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New cup user, what am I doing wrong?
I recently purchased my first menstrual cup (organicup size A) but I have encountered some problems with the inserting and popping open of the cup. I checked other entries, but could not find exactly what I was looking for.
The problem is that the cup just does not pop open after having been inserted. I can get it in using a push-down fold or sometimes using an origami-fold (other folds just will not fit in) but it just stays folded after insertion. Twisting it does not work: I really can not seem to be able to turn it at all. I tried the cold water trick, squatting, laying down on my back, pinching the bottom, placing it higher or lower, letting it open immediately after insertion (but allowing and actually achieving it are two different things), even jumping up and down, sliding my finger around, but none of this works. I do have to say that, even though the lower part does not open, the ring is actually nicely opened and the seal seems to be working (but I can pull it out by the stem without a problem), but the capacity of the cup is so low, due to the fact that it's mostly still closed, that it starts leaking when it's not even filled for a third yet (but not immediately).
Even so, there was one time in which I did manage to get it to open by pushing my vaginal wall back a little to allow some air to come in. However, the cup was then positioned so low that I could feel not only the stem but also the cup, which was very annoying, and upon removing it it immediately collapsed on itself, spilling the contents ... Pushing the cup further up does not appear to be possible: instead of moving the cup will just collapse on itself en fold up again.
My actual question now is: do you still have any tips as to what I could do differently? Or could it be that the cup is e.g. too soft (I am 19 years old, a virgin, and it's not like I sport a lót but I definitely move and train some muscles every day because I have lower back issues and need to keep my muscles strong. I can only just reach my cervix with my finger top when I'm on my period)? And how do you push a cup up higher when it has popped open?
Thank you so much! I hope you all can help.
The cup may be too soft. But, keep trying!
My soft cup took me a long time to figure out. Even my firm cup can be hard at times to open. I have discovered that if I can get it up really high it might just open on its own. I can also put it in partially and let it open and then I push around the stem area to get it higher. There is a spot that that is somewhere in between that results in no opening for me, just not high enough or low enough. So you may have to try a variety of distances ftom the opening to get it open.
Honestly, I bought lubricant for the fist time, which makes insertion waaaay easier. I sometimes lubricate the whole cup and then fold and insert. This can be tricky but seems to help it open when I am not at my heaviest flow. I like a very small insertion point and the Labia fold has been a godsend! Demonstrations can be found on YouTube. The Labia fold is almost tampon size, so I can usually get it up high enough that I pass my pubic pone or pelvic muscles that seem to want to crush my cups.
Pushing against your vaginal wall is also a great trick.
It can be frustrating, just some patience and practice is needed, hopefully.
* Change the angle where the "seam/folded in part" of the fold points. For me it works best if the "seam" points towards my back (not the front as I tried first), but that's probably different from person to person.
* Fold the cup so that one of the air holes sits on the "seam/folded in part" of the fold. This way, it's easier for air to get in while the cup opens because there will be a sort of "air channel" towards your opening.
* Put your finger against the bottom of the cup and bear down (as if to poo) while holding it in place with your finger, this can press air into the cup and help it to open up. Additional wiggling at the bottom while bearing down can also help.
Thank you both for your responses! I am going to try some more then with your new tips and hope that this will work!
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0.999995 |
To what extent is an equality of idleness across society necessary, desirable, or attainable? In the past , I've argued in favour of an equality of idleness across society. But over time doubts have risen about the attainability or even desirability of equal idleness.
Nevertheless it seems that to the extent that humanity is necessarily engaged in work, it should seek an approximate equality of the distribition of this necessary work. No such expectation of equality need apply to what humans freely choose to do in their idle time.
One argument in favour of equality is that while human survival entails the necessity of work, that work ought to be shared equally. One analogy I use is that of a lifeboat carrying shipwrecked passengers, where all are allotted equal rations of food and water, and all take their turn on the oars and the buckets, regardless of their former station in life. One would not expect such that in such a lifeboat the rich would eat caviare in the stern while the poor chewed dry bread in the bow. And if such an equality is to be expected in a lifeboat, is it not also to be equally expected on the larger 'lifeboat' that is this earth on which humanity toils to maintain itself alive?
Another argument for equality goes to the other extreme, moving from a lifeboat to a dinner party. When the host dishes out each course, will he or she not pass out equal portions to their guests? It would be a strange dinner party, would it not, where some guests were handed plates piled high with food, while others received plates with hardly any food on them at all? Surely the rule of equal portions that applies to a dinner party should also apply to society as a whole?
Another argument in favour of a general equality of idleness in society is that where people agree to unite to form a society, as in some social contract, they will do so in expectation of being treated as equals, and of enjoying equal outcomes from their joint venture, or rewards proportionate to their efforts.
For example, where hunters combine together to hunt together in concert, they will do so in expectation of an equal share of the resulting catch, or a share that is proportional to their individual effort. Or, another way, there is no reason to suppose that any one individual is more deserving of a larger share than any other, and, unless good reason can be shown, every reason to treat all equally.
A second argument for equality is that any interdependent society is, like a chain, only as strong as its weakest link. And when the weakest link fails, the whole chain breaks, and society comes apart. And in a human society, its weakest link is its least idle member, who will be the first to find his idleness fall to zero, and face death. Accordingly, the strongest society - the one most able to endure hardship - will be the most egalitarian society, in which all members enjoy the same idleness.
In an extreme condition of inequality - for example, where half of a society consists of idle slaveowners and the other half of toiling slaves - the idle slaveowners have the idle time in which to invent labour-saving tools and techniques, but no incentive to do so, because they employ slaves for this purpose. Equally, while the slaves have every incentive to find ways to reduce their work, they have not the idle time in which to invent and perfect labour-saving tools and techniques. The result is technological stasis. In ancient Greece, idle slaveowners created great art and literature and architecture, but produced little in the way of technological innovation. In this manner inequality stifles innovation.
In a simple trading system, it can be shown that there is a set of just prices which produce an equality of idleness across society. Since one of these sets occurs when prices are set at costs of production, it follows that where manufacturers compete in selling goods (useful tools), and prices are driven down towards costs, an approximate equality of idleness will result. Thus the normal operation of a trading system should produce equality. Inequalities will generally appear when new goods appear in the market from monopoly producers who, without competition, are able to push up the price of these goods towards their value.
These various arguments above combine to make a case for human societies in which there is an equality of idleness. They are not arguments in favour of any further equality beyond that of idleness: if, for example, in a 50% idle society, some 50% idle members use their idle time to make and trade amusements and luxuries, while the other 50% idle members do nothing in their idle time, then the latter can have no claim upon the material wealth - the amusements and luxuries - produced by the former. For the latter to do so would be to enjoy both their leisure and the products of other people's leisure activities. Much the same applies to games like football that people play in their idle time: there can be no expectation of an equality of outcome, with every game a draw, because such games are devised as contests in which there are intended to be winners and losers.
Was there a Social Contract?
One counter-argument to the suggestion that any social contract entails an expectation of equality might be that there is no reason to suppose that human societies arose out of any social contract. It may well be that sometimes they did. But also it is entirely possible that human societies are self-organising, and emerge spontaneously out of the actions of individuals, rather than from some grand plan.
For example, when people go to a beach to swim or sunbathe, they will usually put down a few possessions - a towel, a sunshade, a windbreak - on some spot. And others, as they arrive, will do the same. And as the beach becomes more and more crowded, people will take up the available space remaining, leaving only a few paths. None of this happens according to any plan. Nobody marks out allotments for new arrivals. Nobody sets out paths between them. The bathers do not convene any assembly to discuss and agree - in a social contract - the planning and organisation and administration of the beach. If paths appear, it will be where people tend to walk in numbers, and bathers adjacent to these paths will tend to shift away from them so as to minimize being trampled underfoot. And if football or handball games are played in some area, adjacent bathers will move away in order to minimize being struck by bouncing beach balls. Beaches filled with bathers are self-organising systems, having no overall plan, which emerge from the interactions of individuals with each other as they sunbathe, walk around, or play games. Beach societies are a form of human society which emerges quite spontaneously. And what applies to beaches may well also apply to every kind of human social organisation.
And if human societies can emerge spontaneously, unplanned, through interaction of individuals, then in such cases there is no sort of 'social contract', and no sort of expectation of equal shares, equal outcomes. And if human societies emerge in this manner, how can there be any expectation of equality if none was agreed upon beforehand? And on self-organising beaches, where each bather has his own area, some of these areas will be larger than others, and new arrivals will squeeze in where they can into yet smaller areas, and so there is no strict equality on beaches.
And in respect of the argument of the weakest link, it might be suggested that what is being demanded is not so much the most perfect social equality, but instead some sort of safety net to ensure that no member becomes utterly destitute. Rather than arranging a perfect equality of idleness across society, there should instead simply be provision made to aid those most in need, at the zero-idleness threshold of death. In practice, in the least idle societies, this will result in a de facto equality of idleness across society. But in more idle societies, inequalities of idleness will remain.
If social equality is necessary on a lifeboat filled with shipwrecked sailors, this is because, regardless of their former estate, all now share the same dire circumstance of necessity, and all must spend almost all their time rowing, bailing, fishing, and so on. In this condition of low idleness, all must work most of the time, and in so doing they are equally busy. When they at last step ashore and resume their former lives, they will return to a generally more idle and secure existence - unless life is as hard on shore as it is out in an open boat on the ocean - ,and this more idle condition allows inequality to rise. Equality, and very often the strictest equality, is really only necessary in low idleness societies (such as a lifeboat). It becomes increasingly unnecessary when human social idleness rises.
If the idleness of any human society is a fixed constant, then any gain in idleness by one member will be paid for by a fall in idleness of other members. But human idleness is a variable, not a constant: in times of hardship idleness falls, and in times of abundance idleness rises. And humans can increase (or decrease) their idleness through their own invention.
Let us imagine a society in which idleness is distributed equally across it, so that all its members enjoy an idleness of 60%. Let us further suppose that one of its members has the daily task of picking fruit from trees in an orchard, which is usually done by climbing up them and picking the fruit from the branches. Let us suppose that this individual thinks up a new way of picking the fruit, using a long pole to dislodge the fruit while standing on the ground. And let us further suppose that this method results in fruit being collected twice as quickly, or in half the time. The fruit collecter will now find that instead of working 40% of the time, he only works half that - 20% -, and his idleness has risen from 60% to 80%. But, assuming that his new method of collecting fruit has no effect on anyone else, the idleness of the other members remains unchanged at 60%. And so what was an equal society, with everyone 60% idle, has now become an unequal society, in which one individual is more idle than anyone else. Should the gain in idleness of the fruit-picker be redistributed equally throughout the society of which he is a member? Or should he be allowed to enjoy the rewards of his inventiveness?
In a strictly egalitarian society, in which an equality of idleness is regarded as an imperative, the fruit-picker's gain in idleness would be redistributed equally across the whole of society, so that everybody gained from it. In a 100-member society, the 20% - one fifth of a day - increase in his idleness would become a 0.2% rise in idleness - less than 3 minutes a day - of the whole 100-member society. And the fruit-picker would find that instead of his idleness rising from 60% to 80%, it only rises from 60% to 60.2%.
And if it took him a lot of trial and error, hours of trying out different poles to dislodge the fruit from the trees, would this small gain of 0.2% idleness be a sufficent reward to offset against his innovative effort? If he makes a large effort but wins only a small reward, he has become less idle rather than more idle: he is worse off for being so inventive. And so is it not likely that an egalitarian society would act as a brake upon innovation, because whatever the benefits in increased idleness any invention might bring, these benefits would be immediately taken from the inventor and dispersed across society?
In an egalitarian society, in which someone like this fruit-picker upsets equality with his inventions, there will be a continual need to redistribute gains (and losses) throughout society. But unless this redistribution happens automatically - which it will not - then some sort of effort will have to be made to redistribute these gains. And this redistributive work entails extra effort, perhaps by some bureaucracy which assigns work and production targets to members of society. The inventive fruit-collecter would be re-assigned by these bureaucrats to clear drains. But this extra bureaucratic work must entail a fall in social idleness. If the cost, in bureaucratic work, of redistributing some small gain exceeds that gain, then what would be a small gain in idleness in a non-egalitarian society would, in an egalitarian society, once the redistributive extra work had been added in, become a net loss of idleness . So an egalitarian and bureaucratic society may often find its idleness falling. And if the efforts of such a redistributive bureaucracy result in everyone being equally worse off (less idle), it would be better for all concerned if these bureaucracies did nothing, and allowed everyone to be unequally better off than equally worse off.
Or, to put it at its simplest, increased equality is only purchased with decreased idleness. Which matters more: idleness or equality?
An equality of idleness is only likely to ever be found where social idleness is 0 or 1. A perfectly idle society is one in which everyone is 100% idle, and by definition equal. And a completely busy society is one in which the idleness of all its members is zero, and once again equal. In between, there will be a greater or lesser degree of natural inequality. Human societies do not have fixed idleness, and their idleness falls with decay and wear and natural disaster, and rises through innovation and invention, and has a long-term eventual destination at either perfect or zero idleness. In the end, everyone will be equal. All that is needed is patience.
From this long term perspective, any particular human society appears as a transient non-equilibrium process rather than a fixed, static equilibrium. And to try to impose equality upon a non-equilibrium process is like trying to calm the waves on a stormy sea: it is better to wait for the process to be concluded, for the storm to pass.
Inventive modern Western society is continually producing new tools and methods and understandings which act to raise human idleness. Where such tools are produced by monopolies, the rewards of such innovation mostly goes to the inventors and manufacturers and distributors, resulting in an unequal distribution of wealth in society. But where such monopolies are eventually broken down, and free competition allowed, prices fall, and the consequence is a more equal distribution of the benefits. The wealth of any entrepreneur or innovator is thus temporary in nature. Inequality in innovative societies is the precursor to a general increase in wealth for the whole society - in exactly the same way that the first ladle of soup dished out in a canteen is the precursor to the rest which will feed the whole queue.
A natural equality of idleness is only likely to ever be achieved in the least idle or the most idle societies. In a 0% idle society, all its members will of necessity be working continuously. In a 100% idle society, nobody will ever do any necessary work. But in a 50% idle society, it is entirely plausible that half of its members will be working nearly continuously, and half will live largely idle lives. Thus inequalities of idleness are to be expected in societies of an intermediate idleness [more]. These inequalities may be very great.
If an attempt is made to enforce equality, this will only be attained by reducing idleness - if only because redistribution of idleness will always entail work. And this enforced equality is likely to result in the stifling of enterprise and invention, which go unrewarded. However, it has also been argued that extremes of inequality have the same stifling effect, for different reasons. This suggests that extremes of both inequality and equality should be avoided.
Rather than being an unchanging equilibrium, the human circumstance is a constant process of transition, usually from low idleness to high idleness. It is a long journey over many generations from hardship to ease, from toil to leisure. Attempts to straitjacket this process with demands for equality will very result in the slowing or halting of growth in social idleness. While an initial condition of low idleness will be one of equality, and the terminal condition of high idleness will also be one of equality, the transition from one to the other will always entail some degree of inequality. While an approximate equality of idleness remains desirable, it cannot be regarded as imperative.
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0.953837 |
Do you know how to translate the chinese word 同事?
The pronunciation in pinyin is written tóngshì or tong2shi4.
My working colleague is a blind person.
First I thank my working colleagues, secondly I want to thank my company and finally my family.
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0.953418 |
After the Higgs particle was discovered at the LHC, we were finally able to understand the Standard Model (SM) of a particle physics theory. The core of the SM is its gauge structure, an internal symmetry on the quantum mechanical description of underlying particles (Dirac fermions). Through experimental observations, weak gauge bosons that are responsible for the isospin violation should be massive. The Higgs mechanism was designed to break a weak gauge group of the SM, which makes corresponding gauge bosons become massive. Not only do weak gauge bosons become massive from the Higgs mechanism, but also Dirac fermions in the SM get their mass through an interaction with the Higgs field. Thus, we would be tempted to conclude that the Higgs would be the origin of SM particles' mass.
But in the SM, there are two other mechanisms for a particle to be massive. First, masses of baryons, like protons and neutrons, are not from the Higgs mechanism. If we add up the constituent particles' mass inside a proton, we only obtain just 1% of the proton's mass. The mass of baryons comes from the nature of strong gauge symmetry on a quark sector. The second Higgs-independent mass is the mass of neutrinos. In the SM, we don't have a mechanism to explain the nature of a neutrino's mass nor the existence of a neutrino's SU(2)L partner, a right-handed neutrino.
Thus, the origins of particles' mass depend on their gauge group structure: Dirac fermions and weak gauge bosons become massive due to the Higgs mechanism, which breaks a weak gauge symmetry; baryons are massive due to the nonperturbative nature of a strong gauge group; and the nature of the mass of neutrinos is still a mystery, as anti-neutrino behavior and neutrino behavior under SM gauge groups are the same.
As we mentioned earlier, particles in the SM are only responsible for a small portion of the total gravitational attractions in our Universe. Among various possibilities for these unknown gravitational effects, one of simplest solutions that has been strongly supported by various observations is found in dark matter particles. Thus, the problem of determining the unknown gravitational source of our Universe is associated with the task of identifying dark matter.
There have been various dark matter searches in all directions, including dark matter direct detection (DD) experiments [1, 2], indirect searches and collider experiments including the LHC . Most DD experiments have focused on the case of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) as a WIMP scenario has been supported strongly by supersymmetry theory. Thus, DD experiments will cover most of the mass range of WIMPs, from 𝒪(100) GeV up to a sensitivity limit of irreducible backgrounds from neutrino-nucleus coherent scattering .
Recently, a new possibility for light dark matter has been spotted [8, 9, 10]. As current DD experiments have very weak sensitivity in light dark matter cases of sub-GeV mass scale due to low nuclear recoil energy, ENR < 𝒪(0.1) KeV, over experimental resolutions and noises , detecting sub-GeV dark matter has become an interesting area for expansion in dark matter search programs. Here, we want to highlight the fact that the LHC experiment has good sensitivity in detecting light dark matter due to the precise understanding and use of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) in controlling experimental environments, including backgrounds. Theoretically, light dark matter phenomenology has generated various interesting ideas, including the possibility of interactions among dark matter particles to satisfy the observed relic density in our Universe. To consider interactions between dark matter, it is natural to think about a gauge group in the dark sector that introduces a force between "dark-charged" dark matter particles2.
In this article, we review our recent works in the LHC collider phenomenology of a new gauge group for the dark sector [5, 6]. We divide new gauge groups into two categories, depending on whether there would be a non-perturbative physics. If a new gauge group develops non-perturbative physics like QCD in the SM, there would be the possibility for dark matter to be a composite particle. This would introduce two important characteristics for dark matter: 1) that the stability of dark matter would be due to "baryon number" conservation; and 2) the mass of dark matter would arise from the nature of strong dynamics. To illustrate our point of combining collider phenomenology with non-perturbative physics, we consider an SU(3)d gauge group. In a case of perturbative physics, we take the example of a U(1)d abelian gauge group with a dark Higgs to break a gauge symmetry.
Once light dark matter particles are produced at the LHC, they will be highly accelerated due to the large production energy from the LHC. As dark matter is charged under a new gauge group, they will radiate corresponding gauge particles, similar to the case of accelerated electrons that radiate photons. We will show that by examining the energy deposit patterns from the radiation, we can see structures of gauge interactions among dark matter, which eventually will allow us to understand the origins of dark matter mass.
The observation of parity violation in the decay of cobalt-60 led to our ability to understand the nature of a weak gauge symmetry; particles that are charged under weak gauge symmetry are chiral. Fermions, which are building blocks of the SM, are chiral under a weak gauge symmetry; the charge of a right-handed fermion is different from the charge of the "same" left-handed fermion. The Higgs mechanism provides a natural way to endow chiral fermions with mass. If a fermion is vector-like, where the right-handed fermion has the same charge as a left-handed fermion, there is no need to introduce a Higgs field for a fermion to be massive.
When we consider the possibility of U(1)d gauge symmetry in the dark sector3, it is natural to check whether dark matter is chiral or vector-like under this gauge symmetry. If dark matter is chiral, then a Higgs field would be necessary for dark matter to be massive.
This shower pattern is similar to the familiar QED shower where a photon has only transverse polarizations.
since chiral dark matter radiates longitudinal polarization of dark photons, which is equivalent to the emission of dark Higgs from the highly accelerated dark matter at the LHC.
BR(γd →e+ e-)≃0.45, and BR(γd →π+ π-)≃0.10.
To examine differences in signatures at the LHC from distinct showering patterns, we checked to see how many changes occured in the number of dark photons produced at the LHC depending on the chirality of dark matter. For a numerical illustration, we took a study point of mχ=1.0 GeV with a coupling constant α'=0.15. In the upper of Fig. 2, we plotted histograms of the number of showered dark photons per event. We observed that we had more dark photon radiations in the case of chiral dark matter, as all three polarization modes of dark photon radiated off from dark matter.
Fig. 1: A generic event process diagram for accelerated dark matter particles to shower dark photons at the LHC.
Fig. 2: To show a different dark photon shower pattern, we demonstrated the number of showered dark photons and corresponding HT(ℓ) distributions with Monte Carlo simulations. The upper plot compares the dark photon number distribution between vector-like dark matter and chiral dark matter. The red line and blue line correspond to a vector-like model and a chiral model, respectively. The lower plot is for the comparison of the HT(ℓ) distribution with the same color code as cases in the upper plot.
In the case of vector-like dark matter, there is a soft singularity with x≃1 in Eq. (11). Thus, dark photons from vector-like dark matter tends to be softer compared to dark photons from chiral dark matter. This can be observed numerically in the lower figure of Fig. 2. As leptons from the decays of dark photons inherit energy from dark photons, most of the leptons become soft in vector-like dark matter.
Fig. 3: χ2 distance of HT(ℓ) distributions between a vector-like dark matter scenario and a chiral dark matter case with 100 signal events with background, after cuts.
Finally, we checked to see if differences in dark photon showering at the LHC could be detected using integrated beam luminosity of L = 3,000fb-1. To deal with the finite luminosity of the LHC, we generated 100 reconstructed signal events, after cuts, and 100 pseudo-experiments to reduce statistical uncertainties coming from the finite statistics of simulations. We calculate a binned-χ2 of HT(ℓ) distributions from a vector-like case and chiral case, including corruptions from backgrounds as we described above. Fig. 3 shows our results from the χ2 comparison. The LHC can tell us the origin of the mass of a dark matter particle by discriminating between vector-like and chiral dark matter models of more than a 2σ significance level, when the mass ratio mχ /mγd is large enough. As explained earlier, differences in signatures can be maximized as α'→0.
As contributions from protons and neutrons play a major part in the mass of our visible Universe, it is natural to check whether an unknown source for the invisible and massive part of our Universe comes from composite particles. For various theoretical models for composite dark matter, asymmetric dark matter models are interesting as they can also answer the baryon asymmetry of our Universe [16, 17]. In an asymmetric dark matter model, the light dark matter of 𝒪(1) GeV is preferred to address the problem of baryon genesis to the relic density of our Univese, ΩDM ≃ 5ΩB, where ΩB is the abundance of SM baryonic matters in our universe.
Table 1: All dark hadrons are assumed to decay promptly. We consider 2 cases: a high Λd case (A and C), and a low Λd case (B and D). Parameters are in the dark sector for A and C; B and D are the same except the decay channel of a dark pion, πd.
The SM sector can be connected to the dark sector by a mediator . Due to null results at the LHC, a mediator should be massive enough to avoid current heavy resonance searches with a dijet signature [19, 20]. Through this heavy mediator, dark partons can be produced at the LHC. Once dark partons are produced at the LHC, a process of "dark" hadronization will take place and dark hadrons will be formed. Dark hadrons will decay into SM particles through a heavy mediator. Depending on the parameters of a heavy mediator, the signature of dark hadrons will be a QCD-jet like signature or an exotic signature with various displaced vertices . Collider phenomenology with dark hadrons is more challenging as most of the signatures are similar to the QCD background. Separation from the QCD background is made even more complicated when the lifetimes of dark mesons are too short to develop displaced vertices. Here, we point out that 1) there are interesting physics with prompt dark meson decays, and 2) it is possible to suppress SM QCD backgrounds by combining various jet substructure techniques .
Fig. 4: Running coupling of dark-QCD depending on models [orange and blue] and a running coupling of SM QCD with five flavor nf =5 without top-quark effect [green].
For this minimal model, where a mediator connects a dark-QCD to the SM QCD, dark mesons decay into the SM quarks, where a signature forms a QCD jet. Unlike the process of tagging leptons with various sub-detectors at the LHC, probing the substructure of a QCD jet is difficult due to low resolution in the hadron calorimeter and underlying events. Thus, previously exotic signatures have been considered.
If a dark pion can decay into heavy flavor as in Table 1, the proper decay length of dark pion could be shorter than 1mm. This decay length is not long enough to be captured with displaced vertex techniques. In the case where a dark quark is charged under U(1)d, a dark pion decays into two dark photons similar to the case where a pion decays into two photons in the SM. Thus, depending on the details of dark-QCD models, tagging signatures from dark matter over the SM would be a nontrivial task.
The most important factors in forming a jet signature from the hadronization process are the running coupling strength α of the gauge group and a energy scale, Λd, from which a non-perturbative physics emerge below.
with a boundary condition α-1d (Λd)=0, which describes the breakdown of perturbativity. Here Nd is a number for the SU(Nd) gauge group and nf is the number of dark quarks. When Nd=2, the ratio of stable dark baryons inside a jet can be significant, which makes a signature more distinctive as compared to the SM QCD jet. Thus, for phenomenological reasons we take Nd=3 when identifying a signature is challenging.
Here, ri is the distance between a component i of a jet J and a jet axis. The performance of girth depends on the confinement scale of dark-QCD as a dark-QCD jet from a higher confinement scale (model A and model C), which is easier to be distinguished than cases from a low confinement scale (model B and model D). By comparing model A and C (and also model B and D) we find that girth is not sensitive to the different decay channel of a dark meson.
Fig. 5: Girth distribution of a jet with different kinds of dark-QCD models and SM QCD for 180 GeV<pT<220 GeV.
To further discriminate different decay patterns of dark-QCD compared to SM-QCD, charged track multiplicity can be utilized due to the high resolution and trigger efficiency of the track reconstruction at the LHC. As this variable is IRC (Infra-red and collinear) unsafe, we rely on results from a Monte Carlo Simulation as in FIG. 6.
Fig. 6: Charged track multiplicity distribution of different kinds of jets with pT ∈v; (180 GeV, 220 GeV).
In our analysis, we utilize various jet substructure variables, including the above two variables. We are not showing the details of the jet substructure variables as they are too technical for this report. Instead of displaying the individual performances, we summarize the results using a BDT (Boosted Decision Tree) to maximize performance. Here we only show results with pT ∈v; (180 GeV, 220 GeV). For larger pT, the performance in dark-QCD jet discrimination would be enhanced as differences in the showering pattern become significant with the large energy of a jet. For all of our model settings and the jet's pT ≳200 GeV, we can either exclude 99% of the background gluon jets while reserving more than 30% of the signal dark jet, or exclude 99% the background quark jet while reserving more than 50% of the signal dark jet.
Fig. 7: ROC curves from BDT analysis: dark jet vs. gluon jet ROC curves for all four models and different variables combination, with pT ∈v; (180 GeV, 220 GeV).
Our results demonstrate that by considering the information inside a jet, we will achieve much better understanding of dark jets and we will be able to enhance collider search sensitivity to identify signatures of the dark-QCD model at the LHC.
The core of the Standard Model is its gauge structure. Depending on the gauge structure on a particle, a different mechanism for the mass of a particle is given; for example, the Higgs mechanism for a chiral fermion and non-perturbative origin as in baryons. Thus, identifying a gauge structure on a dark matter particle will lead to understanding dark matter's mass, which remains a large and unknown portion of our Universe. Here, we utilize the dependence of showering patterns in accelerated dark matter at the LHC. By examining patterns in the showering process, (1) we can identify the chirality of dark matter for fermionic dark matter or (2) we can enhance search sensitivity over SM QCD background and detailed feature of dark-QCD in composite dark matter case.
Acknowledgments : The research projects which have been summarized here are supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Basic Science Research Program (NRF-2017R1C1B5075677).
2 Here, we consider a charge from a new gauge group. Thus, dark matter is still neutral under the SM gauge groups.
3 Here, we define a dark sector as the collection of non-SM particles including dark matter.
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Myeonghun Park is an assistant professor at Seoul National University of Science and Technology (Seoultech), and a visiting research fellow at IBS-CTPU. After receiving a Ph.D. from University of Florida, he worked at CERN theory department, Kavli IPMU, APCTP and IBS-CTPU before joining Seoultech in 2017. His research field is the phenomenology of physics beyond the Standard Model.
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The word ?suicide? is often surrounded by stigma, which further leads to a hesitation in talking about it. At the same time, hearing about the mention of the word often tends to evoke in us many powerful images, emotions and even judgments. Mental health in itself is often surrounded by stigma, which becomes one of the primary obstacles in the way of identification and management of mental illnesses symptoms. This is especially true in cases of suicide, where it is common for an individual to be blamed. On the contrary, in most cases, suicidal tendencies are more likely to be explained by an untreated illness, and ignored mental illness symptoms, which could be prevented with timely identification as well as intervention of the same. Therefore, it becomes important to ensure we clarify common myths and misconceptions associated with suicide and self-harm, and at the same time also think about the need of the hour to prevent such incidents in the future.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers worldwide and this trend continues to rise even today (WHO, 2002). In fact, the findings of a WHO study in 2012 report that 75% of global suicide occurred in low- and middle-income countries, with suicide accounting for 1.4% of all deaths worldwide, making it the 15th leading cause of death.?Suicide occurs throughout the lifespan and was the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year old?s globally in 2012. Moreover, it is estimated by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that at least 25 attempts are made for every completed teen suicide.
The recent Mental Healthcare Act which was passed in 2017 decriminalized suicide, a much-appreciable act which encourages a sensitized approach to mental illnesses. However, suicide prevention is a collective responsibility which is not simply restricted to policy making, but also requires creating awareness and sensitization towards the reporting of mental health, while also making mental health services accessible and available to all.
It is important for us to realize that suicide is preventable. First and foremost, it is important to recognize that, contrary to popular opinion, suicide is not an impulsive decision that happens on the spur of the moment. In fact, 90% of the suicidal tendencies are more likely to be explained by an untreated illness, which could be prevented with timely identification as well as intervention of the same, which means that there could be many clear warning signs of people who might be contemplating suicide. Therefore, by spreading adequate awareness it is actually possible to ensure a timely identification of individuals contemplating suicide and this in itself can be a significant step towards the preventions of such incidents.
Further, a complete understanding of such a phenomenon is necessary in order to ensure the de-stigmatization of suicide and to fight against the hesitation clouding the reporting of such incidents. If you suspect a person of considering suicide, you should not hesitate to talk about it. This will not plant the idea in the person?s head. On the contrary, the person is most likely considering suicide as a last resort. But if you talk about it, you could help the person realize that there could be an alternative available. Instead of overlooking these signs as attention seeking tactics, or not taking them seriously, it is important to be vigilant to these warning signs, and to know how to respond to them.
It is important to understand that vulnerable individuals are likely to get influenced by the what the portrayal of suicides they see around them, as they are at a risk of what is referred to as the ?Werther effect?, especially in situations when the individual is able to identify and relate to the victim being reported about.
What is often not talked about or recognized is the need to encourage a preventive approach, with stories demonstrating positive coping, help seeking behaviour despite adverse circumstances, thereby strengthening protective factors associated with suicide. The relevance of such portrayals can be understood with reference to the ?Papageno effect? wherein an individual was reminded of an alternative to resorting to suicide through the media.
Yes, it is a reality that suicides are now a worldwide concern, and a national loss. We all need to join hands to create a sensitized environment garnering the empathy and support of the general society at large ? the role of families, peers, educational institutions, healthcare providers, as well as policy makers and the community at large.
Creating an awareness and educating people about the signs that could be indicative of some distress being experienced by the individuals who might be contemplating suicide is imperative. An adequate peer support and social network system, family support, school as well as community connectedness could serve as a major factor in lessening the risk of suicides. It is necessary to spread awareness about accessibility as well as referrals to appropriate professional help of counselors and psychiatrists.
In fact, considering the high prevalence of suicide amongst the youth, the promotion of active social skills training is a major step that needs to be encouraged in order to help children and adolescents develop healthier coping mechanisms to deal with their internal conflicts. Such policies are a must especially for school children and teenagers. Efforts should be made to focus on building trust and rapport with them, so as to enable an atmosphere of open communication, encouraging the reporting and sharing of their innermost feelings easily. Parent and community awareness programs need to be created to encourage parental notification and involvement.
Forming a multi-component model for awareness building, preventive strategies as well as training for adequate intervention-based approaches for parents, teachers, as well as students is essential. Further, there is a dire need for the establishment of a student assistance/helpline program to identify risk factors for suicide, and the implementation of a prevention policy to promote adolescents? resilience and healthy socio-emotional development.
It is the need of the hour to establish strong social support systems to help fight the challenge posed by urban loneliness. Social isolation in itself can be identified as a major contributor towards increasing susceptibility of experiences of loneliness, which further can have an adverse impact on the individual?s mood, anxiety levels, as well as coping mechanisms, all of which put together could culminate in adding to the potential suicidal ideations. We also need to ensure that we all do not neglect our own self-care at the grass-root levels of the society itself, and help work towards the establishment of a National Suicide Prevention Policy to be implemented across the country and help in saving lives.
Posted on September 10, 2018 by admin. This entry was posted in Mental Health. Bookmark the permalink.
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In India, the Mughal Empire was one of the greatest empires ever. The Mughal Empire ruled hundreds of millions of people. India became united under one rule, and had very prosperous cultural and political years during the Mughal rule. There were many Muslim and Hindu kingdoms split all throughout India until the founders of the Mughal Empire came. There were some men such as Babar, grandson to the Great Asian conqueror Tamerlane and the conqueror Genghis Khan from the northern region of Ganges, river valley, who decided to take over Khyber, and eventually, all of India.
the great grandson of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, was the first Mughal emperor in India. He confronted and defeated Lodhi in 1526 at the first battle of Panipat, and so came to establish the Mughal Empire in India. Babar ruled until 1530, and was succeeded by his son Humayun.
the eldest son of Babar, succeeded his father and became the second emperor of the Mughal Empire. He ruled India for nearly a decade but was ousted by Sher Shah Suri, the Afghan ruler. Humayun wandered for about 15 years after his defeat. Meanwhile, Sher Shah Suri died and Humayun was able to defeat his successor, Sikandar Suri and regain his crown of the Hindustan. However, soon after, he died in 1556 at a young age of 48 years.
was an Afghan leader who took over the Mughal Empire after defeating Humayun in 1540. Sher Shah occupied the throne of Delhi for not more than five years, but his reign proved to be a landmark in the Sub-continent. As a king, he has several achievements in his credit. He established an efficient public administration. He set up a revenue collection system based on the measurement of land. Justice was provided to the common man. Numerous civil works were carried out during his short reign; planting of trees, wells and building of Sarai (inns) for travellers was done. Roads were laid; it was under his rule that the Grand Trunk road from Delhi to Kabul was built. The currency was also changed to finely minted silver coins called Dam. However, Sher Shah did not survive long after his accession on the throne and died in 1545 after a short reign of five years.
Humayun's heir, Akbar, was born in exile and was only 13 years old when his father died. Akbar's reign holds a certain prominence in history; he was the ruler who actually fortified the foundations of the Mughal Empire. After a series of conquests, he managed to subdue most of India. Areas not under the empire were designated as tributaries. He also adopted a conciliatory policy towards the Rajputs, hence reducing any threat from them. Akbar was not only a great conqueror, but a capable organizer and a great administrator as well. He set up a host of institutions that proved to be the foundation of an administrative system that operated even in British India. Akbar's rule also stands out due to his liberal policies towards the non-Muslims, his religious innovations, the land revenue system and his famous Mansabdari system. Akbar's Mansabdari system became the basis of Mughal military organization and civil administration.
Akbar died in 1605, nearly 50 years after his ascension to the throne, and was buried outside of Agra at Sikandra. His son Jehangir then assumed the throne.
Akbar was succeeded by his son, Salim, who took the title of Jehangir, meaning "Conqueror of the World". He married Mehr-un-Nisa whom he gave the title of Nur Jahan (light of the world). He loved her with blind passion and handed over the complete reins of administration to her. He expanded the empire through the addition of Kangra and Kistwar and consolidated the Mughal rule in Bengal. Jehangir lacked the political enterprise of his father Akbar. But he was an honest man and a tolerant ruler. He strived to reform society and was tolerant towards Hindus, Christians and Jews. However, relations with Sikhs were strained, and the fifth of the ten Sikh gurus, Arjun Dev, was executed at Jehangir's orders for giving aid and comfort to Khusrau, Jehangir's rebellious son. Art, literature, and architecture prospered under Jehangir's rule, and the Mughal gardens in Srinagar remain an enduring testimony to his artistic taste. He died in 1627.
Jehangir was succeeded by his second son Khurram in 1628. Khurram took the name of Shah Jahan, i.e. the Emperor of the World. He further expanded his Empire to Kandhar in the north and conquered most of Southern India. The Mughal Empire was at its zenith during Shah Jahan's rule. This was due to almost 100 years of unparalleled prosperity and peace. As a result, during this reign, the world witnessed the unique development of arts and culture of the Mughal Empire. Shah Jahan has been called the "architect king". The Red Fort and the Jama Masjid, both in Delhi, stand out as towering achievements of both civil engineering and art. Yet above all else, Shah Jahan is remembered today for the Taj Mahal, the massive white marble mausoleum constructed for his wife Mumtaz Mahal along the banks of the Yamuna River in Agra.
Aurangzeb ascended the throne in 1658 and ruled supreme till 1707. Thus Aurangzeb ruled for 50 years, matching Akbar's reign in longevity. But unfortunately he kept his five sons away from the royal court with the result that none of them was trained in the art of government. This proved to be very damaging for the Mughals later on. During his 50 years of rule, Aurangzeb tried to fulfill his ambition of bringing the entire Sub-continent under one rule. It was under him that the Mughal Empire reached its peak in matter of area. He worked hard for years but his health broke down in the end. He left behind no personal wealth when he died in 1707, at the age of 90 years. With his death, the forces of disintegration set in and the mighty Mughal empire started collapsing.
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Nasal snoring can be a great nuisance, but it can be easily treated once the source of the problem is successfully identified. There are three major causes of nasal snoring, two of which are closely linked. These include collapsing nostrils, nasal stuffiness, and allergies. In this text, we will focus on each problem individually and point to the most effective solutions to each of them.
Nostrils collapse when the nasal valve is weakened or narrowed, which often happens after a rhinoplasty. This causes a significant narrowing and blocking of the nasal airways, which in turn leads to mouth breathing and snoring. There are three effective solutions to this problem.
One is opting for high-quality nasal dilators that are inserted into the nostrils, making it impossible for them to collapse. A similar solution is a good pair of nasal cones. These soft cones also go inside the nose and dilate nostrils and open up the nasal airways, allowing for unobstructed airflow. Another great solution that is even more convenient and comfortable comes in the form of well-designed nasal strips. These are placed on the outside of the nose and they gently lift the sides of the nose, preventing the nostrils from collapsing.
Nasal stuffiness is something virtually all people experience and it is often caused by a cold of the flu. The stuffiness results in nasal airway blockage, so the sufferer is forced to breathe through the mouth, which often leads to snoring. In the case of snoring caused by nasal stuffiness, the smartest solution is reaching for one of the top-rated anti-snoring nasal sprays.
These sprays are completely safe to use and they successfully eliminate blockages by lubricating the tissues inside the nose and reducing or eliminating resistance in the upper airways. Anti-snoring nasal sprays are incredibly convenient and easy to use and they are often rather affordable.
Finally, we come to allergies, that is, allergic rhinitis, which is a nasal inflammation that commonly causes nasal obstructions that lead to snoring. Apart from removing allergens from your environment, you can also alleviate the symptoms by using high-quality anti-snoring nasal sprays, just like in the case of nasal stuffiness. While it is important to find out what you are allergic to and do what you can to avoid it, in the meantime, you can help yourself breathe and sleep better by using a spray designed for that purpose.
Fortunately, none of these solutions cause any significant discomfort and they are usually quite budget-friendly. Therefore, it is only important to determine the root cause of your snoring and you are a step away from snore-free nights.
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Ask acclaimed author and evolutionary philosopher Brian Thomas Swimme about our role as humans in this awe-inspiring universe, and his insights will light up the night skies. As our host, co-writer, and fellow traveler, he shares his infectious curiosity about life's biggest questions in the epic JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE.
Using his skills as a masterful storyteller, Swimme connects such big picture issues as the birth of the cosmos 14 billion years ago - to the invisible frontiers of the human genome - as well as to our current impact on Earth's evolutionary dynamics. Through his engaging and thoughtful observations audiences everywhere will discover the profound role we play in this intricate web of life.
From the Big Bang to the epic impact humans have on the planet today, this film is designed to inspire a new and closer relationship with Earth in a period of growing environmental and social crisis.
Beautifully filmed, our story begins on the historically rich Greek island of Samos, birthplace of mathematician Pythagoras. Disembarking on the island at dawn, Swimme expertly guides us on an exhilarating trek through time and space, sharing a wondrous view of cosmic evolution as a process based on immense creativity, connection, and interdependence. After the toll of midnight, he sets sail into the star-lit waters of the Aegean Sea, leaving audiences with a sense of wonder at the mystery, complexity and connectivity that permeates the Earth and universe from the very beginning. The Emmy(r) Award winning JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE tells an epic story of cosmic, Earth and human transformation from The Big Bang to today. Evolutionary philosopher Brian Thomas Swimme and Yale historian of religions Mary Evelyn Tucker have crafted an elegant narrative that both illuminates and celebrates the profound role humans play in the flourishing of the Earth. Living organisms emerged within the vast drama of the universe - a drama that continues to unfold minute-by-minute. But, what role do humans play in the 14 billion year journey of the universe that began with the Great Flaring Forth? How do we connect with the intricate web of life? These questions and many more are posed and addressed.
Broadcast on over 275 PBS television stations, the Emmy(r) Award winning Journey of the Universe weaves a tapestry of scientific discoveries in astronomy, geology, biology, ecology and biodiversity with humanistic insights concerning the nature of the universe.
Having the narrator's voice on the left, music on the right channel, is awful. Video quality is iffy.
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Epidemiologic investigations by local and state health departments and CDC identified 31 total cases of measles in 22 detainees and nine staff members, with rash onsets occurring May 6–June 26 (Figure). Initial reports of rash illness among a few detainees were attributed to varicella (chickenpox) based on clinical presentation; some detainees also reported that they did not initially seek medical attention when they became ill, likely leading to the delay in diagnosing the first few cases of measles. The median detainee patient age was 34 years (range = 19–52 years), and the median staff patient age was 41 years (range = 22–49 years). Seven of the nine ill staff members reported receipt of at least 1 dose of MMR vaccine in the past, but no vaccination records were available at the time the outbreak was recognized. Three of the nine ill staff members received 1 dose of MMR vaccine 7–13 days before becoming ill, suggesting that exposure might have occurred before sufficient immunity developed from vaccination, because the incubation period for measles ranges from 7–21 days.† On June 17 and June 21, MMR staff member vaccination clinics were conducted on-site. Two additional clinics were conducted on July 15 and July 19. Staff members were encouraged to obtain their immunization records and to bring them to the facility to be recorded. Federal personnel policies and contractual agreements that do not require staff members to be vaccinated and the initial unavailability of staff member vaccination records might have contributed to low participation in the first two staff member vaccination clinics; only 120 MMR doses were administered, and 202 (40%) staff members were still considered to not have evidence of measles immunity.
Reports of illness from personnel who had developed measles might have prompted other staff members to get vaccinated; by August 4, a total of 445 (87%) staff members were considered to have evidence of immunity, including 119 (23%) with documentation of receipt of 2 MMR doses before the start of the outbreak, 307 (60%) who had received 1 previous MMR dose and received a second dose during the outbreak, and 19 (4%) with serologic evidence of immunity. Although recommendations to exclude infectious staff members and nonimmune staff members suspected to have been exposed were made as soon as the outbreak was recognized, slow compliance with vaccination recommendations and incomplete implementation of exclusion recommendations, and restrictions on enforcing them, might have prolonged this outbreak.
Outbreak response is expensive and resource-intensive (1); specific strategies for measles prevention and control can be in place in advance to expedite and optimize containment in the event of an outbreak. First, persons working in congregate settings with populations that include people who have traveled internationally from measles-endemic regions or others whose immunity levels are unknown or difficult to assess should have documented evidence of measles immunity (2). Second, a means to quickly verify presumptive measles immunity among staff members in the event of occurrence of a case of measles can facilitate containment (2,3). Finally, contingency plans that allow for the exclusion of infectious staff members and exposed nonimmune staff members can prevent spread of measles (3,4). Adherence to these recommendations in high-risk settings, such as health care facilities, has been shown to limit transmission, optimize resources, and reduce costs (4).
Recommendations for implementing measles control policies for detention and correctional facilities, similar to those recommended in health care facilities, could be considered. If permissible, contractual and interagency agreements could include similar provisions, such as requiring MMR vaccination for staff members who work in detention facilities and do not have documented evidence of immunity.
Jessica Rigler, MPH; Cara Christ, MD; Eugene Livar, MD; Lisa Villarroel, MD; Rosa Lira; Corey Tarango; Teresa Jue, MPH; Sara Imholte Johnston, MPH; Don Herrington; Karen Lewis, MD; Harmony Duport; Peter Kelly, MD; Krista Anheluk; Irene Ruberto, PhD; Jennifer Pistole, MPH; Kristen Herrick, MPH, Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS); Jabette Franco; Samuel Packard, MPH; Christopher Reimus; Marcela Salinas, MPA, Pinal County Public Health Services District, Florence, Arizona; Tammy Sylvester, MSN; Ron Klein; Karen Rose; Karen Zabel, MSN; Jennifer Adair, MSW; Marcus Castle; Bob England, MD, Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Phoenix, Arizona; Edith Lederman, MD; Geri Tagliaferri, MPH; Jennifer Freiman, MPH; Bessie Padilla, MBA; Herman Auhl, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Paul Rota, PhD; Carole Hickman, PhD; Jessica Leung, MPH; Sun Bae Sowers; Sara Mercader, PhD, Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC; William Slanta; Kathryn Fitzpatrick; Jessica Escobar, Arizona State Public Health Laboratory, ADHS.
Corresponding author: Heather Venkat, [email protected], 602-290-3514.
1Epidemic Intelligence Service, Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development, CDC; 2Arizona Department of Health Services; 3Maricopa County Department of Public Health; 4Idaho Department of Health and Welfare; 5Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC; 6Pinal County Public Health Services District; 7Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Career Epidemiology Field Officer Program, CDC; 8Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC; 9U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
* Acceptable presumptive evidence of immunity against measles includes at least one of the following: 1) written documentation of adequate vaccination (≥1 dose of a measles-containing vaccine administered on or after the first birthday for preschool-age children and adults not at high risk; or 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine for school-age children and adults at high risk, including college students, health care personnel, and international travelers); 2) laboratory evidence of immunity; 3) laboratory confirmation of measles; or 4) birth before 1957.
The figure above is a bar chart showing the dates of rash onset for 31 cases of measles in an Arizona immigration and customs enforcement facility during May 6–June 26, 2016, with arrows indicating the dates the first case was identified, detainees were vaccinated, and staff vaccination clinics were conducted.
Suggested citation for this article: Venkat H, Kassem AM, Su C, et al. Notes from the Field: Measles Outbreak at a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Facility ― Arizona, May–June 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2017;66:543–544. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6620a5External.
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What do index funds and Karl Marx have in common?
There’s been quite a controversy recently about a paper produced by the New York-based investment research firm Sanford C Bernstein. It carries the rather emotive title The Silent Road to Serfdom: Why Passive Investing is Worse Than Marxism.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the thesis has been seized on by advocates of active fund management as an argument against using index funds.
The paper does not say that passive investing is a bad idea, but it does raise important questions about how beneficial the shift to indexing is for society as a whole.
So, is this something we should be worried about?
The first thing to remember is that that the fund industry is highly profitable and very powerful, so we really shouldn’t be surprised that it goes to great lengths to cast passive investing in a bad light.
The biggest concern the Bernstein paper raises is that passive funds will eventually dominate asset management.
Realistically, though, that scenario is a long way off.
Yes, there’s been a huge shift towards passively managed mutual funds and ETFs in the US in recent years, but even there, passive funds still account for only a modest proportion of total investable assets.
Almost everywhere else in the world passive investors are still a small minority.
Another concern is that if there are fewer active managers then markets will cease to be efficient.
But this ignores the fact that there are far too many active managers anyway.
There’s been a huge proliferation in active funds over the past 40 years, to the extent that there are now more funds than individual stocks.
It’s difficult to put a figure on it, but the investment writer Larry Swedroe estimates that if the number of active funds fell by 90%, that would still be enough to keep markets efficient.
Contrary to the impression given in the Bernstein paper, active investing will never go away.
It’s human nature to think that the market can be beaten, and there will always be professional investment advisers willing to take money off those who want to give it a try.
Even if, hypothetically, we reached a situation where almost everybody indexed, it wouldn't stay that way for long.
“if passive investments became inefficient, that inefficiency would create an incentive to become an active investor”.
What about the claim that passive investing somehow undermines the primary purpose of the capital markets, namely to allocate capital to the entrepreneurs who need and deserve it most?
Again, this doesn’t bear scrutiny.
For a start, active managers frequently misallocate funds, as demonstrated by the high percentage of heavily hyped start-ups that fail.
But, more importantly, new offerings account for a tiny proportion of trading — Jack Bogle has estimated around 1%, which means that 99% of market activity is simply active traders trading with one another.
Finally, another argument levelled against indexing is that it impacts negatively on corporate governance.
Surely, it’s claimed, the system depends on investment funds (which in practice are the largest shareholders) holding company boards to account?
Again, it sounds a logical argument but ultimately falls flat.
In fact, active managers often make bad shareholders: the repeated failure to vote against excessive pay deals for senior directors is a prime example.
Meanwhile, research in the US has shown how the growth of indexing is actually having a positive impact on governance.
The really extraordinary thing about the Bernstein research paper is not that it’s fundamentally flawed, but that its conclusion is the very opposite of the truth.
Far from undermining capitalism, the growth of passive investing is, in the words of Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, “capitalism at its best”.
One of the benefits of free markets is competition, which in turn leads (or should lead) to an improvement in the quality of goods and services.
Why, then, should proponents of active management object to the growth of indexing?
As Craig Lazzara at S&P Dow Jones has pointed out, the question to ask is, Where does the money currently flowing into passively managed funds come from?
Another benefit of increased competition is cheaper prices.
Fees and charges are, slowly, starting to fall, particularly in the US.
A recent study by Morningstar concluded that lower costs are principally explained by “large inflows to Vanguard’s low-cost passive funds”.
How can anyone therefore say that the growth of indexing is harming free markets, when its single biggest impact has been to lower the cost of investing for tens of millions of people across the globe?
The longer a debate goes on, the more likely people are to resort to extreme arguments, and comparing indexing with Marxism certainly falls into that category.
The irony of an industry that has effectively imposed a stealth tax on individuals and companies for decades now presenting itself as the bastion of a vibrant economy is plainly ridiculous.
In allowing ordinary people to keep a bigger share of their investment returns for themselves, passive investing is serving a far, far greater social and economic purpose than professional stock-picking ever will.
Ignore the scaremongers, indexing won't break the market.
What are your views on active vs passive investing? Tell us in the comments.
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For the district in New Taipei City, see Shimen District.
Shihmen Dam (Chinese: 石門水壩; literally: 'Stone Gate Dam'; also spelled Shimen or Shihman) is a major rock fill dam across the Dahan River in northern Taoyuan City. It forms the Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫), Taiwan's third largest reservoir or artificial lake. It provides irrigation in Taoyuan, flood control for the Taipei Basin, and hydroelectricity and domestic water supply for more than three million people in northern Taiwan.
View from the top of the dam, showing the spillway (left) and Shihmen reservoir.
Completed in 1964 after nine years of construction, Shihmen was Taiwan's first multi-purpose water project and a major step towards the island's economic independence after World War II. Year-round water releases from the dam enabled additional rice harvests and doubled Taoyuan's annual agricultural output, while the reservoir became a major tourist destination due to its scenic beauty and plentiful fisheries. However, the project was criticized for its high cost and its impact on local communities, as more than 2,000 people were displaced to make way for the reservoir.
Like many other reservoirs in Taiwan, Shihmen has suffered from sedimentation, reducing its capacity by over a third. Efforts to reduce the rate of sediment accumulation, including dredging, check dam construction and watershed restoration work, have had a limited effect. This has diminished both the Shihmen Dam's capability to contain floods and provide water during droughts.
The Dahan River is the main river in northwestern Taiwan and is one of two tributaries that join in Taipei to form the Tamsui, Taiwan's largest river system. Originating in the Xueshan Range, the river begins life as a fast-flowing mountain stream prone to flooding during typhoons. The Dahan skirts, but does not cross, the Taoyuan Plateau, which lacks a reliable water supply of its own. The plateau has been farmed since 1680 using thousands of artificial ponds to capture rainfall; in 1928, when Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Taoyuan Canal was dug to divert water from the Dahan (then known as the Takekan River) onto the plateau. River water enabled the irrigation of an additional 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres) of land in the Taoyuan area. Due to the limited storage capacity of the small Taoyuan ponds, there was often not enough water for irrigation in the November–April dry season, demonstrating the need for a large reservoir.
A dam at the "stone gates" (Shihmen), a deep canyon formed where the Dahan river exits the mountains, was proposed as early as 1938, but plans were dropped at the beginning of World War II with the strain on industrial resources. After the war, the Republic of China was faced with food shortages and a rapidly increasing population. By the 1960s, the annual population growth had reached 350,000. In order to improve its economic self-sufficiency, the government initiated the construction of Shihmen Dam, Taiwan's first multi-purpose water project. The Shihmen Development Commission was established to oversee the project. The initial budget for the dam was NT$1.4 billion, with approximately half of that as low-interest aid loans from the United States through the Agency for International Development.
Shihmen Dam site before construction, looking upstream at the "stone gates".
Starting in July 1955, access roads and worker facilities were constructed at the dam site, and the area of the future reservoir was prepared to accommodate flooding. About 2,000 people (416 families) living in the Dahan River valley would be displaced by the project; they were relocated starting in 1956 to areas along Taiwan's northwest coast. Although the government built new homes, schools and other infrastructure as well as providing land compensation to families, the resettlement programme was the subject of bitter controversy.
The dam was designed by Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton, with construction overseen by Morrison-Knudsen (known previously for its work on Hoover Dam). Heavy construction began in late 1959 when large equipment arrived at the dam site. Although work was interrupted several times by typhoon flooding, the river was successfully diverted into a tunnel in December 1960. The concrete cofferdam, later to serve as the core of the dam, was finished in 1962; notably, it was the first use of roller-compacted concrete in dam construction. About 120 hectares (300 acres) of nearby farmland were purchased by the government to provide 6,675,000 cubic metres (235,700,000 cu ft) of earth and rock needed to build the dam.
With the dam only partially complete in May 1963, the diversion tunnel was plugged, allowing the reservoir to begin storing water. In July 1963, Typhoon Wendy struck Taiwan, causing massive flooding; the new reservoir was able to reduce the flood crest on the Dahan River by 25 percent. The embankment was topped out in June 1964, at a final cost of NT$ 4.85 billion. The dam was dedicated on June 14, 1964 by Vice President Chen Cheng, to a crowd of more than four thousand people. A total of 7,500 people were employed in the construction of the dam, with as many as 6,000 workers on the site at one time. Thirty-two people were killed during construction; out of 2,881 injured, 87 were left permanently disabled.
Engineers estimated that the natural sedimentation rate would give the reservoir a useful life of at least 71 years without any sediment removal. However, just four months after the reservoir began filling, Typhoon Gloria struck Taiwan, and the resulting floods washed 19 million cubic metres (670 million ft3) of sediment into the reservoir – taking 23 years off its expected lifespan. As the reservoir filled, it also inundated several historic landmarks, including the former summer villa of Chiang Kai-shek, the Amuping Stone Bridge and a nearby Earth God shrine.
Irrigation was the primary goal of the Shihmen reservoir; about 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres) of new farmland came into production after the dam was built, bringing the total to 57,000 hectares (140,000 acres). The annual crop was more than doubled due to an increased water supply for pre-existing farmland. Individual farmers' income rose by almost 20 percent. About 27 kilometres (17 mi) of canals were added to the existing irrigation system, including the new Shihmen Canal, bringing the total to 175 kilometres (109 mi), and a treatment plant with 30,000 tons per day capacity was constructed to provide municipal water supply. Despite the scale of the project, the increase in agricultural production was estimated to feed 500,000 people, or less than two years of population growth. The importance of the dam for irrigation has been decreasing since the 1990s as Taoyuan County saw significant urbanization; in the meantime, demand for cleaner domestic water has risen.
The government allocated NT$21 million to develop the Shihmen Reservoir as a recreational area. Boating facilities and about 31 kilometres (19 mi) of new roads were constructed to improve access to the reservoir. The reservoir would also be stocked with game fish, and its shores would eventually be developed with "temples, museums, monuments, pagodas, hostels and residences." After the dam was completed, it brought prosperity via tourism to this rural area, helping to diversify its economy from one solely reliant on agriculture. However, due to the project's high capital cost, the actual annual return on investment was only 1.5 percent: "It stands as an engineering monument of which the Chinese people may be proud. But it was purchased at far too high a cost in terms of tens of millions of dollars of alternative developmental opportunities foregone."
View from a nearby mountain, showing the main dam (center) and spillway (lower left).
Shihmen Dam is a rolled rockfill embankment dam 133.1 metres (437 ft) high and 360 metres (1,180 ft) long, constructed over a 70-metre (230 ft) high concrete core. The main body of the dam contains some 7.06 million cubic metres (9.23 million yd3) of material. At the crest, the dam is 11.5 metres (38 ft) wide, with an elevation of 252.1 metres (827 ft) above sea level. The normal water level is 245 metres (804 ft), with a maximum flood level of 249.7 metres (819 ft).
The concrete spillway is located to the east of the dam and is controlled by six radial gates, each 10 metres (33 ft) high and 14 metres (46 ft) wide. The maximum water release is 11,400 cubic metres per second (400,000 cu ft/s). There is also a river outlet works used for normal releases, with a capacity of 34 cubic metres per second (1,200 cu ft/s). The dam also has two additional flood tunnels which were completed in 1978, in order to allow faster evacuation of reservoir storage prior to typhoons. Each tunnel is 375.4 metres (1,232 ft) long, 1.372 metres (4.50 ft) in diameter, with a combined capacity of 2,400 cubic metres per second (85,000 cu ft/s).
The dam's hydroelectric power station is located on the left bank of the Dahan River at the base of the dam. Two steel 4.57-metre (15.0 ft) diameter penstocks, each 318.8 metres (1,046 ft) long, feed water to two Francis turbines. The maximum water flow through the power plant is 137.2 cubic metres per second (4,850 cu ft/s). Each generator has a capacity of 45,000 kilowatts (KW), for a total capacity of 90,000 KW. The plant produces about 200 million kilowatt hours per year.
The impounded water behind the dam forms Shihmen Reservoir, one of Taiwan's largest reservoirs with a length of 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) and more than 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of water at full pool. The reservoir had an original total capacity of 309,120 megalitres (250,610 acre⋅ft), with an active or useful capacity of 251,780 ML (204,120 acre⋅ft). Sedimentation reduced the total storage capacity to 251,880 ML (204,200 acre⋅ft) by 1997 – a nearly 20 percent reduction – and the active capacity was decreased to 233,800 ML (189,500 acre⋅ft). As of a 2017 study, the total capacity had been reduced to 216,000 ML (175,000 acre⋅ft).
The Shihmen afterbay reservoir, located below the main dam, regulates the water release into the Dahan River and provides the intake point for the Taoyuan and Shihmen Canals. The afterbay is formed by a 317.5-metre (1,042 ft) long weir and can store up to 2,200,000 cubic metres (1,800 acre⋅ft). The headworks for the Taoyuan Canal have a capacity of 18.6 cubic metres per second (660 cu ft/s), and the Shihmen Canal can carry up to 18.4 cubic metres per second (650 cu ft/s).
Water from Shihmen Dam is distributed to 28 districts in Taoyuan City, Hsinchu County and New Taipei, with a combined population of some 3.4 million people and more than 36,500 hectares (90,000 acres) of irrigated land. Each year, Shihmen furnishes 181.6 million m3 (147,200 acre feet) of water for irrigation and industrial uses and about 127.4 million m3 (103,300 acre feet) for residential use in downstream areas. In addition, an annual minimum river release of 299.6 million m3 (242,900 acre feet) is maintained to provide a baseflow in the lower Dahan River. About 386.3 million m3 (313,200 acre feet) of the aforementioned releases are utilized for hydroelectric generation. The dam's power station generates roughly 200 million kilowatt hours annually and is integral in meeting peaking power demands in northern Taiwan's electricity grid. Hydroelectric power releases peak in late July and August, largely because of air-conditioning usage in Taiwan's northern cities.
Shihmen is one of several key reservoirs in the Tamsui River system used to cut peak flood flows during typhoon events. Dam releases are coordinated with those from Feitsui Dam to the east in order to reduce the severity of flooding. However, sediment accumulation in the reservoir has reduced its effectiveness on large flooding events. As a result, the "frequency with which the Shih-men Dam discharges water down its spillway ranks first among Taiwan's reservoirs. The phrase 'the Shihmen Reservoir is releasing flood water' has become a euphemism for 'your fly is open'." Additionally, large flooding events can cause turbidity levels in the reservoir to increase by over 3,000 times of average, forcing authorities to shut down water supplies. This problem has been exacerbated by the increasing percentage of Shihmen water going to residential and industrial users, who generally demand clearer water than the agricultural users Shihmen was originally intended to supply.
The reduction in storage capacity has also affected Shihmen's ability to provide water during droughts. Demand often exceeds stored water in Shihmen Reservoir during the dry season, forcing frequent water-supply cuts. For several weeks in 1994, the drought-stricken Shihmen Dam service area was limited to one day of running water in three. This has been further exacerbated by global climate change reducing the length of the rainy season in Taiwan, while increasing the intensity of rainfall when storms do strike the island. In 2015, Taiwan recorded its lowest winter rainfall since 1947, and the Shihmen reservoir fell to a record low of 24.5 percent of capacity, again forcing the government to enact water rationing.
Among the other benefits of the dam and reservoir is recreation. More than 160,000 tourists visit the dam each year, especially during floodwater releases. The reservoir, its surrounding recreation area and towns are visited by a further 1.7 million people each year. It is said that "after its grand opening to the public in 1964, the Shihmen Reservoir has remained one of the top spots on Taiwan's sight-seeing billboards". Recreational and commercial fishing on the reservoir produces about 80,000 kilograms (180,000 lb) of fish each year, generating an annual revenue of NT$29.33 million.
Poor land use and construction practices in the catchment area of Shihmen Dam have contributed to a severe sedimentation problem in the reservoir. This sediment mainly comes from landslides and other erosion-related issues in the steep, rugged drainage basin, which have been exacerbated by deforestation, land-clearing for agriculture, and the opening of roads into mountainous areas. The reservoir, which originally had a maximum depth of over 100 metres (330 ft), is estimated to be no more than 40 metres (130 ft) deep today. The textbook The Hydraulics of Open Channel Flow by Hubert Chanson describes the dam as having "become a vast sediment trap with an inappropriate storage capacity to act as a flood control or water supply reservoir."
In 1981 it was estimated that 2.9 million tonnes of sediment flow into the reservoir each year, or a watershed erosion rate of 3,789 tonnes/km2. According to a 2017 Taipei Times report, the amount of sediment flowing into the reservoir was 3.42 million tonnes per year. About 1.17 million tonnes were sluiced through the dam's outlets and another 900,000 tonnes were removed by excavation and dredging. The government has proposed to construct a sediment bypass tunnel, which would prevent another 640,000 tonnes from entering the reservoir. This technology has already been employed at reservoirs in Japan and Switzerland, and would essentially allow river water to be diverted around the reservoir instead of flowing into it during periods of high sediment runoff, such as after typhoons.
A number of measures have been taken to try and reduce the amount of sediment flowing into Shihmen Reservoir. Because of the construction of hundreds of sediment-trapping dams or sabo dams, the upper reaches of the Dahan and its tributaries are now among the most heavily impounded river systems in Taiwan, with at least 123 such dams along the main stem alone. The largest 24 sabo dams have collectively prevented some 36 million cubic metres (29,200 acre feet) of sediment from reaching Shihmen Reservoir. Only one, the Junghua Dam, is still collecting sediment, although its 16 million cubic metre (13,000 acre foot) capacity is nearly full. These sediment catching dams have also failed on several occasions causing even more debris and silt to wash into Shihmen. Among these was the failure of Baling Dam during Typhoon Wipha (2007), which caused 10 million cubic metres (8,000 acre feet) of sediment to wash downstream, destroying the village of Baling. Dredging efforts on Shihmen Reservoir have also been only partly successful. Beginning in 1985, seven dredging companies removed more than 10 million cubic metres (8,000 acre feet), but the reservoir continued filling with sediment faster than it could be excavated. The capacity of the silt disposal areas was exhausted in 1995. Other measures taken to decrease sediment flow include the construction of retaining walls and the reforestation of clear-cut areas.
In more recent years, the Taiwanese government has revived the idea of constructing more mega-dams in the Dahan River to increase water retention capacity and trap silt. The Gaotai Reservoir (高台水庫) near the indigenous community of Jianshi would consist of a dam 190 metres (620 ft) high with a 171 million cubic metre (139,000 acre-foot) storage capacity. This project could be built in conjunction with the Bilin Reservoir (比麟水庫) which would divert some water from the Dahan drainage to the Da'an River, increasing the water supply available for Hsinchu County. The dam projects have been strongly criticized as an expensive, yet only marginally effective solution to the problem, and for their effects on local communities.
The large amount of sediment flowing into the reservoir has also caused unusually high nutrient levels, which leads to frequent eutrophication and algae blooms in the summer. As a result, Shihmen is often considered to be among the worst in water quality among all Taiwan's reservoirs. A large water-quality monitoring system is in place, installed circa 2005 at two points in Shihmen Reservoir. Called "Vertical Profiling System" or "YSI 6600EDS", the system measures a series of water quality factors by depth at intervals of 5 metres (16 ft). The turbidity, chlorophyll content, pH level, and dissolved oxygen levels in the reservoir are sent to the operator of the dam every three hours. A future plan for the system is to record algae growth, allowing action to be taken to prevent hypoxic events in the water. In 2008, the Taiwanese Environmental Protection Agency allocated NT$200 million for eutrophication control projects at Shihmen, Feitsui, Zengwun and Kinmen Reservoirs.
Shihmen Reservoir (right) and afterbay (left), seen from the crest of Shihmen Dam.
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^ a b Sidle, Roy C. (2002). Environmental Change and Geomorphic Hazards in Forests. CABI. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-85199-598-4.
^ a b Lin, Rebecca (2010-07-09). "Shihmen Reservoir; A Time Bomb Waiting to Explode". CommonWealth Magazine (450). Retrieved 2014-04-22.
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^ "CEPD Approves Plan to Renovate Shihmen Reservoir". Taiwan Soil and Water Conservation Bureau. 2006-05-16. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
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^ van Harssel, Jan; Jackson, Richard H.; Hudman, Lloyd E. (2014). National Geographic Learning’s Visual Geography of Travel and Tourism. Cengage Learning. p. 460. ISBN 1-13395-126-0.
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^ Chanson, Hubert (25 May 2004). Hydraulics of Open Channel Flow. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-08-047297-3.
^ Lee, Jung-ping (2017-09-07). "Reservoir upgrade to help stabilize tap water supply". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
^ Kondolf, G. Mathias; et al. (2014). "Sustainable sediment management in reservoirs and regulated rivers: Experiences from five continents". Earth's Future. 2: 256–280.
^ Chen, Su-Chin; Lai, Yi-Cheng; Wang, Chin-Lun (2008). Typhoons' Effects on Long-Term Watershed Sediment Management in Shihmen Reservoir in Taiwan (PDF). Interpraevent 2008. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
^ Tseng, W.H.; Shieh, C.L.; Lee, S.P.; Tsang, Y.C. (April 2009). "A study on the effect of a broken large sabo dam on the sediment transportation in channel – an example of Baling-sabo-dam". EGU General Assembly 2009. The Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System, Harvard University. 11: 3554. Bibcode:2009EGUGA..11.3554T.
^ "高台水庫環境調查評估" [Environmental Investigation and Assessment of Kaotai Reservoir] (PDF) (in Chinese). 水利署水利規劃試驗所. February 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
^ Hsu, Jenny W. (2010-03-13). "Demonstrators slam government plans to build new dams". Taipei Times.
^ Dumont, Danielle. "Monitoring Reservoir Water Quality in Taiwan Tames Turbidity after Typhoon". WaterWorld. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
^ "EPA to spend NT$200 million on eutrophication control at reservoirs". Taiwan Headlines. 2008-01-09. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shimen Dam.
What are the problems presently faced by the Shihmen Reservoir?
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland lies at the northwestern edge of Europe, separated from the European mainland by the English Channel, the North Sea, and the narrow Strait of Dover. It consists of the formerly separate kingdoms of England and Scotland and the principality of WalesÑwhich are collectively referred to as Great BritainÑand the six counties of Northern Ireland, which elected to remain within the United Kingdom in 1921 when southern Ireland withdrew to form the Irish Free State (after 1949, the Republic of Ireland, or Eire). The loss of Ireland and its withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1949 rendered politically obsolete the use of the collective term British Isles. Other integral parts of the United Kingdom are the outlying Hebrides, Orkney Islands, and Shetland Islands, off the coast of Scotland; Anglesey (see Gwynedd), off the coast of Wales; and the Isle of Wight and the Scilly Isles, off the southwest coast of England. Separate from the kingdom but administered by the crown, each with its own laws and systems of taxation, are the Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea; and the Channel Islands, located off the northwest coast of France.
England is the largest and most populous unit in the kingdom, with an area of 130,439 Ü (50,363 æ) and a population (1994 est.) of 48,707,500. Wales, located to the west and separated from England by a boundary dating back to the Middle Ages, has an area of 20,768 Ü (8,018 æ) and 2,913,000 inhabitants; it became part of the English kingdom in 1282 but continues to maintain a separate language and national identity. ScotlandÑwith an area of 78,772 Ü (30,414 æ) and 5,132,400 inhabitantsÑlies to the north, separated from England by a boundary that extends from Solway Firth (estuary) on the west, across the sparsely populated Cheviot Hills, to the north of Berwick upon Tweed. Scotland and England were ruled by the same monarchs after 1603 and were united in 1707 to form the kingdom of Great Britain. Ireland was made an integral part of the kingdom in 1801, changing the official name to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The present name was adopted after the partition of Ireland in 1921. Northern Ireland has an area of 14,121 Ü (5,452 æ) and a population of 1,641,700.
Commonly described as "in Europe but not of it," Great Britain and Ireland remained relatively isolated from world events until the 15th century when the Age of Discovery placed them on the world's newly charted sea-lanes and trading routes. Increasingly, the island nation looked away from Europe in later centuries and across the seas to the Americas, India, the Far East, southern and interior Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas colonies were established, forming the enormous British Empire. Many of these colonies chose to retain trade and other ties to Britain when granted independence and are today part of the Commonwealth; because of these ties, however, the United Kingdom's entry into the European Union (EU) in 1973 was preceded by lengthy negotiations and dispute.
During the Industrial Revolution the country became rapidly urbanized, and today more than 70% of the total population is concentrated in cities occupying 10% of the total land area.
To protect the remaining countryside, national planning legislation has established ten national parks in the most scenic areas, including Dartmoor, the Lake District, the Pennines, the Snowdonia, the Pembrokeshire coast, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, Northumbria, Exmoor, and the Brecon Beacons. Other areas are also protected as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Despite its small size, variety of scene is the main characteristic of the United Kingdom.
The largest area of flat plain occurs in The Fens, located on the east coast around The Wash. Before they were drained to produce a rich agricultural landscape similar to the polders in the Netherlands, The Fens were an area of marshland. Smaller flat areas are found along the River Humber estuary farther north on the east coast; along the Thames below London; and in Romney Marsh, in the southeastern county of Kent. Elsewhere, lowland England in the south and east is rolling country with a variety of landforms reflecting differences in underlying rock types. Especially prominent are the low hills and scarps developed on chalk rocks of Cretaceous age (135 million to 65 million years ago). They occur in the North and South Downs to the south of London, where the scarps face south and north, respectively, into The Weald; in Salisbury Plain, where the downs converge at their western end; and in the low hills that continue westward through the southern counties of Wiltshire and Dorset and swing eastward through the Isle of Wight. Northwestward from Salisbury Plain, the chalk hills form the prominent Chiltern Hills to the northwest of London; fall to lower elevations in the hills of East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk counties); and farther north form the Lincoln and York Wolds on either side of the Humber estuary.
To the west, separated from the chalk hills by an intervening lowland developed mainly on clays, rise a northeast-trending series of uplands developed on limestones of Jurassic age (190 million to 135 million years ago). They extend from the southern county of Dorset to the North York moors on England's northeast coast, and include the Cotswolds, which form a scarped edge overlooking the River Severn valley and rise to a high point of 314 m (1,031 ft) in Cleeve Cloud, near Cheltenham.
Also prominent in lowland England are the Mendip Hills, which rise to 326 m (1,068 ft) in Black Down, in the southwest near Bristol; Exmoor, which rises to 520 m (1,707 ft) in Dunkery Beacon farther west; Dartmoor, a granite-formed upland that rises to 621 m (2,039 ft) in High Willhays in the southwestern peninsula; and the Malvern Hills, which exceed 300 m (1,000 ft) between Gloucester and Worcester. Glacial deposits greatly modify topography and landforms north of an irregular line joining the River Thames and the Bristol Channel; often burying the underlying rock to considerable depths, the mantle of glacial deposits creates differing soil conditions as well as different drainage conditions from field to field.
Uplands predominate in northern and western England. The most extensive uplands are the Pennines, which rise to 893 m (2,930 ft) in Cross Fell. Underlain mainly by limestones and grits of Carboniferous age (345 million to 280 million years ago), the Pennines are bordered on both sides by discontinuous coalfields, and the open moorlands of the Pennines contrast starkly with the sprawling industrial cities near the coal deposits. Numerous broad river valleys, known locally as dales, drain eastward across the mountains into the Vale of York, a north-south extension of lowland England that serves as the main route northward into Scotland. West of the Pennines are the Lancashire and Cheshire Plains and farther north England's scenic Lake District, which rises to 978 m (3,210 ft) in Scafell Pike, England's highest peak.
Unlike England, the topography of Wales and Scotland is dominated more by mountains and uplands than by lowlands. The highest mountain in Wales is Snowdon, which rises to 1,085 m (3,560 ft) in the northwest. In South Wales the Brecon Beacons rise to 886 m (2,907 ft) and, as in the Pennines, the barren, windswept uplands contrast with the deep and generally narrow coal-mining valleys farther south. The principal lowlands in Wales are on the island of Anglesey and along the western coasts of Caernarvon and Cardigan bays. Southern Scotland is dominated by low ranges of the Southern Uplands, which rise to elevations exceeding 610 m (2,000 ft) in parts of the Tweedsmuir Hills. To the north of the Southern Uplands are the geologically complex, down-faulted Scottish Central Lowlands that extend northeastward across the country from the Firth of Clyde on the west coast to the firths (estuaries) of Tay and Forth on the east coast. The lowlands are interpenetrated by uplands, including the Pentlands, Campsies, Ochils, and Sidlaws; all rise over 300 m (1,000 ft), with peaks reaching over 610 m (2,000 ft) in the Ochils. North and west of the Central Lowlands are the Highlands, a large upland region divided by the Glen More (Great Glen), a deep depression that extends from Fort William to Inverness and is occupied in part by Loch Ness. Narrow lowlands border the Highlands in the east. The western Highlands are rugged and mountainous and include Ben Nevis, the highest point in the United Kingdom. Numerous other peaks reach over 1,200 m (4,000 ft) in the Cairngorm Mountains, the most extensive area of mountainous terrain in the Highlands. On the western island of Skye, the scenic Cuillin Hills rise to more than 900 m (3,000 ft) in places, with lower, moorland-covered peaks common on the other islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides.
The structural depression forming the Scottish Central Lowlands extends southwestward across the Irish Sea to form the area of lowlands surrounding Lough Neagh, which is situated to the west of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Scenic mountains of low elevation border the lowlands area on all sides. To the northeast rise the Antrim Mountains, which reach a high point of 554 m (1,817 ft); formed on basaltic rocks of Eocene age (54 million to 38 million years ago), the mountains reach the sea on the north coast in the famous steps of the Giant's Causeway. The Sperrin Mountains form the northwestern edge of the depression and reach a high point of 683 m (2,240 ft) in Mount Sawel. Forming parts of the southern edge of the depression in part are the Mourne Mountains, which are located south of Belfast and which rise to 852 m (2,796 ft) in Slieve Donard, the highest point in Northern Ireland.
The United Kingdom has a highly variable temperate marine west-coast type of climate. Relatively few periods of continuously dry weather occur; they are usually caused by anticyclonic systems and are associated with unusually warm days in summer and cold periods in winter. Much more common is the variable weather that occurs as cyclonic depressions sweep in from the Atlantic Ocean, bringing high winds and abundant rainfall to the west in winter and lower amounts of rainfall in summer. Mountainous west coast areas generally receive more than 2,540 mm (100 in) of rain a year, but rainfall amounts diminish rapidly eastward; the Cairngorm Mountains receive only about 1,000Ð1,270 mm (40Ð50 in) a year, and most lowlands in the west, between approximately 500 and 750 mm (20 and 30 in). The driest areas surround the Thames estuary in southeastern England, where less than 500 mm (20 in) of rain falls each year. In the wetter western areas, 2 out of 3 days are usually rainy; in the drier east, rain falls on almost one out of every two days. No permanent snows exist, but snow may lie on the ground for 2 months or more in the Cairngorm Mountains and other parts of the Highlands. In winter, temperatures are colder in the east than in the west; snow covers the ground for about 18 days in Aberdeen, an average of 6 days in London, and hardly at all along the entire southern coast or the west coast as far north as Glasgow. In summer, a more normal decrease in temperature from south to north occurs; average July temperatures range from about 17t C (63t F) on the southern coast and in London, to 12t C (54t F) in the north of Scotland.
The United Kingdom has long been rich in energy resources but deficient in food and industrial raw materials. Extensive coal deposits occur around the eastern and western edges of the Pennines, in South Wales, in the western Midlands (Birmingham area), and in the Scottish Central Lowland. Easily accessible coal seams are, however, largely exhausted. Fortunately for the energy-hungry British economy, large deposits of petroleum and natural gas under the North Sea came into commercial production in 1975; by the end of the 1980s the United Kingdom is expected to be self-sufficient in petroleum.
Other mineral deposits are of small importance. They include tin, mined in small amounts in Cornwall; low-grade iron ores in the Jurassic rocks of Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire in the eastern Midlands, used in steel mills at Scunthorpe and Corby; kaolinite (china clay), mined in parts of Cornwall; and sands and gravels, quarried for road-building materials. Of the total land area about 25% is used for crops and more than 65% for grassland and grazing; agricultural productivity has been greatly improved since World War II, and only one-third of all food needs are now imported, compared with two-thirds before the war.
The official language is English. Other languages include the Celtic languages Welsh, the national language of Wales, and Scottish Gaelic, so named to distinguish it from Irish Gaelic, the national language of Ireland. In 1991, Welsh was spoken by 508,098 people, or about 18% of the total Welsh population, down from 715,000 in 1951. Most Welsh speakers are concentrated in the rural northern and western counties of Wales, where they constitute most of the total population; all but a few are also recorded as English speaking. Welsh nationalism has been strongly linked with encouraging the wider use of Welsh, and since the Welsh Language Act of 1967, the language has enjoyed parity with English in governmental and legal matters throughout Wales. Scottish Gaelic was spoken by 65,978 in 1991, down from 95,500 in 1951; it is used primarily in the western Highlands and on the islands. The Scottish nationalist movement is less concerned with promoting Gaelic as a national language for Scotland than with improving economic and social conditions by diverting a greater share of North Sea oil profits to Scotland in the future. Cornish, once used in the southwestern peninsula, and Manx, used on the Isle of Man, are virtually extinct.
the total population is concentrated in the Greater London area and seven other conurbations (continuously built-up urban areas)ÑGlasgow City district, Tyne and Wear (based on the central cities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland), Merseyside (Liverpool and environs), Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire (based on Leeds and Bradford), South Yorkshire (based on Sheffield), and the West Midlands (Birmingham and the Black Country). Another substantial portion of the population is urbanized in smaller towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants, including the environs of Belfast and Cardiff. The most sparsely populated areas are the Highlands of Scotland, upland areas of Wales, and the Pennines.
According to the 1991 census, the most rapid recent population growth has occurred in the regions of East Anglia, particularly the county of Cambridgeshire; the South West; and the East Midlands. The county of Buckinghamshire, outside the Greater London area, also has experienced increases. The fastest-growing districts are generally the remoter, mainly rural districtsÑsuch as South Hams, North Dorset, and Suffolk Coastal; the districts that include the post-1945 new towns (designed to relieve urban congestion)Ñsuch as Milton Keynes, Redditch, and Bracknell Forest; and resort, port, and retirement districtsÑsuch as East Dorset and Colwyn. By contrast the most significant decreases were generally in the principal cities in metropolitan districts, such as Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow, and in Inner London boroughs. Also in decline were old textile and other industrial towns of the PenninesÑsuch as Bolton, Oldham, Burnley, and Blackburn for cotton and Bradford, Halifax, and Huddersfield for woolens. Stagnation has occurred in the industrialized northeast of England and in much of Scotland.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. The ruling sovereign (since 1952) is Queen Elizabeth II; the heir apparent is Prince Charles, who by tradition as the eldest son of the monarch is Prince of Wales. As head of state the sovereign ceremonially opens each new session of Parliament and entrusts executive authority to the prime minister (Tony Blair, from 1997) and the cabinet. Legislative authority rests with a bicameral Parliament, but effective power lies more with the directly elected House of Commons (lower house) than with the House of Lords (upper house), which traditionally consisted of hereditary and life peers. (The right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords was abolished in 1999.) The prime minister is appointed by the sovereign as the leader of the majority party or coalition of parties in the House of Commons. The maximum term of Parliament is five years, but elections may be called earlier if the government loses the support of the Commons or if it chooses.
The principal political parties are the Labour party, which holds the majority of seats in Parliament, and the Conservative party, led by William Hague. Other parties include the Liberal Democrats, formed as the Social and Liberal Democrats in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal party and the Social Democratic party (led by Charles Kennedy); the Communist party; and the locally important Ulster Unionist, Scottish National, and Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist) parties.
Of the 659 members in the Commons, 529 represent England, 40 represent Wales, 72 represent Scotland, and 18 represent Northern Ireland. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands have separate local assemblies and are self-governing entities.
Proposals to establish home rule for Scotland and Wales were approved by referendums in 1997, and legislatures for the two regions were elected in May 1999. The new Scottish Parliament has the power to raise taxes and make laws; the Welsh Assembly does not. Home rule in Northern Ireland, suspended since 1972, was restored in December 1999 but suspended again in February 2000.
Local administration in England is managed through 35 nonmetropolitan counties, 7 metropolitan counties, the City of London, andÑfollowing local government alterations in 1995 and 1996Ñ14 new jurisdictions called unitary authorities. The metropolitan counties are Greater London (boroughs), Tyne and Wear, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and the West Midlands. The nonmetropolitan counties are subdivided into 274 districts. Also created, effective in 1996, were 22 unitary authorities in Wales and 29 unitary authorities in Scotland. Scotland's 3 "island districts"ÑShetland, Orkney, and the Western IslesÑremain. Northern Ireland is divided into 26 districts.
British dependencies overseas include Gibraltar, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha Islands, and Pitcairn Island.
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Whats the main character of Hello Kitty? Haha, she is without mouth. Dress up her with these beautiful clothes.
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Central European Time (CET), used in most European and some North African countries, is one of the names of the time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), with a time offset of UTC+1 (in winter).
Most countries have adopted the use of Central European Summer Time (CEST) daylight saving time in summer, with UTC+2.
The German Empire unified its time zones in 1893, to use CET (MEZ). During the war, this time was implemented in all occupied territories.
Before World War II, Lithuania used CET (MET) in the years 1920–40. In France , Belgium , Netherlands and Luxembourg CET was kept. After the war Monaco , Spain , Andorra and Gibraltar implemented CET.
Ireland and the United Kingdom experimentally adopted CET in the years 1968–71; however, this experiment proved unpopular and short-lived, mainly due to the increased number of road accidents (many involving children walking to school) in the dark winter mornings. Portugal used CET in the years 1966–76 and 1992–96.
Algeria and Tunisia use Central European Time throughout the year.
For other counties that use UTC+1, see also West Africa Time.
Since legal, political and economic, in addition to purely physical or geographical, criteria are used in the drawing of time zones, it follows that official time zones do not precisely adhere to meridian lines. The CET (UTC+1) time zone, were it drawn by purely geographical terms, would consist of exactly the area between meridians 7°30′ E and 22°30′ E.
As a result, there are European locales that despite lying in an area with a "physical" UTC+1 time, actually use another time zone (UTC+2 in particular – there are no "physical" UTC+1 areas that employ UTC).
Conversely, there are European areas that have gone for UTC+1, even though their "physical" time zone is UTC (typically), UTC-1 (westernmost Spain ), or UTC+2 (e.g. the very easternmost parts of Norway , Poland , and Serbia ).
On the other hand the people in Spain still have all work and meal hours one hour later than e.g.
France and Germany even if they have the same time zone.
The westernmost tip of Ukraine , near the border with Hungary and Slovakia , at the Ukrainian Transcarpathian Oblast (Zakarpattia Oblast), essentially comprising the city of Uzhhorod and its environs. (Although CET is used as local, non-official time in Transcarpathia ).
The northwesternmost part of Finland , including Kilpisjärvi and Kaaresuvanto .
The westernmost part of mainland Spain (Galicia , e.g. the city of A Coruña ); Cape Finisterre in Galicia, at 9°16′ W, is the westernmost place where CET is applied.
The northeast of Norway , lying north of Finland , roughly coinciding with the county of Finnmark ; for instance Vadsø , the capital of Finnmark , has a longitude of 23°49′ E. Actually, the easternmost town in Norway , Vardø , lies at 30°51′ E, which is so far east, so as to be east even of the central meridian of EET (UTC+2), i.e. east of Istanbul and Alexandria . The sun reaches its highest point at 10:56 (when not DST).
The Norwegian -Russian border (incl. border passings such as Kirkenes ) is the only place where CET (UTC+1) borders Moscow time (UTC+3), resulting in a two hours time change for the passenger crossing that border.
More so, there exists a "tri-zone" point (where UTC+1, UTC+2, and UTC+3 meet) at the Norway -Finland -Russia tripoint (look for the town of Nautsi in this map).
This is the only "tri-zone" point within Europe.
It is interesting to perform the following mental experiment when looking at this map: Go to the westernmost point of the red area (the Jäniskoski-Niskakoski area); this belongs to Russian jurisdiction, hence the time there is UTC+3.
Then, take a northeastern (NE) direction (that is an eastwards direction); you will soon be crossing into Finnish territory, thus moving to the UTC+2 time zone.
Continuing in that direction, you will eventually reach the Finland -Norway border and enter Norway , thus passing into the UTC+1 time zone.
So, moving in a (north–)easterly direction, you will be moving from UTC+3 to UTC+2 to UTC+1.
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Schreiben Sie den ersten Kommentar zu "Johann Sebastian Bach - Cello Suite No.6 in D Major - BWV 1012 - A Score for the Cello".
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a German musician and composer during the Baroque period. He based his work on existing German styles but often adopted and adapted textures, rhythms, and forms from other countries, especially from Italy and France. Although his music was celebrated for its technical mastery, artistic beauty, and intellectual profundity during his lifetime, it was not until the 19th century that he was considered a great composer. Today, he is generally recognised as being one of the most important composers to have ever lived. Classic Music Collection constitutes an extensive library of the most well-known and universally-enjoyed works of classical music ever composed, reproduced from authoritative editions for the enjoyment of musicians and music students the world over.
Kommentar zu "Johann Sebastian Bach - Cello Suite No.6 in D Major - BWV 1012 - A Score for the Cello"
Das geistliche Vokalwerk, 23 Bde.
Sie sind aus Deutschland? Johann Sebastian Bach - Cello Suite No.6 in D Major - BWV 1012 - A Score for the Cello bei Weltbild.de kaufen.
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How do I stay safe as a cyclist?
The best way to be safe while cycling is to follow the rules of the road, be predictable and stay visible.
In Ontario, every cyclist under 18 must wear an approved bicycle helmet; it's the law. Wearing a properly fitting helmet is one of the most important things you can wear to keep yourself safe while cycling. Make sure you buy a helmet that was made for cycling, there are different types of helmets for different sports.
Wear light coloured clothing or put on a vest with reflective material when you cycle. You can also wear reflective bands on your wrists and ankles, and put reflective stickers on your helmet.
It is important to stay visible to other road users when cycling on the road. By law you must have a bell or horn, a white front light and a red rear light or reflector when you are riding in the dark. You must also have white reflective tape on the front and red reflective tape on the back of your bicycle frame.
See a picture of how you can stay visible.
The Ontario Highway Traffic Act says that you must ride your bicycle on the road. Since bicycles usually go slower than cars, stay on the right side of the road so that faster-moving vehicles can pass on your left.
If a lane is too narrow to share or if the road condition is poor, you can legally take up the full lane and ride in the centre.
Where possible, stay at least one metre from the curb or from parked cars. Watch out for vehicles moving out of their parking spaces and for people who open their vehicle door in your path.
Stay out of drivers' blind spots by keeping a good distance between you and other vehicles. A blind spot is the area which a driver cannot view through their vehicle's mirrors. Larger vehicles, such as trucks and buses, have large blind spots. Keep a greater distance from large vehicles and never share the lane with them. Stay far in front or far behind a large vehicle.
Cross railway and streetcar tracks carefully and at a 90- degree angle. This way you can avoid falling or damaging your bicycle wheels. Go slowly when it is wet because the tracks will be very slippery.
Let other road users know where you are going. Avoid changing direction quickly or deviating in and out a straight path. Ride in a straight line as much as possible.
When turning or changing lanes, look over your shoulder to make sure the way is clear. Then use the hand signals for turning and stopping to let other road users know what you plan to do. Be extra careful when riding through intersections because many collisions happen here.
Many communities have courses to help cyclists learn and follow the rules of the road. CAN-BIKE is an example of a program where you can learn about your rights and responsibilities as a cyclist. Find out about existing programs in your community from your local cycling organization or police service.
Cycling Skills - Ontario's Guide to Safe Cycling [PDF] - This safety guide includes a list of safety equipment and tips on how to ride safely in traffic and how to overcome surface obstacles. It also explains what cyclists need to know about traffic laws. From the Ministry of Transportation.
Children and Cycling - This webpage is for parents. It gives tips for riding with a child and tips to help you know when your child is ready to cycle without an adult. From the City of Ottawa.
Cycling Safety Tips - It is important for cyclists to be visible, ride predictably, understand how traffic works and to communicate with other road users. From the City of Toronto.
How can staying physically active protect my health?
What should I do if I get into a collision while cycling?
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Schreiben Sie den ersten Kommentar zu "Computing with Data".
This book introduces basic computing skills designed for industry professionals without a strong computer science background. Written in an easily accessible manner, and accompanied by a user-friendly website, it serves as a self-study guide to survey data science and data engineering for those who aspire to start a computing career, or expand on their current roles, in areas such as applied statistics, big data, machine learning, data mining, and informatics.
The authors draw from their combined experience working at software and social network companies, on big data products at several major online retailers, as well as their experience building big data systems for an AI startup. Spanning from the basic inner workings of a computer to advanced data manipulation techniques, this book opens doors for readers to quickly explore and enhance their computing knowledge.
Computing with Data comprises a wide range of computational topics essential for data scientists, analysts, and engineers, providing them with the necessary tools to be successful in any role that involves computing with data. The introduction is self-contained, and chapters progress from basic hardware concepts to operating systems, programming languages, graphing and processing data, testing and programming tools, big data frameworks, and cloud computing.
The book is fashioned with several audiences in mind. Readers without a strong educational background in CS--or those who need a refresher--will find the chapters on hardware, operating systems, and programming languages particularly useful. Readers with a strong educational background in CS, but without significant industry background, will find the following chapters especially beneficial: learning R, testing, programming, visualizing and processing data in Python and R, system design for big data, data stores, and software craftsmanship.
1 Introduction: How to Use This Book?.- 2 Essential Knowledge: Hardware.- 3 Essential Knowledge: Operating Systems.- 4 Learning C++.- 5 Learning Java.- 6 Learning Python and a Few More Things.- 7 Learning R.- 8 Visualizing Data in Python and R.- 9 Processing Data in Python and R.- 10 Essential Knowledge: Parallel Programming.- 11 Essential Knowledge: Testing.- 12 A Few More Things about Programming.- 13 Essential Knowledge: Data Stores.- 14 Thoughts on System Design for Big Data.- 15 Thoughts on Software Craftsmanship.
Kommentar zu "Computing with Data"
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point by point description of what a personal property appraiser does for a typical assignment.
The start of the appraisal process always begins with the first contact. That can be a phone call, email or personal meeting in a public or private setting. Several things need to occur during this initial meeting.
Identity and contact information needs to be exchanged.
The reason why an appraisal is needed. The potential users of the appraisal need to be identified.
The nature, quantity and locations of the assets should be discussed.
Any limitations to access or time lines need to be stated and provisions made to work through those limitations. Items mounted up high, stored in remote locations, tightly packed in storage, stored in remote locations or no longer available due to fire or thefts are some examples.
The client needs to be informed of any requirements by the appraiser that might be necessary to facilitate the inspection process. The client or their representative might need to be on site for the inspection. Expectations of the appraiser and the client need to be fully explored.
A contract for services may submitted by the appraiser at that point or later and it should define the client's and appraiser's contact information, reason for the appraisal, locations of the property, date range for inventory and inspection, research and processing time, report writing, type of report delivered (type written on paper or digital), type of delivery (personal, snail mail, email, digital down load), and payment terms.
At time of contract signing the appraiser may require a retainer be paid before the process can begin. The contract will usually stipulate payment terms for the appraisal and other services that may be rendered including phone calls for further explanations, working with attorneys, depositions and court testimony that may occur in the future.
The appraiser arrives at the specified location for the inventory and inspection process and the client or their representative should be on site to meet them. The client or their representatives can then provide access and guidance during the inventory and inspection process.
Appraisers will generally take notes on the location of each item, write down a general description with specific identification if applicable of each piece or a number of pieces. They will copy or photograph identifying numbers or characteristics, count the quantities of general classes of assets and note any condition characteristics that affect value.
Many types of property may need to be opened and even operated to assess condition and if so the client should have been notified prior to the inspection and be able to provide whatever is necessary to facilitate that operation.
Clients need to be cognizant of the appraiser's time on site. For the most part the appraiser will ask questions concerning the assets that pertain to its value. Many times, a client will start to reminisce about assets as the inspector inventories and inspects each asset. Remember, you are usually paying by the hour for the inventory and inspection. If you think there is something that affects value for any item, bring it up directly and the appraiser will respond. Try not to dwell for too long though as it may add time to the job and possibly take time away from inspecting other items.
The other side of this is pushing stuff on the appraiser before they are finished with the current item. Going too fast may cause the appraiser to miss something.
This part of the appraisal process involves inputting the handwritten notes into a computer. Transcribing notes from tablet pages or typed forms takes time.
Photographs are also down loaded from cameras and captioned for later inclusion into word processing files. Captioning involves matching the photos to the handwritten notes and making sure the right photo goes with the right description.
When the inventory part is finished the research begins.
A professional appraiser is required to provide facts to back up their opinions. This requires research to find verifiable information that may or may not be included in the report depending on the reason for the appraisal and the client's needs. This takes time and resources to find and document the information. Markets that fit the function of the appraisal and the types of properties being appraised need to be found and researched. Comparable sales and asking prices may generally be found on the internet but need to be backed up as much as possible by other relevant markets. That information is usually copied in some form that is recorded in a computer file and held in the client appraisal file for referral and possible input into the appraisal report. Value opinions are then formed for each asset and recorded.
A report is then written that conveys the results to the client.
The Appraisal Foundation has generated a standard for appraisal reports named the "Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice" that most professional appraisers adhere to. It requires certain things to be addressed in the appraisal process and the appraisal reports. Written appraisal reports will include; some kind of cover page, executive summary which explains the process and prosecution of the appraisal, a USPAP certification page stating specifics of the appraisal process, a body of the report with pertinent information on each asset plus the value opinion. An addendum is also in the report and will have any information not included in the body of the report such as comparable sales and asking prices, outside sources of information and the appraiser's qualifications for completing the appraisal.
Delivery will be accomplished as specified in the contract. Many appraisers prefer to hand deliver reports and require full payment for the service before the report is actually handed over. Other times some type of credit terms can be established and the client is billed when the report is delivered. Some types of appraisals are delivered in digital files that may be emailed or down loaded from cloud server-based web sites.
The Appraiser's wide and in-depth knowledge of multiple types property.
The time to write the reports to accepted industry standards.
All of these steps in the process can make a personal property appraisal a time consuming and expensive service to complete.
Written and edited by John C. Craughan, CSA, Bette Bell, ISA CAPP, Nicole Roberts, ISA and Greg Brown, ISA AM.
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Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Isis"
What does how do you pronounce "ISIS",the terroristic organization? mean?
There are extremists in every race. Unfortunately there are some worst than others.
We chose our favorite events, which included the news of Lunar New Year, the updating about ISIS, a tragedy in West Virginia, the dark horse in 57th Grammy and an odd lady who wants die on mars. does this sound natural?
I think that grammatically, there should be a comma after 'Grammy' and 'mars' should have a capital 'M'.
The great powers haven't done much to fight ISIS. or The great powers aren't doing much to fight ISIS. does this sound natural?
There is no guarantee that North Korea won’t sell its huge amount of chemical weapons to ISIS or ... does this sound natural?
It's okay except for a few changes: Instead of "amount", "supply" works better. Also, typically when talking about the country's actions, you would use "they" instead of "it" when referring to them. So, "in case they feel insecure or urgently need foreign currency". Also a misspell of "threat".
Senior Israeli officials of israel are being made to think that by helping Egypt they are gaining egypt as an ally. Because the 2 countries have been enemies, it remains to be seen that Egypt is Israel ‘s friend. So the Arab countries are Islamic Muslim religion Israel is Jewish. That an opposing religious country is helping its neighbors is very unexpected. But the fact is that USA supports Israel so (it seems to me) Israeli people are trying to help others.
I believe terrorism cannot be eliminated for the following three reasons: poor international relations, lack of military action, and historical background. First, the relationships between some countries don't seem very strong. China and Japan, Japan and Russia are a few examples. In the past, Japan fought with those countries, and its presidents are guilty of many controversies. Russia claims that some islands belong to them, but they are Japan's. Furthermore, China claims that an ocean is theirs, but it is of the Japanese. Those are all concerns which may cause terrorism. Second, in Japan for example, they are inflexible about using military power because of a restriction placed by the Japanese constitution. Therefore, states such as ISIS look down on Japan, and they kidnap Japanese people to kill them or to get ransom. Terrorists know Japan can't take military action, so they freely perform acts of terrorism. Third, like the 2001 incident in America, terrorism has existed for more than ten years. Such attacks which offend a country are not easy to stop. Even if terrorism ends in one place, another one occurs somewhere else. Like this, a cycle of nightmare continues. In conclusion, as long as the concept of "foreign countries" and the idea to monopolize other countries' islands exist, terrorism will be difficult to eliminate, and terrorism breeds more terrorism.
Example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "territory"
Example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "isipin"
Example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "iskandinav"
Example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "iskawarama"
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In a nutshell, the actuary is the person or group of persons who works with complicated formulas to determine what premium your life or health insurance company needs to charge.
Actuarial science is a complex mathematical science that dates back to 17th century when mathematicians and scientists in several European countries became fascinated by the scientific aspects of probability. Prior to this time, some groups existed that attempted to provide some form of life insurance, burial expense provision, or life annuities—an early attempt to create a retirement plan. Deciding what premium a person needed to pay was extremely difficult; most groups failed and fell into obscurity in just a few years.
Prior to the development of computers, actuaries had to use long formulas and pages of tables to calculate the likelihood of any single event happening to a specific group of people. While it was not possible to pinpoint a particular person for an event—such as death or catastrophic illness, the 20th century brought the study of probability, statistics, economics, and financial theory together to form a precise and accurate actuarial science.
The calculations of the actuaries thus allow an insurance company to predict, with surprising accuracy, the likelihood of the occurrence heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer's Disease, and many other chronic ailments among a particular group of people who have something in common—such as living in a certain area, or having a family history of illness.
Today's actuaries have an even more challenging job than those of the 19th and 20th centuries due to cultural changes, a global interaction among people who at one time would have had no chance of contact, and the extreme variation in life styles. Fortunately for them, calculations that once would have taken months to work out can now be accomplished in seconds with the aid of computers and calculators.
The work of an actuary is beneficial to both the consumer and the company, although it may seem to be more for the protection of a company. The ability to accurately predict the likelihood of a particular health event occurring within a certain group (called cohort) of people is supposed to ensure that premiums will be assessed fairly based on the risk to the company. Companies do, however, have the ability to select their own target groups and establish premiums based on the actuarial tables specific to that group. Thus, a group of seniors in a particular geographic area will be more likely to have heart disease than a similar age group in a different geographic area. These differences lead to widely differing premiums in different parts of the country. If they chose a different grouping method—such as economic status or education without regard to age, for example—the necessary premiums would be radically different.
Modern companies use the finely tuned actuarial calculations to both avoid undesirable risk, determine the amount of money they must keep available for paying claims, and to estimate the profits that will be available to share holders. Consequently, fewer health insurance companies go bankrupt today, and few actuaries have to worry about being out of work.
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If we take into consideration the objective facts of religious history, we must place the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Qur'an on the same level as being collections of written Revelation. Although this attitude is in principle held by Muslims, the faithful in the West under the predominantly Judeo-Christian influence refuse to ascribe to the Qur'an the character of a book of Revelation.
Christianity has taken the Hebraic Bible for itself and added a few supplements to it. It has not however accepted all the published writings destined to make known to men the Mission of Jesus. The Church has made incisive cuts in the profusion of books relating the life and teachings of Jesus. It has only preserved a limited number of writings in the New Testament, the most important of which are the four Canonic Gospels. Christianity takes no account of any revelation subsequent to Jesus and his Apostles. It therefore rules out the Qur'an.
The Qur'anic Revelation appeared six centuries after Jesus. It resumes numerous data found in the Hebraic Bible and the Gospels since it quotes very frequently from the 'Torah' [ What is meant by Torah are the first five books of the Bible, in other words the Pentateuch of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).] and the 'Gospels.' The Qur'an directs all Muslims to believe in the Scriptures that precede it (sura 4, verse 136). It stresses the important position occupied in the Revelation by God's emissaries, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Prophets and Jesus, to whom they allocate a special position. His birth is described in the Qur'an, and likewise in the Gospels, as a supernatural event. Mary is also given a special place, as indicated by the fact that sura 19 bears her name.
The above facts concerning Islam are not generally known in the West. This is hardly surprising, when we consider the way so many generations in the West were instructed in the religious problems facing humanity and the ignorance in which they were kept about anything related to Islam. The use of such terms as 'Mohammedan religion' and 'Mohammedans' has been instrumental-even to the present day-in maintaining the false notion that beliefs were involved that were spread by the work of man among which God (in the Christian sense) had no place. Many cultivated people today are interested in the philosophical, social and political aspects of Islam, but they do not pause to inquire about the Islamic Revelation itself, as indeed they should.
In what contempt the Muslims are held by certain Christian circles! I experienced this when I tried to start an exchange of ideas arising from a comparative analysis of Biblical and Qur'anic stories on the same theme. I noted a systematic refusal, even for the purposes of simple reflection, to take any account of what the Qur'an had to say on the subject in hand. It is as if a quote from the Qur'an were a reference to the Devil!
A noticeable change seems however to be under way these days at the highest levels of the Christian world. The Office for Non-Christian Affairs at the Vatican has produced a document result. from the Second Vatican Council under the French title Orientations pour un dialogue entre Chrétiens et Musulmans [Pub. Ancora, Rome.].
(Orientations for a Dialogue between Christians and Muslims), third French edition dated 1970, which bears witness to the profound change in official attitude. Once the document has invited the reader to clear away the "out-dated image, inherited from the past, or distorted by prejudice and slander" that Christians have of Islam, the Vatican document proceeds to "recognize the past injustice towards the Muslims for which the West, with its Christian education, is to blame". It also criticizes the misconceptions Christians have been under concerning Muslim fatalism, Islamic legalism, fanaticism, etc. It stresses belief in unity of God and reminds us how surprised the audience was at the Muslim University of Al Azhar, Cairo, when Cardinal Koenig proclaimed this unity at the Great Mosque during an official conference in March, 1969. It reminds us also that the Vatican Office in 1967 invited Christians to offer their best wishes to Muslims at the end of the Fast of Ramadan with "genuine religious worth".
The newspapers gave little coverage to the official visit of Cardinal Pignedoli, the President of the Vatican Office of Non-Christian Affairs, on 24th April, 1974, to King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. The French newspaper Le Monde on 25th April, 1974, dealt with it in a few lines. What momentous news they contain, however, when we read how the Cardinal conveyed to the Sovereign a message from Pope Paul VI expressing "the regards of His Holiness, moved by a profound belief in the unification of Islamic and Christian worlds in the worship of a single God, to His Majesty King Faisal as supreme head of the Islamic world". Six months later, in October 1974, the Pope received the official visit to the Vatican of the Grand Ulema of Saudi Arabia. It occasioned a dialogue between Christians and Muslims on the "Cultural Rights of Man in Islam". The Vatican newspaper, Observatore Romano, on 26th October, 1974, reported this historic event in a front page story that took up more space than the report on the closing day of the meeting held by the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
The Grand Ulema of Saudi Arabia were afterwards received by the Ecumenical Council of Churches of Geneva and by the Lord Bishop of Strasbourg, His Grace Elchinger. The Bishop invited them to join in midday prayer before him in his cathedral. The fact that the event Was reported seems to be more on account of its unusual nature than because of its considerable religious significance. At all events, among those whom I questioned about this religious manifestation, there were very few who replied that they were aware of it.
The open-minded attitude Pope Paul VI has towards Islam will certainly become a milestone in the relations between the two religions. He himself Mid that he was "moved by a profound belief in the unification of the Islamic and Christian worlds in the worship of a single God". This reminder of the sentiments of the head of the Catholic Church concerning Muslims is indeed necessary. Far too many Christians, brought up in a spirit of open hostility, are against any reflection about Islam on principle. The Vatican document notes this with regret. It is on account of this that they remain totally ignorant of what Islam is in reality, and retain notions about the Islamic Revelation which are entirely mistaken.
Nevertheless, when studying an aspect of the Revelation of a monotheistic religion, it seems quite in order to compare what the other two have to say on the same subject. A comprehensive study of a problem is more interesting than a compartmentalized one. The confrontation between certain subjects dealt with in the Scriptures and the facts of 20th century science will therefore, in this work, include all three religions. In addition it will be useful to realize that the three religions should form a tighter block by virtue of their closer relationship at a time when they are all threatened by the onslaught of materialism. The notion that science and religion are incompatible is as equally prevalent in countries under the Judeo-Christian influence as in the world of Islam-especially in scientific circles. If this question were to be dealt with comprehensively, a series of lengthy exposes would be necessary. In this work, I intend to tackle only one aspect of it: the examination of the Scriptures themselves in the light of modern scientific knowledge.
Before proceeding with our task, we must ask a fundamental question: How authentic are today's texts? It is a question which entails an examination of the circumstances surrounding their composition and the way in which they have come down to us.
In the West the critical study of the Scriptures is something quite recent. For hundreds of years people were content to accept the Bible-both Old and New Testaments-as it was. A reading produced nothing more than remarks vindicating it. It would have been a sin to level the slightest criticism at it. The clergy were priviledged in that they were easily able to have a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible, while the majority of laymen heard only selected readings as part of a sermon or the liturgy.
Raised to the level of a specialized study, textual criticism has been valuable in uncovering and disseminating problems which are often very serious. How disappointing it is therefore to read works of a so-called critical nature which, when faced with very real problems of interpretation, merely provide passages of an apologetical nature by means of which the author contrives to hide his dilemma. Whoever retains his objective judgment and power of thought at such a moment will not find the improbabilities and contradictions any the less persistent. One can only regret an attitude which, in the face of all logical reason, upholds certain passages in the Biblical Scriptures even though they are riddled with errors. It can exercise an extremely damaging influence upon the cultivated mind with regard to belief in God. Experience shows however that even if the few are able to distinguish fallacies of this kind, the vast majority of Christians have never taken any account of such incompatibilities with their secular knowledge, even though they are often very elementary.
Islam has something relatively comparable to the Gospels in some of the Hadiths. These are the collected sayings of Muhammad and stories of his deeds. The Gospels are nothing other than this for Jesus. Some of the collections of Hadiths were written decades after the death of Muhammad, just as the Gospels were written decades after Jesus. In both cases they bear human witness to events in the past. We shall see how, contrary to what many people think, the authors of the four Canonic Gospels were not the witnesses of the events they relate. The same is true of the Hadiths referred to at the end of this book.
Here the comparison must end because even if the authenticity of such-and-such a Hadith has been discussed and is still under discussion, in the early centuries of the Church the problem of the vast number of Gospels was definitively decided. Only four of them were proclaimed official, or canonic, in spite of the many points on which they do not agree, and order was given for the rest to be concealed; hence the term 'Apocrypha'.
Another fundamental difference in the Scriptures of Christianity and Islam is the fact that Christianity does not have a text which is both revealed and written down. Islam, however, has the Qur'an which fits this description.
The Qur'an is the expression of the Revelation made to Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel, which was immediately taken down, and was memorized and recited by the faithful in their prayers, especially during the month of Ramadan. Muhammad himself arranged it into suras, and these were collected soon after the death of the Prophet, to form, under the rule of Caliph Uthman (12 to 24 years after the Prophet's death), the text we know today.
Like Saint Augustine for the Bible, Islam has always assumed that the data contained in the Holy Scriptures were in agreement with scientific fact. A modern examination of the Islamic Revelation has not caused a change in this position. As we shall see later on, the Qur'an deals with many subjects of interest to science, far more in fact than the Bible. There is no comparison between the limited number of Biblical statements which lead to a confrontation With science, and the profusion of subjects mentioned in the Qur'an that are of a scientific nature. None of the latter can be contested from a scientific point of view. this is the basic fact that emerges from our study. We shall see at the end of this work that such is not the case for the Hadiths. These are collections of the Prophet's sayings, set aside from the Qur'anic Revelation, certain of which are scientifically unacceptable. The Hadiths in question have been under study in accordance with the strict principles of the Qur'an which dictate that science and reason should always be referred to, if necessary to deprive them of any authenticity.
Scientists do not, for example, have even an approximate date for man's appearance on Earth. They have however discovered remains of human works which we can situate beyond a shadow of a doubt at before the tenth millenium B.C. Hence we cannot consider the Biblical reality on this subject to be compatible with science. In the Biblical text of Genesis, the dates and genealogies given would place man's origins (i.e. the creation of Adam) at roughly thirty-seven centuries B.C. In the future, science may be able to provide us with data that are more precise than our present calculations, but we may rest assured that it will never tell us that man first appeared on Earth 6,786 years ago, as does the Hebraic calendar for 1976. The Biblical data concerning the antiquity of man are therefore inaccurate.
This confrontation with science excludes all religious problems in the true sense of the word. Science does not, for example, have any explanation of the process whereby God manifested Himself to Moses. The same may be said for the mystery surrounding the manner in which Jesus was born in the absence of a biological father. The Scriptures moreover give no material explanation of such data. This present study is concerned With what the Scriptures tell us about extremely varied natural phenomena, which they surround to a lesser or greater extent with commentaries and explanations. With this in mind, we must note the contrast between the rich abundance of information on a given subject in the Qur'anic Revelation and the modesty of the other two revelations on the same subject.
It was in a totally objective spirit, and without any preconceived ideas that I first examined the Qur'anic Revelation. I was looking for the degree of compatibility between the Qur'anic text and the data of modern science. I knew from translations that the Qur'an often made allusion to all sorts of natural phenomena, but I had only a summary knowledge of it. It was only when I examined the text very closely in Arabic that I kept a list of them at the end of which I had to acknowledge the evidence in front of me: the Qur'an did not contain a single statement that was assailable from a modern scientific point of view.
I repeated the same test for the Old Testament and the Gospels, always preserving the same objective outlook. In the former I did not even have to go beyond the first book, Genesis, to find statements totally out of keeping With the cast-iron facts of modern science.
On opening the Gospels, one is immediately confronted with a serious problem. On the first page we find the genealogy of Jesus, but Matthew's text is in evident contradiction to Luke's on the same question. There is a further problem in that the latter's data on the antiquity of man on Earth are incompatible with modern knowledge.
The existence of these contradictions, improbabilities and incompatibilities does not seem to me to detract from the belief in God. They involve only man's responsibility. No one can say what the original texts might have been, or identify imaginative editing, deliberate manipulations of them by men, or unintentional modification of the Scriptures. What strikes us today. when we realize Biblical contradictions and incompatibilities with well-established scientific data, is how specialists studying the texts either pretend to be unaware of them, or else draw attention to these defects then try to camouflage them with dialectic acrobatics. When we come to the Gospels according to Matthew and John, I shall provide examples of this brilliant use of apologetical turns of phrase by eminent experts in exegesis. Often the attempt to camouflage an improbability or a contradiction, prudishly called a 'difficulty', is successful. This explains why so many Christians are unaware of the serious defects contained in the Old Testament and the Gospels. The reader will find precise examples of these in the first and second parts of this work.
In the third part, there is the illustration of an unusual application of science to a holy Scripture, the contribution of modern secular knowledge to a better understanding of certain verses in the Qur'an which until now have remained enigmatic, if not incomprehensible. Why should we be surprised at this when we know that, for Islam, religion and science have always been considered twin sisters? From the very beginning, Islam directed people to cultivate science; the application of this precept brought with it the prodigious strides in science taken during the great era of Islamic civilization, from which, before the Renaissance, the West itself benefited. In the confrontation between the Scriptures and science a high point of understanding has been reached owing to the light thrown on Qur'anic passages by modern scientific knowledge. Previously these passages were obscure owning to the non-availability of knowledge which could help interpret them.
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"Getting Better All the Time" and "The Beef People"
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: WINN) is an American supermarket chain based in Jacksonville, Florida. Winn-Dixie has ranked number 20 in the 2007 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2006 fiscal year estimated sales of $7.5 billion by Supermarket News and was ranked the 43rd largest retailer in the United States based on 2006 revenues by Stores Magazine. Winn-Dixie currently operates 521 stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and Mississippi. The company has existed under its present name since 1955 and can date its roots back to 1925.
Prior to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Winn-Dixie was listed in the S&P 500 and had been traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "WIN" since February 18, 1952. The company is currently traded under the symbol "WINN" on the NASDAQ. The bankruptcy also left the chain with fewer stores than it had in the late 1960s.
They are known for their private label Chek brand soft drinks, which are produced in over 20 different flavors plus diet and caffeine-free varieties — one of the widest assortments. The company also sells snacks under the private-label brand Crackin' Good Snacks. They have also been known as "The Beef People". Winn-Dixie now uses the slogan "getting better all the time" in its advertising and print media.
Winn-Dixie was founded and built up by William Milton Davis and his sons Artemus Darius Davis, James Elsworth Davis, Milton Austin Davis and Tine Wayne Davis. William Davis started in business in Burley, Idaho, where he bought a general store in 1914 that he later renamed Davis Mercantile. As was common then, he sold most goods on credit. The advent of cash-only grocery stores in the 1920s hurt Davis's business, as the new stores offered lower prices and larger selections.
In 1925, William Davis borrowed $10,000 from his father and moved to Miami, Florida, where he purchased the Rockmoor Grocery. In 1927, the company was renamed Table Supply, and four more stores were opened. In 1931, the Davis family bought the Lively Stores chain for $10,000, to create a chain of thirty-three Table Supply stores across Florida from Miami to Tampa. William Milton Davis died in 1934, leaving his four sons in charge of the company.
In 1939, the Davis brothers bought fifty-one percent of Winn-Lovett, a chain of seventy-three stores. In 1944, the brothers adopted Winn-Lovett as the company name and moved the company headquarters to Jacksonville. Winn-Lovett purchased the Steiden Stores chain of thirty-one stores in Kentucky in 1945, and Margaret Ann Stores, with forty-six stores in Florida, in 1949. In 1952, Winn-Lovett became the first industrial corporation based in Florida to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Winn-Lovett continued to grow by acquiring other chains, including Penney Stores in Mississippi, and Ballentine Stores and Eden Stores, both in South Carolina, all in 1955. Also in 1955, Winn-Lovett bought the 117-store Dixie Home chain, and changed its name to Winn-Dixie. In 1956, Winn-Dixie bought Ketner-Milner Stores in North Carolina, Hill Stores in Louisiana and Mississippi, and King Stores in Georgia. The last purchase of a chain was in 1967, when Winn-Dixie bought the City Markets chain in The Bahamas.
Although Winn-Dixie Stores has been a publicly owned corporation since 1952, the Davis family has always maintained control of the corporation. As of February 2005, when the company entered bankruptcy, the heirs of William Milton Davis still held about thirty-five percent of Winn-Dixie stock.
The Davis brothers also became involved in Florida state politics, supporting conservative causes. It is reported that their financial support helped George Smathers beat incumbent U.S. Senator Claude Pepper in 1950. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Donald Regan is reported to have said of his financial guru, James E. Davis: "When J.E. calls, I listen." Some Jacksonville-area stores give away Jaguars tickets during the NFL season.
In 2003, when the chain had over 1000 stores, the company's stock was the worst-performing of the S&P 500.
In April 2004, Winn-Dixie announced the closure of 156 stores, including all 111 stores located in the Midwest. Included were over twenty stores that had operated under the Thriftway name in and around Cincinnati, Ohio; they had been purchased by Winn-Dixie in 1995. The company had been hit hard by competition, especially from Publix and Wal-Mart with their cleaner stores. Another forty stores in the Atlanta area were converted to their Save Rite Grocery Warehouse brand, as an alternative to store closure. Also, all of the stores in North Carolina and in South Carolina closed.
On February 22, 2005, Winn-Dixie filed for bankruptcy. On June 21, it announced the sale or closure of 326 stores, resulting in the loss of over 22,000 jobs. Once the restructuring had completed, Winn-Dixie was to operate in the Bahamas, throughout Florida, and in four of the Deep South states, including the southeastern half of Louisiana, the southeast corner of Mississippi, most of Alabama, and the southwest corner of Georgia.
On February 28, 2006, thirty-five more stores were announced as being sold or closed within the coming months, with the Central and South Florida areas being the most affected. On March 31, it was announced that the chain will sell its twelve Bahamian locations, which had been operated by a wholly owned subsidiary, W-D, Limited, under the names City Market and Winn-Dixie.
On June 29, 2006, Winn-Dixie announced that it had filed a plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. The company emerged from Chapter 11 protection on November 21, 2006 in a much stronger financial position. Their bankruptcy case is being handled in the Jacksonville area by Steve Busey and Cyndi Jackson of the law firm, Smith, Hulsey, & Busey, and by the New York firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
Much of the store's difficulties, some commentators observe, are due to the emergence of Wal-Mart as the nation's leading grocer during the late-1990s and early-2000s, especially in the chain's southeastern heartland. Also, Florida's biggest supermarket chain, Publix, hurt the chain.
Since emerging out of bankruptcy in November 2006, Winn-Dixie has planned a number of incentives to improve performance, including a multi-million dollar plan to remodel the entire store base over the next couple of years. Despite recent successes in growing sales, Winn-Dixie continues to be criticized for lacking the strength of many of their competitors, particularly Wal-Mart and Publix.
Winn-Dixie has run over 60 private label brands over the years. In 2003 the company cut the number down to a three tier system of brands: the "Prestige" brand for upscale private label products, "Winn-Dixie" for its mainstream items, and "Thrifty Maid" for its value items. In 2007, all three brands received redesigned packaging with plans to replace the "Prestige" brand with "Winn & Lovett"..
The manufacturer code portion of the UPC remains 21140 across its three brands.
The 2005 movie Because of Winn-Dixie is about a dog who is found in a Winn-Dixie supermarket. The movie is based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo.
^ 2007 Top 75 North American Food Retailers, Supermarket News, January 1, 2007.
^ Top 100 Retailers: The Nation's Retail Power Players (PDF), Stores, July 2007.
^ a b Most Important Floridians of the 20th Century - Davis Brothers, The Ledger, Retrieved June 26, 2006.
^ a b c Winn-Dixie: A Brief History, Winn-Dixie, Retrieved June 26, 2006.
^ Hoover's report on Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., Hoover's, Retrieved June 26, 2006.
^ Winn-Dixie cutting 22,000 jobs, CNN/Money, June 21, 2005.
^ Winn-Dixie to Sell 12 Stores in Bahamas, The Associated Press, March 30, 2006.
^ Winn-Dixie Emerges from Chapter 11, Winn-Dixie Press Release, November 21, 2006.
^ Supermarket Chain Winn-Dixie Perseveres, Associated Press, 2007.
^ Winn-Dixie Updates Brand, Orlando Business Journal, July 1, 2003.
^ Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. Investor Day, Winn-Dixie Offical Website, October 9, 2007.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Winn-Dixie". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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My new heater and spa controller work great .
Do construction equipment rental companies provide delivery?
Yes, many construction equipment rental companies provide delivery of their equipment. Every vendor has their own delivery guidelines, but delivery means additional income. Most heavy construction equipment, like cranes and/or bulldozers, have to be delivered and the average renter doesn’t have the capabilities to transport it to the site. Some equipment can be driven to the site, but others require specialized trucks and trailers for delivery, and most people don’t have those handy.
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I agree the price is a bit steep, it's perilously close to the Ferrari 599, but honestly, you cannot buy a DB9 anymore; you just can't do it. Because one day, you will be sitting at a set of lights, someone will pull up alongside in one of these and you will feel hopeless and inadequate, and you will have to kill yourself.
What do you call a sandwich that has sandwich on it? A sandwich.
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It is not hard to see why a spider might seem scary to a child and their physical appearance alone, is one of the main reasons why children can often have an innate fear of spiders.
Companies like Fisher Environmental Services are constantly kept busy dealing with all sorts of bugs and arachnids that are often uninvited guests in our home. That is certainly one way of removing the presence of arachnids, but it should also be perfectly possible to help your child overcome their fears, so that they are not so stressed when they encounter a spider.
Why do so many of us fear spiders?
A fear of spiders can often be analyzed and divided into two distinct categories.
There are plenty of children who become adults, harboring an intense dislike and disgust for spiders, while the other category of people who portray spiders in their mind, as something much more fearful and dangerous to them than they actually are in reality.
This fear of spiders can grow to such an extent that people who are genuinely afraid of spiders, will demonstrate classic signs of arachnophobia, which can take over their lives as they take every measure to avoid spiders, unless their fears are addressed and conquered.
There are a number of issues that affect us as parents, which can often be traced back to our childhood when looking for the origin of the problem.
Creepy-crawly spiders, the dark and monsters under the bed are just some of the fears that seem very real when we are young an impressionable, but most of the time, we all learn to distinguish genuine fear from things that just make us feel uncomfortable.
Spiders tend to invoke these natural fears within many of us as children, but there are plenty of steps you can take as a parent, to help desensitize your child and allay their fears, to such an extent that you will probably find them volunteering to hold a spider once they have overcome their emotional response.
A good way of starting to help your child to deal with a fear of spiders, is to work on replacing their fearful response with a new one, changing their mindset gradually.
Try to encourage your child to think about calming messages as opposed to warning signals.
Aim to get your child to become curious about spiders and learn more about their characteristics. This can include doing something like drawing a picture of a spider together, and then talking about or picturing what it would be like to encounter one for real.
The trick is to introduce various images of spiders, such as on a video, even a spider cuddly toy, slowly building up to introducing a live spider in a jar, when you think they are ready for the encounter.
Keeping calm yourself about the process and allowing your child to control their fear threshold, so you know how far you can go each time, should eventually allow your child to come face to face with a spider, and overcome their spider phobia.
Robert Kunst has worked in the pest control industry since 1974. Today he is president of Fischer Environmental Services. This award-winning company was awarded “Champion of the Environment” in 2004 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) and is still 1 of only 5 Pest Management Companies to receive this prestigious honor out of 18,000 Pest Management Firms in the United States in the history of the E.P.A.
This entry was posted in Other Stories and tagged arachnids, child's fear.
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Billy Preston's career has spanned five decades, starting as a child prodigy playing the movie role of young W.C. Handy and then playing organ for the likes of Ray Charles and Little Richard. His accomplishments are highlighted by a string of hits, including collaborating with some of the most celebrated names in the music industry, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, The Jackson Five, Sly and the Family Stone, Barbara Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Quincy Jones and perhaps the most famous of all, The Beatles.
Billy's relationship with The Beatles led to his signing with Apple Records in the 60's. Billy is widely acknowledged as the "Fifth Beatle" having been the only party to ever hand his name included in the label credits of the "Let It Be" and the "Abbey Road" albums as well as the landmark "White Album". Billy also appeared with them in the films "The Complete Beatles" and "Let It Be" as well as performing as part of them during their historic rooftop final concert.
In the late '60s Billy worked with John Lennon and Yoko Ono on their solo "Plastic Ono Band" album as well as Ringo Starr's solo single "Oh My My" and he participated in George Harrison's American Tour. In addition Billy Preston was a leading character in the movie "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" also featuring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees, performing a stunning version of "Get Back".
Preston's name and fame were solidified as a solo artist when he scored a string of Number 1 hit singles including the Grammy winning "Outta Space", "Will It Go Round In Circles", "Nothing From Nothing" and "Space Race".
A prolific writer, Billy Preston penned the multi-platinum standard "You Are So Beautiful" which was performed by his friend Joe Cocker. He also wrote the title songs for a series of box office champions including "Never Gonna Say Goodbye" "Fast Break" and "O'Hara's Wide". The title song from "Fast Break" became a Preston classic hit when performed as a duet with the late Syreeta Wright. Billy also co-wrote the score for the Sidney Poitier movie "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs" with Quincy Jones.
In recent years Billy Preston was the first black musical director of a late night television show "Nightlife" starring David Brenner, was a regular on the UPN series "Good News" and he made a cameo appearance in "Blues Brothers 2000" as part of the super group that included Eric Clapton and Stevie Winwood and B.B. King among others. Billy's participation in the tribute concert "Concert for George Harrison" at Royal Albert Hall and his performance of "My Sweet Lord" has received critical acclaim. Billy recorded on the last album his mentor Ray Charles was to record, toured with The Funk Brothers and Stevie Winwood in Europe in early 2004 and then hit the road, touring extensively and garnering rave reviews for his performances with his dear friend Eric Clapton through Europe and North America. Billy's keyboard dominance was highlighted with the release of the "Let It Be--Naked" album issue.
With his extensive touring and studio involvement Billy Preston has found the time to create special project tribute to his dear friends The Beatles. He's even penned two new songs, one in tribute to George Harrison and another to all four of the fab fellows, "John, Paul, George and Ringo". This project along with a historic DVD companion is due for a fall 2004 release with special appearances and bonuses for Beatles fans.
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When it's time to say good-bye, an engraved memorial stone can help you honor their memory. Each personalized stone is one of a kind, just like your beloved friend. Your engraved memorial stone can be placed in the CNS Memory Garden or will fit naturally into the special place you have chosen to remember your beloved pet.
These prices include an $18.00 donation to Congregation Ner Shalom.
If love alone could have spared you, you would have lived forever.
Forever would not have been enough.
No longer by my side, but forever in my heart.
You left paw prints on my heart.
Please select the size of the stone that you would like.
No GraphicDog PawDog Paw with HeartDog Paw Prints 2Dog Paw with BoneDog Prints 4Dog Prints 6Beagle 1Beagle 2Beagle 3Beagle 4Boston Terrier 1Boston Terrier 2Boxer 1Boxer 2Boxer 3Boxer 4Bulldog 1English Bulldog 1English Bulldog 2English Bulldog 3French Bulldog 1French Bulldog 2Dalmation 1Dalmation 2Dalmation 3Dalmation 4Dalmation 5Doberman 1Doberman 2Doberman 3Doberman 4Doberman 5Doberman 6German Shepard 1German Shepard 2German Shepard 3German Shepard 4Golden Retriever 1Golden Retriever 2Golden Retriever 3Golden Retriever 4Golden Retriever 5Golden Retriever 6Golden Retriever 7Golden Retriever 8Labrador 1Labrador 2Labrador 3Labrador 4Labrador 5Labrador 6Siberian Husky 1Siberian Husky 2Siberian Husky 3Siberian Husky 4Siberian Husky 5Cat Paw PrintCat Paw Print with HeartCat Paw Prints 2Cat Paw Track 4Cat Paw Track 6Cat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Cat 6Parrot 1Parrot 3Parrot 6Parrot 7Parrot 8Parakeet 1Bird Tracks 2Bird Tracks 6Guinea Paw PrintsGuinea Pig 1Hamster TracksHamster 1Hamster 2Ferret Paw PrintFerret Paw Prints (2)Ferret 1Rabbit TracksRabbit 1Rabbit 2Rabbit 3Rabbit 4Rabbit 5Lizard 1Lizard 2Lizard 3Lizard 4Lizard 5Lizard 6Lizard 7Lizard 8Lizard 9Lizard 10Lizard 11Lizard 12Horse Print 1Horse Print 2Horse 1Horse 2Horse 3Horse 4Horse 5Ornate 1Ornate 3Ornate 5Ornate 6Ornate 13Ornate 15Ornate 17Ornate 19Eagle 1Eagle 2Flower 1Flower 2Flower 3Flower 4Flower 5Flower 6Butterfly 5Butterfly 6 If a graphic is desired on your memory stone, please select one from the document linked here and enter the name of it on the above line.
No GraphicDog PawDog Paw with HeartDog Paw Prints 2Dog Paw with BoneDog Prints 4Dog Prints 6Beagle 1Beagle 2Beagle 3Beagle 4Boston Terrier 1Boston Terrier 2Boxer 1Boxer 2Boxer 3Boxer 4Bulldog 1English Bulldog 1English Bulldog 2English Bulldog 3French Bulldog 1French Bulldog 2Dalmation 1Dalmation 2Dalmation 3Dalmation 4Dalmation 5Doberman 1Doberman 2Doberman 3Doberman 4Doberman 5Doberman 6German Shepard 1German Shepard 2German Shepard 3German Shepard 4Golden Retriever 1Golden Retriever 2Golden Retriever 3Golden Retriever 4Golden Retriever 5Golden Retriever 6Golden Retriever 7Golden Retriever 8Labrador 1Labrador 2Labrador 3Labrador 4Labrador 5Labrador 6Siberian Husky 1Siberian Husky 2Siberian Husky 3Siberian Husky 4Siberian Husky 5Cat Paw PrintCat Paw Print with HeartCat Paw Prints 2Cat Paw Track 4Cat Paw Track 6Cat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Cat 6Bird Tracks 2Bird Tracks 6Cockatiel 1Parrot 1Parrot 2Parrot 3Parrot 4Parrot 6Parrot 7Parrot 8Parakeet 1Guinea Paw PrintsGuinea Pig 1Guinea Pig 2Hamster TracksHamster 1Hamster 2Ferret Paw PrintFerret Paw Prints (2)Ferret 1Rabbit TracksRabbit 1Rabbit 2Rabbit 3Rabbit 4Rabbit 5Lizard 1Lizard 2Lizard 3Lizard 4Lizard 5Lizard 6Lizard 7Lizard 8Lizard 9Lizard 10Lizard 11Lizard 12Horse Print 1Horse Print 2Horse 1Horse 2Horse 3Horse 4Horse 5Ornate 1Ornate 3Ornate 5Ornate 6Ornate 8Ornate 10Ornate 11Ornate 12Ornate 13Ornate 14Ornate 15Ornate 17Ornate 19Ornate 20Eagle 1Eagle 2Butterfly DesignButterfly 5Butterfly 6Flower 1Flower 2Flower 3Flower 4Flower 5Flower 6Flower 7Flower 8 If a graphic is desired on your memory stone, please select one from the document linked here and enter the name of it on the above line.
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The following is a personality profile of Karen Kingsbury based on her work.
Karen Kingsbury is social, confident and imperturbable.
She is confident, she is hard to embarrass and is self-confident most of the time. She is outgoing as well: she makes friends easily and feel comfortable around other people. But, Karen Kingsbury is also assertive: she tends to speak up and take charge of situations, and she is comfortable leading groups.
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When I was a little girl, I thought about what to pray for. I decided that high on my list were health and happiness, for me as well as my loved ones. That was all I wanted---to be happy.
As an adult, I think that is what most of us want to too--happiness. How do we achieve that? What beliefs do we hold that limit us from being happy?
Here are top 5 myths about happiness.
1. To be happy, everything has to be perfect: Many believe that to be truly happy, every thing has to be perfect. But this rarely happens in real life. When you find the perfect woman of your dreams, she is older, married or already has a boy-friend. When you find the perfect job, the location is not what you desired. Rarely will you find something that is so perfect and has tick-marks in all departments. And even if it does, it is usually transient. If you wait for everything to be perfect, you will never be happy.
2. I will be so happy if : If you depend on external factors that are beyond your control for your happiness, you are going to be forever chasing a chimera. There are so many factors beyond our control and you cannot influence the outcome of anything--merely hope for it. If you lower your expectations about outcome, the chances at happiness becomes higher.
3.Career success make you happy : Career success might make you happy but that would only be temporary. Once you achieve that milestone, you are running for the next one and the next promotion and then the corner office. You slog, you work hard. Someone else gets the promotion. End of happiness. Sometimes you do. What next? The corner office. Then? MD of the company. After that what? When are you going to be truly happy? Get my drift?
4. I will be happy when I find The One: Studies show that Wedded bliss comes with a shelf-life. It is on an average two years. After that the blinkers come off. The initial euphoria vanishes and the happiness quotient is back to where it was. Also, no matter what you do, there will always be The One You Cannot Have.
5. The best part of my years are over: Those in a job might believe that college years were greatest. Those in college might say that school days were the best times. Those married for several years might long for that time, when the relationship was new. if you are going to forever lookback and crave for what has-been, you are never going to be happy.
Happiest people are those that make the best of a situation. They express gratitude for what they have. They live in the here-and-now. They are warm, cheerful and have a great sense of humour, enabling them to laugh at themselves. They know that happiness comes from inside oneself.
It is a state of being, an art.
And it is something we owe ourselves. We all deserve to be happy!
Teriffic post Preeti.. We are 'Happiness'. We all are and that is the only thing we have to be.. that is the true purpose in life. To never cease to be that you are.. Happiness.
Hi Julian..Thank you for the encouraging comment.
As regards your question-- I can honestly say that there is not one but MANY that i cannot have--not one :) Heh heh.
Thank you so much Prarthana! Hope you enjoy them.
vry nyc! the iñsight explained by u is remarkable!!
Very nice post..came exactly at the time when I needed the most. Thanks for sharing with us.
I have a question on lighter note: If there is always the One we cannot have..so what's the solution?
beautifully written Preeti..... we all run for happiness( at least I do) but its actually inside and not outside!
ur lines are so inspiring for me mam its necessary to be happy that we must not expect everything perfect in.life and also not to live in past ........u r a great motivator mam i hav read only one of urs "life is what u make it " that was awesome so i ordered all of ur remaining books they reached me yesterday so excited to read them too!!!!!
Lovely Post! Love how effortlessly you worded such wise thoughts!
It's very true Preeti and we keep chasing the next happiness. I am guilty of that!
Dear preeti, Being newly wed I am in a great bliss despite some major huddles. Wen I read "every marriage comes with a shelf life" It got me off my hook for a sec. Then, happiness is neither in past nor in worrying about future. Happiness is a choice that can be made under any circumstances. Point driven right in to the heart.
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Middle Tennessee State University (founded September 11, 1911, and commonly abbreviated as MTSU) is an American university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It is currently the second-largest institution of higher learning in Tennessee (by overall enrollment), trailing only The University of Tennessee at Knoxville. MTSU, however, currently has the state's largest enrollment of undergraduate students. Originally known primarily for its Education and Nursing programs, MTSU has more recently gained recognition for its Aerospace, Business, Mass Communication/Recording Industry, and Music/Music Business programs. MTSU is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents System, one of two higher education systems in Tennessee. The school's tenth and current President is Sidney A. McPhee, Ed.D. He has served since 2001. MTSU is the largest university in the central third of the state and the single largest economic contributor in Murfreesboro. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Question and Answer about "Middle Tennessee State University"
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0.93395 |
Upton Sinclair "I never met a Socialist, or a Socialist cause, that I didn't like."
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968), one of the best investigative journalists of his era, was a prolific American author who wrote over 90 books in many genres, often advocating socialist views, achieving considerable popularity in the first half of the twentieth century. He gained particular fame for his novel, The Jungle (1906), which dealt with conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry and caused a public uproar that partly contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.
However, he believed that the main point of The Jungle was lost on the public, overshadowed by his descriptions of unsanitary conditions in the packing plants. The public health concerns dealt with in The Jungle were actually far less significant than the human tragedy lived by his main character and other workers in the plants. His main goal for the book was to demonstrate the inhumane conditions of the wage earner under capitalism, not to inspire public health reforms in how the packing was done. Indeed, Sinclair lamented the effect of his book and the public uproar that resulted: "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." Still, the fame and fortune he gained from publishing The Jungle enabled him to write books on almost every issue of social injustice in the twentieth century.
Upton Sinclair was born on September 20th, 1878, in Baltimore, Maryland, and later moved to New York City. He lived much of his life in Pasadena, California, then in Buckeye, Arizona. Near the end of his life he moved to Bound Brook, New Jersey.
Sinclair established a socialist commune called Helicon Hall Colony in 1906, with proceeds from his novel The Jungle. One of those who joined was the novelist and playwright Sinclair Lewis, who worked there as a janitor. The colony burned down in 1907, apparently from arson.
Sinclair faced what he would later call "the most difficult ethical problem of my life," when he was told in confidence by Sacco and Vanzetti's former attorney Fred Moore that they were guilty and how their alibis were supposedly arranged. However, in the letter revealing that discussion with Moore, Sinclair also wrote, "I had heard that he [Moore] was using drugs. I knew that he had parted from the defense committee after the bitterest of quarrels … Moore admitted to me that the men themselves had never admitted their guilt to him." Although this episode has been used by some to claim that Sacco and Vanzetti were guilty and that Sinclair knew that when he wrote his novel Boston, this account has been disputed by Sinclair biographer Greg Mitchell.
Sinclair was married three times.
He took an interest in psychic phenomena and experimented with telepathy, writing a book titled Mental Radio, published in 1930.
His papers, photographs, and first editions of most of his books are found at the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Sinclair made several bids for national office. In 1906, the Socialist Party sponsored his candidacy for Congress in New Jersey. He lost with just over 3 percent of the votes. After moving to California in 1915, Sinclair went on to run unsuccessfully for Congress twice on the Socialist ticket: In 1920 for the House of Representatives, and in 1922 for the Senate.
In 1934, Sinclair made his most successful run for office, this time as a Democrat. Sinclair's platform for the California gubernatorial race of 1934, known as EPIC (End Poverty in California), galvanized the support of the Democratic Party, and Sinclair gained its nomination. Conservatives in California were themselves galvanized by this, as they saw it as an attempted Communist takeover of their state and used massive political propaganda portraying Sinclair as a Communist, even as he was being portrayed by American and Soviet Communists as a capitalist following the Que Viva Mexico! debacle. Robert A. Heinlein, the science fiction author, was deeply involved in Sinclair's campaign, a point which Heinlein tried to obscure from later biographies, as Heinlein tried to keep his personal politics separate from his public image as an author.
Sinclair was defeated by Frank F. Merriam in the election, and largely abandoned EPIC and politics to return to writing. However, the race of 1934 would become known as the first race to use modern campaign techniques like motion pictures.
Of his gubernatorial bids, Sinclair remarked in 1951: "The American People will take Socialism, but they won't take the label. I certainly proved it in the case of EPIC. Running on the Socialist ticket I got 60,000 votes, and running on the slogan to "End Poverty in California" I got 879,000. I think we simply have to recognize the fact that our enemies have succeeded in spreading the Big Lie. There is no use attacking it by a front attack, it is much better to out-flank them."
An early success was the Civil War novel Manassas, written in 1903 and published a year later. Originally projected as the opening book of a trilogy, the success of The Jungle caused him to drop such plans, although he did revise Manassas decades later by "moderating some of the exuberance of the earlier version"; a description—in Sinclair's case—very much of a relative kind. The Jungle brought to light many major issues in America such as poverty and other social wrongs.
He has been criticized for using racial epithets in his books, but Sinclair grew up in the nineteenth century, where epithets were used to refer to people of certain ethnic backgrounds. In his books, he used these to realistically portray the way in which foreigners and minorities were referred to and treated. For example, in his book Oil!, one character uses a disparaging word to refer to non-Jewish people and a different character uses a disparaging word to refer to Jewish people. Some argue that no offense is intended or implied and that the books were written to accurately reflect the way people thought during the time. However in other books, Sinclair goes well beyond the simple use of racial epithets in quotes. For example in The Jungle, it is the narrator who describes African Americans in a highly negative light. To some, this description is meant merely to capture the mindset of the Eastern European immigrants who are the book's protagonists (a group which was itself held in low regard in America at the time). To others, the descriptions reflected what was possibly Sinclair's own racist views. Although some might argue that at the time The Jungle was published, the epithets against blacks were unnoticed by both his supporters and detractors, likely these were his white supporters, as African American readers would have been offended by the epithets in a post-Plessy v. Ferguson, dawning-of-the-Jim-Crow-Era period. It is considered erroneous to assume that if the majority classes expressed no offense at Sinclair's views, they were not offensive to his black contemporaries who had no platform on which to express their umbrage with Sinclair's portrayals of them. Nevertheless, The Jungle's impact was far-reaching.
Sinclair helped found the California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in the 1920s.
Sinclair is well-known for his principle: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." This line has been quoted in many political books, essays, articles, and other forms of media, including Al Gore's 2006 film, An Inconvenient Truth.
He was also firmly in favor of prohibition, most obviously in his novel The Wet Parade, which tells the story of a prohibition agent from a pro-Dry slant.
Between 1940 and 1953 Sinclair wrote 11 novels about an American named Lanny Budd that, read in sequence, detailed much of the political history of the Western world in the first half of the twentieth century. Almost totally forgotten today, they were all bestsellers upon publication and were published in 21 countries. The third book in the series, Dragon's Teeth, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1943.
Long out of print, the Lanny Budd series have recently been re-issued by Simon Publications. For technical reasons, each original volume is issued in two parts, forming a 22-volume set.
In Sinclair Lewis' novel It Can't Happen Here, Upton Sinclair is depicted as an eccentric and a supporter of fascism from opportunistic motives, who is rewarded for his support of an American fascist government by being made ambassador to Great Britain.
Sinclair is featured in Harry Turtledove's American Empire trilogy as the Socialist Party winner of the 1920 and 1924 United States presidential elections.
Sinclair is featured as one of the main characters in Chris Bachelder's satirical fictional book U.S.!: a Novel. Sinclair is the frequently assassinated and resurrected personification of the contemporary failings of the American-left and portrayed as an ineffectual and out-of-touch reformer always trying to implement American Socialism.
His 1937 novel, The Gnomobile, was the basis of a Walt Disney musical motion picture in 1967 titled The Gnome-Mobile.
↑ CBC.ca, Novelist's book about murder trial called into question. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
↑ Spartacus Educational, Upton Sinclair. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
↑ The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco, End Poverty in California, the EPIC movement. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
All links retrieved January 12, 2016.
Works by Upton Sinclair. Project Gutenberg.
"The Fictitious Suppression of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle" by Christopher Phelps in History News network.
Upton Sinclair, "End Poverty in California The EPIC Movement", The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.
1992 audio interview of Greg Mitchell, author of The Campaign of the Century: Upton Sinclair's Race for Governor of California and the Birth of Media Politics. Interview by Don Swaim of CBS Radio. RealAudio.
This page was last modified on 12 January 2016, at 15:21.
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Based on direction, story, and overall scare effect, these are the best horror flicks in cinema. I've been a fan of horror films for many years, and I've probably seen more than 2000 movies in the genre. Some I've despised, and some I bought on VHS to watch over and over again, and then replaced again with DVDs. Some movies I've owned in multiple formats as the years and the editions changed, and some movies were so bad I couldn't sit through a whole hour of them. With great direction and most original soundtracks, the cream rises. I've sifted through the collection and here the list of the 20 best horror movies.
20 - Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) Spooky direction, lighting and sound.
19 - Phantasm (1979) Beware the tall man, and the sphere of death.
18 - The Shining (1980) Jack Nicholson in Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel.
17 - Haute Tension (2003) A French film about a serial killer stalking two girls, with a twist ending.
16 - The Omen (1976) The first of this trilogy really is effective horror. Whenever a child is the villain, it's creepy.
15 - Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock's thriller about Norman Bates, the pychotic killer.
14 - Alone in the Dark (1982) Starring Donald Pleasance and Jack Palance, 4 inmates escapes an insane asylum during a power outage, and go after their doctor.
13 - Night of the Living Dead (1968) The classic is still very compelling.
12 - Ginger Snaps (2000) Hot girls and werewolves go together like peanut butter and chocolate. It's about two sisters, and one is changing into something less human. Give this one a chance on your next DVD rental night.
11 - The Devil's Backbone (2001) Directed by Guilermo del Toro, this is a prequel to Pan's Labyrinth. An excellent tale of a haunted orphanage.
10 - Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) An early b&w movie in 3D! This was the scariest water creature of its time, and it holds up even today. Very creepy direction made this an incredible film. I would like to see the monster from the Korean movie The Host team up with the Black Lagoon's Creature in a sequel.
9 - The Howling (1981) The best of the werewolf films, the Howling would set the pace for the next 3 decades of werewolves in movies. The original spawned 4 sequels, but this first one is a classic.
8 - Ju-On (2003 original Japanese movie) Creepy. Enough said. The US remake was nothing by comparison.
7 - Friday the 13th (Original 1980) The first of the 11 Jason Voorhees movies was brilliantly directed, and had a great twist ending. Kevin Bacon makes his first big screen appearance.
6 - The Thing (1982) John Carpenter captures a large part of my list, because he was a genius of the 80s. In The Thing, a group of scientists uncover an alien ship that's been frozen for centuries, and an alien creature crawls out. Great use of sound, effects and eerie settings. Kurt Russel stars.
5 - Jeepers Creepers (2001) A surprise hit, this movie was genuinely frightening. It's set-up was original and well done. The writing, direction and acting all come together nicely.
4 - The Fog (1980) The original (not the recent remake) was a masterpiece of modern horror. The tale is of a ghost ship carrying past residents of San Antonio bay, coming back for revenge. The music was inspired and the suspense builds perfectly.
3 - Pumpkinhead (1988) Special effects guru Stan Winston (Alien) directed this great movie about a creature that can be summoned to right a wrong. The witch Hagus is great with her raspy voice, and the creature itself is well articulated. Use of blowing leaves and creepy night sets proves Stan Winston as a very effective director.
2 - John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) The ultimate slasher film, this movie even got critical acclaim (something rarely earned by horror movies). The use of a sharp penetrating soundtrack and suspense building on top of each scene, higher and higher, bring this movie to the top. It's a great milestone of modern horror. Donald Pleasance and Jami Lee Curtis fend off Michael Myers, a psychotic kid who started his spree years earlier, and now has escaped an insane asylum to come back for his sister.
1 - The Changeling (1980) Few have heard of it, or seen it, but this movie starring George C. Scott and Trish van De Vere is a sharp ghost story. George moves into a secluded mansion alone, and is contacted by a boy who was murdered for profit 70 years earlier. The séance scene is especially disturbing, and use of piano, child's ball and the child's wheelchair are brilliant. If you can find it on DVD, give it a view. You won't be disappointed.
Now you have a good list for your next horror movie night. The popcorn is up to you... and yes, popcorn is mandatory!
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Once exiting the saferoom inside Mercy Hospital, the survivors must either turn left, leading to stray Infected in exam rooms, or turn right, which takes them down a corridor to a staircase to the right, after crossing a small hallway with more exam rooms. Once the Survivors go up the staircase, they enter another hallway with a few offices, and a doorway leading to what was the 2nd floor lobby of the hospital. At the far right corner of the lobby contains a few closets and a set of stairs up to a hallway of more exam rooms and a miniature 3rd floor lobby. Further down the 3rd floor hallway, leads to some crowded desks blocking off the way, and yet another set of stairs. The survivors can either go through the doorway leading to a hallway of exam rooms, or go through a hole in the wall, leading to the abandoned elevator shaft. Both paths lead to the 4th floor lobby, and shortly past that holds some smaller, less technological exam rooms to hold the sick and a few surgical rooms. Once entering the hallways, the Survivors must turn right down a corpse-scattered hallway leading to an elevator on their left, which they must press the button to call for it to retrieve them. Once the elevator has been called, it alerts a horde of Infected to the Survivors, which they must fight off while waiting for the elevator to arrive. Shortly after, the elevator comes to their floor, and once all of the Survivors are inside, they send themselves up to the highest floor they can get to. Once the elevator doors open, the Survivors must turn left to get to a path around the un-guarded edge of the building, then they must take a right and follow down, weaving their way passed sandbags and forklifts. Then, from there, they must turn right, which leads to a few short hallways that contain the saferoom at the end of the maze.
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Assume the polls are correct and Republicans win control of the House, and perhaps even the Senate, in next month's elections. What lessons will the White House learn? Will Barack Obama interpret the vote as a repudiation of much of his agenda, or will he conclude that he made a few tactical errors but was still right on the big issues?
Bet on the latter. All indications coming out of the White House suggest that if Democrats suffer major losses, the president and his top aides will resolutely refuse to reconsider the policies -- national health care, stimulus, runaway spending -- that led to their defeat. Instead, they will point fingers in virtually every direction other than their own. Come November, it's likely the D-for-Democrat that the president refers to so often will actually stand for "denial."
The White House has given us plenty of clues in recent days as to how Obama will react to a possible Democratic drubbing at the polls. Here are five.
1. Obama will blame voters, not himself. At a small fundraiser in Massachusetts recently, Obama suggested Democrats are in trouble because recession-weary Americans simply aren't thinking clearly. "Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argument do not seem to be winning the day all the time, is because we're hard-wired not to always think clearly when we're scared," Obama said. "And the country is scared." If Democrats lose, Obama is likely to fault voters' irrationality and not anything he has done.
2. Obama will spin the outcome as an illegitimate GOP victory. In recent weeks, the president and top administration officials have accused the Chamber of Commerce of illegally using foreign contributions to fund ads critical of Democrats. There's no evidence to support the charge, but Obama has laid the foundation for a simple explanation of Democratic defeat: Republicans cheated.
3. Obama will blame a broken process. In a recent New York Times article, reporter Peter Baker asked a number of White House aides about mistakes Obama has made in office. "The biggest miscalculation in the minds of most Obama advisers," Baker writes, "was the assumption that he could bridge a polarized capital and forge genuinely bipartisan coalitions." By that standard, a post-defeat Obama will be guilty more of overestimating Republicans and the culture of Washington than of making mistakes on his own.
4. Obama will reaffirm, not reconsider, his achievements. The president says he has already kept about 70 percent of the promises he made in the 2008 campaign. Now, his main task will be to shield those accomplishments from GOP challenge. Aides constantly tell reporters that Republicans intend to roll back Obamacare and Wall Street reform, and the president plans to spend as much time as it takes fighting those efforts. "There's going to be a lot of work in [the next two years] just doing things right and making sure that new laws are stood up in the ways they're intended," Obama told Baker.
5. Obama will resist real change inside the White House. The president has lost several top aides in recent months: Rahm Emanuel, James Jones, Lawrence Summers, Christina Romer, Peter Orszag and others. So far, Obama has preferred to replace departing insiders with other insiders. His reluctance to bring in a high-level adviser from outside his circle suggests he wants to keep doing what he's doing.
Tie all those threads together, and in the wake of a Republican victory in November you can virtually guarantee the White House will not concede that the president hurt himself by pushing an unpopular national health care program through Congress; by pushing nearly a trillion dollars in stimulus spending that failed to reduce unemployment as predicted; by pushing a costly cap-and-trade agenda; or by advocating any number of other initiatives that flew in the face of voter sentiments.
In a recent campaign ad, Colorado Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck says the public tried to tell White House and Democratic leaders not to go ahead with those unwelcome measures. "They heard us, and yet they ignored us," Buck says, adding: "And folks, on Nov. 2 they will ignore us no more."
Republicans no doubt hope Buck is right. But so far Obama is sending signals that even if he loses big in November, he'll make excuses, point fingers and try to keep going just as before.
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Chihuahua is a state in northern Mexico with a mainland area of , slightly bigger than the United Kingdom. It is surrounded by the states of Sonora to the west, Sinaloa to the south-west, Durango to the south, and Coahuila to the east, and by the U.S. states of Texas to the north-east and New Mexico to the north. Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico by area, and therefore has the nickname El Estado Grande ("The Big State").
Although Chihuahua is primarily identified with its namesake, the Chihuahuan Desert, it has more forests than any other state. On the slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains (around the regions of Casas Grandes , Cuauhtémoc and Parral ), there are vast prairies of short yellow grass, the source of the bulk of the state's agricultural production.
As of 2005, there were 3.2 million inhabitants of the state. The largest city is the U.S.-border city of Ciudad Juárez , which has 1,301,452 residents (2005 census). The capital, Chihuahua , has 748,518 inhabitants.
The state also has a large service sector: tourism, banking and high-tech enterprises.
One of the most notable features of Chihuahua is the Barranca del Cobre, or Copper Canyon , a spectacular canyon system larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon .
Nueva Vizcaya was the first province of northern New Spain to be explored and settled by the Spanish. Around 1528 a group of Spaniard explorers led by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca first stepped the actual territory of Chihuahua. The conquest of the territory lasted nearly one century and encountered a fiercy resistance of the barbarian Conchos Indians, but, the hopes of the Spanish Crown to transform the region into a bustling mining center brought the reinforcing of a strong strategy to control the place.
In the second half of the 16th century, the Spaniards organized several expeditions into the North of Mexico to find the mythical Seven Golden Cities of Cibola, and in 1564, the conquistador lieutenant Rodrigo del Rio y Loza, found gold in the area when the Sierra ends and founded Santa Barbara the first Spanish city of the State that brought 400 European families. Later, in 1631, Noah Carrasco de Biesma, discovered a rich vein of silver and created the villa of San Jose del Parral, that attracted the most prominent families of Spain and was the head of the Nueva Vizcaya province, converting itself into an important economic and cultural center for around 300 years.
Many mining towns, missions and presidios were founded along the actual territory of Chihuahua. Santa Eulalia, Camargo and Paso del Norte (now Ciudad Juárez . The Spanish society that developed in the region, disappeared the scarce group of Indians that once inhabited the state. The absence of servants and workers forged the spirit of Northern People as self-dependent, creative people that defended their European heritage and made it survive until our days.
Opponents continued to plot against the new government. In March 1827, Lieutenant J.M. González proclaimed himself comandante general, arrested the governor, and dissolved the legislature. General Parras was sent to suppress the movement. Comandante general J. J. Ayestaran was replaced by José Figueroa. When elections failed, the government intervened in favor of the Yorkino party, which had elected Vicente Guerrero to the presidency.
Because of the general instability of the federal government during 1828, the installation of the new legislature did not take place until the middle of the following year. It was quickly dissolved by Governor Baca, who replaced it with a more pronounced Yorkino type. When Guerrero's liberal administration was overthrown in December, Gaspar de Ochoa aligned with Anastasio Bustamante, and in February 1830, organized an opposition group that arrested the new governor, F. Elorriaga, along with other prominent Yorkinos. He then summoned the legislature, which had been dissolved by Baca. The civil and military authorities were now headed by J. A. Pescador and Ochoa.
The general features of the preceding occurrence applied also to Chihuahua, although in a modified form. The first person elected under the new constitution of 1825 was Simón Elías Gonzalez, who being in Sonora , was induced to remain there. J. A. Arce took his place as ruler in Chihuahua. In 1829, González became comandante general of Chihuahua, when his term of office on the west coast expired. Arce was less of a yorkino than his confrere of Durango. Although unable to resist the popular demand for the expulsion of the Spaniards, he soon quarreled with the legislature, which declared itself firmly for Guerrero, and announcing his support of Bustamante's revolution, he suspended, in March 1830, eight members of that body, the vice-governor, and several other officials, and expelled them from the state. The course thus outlined was followed by Governor J. I. Madero, who succeeded in 1831, associated with J. J. Calvo as comandante general, stringent laws being issued against secret societies, which were supposed to be the main spring to the anti-clerical feeling among liberals.
The anti-clerical feeling was widespread, and Durango supported the initial reaction against the government at Mexico. In May 1832, José Urrea, a rising officer, supported the restoration of President Pedraza . On July 20, Governor Elorriaga was reinstated, and Baca along with the legislative minority were brought back to form a new legislature, which met on September 1. Chihuahua showied no desire to imitate the revolutionary movement and Urrea prepared to invade the state. Comandante-general J.J.Calvo threatened to retaliate, and a conflict seemed imminent. The entry of General Santa Anna into Mexico brought calm, as the leaders waited for clarity.
Bishop Zubiria was banished for resisting the law relating to priests and other encroachments on the church; another joined the western states in a short lived coalition for sustaining the federal system. Chihuahua adopted the Cuernavaca Plan in July 1834 while President Valentín Gómez Farías was in power. Because the plan was not enforced, commanding officer, Colonel J.I. Gutiérrez, declared the term of the legislature and governor expired on September 3. At a convention of citizens called to select a new provisional ruler, Gutierrez obtained the vote, with P. J. Escalante for his deputy, and a council to guide the administration. Santa Anna ordered the reinstatement of Mendarozqueta as comandante general. Gutiérrez yielded, but Escalante refused to surrender office, demonstrations of support ensued, but Escalante yielded when troops were summoned from Zacatecas . A new election brought a new legislature, and conforming governors. In September 1835 José Urrea a federalist army officer came into power.
The latest population census, which took place nationwide during the year 2005, reported 3,241,444 inhabitants in the state of Chihuahua, each gender taking 50% of the total. The northern state is placed seventh in the nation regarding quality of life and sixth in terms of life expectancy at 75.2 years of age. The median age is located at 25 years, mainly because more than half of its population is younger than 30 years.
Chihuahua holds one of the largest proportion of white population of Mexico, as is the case in much of northern Mexico. Caucasians make up 55% of the population , most of them of Spaniard origin, but also of French, Basque, Italian, German, Dutch and Middle Eastern descent, while the rest of the population are Mestizo groups of predominant Spaniard descent . Indians form 5% of the state habitants and remain isolated in the woods of southwestern Chihuahua. The admixture with Indians never existed in Nueva Vizcaya due to the scarcity of natives (most of them warrior and anti-European Conchos and Tarahumaras), and the size of the territory .
85% of people in Chihuahua claim to follow the Catholic faith; only 3% of those over 5 years of age speak a native dialect, mostly Tarahumara, the largest indigenous group, followed by the Pimas, Tepehuanes and Warojios, all of them descendants of natives that inhabited these territories more than a thousand years ago.
Average schooling is 8.5 years, . which means that in general the average citizen over 15 years of age has gone as far as a second year in secondary education. On the other hand, 9 out of 100 inhabitants has a professional degree.
Chihuahua is subdivided into 67 municipios (municipalities). Seemunicipalities of Chihuahua.
As of 2005, Chihuahua's economy represents 4.5% of Mexico's total gross domestic product or 29,826 million USD. Chihuahua's economy has a strong focus on export oriented manufacturing (i.e. maquiladora). As of 2005, 329,939 people are employed in the manufacturing sector. There are a more than 406 companies operating under the federal IMMEX or Prosec program in Chihuahua. The average wage for an employee in Chihuahua is approximately 193 pesos per day.
In the Harry Turtledove novel How Few Remain, Chihuahua (along with Sonora ) is annexed into a fictional Confederate States of America in the 1880s. In all eleven novels of the timeline-191 series, Chihuahua and Sonora function as part of the Confederacy.
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What is the temperature and the weather like?
Although Tromsø is an Arctic city with a subarctic, climate temperatures are moderate. Average temperature in January and February is around -5°C (23°F). There is typically some snowfall in January and February.
Warm winter clothes including jackets, scarfs, caps, gloves and warm boots/shoes are therefore advised.
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If you want people to think outside the box, give them a problem that's outside the box.
You, as facilitator, time how long this takes. Imagine it took 80 seconds.You say "Now do it again, passing the ball in the same order, but do it in 40 seconds".
You keep the exercise going, in several rounds, but you time each round, then cut this time in half to form the target for the next round. 20 seconds - 10 seconds - 5 seconds - 2 seconds.
Then when challenged even further, they start to think outside the box. They start to come up with radically creative solutions. Maybe we don't need to be in a circle? Maybe we lay our hands on the ground, and roll the ball over them? Maybe we form a tube with our hands (in the correct order), and drop the ball down the tube?
While the target can be achieved by working in the known way (working inside the box), creativity is limited to incremental innovations such as reorganisation or "working faster".
When the target is outside the box - outside the realm of the known solution - people need to be radically creative. When they roughly know what to do, they use known solutions. When they don't know what to do to meet the target, they become radically innovative.
Impossible targets drive innovation. "Put a man on the moon and return him safely, before the end of the decade". "Fly 500 people nonstop across the USA and be able to land at La Guardia". "A h-fi system you can put in your pocket". These were the impossible targets that resulted in the space program, the modern airliner, and the Sony Walkman.
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What is a file and print server?
A file and print server is the generic term for any computer that is being used to provide file storage and printing for other computers. Typically, one machine on a LAN will be designated as a file and print server; it will have folders shared out across the network for access by other computers, and will have a printer attached to it that other computers can print to as needed.
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First deals with cooling water exit location. Please tell me if I understand this correctly: While running the motor in a bucket/barrel or with the hose attachment hooked up a small but steady amount of water spits and spurts out of the two holes located on the back of the leg above the water line. There is also a large amount of water steadily running out of the exhaust port above the prop. I understand this to be normal for Force engines and this is what I should expect since there is no formal "telltale" factory installed on these engines. Is this right, or should there be a steady squirt "shooting" out of the two small holes on the back of the leg???
Second, while looking to an answer to that question, I read some references to flushing and "back flushing" the cooling system. I have the SELOC manual and have read backwards and forwards, and can find no reference to flushing or backflushing the cooling system. Can someone line out the procedure for me, and tell what I should be looking for while doing this, or at least direct me to where I can find the information??
Thanks in advance for your help..."
"Eric, what you note is correct.
The cooling water exits the powerhead into the exhaust housing (leg) where it helps cool the exhaust (after cooling the motor) and acts as a muffler to help keep the noise down. It then exits out through the exhaust (prop).
The holes on the back of the leg are for "exhaust relief" but serve the double duty of spitting out some water (pushed out by the exhaust) to help you confirm that the cooling system is functioning.
"Flushing" the cooling system is simply hooking the motor to "muffs" or running in a pail/tank of water after use.
It is essential if you run in salt-water to prevent build-up and corrosion and is a good idea if you run in fresh water that is silty, muddy, polluted etc.
Some motors have a hose hook-up that you can connect a garden hose directly to the motor. It is normally right near the base of the powerhead and will allow you to flush "back" through the powerhead and down the watertube exiting at the waterpump pick-up as well as going down the exhaust - most others you simply flush as noted above."
"Thanks, Graham, for the good info. I feel a great deal more confident now that you have confirmed that for me.
On the subject, any idea about a part # and resource where I can locate the water press. gage/kit for this motor, or will a properly installed automotive gage work just as well??"
You could probably rig something up but a kit from either Faria or Teleflex will have everything you need.
"That's kind-of what i figured... I'll look around on the sites you mentioned and see what they have, but I think cost will ultimately decide how I do it. Thanks again for the time and info!!"
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Bénédictine is a herbal liqueur produced in France. Flavored with some twenty-seven flowers, berries, herbs, roots, and spices, it was developed by wine merchant Alexandre Le Grand in the 19th century, and marketed as having been derived from an original recipe of Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy lost in the ashes of the French Revolution.
A drier version, B&B, blending Bénédictine with brandy, was developed in the 1930s.
In the 19th century Alexandre Le Grand invented a recipe for an herbal liqueur, helped by a local chemist. To market it, he concocted a story of it having been developed by monks at the Benedictine Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy, and produced until the abbey's devastation during the French Revolution. He began production under the trade name "Bénédictine", using a bottle with a distinguishing shape and label. To reinforce his myth, he placed the abbreviation "D.O.M." on the label, for "Deo Optimo Maximo" ("To God, most good, most great"), used at the beginning of documents by the Benedictine Order to dedicate their work. Much of the Bénédictine drunk outside of France is consumed in the Burnley area of England, due to soldiers from the East Lancashire Regiment getting a taste for the drink while fighting in the First World War and sheltering at the Abbey, which was being used as a hospital at the time.
The family eventually sold the company to Martini and Rossi, which was in turn bought by Bacardi.
The recipe is a closely guarded trade secret, purportedly known to only three people at any given time. So many people have tried to reproduce it that the company maintains on its grounds in Fécamp a "Hall of Counterfeits" (Salle des Contrefaçons). The bottle and label have been imitated, as has the name Bénédictine. The company prosecutes those it feels are infringing on its intellectual property.
The manufacturing process involves several distillations which are then blended. The recipe of Bénédictine is a commercial secret, but it is known to contain 27 herbs and spices, of which the following 21 are publicly known: Angelica, hyssop, juniper, myrrh, saffron, mace, fir cones, aloe, arnica, lemon balm, tea, thyme, coriander, clove, lemon, vanilla, orange peel, honey, red berries, cinnamon, and nutmeg; leaving six unknown ingredients.
The same company also produces "B & B" (or Bénédictine and Brandy), developed in the 1930s in response to a shift in taste toward drier (less sweet) liqueurs, simply by blending Bénédictine with brandy. Originally both products were 43% alcohol by volume (86 proof), but are now 40% alcohol (80 proof).
In 1977 the company introduced a 30% alcohol (60 proof) coffee liqueur which was called Café Bénédictine, a blend of Bénédictine and a coffee-flavoured liqueur, but it has been discontinued. The company also produces Bénédictine Single Cask, which comes in a unique black bottle and is only available at the Palais de la Bénédictine's store in Fécamp, Normandy, France.
^ Interview, Le Palais bénédictine de Fécamp, FR3 – Normandie.
^ "Benedictine". Liquor.com. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
This page was last edited on 2 March 2019, at 02:07 (UTC).
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Describe the following case studies?
Proper and updated system for mail and SMS of e ticketing should be used by Pegasus.
The seating arrangement in flight should be done taking into consideration customers physical appearance variations.
For physically disabled or challenged passengers special facility i.e. sitting arrangement or wheel chairs should always be on airport as well as in flight.
The emergency facility should be updated and proper in flight and airport area.
The medical or first aid should be present in flights and on airport premises.
Good quality food and water should be available in flight and on airport.
Pegasus customers always want to be connected so that they can get updates regarding offers, discount, policies and practices changes, so company should always update their personal website as well as social networking sites and pages (Arif and Sadiq, 2012).
Flight fare should be affordable by every customer.
Customers prefer company who uses updated techniques and practices so to improve their service Pegasus should try to focus on customer’s feedback.
If flight is delayed or cancelled customers should be provided by secondary option as soon as possible (Chou, 2005).
In case of flight delay or cancel customers should be informed via SMS or email prior to scheduled flight time.
Pegasus should avoid getting their flight late or cancel.
Food available in flight and on the airport should be affordable regarding price and good in quality (Coursehero.com, 2015).
The customer service should be good at the airport premises also.
The main focus of Pegasus airline is their customer and their needs and demand. Pegasus always focuses on their service as per customer’s requirement. Airline industry one of the major backbone are their customers so Pegasus always consider their customers feedback for making any change in their service policy or practices. For example their loyal customers demand was to install new technology which helps in SMS and emailing the details of e tickets to all the corresponding customers (Cunningham, 2002). So Company has taken is feedback in a positive way and started SMS and e mailing facility of e ticketing and in case of cancellation and delay of flights they also sent SMS and E mails to customers (Dalrymple and Parsons, 2000). Low fare of tickets is also one of the customer’s feedbacks which Pegasus considered.
In airline industry Pegasus was first to launch low cost airline in Turkey.
Pegasus gives their loyal customers a credit or loyalty card which helps customers to book tickets on low price in comparison of other customers.
By the help of different events they advertise and sometimes give chance to win free ticket to any particular destination.
If customers are not traveling then also they can be in touch with the company by Pegasus official website, social networking sites, pages and blogs.
They provide discount on tickets to the customers booking their ticket 60 days before their journey in comparison of late booking customers (Dunkel and Kleemann, 2013).
Customer booking e tickets are provided with all details via SMS and e mail facility which helps in saving trees as customers are allowed inside the airport by showing that SMS only which saves the paper.
Customers are provided with an option of VIP Valet parking, business lounge, and car or radio cab.
Refreshment and catering facility is also available on airport at inside the flight on discount price to all customers.
Pegasus gives an option of travelling insurance while e ticket booking to all customers in a low rate.
Pegasus ensures they will provide a successful and safe airline service.
They provide flights to all international airports and cities.
Pegasus try to provide good customer service at airport and in flight while journey.
Pegasus provides air tickets in low prices to all the customers who book tickets prior to 60 days (Engel, 2000).
They provide credit or loyalty card to their loyal customers for extra discount on their booking.
Production Concept – Pegasus thinks that if their airline services are available at cheap rate for every destination then there will be increment in profit share. This concept is based on the customers’ details which are available in the market.
Product Concept - According to product concept of Pegasus if the services delivered to their customers are of good quality and as per their expectation, company will earn profit easily and more customers will be attracted towards their service. Customers focus on those services which fulfill their needs and demands.
Selling Concept - Pegasus thinks that the customers should always be aware of service updates and changes that is why Pegasus always keep their social networking sites , official websites and blogs updated.
Marketing concept - Pegasus works as per their customer’s wants and needs. So to make their customers’ aware about services and other facilities marketing is used. This concept helps Pegasus in focusing on their target customers.
Societal marketing concept - Under this concept Pegasus consider their society and welfare of society. For example the airline service provided do not harm society i.e. company uses cheap rate fuel which can harm environment. This concept helps Pegasus fulfill their customers’ requirement without harming their society and surroundings.
Airline industry main focus is always on their customers’ needs, wants and demand. To increase their profit Share Company always has to consider their customers changing demand. To always be in connection with their customers Pegasus update their social networking sites, pages and blogs and their official websites. The main assets of airline industry are their customers whether there are regular customers or new customers (Gelder and Woodcock, 2003). To attract more customers company organize public events and give winners free tickets to any destination. Pegasus adapted different marketing and advertisement strategies for attracting more customers and increase their profit rate (Hill, 2013). Pegasus always focuses on their customer feedbacks and improving their service as per their feedback.
Pegasus try to maintain customer relation while journey and on airport. Customers’ feedbacks are always important for Pegasus. Backbone of any airline industry is their customer and their changing demand, needs (Kavadas, 2004). While making any change or improvement in their practices or services Pegasus main focus is their customers and their employees. On customer demand company started providing low fare tickets which was affordable by every passenger. There are many other services which were started taking into consideration customer’s feedback. Airline industry to increase their profit rate should focus on maintaining a proper customer relation with all the customers whether they are new customer or loyal customer.
Porsche is a worldwide known German automobile manufacturer so the buyer of Porsche will not go through the initial three steps of decision process as their need is clear to them and they cannot need to find any alternative (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). Porsche buyers are clear whether they want to buy a high performance sports car or super cars or a hyper cars or any SUV or sedan model. Porsche buyer decision focuses on two factors i.e.
Purchase decision – Purchase decision emphasis on the intension of buyer or the reason by he/she decides to buy Porsche model. By knowing the intension of buying company will try to give customer model as per their requirements.
Post purchase Behavior – Post purchase behavior of a Porsche customer shows whether they are satisfied by the model or not (Memorystore.org.uk, 2015). After purchasing model the service provided by the company is helpful to the customer or not is also very important.
Cayenne car model are middle sized with five seats and doors. On the other hand, Panamera model are luxury full size model with five doors. The buyer of Cayenne or Panamera while making decision have to undergo all the steps of buyer decision process i.e. need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternative, purchase and post purchase (Peelen, 2005). But the buyer of Porsche will directly focus on their intension of buying and post purchase behavior. Porsche is worldwide famous automobile company in comparison of Cayenne and Panamera. Buyers of Cayenne or Panamera have to gather information about the different model so that they can decide which one to buy but on the other hand Porsche knows all his customers requirement and delivery them model as per that only (Moffitt and Campbell, 2011). Porsche manufactures expensive automobiles in comparison of Cayenne and Panamera so the customers are in limited range (prezi.com, 2015). Cayenne or Panamera customers focus on family car and speed of car but Porsche customer look for sound, vibrations and feel of the car.
In 1970s Porsche analyzed that they do not manufacture nay model which can be afforded by other class. So they launched a new model Porsche 914 which was different from other model are cheaper in price. Company found that the 914 model sales was more than in comparison of their model so they decided to change their strategy and used adoption model for increasing their sales (Pride and Ferrell, n.d.). They started manufacturing models of cheap rates and which are comfortable for other classes also. Porsche started making their customers aware of new models by which they can easily decide to buy (Arif and Sadiq, 2012). Porsche decided to manufacture model taking into consideration other class people also. In 1970s Porsche found that there product requires modernization which attracts customer’s other than their target customer, managers worry point was whether the modernization will increase profit or decrease their profit. The main reason for low selling in 1970s and 1980s of Porsche was company started focusing on individual customers rather than limited customers.
Porsche customers buy cars to separate them from lower class and increase their status level.
By making changes as per the customer requirement can change their attitude towards brand (Cunningham, 2002).
The product image of Porsche dissatisfies their customers.
When brand is unable to show exclusivity in their product customers show negative attitude towards brand.
Customers’ attitude can be changed by improving the performance as per customers and increasing their product image (Raab, 2010). Porsche should focus on their customers’ feedback and changing requirement of automobiles.
Manufacturing unique and luxurious automobiles model.
Porsche should concentrate on the look or appearance of the product rather than performance.
Company should focus on designing models which help in strengthening the success feeling and replicate customers self esteem and status (Shonka and Kosch, 2002).
By manufacturing model which are affordable by both classes of people.
Porsche should focus on their uniqueness and exclusivity in their models.
John Lewis is a retail departmental store of Great Britain with many other branches. Different products are sold by John Lewis Departmental store like electrical and home appliances, products for women, men and child and etc (Smith, 2012). John Lewis always tried to delivery good quality product to their customer. They work on increasing profit rate without comprising quality of the product. John Lewis customers say that the product price is affordable by everyone and the quality of every product is good. John Lewis is a retail company so they sell products of different companies under one shelter so all the class customers are considered by them. Products are available in john Lewis for every class whether it is upper or middle (Thompson, 2010). John Lewis for improving their service always takes their customers feedback and work according to that (Dunkel and Kleemann, 2013). John Lewis outlets are available at airport which attracts customers who are new in the city or tourist.
All these options are available on online shopping also (Usui, 2008). Online shopping helps John Lewis customers in saving their time, energy and etc.
According to the case study actual product of john Lewis means adding extra feature or elements to the product by which customers are attracted. For example the mobile device which a customer is using presently if John Lewis add new feature according to customers requirement then customers will be attracted towards the new innovated mobile device. The augmented product of John Lewis for example when company sells any mobile device they give additional three years of warranty which influence customer’s to purchase the product.
Loyal customer of John Lewis prefers shopping from this brand and suggests other to shop from same. John Lewis always tries to work according to their loyal customers as well other customers. As mentioned in case study Julia kuttner a loyal customer who is a journalist of east London always prefers John Lewis for shopping (Valls, 2013). John Lewis consider their customers feedback for service and product whether customer is loyal or new to company. To increase the number of loyal customers John Lewis focus on their quality of product delivered and customers service rather than increasing profit rate (Winer, 2000). Loyal customers’ sometime helps in increasing number of customers as they influence other people to do shopping from John Lewis.
Partnership is the biggest factor which has to be managed by John Lewis to run their business profitably and properly. John Lewis partners are Waitrose, Greenbee and etc (Gelder and Woodcock, 2003). The main purpose of partnership in John Lewis is to satisfy all its employees, customers and business profit.
John Lewis should build strong business relationship with their partners as per their principles.
John Lewis should focus on their business environment i.e. business environment should influence their employees perform better.
John Lewis should before starting any new business partnership should distribute properly their responsibilities and task (Xie, 2011).
Every partner should perform business with John Lewis as per their business principles.
The service model which transfer John Lewis to public service sector for example when staff of John Lewis guided British Police officers about the process of dealing with the witness and suffers of any crime, it helped store to represent a new way of entrepreneurship in politics.
No hospital can be like John Lewis shop as the experts of both places are different in qualification and profession. For decision making process highly professionals are called upon. The first barrier is the people feels empowered while using their perception, information and judgments quality for working in a highly disciplined team or group of the company. And the other barrier is their highly professional which are called for decision making procedure.
Different strategies adopted by Tesco are marketing strategy, advertising strategy, promotional strategy and etc. All these strategies have their own working style and objective. Marketing strategy helps Tesco in establishing their new product in new market or old product in new market (Kavadas, 2004). Advertising strategies helps in advertising their products in different markets. Some of the advertisement strategies are hoarding advertising, television, internet advertisement and etc. Marketing by Tesco is done on the basis of demography, customer’s demand and need and etc. Tesco mostly adopt internet facility for advertising, promotion (Tracy, 2014). Promotional strategy is used by Tesco to promote or advertise their products and services. Promotional strategy used by Tesco is also one of the advertising methods of their products.
The pricing strategies adopted by Tesco in food market are competitor based pricing strategy, customer based pricing strategy and cost based pricing strategy. Competitor based pricing is done by taking into consideration the competitors of Tesco in food market. Pricing of food product is decided after analyzing the current price of same food product (Memorystore.org.uk, 2015). Customer based pricing is used by Tesco after analyzing the ability of customers for paying. Tesco has to decide its entire food product price after analyzing competitors price as well as customer ability for paying (Thompson, 2010). Segmentation is done to analyze Tesco customers under different factors which can change their demand of food product like age, gender, financial ability and etc.
Offer if available on that product.
Customer pricing method – This pricing method is used by Tesco to make their product available for maximum customer i.e. the price of the product is decided after examining the capacity of customers, their financial status (Pride and Ferrell, n.d.). Suppose Tesco decide to launch packed food item in London market so before deciding the price of the packed food item Tesco will analyze the ability of regular customer of that particular market. The price will be decided so that maximum number of customers buys their packed food item.
Competitor pricing method – Tesco use this method of pricing to increase their profit in comparison of competitors in market. Suppose Tesco decide to launch their old product in new market then the first step of Tesco will be to examine the present competitors of Tesco regarding that particular product in new market (prezi.com, 2015). After analyzing their price for that same product Tesco will fix such prices which increase their profit rate and sales value.
Tesco will try to focus more on their customer’s requirement and demand which always changes.
Tesco will improve their product and other services by considering their feedback.
Company will increase the level of trust and transparency regarding their product, delivery service and other services.
Tesco will update their strategies and technology as per the market requirement so that their customers are satisfied by their quality of work (Peelen, 2005).
Company will work more on their customer relationship management to delivery them good quality service.
Anderson, K. and Kerr, C. (2002). Customer relationship management. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Arif, A. and Sadiq, M. (2012). Effect of Television Advertisements on Buyer's Decision Process. Saarbrücken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing.
Chou, Y. (2005). Critical factors of the buyer decision process model in business-to-customer (B2C) e-commerce in Taiwan.
Coursehero.com, (2015). Read the Company Case - Porsche: Guarding the Old While... | Course Hero. [online] Available at: https://www.coursehero.com/tutors-problems/Business/7452862-Read-the-Company-Case-Porsche-Guarding-the-Old-While-Bringing-in-th/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2015].
Cunningham, M. (2002). Customer relationship management. Oxford, England: Capstone Pub.
Dunkel, W. and Kleemann, F. (2013). Customers at work. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Engel, J. (2000). Promotional strategy. Cincinnati, Ohio: Pinnaflex Educational Resources.
Gelder, D. and Woodcock, P. (2003). Marketing and promotional strategy. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.
Kavadas, C. (2004). The effects of risk disclosure and ad involvement on consumers' recall, behavioral intentions, attitude towards the ad and brand in DTC advertisements. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada.
Memorystore.org.uk, (2015). John Lewis - What Partners say about power. [online] Available at: https://www.memorystore.org.uk/people/today.html [Accessed 4 Mar. 2015].
Moffitt, K. and Campbell, D. (2011). The 1980s. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books.
Peelen, E. (2005). Customer relationship management. Harlow, England: FT Prentice Hall.
prezi.com, (2015). Porsche Case: Guarding the Old, While Bringing in the New. [online] Available at: https://prezi.com/fgfp_gubvfyw/porsche-case-guarding-the-old-while-bringing-in-the-new/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2015].
Pride, W. and Ferrell, O. (n.d.). Foundations of marketing.
Raab, G. (2010). The psychology of marketing. Farnham: Gower.
Shonka, M. and Kosch, D. (2002). Beyond selling value. Chicago: Dearborn Trade Pub.
Thompson, G. (2010). What is supply and demand?. New York: Crabtree Pub.
Usui, K. (2008). The development of marketing management. Aldershot, England: Ashgate.
Valls, J. (2013). Beyond the low cost business. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Xie, L. (2011). Examining structural relationships among cognitive destination image, destination personality and behavioural intentions. Hong Kong: School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
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0.96811 |
Translation:Eu beau suc de mandarine.
Mandarine is plural, right? Of course, the juice is made from several tangerines, but in almost all languages I know, fruits are used as uncountables in this instance.
Yes, "mandarine" is the plural of "mandarină".
In Romanian, we sometimes use the plural: suc de mere (apples), pere (pears), piersici (peaches), roșii (tomatoes), portocale (oranges), banane (bananas), morcovi (carrots), castraveți (cucumbers), etc. Other times we use the singular: suc de pepene (melon), dovleac (pumpkin), lămâie (lemon), sfeclă (beet), ceapă (onion), varză (cabbage), etc.
All of the above are countable.
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0.99998 |
I recently attended a hospitality conference in LA and went to a talk titled, "Hotels of the Future," hosted by a panel of industry experts. It struck me as odd that there were so few insights into the actual future of hotels, and that the conversation revolved around the usual rhetoric about lobby activation, mobile check-in, keyless rooms and ADR. When we hear a topic as intriguing as "Hotels of the Future," I think we're all looking for a glimpse into the future of hospitality and how hotels will evolve. I don't have a crystal ball or the ability to predict the future, but I can comment on growing trends and make observations about opportunities that might steer the direction of hospitality and the hotels that support it. It's an industry that's facing some serious challenges from the likes of Airbnb and other peer-to-peer platforms that offer more variety for less money.
Seeking a Departure from "The Norm"
It's reasonable to assume that bold departures from the norm, and radical brand positioning may survive, or at least lead the way for innovation within the hotel industry. I've written on many of these topics before, and the parallels are not dissimilar, such as what is authentic and where we will gather. In their attempts to differentiate and create unique experiences, hoteliers are choosing to align themselves with local talent. By displaying locally sourced products, or using neighborhood artists to create atmosphere, hotels are finding ways to showcase their commitment to community engagement.
Our clients are constantly seeking new ways to exhibit a variety of services, products and amenities in ways that allow fluidity of purpose. These trends have been in place for years, and the growing infusion of technology within those environments continues to drive the conversations about the future. Obviously, technology will continue to play a major role in supporting and providing guest experiences and attempting to predict where those advancements might take us in the distant future is a lengthy exercise. Robotics, AR(augmented reality) and VR(virtual reality), biorhythm customization, and DNA analysis profiles, all seem like science fiction, but these technologies are currently being explored and integrated into different hospitality models.
Augmented reality, for example, has become a dominant trend within the hospitality industry because it helps hotels enhance the physical environments they offer, and heightens the experience of exploring the contextual neighborhood. Interactive hotel rooms and digitally enhanced surroundings are providing a new level of luxury and convenience to travelers, and hotels around the globe are using AR in conjunction with wall graphics and installations to create dynamic experiences.This technology is also a great way to provide large amounts of information that hotel guests regularly request, both before and after their stay. AR/VR technologies make a lot of this information readily available to customers on multiple platforms, theoretically improving the entire guest experience.
Yieldable Versus Priceable - What Does It Mean and Who Cares?
Room Inspections: What is the Role of the General Manager?
Performance-Based Programs: Do they work for hotels?
By Gary Cardono, Director of Hospitality Sales, Globe Union Group, Inc.
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0.998928 |
Former Harlequins director of rugby Dean Richards accused England of cheating during the 2003 Rugby World Cup - however his suggestions have been dismissed as 'ridiculous' by Sir Clive Woodward.
Richards was banned from rugby for three years in 2009 for his part in the Harlequins fake blood scandal, but he has claimed that the incident was not unusual in rugby at that time.
The former England forward was not part of the squad which triumphed in Australia in 2003 but said he was told by a member of that team that faking injuries to gain an advantage was common practice.
During a 2009 Heineken Cup game against Leinster, Harlequins wing Tom Williams was ordered to bite on a fake blood capsule, so he could be temporarily substituted and Quins could bring on specialist kicker Nick Evans.
However questions were instantly raised by the bright red colour of the 'blood' - the capsule had been bought from a joke shop - and Williams being caught on camera winking as he left the field.
After initially keeping quiet on the orders of the club, Williams eventually came clean and exposed the scandal.
The club were then fined £260,000, director of rugby Dean Richards was banned for three years and doctor Wendy Chapman was suspended by General Medical Council after she cut Williams' lip in the changing room to falsify evidence of an injury.
Asked for specific circumstances, Richards was said to have mentioned the 2003 World Cup in a report by then-RFU head of discipline Jeff Blackett - with his observation noted as 'RWC 2003. England used faked blood'.
'My understanding was, this is the protocol, and the rationale is that it's going to help us win a rugby game.
However, Woodward, who coached England to glory in 2003, has dismissed Richards' claim about the World Cup team was 'absolute nonsense'.
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0.999984 |
Does a discrepancy in the gestational age of the baby affect penta screen or afp screen results?
I had a positive afp/penta screen for trisomy 18 with a risk of 1:85. The test was done at 16 weeks 0 days according to my LMP. An ultrasound I had a 9 weeks indicated that I would have only been 15 weeks, 3 days at the time of the screening test. Since the LMP date of 16 weeks 0 days was used to calculate the afp results and not the ultrasound date, could this affect the results (i.e. cause false positive)?
According to my doctor, yes. I'm in almost the exact same boat as you are. I had an afp, triple screen, done at 16 weeks & 1 day according to my LMP a week ago Wednesday. This came back positive with a ratio of 1:100. I then went back to the doctor and had an ultrasound done hoping to find that the age was in fact wrong. The ultrasound says the baby was only 15 weeks & 3 days when the blood for the afp was taken. The doctor then redrew the blood work with the new age and we are now waiting for the results from the second afp. According to my doctor the 5 days off that we were can make a substantial difference in the result. Hoping for wonderful news. . .
To ease your mind a little bit: We just received a call today from the doctor and the second afp test that was drawn with the new gestation date that the ultrasound gave came back negative! I hope that gives you some more hope. (I replied earlier to your question & had nearly the exact experience). I wish you luck!!!! I think all will be fine!
Thanks for the answers on this. I know its only a screening test, but having it come back positive is really unsettling and can't help but worry. My doc never fully explained this test and had she, I would have elected to not have it done. I have an ultrasounds scheduled next week so hopefully everything works out fine. I've been reading on here of all the mothers having this test come out positive to go on to have healthy babies so that is reassuring.
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0.899854 |
Market quote conventions for credit default swaps.
Par spread is the old (i.e. pre-April 2009) way of quoting CDSs. A CDS would be constructed to have an initial fair value of zero; the par-spread is the value of the coupon (premium) on the premium leg that makes this so.
A zero hazard curve (or equivalent, e.g. the survival probability curve) can be implied from a set of par spread quotes (on the same name at different maturities) by finding the curve that gives all the CDSs a PV of zero (the curve is not unique and will depend on other modeling choices).
Points upfront (PUF) is the current (as of April 2009) way of quoting CDSs. A CDS has a fixed coupon (premium).
An up front fee is payable by the buyer of protection (i.e. the payer of the premiums) - this fee can be negative (i.e. an amount is received by the protection buyer). PUF is quoted as a percentage of the notional.
A zero hazard curve (or equivalent, e.g. the survival probability curve) can be implied from a set of PUF quotes (on the same name at different maturities) by finding the curve that gives all the CDSs a clean present value equal to their PUF * notional (the curve is not unique and will depend on other modeling choices).
Quoted spread (sometimes misleadingly called flat spread) is an alternative to quoting PUF where people wish to see a spread like number. It is numerically close in value to the equivalent par spread but is not exactly the same.
To find the quoted spread of a CDS from its PUF (and premium) one first finds the unique flat hazard rate that will give the CDS a clean present value equal to its PUF * notional; one then finds the par spread (the coupon that makes the CDS have zero clean PV) of the CDS from this flat hazard curve - this is the quoted spread (and the reason for the confusing name, flat spread). To go from a quoted spread to PUF, one does the reverse of the above.
A zero hazard curve (or equivalent, e.g. the survival probability curve) cannot be directly implied from a set of quoted spreads - one must first convert to PUF.
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0.988858 |
DC fans were shocked this week, as it was revealed that Ben Affleck was officially stepping down as the director of The Batman.
The report stated that Affleck would still serve as the writer and star of the film, but he would relinquish his duties behind the camera.
Talks of Affleck's replacement have already started surfacing, and Forbes has suggested that DC's shortlist for the job consisted of five names.
Take a look through the slideshow at the five directors who would possibly take The Batman job, and what kind of fit they'd be if they were hired.
Matt Reeves is one of the most intriguing names on this list, as he's no stranger to large-budget action films. The director has helmed the successful Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, as well as the highly-anticipated sequel, War For The Planet Of The Apes.
Before those films, Reeves also brought the world the JJ Abrams creation Cloverfield.
With his success on Apes, Reeves proved that he can make an action film incredibly thrilling, while still capturing the elements necessary to creating a critical success.
If fans want The Batman to be as exciting as possible, Reeves could be the best option.
Fans have wanted to see George Miller direct a DC movie for the longest time, and he was tapped to helm a Justice League film in the late 2000s.
Since that fell through, Miller went on to create one of the most critically successful action films of all time - Mad Max: Fury Road.
If Miller agreed to direct The Batman, the DC community would lose their minds - and for good reason. The experienced filmmaker would bring an incredible amount of energy and talent to the movie, and the DCEU would be better for it.
While Matt Ross is more widely known as an actor, his recent transition to the director's chair has been one to remember.
The former Boardwalk Empire star wrote and directed the critical darling Captain Fantastic, starring Viggo Mortensen. This movie exhibited incredible amounts of heart and honesty, and was much more than anyone expected from a rookie director.
Ross would be a riskier pick for The Batman, but has the potential to really pay off if he succeeds.
Gavin O'Connor has made a few exciting action films over the years, so he's definitely seasoned enough to helm The Batman.
The director made waves with his take on 2011's The Warrior, and had many properties seeking his services. Recently, he worked with Ben Affleck and JK Simmons - both stars of The Batman - on The Accountant.
The only problem here is O'Connor's commitment to another comic property. The director has already been confirmed to helm The Green Hornet in the coming years.
Perhaps the hottest name on this list, Denis Villeneuve has churned out hit after hit over the last few years.
After helming Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal's thriller Prisoners, Villeneuve took over the smash-hit Sicario. He followed that project up with the Oscar-nominated sci-fi epic, The Arrival.
The director has another hit on the way in 2017, with Blade Runner 2049 set to hit theaters in the fall.
Who do you think should replace Ben Affleck in The Batman? Let us know in the comments below!
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0.997865 |
Ask the game store employee for recommendations on games that you might like. You may know which games you already like, but may have missed hearing about some new ones that would be even better. The clerk should know enough to give you options suited for you.
Make sure you get up and move around periodically when playing video games. Video game addiction is a real problem. Remember, gaming should be fun. If you think you’re addicted to a video game, and it’s making life difficult, you need to have a chat with a counselor.
After reading this article, you should have gained the knowledge that can make you into a better and smarter player. You will win more and enjoy playing more. You may even find more time to play. Before long, you will be an amazing gamer.
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0.996979 |
Who is the best individual? To Islam the best individual is one who is predictable in character, about whom one can be sure in advance that, whenever one has any dealings with him, he will prove a true, dependable human being.
As recorded in traditions, once when the Prophet of Islam was standing along with some companions, he addressed them thus: “Should I not tell you of the good and bad people among you?” On hearing this, they remained silent. Then the Prophet repeated this question three times. One of them ultimately said, “Why not, O Prophet of God, you should tell us about the good and bad people among us.” The Prophet said: “The good among you is one from whom only good is expected and from whose evil people are safe” (At-Tirmizi).
According to this hadith, the best person is one who, in his encounters with others, always has good things to say to them. He is beneficent to all, giving them gifts to bring them happiness. People may always expect justice from him, for, fundamentally, he is a man of principle and character.
This predictable character remains with him, even when he is hurt or oppressed by others. Even in such unfavourable circumstances, his truth-loving character never deserts him. He is able to answer provocative statements patiently and calmly. It may be taken for granted that even though he experiences bad behaviour from others, he will, in accordance with his principles, remain on the path of good behaviour. His character will always come up to the highest standard of human hopes and expectations.
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0.972392 |
Passed by the United Nations General Assembly on 22 November 1974, nine days after the Yasir Arafat addressed the General Assembly. In October, the Arab League had recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as "the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people," and the UN was about to give the PLO observer status to allow it to take part in discussions on the Palestine issue for the first time. Arafat took the occasion to hint that the PLO might be willing to work for a political settlement, addressing this remark to the Israeli delegation: "I come carrying an olive branch and the rifle of a fighter for liberty; do not let the branch fall from my hand!" The resolution recognizes the Palestinians' right to a sovereign national state: "The General Assembly, Having considered the question of Palestine, Having heard the statement of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, Having also heard other statements made during the debate, Deeply concerned that no just solution to the problem of Palestine has yet been achieved and recognizing that the problem of Palestine continues to endanger international peace and security, Recognizing that the Palestinian people is entitled to self-determination in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, Expressing its grave concern that the Palestinian people has been prevented from enjoying its inalienable rights, in particular its right to self-determination, Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter, Recalling its relevant resolutions which affirm the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, 1. Reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine, including: (a) The right to self-determination without external interference; (b) The right to national independence and sovereignty; 2. Reaffirms also the inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted, and calls for their return; 3. Emphasizes that full respect for and the realization of these inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are indispensable for the solution of the question of Palestine; 4. Recognizes that the Palestinian people is a principal party in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East; 5. Further recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to regain its rights by all means in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations; 6. Appeals to all States and international organizations to extend their support to the Palestinian people in its struggle to restore its rights, in accordance with the Charter; 7. Requests the Secretary-General to establish contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization on all matters concerning the question of Palestine; 8. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its thirtieth session on the implementation of the present resolution; 9. Decides to include the item entitled 'Question of Palestine' in the provisional agenda of its thirtieth session."
SEE ALSO Arafat, Yasir; League of Arab States; Palestine Liberation Organization.
"Resolution 3236." Dictionary of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. . Encyclopedia.com. 13 Apr. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
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0.999999 |
The Clearwater Mall LEGO Exhibition is happening 25 to 26 August 2018.
With over 50 tables of brick-filled goodness, the Clearwater LEGO exhibition is sure to be a weekend filled with fun and excitement. Everyone is invited to experience the delight that LEGO has to offer: wide-eyed children, young-at-heart adults, dedicated LEGO lovers, curious admirers of great art and inquisitive fans of sophisticated technical builds.
There will be something for everyone. You can look forward to seeing a fascinating variety of LEGO models built by the members of zaLUG – The South African LEGO User Group. There will also be competitions and interactive activities around the mall.
Mark it in your calendars!
Stand a chance of winning a LEGO® hamper to the value of R5,000, plus a further R5,000 in Clearwater Mall vouchers.
For the month of August, there will be a LEGO treasure hunt taking place in Clearwater Mall. To be eligible to win, entrants need to take photos of eight hidden LEGO models inside shops or store windows at Clearwater Mall. Then you must join our Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/zalug), wait until one of our administrators approve your membership and create a post that includes all 8 photos. Tag @clearwatermall in your entry.
We will run a photo sharing competition during the LEGO Exhibition on 25 and 26 August. To be eligible to win, entrants must take a photo of their favourite LEGO model on display, join our Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/zalug) and share the photo on our wall.
Guess how many pieces of Lego are in the jar of white bricks at the Clearwater Incredible Connection. To be eligible to win, entrants must take a selfie of themselves with the Jar, join our Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/zalug), share the photo on our wall and let us know how many bricks they think are in the jar.
To be eligible to win either prize in the Treasure Hunt competition, contestants must find all 8 Lego models in shopfronts in Clearwater Mall, photograph all eight, create a new post on our Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/zalug, as well as tag @clearwatermall on Facebook.
To be eligible to win the prize in the Incredible Connection competition, contestants must be have the number closest the actual number of bricks in the jar. In the event of a tie, the contestants with the same numbers will be put into a random draw for the prize.
Prizes are given to a total of five winners as detailed above. No cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
One competition entry allowed per person. You are allowed to enter both competitions, but will only be eligible to win one prize. The draw for the Treasure Hunt will take place first, the photo competition thereafter and the Incredible Connection Competition last.
The Treasure Hunt Competition closes at 17:00 on Friday, 24 August 2018, the Incredible Connection Competition on Friday, 24 August 2018 and the Photo Sharing Competition by 17:00 on Sunday, 26 August 2018. No late entries will be accepted. The date-and-timestamp on the Facebook post will be used in the event of dispute. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
The draw for the competitions will take place on Monday, 27 August 2018. All valid entries will be allocated a unique number, and these numbers will be fed into random number generator software and a winning number drawn.
Competition winners will be contacted on Monday, 27 August by direct message on Facebook and must be able to collect their prize at Clearwater Mall on Saturday, 1 September from the zaLUG Chairman or his nominee. Prizes will not be shipped or available to be collected later.
zaLUG reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of an act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of our control.
Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible via our Facebook group and website.
The zaLUG Chairman decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
By entering the competition, you agree to the use of your name and photo uploaded in any publicity material, as well as your entry. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.
zaLUG members and families of members are not eligible to enter nor eligible to win any prizes.
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0.999983 |
If you think bananas are just for monkeys, think again. Bananas are probably best known for their potassium content; while it doesn't contain as much potassium as other fruits and vegetables, bananas are still a great source of this important electrolyte resource. These electrolytes help normalize heart function and balance fluids, which work together to help regulate blood pressure. Bananas also contain the soluble fiber pectin, which helps keep you regular.
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0.999345 |
You will hear a story about an election in Taiwan. Listen and answer these questions.
2. Who are the riot police controlling?
3. Who wants the votes to be recounted?
4. What happened to President Chen on the day before the election?
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0.99832 |
What is a comicdoc file and how do I open a comicdoc file?
COMICDOC is a comic book or picture album created with Comic Life, used for creating comic books, storyboards, comic strips, photo layouts, and other visual documents. It may be created from a template or from scratch; can include images, photos, and bendable comic lettering text.
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0.996046 |
A tax credit for biodiesel was created in 2004 as part of the JOBS Act, which provided $1.00 to the fuel blenders for each gallon of biodiesel blended into petroleum diesel. The credit expired at the end of 2009. Since the creation of this tax credit, the environmental benefit of biodiesel has been called into question as expanded soybean and other biodiesel feedstock production has contributed to the destruction of natural ecosystems and increased agricultural inputs. The credit is considered a driver of biodiesel production in the United States, resulting in environmental damage worldwide. For example, biodiesel produced from soybeans in the United States results in a significant amount of land use change internationally, and expanded soybean production is a primary factor in the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest.
Multiple proposals were introduced throughout 2010 to retroactively extend the biodiesel tax credit. On September 16, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced a motion to suspend the rules in order to consider an amendment to H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Act, that would retroactively extend the biodiesel tax credit.
The motion was defeated by a vote of 4158 (Senate roll call vote 234), which prevented Senator Grassley from offering the amendment to extend the tax credit for biodiesel. No is the pro environment vote. The tax credit for biodiesel was ultimately extended in December in H.R. 4853, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which was signed into law by President Obama on December 18.
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0.993352 |
In sports, an ejection (or dismissal or sending-off) is a disqualifying action assessed to a player or coach by a game official (such as a referee or umpire), usually for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Many ejections occur for such actions as fighting (or attempting to instigate a fight) or persistent arguing with a game official. Usually, a warning is given to the offender before he/she is actually ejected.
When the offender is ejected, he/she must leave the immediate playing area; in most cases, this means going to the locker room or other part of the venue out of sight of the playing area, or leaving the stadium grounds. If a player or coach refuses to cooperate, additional sanctions may be levied (such as forfeiting a contest or being suspended).
In NBA and most other basketball games, a player or coach is ejected from the game if he accumulates two technical fouls of an unsportsmanlike nature over the course of the game. Participants who commit fouls of violence are ejected summarily regardless of the number of technical fouls accumulated. Ejected players/coaches must leave the court area for the remainder of play, and must do so immediately, or else risk even heavier fines/suspensions. In the NBA, an ejection will result in, at minimum, a $1,000 fine; an ejection for leaving the bench during a fight carries at least a one game suspension as well. In domestic games, refusing to leave after being ejected can result in a player being put on report. If being put on report does not provide enough encouragement for a player to leave the court, the official may award the game to the opposing team, regardless of score. Players who incur 16 technical fouls in a single NBA season are automatically suspended for one game; an additional ban is imposed for each increment of two thereafter.
A significant rule change was made in 1981 whereby the NBA eliminated the ejection of a coach for three technical fouls caused by an illegal defense. Also, in the NBA ejections are not permissible if a technical foul is caused by an excessive timeout, delay of game, or accidental departure from the coach's box.
Basketball also features disqualification, also known as fouling out. A player who commits a certain number of personal fouls in a game (5 or 6 in most leagues), is removed from the game and is said to have "fouled out". Unlike ejection, fouling out is not considered a punitive action--it is considered a "normal" part of the game. Players who foul out of a game are permitted to remain on the bench with the team (instead of being sent to the locker room, as with an ejected player); and are not subject to any further penalties (such as fines or suspensions).
In baseball, a player, coach or manager may be ejected from a game for unsportsmanlike conduct. The ejectable offense may be an excessively heated or offensive argument with an umpire, malicious game play (especially pitchers attempting to strike batters with the ball or a manager caught ordering his pitcher to do so), using banned substances (such as a corked bat or doctoring a ball), or fighting. A common understanding between players and umpires is that they are allowed a certain level of argument, but the player is never allowed to question an umpire's judgment of balls and strikes, or argue a balk without risking ejection. This is especially true for catchers who turn around and question the plate umpire regarding a ball/strike call.
In some cases, an ejection is followed by a fine or a suspension if the player, or manager or coach, reacts in a very hostile manner towards the umpire. Also, any ejection for malicious game play will normally result in a suspension.
Managers have been known to engage in raving arguments with umpires to provoke an ejection, in hopes of inspiring a rally from their team, also known as "firing up the team". Baseball has a rich vocabulary for describing ejections: a player or coach may be ejected, runned, thrown out, banned, given the ol' heave-ho, sent to the clubhouse, hit the showers, tossed, kicked out, sent off,(#) is gone, or booted.
A player who makes intentional contact with an official (e.g. touching the official to get his attention) will be ejected, and along with the ejection of the offending player comes a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the offender's team.
Unnecessary roughness such as a very late hit may also result in an ejection, as will intentionally punching or kicking another player.
In football, a player is dismissed from the field of play by the referee showing them a red card if they commit a dismissable offense or have committed a second cautionable (yellow card) offense having already received a yellow card in the same game.
A difference between being dismissed in football and the above mentioned sports is that in football a player may not be replaced, forcing his team to play a man down. Additionally, a dismissal in any professional league results in an automatic suspension of at least one match.
It is also possible for the Manager of a team to be 'sent off', which requires them to leave their dugout and recede to sitting in the stands away from the touch line. This usually requires another member of the coaching staff to make decisions for the team, such as substitutes and formation. Also, the manager cannot be on the bench or communicate with assistants during his/her team's next game.
In all codes of rugby, a player may be sent to the sin bin for a period. In rugby union and rugby league, the standard sending-off period is 10 minutes (out of an 80-minute game). This is generally indicated by a yellow card. In rugby union sevens, which normally lasts 14 minutes (sometimes 20), the sending-off period is 2 minutes. For more serious offences or a second yellow card infraction, a player may be sent off for the rest of the game, with no replacement allowable.
In cricket there is no provision in the rules for a player to be 'sent off'. The 'spirit of the game' is against behaviour reaching the point at which such action would be required. However, a player may be fined or suspended upon a post-game review of his conduct.
In some instances, a player or coach who is ejected must serve a suspension. Often, this is one game for the first offense, with harsher penalties depending on subsequent ejections and the severity of the offense, or when they purposefully attempt to hurt another player, a coach or a referee.
Sometimes in professional sports, a fine may be sanctioned against a player or coach.
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0.997955 |
In order to access the focus-related benefits of medications like Adderall, you need to acquire a prescription. Not only is it challenging to get a prescription, but these options tend to be fairly pricey. If you are looking to improve your mental focus, there are alternatives in which you can obtain without visiting a doctor.
As the nootropic community gains further interest, more and more are looking for supplements and pills that can heighten their level of concentration and focus. This is not only the case for individuals with ADHD, but those that would like to perform better at work and/or school.
With that being said, many of the smart drugs currently on the market, are still considered to be controlled substances. Instead of sourcing medications and supplements from unreliable sources, you should explore the best legal options.
When attempting to enhance mental focus, the most mainstream options are stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin. These medications are most often prescribed for conditions such as ADD and ADHD. Stimulants such as these, work by increasing dopamine levels, sharpening mental focus.
Although these options do enhance one’s motivation and mental clarity, they tend to create harsh side-effects. When one’s dopamine receptors are over-stimulated, it can result in further complications. Not only is dependency a concern, but when discontinuing use, mood crashes and worsened symptoms can also occur.
Due to these potential complications, you can only obtain these medications with a prescription. If you’re looking for similar effects, there are many other options. You are not restricted to amphetamines, when attempting to boost focus. When choosing from a number of nootropics, you can work with your natural brain chemistry. These supplements can turn into neurotransmitters, without disturbing your glands.
Although drugs differ in terms of their method of action, pills that enhance focus, tend to cause a release of central nervous system histamines. These trigger an immune response, promoting wakefulness.
These specific drugs can be hard to come by for the general public, as they are typically prescribed for conditions such as narcolepsy. Their nootropic effects were discovered by accident, which is why it’s considered an off-label use.
When taking supplements such as Modafinil, you can increase your mental focus and alertness. However, you require a prescription for this nootropic. Instead, many are utilizing the benefits of Adrafinil, as it creates the same effects and is more readily available.
If you’re looking for B-complex vitamins, you’ll be happy to know that they’re easy to acquire. In fact, you probably have some items in your house that contain B-vitamins right now. These nutrients are water-soluble, and are essential for various internal processes, including brain function.
The B-vitamins known as Thiamine and Niacin, are known to promote regular sleep cycles. They also enhance circulation to the brain and one’s cellular metabolism. Since some B-vitamins are linked to enhanced acetylcholine levels, they can contribute to improved focus.
Although you can consume B-vitamins within the foods you eat, it is not generally enough to create substantial cognitive effects. If you are looking for more powerful effects, than you may want to explore the benefits of racetams in terms of focus. Piracetam is known for its effects on mental focus, memory, and neuroplasticity.
Ampakines activate AMPA receptors, essentially heightening one’s level of concentration. Some of the more popular nootropics that fit this category are Oxiracetam and Sunifiram. Aniracetam is another option, which is known for its potent effects. Not only does it increase one’s ability to focus, but can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Dopaminergics interact with dopamine receptors, stimulating dopamine-related effects. These supplements also help to preserve this neurotransmitter by inhibiting re-uptake. When dopamine levels increase, so does one’s level of concentration, motivation, and mental energy.
When you take supplements that boost choline, you’re essentially increasing acetylcholine levels. This is because choline is a precursor to this neurotransmitter. Acetylcholine is involved in a number of cognitive processes, as well as the growth of new neurons.
When you consume foods, such as eggs and liver, you do ingest some choline. However, in order to enhance cognition and focus, supplementation is recommended. Some of the best sources are Acetyl L-Carnitine and Alpha GPC.
Although there are many nootropics available in terms of focus, you may be looking for more natural recommendations. Although the following will not create effects that are as strong as the suggestions above, they can be beneficial in addition to supplementation.
Meditation: Meditation allows individuals to practice their ability to focus and improve their overall attention span. It has been found that when you mediate on a regular basis, you can focus more effectively when you’re not meditating. This is because our ability to focus, can actually improve through practice.
Get Outside: Nature can do wonderful things for your mental health. Not only is it relaxing, but it can actually boost focus. Studies have shown that when our brains ‘switch off’ it can help recover our ability to focus. An experiment found that when individuals walked on a busy street, they did not recover focus. However, when they were surrounded by greenery and nature, individuals were able to focus much better. It is believed that these effects are because nature creates less distractions, allowing you to regain focus.
Eat More Fish: One of the key components in fish and fish oil, are omega-3 fatty acids. These help to keep brain cells healthy and well-maintained. These fatty acids boost one’s ability to focus, while improving memory. Due to its effects on memory, omega-3 fatty acid is recommended to help prevent Alzheimer’s and other related conditions.
If you are looking to boost your ability to focus, there are many options available without the need for a prescription. To get a better idea of what’s available, you can speak with your health care professional regarding any concerns you may have.
Can Nootropics Be Used for Anxiety?
Can You Treat ADHD Without Drugs or Medication?
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Can my boss ask me for a medical clearance during pregnancy?
Your employer can ask you for a medical clearance or certificate while you're pregnant if you want to work later than six weeks before your due date. This is true regardless of the type of position you hold.
If you want to continue working during any part of the six weeks before your due date and your employer asks for a medical certificate, you'll need to provide a certificate within seven days of the request that states you can continue to work.
If you don't provide a medical certificate or the certificate says you can't continue to work in your present position, then your employer can tell you to start unpaid parental leave. Your present position could be your normal job or a safe job you're currently performing.
Your employer can also ask you to provide a medical certificate earlier in your pregnancy if you ask to be moved to a safe job. The medical certificate will need to support your claim that you're not fit to do your usual job. If moved to a different job, your pay rate and other entitlements shouldn't change.
If no safe job is available, you're entitled to safe job leave. The safe job leave will be paid if you're eligible for unpaid parental leave. You will generally be entitled to unpaid parental leave if you've been working for your current employer for 12 months or more.
Your employer may also request a medical certificate earlier in your pregnancy for workplace health and safety reasons. This is so they can help make adjustments in the workplace in light of your pregnancy.
How can I stop people at work making rude comments about my pregnancy?
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0.989749 |
Each year the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) collects data on the various property crimes reported around the country, including Ohio. According to the most current FBI crime report, there were 359,883 property crimes reported by Ohio residents in 2012. Out of those property crimes, 103,421 were burglaries.
While these numbers have improved compared to those of two years ago, burglary continues to be the greatest threat to a resident's property and peace of mind. There are a variety of reasons for this, but in terms of home security, oftentimes it's the mistakes homeowners make.
The following are five of the most common home security mistakes residents make and the measures you can take to decrease your risk of burglary.
1. Leaving doors and windows unlocked. According to the national FBI crime statistics, over 30% of burglaries occur through an unlocked door or window. To decrease your risk, make sure every door and window of your residence is closed and locked prior to departing and before going to bed at night. Keeping your main entry doors locked while you're home is also a wise home security measure.
2. Relying on locked doors and windows as the only means of home security. While locking your doors and windows is important, relying on that as your only means of home security is a huge mistake. According to the FBI crime data, approximately 60% of burglars gain access into homes by forcible entry through a locked door or window. Investing in elite home security devices that are specifically designed to keep the bad guys out can significantly reduce your risk of burglary and other home crimes.
3. Failing to turn on the home alarm system. A home alarm system can be an effective crime deterrent, as well as an excellent warning device. Yet, so many homeowners fail to activate their alarm system when they leave home, or keep it turned off when they are home. If you have a home alarm or system, be sure to keep it turned on at all times.
4. Answering the door to and/or allowing strangers into your home. Another way criminals target their victims and gain access into homes is by posing as salespeople or innocent strangers in distress. Their goal when they go knocking on residents' doors is to find unsuspecting victims who are trusting enough to open their door and talk to them. While some use these opportunities to gain information about the home and its residents, others seize the moment and take advantage of their victim right then and there. To keep this from happening to you, never open your door to a stranger.
5. Sharing vacation/travel plans on social media sites. No matter how excited you are about your vacation or weekend getaway plans, posting comments about your upcoming trip (or when you're going to be away from home) in social media sites is never a good idea. If you feel compelled to let friends and family know about your travel plans, do it privately or wait until after you return to share the details.
Burglary is a problem in every city. To decrease your risk, ensure your property is protected against these common home security mistakes and what every burglar looks for—easy entry.
"For all things security related and outsmarting the proverbial bad guys."
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Learn which kind of debt investors HATE, which kind is OK, and how to keep yours from holding your business back.
In the frenzy to build your company, you've done what we've read all entrepreneurs do: You've run up you credit cards, taken out a second on your house and pleaded for your vendors to take partial payments. Now you're looking for money, and your little company has managed to accrue a sizable debt burden. In fact, part of your reason for raising money may be to pay off this debt so your company can breathe again.
Sounds logical, doesn't it? Well, not to most investors. As a general rule, investors hate debt and will often pass on deals where the debt issue can't be resolved. If you don't know the difference between what constitutes "good debt" and "bad debt" in the eyes of an investor, you could be making a fatal mistake.
There's a context in which these expenses will be viewed that will have a significant impact on whether or not they would be accepted. If the entrepreneur has made what the investors deem to be a reasonable, hard cash investment in the company, then expenses in excess of that amount may be acceptable. But there's a flip side to this two-edged sword. If you haven't been prudent in how you've spent the money and, as a result, have created a mountain of "frivolous" debt, the investor will be very concerned. This not only creates a debt issue for the investor, but it also goes to how you manage money.
Not Acceptable Debt. Generally, any accrued salary debt is automatically disallowed. Why? Because that's what sweat equity is all about. In an early stage investment, the entrepreneur's team most likely hasn't yet quit their jobs. Thus, paying them a salary during this period is incremental to their day-job salary. Investors tend to frown on that.
Sometimes in an effort to be fair, a team will set compensation guidelines according to what each team member states is their "minimum survival level." The idea here is to pay each member only enough to cover their basic living expenses and then accrue the difference toward a "fair" salary for all members. This is an admirable goal, but it's one that's rarely accepted by investors. Again, an investor doesn't want to pay for the past, so these well-intentioned strategies rarely work.
Finally, another major source of debt rejected by investors is that created by loans from "friends, family and fools." Often, that friend or relative you finally persuade to invest in your company does so as a loan for which they expect to be repaid. This sends a poor message to your potential investor on two fronts: You couldn't even persuade a close friend or relative to invest in your company without a guaranteed return of their capital, and once again, this is another example of paying for the past.
1. Founder salaries. Never accrue salaries as debt. If you believe in what you're doing, demonstrate your belief by distributing a reward that reflects your belief-stock. Once you've decided on an initial stock allocation based on what each person brings to the party including their initial cash contribution, set aside at least 20 percent of the company's stock as an employee option pool. Then decide how you'll compensate each other for any discrepancies in salary and/or any "above and beyond" contributions.
2. Loan debt. If someone's willing to loan you the money but is unwilling to invest it outright, ask them if they'd be willing to convert their loan to equity when a significant investor is found. By having this agreement written into the loan, you'll mitigate any investors concerns. It's often considered entirely acceptable to provide special incentives or discounts at their conversion. After all, they did provide you with money when no one else would.
View from the past. Your "burn" for the first eight months was $7,500 per month ($60,000 divided by 8 months). None of these expenses included any salaries, just hard expenses to get product prototypes made and trips to line up potential buyers. Upon examination, all expenses look reasonable and well managed.
Debt to investment ratio. Roughly one-third of your company's burn is debt. Ordinarily, this would be deemed high, but the economic status of the founders suggests they could not put up much more than they already have and they've been very frugal regarding how they've spent the money.
Amount and use of capital. Half a million dollars is about the minimum most investors feel is needed to help a company advance to the next significant level. The use of capital has been carefully laid out over a six-to-nine-month period with clear milestones attached to specific expenditures. Although salaries are included in the use of funds--after all, this investment will require the founders to quit their day jobs and devote themselves full time to this project-they're modest and will reflect a true sacrifice by the founders.
Valuation. Suppose everyone agrees to a $2 million valuation, which is typical for a seed stage investment. The $500,000 will buy 20 percent of the company. And since there's a $20,000 debt to be paid off, only 4 percent of the investment is going to pay off the past. Typically, any investment where the amount of legitimate debts that can't be resolved into equity exceeds 10 percent is one from which investors may walk away. There's just too much money going to resolve past events vs. promoting future opportunities.
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Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) shrugged off his recent spate of injuries to take his fifteenth career pole position and third of the year in four races.
the damp conditions to be to his advantage as he took the top slot from the early pace-setter Ruben Xaus (Ducati).
The final two positions on the front row went to the surprise of the day, Josh Brookes (Honda) and Troy Corser (Yamaha), but few riders completed their full quota of laps, preferring not to risk everything on the wet Valencia track surface.
"I'm not going to dwell on my injuries because I've had enough time to get better", declared Troy. "I've come here feeling quite good and I was immediately quite happy with the way I felt on the bike considering my condition. The situation seems to be back to normal and the team and I are happy with the way things have gone. I think for anyone to ride around here in the rain it's pretty dangerous and when I saw Ruben's lap time I knew it was quite fast and that I would have to put my heart in my mouth to beat it. I came out of Superpole in one piece and hopefully we'll get a dry race tomorrow. I'm also really happy to see Ruben back up here with me as we were team-mates in the past. I know what he's capable of and I'm sure he's going to stick his head in there tomorrow".
Lorenzo Lanzi was quickest in the wet final free practice session for the Ducati Xerox Team and then posted sixth quickest time in Superpole, just a fraction behind championship leader James Toseland (Honda).
"I am quite pleased because I found the right feeling in the wet and in the free practice before Superpole I was the quickest", commented Lorenzo. "During Superpole, we waited a bit too long before going out onto the track, the riders ahead of me all went in before me and all improved their time. When I went in however, a few drops of rain came down and I was unable to improve. I feel OK for tomorrow and I am sure there will be two great races, either in wet or dry conditions ".
1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m51.982s; 2. Xaus (Ducati) 1m52.085s; 3. Brookes (Honda) 1m52.199s; 4. Corser (Yamaha) 1m52.733s; 5. Toseland (Honda) 1m52.801s; 6. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 1m52.942s; 7. Haga (Yamaha) 1m52.961s; 8. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m53.634s; 9. Fabrizio (Honda) 1m53.750s; 10. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m54.108s; etc.
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I've had mixed feelings about offering accounting classes in a liberal arts college economics department. Liberal arts colleges don't typically offer accounting majors or have accounting departments, but an accounting course or two might be on the books in the economics department.
The reason for my reservations about it is that I worry that it reinforces a mis-perception that studying economics is more "vocational" or "practical" than other parts of the liberal arts curriculum - i.e., that an economics major is somehow a proxy for getting a business degree.
However, there is a good case for liberal arts students learning about accounting - financial statements are an important source of information in our society, so being able to interpret them is valuable for anyone who might want to (critically) examine the activities of businesses or the government.
“the business cycle” has become shorthand for the series of irregular, short-run, aggregative fluctuations of varying duration, magnitude, and—probably—causation that we call prosperity and recession.
That's from Solow's delightful 2007 review of Thomas McCraw's biography of Joseph Schumpeter, which I had the good fortune to stumble upon.
The NBER's somewhat mushy "official" definition is here.
The fiscal policies enacted by the Reagan administration included significant cuts in taxes and increases in (military) spending. Illustrate the effects of this fiscal policy using an IS-LM diagram.
The red line (right-hand scale) is GDP growth, which is negative in 1982, but strongly positive in 1983 and 84 ('Morning in America'), and the blue line is the federal deficit as a percentage of potential GDP, which shows the effect of Reagan's fiscal policy.
In strict terms, Reagan’s neglect of the deficit wasn’t Keynesian. Keynes himself believed in letting the deficit rise in a recession and paying down debts in the good times. In America, though, Keynesianism has always been associated with stimulus programs, big government, and deprioritizing the deficit. In all of these ways, Reagan was a Keynesian. But a word to the wise: don’t waste your time trying to tell that to anybody in the Republican Party.
This week's Employment and GDP releases sent some very mixed - even more than usual - signals about the economy.
The good: Employment rose by 288,000 in April which is above the average of 194,000 since January 2012, and the February and March employment growth estimates were revised upward slightly.
"The drop in participation is not due to discouraged workers leaving the labor force," a Department of Labor spokesperson noted, "it's due to re-entrants and new entrants who we expected to see flowing into the labor force, and who didn't this month."
The ugly: Wednesday's advance estimate from the BEA put real GDP growth at an 0.1% annual rate for the first quarter. Consumption grew at a 3 percent rate; the biggest drag was investment, which fell at a 6.1% rate (mainly due to declines in equipment and housing investment as well as a decrease in inventories, which is counted as a negative investment), and exports, which declined at a 7.6% pace.
[T]he Census Bureau released new data on construction spending that were weaker than not only the consensus forecast but also the government’s estimates in its calculations of the nation’s gross domestic product. Ben Herzon of Macroeconomic Advisers said core construction -- which doesn’t include residential improvements and federal spending -- was soft in March, while the numbers for the first two months of the year were revised lower.
According to Macroeconomic Advisers’ analysis, that means instead of the 0.2 percent boost in private nonresidential construction spending assumed in the GDP calculation, there was likely a 5.7 percent decline. Ouch.
In addition, new data show retail sales were also slightly softer than expected, translating into a 2.9 percent increase in consumer spending instead of a 3 percent rise, Herzon said.
Overall, the mixed signals highlight one of the reasons why "fine tuning" macroeconomic policies are difficult (at best): the "recognition lag" in identifying changes in the state of the economy. Economic statistics are backward looking, based on surveys (which means there's some statistical "noise" - there's a great illustration of this at The Upshot), and subject to substantial revision. Right now, the GDP figures look like a recession warning sign, but the employment numbers are consistent with the (slow) recovery continuing on. Of the data we have so far, the payroll employment figures are probably the most reliable. Average growth was 190,000 jobs over the first three months of the year, so despite the construction and retail sales data noted above, I'd expect the GDP figure ultimately to be revised upwards. We'll get the "second estimate" on May 29.
"What we tend to see, and this is my operating hypothesis of what's going on, this time of year we traditionally expect to see certain types of people flowing into the workforce, and those people are seasonal workers," he says.
The people seeking out that seasonal work start to ramp up their searches later in the month of April, he says. However, the survey week in which the government asks US households whether people are working fell as early as it possibly could have last month.
That's because the household survey week is the calendar week in which the 12th of the month falls. But the 12th landed on a Saturday, meaning households were surveyed from April 6-12.
"The people we would traditionally expect to see flowing into the workforce at this time have not yet entered the workforce," he says.
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The officers involved in the below incident have been identified as follows: Sergeant Paul Rodriguez, Police Officer II Kevin Gaines, Martin Beck, Alvaro Govermale, Manuel Esqueda, Joshua Medina, Victor Cruz, Jonathan Hanania and Albert Nissi.
Los Angeles: LAPD 77th Street Area officers assisting Los Angeles County Probation Department officers were conducting a probation search for a named subject when they encountered a suspect with whom an officer-involved shooting occurred.
About 7:30 p.m. on June 25, 2013, LAPD officers working with county probation officers were looking for a probation subject at a residence in the 2200 block of 117th Street. Upon arrival and after conducting a check of the rear house, they were unable to locate the individual. As their search continued, they were leaving the property and passing by the front residence on the same property when they smelled marijuana fumes emitting from that home.
The officers then made contact with four people in the residence and asked them to step outside, which they did. As they exited, the officers discovered that a parolee resided at the location. The officers entered the residence to clear it, not realizing the parolee was hiding in an attic crawlspace.
As one of the officers inspected the crawlspace, 33-year-old Howard Michael Partee unleashed a barrage of gunfire toward the officers. One LAPD officer was shot in the face during the gunfire. At this point, an officer-involved shooting occurred.
Officers quickly established a perimeter and requested SWAT Team assistance for response to a barricaded suspect. For several hours after SWAT officers arrived, they attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate with Partee and eventually were forced to deploy rounds of teargas and less-lethal munitions. Finally, around 7:30 a.m. the next morning, SWAT officers were able to enter the dwelling. They located Partee in the crawlspace, and Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead.
The wounded LAPD officer was rushed to a local hospital where he remains in serious but stable condition. A County Probation officer was also treated and released at the scene for a graze wound to his leg.
Force Investigation Division responded to the incident and will conduct a thorough investigation of the officer-involved shooting. Robbery Homicide Division detectives have also responded and are investigating the crimes against the officers.
The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by the Chief of Police, the Office of the Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners for compliance with the Department's use-of-force policy, which states that an officer's use-of-force actions must be objectively reasonable.
Additionally, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Justice System Integrity Division will conduct a comprehensive review of the facts of the officer-involved shooting.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to call Force Investigation Division at 213-486-5230. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters "LAPD." Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.
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Are you a content creator for the web? It turns out, nowadays, creating the content is only a small part of your job description The most successful YouTubers, studios, brands and agencies today are intensely focused on using social media to engage with fans, get that content out there, and grow their audience. Los Angeles-based Epoxy (www.epoxy.tv) launched yesterday to help content creators do just that. We spoke with co-founders Juan Bruce and Jason Ahmad about Epoxy's mission, its roots from projects at Team Downey, the production firm of Robert Downey Jr., and why social is so important in today's content world.
Explain what Epoxy is and how it works?
Juan Bruce: What we are doing at Epoxy, is we develop software tools for online video channels, allowing them to connect with their audiences where they audience connects most, which is social media. Right now, what that means is a set of apps for distributing video out to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and some tools to help engage and build audiences on the back end.
What's your background, why did you start the company?
Juan Bruce: My background is in design engineering. I spent a lot of time in Silicon Valley, working for BMW's technology office, and design firm Ideo. I then went back to Stanford for business school, and ended up coming down here to Southern California to run a design studio for an Ideo competitor, Continuum. They're similar to Ideo, in that they're doing broad design and innovation, and consumer understanding and research, in areas from medical devices to mobile devices, cars, and digital. As part of that, I started working for entertainment studios and networks, and saw the shift in consumer behavior to online entertainment. That was my first, deep dive into entertainment.
One of our small clients there was Team Downey, the production firm of Robert Downey Jr., where we were helping to figure out the digital side of the company. In the process of doing that, they convinced us to come run that business, which is what I had been doing for the three years prior to Epoxy. At Team Downey, I was investing in digital media startups, producing and developing projects, working on social gaming and mobile gaming. Most recently, we created a web series.
While we were working in the gaming area, we saw that they were run in a very intuitive way, with dashboards and tools being used heavily to run those businesses. When we started jumping into web series, we were surprised to find there wasn't anything similar. That's when I roped in my co-founder, Jason here, who I had gone to Stanford as an undergraduate with, who had been in New York running a startup engineering team. I asked Jason to come take a look at those issues around video and to come to LA.
Jason Ahmad: My background has been pretty startup heavy. I have a computer science degree from Stanford, and also had worked at BMW in New York. I had also built desktop analytics software for customers, such as banks. After exiting that, I ended up in the consumer Internet space, at all kinds of companies in New York.
How did you guys figure out what was needed for content creators?
Jason Ahmad: Neither of us were YouTubers or from online video, and didn't come from that world---our experience was more from the technology and design aspect. But, we had one really nice advantage, because we were at Team Downey, which allowed us to reach out to the most innovative people in the business, to try to understand what they were doing, what they were thinking, what their strategy was in the market, and to understand the tools they were using.
Juan Bruce: We interviewed dozens and dozens of the top Youtubers, those woh were rising quickly, talked with MCNs, talked with the digital side of the traditional entertainment studios, and talked with brands who were doing some very innovative things with online video. One of the most interesting things we noticed was the social aspect was such a key to the medium. In fact, we started to see that online video is a social medium, and that a lot of the most successful YouTubers were spending a lot more time managing their social media, and building and audience and fan base than actually producing content.
That was a real gamechanger in the way we were viewing things, especially having been in a traditional entertainment company like Team Downey. We realized there was a whole other aspect that was the key to online video. We decided to create this toolset, starting with social, with the mission of helping Youtubers who were already social become more proficient and powerful at their daily operations, and also help those traditional entertainment companies act more like the nimble, social Youtubers. We decided to embody those operations in a toolset.
Why get some funding and make this into a separate company?
Jason Ahmad: That's a unique story. We had been looking at for use at Team Downey, internally. However, we were lucky enough to know some really forward thinking venture capitalists, and talked to them early in the process, trying to understand what was in the market. We wanted to get feedback about our tool, and understand as we were building our prototype what they were seeing in the market, how useful they thought it might be, and ended up talking to Mark Suster at Upfront Ventures.
Juan Bruce: I had known Mark previously, and while we weren't looking for funding, since Team Downey was funding this all internally, as soon as we showed what we were doing to Mark, he immediately encouraged us to think about this in a broader context, to not just to this for Team Downey, but for all of the other people that need this kind of tool. That's when it really started. That's where we realized we really had a duty to build this and share it with the community, and not just make it a tool for Team Downey and friends.
Jason Ahmad: One nice thing about being in this ecosystem, is there are a whole host of venture investors and great angels who are really focused on this space, and really understand the intricacies and nuances of what is driving video. They all jumped in when they saw what we were up to.
What's the biggest thing that is driving interest and adoption of the tool?
Juan Bruce: I think there are a couple of things. One, is online video channels all have an audience, who are interacting with their content, and following them across social. As an online video creator, you can't just ask people to follow you on Youtube. People are going to spend time where they choose, whether that's Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, or wherever. As a creator, as someone who runs a channel, you have to be responsive and be present in all of the places where your fans are. Frankly, that's a difficult and fragmented environment to deal with. For individual creators, it's very compelling to be able to come to one place, and in a most powerful way, distribute your content and figure out who is important, and figure out who the superfans are, and talk to them, and build that audience, all from one place.
On the enterprise side, with the studios and networks, there has been a great focus on diversification from Youtube, which of course is just naturally supported in the way the platform works. So, for individual Youtubers, we're supporting their operations, and for enterprises we are helping them to support that diversification.
Jason Ahmad: One thing I'd add, is we're really lucky to have a broad and immediate customer base. For savvy, innovative Youtubers, they immediately understand how powerful their audience and fans are, and they want to engage them as deeply as they can. If you have a new piece of content, social is the easiest and most powerful place to get an audience, and turn them into fans. And, for those enterprise institutions, they see the appeal of 360 degree coverage, not just on Youtube, but on all the services.
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How do you know which one is best for you and your business? While there are advantages and disadvantages to both, we have tried to explain the difference between the two most common processes below.
Digital printing is the reproduction of digital images on physical surface, such as paper or photographic paper, cloth, plastic, etc.
Litho printing is a technique where the inked image is transferred from a metal plate to a rubber blanket, Typically, printing plates are attached to a cylinder in the press. Ink is applied to the plate’s image area and transferred directly to the paper.
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0.999999 |
More Context: The consumer survey is part of the “5G Economics of Entertainment Report,” conducted by Ovum and sponsored by Intel, which measured the market and impact of 5G in media and entertainment. The report forecasts that over the next decade (2019-2028), media and entertainment companies will be competing to win a share of a near $3 trillion cumulative wireless revenue opportunity. Experiences enabled by 5G networks will account for nearly half of this revenue opportunity – close to $1.3 trillion.
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What is one of the most useful tools for strengthening your relationship with prospects and customers so that you increase retention, repeat sales, and referrals?
Duh! You do not have to get surprised as most of them will be aware of email marketing.
To clarify, I am talking about email marketing to your own "house" list of prospects, not to a list you rent or buy.
Your sales team will spend less time selling because your prospects will be pre-sold on doing business with you which will reduce sales cycles and fewer costs per sale, which leads to more profit.
You can create leads and sales on demand. In other words, you will be in complete control to schedule and email promotions to any segment of your list, whenever you want. If you did not just have an "ah ha" moment, then read that sentence again.Email marketing is the only tactic that puts you in the driver seat to create leads and sales whenever you want.
You will build a "wall" around your customers to protect them from poachers. Every day your competitors are actively trying to poach your clients. If you are not investing in strengthening your customer relationships, then someday your competitors will swipe them. Repeatedly, email marketing is one of the best tools handy for building a healthy relationship to fend off your pesky competitors.
Of course, there is one little catch.
I am going to infer you already have a list of prospects and customers. If you have been in business for any amount of time, then you do obtain a list.
Your listing might be in your head or on paper or concealed in an Excel file on an old, dusty desktop. Regardless, I am sure you have a list, and it is just a matter of pursuing it down.
For more notions for how you can build and grow your email list, read the three ways to make your list.
Let's focus on the five types of email promotions every small business can use.
The first primary email campaign is for all the businesses out there that have a list of connections they haven 't emailed in a long time.
The Warm Up as you can probably guess gear towards warming up your "cold" list.
It is mandatory to do before you try to use one of the campaigns below unless you have continually stayed in touch with your list.
The goal of the Warm Up campaign is to reintroduce your business, provide context as to why you are reaching out, and explain how you will be following up with even more valuable emails in the future.
What should you send in your email?
A good ploy to use when running a Warm Up campaign is to break a survey to achieve feedback from your audience. Remember, the goal is to re-engage your audience, so you are not going to attempt to sell anything.
When done correctly, the Warm Up campaign will get your list handy and look ahead to your next email where you can kickoff to incorporate more sales tactics.
A Tee Up campaign aims to "tee up" leads for your sales team.
At any given period there are leads on your email list who are ready to buy, and it is your job as a marketer to make it as easy as possible for them to raise their hand.
The Tee Up campaign does not directly ask for the sale. Instead, the email is positioned to help anyone who is in need for your product or service. The most basic example is to email out the question directly, "Are you still noticing for aid with your product or service?"
Anyone who retorts "Yes" is now a reengaged lead in your sales pipeline.
Just about everybody is familiar with the Flash Sale campaign because it is by far the most popular (and often overused). Anytime you get an email touting a limited-time sale; then you are involving a Flash Sale.
Again, I can 't emphasize enough the concern of your relationship with your contacts and customers. If you do not first create your link, then none of these campaigns will work for you.
Every contact on your email list requires additional products and services that your business does not supply.
For example, Prospects on a broker's email list probably also need help finding a reputable moving company and an attorney. Although a real estate agent does not cater those services, he can bid those services to his email subscribers by forming a partnership with local businesses.
Once you establish your connections, then you can run a referral campaign to achieve leads and sales for your partner. It is going to be a win-win-win situation because you are aiding your contacts in getting what they need, your partners get a brand-new marketing channel, and counting on your partnership, you could derive commissions or reciprocal promotions where your partners bolster your business.
The last type of campaign is the brand-new product or service launch.
With this campaign, you are creating up excitement and anticipation for your brand-new product or service to boost sales on the launch date.
Study the marketing campaigns for the massive Hollywood movie releases and new iPhone starts to see this in action. Before the launch day, data is sent via email /TV commercials in waves to build up the value, explain all the advantages, and lay out the details for exactly how and when to buy.
The final result is often a "feeding frenzy" the day you open the doors to take orders.
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Sir Richard Runciman Terry (3 January 1865 – 18 April 1938) was an English organist, choir director and musicologist. He is noted for his pioneering revival of Tudor liturgical music.
Richard Terry was born in 1865 in Ellington, Northumberland. At the age of 11 he started playing the organ at the local church. Educated at various schools in South Shields, St Albans and London, Terry then spent a year at Oxford (1887–88) and two years at Cambridge (1888–90), where he went as a non-collegiate student but became a choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge. There he also became a music critic for The Cambridge Review. At Cambridge, he was much influenced by the Professor of Music, Charles Villiers Stanford and the King's Chapel organist Arthur Henry Mann who taught him the techniques of choral singing and the training of boys' voices.
After leaving Cambridge in 1890, without a degree, he became organist and choirmaster at Elstow School near Bedford, then at St. John's Cathedral, Antigua in 1892, and director of music at Highgate School in 1895. After his conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1896 he was appointed organist and director of music at the Roman Catholic Benedictine Downside School in Somerset. It was here where he began the massively important work of reviving the Latin music of Tudor English composers such as William Byrd and Thomas Tallis. He was greatly inspired by the revival of Gregorian chant by Dom Prosper Guéranger at Solesmes Abbey in France, which was to be an important part of the Downside musical repertoire.
In 1899 Terry took his Downside choir to Ealing, for the opening of the new Benedictine church, where they sang William Byrd's Mass for Five Voices and motets by Palestrina, Philips and Allegri. The archbishop of Westminster, cardinal Herbert Vaughan, was the preacher on the occasion and he decided that he would have Terry as his Master of Music at the newly built Westminster Cathedral.
Terry's time at Westminster Cathedral was marked by admiration and praise, as well as frustrations. In 1911, he received a honoris causa degree of Doctor of Music at Durham University, and in the same year, during the International Music Congress, a special session was held in the Cathedral of early English church music, sung by the Cathedral Choir.
While Terry's relation with Cardinal Vaughan was excellent, it was less so with his successor, Cardinal Francis Bourne. Bourne's different view on church music, a continual shortage of financial means to support the choir, the decrease in the number of lay clerks during and after the Great War, together with Terry's engagements in other things outside the Cathedral led to a prolonged period of tension.
Terry was forced to resign from the Cathedral in 1924, after coming under increasing criticism for his erratic behaviour and neglect of duty (including neglecting administrative work, taking off without leave for weeks at a time, cancelling choir rehearsals without notice, dismissing Lay Clerks without proper procedure, taking on too many engagements outside his Cathedral work and tensions due to his inconsistent approach to congregational singing at the Cathedral). Nonetheless, during this time he was able to establish a choral tradition of great merit at the Cathedral, developing a repertoire of both Gregorian chant and polyphonic music. The choir's particular focus on renaissance polyphony is believed to have influenced the emerging school of 20th century English composers and the performance of church music in England.
The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians credits Terry with the revival of much English church music, including Peter Philips' Cantiones sacrae, Byrd's three and five part masses and Gradualia and Cantiones sacrae, Tallis' mass and lamentations, William Mundy's Mass Upon the Square and many motets by Thomas Morley, Christopher Tye and others. Much of this work resulted in his editing and publishing performing editions of this music including 24 motets in Novello's series of Tudor motets. He also published the first modern editions of Calvin's first psalter of 1539 and the Scottish Psalter of 1635. In 1912 he edited the Westminster Hymnal.
In 1921, in an obvious departure from his church music, he edited the Curwen edition of 'The Shanty Book (Part 1)'. The foreword was written by Sir Walter Runciman, acknowledging that the time of the shanty was over, along with sail-powered merchant ships. Terry's 'Introduction' gives an excellent insight into the shanty as the sailor's work song, deferring to the well-known shanty collection by Capt. W.B Whall 'Sea Songs, Ships and Shanties' (1910 & 1912), above other accounts written between 1887 and 1920. The collection of 30 shanties also includes explanations for their use at sea, and his extensive comments give us a deal of valuable information about a particular aspect of social and maritime history.
Following his resignation from Westminster Cathedral he went on to work as a musical editor, journalist and academic. He was the initial editor of the Oxford University Press series Tudor Church Music, although by the time this series was completed he had been ousted from the editorship.
Terry was also a composer of church music, most notably of hymn tunes, several of which are in use today, such as the popular Christmas carol Myn Lyking.
He was awarded a knighthood for his services to music in the 1922 Dissolution Honours.
^ "Richard Runciman Terry". Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
The Shanty Book, Part I, Sailor Shanties by Richard Runciman Terry at Project Gutenberg.
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What are SSL and Digital Certificates?
In order to make an SSL connection, the SSL protocol requires that a server should have a digital certificate installed. A digital certificate is an electronic file that uniquely identifies individuals and servers. Digital certificates serve as a kind of digital passport or credential which authenticate the server prior to the SSL session being established.
Typically, digital certificates are signed by an independent and trusted third party to ensure their validity. The "signer" of a certificate is known as a Certification Authority (CA), such as VeriSign, and GeoTrust.
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Please text me about this 2013 SALEM 27DBUD (VIN: 4X4TSMC29DA306930).
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The venue hosted the Champ Car World Series Grand Prix of Montreal from 2002 to 2006.
The Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One racing, which had taken place for 30 years at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, was dropped from the 2009 Formula One calendar and replaced with the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. On November 27, 2009, Quebec's officials and Canadian Grand Prix organizers announced a settlement with Formula One Administration and signed a new five-year contract spanning the 2010–2014 seasons.
The 2011 edition took place on June 12 at 1:00 pm (17:00 UTC) and was the longest World Championship Grand Prix ever, due to a lengthy rain delay.
Originally named the Île Notre-Dame Circuit, the circuit was built and finished in 1978. In what has proven to be the venue's main event over the decades, the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix had been part of the Formula One World Championship for 10 years, and it was previously held at Mosport Park near Toronto on 8 occasions and in 1968 and 1970, the Mont-Tremblant circuit in Quebec. With safety concerns with Mosport blighting the 1977 event, it was decided to move the race to the new circuit in Montréal. In 1982, it was renamed in honour of Canadian Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, father of Jacques Villeneuve, following his death earlier in the year. The circuit is located in a part of the city of Montréal known as Parc Jean-Drapeau. The park is named after the mayor of Montréal who was responsible for the organization of Expo 67.
The race circuit lies across Île Sainte-Hélène and Notre Dame Island, a man-made island in the St. Lawrence River most of which was originally built up for the Expo in 1967. Saint Helen's Island was also artificially enlarged for the Expo '67 fairgrounds and a prominent remnant of the fair, the Biosphere can be regularly seen during television coverage of racing events. Almost half of the track – from the hairpin turn until after the pit area – runs alongside the Olympic Basin, a huge rectangular basin which was created for the rowing and canoeing events of Montréal's 1976 Summer Olympics.
Barriers run close to the circuit and many experienced drivers have been caught out by them. A particularly famous part of the circuit is the wall on the outside of the exit of the final chicane before the start/finish straight. In 1999 the wall, which bears the name Bienvenue au Québec ("Welcome to Quebec") giving it the nickname "Mur du Québec" (Quebec Wall), ended the race of three Formula One World Champions, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve along with FIA GT champion Ricardo Zonta. Since then the wall has been nicknamed "The Wall of Champions". In recent years 2009 world champion Jenson Button (2005) and four time World Champion Sebastian Vettel (2011, during free practice) have also fallen victim to the wall.
Changes made in 2005 to the curbs on the final chicane were controversial amongst drivers in the run-up to the Grand Prix. The curbs were made higher and more difficult for the drivers to see, making it even more challenging.
On June 23, 2006, the Canadian Press reported that the city of Montréal had awarded exclusive rights to stage the two allowed race weekends on the track to Normand Legault, promoter of the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. The deal was for 2007 to 2011, with an option for 2012 to 2016. Legault decided to replace the Champ Car race with races from the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Series and NASCAR's Nationwide Series, respectively – the latter series' first race north of the Canada-United States border. On August 4, 2007, Kevin Harvick made history by winning the first NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in what was one of the most controversial NASCAR races ever, as Robby Gordon claimed to have won the race. The NASCAR races have affected the circuit layout. An expansion of the pit lane took place, since a NASCAR pit lane must accommodate a minimum of 43 cars. The 2008 race made history as the first NASCAR race to run on rain tires.
In 2017, due to the new safety requirements imposed by the FIA, the circuit had new Tecpro barriers installed, after removal of older tire barriers by May 2017. With the 2017 technical regulations, experts predicted the F1 cars to be quicker by three to five seconds a lap in June at Montréal. The introduction this 2017 season of faster Formula 1 cars has forced the FIA to revise the safety features of every F1 circuit. 2017's F1 event saw a change to the exit of the last chicane (the Wall of Champions) with its angle modified, because the FIA found it was dangerous.
The complex of turns one and two has become known as the Senna 'S'. From a bird's eye view turns one and two together can represent an 'S' shape. Since the pit-exit was redesigned merging into turn two, the 'S' shape is not so evident on first glance.
The very fast Droit du Casino corner (Turn 8) is after the bridge underpass and is known as a 'quick kink' before Turn 9 and the rush to a passing zone at the Hairpin curve.
Turn 10 at Île Notre-Dame is probably the best example of a 180° hairpin turn design with full wheel lock during F1 competition. The various lines taken entering the hairpin curve can predict overtaking on the apex, or exit during race competition. Braking too late can see racecars offline into the runoff area, and many spinning in front of packed grandstands. Many overtakes can be seen at this location due to engine differences and drivers' racecraft.
Entering turns 12 & 13 drivers encounter one of the best passing zones completing the long straight after the hairpin. Many duels have been seen exiting turn 12 with some racecars deciding to cut corner 13 into the run-off, with many daring speed demons going a bit 'too hot' apexing Turn 13 and not exiting intact. Turn 14 is dubbed the "Wall of Champions" after three former Drivers' World Champions found the outside wall in the 1999 race. In Formula 1 races, a car damaged after gracing the Wall of Champions brings out a Safety Car or VSC. The exit barrier is poignantly marked with advertising by Tourisme Québec each year during the F1 event.
As part of Parc Jean-Drapeau, the Circuit is open to visitors, between races, for walking, running, biking, in-line skating, and driving. During the few days of the Grand Prix, Notre Dame Island is one of the noisiest places in Montréal. Other times of the year, it is one of the quietest, being located in the middle of a river, on an island filled with greenery and animals, joggers and cyclists. However, on June 4, 2009, administration of Notre Dame Island has forbidden the access of competitive cyclists to the circuit, justifying this as a security measure to avoid the increasing injuries that occurred between year 2008 and 2009. A total of 27 injuries have been reported. The ban on cyclists has since been lifted due to protests.
In 2002, Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya set pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with a lap time of 1:12.836. Several weeks later, during the inaugural Champ Car Grand Prix of Montreal, Cristiano da Matta set pole position with a lap time of 1:18.959.
In 2006, the last time Champ Car and F1 ran on the same track, Formula One was 5 to 7 seconds faster than Champ Car. The pole position in Formula One was set by Fernando Alonso in a time of 1:14.942, while Sébastien Bourdais set pole in 1:20.005 in Champ Car. The fastest lap in the Formula One race was 1:15.841 by Kimi Räikkönen, while Sébastien Bourdais's fastest lap was 1:22.325 in the Champ Car race.
2007 NASCAR Busch Series driver Patrick Carpentier racing in the NAPA Auto Parts 200, posted a pole time of 1:42.086. The pole time at the 2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200 was 1:40.865 by Alex Tagliani. By comparison, Carpentier's 2004 Molson Indy Montreal qualifying time in the Champ Car World Series was 1:20.836, while Sébastien Bourdais qualified with 1:20.005 in 2006.
The track record for the Rolex Sports Car Series is 1:32.620. The time was set by Scott Pruett driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Daytona Prototype class in 2010.
The fastest ever lap around the circuit was set by Sebastian Vettel with a time of 1:10.764 set in qualifying (Q3) for the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton set a previous lap record with a time of 1:11.459 during qualifying for the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix earning him pole position. This was Hamilton's 65th pole position which put him level with Ayrton Senna in the F1 history books. After qualifying, Hamilton was awarded a helmet that belonged to his hero Ayrton Senna as a celebration. This helmet was sent by Senna's family and was awarded to an emotional Hamilton in front of the crowd. As this time was set during qualifying, it is not recognized as an official lap record.
^ "Button scores tenth win in longest race ever". F1 Fanatic. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
^ "ESPN – Harvick wins wild Busch race, but disqualified Gordon claims he won – Nascar".
^ "Circuit Gilles Villeneuve". Retrieved September 5, 2011.
^ "Circuit Gilles Villeneuve". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
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Whipworm infestation, or trichuriasis, can occur in both dogs and cats of any age or breed. They are typically transmitted when your pet ingests any contaminated matter such as feces or dirt. However, in some cases, they can develop when your pet eats an infested animal such as a mouse. The eggs of these parasites can live in your home and yard for as long as a few months to several years.
What whipworms disease can do to pets depends on how heavily it may be infested. While some animals seem unaffected by these parasites, others develop many pet health problems because of the worms. Severe infestations can often lead to bowel inflammations, intestinal bleeding, dehydration and varying degrees of anemia.
The symptoms your pet may display if it has whipworms may vary as well depending on how heavy the infestation is. While some animals may not show any signs of the parasites, other pets may exhibit several symptoms. The following symptoms are all typical of whipworm infestation: Bloody or Mucoid Stools, Chronic or Intermittent Diarrhea, Depression and/or Lethargy, Loss of Appetite, Weight Loss, Anemia/Generalized Weakness, Dehydration, Straining While Eliminating and Pale Gums.
There are several medications that are effective in killing whipworms. However, the most commonly used medicine includes Panacur, Vercom paste, Drontal plus and Telmintic. Typically, you will need to take your pet to your veterinarian about three works after the first deworming for a follow-up treatment. To prevent future re-infestation, it is best to have your veterinarian give your pet a third deworming about two to three months after the follow-up dose. It is also essential to keep your pet's living quarters and elimination areas clean to prevent re-infestation. Finally, Interceptor can help prevent whipworms as well.
Whipworms can affect both cats and dogs. Furthermore, since eggs can live outside of their hosts for several years, it can be very easy for your pet to pick them up.
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Microsoft experts on Windows and Azure responded to a few questions post-Build about how the company has been simplifying the developer experience, from spinning up containers to tapping microservices.
Microsoft experts recently talked with Redmondmag.com about options for developers using new Windows Server capabilities.
The following Q&A, conducted by phone after Microsoft's Build developer event this month, describes the kinds of options available to developers using Windows Server, as well as Azure Service Fabric, Microsoft's cloud-based microservices solution.
The themes of the talk include the predominance of container use in application development, along with Microsoft's attempts to simplify things for developers. Those attempts on the server side include making more Kubernetes-friendly products for container orchestration with the Windows Server 1803 semiannual channel release and the coming Windows Server 2019 product. It also included talk about how the Nano Server install option of Windows Server is now reserved for hosting containers, both Linux and Windows, to better address customer needs.
Microsoft also is using its services to simplify matters for developers, regardless of whether the development happens using the cloud or via the "hybrid" model (cloud plus on-premises development). There's also an increased stress on support for open source tools at Microsoft. Azure Service Fabric was released as open source code about two months ago, although Microsoft is still working on delivering some of the tooling. Azure Container Instances, a serverless runtime for spinning up containers, was commercially released last month, which may be even easier for developers to use than the emerging Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), formerly known as "managed Kubernetes on Azure." At Build, Microsoft announced Azure Service Fabric Mesh, which promises to remove cluster management burdens from organizations using containers on Azure infrastructure.
I spoke on May 11 with Taylor Brown, principal program manager for Windows, and Madhan Arumugam Ramakrishnan, partner director of program management for Azure compute focusing on developers and partners. What follows is an edited Q&A.
Redmondmag.com: Should developers think about using Windows Server to spin up containers or should they use Azure infrastructure?
Brown: Azure is a great place to run applications, whether they are Windows or Linux. At the same time, we have a tremendous amount of Windows Server customers who are on-prem for any number of reasons, in a hybrid scenario for any number of reasons, as well as using other clouds -- a polycloud- or multicloud-type customer. And so we do work with customers of all of those constituencies.
We're starting to see this pattern really emerge where you take your existing code, bring it into a container, and start to modernize it and take advantage of new capabilities in the platform, starting to use things like microservice patterns with a container based on Nano Server or even a Linux container running on Windows, but also starting to take advantage of services in Azure. Organizations can look at things like using Service Fabric or Azure Container Instances, and start to look at things like using Cosmos DB for the data stores. They can really get into this modern journey where they can go as far and fast as they want to go, or they can leverage the capabilities you have on-prem and start to bring things like Azure Stack.
Ramakrishnan: Our goal in Azure and definitely at Microsoft is to make developers more productive and meet them where they are, whether they are deploying, creating, developing an application for on-prem, on cloud, the hybrid form factor or Azure. It's about how do we help them create applications at any scale, running anywhere, regardless of the frameworks, languages, development environments, and laptops and Macs. Simply put, we want Azure and Windows Server to be the best environments for them to be productive and create enterprise-grade applications.
Why should a developer opt to use Azure Service Fabric? Is it about scale?
Ramakrishnan: You'd typically choose Azure Service Fabric if you are creating cloud-native applications. I would say that the deployment can be any size. Obviously, we use Service Fabric at really large scale, but the customer can install it locally on the Windows box. It's exactly the same runtime, whether you are running it on cloud or Windows or even the Mac.
So while Service Fabric is proven for large scale, it's really a platform for any scale, and especially for Windows Server and .NET applications. We built it for the Microsoft developer. We have first-class support for the DevOps tools from Microsoft, whether it's Visual Studio Team Services or the release management that comes from Visual Studio. Right from your laptop, you can basically do local development, testing and debug, and also deploy to the Azure managed version of Service Fabric. It's a very seamless experience from laptop to production.
Service Fabric is just available from Microsoft's Azure datacenters as a service, right? Or is it also available on-premises, too?
Ramakrishnan: Service Fabric is a microservices platform to develop applications with a microservices pattern. Is Service Fabric an Azure-only service? No. It runs on any cloud that supports VMs, any physical machine, containers, it doesn't matter. It is also open source. We open sourced it a couple of months back. The entire code base for two-and-a-half million lines of code.
For people who are deploying it on Windows Server on-premises, we call it "Service Fabric standalone on Windows Server." We are also planning to support standalone on Ubuntu Linux, but that will come later. And then the Azure implementation would be "Azure Service Fabric."
As a standalone executable microservices platform, you can basically just download the runtime, and we support it on-prem. In fact, about a good 30 percent of our customers run Service Fabric on-prem. They even do their own installation on Azure, Amazon or any cloud, for that matter, even on VMware. And then on Azure, we also offer it as a service -- the same binaries, the same runtime. We basically create a management experience for customers and so it's much easier for developers and IT pros to stand up a cluster.
And at Build, we also announced Azure Service Fabric Mesh, where basically you don't even see the clusters. We manage the clusters. Developers just have to bring their applications and containers.
Are the use of microservices and the use of containers two different application development approaches?
Ramakrishnan: I would say that containers is both a deployment packaging format and the runtime execution environment. Microservices backed by containers is totally possible. In fact, a lot of customers today on Azure do that. It's not an "either/or" scenario. It's definitely an "and."
Brown: I think about microservices really as more of a design philosophy. I equate it to object-oriented programming for the cloud, just like you'd think of object-oriented programming for C++ or C# or Java or any number of different languages. Microservices can be used in any number of different technologies or techniques behind the scenes. So you may develop microservices using containers. You could even develop microservices using virtual machines, and certainly as PaaS-type applications using things like Azure App Service and Service Fabric and those kind of approaches. I think they are a little bit orthogonal but happen to pair well together. And so we often are starting to see people take their monolithic applications and start to break those up into more of a microservice-type architecture. And that's where they start looking for tools and assistance around how do I deal with state or how do I deal with the reliable connections between these services, and that's where Service Fabric can really help developers and customers go through that journey.
How are the Windows Server products getting integrated with Kubernetes?
Brown: Our Windows Core team has been working really hard on the Kubernetes master project work to spin up the Kubernetes ecosystem on Windows Server but also on the Windows Server platform, and we've been working with a number of different distributions of Kubernetes for support. So during Build, we announced the new work with Red Hat for bringing OpenShift to Windows Server. I actually demoed it at Build.
For customers that are on-prem and looking for hybrid connectivity with Azure, we'll have the best-in-class Red Hat OpenShift service in Azure that can easily integrate with an OpenShift cluster running on-prem. That'll give customers a great Kubernetes orchestration experience both for Windows and Linux, cloud and on-prem. We also announced at Build the private preview signup for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), our managed Kubernetes service in Azure for Windows Server.
Docker announced that they're going to be bringing Kubernetes through Docker Enterprise Edition for Windows and Linux, as well. And we demoed an early version of Docker Desktop for developers running Kubernetes with Windows and Linux containers side by side this week.
How difficult is it to manage Kubernetes without using AKS or the Azure Container Instances serverless version?
Ramakrishnan: In general, if you think about Kubernetes as a container orchestration system, it has a master-slave architecture. You have a set of VMs that are essentially running the Kubernetes runtime that's acting as master and you set up slaves that are Kubernetes worker nodes, which is where your applications would be hosted and orchestrated. If you are doing it yourself on a bunch of VMs, say on-prem or on Azure or anywhere else, you are setting all of this up: creating a bunch of VMs, standing them up, installing the Kubernetes runtime, creating the masters, creating the cluster. With AKS, what we are doing is taking the operational pains out of setting this up. For example, the masters that are involved in setting up the cluster are all completely managed. In fact, customers don't even see the VMs that are running the Kubernetes masters. So that's one operational pain that we are taking away. And we also set up the worker node such that they can run in a customer's private virtual network. We basically apply the necessary Kubernetes configurations so a customer can get up as fast as possible from a development point of view.
Why did Nano Server get relegated to hosting containers only?
Brown: Nano Server was a particularly interesting journey we took with our customers. When we started on Nano Server, we brought it out as a host for VMs, as a container host and as a kind of general server offering for those hosting those types of operations, and at the same time as a new platform for developers to build new applications on. And the feedback we got from our customers was that on the application side, it was too big, and on the host side, it was too small. Finding that sweet spot where it's just right was what led us to make it a container runtime.
By doing that, we're able to reduce the size from around 600MB on disk down to about 100MB on disk and really make it competitive offering with Linux for those developers who are really new to .NET Core or cloud-ready or cloud-native microservices, regardless of whether they were going to run them on-prem or in the cloud or in a hybrid environment. And so we've got a lot of developers who are interested in that kind of environment. I shared some numbers at Build. Just in April alone, we saw 1.4 million people download Nano Server as a container image, for example. That is a very healthy number, and it continues to see well over 100 percent month-over-month growth since we re-released it.
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I thought is write a full detailed post about my skincare. I suffered with bad skin a few years ago. It was an unfortunate side effect from the pill. I was one of the ‘1 in 10000’ people who had the reaction. So I had to very quickly learn how to care for my skin in the best and most hygienic way.
After a shower, the first thing I did is sanitize my hands – you can get bottles of it for really cheap and it’s handy just to have nearby. You touch your face so much when applying makeup and other skin care products, so having clean hands is important.
Toning is important!!!! You don’t understand how much a difference this can make! It brightens your skin and calms it down especially if you have had a hot shower.
I have vitamin E cream to put under my eyes, if you’re anything like me, you get tired looking eyes no matter how much sleep you got!
I leave the toner and eye cream to settle for a few minutes before I apply moisturiser. I use a non oily moisturiser and invest in a good quality one because this makes all the difference.
This is sometimes my favourite part. I have so many different primers! I have green ones to help with redness, purple to brighten the skin, tinted to help with coverage if it’s a particularly bad day! Pore fillers and more! Having a good primer makes all the difference to how your makeup looks and also helps to protect the skin from the oily makeup products.
After all this I leave my face to calm and apply makeup (if I’m wearing any) about 20 minutes later.
Once I’m home, I try and take my makeup off as quickly as I can just to let my skin breathe but a lot of the time this is late at night. So I use baby wipes just to remove eye makeup, then I wash my face with antibacterial soap!
I use a super gentle exfoliation such as bicarbonate of soda to get rid of the makeup properly.
I use this on a cotton pad to sweep over my fave a collect any left over makeup the soap missed, like near my hairline and around my nose and eyebrows etc.
I always moisturise before bed!!! I use a light tin layer to allow my skin to breathe, and definitely with no oils in it!
Then I’m all ready to repeat in the morning.
But your skin is so important to keep clean and fresh as it can have exessive oil build ups and that’s when it starts to break out!
So there you are! It’s pretty time consuming but definitely worth it!!
Comment below what skin care tricks you use!
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FRIDAY, Dec. 20, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Walking more is a simple way for people at high risk for type 2 diabetes to greatly reduce their risk of heart disease, a new study suggests.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 9,300 adults with pre-diabetes in 40 countries. People with pre-diabetes have an increased risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke.
All of the study participants were enrolled in programs meant to increase their physical activity, shed excess pounds and cut fatty foods from their diets. The participants' average number of steps taken per day was recorded at the start of the programs and again 12 months later.
Amounts of walking at the start of the programs and changes in amounts of walking over 12 months affected the participants' risk of heart disease, according to the study, which was published Dec. 19 in the journal The Lancet.
For every 2,000 steps more per day a person took at the start of the study, they had a 10 percent lower risk for heart disease in subsequent years. And for every 2,000 steps per day increase during the study period, the risk of heart disease fell an additional 8 percent, the researchers found.
For example, if Person A took 4,000 steps per day at the start of the study and did not change that amount over the next year, and Person B took 6,000 steps per day at the start of the study and increased to 8,000 steps per day during the next year, Person B would have an 18 percent lower risk of heart disease than Person A by the end of the study, the researchers said.
"Our results provide novel evidence that changing physical-activity levels through simply increasing the number of steps taken can substantially reduce the risk of [heart] disease," study leader Dr. Thomas Yates, of the University of Leicester, in England, said in a journal news release.
"Importantly, these benefits are seen regardless of body weight or the starting level of activity," Yates said. "These novel findings provide the strongest evidence yet for the importance of physical activity in high-risk populations and will inform diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention programs worldwide."
Pre-diabetes affects nearly 8 percent of adults (344 million) worldwide, and the number is projected to rise to 8.4 percent (472 million) by 2030.
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0.998425 |
Jeff Jonas' presentation to OECD about big data and wicked leaks on Dec 1, 2010.
10. VOTER George F Balston YOB: 1951 D/L: 4801 13070 SW Karen Blvd Apt 7 Beaverton, OR 97005 Last voted: 2008 DECEASED PERSON George Balston YOB: 1951 SSN: 5598 DOD: 1995 Is This Voter Deceased? When it comes to best practices in voter matching, if only a name and year of birth match, this is insufficient proof of a match. Many different people in the U.S. share a name and year of birth. Human review is required. Unfortunately, there are thousands and thousands of cases just like this and state election offices don’t have the staff (or budget) to manually review such volumes.
11. VOTER George F Balston YOB: 1951 D/L: 4801 13070 SW Karen Blvd Apt 7 Beaverton, OR 97005 Last voted: 2008 DECEASED PERSON George Balston YOB: 1951 SSN: 5598 DOD: 1995 Now Consider This Tertiary DMV Record DMV George F Balston YOB: 1951 SSN: 5598 D/L: 4801 3043 SW Clementine Blvd Apt 210 Beaverton, OR 97005 The DMV record contains enough features to match both the voter (name, year of birth and driver’s license) and/or the deceased persons record (name, year of birth and SSN). For the sake of argument, let’s say it matches the voter best.
12. VOTER George F Balston YOB: 1951 D/L: 4801 13070 SW Karen Blvd Apt 7 Beaverton, OR 97005 Last voted: 2008 DMV George F Balston YOB: 1951 SSN: 5598 D/L: 4801 3043 SW Clementine Blvd Apt 210 Beaverton, OR 97005 DECEASED PERSON George Balston YOB: 1951 SSN: 5598 DOD: 1995 Is This Voter/DMV Person Deceased? The voter/DMV record now shares a name, year of birth and SSN with the deceased person record. In voter matching best practices, this evidence would be sufficient to make a determination that this voter is in fact deceased. This case no longer needs human review.
13. VOTER George F Balston YOB: 1951 D/L: 4801 13070 SW Karen Blvd Apt 7 Beaverton, OR 97005 Last voted: 2008 DMV George F Balston YOB: 1951 SSN: 5598 D/L: 4801 3043 SW Clementine Blvd Apt 210 Beaverton, OR 97005 DECEASED PERSON George Balston YOB: 1951 SSN: 5598 DOD: 1995 Context Accumulates As features accumulate it becomes easier to match future identity records. As events and transactions accumulate – detection of relevance improves. Here we can see George who died in 1995 voted in 2008.
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0.999151 |
Review from a happy customer "This motorised flapper works a treat. I have only used it once so far but it pulled birds in from way off line in a way I have never experienced with a magnet. The only downside I can see is that I nearly shot it about six times! The other great point about is that a tiny battery will keep it going all day so there's not too much to lug across the field. I'd definitely recommend buying one, in fact I wonder how I've managed without so far".
Please note that the battery is not included within the price, it is just the Motorised flapper.
Priced at just £45, it is an essential part of any pigeon shooter’s kit.
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0.990042 |
I want to tell you a story. It is the story of how we became so disconnected from the food we eat, and it is a story which began a great many years ago.
Once upon a time we all shared the land and the fruits it produced. We were hunter-gatherers back then, and we worked cooperatively to hunt, collect and share the food we ate. The concept of land ownership did not exist. Indeed, the notion that any of us should have rights of ownership over any part of this planet, when we are all just temporary residents, would have seemed absurd.
But then, after a few thousand years, things began to change.
We gradually learned how to tame the land and to cultivate crops and rear animals. Even then, the land remained common, and people continued to work together and to share the fruits of their labour. Everyone knew where their food had come from. Most of it they would have grown or reared themselves, the rest would have been produced by a near neighbour.
But then a greedy minority decided they wanted more than the rest.
Sometimes surreptitiously, and sometimes using brute force, that minority began gradually to fence off some of that common land and to claim it as theirs alone.
By the thirteenth century this process of land appropriation had gathered such momentum, creating a landed nobility, that the king of the day, Henry III, legalised it in a document which became known as the Statute of Merton.
Over the next six centuries many more pieces of legislation, called Enclosure Acts, followed, each of which further legitimised the appropriation of common land by the nobility. Hunting grounds and profitable farms arose on the stolen land, and these required fewer people to work on them. The common land continued to shrink, and the poor folk who continued to try to scrape a living there were referred to, disparagingly, as “commoners”.
The enclosure acts were accompanied by other legislation – for example anti-poaching laws and laws criminalising the collecting of firewood – which placed more pressure on the poor commoners, who were already struggling to eke out a living from the remaining common land. Theirs had become a mean, subsistence-level existence, but now it was becoming impossible.
So, gradually, the poor began to migrate to the towns and cities to look for work. As the industrial revolution took hold, they became factory fodder, working in often appalling conditions for pitiful wages and from those wages having to buy the food they once produced themselves.
By the time the last of the enclosure acts came into force in the late 19th century, millions of acres of once common land had become privately owned, concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy farmers and landed aristocracy.
The common land stolen in this way had been “legitimised” through the drawing up of title deeds, and it has been handed down ever since from generation to generation of rich families in the form of inherited wealth.
We do still have some small pockets of common land in the UK, but of the rest over 90% is concentrated in the hands of just 0.3% of the population.
The rest of us – 99.7% of the population – are huddled together on the remaining land. For this privilege we pay billions of pounds a year in the form of Council tax, whilst the big landowners with their stolen inherited estates receive billions of pounds each year in the form of subsidies from the EU and the British government.
That, then, is the story of how we became alienated from the land, a consequence of which is our alienation from the source of the food we eat.
Today, in our urbanised lives, less than 4% of us attempt to grow any of the food we eat. Vast, mechanised farms predominate the agricultural economy. Almost all of us shop in supermarkets. Some of us rely almost entirely on take-away foods and ready meals. Many children have little idea of where their food comes from. Malnutrition is on the rise, not because of a lack of food but because of the lack of good, fresh food in our diets. The provision of the food we eat has been largely outsourced to vast corporations. They process that food before it reaches us, often adding chemicals and cheap bulking agents to it, and even genetically altering it.
Where once we had a modicum of self-sufficiency now we are almost helpless in our dependence on supermarkets, take away foods and ready meals: inevitable consequences of a centuries-long process of theft and forced alienation from the land and the soil.
How can we reconnect with what has been taken from us, when a tiny but powerful minority now own all the key resources? I don’t have the answer, but perhaps we should look for clues back in the timeline of this story of greed and loss.
Growing and producing our own food, even if we only do it in modest quantities, echoes what we once were. Before they were broken, the original commoners were poor, but they at least had the pride and strength that comes from self-sufficiency and cooperation. Growing our own food, and encouraging others to do the same, is a political act, a small act of dissent and defiance, and a first step on the long road to reclaiming the food we eat.
I am one of the 99.7%, but also one of the tiny proportion that does grow a small amount of food. Particularly abundant in my garden this year has been the pear harvest and I’ve used some of our crop of Conference pears to make this lovely dessert.
Pear and star anise is a marriage of flavours made in heaven. In this recipe they create a beautifully balanced, light, refreshing sorbet.
The pear wafers aren’t difficult to make and they do add a touch of refinement.
1. Peel, core and chop the pears. Place in a pan and stir in the lemon juice. Add the star anise and maple syrup and place over a medium heat. Once the mixture begins to simmer, reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently for 20 minutes or until the pear has become soft. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.
2. Remove the star anise from the pan, then pour the pears and cooking syrup into a blender and process until smooth. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn. Once it is starting to set, tip the sorbet into a freezer proof container. Cover the container with a lid and freeze for at least 4 hours.
3. For the pear wafers, pre-heat the oven to 130°C (250°F, gas mark ½). Brush the pear slices very lightly on each side with the maple syrup. Place on baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Place the tray in the pre-heated oven and roast the pear slices for 45 minutes, carefully turning them over half way through the cooking time. Remove from the oven and immediately place the pear wafers on a wire rack to cool.
4. Remove the sorbet from the freezer and leave to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. Serve a scoop or two of sorbet with a pear wafer.
Certainly food for thought- pardon the pun.
I grow a lot of the food we eat, lucky enough to have two allotments which are really productive. I find a lot of clay pipe remnants in the soil, a lovely tie to the guys who tended the land before me.
I wish I could eat myself through the pictures!
Lordy, lordy, that sounds worth it even if it’s just for the pear wafers; and just in time for summer.
ps what’s a conference pear?
I love the sound of pear wafers, i am going to have to try this. thank you!
Very thought provoking ….and another delicious recipe. I love the look and sound of the pear wafers in particular.
Absolutely a great post and a wonderful treat!
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0.901446 |
I am trying to find out how I can get access to my funds in a 401K plan.
I am no longer employed with the company, I haven't been for 18 months. I just received papers telling me that I have money in a 401K plan, but have been getting the run around on what I need to do or who I need to call in order to obtain the funds.
I hope by now you have resolved the problem with your 401k plan but in case you haven't, here's a few steps. First, don't contact your old company, they won't be able to help you with your 401k. There should be a separate statement from an investment company or insurance company who administers the plan for your old company. Contact them and let them know that you wish to access your account. You can either roll the money over to an IRA account or withdraw it from the plan entirely. Just know that if you withdraw the money, you'll have to report it as income on your tax return and it will be subject to taxes and possibly penalties. If you don't need the money, the best option is to roll it over to an IRA where you'll have more control over the account. I hope that helps. Good Luck.
1) Contact your old company to find the seperate company that is holding those funds. 2) Open an IRA at your bank or with your planner/advisor as a better option. 3) Tell your advisor/planner what company, and the account number, and their firm or you will request it.
It's odd today to be getting the runaround by a 401(k) provider. The statement should provide with an 800 number to call which will allow you to talk to a customer service representative or the name/number of the broker who is handling the plan. Either way, this number should allow you to access your account and determine whether you want to roll, take, or leave your assets from your existing 401(k) plan. If you have any trouble, just phone me and I would be happy to help you.
Hi there thanks for reaching out. You need to contact the human resources department of your former employer or the investment provider of the 401(k) plan. The contact information for the 401(k) provider can be found on your statements if one of those is available. Feel free to contact me via email to continue the conversation.
How do I find out if I had a 401k plan from my previous employer?
How do i get a loan to buy a home if i cannot get a conventioal loan?
I worked for Maronda from 2005-2007 and i have the last statement that was given to me.
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0.999671 |
First visit to the hospital had every test under the moon done (Blood, Urine, X-Ray, Catscan, Ultrasound) and came up empty. No signs of any stones, appendicitis, etc. 2 Doctors (one at hospital, and family doctor) are trying to tell me a lot of it is anxiety related, and that I'm dreaming most of it up myself, not letting myself recover. While I agree stress/anxiety is a powerful feel-sick agent, I highly doubt it is ALL of it. I'm really at a loss, and am looking for advice! If anyone knows anything at all, please lend me your ideas!
First, a list of symptoms (in a semi-order time line): -Months of Acid Reflux (Stress related from classes?) -Semester Ends, Reflux dies down -Full-Body Chills (Shakes) -Sharp Stomach Pain below belly button -Hospital Dec 26 (tests show nothing) -Chills / Tiredness / Headaches / Some stomach pain / Infrequent Body Twitches -Clinic (H-Pylori test negative) -Family Doctor (Prescribed liquid for yeast, caused chest pain and nausea, only took once) -Chills / Tiredness / Headaches / Fuzzy Brain / Some stomach pain / Infrequent Body Twitches -Cold feeling in intestinal region (right side) -Started Threelac for Candida (self diag, spit test), resulted in feeling somewhat better, but constipated -Late March – Hospital again, only blood done, test showed possible dehydration, 1 bag of fluid fixed problem -Was given anxiety medication, took once, had chest pain, stopped (during visit doctor said I was low on Potassium, started drinking V8 and eating bananas) Had purple halfway up my nails on hands during visit, hands were very cold, a slight shake (doctor said nails like this can be caused by anxiety, that you can hyper ventilate unknowingly) -Started herbal parasite medication (self diag, running out of options), felt great first 3 days, pain in lower right abdominal on 5th day -Upper back pain around heart region after eating, a tums cleared it up after 10 minutes or so, reoccurred after eating a 2nd meal, another tums made it betterFirst visit to the hospital had every test under the moon done (Blood, Urine, X-Ray, Catscan, Ultrasound) and came up empty. No signs of any stones, appendicitis, etc. 2 Doctors (one at hospital, and family doctor) are trying to tell me a lot of it is anxiety related, and that I'm dreaming most of it up myself, not letting myself recover. While I agree stress/anxiety is a powerful feel-sick agent, I highly doubt it is ALL of it. I'm really at a loss, and am looking for advice! If anyone knows anything at all, please lend me your ideas!I can only assume they did a full cardiac work-up (EKG, echo, enzymes, etc.) for your chest pain. If they ruled out your heart than the chest pain is probably from your acid reflux, as is the other pain you are feeling after meals. If you're not on medication for this (e.g. protonix), you should be. If you are already on medication let your doctor know it's not working. The other stuff could be a lot of things, but once again I'll have to assume they're ruled out all the obvious stuff (kidneys, anemia, pregnancy). So it does sound like you have severe stress and anxiety, and/or fluid and electrolyte imbalances.-Did they ever tell you any of your vital signs were abnormal?-Are you a healthy weight? Do you take in an adequate, balanced diet and drink at least 8 glasses of water per day? Take a daily multivitamin? If not these things could be the cause of your problems.-Do you have normal bowel movements at least once every three days? A lot of GI problems can cause fluid/electrolyte imbalances. A stool culture may be helpful.-There is nothing to be ashamed of if it turns out your symptoms are due to anxiety. A lot of people don't like to get that diagnosis but anxiety is as real and powerful as any other medical problem. You really need to tell your doctor what happened when you took the anti-anxiety medication and that you are not taking it. There are many different things that can be tried. Give the medications a chance, as well as therapy and lifestyle changes if suggested by your doctor.Finally, until you are sure what's wrong with you, it is really not a good idea to self-diagnose or self-medicate, as you could end up taking something that makes your condition worse. These are all things your doctors have probably already said. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Best of luck to you.
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0.999999 |
A list of South American countries by the length of their coastlines.
The Brazilian coast is known for its beaches, such as the famous Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Coastlines have a unique feature when it comes to defining their lengths because they keep deforming and reshaping like a fractal. Although they behave like fractals, the measurements of coastlines are in terms of length. Some countries have long coastlines while others have short ones. South America for example, is the fourth largest continent with an area of about 17,840,000 square kilometers and countries with different lengths of coastlines. Here is a description of South American countries by the length of their coastlines.
The longest coastline in South America is that of Brazil, which has a length of 7,941 kilometers. The coastline is alongside the Atlantic Ocean and is famous for receiving a large number of tourists as well as its islands, bays, and reefs.
Chile is ranked the second South American country with a coastline of 6,435 kilometers long. It is on the south of the continent and it borders the Pacific Ocean and parts of Atlantic Ocean.
Argentina is densely populated and has been ranked as the 32nd most populated country globally it is also believed to be South America's second largest country after Brazil. Argentina has an area of about 2.7 million square kilometers, and its coastline is the third longest in South America with a length of 4,989 kilometers.
Colombia has the fourth longest coastline with a length of 3,208 kilometers. Its population has an uneven distribution, and it has a tropical rainforest on the southern regions.
The fifth longest coastline in South America is that of Venezuela which is 2,800 kilometers long. The country is situated on the north coast of its continent, and it covers an area of about 912,050 square kilometers.
On the western coast of South America is Peru, a country facing the Pacific Ocean and has the sixth longest coastline. The length of its coastline is approximately 2,414 kilometers long.
Ecuador is bordered to the north by Colombia and to the East and South by Peru. The country has the seventh longest coastline, 2,237 kilometers long, on the west side of Pacific Ocean.
The country that comes on the eighth position in the list is Guyana with a coastline of 459 kilometers long. Guyana covers an area of about 214,969 kilometers.
Natural hazards that are bound to affect South America's coastlines include earthquakes and tsunamis since the Pacific Ocean is considered tectonic. El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) causes different effects in different regions of the South American coast. For instance, in Colombia when sea level rises there is a change in island barrier whereas in Peru ENSOs cause the sudden existence of sediments on the coast. There is also the movement of dunes in Brazil due to dry situations because of the ENSO. South America's population has tended to settle near the coastlines, and as a result, it has made erosion easier and severe because of different human activities that take place near the coastal region.
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0.955335 |
How do I eat radishes?
I think our favorite answer to this question, regardless of the vegetable, is almost always “Raw!” But sometimes, it feels like we get into a rut and get bored with the same old thing. So try this out and see what you think!
First, peel the green “skin” off of the kohlrabi. Finely slice the radishes, kohlrabi, and apple. Chop the herbs.
Toss with lime juice, olive oil, herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir in a few spoonfuls of sour cream.
Taste and adjust to your liking. Chill. Allow the flavors to soak in for a few hours before serving.
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0.904757 |
What made you decide to do a 30-day sugar detox?
A friend told me she was doing the Whole30 diet, where you cut out sugar, grains, dairy, and legumes for 30 days. I was so impressed that she was cutting out sugar — I didn't even care about the other stuff; I was just most impressed by the sugar — because I realized I eat A LOT of sugar.
A few days after talking to her, I started paying closer attention to what I was eating, and I tried to cut sugar out of my diet. No honey in my tea, no brown sugar in my oatmeal, etc. Then I saw this film called Fed Up which is absolutely amazing. (You can watch it HERE for free and check out a trailer HERE. ) My friend Chrissie suggested that I watch this movie and told me after I watched it I would never want to eat sugar again. I thought, GREAT! And that's how it all got started.
So what exactly did the detox entail?
I created this sugar detox specifically for me. I knew that as someone who exercises frequently I would have a really hard time cutting out sugar altogether while teaching 12 classes a week. So I still allowed myself to eat fruit, and bread, but at a minimum. Yes, fruit and bread have a lot of sugar in them. I checked labels on foods I was buying: crackers, canned tomatoes, yogurt, etc. Once you realize that sugar is in everything, you start to notice it EVERYWHERE. It's in Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, tomato sauce, chicken broth, the list goes on. I'd start noticing it in the most random places. So basically anything that had a label on it, I would make sure it did not have sugar (or glucose, syrup, honey) in the ingredient list, and a very low or 0g amount of sugar in it.
That must have been pretty limiting!
Yes, because here's an interesting fact: There are 600,000 food items in the United States, and 80 percent of them contain added sugar. AND: It is suggested that we eat only six to nine teaspoons of sugar a day. Which is about 25 to 37 grams per day. ONE can of soda has 44 grams of sugar! When you look at the nutrition labels, you'll also notice that they don't include the daily value percentage on sugar. It only says the grams, because a soda would say almost 200 percent of your daily sugar!
Wow. But what did you eat during the detox?
I ate lots of fresh produce and a lot of protein. I fell in love with my crockpot at this time as well. I'd slow cook chicken and potatoes, with lots of herbs and spices. I'd eat a lot of fish. And I'd eat at home a lot, because you don't know what restaurants are putting in their food. Also, drink lots of water with lemon, especially in the morning. Someone once told me that helps curb your cravings for sugar.
What was the hardest part about doing it?
The little things. Not putting honey in my tea — that was actually the hardest. Or not having a piece of chocolate after my dinner. Another part that was hard was cooking ALL the time. So halfway through the 30 days, I started getting my meals from my friends over at eateasynyc.com. They delivered the meals right to my apartment, with a list of all the ingredients so you know exactly what you're eating. It's great food, and it saved me so much time!
Toward the end of the 30 days, I was really feeling great! My energy level was more stable throughout the day. My skin looked great, my overall mood was much brighter, too. And I felt really proud of myself for actually doing something that I said I would. I, of course, doubted myself in the beginning, thinking that I would never be able to resist ice cream, desserts, etc, but I did it!
Do you have any advice for anyone who might want to try it?
Watch this film first. It really talks about the truths of sugar in your body, and sugar in our society. It's very powerful. And if you want to read more about my journey through the whole 30 days, you can check out my blog: www.livelearnlovewell.com.
Catch classes with Emma at SoulCycle 19th Street, SoulCycle NoHo and SoulCycle West Village! Questions or comments? Email [email protected]!
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0.999905 |
When in doubt, start with a haiku. During a week dedicated to raising awareness for craft brewing, I think it is fitting to dedicate one day to honor the hottest brewing trend since the discovery of yeast: Collaboration beers.
Brewing is a craft similar to cooking, except most brewers didn't learn their craft from their grandmother. Techniques have been passed down for millennia from brewer to apprentice. In this era of modern craft brewing, an extraordinary amount of knowledge sharing has taken place between brewers. Perhaps this unconventional business practice stems from craft brewers' common objective to cut into the market stronghold of the behemoth breweries. For reference, craft breweries represented about 0.05% of beer sales in the United States in 2010.
I'd argue there is something more special about the fraternity of craft brewers. Most brewers learned their craft outside of a formal school setting and began their business from scratch. Knowledge sharing was fundamental to their business' survival, and most brewers are simply willing to give back to the community that supported them during their rise.
The craft aspect of a brewer's business also fosters sharing. As with cooking, even the most seasoned professional can benefit from fresh ideas and new techniques. Don't believe me? This is American Craft Beer Week, visit your local brewery and strike up a conversation with a brewer. Watch out though, you may talk your way into helping out during the next brewing session.
During a recent visit to Specs Warehouse in downtown Houston, I saw no less than ten collaborative offerings in the American craft beer aisle. Whether these efforts were educational, marketing-driven, or simply a celebration of their trade, I'm a happy and willing beneficiary of the experiments.
"This delectable blonde ale is a co-creation of two famed farmstead breweries: Brewery Ommegang and Brasserie d'Achouffe. It employs five fine malts, two noble hops, and both of the distinctive Chouffe and Ommegang yeasts. You'll enjoy the smooth drinkability, fruity aromas and flavors, and warming finish."
We've visited this brewery in the past and have been enjoying their World-class farmhouse Belgian-style beers for many years. When I learned of this collaborative effort, I immediately pictured the metaphor described above of an award winning chef learning new techniques from another master in his particular cuisine. Such high expectations are dangerous.
The beer pours golden, forming a relatively small head that dissipates relatively quickly. The beers nose straight forward for the style. Distinct Belgian yeast aromas including lots of clove and maybe a little more banana than I would have expected were present. The flavors followed suit. The beer is slightly sweet and has a noticeable boozy punch. The tasting notes on the bottle mention the beer's "drinkability," so I guess it is okay if I type the term in my review.
This was a very good beer (I'm talking A- good). I wonder if it wouldn't gain a little more character after a year or two in storage. My initial impression was that this beer is too "safe" for a collaborative effort. After giving it some thought, this is a very technically sound version of the style. I assume that there are some technical aspects of the brewing process for this beer that may not slap you in the face while drinking the finished product. However, this doesn't make Gnomegang anything less than a solid collaborative effort.
This beer is splendid! The taste is crisp and complex, and I bet this beer will age well. The lovely carbonation dances on your tongue, or goes up your nose if you take too big of a gulp.
Gnomegang is delish! I highly recommend this great collaboration.
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0.999846 |
1. Get what you came for. Consistency is key to reaching your goals. Additionally, it is vital to give yourself at least one hour a week where you can give your worries and stresses a rest and focus on YOU.
3. A set, weekly time helps makes therapy an expected part of your routine. Having infrequent or inconsistent appointments with your therapist can lead to forgetting sessions, or even the feeling that they are less important.
If you are concerned about your relationship, and you would both like to work with me, I recommend both partners go into individual therapy alongside seeking couples therapy. I generally do one-to-one with both partners to check in as far as relationship climate is concerned once you have become an established couple.
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0.998129 |
(CNN) -- Spanish police Thursday arrested a suspected member of the Basque separatist group who is wanted for six killings in the 1980s, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Juan Manuel Inciarte Gallardo is wanted for six killings in the 1980s.
Juan Manuel Inciarte Gallardo, 55, was detained at Madrid's airport after he was expelled from Mexico for lack of proper documents, the ministry said.
The arrest came a week after authorities blamed ETA for two major car bombings -- one that killed two Civil Guard officers on the Spanish island of Mallorca, and one a day earlier that injured more than 40 people at a Civil Guard barracks in the northern mainland city of Burgos.
ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its long fight for Basque independence, and is designated a terrorist organization by Spain, the European Union and the United States.
Inciarte is wanted in Spain for the 1980s killings of five police officers. In one of the attacks, the pregnant wife of an officer was killed, along with her husband, the ministry said.
An anonymous tip alerted authorities in Mexico to Inciarte's presence, the ministry said. He is believed to have been hiding there since 1996.
The attacks last week brought renewed fears thatETA might again be regrouping, despite numerous arrests in Spain and also in France, ETA's traditional rearguard base.
Spanish authorities repeatedly said ETA was weaker than ever, but still maintained the capacity to attack.
In the Mallorca attack on July 31, authorities said the two officers died from the explosion of a "limpet bomb" placed under their Civil Guard vehicle. Officials initially said the bomb was detonated in a parked car while the officers drove by, but investigators later determined the bomb was attached under the Civil Guard car.
The bombing of the Civil Guard barracks on July 30 in Burgos, 237 kilometers (146 miles) north of Madrid, occurred before dawn, and notably did not include a prior warning call, which ETA often makes before such attacks.
The blast heavily damaged the Burgos barracks, injuring Civil Guards and their families, including young children. All injuries were described as slight, such as from flying glass.
The attacks last week coincided with the 50th anniversary, on July 31, of the formation of ETA. The group seeks independence for about two million people who live in three Basque provinces in northern Spain, and for another 700,000 who live in an adjacent province with Basque roots and in three departments in southwest France.
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0.999803 |
Is the water that flows inside a human being, that red water we call “blood”?
The blood flowing through the body cascades like a waterfall.
Imagine human beings with waterfalls of blood.
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0.999999 |
Is all the hype about Vitamin D true?
Unless you've been living in a cave for the last couple of years, I'm sure you've heard at least some of the excitement about Vitamin D.
It all started with the discovery that people with low levels of vitamin D had a higher risk of certain cancers than those with higher levels. That started a flurry of research, and since then, many other benefits have been discovered.
It's essential for the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous. Your body needs these for lots of things, not the least of which is strong bones. So it's an important part in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
It regulates your immune system, which can help prevent illness. One study revealed that supplementing with vitamin D actually prevented more colds and flus than antiviral medication and vaccines.
It may help prevent autoimmune diseases, for the same reason as above I would assume. There are many studies linking low vitamin D levels to Multiple Sclerosis. Recently the same benefit has been seen for Crohn's disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
It can help improve asthma and allergy symptoms. The amount and severity of symptoms, as well as actual attacks is decreased when vitamin D levels are high.
It may play an important role in keeping your brain working well in later life.
It may be important for maintaining a healthy weight. Higher levels of vitamin D were strong predictors of success in a weight loss study.
It could be one of the body's main protectors from low levels of radiation.
It may prevent urinary incontinence in women. A study showed that having higher levels of vitamin D decreased the risk of incontinence by 45%.
It may decrease your chances of having heart disease or a stroke. For people taking vitamin D supplements, those that took 2000IU/day vs. 400IU/day had less arterial stiffness.
A deficiency may be responsible for unexplained body aches & pain.
It may help prevent/treat depression. Low vitamin D levels cause an increase in parathyroid hormone, which can cause symptoms of depression.
It seems to help prevent cancers of all types. All cancer patients had a vitamin D deficiency in a study recently done by Cancer Treatment Centers of America. There have been positive results specifically with breast, colon and prostate cancer.
Here's the problem: 30-40% of Western society is deficient in vitamin D. For those of us living in northern climates (like my fellow Canadians), it's about 90%.
The major source of vitamin D is from the sun. There is very little obtained from diet. So if you aren't exposed to the sun everyday for at least 15-20 minutes during peak vitamin D-producing times, you're likely deficient.
Really, you shouldn't even try to get your vitamin D from the sun, because you would have to be out during the most dangerous time for radiation and sunscreen prevents your body from making it. AND if you don't live relatively close to the equator, it's not even possible during the winter months.
A deficient vitamin D level is considered below 30 ng/dl (75 nmol/L). This is the absolute minimum you should have to prevent problems. The OPTIMAL level (where you're getting all the health benefits they've been discovering) is above 50ng/dl (125 nmol/L). Ask your doctor to test your vitamin D levels, then ask for the actual number. He/she likely won't call you unless your levels are considered deficient, but you could still be far below the optimal level.
Studies show that you need to supplement with at least 1000IU/day during the summer months and 2000IU/day during the winter to get yourself to optimal levels. Double that for those of us living in the Northern US, Canada, Europe, etc.... Some health professionals who are not up-to-date on the research may tell you that 2000IU/day is too much, but not to worry, there is plenty of research to support it- even at amounts far greater than that.
Vitamin D supplements are inexpensive and well-tolerated, so it only makes sense to take advantage of them to reap the health benefits.
I have found an excellent quality product. (If you have seen my webpages about choosing a supplement, then you know how difficult it is to find a quality product.) Each tablet gives you 1000IU of vitamin D, so one bottle will last you 6 months if you're taking it once a day.
Here's the link to purchase a quality vitamin D supplement.
Don't miss out on this cheap "health insurance". Start supplementing with vitamin D now!
The dispenser for the modern 'seat covers' (invented by someone's Mum, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your bag on the door hook, if there was one, so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mum would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!) down with your pants and assume "The Stance".
In this position, your aging, toneless, thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but having not taken time to wipe the seat or to lay toilet paper on it, you hold "The Stance".
To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, 'Dear, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!' Your thighs shake more.
You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your bag (the bag around your neck, that now you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That will have to do, so you crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail.
Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The door hits your bag, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest and you and your bag topple backward against the tank of the toilet.
It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try.
You yank the paper from your shoe, plonk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, "Here, you just might need this". As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used and left the men's toilet. Annoyed, he asks, "What took you so long and why is your bag hanging around your neck?"
This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with any public toilets. It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long.
It also answers that other commonly asked question about why women go to the toilets in pairs. It's so the other girl can hold the door, hang onto your bag and hand you Kleenex under the door.
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The probe "New Horizons" has sent new images of the most distant object of the solar system that humans have ever seen. "Ultima Thule," as the celestial body is called by Nasa, has a startling shape.
The NASA space probe "New Horizons" has a prominent fan. Queen guitar legend Brian May recently released a song called "New Horizons (Ultima Thule Mix)". Good: The musician is incidentally studied and doctorate astrophysicist. This explains May's personal enthusiasm for the US probe, which has gone as far into the cosmos as a few Earth devices. But now also laymen are interested in the probe: With "Ultima Thule", "New Horizons" has recently photographed the body of the solar system that has been farthest away from us.
That was at the turn of the year. Therefore, the message outside the Astroszene may have gone down a bit. Now new pictures show: The Brocken - officially it is called 2014 MU69 - has a quite surprising form. That it consists of two different sized parts, which are bound together by the effect of gravity, was already clear since the flyby. At first, the photos looked as if the celestial body, with its total diameter of about 30 kilometers, had the shape of a flying snowman. But now it turns out that it does not consist of balls - but at least one of the structures is flat as a pancake. And the other one is deformed too.
Graphics on the suspected form of "Ultima Thule"
Ralf Jaumann from the Institute of Planetary Research of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin calls the new pictures "rather unusual". "So far, our impression of Ultima Thule has been based only on the limited number of photos that 'New Horizons' sent from flyby to Earth," comments Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute at Boulder, the mission's chief scientist. "But now we have more data, and they change our view".
"We have," says Stern, "never seen anything like this object orbiting the Sun." His colleague Jaumann believes that 2014 MU69 is the result of a collision of the two parts - and that they had their characteristic shape before this collision. Explain the peculiar geometry by the forces acting: "The gravity was not large enough that forms a ball - and the centrifugal forces were again not large enough that the whole thing is flying apart."
2014 MU69 was not even discovered when "New Horizons" was launched in January 2006. The primary goal of the mission was namely the Pluto, who in turn was still considered as a planet when taking off the probe. However, apart from a few fundamentals, not much was known about the distant, cold and gloomy celestial body, "New Horizons" was supposed to change that.
And indeed: the flyby in the summer of 2015 has virtually revolutionized our image of this distant world - even though Pluto is now officially only around the sun as a dwarf planet. The pictures show extremely varied ice landscapes: A total of 30 different terrain types, including mountains, gorges, crater-rugged landscapes and smooth ice levels, announce an active geology.
Behind the pluto, the probe was allowed to fly on, fuel was still sufficiently available. With the "Hubble" telescope you had already spied out looking for targets in the Kuiper belt, that of Abertausenden frosty chunks populated zone beyond Pluto, are distracted from the comets into the interior of the solar system every now and again. And the 2014 MU69, discovered in the summer of 2014, was cheap.
With 50,000 kilometers per hour, "New Horizons" finally rushed past the celestial body in the first hours of this year - and came much closer to it than Pluto: The distance was 3000 kilometers, the dwarf planet had been about 12,500 kilometers. By comparison, the International Space Station is about 400 kilometers from Earth, while communications and weather satellites in geostationary orbit are nearly 36,000 kilometers.
2014 MU69 is like a time capsule from the childhood days of our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. Since then, the material has probably never been melted at temperatures just above absolute zero. Its red color, as seen in some of the "New Horizons" images, owe the celestial body probably frozen gases such as ammonia and methane compounds, says researcher Jaumann.
What fascinates him especially: The distant celestial body is possibly the precursor of a comet such as Churjumow-Gerasimenko, called "Tschuri". This had been examined by the European space probe "Rosetta" with its German landing robot "Philae" - and was probably also catapulted from the region beyond Neptune into the interior of the solar system. It too consisted of two parts, held together solely by the action of gravity. "There are probably a lot of bodies that are so gravitationally related," says Jaumann.
Because "New Horizons" is now about 6.6 billion kilometers from Earth, data transmission is extremely slow. In total, it will take about two years for all the data collected during the flyby to be sent to NASA's Deep Space Network antennas.
The currently evaluated images are among the last that "New Horizons" has done in the flyby - "Ultima Thule" was already behind her at this time. Meanwhile, the probe continues on its way into the Kuiper Belt. Not only Alan Stern, the chief scientist of the probe, is hoping for an extension of the mission. Even Brian May could be sure, maybe even a new song would be in there.
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"Duc de France" redirects here. For the early medieval title, see Duke of the Franks.
Henri d'Orléans, Count of Paris, Duke of France (Henri Philippe Pierre Marie d'Orléans; born 14 June 1933), is a member of the former French ruling dynasty of the House of Bourbon, and one of the current pretenders to the defunct French crown as Henry VII. A descendant of King Louis-Philippe (ruled 1830–1848), he is the current head of the Orléans line of the Bourbon dynasty. As such he is recognized as the legitimate claimant to the throne by those French royalists who adhere to the succession of Louis-Philippe ("Orléanists"), as well as by the "Unionist" faction that rejects Louis-Philippe's title but recognizes his grandson Philippe, Count of Paris (1838–1894), as the heir of the rival claimant Henry, Count of Chambord, the last direct agnatic descendant of King Louis XV. Henri of Orléans is a former military officer as well as an author and painter.
Henri d'Orléans is protector of the Orléans obedience of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910).
He was the first son born to Henri of Orléans, Count of Paris, and his wife Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium, because an 1886 law banned the heirs of formerly reigning French dynasties from entering France. This law was abrogated in 1950, but Henri had already been allowed to enter France by special favour of President Vincent Auriol in 1948.
On 25 August 1940, Henri's grandfather, Jean of Orléans, Duke of Guise, died. His father was recognised by most French royalists as head of the French royal house, and Henri became their dauphin.
He studied at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and then served in the military, notably during the Algerian War.
For his military service he was decorated with the French Legion of Honor, Cross for Military Valour, Combatant Cross and the Colonial Medal.
On 5 July 1957, he married Duchess Marie Therese of Württemberg (born 1934). He received the title Count of Clermont. Five children were born from this union.
Princess Marie Isabelle Marguerite Anne Geneviève of Orléans (b. 3 January 1959 in Boulogne-sur-Seine) married civilly in Dreux, on 22 July 1989, and religiously in Friedrichshafen, on 29 July 1989, to Prince Gundakar Albert Alfred Petrus of Liechtenstein (born on 1 April 1949 in Vienna, Austria), and has issue.
Prince François Henri Louis Marie of Orléans (b. 7 February 1961 in Boulogne-sur-Seine), Count of Clermont.
Princess Blanche Elisabeth Rose Marie of Orléans (b. 10 September 1963 in Ravensburg, Germany). Her godparents were Duchess Elisabeth of Wurtemberg, and Monsieur Michel Coulages.
Prince Eudes Thibaut Joseph Marie of Orléans (b. 18 March 1968, Paris), Duke of Angoulême, married civilly in Dreux, on 19 June 1999, and religiously in Antrain, on 10 July 1999, to Marie-Liesse Claude Anne Rolande de Rohan-Chabot (born on 29 June 1969 in Paris), with whom he has two children.
Prince Pierre Jean Marie d'Orléans (b. 6 August 2003, Cannes).
The marriage was unhappy. In 1984, Henri and Marie-Thérèse received a civil divorce.
On 31 October of that same year, Henri married Micaëla Anna María Cousiño y Quiñones de León (born on 30 April 1938), daughter of Luis Cousiño y Sebire and his wife Doña Antonia Maria Quiñones de Léon y Bañuelos, 4th Marchioness of San Carlos. As this marriage was not celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church, it was not recognised by a number of French royalists. Henri's father, too, was furious; he disinherited Henri, stripped him of his titles, and gave him the lesser-valued title comte de Mortain (Clermont was once held by the cadet son of Louis IX of France, who became the ancestor of the Bourbon line, Mortain was once held by John Lackland of England, who was regarded as lacking land and appanage). Henri refused all mail addressed to him as "Count of Mortain." Meanwhile, Marie-Thérèse, the former Countess of Clermont, was granted the title "Duchesse de Montpensier" by her father-in-law.
Tensions lessened after several years, and Henri's father reinstated him as heir apparent and gave Micaela the title "Princesse de Joinville". Relations between Henri and his former wife, the Duchesse de Montpensier also improved and became cordial.
Although Henri adopted the title of Count of Paris upon the death of his father, his second wife remained Princesse de Joinville during the life of his mother who remained Countess of Paris. Upon the death of his mother, Micaëla assumed the title of Countess of Paris.
In 2009, Henri, Count of Paris and his former wife, the Duchesse de Montpensier were able to obtain an annulment of their marriage from the Vatican without affecting the status and legitimacy of their children. The Count of Paris was then able to remarry his second wife, Micaëla Countess of Paris and Duchess of France in the Roman Catholic Church, in September 2009.
In an attempt to establish his legal rights as head of the Royal House of France, Henri launched an unsuccessful court case (1987–1989) in which he challenged his rival Louis-Alphonse, Duke of Anjou's right to use the undifferenced Royal Arms. The French courts denied that they had jurisdiction over the dispute and did not address the merits of the case.
After his father's death, a court-appointed lawyer searched through the late count's effects on behalf of his nine children, to reclaim what remained of the family's dissipated fortune. Jewels, art-work, and an exceptional medieval illustrated manuscript were found. These were auctioned off, raising approximately US$14 million. Soon after, in 2000 however, bailiffs pursued Henri for US$143,000 back rent after he fled the Villa Boileau, a 17th-century Paris house he had occupied.
On 19 June 1999, Henri's father died and Henri became the new head of the French royal house (according to his supporters). He took the titles Count of Paris and Duke of France. His wife became known as Duchess of France, in order to enable Henri's widowed mother to continue to use the title Countess of Paris. Henri's mother died on 5 July 2003, and Micaela started to use the title Countess of Paris.
He claims the title of Duke of France as heir to Hugh Capet and Hugh's ancestors before they were Kings of France.
After his father's death, Henri annulled his father's decision to disinherit his brothers Michel (Count of Évreux) and Thibaut (the late Count of La Marche) from their rights to the throne because Michel married a noble woman but not a royal one and because Thibaut married a commoner. He also bestowed titles upon his nephews by brother Jacques, Duke of Orléans, Charles-Louis of Orléans, Duke of Chartres (11 July 1972 – ), m. 21/28 Jun 1997 Ileana Manos (22 Sep 1970 – ), and Prince Foulques of Orléans, Duke of Aumale (9 Jul 1974 – ) and Count of Eu.
He also recognised his disabled eldest son François as heir, with the title Count of Clermont, with a 'regency' by his middle son, Prince Jean, Duke of Vendôme. Prince Jean had a son in November 2009, Gaston.
Henri is also a painter and has launched his own brand of perfume. In addition, he ran in the European elections of 2004, which he lost.
He takes part in some European royal events, attending the 2011 marriage of Albert II of Monaco.
Henri, Count of Paris and Duke of France, is an agnatic fifth-generation descendant of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. He has three further descents from Louis-Philippe through his father and one through his mother, who also descends from Louis-Philippe in the male line, for a total of five descents as a great-great-great-grandson.
Henri is a member of the House of Bourbon-Orléans, a sub-branch of the House of Bourbon, itself a branch of the House of Capet and of the Robertians.
Henri's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. It follows the Dukes of Orléans, the Kings of France, the Dukes and Counts of Vendôme, the Counts of La Marche, the first Duke of Bourbon, a Count of Clermont, and before them, again the Kings of France. The line can be traced back more than 1,300 years and is one of the oldest in Europe.
↑ Marie Desnos - Parismatch.com. "Paris Match 28 Sept 2009". ParisMatch.com. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>. Archived: 28 July 2012.
This page was last modified on 5 January 2016, at 22:52.
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Are there any Modern neighborhoods in Tallahassee?
Renowned for its historical attributes, Tallahassee has built a longstanding empire based on its rural roots. Although Tallahassee captures Southern civility in a small town America feel, the expanding historic city has invited a more modern appeal into its town.
In between Tallahassee's rolling hills and beds of canopy trees, lays a modern appeal of living. Tallahassee's Midtown district has gone from underground indie to a popularized neighborhood almost over night. Midtown, Tallahassee derives its name from just that-being strategically located in the middle of the city. Just a few blocks from downtown and the University areas, this district is celebrated for its energetic, alluring and rural-chic atmosphere.
Although Tallahassee's substantial ingredient of South Charm is embedded throughout Midtown, the district has evolved into more of a mini metropolitan neighborhood. Unlike most neighborhoods in the Capital city, Midtown is warmed with convenience and entertainment. Tallahassee apartments in this community are short walks to wineries, vintage boutiques, coffee shops, and bakeries. Lafayette Park is a short drive from town allowing residents to escape into a collection of rural enjoyment.
If you are searching for cultured nightlife and friendly hangouts, Midtown may be the perfect neighborhood to live in! Apartments near Tallahassee throughout this area are practically neighbor's with some of the town's most popular bars, such as the Midtown Filling Station.
Midtown has attracted the like of many students, young professionals and graduates. Although there is a fine distinction in this town from the Southeast college area of the city, Midtown is still famed for its playful and free spirited environment. However, Midtown has also drawn in a fair amount of families as well.
The Midtown district is surrounded by some of Tallahassee's most reputable neighborhoods such as Los Robles gates (one of Tallahassee's first neighborhoods)! These charming suburban neighborhoods enclose the Midtown district increasing the popularization of younger families moving to the area.
If you are searching for an urban lifestyle within the skirts of the Capital city, Midtown may be just what you are looking for. However, Tallahassee apartments in this area may come with a price. Most units in this area are newer and more upscale as a result of the recent renovation and expansion to the area. This district is in high demand when it comes to rentals and may even be slightly competitive when it comes to landing a fantastic new home. If this may deter you from living in this area, there are ways to get around it.
In order to still be able to enjoy the likes of Midtown on a strict budget, I would advice you to look for communities right outside of the district. Many Midtown loving students and professions tend to settle down within the boundaries of Thomasville. Although this area may be a bit older and calmer than the newly built properties inside Midtown, it is within walking distance or a very short drive to the district. This way, you can still enjoy the benefits of the midtown district while paying a more humble rental amount each month.
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How local is the local field potential?
The local field potential (LFP), usually referring to the low-frequency part of an extracellularly recorded potential (< 500 Hz), is nowadays routinely measured together with the spiking activity. The LFP is commonly believed to mainly reflect synaptic activity in a local population surrounding the electrode but how large this population is, i.e. how many neurons contribute to the signal, is still debated. In this modeling study we investigate which factors influence the spatial summation of contributions that generate the LFP signal. A better understanding of this is crucial for a correct interpretation of the LFP, especially when analyzing multiple LFP signals recorded simultaneously at different cortical sites.
We use a simplified two-dimensional model of a cortical population of neurons where the LFP is constructed as a weighted sum of signal contributions from all cells within a certain radial distance to the recording electrode. First we consider a general formulation of the model: if the single-cell LFP contributions can be viewed as current dipole sources , the single-cell amplitude will decay as 1/r2 with distance r to the electrode. On the other hand, for the two-dimensional geometry considered here, the number of neurons at a given distance increases linearly with r. In addition to these two opposed scaling factors the amplitude of the summed LFP signal also depends on how correlated the single-cell LFP sources are. We calculate the LFP amplitude as a function of the population radius and relate it to the above factors. We show that if the single-cell contributions decay as dipole sources or more steeply with distance, and if the sources are uncorrelated, the LFP is originating from a small local population. Cells outside of this population do not contribute to the LFP. If, however, the different LFP sources are uniformly correlated, cells at any distance contribute substantially to the LFP amplitude. In this case the LFP reach is only limited by the size of the region of correlated sources. This result highlights that the spatial region of the LFP is not fixed; rather it changes with the dynamics of the underlying synaptic activity.
We further validate these results through LFP simulations of morphologically reconstructed cortical cells [2–4] where we study the effects of neuronal morphology on the size of the region contributing to the LFP. Finally, we show the laminar dependence of the reach measure used here and discuss potential implications of the interpretation of experimentally recorded LFPs.
This work was partially funded by the Research Council of Norway (eVita [eNEURO], NOTUR), EU Grant 15879 (FACETS), EU Grant 269921 (BrainScaleS), BMBF Grant 01GQ0420 to BCCN Freiburg, Next-Generation Supercomputer Project of MEXT, Japan, and the Helmholtz Alliance on Systems Biology.
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The basic block diagram of a pacemaker system is given below. The function of each block is explained briefly.
1. Timing circuit: The timing circuit determines the basic timing rate of the pulse generator. It consists of an RC network, reference voltage source, a comparator etc.
2. Pulse width circuit: The stimulating pulse duration is determined by the pulse width circuit. It is triggered by the output from the timing circuit. The pulse width circuit is also an RC circuit as the timing circuit. The output of the pulse width circuit is fed into the pace limiting circuit.
3. Pace limiting circuit: The function of pace limiting circuit is to limit the pacing rate. The maximum pacing rate is usually selected as 120 pulses per minute. The pace limit circuit limit the pacing rate by disabling the comparator for a preset interval of time.
4. Heart stimulator circuit: This is also called output circuit since it provides the proper input pulse to stimulate the heart and hence called heart stimulator circuit.
5. Refractory circuit: This circuit provides a period of time following an output pulse or sensed R-wave. During this time the amplifier will not respond to outside signals.
6. R-wave sensing circuit: The function of R-wave sensing circuit is to detect or sense a spontaneous R-wave and to reset the oscillator when the pulse is not needed.
7. Reversion circuit (Return circuit): It allows the amplifier to detect a spontaneous R-wave. In the absence of R-wave, this circuit again allows the oscillator to generate pulses at its preset rate. This circuit is called reversion or return circuit since it allows to return the oscillator to its active state.
8. Voltage monitor and controller: This circuit continuously monitors the battery voltage. As the pacing rate is depending on the efficiency of battery, it has to be monitored regularly. If the battery voltage is decreased, it triggers the energy compensation and pulse duration controller circuit.
9. Energy compensation/ Pulse duration controller circuit: If the battery voltage is decreased the energy compensation circuit increases the pulse duration so that the pulses delivered to the patient are not affected by the battery charge loss.
10. Rate slow down circuit: It is a special circuit which slows down the heart rate during certain conditions such as cell depletion. So the cell depletion is monitored by the voltage controller circuit, and whenever cell depletion occurs, the voltage monitor/controller circuit activates the rate slow down circuit. This circuit slows down the rate by limiting the current to the basic timing network.
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With life being so busy, a perfect way to unwind and relax is by creating an outdoor oasis in your backyard. Research shows that the most enjoyable areas of the home combine relaxation, socialization and functionality. An outdoor oasis provides an opportunity to accommodate all three.
Gathering Area: This would be a central location with plenty of seating options. A propane fireplace or fire pit would make an ideal focal point for this space.
Outdoor Kitchen: An outdoor kitchen is the perfect space for entertaining. Guest can gather around and socialize while the meal is being prepared on your outdoor propane grill, cooktop or oven.
Privacy: A pergola, privacy panels, and large plants can create a secluded getaway feel within any open space.
Lighting: Propane lighting combines old-word charm with modern energy efficiency adding ambiance and character to any outdoor oasis.
Accents: Add personal touches with bold colors and adventurous designs. Don’t be afraid to have fun with accents and make this space your own.
Patio Heaters: A standing or portable propane heater provides up to a 20’ radius of heat and can raise the outdoor air temperature as much as 30 degrees. Having a patio heater will allow you to enjoy your oasis year-round.
Why not turn your backyard into an outdoor oasis? No matter the size your yard, you can turn it into an amazing place to escape and spend time with family and friends.
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Skyscrapers in London, England, United Kingdom.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skyscrapers in London.
Pages in category "Skyscrapers in London"
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building having multiple floors. When the term was used in the 1880s it described a building of 10 to 20 floors. Mostly designed for office and residential uses, a skyscraper can be called a high-rise, for buildings above a height of 300 m, the term supertall can be used, while skyscrapers reaching beyond 600 m are classified as megatall. One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel framework that supports curtain walls and these curtain walls either bear on the framework below or are suspended from the framework above, rather than resting on load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Some early skyscrapers have a frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than of those made of reinforced concrete. Modern skyscrapers walls are not load-bearing, and most skyscrapers are characterized by surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls with a surface area of windows.
Modern skyscrapers often have a structure, and are designed to act like a hollow cylinder to resist wind, seismic. To appear more slender, allow less wind exposure, and transmit more daylight to the ground, many skyscrapers have a design with setbacks, a relatively big building may be considered a skyscraper if it protrudes well above its built environment and changes the overall skyline. The maximum height of structures has progressed historically with building methods and technologies, the Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the world. High-rise buildings are considered shorter than skyscrapers, the first steel-frame skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois in 1885. Even the scholars making the argument find it to be purely academic and this definition was based on the steel skeleton—as opposed to constructions of load-bearing masonry, which passed their practical limit in 1891 with Chicagos Monadnock Building. What is the characteristic of the tall office building.
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Whistling down chimneys and banging on doors the new year has blown in on the back of the wind. It announced its arrival by hurling rain at my darkened window. It sounded just like a round of applause.
Through my dark window I glimpse the Moon and my breath is stolen away by its presence. That great big shiny coin is just hanging there, low and golden in the sky like unspent riches. Its aura so bright that I feel I have happened on some piece of magic not usually destined for mortal eyes.
A gust of wind - and a flurry of yellow gold leaves take to the air and soar over my fence like birds.
November has bought more light into my north facing room. The trees have dropped their verdant graces and now stand naked against the colourless sky. Intricate silhouettes softened and blurred by the gentle falling rain.
It has been so long since I last waited for the dawn, there is magic in that liminal place as we cross the threshhold from dark to light. So here I sit in this dark room, watching as the soft pink light gently dissolves the darkness into a new day.
The constant trees beyond my window, stately stood against the sky. Clouds adorned with whirling jackdaws. How I wish that I could fly.
And the sky was full of mountains, snow white and edged with light. Billowing turrets set against the brightest blue. They made me catch my breath in awe. What a privilege to be alive and to be conscious of it - and of the splendour of skies such as these.
Dawn breaks and tumbles over the horizon in pinks and pearls, trailing light from the east. The land gives up its bat filled darkness and the night creatures scurry home just before the first bird begins to sing.
The air is still as feathers and the yellow sun nowhere to be seen. From the top of the old ash tree, a crow shouts. . . his voice resounding like a claxon, sending sound waves shimmering through the static air.
Geranium, white, a punctuation in this monotone scene. My eyes roam, restless, searching for somewhere to settle. At last, amidst the roaring greens I see it. A splash of yellow glowing like grounded sunshine.
Shadows shifting. Soft grass splashed with sunlight. Shimmering leaves throw down their yellow gold beauty like blessings bestowed. The green velvet ground at my feet is laden with jewels.
The light through the trees is beautiful. Low golden sun touching the remnants of this dark day. Oozing from the edges of leaves and falling into liquid amber pools, its soft fingers spread honey on the cold hard ground.
The hushed night falls as quiet as a breath over my garden. Silhouetted against the indigo sky, bats navigate at speed, swooping low and agile. Nocturnal birds weaving their dark magic into the fabric of the coming night.
Through the trees, a band of fire sets the horizon alight. The Sun is singing its radiant farewell, leaving the marshmallow sky to ready itself for another night.
Illuminated leaves, petals painted with light. A shaft of sunshine visits the darkest corner of my garden.
I saw the feeble white flutter of wings, stifled. Wrapped in a skein of spiders silk, its beauty captured. I reached out my hand and broke its chains, freeing it from its single thread shackle. It fell to the green leaf safety net below, and I knelt and pulled away the sticky rope that had it bound. White wings flickered open and closed, as if to be sure it was finally free. I smiled as it took to the air, circling up into the deep blue of the afternoon sky.
Cats running, tails raised, after the moving plate of food.
I sense the stillness, the silence, as this greyscale evening seeps into my psyche - permeating my aura. The sky's grey mantle, a lid upon the world. It adds a weight that I can feel right down to my bones.
I awaken, heart pounding, terrified. The nightmare still has me in its power, so I reach out to stir my partner. "Are you okay?" he mumbles as he surfaces from sleep, then continues with a disappointed tone to his voice. "I was dreaming I was baking cakes, and now I won't be there when they come out of the oven." I feel the giggle bubbling up through my fear.
Drystone wall, lichen covered and beautiful. Orange and pale green tell stories of time passing.
Old man taps his cane, I feel the floor vibrate under my feet. Hushed conversation overheard. "Do you like yoghurt". He yawns and looks away.
The wind makes my garden speak. It runs through the greenery, whispering and telling tales.
A swirl of butterflies ascend skyward, weaving their white magic against the endless blue.
The sinking sun paints the soft white clouds yellow. Crows shout their goodbyes to yet another day.
Waiting room, silence broken by hushed whispers. Outside, the sky hangs heavy and grey over the red brick buildings. His big hand is warm, he curls his fingers around mine and squeezes. A small gesture that speaks volumes. She comes with clipboard and calls his name. He gets to his feet and quickly leaves the room. Silence resumes.
Yellow light dazzles and daubs. I am smeared in sunshine.
Rain darkens the tree trunks, the skies, the bench in my garden. Splashing and dripping in translucent drops, it falls to the grateful and thirsty land.
She sits on the windowsill, tail wrapped around her delicate paws. The light catching her profile and highlighting the cream coloured patch on her nose. She turns and sees me watching and begins to purr.
I hear the soft rumble of the kettle as it comes to the boil, then the chink of spoon against cups. I smile, knowing that he is making us both a cup of coffee.
Dark earth, hard crust gives as I plunge in my trowel. Careful transplanting of self set seedlings complete. I clear space for the courgette plant that has been waiting to put down roots.
The tiny bird and his shadow sit on my fence top. He has his back to me, but I can see his little body moving. And though I can't hear it through my double glazed windows, I can tell that he is singing. . .
The trees are backlit with a shimmering honey aura, their foliage all aglow. Changing light weaves a special magic that only those who watch the skies will ever know.
The melancholy landed on my shoulders. I felt it settle, like soft familiar hands. It seeped into my skin and slowly permeated my being, like luke warm warm liquid poured into my bones.
Soft pink morning light casts its shadows, like nets, upon my gardens green ocean. Natures intricate etchings, inking the canvas of my fence. With the ever shifting dance of light and shade, everything looks twice as beautiful in my garden today. . .
Slow moving cars crawl to a stop. Beneath the bridge the motorway traffic hurtles onward. There between the exhaust fumes and sunlight, a tiny white butterfly flutters like a floating flower.
"There is always something left to love. And if you ain't learned that, you ain't learned nothing."
Clouds like curling waves, ride the roughshod sky. Moving at such a pace, I can only guess that the wind is chasing them across the heavens today.
Rain bounces from the shiny wet pavement. Dynamic water droplets leaping back up into the waiting air. Branches bend and glossy leaves act as funnels - channelling the water down into kinetic puddles, where the frenetic water continues to dance.
The sun fell so quickly tonight. Streaking the watercolour sky with skeins of the softest yellow. Silhouettes appear in the big old tree. The jackdaws are coming home to roost.
Clock ticking, marking time as night shadows darken. In the mirror of my uncovered window, I see the reflection of my lamp lit room. On the other side of the glass, a tiny moth flutters. . .
In the grey green moment before twilight, a solitary dove lands. Rain drips from the silent bird table and falls to the waiting earth.
Speeding by the sunset - a blur of yellow streaks the coming night with gold.
From a slow moving plane they emerge. Brightly coloured canopies whirling in the still afternoon air. Like man seeds falling from the sky.
I held the mirror upside down today but it didn't change what I saw. Still me, still there, still the right way up.
Growing among the rusted metal and stark utility of factory units. The tiny yellow flowers bloom.
I wanted to take pictures of the day leaving and the night covering the vast heavens with stars. So I walked out into the moth rich darkness, and was entranced by the intricate silhouettes of trees etched against the sky.
The heat haze hangs heavy over the leaf green land. The air has weight. I feel it pressing into my unwilling limbs, wrapping itself around my shoulders like a shawl.
I step into the garden and I can almost hear it all growing. Nature is burgeoning, pushing forth with green fingers and blossom. The energy is palpable. I watched the insects busily moving from flower to flower, struck by the fact that they are living their life too. A shared space, my garden, the insects, the birds, this moment and me . . .
Pushed by the wind, white clouds sail across the vast ocean of blue sky. On top of my fence a sparrow fledgling chases after its parents, fluttering its tiny wings.
No blue today. The sky like spilt milk oozes across the heavens and the green leaf ocean rises and falls as it rides the wind like surf.
Outside my window, a Jackson Pollock riot of yellow spattered dandelions transforms the plain green canvas into a giant painting underfoot. And the landscape is alive, as the miniature suns open their intricate and shining hearts to the sky.
Awake before dawn, I am draped in a shawl of melancholy. It settles like a fine mist as I emerge into the half light, stranded between sleep and wakefulness. It seeps in through my pores, infiltrating my being. There's nothing I can do but wait, as it gently evaporates, and like a soft cloud sails away on the wind of this new day.
I was standing at the edge of the reservoir, watching the breeze draw patterns on the water. The thick white cloud parted to give a glimpse of the brightest blue sky. Then came the transformation - a shaft of sunlight illuminated the ever moving dark water at my feet, dancing upon its surface like a million scattered diamonds.
Treading quietly, I slowly open my bedroom door and step out into the softly lit hallway. With one sleep filled eye still closed I am stopped in my tracks, overwhelmed by the sweet smell of hyacinths. Nostalgia steps forward and paints its hues into this midnight scene, indelibly marking the moment. And as dawns grey light heralds another day, it is the first thing I remember as I open my eyes.
This morning wears mist like a shawl, a veil to disguise the swelling of the fresh green buds. Today, I can only imagine the traces of spring laying swaddled in the fine gauze that March has casually thrown over her shoulders and wrapped around her still bare bones.
There in the distance they have cut down a tree and my wall of nature has now been breached. A new porthole opened up into the world of man. Through it I see a house on a hill and grey sky reaching back to the horizon.
These few quiet moments, as the sun dips in the watercolour sky and daytime trees become silhouettes etched onto the surface of twilight. The horizon is glowing flame orange, fading up into purple night. Stillness reigns, as a solitary bird sings another precious day to sleep.
Dressed in the yellow light of her spring sunshine, March tiptoed in and left the door ajar. Winter shouted after her as she trailed new life. The coldness of his breath chilling my hopeful bones. For now they coexist, sharing the earth... but as each day passes the scales are tipped in the favour of Spring.
Low cloud, grey skies, drizzle. Lichen covered stone. Catkins swaying in the breeze. Tiny new buds emerging from winter twigs. Forsythia's first yellow blazes in the shadows and the hardy evergreen sits solid in the rapidly waking earth.
From the kitchen, the rumbling of the washing machine sounds like a distant train. The kettle gathers steam, hissing as it comes to the boil. Closer and much quieter is the soft breathing of a cat, sleeping, and if I listen hard, the almost imperceptable tick of a clock. Then behind those sounds and quieter still, my heartbeat.
Rich brown earth, newly ploughed. Turned and ready, it draws me with its fertile promise and vast expanse. It is expectant, awaiting the seed it will nurture and nourish. I want to throw myself down into its warm umber embrace. It is potent. I long to sink my roots, tap the energy I feel there. Ah, soon it will be Spring.
Up before dawn. Darkness wanted company so I came and sat with it a while in the gentle and heavy silence. And as the pale pink light began to seep across the sky it let go of my hand and slipped away without a word.
She's reading it. Stepping into the world my mind has spawned. Getting to know the figments of my imagination. My words through her eyes. I am no longer alone. She is living the story too.
Daybreak's shallow breath pushes away the dark pointing fingers of night. Restores equilibrium to the scales that have been tipped in favour of darkness. Outside my window a solitary bird, sings.
Morning, beginning the slow ascent into the day. Opalescent sky reflected in my cup. A movement in the still surface, there is a bird flying in my coffee. I drink it up.
The gentle grey green morning cradles me in its comfortable arms, there are no sharp edges or loud noises, just the soft slow hum of another day dawning.
I hang from the moment. Twisting each second, stopping the tick, before it tocks. Darkness falls over the villages and towns and seeps into the quiet corners of the wildest places. High above, a single star, shines.
Snow again. A light touch. A delicate frosting. Just enough to highlight edges, coat leaves and settle into the contours of twigs. Like icing sugar sifted on top of a cake, there is just enough to make the morning beautiful.
There are diamonds in the snow, I see them sparkling. Tiny lights, brilliant and bewitching. Others walk on by. Can they not see the treasure that is glistening there on the cold and holy ground.
Just twenty six letters to cover it all. To be able to construct sentences, to convey meaning, to voice the cavernous longings, to utter the quiet words that make a life run on into tomorrow. It is good that we have silence as a foil, an antidote, a resting place in case the pressure of words becomes too much to bear.
Stepping out silently on icy feet December arrived. I was too busy juggling words to notice his swift approach. He bought with him a thin white blanket of snow and threw it far and wide covering the landscape. But outside of my window the blackbird and its golden beak still found the crimson berries and swallowed them whole.
Another Sunday sprinkled with the stardust of silence. A vast empty hall echoing. Just waiting for me to break the quiet with the sound of my voice.
The morning is blurred, hidden from my eyes in swathes of mist. A ghost of a landscape, just hinted at in light and shade. A pallete of greys dissolved in a watercolour wash, ethereal and waiting for the hours to focus the lens and give definition to the coming day.
The words spill, dancing, bouncing onto the waiting floor. I rush to collect them, sweep them up, gather them before some passing creature feasts on them and has them for his dinner. They are my words and right now, I can't afford to waste a single one.
Blank pages and unwilling fingers. Words waiting to be written. Queueing to be first out of my pen.
But sentences need a structure to inhabit, a stage they can dance upon. So, while the story temporarily eludes me, there is nothing I can do but wait.
Dripping honey and sunshine, the silver birch stands. Shivering drops of amber tremble around the white etched trunk. I overflow with gladness for the beauty of autumn and all its multi hued splendour. For outside my window the world is simply awash with colour, a pallete of jewels glowing in the soft yellow light.
Silver birch, trunk white like paint scraped from a canvas punctuates the scene beyond my window. The sunlit trees stand in stark relief still clothed in summer, autumn has barely touched them here. Lithe and liquid eyed the squirrel makes his way along the fence and down the lilac branches into my garden.
Car parked, waiting under the fluid shadows of the huge willow. Tarmac softened by its shimmering light. Breeze made visible, down by the river.
October walked into my room unnoticed, and it is only now days later, that I see her sitting quietly in the corner wearing her faded green dress. The copper lights are already beginning to shine in her hair and I felt the subtle chill in the breeze as she opened her mouth and called my name.
Dream weaver you have left me entangled in your hooks, daytime has come, but I am still haunting another realm. Not quite here, I am still swimming in night times ocean.
Rushing head long into another day, I catch myself caught up in the barrage of thoughts that arrived with the morning light. I take a long deep breath and relax for just a moment. Looking out through the window I see the tall trees undulating in the breeze.
Huddled men with crossed arms lean into lit matches, blow smoke like dragons. Breaktime chatter outside the busy warehouse.
Shadows move on tarmac. Patterns like water, light made fluid by the breeze. An engine starts and the moment is broken, shattered by the lorries roar.
Sky blue against white cloud piled high on the horizon like mountain peaks.
...and the rushing breeze lifts and plays in my hair.
This dark velvet night, soft and quiet. Just the tick, tick, tick of the clock and the gentle purr of a snoozing cat. I wish my fingers were silent as they type these words, I don't want to add another sound to this beautiful moment.
Dead tree, stark and sculptural, an exclamation mark against the opaque sky. Such a contrast against the vivid living greens. Death amongst life - just as it should be.
I saw a rainbow, it gave me hope. There so blazen and glorious in the storm grey sky. The car park full of regimented cars ceased to exist, and for a moment there was only that technicolour sweep of joy. . . and me.
Rain in sheets blurring the landscape, dripping from the bird feeders, pouring from the trees. Cats alert, listening to the low rumble of thunder. We all watch though the window as diagonal water falls from the sky.
Rainbow coloured envelopes in a haphazard pile. Striped wrapping paper and glittery bows. ecards with loving wishes, tweets from friends. Smiles and happiness at a whole day of birthday still ahead!
"Give up your identity as a seeker, and become a finder. Then everything you ever sought will find you."
There are always doorways, between this, and that. Between you, and me. Most open at a push. Some need keys to fit rusty locks. Some never open at all.
The still and silent morning. The soft whisper of my breath. The vast potential of another new day, potent and willing. Motion stirs the quiet field.
Parked car, windows open. Slanted sunlight painting me with liquid yellow streaks, bold brushstokes warm to the touch. Fluttering shadows dance and shimmy like water, patterning the mornings surface with magic.
Wisps of grey cloud float like smoke signals, haunting the twilight. Bats dive and swoop uncannily close to my window, speeding silhouettes on their nightly excursions. I watch the sky . . . waiting to see the Moon.
Tie dye swirls of peach and blue as the Sun sinks down through the patterned sky. Magnificent and all aglow, the heavens are on fire with colour and celebration on this the longest day of the year.
Six freshly bathed starlings artfully arranged along the top of my garden fence, fresh from the splashing bird bath they glisten as they preen and dry, iridescent in the sunlight.
Sometimes silence settles on me like snowflakes. First a gentle sprinkle, then a thick blanket covering me with its weight. I am frozen in place, immobilised in this quiet cave, everything muffled by this igloo of solitude. Nothing but me and the cold sparkling silence.
Dripping from abundant blooms the rain carries an infusion of lilac down into the dark welcoming earth.
A tiny bird waits, taking shelter among glossy green leaves. The sky as white as paper.
I see the cloud building a wall up into the blue. The storm grey horizon provides a solid base as it reaches up in artfully contrasting bands and hues. At the very top, brave white feathers are still holding on to the sunshine.
The quiet cup that holds this still morning, is crazed with tiny hairline cracks of birdsong - almost imperceptable through the airtight filters of sound subduing glass. A subtle soundtrack to accompany the silent film that is playing on the other side of the window pane.
"That's the thing with magic. You've got to know it's still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you."
The soft rhythmic purring of a sleeping cat makes a perfect soundtrack to the start of my day. Cat two, jumps up to join us and slips - an acrobatic golden blur as he tumbles. Instinctively I reach out my hands to catch that ball of claw and fur. Crimson rivulets flow into the deeply etched lines of my rescuing hands. Cat safe and nonchalent, walks away.
Lilac grows up into the endless blue of the sky - a splash of colour added to the vast palette of greens. Jackdaw on the fence post, his pale blue eyes a flash a silver among the shadows and sunlight.
All it takes is a tiny shift in awareness and you will see it, opened up there before you. The world is awash with beauty. I opened my curtains this morning and illuminated in dawns soft pink light I saw it.
Darkness amplifies the whispers of those marauding night time thoughts - they go stalking through the quiet hours, hunting for those to whom sleep will not come. That silent black realm seems vast when you are wide awake in the darkness, just waiting for the dawn to arrive.
This morning the Blackthorn is wearing White - frothy blossom transforming the dark green of my distant view. Scarlet tulips edged with orange catch the morning Sun and light up like stained glass . . . illuminating this holy place. At my gate, fragrant pale pink Magnolia blooms are opening. All is well with my world today.
The morning dance of weaving cats around my ankles, thunderous purrs from night warm fur. I pick up each individually and nuzzle my nose and stroke and kiss each gentle head. . . and so the day begins.
Last night as darkness fell it creeped in through the big window in my room. Oozing across every surface, it filled the air. Every particle was dark and it entered me, riding my breath, covering my skin, it seeped into every pore. I sat motionless, holding the night inside me.
The jackdaws are socialising in the big old tree, preening and chattering, wiping their sturdy beaks on the knotted branches. A sudden noise and they take to the air, Black brushstrokes daubed across a steely grey sky.
I watch the swelling buds on the lilac bush outside my window. Dappled with sunlight, the tiny birds play amongst its intricate branches. Safe there in its tangled heart, they are shielded from the swift dart of the hungry sparrowhawk as he looks for lunch.
Hands scratched and stinging, mud beneath my nails, I pull and gather, trim and cut. Clearing the way for burgeoning new growth to see the Sun. Exhilarated by the energy of the earth, I smile at my secateurs.
Today the Sun shone huge sweeping golden beams - filling my room and leaving no space for me inside.
I put on my shoes and stepped outside, just in time to join Spring as she arrived in my garden.
Etched into the landscape the silver birch glows white in the gentle morning sunshine. A sliver of light climbs the fence and trickles over into my garden. Red berries highlighted in a dark corner feast on sunlight.
March made a glorious entrance, decked with blue sky, white fluffy clouds and bird song. A beautiful day drenched in sunshine, it was as welcome as water to a thirsty soul.
"The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world."
The sun, a welcome sight to these tired eyes that have stared too long at grey. Wheeling birds etched against a hopeful sky join me in relishing the warm touch. Thankful after being held for so long in winters ice cold hand.
There they are, tiny shoots emerging out of the dark earth. Green appearing everywhere, beautiful signs of new life. It has started, Spring is on its way at last.
Once again outside my window, a world swaddled in white. Another page written in the story of a winter seemingly without end. Huddled in distant treetops, birds sit, stoic against a laden sky.
Moss. Verdant hillocks alive and in miniature. Lichen, yellow and grey, modern art adorning twisting branches and old walls. Beauty in unexpected places. Wet slate, cobwebs, crevices. Damp, grey green spaces. February.
I have unearthed them again, tightly packaged and hidden in black plastic. They still exist. Out of sight but not out of mind. Colours and the creative urge, frozen in time. A burden that evolved from a blessing.
I am wearing a dark cloak today, I feel its weight heavy on my shoulders. It falls around my feet in voluminous folds, a grey mountain range for me to cross.
I am pulled from the blackness of sleep by the huge full moon hanging low in the sky. Its potent energy is palpable in this dark and silent space. I move to the window to see fresh snowfall, illuminated and sparkling. Thousands of tiny diamonds, scattered by the moons silver light.
The year has turned a full wheel since I began to pour my thoughts into this space. The torrents never came. Just the gentle rhythm of words joining the drumbeat of my heart. The soft ticking of the clock a metronome, keeping time as the music plays on. . .
The plentiful buds promise the sweet scent of lilac. Tiny bird, ever watchful explores the tangle of branches. Slanted shadows on the sunlit fence.
Delicate white clouds flow like streamers, the pale blue sky a willing canvas. Sunlight touches everything. I race to go outside, so that I too can be bathed in those gentle rays. Nature is smiling today.
Normality has returned. White absorbed into the green and brown earth. Trickling water pours into deep drains. Puddles on grey pavements quietly reflecting the sky. White world, thawed.
The pause button has been pressed. January tip toes quietly, inching forward on white slippered feet. I rest in the lull that nature has dictated. Washing dries in front of the heater - fushcia coloured sheet, garish in the soft evening light.
Yesterday it began to thaw. The gently receding snow made hidden things reappear. Colour was seeping in, high contrast against the stark canvas. Under the cover of darkness, night quiet and determined, threw another thick blanket across the land and this morning once again, the world is white.
The sweet scent of hyacinths greeted me this morning, a strange juxtaposition against the icy white scene outside the window. We have settled into this snow covered world and adapted to its parameters, life goes on.
I awoke to a cotton wool world. Deep, deep snow transforming the land. Piled high on every surface and sculpted by the wind, the outside scene is once again transformed into a blizzard of white. Swirling and dancing in the icy air it continues to fall, silent confetti muffling a subdued earth.
Baubles shine up from dark floorboards, strings of silver bells meander across the rug, twinkly lights dimmed for another year. Festive sparkles harvested from the magic land that was my room. The sturdy brown box, open and waiting for treasure. The mantlepiece frosted with glitter gives a strange twist to the now barren room.
I awoke from sleep dragging a dream with me. It was out of place in my dark bedroom, it sat uncomfortably on the edge of my bed. Tipped and unbalanced by its unexpected weight, I threw off the covers, fumbled for my clothes and stumbled into the day.
Scattered strips of bright orange peel - a surreal sculpture in the dim light. Crumpled wrapping paper bubbles and spills from over full bins. Cats pounce and stalk on the once safe fluffy rug, transformed by new toys into a different and exciting place. Their ignored and unfamiliar fish treats stare menacingly upward, stranded and lifeless on the wooden floor.
Outside it is silent as dawn breaks, pale pink tones added to the fading grey of night. The snow covered scene is breathtaking, a magical land beyond my window. All is calm, all is still, all is white. Another day begins.
The land has been whitewashed overnight, the early morning light has a gloss white glare, illuminating golden yellow curtains and prewarning me of the change that has been wrought outside of my window. Huge flakes swirl in random patterns sculpted by the blustery wind.
Up before dawn and it is silent, no sound but my fingertips tapping the soft black keys. The darkness is palpable, I can feel its weight. I watch through my window, ignoring the glare of my own reflection, as the dense blackness softens and begins to fade and once again light seeps in to the waking world.
Early morning, the soft pink light casts descriptive shadows. Contoured limbs become feathery branches brushing the watery pale blue sky. Behind them, the ghost of the full moon patiently waits as the Sun rises.
A fine mist drapes the treetops, wrapping the scene beyond my window. Still air and strange light highlights the intricately patterned lichen, modern art on twisting ancient branches. The yellow of the blackbirds beak shines like a tiny golden sun on this grey green morning.
Reflective droplets of water dangle from the twisted branches. Light filled and liquid, they endure. The distant tree is roost to eight plump woodpigeons, feather fluffed against the cold. A robin lands and a water bauble falls, a solitary raindrop falling to earth.
I can sense Winter approaching. Bare branches scratched onto the opaque sky. A certain quality of light that talks of colder times and gently whispers of sprinkling fine white powder to highlight natures bare bones. I can smell it on the breath of the wind. Winter is coming.
Neighbours leave freshly dug vegetables on our doorstep, the compost bin we gave them will help in next years crop. Root vegetables chopped in chunks ready for a dinnertime stew. The beautiful trees sway against the clear blue sky. Birds queue on the fence waiting for me to scatter seed. The church bells chime the hour.
The lilac bush outside my window a kinetic sculpture - alive with birds, hopping from branch to branch, random and beautiful. The Silver birch is glowing in the morning light, its remaining leaves, gentle moving amber jewels. I start my day.
My curtains open to a grey morning. Adorning the distant wire top fence the starlings, doves and woodpigeon are interspersed with sparrows who act as surreal punctuation in this sentence of birds. A blackbird swoops down to join them as the jackdaws circle overhead, turning cartwheels in the mist.
Afternoon sunlight daubs the pared back landscape with golden brushstrokes. Trees etched against a painted sky, intricate branches burnished with liquid yellow. A moment later the light has gone, taking the paint effects with it.
Red berries against deep green leaves, their colour so vibrant through the curtain of falling rain. The lilac branches a landing strip for small eager birds who don't seem to notice the weather.
The leaves have gone from the big Lilac bush outside my window, exposing an angel hanging from the branches that I had forgotten was there.
November has blown in on brisk winds. Blowing and billowing, bellowing its arrival through cracks and openings. Tunnelling down empty chimneys and racing around after skittish cats. Herding leaves into dead end corners and shaking fences to prove their worth.
Dusk. Black etched trees, silhouettes against a grey striped sky. The racing wind collects leaves from dancing limbs, whistling as it passes. Pushing the fence with insistant nudges, the old wood creaks and moans but holds its ground - the wind moves on.
The old mattress leans like a fallen monolith, narrowing the already crowded hallway. Meanwhile its successor, plump and comfortable, makes itself at home on our bedframe.
"For sleep, one needs endless depths of blackness to sink into; daylight is too shallow, it will not cover one."
Windows open, I hear the rain fall. Drops explode, then drip from the pitched roof of the bird table, inside a solitary sparrow waits.
He flew, he finally flew. The endless months of metal and plans, the will it? won't it? questions finally answered and put to rest. The spinning propellor, the majestic wing, his amazing perserverance and belief in his quest allowed him to take to the air. He flew, he finally flew.
Night time streets, dark and deserted. The golden half Moon, pinned low in the big velvet sky. Curling wood smoke and the screech of an owl cut through the crisp blackness. Glowing lights behind drawn curtains hint at life, as we walk together in the dark.
The leaves begin their slow journey from summer green to autumn's fiery jewels. Glimpses of saffron yellow and burnt orange amidst the sea of green, picked out and set aglow by the sinking sun. Day and night, balanced again at this equinox point. The year is turning and autumn is returning to the land.
The sheer volume of my possessions sometimes weighs me down. So many things, cupboards full, boxes overflowing. It feels stifling, claustrophobic. I long for space around things, for room to breathe. Once again I am ripe for a clear out. It is a time for letting go.
Limb by limb the beautiful branches of the old Willow tree are removed from the sky. Blue instead of green now seen from the window. All things change. Life moves on.
Today I can feel the weight of the heavy sky. Blankets of cloud slung low and grey touch the treetops, unmoving in the still evening air. Dusk creeps slowly, absorbing the fading light in its path. The atmosphere is palpable, I can sense the pressure. The heavens are embracing the earth too tightly today.
Cats piled up on my desk - a purring mountain of warm fur. Outside, washing blowing on the line - bright colours flying like flags against the blue sky, clouds hurrying along, shepherded by the insistant wind.
August is saying its goodbyes. Waving farewell, with blustery winds, with shivering trees, with clouds scudding across a grey sky.
Blustery winds and black, black skies have relinquished their place outside my window. This morning I see sunlight sculpting the limbs of the huge old tree in the distance, the bark of the silver birch glistening white, leaves still in the morning sunshine. A flock of busy sparrows dart back and forth to my birdtable.
Calm has returned to my garden.
Early morning sunlight casts a perfect silhouette of my lilac tree on the frosted glass of my kitchen door. Liquid yellow light runs in rivulets across the terracotta floor. Timing just perfect for my newly opened eyes to catch this beautiful moment. In minutes the Sun will be higher in the sky and that rare scene will be gone and no one else will witness the beauty that was in my kitchen this morning.
I sit, grounded, earthed. A large boulder in the zen garden of my life. My thoughts, carefully tended patterns, swirl in the pure raked gravel of my mind. The single tree, my focus, shaped over many years by careful pruning. Everything is still, serene, unmoving.
The day before my birthday and I feel strangely resolute. Dancing thoughts hover just out of reach, resisting my attempts to pigeonhole the sparkling fragments of possibility. My aura is filled with stardust, there is magic in the air tonight.
Soft fine rain blurs the edges of this August day. Silence, a quivering leaf, the hopping of sparrows in the lilac bush. I feel as muted as the subdued pallete of the colours outside my window. Nature and my being are both being viewed through a soft focus lens today.
Evening Sun riding low in the sky rounds the corner of the building and abruptly streams into my room where seconds ago it was almost twilight. I am dazzled by the light and then by the realization that it is the rotation of this, our planet Earth, that caused this sudden illumination where moments before there was none.
Another room, another window, another view. There is nothing but green as far as my eye can see - layer upon layer of green, rich with texture and changing hue. Not wanting to disturb the scene, a green woodpecker lands and eyes me warily as I adjust to my new lair.
Dancing shadows play across the wall, sunlight glints on everything shiny. There are pools of light in dark corners. Outside, white butterflies flutter like floating flowers. Pinned like delicate brooches to the Buddleia blooms they collect the nectar that is their life. The thought crosses my mind, am I collecting nectar, or am I still fluttering around the bush looking for somewhere safe to land?
From my window I can see the rain. Sheets of water flung from the grey, grey sky. The arching buddleia blooms, vacant of butterflies in this deluge, drip, as they bow to the weight of the downpour. New metal bird feeding station, stands Black and stoic, the only visitor a cautious Dove with liquid eyes.
I have pulled back the curtains covering my window. My dawning realisation, that as well as stopping others seeing in, they were stopping me seeing out. White lacey froth now clipped up in flounces, no longer a screen but a frame for the view. I can see the flowers, the vast sky and the deep green leaves moving in the gentle breeze. The pay off for privacy was far too great.
July brings extra blankets - stifling heat. Slow motion days with heavy air and ripe gooseberries. The blackbird feasts on redcurrants, golden beak devouring the shiny red jewels. He clears the bush in days, he can have them this year with my blessing, there is plenty for us all.
A subdued morning - a pallete of neutrals after the primary colours of yesterdays sunshine.
The sparkling water, the agile sailboats and the blue green wet paint on the shop windowsill now just a memory.
Television ariels tattooed on the blue and white striped sky. Yesterday the young trees trembled before the terrible wind, today it is calm and they are stronger.
Outside my window, the opalescant sky like a huge lightbox - silhouetted birds like paper cutouts scattered on its surface. Abundant greenery narrows the path to the gate, lush foliage reaching out as I pass, touching my shoulder and reminding me of summer.
Sunlight pours through my window, drips down the couch into a golden puddle on the wooden floor, awaiting a passing cat.
Everything has its own innate beauty, some obvious, some takes investigation, but it is always there, always part of the package. Sometimes you have to make an effort to look at things a little differently to appreciate its value.
May is racing ahead, sunshine and showers reflecting my moods. I have not settled into the warmer temperatures or the lighter evenings. I still feel like a stranger in my garden and realise that I haven't yet taken off my winter clothing.
Clematis smothered with huge cream flowers, cornflowers at its feet piercing the grey morning with colour. Burgeoning nature bursting from the confines of the brick edged beds, a riot of green energy vital, vibrant, alive. I observe from my kitchen window, mesmerized by it seemingly growing before my eyes - behind me the kettle boils.
Locked inside myself there can be no movement. Dark clouds in the grey sky a mirror. Soft rain falls on the gentle earth, soaking us through to the bone.
A gentle morning awash with pale sunlight and promise. The bare bones of my garden now filled out with lush new growth, spring greens and pink flowers sing with joy, the blackbirds golden beak shines like the sun.
Rain falling, refreshing yesterdays sunwarmed garden, everything drinks deeply, fuel for another bout of growth. Raindrops on my window panes, sparkling like diamonds.
Bluebells filled the woods with sweet fragrance, shiny bark and twisted limbs catching sunlight, ground soft underfoot welcomed our feet. Out of the shade and into a clearing, we followed a path to the now fenced meadow and looked back at the place we used to live.
Some days demand retreat, they scream go back inside, close the door and turn out the light. Cover your head with a blanket, curl up in a ball, dark, silent, nothing but the sound of your breath, in and out, in and out. Block out marauding thought. Wait patiently until your skin grows back.
I awoke today with a cloak of quiet wrapped around my shoulders, my inner being calling me inside, the outer world can do without me today. Sunlight spilling on scuffed floorboards, streaks of light reminding me of another time, another morning, another sunlit room. . .
Saturday morning still and calm, holding its breath so as not to ruffle the scattered magnolia petals, strewn like giant confetti on the damp earth. The sky low and heavy, dove grey and thinking of rain, the eager garden awaits its promise.
The scarlet of the tulips, a strike of colour in the greyscale morning seen from my window. A punctuation mark piercing the damp new day. Branches clothed in brilliant green dripping with jewelled raindrops, set against a steel grey sky. Art is everywhere!
Thursday has been painted with a watercolour wash in shades of grey. Natures pallete muted and subtle, shadows and form replacing colour. Another full moon. I awoke with a start last night, to find the Moon peering in through my curtains, watching while I slept.
Night folds around me like a cloak, the deep velvet blackness heavy with silence. I hang in space. Deep within, the stars begin shining, pinpoints of light cutting the endless night.
April yawns and stretches in the warm sunshine, welcoming the new month with extended arms. Nature is optimistic, rushing to fill every corner with new life, succulent spring green spreading over the land. The fool stands on one leg reaching for the glittering star above his head. It's all fools day and the light now outweighs the dark.
A thoughtful aura hangs in my atmosphere today, an internal quietness. I sit deep inside my being, still and subdued. New moon tonight, so tiny in that huge black sky, another start, another cycle. May today bring us whatever we are in need of.
A time for balance. Dark and light have the same weight. The fleeting moment that contains equal measure, we all have those. Scales balanced, equilibrium obtained, hold your breath. Time moves, light grows, darkness retreats until next time.
A beautiful morning. The Sun running like a tap filling my room with joy. No trace of yesterday here. Just the glorious now, laden with promises of tomorrow. Winter has retreated leaving the year to start again. March has redeemed itself. All is well.
Weaving sunshine with showers, grey sky and blue, melancholy and joy, the month marches on. Worries that come to nothing leave a slimy trail across my mind. Dragging a past laden with spikes opens old scars my delicate skin has not yet healed. Time moves on, seasons change.
There are strange feelings in the air, nuances so subtle as to almost go unnoticed. Sensitivity to the virtually imperceptable can unsettle me, with undercurrents that are tugging at my ankles beneath the smooth surface water of life. Full moon moves the tides, tomorrow things will be clearer.
March has opened its door and I warily step inside. Strange feelings wrap my being of late, as though the dream world has sprung a leak and is seeping into my reality. Feelings change like weather, and my mists will surely lift as a fresh breeze blows through and the sunlight warms the air. Until then, I stand in the doorway and wait for March to roll out its road before me.
The air is still and the milky sky hangs heavy over the silent houses. The birds etched like tattoos on the grey clouds. Tonight a new moon will slit the sky with its tiny crescent, cutting the black with a pale glow as it begins its journey to transform from delicate sliver to full round light. But today the air is still, the land waiting, the cycle has not yet begun.
Spring is stalking my garden.
Snow recedes slowly as new life breaks through the cold, cold, earth.
Birds sing songs of encouragement to a shy Sun. Pale green takes its first breath and I watch cautiously as hope returns to the land.
Middle age has thrown her cloak around my shoulders, the distant stalker is now standing in my shadow. The years and gravity pulling on my face. Shouting at me from the mirror. Sadness, as I realise that I haven't yet figured out what I want to be when I grow up, that someday isn't a magical place. and that options, like arteries, narrow with age.
We are all alone. We play at connection, at families, at friends, at lovers. Partners joined at the hip, friends forever, part of a group, part of a gang, part of something. Ultimately, we are all alone in our own skin, our own mind, our own feelings, our own perceptions. However much we wish it were different, it's not. We are alone on the island called me, waving frantically at ships passing in the night.
Snow, a soft white blanket covering over the stains of everyday life. All is clean, white, virginal, new. Yesterdays litter hidden. Winter branches bent under the weight of the decorators white sheet. everything sparkling in the half moons light. Untouched, unspoiled, awaiting tomorrows footsteps.
Another day, another month, gobbled up by a hungry year. Time races, rushing to achieve, to do, to consume the busy hours. The continual stream of ‘now’ moves so fast, like a silent film star, jerky black and white moments that are quickly woven into the tapestry of today. Strange, abstract patterns giving texture and movement to the rich garment of this everyday life.
So much for the flood of words I thought were building behind the dam of my silence. I have opened the floodgates, given the words permission to flow and what do I find, a drought upon my parched land. The cracked dried earth of my expectation, barren.
And I need to talk. Not about anything in particular, just words, just to see them appear on the page, just to watch the flow of consciousness. Just to see what I have to say. Maybe I won’t have anything much to fill these pages. Maybe once I start, there will be torrents swirling around my feet. Maybe I will have to find higher ground so as not to drown in my words. Maybe, I won’t. We’ll see.
These are my. . .
Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Susannah and I started recording these captured moments back in January 2009.
Since then, this blog has slowly become a record of the landscape of my life.
This moment has gone. . .
perhaps a singing bird will come.
A Visitor To My Window Ledge . . .
Vet's surgery, Loudeac, morning. The last thirty words.
Some Things Can't Be Bought.
and look at what can be.
of loveliness elude us every day.
you will find this to be so.
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They may be really outgoing as well, which can add in all the problems from the point above.I find their intimidating aura shrinks when you just have more experience with them.
Some socially awkward types have the problem of being a bit too uneasy around certain types of people.
You then see these people as closer to your level, rather than them being on a pedestal and you feeling you're a walking example of lame, awkward unworthiness that's lucky to even be talking to them. If you know someone is mean-spirited or gossipy you're going to be on guard around them.
Though sometimes we mistakenly think that everyone who dresses or acts a certain way is going to look down on us.If we're shy, we may assume everyone is constantly looking for a reason to critique our flaws.Some people come across as snobby and judgmental without intending to as well.A lot of employees are intimidated by their managers, or students by their professors.Someone may also be nervous around police officers, high-status professionals like doctors and lawyers, religious authorities, or employees who have power in a particular establishment, like bouncers or bartenders.Some people feel uncomfortable around their friends' or partner's parents.
I find their intimidating aura shrinks when you just have more experience with them.
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0.942739 |
The effects of predation on ungulate populations depend on several factors. One of the most important factors is the proportion of predation that is additive or compensatory respectively to other mortality in the prey, i.e., the relative effect of top-down and bottom-up processes. We estimated Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) kill rate on roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) using radio-collared lynx. Kill rate was strongly affected by lynx social status. For males it was 4.85 +/- 1.30 S.E. roe deer per 30 days, for females with kittens 6.23 +/- 0.83 S.E. and for solitary females 2.71 +/- 0.47 S.E. We found very weak support for effects of prey density (both for Type I (linear) and Type II (non-linear) functional responses) and of season (winter, summer) on lynx kill rate. Additionally, we analysed the growth rate in a roe deer population from 1985 to 2005 in an area, which lynx naturally re-colonized in 1996. The annual roe deer growth rate was lower after lynx re-colonized the study area, but it was also negatively influenced by roe deer density. Before lynx colonized the area roe deer growth rate was lambda = 1.079 (+/- 0.061 S.E.), while after lynx re-colonization it was lambda = 0.94 (+/- 0.051 S.E.). Thus, the growth rate in the roe deer population decreased by Delta lambda = 0.14 (+/- 0.080 S.E.) after lynx re-colonized the study area, which corresponded to the estimated lynx predation rate on roe deer (0.11 +/- 0.042 S.E.), suggesting that lynx predation was mainly additive to other mortality in roe deer. To conclude, this study suggests that lynx predation together with density dependent factors both influence the roe deer population dynamics. Thus, both top-down and bottom-up processes operated at the same time in this predator-prey system.
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0.999968 |
This essay examines the role of Memphis in the Meredith March against Fear, a demonstration for black freedom that moved through Mississippi in June 1966. James Meredith began his journey from Memphis and was shot by Aubrey Norvell, who hailed from a suburb of the city. In the aftermath of the shooting, Memphis hosted important events that not only determined the character and success of the march but also influenced the course of the black freedom struggle. The titans of the civil rights movement orated from the pulpits of Memphis churches and engaged in contentious debates in the rooms of the Lorraine Motel. Even as the march continued south through Mississippi, its headquarters remained at Centenary Methodist Church in Memphis, which achieved James Lawson’s vision of an activist church driven by grassroots pressure and militant nonviolence. The city’s whites exhibited both hostility and accommodation toward black protesters, demonstrating both connections to and distinctions from the racial patterns of Mississippi. For the Memphis branch of the NAACP, the demonstration presented an opportunity to assert its historic strength, even as the march highlighted the complicated dynamics between local branches and the national office.
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Saudi columnist Abdulrahman Al-Zuhayyan recently published a column in the English-speaking newspaper Arab News, protesting against calls to naturalize long-term resident migrants. Al-Zuhayyan claims that providing access to citizenship is only feasible in “a developed industrialized nation” where “a foreigner makes efforts to assimilate in society by learning local languages and adapting to its ways of life.” Al-Zuhayyan frames his argument in a manner typical of Saudi op-eds, locating the burden of integration, economy, and security wholly on migrant workers while obscuring the Gulf government’s complicity in creating and perpetuating these issues.
Al-Zuhayyan conceptualizes citizenship as a privilege based on absolute conformity to the dominant culture, asserting that Saudi nationals comprise a singular hegemonic culture - or that they even speak the same Arabic vernacular. This conceptualization is of course, necessary to posit the “us vs them” narrative that frequently plagues discourse on migrant workers. Elaborating on his objections, Al-Zuhayyan alleges that “foreigners rarely interact with locals” and communicate with “badly spoken Arabic and sign language.” Al-Zuhayyan’s unfairly locates the blame for linguistic and wider social divides on migrants, entirely disregarding nationals’ systematic exploitation of the racial and socio-economic hierarchy reinforced by strategic state policy. The citizen arrests and attacks on Ethiopian migrants in Riyadh's Manfouha neighborhood reflects the dynamic between the state and nationals in maintaining this impenetrable divide - which in this case escalated into state sanctioned abuse.
Al-Zuhayyan further accuses migrants of isolating themselves by "choosing" to live in separate neighborhoods. But this spatial divide again reflects the social-economic boundaries constructed by the kingdom and reinforced by citizens who do not wish to live next to low-income migrants. Low-income migrants often have little choice in their accommodations, as they are either provided by their companies or the result of limited housing available to “bachelors." These “bachelors” are unaccompanied male migrants who strike particular fear citizens, though many are alone only because of obstacles to family reunification .
Al Zuhayyan also alleges that migrant (international) schools teach their own curriculum, instead of using Saudi textbooks. Al Zuhayyan does not point to the specific components of the curriculum that allegedly violate Saudi values despite needing to meet the standards imposed by the Saudi ministry of Education.
Regurgitating a hollow trope, Al Zuhayyan claims migrants “have no added value to the economy” while receiving “all economic benefits” and warns there will be greater burdens if they are granted citizenship. He believes naturalizing migrants who have lived in the Kingdom for generations is a contradiction since “they have taken away jobs for decades.” Blaming migrants for unemployment rates and devaluing the vital contributions of migrant workers to Saudi’s economy serves to reinforce purposeful misconstructions of their “temporariness” and justify the denial of their rights.
The recent riots by a number of illegal expatriates were not unexpected. They can happen in any country which has done nothing for many years about the issue of illegal residents. The rioters did not believe that the government was serious in its campaign. They thought that the crackdown campaign, which was interrupted by the grace period, was only aimed at scaring them.
Ignoring the violence employed against migrants in Manfouha, Al-Turigee’s claims migrants plotted the “riots” to “encourage international human rights organizations to intervene on their behalf with the Saudi government.” The columnist wonders how organizations could object to a crackdown, purportedly targeted at “criminals,” and attempts to justify Saudi abuses by pointing to similar actions of authorities in other countries. A previous Migrant-Rights.org answers Al-Turigee’s questions.
Al-Turigee suggests expanding securitization of the Yemen border to stop “Africans, especially Ethiopians” from “infiltrating” the Kingdom. The racialization of the crackdown is not unexpected, as the ‘security’ paradigm is overwhelmingly perpetuated by similarly lazy rationalizations; similar to the above-mentioned economic ambiguities, securitization uses vague claims of criminalities to justify the disposable, exploitative treatment of migrant workers.
I thank my dear colleague, Abdulaziz Qasim, the writer and TV host, for advocating this issue. His articles and TV show on 4 Shabab Channel, did a lot and showed how much one man can make a difference. His article in Al-Watan daily about a recent visit to Ethiopia, the land that gave refuge and shelter to the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and the harsh conditions in which Ethiopians live and work, gave us some understanding of why they had to come here. He also showed how much our agricultural investments and charity projects there are helping to provide jobs and improving lives.
Negative attitudes towards migration are not exclusive to Saudi Arabia, and nor are Saudi Arabians uniform in their attitudes or actions. In recent years, more inclusive attitudes towards migration have frequented media and wider social dialogues. But these hostile local discourses remain popular and perpetuate systematic abuse that frequently escalate into incidents violence.
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