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Rainfall requirement is the rainfall of 114cm – 200cm per annual.
(i)Mulching – light mulch to prevent loss of moisture. Mulching also moderates soil temperature.
(ii)Watering – done immediately after planting and thereafter water regularly early in the mornings and late in the evenings.
(iii)Weed control- to keep the nursery bed completely weed free by uprooting all the weeds.
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe sickle, or reaper.
(i) The land use act(Decree) was promulgated by the Federal Military Government of Nigeria on March 29, 1978.
(iv) The decree stipulate that individual can only use a piece of land for 99 years after which the land reverts to the government.
(i) Locate facilities in the walking distance.
(ii) Provide good roads for easy transportation of farm products.
(iii) Easy accessibility and evacuation of farm products.
(i) Animal quarters should be located far away from the staff living quarter.
(ii) It determines the location of farm buildings and structures.
Animal improvement refers to the ways of developing and breeding only those animals that show the greatest merit under consideration such as good feed conversion, growth rate, disease resistance, egg size etc.
(i) To produce animals with high growth rate.
(ii) To produce animals that are resistant to parasite and diseases.
Queen – To lay eggs.
Worker – To feed the caste.
(ii) Availability of clay soil.
(i) They are high in fibre.
(ii) They are low in protein. |
After being picked up by your guide early in the morning, you will be driven for two hours to the magical Anton Valley. This enchanting town located within a dormant volcanic crater is filled with abundant flora and fauna. The crater rises 600 meters above sea level and provides many hiking opportunities.
This special journey will bring you to a a local Embera village on the Chagres River for a unique peek into the lives of one of Panama’s 7 recognized indigenous tribes. The Embera people have populated the Choco region of western Colombia and the Darien region of eastern Panama for centuries, long before Spanish colonization. Today over 30,000 Embera inhabit Panama; while most still live in the Darien region, some communities have migrated to Chagres National Park between Panama City and Colon, allowing for more accessibility for tourism.
Follow the famous route that thousands of cargo ships take each year on a full transit of the Panama Canal. This one-day canal crossing on a shared boat first crosses under the Bridge of the Americas and then navigates through all three sets of the Canal’s locks: the Pedro Miguel Locks, the Miraflores Locks and the Gatun Locks. On this journey from the Pacific to the Atlantic, you will also travel through the historically significant Gaillard Cut, otherwise known as the Culebra Cut, and discover Gatun Lake.
This partial transit of the Panama Canal either follows a southbound or northbound route, depending on the day. On the partial transit, you will pass through two of the Canal’s three sets of locks: Miraflores Locks and Pedro Miguel Locks. The southbound route boards the shared boat in Gamboa and begins at the north end of the historically significant Gaillard Cut, also known as the Culebra Cut.
In the morning, you will be picked up at your hotel for your one-hour car ride towards the city of Colon, located on the Atlantic coast of Panama. First you will stop at the San Lorenzo Fort, a castle and fortress built by the Spaniards in 1598 to protect the entrance to the Chagres River from pirate attacks. The Chagres River was a very important waterway for the transportation of gold and many other goods from ocean to ocean, eventually ending up in Europe. This fortress was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO In 1980. |
Located outside of Takayama's city center, the Matsuri no Mori (まつりの森, lit. "Festival Forest") showcases the key aspects of the Takayama Festival, which takes place for two days each spring and autumn. The festival is known as one of Japan's three most beautiful, along with Kyoto's Gion Matsuri and the Chichibu Yomatsuri.
From the museum's entrance, an approximately 50 meter long hallway leads to the main exhibition space which is located underground, giving it a cave-like atmosphere. The hallway is lined on the left by eleven miniature festival floats, one third the size of those used in the autumn festival. On the right are ostentatious golden-lacquered folding screens which depict famous floats from festivals in Kyoto and other cities.
At the main exhibition space, a number of magnificent, life-sized replica floats are displayed, offering visitors a close view at their elaborate designs, decorations and karakuri dolls. Karakuri are marionettes which are a key feature in the Takayama Festival. They are usually manipulated by puppeteers, but the museum uses machine-operated ones for demonstration performances that are held frequently throughout the day.
Matsuri no Mori further displays several huge taiko drums, said to be the biggest drums in the world. Visitors are able to enjoy the rich timbre of these percussion instruments through one of the scheduled shows. The museum offers limited English but the exhibits are entertaining even for non-Japanese speakers.
The Matsuri no Mori festival museum can be reached in a 15 minute bus ride from Takayama Station south of the city center. The "Sarubobo Bus" provides hourly connections for 210 yen per ride or 620 yen for a one day pass. |
Blue screen of death also known as BSOD is a blue screen error and the worst type of error a computer can experience, unlike an application crash which doesn’t bring down the whole system, BSOD error appear when Windows encounters a critical error it can’t recover from and cause total shutdown of the system.
What Causes Blue Screens of Death? A BSOD have been present in all Windows-based operating systems, Blue screen of death can be cause as a result of low level software crashing , faulty/malfunctioning hardware , poorly written device drivers such as faulty memory, power supply issues, overheating of components, or hardware running beyond its specification limits.
Blue screens are generally caused by problems with your computer’s hardware or issues with its hardware driver software. A blue screen occurs when Windows encounters a “STOP Error.” This critical failure causes Windows to crash and stop working. The only thing Windows can do is stop the computer and restart it. And this can lead to data loss, as programs don’t have a chance to save their open data.
Firstly, If you just install a new program or a piece of hardware, install an update or you update a driver, then there is a very good chance that the change you made caused the BSOD, you can Undo the change you made and test again for the STOP Error. Depending on what change you made, it may requires you to do system restore to undo the recent system changes.
Make sure that a minimum amount of free space is available on your Windows partition i.e where your operating system resides. Blue Screens of Death and other serious issues, like data corruption can occur if there is not enough free space on the partition used for the Windows operating system.
Most Blue Screens of Death are hardware or driver related, so try to update your drivers, an updated drivers could fix the cause of the STOP error.
Try to update your computer anti-virus to the latest version and Scan your computer for viruses because some viruses can cause a Blue Screen of Death, especially ones that infect the boot sector.
If Windows won’t start because of Blue Screen errors, try booting into Safe Mode so that you can try fixing the problem. As the computer is booting, repeatedly hit the F8 key until the Windows boot menu appears. Select Safe Mode with Networking to boot into a stripped down version of Windows. This will allow you to access your Device Manager, the internet, and other system tools.
TIP ; If you would like to see more detailed error message whenever a blue screen appears When a blue screen occurs, Windows automatically creates a “minidump” file that contains information about the crash and saves it to your disk. You can view information about these mini dumps to help identify the cause of the blue screen.
Have you ever experience this kind of issue on your computer ? let me hear from you and how you go about it. |
Casual employees make up a fairly large portion of the Australian workforce, with over two million people employed casually. Casual workers generally are employed in temporary jobs that have irregular hours and are not guaranteed to be ongoing. Permanent workers are entitled to more benefits than casual workers. For instance, casual workers aren’t entitled to paid sick or holiday leave.
Casual employees are forced to endure job uncertainty and balancing opportunities to work full time. This can make them hesitant to exercise their rights and report workplace safety issues or injury. However, in Australia casual employees are just as entitled to workplace safety as their fulltime counterparts. Below, you will find a brief overview of casual employee workers compensation issues. If you are injured on the job, contact a lawyer today to take advantage of these rights.
Casual workers are able to file compensation claims to cover the expenses they incur after being injured at work. Though each territory has legislation and its own governing body, statutory compensation is implemented across Australia. The majority of workers are covered by the WorkCover system in their State or Territory. However, some employees of large national employers might fall under the Comcare system.
What Can Workers Compensation Coverage Provide?
If you are a casual employee who suffers a work-related injury or illness, workers compensation may provide you with: weekly benefits, medical and hospital expenses, rehabilitation services, and/or a lump sum for permanent payment. These benefits are determined by the particular compensation scheme and each government regulates said scheme in the respective state or territory.
What to do if Injured While at Work?
See Your Doctor: If you are injured while on the job, you should seek medical attention immediately. Do not postpone medical treatment until your workers compensation claim assigns you a doctor. Instead, seek treatment from your regular physician as soon as possible.
Report Injury to Employer: If you are injured while on the job, reporting the injury to the workplace should be done as soon as possible. Even if the injury is minor, it is still important to inform your supervisor or manager in case the injury is aggravated by further exposure to workplace conditions. You should do so in writing so as to substantiate your claim and potentially demonstrate the worsening of the condition.
Report Injury to Representative: If you are part of a union, report the injury to your union delegate. Otherwise, report to your OH&S representative.
Lodge a Claim with WorkCover: In the case of a minor injury, you may not need to file a WorkCover claim. However, if your injury is severe enough to impact your everyday life or affect your ability to work, then you should seek support by filing a WorkCover claim, either with your employer or directly through the WorkCover provider.
The claim form should be made available by either your employer or the Post Office and ought to be filled out with your doctor’s assistance. You could also find the forms online.
Do not sacrifice your rights as an employee for fear your temporary job will be threatened. Employers are required by law to treat you fairly and you will likely be covered in the case of a workplace injury. Contact a lawyer today if you have any questions about your workplace injury.
All employers throughout the States and Territories of Australia are statutorily compelled to provide workers compensation for all workers…even temporary, or casual, ones. If you employ casual workers, then it is important for you to understand the duty that you owe to them as their employer.
For an employee to recover under a work compensation claim, their injury must be incurred through the course of their employment or at work. “In the course of employment” covers a broad number of situations. Generally, when an employee is injured in the course of employment, it is “no fault” which entitled them to receive compensation even if they did not act in accordance with standard procedures set by the business. Exceptions to this would usually have to include egregious cases of misconduct.
Provide a safe workplace so as to avoid risk of employee injury.
Provide support and assistance in the event of employee injury.
Ensure insurance coverage to fully cover employee in case of injury.
Potentially aid the employee’s return to work. |
While Cusco and Machu Picchu are obligatory destinations for a first trip to Peru, the country has much more to offer. There is too much to see and do in one trip, so plan your itinerary according to your interests and the season.
The ancient Inca Capital is said to have been foundes around AD 1100, and since then has developed into a major commercial and tourism center of 2750,00 inhabitants most of whom are Quechua. The city council has designated Qosqo (Cusco in Quechua) as the offcial spelling.
Colonial churches, monasteries and convents and extensive precolombian, ruins are interspersed with countless hotels, bars restaurants that cater for the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Almost every central street has remains of Inca walls, arches and doorways; the perfect Inca stoneswork now serves as the foundations for more modern dwellings. This stonework is tapered upwards (battered): every wall has a perfect line of inclination towards the center, from bottom to top.The curver stonework of the tenple of the Sun , for example, is probably unequealled in the world.
Cusco is considered one of the most ancient cities of the continent. The name Qosqoin Quechua means "The earth's navel" There are many myths about the creation of the city. However, it is know that the city existed before the Inca empire (5000 BC). The Spanish foundation of the city took placein 1534. Later it was the seat of the first Bishop of the South America and the center of a great cultural activity. In Cusco, had one of the most outstanding art school of the worls: the Escuela Cusqueña. The basic characteristic of the city is its perfect blend of the urban with the pre-colombian monuments. Among the most outstanding places, is the Qoricancha temple, which is located near the Main square. This was the center of the cult to the Sun God or Inti. On top of this temple,the Spanish built the Santo Domingo convent. The Cathedral and La Merced Churches are some of the Spanish legacy.
Walking along the streets of the city, there are wonderful things to visit as the craftsmen village known as San Blas. Its temple is a magnificent piece of colonial art. In and out of Cusco there are great things to see. For example, in the center of the city are the Sacsayhuaman ruins or the complex of Ollantaytambo and the towns of Pisaq and Calca. And of course Machu Picchu. an awe-inspiring city. There are also religious festivitis that you can enjoy such as the Procession of the Corpus Chriti or the Inti Raymi. Come to Cusco. Nothing you have ever done is even close to a visit to Cusco. |
The course is designed to provide students with the conceptual tools and knowledge for understanding the nature of Aboriginal communities today. Aboriginal people have many different ways of approaching, understanding and talking about issues and specific world views which result from living in an enclosed society. This course will provide students with the opportunity to examine and discuss present day issues through the lens of significant contemporary, historical and legislative events.
Work effectively and collaboratively in a group setting and one on one.
Ross, Rupert, 1996, Returning to the Teachings, Exploring Aboriginal Justice. Penguin Books Canada Ltd. 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2.
Cornell, Stephen and Kalt, Joseph P. 1995. What Can Tribes Do. Third Printing, American Indian Studies Center, 3220 Campbell Hall, 405 Hilgard Avenue, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1548.
Ponting J. Rick, 1986. Arduous Journey; Canadian Indians and Decolonization. McClelland and Stewart Limited, The Canadian Publishers, 481 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2E9.
Hylton, John H. 1994. Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada; Current Trends and Issues. Purick Publishing, P.O. Box 23032, Market Mall Postal Outlet, Saskatoon, SK Canada S7J 5H3.
Other Resources: McFarlane, Peter: Brotherhood to Nationhood.
Armitage, Andrew; Comparing the Policy of Aboriginal Assimilation; Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
Sams, Jamie; The 13 Original Clan Mothers.
Compton,Beulh and Gelaway; Social Work Process, 1994.
Papers: Papers should be type written. Students should make every effort to acquaint themselves with a computer in a writing program; watch for workshops offered by Student Services which will equip you with the tools you need for researching and writing on a computer. Papers should be completed on 8.5x11 inch white or recycled paper and should secure a single staple in the upper left hand corner. Papers should carry the date submitted rather than the date due. Students should keep a hard copy of their paper or a photocopy of their paper before handing in. |
ASHEVILLE — The sun on Wednesday was unusually hot, so the workers had to move fast.
Dozens of volunteers at the BeLoved House on Grove Street packed food into boxes destined for families housebound after recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
BeLoved House serves as the first declared sanctuary in Western North Carolina, a place where people on the front lines of sometimes-hidden crises mobilize.
On this Wednesday, it was a hub of activity as cars pulled up honking, hazards blinking. Volunteers would rush to collects flats of eggs, cartons of juice, bath tissue — all the needful things day-to-day life requires.
Ferried into the belly of BeLoved House or stacked out front if nonperishable, groceries were redistributed into care packages, which then were hustled into trucks and vans, destined for places where blinds were drawn and doors were locked.
The boxes told the stories of the people behind the doors, in those silenced neighborhoods: tiny diapers destined for a baby, sanitary items for her mother.
Volunteers at local organization, BeLoved House pack boxes of food and other supplies Wednesday, April 18, 2018, for homebound families in the Latino community who fear leaving their homes as a result of the perceived threat of deportation.
All of the boxes, regardless of destination, had one item in common: a card with rights and instructions for anyone facing ICE.
"If they force their way in, do not resist," it said in Spanish. "Tell everyone in the house to stay silent."
The Rev. Amy Cantrell, the creator of BeLoved House, stood in the middle of it all, struggling to quantify how many needed immediate assistance.
"One of these neighborhoods has 50 families in it," she said. "We’ve seen ICE traumatizing neighborhoods from Edneyville, to Waynesville, to Marion, to Candler, to Emma, to Swannanoa. There are countless neighborhoods that have been impacted. We’re just trying to do everything we can do."
Meanwhile, Oscar, an undocumented immigrant who declined to give his last name, said his phone was filling with pleas for assistance faster than he could answer.
"I’ve been getting messages that immigration is checking West Asheville, in Hendersonville, in Flat Rock, in Arden and Candler," he said. "There is a lot of fear in the community that I’ve never seen in the 14 years that I’ve been here."
For the previous two days, Oscar — a community activist, DJ and father — had hidden inside, doing what he could through social media. But it wasn’t enough to hide behind a screen. It was the time to mobilize, he said.
"We cannot be silent. That’s why I decided to come out today. I can’t just stay home getting worried and staying in my head. We have to be useful with the resources we have and put them together."
Stephen Wiseman, of Asheville, assists at local organization, BeLoved House with packing boxes with food and other supplies Wednesday, April 18, 2018, for homebound families in the Latino community who fear leaving their homes as a result of the perceived threat of deportation.
ICE arrested at least 17 people from Buncombe and Henderson counties during raids this week. The news drove local undocumented immigrants into hiding for days, Oscar said.
"It’s insane that people don’t want to get out of the house to buy groceries. We have text messages from people saying ‘I’m afraid to go out and buy groceries — can somebody bring me food?’ Really, this community has come to that?"
Oscar grew up in Mexico City, in one of the largest housing projects in Latin America. Neither of his parents was in the picture, he said.
"Most of my life was just surviving. Without parents, you can’t really find a job, enroll in school."
Fourteen years ago, when Oscar turned 18, he walked from from Sonora, Mexico, to Arizona, a 200-mile trip that took about two weeks. He said he wanted to make money in the U.S. to help his older brothers finish college.
"We had the opportunity for one of us to come here in a time of despair," he said. "We definitely were desperate about money and didn’t know what to do. I decided to come here for one year, and the intention was to help them go to college. That’s why I walked."
But Oscar stayed. He now has a son with his ex-wife, who also lives in Asheville. She was also at BeLoved house, packing groceries in the sun.
Oscar said his son is afraid to go to the private school his parents scrimp to afford. While at school, the boy tells people he’s afraid of the police, that they’ll take his parents away and he’ll come home to an empty house.
"When I say goodbye to him, I think about the worst," Oscar said, his calm demeanor cracking.
"It’s hard to lie to him and tell him there’s nothing going on. There’s a lot going on. And we have to communicate to this community, we have to tell all our neighbors, we have to tell all of them this is what we’re going through."
He issued a call to the Asheville community: "We need to see them here every day until we get over this. Immigration is supposed to be here until Friday, but the damage they create is probably going to be here for the rest of our lives."
He said social media posts are helpful. But direct connection is better.
"To me, (social media) is a way to remain detached from what’s really happening. Connections," he said, gesturing to the yard full of volunteers, "are made like this."
Ponkho Bermejo, another Mexican-born community activist packing groceries at BeLoved House, said the picture of people helping to get supplies to housebound immigrants was encouraging.
"You can see not everyone here is brown, so the white community is giving us support. This gives us hope," he said. "Some of us are illegal in this country, but are not scared to do the right thing."
Bermejo suggested many fail to realize just how important immigrants are to a community.
"They need to realize that we are the blood of this city," he said, looking toward the skeletons of hotels under construction on the horizon, where he said immigrants labored to build walls.
"Without us, you’re not going to have rooms for the tourists. They’re not going to have restaurants to go to because there’s nobody cooking the food, nobody cleaning the dishes."
Stephen Wiseman, of Asheville, helps load a car with boxes of food and other supplies Wednesday, April 18, 2018, for homebound families in the Latino community who fear leaving their homes as a result of the perceived threat of deportation.
Laura Malintzin, originally from Mexico, has lived in Asheville for 12 years. She spoke quickly in Spanish, putting out the small fires that spring up during any grassroots effort to solve a vast emergency.
Then she turned back to a reporter with a message to detractors, spoken in perfect, barely accented English.
"I invite them to come and meet us and have conversations with us, hear our stories and see how we are actually supportive to their community — our community. We’re here. We’re open to that conversation."
In the shade of a magnolia tree, Cantrell pointed to a nearby butterfly painting, a symbol of migration.
"I believe fundamentally that God didn’t make borders," she said. "If you go up to another planet and you’re looking down here, you will not see borders."
She said that, as a person of faith, she feels called to offer sanctuary.
"It’s gut-wrenching, a sense of palpable evil, when you’re staking out people’s neighbors and traumatizing families and children, taking people from grocery stores in front of other families and children.
These are the things that we can’t tolerate as a community. We have to say no. We certainly stand for sanctuary. This is our call and obligation. This is solidarity." |
An incredible set of photographs highlighting the plight of endangered animals around the world captured the adorable moment a chimpanzee clutched her son and kissed his tiny hand.
Acclaimed photographer Tim Flach spent years tracking the animals and documenting the movements of the world's most threatened species.
He managed to snap an array of animals including snow leopards, pied tamarin, polar bears, Philippine eagles and hippopotamus on his travels across some of the planets most hostile natural environments.
The photographs were documented in a book called Endangered, which discusses primates coping with habitat loss, big cats and their losing battle with human settlements, elephants hunted for their ivory, and numerous bird species taken as pets. |
Meet A Tiny And Functional House, A Bold Outdoor Design Project – A tiny functional and liveable house. Here’s an extravagant outdoor design project for your backyard or even to base your home in. Through the 1960s and the 1970s, several designers, architects and engineers from American and Europe became preoccupied with creating tiny liveable houses made of plastic.
The general idea of this concept was to explore the building and design possibilities of plastic, a lightweight material that’s easily molded and that has a strong resistance to natural elements. By making this concept a reality, this generation of artists intended to develop a new market segment within the housing industry, because those tiny functional houses could easily serve as a vacation home or, in a more extreme case, could also be used as a family home.
This idea never really took off. Even though tiny house eventually become a thing, mainly for storage or decoration purposes, the idea of creating liveable tiny houses of plastic was abandoned. Even though the concept creations develop by that generation of creators and artists never reached the market or were mass produced, some of them stood the test of time and are now fantastic works of art.
Some of them were on display, this Summer, at Friche de l’Escalette, a private sculpture park in Marseille, France. This was the perfect place to observe this crazy projects that, nowadays, actually make sense within the architectural and design communities.
It’s true, none of them are marketable as a family home, but in an age of disposable things and high consumerism, these tiny houses may as well be marketed as the perfect summer vacation house in some Caribbean paradise.
Of course, nowadays they are only marketable as sculptures/ pieces of art and, to be perfectly honest, I think they are the perfect outdoor design idea for any big backyard that deserves some sort of lounge or parlor. These tiny houses are functional, extravagant, creative and extremely interesting. Just the things you look for if you are searching for a clever way to enhance your backyard and gain some housing space. But can you imagine having a house as an art piece? |
This website contains information about the services provided at HMH. It also provides some practical information for parents and families who may be thinking about coming to HMH. Information is also provided for medical practitioners or mental health clinicians who would like to make a referral to HMH.
Click here for further Information for Service Providers including the referral process, referral form and further information on Helen Mayo House services.
Helen Mayo House does not have a dedicated counselling line. During the hours of 8:30am to 7pm, the PANDA advice line on 1300 726 306 is the best point of contact for immediate help, counselling and advice about a woman's mental health around the time of having babies and until her infant is one year old.
However, nursing staff are on duty 24 hours, seven days a week and are able to take phone calls to provide support to prospective parents and their families if there is a crisis during the times that PANDA are not available. PANDA are also able to answer queries by emailing them on [email protected] and they will get back to you in their working hours.
– an alternate line for those wanting more general information.
Acorn Group - The Acorn group supports parents of infants aged 0 - 3 years of age. Acorn is structured to strengthen the parent-infant relationship through experiences of shared play, music and movement and some dedicated parent only time for reflection.
Helen Mayo House staff have written three children's books dealing with parents' mental health problems, each with a different focus. More information and links to ordering these books can be accessed by clicking this link or read a little more here.
This book will be valuable to families where parents are struggling to keep their emotions together, either because of the tensions of every day life or because a parent has borderline personality disorder. People working in educational settings with small children can also use this book as a starting point for discussions about family emotions.
Jake's Dinosaurs is a picture storybook written especially for children whose mothers have developed a severe mental illness such as schizophrenia. The author, Anne Sved Williams, is a consultant psychiatrist at Helen Mayo House. The book is illustrated by John Siow.
Robby Rose and Monkey is a delightful, whimsical story about post-natal depression woven around the life of Monkey, Robby's toy friend. This book is written by Andrea Louis, a clinical psychologist, and is illustrated by John Siow.
PIMHS – Helen Mayo House staff are involved in the provision of education regarding perinatal psychiatric illness. With forward planning, most staff members are available for in-service lectures, group discussions etc for health organisations or community groups.
PIMHS – Helen Mayo House staff also run an annual conference on issues associated with perinatal psychiatric illness and infant mental health.
For more information please phone (08) 7087 1047 between 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday – Friday.
The Annual Helen Mayo House Conference was held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Friday 23 November 2018, with a theme of "Trauma in Perinatal Families".
In its 25th year, the conference was a great success with more than 350 registrants, including some who had travelled from interstate.
The day was opened by the Hon. Stephen Wade, Minister for Health and Wellbeing, with Welcome to Country performed by Kaurna representative Patricia Agius.
Dr Wendy Bunston, author of Helping Babies to Heal after Family Violence delivered the first keynote speech of the morning plenary, focusing on the under-researched experience and needs of infants in domestic violence refuges.
Glenise Coulthard, a proud Adnyamathanha woman and manager of Aboriginal Health Services at Port Augusta Hospital, gave a moving account of her own family's stories of trauma and resilience.
The conference included many enriching workshops. including discussions about Helen Mayo House's program for mothers with borderline personality disorder, working with families where infants have experienced medical trauma and/or disability, talking to mothers about perinatal mental health problems, and an introduction to a parenting therapy approach for helping fostered or traumatised infants known as Attachment and Biobehavioural Catch-up (ABC).
The afternoon plenary focused on mothers, with midwife researcher Julia Dalton from the Lyell McEwin Hospital and Robinson Research Institute sharing insights about anxiety in pregnancy, and sexual health physician Dr Tonia Mezzini providing clear guidance on the often-neglected topic of sexual intimacy after childbirth.
Another highlight was a presentation about the recent book "Meltdown Moments" aimed at children of mothers with emotion regulation disorders, featuring author, Dr Anne Sved Williams, Medical Unit Head of Helen Mayo House, and illustrator Marie Jonsson-Harrison. The book is available to purchase through WCH Foundation.
Staff from Helen Mayo House and the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Service worked hard in both the planning phases and on the day to make it all happen, resulting in overwhelmingly positive feedback.
PIMHS - Helen Mayo community staff are able to attend postnatal depression support groups, either for specific educational input or to provide regular support. |
Success comes when you achieve tranquility in disturbance.
Reading at a Glance: When children ride roller coasters, they discover that allowing fear to have expression is energizing. If only we could always remain joyous in approaching our fears as we move along our dusty road. Unfortunately we grow complacent and seek security and stasis. Anything in nature that becomes stagnant will be re-energized by the unexpected. “Shock brings success. Shock comes – oh oh! Laughing words – ha ha!” Whether hurricanes balance ocean temperatures or tumultuous autumn and spring storms invigorate new growth, nobody can hide from nature’s power to keep all things thriving. The Shocking can symbolize the unexpected things that generate emotion and wake us up. It can symbolize the fear of intimacy that is suddenly awakened as stirrings of unexpected love. It can represent changes you didn’t ask for but are good for you. The underlying cause of Penetration showed a period of rest and concession, but now it is time to stir things up. The hidden influence of Obstruction is always a call to innovate. Feelings can be rising that are quite unfamiliar but refreshingly new. What worked in the past will no longer do. The two words most associated with Zhen is ‘uh oh!’ However, it should be viewed in the same laughing sentiment as children riding a roller coaster. Something is coming that is unexpected but is meant to awaken you to how you hide. Each day we witness the mutability of nature and fail to recognize it in our own life. No matter the event, the pace may quicken and you may suddenly find your heart racing and a smile on your face.
“The shock terrifies for a hundred miles, although one does not let fall the sacrificial spoon and chalice.” The sacrificial spoon and chalice carry the idea of the Well and Cauldron as the utensils used for transformation. When you are stuck in a transformational process, Shocking events come to release you from stagnation, but do not forget that you hold the key and the power to transform.
The master said: “Everything is in destruction; everything is in construction. This is called tranquility in disturbance. Tranquility in disturbance means perfection.” Wisdom comes in knowing that whatever takes form is necessary. “The shock terrifies and fear brings good fortune.” In the land of authenticity, fear is aroused from slumber so that it can be transformed into a greater power: the freedom to move. Understanding the necessity of what transpires, fear and trembling give way to tranquility and faith in the way.
In the natural world, a baby albatross will leave the comfort and safety of its nest on an island. Before it can fly, it must venture into the ocean like a duck, paddling to achieve the momentum necessary for flight. At the same time, tiger sharks will swarm in the shallows, seeking their opportunity for sustenance. Some of these baby birds will fulfill the destiny of being a shark’s sustenance. Those frightened enough to attempt what they have never tried before, will fly. That part of you that has remained dormant will resurface in the image of quaking and excited rain.
The shocking always comes as the event necessary to transform fear into new life: it is fundamental to your survival. “Nothing is worse than struggling not to give play to feelings one cannot control. This is called the Double Injury and of those who sustain it, none live out their natural span.” Closing down, stagnation and fear can turn energy back upon the body. The shocking is the good fortune that can awaken you to self-destructive tendencies. Holding yourself in contempt for harboring natural urges, you may intellectualize taboos that go against your base nature. In proportion to how critical you have become of others, you will recognize the severity of your inner critic. When you believe others are judging you, only turn inward to see how you judge yourself.
“Precious things lead one astray. A situation only becomes favorable when one adapts to it. The kind man discovers it and calls it kind. The wise man discovers it and calls it wise. The people use it day by day and are unaware of it.” Even the most shocking situations embody life’s drive toward harmony. Whatever is removed makes room for something meaningful to grow in its place.
As the image of an earthquake, the ground gives way to loosen what you held to be solid and precious. In dreams, natural disasters always show how the inner foundation must continuously be renewed. The sound of Thunder is captured in the laughing words 'ha - ha!' You can move like bamboo, bending and laughing in the winds of renewal. Whatever the event, you are released of the structures that have become the tower and prison of your real nature.
Unchanging: You can hide under the bed = but life knows where to find you. Something shocking or reinvigorating is in the air. Because it is unchanging, its unpredictability is specifically what it will take to wake you up from your slumber. One who believes they can ward off love will suddenly find themselves smitten. Another who thinks they can keep lying to themselves about an unfulfilling job may suddenly be forced to switch careers. Fear may go along with the ride but if you trust how nature is always purposeful as it regenerates, you need not worry. This is a situation where you may look back and see the hand of providence with a smile. The fact that someone thinks they can ward off change is exactly why change happens. Life doesn’t happen to us, it happens because of us.
Line 2 Shock brings danger. A hundred thousand times you lose your treasures and climb the nine hills. Do not go in pursuit of them = after seven days you will get them back again. Changes to (54) Propriety. You may find yourself in a situation that has trapped you because you are doing what you thought was expected of you. Events can transpire in a shocking way to set you free. Whatever you think you are losing will come back to you. The steps you were taking to move in one direction can be suddenly halted as you are swept up and placed on a different path. What is valuable and meant for you is never threatened.
Line 3 Shock comes and makes one distraught = if shock spurs action one remains free of misfortune. Changes to (55) Abundance. An unexpected situation may be causing you concern but it forces you to take action. You may want to maintain the status quo even when feeling unfulfilled, but that won’t work. The change to Abundance is a positive message about reconnecting with fulfillment. Whatever is unfolding will lead you to take the necessary action that will lead you from stagnation.
Line 4 There is a shock = it is mired in mud. Changes to (24) Return. You may be stirring the pot in an effort to spur one to some sort of awakening or action but it doesn’t work. Some people are so deeply mired in selfish thinking that nothing can wake them from their prison. Return can be a message that rather than focus on others, do what is right for you.
Line 5 Shock coming and going that feels like danger = while nothing is wrong there is work to be done. Changes to (17) Following. This can be a situation where everyone is over reacting. There can be a lot of emotional fireworks and button pushing although nothing is done to improve the situation. Following can show how others react to you and how you react to them in an endless circle. If you want to succeed stop reacting and make the necessary changes.
Line 6 Too shocked to move and unsettled in one’s self = the neighbors are hysterical but you are free of blame. Discussion of union brings gossip. Changes to (21) Biting Through. If you are in an anxious condition about a decision then it is probably better not to do anything just yet. Clarity is lost because fear is running rampant. Too much time focusing on how others view you or what they are doing is not a fulfilling way to live. You need to use discernment rather than judgment in this situation. Discernment allows the heart to have a voice while reasoning quietly ‘bites through’ the conflicting feelings. Once you can settle your fear and return to your own center, you will know which is the proper course to take. One can be overly concerned about what others think of a partner. |
Cancer Over the years, cancer research has discovered life-saving diagnosis and treatment solutions. What are its next priority areas? And what could be the next research breakthrough?
On the one hand, Ireland, like so many countries with ageing populations, is experiencing a growing cancer burden. On the other, it is also witnessing an increase in cancer survival rates.
Improving the lives of cancer patients is another emerging research priority. “In Ireland we have over 170,000 cancer survivors and one in four will be left with significant disability arising from their cancer or its treatment, such as chronic fatigue, psychological impact and cardiovascular disease,” says O'Connor. “We also need to ensure there is equitable access for cancer treatment, and we need improved diagnostics. |
The political impact of shifting demographics is a hot topic. Judging from the coverage, it would be easy to assume that more liberal younger voters or a rising number of Hispanics were the only significant demographic trend.
But that’s neglecting the fastest growing segment of the electorate: older voters.
As an Atlantic piece put it, “America is about to get really old.” In the 2012 election, those 65 years or older were 17 percent of the total vote. But by 2030 those numbers will nearly double, and over 30 percent of the electorate will be over 65. To put this in perspective, the Hispanic vote will probably be only about 15 percent of the electorate by 2030.
Yet the potential impact of older voters seems lost in the current political discussion. In contrast to previous cycles where the debate has been dominated by issues of particular concern to seniors - topics like Medicare, prescription drug prices, and social security – the battle over older voters has been muted by louder arguments, like gender issues, beheadings and disease. For every stock footage shot of a senior on cable news there are dozens of concerned women, terrorists and Ebola horrors.
Yet everyone seems to agree that the higher turnout of senior voters in an off year election is one of the key advantages favoring Republicans, and has been a growing GOP advantage in recent presidential elections. Older voters comprised the greatest increase in Republican voter share between the 2008 and 2012 election. McCain won 65-plus Americans by 8 points, and Romney increased his share to 12 points. If similar rates of increase continued, it would quickly become a dominant factor in elections.
This matters because it’s hard to get anyone motivated to vote in an election when they’re not paying attention. It’s like caring who wins the next All India Cricket Championship: If you don’t follow the game, does it matter?
When Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan as his VP, there was much speculation that Ryan’s high profile on Medicare and Social Security reform would hurt Romney/Ryan with seniors. As the battleground state with the highest percentage of 65 plus voters, Florida saw both campaigns spending millions on Medicare and social security messages, and Republicans seemed to have benefited from the exchange.
In 2008, McCain won Florida seniors by 8 percent of the vote, consistent with his national total. Romney won that same group by 17 percent, 5 points higher than his 12 percent national margin with 65-plus voters. Where the issue was litigated the most, Romney saw the most gain.
Those results may have something to do with why so few Democratic campaigns this cycle are attacking on what had been perceived as key wedge issues for older voters. Instead, Democrats are focusing on a repeat of the abortion/contraception attacks that were credited with helping Obama win women voters.
But assuming Republicans do very well with older voters this November, will they continue to build on their gains in presidential elections? It’s a critical but open question.
There’s nothing I’ve seen that indicates Democrats couldn’t stage a comeback with older voters given the right combination of candidate, electoral environment and issue focus. Let’s not forget that, not long ago, older voters were a Republican weakness.
Still, it’s important to remember that the internal demographics of the 65-plus voters will shift along with the country. In 2030, Pew estimates that Hispanics will make up 12 percent of older voters. If Republicans continue to get under 30 percent of Hispanic voters, their share of the 65-plus vote would decrease, all other factors remaining static.
But then again, if Republicans continue to get those kind of terrible numbers with Hispanics, it won’t matter how they are doing with older voters. Simply put: no future Republican presidential candidate will likely win without increasing the percent of the Latino vote from the last two elections.
So Republicans face two basic electoral truths. First they must retain and work to expand their share of older voters. It’s simple: if you lost an election winning the group by 12 points, it’s going to be near impossible to win if you don’t at least hold on to that percentage in 2016 as their numbers grow.
Secondly, Republicans have to do better with non-white voters. Romney won white voters by 20 points, a greater percentage than Reagan in 1980. But Obama won non-white voters by 80 percent. Any efforts to expand with non-white voters of all ages can’t be done at the expense of the growing pool of older voters.
But that’s hardly an impossible task. In Texas, gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbot will win older voters --and may very well win a majority of Hispanic voters of all ages. It helps that Wendy Davis is a hapless opponent, but as a test proving it can be done, any success is welcomed.
Whatever happens in November, watch the Hillary Clinton campaign focus on older voters in 2016. Against Obama in 2008, she won older voters while actually losing female voters. This time she’ll start with a lead of female voters against any likely Republican. |
This is the second in a series of articles contrasting Allah and Yahweh.
Muslims and Christians agree that God is one but understand oneness differently.
The Islamic doctrine of tawhid, or absolute oneness, is more than strict monotheism. Tawhid celebrates Allah as singular, indivisible, and monolithic.
Muslims insist that Allah has no “partners.” To say that Jesus is the Son of God, or that God exists as a Trinity, is to commit the unpardonable sin of shirk.
But the Qur’an does not exclude the possibility of Allah existing in tri-unity, according to the late Christian apologist Nabeel Qureshi. Rather, Islam’s most holy book rails against polytheism — the worship of multiple gods.
Qureshi notes that from his childhood in a Muslim home, he was taught that the doctrine of the Trinity is too complex, or even self-contradictory. But if God is the Creator of the universe — which is vast, complex, and barely explored — who are we to insist that the Creator be simpler, or easier to understand, than all He has made?
While the Trinity is complex, it is not contradictory. It is neither illogical nor insane to assert that one God exists in three persons. As we saw in the previous column, there is a difference between person and being. Yahweh is one being who exists in three persons.
The Muslim doctrine of tawhid does not resolve the complexity of God. Quite the contrary, it creates its own set of challenges. According to tawhid, God is absolutely one. This means that in eternity past, before he created anything, Allah was alone. It was not until he chose to create the universe that Allah had anything, or anyone, with whom to relate.
This presents an enormous theological problem for Islam, which teaches that Allah is ar-Rahman and ar-Raheem, the Gracious and the Merciful. These qualities imply that Allah is relational in the way he interacts with his creatures.
So, in order for Allah to actually be gracious and merciful, he first has to create an object of his grace and mercy. Put another way, Allah’s attributes are contingent upon creation.
Allah may act graciously toward certain people, but he cannot be eternally gracious by nature, only by acts of the will.
On the other hand, the doctrine of the Trinity teaches that the three persons of the Godhead have always existed, agreed in purpose, and loved one another with a selfless love. Unlike Allah, Yahweh does not merely love; He is love. He does not merely extend mercy; He is merciful.
His grace and mercy are not contingent on creation because they are expressions of His eternal nature.
While most arguments for the Trinity are grounded in the New Testament, God begins revealing His triune nature in the first verse of the Bible. Gen. 1:1 reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The word translated “God” is Elohim, a plural word the verse treats as a singular noun. So, in some way the Creator is both singular and plural — a launching pad for further Old Testament exploration, from Gen. 1:26 to Isa. 48:12-16, and many passages in between.
Even the most important Scripture for considering Jewish monotheism hints at unity among distinct persons. The shema, Deut. 6:4, reads, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (NIV). The word for “one” is echad, and this is often the word the Old Testament uses to refer to a composite unity — for example, the evening and morning make one day (Gen. 1:5), and a cluster of grapes is an echad, since one cluster is composed of many grapes (Num. 13:23).
There is a crucial difference between the monolithic oneness of Allah and the triune oneness of Yahweh. Only Yahweh is eternally loving and relational. His attributes are not contingent on creation. And He creates people with a God-like capacity for personality, selfless love, and relationships. |
Quebec is the capital of the Canadian province of the same name. First inhabited by Europeans in the sixteenth century, the city was founded in 1608 by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain.
Today this French-speaking city still evokes old-world charm, from brownstone houses and winding streets to boutique stores and cozy restaurants. Quebec's old town is also crammed with sights, the most famous of which is the castle-like Château Frontenac. |
Captain Hollis Blanchard was at the helm of the steamship Portland when it went down off the coast of Massachusetts in November 1898. Nearly 200 perished.
In the cold, black waters 460 feet below the ocean's surface, the divers could not see their hands. They switched on their lamps, throwing light on one of the worst shipwrecks in New England history.
Clad head-to-toe in insulated dry suits, five Massachusetts men recently became the first divers to reach the Portland, a luxury passenger ship that was thrashed by hurricane-force winds and sank off the coast of Cape Ann in one of the 19th century's deadliest storms.
Although the upper decks had been ripped off, perhaps as waves pummeled the paddle wheel ship broadside, the divers found portholes with the glass intact, half-filled medicine bottles from an apothecary in Maine, and stacks of delicate china plates, many of which survived without a scratch.
"It's like somebody set the table, and just left it for 120 years," said Dave Faye, one of the divers and a lawyer at a Cambridge law firm. "It was very spooky. |
The residence of the President of Bangladesh ” Bangabhaban” is in Motijheel.
The Name Motijheel Meaning ” Ponds of Pearl ” is a medieval name for this place.
Motijheel was urbanized from the 12th century from the time of Bengal Sultanate, as a residence and recreational place of Sultans or head of State.
Much of the ancient structure was demolished by British to create the Residence for the Viceroy of India and administrative building. Now the Highest highrises of Bangladesh is in Motijheel symbolizing its rich history of national Importance. Most of the highest skyscrapers of the Country are in this area. It is the central business district of Bangladesh . City Centre , Bangladesh Bank Building are in this area. Besides, there are Janata Bank Bhaban, Agrani Bank Bhaban, Sena Kalyan Bhaban, WAPDA Bhaban, Ittefaq Bhaban, Dhaka Stock Exchange, Rajuk Bhaban and many other important establishments. Bangladesh top performing educational Institute Notre Dame College (NDC) and Ideal school and college situated in Motijheel.
Bangladesh Bank is the central bank of Bangladesh located in Motijheel Commercial Area.
Motijheel, Dhaka a historical place in Dhaka developed in the Mughal period and now represents the prime commercial area of the capital city. The area was widely known as the Mahal of Mirza Mohammad Mukim. There was a large pond within the boundary of the Mahal which was named as pond of Sukaku Mahal. This Sukaku dighi was subsequently came to be known as Motijheel. Mirza Mukim was the daroga in charge of the Mughal Nawara Mahal during the subadari of Mir Jumla (1660-1663 AD). Mirza Mukim’s residence was on the southern side of Purana Paltan Maidan (presently the area of Dhaka Stadium). There were two big hillocks, one inside the Mahal and the other in the outside, of which one still lies in the premises of Bangabhaban. Tradition goes that Mirza Mukim had to lose all his assets for the activities of his mentally derailed children. His daughter is said to have thrown everyday a piece of her ornaments into the pond of the harem. Perhaps the dighi of Sukaku Mahal was subsequently known as Moti-Jheel (Pond of Pearl). Later on the place came to be known as Motijheel after the name of the Pond of Pearl.
One Armenian merchant named Manuk is reported to have his residence in Motijheel during British rule. Nawab Khwaja Abdul Ghani (1813-1896) of Dhaka bought the place from Manuk. Subsequently a garden and a bunglow of the Nawabs were built in Motijheel. The very name Dilkusha is connected with Motijheel. Nawab Azim, brother-in-law of Nawab Sir Salimullah, built a beautiful palace named Dilkusha in Motijheel for recreation. In British period a road crossed through the Motijheel and Dilkusha area. Although modern skyscraper buildings have been built on the ruins of the palace an old mosque and the graveyard with tombs of some members of the Nawab family still survive. These tombs belong to Hazrat Shah Niyamatullah, Nawabzadi Ahamadi Banu (1912-1981), Nawabzadi Meher Banu, Khan Bahadur Khwaja Mohammad Azam, Khwaja Akther (1932-1994), Al-Haj Khwaja Ahmed (1934-1992), Khwaja Masood Nasrullah (d. 2000), Begum Jahanara Banu (mother of Khwaja Masood Nasrullah), Nawabzada Khwaja Nasrullah (son of Nawab Sir Salimullah), Khwaja Khalid Nasrullah (son of Khwaja Nasrullah), Wahid Buksh Kadri (ICS) and Khwaja Mohammad Arin.
After the partition of India in 1947, the Municipal Corporation named the area as Dilkusha after the name of Dilkusha Palace. There is a reference to the existence of an old majar in Motijheel. It is presumed to belong to Hazrat Shah Jalal Dakhini. During the pre-Mughal period a sufi saint called Hazrat Shah Jalal Dakhini used to reside in the present Bangabhaban area. He died in 1476 AD (881 AH) and was buried here. His tomb still exists in the Bangabhaban premises.
The extant historical relics in the Motijheel area include Pir Jongi Mazar, Ramkrishna Mission, Dilkusha Jam-e-Masjid (Adjacent to present RAJUK Bhaban).
At present head offices of a number of industrial establishments exist in Motijheel. Since almost all the buildings of this area are the offices of commercial concerns the area is known as Motijheel Commercial Area. There is a prominent landmark in Motijheel named Shapla Square and a big archetype of Balaka built in commensurate with the trademark of Bangladesh Biman. This spot is known as Balaka Chattar (Balaka courtyard). |
The Earth needs us today more than ever. There is an increasing need for people who care about the environment and try to protect it from pollution and decay. Our Earth’s resources like water, fuel and nutrition are limited and they are going to run out unless we conserve them as well as reduce the pollution we are creating. It is up to us to leave enough behind for our children’s generation and some more after them.
Involve your kids in gardening. Not only will this keep them active and healthy, but it will also teach them about caring for plants, big and small. Getting children in direct contact with the environment through gardening is a good way to help them love it and care for it, making them more eco friendly in the long run.
Always dispose of your kitchen waste and your paper and plastic separately. Keep two bins in the house and teach your children how to decide what goes where. For example, teach them that fruit peels go in the wet waste or compost bin, and that paper and plastic wrappers go in the dry waste bin.
Don’t throw away your child’s toys and clothes if they’re still good for use. Throwing them away will only be worse for the environment. Donate them to orphanages, and have your children involved in the process, so they can see the value that the object holds for others. It will make them more grateful as well as teach them to be generous and charitable.
Avoid use-and-throw products as much as you can. Use eco friendly, reusable products that minimise waste. Some of these include reusable bottles, pens which have refills, cloth instead of paper napkins. Teach them what it means to recycle, and involve them in activities related to recycling - like gathering all the paper, glass and metal that can be given for recycling.
Use public transport as much as possible, and teach your kids why you’re doing so. After all, we don’t need to add to our traffic and pollution woes anymore than we have to. It may not be possible to practice this at all times, but using public transport and walking to nearby places are eco friendly practices that are easy to include in your children’s lives.
Make sure that you don’t regularly allow your kids to waste food. You can do this by either giving them small portions as and when they ask, or encouraging them to eat what is left on their plate because it should not go to waste. Also teach your children to use water and electricity carefully, turning off switches when they are done and not letting water to go to waste.
This has got to be the most fun way to teach your kids something as well as spend quality time with them. Animated movies like “Wall-E”, “Open Season” and “March of the Penguins” can go a long way to make your kids think about the other people and animals that they have to share the planet and environment with. These movies also teach them what happens if they do not care for the environment.
So make sure you teach your children these small habits, because even the smallest changes, when put together, make a huge difference in the world. |
This shot is an old favorite of mine. The first time I saw it was on a video where Mike Massey performed the shot effortlessly with his massive stroke. When I first saw it, due to the quality of the video, I was so perplexed as to what was actually happening. As in the diagram, you use a striped ball to shoot a cue ball into the far corner. Then, you use a second cue ball to shoot the striped ball straight up the table. When the striped ball hits the short rail, it shoots over to the left to pocket a ball in the side pocket. What the video didn’t reflect, due to the pixilation, is that the striped ball was spinning madly. So, when it strikes the far rail, it jerks over to the left.
To perform the shot as diagrammed, shoot the first shot using the striped ball to pocket a cue ball in the corner. Shoot this shot with a lot of left spin and a touch of draw so that when the cue ball fires into the corner, the striped ball sits planted in one spot but remains spinning quickly to the left. While it spins, use another cue ball to shoot the striped ball to the rail at the far end of the table. This shot is great for shows because to leave the ball sitting and spinning, by itself, is impressive to most. Then, the second shot, which should be shot relatively softly, is sent directly down the table, parallel to the long rail. The audience is left wondering for a second or two what is going to happen. Then, when the striped ball hits the short rail, the spin and the friction between the ball and rail cause the striped ball to shoot to the left towards the side pocket.
When you’re learning this shot, you might try just making a ball in the far corner pocket instead of the side pocket. To show off with a greater make percentage, use a rack in front of the ball at the side pocket so you have a bigger target. Once you get the hang of the shot, it should become pretty easy. The most difficult part is stopping a spinning ball, but that becomes second nature with practice. (Interestingly, that is one skill that will never prove itself applicable in standard gameplay.) When you perform this shot, demonstrate its difficulty by showing how difficult it is to spin a cue ball off of the short rail and get that kind of angle. If you’re good at performing the shot as diagrammed, you can make it more difficult by adding balls or changing the angle. To get even more spin, try putting right spin on the cue ball that strikes the striped ball! |
When working on the Linux Kernel, testing via QEMU is pretty common. Many virtual drivers have been recently merged, useful either to test the kernel core code, or your application. These virtual drivers make QEMU even more attractive.
"Virtme is a set of simple tools to run a virtualized Linux kernel that uses the host Linux distribution or a simple rootfs instead of a whole disk image. Virtme is tiny, easy to use, and makes testing kernel changes quite simple."
The tool was written by Andy Lutomirski. See more details on the readme.
Instead of using Andy Lutomirski's upstream, we are going to use Ezequiel's repo. This version of virtme, simply adds some extra sugar.
virtme comes with some handy tools to produce a suitable kernel configuration. This makes the config process much easier.
For instance, let's enable the vim2m driver. This is a virtual video4linux memory2memory virtual driver.
One of them is --script-dir, which allows to run some scripts at boot. This can be used to run all your tests at boot, providing a quick way to test kernel changes.
The following command will run all the .sh scripts in the test-dir/ directory.
Another virtme added parameter is --mdir. This one allows you to specify a module directory. It is useful if you want to load modules on the guest, as otherwise the guest would try to load the host modules, which is of course not what we want.
This is how it works. Let's first configure the kernel to build some modules.
Decompressing Linux... Parsing ELF... Performing relocations... done.
In the next blog post we'll see an example of virtme in action, testing bleeding-edge gstreamer builds on bleeding-edge kernels. Stay tuned! |
When Charlie Porter died on February 23, 2014, he left behind a legacy of underreported adventures. Yet his friends never forgot their experiences with him. Gary Bocarde, Sibylle Hechtel, Alan Burgess, Russell McLean, Stephen Venables and Greg Landreth share a few memories of one of the twentieth century's greatest climbers. With an introduction by Matt Samet.
1966-1969 | Charlie Porter started climbing as a Massachusetts high-school student; he spent his summers hitchhiking west in search of higher cliffs.
Summer 1972 | On a ledge, seven pitches up a solo first ascent of El Capitan's New Dawn (VI 5.9 A4), Porter unclipped a haulbag only to have it roll away. Unanchored, he sprinted after it, catching himself just in time. Despite the loss of his sleeping bag, hammock and much of his food, Porter spent eleven days on the wall. He bivied in a belay seat wearing an ensolite-pad tunic.
October 1972 | As Porter led the 130-foot Triple Cracks (then A5), during the first ascent of The Shield (VI 5.9 A5), he used thirty-five RURPs. To preserve hardware, his partner Gary Bocarde belayed from one quarter-inch bolt and one Lost Arrow. Bocarde joked that he'd have to cut the rope if Porter fell.
November 1972 | Porter completed the solo first ascent of Zodiac (VI 5.7 A3) with, at the time, many A4 and A5 pitches. This El Cap route was named for the Bay Area's Zodiac Killer, who claimed more victims during each of Porter's attempts.
April 1973 | Porter and Jean-Paul de St. Croix established Tangerine Trip (VI 5.9 A4), finishing an El Cap project that Royal Robbins had abandoned. The steep angle sheltered them from the rain and snow that fell on eight of their ten days.
October 1973 | Steve Sutton, Hugh Burton, Chris Nelson and Porter made the first ascent of Mescalito (VI 5.9 A4), up the huge, seemingly blank panel right of El Cap's Nose. "We didn't take chisels up there and make our own placements," Porter explained in a 1993 Rock & Ice interview. "We considered that taboo."
Spring 1974 | Porter and Bev Johnson put up Grape Race (VI 5.9 A5), just left of the Nose. After seven days, they ran low on provisions and dashed for the top by moonlight and headlamp.
June 1974 | Porter, John Svenson, Michael Clark and Gary Bocarde climbed the 2,500-foot southwest wall to the West Summit of The Mooses Tooth in Alaska. After fixing ropes on the first four and a half pitches, the men continued their new route in alpine style, lugging a moose antler over what Bocarde described as "rotten, crackless rock that resembled dirt" (American Alpine Journal 1975).
October 1974 | With only three bivies, Porter and Hugh Burton blazed up the first ascent of Horse Chute (VI 5.9 A4), featuring a striking double-overhanging corner on El Cap's southwest face.
Winter 1974-1975 | Porter, Bugs McKeith and Alan and Adrian Burgess made the first ascent of Polar Circus (V WI5), the giant waterfall-ice classic of the Canadian Rockies.
August-September 1975 | Porter created the world's first Grade VII on the 3,000-foot northwest face (5.10 A4) of Mt. Asgard, Baffin Island. For a month, he ferried loads with a pole strapped to his pack to safeguard against crevasse falls. He spent nine days on the wall, climbing forty pitches and bivying in a Whillans Box improvised from scrap lumber found at a nearby lake. Near the summit, he encountered a storm. Having left his double boots below, Porter froze his feet in his Robbins rock boots and had to lick his jumars to get them to stick on his ice-plastered ropes. During the ten-day crawl/hobble out, Porter ran out of food. His feet were so swollen that he had to cut his boots open.
1975 | Porter and Hugh Burton completed Excalibur (VI 5.9 A5) on El Capitan. For the notorious four-to-ten-inch offwidths, Porter manufactured six aluminum blocks milled to nest alongside bongs.
May 1976 | On Porter's initial attempt to solo Denali's Cassin Ridge, he climbed too quickly and retreated with altitude sickness. In the midst of his second go, he noticed bubbling in his lungs at 19,000 feet. He continued up, taking diuretics and peeing "all [his] body liquids out" on the summit. During the descent, he staggered into Gary Bocarde and Michael Covington's camp at 17,000 feet. Desperate to get to a lower elevation, Porter couldn't be persuaded to rest for long. The 1977 AAJ reported, "With his usual reticence, Porter has given us no details."
June 1976 | Over ten days, Porter and Russell McLean made the first ascent of Middle Triple Peak (8,835') in the Kichatna Spires, via its west face. Falling ice broke Porter's fingers.
1977 | Porter and Gary Bocarde attempted the great couloir on the north face of Mt. Hunter, Alaska. They retreated after sixteen pitches of "high-angle front-pointing and avalanche dodging," Bocarde reported (AAJ 1978).
1979 | After attempting the east face of Cerro Fortaleza in the Torres del Paine with McLean, Porter navigated the southern Patagonia fjords in his modified kayak (with the sliding seat and oars of a rowing shell), mapping ancient Indian portages and natural history.
Porter became one of the first to kayak around Cape Horn, through the perilous waters of the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica.
1984-2014 | Porter established the Patagonia Research Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to conducting climatological, botanical, oceanographic and archaeological surveys from floating laboratories, such as his steel yacht, Gondwana. For thirty years, he worked with scientists from the Fundacion CEQUA, the Universidad de Magallanes, the University of Maine and Lund University. His expeditions set up automated weather stations in isolated places from Puerto Eden to Cape Horn and South Georgia.
April 1995 | Porter, Stephen Venables, Tim Macartney-Snape, Jim Wickwire and John Roskelley set out in Gondwana for the seldom-climbed Monte Sarmiento in Tierra del Fuego, Chile. On the southwest face of the west peak, Wickwire and Porter were blown off a ridge crest in nearly the same spot, one day apart. Wickwire sprained his ankle; Porter dislocated and broke his shoulder. With his arm in a sling, accompanied by Wickwire, Porter piloted Gondwana across the Strait of Magellan to seek medical attention. On April 26, the three remaining men finished the climb. |
Researchers Nicholas Toth (Stone Age Institute and Indiana University), Kathy Schick (Stone Age Institute and Indiana University), Jackson Njau (Indiana University and Stone Age Institute), and Ian Stanistreet (University of Liverpool and Stone Age Insitute) have together conducted the Olduvai Gorge Coring Project (OGCP).
The core drilling took place in late 2014 at selected locations across Olduvai Gorge, resulting in cores that reached a depth of 245 meters (over 800 feet). These cores more than double the previously known stratigraphic history for the gorge deposits, and provide an invaluable record of climate and environment from recent times back to 2.4 million years ago. The resultant cores will be analyzed for years to come by a wide variety or scientists, including paleoclimatologists, geologists, paleoecologists, paleontologists, etc., and will continue to further our knowledge of the geology, climate, and environement at Olduvai Gorge as new information is revealed by these researchers.
The planning and implementation of the coring project was massive and involved the efforts of a large staff and a variety of large equipment, technology, and manpower, along with the cooperation of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority. |
Q: What is lineage teaching? What is the source of Ho’omana’s Lomi Lomi teaching? Is lineage important?
Just as a kumu hula has a hula genealogy, I think it’s very, very important to know your Lomi Lomi genealogy.
I had many kumu. We have an ‘olelo no’eau, a Hawaiian proverb, that says that all learning does not come from one school.
‘A’ohe pau ka ‘ike i ka halau ho’okahi.
One can learn from many sources. For all of our Ho’omana kumu, they had many kumu as well. Aunty Mahi had many kumu throughout the islands, Aunty Margaret also had different kumu, and Kuma Maka’ala also had six kumu.
For our particular lineage at Ho’omana, my journey began with the Auntie Margaret Machado. Then Sylvester Kepelino, Aunty Mary Fragas, Aunty Mahilani Poepoe, Kahu Lyons Naone, Kumu Maka’ala Yates, and Kumu Mike Kumukauoha Lee, as well Rebecca Slavin (haumana, student, of Abraham Kawai’i).
Recently, Brother Chuckie Miller were comparing notes. “You got eight years with Aunty and I got less than two years,” I said.
I really believe that to be true.
Have you had a situation happen and think…did I just make that up?
One day, as I was looking at the body, I began to see a vapor. Like you might see in a mirage in the desert or if you were looking at a hot asphalt on a hot day. You can see a steam or vapor rising up from the hot surface under the heat of the sun. Just a little movement…you know?
Anyway, I was working on the body and I noticed that, right where they were having their discomfort, I saw a vapor rising off the body.
The first couple times I saw it, I really didn’t make note of it, but then I started correlating that the further that it was rising off of the body, the more inflammation and discomfort that person was having in that area. It wasn’t the same from one side to the other.
Then, I also noticed when I was working on someone, I began to feel as though I had to take a very deep cleansing breath. Somehow, I knew the energy was moving through them.
As I began to work with this more and more, I began to realize I could also feel it. If I put my hand to the point where I saw this vapor rising off of the body, I could literally feel the heat.
Time for a test. When I pulled my hand away from the point where I saw the vapor rising, I couldn’t feel it anymore. If I put my hand back to the point, then I could feel the border of where that energy was.
Everybody has their different gift.
Some can see and some can hear it in their body and then they know where to go. I’ve heard some people who can only describe a “sense of knowing” exactly where the problem is. They don’t really know where the knowing came from.
When I began to see energy and that I could feel the energy that I was seeing, it got me so excited to be able to share this with others.
I began teaching students in class about that vapor rising off the body. To look for insight into the energetic climate of what was going on with the client. I taught them to measure the energetics before and after a session.
I began to notice that we can affect the client even before we begin working on the body.
Just measuring and acknowledging the energetics begins the process.
As healers, immediately we get to work, especially if we have had any experience with energy work or setting intention to move energy.
Recently, I went on a trip to Kaua’i to visit Aunty Mahi’s family. I met one of her students who had been entrusted with her work to bless the Hawaiian community there in Kekaha.
This student began to share with me how Aunty had taught her to look at the steam rising off the body. When she said, “the steam rising off the body,” and described exactly what I had been seeing for those years, I was blown away.
It was a huge confirmation to me that we are receiving support and insight from our kumu who have gone out of the flesh. Support from our beloved teachers who stand behind this work now and forever.
Lineage isn’t only important so that we can say who we learned from. Lineage is important because, at any given time, we are able to tap into that source.
The word “kumu” means source. When it’s needed, we can be channels for healing energies to pour through from our kumu and from Spirit source.
This is really the magic of Lomi Lomi.
Of course, the lineage goes back to the beginning. As you go about doing this work, acknowledge and invite the support of the kupuna. Ask for the support of the ancestors in your work. Witness the profound shift that happens when we’re not trying to do it all on our own.
I invite you to join us for the September immersion.
Take one month of immersing yourself in the spiritual teaching and the technique of Lomi Lomi. Get to know being these amazing kumu and kupuna who have brought this energy all the way, to present time, for us to use to help serve our world. |
In 1859, at the largest recorded slave auction in American history, over 400 men, women, and children were sold by the Butler Plantation estates. This book is one of the first to analyze the operation of this auction and trace the lives of slaves before, during, and after their sale. Immersing herself in the personal papers of the Butlers, accounts from journalists that witnessed the auction, genealogical records, and oral histories, Anne C. Bailey weaves together a narrative that brings the auction to life. Demonstrating the resilience of African American families, she includes interviews from the living descendants of slaves sold on the auction block, showing how the memories of slavery have shaped people's lives today. Using the auction as the focal point, The Weeping Time is a compelling and nuanced narrative of one of the most pivotal eras in American history, and how its legacy persists today. |
Division I schools, on average, enroll the most students, manage the largest athletics budgets, offer a wide array of academic programs and provide the most athletics scholarships. There are approximately 173,500 student-athletes throughout 346 Division I colleges and universities. 53 percent of all student-athletes receive some level of athletics aid. In 2012 the Graduation Success Rate was 81 percent.
Division II provides growth opportunities through academic achievement, high-level athletics competition and community engagement. Many participants are first-generation college students. There are approximately 109,100 student-athletes throughout 300 Division II colleges and universities. On average 56 percent of all student-athletes receive some level of athletics aid. |
Genetically modified salmon poses little risk to health or the environment and is crucial to increasing food production says Purdue University scientist, William Muir.
The salmon, named AquaAdvantage, was developed by AquaBounty Technologies and have genes from Chinook salmon in their DNA that are intended to increase growth and improve feed efficiency. They would be the first genetically modified animals used in commercial food production in the U.S.
"We realize that any new technology can have risks, and those risks need to be assessed in a thorough and convincing manner," Muir said. "However, once the assessment has been completed and the agency concludes from the weight of evidence that risks of harm, either to the environment or to consumers, is negligible, the next step, which is to allow production and sale of the product, needs to be taken."
Controversies over genetically modified food are complicated. Concerns center on lack of labeling, known health risks, the patenting of organisms, and risks to farmers contaminated by crop drift and cross-pollination. In the case of the salmon, one of the most significant environmental concerns is contamination of wild salmon populations, and the possibility that the AA salmon introduction could cause wild salmon extinction. Muir has dubbed this the 'Trojan gene effect. However, Muir has concluded that the AA salmon are "less fit than their native counterparts," meaning that natural selection would simply purge them from the wild population. But with clinical trials virtually impossible, it's not likely that scientists will know for certain if the indigenous salmon can handle the threat of a large number of AA salmon.
The fish—mostly female—would be sent to Panama where they would be raised in the tropical waters and unlikely to breed with other fish if they were to escape, urges Muir. He also says that the FDA will treat "AA salmon like a new drug that has been through the regulatory process," suggesting that if "new concerns" are raised and found to be valid, the government could withdraw its approval. |
So far we’ve been out on the cliffs and up through the olive groves so this week I thought we’d take a trip down to the harbour and see what we can find among the rocks there.
This being the middle of January all of the fishing boats have been taken in for the winter and the harbour is deserted. We’ll make our way to the far end where large chunks of rock lay sprawled about in abandoned attitudes, their faces turned to the south like monolithic sunbathers. Take a closer look at the rock on our left: it is low tide at the moment but you can clearly see the high water mark where the rock darkens. The Mediterranean is a small sea and has a tidal range of only about one metre.
In the smaller pools where the water is quieter the first thing that we notice is that the floor is covered with Top shells, Rock Ceriths and other small molluscs. These are the marine relatives of the slugs and snails that we find in the garden and like their terrestrial counterparts are herbivorous, living off the algae that coat the rocks.
But not all is quite as it seems. A whelk has suddenly sprouted legs and started crawling across the bottom of the pool in a most un-whelk-like way. The original occupant of the shell is no longer in residence and has been taken over by a Hermit Crab. Unlike other crabs the hermit has a soft, unprotected abdomen and has to roam the sea bed looking for ever larger abandoned shells to inhabit as it grows. Not only do we have a crab in a whelk shell but on the outside we seem to have little snails with their tops sawn off. Despite their appearance they are not molluscs at all as they do not feed by using a tongue-like foot as slugs and snails do. These are Polychaete Tubeworms, related to the garden earthworm. They sit and wait for the food to come them.
As we are prodding about at the bottom of the pool I notice that we are being observed. Zipping around and then suddenly hanging motionless in the water is a small translucent Rock Pool Prawn. Pass me the net and we’ll take a closer look. Like crabs, prawns are crustaceans and they really are quite beautiful close up. They too have land based relatives in the garden; woodlice and pill bugs. Incidentally there is no difference between a shrimp and a prawn scientifically speaking. In most English speaking nations of the world a shrimp is regarded as a small prawn. In the U.S.A it is the other way about.
The clouds are gathering and the sun is dropping so I’ll just take a sample of some algae to look at under the microscope and then we’ll head back for a pot of Earl Grey tea and crumpets – but hang on a minute, who’s this emerging from under a rock? Would you believe, a Spiny Starfish. (It gets its name from the white spines down its arms). Starfish, which have no garden relatives, have a most peculiar way of eating: they engulf their prey and then, instead of taking it down into their stomach like most other animals they send their stomachs out and digest it outside. Quite revolting really but it gives a whole new twist to al fresco dining.
Having eaten our tea and crumpets in the more conventional manner lets get these algae samples under the microscope and see what’s happening in the world of the very small.
I see that we have more worms. Unlike the earthworm and the polychaete tubeworms we saw earlier these worms are not Annelids (segmented worms) but unsegmented worms called Nematodes. These are probably the most widespread animals on earth and can be found anywhere from the poles to the tropics, on land or sea, and as parasites in plants and other animals including us humans.
Fascinating as these creatures are I’d rather leave you with something more pleasant to look at so here’s a panorama of the harbour. |
In many parts of Asia, the coconut is one of the most widely consumed fruit coming from the so-called tree of life. Apart from its juice and milk, its meat is also a useful part that Asians love to eat fresh and raw, cooked or dried.
Thailand is one Asian country that makes use of the coconut for its dessert known as the ka nom tom. It’s a traditional and simple sweet treat that features rice flour with coconut filling made into bite-size balls and rolled on dried coconut to make the coating.
To create this Thai dessert is easy and straightforward. You will need two cups of glutinous rice flour, one-half cup rice flour, one to two cups of white sugar, one-half cup warm water, two cups of brown sugar and two cups shredded coconut. Adding pandan extract will make it colorful and sweet smelling although this is an optional step.
Once you have all the ingredients ready, the first step is to mix the glutinous rice and white sugar then slowly add warm water to make a dough.
While making the dough, you can add the pandan extract but be sure that you achieve a homogeneous color. When done, leave the dough in room temperature for about 10 minutes.
While waiting for the dough to rise, you can create your filling. Melt the brown sugar in a sauce pan and when it caramelizes, add the shredded coconut. Mix until it becomes sticky. Take off from the heat and let it cool down. You may later put it in the fridge.
To make your balls, scoop a small amount of the coconut mixture then cover it with dough. After you’ve prepared the balls, boil some water and put the coconut balls until they float. Remove the floating balls from the water and let them cool down.
The final step is to coat the ball with the remaining shredded coconut and serve them warm.
If you’re heading to Thailand anytime soon, make sure to include this dessert during your food trip in the capital city or any part of the country. This should make your visit to this popular Asian country truly complete after a hearty Thai meal that’s known to many as hot and spicy.
To those particular about the coconut or who can’t live without the coconut juice or its meat, you may also try out other Thai dishes that uses this ingredient. There are several of them including soups. |
There was a do last week at the London office of the Japan Foundation, the Japanese government’s cultural organisation, and a North East academic was at the heart of it.
Angus Turvill, who teaches at Durham University, has translated the short stories of a popular Japanese writer called Hisashi Inoue and this was the launch of the resulting book, Tales From a Mountain Cave.
Japanese readers know Inoue as the author of Shinshaku Tono Monogatari, a collection of stories set in the Kamaishi area of Japan which was devastated by the tsunami of March 2011. Out of a population of some 40,000, 1,250 people died.
Angus plans to donate royalties from sales of the book to projects designed to get the area back on its feet again.
“These stories are from the North East of Japan and I translated them when I was living in Jesmond,” he says.
“I’d never been to that part of Japan but I did have a clear image of it. I took inspiration from Jesmond Dene and a few other places in the North East and, when I did go there, I found some similarities.
Kamaishi, he says, is an area of natural beauty with an industrial heritage. “It has got enormous mines nearby and was the birthplace of Japan’s iron and steel industry.
The Japanese, keen to learn and develop, visited the Elswick engine works, examined the construction of guns, visited a colliery and had a river trip up the Tyne. They stayed in the Royal Station Hotel.
They then returned to Japan and started to build the foundations of an industry that would sustain it for years to come.
“The steel industry dominated Kamaishi until about 1988 when it closed down, a parallel with the North East of England where a similar thing happened,” says Angus.
He began studying Japanese as a student in Edinburgh and has spent more than four years in the country since then. Before Durham he taught at Newcastle University and in 2005 he won a prestigious international translation prize.
“I’ve translated various things, including poetry and short stories, but this is my first complete book as a translator,” says Angus.
He decided to translate Hisashe Inoue’s stories because he enjoyed reading them so much.
The book is a real page-turner and the stories in it are both surprising and funny. They were partly inspired by Inoue’s own life, says Angus. The writer, who died in 2010, went to university in Tokyo but felt uncomfortable and instead went to live with his mother in Kamaishi and got a humble job in a sanatorium.
The protagonist in his stories does likewise and meets an old man with a trumpet who lives in a cave and tells him mysterious stories, teasing him with twists, turns and endings which don’t quite end. |
Islamorada is nestled in the center of the Florida Keys chain of islands, between Mile Marker 90.0 and Mile Marker 72.6 on U.S. Highway 1. At its widest point, it is no more than one-mile wide with an average elevation of only five feet above sea level, making it particularly vulnerable to more frequent flood events caused by rising sea levels, exacerbated high tides, extreme rain events, and stronger and more frequent hurricanes.
Islamorada is home to just over 6,000 permanent residents on its five inhabited islands —Plantation Key, Windley Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, and Tea Table Key. Many threatened and endangered plant and animal species can be found on these islands. In addition to the populated islands within Islamorada’s waters, there are also several smaller, uninhabited islands adjacent to Islamorada that are rich in history and important natural habitats.
The Florida Keys are protected from the rough waters of the Atlantic Ocean by the third largest barrier reef in the world, and the only living coral reef in the continental United States. The waters surrounding the Village consist of tidal wetlands, mangrove forests and seagrass habitat, all of which are unique ecosystems that provide food, shelter and nursery grounds to a multitude of fish, crustaceans, marine mammals, reptiles and bird species. A vast majority of the saltwater species found in North America are found in the waters surrounding the Florida Keys.
Archeological evidence shows that Native Indian populations inhabited the islands as far back as two to three thousand years ago. The first historical records of the area date back to 1513 when Ponce de Leon passed through the Florida Keys. Early settlers came from the Bahamas and New England, ultimately building ships and shipping pineapples, sponges and plundered shipwreck loot to northern markets. Larger population growth did not occur in the Florida Keys until the 1900s when Henry Flagler built a railroad from mainland Florida to Key West, which opened in 1912.
In 1975, Florida recognized the unique environmental sensitivity and mounting development pressures of the region and designated the Florida Keys (Monroe County and its municipalities) and Key West as an Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC), one of only four areas in the state. By restricting new development, both residential and commercial, it ensures the protection of the natural environment and allows for orderly and balanced growth.
Islamorada incorporated as a municipality on December 31, 1997. Under the Council-Manager form of government, the Islamorada Village Council has the independent power to enact local legislation, adopt budgets, determine policies and appoint officers and officials.
Islamorada, known by many as the sportfishing capital of the world, is home to perhaps the world’s highest density of professional offshore charter boats, serving as the premiere location for backcountry sportfishing and saltwater fly fishing. The waters surrounding the entire length of the Florida Keys (including Islamorada) are designated as Outstanding Florida Waters. This designation means that these waters are specially protected because of their natural attributes.
Additionally, Islamorada has many parks and open space, including Windley Key Fossil Reef Geologic State Park, six Village parks and four Village beaches.
For Islamorada, public involvement and intergovernmental coordination efforts play a significant role in forming policy and long-range visioning. |
This primary resource explores the different wildlife, habitats and landmarks of Namibia, southern Africa. Discover which animals are native to Namibia and the kinds of environments they live in. What kind of ocean life can be found in along the Skeleton Coast? How long have the San people lived in Namibia? How many plains zebras are there in Namibia?
Pupils will learn about the unique environments of the Namibia, including Etosha National Park, in our National Geographic Kids’ Animals and Geography primary resource sheet.
The teaching resource can be used in study group tasks for discussing the features of the land (and sea) and how it supports wildlife; as a printed handout for each pupil to review and annotate, or for display on the interactive whiteboard using the images and information included in the resource for class discussion.
Activity: Ask the children to make flash cards of each of the animals listed on the Namibian safari. This could be completed as a whole class activity, with pupils being divided into groups and each group given a different animal to research and make a flash card about. Children could imagine they are on the safari trip described and write a diary entry about the sights and sounds they encounter. They could make field notes of the kinds of tracks they might find left behind by the animals listed. Using the resource as an introduction, pupils could further research the traditional roles and ways of life of the San people.
Pupils might work scientifically by: using their observations to compare and contrast animals at first hand or through videos and photographs, describing how they identify and group them; grouping animals according to what they eat; and using their senses to compare different textures, sounds and smells.
Pupils should be introduced to the idea that all living things have certain characteristics that are essential for keeping them alive and healthy. They should raise and answer questions that help them to become familiar with the life processes that are common to all living things.
Pupils should be introduced to the terms ‘habitat’ (a natural environment or home of a variety of plants and animals) and ‘micro-habitat’ (a very small habitat, for example for woodlice under stones, logs or leaf litter).
Pupils should compare animals in familiar habitats with animals found in less familiar habitats, for example, on the seashore, in woodland, in the ocean, in the rainforest.
Pupils They might compare and contrast the diets of different animals (including their pets) and decide ways of grouping them according to what they eat. They might research different food groups and how they keep us healthy and design meals based on what they find out.
I can identify and classify examples of living things, past and present, to help me appreciate their diversity. I can relate physical and behavioural characteristics to their survival or extinction.
I can use my knowledge of the interactions and energy flow between plants and animals in ecosystems, food chains and webs. I have contributed to the design or conservation of a wildlife area.
I can sample and identify living things from different habitats to compare their biodiversity and can suggest reasons for their distribution.
I understand how animal and plant species depend on each other and how living things are adapted for survival. I can predict the impact of population growth and natural hazards on biodiversity.
Having investigated processes which form and shape landscapes, I can explain their impact on selected landscapes in Scotland, Europe and beyond.
I can investigate the climate, physical features and living things of a natural environment different from my own and explain their interrelationship. |
RESPECTED PARTNERS: Treated with fairness and kindness, the horse can become a happy, willing partner in the equestrian relationship. Erika Luy and Lusitano stallion Orion share a quiet moment at Germany's Reitinstitut Egon von Neindorff.
Thoughts on the relationship between ethics and horsemanship.
As we progress in this wonderful venture of horsemanship and as our love for the horse deepens and our awareness matures to more refined levels of understanding about our place as co-inhabitants on this earth, we begin to evaluate the morality - the righteousness - of our actions in a less egotistical, less self-serving manner.
Morality has to do with the quality of our heart - that is, the credibility of our attitudes and intentions - towards every person, every creature, every plant as well as the environment of this good earth and the mineral treasures it holds. Morality sets before us the question of whether or not we meet all that exists in our surroundings with integrity, respect and sincere good will. It is therefore a subject which rightfully causes much soul-searching to define our rights and privileges - as well as responsibilities.
It is indeed our birthright to exist, to breathe air, to seek fulfillment, to exercise our free will and to discover ourselves - even the very purpose of life - through experiencing the 'cause and effect' results of our thoughts words and actions as they are reflected in everything which surrounds us - whether animate or inanimate - during our lives.
As we exercise our free will and enjoy the effects our skills and talents have on our daily encounters and experiments in life, it is essential that we - as much as humanly possibly - do not impede or restrict the joys and rights of others. Nor should we exploit any aspect of what the Earth and Nature have to offer. It is exactly this accepting of responsibility - to be genuinely considerate towards others and to maintain the balance in Nature - that potentially causes life to be good for all. If we each contribute our part and dedicate ourselves to this end, no one would be without.
One may well ask if riding, itself, is actually morally acceptable. Do we have the right to domesticate any creature and inure them to follow our wishes? Here, we can really get ourselves into the proverbial 'can of worms', especially if we become extreme and try to be holier than the pope! I believe, it is granted to us to be joyful in using all the earth has to offer, but we need to do so wisely and respectfully. Therefore, if we are reasonable and sincere and strive to understand the creatures and discipline ourselves to interact harmoniously with them - with honest hearts and benevolent intentions - then riding is ennobling; a worthy activity which enriches the lives of the creatures as well as us humans. In that sense, I believe our interaction can be entirely moral.
It is essential to recognize that, irrespective of the level of ability or experience, the rider is responsible to be the leader of the equestrian partnership. The truth - and necessity - of this can be readily determined, if we take the saddle and bridle off and let the horse do 'his own thing' in the arena. Some horses will roll; others will run around or buck and play for a few minutes; and some will visit the horse in the mirror or the person who just released them. By nature horses are only motivated by a few basic instincts: to survive by eating and drinking; to flee from a predator; to play with their friends; and to procreate. It is therefore an essential duty, if something worthwhile is to happen when riding, that we provide that indispensable 'purpose ingredient' to our interaction with the horse. Only the rider's clarity of purpose, backed by resolute will, gives the horse reason to act. Because even after twenty years of perfect training horses do not intellectually know what they are doing under saddle. What they do gain from a consistent training routine is to learn that, when they respond to the aiding signals, their actions are met with enjoyable praise and appreciation from the rider or from an audience. In this way habits are formed which result in horses experiencing harmony and joy in their lives under saddle. Furthermore, responding to the rider's signals causes them to be doing things they would likely not do on their own at that particular moment; things far more interesting than chewing a fence or watch birds outdoors. That is why, when favorably handled and ridden, they look forward to seeing the saddle and bridle coming. Some horses even become quite irritated when the rider takes another horse out to ride before them.
To further underscore the urgency of taking on the task of moral leadership: It would be just as pointless to ask a horse how he would like to be trained and ridden as it would be to ask a three-year-old child how they would like to be raised. Some children would say something like, "Just fill the fridge with ice cream and let me have fun scribbling on the living room walls!" Certainly, no reasonable person would argue about the importance of fitting one's approach to the personality, temperament and needs of a horse or a 3-year old child. Yet that does not exonerate us from the responsibility of providing the essential parental or equestrian guidance.
Most of the time riding and training is a joyful experience. However, much like raising a child, it may occasionally require taking action which, "hurts me more that it does you", until maturity and understanding have developed. It can take many years before a grown-up 'child' returns to their parents saying, "I don't know how you put up with me back then! Thanks for your love, patience and understanding - even for 'laying down the law' when that was needed". So, too, in riding, horses need, want and respect clear, fair guidance. Some people send their horse off to a trainer to handle challenging situations. After all, horses are entirely capable of having their less-experienced owners around their 'little finger'; or unnerving them with a couple of bucks, or by taking off at high speed through the bridle.
It is surely essential to look at these aspects as objectively as possible and to find that golden 'middle ground'; somewhere between, on the one hand, a lack of leadership or a misunderstood sense of kindness and, on the other hand, unnecessary roughness. The bare-bones solution to avoid extremes is to have genuine love and respect for the creatures and to develop a sense of measure or discernment. Some 'barnyard common sense' is surely a useful ingredient to help navigate our decisions and actions wisely and appropriately.
This brings us full-circle to the unavoidable subject of forwardness. It is part of our inescapable obligation as leaders of the partnership to make sure forwardness is present. Energy must be there first. Only then are we able to direct and manage that energy and send it in the desired direction (school figure). When there is little or no energy, there is nothing to direct or manage and the horse's muscling, joints and back suffer. Here, we are actually, though unintentionally, hurting our horses. I hasten to add, however, when thinking of the opposite extreme, forwardness has nothing to do with chasing a horse around by running him off his feet at some high rate of speed. Balance, good tempo and a steady rhythm are always to be considered when sending a horse forward.
Clearly, morality has to do with us basing our actions on universal truths as they are written in Nature. That is, they need to be founded on ideals and values beyond ourselves. Worthy, decent, moral behavior fosters harmonious, joyful relationships and contentment in our lives. Whereas carelessness, unkindness, disrespect meet with equally unhappy reflections from our immediate surroundings and interactions - whether at the work place, in business, recreation or in our relationship with the horse.
When we approach horsemanship on the sound wisdom of nature - skillfully incorporating the laws of physics, in concert with the tried-and-true foundation of fair moral values - we are liberated to help form the raw gold of the untrained horse into a beautiful, balanced, harmonious jewel. In this way our riding is elevated from a physical push-and-pull handicraft into a beautiful and worthy art form - a rich partnership in which the horse is respected and willingly and fully takes part. |
As Barry Bonds approached Hank Aaron's career home run record in 2007, keenly knowledgeable baseball commentator Bob Costas discussed Bonds' steroid accusations on the Morning Joe program on MSNBC.
Doris was a well known singer by the time she was 22, but her film career did not begin until two years later. She was approached about a movie role in 1948 after she sang at a private party at the home of composer Jule Styne who recommended her for a role in ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS. After a failed first marriage, she had intended to give up show business altogether and return to life with her family in Ohio . . .
One of my all-time favorite baseball players: Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators. The scouting report on Johnson's blazing fastball noted, 'You can't hit what you can't see.' Once Johnson pitched three complete-game shutouts in a single weekend. For years his lifetime total of 3,508 strikeouts seemed insurmountable. Johnson retired in 1927. It took nearly 50 years for another pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts. Johnson became a beloved baseball figure--largely because he had the misfortune to spend his entire career with the lowly Senators. In 1924, when Johnson finally got to pitch in a World Series at age 36, the public rejoiced when he won the seventh and decisive game to give Washington its only World Series triumph.
One of my favorite baseball personalities was the quotable Dan Quisenberry, ace relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals--when the Royals had a good team. The submarine-style hurler recorded 244 career saves, but he was most fondly remembered for his offbeat sense of humor. One year in the Royals' press guide he listed his hobby as 'tinfoil chewing' and said his favorite thing about baseball was 'no homework.' Regarding baseball salaries, Quisenberry said, 'No man is worth another, and none is worth more than $12.95.' On the future, he noted, 'I've seen the future, and it's much like the present, only longer.' Diagnosed with brain cancer in 1998, Quisenberry was typically philosophical: 'I've had so many good things happen to me. So why not me?' He died later that same year at age 45. |
A natural birth refers to delivering a baby without the use of pain medication, such as an epidural. Some women choose a natural childbirth, while others prefer medication to help them manage pain during labor and delivery. Choosing how you’ll deliver depends on your preferences and understanding of the benefits and risks.
Not all women choose a natural birth. Sometimes, a natural birth is necessary. For example, if labor progresses quickly, there may be no time to give medications or perform other medical interventions.
The natural childbirth experience is different for each woman. Pain relief can be a concern for many expectant mothers. Knowing the three stages of labor can help prepare you for delivery without pain medication. Pain and discomfort exist in each stage, but some stages are more painful than others. The first stage of labor is characterized by painful contractions, while the last stage is often described as a burning sensation as the baby exits and stretches the birth canal.
After a natural childbirth, it can take several weeks to regain normal strength and stamina. Some women recover quicker and feel fine just hours after birth.
If you’re expecting a baby or preparing for a natural childbirth, register for a childbirth class to learn relaxation techniques, pain relief options, and more.
Dignity Health Central California performs natural childbirth in Bakersfield, Merced, and Stockton, CA. |
Hoping to pick up some better habits when it comes to money? The below are all great ones to consider.
And I get that not all of them is going to work for everyone, but I challenge you to consider doing as many as you can.
It might not be as hard as you think!
1. Use coupons. Non-frugal people don’t understand how $0.50 and $1.00 coupons can add up to big savings. You don’t have to spend hours couponing—just a few minutes when you get the Sunday paper!
2. Have clear goals. Know your long-term goals, like paying off credit card debt, having enough money for a house down payment, or saving a certain amount for retirement. Clear goals make it easier to be frugal.
4. Eat out less. Eat at home as much as possible. When you do go out, use coupons or choose budget-friendly restaurants.
5. Keep a thorough budget. To truly be frugal, you need to know where your money is going. This includes money spent on bills, flexible expenses, and other costs that come up throughout the month.
6. Don’t drive outside your means. Just because you can afford a certain car doesn’t mean you should buy it. Taking out a smaller car loan or paying in cash can help you put more money where it matters. Don’t look for the biggest, flashiest car—look for something that fits in your budget and lifestyle.
7. Stay in contact with your spouse about finances. If you have a partner, you need to be on the same page in regards to finances. Have frequent conversations about your financial standing and goals.
8. Know what your indulgences are. If you allow yourself to indulge on a couple things that matter, you won’t feel the need to treat yourself in every area of your life. Choose one or two things you really love to splurge on.
9. Don’t be house poor. Buying the biggest house you can afford can leave you without money for trips, emergencies, and retirement. This is all about learning to be happy with less!
10. Keep your priorities in line. Your priorities are your future, your financial security, and your family. Remember this during every financial decision and you can’t go wrong.
I have no living children (and they both died before they could produce their own kids), parents died within 13 days of each other, no debts, do have a paid-in-full older car that runs great, live in a boarding house, so my priorities are simple: support the Work of God in His true Church, and live within my means. That's it. No grandiose house, no luxury cars, no expensive trips (I take only one trip per year, to the Feast of Tabernacles site I'm assigned to), no designer clothes. One can't get a much simpler life than that. I do treat myself to art supplies, that being my true luxury--they have to be good ones.
My #1 habit for saving money is considering ever purchase before I make it. This helps me avoid impulse purchases I will later regret. It also usually means I will wait until the desired item is on sale.
My boyfriend and I save all of our change and all of our $1 dollar bills, and that really seems to be adding up nicely. We only splurge on a movie from Redbox after every check he gets. We hardly go to the movies, or out to dinner. We just save as much as we can.
Take advantage of Redbox deals too! We made this same commitment and we found that we could get a free redbox almost as much as we would get a paycheck.
When I am out driving around and get hungry, I go grocery shopping for something I can make at home. When I am working, I pack a lunch to take with me. Sometimes I make those boxed noodle salads the night before,and put them in the fridge for my lunch the next day (they taste better cold)I also buy sevetal bottles of vitamin water to put in my lunch. As far as water, I buy a case of bottles and then freeze one the night before. I also never go to the movies, I rent movies from Redbox. Its so much nicer, sitting in the comfort of your own living room having snacks and drinks that you didnt have to pay an arm and a leg for. You can also pause the movie if you need to use the washroom.
stop buying water. invest in a reusable water bottle and a water filtration system.
This one is HUGE! If you feel like the Vitamin water is necessary consider only drinking on every other day and drink your own out of a reusable bottle on the opposite day. You will save half the money which adds up very quickly!
We found ourselves buying 3-4 gallons of water each week. I spent $30 on a filter system that fits in the fridge and has a little spigot. I also found a great deal on filters (they only have to be changed every other month) and bought enough for the next year. We refill our water about every day with tap water we have already paid for, duh! I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner!
Don't know why people need to buy bottled water, let alone filters. My water is good enough to drink straight out of the tap, without adding extra expenses. Why?
You are lucky to have good tap water. Many of us have water that tastes awful and that is why so many need filters.
plan. plan. plan!!!! I am on the road 5 days a week, leave Mon. return Fri. and spend less than $10 for food. I travel with two coolers filled with meals from batch cooking using a slow cooker on the weekends. I freeze meals and make lunches head. I keep things cold by freezing half gallons of ice tea and drinking them instead of soda. when I leave on Monday the hot water heater is off, the furnace is at 35, and my indoor vegetable garden in watered. buy a freezer and when you go grocery shopping stock up. Bacon was on sale for 1.79 in a 10 pound box. it is in the freezer and I will use out of it for 4 months. when shredded cheese and tortilla wraps on sale I will make 20 breakfast burritos for about 50 cents each instead f 2.79 at Taco Bell. not to boast but I clear about 45k after taxes. I put 35k a yr in a retirement fund. just saying. |
The Hopis claim that all indigenous Americans -- indeed, all humanity -- were originally one tribe (Hopi, which means "Peaceful"), and that we separated upon our emergence into this world in order to follow a pre-determined migration pattern across the face of the earth. If we followed the Creator's guidance, our migrations would lead us back, in the end, to reunite at the center. But if we strayed from the path and failed to complete our journey, settling in the world's comfortable places and making them our permanent home, we would lapse back into corruption as we did in previous times and this would once again become the cause for our world's destruction.
The Aztecs claimed to have emerged into this world from a place called Chicomostoc, the "[Place of the] Seven Caves." Like the Hopis, they said we passed through a series of several previous worlds before coming to this one. In the best-known depiction of Chicomostoc (right), it appears to be a womb-like enclosure with the Seven Caves opening onto the Place of Emergence. According to Dr. Fermin Herrera (in the article linked above), the Nahuatl (Aztec) word for "cave" is often used metaphorically to mean "womb."
Grandfather Martin claims that the ancient Aztecs were a group of Hopis who traveled south on their migrations but did not move on when the time came but remained in the comfortable climate they'd found in Mexico (as they'd been warned not to do) and eventually degenerated into a state of corruption that became the spiritual cause for their destruction at the hands of the Conquistadors -- their own, personal "End of the World." It's an old story Grandfather Martin says has happened again and again throughout human history and is repeating itself today. |
Global watchdog Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged Zimbabwe to take urgent steps to stem child labour and other rights abuses on the country’s tobacco farms.
In a report titled “Bitter Harvest”, the HRW revealed that children as young as 11 were working on tobacco farms, often in hazardous conditions, to earn school fees or supplement the family income.
Workers were exposed to nicotine and toxic pesticides and suffer symptoms consistent with poisoning such as nausea and vomiting, it said.
“Zimbabwe’s government needs to take urgent steps to protect tobacco workers,” said Margaret Wurth, co-author of the Human Rights Watch report.
Of the 125 people interviewed, one 12 year-old girl described how she fell ill after handling an unnamed pesticide.
A schoolteacher said his pupils sometimes miss class as they go to work on the tobacco farms.
“From the onset of the tobacco growing season these children start being absent,” said the teacher named only as Joseph from the northern Mashonaland west province.
“You find out of 63 days of the term, a child is coming 15 to 24 days only,” he said.
Davidzo, a 15-year-old boy in Mashonaland Central, missed 15 days of class to work in tobacco farming.
When he returned to school, he was punished by his teachers.
“I was beaten…. I was so disappointed because I was trying to make an effort to work to raise my school fees. I thought I was doing good for myself,” he said.
Seasonal workers on some large-scale farms said they were pushed to work excessive hours without overtime and forced to go weeks or months without pay.
Tobacco’s importance to Zimbabwe’s economy cannot be underestimated, it is the largest foreign currency earner after gold.
Last year the country realised $900m from tobacco exports mainly to China and Indonesia, according to the tobacco industry’s marketing board.
Human Rights Watch called on the government to investigate and monitor child labour and human rights violations on tobacco farms.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took charge after long-time ruler Robert Mugabe was forced to step down, has pledged to prioritise agriculture as he looks to revive Zimbabwe’s moribund economy. |
The Whittlesea Agricultural Society is considered one of the oldest and continuous Agricultural Societies in Victoria. The Society is responsible for the Famous “Whittlesea Show” which has been crowned “Victoria’s Premier Regional Agricultural Show. The Whittlesea Agricultural Society is a dedicated band of volunteers who work throughout the year to put on the Show.
The mother of Agricultural Societies, the Port Phillip Farmers’ Society was founded in 1848, consisting of the parent body (later the National Agricultural Society) and finally the Royal Agricultural Society and three branches – Mornington, Bacchus Marsh and Gisborne.
In 1856, the Mornington Farmers’ Society was formed and the Society’s first Show was held at Cranbourne in 1857. Two years later Mornington, Bacchus Marsh and Gisborne held Shows and it was during 1859 that the Whittlesea Agricultural Society had its beginnings on a site near the Whittlesea Railway Station. Here the Whittlesea Fair was held on Tuesday 3rd May, 1859. There were 40 members, who subscribed approximately 1 pound each.
Through lack of interest and support from the branches, the Port Phillip Farmers’ Society disbanded, the last Show being in 1867, and all the Show’s assets were handed over to Trustees for the new National Agricultural Society in 1870. The Mornington Farmers’ Society continued to progress. Eventually in 1918, the Society became known as the Berwick and District Agricultural and Horticultural Society.
The Whittlesea Show began as a fair in 1859 and has grown to become one of the best Shows in Victoria and is a signature event in the Whittlesea Community Calendar with large crowds flocking to the Show each year. The Whittlesea Show brings the best of country life and enables people of all ages to share and recognise the history and heritage of the Whittlesea Farming Community and the Whittlesea Agricultural Society.
From this snippet of history it can be seen that the Whittlesea Agricultural Society in its own right has the proud distinction of being one of the oldest functioning Agricultural Societies in Victoria.
It has since become one of the best Shows in Victoria. It is a signature event in the VAS Ltd and Whittlesea community calendar. It attracts over 50,000 people in a weekend.
The Agricultural Society holds its an annual Show on the first weekend in November each year. A very active committee is behind this successful event which by reputation conducts the largest two day Agricultural Show in Victoria. We believe our show is successful because we concentrate on an agricultural based family show, our reputation is widespread and many of our competitors and patrons travel from all areas of Victoria and often from Interstate to attend or participate.
With heaps of free activities and entertainment, there’s nothing like the value of the Whittlesea Show. Come along and enjoy the traditional Agricultural Show where a visit to the Animal Nursery is a must.
Also at the Show you will find Cattle, Sheep, Horses, Showjumping, Alpaca Display, Woodchop, Vintage Display, and enjoy the fantastic Arts, Crafts, Photography and Education Sections. On the main arena you will be treated to the Bilby Boot Throw, Baker’s Delight Waiters Race, Fun Dog Show.
There is also the Rural Ambassador Awards, Show Girl Competition and loads of FREE Attractions and Entertainment around the grounds.
The Whittlesea Township is an ideal location for an Agricultural Show just 50 minutes by car from the Melbourne CBD. The positioning of the picturesque showgrounds at the top of a major growth corridor in Melbourne’s north allows for growth and provides opportunities to bring the Country and Agriculture to the City. The benefits of such an event as the Whittlesea Show are enormous for local business and community members.
We have fourth and fifth generation members of the founding families still actively involved in conducting the Annual Show, either as Office Bearers, Members, Superintendents and Stewards or as Volunteers. |
Do You Have High Energy Bills? This is Why!
Did your jaw hit the floor when you opened your energy bill from last month?
Was it higher than the month before? What about the month before that? Or even the year before?
If your energy bills keep on climbing, it’s time to do some digging!
As the weather warms up, you’re going to be using your AC unit more and more often (the same goes for your heating system during the winter).
If you notice your energy bills are increasing when it’s extremely hot out (or cold during winter), you might want to have the HVAC system inspected by a professional technician.
Yes, all energy bills increase when the HVAC system is used more. But if the bills are higher than they’ve ever been before, something like a broken part or lack of maintenance could be causing the inefficiency.
A lot of people will complain that they have high energy bills even after they repair or replace their HVAC system, especially during summer and winter when it’s used the most.
If this is the case, you may want to check the envelope of your home. What does this mean?
It means you need to check to see if there are air leaks throughout your home. The most common areas where you’ll find air leaks are window and door frames.
See if you can feel a draft. If the window or door loosely fits within the frame, warm air could get into your cool house. While in winter, warm air will escape to the cold outside (warm air always travels to cooler air).
Consider adding weatherstripping to these frames OR replace the windows and doors themselves if they’re faulty.
You should also be checking to see what type of light bulbs you use throughout your home. If you’re still using traditional incandescent bulbs, your energy bills are going to be a lot higher than they need to be.
Consider switching to CFL or LED bulbs. These two light bulb types specialize in using less energy without being less bright!
Don’t be intimidated by the cost of these bulbs either. CFL and LED light bulbs might be more expensive than traditional light bulbs, but they use less energy AND last a lot longer.
Whether you need an HVAC technician, electrician, or a plumber — you know who to call! |
The arrest and prosecution of Kenya’s second highest judge is the latest in a crackdown on high profile cases in the country’s tough anti-corruption campaign. In 2016 Kenya reportedly lost about US$6 billion to corruption, an amount equal to a third of the country’s annual state budget. The latest treasury records show high public debt at KES4.8 trillion – or US$48bn.
Despite these allegations, some countries in the region – whose anti-corruption efforts began before the AU declared 2018 ‘African Anti-Corruption Year’ – have achieved tangible results. In 2017 Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index showed that Rwanda is seen as the least corrupt country in the region, ranking 48th out of 180 countries, up from 50th in 2016. The index draws on views of experts and business people about levels of public sector corruption.
Transparency International’s scores place Rwanda and Tanzania ahead of Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. Political leaders who are committed to fighting corruption seem to be the common denominator for success.
Clément Musangabatware, Rwanda's deputy ombudsman in charge of preventing and fighting corruption, attributes the country’s success in the fight against graft to strategies such as minimising direct contact with public procurement officials.
The Transparency International index ranked Tanzania 103rd globally, an improvement on the previous two years. Magufuli’s efforts appear to be paying off, despite criticism from political opponents. His anti-graft campaign has led to arrests of top state officials and those from the country’s port and revenue authorities, and a shake-up in the civil service following high level sackings.
Implementation, however, requires leadership. The recent show of political will and state commitment to active anti-corruption efforts in countries such as Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia are encouraging. These states have also announced plans to investigate officials’ foreign bank accounts.
Measures like arresting and prosecuting senior state officials signal a strong intention to fight graft. However a sustained criminal justice response – which includes the consistent dismissal of corrupt officials, imprisonment of convicted suspects and recovery of proceeds from corruption – is needed for zero tolerance to be translated into real success. |
While sitting out in the yard last week, we noticed a butterfly flitting around a few plants at the edge of the woods, a flight pattern that usually indicates it is a female looking for a place to lay an egg. The butterfly was an Eastern tiger swallowtail, so we knew she was looking for either a tulip poplar or a wild cherry, the two common host plants in these woods. She finally landed on a tulip poplar leaf, paused for a couple of seconds, and flew off. Melissa ran over to look, and after searching for a minute, found an egg.
Finding butterfly eggs can be relatively easy if you find a female butterfly hovering near her host plants. They usually flit around, twisting and turning, as if searching for something (which they are). They may land on a leaf for a second, “tasting” the leaf with chemoreceptors in their “feet”, to see if this plant is the right one. If not, they move on. If it is, then she may curl her abdomen and linger for a second, attaching an egg in the process. The female secretes an adhesive substance to secure the egg to the leaf.
Eastern tiger swallowtails lay a greenish egg that blends very well with the leaf surface, making it tough to spot. The past few days I searched a few more tulip poplar saplings at the edge of the yard and came up with a couple of more eggs.
Can you see the swallowtail egg on this leaf?
Hint…click on the image to enlarge…it is on the right side of the leaf.
Swallowtail eggs are somewhat spherical, although the base is a bit flattened where it attaches to the leaf surface. Unlike many other butterfly eggs I have seen, swallowtail eggs lack ridges, spikes, or other sculptural elements that can give insect eggs such exquisite shapes. But, in their simplicity, they are both gorgeous and elegant.
Large numbers of tiger swallowtails are flying this spring, so I would have expected to find even more eggs and larvae than we have. But, this forest is dominated by huge tulip poplars, so I imagine most of the egg-laying occurs high up in the canopy, far beyond the peering eyes of a couple of egg hunters. Over the past couple of days we did find a couple of recently hatched larvae down low, so I grabbed a few photos of these bird poop mimics.
I even found a couple of leaves with real bird poop, and I couldn’t resist sharing the similarity to our little caterpillars.
Curled caterpillar looking like some bird poop. Note the silk pad the larva has created on the leaf for attachment.
The combination of a dark background color with a white patch on these larvae does make for a distasteful-looking mimic.
Yesterday evening, we found where one of the dark bird poop mimics had already molted into a green version, suspended above the leaf surface on their characteristic silk pad. The larval stage of this species lasts about two weeks and they molt five times as they progress from newly hatched caterpillar to chrysalis.
Yesterday, I again looked for the eggs and found freshly hatched larvae, the smallest ones I have ever seen. Zebra swallowtail larvae are black in the first couple of instars.
A closer view shows they lack a large white patch so common in the other larvae that mimic bird droppings.
As luck would have it, while eating lunch yesterday, I saw a dark swallowtail hovering around plants, obviously looking for that special place to deposit an egg. She eventually made her way to an isolated spicebush shrub, and began laying. She flitted from one leaf to another, eventually laying three eggs on that shrub, one each on the underside of three different leaves. These eggs look similar to those of the zebra swallowtail, although perhaps a tiny bit larger.
I checked my parsley and fennel leaves in the garden, but no signs yet of black swallowtail eggs, so I will have to be content with three species of swallowtails for the time being. Still, this is a great start to my favorite time of the year – caterpillar season. It reminded me of a post I did last summer after finding three species of swallowtail caterpillars in one day. But I’ll keep looking at the parsley and the pipevine to see if I can break that record and maybe get to a five cat day this year. |
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, pronounced as four letters. A protocol for assigning dynamic IP addresses to devices on a network.
With dynamic addressing, a device may have a different IP address each time it connects to the network. DHCP also supports a mix of static and dynamic IP addresses.
Windows ICS uses the address range of 192.168.0.2 through 192.168.0.255 when it assigns addresses. It also works fine when computers on the ICS network are assigned addresses in that range statically, but it is a good idea to use high numbers to avoid conflicts. |
Learn pointers in C in a few easy steps. arnab February 2, 2013 2. If you are having problems understanding pointers then you have come to the correct place. I came across pointers for the first time when I was in class 9 and initially I found it a little difficult. Only when I had to do a project on pointers I understood the concepts properly.
Here's what you can do: (I'm assuming you're well versed with other aspects of C and are facing some difficulty grasping pointers) Learn assembly. You don't need to master it. Just learn enough that you know what most of the instructions do. Learn to write few basic programs like a calculator, or a hex dump, etc.
3/19/2016 · Today learning pointers is much easier, as you can easily get a free GCC (possibly via CodeBlocks) and play in C or C++, instead of examining the same diagrams again and again. Once you have the epiphany of what a pointer is, and how it relates to computer memory and data-structure, then things will become trivial to you.
3/4/2013 · Unlimited recording storage space. Live TV from 60+ channels. No cable box required. Cancel anytime.
Do you want to learn pointers better? Learn the void pointer. It's the one without any bias, the purest form of a pointer, and think about the values you could realise from the same bits in memory. It's all smoke and mirrors in the end - unlearn your hard types - and remember the bits in memory.
The secret to C is in its use of pointers. Pointers in C are easy and fun to learn. Some C programming tasks are performed more easily with pointers, and other tasks, such as dynamic memory allocation, cannot be performed without using pointers. So it becomes necessary to learn pointers to become a perfect C programmer.
Pointers are an extremely powerful programming tool. They can make some things much easier, help improve your program's efficiency, and even allow you to handle unlimited amounts of data. For example, using pointers is one way to have a function modify a variable passed to it.
C++ pointers are easy and fun to learn. Some C++ tasks are performed more easily with pointers, and other C++ tasks, such as dynamic memory allocation, cannot be performed without them.
Pointers. Learn about pointers and memory addresses in Go. Some things are more easily done with pointers, others without. Eitherway pointers are fun to work with! Not all programming languages support pointers, typically they are found in low level languages like C or C++. Go also supports them.
1. To pronounce words, start learning French sounds. Reading in French is like a test run to pronouncing French words correctly, so understanding how individual sounds work in French will help you speak accurate French straight from the get-go.. The BBC website is a great place where you can start exploring the similarities and differences between French and English pronunciation.
3/30/2017 · C++ is a general purpose programming language invented in the early 1980s by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs. It is similar to C, invented in the early 1970s by Dennis Ritchie, but is a safer language than C and includes modern programming techniques such as object oriented programming.
Pointers are a very powerful feature of the language that has many uses in lower level programming. A bit later, we will see how to declare and use pointers. Dereference operator (*) As just seen, a variable which stores the address of another variable is called a pointer. Pointers are said to "point to" the variable whose address they store. |
Two years ago I met a woman on the train who just spent a year skiing abroad and was returning to work.
Yep, she had that big, strange, scary gap on her resume.
As a strong supporter of lifestyle design, I was super impressed.
She told me that it was actually difficult for her to find a comparable job when she returned though.
Why Are Employers So Afraid of Gap Years?
Employers are afraid that persons who take gap years won’t be “as committed” to the company and won’t put in the time to get stuff done.
Unfortunately, this belief is common and women are impacted more by it, because they are more likely to take time off for kids.
Check out this post that got me all riled up today: Questions You’re Probably Not Asking On A Career Gap Resume.
In the post, the author says that you should really dig into candidates who have taken career gaps – to make sure they actually got something “positive” out of the gap.
The author ends the article by saying that the interviewer should just rely on their gut to determine if the person will be truly committed to the company.
My gap year would involve lots of dogs.
I’m a huge proponent of the gap year even though I’ve never had the guts taken one myself.
I was first introduced to the concept in college when an acquaintance announced he was taking a year off between his sophomore and junior years.
No one understood it because no one knew that it was even an option.
Meanwhile, I was changing my major left and right and wasting $40,000+ per year in tuition as I figured my life out.
Wouldn’t it have been great to just hit pause and figure out what I actually wanted to study before I wasted any more money?
I didn’t think like that at the time. Actually, no one did.
Gap years were for Australian students and rich, hippie 18-year-olds.
The student I knew ended up working for a year and came back with a little more direction and a great experience to add to his resume.
It was the first time I realized that taking a gap year could be something positive.
Why Are We All Afraid Of Taking Time Off?
I’m afraid that my future employer will react negatively to the time off.
I’m afraid of losing financial stability and health insurance.
I’m also concerned about taking time off to have children.
Although, I’m slowly getting over the fear.
I imagine I would be in better shape if I took a gap year?
Think of your 10-year plan. Now pretend someone put a gun to your head. You now have 6-months to achieve this plan. What would you do?
Here Tim is again, flipping my view on things.
Tim has been a super influential figure in my life, just as Mr. Money Mustache has been a super influential figure.
Mr. Money Mustache is more of the slow and steady plodder and did not take a gap year. He saved his money and worked hard in a corporate job, until he amassed enough savings to retire. He accidentally runs his own online business now.
Tim, on the other hand, figured out something entrepreneurial from the beginning. He made his money originally by selling supplements online and now he runs an online business.
I’m trying to do a little bit of both.
I’m saving a crap-ton of money from my day job in a field I find rewarding and I’m also creating passive income streams.
If you’re interested in working with me, check out my coaching services page to sign up.
I guess that’s diversification right there, although lately I’m leaning towards taking more risk and walking a little on the Tim side by creating the passive income streams.
Update 2: The Mr. Money Mustache episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast came out and it’s great (although a lot less debate than I had hoped for). I recommend skipping the first ten minutes if you’re an avid MMM reader. Overall, great episode.
Thanks! Yeah, the first time I read 4-Hour Work Week I was like AHHH!H!! *MIND BLOWN*!! Cool that you’ve led an unconventional career path. I’ve sold a disconnected resume before, I’m thinking I could do it again!
The gap year is something I’d love to do, but I also don’t have the guts. In theory, if I’m saving 50% or so of my income, I “should” be able to work one year, take the next year off, and so on. In the legal world, I feel like it’s so traditional that anyone who has a gap year is seen as having something wrong with them, which probably makes it harder to get a new gig.
Very true – many people in the legal professional probably can’t take the year off due to loans maybe. Perhaps you can do some consulting? I definitely feel the same way as you in that it would be hard to continue to move up the ladder if you step off. I probably wouldn’t be able to get a job that is as well-paying and desirable as the one I have now.
Ha, the career advice about having a gap in employment is so amusing (and frustrating) to me that I named my blog after it! Traditional employers treat it as a huge red flag. Some of those reasons are valid. I probably *am* less likely to become a loyal 20-year-tenure employee drone than someone without a break in their work history. I’m also more likely to be refreshed and highly engaged, to choose work about which I’m most passionate, and to openly dissent and lend constructive criticism when I disagree — but those are easy-to-ignore benefits for a risk-averse hiring manager.
I decided to refuse to sacrifice what’s important to me — the things I value most — just for the sake of having the most polished, “hireable” resume. If I do find myself going back to work, perhaps the big gap in my resume will be a burden, but I suspect an employer I would really want to work for would be much more likely to take your point of view on someone like the skier (awesome!) rather than your boss’s less positive outlook.
Great point about wanting to work for someone who is supportive of resume gaps. It’s so hard to find that understanding boss from a job description but maybe there are more of us out there! FIRE job board, anyone?
Maybe it’s because I’m down to a few weeks away from adiosing my career for a while, but I’m so much more interested in enjoying the gap than hustling and hoarding for eventual early retirement under 4% SWR. My suspicion is that there will come a point during my travels where I am ready to go back to work and start saving again. But who knows.
Thanks to the market, my portfolio is a lot higher than I really expected it to be at this time a few years ago and I am saving up cash in order to not tap the portfolio while I’m traveling or to re-establish myself after.
If there’s a huge downturn, I’m sure I’ll be disappointed that I don’t have the firehose of a salary to snap up shares at artificially low prices, but that’s such a first world problem and I would imagine travel costs would go down too as those industries would have less people willing to pay full price.
Like Matt, I’m probably not interested in the employer who is going to hold the gap against me.
I guess my biggest variable is not knowing if or when I’ll pair off, but until then, I might as well pursue a career that sounds fun and pays enough. That’s what financial security buys you.
Knowing that I only need to make X instead of 2X – 4X because of my investments opens up so many potential job options that you wouldn’t have if you spent everything you make.
Very true! Excited for you and this road trip! Enjoy!
I am currently 2 months away from the end of my gap year (sob) and I wouldn’t change a thing, even if I’m unable to find a job when I get back.
It’s been such an incredible experience living somewhere so different and learning a new language and culture.
Sure, sometimes it’s super frustrating knowing that I’m not contributing to my savings. But the good that has come out of this is so much more important than money, or even financial independence. Gap years can be so renewing and eye-opening. I highly recommend, even if it means a few run-ins with people like your boss! It’s well worth it to do it at least once.
Congrats on taking that leap! Can’t wait to read more about your travels!
I suspect if I take a gap year, it will be entirely by accident. As in, I quit working and someone just cannot resist hiring me for the coolest job on the face of the planet (I’m looking at you, YNAB!). I’m unlikely to take a gap year now though, while I’m happy with my job.
I’m a hiring manager now and I have to fully admit I’d be suspicious of someone taking a year off to ski. It’s not a deal-breaker, but I would have some red flags. The ironic, or perhaps hypocritical thing about it though is I wouldn’t mind doing it myself. I know, I know. I think in the end I’d go on everything else this person had to offer and if I sensed a commitment. For me though, if I took a year off, I might have a really hard time coming back to the 9-5.
Haha My philosophy with hiring the ski-year person is that they’ve already had their time off and they’re ready to come back. The true risk is the person who feels trapped and just wants to escape ASAP but can’t!
I took a gap year between high school and college and it was easily one of the best decisions of my life.
As someone who also has hiring responsibilities I too am always interested in the people who have taken some time off from work to try something new or pursue a dream. I think that’s the key though – if you decide to take a gap year and then re-enter the working world, you’ve got to own that time off and even brag about all the awesome things you did. I think most employers will respect that and it will show you as being a strong, motivated, and confident person. |
equalized and used as a drawing. Additional I have evaluated many official papers by OME, the conservation report by the West Dean College, both Wessex archaeological desk-based assessments and all need biographies on Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Based on this „input“ the relevant informations of my research I have collected in the mentioned notebook, which has grown to 113 pages. Now I was ready to start the practical part. I have built dozens patterns and examined its weight and proportions to the three existing guns of the 1737´ Victory. Sounds simple but was a very, very annoying process. Like a code for a vault, I combined value by value, constructed the guns forward and thought about its logic combination. The 3D-models led in a lot of findings and dependencies between the guns parts, which greatly expanded the knowledge of the canon construction. For best use of all given and deduced proportions and its individual switching, I have created dozens of tables and extended them with every new finiding. After testing all possible combinations I began again to find other supporters and sent my existing contacts a few informations, to show the seriousness of my work. A special thanks goes to Mr. Brinck and Mr. Trollope which sent me many informations and photographs and answered questions during my scientific elaboration. They helped me to near my result to the most logic pattern of these guns till today. For this cooperation, I am very grateful! If you are interested in my scientific elaboration, please have a little bit patience. Some day in the future I will publish my results in a book and give you the chance to enjoy my analysis. The book contains many detailed descriptions of the persons and time around the establishment of 1716, the evolution of the bronze gun pattern till the Armstrong-design, the way of researching the patterns and many drawings and formulas. Another reason for the publication of the book is the memory and respect to people who spend partially the whole life for ancient guns and its evolution through the ages. At this point I would like to express my special respect to „Charles Trollope“ and „Adrian B. Caruana“. Both published in their lifes very important books around this theme, some of them will be called reverent the „gun bibles“. With the help of my 3D-supported research and the raised guns off from the 1737´ Victory’s wreck side, my book should expand this work in a meaningful way. How deep I can dive into the whole evolution of the European patterns, will show the future. Have you become curious? OK, below a few details I am 95% convicted that I have found the right 1716 pattern of Albert Borgard and its evolution by John Armstrong, till his first own design after his visit in Paris, in 1727. The deeper I have read into this theme (my comparison to the „iceberg“), the more dependencies and circumstances were added. Borgard got in 1715 a job in the drawing room, where he designed a complete new system of artillery, for both land and sea service, based on the given Establishment of 1716. He designed not only the guns, but the carriages, the ammunition and the subsidiary equipment around too. His name is most often associated with his reforms and regulations but mostly by his reclassification of the poundage system, whereby the former named cannons becomes caliber named „pounders“. For example becomes the „cannon of 7“ the „42-pounder“ and the „demi-cannon“ the „32-pounder“, and so on. An interesting circumstance is that he became in 1718 the new duty as „Assistant-Surveyor of Ordnance“. So his superior officer, the „Surveyor-General of the Ordnance“ was Michael Richards. Richards died on 5th February 1722, and his position were new appointed with John Armstrong, who took the construction into his own hands. On 1st April 1722 Borgard became the 1st Colonel of the Royal Artillery Regiment and left any influence to his former gun designs. Although his work in the Board of Ordnance was just 6 years, his designs, the introduced poundage- system, his planning & organization of all subsidiary equipment, the regulation of material and its manufacturing changed the future of the English system sustainable. His work led to the founding of the Royal Artillery Regiment, an organization that exists till today. In reason of Borgard´s very successful bronze gun designs, Armstrong focused at first the design of the urgently need iron guns and made just a few changes to bronze guns. The confirmation of this statement we get from the raised 24-Pounder gun from the 1737´ Victory´s wreck side because it were cast in 1723 but is a true Borgard pattern. In reason of Armstrong´s work in the Board of Ordnance his influence to the gun design is documented up from 1721, but like mentioned primary for the iron guns. Although the bronze gun pattern were successful, the iron ones were a very big disaster. In reason of its cost it was a very big requirement to find a good iron pattern but its further development was difficult because of stronger powder and different qualities of iron ore and its metallic characteristics. Another heavy burden to the gun designers was the given gun lengths and weights by the Board of Ordnance, a circumstance the drawing room must deal with. The result was that all iron guns burst during their tests. But this is another part of the history and so my elaboration will focus at first the bronze gun design between 1716 and 1744 and close the gap of knowledge. The important work „Thomas James, His book of Artillery at the Office of Ordnance in the Tower of London, March the 24, 1722“ and released information of the recovered carriage from the London- Wreck , helped me alot in solving the pattern of the transom-bed styled carriage, the 1737´ Victory guns was equipped with. Finally the reconstruction of the whole pattern (gun + carriage) could be finished in spring 2017 and can for now just perfected with the measuring and research of more original guns. Below you will find some screenshots of the Victory’s 24-pounder on its original carriage. Charles Trollope mentioned that it was originally painted red, while my pictures contains a not colored one. The reason why I just show uncolored ones is based on the coloring in the 3D-engine. It is not sure when the carriages becomes yellow painted, we know from newer vessels like the 1744‘ Victroy. It seems in a relation with the using of the prefix „HMS“ for ships, which was presumably in the middle of the 18th century. For the British Royal Navy the „HMS Phoenix“ is considered as the first ship where it was used, in 1789. But regarding Nelson’s flagship, the HMS Victory of 1744, this historical statement seems a little bit “spongy”. In February 2017 I expanded my work to my home state Saxony and started the consideration of the European evolution of those guns. I would like to thank all the people who have helped me during my 3D-Reconstruction and promise to continue the work on the guns and to continue the spirit of the previous historians. The 3D- Reconstruction is not complete yet and it will take some time until all bronze guns from 1716-1744 were realized. I especially thank: Charles Trollope, British ordnance expert, historian and fellow of the Society of Antiquaries Nico Brinck, Dutch historian Historic Dockyard Portsmouth, Mr. Richard Noyce, Collections Officer West Dean College, Ms. Laurie Price, Conservator of Metalwork Royal Artillery Museum, Mr. Siân Mogridge, Archivist Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr Dresden, Dr. Berger, Restorer and Museum Educator Call to all interested people: Please support the research and recreation of ancient guns and feel free to contact me with helping information. Thank you very much!
Additional a few pictures of different states of the reconstructed guns. Some of them were placed during their testings in different versions of the CryEngine® and Unity®. |
The 1960s were a time of political change in the LGBT community and ultimately lead to the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in NYC. As shown in this part of the exhibit, there was a burgeoning LGBT publication market, as well as an increase in public awareness of gay and lesbian groups. Other facts about Michigan's gay and lesbian life of the time are included in this section. |
Paul Whittaker shares his experiences of cultivating bamboos in containers with Jon Ardle of the RHS magazine "The Garden"
Bamboos are one of the most evocative of garden plants; nothing conjures up the image of the orient as powerfully as the sight and sound of their graceful evergreen leaves and stems swaying in the breeze. They do, however, have an undeserved reputation for being something of a horticultural thug: perceived wisdom suggests introducing bamboo into a garden will soon result in the plant taking over, destroying everything in its path, before flowering and promptly dropping dead. This is unnecessarily alarmist. While there are tropical species capable of astonishing rates of growth with invasive runners, there are many smaller and slower growing species, which make excellent features for temperate gardens.
Many have beautifully marked culms (stems) and some have variegated leaves. Some of these are still capable of out growing their allotted space however, and it used to be thought growing containers was difficult, if not impossible. Nursery owner Paul Whittaker, of P W Plants, Norfolk, has shown this to be untrue: he grows even very large specimens up to 5m (16ft) tall in pots and maintains many species can be grown in this way provided that their specific cultural requirements are met.
Bamboos are part of the grass family, but unlike the other subfamilies, the 1,050 to 1,070 species of the Bambusoideae produce woody stems, which include deposits of silica. The silica makes bamboo culms one of the toughest of organic structures.
The growth habit of bamboo species depends upon their underground rhizomes. Clump forming or pachymorphic species have short, thick rhizomes which produce shoots only at their tips, which results in a tight stand of culms that expands fairly evenly around its circumference. Running or leptomorphic species have long, thin rhizomes extending over great distances which produce shoots along their whole lengths - the most invasive species belong to this group. A third group, the intermediates, have root systems showing aspects of both types. Leptomorphic species grown in cooler conditions than they are used to often have a more clumping habit.
Most bamboos flower very rarely - perhaps only once every 70 or 80 years - meaning they are not often grown from seed but are generally propagated by division, which can make them expensive.
Bamboos can look superb when well grown in large pots, especially terracotta or glazed, oriental-style containers. Whatever the material, the container should be equipped with adequate drainage holes. Pot culture also has the advantage of raising the culms closer to eye level, giving the plant even more of an impact. In small gardens, where space is at a premium, bamboos can be grown in pots to restrict their spread, particularly the invasive, running types.
It is important to understand the potential size and growth habit of bamboo species when considering their suitability for pot culture. They are hungry plants and will not tolerate drought: lack of water can cause the leaves to turn brown and in severe cases produce near-complete loss of leaves, and recovery is slow. The more vigorous and invasive species will rapidly fill their containers with rhizomes and roots, lowering the water-holding capacity and exhausting the supply of nutrients. Paul has shown that it is possible to grow vigorous species in containers, at least temporarily, provided adequate irrigation and feeding are given. Such plants can require repotting annually, but he has also identified a number of species more suited to longer-term, near permanent pot culture.
This is an important consideration; a sheltered spot with as much wind protection as possible reduces the risk of excessive water loss, both in summer and in winter. Although fully hardy in the ground, a bamboo in a container can suffer from drought in winter. Its evergreen leaves can be stripped of water by cold winds and its root system is unable to replace the moisture from frozen compost. Insulating the pot with bubble wrap or covering the plant with fleece in very cold weather may be necessary, or plants can be moved into an unheated greenhouse. During mild spells in winter, it is important to check the compost regularly as watering may be required.
Paul recommends a peat-based compost in glazed pots because, although bamboos have a high demand for water, they will not tolerate waterlogging. His standard nursery mixture is 85 percent compost, 10 percent composted bark and 5 percent grit. Grit improves drainage and gives extra weight, helping pot stability. In a porous terracotta pot, soil-based John Innes composts can be used. Water storage granules and slow-release fertilisers can be added to the compost although regular liquid feeding is still recommended to keep plants looking their freshest.
Repotting is one of the most critical aspects of the cultivation of bamboos in containers. Other than dwarf and very slow-growing species, most bamboos will fill their pots with roots within two years, and if not repotted the lack of available water and nutrients will cause the plant to deteriorate. The toughness of bamboo culms also extends to their rhizomes, and division is not for the faint-hearted. Tearing a clump apart is not only difficult, it can cause the plant extensive damage. If the root system is relatively open, secateurs may be used, however Paul has found sawing or chopping with an axe the least damaging method of dividing congested rootballs.
The aim of the repotting process is to rejuvenate the plant, by removing some of the root system and replacing it with fresh compost. The most vigorous, healthiest, part of the rootball is around the edge of running bamboos, and this can be replaced nearer the centre of the pot if the plant is also divided. At the same time the top growth is thinned.
Repotting is best carried out in autumn, as plants enter dormancy but while temperatures are still warm enough to allow some root growth; before culm growth begins in spring is the next best choice. Ideal weather conditions for the procedure are a cool, overcast day, without strong sunshine. Following division, the thinning of the top growth is an important stage. Removing old, thin and weak growth prevents the root system from becoming overtaxed by decreasing the demand for water from the culms. One-year-old shoots are left unpruned because these will branch next year, but it is possible to remove 30-50 percent of the top growth without harming the plant. Pruning in this way will concentrate growth into the new shoots which will come through thicker and stronger. Some dwarf species like Pleioblastus auricomus and P. variegatus can be sheared to ground level every spring, which results in the freshest looking new foliage being produced later in the season. With tall species, it is possible to reduce the height of the culms drastically without harming the plant, and encourage leafy side shoots to be produced lower down the stem.
Bamboos in containers must never dry out, and look their freshest when regular, balanced liquid feed is given. Little maintenance is required, other than the removal of dead leaves. Older canes can be thinned annually to tidy the plant, preferably in spring when their new leaves begin to appear. There is no reason why bamboos should not be underplanted with other species but in practice these need to be chosen carefully to blend in and must be able to withstand the competition. Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' contrasts beautifully with gold-stemmed species, and Paul has found Hedera helix 'Dragon's Claw' and Acorus gramineus also look good. Drawing on the oriental theme, a mulch of gravel or perhaps a few carefully chosen stones or pieces of driftwood can be used to give the finishing touches, however bear in mind it is the bamboo itself which is the star and which sets the theme - the chorus line should not detract from it.
Bamboos are available in a variety of sizes to suit every garden, and have a range of coloured culms and variegated leaves; most remain evergreen. The sigh of the wind through their graceful plumes of foliage and contribute greatly to the sights and sounds of a garden, as many countries in Europe have already discovered. Paul's experimentation has demonstrated that it is perfectly possible to maintain many species in a pot successfully. Some of the real 'dragons', which should not be roaming the average garden, can be tamed by restriction in a container, provided that the work involved in regular repotting is carried out. The smaller and slower growing members of the group can make excellent potted specimens, being no more difficult to maintain in pots than other groups of broadleaved evergreens, provided their watering and feeding regimes are adequate.
Bamboos can add a touch of evergreen exotica to any garden. However, be warned - their charms can prove subtly addictive, and the first plant will almost certainly be followed by another.
Fargesia robusta 4 1 Red shoots, culms ageing to yellow, large dark leaves.
F. utilis 5 1 Elegant ‘fountain’ habit, culms red tinted in sun.
x H. tranquilla ‘Shiroshima’ 2.5 3 As above, with creamy yellow variegation.
* Usually 3m in UK. A large genus with several suitable for pots.
Zig-zag culms in shades of gold and red.
P. iridescens 6 Green culms.
P. nigra 3.5 AGM. Black-stemmed bamboo. Older canes turn ebony in the sun.
P. parvifolia 4 Develops large culms, tiny leaves.
P. propinqua 4 Medium leaves with a twist, thick culms.
P. vivax ‘Aureocaulis’ 5 Golden culms, beautifully striped with green.
Semiarindinaria Kagamiana 4 1 Thin canes ageing to purple, leaves held upright.
Thamnocalamus Crassinodus 4 1 Tiny leaves, culms with blue bloom turning rich yellow with age.
Slower growing bamboos, and some running species, can be kept in a pot for up to six years. Division will rejuvenate the plant.
Chimonobambusa 2 In this small genus there are several species suitable for containers.
Semi-dwarf, Japanese bamboo, tightly bunched leaves.
Thin reddish culm, yellow striped leaves.
Culms green ageing to yellow, swollen nodes.
Fargesia 1 Several small species are suitable.
F. dracocephala 3.5 Thin, yellowish culms, small, dark green leaves.
AGM, dense arching clumps of bright green leaves.
F. murieliae ‘Simba’ 2 More dwarf cultivar, fresh apple-green foliage.
Pleioblastus 2 All species and cultivars in this genus are suitable.
AGM. Yellow and green variegated leaves.
Pseudosasa japonica ‘Tsutsumiana’ 3.5 2 Enlarged nodes.
Sasaella masamuneana ‘Albostriata’ 1 2 Large cream-white variegated leaves.
Bamboo species spread indefinitely so the size of pot will ultimately control the size of plant. It is important, however, to pot on in stages – a small plant in too large a pot will tend to be affected by water logging. Choice of pot should be dictated by the size of the plant on purchase and by its mature height. For example, a plant bought in a 3 litre (7-8 inch) pot can be potted into a 10 litre (10-12 inch) container if growing vigorously. |
“Moving from high-quantity manufacturing to a high-quality one requires us to lower corporate costs by slashing taxes and improving companies’ digitalization and automation capabilities,” said Xu Zhaoyuan, a researcher from the Development Center of the State Council on Saturday at the Made in China Forum held in Foshan City, Guangdong Province.
The scale of China’s manufacturing sector has become number one in the world since 2011 and 1.7 times that of the United States in 2017.
With the development of China’s manufacturing sector, its low-cost advantage is diminishing these days because its labor and resource prices are climbing to a relatively higher level, and some other Southeast Asian countries are beating it in terms of cost of labor.
Xu told the China Fortune Media Group that China’s infrastructure advantages, unlike its technologies, could not last long as they are easy to copy. Also, its technologies need more time to develop, therefore, the best strategy is to maintain its industry clustering advantage as long as possible to buy more time to develop the required technologies.
“Here are the measures we can take to enforce this strategy, firstly, lower corporate costs by slashing taxes and a business-friendly environment. And then improve companies’ digitalization and automation capabilities,” Xu said.
To upgrade the levels of China’s manufacturing sector, China’s analysts suggest improving the country’s operating effectiveness and at the same time incorporating technologies into manufacturing products.
Traditional Chinese manufacturing companies are seeking to upgrade their businesses towards “Internet+”, in other words, automation and digitalization. The Midea Group, China’s top home appliance company, for instance, is projected to invest over 2 billion yuan (300 million U.S. dollars) in digitalization in 2019. It has built a digitalized factory in Guangzhou City, where no human interventions are involved during the whole manufacturing process starting from raw materials to final products; meanwhile, operating data is being recorded for future production use.
The home appliance giant is also working towards producing intelligent home appliances that could interact with human beings whenever and wherever necessary. Besides, its “Internet+” solutions are being sold to other manufacturing companies to help them towards digitalization. |
If you're interested in NSF DGE activities and would like to find out more about the GK12 program, the American Association for the Advancement of Science's central hub is a good place to begin.
There are several long-standing projects of note, including Larry Johnson's Partnership for Environmental Education and Rural Health at Texas A&M, Project Fulcrum at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and San Francisco State University's Science Education Partnership & Assessment Lab.
A program that mirrors our goals and objectives is the University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign's project that seeks to integrate modeling and scientific visualization into math and science education.
The Teach Engineering Digital Library is available tool for teachers to use. There are lots of detailed lessons, curricula and activities on this web site. It also has an excellent search engine as well.
Engineering Resources For Schools has a vast array of engineering-related information with links to just about everything you could possibly want to know about the subject. |
We all worry about all sorts of things from time to time, such as finances, work, relationships and even our health. We all notice changes in our body and begin to wonder whether that change could be something serious, but health anxiety is not a momentary ‘wondering’ what these changes mean. Health anxiety is characterised by excessive worry about one or several areas of our health, an excessive focus on the bodily symptoms you are worried about, and difficulty accepting the answers given from health professionals about the cause of the symptoms. The thinking processes involved in health anxiety symptoms is what we refer to as ‘catastrophic’ or ‘worst case scenario’ thinking and is often characterised by a ‘what if’ sequence of thoughts.
Individuals who are ‘healthy’, who have existing medical conditions or who have ‘medically unexplained’ symptoms may experience health anxiety. It is important to note that the physical symptoms you experience are not ‘just in your head’ they are real physical sensations whether they are related to somatic changes in your body or a physical symptom of anxiety itself.
Do you worry often or become preoccupied about your health? Is your worry excessive, out of proportion and difficult to control?
Do you often focus your attention on the bodily sensations you are worried about?
Does your health worry lead you to do any of the following?
Research indicates that health anxiety occurs in around 2-10% of the population, and it usually beings in in early adulthood. Health anxiety can significantly interfere with one’s ability to concentrate on other areas of life, including effecting work, study and relationships and early treatment is recommended to prevent a chronic condition.
What Treatments are Recommended for Health Anxiety?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been widely researched for the treatment of health anxiety symptoms. CBT for health anxiety involves identifying and challenging catastrophic thinking styles, practicing shifting attention away from bodily focus, and reducing behaviours such as excessive checking and reassurance seeking which we refer to as ‘safety behaviours’. |
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts … forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Col. 3:12-13).
Romans 1:18–32 is perhaps the clearest explanation in Scripture of just how desperate human beings are outside of God’s kingdom. Our predicament is great indeed, for the problem is not simply that we know what is right and refuse to do it. To be sure, Paul does say the Creator’s witness in creation is plain enough that all people know they have failed to honor and thank Him (vv. 18–21), and it is true that we will refuse to worship the Lord unless He graciously intervenes (John 6:44). Still, even though we have an innate knowledge of God, our primal sin in refusing to love Him has made it so that we enter the world as those “futile in their thinking” (Rom. 1:21). Our minds and hearts are broken; we have difficulty understanding what is right and knowing what the Lord desires the world to look like.
The problem is so deep that apart from Christ we do not even know what it means to be truly human. This is an implication of Colossians 3 and the other Pauline texts that speak of believers becoming a new humanity in Christ Jesus (Rom. 5:12–21). Adam, the father of the human race, was the son of God who embodied true humanity only temporarily (Luke 3:38). Jesus is the new Adam, the real Son of God who embodies true humanity forever because He did not sin (Rom. 5:12–21). In Him we put on the new humanity — the true humanity — not the false state of being into which we were born, a state that is full of lust, malice, covetousness, and idolatry (Col. 3:5–11).
Consequently, we must become what we already are, and we need guidance in this because sin’s presence continues to color our idea of what it means to be human. Jesus Himself reveals what a true person looks like, and Paul shows us real humanity as well in his list of the qualities that we must put on as God’s chosen people. These include compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, which are all hardly qualities that the world associates with success (vv. 12–13). Putting these spiritual fruits into practice, in fact, may actually mean that we are unable to get ahead in the world because we refuse to stab others in the back, gossip, pay back in kind what has been done to us, and more. Yet Jesus never said that following Him would be easy, and being His disciples — the new humanity — means that we are compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and patient even when it is costly (Mark 8:34).
John Calvin offers these comments on today’s passage: “We, who have so frequently and so grievously offended, have nevertheless been received into favor, so we should manifest the same kindness towards our neighbors, by forgiving whatever offenses they have committed against us.” Being a Christian means forgiving other people even when it costs us monetarily, emotionally, and physically. |
Implementing advanced metering infrastructure using wireless RF-based networks poses special challenges for rural electric cooperatives. Many cooperatives stretch across thousands of miles, with great distances between individual meters and groups of meters. This fact may make it difficult to cost-effectively implement RF networks that deliver data consistently, since these systems require equipment and infrastructure distributed throughout the service area to operate.
Even so, more rural electric cooperatives are considering RF-based networks for AMI. The Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (GVEC), for example, recently awarded Aclara an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project that will employ our Synergize® RF-based metering network system.
The near real-time data collected by the system will enable the utility, which spans 3,500 square miles across 13 counties in South Central Texas, to bring back the data it needs to quickly identify and isolate the causes of power outages, determine the effect of bi-directional power flow on operations and monitor the true voltage going into homes.
“The ability of 84,000 meters to report to us and post to our outage management system will allow us to more intelligently dispatch crews to make repairs. That is a significant benefit because we believe that it can help us reduce the amount of time customers are out of power,” said Sean Alvarez, Senior Executive Manager and COO, GVEC.
RF networks allow utilities to monitor voltages at meters, power transformers and substations on the low-power side of the distribution network. This gives the utility added flexibility in managing its distribution network, allowing better control of voltages at transformers and substations with fewer negative effects on the system.
The real-time data on voltages and blink counts (a measure of electricity usage), along with “last-gasp” signals from meters, can be relayed directly into outage management systems, providing the data utilities need to proactively resolve outages – sometimes before they are even reported by customers.
The precise data provided by RF networks on the extent of outages helps utilities plan the dispatch of repair crews, a significant benefit in reducing the amount of time customers are out of power.
RF electric systems like Synergize RF can provide data in small intervals, down to five minutes, allowing utilities to collect the data they need to calculate peak demand and time-of-use real-time consumption rates.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, renewables account for almost 15% of power generated in the U.S. As solar and wind power become more a part of the utility landscape, utilities must prepare for the effects these distributed resources have on the grid. RF can handle distributed power generation by allowing utilities to manage power being delivered back to the utility as well as that being delivered to customers.
The Synergize RF Electric network is a point-to-multipoint system with a number of advantage for rural electric cooperatives.
First and foremost, as a point-to-multipoint system that communicates meter data directly to collectors rather than through meters, as mesh systems do, reducing the need for signal boosters or repeaters. The data collectors can be placed on existing assets.
The system offers a high-redundancy rate so that 99.9% of all meter readings are picked up by a minimum of two, and in some cases three, data collectors. This ensures that the utility rarely misses a meter read, even if a data collector fails.
The iiDEAS® meter data management software from Aclara provides out-of-the-box integrations to customer information system (CIS) and outage management systems. The integration to CIS allows on-demand reads right from the CIS, improving customer service by making it easier to investigate billing complaints and start and stop service. Plus, data going directly into the outage management system through the iiDEAS integration to the AMI, allows utilities to quickly assess outages and resolve them. |
Toxic-Free Future’s Science Director, Erika Schreder, recently traveled to a conference in Dallas to gain more expertise on firefighting foams. She wanted to find out how well PFAS-free foams perform as we work with airports and refineries to stop the use of PFAS-containing foams. This research is critical as states and the Federal Aviation Administration consider restrictions on PFAS containing foams.
Specific fire tests were performed at the conference and the results have just been released. The PFAS-free foam demonstrated excellent performance in extinguishing large-scale fuel fires. LASTFIRE, a consortium of international oil companies, conducted the series of tests in collaboration with the DFW Fire Training Research Center at the Dallas/Fort Worth International airport.
LASTFIRE has conducted tests of firefighting foams, and these latest tests are part of what the consortium calls “the most comprehensive programme of foam testing driven and managed by end users for more than 35 years.” Data on the actual fire-extinguishing performance of foams on the market can be difficult for end users (e.g. refineries, airports, chemical plants) to obtain. LASTFIRE has now partnered with the Dallas-Fort Worth Fire Research and Training Center to fill that gap.
At the Dallas/Fort Worth testing, firefighters and researchers asked the question: what is the performance of fluorine-free foam in larger fuel fires?
To answer the question, LASTFIRE performed tests in large pans of fuel, 40 meters and 30 meters long. They compared the standard application rate and equipment with a lower rate combined with a compressed air application method known as CAF.
The fluorine-free foam performed “exceptionally well” with both application rates and methods, with extinguishment to 30 meters achieved in 2 minutes, 32 seconds with standard application and 2 minutes, 23 seconds with the compressed-air application. The tests also showed that extinguishment was possible over at least 40 meters.
The research program will continue in spring 2019 with tests involving alternate fuels, seeking to optimize foam properties.
Earlier this year, Washington State became the first state to restrict the use of PFAS-containing foams. This law, supported by the Washington Council of Fire Fighters, Washington Fire Chiefs and many others, largely phases out PFAS firefighting foam to protect drinking water and the health of firefighters. Other states are considering similar restrictions and Congress recently directed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow airports to use PFAS-free foams. The recent tests provide even more evidence on the high performance of PFAS-free foam. All users, including refineries and airports, should be using PFAS-free foams. |
Teamwork & communication are key to solving different tasks which include the Spider Web, Handcuffs, the Human Chain, Ants on a Log and many more. Bonding, clear communication, mental effort and initiative are more important than sheer muscle!
Different team activity combinations are available and teams must battle each other out by rotating through all the different activity stations located throughout any indoor or outdoor course. Maps and score cards guide you through the area. Sportsmanship, teamwork and ability are keys to success! This activity can take place almost anywhere you choose.
Team building is pursued via a variety of practices, and can range from simple bonding exercises to complex simulations and multi-day team building retreats designed to develop a team (including group assessment and group-dynamic games), usually falling somewhere in between. It generally sits within the theory and practice of organizational development, but can also be applied to sports teams, school groups, and other contexts.
Team building can also refer to the process of selecting or creating a team from scratch. Our brainteasers were designed with groups in mind. |
So many of us who are interested in health completely disregard our teeth and our mouths. We forget that our bodies are a holistic and interconnected system, one that can only function optimally if everything is running smoothly. If your liver wasn’t working properly, it would affect your entire body. Well, the same could be said about your mouth.
Your mouth is the gateway to your body, which you use to either nourish it with healthy foods or destroy it with toxins. Whatever you put in your mouth ends up affecting your entire body drastically. A cleaner mouth isn’t just aesthetically pleasing, it’s crucial for your overall health, as it can play a key role in disease prevention. Poor oral health has been linked to inflammation, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
More than 500 species of bacteria can be found in the oral cavity of a healthy mouth, and they can be beneficial or harmful for the health of your mouth. The “good” bacteria, also referred to as probiotics, can aid in digestion, synthesize vitamins, and protect our mouths from the “bad” bacteria. The bad bacteria is often what causes disease and various mouth-related health problems such as bad breath, gingivitis, periodontitis, cavities, and plaque build-up.
Taking note of the bacteria and toxin levels in our mouths isn’t just crucial for the health of our mouths, but our entire bodies. Infections and bacterial overgrowth in the mouth can affect the entire body, moving throughout it and causing other health problems such as heart disease, bacterial pneumonia, diabetes, and low birth weight.
One study proved that poor dental health can actually result in endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of your heart. This can happen when germs and bacteria from your mouth spread throughout your bloodstream and attach themselves to damaged areas of your heart.
Another study looked at brain samples from ten patients without dementia and compared them to ten patients with dementia. The research suggested that there was a link between dementia and chronic periodontal (gum) disease as well as Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Josef Issels, MD, a well-known cancer specialist, asks all of his cancer patients to have their dead teeth removed. In his book Cancer: A Second Opinion, he explains his methods for healing cancer and the link the mouth has to the disease. Dr. Issels has worked with 16,000 cancer patients over the course of 40 years and approximately 90% of his patients had multiple dead teeth in their mouths. He discusses in his book and provides compelling evidence on the link dead teeth have to cancer, as he argues the harmful toxins they release can cause the disease.
So, why don’t doctors look more carefully into our dental health when discussing treatment, causes, and prevention of diseases?
If you’re familiar with the issues with fluoride in our drinking water, you can likely guess that there’s a strong link between the government and the dental industry. The American Dental Association (ADA) spends a lot of money to get their foot into the door of politics, throwing the U.S. government millions of dollars to influence legislation.
Between 2009 and 2012, the ADA spent a shocking $39 million on lobbying efforts. The ADA has worked very hard to keep dental costs extremely high for citizens, making it practically unavailable to low-income households.
Much of what the dental industry supports and encourages consumers to purchase and use “to improve oral health” actually poses numerous threats to our dental health. Commercial toothpastes primarily use toxic substances as a means to “clean your mouth,” as the ingredients in regular toothpastes can cause enamel damage, dental flourosis, stomach ailments, skin rashes, and more.
One of the worst ingredients found in most conventional and “dentist approved” toothpastes is fluoride. Fluoride has been a known neurotoxin for a long time, but the government claims it benefits our teeth. In reality, it’s not even known to actually prevent the buildup of harmful oral bacteria; however, it is known to be toxic, with long-term ingestion linked to brain, heart, and bone issues. You can get fluoride free toothpaste here.
Conventional dentists also use a mixture of toxic substances to fill your teeth, commonly referred to as “silver fillings” in the North American dental industry, consisting primarily of mercury, silver, copper, and tin. The amalgam is actually 50% mercury, which passes through cell membranes, across your blood-brain barrier, and directly into your central nervous system, and can cause serious psychological, neurological, and immunological issues. Every time you chew with a silver filling in your mouth, methylmercury is released, resulting in the suppression of your immune system. Metal fillings pose a grave threat to children in particular because their brains are still developing.
Many European countries have banned the use of these fillings and Canada has issued warnings discouraging their use among children and pregnant women. However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Dental Association (ADA) still haven’t addressed this issue sufficiently (source). Check out this Dr. Mercola article regarding alternatives to mercury fillings and the many countries that use them.
Clearly, we’re not being told the full story when it comes to our dental health, particularly how to actually care for our teeth. In addition, our mouths can also show us the health of our bodies.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the tongue is a microcosm of the entire body and will reflect its excesses and deficiencies. The shape, colour, coating, and texture of the tongue can indicate digestive issues and body imbalances.
According to TCM, Qi energy is everywhere on Earth; when you’re healthy, Qi is flowing freely through you, whereas when you’re unhealthy, you either have a blockage from Qi or your “Qi tank” is low. Meridians are essentially energy highways that hold and transport Qi, blood, and fluids throughout the body.
According to the meridian system, poor oral health can result in poor organ health as well as energy blockages.
How Can We Detox Our Mouths and Keep Them Healthy?
It’s clear that our mouths can communicate some of the bodily problems we have, or alternatively they can cause problems if our oral health is poor. So, armed with this knowledge, how can we put it to good use?
For starters, search for any signs your mouth is giving you that could mean your body is in distress. Check out your tongue and your teeth, but even burping can indicate that your body is detoxing.
You should also try your best to only use safe products and reduce your intake of toxins. Brush regularly using an organic tooth brush, replace your toothbrush every few months and/or after being sick, use fluoride-free/all-natural toothpaste, floss using tea tree oil, eat organic plant-based foods, and regularly visit a dentist.
Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic practice that involves swishing vegetable oil in your mouth for 20 minutes to eliminate toxins from the mouth and body, whiten teeth, remove plaque, support kidney function, relieve migraines, and more. You can read more about this in our CE article here.
Perhaps the fastest way to clean bacterial buildup is through the Ayurvedic practice of tongue scraping. This practice is known to improve taste receptors, improve bad breath, aid digestion, and improve overall oral health. You can read more about that in our CE article here.
Drinking green tea can actually improve the health of your mouth, as this study showed. Amongst many other health benefits, green tea has antimicrobial properties that can aid in controlling your oral microbes.
The medical industry often looks at an issue and only focuses on treating the symptom, rather than the root cause. We cover up our pains with pharmaceutical products instead of actually looking at the root cause and treating and preventing that.
Our mouths play an important role in determining our overall health, meaning they can also play a role in treating it. Be conscious of what you’re putting into your body through your mouth and take note of the signals your mouth is sending you about your health. |
The Church of Our Lady of Light in Loon, Bohol is the biggest church in Bohol. At the spot of the current church, a chapel was constructed during the term of Fray Manuel de Elizalde in 1753.
Some fifty years later, the Augustinian Recollects replaced by the current church in Ionic and Corinthian style. The building has two towers octagonal bell towers, and is fully symmetric.
The present town of Loon is located on a plateau about a fifty meters or more above the shore level. The older town of Loon, located at the shore was established by the Jesuits in 1753.
The Recollects who took charge of the town in 1768 transferred it to its present site. In 1853, they began building what is easily the most beautiful of the 19th century churches in Bohol.
Designed by the Domingo Escondrillas, a government engineer, the church is a triple-naved structure made of finely cut coral. The central nave is separated from the laterals by stout piers of cut coral.
The central portion of the church facade surges forward giving it a dynamism more akin to Baroque than the Neoclassical style prevalent during this period. Delicately though inaccurately carved acanthus decorate the capitals of the twined columns of the facade. Between the twined columns are plaques incised with Biblical texts and dedicatory phrases. The facade's balanced composition is completed by twin towers that flank it.
The church's Neoclassical main altar fills the whole breadth of the sanctuary. Relief roundels portraying the life of the Virgin Mary flank the main niche where an image of the patroness is displayed.
Devotion to the Virgin under the title Our Lady of Light or Kasilak in Visayan traces to 18th century Palermo where a vision of the Virgin rescuing souls from the maws of hell was reported.
The church of Cainta in Rizal province serves as its counterpart on the north when it was founded in 1760. The convento built at the same time as the church is now a school.
To connect the older townsite with the newer, the Recollects built a wide flight of stairs, protected near the topmost landing by a watchtower, now in disrepair.
From Loon Church leads of long stairway of 174 stone steps, which connect Napo, the former seat of the town. Wood to build the church was carried from the forest of Maitum by forced laborers, who had to beat their way through uncharted trails and across rivers.
Loon is some 25 km north-west of Tagbilaran City, along the route to Tubigon. Catch a bus to Tubigon from the Integrated Bus Terminal and ask the driver to let you out in Loon. |
The business of building tanks is not for every nation. It is common that militaries around the world look outside their borders for AFVs and make selections on operational requirements for the present and the future, and of course this is largely based on budget. When a country undertakes developing a domestically produced tank there are plenty of issues to contend with above and beyond the actual design of the tank. The technology must be sourced, the design must be engineered, and the factories to produce the tanks must be available and functioning.
In the 1970s Argentina took on the task of developing an indigenous series of AFVs. This was a monumental task as the last time Argentina developed and produced a tank was in 1943 with the DL-43 that resembled the Sherman. Argentina understood that it desperately needed to replace its aging fleet of Sherman tanks. The result was the decision to design and produce a Medium tank and an associated family of tracked vehicles all based on the same chassis. The only way to do this effectively and in a relatively short timeline was to look to the rest of the world for technology and engineering. Argentina sought out existing German technology and developed it further with the assistance of Thyssen-Henschel and their Marder MICV chassis. In only four short years the prototypes were delivered for testing and the TAM family of vehicles was forged in armour.
Production continued until 1992 with hundreds of TAM tanks being produced. The TAM was offered for export as well to a variety of very eager nations but none of the sales went through due to political pressure from Western governments.
This Tankograd book is a soft-cover A4 format (210mm x 297mm) book with a total of 64 pages. It is part of the Tankograd “International Special” series. There are nine black & white photos and 150 colour photos. The text is presented in both German and English. The authors are Juan Carlos Cicalesi and Santiago Rivas.
The book is broken down into multiple chapters that cover all variants of the TAM.
Covers the history and development of the TAM series including the TAM VC, Org of an Army Tank Regiment, TAM VCTP, Org of a Mechanized Infantry Regiment, TAM VCPC, TAM VCCDF and TAM VCCDT, TAM VCA, TAM VCAmun, Org of an Armoured Artillery Group, VCTM, VCRT, VCLC, and unbuilt TAM versions.
Covers the TAM VC (Vehiculo de Combate) Medium Tank and includes images and text pertaining to the prototype, operational use, deep fording, tank transport, camouflage patterns, walk around, training accidents, crew uniforms, export trials, mine rollers, and modernization. There are great images in this chapter and you really get to see the TAM training in the variety of terrains encountered in Argentina. It is not hard to make the comparison from the TAM VC turret to the Leopard 1 turret.
Cover the TAM VCA (Vehiculo de Combate Artilleria) Self-Propelled Artillery and includes images and text of the VCA on exercises.
Covers the TAM VCAmun (Vehiculo de Combate Amunicionador) Ammunition Supply Vehicle and includes several images and text of the VCAmun in the field.
Covers the TAM VCCDF (Vehiculo de Combate Centro Director de Feugo) and VCCDT (Vehiculo de Combate Centro Director de Tiro) Fire-Control Vehicles and provides both images and text of these fire control AFVs.
Covers the very unique TAM VCLC (Vehiculo de Combate Lanza Cohetes) Rocket Launcher Combat Vehicle and includes images and text of vehicle mounting the Israeli designed LAR-160 multi rocket tubes.
Covers the TAM VCPC (Vehiculo de Combate Puesto Comando ( Command Combat Vehicle) and includes several images and text related to this variant.
Covers the TAM VCRT (Vehiculo de Combate Recuperador Tanques) Armoued Recovery Vehicle and includes four images and text of the ARV.
Covers the TAM VCTM (Vehiculo de Combate Transporte Mortero ) Mortar Transport Combat Vehicle and includes multiple images and text of the 120 mm mortar carrier.
Covers the TAM VCTP (Vehiculo de Combate Transporte Personal) Infantry Fighting Vehicle and covers the IFV in the field, during UN tours, and the ambulance version. This is where you truly see the roots back to the Marder MICV with the distinct features of the hull, the 20 mm cannon in the turret and the remote TPA-1 weapon station on the rear upper hull.
If you follow modern armour beyond what you see on TV or mainstream modelling you should know about the TAM series. This is a very unique AFV family and a huge accomplishment for the Argentine military. If you do know about the TAM series this is a great book to have as a reference to see all the variants in one place. It is truly too bad a 1/35 kit has not been produced of the tank or the other vehicles in the series.
The book is well structured with an easy to follow vehicle history within the Argentine Army. The images are crisp and clear and provide excellent depictions of the colour schemes on the various TAMs. Of interest for you historians is that the TAMs were not deployed to the Falklands in 1982 but instead were kept on the mainland. Would they have assisted the Argentine Forces on the island had they been deployed?
Highs: Excellent images throughout the book.
Lows: It would have been nice to have included more UN mission images as this was the only operational deployment outside of Argentina.
Verdict: Great book that tells the entire TAM story. |
At times I have wondered about the role God plays in the world—where can we see Him at work? People have viewed Him—some still do—as what J. B. Phillips called the "god of the gaps." When you don't know about evaporation and condensation, then God's direct action seems the best explanation of how water comes from the sky. But with this approach the greater your ignorance, the more you think you see God at work around you; while, on the other hand, the more you learn about nature, the smaller your God becomes.
Deists hold another view of God's relation to His creation. They suggest that He created it all and then stepped back to let it run on its own. But such a lack of involvement hardly fits the biblical picture of God—in whom "we live, and move, and have our being."
But if we can find natural explanations—in the physical and social sciences—for most of what we see around us, then where does God fit in? I think creationists and evolutionists alike would agree that our world is as it is because matter and energy—and animate creatures—are governed by natural law. It is the consistency and universality of the laws of nature that make our universe knowable and habitable. And perhaps it is here that we see God's continuing presence in His creation. Without the laws He established and continues to maintain, the universe would be chaos, "without form, and void."
A wise father whose infant, while learning to walk, is suffering because of the law of gravity wouldn't have that law annulled even if he could. The act of walking and even their very lives depend on the continued functioning of that law. Instead, the father will help his child learn to use that law, learn to do what it makes possible. Working with and benefiting by all the laws of nature allows us to live, work, and play.
This insight gives us a new perspective on God's moral law, the Ten Commandments. That law is not a collection of arbitrary demands laid upon us to test the depths of our submission to God, nor is it a set of divinely ordained bootstraps by which we can attain righteousness—and thus eternal life. Rather, God's moral law makes possible our continuing existence as spiritual beings in relation to Him and to our fellow beings.
Christian freedom, then, does not mean release from obligation to that law—we would be the poorer if it did. It is true that conformity with God's law is not the means of salvation. Only Christ's sacrifice on our behalf could atone for our sins and bring to us justification. But having miraculously preserved us from the natural results of our transgression of that law, Christ will also bring us into harmony with it. Like the child whose freedom to move depends on learning to function in relation to the laws of physics, our freedom as moral agents depends on our learning to function in relation to God's moral law—a process we know as sanctification.
Note these two powerful paragraphs from a book on Christian education: "Christ came to the world with the accumulated love of eternity. Sweeping away the exactions which had encumbered the law of God, He showed that the law is a law of love, an expression of the Divine Goodness. He showed that in obedience to its principles is involved the happiness of mankind, and with it the stability, the very foundation and framework, of human society.
Too often, in our concern to preserve the truth that we obtain righteousness by faith alone, we have tended toward antinomianism. Christ came to reform a religion that for many had degenerated into legalism. But He did not teach that God's moral code had no place in the kingdom of grace. In fact, in His sermon on the mount He protested against the suggestion that He had come to abolish the law (Matt. 5:17).
Revelation goes so far as to indicate that those Christians who live in the troubled times just before Christ's second advent will be identifiable, in part, by their faithfulness to God's law. The remnant, the saints, are "those who obey God's commandments" (Rev. 12:17, NIV; see alsoRev. 14:12). |
Fermented food is good for your gut and it's popping up on menus and supermarket shelves across the country.
Fermented food is popping up on menus across the country and on supermarket shelves too.
Chef William Pauley serves up lots of different dishes at his restaurant that feature fermented foods.
"We do sauerkraut. We do kimchi. We do pickles," Pauley says.
He also brews more than 100 flavors of kombucha, a type of fermented tea.
Pauley said he thinks every day people should eat something cultured, pickled and fermented.
His love for fermented food was born during a two-year stint in South Korea.
He had painful stomach ulcers growing up. They disappeared in Korea, where fermented food is everywhere.
"There, I got a little bit more balanced," Pauley said. "The cuisine, you know, fermented foods, it really balanced me out."
Dan Brewer is a licensed dietitian and says that fermented foods are great for your gut.
"The healthier your gut is, the healthier overall well-being will be," Brewer said.
Fermented foods are also thought to help reduce heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
"I think there are a lot of health benefits to consuming and making fermented foods," Brewer said.
Another popular fermented food is the South Korean dish kimchi, which Brewer says also has healthful properties, and is rich in vitamins A and C. It's also got lactobacilli bacteria, which has been linked to boosting digestion.
Kimchi is a blend of fermented cabbage, vinegar, chili peppers, scallions and garlic.
Brewer says there are lots of ways to work fermented foods into your diet and it doesn't have to be limited to kombucha or traditional kimchi. Try kefir - a kind of drinkable yogurt - sauerkraut, honey-fermented peaches and apples, or acorn squash kimchi.
"When I started feeling better, it really changed the way that I interacted with the world," Pauley said.
And while many fermented foods, like kombucha, are available in grocery stores, experts say it's easy to ferment food yourself at home. You just need the right fruits and vegetables, salt, the right temperature and time. |
This building is one of those areas that have preserved their charm for quite a few centuries now. Constructed during 1681, this building crossed many stages before getting converted into a shopping complex that it is today.
Location: This shopping arcade is located in the Galle Fort area, at Hospital Street.
Highlights: This is the most ancient building in Colombo Fort and was set up with the main purpose of providing medical assistance to people working for Dutch East India Company. Do not miss to visit Odels, one of the most decent joints selling high-quality souvenirs and clothes. If you are interested in shopping and eating good food, you have to visit this area as it lined with lots of cafés and eating joints.
Timings: It is open from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM on all days of the week.
Price: Entry to this place is not chargeable.
One of the finest and most traditional Tourist attractions in Galle which is worth to visit and admire is the Galle Fort. The Dutch Reformed Church is the ancient building located in the premises of the fort. The building’s date goes back the 18th century during the Dutch period.
Highlights: Many tombstones dating back to the 17th can be observed; this church also is a Cruciform with shorter transepts separated by two arches. The floor is marked with gravestones. The beautiful pulpit made from Malaysian wood, calamander is a beautiful sight and near to the pulpit is the memorial of De Ly Family.
Dutch Fort is one of the most extraordinary historical and archeological sites of the world. The fort was first constructed by Portuguese in the late sixteenth century and fortified expansively by the Dutch in the mid-seventeenth century. It is a stunning blend of archeology, architecture, and history in the backdrop of the tropical atmosphere. Its appeal lies in that it is not just a historical monument. Even today the life is buzzing inside it, with a museum, gorgeous villas, administrative offices, antique shops, cafes, bookstores and lifestyle stores.
Location: Situated in the Southern Sri Lankan Coast in the Bay of Galle just 132 KM from Colombo.
Highlights: A stroll on the streets will let you experience the beautiful architecture of the colonial style buildings that still exudes the warmth and charm. Visit National Maritime Museum, stop by Meera Mosque and enjoy delicacies at Lucky Fort Restaurant and Galle Fort Hotel Restaurant.
After a tiresome day, if you wish to end it with some peace and watch the sun set on the horizon, hear the seagulls beckoning you and also observe the waves crash the rocks forming a soulful music then Galle Flag Rock Bastion is where you need to go. The Flag Rock an ex-Portuguese Bastion, situated at the southernmost end of the Galle Fort, today is a popular destination for tourists to witness the sunset. This Rock was a natural defence center during the Dutch period, from where ships were alerted about dangers lurking and also from the unseen rocks underwater by firing Musket shots from the Pigeon Island.
Highlights: Scenic surrounding; to your west, you will be able to locate the lighthouse and the Gunpowder Museum opposite to the Meeran Masjid. |
Recovering from the financial crash was never going to be easy, and the latest growth forecasts suggest there’s a way to go. But there was good news for the economy in last week’s budget. We have the lowest unemployment since the 1970s and rising wages for the lowest paid. We’ve taken nearly 1.3 million people out of income tax altogether, and, as of next year, debt as a share of GDP will start falling.
Now’s the time to start laying foundations for a stronger economic future: for people in their 30s as their careers develop, people in their 20s as they set out in the world of work, teenagers wondering what life will hold, and smaller children like mine dreaming of being ballerinas and footballers. The Chancellor recognises this, and has set out a budget that includes investment in technology, infrastructure, research and development, 5G, broadband, and maths and science teaching, to give people the skills and resources they need for the jobs of tomorrow.
As well as jobs, people want houses. I hope the abolition of stamp duty for first-time buyers for properties under £300,000 will help people in this area – where prices are high – get on the ladder. And the Government has committed to making sure 300,000 new homes a year are built. More homes for this area is a worry when roads are at a standstill, so we must get our share of the £5bn fund for infrastructure to support development.
As well as looking ahead, the Chancellor has listened to people’s worries about the here and now. There’s extra money for the NHS this winter and over the next two years—part of the Government’s £8 billion commitment to increase funding over this Parliament—and an extra £3.5 billion of capital. In Kent, we’ll be bidding for our share of that: for a health centre in Maidstone; a contribution to a new hospital in east Kent; and a new medical school for Kent and Medway.
To get the good jobs, housing and public services we want, we must look forward – not backwards – and build the foundations for the economy of the future. |
Connect2compete (often written incorrectly as Connect to Compete) is one of those rare organizations formed by a combination of private companies and non-profit organizations.
The program has made a lot of news, getting much attention and many of America’s best known cable companies and assortment of other internet companies have partnered up with the program.
Connect2Compete helps you find low cost monthly broadband internet access. Plus a low cost computer for your home. And very low-cost computer training classes. That’s a combination that lower income, struggling Americans can really use these days.
An internet connection will make it easier for you to apply for better jobs and also make it easier for your kids to excel in school. And that, in a nutshell, is the whole idea behind Connect2Compete.
The simple fact is, a personal computer and internet access won’t help you very much if you don’t know how to use a computer. It’s like having someone give you a car, but no driving lessons.
So the Best Buy Geek Squad’s contribution is to offer basic digital literacy training sessions in 20 major cities around the country. But they don’t stop there. The Geek Squad will work with community non-profits to train them how to train additional people.
Finally, industry leader Microsoft has agreed to build an online digital literacy training center for people who live in smaller cities that aren’t large enough for in-person digital literacy classes. And that’s just the beginning. Microsoft will also offer valuable Microsoft Certification training sessions in 15 states. These certifications, normally quite expensive, can help you land a job or improve your career.
And CareerBuilder.com will offer online prep and certification classes for just $1 per course. And, of course, additional jobs and education content will be offered on an ongoing basis. In other words, the program starts with more than you could have hoped for and grows rapidly from there.
The bad news on a national level is that millions of Americans, maybe even tens of millions of Americans are eligible for this program because of our devasted and barely recovering economy.
But the good news – on a personal level – is that you may well qualify for Connect2Compete and live in an area that one of their partners servces.
There are two ways you can qualify for this inexpensive internet access.
your household must (a) have at least one student enrolled in the Free School Lunch Program (Cox now allows SNAP and TANF participants); (b) not be a current subscriber to the broadband service (or have subscribed in the last 90 days) you are enrolling with; and (c) not have an overdue bill or unreturned equipment to the participating service provider.
Reside in any of over 14,000 zip codes that have a median household income level of $35,000 or less. No matter your income or other eligibility.
Which eligibility rule is applied depends upon which internet service plan you are trying to get. But in a nutshell, the three wireless internet companies — FreedomPop, Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen — are all based upon the zip code, and in general, the rest are based upon the School Lunch program criteria.
The companies that participate to provide broadband access are Bright House, Cablevision, Comcast (Internet Essentials), Cox Communications, Mediacom, Midcontinent, Mobile Citizen, Mobile Beacon and Wilco.
Overage at $0.01 per MB.
If you are interested in Comcast’s Internet Essentials plan offered through Connect2Compete, you can also go directly to their offer page. There is no difference in price by doing so.
The other programs listed above require you to begin at the the EveryoneOn.org site, which hosts the Connect2Compete program. While you can go directly to FreedomPop, you won’t find the same deal and you’ll pay considerably more.
If Connect2Compete doesn’t work for you, the good news is that if you are in an area that offers CenturyLink DSL service, you can participate in their similar plan called Internet Basics. In fact, this plan offer internet service to a broader spectrum of low income Americans: not just those with a child on the National Free School Lunch Program or one in a certain zip code, but to those on any one of a number of government assistance programs such as Medicaid, Food Stamps, SSI and others.
Connect2Compete’s make more people eligible for cheap internet (despite confusing new rules)- The good news is that Connect2Compete has introduced new rules that make more people eligible for cheap internet, cheap computers, and digital literacy training. The bad news is that the 64 words that outline those new rules are almost incomprehensible.
New Connect2Compete public service announcement: We review it.- We’ve eagerly awaited the day that Connect2Compete and the AdCouncil break their long-promised campaign to promote nationwide cheap internet for America’s needy.
Connect2Compete to launch nationwide (almost) digital literacy training program- If you haven’t yet heard of Connect2Compete, you’ll be hearing plenty about it in the coming months.
Here comes Connect2Compete: Cheap internet program ready to roll out nationally- After successfully completing a series of test programs around the country, Connect2Compete will launch nationally on March 21 in order to bring inexpensive digital opportunities to all low-income Americans.
Ending the digital divide ends poverty: Bringing cheap internet to America’s low income Hispanic kids- The FCC believes helping Latinos adopting broadband at much higher levels which will lead directly to better educations, better healthcare, and lower poverty rates.
New ad campaign to promote government’s cheap internet program, Connect to Compete- Connect to Compete's ad campaign beginning in January, 2013 will alert tens of millions of needy Americans that they can receive cheap internet and a cheap computer. |
Although we have been using printers for several decades now, we still experience different problems when trying to print documents. In this article, we will try to address one such common issue. This is when our computer informs us that another PC is using the printer, which is why it is unable to print a document.
Sometimes, the error appears when more than one computer is attempting to print documents. However, if the printer is connected to a single computer, it means there is most probably a technical issue you need to resolve.
This works for some printers (Canon printers included). They usually have more than one printer listed. One is listed as a “WS” printer and often causes the issue we are trying to solve. In such a case, try to set the normal printer and not the “WS” printer as the default one. Simply removing the latter may also solve the issue.
Going through a full power cycle is a process which works for many people and involves turning off certain devices completely and turning them on again. This applies not only to your printer but also to your PC and Wi-Fi device. By power cycling a device, you force it to reinitialize a number of configuration parameters on one hand and on the other, to recover from an unresponsive state. Through power cycling, you also reset all its network configurations.
Remember that restarting your devices instantly may not be sufficient. It is always a good idea to disconnect the power cables for several minutes too. After two or three minutes, you can plug the cables back in and switch on the devices.
The software program called Spooler Service manages all the print jobs a computer sends to a printer. This service allows a user not only to cancel certain currently processed jobs but also to control other jobs currently on the queue.
Press together Win key + R and type “services.msc” in the Open field.
Confirm with OK and the Services window will open.
Locate the service called “Print Spooler” in the Name field of the window. Pressing “P” on the keyboard will make it easier for you to navigate and find it.
Double click on it and the Print Spooler Properties window will open.
Click the Stop button and confirm by pressing OK.
Start the Windows file explorer by pressing Win key + E and from the left Quick access pane, click on This PC.
Navigate to the path “C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS”. If prompted for access, just click Continue.
Once you navigate to the “PRINTERS” folder, delete all the files inside.
Reboot your PC and check whether you still have a problem.
If the solution above fixes the problem but the issue still keeps reappearing, you can make a batch file to automate all the above tasks by simply clicking on the file. This is a time-saving solution, allowing you to perform all of the previous steps if the error returns.
Open the file explorer in Windows by pressing Windows + E or just clicking on its icon.
Go to View=>Options and click on Change folder and search options.
Save the file with the name PrintSpoolerServiceReset or choose another name that suits you more.
What is great about this file is that every time you double-click it, the print spooler service will automatically perform the reset for you.
If you are unsuccessful at resolving the problem with the aforementioned methods, perhaps your issue is driver-related. Outdated device drivers are known to cause compatibility issues and cause issues in your printer. Your best bet in such a scenario is to visit the website of your printer’s manufacturer and download the most recent driver for your particular device and operating system. Ensure that both the printer model and the operating system match yours.
In case you already have the latest driver installed but it doesn’t work properly, you can always try an older version.
Press Win key + R and type “devmgmt.msc” in the Open field. Confirm your choice with OK and the device manager of your PC with the display on the screen.
Navigate to the “Print queues” and expand it. Find your printer from the dropdown menu, right-click on it and choose to “Update driver”.
When the OS asks you whether you wish to update the driver, select to browse your computer for driver software if you have already downloaded it from the manufacturer’s website or have a disk with it.
Choose the driver file from the browser button and run it to initiate the update.
Reboot the PC and check whether this has solved the issue.
If this doesn’t work for you, try uninstalling the driver before you update it.
WSD stands for Web Services for Devices and is meant to serve as a control mechanism for finding, controlling and setting up devices. The WSD’s timeout settings detect issues and will try to fix them.
The WSD Timeout Settings can be changed in two ways. You can either visit the webpage through your printer’s IP. Instead of the default, you should alter the setting to ten minutes. Ensure that you cancel all running printer jobs before making this change.
Most devices come with the same configuration. The settings can be accessed in the order listed below. The navigation may be somewhat different for different printer models.
Do not forget to do a power cycling after you change the WSD timeout settings.
Press the start menu button in the lower left side of the Windows taskbar and type “Windows Defender”. Click on “Windows Defender Security Center”.
Ensure the Virus & thread protection is running, click on it and initiate a scan. |
Gum recession refers to the loss of gum tissue along the gum line. Patients with gum recession find that the margin of the gum tissue that protects their teeth has worn away or seemingly pulled back, exposing more tooth root than is desirable. This can occur as a result of periodontal disease (gingivitis, periodontitis, advanced periodontitis), the natural aging process, or abrasive habits when it comes to brushing the teeth.
When gum recession occurs, the root structure of the tooth becomes exposed. This means that tooth decay and other more serious problems can affect the teeth along the gum line and beneath it. Early detection and treatment are essential in order to maintain your overall dental health and save teeth. The first sign of gum recession is often tooth sensitivity or teeth that appear longer than usual. If you believe your gums are receding, it’s important you contact a Pinhole® certified dentist for prompt evaluation.
What is the Chao Pinhole® Technique?
The Chao Pinhole® Surgical Technique (PST) is a minimally invasive option for treating gum recession. Unlike traditional grafting techniques, the Pinhole® technique is incision-and suture-free. All of the tools and techniques used to perform the Chao Pinhole® Surgical Technique were created by Dr. John Chao, who trained Dr. Fava in this special technique.
How is this procedure different from traditional gum grafting?
Traditional gum recession treatments involve the use of donor tissue or soft tissue grafts in order to rebuild the gum line. Because of the way this surgical procedure is performed, two different areas of the mouth must heal over the course of several weeks. This surgical procedure may still be suggested in some instances.
How is the Pinhole® technique performed?
During the Chao Pinhole® procedure, a needle is used to make a small hole in the patient’s existing gum tissue. Through this pinhole, special instruments are used to gently loosen the gum tissue. These tools help expand and slide healthy gum tissue to cover the exposed root structure. There are no grafts, no sutures, and no incisions needed with the Chao Pinhole® Surgical Technique. It simply involves the adjustment of the existing tissue.
What are the benefits of Pinhole® versus traditional grafting?
The Pinhole technique does not require scalpels, sutures or other invasive surgical tools. Patients treated with the Chao Pinhole® technique experience less discomfort and faster recovery as compared to traditional grafting where “donor” tissue is taken from the patient’s palate. Other benefits include faster recovery for the patient than with traditional gum grafting; long-lasting results; natural-looking smiles and gum issues that can often be treated in one visit.
Only a Pinhole®-certified dentist can offer this technique. Philip L. Fava, DMD, MDSc, partner at the Pennsylvania Center for Dental Implants and Periodontics, is a certified dentist in the CHAO Pinhole® Technique for treating gum recession. |
In Australia, the discourse of business and government is rife with mentions to innovation, disruption and dexterity. As a result, the policy settings of government and our macroeconomic environment has seen a shift in the traditional backbone of our economy. We’ve moved from a mining-led economy to one which is increasingly driven by technology and innovation.
Consider, for example, the fact that by the turn of the century there were approximately 200 million objects connected via the Internet, predominantly human-operated personal computers. However, by 2013 that number had flourished to 10 billion. Consequently, with the advancement of technology and Internet connectivity around the globe, the Internet of Things (IoT) has witnessed unprecedented growth. Hence, for high cost nations like Australia, the IoT holds enormous promise for our industries to compete globally.
By definition, the IoT is a sophisticated network of objects embedded with electronic systems that enable them to collect and exchange data. Most of us are already familiar with a number of smart devices. Powerful, sensor-equipped smart phones, for instance, have brought an unprecedented level of connectivity to our daily lives. In this regard, the IoT promises to extend sensor technology to all sorts of objects, processes and industries – even those that are not usually associated with the term “smart”.
Accordingly, the burgeoning of this fully connected world epitomises an exceptional prospect for innovation. In effect, the very nature of IoT is innately interrelated to innovation. Likewise, the quintessence of innovation is that it involves, research, experimentation and development. Thus, by implementing IoT in business practices, new products, novel business models, improved processes, and innovative interactions are bound to emerge. Furthermore, ground-breaking technological advances will be crucial before the IoT begins to realise its full potential. Hence, by the fundamental nature of these activities, companies engaged in any type of IoT-related innovation may qualify for significant research and development (R&D) tax benefits.
To elaborate, the R&D tax incentive is available to businesses that uncover new, improved or technologically advanced products, processes or software solutions. In particular cases, it entails a 43.5% refundable tax offset to firms generating less than $20 million in annual revenue and a non-refundable 38.5% tax offset to other companies. Thus, for a company utilising breakthrough IoT technologies, the tax benefit could offer a welcomed source of funding for R&D activities.
In its current form, Australia has a competitive R&D tax incentive program on a global scale, and has one of the best refundable R&D tax offsets and cash back schemes internationally. Despite this, there remains much confusion in determining what is and isn’t defined as R&D within the fast-moving technology industry. As a result, many small companies mistakenly believe they do not qualify for the incentive. Therefore, it is recommended in these cases that a company contracts the help of an R&D Tax Specialist to assist with their claim. |
Throughout most of January we are in the Epiphany season. Epiphany means a revelation, a manifestation, an unveiling: something is brought to light and understood more clearly. As in, “Oh! Now I get it.” In the midst of winter darkness, Epiphany is the season of light.
Let me back up here to an epiphany moment on New Year’s Day: the Name of Jesus. Like all Jewish baby boys in that day, Jesus was circumcised and named on his eighth day of life. What’s in a name? The name Jesus or Yeshua or Joshua, means “God saves/He saves”. The angel said to Joseph, “She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. We begin a new calendar year in the name of Jesus who saves us from our sins.
The season of Epiphany begins with the Visitation of the Magi on January 6th. We often call them the three kings, but we don’t know that they were kings or even that there were 3 of them. Three gifts are mentioned, but the Gospel of Matthew simply says, “magi”: the plural form of the word. The wisemen or magi from the East, may have been astrologers. They did follow a star to find the baby Jesus. We often have the magi arrive on Christmas Eve with the shepherds, which is fine for Christmas pageants. But it may have actually been some time before the magi found Jesus. Matthew 2:11 says, “On entering the house (not the stable), they saw the child with Mary his mother: and they knelt down and paid him homage”. In other words, they worshiped the baby Jesus.
I’m remembering a felt banner of the wise men that my grandma hung in her house at Christmas time. One magi had light skin, one had medium brown skin and one had dark brown skin. The banner made the point that Jesus is the Savior for all peoples, all races and countries of people.
The Bible does not tell us much about the magi, because the point is not who they were, but what they reveal, what they bring to light about Jesus. The magi reveal that Jesus is for all ethnicities of people. They also reveal that Jesus is worthy of our finest gifts. The magi offered Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were precious gifts at that time and their value must have helped the holy family, when they fled to Egypt to escape the murder attempt of cruel Herod. How do we offer our gifts to Jesus today to help needy children and people in our community and world? |
Local women in India leading and participating in a local hygiene education session, learning about the importance of hand-washing.
During my recent trips to Bangalore and Chennai, it was really eye opening for me to see the important role hygiene education and creative awareness raising programs can play in also generating demand for access to safe water, and ensuring programs are more sustainable. Visiting an area near Bangalore where one of our partners had provided WaterCredit loans and rolled our hygiene education programs, you could see the great level of care and pride with which families were taking care of their homes, water connections and toilets.
The Economist wrote a great piece on the importance of changing cultural norms through tools such as participatory hygiene education and training programs to more successfully address issues such as open defecation. You can’t just build toilets and hand them out, and expect people to change their way of life. This is definitely something I saw during my trips to Haiti as well. On the contrary, you need to let people and communities to think and act for themselves, helping them understand the linkages between poor hygiene and water- and sanitation-related diseases. The interesting part about WaterCredit is that because households are willing and able to finance the toilet / product that they want (and sometimes engaged in actually building the toilet), there is a greater chance they will use it and ensure it is maintained over time.
In this rural community near Bangalore, we also visited a local school where children are highly engaged in hygiene education and awareness raising programs to spread the word, and become health ambassadors within their homes. What an amazing experience to see these children sing songs and play out skits to show what they had learned, and how they are educating their families around adopting key hygiene practices.
During my trip to India in August, which was in Chennai (in the South of India), I met some truly remarkable communities in which women and children were embedding and advocating for hygiene education and awareness in areas where they live in very creative ways, pushing for their entire villages to become open defecation free.
Another WaterCredit partner we visited in June in Bangalore is Grameen Koota, a leading MFI that has disbursed more than $16 million in WaterCredit loans to families at the BOP for water and sanitation needs. With representatives from Grameen Koota, we joined a meeting hosted by a group of local women (self-help group) who were responsible for taking out and repaying WaterCredit loans. We had a really enlightening and compelling discussion with these women, trying to understand how having access to a toilet at home (or near their home) had made a significant difference in their lives.
One of the women told a very moving story, one which is hard to convey here in writing. This woman (about 60 years old) explained that three years ago, before this WaterCredit program had been rolled out; women, young girls and children in this community had to find places to defecate throughout the day and night, with very little time and space to find somewhere that was private. Often, men working nearby would watch as these women would need to go to the bathroom in open air, leading them to feel embarrassed and ashamed. The level of discomfort was so high that they began starving themselves, sometimes for as long as three days, to not have to go to the bathroom and bear the humiliation of having others watch them. Today, they are proud to have the convenience and privacy they deserve by having a toilet at home. While I wasn't able to get a good shot of this woman speaking, below is a picture of another couple (in another community near Bangalore) who was very proud to show us the new toilet they had in their home after receiving a WaterCredit loan.
These stories and experiences have continued to inspire me, and highlight the urgency of this crisis. While WaterCredit is certainly not the only solution to the global water crisis, it's really encouraging to see positive results on the ground and dream about the impact this type of approach could have if scaled well globally and carefully.
However, we are still very far from truly overcoming this issue. For instance of the 1.1 billion people who practice open defecation around the world, 600 million live in India. Recent articles have put a spotlight on some painful stories to digest, one highlighting how two young girls in India were brutally raped and murdered on their journey to find a toilet or safe place to defecate in the evening.
While the water and sanitation crisis is a global challenge, I wanted to focus today's blog on India. At a national level, there is a critical need to improve and increase awareness of the importance of proper hygiene in India, in addition to making better and more sustainable services available. In terms of the water issue, scarcity and lack of public infrastructure reaching more remote and rural areas remains a key challenge as well. Adding the importance of enhancing financial inclusion at the BOP for water and sanitation needs to this list could allow us to make great progress here.
Tilman Ehrbeck who is the CEO of CGAP just did a great piece on this in the Huffington Post: "The new Government of India has made financial inclusion one of the corner stones in its modernization aspirations for the country. In his first budget speech earlier this month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley set the target of a financial account for each woman and each man in every Indian household by August 2015. This ambitious target is a recognition of how important access to basic financial transaction services -- and ultimately to better savings, credit and insurance options -- are for full economic citizenship in a country where more than 80 percent of people live and work in the informal economy. "
Prime Minister Modi’s latest speech on Independence Day in India (August 15th) was also very encouraging. His government has placed a strong focus on access to sanitation and hygiene for all, as well as improving financial inclusion at the Base of the Economic Pyramid (BOP). “The prime minister asked MPs and business leaders to help build toilets, especially for women and model villages. He pledged bank accounts for all in a country where nearly 40% of people have little access to financial services and are often at the mercy of moneylenders who charge extortionate interest."
Perhaps this is a call to action by the Indian government that will allow us to finally take our efforts to the next level? |
Your surgeon at Suburban Ear, Nose, and Throat has extensive training in the treatment of head and neck cancer. Part of that treatment includes surgically removing lymph nodes in the neck. The formal name for this operation is called a neck dissection. Each side of the neck contains 20-100 lymph nodes. Lymph nodes, commonly referred to as "glands," are a part of the immune system. Lymph nodes act as a "filter" for conditions of the head and neck. They may enlarge in response to infection, inflammation, and tumors. Malignant (cancerous) tumors of the head and neck can sometimes spread (metastasize). The site of origin of the cancer is called the primary tumor, and any spread of cancer to other sites is called metastasis. The first place that head and neck cancers will typically metastasize is to the lymph nodes of the neck. They can even develop tumors of their own called lymphoma.
After malignant cells have been growing in a lymph node for some time, the lymph node/s enlarge. The nodes can often then be identified on exam, or by one or more types of diagnostic imaging (CT scan, MRI, or PET scan). Depending on the staging (extent) of your head and neck cancer, a neck dissection might be recommended as part of your treatment plan. Neck dissection might be suggested early in the therapy or towards the end of your cancer treatment, depending on your particular circumstance. We might recommend neck dissection even if there is no evident spread into your lymph nodes on exam or imaging. This is done to help us determine if there has been microscopic metastasis. The presence of microscopic metastasis would then have significant implications in guiding what other treatments are necessary, e.g. radiation or chemotherapy.
There are several types of neck dissections, and the particular type of surgery depends on your individual cancer. We will talk to you about whether or not it will be possible to preserve certain anatomic structures in your neck, depending on the type of neck dissection that your situation dictates. Sometimes the neck dissection is performed upon both sides of the neck. Often, the neck dissection is performed in conjunction with other surgery to remove the primary tumor also. The primary tumor can be anywhere in the head and neck, including the tongue, tonsils, throat, larynx (voice box), or other sites. Each individual situation is unique, and we will help you understand all the specifics of what we have recommended to you.
Selective Neck Dissection: Only certain groups of lymph nodes will be removed. There are 6 lymph node regions in your neck as demonstrated in the diagram above. With a selective neck dissection, several lymph node regions will be removed, depending on the location of your primary tumor. Usually this type of neck dissection is recommended in three situations: (1) to determine if there has been microsopic spread of your cancer, (2) to determine if all the cancer cells are gone after radiation and/ or chemotherapy, or (3) to remove a small malignant lymph node if surgery is the only treatment and no chemotherapy or radiation therapy is planned.
Modified Radical Neck Dissection: Most of the lymph nodes from the neck (from the jawbone to the collar bone) will be removed, along with either a muscle, nerve or vein (or combination of 2 of these structures). This type of neck dissection and the below described radical neck dissection are performed when there is evidence of more extensive involvement of lymph node metastasis.
Radical Neck Dissection: Nearly all of the lymph nodes from the neck will be removed, along with a muscle (sternocleidomastoid muscle), a nerve (cranial nerve XI — spinal accessory nerve), and a vein (internal jugular vein). It is important to understand that it is generally safe to remove these structures without causing significant bodily dysfunction or deformity.
Before your operation, your surgeon at Suburban Ear, Nose, and Throat will explain the type of neck dissection you are going to have. The surgery is guided by the size and location of the involved lymph nodes in your neck. During the operation, the surgeon will make an incision in your neck, which begins just below your ear and extends downward towards the center of your neck. This will provide exposure to the lymph nodes in your neck. Occasionally, the surgeon may also remove other tissues such as a portion of skin, if it is affected by the tumor.
The indications and risks of surgery must be understood prior to proceeding with surgery. Alternatives to surgery including radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy will be discussed before proceeding with surgery.
2 WEEKS PRIOR TO SURGERY: Strictly avoid all anti‐inflammatory drugs for two weeks pre‐operatively. This includes aspirin, Advil, ibuprofen, Naprosyn, Celebrex or any other non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (NSAIDs). These medicines increase your risk of bleeding. These medicines must also be avoided for at least one week after surgery. Tylenol (acetaminophen) is not an anti‐inflammatory so it is fine to take.
NIGHT BEFORE SURGERY: No solid foods (that includes milk, cream etc.) for 8 hours prior to surgery. Typically this means no solid foods after midnight before the surgery. Small volumes of clear liquid may be drank up to 4 hours prior to surgery (examples: water, tea, Gatorade, or coffee with NO milk or cream).
HOSPITAL STAY: Patients who undergo neck dissection will usually be admitted to the hospital for 2-5 days. They will usually spend the first night in the intensive care unit for observation.
LAB WORK: Your physician may request that blood work is done prior to surgery. If this is needed, you will receive an order form for this blood work, and the location of the lab to perform the blood draw is usually recommended based on your insurance company and where your surgery is to be performed.
Despite neck dissection having many potentially serious risks, they occur very infrequently, and the surgical procedure is usually performed without difficulty. Although substantial tissue involved with cancer is removed from the patient’s neck, this operation does not generally lead to a dramatic degree of disfigurement or dysfunction.
BLEEDING: significant bleeding is rarely encountered during neck dissection surgery. Despite this, there is a small chance of excessive blood loss possibly requiring transfusion. If carotid artery injury was to occur you may suffer a stroke, or this could be a fatal event. This injury is extremely rare.
Marginal mandibular nerve: injury to the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve can lead to temporary or permanent facial weakness to the lower lip on the surgical side.
Spinal Accessory Nerve: depending on the type of neck dissection performed, you may have temporary or permanent weakness to your shoulder. Sometimes it is required that the spinal accessory nerve be removed as a planned part of the neck dissection in order to optimize eradication of the cancer. The spinal accessory nerve gives strength to your shoulder muscles, allowing shrugging and full raising of your arm. Shoulder pain can occur after removal of this nerve, but it can be managed with post-operative physical therapy. Even when the spinal accessory nerve is preserved, up to 50% of patients may experience temporary shoulder weakness and/or discomfort.
Vagus nerve: Injury to the vagus nerve, though extremely rare, will result in hoarseness, swallowing troubles or throat dysfunction after surgery.
Phrenic nerve: One half of your diaphragm may be paralyzed if the phrenic nerve is injured during surgery. This is an extremely rare injury. Although in many cases, injury to one of the phrenic nerves is not that symptomatic, it can lead to chronic shortness of breath.
Lingual nerve: Injury to the lingual nerve will result in numbness to one half of your tongue, but the tongue will have normal mobility.
Hypoglossal nerve: Injury to the hypoglossal nerve will cause weakness or paralysis to one half of the tongue. The tongue will retain normal sensation. Some slurred speech can be initially expected, but with speech and swallowing therapy, normal or near-normal function can be re-established.
CHYLE LEAK: On occasion, larger lymph vessels are encountered during surgery. Care is taken to prevent leakage of lymph fluid; however, if this occurs post-operatively, it may require a period of time after surgery where you are only fed with IV fluids in order to facilitate resolution of this leak. In addition, when food is introduced, it may be a modified diet for several weeks. Rarely, further surgery may be required to control this problem.
SWELLING: patients may notice intermittent, but long-term swelling of the skin of the face and neck after undergoing neck dissection. This can be improved by sleeping upright for a couple of nights.
Poor scarring or poor healing can occur, especially if you have already received radiation therapy. On occasion further surgery is necessary to correct this problem.
With most neck dissections, one or more sensory nerves are removed during the surgery. Removal of these nerves is a planned part of the neck dissection, and does not represent a complication. In addition, it does not alter one’s appearance. It will likely result in numbness to the ear, neck, and/or shoulder skin. |
Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force in World War I, calls off the Battle of the Somme in France after nearly five months of mass slaughter.
The massive Allied offensive began at 7:30 a.m. on July 1, 1916, when 100,000 British soldiers poured out of their trenches and into no-man’s-land. During the preceding week, 250,000 Allied shells had pounded German positions near the Somme River, and the British expected to find the way cleared for them. However, scores of heavy German machine guns had survived the artillery onslaught, and the invading infantry were massacred. By the end of the day, 20,000 British soldiers were dead and 40,000 wounded. It was the single heaviest day of casualties in British military history.
After the initial disaster, Haig resigned himself to smaller but equally ineffectual advances, and more than 1,000 Allied lives were extinguished for every 100 yards gained on the Germans. Even Britain’s September 15 introduction of tanks into warfare for the first time in history failed to break the deadlock in the Battle of the Somme. In October, heavy rains turned the battlefield into a sea of mud, and on November 18 Haig called off the Somme offensive after more than four months of slaughter.
Except for its effect of diverting German troops from the Battle of Verdun, the offensive was a miserable disaster. It amounted to a total gain of just 125 square miles for the Allies, with more than 600,000 British and French soldiers killed, wounded, or missing in action. German casualties were more than 650,000. Although Haig was severely criticized for the costly battle, his willingness to commit massive amounts of men and resources to the stalemate along the western front eventually contributed to the collapse of an exhausted Germany in 1918. |
An intellectual giant is no more. The void is there, never to be filled. From time to time, we have seen intellectual personalities appearing on the horizon of the firmament of the educational sphere, shine for a short while and disappear into nothingness. But not so Professor Sivathamby. He lived and served many causes and still remains a permanent star that will never set. Such was his fame.
He was born to a Tamil scholar Pandithar and Saivapulavar T P Karthigesu and Valliammai Karthigesu of Karaveddy, Jaffna on May 10, 1932. In a span of almost eight decades his life was a Himalayan climb to success, till he reached the peak of fame and remained there until his demise in 2011.
That sums up the status of an erudite scholar like Professor, Sivathamby.
Being the elder son of Pandit and Savivapulavar (Renowned poet of Savaism) T P Karthigesu, it was not a difficult task for him to step onto the first run of the ladder of learning with ease. It is an amazing feat on the part of the young scholar to show his prowess and succeed in many fields. His knowledge grew in direct proportion to his physical growth.
To start with, he was a teacher. Those who were fortunate enough to have him as their guru say that he would render a history lesson without so much as referring to a textbook. He never carried a book in his hands when he entered the class. All the facts were computed in his brain cells and used when needed. As a fellow teacher who was not interested in history said, “Sivathamby inculcated in me not only a better understanding of history and the interesting and valuable aspects of the subject but also made it so easy to digest and absorb”. Such was his ability to make a subject considered boring to many as interesting and fantastic as a fairy tale.
Professor Sucharitha Gamlath referring to Professor Sivathamny as the greatest living scholar in Tamil recounts an incident which proved how well known, honoured and esteemed was Professor Sivathamby in keeping with the words of Avvaiyar.
It seemed Professor Gamlath once met a Canadian Professor of English who had come to Colombo to learn an old Tamil text from Professor Sivathamby. As it was the worst period of the war in Sri Lanka Professor Gamlath suggested he could go to South India and consult Tamil scholars there. The Canadian replied, “Professor Sivathamby is the greatest living Tamil scholar and it was worth the risk”. The erudite scholar’s name and fame has reached the Western shores. He had done proud by his country, his family, his old school in his native town of Karaveddy and to Karaveddy too. As Sri Lankans and of the same community as the Professor we have every reason to be proud of him.
“Nothing is simpler than greatness, indeed to be simple is to be great” - Emerson. “In character, in manners, in style, in all thins the supreme excellence is simplicity” - Longfellow. Perhaps Emerson and Longfellow have visualized a great but simple person like Professor Sivathamby when they uttered these words.
Those words of wisdom were a perfect fit on to Professor Savathamby. Any body regardless of their position, status, wealthy or poor, young or old could approach him and be treated with kindness by this man who followed Marxist Principles. He believed in respect of the individual and not for position wealth or power.
But it is his colleagues, his underlings, the minor staff, his neighbours and those who sought his help Professor Sivathamby received them with affection with scant respect for post or position and with respect for the individual and render any help or advice sought. When I was writing a book on Jaffna ‘The spirit of the palmyra’, I approached him for guidance. He gave me valuable advice.
He was then in poor health but despite his physical suffering he helped me. That was his greatness such incidents and instances are etched and cherished in the memory of many whom he had helped.
Quick to understand his untiring toiling in the field of research and studies, the wife took full responsibility of the home front and his three daughters did not bother him much so he could sit at his desk in carefree mood to pen his thoughts. It is said, ‘Behind each successful man is a woman’. In the case of the professor there were four women behind his success. He served his wife’s native town with as much zest as he served his own hometown. At VVT he was an active member of TRRO Refuge Rehabilitation Organization. CMCH (Committee for Monitoring Cessation of Hostilities) and also in other citizen committees where he went, in whatever capacity he worked, he would just throw himself in and work night and day. This earned him the respect of all around him.
At a time the Western world thought Sanskrit was the language of the orient, Professor Sivathamby through his research and talks established the fact that Tamil ranges with Prakrit and Sanskrit. In fact he proved to the world the antiquity of the Tamil Language. He was solely responsible for placing Tamil on the international fora. At his funeral, scholars from Tamil Nadu too flew in to pay their respects to Professor Savithamnby. It was a pride to all Sri Lankans that a Sri Lankan presided over the world Tamil Research Conference held in Coimbatore. Looking back we see a man, a teacher an actor, artiste, dramatist, interpreter Tamil scholar as simple great man in his life playing many parts and the most popular man whose heart reaches out to the weak and the poor, all the elements so well mixed in him and nature could salute him and say ‘This was a man’. He lives through his creative writing in the mind and memories of all who had met him at least once in their lifetime. |
Everybody knows that good communication is necessary for any relationship to succeed. But did you know that there’s more to communication than just ordinary conversation? Body language has as much of an impact on communication as verbal speech. In some situations, it even matters more than the things people say. Studies have shown that body language and tonality may be more accurate indicators of meaning and emotions than spoken word.
Considering that nonverbal communication creates a deeper impression on others than verbal communication, mastering the ability to understand and use nonverbal communication, or body language, is a powerful tool that can help you connect with others and express yourself authentically. Paying even the slightest attention to body language can be of great bene! fit to the quality of relationships we build. Here are five tips on how to master body language in order to enhance your communication skills.
1. Pay Attention: Make a habit of observing your own, and other people’s body language. For example, take notice of things like posture, stance, and general movements as emotions fluctuate during conversation. The more you notice, the more you can read.
2. Use Your Body Language: Once you understand how and when nonverbal gestures occur, try to modify your own movements in order to convey intentional messages during interaction. For example, always stand tall to project confidence. Or smile to make yourself approachable. Practice makes perfect.
3. Do Some Research: There are an infinite number of movements and gestures when it comes to body language, and each of them have multiple meanings in different situations. Don’t just rely on guesswork and assumptions to interpret nonverbal communication. Read up on it and you’ll discover plenty of valuable insights.
4. Don’t Get Carried Away: As you discover new skills and knowledge about nonverbal communication, don’t forget to be natural and organic as you interact with others. If you become too manipulative about using body language, you’ll end up communicating like a robot instead of an average person. |
Activeness depends on your work ability, and if you work in a proper way by making yourself fresh, then you can stay active. Economics, as well as mathematics, need a fresh mind to understand the different types of questions. So, if you want to be active, and then be fresh to get a good start of doing work in the day. If you feel tired after a long time class, then take a nap of 2 hours and make your brain fresh to get the best outcome. Any student who feels tired after his daytime work will not be able to complete his difficult mathematics work or Economics work. So, the fresh mind is important is it will enhance to make the things in a proper way.
Remaining positive and active means you have to complete your work with your positive attitude. To make your self-active start doing work at a place where no distraction can disturb and moreover, you should not do a lot of other work except Economics and Mathematics. It means if any student does any other task other than study at the same time as gossiping with friends, chat, going to the market, drawing or planning for any work, then it will be difficult for him keep him active.
Before you follow a formula in Mathematics or Economics, you must understand the exact concept of it as theory is a prominent part of Economics and it is also important for you to understand that any student can easily understand the concept if he has patience. Moreover, at the high level, it is very important to give proper time to understand, and after that, you need a good way of getting practiced. It is also true that practice makes a man perfect and your knowledge and giving time to the new concept is always important. So, you can easily understand that why Maths needs activeness and Economics also required having a good patience to understand.
If you do mathematics and you think it gets boring, then you can easily make it interesting just by taking a break of 15 minutes. You should walk or eat some snacks. In this way, when you come again and sit to complete your study it will boost your level of energy. So, just by getting a few minutes of break, you can make yourself active. Any student, who needs a lot of concentration in some difficult subjects like mathematics and economics, should always take break after continuing study of two hours. And after the break, his mind will try to understand the concept clearly for the next session. So, Mathematics requires concentration and the same thing for Economics, and this is the reason that why student requires to take care about.
Doing assignments in a group for 2-3 hours or for a particular time will make you active for that time. Do you want to wrap up your work properly? If this is your way of completing assignments, then you have selected one of the best ways to working fast, proper and in a systematic way. Moreover, it is also important for you to understand all difficult questions of that assignment. So, when you do work in a group, you can easily get assistance. |
What Are the Different Types of Pressure Measurement?
Gauge – Reference to atmospheric pressure.
Sealed – Referenced to a sealed chamber closed with atmospheric pressure (approximately 1bar).
Absolute – The reference is a vacuum (0bar or no pressure).
Differential – Where the sensor has two ports for the measurement of two different pressures.
All pressure measurements are made with respect to a reference pressure and are expressed in those main terms.
Gauge pressure sensors measure the input pressure (of your media) with reference to ambient atmospheric pressure (vented to atmosphere). Gauge is used to measure pressure relative to ambient conditions, such as with car tyre pressure. As the sensors are open to the atmosphere, they are susceptible to humidity. Care must be taken that units are installed in dry areas (otherwise internal circuitry can fail).
Measures the input pressure (of your media) with reference to a sealed chamber closed with atmospheric pressure (approximately 1bar). This protects the internal circuitry of the sensor from humidity. This range is normally restricted to minimum 7bar and above. Outside installations or where the equipment may be washed are good application examples. Our industrial pressure sensors are ideal.
Absolute pressure sensors measure the input pressure (of your media) with reference to a vacuum chamber at 0bar (evacuated and hermetically sealed). Specified where absolute pressure measurements are required, eg barometric pressures, or where equipment needs to have all the air removed.
Here the reference pressure is neither ambient nor internal to the sensor. The sensor is supplied with two ports – high and low inputs – and will measure the difference between the two. Generally used for filter measurement applications. See our range of differential pressure sensors. |
by Stuart Slade, Senior Naval & Marine Power Systems Analyst, Forecast International.
In the 2019-2028 forecast period, Forecast International projects that 1,365 steam turbine machines of 20 MW and larger will be built for use in combined-cycle installations, a drop of more than 30 percent from the 2009-2018 10-year total. These machines will have a production value of $62.939 billion. The average unit cost of these turbines is $46.1 million.
The construction of cogeneration plants falls into three main categories. One is the construction of entirely new green-field facilities, the second is the conversion of simple-cycle gas turbine plants to combined-cycle operation by the addition of a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and steam turbines, and the third is the conversion of a simple-cycle steam turbine plant by replacing the boiler house with gas turbines. A primary reason for a sharp drop in orders is that only the first two options present sales opportunities for steam turbines but most attention is being placed on the third.
Electrical generation from steam turbines still accounts for over 50 percent of the world’s total installed capacity, despite the rapid rise of gas-fired plants. Steam turbines have the advantage that they can burn a wide range of fuel, including anthracite (black coal) and lignite (brown coal). However, growing concern about environmental conditions, including the debate over human impact on climate change, is leading to greater restrictions on the use of coal as a power source. While the Far East and Eastern Europe will continue to burn coal as a heat source for their power stations (and thus remain markets for pure steam turbines), most of the rest of the world is moving rapidly away from coal in favor of cleaner-burning natural gas. The explosion in natural gas availability and the resulting decline in gas prices have reinforced this trend.
Natural gas makes an ideal fuel for gas turbine machines. However, when used alone, gas turbines tend to be fuel intensive, and much of the energy generated by combustion of the chosen fuel source is wasted by the very hot exhaust characteristic of gas turbines. Utilizing this exhaust to generate steam for steam turbines recovers this wasted energy and results in a very efficient power generation package.
While the number of combined-cycle plants to be built will increase markedly in the 2019-2028 period, coal- and oil-fired steam turbine electrical generation plants will be constructed at a slower pace. Going beyond this 10-year period, these trends will pick up momentum as the world’s apparently insatiable appetite for electrical power continues to grow. Beyond the 2019-2028 decade, the use of simple-cycle steam and gas turbines will continue to decline in favor of combined-cycle plants.
This trend will actually benefit the steam turbine sector. It has often been stated that gas turbines will replace steam turbines in the power generation sector. This belief is probably based on the experience of the marine propulsion sector where gas turbines eliminated steam as a naval propulsion technology in barely a decade. However, land-based power generation facilities face operational demands and design constraints that are very different from those encountered in the naval environment. The enthusiastic acceptance of combined-cycle operations on land stems from the primary demands of low emissions and high efficiency. At sea, the demands are to reduce weight and volume while also delivering a lot of power at quickly variable output levels.
Ironically, this may be beginning to change with the promotion of combined gas turbine and steam (COGES) plants that generate electricity that then powers the electric motors driving the ships. In theory at least, this offers an extremely efficient power plant that provides the same benefits as land-based combined-cycle units. COGES plants are currently being tested in merchant ships. If they are successful, they will offer a major additional market for marine gas turbines and their steam equivalents.
It is also worth noting that steam turbines, considered in isolation, are a clean source of power. It is generating the steam that drives the turbines that has the potential to be highly polluting. If steam is generated by a non-polluting, renewable resource, then steam turbines become acceptable from an environmental and conservation point of view. This approach has been adopted in a number of sunlight-rich areas where solar energy is used to produce steam rather than being trapped by photoelectric cells. The first such plants are now entering service and the technology appears to have significant potential.
However, this type of plant has the same issues as other solar-powered technologies in that it is subject to intermittent reductions of capacity due to inclement weather. Obviously, this is not a serious problem in the Sahara Desert where existing plants of this type have been built, but a spread of the solar-powered steam turbines into less favorable areas may make this issue significant. It is addressed by incorporating gas turbines into the system for topping purposes. Acting in the same capacity as a combined-cycle plant, these augment the solar power with the waste heat from their exhausts to maintain power output.
Despite the pronounced short-term dip in steam turbine sales, the long-term market outlook for the steam turbine industry is strong. As the refitting of steam turbines to simple-cycle gas turbine plants and the construction of greenfield combined-cycle power generation facilities pick up momentum, the market for combined-cycle steam turbines will slowly grow. This will be supported by the availability of low-cost natural gas fuel and the resolution of the transportation issues surrounding that fuel. |
It's among the first questions asked after someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease: "What can we expect?" It's a tough question that has been difficult to answer. But a new study suggests that assessing several key clinical aspects of the disease soon after diagnosis could help families and physicians better predict long-term survival in individuals with AD. These insights also could help public health officials refine cost projections and plan services for the growing number of older Americans at risk for the disease.
The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), appears in the April 6, 2004 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
The researchers from Seattle's Group Health Cooperative and the University of Washington found that in the years following diagnosis, people with AD survived about half as long as those of similar age in the U.S population. Women tended to live longer than men, surviving about 6 years compared to men who lived for about 4 years after diagnosis. But this gender gap narrowed with age. Age at diagnosis was also a factor. Those who were diagnosed with AD in their 70s had longer survival times than those diagnosed at age 85 or older. "This finding moves us toward a more precise vision of the course that Alzheimer's may take in people with certain clinical characteristics," says Eric B. Larson, M.D., M.P.H., director of Group Health Cooperative's Center for Health Studies in Seattle and former medical director at the University of Washington Medical Center. "For doctors, this provides very useful data for gauging the prognosis of an AD patient. For patients and their caregivers, as difficult as this may be to hear, it can help in making appropriate plans for the future,". During the study, Dr. Larson and his colleagues followed 521 community-dwelling men and women aged 60 and older who had been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. They were recruited from a database of 23,000 people listed in an Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry in the Seattle area. The average follow-up period was about 5 years, with an approximate range from 2 1/2 months to 14 years.
As they entered the study, each person was evaluated for cognitive and memory problems and examined for other conditions including heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, stroke, depression, and urinary incontinence. They were also assessed for a history of agitation, wandering, paranoia, falls and walking difficulties. Survival was measured from the time of initial diagnosis until death or when the study ended in 2001.
When compared to the life expectancy of the general U.S. population, overall survival was lower for people with AD in all age groups. For instance, median* survival was 8 years for women aged 70 diagnosed with AD, which is about half the life expectancy of similarly aged American women who do not have the disease. Similar trends were found among 70-year old men with AD who had a median survival time of 4.4 years compared with 9.3 years for the U.S. population.
Survival was poorest among those aged 85 and older who wandered, had walking problems and had histories of diabetes and congestive heart failure. However, the difference in the life expectancy between those who were diagnosed with AD and the general population progressively diminished with age. At 85, for example, median life expectancy for women with AD was 3.9 years after diagnosis compared to about 6 years for women who didn't have the disease. Similarly, 85-year-old men with newly diagnosed AD had a median life expectancy of 3.3 years compared to 4.7 for men of the same age who didn't have AD.
Poor scores on the initial tests of memory and cognitive performance predicted shorter survival time after diagnosis. In fact, a five-point drop in one key test, the Mini-Mental State Exam, during the first year following diagnosis predicted up to a 66 percent increase in the risk of death after that initial year. Walking problems, congestive heart failure, and a history of falls, diabetes and ischemic heart disease were other important predictors of reduced life expectancy after AD diagnosis.
"This study suggests that several critical factors can be evaluated to help answer some of the important questions posed by Alzheimer's disease patients and their families," says Neil Buckholtz, Ph.D., chief of the NIA's Dementias of Aging Branch. "These conversations are never easy. But these findings could help clarify what patients and families can expect. And ultimately, families who have more precise information on the likely course of the disease should be better prepared to deal with it as it progresses."
AD is an irreversible disorder of the brain, robbing those who have it of memory, and eventually, overall mental and physical function, leading to death. It is the most common cause of dementia among people over age 65. Recent studies estimate that up to 4.5 million people currently have the disease, and the prevalence (the number of people with the disease at any one time) doubles every 5 years after the age of 65. By 2050, if current population trends continue and no preventive treatments become available, some 13.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease.
The annual national direct and indirect costs of caring for AD patients are estimated to be as much as $100 billion. This suggests that the economic burden will grow as the population ages and the number of AD patients increases.
For more information on AD research, as well as on biological, epidemiological, clinical, and social and behavioral research on AD, several publications are available from the NIA including: 2001-2002 Alzheimer's Disease Progress Report and Alzheimer's Disease: Unraveling the Mystery, which includes a CD-Rom animation of what happens to the brain in AD. These publications may be viewed at NIA's AD-dedicated website www.alzheimers.org, the Institute's Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center, or by calling ADEAR at 1-800-438-4380. |
Once you understand the fundamentals of using type in Photoshop, as well as understanding basic principles of typography, you are ready to incorporate the principles of contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity in designing a poster or flyer that uses both image and type. The experience this week will be to create a motivational poster. This will be the first of 10 exhibits you'll create for your portfolio!
Here are some examples from previous students! They may spark some ideas for your own motivational poster! The ideas below were focused on digital displays for middle and high school students who are part of the USU Gear Up grant program.
USU students, all the assignments, discussions, exercise files, reading assignments for lesson 4 will be found in Canvas - Lesson 4 Module. See the image at right.
Finish up your portfolio exhibit and submit. |
What's Behind a Surge in Stingray Attacks?
Rounded stingrays are some of the most common species of stingray found off the coast of California.
Lifeguards would have been surprised to treat more than 40 injuries in one day, so when they treated over 70, they were shocked.
Stingrays love warm water. One thing they hate? The sudden presence of human feet.
The combination recently left a record number of beachgoers at Huntington Beach, just south of Los Angeles, with stingray injuries—at least 73 people were treated last Friday.
Lt. Claude Panis from the beach's marine safety unit believes even more victims chose to self-treat injuries at home.
Stingrays can cause highly painful injuries, but in most cases, pain is the biggest symptom. In addition to the puncture wound caused by the stinger, the ray's toxins cause intense pain around the wound. Very rarely, victims can have an allergic reaction to the stinger, and only a handful of people die from them every few years.
To treat wounds, lifeguards soak feet (the most common place to be struck) in hot water, which breaks down enzymes in the toxin.
"I’ve never seen that many in a day," said Panis, who has worked at the beach for four decades. "I had never seen 45 in a day. To see 73 stingrays was so unusual."
Altogether, it was a dangerous weekend to be a tourist at the southern California beach. On Wednesday the beach team treated 38 injuries, then 45 on Thursday, and on Saturday another 38.
"We’ve had an increase in the last two years," says Panis. "The stingrays have exploded on our beach."
Panis describes a perfect storm of conditions that led to the high number of injuries seen last weekend.
With the upcoming New Year's holiday, more people visited the beach, and thanks to unseasonably warm weather there, more peopled headed into the water. An especially low tide also pulled people to venture farther into the ocean.
Just like people, stingrays also prefer warmer weather. During winter months, they typically venture away from the shore in search of warmer patches, but Friday's warm ocean water drew them to the shoreline.
For people brave enough to venture out into the water, lifeguards recommended a technique called the "stingray shuffle" that entails dragging one's feet along the sand to scare the fish away. Stingrays are skittish and only strike when surprised or stepped on.
"I think the stingray shuffle is pretty effective," says Panis. "But people have shuffled right into a stingray. Everyone from an experienced surfer to a first timer wading out to the beach [have been stung]. The stingrays don’t discriminate."
The 73 injuries reported last Friday set a record for the number of stingray injuries recorded in a single day at the beach, but it isn't the first time the problem has appeared.
In August of last year, California's Newport Beach saw 127 stingray injuries over a month's time, compared to only 20 recorded at the same time during the previous year. A month later, Huntington Beach reported 33 in a three-day period—uncharacteristically high for a fall month.
Speculation that stingray populations have been increasing were reported in 2014 and 2012.
For some time, lifeguards have been reporting more sightings of stingrays off the Southern California coast, but hard data on the animals' populations are scarce.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which tracks the status of species, cites research from 2007 to conclude that southern California populations of round stingray (the most common species) are stable.
"Unfortunately, we don’t have any new information on them," said Chris Lowe, the director for the California State University Long Beach Shark Lab and a lead researcher on stingray populations in the region.
However, scientists do know that alterations to California's coastline and a historic drop in predators like sharks helped stingray populations grow over the past 50 years.
In the past 15 years or so, white sharks—one of the ray's most active predators—have been increasing, but stingray populations don't seem to have decreased.
And then there's the Pacific—it's warming waters to be exact. The eastern portion of the vast ocean saw record warming from 2014 to 2016, often referred to as a "blob" that had disastrous environmental consequences.
According to Nicholas Bond, a research meteorologist at the University of Washington, southern California is experiencing warmer than average coastal waters this year.
"From my perspective the recent warmth is not so much due to a marine heat wave such as the infamous "blob" of 2014-16, but rather a sign of the continued warming of the Earth's oceans," he says. "This warming in any particular place is occurring in fits and starts; when considering the globe as a whole, and the entire water column, the trend is steadily up, and accelerating."
How much this regular warming impacts stingrays remains to be seen.
"[I] can’t say for sure that it is climate change related, but these odd changes in patterns are starting to point in that direction," says Lowe. |
Essentially then, this is a book about death for children! Though death is everyone’s fate, it is not something we often discuss – especially with children. So, why would anyone select a book like this for a child to read?
Books containing characters that children identify with help them understand and deal with behavioral, emotional and social concerns. Using books to aid people in solving problems is called “Bibliotherapy.” This is why educators ask students to read Ann Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl when discussing war, To Kill A Mockingbird when talking about discrimination and 1984 when discussing politics. Topics introduced via a good novel are made real in a way that facts simply stated on the page of a text book cannot.
When I was in fifth grade, there was a girl who was taunted by several popular classmates for being poor. Our teacher read aloud the story “The Hundred Dresses” by Eleanor Estes. It was about a little girl who who was teased because she claimed to have 100 dresses in her closet, even though she wore the same blue dress to school every day. Most of the kids were able to make the connection and the bullying behavior stopped. Empathy was a better teaching strategy than any admonishment.
When applying bibliotherapy to younger children, don’t just read the stories. Ask them leading questions. Allow them to interrupt the story to talk about things. Periodically summarize what has occurred thus far in the story so that “the message” doesn’t get lost in the details of the story. For children able to read on their own, the right book shared at the right time can make all the difference. Graphic novels (often described as long-form comic books) applied in this situation will allow those who are reluctant readers to have access to the same material.
Reading, writing, and discussion can provide an opportunity to work through grief, cope with a difficult situation, or just explore topics geared appropriately to each developmental stage. At the end, review the book with them and ask them to come up with alternate ways the characters could have handled situations. The important thing is to allow them to reflect upon the material presented. Make them think.
A book will not answer all questions or solve all problems – because not all questions can be answered and not all problems can be solved. Books can, however, give us the tools we need to cope. This book, GHOSTS by Raina Telgemeier, simply presents the idea that death should not be frightening. It suggests that life in some form goes on, and that those who are left behind can take comfort in memories. |
We then compare and contrast our real lives with others’ screen lives. We forget that just as we carefully curate our online personas, so do they. We are struggling. However, everywhere we look online others are exuberant. A buttery croissant or cappuccino with a heart drawn in the foam becomes the criterion for a status of “very happy” with the accompanying pic of the said food item and our friend’s smiling face above. Whether she is truly happy and also enjoying a croissant or whether she is sad or tired or bored or confused or frustrated and using the buttery croissant to numb her emotions – the subtlety is glossed over and what we see is she is very happy, and with a heart in her cappuccino no less.
Then the chasm between the real world and the screen world deepens, and we begin to compare ourselves unfavorably not only to our neighbors, friends and co-workers as our parents and grandparents did but also to our own online identities. We don’t only have to keep up with the Jones or Kardashians. We have to keep up with the very roles we’ve created for ourselves online.
When we compare our real struggles, real vacillating emotional state, real dilemmas and insecurities with the two-dimensional emoji world that most of the social media have become, it is no wonder that youth who spend more time on social media are consequently more depressed and suicidal. I’m sure the same holds true for adults, but there is a lot more research on its impact on youth. The rate of depression in teenagers skyrocketed 33% between 2010 and 2015, coinciding exactly with smartphones and the rise in social media platforms. In the same period, teen suicide rates increased a terrifying 31%.
And now a new craze has begun – selfies. It is of course not actually brand new, but in cultural evolution a few years still counts as new. For the history of photography and even other forms of fine art – painting, drawing, sculpture — self-portraits were a rare production and were certainly not been an obsessive streak through our artistic heritage. In my high school art classes, I cannot recall anyone drawing pictures of themselves, and it was a rare student in my photography classes who arrived with a photo of himself. Hitchcock’s habitual cameos became so famous because a cameo was so rare.
Somehow, however, the intersection of digital cameras, social media and instant feedback have created a ripe and ready soil for GenX, GenY and GenZ to fuse into GenMe. It’s no longer enough to photograph a sunset and to have my presence implicitly understood by the fact that I was taking the picture. Now it is the selfie of me with sunset. It is me with Notre Dame, me with the Taj Mahal, me out grocery shopping, me in an aeroplane seat. The favourite artistic genre of the day has become “Still-life with self.” But it is not even with self so much as it’s of self! We have begun to depend upon the “still-life of self” to bring life to our selves!
In our sacred Ganga Aarti each evening on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh — an ancient ritual of waving brightly lit oil lamps to the sound of mantras and prayers — one looks out toward Ganga, the river worshipped as the Mother Goddess. Where I used to see an ocean of devotees with hands in prayer, today I see an ocean of outstretched arms with phones pointed toward themselves. More important than merging and melting into the experience, one that is said to have the alchemical power to grant moksha or liberation from the cycle of birth and death, more important than connecting deeply with the Divine, has become getting a good shot of ourselves having the experience. Tragically, however, that very instinct is what is sure to keep me always an arm’s length, or a selfie-stick length – away from the actual experience. |
When can we see a solar eclipse in Cawilayan? At what time will the eclipse begin? When was the last solar eclipse visible from Cawilayan?
The answers to these questions and many more data on past and future solar eclipses that will be visible from Cawilayan.
We have created a database of solar eclipses that have been seen and can be seen in Cawilayan during this century.
The next planned solar eclipse that will be visible from Cawilayan, will take place on December 26, 2019 and will be seen as a partial eclipse, the next counter marks the time remaining. |
Do you believe that we landed on the Moon on 20th of July, 1969? Or have you seen Fox Television's "Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?", which was aired on February 15, 2001? If not, then here are few facts, which will have your beliefs about mankind landing on the Moon, shaken.
The Apollo Moon landing conspiracy claims that few, or all the elements of the famous landing were faked by National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA).
NASA intentionally deceived people by manufacturing, destroying, and tampering with photos, evidence, rock samples, and telemetry tapes.
The controversy started when Bill Kaysing published a book called, "We Never Went to the Moon: America's Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle" in 1974. Earlier, the effect of mass media made people to believe that they actually landed on the Moon. However, the airing of "Conspiracy Theory" on Fox TV changed many minds about this fact.
✶ The Cold War between the US Government and the Soviet Union was on its peak. The Soviets had an upper hand, as they sent the first man and the first woman, Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova respectively, into space.
The first walk, artificial satellite Sputnik, all were by the Soviets. Under pressure, Americans would have thought faking their trip to the moon as it would be less risky and obviously less expensive than an actual trip.
✶ NASA raised USD 30 billion for this mission, which could have been used to pay people who were involved in faking it.
✶ The US Government wanted people to get distracted from the Vietnam War, and by faking the mission, they distracted the attention of the people all around the world.
✶ There were complications in the space program, and a false mission was the only choice, with the main concern being the promise the American president, Mr. John F. Kennedy, of "achieving the goal (Lunar landing) before this decade is out."
There are few evidences, which clearly prove that the Moon mission was a complete hoax. Evidences include photographs taken by the astronauts, when they landed on the Moon. The photographs show various anomalies. Some data and blueprint were found to be missing too.
The cross hair, which should have been in front of the object, were behind the object. In few of the photographs, they were either misplaced or rotated.
The Apollo 11 telemetry tapes made during the mission are missing, but the tapes of Apollo 12, 14,15, 16, and 17 are surprisingly intact. Not only the telemetry tapes, but even the blueprint is missing.
No stars are present in the photographs.
The photographs contain various sources of light, which are evident from the multiple shadows of the rocks; however, in reality, the only source of light on the Moon is sunlight.
The American Flag and the words "United States" are clearly visible, even though everything else is in shadows.
There were various photographs, which NASA claimed were taken miles apart, but had identical backgrounds.
The Lander weighed 17 tons and boosters were fired to slow down its descent, but still, there was no sign of a blast crater or dust underneath it.
The video communication during the landing was instantaneous. The fact is that light energies of the electromagnetic spectrum and radio waves travel at approximately 186,000 miles per second. The time taken by the astronauts to respond to the questions by Mission Control must have been over 2 seconds, since the Moon is around 250,000 miles away.
The controversy does not end here. There were deaths of many astronauts and people related to NASA, a few years before the launch of Apollo 11, which are believed to have been possibly killed as a part of cover-up. Some of those people were Virgil Ivan Grissom, Michael J. Adams, Robert Lawrence, Thomas Baron, etc.
Thomas Baron was a NASA worker. He was fired from NASA, after he made accusations about the cause of the Apollo 1 fire. He was an outspoken critic of the Apollo program. Baron and his family were killed in an automobile collision with train.
If related aspects are studied properly, many more loopholes can be found in the fake video that NASA made to boast of their forged success. This is believed to be the result of greed and ambition of America to become a global superpower, surpassing the Soviet Union in a giant leap. However, nothing can be said about the truth. |
People with inflammatory arthritis rapidly develop work disability, yet there is limited provision of vocational rehabilitation (VR) in rheumatology departments. As part of a randomized, controlled trial, ten occupational therapists (OTs) were surveyed to identify their current VR provision and training needs. As a result, a VR training course for OTs was developed which included both taught and self-directed learning. The course included: employment and health and safety legislation, work assessment and practical application of ergonomic principles at work.
Pre-, immediately post- and two months post-training, the ten OTs completed a questionnaire about their VR knowledge and confidence On completion, they reported a significant increase (p < 0.01)in their knowledge and confidence when delivering vocational rehabilitation. They rated the course as very or extremely relevant, although seven recommended more practical sessions. The preference for practical sessions was highlighted, in that the aspects they felt most beneficial were role-playing assessments and sharing ideas through discussion and presentations. |
Hyperactivity is a syndrome that is characterized by restlessness, increased muscular movement and activity, impulsive behaviour, short attention span and inability to concentrate. Another name for this syndrome is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This condition may begin in early childhood but may not be diagnosed until after the symptoms have been present for many years.
The mental/behavioural abnormalities of ADHD occur when glucose supply to the brain is diminished – meaning that hyperactivity is a symptom of hypoglycemia. Two factors cause blood glucose levels to plummet – (1) ingestion of concentrated sugars and sweets, and (2) reactions to hidden food allergies/sensitivities. When all sweet foods and all allergenic foods are completely removed from the diet, hyperactive children’s behaviour returns to normal – but the elimination must be total in order for results to be total. Almost any food can trigger hyperactivity in a sensitive child; but the most common offenders are sugar, milk, aspartame, artificial food dyes and additives, and salicylates (e.g., ASA, Aspirin, Bufferin, raisins, prunes, berries, licorice, peppermint, nuts, curry, paprika, thyme, dill, oregano, turmeric). |
A new breast cancer drug from Roche has shown 'unprecedented' benefits in extending lives in a clinical trial.
Patients with a type of breast cancer known as HER2 positive, which makes up about a quarter of all breast cancers, who were given Perjeta on top of older medicine Herceptin and chemotherapy lived 15.7 months longer than those on Herceptin and chemotherapy alone.
Experts urged its widespread use for women with an aggressive form of the disease.
Both Herceptin and Perjeta are antibodies designed to block the function of HER2, a protein produced by a cancer-linked gene. Perjeta, also known as pertuzumab, binds to a different part of the same protein, which makes combining the two drugs extra effective.
Perjeta, which was approved by regulators two years ago, was tested in the Roche-backed study involving more than 800 women.
Researchers had previously reported the Perjeta drug regimen significantly extended progression-free survival, or the period of time patients live without their disease worsening, but the final overall survival data has taken longer to collect.
While both Perjeta and Herceptin have side effects, including rash, diarrhea and a potentially adverse impact on heart function, using the two drugs together did not make these issues any worse.
That is the longest extension to survival ever seen for a drug studied in metastatic breast cancer and also an unusually good result for any type of metastatic cancer, where disease has spread to other parts of the body.
The result is a vindication of combining medicines that fight tumor cells in a variety of ways.
'The results, I think, are phenomenal,' lead researcher Sandra Swain from the Washington Hospital Center told the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) annual congress in Madrid on Sunday.
The median overall survival time was 56.5 months for those given Perjeta against the already impressive 40.8 months for patients taking only the older drugs.
Looking at the study results a different way, the risk of dying was reduced by 32 percent for women who received the Perjeta regimen compared to those who got Herceptin and chemotherapy.
'I think these data are really compelling,' said Eric Van Cutsem of the University of Leuven, who was not involved in the research.
Swain and Javier Cortes, another researcher on the study from the Vall D'Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, said the results suggested using Perjeta should now be the standard of care for HER2 positive breast cancer patients.
A favorable reaction from oncologists will underpin expectations of strong sales for Perjeta, which analysts currently expect to sell $3.1 billion a year by 2018, according to consensus forecasts compiled by Thomson Reuters Cortellis.
But it poses a challenge for healthcare providers, since Perjeta and Herceptin are costly injectable drugs and the multiple-drug regimen promises to strain budgets.
In the United States, the monthly price of Perjeta is approximately $5,900, while Herceptin costs around $5,300, a Roche spokeswoman said. Prices in Europe are lower.
For Roche, Perjeta is an important new product that should help defend its position in breast cancer, following the success of Herceptin, which was first approved in 1998.
The company said the latest data would be submitted to regulatory authorities around the world for inclusion in the prescribing information for Perjeta.
The Swiss drugmaker also has another related drug called Kadcyla, which is also being tested in combination with Perjeta. Some analysts believe Kadcyla's prospects could be curbed if results from that combination are not better than the impressive findings reported this weekend. |
Mining the Deep Sea Frontier will parse arguments from environmental activists and the mining industry, policymakers, biodiversity experts, and ocean researchers. This program will explore what constitutes the extractivist frontier: from historical narratives of the ocean to the technological development required for deep sea mining.
Deep-Sea Mining Might Happen. So What? Companies are beginning to mine the deep sea for minerals to help power high-tech components found in wind turbines, cellphones and laptops.
The current focus of deep sea mining projects is aimed at exploration where phases of mining, extraction, lifting and surface operation techniques are now in planning or are tested on a smaller scale.
Marine minerals > Natural gas and oil have been extracted from the seas for decades, but the ores and mineral deposits on the sea floor have attracted little interest. Yet as resource prices rise, so too does the appeal of ocean mining. The excavation of massive sulphides and manganese nodules is expected to begin within the next few years.
Some of the same technological advances that made discovering these creatures possible are now being utilized to prepare for a massive industrial enterprise: deep sea mining. Countries and companies are itching to get access to vast mineral resources located on the seafloor. Three types of mineral deposits exist in the deep ocean.
The world's first giant deep-sea mining machines were delivered by UK-based Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) to Nautilus Minerals in Papua New Guinea in 2017. However, none have yet been tested at depth due to contractual problems with completion of the production support vessel being built in China.
The Deep Sea Mining (DSM) campaign is an association of NGOs and citizens concerned about the impacts of DSM on marine and coastal ecosystems and communities.
· Most attractive of all for the mining industry are the potential riches at deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Known for nourishing lush communities of exotic life, the vents also can be treasure troves of high-grade minerals.
The CIA in the 1970s used eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes as the fake frontman for a faux deep-sea mining operation that was in reality an attempt to bring up a sunken Russian submarine from the ocean depths, the BBC reports.. Fast forward 40 years, a deep sea mining operation is poised to launch off Papa New Guinea in the hopes of mining gold and copper from vents in the ocean floor.
Its mission—to work towards the finalization of exploitation regulations, a so-called mining code, that will allow commercial deep sea mining operations to begin all around the world. In the quest for minerals, deep seabed mining means to extend mining activities into the deep ocean.
Sea-floor mining > Diamonds, gravel and sand have been extracted from coastal waters for decades. To meet the growing demand for metals, there are plans to mine the ores found in the form of manganese nodules, cobalt crusts and massive sulphides at depths of up to 4000 metres.
• Deep-sea mining is the process of retrieving mineral deposits from the deep sea – the area of the ocean below 200 m. • Depleting terrestrial deposits and rising demand for metals are stimulating interest in the deep sea, with commercial mining imminent. • The scraping of the sea floor and pollution from mining processes can wipe out entire species – many yet to be discovered. |
Oil on canvas reproduction of “Wheatfield with Crows” painted by Van Gogh in 1890.
This work is also known as “Trigal under the Storm” and is housed in the “Van Gogh National Museum” in Amsterdam.
This painting was one of the last of his life, and as he himself said, his intention was to show sadness, a prelude to what was approaching, suicide.
The original work measures 52.2×103 cm.
In Copiamuseo you will find this reproduction painted in oil on canvas in various sizes.
More paintings by Van Gogh. |
This demonstration models how the HIV protease enzyme functions and how its activity is blocked by a class of anti-HIV drugs.
In this hands-on activity, students model how a double-stranded DNA copy of the HIV genome is integrated into the host cell DNA.
This activity allows students to model how the anti-HIV drug AZT (azidothymidine) interferes with the process of viral replication.
This demonstration models the first step of the HIV life cycle: the binding of HIV envelope proteins to receptors on human helper T cells.
(1 min 3 sec) This animation zooms into a 3D model of dengue virus, moving from the virus’s outer structures to its inner core. |
Develops computational models using genome datasets to study gene regulation and identify hypotheses for genomic medicine.
Next-generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized biological research and provided unique opportunities to study broad and novel questions about the regulation of gene expression. With these technologies, there has been an exponential increase in the types and amount of high-throughput datasets pertaining to the dynamics of gene expression. These data include gene expression data and genome-wide maps of nucleosome occupancy and open chromatin, epigenetic marks and transcription factor binding sites in cells and organisms under various experimental conditions. In my lab, we develop computational models to take advantage of genomics datasets to study the dynamics and mechanisms of transcriptional gene regulation and identify testable hypotheses for genomic medicine.
Pancreatic islet dysfunction and beta cell failure are hallmarks of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) pathogenesis. In this review, we discuss how genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and recent developments in islet (epi)genome and transcriptome profiling (particularly single cell analyses) are providing novel insights into the genetic, environmental, and cellular contributions to islet (dys)function and T2DM pathogenesis. Moving forward, study designs that interrogate and model genetic variation [e.g., allelic profiling and (epi)genome editing] will be critical to dissect the molecular genetics of T2DM pathogenesis, to build next-generation cellular and animal models, and to develop precision medicine approaches to detect, treat, and prevent islet (dys)function and T2DM.
19 Lawlor N, Khetan S, Ucar D, Stitzel ML. Genomics of Islet (Dys)function and Type 2 Diabetes. Trends Genet. 2017 Apr; 33(4):244-255.
1 Kurum E, Benayoun BA, Malhotra A, George J, Ucar D. Computational inference of a genomic pluripotency signature in human and mouse stem cells. Biol Direct. 2016 Sep 17; 11:47.
1 Thibodeau A, Márquez EJ, Luo O, Ruan Y, Menghi F, Shin DG, Stitzel ML, Vera-Licona P, Ucar D. QuIN: A Web Server for Querying and Visualizing Chromatin Interaction Networks. PLoS Comput Biol. 2016 Jun; 12(6):e1004809.
Research by Duygu Ucar will explore why our immune system deteriorates as we age.
New sequencing tools are uncovering how the unpacked sections of DNA can interact with each other in three-dimensional space, leading to new insights in the relationships between distant sections of DNA. |
Mexico City is the largest city in the world in population, with over twenty million inhabitants. There are excellent museums and galleries, excavated pyramids and colonial mansions. There are the rural retreats of mountainous national parks like Cuernavaca to the south with its ancient palaces and in the east theCholula volcanoes and the thriving, ultra-colonial town of Puebla.
The city is exciting, frightening, bewildering and alive. The area is associated with the Aztecs, but their forebears and the true makers of the culture here were the Teotihuacan, whose giant pyramids remain standing 30 miles northeast of the modern city.
Guadelajara is seen as a slower and more conservative place than Mexico City, though some say it is the ‘most Mexican’ of Mexican cities. There are a series of plazas downtown, unchanged since Spanish colonial times, with a distinct provincial elegance and old-world atmosphere. Outside of the unruffled nucleus are the smart hotels, modern office blocks and shopping malls of the suburbs.
This is the barrier that keeps Mexicans out of North America and where people risk their lives to get into the States. For North Americans, Tijuana has always had a reputation for being a wild border town. Nowadays, though, you are more likely to find a hamburger than you are a to find a gunfight. Having said that, it is still a haven for criminals on the run, leachy businessmen, gamblers and schoolboys looking for a good time.
Over twenty million people come into Tijuana every year, but hardly any stay the night; this is No Man’s Land. The border patrol is where all the helicopters come in and at the borderline it is not really Mexico or the United States, until you get over the fence. Army people sometimes have to come to the border and try to stop the Mexicans from going across. When this happens the army people are pretty rough on the Mexicans.
Baja’s highway is literally littered with small towns like San Quintin, where locals drift in from the countryside, buy groceries, get repairs done or have a beer. Apart from that time passes very slowly. In San Quintin is a hotel called Cielito Lindon. Built for 50’s Hollywood stars, the place is now fading as we move further into the 21st century.
San Ignacio, colonized by the Spanish, is now a local centre for the ranching community, known here as rancheros. It’s also an oasis, a life-saving source of water in the past and a good place to cool off today.
Mulege is a small town on the coast which is popular with tourists. Mulege is another oasis town where the Spanish built a mission. These days, Mulege is quiet and peaceful, but a lot of Baja towns still have a hangover from the rough and tough frontier times when the peninsular was a haven for mercenaries, revolutionaries, prohibition busters and gangsters, or anyone on the run from the law.
A single rough track leads to the town of Batopilas, at the end of the missionary trail. It became rich in the 18th century, when silver was discovered in the nearby mountains. Because of its isolation, Batopilas quickly got a reputation as a hard town with tough men and strong women.
Batopilas is a cowboy town. There are no bars and no discos, so every once in a while, the people here get together, and this is when it gets dangerous. This is a butch and macho place, and the girls from town belong to the boys from town.
Perched high above a lake, five hour’s drive from Mexico City, is the traditional Indian village of Patzcuaro. Nothing much happens here, except once a year this sleepy little town wakes up to a very special visitor.
She’s got the most unforgettable face, and out here she goes by many different names. They call her the fancy one, they call her the skinny lady. They call her the baldy bone face, Mexicans chase after her, they lust after her, they mock her and they even sleep with her. Also she’s the favourite plaything and the most everlasting love. La Muerte: death. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), is a ceremony that occurs at midnight every November 1st in Patzcuaro, and is well worth experiencing.
Guanajuato is the old Spanish heartland of Mexico – a vast dry and rugged landscape. Home to Mexico’s only true national sport, ‘Chuarro’, Guanajuato was the cradle of the revolution against Spain. It was also the source of silver and gold for the Spanish, with which they created the most splendid cities in Mexico.
Guanajuato used to be the wealthiest town in the whole of Mexico; the Spanish built some of their most striking buildings here. Today there are no signs, no traffic lights, new buildings are not allowed and it looks just like a Spanish town from the 18th century. There is also an incredible maze of underground tunnels.
Architecturally, Guanajuato feels like a Spanish city, though in terms of its visual beauty it almost surpasses anything you would see in Spain. Here, though, you have the additional component of colour. Whilst in Spain the buildings tend to be more greyish, the colour here is amazing and you feel that you really are in Mexico when you come to Guanajuato. |
For many clothing consumers, the term “credential” may be unfamiliar or draw an unclear definition of what the term actually means. Many in the fashion industry tend to think that “credential clothing” refers to all variety of recycled materials and that they end goal in producing these materials is exclusively an environmental interest.
When fashion insiders refer to “credential clothing” they are referring to a specific grade of material and a series of processes that the item undergoes. Also referred to as “original clothing,” credential materials are shoes and miscellaneous textiles that are considered unwanted by their initial users and then donated to drop boxes (which are placed throughout different communities — most especially middle to affluent neighbourhoods and especially those that are in high traffic areas), clothing depots, charity organizations and/or recycling companies. Prior to the donation, these items may have spent some time with their initial owner and have since been collected from closets and bins and bagged up for a new home. It is often the case that when collectors dig through these bins, they find a variety of materials – jewelry, shoes, hats, toys and stuffed animals, purses, backpacks, wallets, belts, scarves, miscellaneous fashion accessories, and household linens.
So what exactly makes these items “credential”?
Most traders agree that one of the things that makes these items credential is the packaging. In order for these materials to qualify as credential they must be unsorted, untouched, not graded in terms of their quality, in the exact condition in which the material was first deposited, and in their original packing bags. The goal of credential clothing, most notably in the instances of packaging, is that in order to preserve the materials, it is imperative that the items be left in their original plastic that the item was packaged in. This strategy ensures that the credential clothing item is not compromised by being mixed up with trash and wet materials. Ensuring that these materials are not mixed in with trash is perhaps one of the most important requirements of a credential clothing item. Once these items are collected and assessed, they are later processed and recycled as top-grade credential materials by graders who purchase the items in hopes that they will they will get a higher yield since the more desirable items will not have been sold in the stores.
Why is Credential Clothing Better and Preferred?
One of the reasons graders prefer credential clothing is because the items are considered higher quality, and therefore much preferred. One of the key reasons for this is because credential clothing items generally have not been opened. According to many graders, the problem with materials that are no longer in their original packaging is that the end distributor does not have the opportunity to pick out those items themselves and determine which is most valuable. Most experts in the credential clothing market agree that it is often the case that credential clothing gets a higher market than graded used clothing because of packaging.
Inside of these bins and bags with credential clothing, graders can often find a variety of materials that include: vintage and highly sought after items, jewelry and other accessories such as hats, belts and scarves, shoes (both leisure/informal and formal), carrying items such as purses, backpacks and wallets, hats, materials for children such as toys and stuffed animals, and household linens.
Once graders recover these items, they will then sort through these products and determine how to select top grade items from the clothing, shoes (which have a higher value), and valuable vintage items they have recovered. Once they have assessed their recoveries, they move to sell the items individually at a higher price.
How Are Credential Materials Collected?
So where do credential experts find their items and how do they recover them? According to industry experts, most credential clothing items are collected from and found in drop boxes. In these areas, collection boxes are emptied regularly – and it is often the case that this could be as frequent as once a week or more if need be. These items are typically recovered by drivers who given the task of collecting these materials, ensuring that all items are secured in carrying materials (for example, plastic bags) and that there is no trash or wet items included in the packages or amid the materials.
How Does Bank & Vogue Contribute to the Credential Market?
At Bank & Vogue, our team works hard to purchase materials of high credential grade and to facilitate the purchase of wholesale credential clothing from charities and for-profit collectors across North America.
All of this begins with our first step in recovering materials – accessing our suppliers. This entails getting our team to pick up materials from home pick-up routes, public bins located in neighbourhood drop off locations, and picking up materials that were, for a time, located in-store drop-offs and donation stations. Picking up materials entails sending a truck to the supply location to pick up any loose or baled credential clothing and bring them back to our facilities.
Bank & Vogue employees then begin sorting the recovered materials which have been packaged in bales. While the product is unsorted, workers make it a priority to search for and eliminate any hard items or lotions that can damage the clothing. It is of the utmost importance to our team to ensure that these items are removed safely from the bags and protected from any kind of damage. Unlike clothing items, other items such as shoes, purses, and belts remain with the load.
At Bank & Vogue, we are responsible for processing and distributing credential materials for export or redistribution in both domestic and international markets. In order to do so, our team ships the materials in different trailer loads. It is usually the case that we use a full 53-foot trailer load for the domestic-bound materials and 40-foot high-cube ocean containers for exporting materials internationally. The weights for these containers vary depending on the packaging and loading needs. It is usually the case that loose items weigh a minimum of 25,000 – 30,000 pounds, while baled clothing has a minimum target weight of 40,000 pounds.
For those clients who are interested in our Bank & Vogue services to collect and distribute credential clothing, our team would be happy to assist with additional details regarding shipping and packaging. North American clients can call 1-866-613-0719, while international clients can call 1-613-747-8465. Our team is available to provide information on pricing options, as well as pickup and purchase logistics. |
From time to time we read articles that seem designed to relieve us of the need for action to correct damaging lifestyles. They’re bad medicine. This one is a good example.
Elsewhere, the author continues to pander to our weakness for fats and sugars by raising other causes that are really only potentials. “Antibiotics MIGHT increase obesity…” and “Altering or impeding hormones CAN cause systemic effects” he says. Where are the studies? What do the scientists conclude?
Okay, brominated vegetable oil (BVO) interferes with the endocrine system, which must be a shorthand way of saying that this disruption causes obesity because the author then leaps to the suggestion that Pepsi and Mountain Dew contain it. Both contain a pile of sugar in every bottle and can. Ever see how much of this stuff fat people are wheeling out of the supermarkets?
The jamming of fats and sugars into the maws of our pets and zoo animals is enough to make me figure that it’s the fats and sugars that are making humans fatter. That and a lack of exercise. Epstein seems to want to catch our eyes by admitting that indolence and gluttony are “the big two” causes our pets are fat, and then tries to sell some shaky and minor speculation that we’re not entirely to blame for our own blubber.
The cautionary tales woven into the story are neither “shaky” nor “minor speculation” and are backed by substantive research both in the US and Europe.
A close family member of mine has suffered through two decades of thyroid and hormonal related illnesses. She’s been through every kind of test and seen a platoon of doctors in several major research centers.
Ultimately what we have learned is that unknown substances have disrupted her body’s systems. We’re reduced to medicating to ease symptoms. (Been there, done that on the dozens of various diet and natural approaches) And that brings me to the point here.
Every major scientific body from the WHO to the EU to the FDA has participated in studies on the role endocrine disrupters. Everybody agrees that there is a problem; what they disagree about are the specifics. We still don’t know enough about the intricacies of receptors and the methods by which chemical messengers work.
What is clear is that the chemical industry’s approach to this issue strongly mirrors that taken by the tobacco industry on health issues and the oil companies on climate change. That alone should be a cause for concern.
I thought the article was clear about hedging its bets on specifics but also pointing the finger at mounting evidence that something very bad is going on here. I don’t deny that we all need more exercise and a better diet. But I have personal knowledge that for some people those remedies simply don’t work.
I didn’t intend to suggest endocrine disturbance is not an enormous problem; I could even easily be persuaded it may cause some obesity. I just don’t think the author tried to explain the relationship between, specifically, obesity and industrial toxins. Without that effort on his part, I have to remain skeptical on the subject, Doug, and lay the cause to overindulgence and indolence. I do think the author in the main has implied, only implied, that industrial chemicals are causing more obesity than we’ve experienced before. I’m going off now to follow your links. I’m supposing my mind can be changed on this subject; it has been before, on other subjects. |
Fel is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.
Fel d 1 is a protein that in cats is encoded by the CH1 (chain 1/Fel d 1-A) and CH2 (chain 2/Fel d 1-B) genes.
Fel d 1, produced largely in cat saliva and sebaceous glands, is the primary allergen present on cats and kittens. Fel d 1 is also produced by cat skin itself. The protein is of an unknown function to the animal but causes an IgG or IgE reaction in sensitive humans (either as an allergic or asthmatic response). Removal of soft surfaces in the home (carpet, furniture), frequent washings of bed linens, HEPA filters and even washing cats has been proven to reduce the amounts of Fel d 1 present in the home.
Neutered males produce Fel d 1 in levels similar to females (both intact and spayed females produce Fel d 1 in similar levels). Even though females and neutered males produce Fel d 1 in lower levels, they still produce enough to cause allergic symptoms in sensitive individuals.
The complete quaternary structure of Fel d 1 has been determined. The allergen is a tetrameric glycoprotein consisting of two disulfide-linked heterodimers of [chains 1 and 2. Fel d 1 chains 1 and 2 share structural similarity with uteroglobin, a secretoglobin superfamily member; chain 2 is a glycoprotein with N-linked oligosaccharides. Both chains share an all alpha-helical structure. |
Going through the mortgage loan application process is rigorous, and at times nerve-wracking. And to find out that, after all the scrutiny, your application gets denied, well – that can be heartbreaking. But you’re not alone – the most recent Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data indicates that 11 percent of home purchase applicants get denied. Here are the most common reasons, and some things you can do to turn the situation around.
Carrying too much debt is often a barrier for potential home buyers – and this includes all types of debt – credit cards, car loans, medical debt, student loans – all of it. If your debt-to-income ratio is greater than 40 percent, you will have a harder time qualifying for a mortgage loan.
What to do? Look at all your debts to see where you can reduce. It may take months, but not only will a lower debt-to-income ratio make it easier to qualify for a mortgage, it will make it easier for you to afford the payment. Here are four debt reduction strategies that may help.
You can also do things to increase your income – the second part of the debt-to-income equation. Get a second job. Ask for a raise. Work some overtime if you can get it.
Credit score and history plays a big role in getting approved for a mortgage loan. A poor credit score is partially caused by making payments late or not paying debts, both of which will cause your credit score to suffer. If you have debts that were charged off and are in collection, your credit score will plummet. Bankruptcy and foreclosure are the probably the most harmful. Finally, paid and unpaid judgements are not good, as they signal that the courts had to be involved to get you to pay your debts.
Little or no credit will also cause your credit score to suffer. Some people avoid credit card usage because they are afraid of uncontrolled debt. However, not using credit at all will cause you to not have a credit score. After all, your credit score is partly determined by how you’ve handled credit in the past, and if you’ve never handled credit, the credit reporting agencies can’t guess how you will handle it in the future.
What to do? If your credit is poor due to a sketchy payment history, clean it up. Paying current debt on time. If you have any charged-off loans, pay them off. Often, time and good habits are the only way to improve your credit score. If you have no credit, get some. You may need to start with a secured loan or credit card, or have someone co-sign on a loan for you. Be sure to make your payments on time.
Coming up with enough money for a down payment on a home is challenging for many potential buyers. In addition to the down payment, many lenders require you to pay upfront closing costs like escrow deposit, appraisal, and title fees. Different mortgage loans have different down payment requirements. For example, conventional mortgages at White Sands FCU require a five percent down payment. A VA (Veterans Affairs) loan doesn’t require a down payment. An FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan requires a 3.5 percent down payment. If you aren’t able to swing the down payment, you aren’t likely to be approved.
What to do? Start saving. Set up a budget and dedicate a certain percent of your pay to your “down-payment savings fund”. If you are a veteran, and qualify for a VA loan, you may be able to avoid the down payment requirement. Family members or friends can provide gifts that can be used as a down payment, however the lender may require documentation from the giver confirming it is not a loan.
If, when you were filling out the mortgage application, you entered inaccurate information about your job status, income, credit history, address or anything else, this alone can lead to a rejection. If you omit information, the same applies.
What to do? Review the information on your application carefully for completeness and accuracy before you turn it in to the lender. |
The National Student Clearinghouse recently released its third report on transfer and mobility. The report, Signature Report 15: Transfer and Mobility: A National View of Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2011 Cohort, examines the transfer pathways of students who started postsecondary education in fall 2011. Analysis includes student enrollment patterns across different institutions, across state boundaries, and for the first time, dis-aggregations by race and ethnicity.
The data revealed that there were 2.8 million first time students in the fall 2011 cohort. Over one million (38.0 percent) of those students continued their academic studies at a different institution within the first six years. Interestingly, two-year institutions serve more than half of the cohort at 1.5 million but only 5.6 percent transfer with some type of credential from their starting institution. Of the one million transfer students, 27.2 percent transferred across state lines. Of students who transferred, Asian and White students were more likely to transfer than Black and Hispanic students. Click here for the full report. |
Welcome to the companion digital project to Shirley and Richard Flint's analytical history A Most Splendid Company: The Coronado Expedition in Global Perspective. On this site you will find a series of displays of the large volume of data the Flints amassed during research in dozens of archives concerning hundreds of people who participated in or were associated with the Coronado Expedition of 1539-1542 into what is now northwest Mexico and the American Southwest.
The data presented—all available for download here—represent a significant collection of information about a substantial segment of the European population of New Spain during the middle of the sixteenth century, as well as about Native American and African participants in the enterprise of the expedition. Although the data were gathered to shed light on the Coronado Expedition, they could be exploited for many other purposes. Much of the collected data was not used in writing or the underlying analysis that went into A Most Splendid Company. Information in the data base on people and topics not germaine to the book project constitutes an unexploited resource of greater scope and size than their relevance to one particular financially motivated enterprise of reconnaissance and conquest.
The data deal with such subjects as age and origin; family and social connections; social, economic, and political status; ambitions and motives; allegiances; employment; education; linguistic, cultural, legal, and religious complexity; mobility throughout the Spanish Empire and beyond; financing of undertakings within the Spanish Empire; relations between the Americas and the Spanish metropol, to list only a few. We invite you to explore the data and use them for your own purposes. |
Modern technology has in many ways brought us conveniences that improve our quality of life. But there are some ways in which commercial interests of large companies have become a threat to our natural way of life that raise some concerns.
We need to become aware of natural laws and our inherent right to personally maintain our access to the bounty of Mother Nature, as well as the dangers involved with tampering with nature in ways that may jeopardize our future food security, as well as our health.
Genetically Modified Organisms or GMO seeds have been genetically altered by inserting DNA from completely different species and organisms. This is done to create certain characteristics such as having an inbuilt pesticide ability or to make them more receptive to chemical fertilizers. These other species can be as diverse as fish, frogs and bacteria. Common crops for genetic modification are corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat. These seeds are flooding the global seed market at the moment.
This becomes a thorny issue when these patented, often sterile seeds infiltrate other crops by natural dispersion, or are heavily pushed by multinationals who seek to control our food supply for purely monetary reasons. Apart from the ethical questions about altering Nature’s design so drastically and then owning the result, there is also a big question mark over the effects of food from GMO plants on our health. There have been some worrying studies that show modified foods can interact with our bodies in ways we have not yet fully come to understand. There have been links made between GMO foods and illness such as cancer and gut stresses such as gluten intolerance (you can read more here).
If something goes wrong with major crops, it can have a devastating effect. Biodiversity is what protects us from disease or plague in the sense that the more variety there is, the more options we have to fall back on if there is a decimation of our main supplies. Genetic variety allows for a vigorous and vital reservoir of seeds we can access when necessary. Not only that, but when plants have been growing in the same area for generations and their seeds collected and re-sown, they have been shown to adapt to their environment and develop more flavour and genetic robustness.
South Africa has many rural communities that rely extensively on subsistence farming. This is where GMO’s are starting to really hit the hardest. We have a heritage of a variety of subsistence crops, especially crops such as mielies. Seed saving has been a living tradition, a part of the natural cycle of life and connection to the earth. These seeds that have been passed down through generations are naturally adapted to their specific environments. These are our precious heirlooms. Now GMO’s are being aggressively pushed and are seriously endangering the propagation of heirloom seeds for our future generations. If heirloom seeds die out, or are infiltrated with unknown GMO factors, all that will be left will be GMO seeds that are owned by huge companies, that have to be bought each new growing season.
That’s where Heirloom seeds come in.
The very name heirloom says it all. Heirloom seeds are considered valuable because they are a heritage. They have evolved naturally with the land and under the loving cultivation of their growers. Heirlooms are passed down because they have certain valuable qualities, such as hardiness, superior nutrition or tastiness, often a combination of all three!
Weak or unpalatable varieties wouldn’t make it down this far, so over a long cycle of time, the best seeds have naturally been selected. They can often be traced back for hundreds of years. Heirlooms are not only about food freedom, they are about history and a sense of continuity and value – and also superior, delicious food!
Heirloom seeds aren’t subject to plant breeders rights and patents so you are free to sell, barter, exchange or plant them at your own discretion.
Heirloom seeds are always open pollinated, which means that you can replant the seeds every year to grow a new crop. Open pollinated doesn’t necessarily mean heirloom though, as there are now new varieties of seeds that have been developed that haven’t necessarily been passed down through generations. These are finer points in the heirloom debate though that most breeders agree are open to discussion.
This is what heirloom seeds are about. An important aspect of the GMO debate is that of self-sustainability. The ideal is that it is possible to create your own piece of Eden in the web of life and live in harmony with the natural cycles. Buying new seeds every season because your seeds are sterile has never before been a natural part of the cycle of life. Living in touch with the land means you reap what you sow, and so have seeds for next year’s crop, or can barter, exchange or sell seeds amongst your community.
It’s not about whether you should sell seeds or not, but about the seeds you sell being viable so that people have the choice to keep propagating the seeds if they choose – that’s what seeds are for after all – they grow plants!
It’s also about having the right to choose whether or not you are willing to take your chances with the health of you and your loved ones with modified food that has not really been properly understood yet in terms of human nutrition and its interaction with our bodies.
More than that, growing your on food is a way to become less dependent on store bought foods, whose prices are skyrocketing all the time.
The more you support those trying to preserve this precious resource and keep the heritage alive, the more you get involved with growing, exchanging, spreading awareness, the more chance we have of keeping and passing this generational love from the earth on.
This way we can play our part in ensuring our food freedom and security, as well as nourish future generations with an exciting, romantic variety of real, authentic, quality food.
We have just brought in an exciting range of Heirloom Seeds for sprouting and microgreens from a Proudly South African supplier, so that you can enjoy the benefit of growing Heirlooms in your very own kitchen, to serve healthy greens at your table that have been passed down to you as a gift through time. |
A few months ago I reached a milestone in my PhD by passing my 9 month viva, and last week I was reminded (along with the rest of the lab) that my old poster was “looking as retro as a set of Alexis Carrington‘s shoulder pads” (to quote Prof Les Carr). So I set to, downloaded a trial version of Adobe Photoshop, and got designing.
Essentially I’ve retained the style of my previous poster and added some new words, scatter plots and logos to reflect my progress over the past few months. My supervisors love it, and in less than a week it’s had outing at the LACE SoLAR Flare 2015, and at JP Rangaswami’s Web Science Institute Distinguished Lecture.
What are my key findings?
Building on my earlier learning analytics work that used a single approach to rate comments associated with learning objects on a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in an attempt to identify ‘attention to learning’, I undertook further content analysis. The main idea was to use 3 highly cited pedagogically-based methods (Blooms Taxonomy, SOLO Taxonomy, and Community of Inquiry (CoI)) in addition to the less well-known DiAL-e method (that I had used in an earlier study), to see if there was any correlation between them, to test intra-rater reliability, and to see how these methods squared up against typical measures of online learning engagement.
I discovered that my intra-rater reliability was high, as were correlations between methods. That is, all methods of rating learners’ comments produced very similar results – with Bloom and CoI producing the best results out of the 4 methods. Correlations with other measures (sentiment, words per sentence, and ‘likes‘) confirmed my earlier work: language used in comments appears to provide a good indication of depth of learning, and people ‘like’ online comments for many reasons, not necessarily for the depth of learning demonstrated by the comment maker.
So, I’m about half way through my PhD and still have a lot of work to do. The next stage involves employing some willing research assistants to rate many more comments derived from many more MOOCs than I am able to do. The aim is collect enough data to train Machine Learning algorithms to rate comments automatically.
Making education and training more widely available is vital for human development, and the Web has a significant part to play in delivering these opportunities. Running a successful online learning programme (e.g. a MOOC) should involve managing a great deal of learner interaction – answering questions, making suggestions, and generally guiding learners along their paths. But coping effectively with high levels of engagement is time intensive and involves the attention of highly qualified (and expensive) teachers and educational technologists. My hope is that through my research an automated means of showing how well and to what extend learners are attending to learning can be developed that will make a useful contribution to managing online teaching and learning. |
Thirsty Pilgrim: Zooming In to a Familiar Spot On The Global Beer Influence Map.
There is an international marketplace of beer ideas, and we usually oversimplify it. For example: One arrow of influence might point from the U.K. to the U.S., and then another arrow would point right back. Taking a step backward and looking at the global picture, everybody is influencing everybody these days. A more accurate way to think about the aforementioned marketplace would be one of those airline route maps, with the number of curvy lines multiplied many times over.
Back to the simple view: British ales have had massive influence on Belgian ones over the years. It is nearly impossible to overstate that fact, which goes well beyond the Belgian pale ales, stouts, Scotch ales and other familiar categories. Eugene Rodenbach, or so the story goes, learned about barrel maturation and blending of young and old ales when he visited England. He then had a taste for that sort of thing when he took over his father's brewery, creating a distinctively tart beer that has inspired many others.
Why do I mention all this? Sometimes it helps to go back and dip into the old well. Recently I asked Belgoo brewer Jo Van Aert where he got the idea for his new Saisonneke, which weighs in at a light and hoppy 4.4% strength. I expected him to mention something about how Wallonian saison was traditionally lower in alcohol. But that's not what he said.
... where I tasted different great beers from relatively young breweries, with extremely low alcohol percentages. I personally prefer drinking low alcohol beers, but there are not much options on the market. Brewing low alcohol beers is also the most challenging from a technical point of view.
I talked to several U.K. brewmasters to find out about their “secrets” on getting so much body with such a little alcohol percentage and used some aspects for my Belgoo Saisonneke. Their main thing is, as you know, their cask ales method, where fermentation has been stopped by cooling after three to four days down under 10°C, with as a result lots of unfermented sugars and thus body, which would be impossible to do in Belgium.
I tried to get the body by using different malts with more proteins and taste, an above-average European bitter hopping [33 IBUs] and an exuberant late- and dry-hopping (250g/HL) with European aroma hops with a discrete citrus touch.
Van Aert suggests that cask ales are "impossible" in Belgium, but I think he means "very difficult." After all, there have been cask ale sightings at Moeder Lambic Fontainas and a handful of festivals over the past several years. That global influence map is getting more complex, but those tried-and-true routes remain as well-trafficked as ever.
The photo comes from the Brussels chansons bar Goupil le Fol, where I tasted Belgoo for the first time nearly four years ago.
The name saisonneke was chosen because it’s light, hoppy and thirst quenching. In the tradition of the Wallonian saison used for the harvest workforce.
The “eke” was chosen because it’s lighter in alcohol than most existing saisons in the market and because of the nice French/Flemish mixture.
How do I get ahold of someone who runs this? I am trying to start my own beer at home in Turrialba but I dont know where to het the supplies, i.e. malt and barley etc. |
HJ: Solfeggio frequencies are an ancient science, long used by monks and other spiritually aware individuals to instill harmony and balance in the mind, body and spirit. Solfeggio Frequencies work through vibration to alter our overall brain wave patterns, which then cause a cascade of positive changes throughout the body. When these ‘lower’ aspects of ourselves are brought into balance, we come into deeper awareness and alignment with our higher spiritual selves. The tones and sound waves generated by solfeggio frequencies also have a direct harmonizing effect on the body by altering your cellular resonance. Your cells have a dominant vibrational pattern and this can be consciously manipulated or guided using specific types of sound.
Although the mechanisms through which solfeggio frequencies work has perhaps not always been known, they can clearly be felt when heard and listening to them for 5 to 10 minutes or more produces a noticeable calmness and harmony in the body and mind. Similar to the Raga’s and the incredible sitar works of ancient India, solfeggio frequencies are the spiritual musical lineage of medieval Europe, perhaps dating back even further.
After listening to the Gregorian chants in the video below, you can clearly tell they were onto something. These days you can find digital music tuned to the solfeggio frequencies, however, the body/mind responds best to organic sounds like the human voice or actual ‘analog’ instruments. The digital tones do still work, but they lack full spectrum of frequencies often present in ‘real world’ instrumentation. |
Subsets and Splits