry its chips and Chick-fil-A/Five Guys use peanut oil to make french fries. So, you’re still getting plenty of vegetable oils if you eat at either of these restaurants. What’s more, the sunflower seed oil and peanut oil used in these chains is highly refined, so you’re consuming rancid vegetable oils too.
Another concern is that sunflower oil contains no beneficial, inflammation reducing omega-3 fats like those found in walnut oil or flax seed oil. This is a problem if someone consumes sunflower oil regularly, as it will unbalance the crucial ratio of omega-6 / omega-3 fats in the diet. If we were exposed to only miniscule amounts of this oil, it wouldn’t be a concern.
The worry is that sunflower oil is everywhere in the food supply most especially if you eat organic! Thus, if you cook with it, you’re compounding the problem of excessive exposure.
But, this isn’t necessarily a problem if you are a savvy consumer. Read on for more details!
Sunflower oil is exceptionally common in most Americans’ diets. Its clean, mild taste and high smoke point (450 F/ 232 C degrees), along with ease of cultivation make it a favorite for the processed foods industry. The high smokepoint doesn’t mean it is appropriate for frying, however! It most likely indicates that it is refined instead of cold pressed, which says “avoid” in flashing neon colors.
If you’ve ever looked at the back of many foods in the chip aisle, the label often reads “made with canola, sunflower, or safflower oil.” Translation: Whatever oil is cheapest and most convenient at the time is what is used! Crackers, chips, cookies, and many other foods may contain it. Fast food and prepackaged foods depend on it, including the organic food industry.
*Buying organic is no protection from exposure to rancid, health robbing oils.
Even worse, when used for frying and a few other applications, sunflower and other oils are often heated REPEATEDLY. The European Union, after seeing studies that showed the dangerous chemical changes these repeated cooking cycles had on the oils, now prohibit the reuse of such oils after they reach certain levels of these dangerous compounds (2).
But, if you really love the mild taste of sunflower oil, you will be happy to learn that not all sunflower oils are the same.
Sunflower seeds are interesting, because various types have quite different fatty acid profiles. Since, the plants are easy to breed, this also permits the fatty acid profile of the seeds to be altered via hybridization. This process of selective breeding affects the end products made from them too, most especially the oil pressed or chemically extracted from the sunflower seeds.
High stearic sunflower oil – around 72% oleic (monounsaturated), 18% stearic (saturated). This oil is so stable, it doesn’t require any hydrogenation, which creates trans-fats.
Mid-oleic is currently the standard sunflower oil in North America, and what you are most likely to be consuming at restaurants or in processed and packaged foods. Unfortunately, it is still unacceptably high in omega-6 PUFAs at around 26%. On the positive side, it does contain a large amount of monounsaturated fat, a definite improvement over low oleic varieties (3).
Educated consumers, the savviest type of shopper, wins when it comes to sunflower seed oil. They know to avoid processed versions of the oil which are hexane extracted. Some are also hydrogenated presenting the health risks from transfats. Avoid these always!
This processed oil is certainly appropriate for industrial purposes, but not for human consumption! An interesting fact to consider is that sunflower oil can be mixed with diesel fuel and used to power diesel engines if outdoor temperatures are warm enough!
Even if you don’t heat refined sunflower oil in your home after you buy it, the likelihood is that it has already been heated to temperatures that denature it prior to your purchase at the store. Processed sunflower oil also may very possibly contain trace amounts of carcinogenic solvents from this processing. Shockingly, even after the chemical extraction of sunflower oil from the seeds, the oil may be refined further. This removes still more nutrients resulting in a low nutrient fat that has no place in the diet.
Discerning the quality of a sunflower oil brand can be tricky, though. Take the bottle in the picture above, for example. It says all the right things at first glance.
Would it be a good idea to buy this product? Probably not because it says refined [for] high heat at the bottom of the bottle. In other words, manufacturers heat treated or refined the oil prior to bottling. This process partially or completely destroys nutrients like Vitamin E and sunflower lecithin. Free radical damage is also likely.
Best to avoid any foods cooked with refined sunflower oil and stick with chips cooked in coconut oil or avocado oil chips.
If you choose to use or consume this oil in your home, it is best to use a cold pressed, high oleic, unrefined, organic sunflower oil (this brand is excellent). Used traditionally in salad dressing as in Eastern European cuisine is a great way to enjoy it.
Remember that healthy fats naturally liquid at room temperature require careful handling and storage. They are prone to rancidity even if high oleic. Carefully choosing a good brand as mentioned above is important. Also, use it quickly or be sure to refrigerate. In moderation, these oils make a wonderful addition to your kitchen and cuisine.
One other important note. While high oleic sunflower oil is great to use for home cooking, it is inappropriate as an ingredient in homemade baby formula. The recipe for baby formula includes sunflower oil that is cold pressed, unrefined, organic, and LOW oleic (this brand is recommended). This ensures that the appropriate level of essential omega-6 fats is in the formula. |
The results from my testing with Peter Byworth and Metabolic Solutions are in and I’ve had time to study them. The broad details from my initial post are all confirmed by the raw data so I’ve dug further with help from sports scientist Greg May. Greg’s already looking into this area and was keen to see my data, given the input I’m glad I shared!
I always knew this would be too late to have real influence on Kona. The concepts I’m learning need practice before I start racing with them. I’m reassured my fuelling strategy and pacing will comfortably see me through. What’s clear is modifying aspects of training and being more precise in racing will help take the next step.
The tests started by measuring my Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Basic information that’s main use is ensuring I’m more precisely aware of my daily calorific usage. This identified the 80:20 Fat:CHO utilisation ratio at rest which indicated that the Paleo diet is ideal were I a sedentary individual. As discussed training in high volume is a wildcard that demands significantly more carbohydrate.
This colourful chart summarises the results of 20 minutes work and pain on a bike. We have the total Kcal being utilised per minute in yellow with the portion coming from fat in green. Along the x axis is the wattages I was holding at that point in time.
I warmed up from a low base of 100W through to 200W over several minutes not spend much time at any of the intensities so I never stabilised. Below 200W (and probably a little higher) I get comfortably over 60% of my energy from fat.
Beyond warming up the first step required me to hold 255W. I found a comfortable position with cadence around 90 (higher than I’d expected) and power on target. This continued for four minutes before we ramped to threshold and beyond. Greg would like longer spent in this region something to consider next time. It would give my body a better chance to stabilise at the intensity and more certainty with the resulting data. It sounds like I may need to suffer more next time!
We progressed the testing to threshold (around 300W) and held there for four more minutes (this is the one that’ll hurt for longer). From then on it was a ramp till failure a compromise to see roughly where that was and what was going on.
As you can see in the graph I’m still getting a lot of Kcal from fat at 255W and even at threshold don’t do to badly. Extend that all the way to failure and fat is still a contributing factor for me. From Greg’s perspective 2.5g CHO/min (10Kcal CHO/min) represents a key turning point for Ironman racing.
What’s special about 2.5g of Carbs?
As the results show with increasing intensity the body utilises it’s fuel sources in differing ratios. CHO becomes more significant as workload rises. The body contains a limited supply of CHO (as glycogen) in the muscles and liver and an effectively limitless supply of fat.
Fat is never likely to be the limiter working at low intensity I could last a long time on liver and muscle glycogen stores. Increase intensity and duration of work and there’s the potential to become limited by available CHO. The harder you work the quicker stored CHO is depleted. Which leads to nutrition.
Eating during training effectively tops up the glycogen available in the body. As you should expect there’s a limit to the rate we can absorb CHO though 1.2g CHO/min is a typical maximal figure. Consume CHO at a greater rate and the excess will sit in the gut whilst it’s digested.
You start a race with a store of glycogen and immediately begin to deplete it. Eating during the event allows some restoration of glycogen levels, but is limited by absorption rate. Overall levels of CHO fuelling the body will vary according to initial levels, food consumed and the intensity and duration of activity.
To race optimally you need to start with high levels of available glycogen. Intensity should be controlled to ensure you’re not getting through reserves too rapidly. Once it’s an option a fuelling strategy is needed to get yourself close to maximal CHO absorption. If this is achieved the limiter on performance won’t be nutrition.
Based upon this fuelling strategy we come to the figure of 2.5g CHO/min. With full glycogen reserves and optimal CHO intake if you work at an intensity requiring less than 2.5g CHO/min you’ll reach the marathon with sufficient reserves to keep going. You’ll need to fuel on the marathon too of course, but you will be in much less danger of hitting a low.
The standard quoted limit for CHO absorption is 1.2g/min as mentioned, but Greg went on to allude to the potential to absorb more. Apparently as yet unpublished research suggests it’s possible to hit 1.9g CHO/min with the correct fuel strategy. Believe me I’d tell you what that was if I knew it myself! In terms of using the figure of 2.5g CHO/min you want to be absorbing more than 1.2g CHO/min if possible.
Interestingly this relates to an interview with Asker Jeukendrup I recently listened to on Competitor Radio. Definitely worth a listen if you’re interested in race nutrition. He alludes to a mix of CHO sources in your fuel enabling greater uptake. An optimised mix of glucose and fructose is the way to maximise fuel intake. There are already products out there doing this so whether that’s the strategy Greg referred to I don’t know!
From the data and Greg’s input I could potentially ride up to 255W and fuel myself successfully for an entire Ironman. Playing it safer we felt that 245W was probably a more reasonably target. With the correct fuelling strategy I should be able to hold that wattage and effectively run afterwards.
My FTP currently sits around 300W which gives me a 75% point of 225W. I rode Ironman Western Australia and New Zealand averaging about that last year (normalised was higher in NZ). I’m clearly approaching the physiologically sensible intensity to ride, but have a way to my fuel limit. There is room for improvement!
If my goal is riding at 245W for an Ironman next year doing so knowing I’m not limited by CHO I can work back to consider the FTP needed. For 245W to be a 75% effort FTP will need to be around 330W, but the higher the better. Racing at 75% has worked for me, but relies on my strength in running.
It’s not a performance predictor, but rather a metric for progress towards my racing goals next year. I have the metabolism to support a harder Ironman bike, but need to work to develop power further. It’s not surprising, but putting numbers to it acts as a strong motivator.
Reiterating a point from my previous post training to enhance endurance and fat burning will yield minimal returns for me. The area where the biggest gains can be made is in my threshold. Raising this will take me closer to riding at that 2.5g CHO/min point. The aim is to remove the limiters that prevent me riding an Ironman at over 240W. What I know is that fuelling doesn’t have to be one.
Where I’ve relied on long hours of riding in the past I’ll look to reduce volume and focus more on intensive sessions. Being a coach I have the flexibility and time to train more than most so training load will remain high. Six hour rides will be rarer and when they occur the focus will be structuring them. They’ll be a couple of sessions working on threshold and then one or two at tempo or sweet spot.
Throughout this process I’ll be routinely testing fuelling strategies and race day pacing. When Austria comes around next year I will know the pace I can ride and how much I need to eat to do it!
Finally big thanks to Andy Bruce and the Polar Challenge team for introducing me to Peter Byworth and Metabolic Solutions for the testing work. Also thanks to Greg May for his input so far, hopefully he won’t mind further questions! |
With its modular architecture and multiphysics models, MANATEE software is well adapted for teaching electrical engineering.
MANATEE has been split in 4 models/physics. You can start or end the simulation process at each model, while still being able to use MANATEE optimization & sensitivity analysis tools. You can focus on the physics you want to teach by licencing only a a part of the modules.
MANATEE scripts can be coupled to any of your Matlab script, so that you can integrate MANATEE in a more general simulation environment.
Several modeling techniques are available in each module. MANATEE built-in post-processing allow to easily compare different modeling techniques such as finite element (with FEMM), subdomain semi analytical model, and permeance/mmf models (to include defaults like eccentricities, demagnetization, asymmetries). Similarly, torque computation can be done using flux linkage method, Maxwell stress method, or using equivalent circuits.
Many validation cases of MANATEE rely on a direct comparison with some recently published papers in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. The corresponding simulation and machine MANATEE files are available as .m scripts and can therefore be modified by the students.
Moreover, each MANATEE model is fully parametrized to change the modeling level of phenomena. For instance, in the electrical circuit, you can include or ignore skin effect, iron losses, saturation effects. One can also remove any time or space harmonics, and then study the impact on torque ripple, magnetic forces, vibration and noise.
Last but not least, EOMYS offers a discount on non-commercial licences for universities and can collaborate with them by writing technical papers. |
Addis Ababa (HAN) May 1, 2014. Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Dr.Tedros Adhanom said Ethiopia has repeatedly gone above and beyond “the call of duty” in trying to assuage Egyptian concerns and to reach over a more equitable allocation of the use of the Nile waters.
“We are fully aware that cooperation and collaboration over the valuable resource of the Nile River offers a win-win scenario for Ethiopia, for Egypt, for Sudan and for the whole of the Nile Basin and Northeast Africa,” Dr. Tedros said in a statement.
“The fundamental principle underlying Ethiopia’s Nile policies is very clear – total commitment to cooperation in the Nile Basin on the basis of the Nile Basin Initiative and the Cooperative Framework Agreement [CFA],” Dr Tedros said.
Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have been engaged in a series of dialogues since the launch of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project on Nile River. Three years into the construction of the GERD, which is currently over 30 percent complete, Sudan have backed the 6000MW hydroelectric dam while Egypt remains concerned.
With a 74 billion cubic meters of reservoir, Egypt fears the dam will reduce the flow of water downstream. Ethiopia’s foreign minister assured that Ethiopia will consider Egyptian concerns of the period with which the dam reservoir will be filled.
Highlighting the dam’s benefit not just to Ethiopia but to the entire region including Egypt, Dr Tedros said the Nile should be a symbol of cooperation and collaboration.
The CFA, which seeks to bring about fair and equitable utilization of the Nile River, was signed by six of the riparian countries after a decade of negotiations involving all the riparian countries.
The framework effectively replaces colonial era treaties of 1929 and 1959, which ignored the interest of riparian countries other than Egypt and Sudan.
“It is time to throw off the legacy of colonialism, which had bedeviled the exploitation of the Nile Basin for so long, and finally move into a new era of cooperation, with real and sustained development,” Dr Tedros added.
Ethiopia sees the GERD, which will generate 15,860GWh of electricity a year after its projected completion in 2017, as a gateway to prosperity. The dam is expected to satisfy chronic domestic power demands with surplus energy to export.
“We are, above all, determined to fight and win the war on poverty. In the past, we have been unable to use the considerable natural resources with which Ethiopia is endowed,” Dr Tedros said. “… but with a decade of double digit GDP growth behind us, we are finally in a position to begin to exploit these resources properly, in the interests of national development. It is, of course, our right to do so in a manner that is acceptable to international norms and standards,” the foreign minister wrote. |
1. To breathe quickly or in a labored manner, as after exertion or from eagerness or excitement; to respire with heaving of the breast; to gasp.
2. Hence: To long eagerly; to desire earnestly.
3. To beat with unnatural violence or rapidity; to palpitate, or throb; said of the heart. Spenser.
1. To breathe forth quickly or in a labored manner; to gasp out.
1. A quick breathing; a catching of the breath; a gasp. Drayton.
2. A violent palpitation of the heart. Shak.
(Pan"ta*cosm) n. [Panta- + Gr. ko`smos universe.] See Cosmolabe.
1. The theory or practice of the medical profession; used in burlesque or ridicule.
2. An assumption of buffoonery to cover some serious purpose. [R.] Donaldson.
(Pan`ta*let") n. [Dim. of pantaloon.] One of the legs of the loose drawers worn by children and women; particularly, the lower part of such a garment, coming below the knee, often made in a separate piece; chiefly in the plural. |
San Anselmo and Sleepy Hollow Creeks periodically flood. This natural process, caused by the clay soils, topography and climate of the Ross Valley has been exacerbated by human development; undersized bridges and building span the creek, railroad berms across the floodplain, and increased impervious surface throughout the watershed. These are the Town's key messages and flood-related information links. |
When asked what the number one cause of death is worldwide, most will likely answer; Heart disease, Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes or Obesity. Every one of these answers will be right. No matter what the name of the illness is, all human diseases originate from the same root cause – too much acid waste in the body!
With every action in the living body where energy is created or expended, in other words metabolic or physical, acid waste is formed and must be neutralized and/or eliminated as soon as possible, to avoid acid burns and damage to the vital organs and systems. Too much acid in the body creates an environment, which favours the decomposition of living things, and weakens all body systems, allowing disease to thrive. In order to maintain a healthy body that can fight off disease and function optimally, we must maintain adequate alkaline reserves to neutralize excess acid accumulation in the body.
The acid/alkaline range is measured on the pH scale (parts Hydrogen), from 0 to 14 respectively. The human body’s pH is around 7.4 on the pH scale. To give you an idea of just how serious over acidity is for our health, every one-point drop on the pH scale increases the body’s acidity 10-fold. That’s a 100,000 increase in acidity from 7.0 – 2.0, which is about the difference between drinking purified water, and a carbonated soft (soda) drink.
If you can imagine acidic particles much like shrapnel, you can see the danger of having acidic pH levels, along with high cholesterol and other fatty substances within the blood. Hardening of the blood vessels occurs when sharp acidic particles cause scratches and bumps on the inside walls of the arteries and veins, which the fatty plaques are able to stick to, triggering the onset of atherosclerosis, a form of cardiovascular disease. Due to this build up, the arteries become narrowed and fatty plaques that ‘bandaged’ the tears and scratches created by the acidic particles, become detached from the walls, and potentially increase the risk of blocked arteries, heart attacks and strokes.
With an estimated one third of all cancers being attributed to poor nutrition, and over half a million deaths a year preventable through a change of diet alone, how does over acidity threaten the onset of one of the main causes of death in both men and women? Well, the acidic waste thickens the blood to the point where it cannot carry the quantity of nutrients and oxygen the organs need to function efficiently. When the cell is deprived of oxygen and the amino acids that they require for repair and regeneration, they either die and turn into acidic waste, or due to ‘survival-of-the-fittest’, they adapt to their new, deprived environment by becoming cancerous, allowing it to survive by multiplying continually to grab the few available nutrients. Normal cells that become deprived of the nutrients by rapidly multiplying cancer cells stop dividing and die.
Eating good, clean food in the right quantities throughout the day, can keep your metabolism running high (think of your metabolism as your fat burning furnace), and your energy levels constant. However, eating foods with a high (alkaline) pH to ensure you maintain an alkaline balance is perhaps just as important. The efficiency that a cell carries out its metabolic activities is determined by the nourishment it receives. In comparison, a car engine will only perform as well as the grade of fuel that you put in it.
Cells not only die because of lack of nourishment and oxygen from thickened acidic blood, but also from being poisoned by chemical additives. Another reason to always try to eat organic and natural foods in their original source (not processed or modified by man).
Nutrient Timing refers to the amount of nutrients needed by the body to function optimally, without leaving leftover waste, and overloading the body with excess calories that are then stored as fat. During the day the body digests and absorbs food quickly, but in the evening and at night these processes slow down, causing blood to flow more slowly, meaning the fat particles are more likely to remain undigested and turn into acidic waste. These find their way into the blood and can block the transport of insulin from the pancreas. The lack of insulin in the blood, or insulin resistance, means that the blood sugar does not get processed properly. The blood sugar levels become elevated and produce diabetic symptoms.
Aside from water, there is much more fat in the body than any other substance, and I’m not just talking about the fatty tissue beneath our skin that so many of us struggle to lose year after year. The surrounding of each and every cell in our bodies is made up almost entirely of fatty acids. The combination of fatty acids and amino acids plays a vital role in energy production, forming a membrane around the red blood cells through which oxygen gains entry into the cell.
Fast food and high-sugared foods are not the only culprits in the fight against obesity!
Way before we had the ‘convenience’ or fast foods, and processed foods, there was another culprit to weight gain. Heat! Cooking destroys many of the enzymes in foods that prevent obesity, as without them there is nothing to prevent too many nutrients from being absorbed into the body. So what the body doesn’t need, or can’t use at the time, is either stored in fat cells or turned into toxic acidic waste, which can be converted to cholesterol and lactic acid. Blood loaded with acidic waste circulates the body and clogs organ systems, slowing down metabolism, causing less food to be burned up. This manifest itself in the unexplained lethargy and general fatigue, so many people experience.
When it comes to change, even the most head strong people can still fall short, and not through lack of commitment, but more so due to lack of knowledge. We may not have much control over external or environmental causes of toxic waste, such as pollutants or even stress, but we do have absolute control over what we put into our bodies, and so it is that nutrition that will be your armoury in the fight against ridding your body of acidic waste.
Following, are the food categories, highlighting the most alkaline options to the most acidic options. You should limit the foods towards the acid side of the table, and increase consumption of the alkaline foods. It’s worth noting here that a food’s acidic or alkaline-forming tendency in the body has nothing to do with the actual pH of the food itself.
Most people will think of citrus fruits such as lemons and grapefruits to be acidic. However, the end-products they produce after digestion and assimilation are very alkaline, so lemons are alkaline-forming in the body. Likewise, meat will test alkaline before digestion but as with most animal products, meat is very acid-forming, leaving an acidic residue in the body. It’s also worth noting here that the fresher the food the higher its alkalinity values. Cooking, freezing or canning foods increases their acid-forming potential.
Stay away from foods grown with chemicals, processed with preservatives or prepared with sugar, as these are all acid-forming also.
Honey (Providing it’s the thick, raw, unfiltered honey that’s opaque in colour), contains high levels of the starch-digesting enzyme amylase, and is truly a super food, especially Royal Jelly, which the worker bee’s feed to the queen bee to extend her life span from a few weeks to as long as ten years.
Fibre-rich foods help prevent many degenerative diseases by binding with the stomach’s acid so that it cannot damage the lining of the intestinal walls. Green, raw leafy vegetables are beneficial not only for their vitamin and mineral content, but also because they reduce the hyperacidity in all the organs of the body. Potatoes when cooked so as still slightly raw, act as an appetite suppressant, but also contains high levels of glue-like substances called mucilage, which helps the enzymes in the stomach break down the food mass.
The fact is that many vegetables are effective cleansers of the body’s acidic wastes, especially when juiced. The juice of carrots and beets, with their high percentage of acid-forming sulphur and phosphorus, effectively clean out the acidic wastes from the liver, kidneys, and bladder.
Nuts – Cooking, smoking or roasting any nuts will increase their acid-forming properties, so always enjoy nuts and seeds in the raw, unbleached form.
Cayenne Pepper – Stimulate good digestions, including the breakdown of fats. It’s also a good overall body tonic that can help reduce inflammation.
All meats (including fish and fowl), rob the body of minerals that neutralize the acidity, with one of the places that it will take the minerals from being our bones.
Liquids – To really put things into perspective when it comes to neutralizing acidic waste, it takes 32 x 300ml (10oz) glasses of alkaline water to neutralize the acid from one 375ml (12oz) can of carbonated soft drink. For each acid-forming beverage that you consume, your body uses its own buffers, stripping bones, tendons and muscles of calcium and other alkaline minerals, to raise the body’s alkalinity and to maintain a healthy blood pH level of 7.35 – 7.45.
Purified/Enriched Water – Public tap water, and even drinking water in our homes, have been shown to still be contaminated with pharmaceutical drugs, hormones, and bacteria – all acidifying and toxic.
Our bodies lose anywhere up to 2.5 litres (approx. 85 ounces) of water every day just through normal bodily functions. You lose water through urination, respiration, and perspiration. If you are physically active, you’ll require even more water. A sign of thirst is your body’s way of saying you’re already dehydrated.
Symptoms of mild-dehydration include chronic pains in joints and muscles, lower back pain, headaches, and constipation. A strong odour to your urine, along with a dark yellow colour is a clear sign than you’re not getting enough water. The higher the pH of water, the greater ability you have of hydrating your body. Alkalized water contains higher levels of ionic minerals such as calcium, and magnesium, allowing them to be absorbed quickly and easily by your body.
As I’m sure you’ve seen over the past few years, companies are fast catching on to the benefits of purified and reconstructed bottled water, with well-known soft drinks and sports drinks now all launching their own special, and ‘unique’ enriched water, each one seemingly better than the last, and whilst these may well help balance your bodies acid/alkaline levels, ridding your body of acidic toxic waste, you may soon see the cost of living acidic free to be an increasing stress, and emotional stress initiates intestinal infections and inflammatory disorders due to acidifying the blood.
Here are my 7 Simple steps to restoring pH balance in the body.
Make sure you drink enough enriched water – To determine the very least amount of water that you need to drink, take your body weight in Kg and multiply that by 30. This is how many milliliters of water you need to drink each day. This excludes all other drinks such as Coffee and Tea. Should you prefer the Imperial system, you divide your body weight in pounds (Lbs.) by 2. This is how many ounces of water you need per day.
Just a 1-2% drop in body water can impair your mental focus and physical performance, as well as slowing down your metabolism. Exercise causes you to lose vital electrolytes that are critical for nerve impulses and muscle contractions, so being able to quickly replenish these is essential for peak performance.
Supplement – Take a multi-enzyme supplement with every meal along with at least 500ml of enhanced water.
Add variety – Aim for including plenty of alkaline forming vegetables in your diet.
The 80/20 rule –Disease and illness thrive in an acidic environment but can’t survive in an alkaline environment. 80% of your diet should come from alkaline promoting food groups.
Breathe – Stress is one of the most significant causes of acidic conditions in your body. Put some time aside each day to breathe deeply. |
Interface between offline and online media is often hidden from Dusseldorf/Hamburg/Bonn – companies underestimate the potential and impact of cross-media media and marketing management sales industry according to a report of the magazine. Professor Nils comes to this conclusion Andres from the Macromedia University of applied sciences in Hamburg. Andres surveyed more than 1,200 consumers to advertising memories and Kaufbereitschaften in a panel study. Many marketing campaigns pass straight at the new media in the interest of consumers. In our research, we have found that consumers still uploading advertising in traditional media feel addressed. Often be interested consumers in online media, but presents the same content and contextual and further information and functions”, explains the expert to distribution management. Especially when the present majority of consumers encounter rejection this dealing with the online media and significantly reduce the willingness to buy. Andres observed in his “Research not only inappropriate content: our studies have shown that companies primarily focus their marketing content to a range of media”, the scientist explained another problem.
The professional management of the interface between online and offline media will simply disappear in most cases. As a result, Andres sees that suffers not only the effectiveness of our marketing activities. Media budgets could be relieved in his opinion by a professional cross-media management up to 30 percent or more effectively distributed. For planners of marketing activities and advertising campaigns using interactive and cross-media campaigns is a must, to bind customers to increase consumer acceptance and identification with a brand”, says Renatus Zilles, CEO next ID, in the run-up to the Dusseldorf exhibition and Congress OMD, which covers key trends in digital marketing from 17 to 18 September 2008. The potential of the dialogue is often not enough exhausted. Many campaigns will focus initially generating brand contacts, addresses and opt-ins, instead of the ball to absorb and to enter into direct and interactive dialogue with the customer”, criticized Bonn Zilles value-added services expert compared to the magazine of NeueNachricht.
The benefits of car insurance on the point brought spring is new car time. Therefore boom have also auto insurance. To make known the TCS car insurance Serranetga launched an interdisciplinary ad campaign and brings all the advantages of the TCS in car insurance in just a word on the point. At the TCS car insurance is more in it than in conventional car insurance: the premium discount up to legal protection, the customer receives more services for less money. The campaign by Serranetga is right here and waiting with an idea that is as simple as it is effective: the two tags Auto and Insurance serve as clamps and are filled with the various advantages of the TCS car insurance. So was new from Car insurance Autoverkehrsrechtsschutzfahrtrainingokorabattpramienreduktioninklusivesicherheitspaketversicherung. The idea has been implemented as obvious text solution in the form of print ads, posters, flyers and banners including Special formats.
In addition the campaign with an incredibly fast spoken radio spot was waiting, which was recorded by a spokeswoman for specialized rapid response. Appropriately designed a give-away to the idea: the TCS multifunction car tool. The first 3000 people who requested a quote, had a right to this 9-in-1 tool. The campaign objectives were achieved within shortly. Special formats: apps.serranetga.com/chr/tcs/ responsible at TCS: Jerome Carruzzo (senior marketing project manager) responsible for Serranetga: Nadine Rapp (overall responsibility), Samuel Textor, Pascal Deville (creative direction), Thomas Blumer (text), Roli Hofer (art direction), Jessica Baker ha (project coordination), Fabian Keller (strategy), Christos Margaris, Erwan Eydt (programming), Hastings AG (radio spot production) about Serranetga Serranetga is a full service digital agency headquartered in Zurich. Due to the forward-looking network creation, media and technology, the agency creates digital advertising from a single source.
Successfully through promotional, advertising and giveaways of the market on which the companies must compete at the present time, is very tough and the competition is stronger than ever. Therefore, each company must take special measures if she want to keep on their market segment, and if it wants to improve its own sales. Throw just new products on the market is often not the best way, because for this advertiser means you must sort out other aspects, to ensure the success, these new products will bring. An intensive advertising campaign is one of the most important aspects when one has designed a new product, and it must be ignored in any case. Customized advertising can bring a breakthrough in an advertising campaign, because they offer a number of very special advantages that allow each campaign particularly well and just put in a. It is no wonder that at the present time so many companies use this advertiser means the use, because they can really make a big difference.
An important point which must necessarily apply to the advertiser means of a Werbekampagen, is that the promotional gifts should have a practical use for the everyday life of the recipient. This ensures that the giveaways are used most frequently and a promotional message on these advertising media can deliver similarly good results. Customized advertising provide exactly this advantage, and have also have another advantage, which can increase the effect of advertising in the height. You are precisely tailored to the interests and needs of the potential customers or your important business contact, which means that he soon love will win this giveaway, and therefore also very positive towards your company will be. Alone the fact that you knew about his interests, will undoubtedly impress him, and make him feel, that you and your company especially receptive and attentive to the problems and Interests of your customers enter and find therefore intelligent solutions. Customized advertising here ensure that the potential customer, or important business partners, wins a very good opinion about your company and in his next purchase decision guaranteed for your products and brands will decide, as he has made very good experiences with your company. This is the reason why this ad so often used by companies for their advertising campaigns.
An effective and efficient advertising medium for the POS and project business due to the increasing proportion of digital advertising media, the use of monitors and terminal systems is increasingly popular banner stands. However, classic media such as mobile presentation systems are effective supplements, to a direct communication without intermediate media. In particular banner stands are common advertising just for the POS – or the project business, since they can be installed quickly and easily. The banner stand thanks to the light weight and high mobility can be used as a mobile billboard advertising virtually anywhere. The tool-free Assembly makes a presentation system for the project area the banner stand, because the construction can be done in just a few minutes on the spot by just one person. The banner stand ensures optimal use of advertising space by the simple and sleek design of the system. This is the mobile presentation systems and just the banner stands in the foreground.
The interchangeable advertising space can be adapted for each appearance and exchanged and therefore offers for every occasion the perfect advertising speech. The giant banner stand offers even a huge advertising space. With the dimensions of 135 x 200 cm, the system offers a striking presentation space that large and eye-catching is the own advertising scene in scene. The production agency LA CONCEPT offers the banner stand of giant, in addition to many other systems, as experienced in the presentation and booth area. With specialization in the area of mobile advertising presentation, which banner stand can be transported by LA CONCEPT and, despite its size, the banner stand giant easily accessible by car. To facilitate considerably the transport, transport bags are used. This allows transporting protected on repeated missions, as well as the subsequent storage. For more information for the effective and mobile communication, as well as to the price performance specialist, the giant, banner stand on mobile presentation systems/bannerstands.
Includes a strong brand name that identify the employees with the company and the products. Consumers have a good feel for it, whether a consultant with the products feel comfortable, that he brings to the man”, says Anette Rottmar, Products such as insurance companies make special demands on their marketing director of the wvp GmbH. Beratungsintensive. The insurance broker must be well informed of his or her employer and also motivated before the product is presented to potential customers. Therefore insurance companies very careful consideration, how your employees communicate a product and providing them with an attractive and useful information material.” In addition, the Stuttgart advertising agency criticized too many campaigns of the insurer to focus only on the image of the company and only very inadequately to communicate the benefits offered by the company through its products. According to the wvp fizzle means of communication, where the consumer can see no relevance to your life situation and your own needs. More clearly perceived the brand image of an insurer, customer satisfaction is higher, so the study of MSR consulting. A clear brand was particularly for private health insurers and legal protection business specialists an important driver of satisfaction. |
The old town area contains series of monuments mainly from the 11th to 16th centuries. This area has remained a vast deserted land with some remains of ancient fortified settlements, including a mosque, the gates of a caravanserai, fortresses, mausoleums and a 60-m high minaret. In 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
These are authentic and rich examples of fine architecture and building traditions existing for centuries. The level of conservation varies amongst the buildings, and the most substantial restoration work has been carried out in the past thirty years, during the soviet era, using traditional methods and materials.
This minaret is perhaps one of the most striking structures which remains standing at the site. It dates back to the 11th and 12th centuries, and it measures 60 meters in height, making it the highest monument in the park. Additionally, its diameter measures 12 meters at the base, and 2 at the top.
On the basis of its decorative brickwork, including Kufic inscriptions, the minaret is thought to be an earlier construction, only restored by Kutlug-Timur around 1330.
Named after Turabek-Khanum, the wife of Kutlug-Timur (ruled between 1321 and 1336), this structure is located at the northern part of ancient Gurgench. It is remarkable for its elegant design and stunning tile decoration, and it is a highly sophisticated work of architecture, both in its conceptualisation of spaces and in its engineering. Both are fully utilised in a conscious way to achieve a visual, aesthetic and spiritual effect.
The original building was composed of two chambers: a large domed hall and a smaller one behind it. The large chamber is twelve-sided on the exterior and hexagonal on the interior, being preceded by an entrance portal and a vestibule.
One of the most impressive architectural features of the mausoleum is the circular dome covering the main hall, whose surface is covered in colourful mosaic which forms intricate ornamental patterns consisting of flowers and stars, creating a visual metaphor for the heavens. No comparable contemporary parallels can be found at Urgench, as some of the architectural features, such as the decorations mentioned above, do not appear in other monuments built during the lifetime of Turabek-Khanum, around 1330. Thus, it is difficult to date the building so early. These features do, however, appear in Central Asia later, during the reign of Timur, a warlord of Turco-Mongol descent. New technologies, such as mosaic faience, show up in Timur's earliest buildings, such as the Aq Saray palace in Shahrisabz, in Uzbekistan, which was begun in 1379 but was still unfinished in 1404.
This structure is the presumed Tomb of Sultan Ala al-din Tekesh, the founder of the Khwarezm Empire and its ruler between 1172-1200. It has been identified as a mausoleum due to the tradition that each ancient Central Asian building is dedicated to a historical or mythical personage.
The building is made of bricks and consists of a square hall with walls which are 11,45 meters high, a massive round drum and a conical roof with an inner dome hidden under it. The dome is connected to the square walls it rests upon by an octagonal belt. The structure between the dome and the octagon is decorated with 16 shallow niches. Their form is not lancet-like as those commonly found in the Islamic architecture of Central Asia, but rather semicircular. This is a motif that can be found in the marble 8th-century mihrab at the Baghdad Museum, and has seldom been used in Central Asia: another comparable case that can be found in Turkmenistan is that of the mihrab of Muhammad Ibn Zayd's 11th-century mosque, from Merv. However, the two are located too far away to be considered prototypes.
The external conical roof is built of horizontal layers using the technique of a false vault. From the inside, it is strengthened with 12 buttresses standing upon the internal dome. Although this might seem like a risky construction technique, the roof is not in bad condition: only the top is destroyed, and the blue majolica[disambiguation needed] decoration slightly damaged.
One of the special features of the building's architecture is its façade. It presents a high portal niche with the main archway, which has now lost its original form. Interestingly, the lancet arch of the portal is filled by a complicated system of stalactite -like forms, which is a decorative motif made of terracotta and fixed on wooden sticks within the brickwork.
Research concerning this structure has given rise to speculations that the Mausoleum of Tekesh might have lied at the centre of some large construction that consisted of a multitude of buildings. Thus, certain scholars would argue that the building served a different purpose from that of a mausoleum, such as, for example, a House of Government or a Palace of the Great Khwarazm-shahs.
Kyrkmolla is a 12 meter high mound which used to constitute a fortress. It is located in the north-eastern outskirts of Gurgench. It is particularly significant as the earliest ceramics discovered at the site, dating back to the 5th century BC, were located here. It is protected by a thick mud-brick wall which dates back to the 10th to 14th centuries, and has been partially rebuilt after archaeological excavations.
This complex is situated in the centre of the new town of Kunya-Urgench, within a Muslim cemetery. The Najm-ad-Din al-Kubra Mausoleum was erected in the first half of the 14th century, and derives its name from the philosopher, painter, physician, chess master and general Ahmed Ibn Omar Najm-Ad-Din al-Kubra, the founder of the Kubrawiya Sufi order. This is one of the structures which was rebuilt during the Khorezm era of prosperity, and also after the Mongol invasion.
The Mausoleum of Sultan Ali, who ruled in the 16th century, is located across. It is a hexagonal monument, with a dome measuring 9.5 meters in diameter.
The Mausoleum of Piryar Vali, a contemporary of Najm-Ad-Din al-Kubra, is located to the west of the latter's mausoleum, and was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is 6.5 meters high and measures 7.5 meters in length.
Il Arslan is a magnificent piece of architecture, also known among the people as the Mausoleum of Kho-Rezmshah II Arslan, who ruled from 1156 to 1172. The mausoleum, dating to the 12th century, is the oldest standing monument in Gurgench.
The building has a cuboidal structure of baked brick similar to the earliest existing Islamic mausoleum in Central Asia, the early 10th-century mausoleum of the Samanids in Bukhara, but instead of a hemispherical dome it has a faceted conical roof. The structure is decorated with a motif carved in relief into brick panels, a frieze containing an aphorism written in beautiful script, and with carved vegetal motifs displaying variations of an arabesque pattern. The decorative scheme of the dome presents a tiling technique executed in turquoise glazed brick tiles, forming a geometric pattern.
According to some of the latest scientific discoveries, one of the structure's functions, at a certain point, was that of storing water.
This monument is dedicated to Inb Khajib, one of Najm-ad-Din al-Kubra's talented disciples. It is located in the western part of ancient Urgench and it consists of a complex of monuments, all constructed in different periods of time, from the 14th to the 19th centuries.
Ak-Kala is a fortress located southwest of the ruins of medieval Urgench. Its walls, whose height ranges from 6 to 8 meters, and which measure approximately 2 meters at the top, stretch on more than a kilometre. They were built with sun dried mud-bricks and their corners are decorated with semi-circular towers, whilst the inner side of the fortress wall is sustained by buttresses. |
A few posts ago in the plan cache series I discussed the children for the Statements element. I’ve gotten through two of the elements and in this post we’ll be looking at the StmtCursor and StmtReceive elements.
The SHOWPLAN XML schema defines both that StmtCursor and StmtReceive are types for one or more cursor operations. The operations can be DECLARE CURSOR, OPEN CURSOR, and FETCH CURSOR. For the most part, the rest of this post will focus on the StmtCursor element.
Each time a cursor is created, the operations for creating and interacting with the cursor are managed through these elements. This activity is not included when the actual execution plan cursor is returned. The plan that is returned contains the statements that the cursor executes.
Executing the above script generates the execution plan below. As the plan details, the FETCH operation executes four times and the SELECT from Sales.SalesOrderDetail is executed three times.
One of the benefits to looking at the execution plan for a CURSOR is that you get the full effect of the execution. For each statement executed, the cost is calculated and the percentages of cost are a direct result of all of the costs.
Suppose though the number of executions varies quite a bit and you want to see just the plan with the population of the cursor followed by one execution of the logic that the cursor processes. One way to do this would be to modify the SQL Statement such that it only cycles through once… or you could just look up the compiled plan in the plan cache.
To lookup the compiled plan in the plan cache you will be looking for the StmtCursor element within a execution plan. As mentioned above, this element is used for the definition of cursors and to describe the OPEN, FETCH, and CLOSE operations that are called against the cursor.
CursorActualType: Values can be Snapshot, Keyset, or FastForward. Property determines how data within a cursor is collected and retrieved by the cursor.
CursorRequestedType: Values can be Static, Keyset, Dynamic, or FastForward. Property determines how data within a cursor is collected and retrieved by the cursor.
CursorConcurrency: Determines whether rows updated or deleted with a cursor can succeed if they are modified outside of the cursor before the cursor modification. Values can be Optimistic, Pessimistic, or Read Only.
ForwardOnly: Boolean value stating whether the cursor can only move forward or if it can also move in any direction (i.e. first, last, or prior).
Now if you select the link for the query plan, the query plan for the cursor sample above will open. This execution play has some significant differences over the plan that was returned when the example was executed.
For starters, the populate cursor step takes up 90% of the query cost. This can be useful for looking for cursors that have a high cost when building the cursor. Then there is only the two fetch operations and SELECT statements. Finally, at this point the execution plan hasn’t been executed so there is not information on the number of executions that will occur with the SELECT statement.
If you look in your plan cache and find StmtReceive elements, I would be interested in hearing about those plans. Please comment or contact me if you run into this element.
What’s the value in using the StmtCursor element? For starters, have you ever dug through your stored procedures or dug into the code from all of the applications in your environment to give the cursors a once over?
If you are an adventurous, or a bored, soul – getting them from the stored procedure definitions isn’t too difficult. Getting them from the application would be more challenging and potentially a colossal waste of time. Instead, by looking at the plan cache you can pull out all of the compiled plans that are active in your environment. Nevermind the 42 stored procedures that you found in sys.sql_modules with cursors – instead focus on the few stored procedures that are actually being used.
Some other things to think about when you are combing through your plan cache – do you really need to have an updateable cursor? Can the cursor be read only? Then again – is the cursor really needed for the operation it is trying to complete?
Take a few minutes to look through these and you may find some big wins and maybe save some future aches and pains. Maybe your boss will be impressed enough to send you to an upcoming SQL Saturday event. |
Carbon monoxide (CO) has been called the “invisible killer” as an odorless, tasteless, and colorless gas. CO incidents can happen at anytime of the year. Be sure your family is protected against the dangers of high CO levels.
Where does carbon monoxide (CO) come from?
CO is a product of every fire, small or large. It is released into the air anytime fossil fuels are burned, such as gasoline, propane, natural gas, oil or wood. It can come from heating and cooking devices in the home. Dangerous CO levels tend to peak during cooler winter weather with fireplaces, generators, and heaters being more commonly used. More than 20,000 people each year are sent to the ER with CO poisoning.
What are symptoms of CO poisoning?
Carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms often include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.
How do CO levels rise?
When in a contained place, such as inside a home, the CO particles do not have room to dissipate, causing the level to climb dangerously. Sometimes you might not know right away that you’ve been poisoned. The poisonous gas is not possible to detect by sight, smell, or taste, life safety experts suggest CO detectors be installed in every home. To protect yourself and loved ones, you need an early warning system.
How do CO detectors save lives?
More than 400 people die each year in the United States from CO poisoning. CO detectors will sound if levels are too high.
What’s the advantage of a monitored carbon monoxide detector?
Our central station receives the alert and notifies authorities in event of an abnormally high level of CO. High carbon monoxide levels can be deadly while you’re sleeping. With a monitored alarm, you can rest assured knowing you’re protected while you sleep. Especially if you have children, elderly, or pets in your home, you’ll have more peace of mind with a monitored CO detector even when away from home.
Can I receive alerts to my phone when CO levels rise?
Yes, you can receive around-the-clock notifications, from wherever you are, to warn you of unsafe levels. |
"This is the Queen speaking from Bristol. Good afternoon, my Lord Provost."
Those were the words Edinburgh's Lord Provost heard on December 5, 1958, on what was a historic phone call.
Before then people using telephones in the UK had to go through an operator when they wanted to reach someone.
In an age when everyone has a phone in their pocket it's easy to take instant calls for granted, but at the time the UK's telephone system relied on a series of 41 manually-operated telephone exchanges.
However the General Post Office, which ran the early telephone network, was eager to update the technology.
The GPO spent £35m modernising the network, keen to catch up with the popularity of telephone usage in the US.
The modernisation in 1958 introduced what is known as Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD). Unsurprisingly, the term is used sparingly today.
Calls could be made automatically without the need of a human operator.
To demonstrate the new system, a call would be placed from the central telephone exchange in Marsh Street, Bristol, to Edinburgh 300 miles away.
This was the greatest distance a trunk call could be made at the time.
Can you help find the missing hand of this Edinburgh-made statue of St Andrew?
And who better to perform the honour of dialling the first call than Her Majesty the Queen?
The event would take place in full view of the media, so engineers would have been nervous it would go ahead correctly.
However the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir Ian Anderson Johnson-Gilbert, performed his role in the historic day flawlessly.
He replied to Her Majesty: "May I with humble duty offer you the loyal greetings of the citizens of Edinburgh."
He went on to thank her for the "honour" she had paid to him and Scotland by making the first call.
As well as making phones much more convenient, STD made them substantially cheaper as well.
The Queen's two-minute phone call cost the equivalent of 4p, under the old system it would have been 19p.
When the ceremony in Bristol was complete Prince Philip chipped in with a typically off-the-cuff remark.
The Duke of Edinburgh said: "You can relax now chaps, it all works!" |
and Jackie Robinson". We discussed some interesting facts about China, found Bandit's home, Chongqing, on the globe, talked a bit about the Chinese New Year, and looked at the Chinese calendar and animals. Students shared their opinions about what makes a "good book" which opened the door for us to begin looking at some of the basic literary elements we will be covering in class - setting, plot, theme, and characterization. We wrapped up our time together with the children using Chinese calligraphy paint brushes to write their names, translated into Chinese characters.
Each student received a homework handout which indicates what needs to be completed by next Monday - assigned chapters to read, several small writing assignments, and a list of vocabulary words they should be familiar with by next week.
I have assigned the first three chapters for reading and I will use this first week to gauge how quickly we should move through the book - I know students are at varying reading levels and this is most likely not the only reading on their weekly agenda. I will hope to move at a pace that is most enjoyable and reasonable for all. |
The Metsamor NPP is located in the Ararat valley near the city of Metsamor, 28 kilometers west of Yerevan, Armenia. It was designed and engineering by Gidropress. The plant consists of two VVER-440 units and started producing electricity in December 1976. The fuel is produced by TVEL at the Machine-Building Plant in the city of Elektrostal, Moscow Region. The plant remains practically the only source that strengthens the energy independence of Armenia.
After the Spitak earthquake, in 1989 unit 1 was closed, but the Metsamor nuclear power plant produces about 40 percent of the electricity needs in Armenia. Unit 2 has already reached its design life and must be upgraded. In 2014, the government decided to carry out a modernization program and in 2015 signed a contract with Russia. The general contractor for this project is Rusatom Service. The minimum lifetime of the plant will be at least 10 years: the unit will be extended until 2026.
One of the most important stages in the modernization of the Metsamor NPP is to improve the performance of safety systems. According to the Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia, out of the total investment program in the amount of US $ 300 million (a preferential loan and a grant to carry out repair work the Russian Government allocated to the Russian Federation), US $ 170 million will be spent on improving safety.
NβN tip: Vladimir Bredov is Deputy Director for Project Management at Rusatom Service state company, and project manager for extending the service life of Metsamor NPP. |
Sebastiano Conca, (born Jan. 8, 1680, Gaeta, Kingdom of Naples [Italy]—died Sept. 1, 1764, Naples), late Neapolitan Baroque painter who created great, animated compositions, superficial in content but dazzling in colour and in execution.
Conca studied in Naples under Francesco Solimena. In 1706, along with his brother Giovanni, who acted as his assistant, he settled in Rome. He was patronized by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, who introduced him to Pope Clement XI. The pope commissioned him to paint frescoes in San Clemente and San Giovanni in Laterano and The Crowning of St. Cecilia in Santa Cecilia in Trastevere (1725). His pictures in the grand manner were also sought by the royalty of Spain, Portugal, and Poland and by the elector of Cologne. He returned to Naples in 1751, where he executed more religious frescoes—e.g., Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in Sta. Chiara. |
The synagogue and cemetery in Surabaya, the one and only synagogue in Indonesia, is closed down by a group of Muslim protesters claiming to defend the Palestinian cause. What does this have got to do with the conflict? The Jewish people in Surabaya (only a handful of them) did not bomb the gaza strip! And I thought Islam is supposed to defend the right of minority to practice their own religion? Should I be cynical about this?
Palestine has a significant christian population, more than 10 percent. The conflict affects them too. Are Palestinian Christians included when Indonesians refers to "Palestinian cause"?
Not all Israeli support the occupation and the attack. My Israeli friends are in fact sick of the war.
For me, the conflict cannot be reduced as a merely religious conflict. The issue is complicated, and it's dangerous to oversimplify and thinking in a stereotypical ways. A simple google search could help re-educate all of us and help us think with a more open mind.
Some Indonesians prefers to send people to Palestine to help fight the Israeli offensive. Why not sending people to rural Indonesia and help build villages, schools, teach people to read? Or if you really want to help Palestine, you can go ahead, boycott Israeli and American products if you want (this includes using the internet and softwares ya?). Just don't infringe other people's right to worship.
is exactly what I've been thinking. If they want to fight, go ahead... I mean, we don't need more militant people in Indonesia anyway, why not sending them away?
But, Rani... Stereotyping is Indonesian culture!!! You can not abandon that culture! Yeah... Right.
About Gaza, I suppose we can play the blame game here and say that the Indonesian press are the ones to be blamed for not reporting even-handedly (but which press does?). And maybe that job falls on our laps, the one with more access to information to spread the knowledge.
People like to group, and to group we need something thats commonly shared with one another, and what common thing do we have with people miles away across the sea and with different customs, language, and culture other than religion? I think that's why people tend to see the conflict as a religious one rather than a political one. And a conflict of religious nature will always be perceived as good vs. evil.
Anyway... just my two cents.
Regarding the synagogue, well, personally it is sad to see that hasty generalization is still within some of our people. Some people who protest this action seem also not to understand the matter precisely. It is just something about solidarity. Hmm.
I wrote about this =1401 (although in Indonesian) and yeah, I thought that although the Israelis are a-holes, doesn't mean that the war is a religious one. It's something else completely and I really don't get the Indonesians' (and Malaysians) insistence that it is.
I especially do not get why we want to send people over to Palestine to fight. I mean, I don't mind them going, it'll at least lessen the population in Indonesia but I just don't get their willingness to help and fight other nations 'just because' they share the same religion.
What about sharing the same race and nationality? Why is there less help for the unfortunates and the victims of natural disasters in Indonesia? |
Although many countries around the world have unique traditions to mark the loss of a child's baby teeth, the tooth fairy legend is believed to have originated in the United States in the early part of the 1900s. This custom has remained popular, and even today, many parents search for fun and creative ideas about how to use the tooth fairy story to celebrate the loss of a child's baby teeth.
It is difficult for anyone to comprehend what the tooth fairy would do with the teeth from all the children around the world. Some say that tooth fairies are building a giant castle for their queen from the cleanest and most well cared for teeth, while the substandard teeth are ground down for paving stones. This may be why the tooth fairy leaves more money for some teeth than others. Your tooth fairy letter can hint that if your child wants a bonus under her pillow, brushing thoroughly twice a day is a good way to earn it.
No matter what your family's preferred tooth fairy looks like, tooth fairies all leave behind a gift when they collect a tooth, and so all parents are faced with the problem of determining how much money to put under the pillow when the tiny tooth collector pays a visit.
Children generally begin to lose their baby teeth between the ages of 5 and 7. By the time a child's full set of 32 adult teeth come in, he will have lost 20 baby teeth. When a child loses his first tooth, parents may wish to set expectations regarding tooth fairy visits. Delta Dental conducts an annual tooth fairy poll, which tracks a sampling of tooth fairy payments. Over the last 10 years, the amount has vacillated between $1.50 and $2.50. The poll further indicates that the value of a tooth actually moves up and down in close relation to the U.S. economy.
Creative tooth fairy ideas can also incorporate dental care education and establish good brushing habits. Reinforcing the importance of dental care routines by using notes written by the tooth fairy is a fun way to remind kids to brush and floss. Printable tooth fairy receipts and note cards are available online, or you can design your own using notepaper and glitter for fairy dust to make the experience seem even more authentic.
Tooth containers are another popular item associated with visits from the tooth fairy. Mini treasure chests are an option. Tooth-shaped pillows or monogrammed pillows with pockets to hold the lost tooth will help to avoid losing the important item before the tooth fairy arrives to collect it.
Sometimes a child may lose a tooth and not even be aware that it has fallen out. In this case, your child can write a short note, with your help, to explain the situation to the tooth fairy and perhaps to suggest a location to search (school, playground, etc.). On extremely busy nights, the tooth fairy may not have cash on hand — especially when the tooth loss occurs right before bedtime — and will need to supply a child with an IOU. Explain to your child that lots of kids at that age lose teeth, and sometimes this happens on the same day. There are times when the tooth fairy forgets to visit or just doesn't make it to your house. A simple explanation with the promise of a reward the next night will usually suffice.
Occasionally, a baby tooth is lost prematurely due to an accident or injury. In other situations, baby teeth refuse to come out on their own and need to be "wiggled" out at the dentist's office. These special cases call for extra care and attention from parents, as well as from the tooth fairy. An encouraging letter from the tooth fairy, accompanied by a treat, can be sent to praise the child's bravery at the dentist office. Reassuring a child who has been through a dental procedure helps to take away some of the fear and provides an opportunity to discuss the experience with your child at his or her level of understanding.
Losing a tooth is one of the great rites of passage during childhood, one that involves the magical transformation of their teeth into money or a small gift. The traditional idea of the tooth fairy involves the child placing his tooth under the pillow at night and awakening the next morning to find that the tooth fairy has left money in its place. However, there are also some outside-the-box ideas on how to be the tooth fairy that can make your child's experience even more memorable.
While an 8- or 9-year-old may be excited about money, a younger child will probably not understand the value of money and might be happier with a special treat. Depending on how extravagant you want to get, the tooth fairy could leave behind a book, a small toy, a healthy snack or even something like tickets to the zoo. Just keep in mind that whatever you do for the first tooth will set expectations for all the rest.
There are lots of other extras you can do to add to the mystery and magic of the tooth fairy experience. Think about getting a special tooth pillow with a pocket for the tooth. That way, the "tooth fairy" knows just where to find it without searching underneath your child's head. You can buy these or, if you're feeling crafty, make your own.
Another idea is to have the tooth fairy leave a note for your child. Use a special pen, put some effort into creative handwriting and then dust some glitter over the paper to create fairy dust. You might have the tooth fairy explain what is going to happen to the tooth and leave an encouraging message to your child to keep brushing.
Some kids are naturally skeptical. If you want to keep the mystery of the tooth fairy alive as long as possible, be sure not to write in your own handwriting when leaving a note from the fairy. You can print off a letter with a fancy font from your computer, or write your tooth fairy letters in very tiny (fairy-sized) block letters with a very fine-tipped pen, so your child can see it was written by someone much smaller than mom or dad.
A letter from the tooth fairy is a great way to encourage your child to maintain their oral health while extending the time of childhood fantasies as long as you can. |
Redundancy can have a devastating impact on a person’s life.
Apart from the financial burdens associated with unemployment, it can also have long lasting effects on a person’s self-esteem.
If left unaddressed, this can lead to a spiral of self-doubt and depression that can leave a person unable to cope with simple day to day tasks.
Finding the motivation to move forward after being made redundant is the key to finding alternative employment and returning to life as normal. A number of motivation theories state that our need for achievement is influenced by a combination of internal and environmental factors. In the case of a redundancy, internal factors like lowered self-esteem and external factors like societal expectations may impact upon a person’s ability to stay motivated.
Many people who are made redundant attribute blame to something they’ve said or done. This only contributes to feelings of self-doubt and further decreases motivation to find alternative employment. The fact is that in many cases, redundancies are simply a casualty of the company’s economic circumstances or a government department that is being cut and has nothing to do with the individual. In order to move forward and regain motivation, you must first accept that being made redundant was not your fault.
Approach a redundancy as the start of a new beginning, rather than simply an end. Plan out your days so you’re completing job applications in the morning and staying physically active in the afternoon. This may be as simple as going for a jog or doing a spot of gardening. Keeping your body and mind active is the key to finding the strength to stay motivated and to keep going after a redundancy.
Use your contacts to find new job opportunities. Even if you’re considering a career change, make a list of useful contacts you have gained over the years and ask them if they can set up any introductions. Recruitment agencies are also a good form of networking. They can also help you to review your CV, discuss possible career changes, organise training opportunities and offer helpful redundancy advice.
No matter how proactive and busy you remain, you’re still likely to experience a number of emotions after being made redundant. It’s important you seek emotional support from your family and friends to help you through the toughest times. Another useful support is professional counseling. It may be the key to regaining your motivation after a redundancy. Experienced councillors can help you develop strategies to move forward with life after a redundancy. |
H.E.S.S. is an array of four imaging atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes located in Namibia and designed to detect gamma rays in the very-high-energy (VHE; 0.1 < E < 100 TeV) domain. The full array has been in operation and observing the Galaxy since late 2003. The H.E.S.S. array’s large field-of-view, high sensitivity, and location in the southern hemisphere have made it well-suited for both systematic surveying and for deeply observing specific sources of interest. The efforts of the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey (GPS), the first comprehensive survey of the inner Galaxy (current l = 280 deg to 60 deg, b +/- 4 deg) at TeV energies, have contributed to the discovery of an unexpectedly large and diverse population of over 60 sources of VHE gamma rays. In this thesis, the latest dataset of the H.E.S.S. GPS is presented in detail, providing the most complete view of the Galaxy in the VHE gamma-ray regime to date. The resulting discoveries of four previously unknown VHE gamma-ray sources -- HESS J1708-443, HESS J1503-582, HESS J1832-084, and HESS J1848-018 -- are reported in particular, and their associations with astrophysical phenomena seen at lower energies are investigated with the aid of both dedicated and archival multi-wavelength data, in an attempt to reveal their physical nature. In addition, deep observations of the youngest Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G1.9+0.3 are used to probe its VHE gamma-ray emission in light of theoretical predictions. Finally, the first study to correlate bright MeV–GeV gamma-ray sources with VHE gamma-ray sources is presented. Although the current population of VHE gamma-ray emitters is found to be dominated by pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) and SNRs, nearly a third still remain unidentified or confused, illustrating both the challenges and scientific potential that pervade Galactic TeV astronomy. |
During the day your panels capture sunlight and convert it into Direct Current (DC), this energy is then fed into the inverter for conversion to AC.
Receives that direct current from the panels and converts it into the electricity you use in your home, Alternate Current (AC). You use this electricity when needed and send any excess back to the grid or to a battery storage system.
Means any excess energy your system generates can be stored for use later even when the sun is not shining. When the battery is fully charged, you can send the excess energy back to the grid, and can generate credit on your electricity bill.
Measures your electricity use in 30-minute intervals and can tell you more about your energy usage.
A smart device which measures your solar generation, consumption and export at 15 second increments.
Receives any excess energy you generate, feeding it back into the grid which can give you a credit on your bill. If you aren’t generating enough solar energy to power your home, you can draw power back from the grid to fully cover your energy needs. |
As you know if you've been with us in our Sunday night series on origins, I've been trying to combine two things in discussing origins. One of course is the text of Scripture and that takes us to the book of Genesis. And the other is to bring in some areas of Science or some areas of logic and reason as well as other portions of the Scripture to enrich our understanding of the matter of origins. Open your Bible now if you will to Genesis, Chapter 3. The 3rd Chapter in the Bible. It's in this Chapter that we find out about the origin of sin. And its impact on the universe. We all remember that at the end of the 2nd Chapter of Genesis everything was very good. God had created everything in six days. And he saw according to Chapter 1, Verse 31, "That is was very good." And God rested from his creation. Then we come to Chapter 3. Because of what happened in Chapter 3, nobody has rested including God. Because Chapter 3 is where sin enters the world. And it gives to us a very simple and straightforward account of how that happened. Chapter 3, Verse 1, the Serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman indeed "has God said you shall not eat from any tree of the garden. And the woman said to the serpent from the fruit of the trees of the garden, we may eat but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it les you die.'"
And the serpent said to the woman, "you surely shall not die. For God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God. Knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate, she gave also to her husband with her he ate. In the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings." As the chapter goes on, they encounter God who pronounces a curse on them. A curse the effects of which we all feel. This then is the fall of man. And that's really all it says. In the book of Romans, Chapter 5, it says, "in Adam, all died. Because in Adam all sinned." It also tell us that the sin of Adam was passed on through the corruption of his seed that every human being because we've all come out of the loins of Adam. This was a monumental thing. It took the perfect creation and catapulted it into corruption.
Now I need to just talk a little bit because there are so many questions that arise on the subject of evil and why God allowed it. And I want to tell you this; all I know is what the Bible says. And really I'm very content to know that and not need to know anything else. Scripture never assumes that God owes man even his children an explanation for what he does or why he does it. You need to understand that at the very beginning. As Deuteronomy 29:29 says, "A secret things belong to the Lord." God is not bound to explain to us anything about what he does or why he does it. Now we might wish we knew more than just the simple account that I read to you. We might wish there was more than the 3rd Chapter of Genesis to tell us about how evil entered the world, but really knowing more was not God's will. And God does not feel pressed to justify himself or to explain himself to his fallen creatures. Even the noblest of them who identify him as their God. What we know is what God has chosen to tell us. And what he's chosen to tell us is in the Bible. That's all we know and that's all he wants us to know with that we should be satisfied. Now we have questions. And our questions are probably no different than Adams. Adam was the first person who raised what is known as the issue of Theodicy or the origin of evil. Adam raised the question. In Chapter 3, in Verse 12, he said "the woman who you gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree and I ate." He said, "God, it's your fault." He had the question too. Where did this come from? Look at our world. It's all different, we're being cursed. We feel shame; something dramatic has changed. And it happened because Eve succumbed to the tempter, "God, why did you make Eve?" That's the question; I mean why did you do that? And he blamed God. And God never answered that. God gave him no reason for making Eve other than the original reason Adam needed a helper. But as to why he made Eve, the way she was and why he put her in a position and made her capable of doing what she did and made Adam capable of doing what he did that plummeted the whole human race into sin, God never answered the queries of Adam.
God never tells him why he allowed the fall. There isn't any explanation given to him. God doesn't explain his motives, he doesn't explain his purposes, he doesn't explain his plans. What he does do is endite Adam. And God's response to Adam's question is to curse him. Curse his wife, curse the universe and then leave. That's what God did. And then throw Adam and Eve out of the garden. Never does God feel compelled to explain anything to Adam other than that which he has chosen to reveal. It's very similar to another situation in the book of Genesis in Chapter 22. Abraham goes to God of course and God tells him, "I want you to sacrifice your son Isaac." Now a Father might say, "What? God why in the world would you ask me to do that? "Human sacrifice is not suitable to you. And killing my son would be murder. This is a very pagan thing to do." And even though you say, well but God never let it happen because God brought a ram, you remember an animal to take the place of Isaac and he was never sacrificed but as John framed the Theologian rights, why would God trifle so with a father's love? Why would he even put that thought in the mind of Abraham to bring him such profound grief because God was not only asking him to slay his son, but to kill the promise because this promise that God had made called the Abrahamic covenant depended upon Isaac. God never told him why. God never explained himself; God never gave him any justification or any motivation for why he did what he did. And it's important to understand this. Why God's unwillingness to defend himself and God's unwillingness to justify himself in human minds, he is clearly claiming to be sovereign. He is claiming to have sovereign right to do whatever he wants to do. And listen to this, and to be trusted for it and to be honored for it.
Whatever suspicions may arise in fallen minds, God does not defend himself, God does not justify himself, he simply affirms his sovereign right to be trusted and to be honored. God will never place himself under human judgment. And he has no obligation to explain anything to us at all. So back up and approach the problem this way. Aren't you glad that you know at least as much as you know? Because God was under no obligation to even tell you that. Now you remember last week turn back to the book of Job for a minute. I want to talk about this issue a little before we talk about Satan. Do you remember in the book of Job that we talked about so much last week. Everything was happening to Job, he lost everything, he lost all his animals and then he lost his family and then he lost his health. And he was reduced to nothing except his wife and himself in a state of dire physical condition. And the whole reason Job was being blasted with all of this at the hands of Satan was because God and Satan were in a contest.
And God was making a point to Satan. God was proving to Satan that Satan couldn't break someone's faith in God no matter what he did to that person. Satan believed that none of God's followers, God's children would be faithful unless God prospered them and so God makes the point that their faithfulness to me is not built on prosperity, it's built on the divine gift of faith which is eternal. And so God let Satan bombard Job to prove that saving faith can't be broken. But Job doesn't know that. He doesn't know why it's happening. Then his friends gather around him and they don't know about the contest between God and Satan. They don't know anything about that. So they with their sort of simple theology, assumed that Job's getting bombed because he's sinning.
And Job's running an inventory of his life while he's listening to these poor counselors and they're giving him all this stuff about you must be sinning, you must be sinning. And Job's checking everything around and saying, "I'm not doing it, I'm not doing it, I'm not doing it." And he keeps getting the wrong answer to everything and he continues through all of this suffering. Well finally turn over to Job Chapter 23. Job reaches a point where he just wants an answer about why this is happening. So he decides to ask God. Chapter 23, "Then Job replied. Even today my complaint is rebellion, his hand is heavy despite my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come to his seat. I would present my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments; I would learn the words which he would answer. In otherwords, I'm at the point now where I just need to hear from God where is he? I have some questions to ask. I really need some answers. And if I could just know or as Verse 5 says, "perceive what he would say to me. Would he contend with me by the greatness of his power? Surely he would pay attention to me." There the upright would reason with him and I would be delivered forever from my judge." In otherwords, I think I have a case before God. I think I have a case that I'm an innocent man. That I'm a righteous man and if I could just find God to check in and have a hearing with God, I think I could present a reasonable case.
And in fact he could. He wasn't a righteous man. And so he really wants to hear from God. Some other discourses take place. And I would draw you over to Chapter 38. Others who talk to Job and Job talks back to them. But finally in Chapter 38, God does answer. And this is remarkable really. Verse 1 of Chapter 38, "The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, 'oh finally, finally I'm going to hear from God.' 'Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?'" He, all God says is you've all got it wrong.
Now gird up your loins like a man. Quit whining. And I will ask you and you instruct me. God turns tables and he says, "Okay, Job, you have questions of me, I have questions of you." First question, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" "What, what is that?" "Tell me if you have an understanding." Who said it's measurements since you know? Who stretched the line on it? What were its basis ___ or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars or angels sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. "Hey Job, where were you when I made the world?"
Answer, "You were nowhere. What makes you think you deserve an answer from me?" This is a righteous man folks. This is a righteous man. "Where were you when I closed the sea with doors?" In otherwords I bounded the sea by land. "Where were you when I made a cloud that's garmented in thick darkness with swaddling band." And he's talking about the evaporation, the hydrological cycle that takes the water over the land. "Where were you when I placed the boundaries and sent the bolt in the doors." And Verse 12, "if you ever in your life commanded the morning and caused the dawn to know its place?" This is amazing.
Who do you think you are Job? Are you able to command the morning? Or maybe in Verse 16, he even talks about the earth. Like turning, like Verse 14, "turning like clay in a seal." And Verse 16, "have you entered into the springs of the sea? Have you walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness?" "Where is the way" Verse 19 "to the dwelling of light? Where does light come from? Where odes darkness come from, etc., etc., etc., etc.," Then in Verse 31, he says, "Can you bind the chains of the pleaties or loose the chords of Orion?" In otherwords, do you know how to hold the constellations in their places? Can you lead forth the constellation in its season and guide the bear with her satellites; do you know the ordinance of the heaven or fix their rule over the earth? Can you lift up your voice to the clouds and say something so that an abundance of rain may cover you? Can you call forth the rain? Can you call forth the lightning? And this just goes on and on and on. In Chapter 39, "do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the cabbing of the deer?" In otherwords do you know who you're talking too? He never tells Job anything about his problems. He never tells him any reason why they happen. He gives them no answer; he gives him no justification for what has happened. And again this is an affirmation that God is absolutely sovereign, that we do not need to know all the reasons why he does what he does, but we do need to trust him and honor him.
Chapter 40, Job's getting the message and the Lord said to Job, "Will the fault finder contend with the almighty?" Do you want to keep arguing Job? And Job answered the Lord and said, "Behold I am insignificant, what can I reply to thee? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken and I will not answer even twice, I will add no more. I've said all I'm gonna say, I'm done." "Good" God says. That's what I want out of you. Just shut up and keep suffering. Verse 6, that's what he says. "He answers Job out of the storm and says, gird up your loins like a man. And don't you contend with me." You just obey me. You just honor me. Because you're in no position to get into these things. And he talks to him about his creation of the hemeth, the great beast in Chapter 40, Verse 15, "an aneliviathin, the great sea dragon." In Chapter 41 and he goes through these descriptions of these great creatures that God has created. Finally in Chapter 42, Job answers and says, "I know you can do all things, no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand. Thanks to wonderful me for which I didn't know. Hear now and I will speak, I will ask you and do thou instruct me. I have heard of thee by the hearing ear but now my eye sees thee, therefore I retract and I repent in dust and ashes." Job says, "I'm sorry I ever asked. You just recited to me that you are the sovereign God. That you created everything. That you control everything and it's not for me to know all the reasons why and all I need to do is to keep my mouth shut. But the experience have been monumental because I now know more about you than I have ever known and I repent" is the real word there. "I repent, I turn around and I throw dust and ashes on myself as evidence of that repentance." "I never should have asked." He's like Adam in a way; Adam never should have asked either. God didn't give him an answer, Job should have never asked; God didn't give him an answer. God endited Adam, God endited Job. And simply says to Job, "Who do you think you are? Why are you even bringing this up? Do you think you could grasp these matters of a sovereign God and why sovereign God does what he does?" "You have sinned in questioning my wisdom, my goodness, my holiness and my purpose." You can ask questions I think. You can ask questions about the origin of evil up to one point and that is the point where you would begin to endite God. Then you've crossed the line. Ezekiel 18:25 says; "yet you say the way of the Lord is not right. Hear now oh house of Israel, is my way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? Don't you ever accuse me of doing what isn't right." And even in the issue of why God allows evil? All we know is what we know, but what we know is this. Our God always does what is right. Similar treatment of this same thing in the 3rd Chapter of Romans. Verse 4, "let every man be found a liar, let God be found true." God is true, God is right, though everyone in the world is a liar. Over in Chapter 9 of Romans, in Verse 14, "What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be." ____ strongest negative in Greek language. There is no injustice with God. There is no wrong with God. Don't you know God said, "I'll have mercy on whom I have mercy? I'll have compassion on whom I'll have compassion?" God can do essentially exactly what he wants to do. It's not answerable to us. Down in Verse 20 he says, "Oh man who are you who answers back to God. The thing molded will not say to the molder why did you make me like this will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?" The bottom line is you can't question God. You can't ask why God does what he does.
God has not chosen to reveal that. All we know is what we know. And in the end, God is to be trusted and God is to be honored. So Romans confirms what we learn in the case of Job and elsewhere in Scripture, even in the case of Adam. And it's this; first of all we have no right to complain against God. And when we do we expose ourselves to the sin of disobedience because we are to trust him to do right in every situation. Secondly God is under no obligation to give us a humanly intellectually satisfying answer for all of our questions including the question of why God allowed evil.
Thirdly God is sovereign. And that settles every issue. You can do absolutely what he chooses to do and it will always be right. Add to that the fact that God's word is always true and always reliable and you can know this, that whatever we can know is revealed accurately on the pages of Scripture. So summarizing that, God is sovereign, he is the standard of his own actions. He is not subject to human judgment. On the contrary, our judgment is subject to his word. One other Scripture that puts this in perspective is Hebrews 11. You get into this, I won't go there, but you get into Hebrews Chapter 11 and you have this list of people who by faith did this by faith, by faith by faith. And you go down toward the end of the Chapter and then you have these people going through one horrible list of suffering. Sawed in half and thrown to lions and burned at the stake and on and on it goes. And all these people are looking for a heavenly city. And you can understand that as they were going through this, there would always be the temptation to say, "Why God, why did this happen to me? Why does this happen to our family? What is going on here? What is the deal." And God never answers their question. But God honors them for their what? Their faith.
Their unwavering faith. And it is the point of Hebrews 11 that their faith prevailed in the midst of inexplicable and very often unrelieved suffering. In the end, you're not going to get an answer about why you suffer, about why your child dies or why you get cancer or why things are the way they are or even the big picture, why God allows evil, but you will be told to trust God and God will honor that faith and bless you for it. So all that to say this. When it comes to the problem of evil, we bow in faith to our glorious God. We accept gratefully what he has revealed because it was best for us to know that and know more. Know more. All we know is this. The source of evil in this world was a result of the sin of Adam and Eve. That's what we know. And we can draw the conclusion in general that God allowed that sin in order that he might destroy evil ultimately and that in the process of evil running its course, he could show grace to sinners, and judgment to sinners, those things never could be displayed if evil did not exist.
So God then is able to be glorified by the display of attributes that the man sinful environment. God is not the author of evil; the creator is good, all good and only good. And the original creation was very good. He is not the author of evil as I had told you or he would be evil himself. And if he were evil himself, then he couldn't triumph over evil for himself or for us. Also he is not the source of evil or he couldn't save sinners from evil. So we know from the Bible that the source of evil is outside of God. That evil came into our world by a choice made by Adam and Eve. They were cursed and corrupted and passed that corruption on to everyone whoever was born on the face of the earth for all proceeded from Adam and Eve. A source of sin in this world was evil choice made by Adam and Eve. When they disobeyed, evil became a reality. Remember what I said sin is not an entity? It is not a force; it is not a being it is the absence of moral perfection. Sin is a negative. And Genesis is concerned to protect God from any accusation of evil. And that's all you need to know. That's all Job needed to know, it's all the Romans needed to know, it's all you need to know.
Now that takes us back to Chapter 3. Okay, sin came into the world through Adam and Eve. But who brought it here. Who brought the sin here? Chapter 3, Verse 1. The serpent did. Serpent did. Who is this reptile we discussed in some length that Hebrew terms that indicate this is probably an upright reptile, beautiful creature that was cursed to crawl on its belly so prior to the curse it must have been upright. This reptile was more than just an animal, it was an animal, it's related to the beast of the field, it certainly belongs in that category according to Genesis 3. But penetrating somehow into this animal was a supernatural personality. This serpent, this dragon is identified as Satan in Revelation 12:9 and Revelation 20 Verse 2. It says that "the dragon was the devil and Satan the serpent was the devil and Satan." He is identified all through Scripture as the malevolent archenemy of God and all those who are Gods. He works to deceive people to insight disloyalty to God and God's truth and to turn God against his people.
Those are the things that he does. But he is totally under the sovereign control of God and can only do what God allows. It reminds me of the book, The Murder of Jesus which is out this week and what it shows in the horrors of the satanic work to bring Jesus to the cross. But at the same time while Satan was doing his worse, God was doing his best because everything was in the control of God's sovereign purpose. And that's how it always is. So into the garden, into the world of man comes this supernatural person. Tempts Adam and Eve successfully and the whole human race and all the surroundings in the universe are corrupted by their evil choice. The question is in the perfection of creation, where did he come from? We understand that Adam and Eve brought sin into our world, but where did he come from? Well the Bible fortunately takes us behind the scenes. It parts the curtain a little bit to let us see the origin of this adversary intempter. Two passages that I want to show you, Ezekiel 28. The prophet Ezekiel Chapter 28, and this is really very convincing and clear testimony as to where this personality came from. Ezekiel 28 the 28th Chapter of Ezekiel begins with a lament, over the King of Tire and the Lord says about the King of Tire in Verse 2, "Your heart is lifted up, you've said I'm a God. I sit in the seat of God's in the heart of the seas. Yet you are a man and not God. Although you make your heart like the heart of God. Behold this sarcasm now. You are wiser than Daniel. There is no secret that is a match for you." And here's the Lord being sarcastic as he condemns the self-exalting pride of this King. "By your wisdom and understanding, you've acquired riches for yourself, you've acquired gold and silver for your treasuries, by your great wisdom, by your trade, you've increased your riches, your heart is lifted up because of your riches, therefore," thus says the Lord God "because you've made your heart like the heart of God, therefore behold I'll bring strangers upon you the most ruthless of the nations and they'll draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor."
"They'll bring you down to the pit, you'll die the death of those who are slain in the heart of the seas. Will you still say I am a God in the presence of your slayer although you are a man and not God in the hands of those who wound you? You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hands of strangers for I have spoken," declares the Lord God. So here is the lament and the curse on this ruler of Tire. He was a powerful and wicked ruler. In Verses 3 to 5 in particular, even showed the sarcasm of God as he mocks this man's pride and speaks of the imminent judgment. But behind the King of Tire, there again is a greater force. And starting in Verse 11, there is something more here. "Again the word of the Lord came to me" says Ezekiel, "son of man take up a lamentation over the King of Tire and say to him, thus says the Lord God." Listen to this. "You had the seal of perfection full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the Garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the ruby, the topaz and the diamond, the barrel, the onyx, the jasper, the lapus lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald and the gold. The workmanship of your settings and sockets was in you on the day that you were created."
"They were prepared, you were the anointed cherub who covers and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you." Mark that. Until unrighteousness was found in you.
That's all that is said about how sin entered into this being. "Now the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence and you sinned. Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God and I have destroyed you oh covering cherub from the midst of the stones of fire, your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground, I put you before Kings that they may see you by the multitude of your iniquities in the unrighteousness of your trade; you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you it has consumed you, I have turned you to the ashes on the earth and the eyes of all who see you and all who know you among the people's are appalled at you. You have become terrified and you will be no more."
Now anybody who reads that section knows it can't refer to the King of Tire. Go back to Verse 12, "you had the seal of perfection. You were the epitome of perfection; here is a perfect creature. Full of wisdom. Supernatural knowledge. Supernatural knowledge, perfection in beauty. And then the key, Verse 13, "you were in Eden, the garden of God." You were in Eden, the garden of God. Undoubtedly this of course is an angel because he's identified as the covering cherub, in Verse 14, "the anointed cherub who covers the cherub ___ the specially singled out angels involved in worship" according to Isaiah it may be that the anointed cherub of all the cherubs who were given to worship, the anointed one, the singled out one was heaven's praise leader.
You could even conclude that there was God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the trinity. And the highest angel in charge of all angelic praise and responsibility was this anointed cherub. "You were covered by every magnificent precious stone, ruby, topaz, diamond, barrel, onyx, jasper, lapus lazuli, turquoise, emerald, gold." And those are similar to the things used in Genesis 2, 8 to 12 to describe Eden. The garden of all that beauty, it may well have been that this heavenly worship leader had the privilege of coming down to see the wonder of God's creation in the world. But his real abode was in heaven. You were Verse 14 says, "On the holy mountain of God. You were in the midst of the stones of fire." You look at Revelation 4; you see the "fiery environment around the throne of God, the blazing splendor of God's glorious throne." In Verse 15, again, "you were blameless in your ways." There's that perfection again. Sinless from the day you were created. From the day God created this angel, along with the other angels, they were sinless. They were perfect in terms of their moral character. They were perfect in terms of their beauty; they had the very seal of perfection. They were full of wisdom.
Everything was fine. Until unrighteousness was found in you. Where did that come from? Not outside of him. It wasn't any unrighteousness outside of him. It wasn't any unrighteousness in the created order of supernatural beings. There wasn't any unrighteousness in God, there wasn't any unrighteousness or iniquities is another translation. There wasn't any iniquity in heaven. It didn't come from outside of him.
It came from in him. Unrighteousness, look at it, was found where? In you. In you. What was it? What was that? Verse 17, "your heart was lifted up because of your beauty." So what's the word for that kind of sin, crime. And you're corrupt; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. Well this glorious anointed cherub maybe the worship leader of all the heavenly host became infatuated by his own splendor, by his own beauty. By his own perfection. And so Verse 16 says, "you were internally filled with violence and you sinned so I have cast you as profane." What's the violence? I'll tell you what it was. Once Satan began to sin, the sin of pride and began to be infatuated by his own splendor and his own glory and the wonder of his own person, he then sought violently to usurp the place of whom God. And Verse 16 says, "God said, 'I cast you as profane from the mountain of God and I've destroyed you oh covering cherub.'"
Boy is that ever true. Can just one act that anointed cherub went from being only good to being only evil. And since that moment, the anointed cherub cast out has never had one good thought. Not one. What a massive transformation. He wanted to be like God. God made him as unlike God as is possible. In Luke we have a reference to that very event when he was cast out. Jesus said, Luke 10:18, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning." You have to ask the question, how could this perfect creature be unsatisfied? And if he was satisfied, why would he rebel? We don't know those things. Our minds can't fathom them. We only know he had a choice. And again he made the wrong choice. And the choice that this angel made led to his own damnation and the damnation of all the other angels who joined him in his rebellion against God. And then the damnation of the entire human race. I'm confident of this. This anointed cherub had absolutely no idea of the consequences of his choice. He could never have imagined what would come out of that one choice. The unbelievable spread of sin through the angelic realm in response to which God had created a lake of fire to eternally punish all those angels who rebelled to be joined there by all those in the human race who reject his salvation. Catapulted all of creation into this horrible, horrible situation.
He couldn't have had any idea that this is how it would turn out. And that's sort of the nature of sin. Nobody really understands what things they set in motion when they make sinful choices. These were monumental obviously. There's another text I want to draw to your attention. And that's Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14 gets a little more specific. It was "Satan who was behind the King of Tire." It's also Satan in Isaiah 14 "who's behind the King of Babylon." In Isaiah 14 just go down to Verse 12. There is a warning here in Verse 4 it's a warning against the King of Babylon. That Isaiah is given by God. But when you come down to Verse 12, it goes behind him. Verse 12, "How have you fallen from heaven? Oh star of the morning. Sun of the dawn." Wow, he's the anointed cherub, he's the star of the morning, he's the sun of the dawn. These are very exalted terms. Very exalted terms. By the way, there are many commentators who believe that this diatribe, this judgment, this taunt as it's called against the King of Babylon, is not the historic King of Babylon, but the future King of Babylon. When Babylon rises again at the time of the tribulation and I intend to see that that as accurate in representing this Chapter. That Isaiah is looking ahead at the future ruler, the great King of Babylon that will fight against Christ in the future. He's really looking at the anti-Christ. And behind the anti-Christ will be this fallen angel, this Lucifer, this star of the morning. This sun of the dawn. This anointed cherub who has been thrown out of heaven. Verse 12 says, "You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations." How did it all happen? Verse 13, "but you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my thrown above the stars of God, the other angels, I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the North. I will ascend above the heights of the cloud; I will make myself like the most high. Nevertheless you will be thrust down to shield to the recesses of the pit."
You have here really a very good insight into the fall of Satan. The source of sin was inside him. Sin was in him unrighteousness was inside Lucifer, sun of the morning. Sun of the dawn, anointed cherub. Heavenly worship leader. And he made a choice, he made a choice to resent God rather than worship God. That's all we know. He made a choice to usurp God's place, to dethrone God and enthrone himself and it stated here in five I wills. Five I wills that define his being lifted up as Ezekiel put it. "First of all I will ascend to heaven. I will take the throne," that's what he said. "And then I'll exalt my throne over the stars of God. I'll take the throne where you are God and I will rule all the angels. I will sit" he says, "on the mount of assembly." According to Isaiah 2:2 and Psalm 48 1 and 2, this is the mountain in the center of God's kingdom. He's saying I will be the ruler. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. Not talking about clouds around the earth, he's talking about the glory clouds. "I will ascend beyond the glory of God. I will be like the most high. I will be supreme, I will be the sovereign one, I will replace God." As fast as he sought to go up, he went down. Nevertheless Verse 15 "he'll be thrown down the shield." In Verse 12, "how you have fallen from heaven." And again I remind you of the words of Jesus in Luke 10:18, "I saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven" He fell fast. And when he fell he was immediately doomed to hell. To the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41. And in Revelation 20 Verse 10, looking to the future, you see the event when Satan is finally cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Now when Satan went down, he didn't go down alone. Turn to Revelation 12. Revelation Chapter 12, we'll just look at this last passage. Revelation 12. "We meet the Satan the great dragon" in Verse 3, Revelation 12. And then Verse 4, an interesting insight. "The great dragon is pictured as his tail sweeps away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth." Now this indicates to us that when Satan fell, a third of the angels went with him. This is a massive force of angels. Unquestionably. These angels along with Satan became the demons. Now there are millions of them. A third of them went which means there was twice as many holy angels left. "Third of them joined the rebellion and were cast down. They constitute the demonic force." If you look at Revelation 5:11, when it tells us how many angels there are around the throne, there are 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. Now you can multiply 10,000 times 10,000 and add thousands of thousands and you'll probably still aren't there. The reason it says 10,000 times 10,000 is that's the largest number in the Greek language that has a word. And it's morion times morion and thousands of thousand. So you multiply and you're into the millions and millions.
Just one force of demons alone, just one army of demons. And the book of Revelations, coming from the east has 200 million demons. And that's not all of them. There are millions of them but there are twice as many, two third holy angles that remain. So when Satan came out of heaven, he didn't come out alone. I don't think he planned it this way. But he wound up as John Milton said preferring to be the king of hell rather than the servant of heaven. He was consigned immediately to eternal misery, subjection to the God of a kind that he never, ever could have imagined. He is now and was at that very moment incapable of repentance which is a gift to humans from God. There has never been in him since that moment one single solitary good impulse. Therefore there is nothing in him to cause him to repent or desire to repent. He is evil, he is unredeemable evil. He is malevolent and wicked and nothing else, his corruption is so complete that good would never exist in him again in any way. Thinking he could be like God. He became as utterly unlike God as is conceivable.
So Lucifer could never have imagined what transpired as a result of what he did. The passages that I've read to you in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 along with the passage of the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 remind us and this is what I want you to get in your mind. That God is not the author of sin. For us it was a choice made by Adam and Eve. Prior to that it was a choice made by Lucifer and a third of the angels.
What does that tell us? Listen carefully, God is eternal, but sin is not eternal. And since God is eternal, and sin is not eternal, God is not the author of sin. There was a time when there was no sin. It didn't come from outside that sinning angel and all the rest of them, but from inside. Satan a created being initiated sin in the angelic realm, Adam and Eve created beings initiated sin in the human realm. With regard to Lucifer and the angels who became demons, God chose to give these rebel angel's full opportunity to exploit every avenue of their power. Isn't that amazing? The Bible says; God threw them down to the earth. God literally gave to them, gave to Satan within the framework of his sovereign purpose opportunity to exploit every avenue of their power until the end of man's history on the earth. And Satan and all his demons will do that all the way to the very end of the millennial kingdom, the 1000 year kingdom when the whole created universe, as we know it is destroyed.
God gave this fallen angel access again to the perfections of Eden. Gave him access to Adam and Eve. Doesn't tell us why, the best we can surmise is in order that God might be glorified and he certainly is glorified in his wrath against sinners, and he certainly is glorified in his wrath against demons and he certainly is glorified in his grace toward sinners. And he certain is glorified through forgiveness. There was the glory of God that was to be displayed through this. So as we said last time as Luther said, "The devil is God's devil." He's doing what he's doing within God's purpose to bring God glory. Even tempting Adam and Eve was within the purposes of sovereign God.
Little did Adam and Eve know when they that in their sin the whole human race would perish. What it meant simplications, but it is also their sin that brought about the wonder of God's salvation by which he is glorified among the angels and by man. Listen to Romans 5. Verse 12. "Therefore just as through one man's sin entered into the world, and death through sin" so death spread to all men because all sinned. Listen, it was sin on everybody because of one man's transgression. But Paul then says in Verse 15 "if by the transgression of one, the many died much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of God of the one man Jesus Christ abound to many." It goes on to say as in Adam all died so in Christ shall all what? Be made alive. You cannot understand that why things are the way they are if you do not understand the fall. And we do understand sin. And the mystery of the fall for me is resolved in the wonder of salvation. Isn't it amazing that this great cosmic thing is going on? Conflict in heaven between an anointed angel and God himself and now a conflict between a force of malevolent wicked demons and holy angels and it comes down to earth and pollutes the entire created universe and in the midst of this massive explosion of wickedness with its corruption extending into every part of creation.
God steps in to save sinners by offering his own son to die on a cross in their behalf. What a wondrous plan is this? And with that we can prepare to thank God for the gift of Jesus Christ around the table, let's pray. Father, we of course are grateful that you have overruled sin in the world for those who trust Christ, for those who come to you, for those who repent, for those who seek forgiveness by your grace. We thank you for the amazing love that brings us salvation. Though we are depraved, corrupt to the very core. We thank you for the grace that is displayed to sinners, the eternal life that is pledged to us. It is a great wonder that angels who had everything gave it up and gained hell. Sinners that belonged in hell have been graciously given heaven. We will never understand all of the reasons but we do understand your grace and salvation. And we celebrate that with joy tonight as we come to your table. |
Stems - To +/-20cm tall, multiple from base, from fleshy roots, pilose below, glabrous above, hollow, herbaceous, erect, branching.
Leaves - Basal leaves long-petiolate. Petioles to +7cm long, glabrous. Blades reniform to rotund, glabrous, crenate, green above, silvery green below, +/-3cm broad, +/-2.5cm long. Lower leaves becoming trifoliolate and with pilose petioles. Blades with a few pilose hairs. Upper leaves short-petiolate to sessile, trifoliolate. Lobes spatulate, pilose, green above, silvery green below, with evident venation below.
Inflorescence - Single axillary flowers in the upper stems. Pedicels to +/-2.5cm long, glabrous, erect.
Flowers - Petals yellow, +/-7mm long, 3.1mm broad, glabrous, rounded to emarginate at apex, obovate to oblanceolate. Stamens many. Filaments yellow, -2mm long, glabrous. Anthers yellow, 1mm long. Achenes green, glabrous. Sepals 5, 3mm long, rotund, pilose externally, glabrous internally, cupped, with scarious margins, typically with some reddish tinge externally.
Habitat - Rocky acidic ground of woods, bluffs, slopes, outcrops, and ridges.
Other info. - This little species is found in the lower half of Missouri. The plant is one of the easier members of the genus to ID when in flower because it is small, grows in dry rocky areas, and has distinctive leaves which are undivided at the base and become divided further up the stem. This species may be confused with R. abortivus L., but the latter is generally taller and has much smaller flowers. |
Born: 15 July 1874, Berlin, Germany.
Died: 9 October 1960, Cape Town, South Africa.
Max Schlechter, German trader and collector of natural history specimens, was the son of Hugo Schlechter, a lithographer in Berlin, and a younger brother of the botanist F.R. Rudolf Schlechter*. Max came to South Africa in May 1896 to join Rudolf on his collecting trips. They travelled north to the Vanrhynsdorp district, returning to Cape Town in September. Between November 1896 and April 1897 they collected northwards to the Cedarberg and eastwards to Cape Agulhas. In August 1897 the two brothers, accompanied by the pharmacist Ludwig Mally*, set out for Namaqualand and reached the Orange River at Ramansdrift. Rudolf returned to Cape Town by sea from Port Nolloth, while Max remained behind to trade.
Max collected mainly for commercial purposes and most of his Western Cape and Namaqualand specimens were sold to the South African Museum, Cape Town. These included a collection of 58 species of Coleoptera (1897); many scorpions, including two species new to science (1897); and a collection of reptiles from Namaqualand (1898). Furthermre, "an enormous collection of scorpions, etc., all labelled with the exact location and date, and therefore especially valuable, was made in Little and Great Bushmanland by Mr Max Schlechter and purchased from him. This collection is so complete that the scorpions of this otherwise little accessible region are now better known than those of any other equally large area in South Africa" (1898, p. 8). The collection included several new species. More scorpions and spiders from Bushmanland were purchased from him in 1899, while that same year he sold a collection of 133 plants from Bushmanland to the Albany Museum, Grahamstown.
On 12 June 1901 Max married Sofia L.E. Seeliger, with whom he had six children. He spent most of his time during the years 1900 to 1926 in Namibia, collecting sporadically. However, in 1905 he resided at Steinkopf in Namaqualand and was declared insolvent. After 1926 he appears to have settled in Port Nolloth, where he collected succulent plants, particularly vygies (Mesembryanthemum sp.). His succulents were later acquired by several different institutions, including the Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town; Department of Botany, University of Stellenbosch; and the Division of Botany and Plant Pathology, Pretoria. Other plant specimens collected by him are housed in the Botanical Museum, Berlin-Dahlem, and the Natural History Museum, London. The plant genus Schlechteranthus and plant species Sutera maxii and Polycarena maxii were named after him.
National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System (NAAIRS). . Documents relating to Schlechter, Ernst Ludwig Gustav Max. |
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However all work must meet standards outlined in the wiring regulations relevant circuit breaker. You can check that the circuit is dead using a plug in socket tester or for a lighting circuit.
In a parallel circuit, each unit is directly linked to the power supply, so each system gets the exact voltage. There are 3 basic sorts of standard light switches. The circuit needs to be checked with a volt tester whatsoever points. U Lighting Circuit Wiring Diagram On Pinterest Light. Each circuit displays a distinctive voltage condition. You are able to easily step up the voltage to the necessary level utilizing an inexpensive buck-boost transformer and steer clear of such issues. The voltage is the sum of electrical power produced by the battery. Be sure that the new fuse isn't blown, and carries the very same amperage.
The control box may have over three terminals. After you have the correct size box and have fed the cable to it, you're almost prepared to permit the wiring begin. Then there's also a fuse box that's for the body controls that is situated under the dash. U Lighting Circuit Wiring Diagram On Pinterest Light. You will find that every circuit has to have a load and every load has to have a power side and a ground side. Make certain that the transformer nameplate power is enough to supply the load that you're connecting. |
WHAT'S THE BEST DESIGN FOR A SPACE COLONY?
One day we’ll want a place humans can live beyond Earth. Mars and a number of the moons of the gas giants are prime contenders because they offer lots of space and many of the physical resources we’ll need right there—minerals and important gases locked up in ice or rock. Still, there’s a good chance that our first colonies beyond the atmosphere won’t be anchored to anything big and solid at all. They’ll probably be air-breathing environments floating free in the space between the planets. One of the five Lagrangian points, where the gravity of the Earth and the Moon are in balance, would be a good choice because once placed there, the colony would stay put. It would also be relatively close for purposes of supply, communication and, in the worst case, escape back to Earth.
Though we’ll probably place small-scale habitats in one of those spots to continue learning all we can about space living, I have a feeling that the first real colony of any size outside the Earth will be somewhere else. Like the center of a hollowed-out asteroid.
It just makes sense. We’ll be digging out the asteroid anyway, mining it for metals and anything else we can find. Depending on which rock we pick, it will probably have many of the valuable elements we’d find on a planet without the difficulties caused by planet-scale gravity. Plus man-made hollows inside a metallic rock will have plenty of natural radiation shielding. You can’t overestimate the importance of that outside Earth’s protective magnetic field. There would be drawbacks, though, including the great distance to the asteroids, the complete lack of gravity, and the difficulty of providing good lighting inside a rock.
In his inspirational book from the early 1990’s called The Millennial Project, Marshall T. Savage suggested that the best model for a space colony would be a clear giant bubble with smaller bubbles nested inside. Nice and simple. The outer bubble wall would actually be a double membrane with five meters’ thickness of water between the layers, which would allow sunlight through but block most harmful radiation. As with a hollow asteroid, though, there wouldn’t be any gravity, and we know that human muscles, bones, and organs quickly deteriorate without it. Savage believed this could be solved through a combination of electro-stimulation and exercise in special facilities spun at high speed to simulate gravity, but I have my doubts. A rigorous exercise routine helps the astronauts on the International Space Station, yet they still have to undergo months of rehabilitation when they return to Earth. Even if future space colonists never return to Earth, there are indications that microgravity over long periods of time will cause health problems.
Several concepts for space colonies are designed to spin to produce simulated gravity on their inner surfaces thanks to centripetal force (here’s a great page showing the most popular designs). The Stanford Torus is like a giant wheel, perhaps with one or more large mirrors placed nearby to reflect sunlight into the interior. In the movie Elysium the colony of this design had no roof, so shuttle craft could easily come and go. But there was no radiation protection at all, so it would only be feasible within the Earth’s magnetic field. With the Bernal Sphere concept, areas near the equator would have the highest gravity but it would weaken toward the poles, so there’d likely be a fat stripe of inhabited area with windows near one or both ends to let sunlight in. That’s a lot of mass to spin up considering so much of the surface territory would still have insufficient gravity. The O’Neill Cylinder might be the best design of the three: a large cylinder spinning on its long axis, with lengthwise sections of land area alternating with window strips to provide sunlight (actually O’Neill suggested pairs of cylinders close to each other rotating in opposite directions for reasons of physics I won’t get into here). Unless Scotty comes back from the future to give us the formula for transparent aluminum, like in the fourth Star Trek movie, the windows in the Bernal Sphere and O’Neill Cylinder would require a lot of glass or polymer, and all three of the above designs would probably still be deficient when it comes to radiation shielding.
Here’s my thought: What about using a giant bubble full of air of the kind suggested by Marshall T. Savage, but with an O’Neill cylinder spinning inside it? You’d get the radiation protection of the water (which would let you get away with thinner walls in the cylinder), lots of light, and the extra space in the bubble could be used for zero-g manufacturing and the growing of food crops that don’t mind microgravity. I realize that a wide-open wheel or cylinder wouldn’t work because of high-wind effects from the structure’s spin, but with sharply tapered ends and baffles to break up the flow of air, it should still be possible to come and go from the cylinder habitat into the rest of the bubble. Wind effects would also be less if we settled for something lower than full Earth gravity, thus allowing a slower rate of spin.
What do you think? Problems with friction effects? Static electricity? Give me your thoughts, I’d love to hear them.
It’s by playing around with such concepts that we’ll ultimately find the best solution.
We already knew that the Martian atmosphere is very thin (about 1% as dense as Earth’s at sea level). To make the Red Planet suitable for humans to live on we’ll have to drastically thicken the air and also heat it up. There were hopes that carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, could be freed from the soil and ice caps of Mars to produce a good atmosphere for trapping heat and feeding plants, which would then produce oxygen. It had been thought that much of Mars’ lost atmosphere had been absorbed into the soil, but the new MAVEN data (short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) suggests that most of that ancient atmosphere vanished into space, stripped away by the solar wind and solar explosions after Mars’ magnetic field died about four billion years ago. It’s gone and can’t be retrieved. That might not affect plans to build domed or underground cities on Mars, but terraforming the whole planet will be a lot harder.
Terraforming Mars was never a short-term project anyway, and the biggest drawbacks to colonies there include gravity and distance. We still don’t know if regular exercise and other methods will mitigate the potential health problems of living in a low gravity environment. And trying to build up the population of Martian colonies will require a lot of very long trips—about nine months one-way as technology stands, but that’s when Earth and Mars are in the right alignment, which only happens every couple of years. That’s a slow process. If our goals are to protect a sampling of the human race from potential disasters on Earth, ease population pressures on Earth, and make use of resources and manufacturing advantages that space provides, we’ll want something quicker.
If we build manufacturing complexes on the Moon, we can make the materials and air to build free-floating colonies in space, possibly in orbit around Earth or the Moon, but more likely where the gravity of the two bodies balances out at the so-called Lagrange points. That doesn’t mean that colonists would live in zero gravity (although they could get to it when they wanted to do a little recreational flying perhaps). One of the popular concepts is a gigantic rotating space wheel like in the movie Elysium that would produce artificial gravity on its inner surface from its rotation. The best-known example is called a Stanford Torus. But my preference would be a miles-long cylinder that would produce a gravity effect by spinning along its long axis. Its inner surface would alternate bands of habitable space with long windows to let in sunlight. In the 1970’s Gerard O’Neill proposed cylinders 32 kilometers long that would provide almost 1300 square kilometers of living space for several million people. Maybe my preference has to do with my love for the Arthur C. Clarke classic Rendezvous With Rama.
These colonies would avoid the concerns about low gravity and be close—only a few days travel from Earth. Research funded by NASA in the ’70’s said that such things could be built with the technology of the time, but materials, knowledge, and tech developed since then would make the job even more feasible.
So while I’m all in favour of Mars exploration for the sake of knowledge, I think the human race would be better served by focusing our colonization plans on free-floating near-Earth colonies or the Moon for the near future. If you think I’m off-base, let me know. Maybe you just have more patience than I do. |
Anyone who rides a motorcycle or scooter knows that they can be the fastest way from A to B. Riding them is also exhilarating and word is getting around – more and more people are taking up motorcycling. But with traffic conditions these days, it’s more important than ever that motorcyclists deal with the unexpected.
Motorcyclists are more likely to be injured in fatal or serious collisions than car drivers. Injuries to motorcyclists are far out of proportion to their presence on our roads. Motorcyclists are just 1% of total road traffic but account for 19% of all Great Britain’s road user deaths. |
Mobile applications have evolved from the rudimentary designs that they were built on earlier. They now play an important role in the way the way the current digital world communicates.
There are apps for just about everything; ordering food, booking tickets, healthcare, travel, you name it. Organisations and developers have recognized the potential that lies in the world of app development, as well as the fierce competition that now exists in the market.
According to statista, there are over 3.8 million Android apps and 2 million apps currently available on their respective platforms, and these figures are bound to increase. Entire teams are now dedicated to creating fast and easy to use apps in order to stay ahead of the curve.
As with every business, customer satisfaction is one of the biggest things that determine if a consumer uses your product. How do you ensure that a customer not only has a good experience but is convinced enough to keep using the app? This is where UI/UX developers come into the picture.
The past few years have seen an exponential increase in demand for creative and proficient designers, in order to create apps that are user-friendly and engaging.
In the past, user experience was not a major player, but it would be a mistake to ignore its relevance in the current scenario.
2018 poses to be a good year for UI/UX design; take a look at some of the inspiring trends of the year.
The user interface is going to determine whether a consumer comes back to your app, and you run the risk of losing a potential customer if they don’t like the UI of your app on their first try.
According to a Google report, 26% of installed apps are not used more than once. Keep in mind some of these UI trends when navigating the app development world.
User engagement is one of the primary targets for designers. A good app interacts with the users and responds to their actions. A seamless exchange of information between the user and the application, without any challenges, will improve your chances of retaining a user.
Bright colors are a definite no; the current trend seems to indicate that pastels are the preferred palette. They make the application look good, and determine the mood of the user; multiple studies show that colors affect our mental and emotional state. A clean design is one that not only promotes user engagement but retains their attention as well.
UI and UX are two sides of the same coin. A good mobile application is one that combines a good interface and easy usage. A good experience is determined not only by an effective interface but a pleasing one as well.
Mobile app development has grown by leaps and bounds. UX is now at the forefront of the app development world, as it often determines the user engagement rate. Designers should keep track of the latest UX trends, in order to foresee challenges and improve the user experience.
The objective of any application is to perform a certain task or function. Developers have understood that the fewer steps a user has to take, the better his experience. To achieve this, one must incorporate a smooth flow to their application.
By focusing on a linear design experience- a specific beginning, middle and end- and progressive disclosure- providing information or directions only when the user needs it- the journey through the app becomes a lot more effective.
GIFs have taken the internet by storm over the past couple of years. Developers have recognized the potential that they have for improving user experience and are now incorporating animations into their design.
They have the ability to bring a dynamic aspect to messaging or communication, and the advantage of not being as heavy as videos. They can be used to draw attention to the essential elements of the app, and give a fresh look to the design.
The entry of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the iPhone X has given rise to the frameless design. Greater screen space means users have access to full-screen experiences. When creating applications, the quality of the experience is important as well; most phones now come with HD screens that support high resolution. Pixelated images and videos will negatively impact the user experience on your mobile application.
These are just a few of the things that people are currently incorporating into the world of mobile app development. It is in constant flux- the app development world- and as the demand for apps increase, the user experience is being given greater importance.
So how do designers and developers ensure that the app retains users and adds new ones? We’ve put together a list of resources that are currently available; these UI/UX tools facilitate better interaction and improve user experience and serve a design, developing and web creation function. Let’s take a look.
Sketch is a lightweight MacOS based tool. It has prompted designers to make the shift from Photoshop because it has the same feel but is more inclined towards UI/UX design.
It boasts an array of features and delivers professional results; Sketch supports infinite zooming, 2x export as well as styled vector shapes. Furthermore, it is compatible with popular tools like Omnigraffe, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
It is an easy-to-use tool and has become popular in the app development world because it allows you to accomplish all your design tasks, in one place.
It improves the wireframing process and optimizes communication with the rest of the design team.
Another popular prototyping tool, Invision Studio allows designers the opportunity to design and preview as well as share and collaborate with other team members.
It can also be used in sync with the Sketch app. The best feature of this app is the way it facilitates collaboration; share feedback, take notes and view changes in real time!
It is an all-purpose mobile development app and is effective in previewing the digital product.
Axure RP is a useful tool for mobile app development for professionals. It is a complete start to finish solution and its functionalities include prototyping, creating wireframes and storyboards, designing mockups and flowcharts, mapping out a user journey and various other features.
It also gives you the opportunity to code; you can add existing components, and create a smooth design.
An easy-to-use and powerful tool, MockPlus is cleaner and faster than most other software out there. You can create links and between pages on your application, all with a simple drag and drop feature.
It comes packed with over 3000 UI icons and 200 components that are compatible with Android, iOS and PC programs.
It is a clear winner in the efficiency department: in addition to the drag-and-drop feature, you can preview, share and export your prototypes, without remote publishing.
Collaborate with your team on a group project, create collaborative designs and preview changes in real time, all in one place.
Origami Studio is a standalone software that was developed by the Facebook team and has been used to create apps like Messenger and Instagram.
It is available online as a free software. Origami gives you the option of integrating with Sketch to layer your design and preview the prototype.
It has a couple of cool features as well; record your prototype and share it with your client through the app, or even connect it to your Android and iOS device to preview the changes in real time!
UXPin is a comprehensive tool for all your app development needs. You can wireframe and create prototypes with ease by assimilating designs from Sketch and Photoshop, with a simple drag-and-drop.
It brings an added efficiency to the design, and testing process by giving you access to designs from the library which boasts several ready-made options to create beautiful products.
These designs are compatible with devices across various platforms and screen sizes. Other useful features include a feedback sharing system, real-time preview and easy sharing of your prototype.
Proto gives you access to several prototyping and design templates, making your work easier. The platform doesn’t require you to code and can be integrated with Sketch or Photoshop.
The timeline feature of the app lets you understand the journey that the user would take on the app.
Add animations as well! It features a UI design library, where you can take inspiration from existing templates, and later customize for your needs. As an added bonus, it also supports offline work.
A tool to help you design, create prototypes and collaborate with your team, Marvel is an easy to use and powerful platform.
You can integrate it with Sketch or Photoshop to make the designing process easier, and use it in tandem with Dropbox or Google Drive!
Once you’ve created a static design, Marvel gives you the opportunity to add animations, giving it a more dynamic feel. |
I would like to start with a question. What is morality? I believe the answers to this question are subjective, and can be quite divisive. Morality is a very broad subject after all.
I like to make things simple, and so my answer to this question is also simple.
Morality is differentiating the right actions and thoughts from the wrong ones. That’s my definition and answer to the question.
The very foundation of morality is connected to the idea of good and bad, right and wrong, and before being able to differentiate between them, we need to understand what’s good and bad, understand what’s right and wrong.
Now every single one of us has personal good things and bad things, for an example, I think Video Games and Stories are very good. But these personal preferences of things that I find good, doesn’t really make me understand what it means to be morally good. Same applies for anyone else.
So what are the factors that are going to help me understand moral goodness? I’ll tell you what. It’s things that have a long term effect. For an example, Happiness and Self Satisfaction. These are things that are usually related to the moral codes of every human being. Hanging out with friends late at night can make you happy, but it might not make for a very pleasant morning. Thus, this happiness doesn’t really have a long term, making it a personal type of happiness or satisfaction. How do you achieve a long term state of happiness and satisfaction? A touch of peace.
Let’s say your in a street one day, and you’ve found a very sick poor man on the ground. You know it for a fact that if you gave him some food, it’ll make him feel better. Now for taking such an action, a person would usually need reason. Here comes the role of happiness and peace. By helping the poor guy, a lot of factors are going to be present here, yet they all go back to the same concept of Happiness and Peace.
Some would argue that this isn’t really the case, and that maybe it’s just desires, and that morals don’t really exist. But these are just my personal views on the whole concept of Morals.
I don’t wanna make this post any longer, as I tend to talk about this subject in more detail in the upcoming Fridays.
With that, I bid you farewell. |
Drinking – It is important to be aware about the amount of alcohol that you drink, ensuring that you stay in line with the recommended daily units.
It is important to be aware about the amount of alcohol that you drink, ensuring that you stay in line with the recommended daily units.
Emotional Wellbeing – Emotional Wellbeing is being aware of and understanding your emotions. It is a positive state of wellbeing and functioning in everyday life.
Emotional Wellbeing is being aware of and understanding your emotions. It is a positive state of wellbeing and functioning in everyday life.
Eating Well – Find out how to eat well and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Find out how to eat well and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Falls Prevention – Falls are a major threat to the health and independence of older adults.
Falls are a major threat to the health and independence of older adults.
Health Checks – Health checks can start at any age, with benefits to all age groups in leading healthier lifestyles, the prevention of diseases and helps to maintain independence.
Health checks can start at any age, with benefits to all age groups in leading healthier lifestyles, the prevention of diseases and helps to maintain independence.
Moving More – Becoming more active and moving more in everyday life is an important part of staying healthy. Being active means getting your heart rate up and can involve changing parts of your daily routine.
Becoming more active and moving more in everyday life is an important part of staying healthy. Being active means getting your heart rate up and can involve changing parts of your daily routine.
Smoking – Around half of smokers die early from smoking-related diseases. The earlier you quit smoking the greater the impact, quitting at 30 can add 10 years to your life!
Around half of smokers die early from smoking-related diseases. The earlier you quit smoking the greater the impact, quitting at 30 can add 10 years to your life!
Staying Well – Looking after yourself is important. However, health is a complicated business and is not just how we look after our bodies.
Looking after yourself is important. However, health is a complicated business and is not just how we look after our bodies. |
Multi-Dimension Analytical Query Language, or MAQL for short, is the GoodData's proprietary querying language. It comes with a set of predefined functions that you can use for simple queries such as averages or complex statistical analysis such as skewness or kurtosis.
MAQL is a language that you will use to define metrics - aggregations of the underlying data that produce a number. A metric is essentially a mathematical formula that tells the application how to aggregate the raw data.
No joins or sub-joins as MAQL works on top of logical data models and its queries are context-aware.
Any metric can be immediately used for reporting, reused again or deployed to assemble other metrics.
MAQL makes multidimensional analysis simple by abstracting any data complexities. You do not have to specify the fact or attribute origin as it is done automatically for you.
If you are arriving to MAQL from a SQL background, you will notice a degree of similarity in syntax construction and predefined argument references. However, whereas SQL is a relational database tool, MAQL is multi-dimensional.
MAQL's foundation principles make it a unique and powerful language. If you are new to MAQL we recommend you explore the following sections to get yourself familiar with using it.
Having a SQL background helps to get on board with MAQL, but you will soon discover that MAQL is a more powerful yet streamlined analytical language. For example, there are no joins , you can reuse your MAQL queries and, as you will see, the use of syntax is more efficient , so there is less code to write and less code to maintain.
Multidimensionality and the ability to work with interchangeable dimensions are MAQL's key concepts that set it apart from other data analytics tools.
Because of how our GoodData platform is built, MAQL works with logical instead of physical data models. As a result, MAQL's use of data and metrics is context-aware. You can reuse the metrics as they take clues from the context of the logical data model.
MAQL is a language to define metrics, which are aggregations of underlying data. In other words, a metric is a mathematical formula for aggregating raw data. MAQL also features Advanced Metric Editor, a graphical user interface, that takes away the need to type in the syntax manually.
If you are ready for a deeper dive, take a look at these use cases and tutorials to really get to grips with MAQL. |
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Feb. 12, 2019 – Men hold nearly all primary breadwinning positions in top income households, and the glass ceiling that has hindered women’s advancement in the workplace is more extensive than previously thought, a new study by University of North Carolina at Charlotte researcher Jill Yavorsky and colleagues finds.
The study, “Women in the One Percent: Gender Dynamics in Top Income Positions,” is featured in the February issue of American Sociological Review, the flagship journal of the American Sociological Association. Yavorsky is an assistant professor in the Sociology Department and Organizational Science doctoral program at UNC Charlotte. Her co-authors are Lisa Keister of Duke University, Yue Qian of University of British Columbia and Michael Nau of The Ohio State University.
The new study uses the 1995 to 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to analyze gender income patterns in the one percent. To qualify for top one percent household status, the authors calculate that a household must bring in $845,000 in total income in 2016 dollars. The researchers’ calculations from the 2016 SCF also indicate that top one percent households receive nearly one-fourth of all U.S. income, further highlighting the importance of studying this group.
While the top one percent has garnered increased scholarly and media attention in recent years, little research has considered whether men’s or women’s income is primarily responsible for moving households into the one percent. Research also has been sparse on whether women have access to their own pathways to earning one percent status based on their income alone.
This new study shows that women’s income alone is sufficient for one percent status in only 5 percent of all elite households. Moreover, women’s income is necessary in pushing a household over the one percent threshold in only 15 percent of all one percent households. In other words, women’s income is largely inconsequential in most of these households for obtaining one percent status.
Importantly, the study also indicates that the gender gap in personally earning one percent income has not narrowed since the mid- to late-1990s. This means that women’s progress on this issue has stalled and women are no closer to earning elite-level income today than they were two decades ago.
Notably, prior studies have identified that self-employment and higher education are two important factors that increase people’s chances of earning exceptionally high income. While the findings by Yavorsky and her colleagues show that obtaining higher education and self-employment do increase the likelihood that women will reach one percent status via their own income, “higher education and self-employment are not enough to circumvent the institutionalized barriers of reaching elite status,” Yavorsky said. Instead, their results show that women mostly enter one percent households through marriage by gaining access to their spouse’s income.
Meanwhile, due to men’s labor market advantages, men’s one percent status is most closely associated with their own characteristics, particularly with their own self-employment and higher education.
Yavorsky points to a few reasons to explain these results. Women are less likely to be in really high-paying male-dominated fields such as elite finance and real estate positions, and they are less likely to make it to the top ranks of corporate America where income is particularly concentrated. |
Summer fun doesn't have to come at a premium.
Want more ideas for saving on summer fun? See bonus tips at the end of this article.
Summer is the time to feel free, but enjoying the season can be pricey.
If vacations, camp, gas prices and frequent ice-cream truck visits are squeezing you like a $6 cup of lemonade, you could probably use some relief.
Fortunately, a number of attractions in our area allow a low-cost day away from it all.
Try one of these South Jersey-area day trips under $50 (cost is based on two people, but at these prices, more folks could tag along!).
If you haven't been around Rowan University for a while, you probably have a lot to learn. As the school has grown exponentially over the last decade, so has the community around it, becoming a downright cool destination for date nights or just a stroll. Explore cultural offerings at Rowan Art Gallery, the Rowan College of Performing Arts or at the school's family-friendly Edelman Planetarium (older visitors might also appreciate "Laser Michael Jackson" and "Laser Beatles"). Off-campus fun includes an Escape Room and the Heritage Glass Museum, plus Chickie's and Pete's and many more restaurants.Plus, Glassboro's Summer Fest continues in Town Square Thursday nights through July, and includes a free performance of Rowan's "Interactive Alice in Wonderland."
Cost: Rowan Art Gallery, free admission; College of Performing Arts, check site for season updates; Edelman Planetarium: Tickets are $5 for adults/non-Rowan students, $3 for seniors 60-plus, kids 16 and under, and Rowan students with ID.
What do you really know about the Pine Barrens that you didn't learn on "The Sopranos?" There are many fascinating stories nestled in the vast forested region that spans seven of the state's counties and 1.1 million acres. If you're reluctant to explore the wilderness on your own, you can opt for a guided tour with Pineland Adventures. The organization, an initiative of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance based in Shamong, offers hikes, bus tours, and canoe and kayak rentals, with a range of fees. But if you're looking to keep your visit under $50, you have interesting options. One is the 2-3 hour "Exploring Fruitland" guided hike that explains how the Pine Barrens' wild cranberries and blueberries evolved into mega industries.
Cost: "Exploring Fruitland" tour is $25 for ages 16 and up; $15 for children 6 to 15; costs of other activities vary.
Can you imagine a lifestyle where your whole world — your home, your job, shopping and recreation — were all contained in one village? That was the circumstance for the residents of the Smithville and Whitesbog company towns in Burlington County. Both villages have been faithfully preserved and are major attractions for nature- and history-loving visitors. Historic Smithville Park, on the National Register of Historic Places, started as a small mill operation and evolved into a major industrial plant with hundreds of workers from the mid-1800s through the 1920s. Its grounds include a "floating walkway," wetlands and freshwater streams. Go for a hike, and stay for a tour (offered at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Thursday and Sunday) of the Smithville Mansion in Eastampton. Whitesbog in Browns Mills is still surrounded by the acres of cranberry bogs and blueberry fields that made it an industrial powerhouse in the early 1900s. It has a general store, and its trails and gardens create a friendly environment for hummingbirds, herons, frogs and more. Both Smithville and Whitesbog host a number of special events and festivals throughout the year.
Cost: Walking grounds is free; Smithville tours are $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and students.
One of the cool things about living in South Jersey is wildlife watching — and can sometimes be done as close as your backyard. But if you venture out a little farther, you can see many more animals, some in their natural habitats. Palmyra Cove, right off Route 73, is filled with marked trails through unspoiled wooded areas along the river. Look closely through the trees and you'll likely see deer looking back at you. Also expect encounters with turkeys, groundhogs, vultures and clusters of butterflies. Rancocas Nature Center in Westampton and Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge in Medford both provide trails as well as guaranteed animal sightings. Rancocas is home to lots of frogs in its Dragonfly Pond. And at Woodford Cedar Run, which is also a sanctuary, visitors can see rehabilitating animals such an eagle, a hawk, a deer and a raccoon.
Hundreds of animals from all corners of the world make their home at the Cape May County Park & Zoo, which is actually in Cape May Court House, not the shore town of Cape May. A visit here is comparable to the experience at any big-city zoo — except it's free. (However, donations to support the county-owned zoo's conservation programs are appreciated.) Walk among peacocks and over bridges to see giraffes, zebras, bears and more wild creatures in sprawling habitats. There's a full aviary, reptile house and much more to make a day of it.
No matter where you live in New Jersey, you've probably visited a local farm or two. But how would you like to see a farm the way it appeared in the 19th century? No time travel required: Just head over to Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell Township, Mercer County. The Howell family, the last to own the farm, donated it to the county for use as a museum in 1974. Visitors can check out 19th-century buildings and artifacts dating as far back as 250 years while staff explains farming history, such as how ice was made in the 1870s. Plus, there are timeless farm favorites like horses, sheep and goats. Pack lunch or buy food at the farm (available Saturdays only) to enjoy at the picnic tables. Look for special themed events on Saturdays such as Tomato Day and Honey Harvest.
Cost: Free admission; fee for some children's crafts and other select activities.
Many South Jersey families still miss the Camden Riversharks, the minor-league team that played in the shadow of the Ben Franklin Bridge for 15 seasons. But a little drive up I-295 will take you to another baseball stadium along the Delaware River: The Trenton Thunder, Double A affiliate of the New York Yankees, offers the chance to see big-league prospects without a big price. And of course, there are plenty of fun amenities, including a picnic area and Family Fun Zone with inflatables and more to keep kids occupied. Check the schedule for fireworks nights all summer and other promotions and giveaways.
Cost: Tickets for seats in the 100 and 200 levels range $12 to $14 for adults; $11 for children 4 to 12 and seniors 60-plus. Be sure to check for weekly food-combo promotions such as Feeding Frenzy Monday, when a $14 ticket includes admission and all-you-can-eat select concession items.
New Jersey bird watching is a flight of fancy sights, thanks to the stunning variety of winged creatures that fly through and reside in the state. If you enjoy seeing unusual birds, it might worth a drive to the Cape May Bird Observatory or the Nature Center of Cape May, both run by New Jersey Audubon. The bird observatory is widely known for its World Series of Birding in the spring. But it also draws plenty of migrating birds in the fall, and summer visitors report seeing hawks, osprey, swans and much more. The nature center offers a three-story observation tower and indoor observation lounge (look out for nests — previous visitors have described active osprey nests). Kids will enjoy an aquarium exhibit and displays that invite them to identify shells and animals.
Do you love art, but balk at spending a summer day inside a museum? Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, Mercer County, near the NJ Transit train station off I-295, is a perfect place to take in culture without interrupting your outdoor vibe. The family-friendly gardens, founded by famed sculptor Seward Johnson, invite visitors to explore at their own pace in meticulously landscaped areas. Look for special events such as First Friday happy hours for ages 21-plus and monthly Tots on Tour activities for kids ages 3 to 5.
Cost: Timed tickets are required and are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors 65-plus, and $10 for kids 6 to 17.
Like few other places in South Jersey, WheatonArts and Cultural Center in Millville seamlessly blends history, industry and art. The sand found in interior South Jersey gave rise to a robust glass-making business, kept alive by artists who regularly demonstrate their skills at the center. The museum's collection of American glass is considered one of the most comprehensive in the world. Check out the regular collection, as well as special exhibits such as "Beauty Beyond Nature: The Glass Art of Paul Stankard." Special events, such as the fire muster on Aug. 19, appeal to all ages.
Cost: Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for ages 62-plus; and $7 for children over 5.
You've driven past it, and walked or jogged alongside it. But have you ever paddled or kayaked on the Cooper River? Camden County now offers boat rentals Thursday through Sundays. One caveat: If you want to keep it under $50, you'll have to keep your trip short. Boaters who work up an appetite can check out the concession stand at the corner of Cuthbert Boulevard and North Park Drive in Cherry Hill.
Cost: Paddle boat rentals are $20 an hour, kayak rentals $30 per hour.
South Jersey's most famous boat will take you on an interesting journey, even though it's permanently docked on the Camden Waterfront. The Battleship New Jersey, the decorated ship that served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, brings stature to the city's skyline. The interior is even more impressive, with a museum that tells stories from the ship's 48 years of service, and a steep passage through multiple levels above and below deck, including a look at sailors' living quarters. For an additional $4, you can rent an audio device featuring narration from a former crew member and sound effects.
Cost: Self-guided Fire Power Tour is $21.95 for adults, $17 for veterans, seniors 62-plus and children 5 to 11. Active military and former crew members of BB-62 are admitted free.
Off-peak hours: You often can take advantage of lighter crowds and lower prices if you visit attractions during the week or at other less popular times. Grounds for Sculpture, for example, is open until 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 7, and if you buy tickets online, you'll pay $12 for after-5 admission, a $6 discount off full price.
Library passes: Many South Jersey libraries now rent out much more than books. Cherry Hill Public Library lends free passes on a first-come, first-served basis to 16 museums and other attractions in Philadelphia and South Jersey, including the National Constitution Center, Museum of the American Revolution and Garden State Discovery Museum. Check with your local library to find out if similar loaners are available.
Cash in on memberships: Whether you realize it or not, you probably are a member of a club that entitles you to discounts on travel, entertainment and more. These discounts are generally available through credit card companies, travel services such as AAA, and wholesale clubs like BJ's. And if you're a Courier-Post subscriber, you have automatic access to Insider deals, including savings on water parks, movie tickets, museums and much more.
Township tickets: If you want to get out of town, check in with your town first — you might just be able to save some money. A number of South Jersey municipal offices sell amusement park and other entertainment tickets at a reduced rate. Washington Township Parks and Recreation Department, sells tickets to Six Flags for $48, a steep discount off the gate price of $79.99; and Hershey Park passes for $54 instead of $66.95. Others offering discount tickets this summer include Pemberton Township, Gloucester Township, Deptford, Glassboro, Harrison Township and Westville. |
Last week in my post I mentioned how I prefer to cook my beans from scratch to avoid the nasty stuff in canned foods such as sodium and BPA. This week’s post is about why you want to avoid canned foods and plastics containing BPA as much as you can.
BPA stands for Bisphenol A. The primary source of exposure to Bisphenol A is through your diet so there are ways to avoid it. BPA, of course, is a chemical, and is used to line the inside of food cans and is used in the production of plastic bottles such as the bottles you may purchase your convenient little bottles of water in.
Research shows that this BPA leaches into food and water stored in vessels made with this chemical. There is a huge concern with health effects of BPA relating to the brain, as well as how it may affect children.
Taking the following information from a Natural News article, it says that a study done at Harvard School of Public Health showed that those who ate 12 ounces of soup from a can each day for 5 days in a row raised urinary BPA levels by a whopping 1221 percent. That is huge. The study goes on to say that “the magnitude of the rise in Urinary BPA observed after just one serving of soup from a can was unexpected and may be of concern among individuals who regularly consume foods from cans or drink several canned beverages daily”.
– High urinary BPA has been strongly linked to heart disease and diabetes.
– Prenatal BPA exposure is connected with higher breast cancer risk later in life. BPA has been shown to mimic estrogen. Tests have shown that this chemical can promote human breast cancer cell growth.
– Prenatal BPA exposure can cause aggressive behaviour in toddlers. The BPA in unborn babies and young children are what investigators are most worried about.
– BPA can impact fertility by damaging sperm health.
There are ways to avoid BPA in your household. First of all….seek products that label their containers as BPA FREE. There are several manufactures who are proud to advertise that their using healthier packaging so read the labels. Plastics marked with recycle codes on the bottom of the bottles with number 3 or 7 are probably made with BPA. Avoid canned foods as much as you can as most cans are lined with BPA containing resins. One biggy that I’m always talking about is STOP MICROWAVING PLASTIC CONTAINERS and stop putting plastic wrap over your food for microwaving. The plastic chemicals definitely leach into your food. When the plastics are exposed to heat the BPA leaches out 55 times faster then under normal conditions. Yikes. And another thing…..DO NOT LEAVE PLASTIC DRINKING WATER BOTTLES IN YOUR CAR when the weather is warm. That is a sure way to ingest BPA from the plastic.
One thing I have done and suggest to all of you…go to your hardware store or favorite kitchen store and purchase GLASS storage containers to use to store leftovers in. You can get a set of containers of different sizes for a reasonable price. I would also recommend using the glass containers for heating foods in the microwave. (Personally I would avoid the microwave all together but if you must use the microwave then ditch the plastic containers and plastic wrap for sure.
Regarding those plastic water bottles….get yourself a stainless steel bottle or glass bottle to carry your drinking water with you in your car. This is a much better and safer way to have water in your car in the warmth of summer.
There is plenty of research being conducted in high places regarding BPA and what it is doing to infants and children. My suggestion would be to try and avoid it all together.
Personally, I have chosen not to use any canned or plastic products. Just make the change and feel good that you are avoiding one more “toxic” chemical in our “toxic” world. |
Identification: Smith (1985); Hubbs et al. (1991); Menhinick (1991); Page and Burr (1991).
Native Range: Coastal waters from Massachusetts to northeastern Mexico. Also in West Indies (Page and Burr 1991).
Table 1. States with nonindigenous occurrences, the earliest and latest observations in each state, and the tally and names of HUCs with observations†. Names and dates are hyperlinked to their relevant specimen records. The list of references for all nonindigenous occurrences of Cyprinodon variegatus are found here.
Means of Introduction: Initial introductions were presumably the result of bait-bucket releases (Stevenson and Buchanan 1973; Kennedy 1977). The species was first found in Lake Balmorhea in the 1960s (Stevenson and Buchanan 1973) and in Leon Creek in the 1970s (Kennedy 1977). Hubbs (1980) suggested that its appearance in Leon Creek may have resulted from a water change that took place at a highway bridge crossing during the transport of live bait from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific Coast. Kennedy (1977) suggested that it was probably introduced by local fishermen or bait dealers. The species first appeared in the Pecos River proper between 1980 and 1984 (Echelle and Connor 1989). Wilde and Echelle (1992) believed that Lake Balmorhea could have been the source of C. variegatus introduced into Leon Creek or the Pecos River proper; however, the researchers could not rule out the possibility that the species was introduced into these waters from elsewhere. Based on results of their electrophoretic study of fish taken from the Pecos River proper, Wilde and Echelle (1992) suggested that hybrids are widespread as a result of intradrainage dispersal and artificial transport of hybrids rather than multiple introductions of C. variegatus. Their data also suggested that the initial introduction of this species into the Pecos River probably occurred in the vicinity of Pecos, Reeves County, Texas, and hybrids subsequently dispersed both up- and down stream. However, recent research suggests that Red Bluff Reservoir was the original site of introduction (Childs et al. 1996). This species was not found in subsequent collections in Washington state concluding this introduction failed to produce a breeding population (Greenfield and Grinols 1965).
Impact of Introduction: Introduced Cyprinodon variegatus are known to hybridize with other native Cyprinodon species, including the endangered Commanche Springs pupfish C. elegans (Stevenson and Buchanan 1973), the Pecos pupfish C. pecosensis (Echelle and Connor 1989; Wilde and Echelle 1992, 1997; Childs et al. 1996; Echelle et al. 1997), and the endangered Leon Springs pupfish C. bovinus (Minckley et al. 1991; Echelle and Echelle 1997). Hubbs et al. (1991) stated that C. pecosensis is nearly extirpated in Texas due to introgressive hybridization with introduced C. variegatus. Wilde and Echelle (1992) reported that hybrids between introduced C. variegatus and Pecos pupfish C. pecosensis have replaced endemic Pecos pupfish in a 430-km stretch of the Pecos River and have dispersed into downstream areas well outside the recorded range of Pecos pupfish. They concluded that hybridization with C. variegatus had reduced the range of the Pecos pupfish by 60 percent. Because the appearance of C. variegatus was likely the result of a bait bucket introduction involving few individuals, it serves as an example that a small number of individuals can have a dramatic effect on another species (Echelle and Connor 1989). Introduction of C. variegatus into a spring-fed watercourse of Diamond Y Draw in the 1970s rapidly led to extensive hybridization with the endemic C. bovinus and local genetic swamping of the native species (Hubbs 1980; Minckley et al. 1991). The hybrids were eradicated and the native species was restored to the area (Hubbs 1980). Subsequently, however, C. variegatus was again introduced to the area, and this led to genetic introgression of the entire wild population of C. bovinus (Echelle and Echelle 1997). In contrast to the high levels of genetic introgression resulting from introductions of C. variegatus into the ranges of the other two species of pupfish endemic to the Pecos River drainage, Echelle and Echelle (1994) found little evidence of genetic introgression after more than two decades of contact between C. elegans and C. variegatus.
Remarks: As of 1992, the distribution of C. variegatus x C. pecosensis hybrids in the New Mexico portion of the Pecos River drainage was restricted to headwaters of Red Bluff Reservoir and the mouth of the Delaware River a few kilometers north of the New Mexico-Texas border, Eddy County, New Mexico (Wilde and Echelle 1992). More recently, Echelle et al. (1997) reported that all known New Mexico populations of C. pecosensis from Loving downstream to Red Bluff Reservoir now contain genetic material from C. variegatus. Childs et al. (1996) suggested that the introduction of C. variegatus may have occurred at a time when C. pecosensis populations had been catastrophically depleted, and therefore susceptible to genetic swamping. They felt that this would explain the rapid spread of introduced genetic material in the Pecos River and other genetic changes observed among sample localities. Many voucher specimens, presumably a mixture of C. variegatus, C. pecosensis, and hybrids, are housed at OSUS.
Childs, M.R., A.A. Echelle, and T.E. Dowling. 1996. Development of the hybrid swarm between Pecos pupfish (Cyprinodontidae: Cyprinodon pecosensis) and sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus): a perspective from allozymes and mtDNA. Evolution 50(5):2014-2022.
Echelle, A. A., and P. J. Connor. 1989. Rapid, geographically extensive genetic introgression after secondary contact between two pupfish species (Cyprinodon, Cyprinodontidae). Evolution 43(4):717-727.
Echelle, A.F., and A.A. Echelle. 1994. Assessment of genetic introgression between two pupfish species, Cyprinodon elegans and C. variegatus (Cyprinodontidae), after more than 20 years of secondary contact. Copeia 1994(3):590-597.
Echelle, A.A., C.W. Hoagstrom, A.F. Echelle, and J.E. Brooks. 1997. Expanded occurrence of genetically introgressed pupfish (Cyprinodontidae: Cyprinodon pecoensis x C. variegatus) in New Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 42:336-339.
Greenfield, D.W. and R.B. Grinols. 1965. Cyprinodon variegatus on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Copeia 1965(1):115-116.
Hubbs, C. 1980. Solution to the C. bovinus problem: eradication of a pupfish genome. Proceedings of the Desert Fishes Council 10:9-18.
Hubbs, C., T. Luciere, G.P. Garrett, R.J. Edwards, S.M. Dean, and E. Marsh. 1978. Survival and abundance of introduced fishes near San Antonio, Texas. Texas Journal of Science 30(4):369-376.
Kennedy, S.E.1977. Life history of the Leon Springs pupfish, Cyprinodon bovinus. Copeia 1977(1):93-103.
Minckley, W.L., G.K. Meffe, and D.L. Soltz. 1991. Conservation and management of short-lived fishes: the cyprinodontoids, Chapter 15. 247-282 in Minckley, W.L., and J.E. Deacon, (eds.). Battle against extinction: native fish management in the American west. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
Stevenson, M.M. and T.M. Buchanan. 1973. An analysis of hybridization between the cyprinodont fishes Cyprinodon variegatus and Cyprinodon elegans. Copeia 1973(4):682-692.
Wilde, G.R., and A.A. Echelle. 1992. Genetic status of Pecos pupfish populations after establishment of a hybrid swarm involving an introduced congener. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 121(3):277-286.
Wilde, G.R., and A.A. Echelle. 1997. Morphological variation in intergrade pupfish populations from the Pecos River, Texas, USA. Journal of Fish Biology 50(3):523-539.
Wonham, M.J., J.T. Carlton, G.M. Ruiz, and L.D. Smith. 2000. Fish and ships: relating dispersal frequency to success in biological invasions. Marine Biology 136:1111-1121. |
Since its launch in the spring of 2009, NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has been hunting exoplanets. The holy grail being a planet that is essentially like ours in terms of size, composition, and habitability: an Earth-twin.
While we still haven't found a planet that exactly fits that bill, Kepler has now confirmed the discovery of an Earth-sized exoplanet in its star’s habitable zone. The announcement was made at a press conference and the findings have been published in Science.
Kepler-186f is about 10% larger than Earth and orbits an M dwarf star around 500 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. The star is about half of the size and mass of our sun, and it takes Kepler-186f about 130 Earth days to complete a revolution. On the outer edge of the star’s habitable zone, the planet receives about a third of the radiation from its parent star as we do from ours.
Life as we know it requires the presence of liquid water, so a planet with the potential for life would be not too close to the star (which would be too hot and the water would be vapor) yet not too far away (where it would be too cold and the water would be ice). Habitability requires a “Goldilocks Zone” where conditions are just right.
"We know of just one planet where life exists -- Earth. When we search for life outside our solar system we focus on finding planets with characteristics that mimic that of Earth," said Elisa Quintana, lead author of the paper.
"Finding a habitable zone planet comparable to Earth in size is a major step forward."
"Being in the habitable zone does not mean we know this planet is habitable. The temperature on the planet is strongly dependent on what kind of atmosphere the planet has. Kepler-186f can be thought of as an Earth-cousin rather than an Earth-twin. It has many properties that resemble Earth."
Determining the composition of planets out in the habitable zone isn’t as easy as those who are incredibly close to the star, because there isn’t as much radiation from the parent star available to determine what is or isn’t getting absorbed.
While previous findings have indicated that Kepler-186f is a rocky planet, further analysis must be done before any definitive conclusions can be made. |
One of the great joys for an adventurist is exploring the unknown. There is nothing more fascinating or thrilling than getting the opportunity to explore God’s divine creation that is Mother Nature!
A country like Indian with its towering Himalayas, acres of forests and vast terrain is a haven for those who would like to explore this country on foot. Trekking on the pristine unexplored mountain ridges and valleys is a breathtaking experience.
Trekking is hugely popular amongst a lot of tourists nowadays. This is usually a long journey which is undertaken by a tourist or visitor on foot. Trekking can be done anywhere in the world. Treks can be organized in any tourist or non-tourist areas in almost every country. The trek duration depends on the participant and it can vary from a day to weeks or even a month! Trekking is an adventurous activity and can also be very physically demanding.
Trekking requires a great deal of planning to be done. Individuals can arrange trek trips on their own or join the Trek trips which are organized by various operators. A trek is subject to the dynamic forces of nature. Most trekkers move on foot through a variety of weather conditions, landscapes and terrains. Beginners to this activity should first and foremost improve their physical endurance after which they should prepare themselves mentally for the adventure.
In trekking packing the right things for the trip is most important. There are a few tips to keep in mind when one goes on a trek.
Pack Light: It is always important to pack light when on a trek. One’s backpack should not be so heavy that climbing uphill may seem an insurmountable journey. Always remember one’s backpack should not be more than ¼ one’s body weight.
Always remember to carry only the bare necessities. One should easily leave behind all unneeded items. The essential items for each trek trip will be different. This will depend on the location of the trek.
Maps - Always carry maps and available guide books. To keep them safely keep them in plastic waterproof clear bag when not in use. Global positioning systems (GPS) are very important when going on a trekking trip. You can pick up the satellite signal from just about anywhere. Google maps and such other software are currently available that gives you a clearer idea of your location via maps.
Water bottle - A light aluminum water bottle (available from camping shops) is essential for carrying drinking water. Also remember to carry enough food for the trekking trips incase it is not being provided by the organizer. Most of the time in treks food is cooked on slow bonfires which are lit under the clear blue skies.
Clothes – One should wear clothing depending on the terrain and climate. More important is wearing outfits which are comfortable and don’t hinder your movements.
The mountain ranges of India offer breathtaking, enthralling trekking routes. The Indian Himalayan and Karakoram ranges offer limitless possibilities for trekking.
Some of the top Trekking destinations in India are Ladakh-Zanskar Via Lahaul, Manali to Beas Kund, Garhwal Trekking, Himachal-Manikaran To Spiti, Dodi Tal, Khatling Saharatal Trek, Gangotri Nandvan Trek, Kinner-Kailash Parikrama, Manimahesh Chui Yatra, Jagatsukh To Base of Deo Tibba, Adi Kailash Trek, Hemkund Trek etc. |
Can healthy soil promote healthy ecosystems in rangelands and croplands?
Soil organic matter is central to soil health in agriculture because it influences several important outcomes related to human and environmental well-being, like crop yield, carbon storage, and nutrient retention. There is momentum to build up soil organic matter for other working lands, like rangelands, where the benefits are less quantified. There is generally little quantitative evidence for which specific soil organic matter levels managers should target to achieve positive outcomes and avoid environmental consequences.
OUR APPROACH: This group aims to advance the science of soil organic matter to develop specific targets for management—and spatial prioritizing of management—to best meet agronomic outcomes and environmental benefits, for both row-crop and rangeland systems. This group focuses specifically on two case studies: rangelands in California and row-crop agriculture in the US midwest. |
Not the safest vehicle to drive, especially when I’m behind the wheel. Got it blessed by a Catholic priest at his parish’s classic car show in 2007.
My husband was pleased that I had my 1963 Volkswagen Beetle blessed by a Catholic priest. That’s because it’s not the safest car, especially when I’m behind the wheel. We looked at it as a measure of protection. Catholics can have a variety of things blessed—motorcycles, animals, houses, monuments, rosaries, religious medals, even radio stations. A little holy water goes a long way.
For some reason, when a Catholic priest advertises that he’s going to bless cell phones, it receives world-wide attention. [See here and here, for example]. This weekend, a priest in France is going to bless cell phones at a Mass for the Feast of Pentecost. World-wide reports ensue. [See here and here, for example]. The Pentecost theme makes sense because the Holy Spirit compels us to spread the Good News. These days, we spread a lot of news on our various mobile communication devices. So why not get them blessed?
“Everybody has a mobile phone, and it is the Church’s duty to bless those things that help people in their daily lives…Blessing smartphones is a reminder to Christians that their mobile devices can be used to do good in the community,” and once blessed, they fall under the protection of the Archangel Gabriel, the Catholic patron saint of messengers, he said.
The Book of Blessings that a priest uses contains many blessings provided by the Roman Catholic Church. This is a revised (which unfortunately tends to mean less traditional and less poetic) version of the older Rituale Romanum. Revisions, notwithstanding, the blessings do not take into account new fangled devices. So priests need to think a little creatively.
There are blessings for Telegraph machines in the older Rituale. And iPhones are used for e-mails and SMSs. There is a blessing for a radio station, and the iPhone does broadcast and receive.
This is why we do need an updated book with blessings for some modern things not even in the imagination of those who originally worked with the Rituale Romanum. . .
I guess you could use the blessing “For all things”, but I rather like the idea of a little adaptation to those I mentioned above.
I once blessed the hardware going into someone’s knee-replacement. I used the blessing for mountain climbing equipment. |
With summer winding down, the gardening talk often turns to the idea of a fall garden. To me, the idea of a fall garden is misleading and has confused me since childhood. I can remember getting it in my head to plant pumpkins; nothing seems more associated with an autumn harvest. But pumpkins actually need a long time to grow and must be planted at the beginning of summer in order to be ready by Halloween.
If you want to enjoy tomatoes in the fall, they need to be planted by the Fourth of July. It's no different for kale and Swiss chard. In order to get them ready for harvest this winter, I'll begin their seeds in starter trays at the peak of summer. So, really what is this fall garden idea?
The rest of the country may have four seasons with a real winter, but Texas has two, and that's why we can grow food year-round.
The reality is that anything can grow anywhere, at any time of the year, if it has the right conditions of nutrients, air, light and heat. Air is a given. Nutrients are supplied through a well-maintained soil. It's almost always sunny here. That leaves heat as the only condition that dictates when we can plant a crop.
That said, there are boundaries. Crops generally fall into two categories: hot season crops and cool season crops, and that correlates perfectly with Texas' two seasons. The rest of the country may have four seasons with a real winter, but Texas has two, and that's why we can grow food year-round.
Hot season crops include cantaloupe, tomatoes, watermelon, peppers, okra, squash and everything else that can bear the summer heat. Melons actually require summer heat to turn sweet. Cool season crops are mostly lettuce and other greens that wilt or become too bitter in the heat, along with broccoli and a few root crops.
Root vegetables such as beets, carrots, radishes and rutabagas; I sow carrots almost year-round.
Cabbage and sturdy greens such as kale, collards, turnip and mustard greens.
Lighter greens including spinach, Swiss chard and cilantro, all of which are relatively easy to grow; I've seen cilantro survive a rare arctic blast that has knocked out everything else.
I had success with lettuce last year for the first time. I've never had luck with broccoli or cauliflower, but I'll try again.
I'll start start sowing at the beginning of September. I'll double back with carrots and beets and sow more seeds every few weeks, all the way through November, because once these are harvested, they produce no more. One big benefit to gardening during the cool season is that most pests and weeds have become dormant. Cool season crops are about as trouble-free as gardening gets. |
It’s a subject that is painful to talk about, but one that so desperately needs attention. Every year, dozens of children die because of being left in the back of hot cars. This year alone, seventeen children have passed away. The year before that, the rate of children dying in hot cars was up 25 percent. The family of one of these children touched by this unspeakable tragedy is speaking out.
The moment that Brett Cavaliero realized that he had left is one year-old in the back of the family’s hot car is one that will forever haunt him. It was May 25, 2011, when he had put his daughter Sophia Rayne, who the family had lovingly nicknamed “Ray Ray,” into the car, getting ready to drop her off at daycare. However, he had driven to work instead. It was not until his wife Kristie met him for lunch and questioned why the daycare teacher hadn’t mentioned the cute outfit their daughter was wearing, that it hit Brett that she was still in the back of the car, on a 90-degree day.
Paramedics arrived on scene and spent forty minutes trying to revive the young girl, but to no avail. Sophia passed away just ten days after her first birthday. Now, the Cavalieros are channeling the grief that they’re experiencing into a positive experience. The couple have created Ray Ray’s Pledge, a project meant to prevent tragedies like the one they experienced by employing a daycare drop-off system, with the daycare facilitators phoning the child’s parents if the children are not dropped off at their designated drop-off time. It’s a phone call that could mean the difference between the life and death of a child.
Bring along one of your child’s toys and place it in the passenger seat as a reminder that your child is in the back.
Take one of your everyday carry items, like your cell phone or purse, in the backseat, so that you will need to get out and look in the backseat to retrieve it at your next destination.
Speak with your children’s daycare providers and set up a call system in which you the parent, calls them if you are not going to drop your child off that day, and vice versa, having them give you a phone call if your child hasn’t arrived by the designated time on a day that you are supposed to drop them off.
Instead of putting your child’s car seat on one side or the other of the backseat, put it in the middle, so it will be easier to see your child in your rear-view mirror.
While the daycare system is a good idea, why place responsibility of taking care of your own child on a third party? What if the daycare staff “forgot” (as easily as the parent can forget child is in the car) that the child was on the list to attend daycare that day, and never calls the parent? Or if they become too busy and “forget” to call the parent? What then? Are the daycare community going to come up with another system so that their responsibility will be shifted to yet another third party? It will be a never ending process of shifting of responsibility, when responsibility lies with the parents themselves. Relying on third parties for safety of your own child can sometimes backfire. If you can’t even trust yourself, why would you trust others to remember FOR you. If the daycare drop off system is put into place, but children still die from these circumstances – will daycare centers be absolved of blame?
I recently heard a very helpful hint, one that I’d never thought of! It suggested taking off your left shoe and placing it in the back seat. Because you can still forget your cell phone or your purse. You can’t forget your shoe! |
Wandering around the National Air and Space Museum last week, I found what is arguably the coolest light meter ever: The Minolta Space Meter used by Neil and Buzz on Apollo 11 to set exposure settings for their photography while walking on the moon. A light meter with moon dust on it!
During the Apollo 11 lunar mission of July 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin carried this specially designed Minolta light meter on the lunar surface in order to acquire accurate exposure information quickly and easily. The silver metal casing reflected some of the harmful solar rays that could have overheated this sensitive equipment.
Studio photograph of Apollo 11 One Degree Minolta Spotmeter (A19980022000) against a grey background, February 11, 20098. This light meter was used by Apollo 11 astronauts to set their camera exposures accurately in the stark lighting conditions of space. |
Every company has a wealth of information hidden away in their numbers. Sales figures, customer engagement, inventory counts—they’re all pieces of the bigger picture, powerful insights that can bring to light answers that help your business succeed.
We’ve all heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and for business it is just as true. When facts and figures are swimming in spreadsheets or disconnected across a number of platforms, insights are lost in the process of trying to find them. The brain doesn’t work just looking at a table of numbers, instead it needs visualized graphs and charts, with patterns and trends floating directly to the surface.
Data visualization can turn any business into an informed success, and all you need is a way to understand the information you already have.
Even small changes in your numbers can prove vital information. When your information is presented visually, those minute details become immediately clear—giving you powerful information about your facts and figures. Strong data visualization can reveal underlying patterns, relationships between figures or previously unknown trends—information you wouldn’t have a clue about without proper visibility.
When you actually understand the trends of your business, making tough decisions about your company becomes infinitely easier. You don’t have to stress about what the right answer is, instead you actually understand the background of your business—including what your customers want, where your sales are coming from and what has worked and hasn’t worked during your run as a company. You have a decision to make and you need to be informed, and more often than not something hangs in the balance—like a customer, product or ultimately your profit. Information is vital for business survival, and with data visualization that information becomes understandable and accessible.
When it comes to a spreadsheet, you can’t fully see what the numbers are trying to tell you when they’re just sitting in cells. But a proper graph can show you every piece of the puzzle, including previously unnoticed information. Especially in large data sets, we commonly miss minute details, but in a graph those trends are exposed—giving powerful information that you never knew you needed. Suddenly with data visualization you can identify areas in your business that need attention or improvement, and turn your focus to problem solving or implementation. Without that clear data visualization, you never would have realized that key factor.
Not only does data visualization give business leaders and entrepreneurs insight into the businesses they’ve grown and invested in, but it also helps the entire team to get on the same page. Everyone can understand numbers and trends when it is effectively shown in a graph or chart meant to explain data clearly. And when you can share those insights with team members, everyone can recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the company they work for. With visualization you can understand what products to place where, predict sales volumes and incoming revenue and directly communicate that story to others.
Not only does visualization help you with your business, but ultimately it helps your customers, too—in more ways than one. To start, it gives you the insights needed to improve their experiences. It can clarify what factors influence customer behavior and draw attention to things lacking in your existing set-up. Suddenly you can impact the way your customers view and interact with your business, just by understanding the numbers. Along with that, proper visualization can help your customers make decisions too. When customers are trying to decide whether to go with your business or a competitor, data visualization can help them. Just like you, they recognize graphs and visual elements better than numbers alone. You can use the power of visualization to enrich customer knowledge and teach them about the benefits of your business. The opportunities are endless. |
Starting from the amazing complexity of human knowledge, the author emphasizes the need to put order in our huge wealth of goods-knowledge to gain control on complexity.
He takes as an example Mauro’s failure as a student. Mauro has little self-esteem, because the school system tried to put order in his head by way of a theoretical, subject-based, sequential method.
A grid of significant indicators structures assessment in a qualitative way, as it can give our student a better orientation in his difficulties, and helps him to choose which behaviours to keep under control to improve his performance (pragmatic, project-based method).
This project-based vision is self-motivating, as it has the force of things, of facts, of practice, and at the same time it can be integrated with a subject-based vision which allows students to gain ever better control on the metalinguistic, metacognitive level. |
In 1982, it was established that alpha-tocopheryl succinate (alpha-TS) was the most effective form of vitamin E in comparison to alpha-tocopherol, alpha-tocopheryl acetate and alpha-tocopheryl nicotinate in inducing differentiation, inhibition of proliferation and apoptosis in cancer cells, depending upon its concentration. During the last two decades, several studies have confirmed this observation in rodent and human cancer cells in culture and in vivo (animal model).
The most exciting aspect of this alpha-TS effect is that it does not affect the proliferation of most normal cells. In spite of several studies published on the anti-cancer properties of alpha-TS, the value of this form of vitamin E has not drawn significant attention from researchers and clinicians. Therefore, a critical review on the potential role of alpha-TS in the management of cancer is needed.
In addition, such a review can also provide in-depth analysis of existing literature on this subject. alpha-TS treatment causes extensive alterations in gene expression; however, only some can be attributed to differentiation, inhibition of proliferation and apoptosis. alpha-TS also enhances the growth-inhibitory effect of ionizing radiation, hyperthermia, some chemotherapeutic agents and biological response modifiers on tumor cells, while protecting normal cells against some of their adverse effects. Thus, alpha-TS alone or in combination with dietary micronutrients can be useful as an adjunct to standard cancer therapy by increasing tumor response and possibly decreasing some of the toxicities to normal cells. |
Spirituality and religion are regarded as being out of this world. The very reason many religions regard themselves as 'spiritual' is because they offer us access to worlds other than the physical dimensions we find ourselves in. Spirituality is commonly used as an antonym for materiality.
Yet there must be some commonality between our spiritual and material worlds for us to be able to imagine them at all. Access to such other-worlds is believed to permit us to extend our same earthly lives, to lead lives of greater civility or comfort, to consort with beings whose powers and intelligence exceed our own or to extend our powers beyond their earthly capabilities.
While it's not possible to test the veracity of other-worldly claims, the descriptions of this world by many religions have proved to be scientifically inadequate, and this has aroused suspicion of their other-worldly offerings. Some have managed to avoid this conflict by simply regarding the wonder and beauty of nature to be an expression of divinity, as Pantheists do.
But could divinity itself be a this-worldly rather than an other-worldly phenomenon? Could we find all the splendour of our spiritual imaginations here in our material world without having to resort to realms outlandish? Could spirits be coursing through our veins and singing through our minds using the elements of the Periodic Table? Spirituality might well arise out of, or be inherent in, our material world - and not a precursor to it. Science could be informing our spiritual imaginations rather than only contesting them.
Rather than looking to spirituality as an antidote for materiality, this book explores it in a much wider sense - regarding any being, principle or object to be a spirit if it influences us while remaining mysterious or beyond our control. In this wider sense spirituality serves as a complement to science - a more intuitive and less restrictive vanguard into the unknown.
We have no control over many of the material phenomena that affect us: The rotation of our planet vis-a-vis the sun, for example, absolutely dictates our daily rhythms, while the structure of our DNA is an important determinant of who and what we are. Dumb though these phenomena may be, their impact on us is unavoidable and in this wider sense they are spirits we cannot but obey.
But are they sentient? Can such spirits be construed to comprehend meaning, experience sensation or express intent? I suggest they can, not necessarily in themselves, but in the patterns they host, in their sequences and arrangements. It's not just that their patterns may be beautiful or wondrous but they may themselves be patterned, and patterned again, in what I call orders of pattern. One has only to watch waves intermingling on a beach to see how deep this ordering can be. Our everyday lives are far too busy to contemplate the deeper orders of pattern but adepts of mindfulness tell us that it is possible to become aware of them.
It is through the patterning of material reality that we express our sentiences, in all their nuances. The material world is a replete medium for meaning. The messages we communicate - words on a page, signs or songs, a pat on the back, exchanges of electronic data - all are patternings in the greater material medium. Our organs sense our environment through material signals and it is through material manipulations that we affect it.
Spirits would utilize the material medium to express their sentiences too. But whereas our organs are confined to human-sized scales of activity, their avenues are not so limited. Their bandwidths in the material spectrum, as it were, are much wider than our own.
Now I distinguish two modes by which patterning can occur. One mode is hierarchical, having levels of pattern that override each other, while the other is proportional, by which all patterns interlace equitably. These different modes can be seen for example in the way armies organize in strict levels of hierarchical authority while fish school without leaders. Our spirits would utilize these same modes in their patterning of reality and the main idea of this book is that we can glean information about our spirits from the modes of patterning they employ.
Modes of patterning can also illuminate a contemporary psychedelic conundrum. Psychedelic drugs appear to offer us a unitary participation in the universe in addition to our usual participation as isolated individuals. Why is such a profound and important experience always temporary? Why is it so far removed from our normal perception of reality? Is the psychedelic experience illusory or is our normal perception illusory? These questions can be more readily addressed from a vantage of modes of patterning.
My aim in writing this book is not to convince sceptics of the reality of spirituality - only a direct experience can do that - but to offer those so mystified a framework that accommodates both their normal and spiritual states of mind.
Part I examines the physical interactions that underlie these modes of patterning and establishes the characteristics of each mode. Part II shows how the meaning we extract from patterns of interaction follows the same two modes. Part III explores how spirits might negotiate these modes and Part IV looks at how an understanding of these modes can change our spiritual paradigms and better guide our psychedelic explorations.
You may find the initial focus on physics wearying. I ask your patience. The physics is necessary for establishing the characteristics of the two modes but is elementary and accessible to everyone. Occasional statements that are beyond one's reach may be bypassed without losing the overall gist. On the other hand, I have stated the idea much too simply in order to convey it as directly as possible and to as wide an audience as possible.
Many of the ideas in this book are speculative - but many are not. The physics is mainstream though the perspective a little unusual. It is in the realms of spirituality and consciousness that I have indulged because they would benefit most from these ideas. I have tried to enclose my speculations in phrases such as "I suspect ..." etc. The main argument is not dependent on these speculations so please put them aside if you find them uncomfortable. |
There are a number of strategies and techniques to create perfect time management and one of the most important ones is to decide on an effect way to prioritise on the most important things you need to focus on. In this article we are going to look at the first step in creating an effective time management strategy – deciding on the six most important things to do.
It is very easy to get overwhelmed when you lead a busy life and have a number of conflicting demands on your time. If you are to be effective in managing your time then you have to implement a strategy for deciding what is important and what is not.
If you are like most busy people you probably have a to-do-list that has many items on it and that then becomes a mountain to climb instead of an aid. The first thing you need to do is identify which elements on your to-do-list are the most important and the most urgent so that you can focus on those.
There are four main categories of tasks and these categories will significantly aid you in creating effective time management.
1. Firstly you decide which tasks are both highly important and urgent. This means that these tasks are goal orientated tasks, they are leading you in the direction of a key desired outcome and these tasks are urgent because they have a deadline that is close, relative to the time the task will take to complete.
2. Next decide which tasks are highly important. These are the tasks which are key to achieving goal orientated results that you are aiming for.
3. Urgent items that are not important for achieving goals, these could be things that are urgent for others, but that are not specifically leading you in the direction of one of your goals.
4. Anything else. Really the things in this category do not really need to be done and can be missed when there are more important things that need to be done. In reality this is one of the most important categories to identify when it comes to effective time management because all too many people get bogged down in trivia instead of focusing on the important.
Once you have identified the level of importance and urgency for each item on your task list, decide on which six items are the most important and put them on a separate list.
These are the six items you will focus on completely for today, only when all of these have been completed will you move on to the next six things. Do this every morning and your time management will be massively simplified and your effective productivity will increase by up to 400% over night. |
June 17, 2005 Italian ceramic tile manufacturer Gambarelli has produced a remarkable new tile that catalyses a reaction with pollution to break it down to salt and purify the air. Gambarelli’s new Oxygena range of tiles is coated with titanium dioxide, which has photocatalytic properties - when exposed to sunlight, it activates a reaction similar to that of chlorophyll photosynthesis in plants. In university tests, it has been found in eight hours of exposure to daylight, one square metre of Oxygena tiles purifies 72 cubic metres of air.
Oxygena was created for outdoor use (buildings, balconies, walkways) but can also be laid internally in baths and kitchens and rooms in general. The tile is already being used in Italy for town piazzas, pavements, roundabouts, hospitals, schools and airports and planned usage is growing rapidly as councils see a way of reducing pollution in built-up areas.
The tile’s photocatalytic properties cause a reaction between air and sunlight where active oxygen is produced which, when it comes in contact with pollutants such as nitrogen monoxide and dioxide (found in vehicle exhaust gases and chiefly responsible for poor air quality) activates a chemical reaction which destroys the pollutant, transforming it into harmless eco-compatible salts.
The dioxide is also effective on other pollutants found in the air of a polluted town or city such as PM10, volatile organic compounds, NH3 gas, polyaromatic compounds, formaldehyde and fine dust particles.
The tiles are protected by an international patent and may have benefits beyond sunlit areas as it has been found that the photocatalytic process can be induced outdoors at night and in rooms without windows by using special light bulbs. The manufacturers claim the process will work for a minimum of ten years. |
Children from Hawley Environmental School in Milwaukee are the entertaining experts on household pollution and its connection to water sources. They show toxic cleansers, explain their warning labels, and discuss the problems they cause for water and health. They visit a sewage treatment plant when explaining the connections between what you use in your household and the water. Practical, effective, inexpensive solutions for reducing household pollution are provided. The Lake Michigan Federation also offers further information and recipes in the free Guide to Non-toxic Cleaners. |
As the HP-480PL has a high injection resolution per pulse, it can be used to control a pulse pump as part of a system for processing involving fine control of pH values, for example controlling the pH values of microscopic or small samples.
A pulse signal proportional to the set pH value is output.
This signal can be input directly into a pulse pump, making it possible to construct a simple system with an excellent cost-performance ratio.
A maximum of 360 pulses per minute can be output.
It has a high insertion resolution per pulse, allowing for very fine control of pH values. |
Findings from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford found that every hour school age children spent on digital devices only equated to between three and eight fewer minutes of sleep each night.
It has long been thought that children who spend more time engaged with digital devices suffer worse sleeping patterns.
Professor Andrew Przybylski, author of the study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, said: “The findings suggest that the relationship between sleep and screen use in children is extremely modest.
The research, titled Digital Screen Time and Paediatric Sleep, found that teenagers who abstain from technology got an average of eight hours and 51 minutes of sleep a night.
However, teenagers spending eight hours each day on screens still managed an average of eight hours and 21 minutes of sleep each night.
Instead, Prof Przybylski suggested that other factors relating to family and daily routine possibly should be the focus when trying to get children to sleep better.
Blue light omitted from screens has been linked to sleep issues in the past, but Prof Przybylski is unsure as to the significance of their role.
He said: “The next step from here is research on the precise mechanisms that link digital screens to sleep.
“Though technologies and tools relating to so-called ‘blue light’ have been implicated in sleep problems, it is not clear whether play a significant causal role. |
Do you earn more than your husband and worry that he won't take it in positive stride? Take heart as this is good for the stability factor in your relationship.
breadwinner rather than the father, shows research.
"We found that equal earning, and a mother being a main earner, are not destabilising influences on relationships - even at an intense time of childcare responsibilities," said Shireen Kanji from University of Leicester's school of management in Britain.
Kanji and Pia Schober of the German Institute for Economic Research, Berlin, examined survey data on 3,944 British couples as their first child aged from eight months to seven years.
The researchers found no significant statistical difference in the risk of relationship break-up if the mother earned more than the father.
They also found that in some instances, couples were more stable if the woman earned more.
The research found that parents who earned approximately the same were no more likely to split up than those where the father earned more, and in some cases were less likely to separate.
For example, for couples with children of school age, the risk of separation fell by about half for those that were married, and by more for those that were unmarried.
"Sociological and economic theories have long predicted that women's increased economic independence would undermine the institution of marriage," said the researchers.
"We found that influential theories that a woman's higher earnings elevate the risk of divorce are unfounded amongst contemporary parents," they added.
The research breaks new ground in studying the stability of both married and cohabiting parents, said the study published in the journal Sociology. |
One of the fears from global warming is the potential for “tipping points” that will vastly exaggerate the warming, and one of most discussed is increased methane emissions from high latitudes. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and large increases in its concentration would certainly amplify the warming associated with anthropogenic emissions. Two potential methane sources have been suggested: melting permafrost on land and subsea permafrost. A review article recently published in Reviews of Geophysics examined the potential for subsea methane hydrates to be a tipping point, but found no evidence so far. The authors, Carolyn D. Ruppel and John D. Kessler, answer some questions about this area of research.
A major concern is that warming in the oceans and the melting of ice might release large amounts of methane stored within ocean sediments which would further amplify the warming. What new understanding or synthesis are you providing of this feedback?
Certainly gas hydrate is breaking down at some locations now, mostly associated with subsea permafrost on Arctic Ocean shelves and with hydrate at the upper limit of its stability on temperate-latitude upper continental slopes affected by warming ocean waters. In our assessment strong biogeochemical sinks and physical processes prevent much of the methane released via gas hydrate degradation from reaching the sea-air interface and being injected into the atmosphere. For example, some of the methane formerly contained in gas hydrate is retained in the sediments and consumed in the near-seafloor sulfate reduction zone in marine settings. Methane bubbles emitted at water depths greater than about 100 m are unlikely to retain their methane as they ascend to the sea-air interface. The methane that dissolves in the water column is often oxidized to carbon dioxide through microbial processes. Seafloor methane emissions are not entirely benign for ocean chemistry, but gas hydrate degradation likely makes insignificant contributions to global atmospheric methane concentrations.
We estimate that seafloor emissions of hydrate-derived methane (most of which never reaches the atmosphere) is dwarfed by annual carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources.
What are the societal implications of the new understanding?
Because gas hydrates globally sequester such a large amount of methane at depths that are shallow compared to those associated with conventional gas, even reputable publications sometimes posit that warming climate will lead to catastrophic breakdown of global gas hydrate deposits and the subsequent injection of the released methane into the atmosphere. Our review underscores the implausibility of such scenarios. The spatial distribution of climate-susceptible gas hydrates, the strong sinks that consume much of the methane released from gas hydrate breakdown before the gas reaches the atmosphere, and the thermodynamic barriers to runaway gas hydrate breakdown all argue against strong synergy between gas hydrates and the climate system. In fact, we estimate that seafloor emissions of hydrate-derived methane (most of which never reaches the atmosphere) is dwarfed by annual carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources.
What are the major unsolved or unresolved questions and where are additional data or modeling efforts needed?
The most critical need is a fingerprinting method that can distinguish methane formerly contained in gas hydrate from other methane sources. For example, at least 5 geologic sources may contribute to seafloor methane emissions on some Arctic continental shelves, but the scientific community currently lacks the ability to discern the component of emissions that could be derived from degradation of gas hydrate. Another need is for robust measurements of sea-air methane fluxes, particularly at high latitudes where controversy has arisen as various datasets have been reported. Numerical modeling of the interaction of climate and gas hydrates during past warming events and during contemporary and future climate change should also be improved to more thoroughly account for realistic distributions of gas hydrate, sediment and water column methane sinks and the transfer of methane-carbon to other carbon pools, regional oceanographic conditions, and full atmospheric chemistry. |
Today is European Tourism Day 2018 and to mark this event, here are some statistics about tourist travel in the European Union (EU). Last year EU citizens made 1.2 billion tourist trips - the vast majority of these (94 %) were to destinations within the EU, often within their own country of residence.
Figures on the number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation for 2017 show that for the EU as a whole, half (52 %) of the nights were spent by people who were residents of the reporting countries and 35 % were spent by non-residents from other EU countries. Tourists from outside the EU accounted for the remaining 13 % of nights.
The highest proportion of overnight stays undertaken by residents within the country or non-residents from other EU countries in 2017 was in Poland (94 %).
Malta had the highest proportion of nights in tourist accommodation spent by non-residents from other EU countries (84 %) and Cyprus had the highest proportion of nights in tourist accommodation spent by tourists coming from outside the EU (36 %).
The data sources are here: trips of EU residents and nights in EU tourist accommodation. |
A device for screening crowds for hidden explosives, developed jointly by Russia and NATO, will soon be tested in the Paris Metro. Researchers hope to complete it in time to be used at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014.
The system, which has been in development for several years, was presented on March 2 during the NATO-Russia Council meeting, reports Kommersant daily, citing sources. The Standex (stand-off detection of explosives and suicide bombers) will supposedly be able to pinpoint a person carrying even a small bomb.
The device will be field tested in France, which was involved in the collaboration, at several of Paris’ Metro stations. Engineers want to see how precise it will be at telling who exactly carries the explosive, as opposed to merely detecting its presence.
Standex is classified and little is known about its features. It is known to use active scanning with millimeter-length radio waves. Russia contributed through the St. Petersburg-based Khlopin Radium Institute, a subsidiary of the state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
The newspaper cites Russia’s envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin as saying that the work on Standex received a considerable boost after the terrorist attacks in Moscow – the twin bombings in the Moscow Metro and the bombing at Domodedovo Airport. He added such projects, where NATO and Russia co-operate on issues they have no disagreement about, help build confidence.
It is hoped that the new bomb detector will be ready to go into service in 2013. |
21 กุมภาพันธ์ 2561 เวลา 12:43 น. 8th report ลูก ค้างคาว the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Ebola Viral Disease Outbreak — West Africa, 2014″. CDC urges all US residents to avoid nonessential travel to Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone because of an unprecedented outbreak of Ebola”.
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Current topics in microbiology and immunology. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. Fruit bats may carry Ebola virus”. The natural history of Ebola virus in Africa”. Experimental inoculation of plants and animals with Ebola virus”. Fruit bats as reservoirs of Ebola virus”. Spatial and temporal patterns of Zaire ebolavirus antibody prevalence in the possible reservoir bat species”.
Identification of Ebola virus sequences present as RNA or DNA in organs of terrestrial small mammals of the Central African Republic”. Ecologic and Geographic Distribution of Filovirus Disease”. Eighth Report of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Filoviridae: A taxonomic home for Marburg and Ebola viruses? Differentiation of filoviruses by electron microscopy”. Laboratory diagnosis of Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fever”. International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.
The origin and evolution of Ebola and Marburg viruses”. Filoviruses are ancient and integrated into mammalian genomes”. Evolutionary maintenance of filovirus-like genes in bat genomes”. Clinical aspects of African viral hemorrhagic fevers”.
A consideration of the diagnosis of dangerous infectious fevers in South Africa”. Differential diagnosis of infectious diseases with hemorrhagic syndrome”. Atlanta, Georgia, US: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Care of Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Filovirus Haemorrhagic Fever in Health-care Settings with Focus on Ebola. Known Cases and Outbreaks of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever”. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Koenig and Schultz’s disaster medicine : comprehensive principles and practices. Liberia shuts schools, considers quarantine to curb Ebola”. Emerging targets and novel approaches to Ebola virus prophylaxis and treatment”. Accelerated vaccination for Ebola virus haemorrhagic fever in non-human primates”. Vesicular stomatitis virus-based vaccines protect nonhuman primates against aerosol challenge with Ebola and Marburg viruses”. Vesicular Stomatitis Virus-Based Ebola Vaccine is Well-Tolerated and Protects Immunocompromised Nonhuman Primates”. |
We've all found ourselves in the uncanny valley before. It's that uneasy feeling you get when viewing a realistic humanoid or CGI person that's so close to looking human that it seems almost spooky.
[partner id="wireduk" align="right"]The actual "valley" refers to a precipitous drop in "likeability" as onscreen characters and humanoid robots step too far towards being human-like. As in, we enjoy Pixar's Wall-E and Nintendo's Mario, but we get the heeby jeebies from the ultra-realistic faces of The Polar Express or the upcoming Tintin movie.
So far, the phenomenon has been described entirely anecdotally, but an international team of researchers, led by Ayse Pinar Saygin of the University of California, San Diego, wanted to find out if the sensation was actually caused by something deep within our brains.
The team picked out 20 subjects, aged 20 to 36. They had no experience working with robots and hadn't spent time in Japan where there's more cultural exposure to androids. Saygin also recruited the help of Repliee Q2, an especially human-like robot from Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University. Q2 has 13 degrees of freedom on her face alone, and uses her posable eyes, brows, cheeks, lids, lips and neck to make facial expressions and mouth shapes.
The team made videos of Repliee Q2 performing actions like waving, nodding, taking a drink of water and picking up a piece of paper from a table. Then, the same actions were performed by the Japanese woman whom Q2 is based on. Finally, the researchers stripped the robot of its synthetic skin and hair to reveal a Terminator-style metal robot with dangling wires and visible circuits.
The subjects were shown each of the videos and were informed about which was a robot and which human. Then, the subjects' brains were scanned in an fMRI machine.
When viewing the real human and the metallic robot, the brains showed very typical reactions. But when presented with the uncanny android, the brain "lit up" like a Christmas tree.
When viewing the android, the parietal cortex – and specifically in the areas that connect the part of the brain's visual cortex that processes bodily movements with the section of the motor cortex thought to contain mirror (or empathy) neurons – saw high levels of activity.
It suggests that the brain couldn't compute the incongruity between the android's human-like appearance and its robotic motion. In the other experiments – when the onscreen perfomer looks human and moves likes a human, or looks like a robot and moves like a robot – our brains are fine. But when the two states are in conflict, trouble arises.
"The brain doesn't seem tuned to care about either biological appearance or biological motion per se," said Saygin, assistant professor of cognitive science at UC San Diego. "What it seems to be doing is looking for its expectations to be met – for appearance and motion to be congruent."
In the paper, published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, the team writes, "as human-like artificial agents become more commonplace, perhaps our perceptual systems will be re-tuned to accommodate these new social partners."
"Or perhaps, we will decide it is not a good idea to make them so closely in our image after all." |
Congenital hypertrichosis is a general term for any excessive hair growth visible on a child at birth. This may involve the entire body having a covering of fine long hair, or be restricted to specific areas. This very rare X-linked dominant condition has been responsible for the descriptions ‘dog faced’ and ‘werewolf’. Figuera et.al. (1995) have been mapping the gene responsible which is on the long arm of the X chromosome between Xq24-Xq27.
A secondary symptom of various syndromes associated with a genetic inheritance.
In 1648, Dr Ulysses Aldrovandus documented several members of the family of Petrus Gonsalvus a native of Tenerife who had excessive body hair (Hypertrichosis universalis) from birth. Gonsalvus married in the Netherlands, and fathered several children including two daughters a son and a grandchild with Congenital Hypertrichosis. The family was a popular object of medical research. Drs Felix Plater & Aldrovandus described them. The family was dubbed ‘The Family of Ambras’ after a castle near Innsbruck in which their portraits are still exhibited. Details of their lives were recorded in the 1582/83 sketchbook of Georg Hoefnagel in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library) in Vienna.
In 1993, Dr Baumeister described nine of his patients with a form of hypertrichosis with a defining clinical presentation.To this he gave the name ‘Ambras Syndrome’.
An X-linked syndrome of hypertrichosis associated with gingival hyperplasia has been described.
The following practitioners have also reported possible variants of this disorder viz. (Beighton, 1970; Brandt, 1897; Broster, 1950; Cantu, 1982; Demikova, 1986; Felgenhauer, 1969; Freire-Maia, 1976; Gardner, 1964; Jalili, 1989; Janssen, 1945; Joest, 1984; Judge, 1991; Kint, 1985; Li, 1986; McKusick, 1992; Nowakowski, 1977; Partridge, 1987; Suskind, 1971).
Fewer than 40 cases of CHL and Ambras Syndrome have been documented worldwide (Danforth, 1925; Felgenhauer, 1969; Rook, 1986; Baumeister, 1993). There is no associated mortality. |
The tax season is the time of year when many families and individuals have to figure out what they owe in taxes or imagine what they are going to get back in a refund. However, there are some items that families and individuals have to look at to make sure that all of the bases are covered before a tax return is filed.
Each of these items are things for people over 50 to look out for when they are preparing their tax returns. There are considerations for people over 50 that are unique to them as parents and people with greater earning potential.
Many people over 50 own their home and have for many years. However, house payments usually contain interest payments that can be used as deductions on a tax return. If the individual is going to make their payments faithfully, they should also use their interest payments to get a write-off on their return.
Many parents over 50 are paying for their children to go to college. These loans also have interest payments that can be written off just as they are with a home loan. However, the stressed parent of a college student may forget to deduct the interest payments that they have made while their child is still in college.
Parents over 50 may also have dependents that they can name on their income tax return. Having dependent children who live at home at least for part of the year can help to reduce an older parent's tax liability simply because the dependent helps to reduce the tax bracket that the individual falls under. Even if the child is an adult, they may be considered a dependent child who can be claimed on an income tax return.
Many people who have been earning money for quite a long time may also have a long list of investments that they are juggling to produce income or as part of the retirement planning process. However, every dollar that is earned from the dividends on these holdings or from the sale of these holdings must be reported. Many people may forget these things and fail to report them on their income tax return. Failing to report these items on a tax return could cause the individual to be audited now or in the future.
Many people who work for a living also have side businesses where they own properties and rent to tenants or do work on the side to earn extra cash. These side businesses all produce income meant to finance the family, but this money has to be reported on income tax returns to avoid the ire of the government.
Every person who does a little bit of work on the side must be certain that they are not only calculating how much money they are making but also notating the deductions they can take for that business.
Mileage reports, business expenses from internet connections to office supplies and even electronic equipment can be used as deductions for these side businesses. The only way the side business will be worth it at the end of the year is if the individual deducts all of the items they use for the business.
When looking at home to finance the family activities for the year as well as preparing for tax returns at the end of the year, the family can put together a tax return that accounts for interest payments, dependent children, side businesses and investment income. Wit all of these factors in play, any family can feel safe during the tax season. |
Biomedical imaging has gained a significant technological push and is the mainstay for diagnosis and therapy monitoring. Still, imaging is yet not optimized for the new class of biodegradable magnesium (Mg)-based implants. MgSafe addresses this point by training 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESR) in both, imaging and implant technologies. All ESRs will develop their individual Personal Learning Environment (PLE) and be trained based on the “T-skills concept” in technologies and transferable skills relevant for their career development and prepared to take over leadership positions in an area of tremendous research promises and clinical relevance where the lack for experts is severe and very well recognized. The ESRs will quantify the physical impact and suitability of a variety of modalities on Mg implants. Highly sophisticated imaging techniques (such as nano and μCT, MRT, PET, USPA, IR) will be developed beyond the forefront of medical device production in vivo and with in situ labelling options to deliver non-invasively data on different time and length scales of the body reaction and material behavior during Mg degradation with a precision and plethora of details which is currently not available. Two Mg-alloys and CE-certified Mg-implants will be studied in rats and sheep. Dummy studies will be performed in parallel. The obtained multimodal imaging data will be combined with molecular biological/biochemical analysis, thereby increasing the information about physiological changes without using additional animals. An additional dimension will be added by the analysis of explants to obtain highest resolution chemical and material science data. All relevant biological and chemical in vivo and ex vivo data will be merged by computational 3D methods, simulations and machine learning approaches.
MgSafe is an European Training Network (ETN) in the frame of the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Program and will fund 15 PhD positions (the ESRs mentioned above), each for a 3 years duration, in total amounting to 540 ESR months. HZG acts as the coordinator of the MgSafe ETN. |
The vast majority of Americans use some form of air conditioning to beat the heat during warm days and nights. Once considered a luxury, for many air conditioning makes life livable in climates and conditions where heat is oppressive, which is an increasing problem as the planet warms and temperatures around the world become more extreme.
According to a recent New York Times “Climate Fwd” newsletter, 90 percent of U.S. households have air conditioners. All of that cooling requires a lot of energy, which in turn raises carbon emission, contributing to climate change—which then makes us more reliant on air conditioning. It’s a concerning cycle, especially when it’s been reported that by the middle of this century, the whole of the globe is expected to use the equivalent of China’s total energy demand just to power air conditioners.
With summer predicted to be especially warm and humid for many areas of the country, it’s not going to be easy to convince many people to do with less air conditioning. Improving the efficiency of how homes are cooled may be more realistic.
Energy Star rated air-conditioners are a good place to start when it comes to cooling a home. These units are designed to operate with better efficiency. While they often require more of an investment than a bargain unit, they provide considerable savings in energy costs over time.
It’s also important to determine that an air conditioner is installed and sized correctly for a specific space. A poorly supported window unit or improperly installed exhaust vent on a freestanding unit can impact operation and allow cool air to seep out gaps between a window or wall frame. Weather stripping tape can help fill these gaps and simple mounts can be used to improve support. Even the addition of a few shims or washers can make a significant difference in stabilizing a unit. You can buy washers from Superior Washer in just about any shape or size to suit your application.
Factoring for humidity is also important when cooling a room. If an air conditioner is too large or powerful for a small space, it will cool the air fast without reducing the humidity. Since most units will then shut off once a specific temperature is reached, the remaining high humidity levels can still make a space feel heavy and muggy. This is why it’s important to make sure a unit is suited to the area it’s intended to cool.
Using a dehumidifier can greatly reduce the workload of an air conditioner, but this additional equipment can draw a lot of energy as well. If you really want to make a room feel cool and decrease the amount of energy required for comfort, then every air-conditioned room in your home should include a fan. Fans use a fraction of the energy required to run an air conditioner and they continue to circulate cool air even when the unit is off or its used at a lower setting.
Too many people make the mistake of thinking air conditioning eliminates the need for fans, but these cooling solutions work best in tandem. So if you’ve installed your air conditioner for the season or set your thermostat to cool, make sure you’ve also invested in a few fans to maximize your comfort levels without a major drain on energy resources. |
This clip shows the beginning of a final assembly concert at Benfield Elementary in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Students have participated in five days of songwriting residency, composing one song in each classroom (see accompanying videos to hear the students' songs).
This video segment shows Sue reviewing the fundamental elements that a songwriter uses to create clear and powerful musical communication using sound and language. |
One of the basic underlying premises of CRM is that a team can, and should, perform better than two (or three) individuals in the cockpit. The aim of CRM is to ensure that 1+1>2, as opposed to 1+1<2 (in a two pilot cockpit), and that team performance takes precedence over individual performance. Good CRM is getting the balance right as a team, whilst recognising that the Captain has the final say and responsibility for the safety of the aircraft. In order to be effective, team members must be able to talk to each other, listen to each other, share information and be assertive when required. Commanders should take particular responsibility for ensuring that the crew functions effectively as a team. Whilst the emphasis in CRM is primarily upon the cockpit crew, and how they work as a team, it is also important to look at wider team effectiveness, namely the whole flight crew. CRM principles may also extend to situations where ATC, maintenance, company experts, etc., are considered to be part of the team (especially in emergency situations or in a single pilot environment). A UK based study of 249 F/O's reported that nearly 40% of them had on several occasions failed to communicate to the Captain their proper doubts about the operation of the aircraft. The most common reason being the desire to avoid conflict and deference to the experience and authority of the Captain. |
Recognizing the need for a music conservatory on the West Coast, the school incorporated in 1923 as the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, offering classes in many orchestral instruments as well as theory, composition, and voice.
In 1924, the Conservatory engaged composer Ernest Bloch to teach a five-week summer course, which was a resounding success. Ada Clement said of the course, “We had a splendid big class which more than covered our expenses. And what a wonderful look into the great principles of music! The whole town was quite aroused.” Bloch was hired as artistic director the following year. During his tenure, Bloch’s musical vision, international reputation, and skill as a teacher spurred a tremendous expansion of the school. When Bloch left the Conservatory in 1930 to compose full time, Ada and Lillian resumed leadership of the growing institution.
Chamber music has been an important part of the Conservatory since its early years. In 1926, the Conservatory welcomed its first faculty chamber ensemble, the California String Quartet. In 1948, the internationally renowned Griller Quartet established a summer school at the Conservatory, attracting students from across the United States. The ensemble returned for three more summers and served on the faculty for many years. In 1952 the Alma Trio began a summer residence program, and the ensemble’s pianist Adolph Baller subsequently joined the Conservatory’s faculty.
In 1951 Albert Elkus, recently retired chair of the U.C. Berkeley music department, was appointed director of the Conservatory, a post he held until 1957. One of his first priorities was to find the school a new home. In 1956, the Conservatory moved to a 1928 Mission-style building at 1201 Ortega Street designed by architect Louis Christian Mullgardt.
Salkind initiated a community service program at the Conservatory, and increased performance opportunities for all students. By expanding master classes, he brought the professional music world to the Conservatory, with visits from such artists as Alfred Brendel, Leon Fleisher, Placido Domingo, Beverly Sills, Yehudi Menuhin, Pinchas Zukerman, and Yo-Yo Ma.
The Salkind years also saw the birth of many events and programs that became long-standing Conservatory traditions, such as the annual “Sing-It-Yourself Messiah” and Chamber Music West, a summer festival launched in 1977 that brought together talented students, alumni, faculty and distinguished artists. The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was one of the nation’s first institutions to offer a degree in classical guitar, and a Master’s degree in chamber music.
In 1992, Colin Murdoch, who had served as dean of the Conservatory since 1988, was appointed president. Under his leadership, the Conservatory celebrated its 75th anniversary with a gala concert at Davies Symphony Hall featuring world-renowned alumni artists Isaac Stern, Jeffrey Kahane, and Hai-Ye Ni, as well as former faculty member John Adams. In 1997, the Conservatory celebrated both its own and composer Lou Harrison’s 80th birthdays with Celebrating Lou Harrison!, a multicultural four-day festival of Harrison’s music, dance, art, and poetry. Guitarist David Tanenbaum, chair of the Conservatory’s guitar department, was the festival’s artistic director.
In 2006, the Conservatory relocated to a revitalized Civic Center campus with three state-of-the-art performance spaces, ushering in a new era of growth. Composer John Adams held a composition and conducting residency. The orchestra made its recording debut on the Naxos label. A sister school agreement with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music yielded the San Francisco-Shanghai International Chamber Music festival, an annual event hosted alternately in each city, featuring joint performances of faculty and students from each school. In 2010, the Conservatory marked the 25th anniversary of its chamber music program with a festival and special celebration honoring cellist Bonnie Hampton, the program’s co-founder and a former longtime faculty member. A new Alumni Recital Series showcases outstanding alumni soloists and ensembles in command performances. Acclaimed guest artists such as violinist Pinchas Zukerman, guitarist Pepe Romero, conductor Sir Simon Rattle, and opera stars and Conservatory Advisory Board members Frederica von Stade and Thomas Hampson continue to make frequent appearances, enhancing the Conservatory’s reputation as an international center of music education located at the cultural heart of one of the world's most dynamic cities. |
In the previous installment of “Invasion of the Bible Snatchers” you were introduced to Ray Comfort and his book Scientific Facts in the Bible. As we saw in that post, his first example of a “fact” was anything but a fact. Furthermore, his hermeneutic led to absurdities that were undoubtedly out of sight and therefore out of mind for the notorious evangelist. Today we move on to the next “fact” in his book and, as we will see, it reveals Comfort’s sorely lacking exegetical abilities.
Setting aside the strawman contained in the second sentence,2 it is simply not true “that the earth has a free float in space.”3 Therefore, if Comfort is claiming that the “Bible proclaims that the earth freely floats in space” then the Bible is in error. End of discussion.
But about what is the text of Job speaking? If it isn’t prescient astronomical knowledge then what is it? As the immediate context of the passage makes clear, it is speaking of the cosmic geography as perceived by someone living in the Ancient Near East.
There is considerable evidence that suggests Job 26:7-13 is a creation narrative told in reverse.4 In many ancient cultures, prior to the creation of land or humanity there was an ancient sea that covered the world. Often the sea is personified with names like Tiamat in the Babylonian Epic of Creation or Yamm in the Ugaritic Baal cycle and it takes a hero to defeat the Sea and bring order to the watery chaos. We see hints of this view in the opening chapter of Genesis as Elohim takes the “formless void” (tohu wabohu) of the earth (i.e. “the land”) that is covered by waters and, by the power of his word, begins to fashion the world (Genesis 1). But in the Genesis story there is no explicit reference to Elohim defeating another deity to bring order to the chaos. Nevertheless, Elohim does need to subdue the chaos and he does by simply speaking.
But the Priestly creation story of Genesis 1:1-2:3 is not the only creation story to be found in the Hebrew scriptures. For example, a creation story in Proverbs 8 (vss. 22-31) goes back farther than the one we find in Genesis, before there were even “deeps” (8:24; cf. Genesis 1:2). Yet in that narrative we find Yahweh taking control of the chaotic waters and setting boundaries for it and it isn’t until he sets those limits that the land can appear (Proverbs 8:27-29; cf. Job 38:8-11). The theme of the biblical texts is in line with the view of the Babylonian and Ugaritic tales: at first there was a water chaos that needed to be subdued.
As we return to Job 26:7-13 we can observe some of these elements as well. But as already stated, this is a creation story told in reverse and it begins with 26:12-13. In language borrowed directly from the Baal cycle,5 God is said to have “stilled the Sea [Hebrew, yam],” “struck down Rahab,” and “pierced the fleeing serpent.”6 Having defeated the personified Sea, God is then able to take control of the waters which he does by “describ[ing] a circle on the face of the waters” (26:10; cf. Proverbs 8:27b) and by “bind[ing] up the waters in his thick clouds” (26:8) by which he “covers the face of the throne” (26:9; NRSV, “the face of the full moon”). Then with the chaotic waters controlled, God “stretches out Zaphon over the void, and hangs the earth upon nothing” (26:7).
Let’s begin with the verb translated as “hangs.” In Job 26:7 “hangs” renders the participial form of talah, a verb that is frequently used in the Hebrew Bible to refer to execution by hanging or impaling (Genesis 40:19, Deuteronomy 21:22, etc.). That which is hung is the eretz, “earth” or “land” (cf. Genesis 1:9-10). That which the eretz is hung “upon” (Hebrew, ‘al) is beli-ma, “nothing.” There is some debate over what is meant by ‘al-beli-ma. David Clines suggests that ‘al-belima means “without anything,”7 the idea being that the land appears to be entirely unsupported, i.e. it does not hang upon anything. John Walton sees be-lima as nonexistence but only in a functional, not material, sense.8 That is, the earth hangs upon that which has not yet been given purpose. And that which has not yet been given purpose in context are the waters.
Walton’s view certainly fits in with the context of Job 26:7-13. We also see in other biblical texts where the eretz is described as being “founded on the seas” (Psalm 24:1-2) and as being “spread out…on the waters” (Psalm 136:6). In Job 26:5 we read that “the rephaim [NRSV, “shades”] below tremble,” set in parallel with “the waters and their inhabitants.” This reflects the belief that the eretz was akin to an island surrounded by the cosmic sea that was above it (i.e. held back by the dome; cf. Genesis 1:6-8), all around it, and below it.
So what is Job 26:7 describing to us? Well, it is describing how at the culmination of God’s defeat and structuring of the watery chaos he hangs the earth upon the waters as if it were an island. This fits in with the view of many in the ANE, including that of the Israelites.
Comfort’s lack of scientific knowledge led him to undermine his thesis that the Bible was proclaiming “scientific facts” about the nature of the earth in space. The earth isn’t in free float and if Job 26:7 was teaching that then it too was in error. As we have seen, the text simply isn’t about the planet but is instead about the eretz. The text is imbedded in a reverse creation story that is in no way a scientific description of the origin of our world. It is instead a story told by ancient people to explain what they saw all around them. Yes, they were wrong. But Comfort, a man born in the modern era, is simply without any excuse.
1 Ray Comfort, Scientific Facts in the Bible (Living Waters, 2016), 5.
2 Comfort’s assertion that “[s]cience once thought that the earth sat on a large animal” is very misleading. It is true that some cultures believed that the world sat upon a giant tortoise (or turtle) or upon elephants or upon both (as in the The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett). But these weren’t scientific views; they were culturally based views. Consequently, not all cultures viewed the world as being on the back of an animal at all. Some believed in a World Tree while others, including many in the ANE, believed in a world surrounded by cosmic waters.
3 The earth doesn’t “free float” anywhere. It is gravitationally bound to the sun. In fact, nothing in the universe is in “free float” as all objects are gravitationally bound to one another. Gravity, physicist Carlo Rovelli observes, “is not diffused through space; the gravitational field is that space itself” (Seven Brief Lessons on Physics [Riverhead Books, 2016], 8). Objects with mass curve space and that is what gravity is. Objects follow the curve.
4 For a very thorough treatment, see Noga Ayali-Darshan, “The Question of the Order of Job 26,7-13 and the Cosmogonic Tradition of Zaphon,” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 126.3 (2014), 402-417.
5 See Baal 2.4.25-30 in Michael D. Coogan and Mark S. Smith, editors, Stories from Ancient Canaan, second edition (WJK, 2012).
6 The “fleeing serpent” is mentioned elsewhere by the name of Leviathan (Isaiah 27:1) and makes an appearance as “Litan, the Fleeing Serpent” and “Twisting Serpent” (Baal 5.1.1-2).
7 David J. A. Clines, Job 21-37, WBC vol. 18a (Thomas Nelson, 2006), 622.
8 John Walton, Genesis 1 As Ancient Cosmology (Eisenbrauns, 2011), 142.
9 From Barry Bandstra, “Chapter One: Genesis 1-11: The Primeval Story.” Accessed 11 October 2018.
In 1956, the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers was released in theaters across the United States. Here is a synopsis of the movie from the IMBD website.
Dr. Miles Bennell returns to his small town practice to find several of his patients suffering the paranoid delusion that their friends or relatives are impostors. He is initially skeptical, especially when the alleged doppelgangers are able to answer detailed questions about their victim’s lives, but he is eventually persuaded that something odd has happened and determines to find out what is causing this phenomenon.
So they look like the original, talk like the original, and even have the memories of the original, but they are not the original.
Something similar has been going on among fundamentalists and evangelicals with regard to biblical exegesis. A couple of examples should suffice to demonstrate it.
We don’t have time to dissect Morris’ take on Job 26:7 but needless to say it is problematic at best and it is a passage that we will discuss in greater detail in a later post in this series. For now, let’s move on to another example.
Again, we do not have time to dive into the text to dissect it and Boyd’s take on it. What these two examples show is that Christians like Boyd and Morris were willing to take great liberties with biblical texts that invariably ignore the context in which those texts were composed and replaces them with an alien interpretation. And this could be multiplied dozens of times over. So when you read the biblical text through their interpretive framework, it looks like the original text and may even sound like the original text but it is not the original text.
Because of these Bible Snatchers and their eisegetical tendencies, as well as the proliferation in mainstream American Christianity, this series has no end-date. Instead, we will look at such eisegesis both old and new from now deceased Christians like Henry Morris to the very much alive Hugh Ross. My goal is to show how their takes on certain biblical texts do not acknowledge the literary and cultural context from which they arose as well as to offer some semblance of a sound interpretation that does acknowledge those important details.
1 Henry M. Morris, The Bible Has The Answer, original edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1971), 62.
2 Henry M. Morris, The Defender’s Study Bible: Defending the Faith from a Literal Creationist Viewpoint (Grand Rapids, MI: World Publishing, 1995), 584.
3 Robert T. Boyd, Boyd’s Handbook of Practical Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), 74. |
I have been spending more time on the World Cup than on baseball this past month, but during that I decided to start another regular review of batters' hitting, similar to my fielding reviews. Where the fielding reviews try to compare different systems to gain some sort of sense of just how much fielding is contributing to wins and losses, this review is going to examine whether hitters might be regarded as 'unlucky'. Another way to think about it is to see who might be hitting over their heads, or who might be suffering from an excess of 'at 'em' balls and may be likely to improve.
As anyone familiar with sabermetrics knows, one can evaluate batting events by means of linear weights. What this means is that a single is worth about two-fifths of a run while a home run, because it can drive in the men on base, is worth over three times a single. Research has revealed that types of batted balls can assign similar values. Line drives are worth a lot, while infield flies are almost as good as strike outs. There is a problem in deciding what category to place a batted ball sometimes, especially the difference between a fly ball and a liner, as symbolised by the neologism 'fliner'. So one needs to treat these numbers with a degree of circumspection.
What this chart shows is the difference between a batted-ball linear weight and Fangraphs' wRC. wRC gives a supposed aggregate number of runs that should have been scored based on hitting events. Some people have flares falling in, while others hit the ball hard, but see it caught. The batted ball number also includes Ultimate Base Running, to make it more compatible with wRC. Note that the chart excludes pitchers' hitting. The first column is wRC, the second the batted ball expected runs.
Poor Denard Span. He has been poorly rewarded for his efforts at the plate. I don't think any other hitter is wildly out of line with his results, but I do note that Danny Espinosa, whose .214/.282/.343 slash line isn't all that impressive to begin with, has been hitting a little bit above expectations. |
Confusion, restlessness, and agitation are seen quite commonly in patients at the end of life.
Confusion can be part of an acute delirium, the causes of which are many and include electrolyte imbalance, sepsis, urinary retention, faecal impaction, and numerous medications including opioids.
If delirium is suspected, the underlying cause should be sought. Haloperidol is the drug of first choice to improve symptoms. See Delirium in the Blue Book, and the Christchurch Hospital Palliative Care Guidelines.
An option for the management of restlessness and agitation in the terminal phase includes clonazepam, which is available both subcut and in sublingual drops (0.1 mg per drop) given up to 0.5 mg four times daily PRN. This drug has a long half-life and should be used judiciously with the risk of accumulation in mind, often starting with a single nocte dose of 0.5 mg.
Midazolam given IV or subcut has a much shorter half-life and is generally more rapid-acting than clonazepam (within a few minutes when given subcut) but it wears off more quickly. The doses of both clonazepam and midazolam are not affected by impaired renal function. Both can be given either by subcut injection or by continuous subcut infusion.
If symptom management is problematic, a referral to the Palliative Care Service should be considered, including patients receiving active chemotherapy with curative intent. |
Identification: Loosestrife Family (Lythraceae). Purple loosestrife is an erect perennial herb that develops a strong taproot, and may have up to 50 stems arising from its base. Its 50 stems are four-angled and glabrous to pubescent. Its leaves are sessile, opposite or whorled, lanceolate (2-10 cm long and 5-15 mm wide), with rounded to cordate bases. Leaf margins are entire. Leaf surfaces are pubescent (USDA plants database 2008). Each inflorescence is spike-like (1-4 dm long), and each plant may have numerous inflorescences. The calyx and corolla are fused to form a floral tube (also called a hypanthium) that is cylindrical (4-6 mm long), greenish, and 8-12 nerved. Typically the calyx lobes are narrow and thread-like, six in number, and less than half the length of the petals. The showy corolla (up to 2 cm across) is rose-purple and consists of five to seven petals. Twelve stamens are typical for each flower. Individual plants may have flowers of three different types classified according to stylar length as short, medium, and long. The short-styled type has long and medium length stamens, the medium type has long and short stamens, and the long-styled has medium to short stamens. The fruit is a capsule about 2 mm in diameter and 3-4 mm long with many small, ovoid dust-like seeds (< 1 mm long) (USDA plants database 2008).
Table 1. States with nonindigenous occurrences, the earliest and latest observations in each state, and the tally and names of HUCs with observations†. Names and dates are hyperlinked to their relevant specimen records. The list of references for all nonindigenous occurrences of Lythrum salicaria are found here.
Ecology: Purple loosestrife is a wetland plant, growing in freshwater wet meadows, tidal and non-tidal marshes, river and stream banks, pond edges, reservoirs, and ditches. It prefers moist, highly organic soils but can tolerate a wide range of conditions. It grows on calcareous to acidic soils, can withstand shallow flooding, and tolerates up to 50% shade. Purple loosestrife has low nutrient requirements and can withstand nutrient poor sites. It flowers from July until September or October. Flowering occurs 8-10 weeks after initial spring growth. Thompson et al. (1987) estimated that on average, a mature plant produces about 2,700,000 seeds annually. Seeds are relatively long-lived, retaining 80% viability after 2-3 years of submergence (Malecki 1990).
Means of Introduction: Purple loosestrife seeds are mostly dispersed by water, but wind and mud adhering to wildlife, livestock, vehicle tires, boats, and people serve also as agent. It was introduced into North America through ships' ballast and as an ornamental. In states where it is permitted, purple loosestrife continues to be promoted by horticulturists for its beauty as a landscape plant and for bee-forage. Probably introduced to the Great Lakes region via canals.
Status: Established. State noxious and highly invasive status and wetland indicator values. L. salicaria has been labeled the “purple plague." because of its epidemic devastation to natural communities. The species is included on the Nature Conservancy’s list of “America’s Least Wanted -The Dirty Dozen” (Flack & Furlow 1996). In response to the alarming spread of this exotic species, at least 13 states (e.g., Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Washington, and Wisconsin) have passed legislation restricting or prohibiting its importation and distribution (Malecki et al. 1993; Strefeler et al. 1996b).
Impact of Introduction: Purple loosestrife adapts readily to natural and disturbed wetlands. As it establishes and expands, it outcompetes and replaces native grasses, sedges, and other flowering plants that provide a higher quality source of cover, food, or nesting sites for native wetland animals (U.S.EPA 2008). The highly invasive nature of purple loosestrife allows it to form dense, homogeneous stands that restrict native wetland plant species, including some federally endangered orchids, and reduce habitat for waterfowl. Purple loosestrife causes annual wetland losses of about 190,000 hectares in the United States (Thompson et al. 1987; Mal et al. 1997). The species is most abundant in the Midwest and Northeast where it infests about 8,100 hectares in Minnesota, 12,000 ha in Wisconsin, over 12,000 ha in Ohio, and a larger area in New York State. Recent distributional surveys document the occurrence of monocultures in every county in Connecticut, where it has been found in 163 wetland locations (Ellis and Weaver 1996; Ellis 1996). At the Effigy Mounds National Monument (EFMO), combined populations of purple loosestrife cover an area of 5 to 10 hectares growing in regularly disturbed sites. This species has a major visual impact on the vegetation of EFMO, and it has the potential to invade and replace native communities endangering the areas' primary resources (Butterfield et al. 1996).
Numerous studies demonstrate the aggressive and competitive nature of purple loosestrife. Fernald (1940) reported a loss of native plant diversity in the St. Lawrence River floodplain following the invasion of purple loosestrife and another exotic, Butomus umbellatus L. Gaudet and Keddy (1988) report declining growth for 44 native wetland species after the establishment of Lythrum. Among the species tested, Keddy (1990) found that purple loosestrife was the most competitive. In the Hamilton Marshes adjacent to the Delaware River, annual above-ground production of L. salicaria far exceeded all other plant species’ production combined.
The invasion of L. salicaria alters biogeochemical and hydrological processes in wetlands. Areas dominated by purple loosestrife (Fig. 2) show significantly lower porewater pools of phosphate in the summer compared to areas dominated by Typha latifolia L. (Templer et al., 1998). Purple loosestrife leaves decompose quickly in the fall resulting in a nutrient flush, whereas leaves of native species decompose in the spring (Barlocher and Biddiscombe, 1996; Emery and Perry, 1996; Grout et al., 1997). This change in timing of nutrient release at a time of little primary production results in significant alterations of wetland function and could jeopardize detritivore consumer communities adapted to decomposition of plant tissues in spring (Grout et al., 1997).
Specialized marsh birds avoid nesting and foraging in purple loosestrife (Blossey et al., 2001a). The federally endangered bog turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergi Schoepff) loses basking and breeding sites to encroachment of purple loosestrife (Malecki et al., 1993).
Remarks: Other species of Lythrum that grow in the United States have 1-2 flowers in each leaf-like inflorescence bract and eight or fewer stamens compared to L. salicaria, which has more than two flowers per bract and typically twelve stamens per flower. L. virgatum, another species introduced from Europe closely resembles L. salicaria, but differs in being glabrous (lacking plant hairs), and having narrow leaf bases. The latter two species interbreed freely producing fertile offspring, and some taxonomists (Rendall 1989) consider them to be a single species.
Four species have been approved for introduction for biocontrol of purple loosestrife and have been released: a root-mining weevil, Hylobius transversovittatus Goeze; two leaf beetles, Galerucella calmariensis L. and Galerucella pusilla Duftschmidt; and a flower-feeding weevil, Nanophyes marmoratus Goeze.
Lui, K., F.L. Thompson, C.G. Eckert. 2005. Causes and consequences of extreme variation in reproductive strategy and vegetative growth among invasive populations of a clonal aquatic plant, Butomus umbellatus L. (Butomaceae). Biological Invasions 7:427-444.
Malecki, R.A., B. Blossey, S.D. Hight, D. Schroeder, L.T. Kok, & J.R. Coulson 1993. Biological control of purple loosestrife. BioScience 43:680-686.
Mann, H. 1991. Purple loosestrife: A botanical dilemma. The Osprey 22:67-77.
Schooler, S.S., P.B. McEvoy, P. Hammond, E.M. Coombs. 2009. Negative per capita effects of two invasive plants, Lythrum salicaria and Phalaris arundinacea, on the moth diversity of wetland communities. Bulletin of Entomological Research. 99: 229-243.
Thompson, Daniel Q., Ronald L. Stuckey, Edith B. Thompson. 1987. Spread, Impact, and Control of Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) in North American Wetlands. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 55 pages. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online. (Version 04JUN1999).
Trebitz, A.S. and D.L. Taylor. 2007. Exotic and invasive aquatic plants in Great Lakes coastal wetlands: distribution and relation to watershed land use and plant richness cover. Journal of Great Lakes Research 33:705-721.
U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). (2008) Predicting future introductions of nonindigenous species to the Great Lakes. National Center for Environmental Assessment, Washington, DC; EPA/600/R-08/066F. Available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA, and . |
Welcome back! As we begin the 2013 -2014 academic year here at RU, there are many wonderful things to celebrate and anticipate. We will use this issue to highlight stories from the past few months that you may have missed and to introduce some new members of the College of Science and Technology. I hope that you will find this update to be both informative and inspiring as you learn of the many wonderful people doing amazing things for our college and for Radford University.
You might notice a few changes to our format and more are on the way, but we would like to hear from you. What do you like? What would you like to see in our newsletter? Please visit to take a short survey.
Thank you for all you have done in the past to bring us to this point and thank you in advance for your dedication to the success of the College of Science and Technology.
The newsletter is also available as a pdf.
In June, we were happy to report the success of our undergraduate research team spearheaded by CSAT faculty members Francis Webster and Cindy Burkhardt.
The team of eight Radford University undergraduate students received a coveted national award for its innovative approach to water purification.
The People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) competition by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was held in April at the 9th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington, D.C. Based on their project proposals and presentations, RU and six other teams will receive Phase II grants of up to $90,000 each to develop their designs and bring them to the marketplace.
The interdisciplinary RU team members—Elizabeth Crook, Madelein Ford, James Freeman, Dennis Godward, Jacob Shelton, Craig Slate, Matt Sublett and Rebekah Webster—were selected from more than 45 collegiate teams that won Phase I grants of $15,000 for this year's national program.
"This project is an example of interdisciplinary research with real-world applications," said chemistry Professor Francis Webster, the project investigator along with chemistry Professor Cindy Burkhardt. "The team worked days, nights and weekends for the past year and is competing successfully with graduate and undergraduate researchers from top research institutions across the nation."
The RU team includes chemistry and geology students. The objective was to design and develop a sustainable technology to protect people’s health and the environment while promoting economic development. The RU team developed a synthetic humic acid material as an inexpensive adsorbent that can remove water pollutants, including arsenic, heavy metals and organic contaminants, while improving existing sand filtration technology.
On August 14, we learned that Jeff Pittges, associate professor of information technology, had been named one of 14 international winners of IBM's 2013 Big Data and Analytics Faculty Awards.
Big data – or the 2.5 quintillion bytes of information generated daily from sensors, RFID networks, mobile devices and social media – could be a vast treasure trove yielding insights and creating jobs.
Radford University's Jeff Pittges, associate professor of information technology, has been named one of 14 international winners of IBM's 2013 Big Data and Analytics Faculty Awards. He will develop curricula and research mixing business and technical skills to help unlock the massive resource of information that comes with daily digital usage and prepare professionals to do it with the $10,000 award, his second in two years.
The IBM Faculty Awards support basic research, curriculum innovation and educational assistance in focus areas that are fundamental to innovation in the 21st Century. The award's areas of particular focus include a smarter planet and cities; healthcare and personalized education; mobile first and social technologies; big data and business analytics; cyber security and cloud computing.
He is joined as an IBM Faculty Award winner by colleagues from Notre Dame, Syracuse, Universiteit Leiden in the Netherlands, the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico; Moscow's Higher School of Economics, Prague's Czech Technical University and Oxford University's Saïd Business School.
From June 23-28, The RU College of Science and Technology was host for Camp Invention for the fifth successful year. Camp participants and budding inventors were featured on the Radford University homepage with the following story.
Under the shade of the maple tree in front of Reed-Curie Hall, Camp Inventors' Showcase ceremony celebrated a week of thinking, problem-solving, fun and discovery.
More than 80 aspiring inventors and scientists with a sprinkling of future soldiers, teachers, or undecideds joined their families Friday to marvel at the results of a week devoted to science, engineering and mathematics. The Inventors' Showcase opened with a camp song and ended with parents, grandparents and siblings trailing excited children from room to room to inspect and collect the projects constructed during the camp.
The elementary-school age children built catapults, created volcanoes and sailed rock boats in a quest for Quack coins and medals. They also virtually explored the world, worked out solutions to problems as teammates and stretched themselves.
"I learned that anything is possible with a little work," said Joshua Parsons, second-grader from Radford who wants to be an engineer, or maybe a baseball player.
His sister Ashley, a fourth-grader, exuberantly demonstrated the catapult, or Duck Chucker, that heaved a plastic duck into a kiddie pool. Her team cannibalized parts for their Duck Chucker from discarded items brought from home on the camp's opening day. "I couldn’t wait to get here in the morning to see what we would do next," she said.
Her Camp Inventors' teammate and fellow fourth-grader, teammate Karen Nicholson, added: "I wish school every day was like this."
Kelsey McGee, left, and Diana Mendoza with President Kyle after the Summer Bridge dinner at the Radford Norwood Room.
Our annual summer bridge program was another successful outreach program for the College in July. We would like to extend a special thank you to our faculty participants Donna and Cliff Boyd, Georgia Hammond, Rhett Herman, Brenda Hastings, Kimberly Lane, Hwajung Lee, George Stephenson and Viktoras Liogys. We would also like to extend a special thank you to Radford University President Penelope Kyle for her support and for serving as our keynote speaker at the Summer Bridge dinner. We have included University Relations coverage of the event below.
High school girls participating in Radford University's Summer Bridge 2013 program celebrated with a banquet Thursday night in downtown Radford. They were concluding a week in RU’s classrooms and laboratories learning the skills necessary to build a Mars rover and gaining knowledge into skillfully combating hackers and analyzing crime scenes.
Summer Bridge, hosted annually by Radford University's College of Science and Technology, is a week-long residential experience for rising sophomore, junior and senior high school girls interested in science, technology and mathematics (STEM). This year's program began Sunday, July 7 and concluded Friday, July 12. Radford University President Penelope W. Kyle delivered the keynote address at the banquet. |
Now when someone mentions the cloth diaper, invariably the one expression that everybody present in the room gives is ewwww. Why is that? Mostly owing to the fact that since they aren't disposable, they have to be reused. And in order to do that, they need to be washed. And who in their right minds would want to wash their baby's poop and pee all day long, right?
But the fact remains that a sizable number of American parents use traditional instead of cloth diapers. Why? Either they find the former more economic, or something that is even more important: they find them easier to use. And it definitely makes sense. From an ecological point of view, how many of us are even aware of the hundreds of toxins we are dumping on our planet every day just in the name of convenience?
Not only that, they are non-biodegradable and when they do go bad, they release dioxins that are known to be cancer-causing toxins. Now, imagine the type of effect these toxins would have on your child's skin.
Regardless of many the reasons (or the excuses), maybe it would be beneficial both for the parents and the baby to think outside the box and give cloth diapers a shot. For that, we will have to keep our personal biases aside, and that in itself can be a huge task. So, what if we told you that apart from saving your baby's health and the environment, cloth diapers give you the added advantage of saving a TON of money that would have otherwise been wasted on disposable diapers?
According to experts, they sure as hell have a lot of advantages. And this article aims to point out exactly those compelling reasons you should switch to cloth diapers.
15 Because It's Natural. Duh!
With an increasing awareness regarding how the mere presence of humans is affecting our environment in a negative manner, it’s hardly surprising how that has led to a great deal of introspection as to how we can reduce our carbon footprint.
And believe it or not, it’s always the small things that make the biggest changes. Take cloth diapers, for example. What seems one of the greatest (if not exactly the greatest) benefit of using cloth diapers is that they are made of natural materials. While producing these diapers, fabrics such as cotton are commonly used. That’s why cloth diapers are also known by the term ‘cotton diapers’. And there’s no need to consult experts when it comes to natural materials. It’s been proven a dozen times how many advantages they have compared to the artificial ones. Besides, cotton diapers are often recommended in cases where babies have very sensitive skin. And let’s face it, most of the babies do have sensitive skin!
Now reading this you may think that while toxins in baby diapers from unknown brands might sound feasible, it’s impossible to claim that international brands are guilty of the same crime. But guess what? Those Pampers and Huggies on your shelf are no better. They contain a long list of toxins and harmful chemicals, including dyes, fragrances, dioxins, phthalates, and sodium polyacrylate. In fact, even those tiny decorations on those diapers are composed of dyes that can be very harmful to the sensitive skin of your child.
Not only do natural materials provide baby with comfort and decrease the possibility for them to suffer from a rash or irritation, but also unlike disposable diapers, they aren’t filled with harmful chemicals. But, for these diapers to be used efficiently, parents have to pay attention not to wash cloth diapers with laundry products that ruin the fabric and baby skin as well. Also, do not use fabric softener and never bleach cloth diapers.
Did you know that the Clean Air Council states that America witnesses 49 million diapers being thrown away per day, which accounts for 2 percent of America’s entire garbage production? Now if that number astounds you, wait until you read the next line. It’s no secret that they contain a high number of chemicals, including gelling material, perfume, and polyethylene which are non-biodegradable. As a result, they release a toxin called dioxin into our air, which harms the environment and everybody living in it, including us.
As has already been mentioned, cloth diapers are made of natural materials. And, not to forget, they are also diapers that are completely organic. The materials from which it’s made naturally decompose and they aren’t harmful to the environment in anyway. If you care about the ecology, which seems to be a must in the contemporary world, this can be a reason more for you to switch to cloth diapers.
12 Say Goodbye to Rashes!
As it was previously said, cloth diapers are made of natural materials. Thus, they can by no means be harmful to a baby's skin. It’s actually the other way round. Switching to these kinds of diapers can only be beneficial for your baby and their health. Say no to going to dermatologists and buying expensive medical supplements. Using cloth diapers, you will say goodbye to rashes and skin irritations.
If you don’t believe us then all you have to do is Google rave reviews of an increasingly high number of American mothers who’ve decided to go green. If you are the suspicious type who doesn’t believe everything she’s told, go ahead and purchase the smallest pack of Eco diapers available and make your baby wear them. You yourself will notice the difference immediately. And why not? Looking at the sheer number of chemicals babies’ bottoms are exposed to via diapers, it’s no surprise they constantly break out in rashes!
Believe it or not, cloth (or cotton) diapers can appear as perfect space savers. Think about it. Exactly how poofy is one disposable diaper? No matter how much you try to compress it and press it down when storing it in containers or simply keeping a few spare ones in your purse, you’ll find it frustrating as to how something that small can occupy such a large space. This is why specialists in the field of taking care of babies suggest you should carry no less than four diapers in your baby bag when outside of the house.
Think about it--the best choice for you and your baby would be diapers that don’t take up too much space, especially if you don’t have a spacious bag or you’re just feeling too tired to drag around heavy diapers. So, fold a few cotton diapers and put them in your handbag. You won’t even notice they’re there!
Now this might come as a shock to a majority of you reading this, and some might even outright reject this statement, but it’s true. Suspicious parents, just like you, tried conducting experiments with a premise that cloth diapers are beneficial for home budgets. And it led them to shocking and jaw-dropping results, which you may have guessed by now.
Now look at it from this way: the same cloth diapers can be used for one child and they also fit them in different stages, from the earliest to potty-training. Thus, it turned out that, by using cloth diapers in such manner, a family spends only $100 on diapers! And that’s the amount of money that the parents who use disposables spend monthly. Unbelievable, isn’t it? Sure, it comes with the extra work of washing them, but come on. Doesn’t saving $1000 seem like a dream to most of us?
Now here’s the thing about normal diapers. They’re white (for obvious reasons) and sure babies don’t really need patterns. But as parents, don’t we time and again feel the need to break away from monotony? Even for those of you who don’t, who would want to say no to, say, diapers with cars drawn on them or cute little flowers?
This is why cloth diapers score over commercial ones. Not only are they made of natural fabric and they don’t take so much space as traditional diapers, but they can bring you a load of fun as well. They come in a range of colors, designs, patterns and many companies who produce them often accompany a pack of those diapers with a cute baby hat (or a similar baby accessory). Using such products, you won’t have to associate changing diapers with poop and pee anymore. Okay, you will but there’s the bright side of seeing cute, little patterns come out from beneath all that grime. So, hit the road (or order them online) and pick some stylish and funny cloth diapers.
Yes, this has already been stated as an advantage in this article, but it’s such a good reason to switch to cloth diapers that it deserves its own heading. And of course, there are many people who would refer to the ability to use any item again and again as an advantage. You should not be any different.
If you’re wondering about cleaning them, well, there are many ways to clean a once used cloth diaper. If you don’t have the time, all you have to do is pay a service to clean them. Now if you have the time and no money, you can wash them yourself. But if you’re balking at the thought of having to clean poop with your bare hands, think again. There are “diaper sprays” and you should thank God that someone came up with this invention. Which brings us to our next point . . .
It’s no secret that many of us have a particular prejudice against cloth diapers: if you resort to using them, you risk being caught with your hands deep in poop or pee, or something else you’re unable to identify. And as much as you love your babies, this is not one thing that you look forward to, which is why most of us just throw our hands up in the air and just buy disposable diapers. Yes, cleaning a used cloth diaper really seems like a nasty piece of work.
But, thanks to modern technology and the creativity of people out there who are much smarter than us, you can now say goodbye to sticking your hands in that gross poop. No, we aren’t talking about some magic wand that will make your problems disappear, but about a diaper sprayer. It is quite simple to use. Just hook it to a clean water supply in your toilet because it operates on the principle of a high-powered stream of water that cleans the diaper.
Shocked again? Don’t be. When it comes to cloth diapers, they are companies that have a practice of renting out the diapers babies have grown out of. For as low as $25/month, you can get a pack of 12 reusable cloth diapers to use as much as you want. Now, isn’t that better than spending $100 on disposable diapers? You can opt to pick them up from a local store, or if there isn’t any in your city, simply search for a diaper renting outlet that’ll deliver those cloth diapers right to your doorstep.
Keep in mind that although switching to cloth diapers in some cases may require investment in supplies at the start, you can choose to rent them from the companies mentioned instead of buying them. That way, you’ll save a lot of money in the long run.
In addition, they have got different types of closures: snaps or Velcro, and there are also some cloth diapers that you simply pull on and make your baby wear like shorts. If you’re a DIY mom or someone who cannot find exactly the type of diapers with adjustments that she’s looking for, you need not worry. You can easily sew your own newborn pocket diaper using adjustable elastic. It may sound daunting, but it’s easy once you get the hang of it. An added benefit of adjustable elastic is that unlike with market bought diapers, you don’t have to worry about your baby’s legs being too big, which in turn may cause leaks; or too small, which is jarring to your eyes and the baby’s comfort.
Knowing this, it’s easy to agree that cloth diapers are the most comfortable for your baby. You don’t want your baby to be all nervous because of a diaper that’s too tight, right? With cloth diapers, you will never face such a problem.
When using a cloth diaper, keep in mind they have two layers: the cloth diaper that goes underneath and the cover diaper that covers it. So, there are different ways you can fold these, too. For the cloth diaper, you can use a pre-folded diaper as well as a flat diaper you previously folded yourself. If you don’t want to bother with grabbing and folding all these parts of the fabric, you can choose a counter or a fitted diaper, as they don’t need to be folded.
All of these vary in shape: a pre-folded diaper is rectangular, whereas flat diaper is in a square shape, and contour diapers resemble the shape of an hourglass. Fitted diapers have elastic around the legs and waist, which is a huge plus for them. This information comes in handy when you want to pack diapers for an outing with your baby, or even a vacation.
A lot of parents claim that market diapers absorb liquids more efficiently than cloth diapers. But what if we told you that you were wrong? You've been force fed a myth perpetuated by corporate giants to fool us into spending our hard earned money to purchase toxic waste for our babies. Sounds like a weird conspiracy theory, but hear us out.
Cloth diapers leak less than traditional ones. So, even though traditional diapers are stuffed with a ton of chemicals, they lose the battle when it comes to keeping the liquid in without it spilling outside the edges of a diaper. But how is this then? What about so many parents ranting about cloth diapers leaking? Here’s the thing--there’s no denying that natural cloth diapers absorb less than chemical ones, which is why they have to be changed more frequently. Most parents don’t realize this and as a result, end up with “leakage” that could have simply been avoided thanks to a little knowledge about absorbency. One more point for cloth diapers!
Don’t expect a cloth diaper will look as discreet as a disposable one. They aren’t provided with chemicals and crystals, and thus the liquid stays where it’s supposed to be. Your baby may look a bit clumsy, but don’t worry--it’s not uncomfortable for them! According to some doctors, it’s actually beneficial to have the space between the baby’s legs filled, especially if the baby has so-called “out” hips from the delivery.
In fact, they're known to be good for the hip development of babies, so good that parents of babies suffering from hip dysplasia are told to switch to cloth diapers. In worse cases, the babies have a brace on their diapers in order to hold their legs out. And if you're still in doubt, think about it this way--cloth diapers were also used for a long time before disposables were invented. Look around and tell us exactly how many people suffer from hip problems (apart from old people and those with genetic disorders, of course).
There’s really zero need to get scared from all these ‘facts’ and ‘rules’ about using cloth diapers. The internet is full of conflicting information which makes it all the more difficult to make a decision. Are cloth diapers good? Bad? Easy to use? Disgusting to wash? Do they give my baby more rashes? But you must know one thing: as is with the case of almost every product out there up for sale, the majority of mistakes connected to their usage are made because people make a big fuss of it--mostly out of ignorance.
So, take it easy! All you need to do is dry the baby, wash diapers thoroughly, change them regularly, and refrain from asking people inexperienced in this field for advice. Those people always do more harm than damage. |
Jesus’ disciples had been working hard, teaching people and healing them. Jesus called them to go away with Him to a desolate place so they could rest. By now, Jesus’ popularity was so great that finding a place to be alone was difficult. When Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee, the crowd of people were already waiting for them on the other side.
By feeding the five thousand, Jesus provided for the physical needs of the crowd. The next day, Jesus called Himself the bread of life. (John 6:35) Only Jesus is able to satisfy our souls forever by providing forgiveness, friendship with God, and eternal life.
But Jesus didn’t intend to only meet the people’s physical needs. He came to satisfy their spiritual needs as well. No one who comes to Jesus will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Him will ever be thirsty again.
Jesus loved people and healed them.
Jesus fed the crowd with five loaves and two fish.
Jesus showed people He provides.
Why did Jesus perform miracles? Jesus performed miracles to show He is God’s Son.
Why did Jesus perform miracles? Jesus performed miracles to glorify God and prove He is God the Son.
Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. |
Working to get rid of a cold should start the moment any signs of a cold occur. Unlike the flu, colds are mild but can still slow us down. They can cause of to miss work or school and are overall not pleasant to go through. Unfortunately, many people do not know how to get rid of a cold fast. There are ways to stop any cold in its tracks and prevent it from getting worse. Continue reading to learn how.
If you start feeling sick at work or school, take some time off and rest immediately after. Resting gives your immune system the power to fight off a cold.
When you have a cold, it is important to get yourself clean. A nice shower or bath can help you relax and the steam can clear up any congestion.
3. Wash your hands often.
Washing your hands on a regular basis is the perfect way to stop germs from spreading. Hands are a breeding ground for germs and are most likely the cause of your cold. Normal hand washing with an antibacterial soap prevents more germs from entering your body.
6. Drink lots of fluids.
Drinking lots of water and juice not only helps avoid dehydration but also helps your body fight the cold. Water is also very helpful with cleaning out your system. Drinks to avoid include soda, coffee and any other sugar-filled drinks.
As we all know, when you are sick the last thing you want to do is eat but eating a few healthy meals, a day is important. Your body needs nutrients in order to fight off a cold fast.
8. Take vitamins and other supplements.
Taking a vitamin c supplements along with zinc in order to speed up the process. Any of these supplements can help fight off the cold and get you healthy fast.
Overall, getting rid of a cold is a simple process. If you follow these tips on how to get rid of a cold quickly, you will be healthy and germ free in no time. Colds are not fun and can really slow a person down but they can be overcome fast. As long as you rest, drink plenty of water and avoid re-infecting yourself it is easy to overcome a cold. |
The land between the Rhine, Odenwald forest and Neckar river is characterised by over 500 million years of geological history, diverse natural surroundings and good old-fashioned hospitality.
Can you still remember what soil feels like? Are you curious about what rocks, plants and water can tell us about the planet we live on? Do you ever wonder where the first horses lived?
Then why not take a family-friendly guided tour of Bergstrasse-Odenwald Nature Park, led by one of the rangers, where you'll learn about the region's natural and geological history and its culture. Whether you immerse yourself in the past, relax in the tranquillity of the moment or enjoy a few culinary treats, the park's comprehensive programme of activities offers insights into the life of the region.
The entrance gates and information centres, and over 30 themed trails and educational installations on the environment (such as the visitor centre at the stalactite cave in Buchen), provide plenty of tips and suggestions. The region covered by the park (UNESCO Global Geopark) also contains three UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Messel Pit Fossil Site, Lorsch Abbey and, near Walldürn, the Upper-Germanic Rhaetian Limes.
The charm of the landscape is based on contrast. There is the Bergstrasse region in the west with its history-steeped sites, mild climate and winegrowing tradition. Then there is the Odenwald forest in the east: the Crystalline Odenwald features primarily gently undulating farmland, while the Bunter Sandstone Odenwald is marked by arresting valleys and large areas of woodland. And the plunging valleys of the Main and Neckar rivers are the backdrop to spectacular landscapes and pretty towns such as Heidelberg. |
Desertec Foundation going for fast global implementation of concept: clean power from deserts for climate protection and global energy security.
"Within 6 hours deserts receive more energy from the sun than humankind consumes within a year" Dr Gerhard Knies.
The DESERTEC Foundation was established on 20 January 2009 as a non-profit foundation with the aim of promoting the implementation of the global DESERTEC Concept "Clean Power from Deserts" all over the world.
Sketch of possible infrastructure for a sustainable supply of power to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EU-MENA) (Euro-Supergrid with a EU-MENA-Connection proposed by TREC). For illustration: the red squares indicate the space needed for solar collectors to produce the present power for the world (18.000 TWh/y, 300x300 km2), for Europe (EU 3.200 TWh/y, 125x125 km2) and for Germany or MENA (Middle East and North Africa, about 600 TWh/y, 55x55 km2). |
Australia has one of the world’s most sophisticated water-trading systems, and officials in other water-challenged places—notably California and China—are drawing on its experience to manage what the World Bank has called world’s “most precious resource.” The system here, set up after a catastrophic drought in the 2000s saw the country’s most important river system almost run dry, aims to make sure each gallon of river water goes to higher-value activities.
But the return of severe drought to an area of eastern Australia more than twice the size of Texas is testing the system…Putting a price on water is politically unacceptable in many countries, where access to lakes and rivers is considered a basic right and water is often allocated under administrative rules instead of by markets.
Australia’s drought is splitting agriculture-producing regions into those who have water and those who don’t. Large investors—including Canadian and U.S. funds—bought high-price water licenses to set up agribusiness ventures in profitable almonds, cotton and citrus, with an eye to growing Asian markets. Others have set up dedicated water investment funds, with prices at the highest levels seen since the drought last decade.
In a country where boom-and-bust cycles, through drought and flood, have historically made water a political flashpoint, some rural Australian lawmakers and farmers want the government to divert water to help parched farms…In August 2018, Victoria state auctioned 20 gigaliters of water that had been earmarked for the environment, putting it on the market for dairy and fruit regions around Cohuna…Some water traders and environmentalists criticized the move as political interference—and said it risked undermining the water market by giving priority to farmers and disrupting forward trades and planning by other irrigators….Euan Friday, a water manager for farm and water investment company Kilter Rural, said the market is doing what it is supposed to do, and warned that the country’s fragile rivers—much smaller than the major rivers of North America—would be facing a dire situation without it. Supported by Australian pension funds, Kilter Rural has invested $130 million in buying water rights and redeveloping farmland. |
At Aquarium of the Bay, home to more than 20,000 marine animals, visitors can extend the enjoyment and enlightenment of their visit through a variety of daily programs offered by the museum's naturalists and hands-on exhibits.
Join the Aquarium's team in the Sharks of Alcatraz tunnel to see them feed the largest shark in the bay, the broad nose sevengill. Learn more about how these often misunderstood animals are an important part of the bay ecosystem.
Meet one of the Aquarium's climate change ambassadors, the red-eared slider. Learn about how human activity is affecting these turtles both locally and globally.
Join an educator to learn more about these amazing brainless, boneless, and bloodless animals.
Meet a California kingsnake, a climate change ambassador. Learn about these cold-blooded animals and their important role in our local ecosystems.
Get up close and personal at the ray touch pool with some of the Bay’s residents. Watch the different feeding behaviors of skates and rays, while learning from an educator what make these animals so special.
Experience the lives of the Aquarium's watershed ambassadors, the North American river otters. Biologists will explain how these animals are cared for from inside the exhibit.
The special adaptations of these animals have allowed them to survive for 450 million years. They serve a very important role in our oceans. Learn from Aquarium staff all about these thrilling animals and how we can help them in the wild.
Join educators at the Bay Lab for a squid dissection. Learn about the inner workings and biology of these awesome animals.
Watch how the sharks, rays, and fish of San Francisco Bay are fed below the surface. Learn about the important roles that each of these animals have in keeping our ecosystem healthy.
Join educators to find out how sea stars, sea cucumbers and other invertebrates have adapted survive in one of the harshest environments on the planet.
In the Bay Lab, meet a climate change ambassador, the blue-tongued skink. An educator will teach you about how this interesting lizard is being affected by human actions. |
1. What Is Remeron (Mirtazapine)?
2. How Is Remeron (Mirtazapine) Used?
Remeron is a tetracyclic antidepressant. Its generic name is mirtazapine, and the medication is like maprotiline, as well as other tricyclic antidepressants.
Those who suffer from depression, which is an overwhelming sense of gloom and sadness, are often prescribed this medication. Experts believe many who suffer from depression have abnormal levels of neurotransmitters present.
When taking Remeron, it can help elevate the patient’s mood by increasing the number of neurotransmitters in nerves of the brain. When taken, the medication will also block the effect of histamine. The medication was originally approved for the treatment of depression in 1996.
How Is Remeron (Mirtazapine) Used?
It is highly recommended that a patient prescribed Remeron takes it precisely as their doctor has directed. This will help ensure their condition is improved as quickly as possible. Those prescribed this medication should not take more than prescribed or take it more often or for longer than ordered by the doctor.
The dosage of the medication is different for different people. Some factors that affect the amount taken include weight, age and severity of the condition. It is only available in orally disintegrating tablets or traditional tablets.
In recent years, the issues related to mirtazapine addiction have grown significantly. This medication is prescribed as an antidepressant and, in some cases, used for treating insomnia. Unfortunately, an addiction to mirtazapine is typically more complex than other types of addictions, such as one to heroin, and much harder to detect.
Even if the medication works properly, the side effects can cause a person to switch medication types. This is when withdrawal symptoms may begin.
Additionally, Remeron has been used in the past for treating addiction. While it is beneficial in these efforts, the continued use of it leads to an increased likelihood of addiction to the prescription medication.
If addiction to mirtazapine occurs, it may be necessary for an individual to seek professional treatment. In many cases, the ability to stop taking this medication alone is impossible. As a result, seeking professional help is a smarter and safer option.
Unfortunately, the risk of recurrence of use after a Remeron addiction is high, mainly because of the strong withdrawal symptoms that occur. With helpful aftercare services, a person can learn how to cope with normal life without the prescription medication. While this may seem impossible at first, aftercare services help ensures it is possible.
Anyone who believes they are suffering from a Remeron addiction and who needs a customized treatment program, they should contact the team at The Recovery Village. With the treatment options available, putting an addiction issue behind you is possible. |
Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) believe that many earliest members of the "great crowd" will live to see Armageddon.
The "great crowd" are JWs who believe they will survive Armageddon and live as flesh-and-blood humans forever on Earth.
JWs distinguish these from "the 144,000" who expect to live as ghost-like "spirits" in heaven.
Consider the above quote again: The great crowd began "manifesting" in 1935 and "many of the earliest members … in their 60's or 70's or older … will survive into the new earth."
It is now 31 years after the above quote, and the "earliest members" are in their 90's or 100's.
The JW Yearbooks contain attendance statistics of their annual "Memorial" of Jesus' death which all JWs try to attend.
Those who partake of the bread and wine are called "Memorial partakers" and belong to the alleged 144,000.
Members of the "great crowd" attend as observers and do not partake.
The table below shows that less than 11,000 people in 1935 were of the great crowd.
With life-expectancy in the 1930s lower than today, it is doubtful that more than 1% of the 11,000 "earliest" great-crowd members are still alive. That's about 100 individuals who are now aged in their 90's or 100's.
A mere 100 out of 11,000 is hardly "many" — therefore the prediction that "many" will survive Armageddon already looks shaky.
Therefore even if a "great crowd" member of 1935 becomes the world's oldest person, he will die in about 20 years.
Until 1995 JWs preached that people who lived before 1914 would live to see Armageddon. This prophecy was mentioned hundreds of times in JW writings and was called "the creator's promise" but is now defunct.
The forecast based on 1935 is not as prominent in JW thinking as 1914 but already looks as worthless.
But how did JWs get the date 1935? Did they calculate it from the Bible?
A century ago the sect that became JWs was commonly called "Russellites" and "Millennial Dawners".
The Russellites believed they were doing a "harvest work" which began in 1874 to collect into their cult the 144,000. The selection of the 144,000 began in the first century, but 1874 marked the end-time "harvest" when the remainder had to be found.
In 1915 would come world peace, the resurrection of the dead, and world rule by Abraham, Moses and other Old Testament heroes.
The Russellites were surprised when in 1915 they didn't ascend to heaven and the other predictions were also not happening.
So they changed the start of the harvest to 1878, and to keep the harvest at 40 years they predicted 1918. In 1918 they would ascend to heaven and all religions and nations would start to be annihilated.
Again the Russellites were surprised when in 1918 they stayed on the ground and Armageddon didn't come.
By 1930 the so-called "gleaning work" looked bigger than the entire "harvest". Converts from 1874 to 1918 had probably numbered less than 10,000. But around 1930 the total active sect membership passed 30,000.
Continued expansion would refute the idea of a "gleaning work" and also refute the doctrine that only 144,000 would go to heaven.
Judge Rutherford (1869-1942), the then president of JWs, found the answer.
The answer was that God wanted another harvest work to be done. God wanted a "great multitude" to be "harvested" and become JWs and survive Armageddon.
The year 1935 therefore was not calculated directly from the Bible as were 1874, 1878, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975 and other dates. It was simply the year when Judge Rutherford solved the problems of the "gleaning" becoming too big and the 144,000 becoming too many.
Rutherford claimed that the new harvest fulfilled Revelation 7 which mentions a "great crowd" who worship God. JWs therefore began to regard 1935 as a year when Bible prophecy was fulfilled even though 1935 is not calculated from the Bible.
With the harvest of the 144,000 completed in 1935, their number declined year after year.
However, the pre-1919 members of the alleged 144,000 have died out as probably have those who were alive in 1935 (since all were adults).
Every year since the 1930s JWs eagerly awaited the statistics of the annual Memorial to see how many "partakers" remained — since the smaller the number the closer was Armageddon.
The excitement was futile because around 2005 the "partakers" began to increase — See Table 1. They are increasing even though the "harvest" of them stopped in 1918 except for a "gleaning", and finished again in 1935.
The alleged 144,000 who should by now have survived Armageddon and died out are increasing; and the "early members" of the great crowd of whom "many" were supposed to live forever are dying out!
Furthermore, the "gleaning" doctrine of 1919 is what excused the prophecy-failures of 1914 and 1918. Therefore, with the renewed increases in "partakers" since 2005 the prophecy-failures have lost their excuse and are simply false predictions!
JWs call their religion: "the only Organization on earth that understands the deep things of God." (Watchtower 1973, July 1, p402) However, no one else who looks carefully is convinced.
You can't have realized it — but your latest Investigator (#162) with your 144,000-article was perfectly timed!
You'd have thought, after ALL their numerous errors, the Society would have given up promising their readers that THEY (personally!) might be one of the lucky ones who "never dies" — but no, they've learned nothing and carry on as if all the stuff they've written never took place.
As it happens — here's an article from a recent 'Watchtower' attached.
Under the heading "MANY WILL SURVIVE AND YOU CAN TOO" it says: "The Bible informs us that the end will involve destruction… But God promises us that many humans will survive…" |
FRIDAY, Nov. 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Many operating rooms have too many people coming and going during surgeries, which puts patients at increased risk for infections, a new study suggests.
Most operating rooms in U.S. hospitals have special ventilation systems meant to keep out potentially contaminated air from surrounding corridors. But every time the doors open, outside air can get into the operating room, the study authors explained.
In this study, researchers recorded the number and length of door openings during nearly 200 knee and hip surgeries at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore.
In one-third of the operations, there were enough door openings to potentially defeat the safety effects of the doorway airflow system, according to the study published online Nov. 11 in the journal Orthopedics.
It's likely this is a common problem nationwide, the Johns Hopkins University researchers said.
"Our findings add to a growing body of evidence of a relatively common practice that could be a potential safety concern, and raises questions about why doors get opened and how we can prevent or minimize the frequency and duration of behaviors that could compromise OR sterility," study senior author Stephen Belkoff, said in a university news release.
He and his colleagues conducted their study without the knowledge of operating room staff, so they couldn't ask why so many people went in and out during surgeries.
"What we know for sure is that there was a whole lot more traffic in and out of the OR than seems necessary or easily explained," said Belkoff, who is an associate professor in the department of orthopaedic surgery and director of the International Center for Orthopaedic Advancement.
Only one of the patients in the study developed an infection after surgery, and the cause of that infection was unknown.
"Yes, we have low infection rates and, yes, we take a great many precautions, but we cannot be complacent, and we must remain vigilant about practices that pose risk -- theoretical or otherwise," study co-author Dr. Simon Mears said in the news release. "Excessive door opening is one such practice." |
Leaf growth patterns were studied in three pairs of evergreen and deciduous species, occuiring at an elevation of 2025-2150 m in the Kumaon Himalaya. Leaf initiation occurred earlier in evergreens with an exception of Litsea umbrosa. Peak leaf pool size was attained earlier in deciduous species (June to early July), while later (October) in evergreen species. Rate of leaf expansion was higher in deciduous species. Specific leaf mass in the initial period was higher in evergreen species than in deciduous species. Leaf area was higher in deciduous species as compared to evergreen species, while root length/leaf area unit was greater in evergreen species. |
Trying to figure out what kind of piping you need to install your fireplace, stove, or any other hearth appliance can be an intimidating task. In an effort to simplify things for you, we will look at several aspects of the most common types of chimney pipe and explain their uses and applications.
If you need further assistance--or if you simply can't get a hold of anyone there--feel free to give us a call at 1-800-203-1642, or email us at [email protected]. We will be happy to assist you in any way that we can.
Class A chimney pipe has many names; it can also be referred to as double-wall chimney pipe, triple-wall chimney pipe, all-fuel pipe, or insulated chimney pipe. Class A pipe is used to vent high-temperature exhaust from burning many common fuels such as wood, coal, and oil. Basic examples would include fireplaces, stoves, boilers, and oil-burning furnaces. Not every venting system will require the use of Class A pipe, but it is absolutely necessary for use with all wood-burning fireplaces and stoves.
Class A chimney pipe is usually UL-listed, which permits various manufacturers' pipe to be used with an even wider variety of manufacturers' fireplaces, stoves, inserts, and furnaces. However, it is important to note that you should never mix-and-match different brands of class A chimney pipe within one chimney system. The different brands of pipe are all distinctly engineered and must be used as a complete system from beginning to end. If you are needing to extend or redesign your current chimney system, you need to determine the make and model of your class A pipe and purchase that same type if at all possible. If it is a discontinued or obsolete brand, you are in the tough spot of having to rebuild your chimney system from scratch. Building codes prohibit the use of any adapters to link different chimney brands. In a chimney system where you are converting stove pipe to class A pipe (see the Stove Pipe section for more details), you may reconfigure your stove pipe system apart from your class A system and vice versa.
Solid-packed chimney: These pipes have smaller inner diameters (usually ranging from 5 inches to 8 inches) that have some insulation, either double-wall (like Simpson Dura-Vent DuraTech pipe) or triple-wall (like Simpson Dura-Vent DuraPlus pipe). These pipes use fiberglass or ceramic insulation to stay cooler on the outside and have a 2 inch clearance to combustibles.
Air-cooled chimney: These pipes have larger inner diameters (usually ranging from 8 inches to 24 inches) that have no insulation. An example of this kind of class A pipe is the FMI chimney pipe that is required for use with FMI and Vantage Hearth manufactured fireplaces. As the name implies, these pipes rely on the air circulating within them to keep the outer wall cooler and also have a 2 inch clearance to combustibles.
When using class A chimney pipe, it is important to know that plenty of money can be saved if you plan your system wisely. Class A pipe is usually manufactured with either a stainless steel outer wall or a galvanized (or galvalume) outer wall. When running class A pipe within a masonry chimney, a chase, an attic or any enclosure inside the home, it is economically wise to use galvanized pipe. If at all possible, it is recommended to install your chimney in the interior of your home. Having your system outside brings with it the risk of a cold chimney, which would hinder drafting and produce more creosote.
The need for stainless steel only arises when your pipe will be exposed to the elements. If galvanized pipe is exposed, it is susceptible to rust and corrosion that will eventually ruin it if left unprotected. If you must use galvanized pipe outside, it is strongly recommended that you paint your pipe with a high temperature, rust-resistant paint. Galvanized piping must be cleaned and prepped, prior to painting.
Direct-vent pipe is made specifically for a direct-vent gas appliance. The term "direct-vent" refers to an appliance that uses only outside air for combustion and vents all exhaust directly back outside. The appliance itself is sealed off from the room by a glass door that should never be opened while the unit is in use. Direct-vent units are among the most popular with consumers because of their efficiency and ease of installation compared to traditional wood-burning applications.
Coaxial pipe. Like a pipe-within-a-pipe, a coaxial system utilizes a smaller inner pipe that is fixed inside a larger outer pipe. The inner pipe is separated from the outer pipe by spacers. The inner pipe removes the combustion by-products and vents the exhaust out of the appliance and out of the home. The space between the two pipes brings fresh air from outside into the appliance for combustion. Coaxial pipe may be rigid or flexible.
Colinear pipe. This is a system with two separate pipes, one for combustion air and the other for exhaust. These kind of pipes are usually flexible.
Clearances for direct vent pipe may vary, and they will be specified by your direct-vent appliance's manufacturer. The general rule-of-thumb, however, is a 1-inch clearance all the way around for vertical pipe. For horizontal pipe, there is to be a 3-inch clearance for the top half of the pipe, and a 1-inch clearance for the bottom half of the pipe.
Direct vent chimney systems are specialized. Every component: pipe, elbows, firestops, roof supports, termination caps, et al--is specifically made for venting a direct vent appliance. You will never convert direct vent pipe to class A chimney pipe and you will never convert stove pipe to direct vent pipe. In some circumstances, it is possible to utilize specialized adaptors to convert Class A chimney pipe into a direct vent system. Unlike stove pipe, the use of roof supports and thimbles with direct vent systems is not also a conversion point to class A chimney pipe. These components are only used to pass direct vent pipe safely through a ceiling or a wall. The owner's manual of every direct vent fireplace, stove or insert will specify what manufacturers of direct vent pipe are approved for use with that unit.
A unique and convenient aspect of direct vent chimney systems is the ability to vent and terminate in various ways. A system can be terminated either horizontally or vertically, and in some cases it may only take a few inches of pipe directly out the back of a direct vent appliance to the outside of your home. Be sure to follow your manufacturer's guidelines for maximum horizontal run, maximum vertical rise, etc. when designing your direct vent chimney system. The specifications for venting for each appliance will be spelled out in your owner's manual.
Direct vent units may be referred to as "top vent," "rear vent," or "slant-back." These titles refer to the position of the flue collar on the appliance. "Top vent" and "rear vent" are self-explanatory, and "slant-back" refers to an appliance with a flue collar coming out of the unit at a 45-degree angle, with easy adaptability for vertical or horizontal venting with the use of a 45 degree elbow.
Many direct vent appliance manufacturers will offer specific horizontal or vertical venting kits for particular units. When looking into purchasing these kits, be sure to find out how much pipe you would be getting and if that would be enough to complete your system.
Stove pipe, also called chimney connector, is not the same as class A chimney pipe, though the two are often confused with each other. Stove pipe is used for venting wood-burning stoves and is only for use inside the home, or, more specifically, inside the room where the stove is installed. Once the venting reaches the wall or ceiling, it must be converted to class A chimney pipe. Depending on which kind of stove pipe you use--single-wall or double-wall--you must also account for proper clearances from combustibles. For example, single-wall stove pipe requires 18 inches of clearance from ceilings or walls. Double-wall stove pipe, on the other hand, requires only 8 inches of clearance from a ceiling and 6 inches from a wall. Once these clearances are met, you must convert your stove pipe to class A chimney pipe for proper venting of your stove.
Many stove owners from years past may be surprised to know that stove pipe is never permitted to go through a ceiling or a wall, no matter how much clearance you can create. Therefore, it is never safe to use only stove pipe for venting. This is simply a matter of the way these pipes are engineered. If used outside, stove pipe will be unable to maintain high flue temperatures, causing potential creosote buildup and increased risk of chimney fire. Class A chimney pipe requires only 2 inches of clearance to combustibles because it is made to handle the highest temperatures for exhaust. This is why you must convert from stove pipe to class A chimney pipe when venting your wood-burning stove.
Through-the-ceiling: For venting systems that run vertically through a ceiling, you must have a ceiling support box or round ceiling support piece that will be your transition point from stove pipe to class A chimney pipe. The stove pipe will connect to the bottom and class A chimney pipe will attach to the other side, either running through the ceiling support box itself or an attic insulation shield (in the case of a round ceiling support).
Through-the-wall: For venting systems that run horizontally through a wall, you must have a thimble. A thimble is designed to allow Class A chimney pipe to pass through the wall to run into room where your appliance is installed, and then connect to the stove pipe. Depending on what kind of stove pipe you use, the class A chimney pipe must come into the room 6 inches (for connecting to double-wall stove pipe) or 18 inches (for connecting to single-wall stove pipe).
Most wood-burning stoves are top-vent models, meaning the flue collar will be on top of the unit. For any horizontal, through-the-wall venting system, you must have at least 12 inches of vertical rise from the top of the stove (not including the flue collar itself or any elbows) before connecting a 90-degree elbow piece to turn toward the wall. Some older wood-burning stoves are rear vent models. These models require the use of a tee for cleanout purposes at the flue collar. Like top-vent models, they require a minimum of 12 inches of vertical rise before directing the vent pipe horizontally. Please see your owner's manual for more details. This is one main difference between wood-burning and direct-vent stoves. Some direct-vent stoves are rear-vent models and are able to vent horizontally from the flue collar to the wall. Some other direct-vent stoves are "slant-back" models, meaning the flue collar is positioned at a 45-degree angle on the unit, allowing some versatility for vertical or horizontal venting without having to use a 90-degree elbow. For more information on venting direct-vent stoves, please see our section on direct-vent pipe.
Type B gas pipe, also called "B-Vent" or "Natural Vent," is factory-built, double-wall metal pipe for venting appliances with draft hoods and other appliances listed for use with Type B gas vent. Whereas Type B pipe is becoming less and less prevalent in hearth product venting, many furnaces and water heaters use B-Vent piping for venting. The biggest reason for the declining use of Type B hearth products is their lack of efficiency, especially compared to direct vent and vent-free units. However, there is still a market for B-Vent piping for fireplaces because of its economic viability, which makes it particularly appealing for contractors and builders. Another advantage of Type B is that it is not typically susceptible to excessive draft problems, due in part to the draft hood that draws in excess air to moderate strong draft. Most B-Vent pipe has a one-inch clearance to combustibles.
Type B pipe is never suitable to be used with wood-burning or coal-burning appliances. It should also never be used as free-standing exhaust pipe for high-temperature venting.
Pellet vent pipe is used to vent pellet-burning or corn-burning stoves. These pipes are smaller in diameter than any other kind of pipe, usually with a diameter of 3 or 4 inches. Double-wall pellet pipe, like the Simpson DuraVent PelletVent Pro brand, requires only 1 inch of clearance to combustibles. Unlike stove pipe, you are not required to convert to class A chimney pipe when passing through a wall or a ceiling. Pellet pipe is used all the way from the pellet-burning or corn-burning appliance to the termination point.* Similar to direct-vent systems, pellet venting can be terminated either vertically or horizontally. If terminating horizontally, the cap must be at least 6 inches from the outer wall of your home. If terminating vertically, the cap must be at least 12 inches above the roof.
If you are venting for a pellet-burning insert, however, your appliance will require a flex pipe to bypass the smoke shelf. At this point you would be able to convert to rigid chimney or pellet vent pipe with an adaptor.
Please note that this code must be met with the 10-foot radius clear of any obstruction at the top of your pipe before your cap is installed. This rule is in place to ensure proper draft for your unit. If you have any questions about whether your system meets code with regard to this requirement, feel free to call us or email us and we will be happy to help.
Vertical - A vertical termination cap is for use, obviously, when terminating vertically through a roof. Depending on which manufacturer of pipe you use, there may be some specialization options like a high-wind cap (to protect against wind), a low-profile cap (to protect against rain), or an extended vertical cap (to protect against extremely cold climates). Depending on your roof's pitch, you may need anywhere from 1 to 5 feet of pipe extending past your roof line. (See Direct Vent Vertical Termination Chart). As always, check your manufacturer's guidelines for proper venting and termination of your unit. Some direct-vent caps are made of aluminum while others are made of stainless steel, which is preferable for longevity and reliability.
Horizontal - One distinct difference in with direct-vent systems is the option to terminate horizontally on an outside wall. As with the vertical caps, there may be a few specialized options, including round or square caps. Be sure to check your manufacturer's guidelines for proper clearances for horizontal termination of your unit. These will include the appropriate distance from your wall, but also your windows, doors and other parts of the home. Also, some appliances may call for a minimum amount of rise before horizontal termination is permitted.
Snorkel - Patented by Simpson Dura-Vent, this component is for horizontal through-the-wall terminations when a vertical rise is required to meet minimum height requirements. The most common use of this termination would be installations in basements and situations where your appliance is installed below grade.
Type B systems can involve a multitude of distinct piping components, and the termination point is no different. B-Vent systems can only be terminated vertically, with several different kinds of caps available depending on your manufacturer's guidelines and requirements. See the chart to the right for help with measurements.
Anchor Pate/Flue Adaptor - The vast majority of fireplaces, stoves and inserts need an anchor plate (usually for zero clearance and masonry fireplaces) or a flue adaptor (usually for stoves and direct vent fireplaces) in order to use a particular kind of chimney system. For example, if you purchase a zero clearance wood-burning fireplace with an 8" flue, and you want to use Simpson DuraVent DuraTech chimney pipe, you would need to use the DuraTech All-Fuel Chimney Pipe Masonry and Zero-Clearance Fireplace Anchor Plate (Item Number CPF-70877). If you purchase a wood-burning stove with a 6" flue, and you want to use Simpson DuraVent DVL double-wall stove pipe, you would need the Dura-Vent DVL 6-Inch Double-Wall Stovepipe to Stove Flue Adaptor (Item Number CPF-69125).
Elbow/Elbow Kit - Elbows are often needed in chimney systems for a variety of reasons, and unless you are able to vent straight up vertically or straight out horizontally, you are going to need an elbow of some kind. Each hearth appliance will have its offset guidelines clearly stated in its owner's manual, so please consult your appliance's manual for specific information regarding your unit. While many stove pipe and direct-vent pipe systems use 90-degree and 45-degree elbows, class A chimney pipe systems do not allow for more than a 30-degree elbow with a limited amount of offset (usually no more than just over 3 feet, and in many cases less)* permitted before you must connect another 30-degree elbow to end the offset. This is to protect your chimney's performance and protect against draft and flow problems. For this reason, most class A chimney manufacturers only sell elbows in kits that have two elbows and an elbow strap for support. When dealing with offsets with stove pipe and direct vent pipe, you can offset to go around an obstruction for up to nearly 60 inches for stove pipe and nearly 40 inches for direct vent pipe. Pellet Vent pipe, however, can be offset for almost 80 inches. *These are approximations. Please consult your appliance's section on offsets in its owner's manual, as well as the pipe manufacturer's guidelines for offset with each type of pipe.
Elbow Strap/Wall Strap - Elbow straps are provided for many kinds of pipe to provide support for systems with offsets. Wall straps are needed when class A chimney or direct vent chimney runs vertically inside a chase or alongside a wall, with one needed usually every 4-5 feet of rise.
Ceiling Support Box/Thimble - These components are necessary for use when the pipe is exposed and exiting the room where the appliance is. If you are venting vertically through the ceiling/roof, you will need a ceiling support box or a round ceiling support. If you are venting horizontally through the wall, you will need a thimble. In stove pipe systems, these components will serve not only as support pieces, but also as the transition point from stove pipe to class A chimney. In direct vent systems, these will be used only for support, as there is no transition to another kind of pipe.
Firestop/Attic Insulation Shield - When passing through a ceiling, floor or attic, you will need to use one of these components. If a ceiling support is not used, the firestop is required for passing through ceilings in multi-story homes, while the attic insulation shield is required when passing through an attic. Both of these pieces ensure your pipe maintains proper clearances as it passes through combustible ceilings and floors.
Chimney Tee/Tee Support - When your chimney system passes through the wall, you will need a tee and tee support to serve as a 90-degree bend to turn your chimney up toward your roof. Tees are most commonly used in stove pipe-to-class A pipe systems, as the pipe that exits the home needs to be turned 90-degrees to run vertically up to the roof for termination. All class A chimney tees will require the use of a tee support to be the base support point for the vertical pipe.
Roof Support - Placed underneath the flashing on the roof, the roof support is designed to support pipe both above and below the roof. There is a limited amount of pipe it will support, particularly below the roof, but this component is ideal if you do not have a ceiling support box as part of your system.
Flashing/Storm Collar - A flashing and storm collar go hand-in-hand; they are designed to protect your chimney system from weather damage. The flashing is the piece that covers the hole in your roof where the pipe penetrates. The storm collar fits around your pipe just above the flashing to prevent rain or snow from getting into the miniscule crevice between your flashing and pipe. You need to select a flashing appropriate for your roof pitch. A roof pitch is a measurement of vertical rise over a horizontal distance of 12 inches. For example, if your roof has a vertical rise of 3 inches over a 12-inch horizontal distance, your pitch is 3/12.
Extended Roof Bracket - When your chimney extends more than 5 feet above your roof, you need an extended roof bracket to provide stabilization for your pipe against the wind. |
Clearly, smoking is an unhealthy habit. Still, it is estimated that a staggering 40 million American adults currently smoke cigarettes. While aware of smoking’s obvious health risks, patients at Seattle Plastic Surgery Centerare surprised that to learn of the impact that smoking has on both the safety and success of their chosen cosmetic surgery. Doubly as bad, smoking affects more than the surgery alone, also hindering and delaying one’s recovery.
the body, including to sites that have been injured during surgery. A double whammy, nicotine decreases blood flow while carbon monoxide robs the body of oxygen, an important component to wound healing. As Dr. Jonovexplains, when compromised, you run the risk of severe skin loss and a prolonged healing,â? he continues by adding, that scarring is often very bad.
substantially lowers the risk of surgical complications.
procedures on a smoker unless a patient has quit smoking at least two or more months prior to surgery: facelift, breast lift, breast reduction, and tummy tucks. Patient safety and achieving an excellent result are particularly important to Dr. Jonov. |
The exemplification/illustration task is one where you incorporate specific facts or information to illustrate some broader idea.
The introduction should serve to narrow down your topic from general to specific, while introducing the thesis. The body paragraphs should include all relevant examples in a logical order. All paragraphs should contain transition words or phrase to help the reader move seamlessly from one idea to the next. The conclusion should summarize the main idea presented in each body paragraph, repeat the thesis that was introduced in the introduction, and to draw a conclusion for the reader.
Select your topic carefully. You want to find a topic which is specific and has relevant examples which you can use to better develop a thesis statement. This statement should inform your reader what the purpose/topic of your essay is.
You want to carefully select different examples to use. You need to consider your thesis as you look for examples. These can be observations, readings, or personal experience. You want to then refine the examples you have to the strongest ones and use an outline to organize them.
Try to use transitions to move from one of your points to the next. Be sure to organize the examples you have in a logical order. There is no right or wrong logical order, so long as it is logical. For some students this means ordering the ideas from strongest to weakest but for others it means the opposite. You might also consider ordering things from specific to general, or from general to specific. The choice is yours.
You need to make sure you have adequate enough details to afford your readers clarity. You should only include relevant facts which help to make your final arguments convincing.
After this is done, sum up the thesis in your concluding paragraph and remind the reader why the illustration you made was sound, and what evidence you used.
Be sure to follow any directions explicitly and if you are unsure of what is required of you, ask your teacher who assigned the task. Also make sure you attach an outline if one is required and that you know which format and reference structure you are asked to use. |
Kitchen scales can make a world of a difference when you’re working in the kitchen.
Although nothing works better than raw talent and skill, a professional tool such as the kitchen scale can really help make your food so much better.
Not only can a kitchen scale help you make better food with more accurate measurements, it can also help you in other aspects besides the kitchen, like hobbies or weighing a letter or package before you post it.
Use a kitchen scale to help measure out baking ingredients, meats, and liquids. A kitchen scale can also help you when you’re trying to accurately track calories, on a diet, or trying to follow a recipe.
A kitchen scale is extremely essential when you're baking. It can help you get that perfect consistency with all your baked goods, which many people will be begging you for your recipe. So, if you'd like to find the best kitchen scale for baking, keep reading.
The AccuWeight advanced scales are now engineered to be tempered with a durable glass surface and a newly developed sensor. It’s one of the best digital kitchen workhorse scales and can weigh an extreme amount of ingredients. The brand has realized that an all-purpose food scale is slowly becoming an essential part of a kitchen; thus, the AccuWeight scale has been designed to have all the basic functions you’d need for any kitchen tasks that require accurate measurements.
The AccuWeight system comes with 4 loaded G-force sensors that provide advanced accuracy and measurements. It can measure up to a total of 5kg, and you can easily switch between each type of measurement. The units of measurement that are included are: lbs., ounces, fluid ounces, mL, and/or grams. It’s a very multifunctional kitchen scale that provides its uses with a low battery notification and will indicate when there is an overload.
When you want, you can choose to use the zero-tare function which will automatically zero out any weight on the scale. It includes an auto shut off function to help preserve energy and extend battery usage. To use the scale, it requires 2 AAA batteries which are included when you purchase the scale. It’s a highly versatile scale which is perfect for children to learn more about weight and measurements.
Use this food scale to help you with your fitness goals and other kitchen projects. To help you it also includes a stain-resistant surface which cleans easily just in case you have any accidents while measuring out liquids, solids, or anything else.
ACCURATE - 4 high precision G-force load sensors provide accurate measurements, measure up to 5kg (11 lbs or 176 oz), easily choose between measurements in pounds/ounces/fl.oz.(fluid ounce)/mL and grams.
MULTIFUNCTIONAL - Electric kitchen cooking scale provides low battery and overload indication; Zero/Tare Function; Auto Shut-Off Function; 2 AAA batteries (included).
USEFUL VERSATILITY - Accuweight Digital Kitchen Scale perfect for your kids to learn about Weights & Measurements & how to Follow Instructions; Fantastic for helping with Portion Control and Losing Weight.
PORTABLE DESIGN - Stain resistant glass platform cleans easily. It's compact, so you can easily store it away when not in use. Perfect for home cooking and food portioning.
The My Weigh Kitchen brand has worked to craft their scales to be easy to use with only a few buttons. They’ve realized that over the years that kitchen scales need to be simple, easy to read, and have a few basic functions. They have a very easy-to-read LCD screen that will display all needed information and a large-enough scale to hold and weigh different amounts of food.
This kitchen scale uses a percentage function which weighs food. It has a very large weight capacity of 8,000 grams. If you’re not comfortable with weighing your food in grams or need a different type of measurement unit, the units that are included are; lbs., lb./ounces, ounces, and kg.
It’s designed with stainless steel to make it extremely easy to clean, meaning less of a mess and easier applications. To help people who have a hard time seeing other display screens, the information is displayed on a bright backlit screen.
Percentage weighing function; great for baking and soap making.
Easy to clean stainless steel platform and hinged gunk shield for messy applications.
The Escali digital kitchen scale is designed to measure ingredients with better accuracy and enhanced consistency. The brand has noted that when you’re cooking you need the confidence of knowing that your ingredients are measured to be accurate and consistent.
This food scale is designed to have the most accurate measurements which you can trust. It includes an easy-to-read LCD screen, just to make it a little easier for you. The control panel is sealed which helps protect the display and controls from any dirt or food residue. It has a tare feature which can zero out any weight that was placed on the scale. It has a nonslip rubber footing which makes it secure and slips free.
The VAVA digital kitchen scale is designed with durable materials that are crafted from tempered glass. The brand has realized that a lightweight and-easy-to move scale is essential in the kitchen. This unit was designed to be extremely thin and less bulky than other models on the market, which can help save space when storing it. The VAVA brand has designed many other scales, so they know what they are doing.
This kitchen scale is crafted from tempered glass to make it ultra-sensitive but still accurate when measuring weights. It has a touch-control button which makes it easy to use and keep clean even though the toughest of messes. There are 4 high precision sensors which provide extreme accuracy. The units of scale that are included are grams, lb./ounces, mL, fluid ounces.
These are all displayed on an LCD display that clearly shows the information in big numerals. This unit is FDA certified for weighing all types of foods, solids, or liquids. The unit has a tare function, auto shutoff, and overload with low battery sensors which are displayed on the screen. There are 2 different moves to measure, one which accurately weighs the ingredients and the other which is for food weight and liquids.
The AccuWeight Digital Kitchen Scale is designed to have a high degree of accuracy. The brand has realized that sometimes kitchen scales need to have a very easy-to-read display and a quick cleaning surface. To help these customers, the brand has designed the AccuWeight Digital Kitchen Scale to have a sleek design and be easy to use.
This brand has been in the business of creating exceptional kitchen scales over the years, and two of them made it onto our top list; this is surely a sign that they are doing something right.
This food scale is an electric scale which is programmed to give you very accurate and high precision weight measurements. The units of weight that are included are lbs., ounces, grams, milliliters, and fluid ounces. The scale is crafted from tempered glass, making it durable and easy to clean. It includes a user-friendly tare function which can zero out measurements.
The display features a large 3.2-inch backlit display which allows users to comfortably read without squinting. The scale can measure up to 5,000g/11 lb. items and cooking materials. To be even more user friendly, the scale will display when the batteries are running low or when it is starting to get overloaded. This scale has a very elegant sleek design and is easily storable and portable.
Electronic gram scale equipped with 4 high precision sensors to give you accurate weight all the time;Max weight capacity up to 5000g / 11lbs / 5000mL / 176 fl. Oz. Accurate to within 1 g/0.1 oz.
Our digital meat scale tempered glass platform, is not only safe and hygienic but also easy to clean and store.
User-Friendly: Zero/Tare function of the food scale allows you to zero out containers when weighing multiple ingredients, quick unit conversion.
Units of Measurements Available: pounds, ounces, grams, milliliters, fluid ounces. Digital scale built with 3.2" Large blue backlight LCD display, makes for much easier readability. |
India launched its first space-based astronomy observatory from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. The article at SpaceFlightNow.com revealed that it will study neutron stars and black holes.
Canada provided detectors for the twin ultraviolet and visible imaging telescopes. |
,A ESDAY, JAN. II, 1933 PAGE ELEVEN SCHOOL Competition LEGION HELD MEETING THE SUBMARINE GARDENS SUGAR LOAF Competition whose motive is merely WEDNESDAY I~tinued from page 4, column 4)to compete to drive some other fellow THE MARINE GARDENS, as de- ajOYo~ INFLUENZA out, never carries very far. The corn- (Con:inued from page 1, column 3) scribed by' the eloquent editor of the petitor to be feared is one who never Parisian journal, "Le Figaro," M. The| EPIDEMIC 1N CALIFORNIA bothers you at all, but goes on making apuv[ Long Beach ........................ 1.90 1.81 Huret: "Floating over green and blue if| By Marth~crnstcin his own business better all the time. Los Angeles ......................... 1.62 1.80 water in the glass-bottom boats, one E5 ~]~re is no kilo i l Businesses that grow by development Pasadena .............................. 2.08 2.20 sees the goings and comings of aqua- -~' w l d'scase that at- and improvement do not die. But Santa Monied .................... 1.82 2.06 tic life. The boatman names to you South Pasadena ................. 1.96 2.41 the marine plants and the fish, and 'l~tt~k~�th ~rt angreatextcnta numberof timc�fasPe�pledoes in-in whenWhen ita busineSsbelieves itceaseShas reachedt� be creatiVe,pecfec_ \Vhittier . ............................. 1.84 2.16 tells you the different depths. One is 2ub~ astounded; one questions; one ex- tion and needs to do nothing but pro-A substantial reduction in teachers 0~ "~.%gh we look at this as a rather duce--no improvement, no develop-salaries was one means employed to claims! Here are shell-encrusted 't~l~!Seasc many outbreaks of "pes- ment--it is done.--Henry Ford. make possible the lower tax rate in rocks; fish, red, green and gold zig- C* " "' zagging leisurely among the waving ~]i which resembles the symptoms -- the Long Beach district, foliage, the seaweeds gracefully bal- r ~ Influenza arc recorded as early Was He Wrong? There are some specific proposals 7a. ancing with the tide; on the clear bot- At a lecture the speaker orated fer-relative to reduction of school costs t last pandemic (epidemic il, ev- vently: "He drove straight to his that need careful scrutiny: tom the sea throws beautifld reflec- ~Untry) occurred in 1918 and goal. He looked neither to the right 1. A proposal to release all taxation tions. Here are real trees with long l~J'~hen it is estimated there were nor to the left but pressed forward,frcun constitutional control, branches waving as on land by a tem- ~than 200il00"(~)0 oa,.~s ",nd It(t.- Our state constitution now guaran- pest; great fish of all shapes appear moved by a definite purpose. Neither /~ deaths witi;in twelve months, tees adequate school support by re- as in an artificial aquarium the sea ~Ugh the disease spreads rapid- friend nor foe could delay him nor � turn him from his course. All who quiring the state to pay each schoolstars (star fish) shine in the shadows ie~,~:~avels no faster than do people, crossed his path did so at their own district $30.00 annually ?or each FAe- of the rocks; then more luxuriant fo- ~u, lSease is unquestionably spread peril. What would you call such a :nentary child in average daily attend, liage, branches bearing clusters of ~L~"~.n victims, but the factors man ?" anee (the county matches this withfruit resembling the olive. One would ~ g~ve rise to the connnon cold "A truck driver," shouted a voice $30.00) and $30.00 annually for each think these were fertile fields suddenly '~l;)~-~ttuenza are as yet undiscov- high school child in average daily at- submerged by a tempest. Leaning over ~,~a~ have been given careful in-from the audience.--Pacific Woodman. tcndanee (the county adds $60.00 for the transparencies in the bottom of 1on and study in most civil- One way to become acquainted with each child). The effect of this provis- the boats, the people go into ecsta- ~Untries since the great pan-the people wko live in Avalon is to ion is that the local schoolboard ekes." ~f 1919. It is found in hot, dry, read the ~:atalina Islander. Subscribe knows what it can count upon. A party of easterntourists corn- !el ~.laml) climate and usually the "l he certain result c ferasing tMs � ) - � mented as follows :"Next to the !c m a certain locality will last now. Grand Canyon, the Catalina marine provision from the constitution will be ~x to eight weeks. " ~ the necessity of appearing bienniallygardens are the.most interesting sight ,m ]r " " " ][ bilIillllIRiSIiillULIRI~B~r.~/i.lW, we have seen." 1 esent Ume the epidemic xs before the legislature and by various a severe tvpe and few deaths ~ No. 524 means getting as much money for The marine gardens are shown by �Ceurred. I-Iowever the "flu" /~ Meets every Friday Night of:each month s schools as possible, and also of appear- day and by night. In the spring of tl~e body resistance low, and ~'~7:30;nFot~tersH,dl. Vidtin~bteth,ena,, ing annually before the County board 1921 J. H. Patrick, president of the ~ent may devek)p pneumonia or ,~J~" wel ..... of supervisors for the same purpose. Santa Catalina Island Company,� com- tther complication. It is these~ ' PERCY ~'. MACIK~'Y, MASTER 2. An alternative proposal to Nun> pleted experiments on board the glass- ry diseases which often means J' J" WHITE. SlrC,ETARY ber 1 is to reduce by 20% the amounts bottom boat "Empress," which enabled or impaired health for a long " $,1.50 to $9 wk. '~ gnaranteed to the local district by the him to show the marine gardens at �ftime. The highest authori-] $1_to$2.$0aday-- constitution. This will entail a disas- night. Sixteen one-thousand candle ace that the single measure I HOTELLAMM| trous lowering of school standards, un- power searchlights were encased in most value in preventing 50 % PRIVATE BATHS / less the board raises the local tax rate, pont��us attached to the side of the ms and in controlling thc ] which means increasing the tax on vessel, and these lights penetrate into to go to bed immediately,[ 715 W. Sixth St., Los Angeles, Cal.[ common propertv.Does anyone favor the water for a depth of one hundred n there until all signs of re- [ LEE FLANERY, Owner / doing that ? " feet with a radius of two hundred feet. disappeared or until the 3. Another group desires to give to Night time being the time when many advises getting ont of bed.k 2 boards of county supervisors the pow- varieties of fish feed, the visitors on the epidemic is centered er to alter school budgets. Historic- these trips see many marine wonders ~s Angeles. Although 1702 EI NEST WINDLE ally, the theory in our country has on the bed of the ocean as well as the re reported in California dur- been that the people conduct their hundreds of different varieties of veg- Week 0f December 10th, 414 NOT ARY PUBLIC own schools through elected boards of etatlon. - rn Los Angeles, as compared education. O'ne of the duties of a Among the marine specimens which ~n~ San Francisco. I.egel Do�uments board is to ~zet up a budget. Are we may be viewed through the clear crys- -~st measure to insure preven- Promptly Executed now ready to relinquish local control taline waters on the lava-like sea-floor the disease is following the News Stand or at Islander Of~ce of our budget to aboard of super- are: U les for the maintenace of visors? FISH AND SHELLFISH ilth, insuring sufficient sleep; 4. There is also a movement favor- in~ repeal of our present compulsory Golden Perch Sea Cucumber ~OUrishing foods; cleanliness, Garibaldi, or Octopus air. ft may be advisable to education requirement under which a Blue Perch Sea Hare LY,from crowds, At any rate, ". child attends school full time until he is 16 years of age, substitutinc~ for e~rio cough or sneeze should SilverBlUe EyedperchPerch JellvfishSea Porcupine � this a" new rule that the child cannot Wall Eyed Perch Sunfish er if you do get a c.old, treat be required to attend school after he Rock Bass T2ger Shark laS though you were ill; stay has completed the elementary grades,Opal Eyed Bass Sheepshead l You possibly can, and keel) and in n~, case after he is 16 vears of Striped Bass Aforay Eel )ha others to whom you may malady, ag(llitcracv has been lessened in this Ratfish Abalonv Kelpfish Crawfish A. 14. S. country a]ld the quality of citizenship Candlefish Sand Crab lkiarincovich is working on raised bv compulsory, education laws. eehanic projects in shop. Are thinkin,~ citizens who believe that W'hitefish Starfish ~-~ C A.~.s. efficient gov'ermnent in a democracvSculpin Keyhole Limpet tt b anfieht received a Brownie depends i~l part, at least, on intelligent Ghostfish Sea Anemone ~st Week. . should cut costs by reducing the corn- Giant Bulb Kelp Chenille Moss ~I% Ov A.u.s. w~ting, now ready to agree that we KELP AND MOSSES ~,'|~ erholt fell and hurt his lip puls( rv education requirement as indi- Ribbon Kelp Irish Moss ear's Eve. cated above ? Rainbow Kelp Feather Boa Moss !la~stere han~�te~dS(mt to basketball Mv object in calling your attention Red Alga Ruby Moss to these matters is to stimulate your Sea Lichen Feather Moss thinking, to the end that you will Bridal Veil Moss Sponge Moss *Week .Chtlreh~'~sli:eSnt Christmas in scrutinize carefnlly whatever prop�s- Iodine Kelp Heather Moss ~l..l~ ~ton. als come before the legislature ill its Sea Grape Kelp Coral Moss. present session. If proposed laws rel- . � ".~a~~ is always plea,ed to I Thanks ati, e toschoolsarenotsatisfactoryto DID YOUE-~-R'S'T~o THINK Patterso~ ~2~ hurt in at, ex-citizens, they have the opportunity of ~i- "~--:o--- making their convictions, known to Bv Edson R. Waite, Shawnee, Okla. ~1~ PttONE IT TO US members of the legislature. Advertising is the most , effe~/tive If proposed constitutional amend- weapon in. the fight for business. ~qtt I~11.. der lnents al'e not satisfactory to citizens, * * * they will have the opportunity of rot-No city can be prosperous when its k"~ rts ". " � eitiz'ens do not patronize its home ~t.~' Io~ of local doings; parties, inf against them. ~.[~�~ ~f age or other meetings; TO OUR Earnestly do I urge citizens of this stores. � � � ~llh"~ trills gUests return of Islanders conmmnity, before they set the seal of I~,f% ~setc. It is not always pos- their approval upon new school legis- Business nmst think in the days of ~'.~ tloin personally to learn about Customers for past favors, today and not ill the days of vester- I~V~ gs, so we would be pleased lation, to satisfy themselves that pro- posed economies will not penalize our day. � � * l~%e 2ur. readers or subscribers We will, continue to keep our children nor produce a new genera- [~.'*~er ~eh affairs: tailoring and workmanship up tion of citizens who are not even as Watchful waiting does not bring ~.~i~tMl.mCe phone 500. good as we are. In my judgment, to business. It takes advertising to turn ~'~'~; I'~ ~' editor phone 194-W. economize to the detriment of our the trick. , , , . i !i , to our usual high standard. Smith associate editor, children is foolish. Can we not save You should let the world know the MAI TIN HALL somewhere, ------:�:else? __ good things your citY.is d,)ing. il'~ ~.said L'*t~. Baby Do you know thai Avalon ,has one Ne,,v~pal-;er advertising .ad'ds prestige !| ~,1~;*~ tlar,.~ Umv'ersity man worked Mer�iumt Tailor " of the finest all-year climates on the and prot~t to any business. | "%',ra~t ~'~ college by caring for a Pacific Coast of the United States? , � � * /"l~rfl,~-'tnY of the rest of themAvalon Cadifornia N~e~)a'9~r advertising lights the / "ctt for the same reason .Onr Adlet Colnmn helps. Try it. pathway to better business. |
BizTalk Server has grown beyond just messaging and orchestration to include a Business Rules Engine, Human Workflow Services, Enterprise Single Sign On, and Business Activity Monitoring—all of which are significant components.
Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 (the fourth release of Microsoft's flagship messaging and business process management platform) provides a compelling messaging solution and complementary toolset for addressing many of the design goals typical in common EAI scenarios.
Design goals such as availability and reliability often fall beyond the reach of traditional Web services.
Built entirely on the .NET Framework, Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 (BTS 2006) provides the foundation for business process automation and messaging, two key areas that are common within many integration scenarios. Through its support of messaging and workflow, BTS 2006 is a powerful addition to the EAI space, introducing revolutionary advances in multi-protocol messaging, business process design, management, and debugging. The beautifully intuitive Orchestration Designer (installed as part of Visual Studio 2005) provides a glimpse into the future of building modern, workflow-modeled software.
At its core, BTS 2006 is comprised of the Messaging Engine and Orchestration Engine. Both components are mutually exclusive and each addresses a very specific, yet complementary aspect of application integration. BizTalk Server 2006 features much more than messaging and orchestration, however, for the purpose of this article, I will focus on these important concepts. While certainly not exhaustive; I will give you a high-level overview of the various messaging and orchestration concepts and corresponding development and deployment-time artifacts before I walk you through an application integration project with BTS 2006.
Messaging, as the name implies, is concerned with how data (the payload within a message) is sent, received, routed and consumed. In BizTalk, the Messaging Engine deals with low-level protocols and file formats as well as design goals such as reliability and availability. People commonly think of messaging in terms of Web services, where you represent the data or the message as XML, and you place this XML in a SOAP envelope and transmit it over HTTP. While the analogy is a valid one, BTS 2006 takes messaging far beyond SOAP and HTTP.
Despite its popularity, XML is still a rather new file format and many legacy applications cannot consume or conduct messaging in XML. To address this disconnect, BTS 2006 can work with many file formats. BizTalk Adapters support the use of common "flat" file formats such as comma separated (CSV), delimited, or positional files. These Adapters are pluggable software components written in either .NET or COM, that provide broad messaging support and the glue that helps integrate both new and legacy applications with BizTalk services. In addition to supporting various file formats, the Messaging Engine is extremely robust and helps to address many of the shortcomings of hosting traditional Web services. With typical Web services, a client consumes a service. The service is exposed by an endpoint, typically a URL. When a client invokes a Web service, a series of serialization and deserialization steps take place. An in-memory object on the client side is converted using serialization to an XML format and placed in a SOAP envelope so that it may be sent over an HTTP connection. The service (behind the endpoint), receives a request, processes it, and optionally sends a response. More often than not, this process should occur very quickly because the client calling the service does so in a synchronous (or blocking) manner. That is, the client invokes the service and then patiently waits for a response.
For well-disciplined services, where calls are short and efficient, the synchronous pattern can be a very effective way of managing reliability. Unfortunately, this calling pattern is not always ideal. Service orientation has evolved far past RPC-style services in which a caller asks a component to do some simple work and expects a quick and trivial response. For example, you can expose complex business workflows such as inventory, point of sale, customer relationship management, and supply chain management, via service endpoints in order to leverage these services in an autonomous location-transparent manner. The service(s) behind these endpoints may consist of a long-running process that is either standalone and monolithic or distributed elegantly across other services (because services are autonomous, these details are transparent to the client). In this scenario, the expectation for the client to wait several seconds, minutes (or even hours and days) is unreasonable, if not impossible. One possible solution to this dilemma is not a new one. In such scenarios where you have a long-running process, you might choose to invoke the service asynchronously (sometimes also referred to as "fire and forget"). Using this approach, a client invokes a service, only this time, instead of consuming client resources waiting for a response, the service returns immediately to the caller while carrying out the work in its own process.
Consider the implications of a transaction being hosted by a service in which a message is sent to a service which consists of several potential steps. How does the client know if the messages are received? What happens if the server that hosts the service goes down in the middle of a complicated business process? In the event that step three, say, in a five-step order fulfillment workflow fails (i.e., the service endpoint it calls is unavailable or returns an error), how will the transaction behave? Can it be resumed?
The ability to model business processes while avoiding the plumbing code required to elegantly coordinate sophisticated business processes while abstracting messaging minutia is perhaps the most compelling reason to consider BizTalk Server for your application integration projects.
This problem domain is by no means limited to services exposed via SOAP over HTTP, however, the vast majority of services today are deployed as such and are simply much too fragile to handle such complex workflows. Implementing some of the more advanced specifications and recommendations, commonly referred to as WS-STAR, is cumbersome at best and the result is that design goals such as availability and reliability often fall beyond the reach of traditional Web services. On a side note, Windows Communication Foundation is a huge leap forward in this regard and provides turnkey support for WS-ReliableMessaging, WS-Coordination and WS-AtomicTransaction specifications to name a few.
Fortunately, BTS 2006 addresses many of these design aspects using a highly effective messaging model that leverages Microsoft SQL Server as a reliable, scalable, and highly performant persistence mechanism. The BTS 2006 Messaging Engine is not only fully capable of communicating via SOAP and HTTP, but it supports additional transport and application protocols such as MSMQ, WebSphere MQ, FTP, SMTP, and file drops (to name a few). Figure 1 shows workflow components such as those provided by BizTalk orchestration. Figure 2 presents a high-level conceptual diagram to summarize adapter support in BTS 2006. I will cover these important aspects of messaging in the sections that follow.
Figure 1. Workflow Components: Workflow components such as those provided by BizTalk orchestration are fundamental to .NET application architectures (courtesy of Microsoft Patterns & Practices).
Figure 2. BizTalk Messaging Engine: The BizTalk Messaging Engine supports several adapters natively, including SOAP, MSMQ, and File.
Adapters and pipelines are fundamental aspects of BizTalk Server messaging. Adapters are pluggable software components (written in either .NET or COM) that support the integration between BizTalk and various applications (custom and/or ERPs), protocols, platforms, and technologies. Table 1, taken from the official BizTalk Server 2006 Documentation (see Additional Resources) provides a summary of native adapters available natively with BTS 2006.
Table1: Native adapters that ship directly with BizTalk Server 2006 (courtesy of the Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 documentation team).
Web services Adapter Supports sending and receiving messages using SOAP over HTTP. Because SOAP is the core protocol for Web services, this adapter is critical for BizTalk Server 2006's ability to interact in a service-oriented world. As usual with Web services, URLs are used to identify the sending and receiving systems.
File Adapter Supports reading from and writing to files in the Windows file system. Because the applications involved in a business process can often access the same file system, either locally or across a network, exchanging messages through files can be a convenient option.
FTP Adapter Supports sending and receiving information between a File Transport Protocol (FTP) Server and BizTalk Server.
HTTP Adapter Supports sending and receiving information using HTTP. The BizTalk Server 2006 engine exposes one or more URLs to allow other applications to send data to it, and it can use this adapter to send data to other URLs.
MSMQ Adapter Supports sending and receiving messages using Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ).
MSMQT Adapter Supports sending and receiving messages using BizTalk Message Queuing (MSMQT). MSMQT is an implementation of the MSMQ protocol that can receive and send MSMQ Messages into the MessageBox. Although BizTalk Server 2006 still includes this adapter, developers should use the MSMQ adapter instead.
WebSphere MQ Adapter Supports sending and receiving messages using IBM's WebSphere MQ (formerly known as MQSeries).
SMTP Adapter Supports sending messages using SMTP. Standard e-mail addresses are used to identify the parties.
POP3 Adapter Supports receiving e-mail messages and their attachments using version three of the Post Office Protocol (POP3).
WSS Adapter Supports accessing and publishing documents stored in Microsoft Windows SharePoint document libraries.
SQL Adapter Supports reading and writing information to a SQL Server database.
Base EDI Adapter Supports sending and receiving messages in the electronic data interchange (EDI) format.
Since the advent of component technologies, the Internet has provided unprecedented levels of interconnectivity between systems and networks, accelerating globalization at an alarming rate.
One Way Receive. Receives a message asynchronously and passes it to a corresponding receive pipeline.
One Way Send. Performs the complimentary action of the One Way Receive pattern, presenting an outbound message to the configured destination in an asynchronous manner.
Request Response. Can perform both receive and send operations (as the service) typical in synchronous SOAP communication models.
Solicit Response. Sends a message, such as with a synchronous SOAP call, and the adapter blocks until a complementary response is received.
A pipeline is analogous to an assembly line in which messages are either composed (when sending a payload) or decomposed (when receiving a payload). The pipeline primarily takes non-XML input from a corresponding adapter and converts it to XML so that the Messaging Engine can persist it to the database. In addition to processing received data, pipelines also take XML and compose it back to the native adapter format. As such, pipelines can be thought of as foreign language interpreters that translate data from foreign formats into native messages that can be understood by BTS (and vice versa). Like adapters, you can extend existing pipelines and you can create new custom pipelines using the same API and interfaces used to build the pipelines that come out of the box. You may want to build a custom pipeline for several reasons, including: custom authentication, authorization, logging, or message validation using XSD schema. |
The circumferential pitch deviation is calculated as a result of testing all 73 mesh pitches with a -5070 pitch gauge. And in this case, the measurement is made from the first toothed groove in the grinding direction. The pitch deviation and the inspection of each parameter list the circumferential pitch deviation fptr of the two 20Cr2Ni4A steel ring gears calculated according to the measured values, and the majority of the ring gear 1 is the radial component of the error, and the ring gear 2 is the cut. To the component. In these two cases, the left and right sides of the measuring tooth are in the grinding direction, starting from the same tooth groove, but this tooth groove is arbitrary. It should be noted that 14 circumferential pitch deviations in the 146 of the ring gear 1 and 15 circumferential pitch deviations on the ring gear 2 have opposite expected signs, but the general regularity of these errors corresponds to the predetermined value reflected in) .
Because the above adjustment of the ring gear (z = 73, x = +0.079), the optimization adjustment has almost no effect (the time to grind one part is only shortened by 2% to 4%), so the processing of all parts is in the standard adjustment. Completed under. At this time, the dressing angle of the grinding wheel is equal to the original tooth angle of the ground part, that is, sand ==20°, and the adjusted lever arm is 690 mm.
After grinding, the length of the common normal line and the variation on the width of the ring gear and along the width of the ring gear were examined for the ring gear, and the meshing pitch was checked, and the magnetic powder flaw detection method was used to check whether there was a crack. The tooth profile and tooth orientation were examined on a 45CrNi steel ring gear using a PFSV-1200 detector. Measuring three circumferentially distributed teeth indicates that the toothing error is 16 m along the left side and 26 m along the right side, while the tooth profile errors are 34 m and 42 m, respectively, and a negative deviation is found when measuring from the root to the crest. The measured tooth profile deviation does not match the meshing pitch deviation of the same part.
The inspection of the meshing pitch has been studied in more detail, because the test method implemented can evaluate the accuracy of the gear grinding mechanism in many cases, characterize the cutting process, and provide grounded recommendations for fine-tuning machine tools. . The meshing pitch deviation is checked by three types of pitch meters: the contact distance instrument of "Ke. Cheyce" (formerly the German Democratic Republic), the domestic 21501 tangent tooth distance meter and the domestic -6070 type tangent - Contact pitch instrument (maximum number of measurements). The adjustment of any of the above-described pitch meters is performed by two marking teeth of the gear sample having the number of teeth z=23, thereby shortening the time of this process.
On each part, it is necessary to start with a previously marked tooth groove in the grinding direction and to inspect all 73 teeth on both sides. Sometimes, the measurement begins with the first toothed groove, but in most cases the measurement starts from any tooth. In order to evaluate the stability of the pitching machine, the first three pitches should be repeated at the end of the test.
It is not enough to make a rigorous conclusion from the above-mentioned precision data of the grinding teeth, especially the test of almost no contact standard. However, there is no doubt that replacing the 45CrNi steel with high frequency quenching into the 20Cr2Ni4A carburized steel ring gear will not cause additional difficulty for the manufacturer to ensure the grinding accuracy.
Measuring the length of the common normal line indicates that the specified B-type joint is completely suitable for the induction hardened gear from the viewpoint of the manufacturing process, but it is suitable to enlarge the common normal length tolerance (tooth thickness) of the carburized steel gear according to the A-type joint. In order to comply with the recommendations of the relevant literature. In addition, the above data is a raw material that compares the current manufacturing process of traction drives in the transportation machinery manufacturing industry with more advanced processes in the future. |
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