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Throngs of marchers hoisting signs and rainbow flags made their way down Fifth Avenue, West 8th Street and Christopher Street Sunday for New York City’s Gay Pride March.
Edith Windsor, the plaintiff who filed the lawsuit that led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act this week, will be among the grand marshals for this year’s New York City Gay Pride parade.
Crowds rallied in the West Village Wednesday, celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision Wednesday striking down a provision of a federal law that denied federal benefits to gay married couples.
The Supreme Court has issued a pair of significant but incomplete victories for supporters of gay marriage.
Justices heard arguments Wednesday in a New York City woman’s case that challenges the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.
The plaintiff in the case is Edith Windsor, who lived with her partner Thea Spyer in New York City for more than four decades and was forced to pay $363,053 in estate taxes when Spyer died in 2009 because DOMA didn’t recognize their marriage.
The decision upholds a lower court judge who ruled that the 1996 law that defines marriage as involving a man and a woman was unconstitutional. |
The artist Jacob Lawrence was only 23 years old in 1941 when he made his series, called “The Migration of the Negro,” telling the story in abstract, stylized paintings full of color, movement and words.
Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum Bob Santelli conceptualized the idea with the Sinatra family.
Children are now learning about the science behind the city’s architectural treasures by rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty making their own bricks.
Pterosaurs ruled the skies when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Now, they’re taking over the Museum of Natural History as the focus of a new exhibit.
As Anthony Weiner campaigns for mayor, he has found himself featured in a decidedly non-family-friendly venue.
Some of the most famous artists and bestselling authors in the world will be putting down their pens and paint and picking up bats and gloves this summer for the annual Artists vs. Writers softball game.
Dozens of historic cars will be featured at the Grand Central Terminal this weekend to take visitors back in time.
It is known as New York City’s greenest borough _ and also as its forgotten borough. But beyond the ferry, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and maybe the Fresh Kills landfill, few people outside Staten Island know of its rich history as a strategic site in New York Harbor, a farming center, a recreational haven and a suburban retreat.
The words of three religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are now side-by-side at the New York Public Library. |
Few of the 135,000 motorists crossing the Moses Wheeler bridge over Connecticut's Housatonic River in 2014 are expected to notice that the bridge is brand new. Few will likely realize that the Connecticut Dept. of Transportation (ConnDOT) and its project team on the 3,000-ft-long span between Stratford and Milford are on track to finish the bridge three years ahead of the 2017 target. But even though drivers may not focus on those details, they will benefit from the $350-million project that replaces the existing 54-year-old span that has reached the end of its useful life.
While ConnDOT has officially shaved off a year to set completion in 2016, the superstructure contractor joint venture of Walsh Construction, Chicago, and PCL Civil Constructors, Denver, aims to finish its $166.5-million contract to replace the Interstate 95 crossing by the end of 2014. This is the same team working 17 miles down I-95 on the $554-million extradosed-span Pearl Harbor Memorial "Q" Bridge in New Haven.
The 2014 target is "a self-imposed challenge by the joint venture," says Stephen DiGiovanna, ConnDOT District 3 supervising engineer. "It's almost like an accelerated schedule, but it's a goal they set themselves."
The Walsh-PCL contract has an incentive clause to remove traffic from the old structure by November 2014, which would trigger a $4-million bonus, says James Pelletier Jr., project engineer for ConnDOT. "The contractor wants to beat that by a year," he adds.
The team is demolishing the old bridge and erecting the new one in tight quarters that are bounded by a nearby Metro-North Railroad line, retail stores, local streets below the highway and an active marina.
Boaters below the Moses Wheeler, which is named for an early settler who ran the first ferry crossing the Housatonic nearly 400 years ago, may notice the new span's 13 pier lines, down from the original's 33. The most visible change for motorists will be a six-lane roadway widened to 136 ft from 92 ft, adding four full-width shoulders instead of the current 2-ft-wide breakdown lanes.
Early work to install 39 10-ft-dia foundations and a trestle for hauling 350-ton cranes went under a $60.5-million contract begun in 2009 and completed last year by O&G Industries, Torrington, Conn. The contract held by Walsh and PCL includes adding the first set of new concrete piers and steel decking while traffic continues to flow on the old bridge. A mix of strategic staging, night work and an adaptation of concrete deck installation techniques for steel are all contributing to the joint venture's goal for a faster schedule.
The state decided on a new bridge following a lengthy engineering review of the existing span. The original plan was for a $400-million budget on a replacement designed by STV Inc., but value engineering and other savings lowered it, DiGiovanna says. The Federal Highway Administration is funding 90% of the replacement project.
The project also covers three smaller single-structure spans that cross local streets. About half of the work takes place over the river, the rest over land, DiGiovanna says. The schedule has three roughly equal phases: first, erecting new lanes to the north; then moving traffic to that new portion, allowing the team to demolish and rebuild the southern side; and lastly, shifting traffic again to focus on removing and reconstructing the center portion.
The original design had concrete or steel options, and constraints on pier spacing made it appear concrete would prevail, says Gowen Dishman, resident engineer for HNTB. Walsh-PCL eventually proposed a workable erection method for steel, which helped lower the budget. "Market pricing and delivery cost for segments were the big difference," Dishman says. "The pieces would have to be trucked or barged in because we don't have room for fabrication, so it made concrete less competitive."
A late change to the foundation contract also may have saved up to a year, Pelletier says.
Raito, Hayward, Calif., was able to show how one of its rigs could dig four shafts that were originally slated for the second contract, because of concerns about potential damage to existing piers. Dishman says Raito was able to miss most piles from the existing bridge to install the 10-ft-dia steel casings.
After several overlapping months between the foundation and superstructure contracts, work began in December pouring concrete for land-based pier columns, pier caps and abutments, and installing the first 95,000-lb steel deck girders, says Curtis Beveridge, project manager for Walsh.
Superstructure work over the water is getting under way. It involves laterally launching steel from the existing deck and rolling pieces into position on carts and shoring towers. Most of that work takes place at night, when there is permission for lane closures, Beveridge says. The existing deck limits the size of crane you can use," he says.
The later stages allow for more traditional steel erection, including a gantry crane that will also aid demolition, Beveridge adds.
The team is already under scrutiny concerning crane operations after two accidents this year, according to news reports. The first in January involved a crane falling during transport, and another in April involved a boom toppling into a marina shed. A worker suffered broken ribs in the second incident, which led to a week-long ConnDOT-ordered work stoppage.
"We required them to retrain their workers and tradespeople," says Mark Rolfe, district engineer for ConnDOT. "It was contentious at first, but they addressed our concerns about the safety program. We're happy with the response from the Walsh/PCL team."
In addition to construction hurdles on the tight site, the proximity of businesses and the marina forced the team to limit dust, noise and environmental impact, DiGiovanna says.
"We even have some people who live on their boats," he adds. "It's one of our biggest challenges."
PROJECT TEAM Owner: Connecticut Dept. of Transportation Design Engineer: STV Inc. Contractor JV: Walsh Construction; PCL Civil Constructors Foundations contractor: O&G Industries Resident Engineer: HNTB Corp. Drilling Subcontractor: Raito Steel Erector: Walsh/PCL Steel Fabricator: Structal Bridges Pier ConcretE: Walsh/PCL Concrete Supplier: O&G Industries |
As you may already be aware, we have a lot of books here at the library. The number of books the library has on different niche subjects always amazes me. We have books on topics that I didn’t even know existed! For example, I recently discovered that we have a few books dedicated to naming one’s pets. Inspired by these books, as well as a recent post on the literary blog BookRiot, I decided to come up with some literary names for pets (with the help of some coworkers and friends). Here is the resulting list of book-inspired animal names. Feel free to steal them.
Literary names for dogs (Bonus game: if you don’t already know, guess which books these names came from. Click on the links to see the answers.)
- Rooster – Mattie, the protagonist of this book would also work, or even Portis, the author’s last name.
- Primrose – if I ever get a tiny terrier, I volunteer as tribute to use this name!
- Snowy – another good name for a (white) terrier.
- Oliver – a pet name with a literary Twist!
- Daisy – a classic pet name that could also be a reference to a classic book.
- Atticus, or, of course, Scout.
- Charley – for the French poodle.
- Hank – perfect for a cowdog!
Literary names for cats
- Crookshanks – Hermoine Granger’s cat, which is part Kneazle. (Kneazle wouldn’t be a bad name either.)
- Pete – an obvious one, but still pretty cute.
- Seuss or Hat, though that might get confusing.
- Jane – for classic book lovers.
- Dracula! I am definitely using this one if I ever get another cat.
- Langston – a great writer with a great name.
- Franny or Zooey.
- Ramona or Beezus.
Literary names for fish
- Coraline, but really, what Neil Gaiman character doesn’t make a good pet name? Shadow, Mazikeen, Thorn – if you’re a Gaiman fan, then you’ve got lots of options.
- Babel – just don’t try to stick it in your ear!
- Walden – you know, like the pond.
- Kilgore Trout – the disgruntled prolific science-fiction author.
- Dorian – for your Wilde little pet!
- Captain Ahab – or you could call it Ishmael.
Do you have a perfect literary pet name? Let us know in the comments! |
I’m going to tell you a mountaineering disaster story, and it may sound familiar. Risks were taken. Precautions were minimal. Mistakes were made. Conditions deteriorated rapidly. It wasn’t just one thing that caused it, but once it got going, the situation really got out of hand. It reminds me a lot of the recent global financial meltdown.
In the spring of 2000, John Miksits and Craig Hiemstra, two experienced climbers, met at the Bunny Flat trailhead, which leads to the Cascade Gulch route on Mount Shasta, in California. They had met online but had never climbed together before. The weather was gorgeous, and the pair spent their first night at Hidden Valley. The next day the wind kicked up, and they camped at 11,500 feet at Lake Sisson. The wind continued to increase, and high, thin clouds moved in. Nevertheless, they convinced themselves that there was no reason to worry and planned to leave for the summit at 1 a.m. the next day. By bedtime, the wind was blowing 35 miles an hour, but Miksits and Hiemstra still left in the predawn hours. |
Solve the system of equations to find the values of x, y and z: xy/(x+y)=1/2, yz/(y+z)=1/3, zx/(z+x)=1/7
If all the faces of a tetrahedron have the same perimeter then show that they are all congruent.
A group of 20 people pay a total of £20 to see an exhibition. The admission price is £3 for men, £2 for women and 50p for children. How many men, women and children are there in the group?
Each symbol has a numerical value. The total for the symbols is written at the end of each row and column.
Can you find the missing total that should go where the question mark has been put? |
Dean Lewis is a specialist in psychiatric-mental health and nursing education, with expertise in curriculum and instructional systems. Her research focuses on family caregivers of persons with dementia and on decision making for patients and families. She works with an interdisciplinary team in nursing, gerontology, family social science, psychology, and occupational therapy.
Dr. Lewis' research has included group interventions to decrease caregiver stress and burden, creation of a decision making tool for family caregivers, development of online caregiver training to accommodate caregivers who are unable to leave their family member to attend group sessions, and expansion of the caregiver intervention to Hispanic and African American populations, as well as to family caregivers in India.
The Savvy Caregiver training program, a transportable intervention that can be facilitated by community members, is being conducted across the country primarily sponsored through chapters of the Alzheimer's Association. The Savvy Caregiver was heralded as one of the country's evidence-based programs for caregivers, by the Administration on Aging. |
When a Patient Doesn’t Want You as Their Nurse
Terri Polick | NursingLink
Look at this lucky man: He has a whole flock of young student nurses standing by to meet his every need. I bet this gentleman loved every single nurse in that picture. Enjoy his adoration, ladies; sometime during your nursing career, someone isn’t going to want you as their nurse.
It happens to everyone and it feels like a slap in the face. You walk into a patient care area and the patient says, “Hands off!” The reasons vary: Some female patients feel uncomfortable with male staff members, while other reasons are based in deep-seeded prejudices held by the patient. Any nurse who has been in that situation will tell you that it’s a learning experience. I recently interviewed some nurses and asked them to tell me how they deal with patients who reject them.
Rachael N. told me a story about an eye-opening incident that happened to her many years ago during her first day in the hospital as a student nurse. She walked into her patient’s room to introduce herself, and everything went well until she approached her patient’s bed. The patient recoiled and called her a “Christ Killer” and ordered the nurse out of her room.
“I was stunned. I’m Jewish and I was wearing a small gold Star of David. I grew up in a liberal community so I had never been confronted with an anti-Semitic remark like that in my entire in my entire life,” Rachael said.
After calming down, she came to the realization that the problem wasn’t hers, it belonged to the patient. She reported the incident to her nursing instructor and was assigned to another patient. Rachael said that the experience impacted her professional life. Although she is allowed to wear modest jewelry (including religious symbols) at the hospital, Rachael has never worn a Star of David to work again to avoid future conflict.
Male nurses have their own unique problems, such as gender bias. Alan B. told me that although most patients don’t mind having a man as their caregiver, some patients get very uncomfortable. Because women dominate the nursing field, the expectation among patients is that a female nurse will care for them. When he walks into the room, Alan has often noticed that patients are surprised to find him, instead of a female nurse.
“Sometimes men don’t want me as their nurse because of negative stereotypes. They think I’m gay, so they don’t want me to touch them,” he said. “I’ve also have had women with a history of sexual or physical abuse ask me to leave the room.” Alan advises male nurses to be careful in these situations because an allegation of inappropriate physical or sexual behavior with a patient can ruin a nurse’s career. |
This afternoon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced New York’s post-storm fuel shortage is worse than initially expected and may last for weeks. Because of this, the mayor announced a new plan to ration gasoline–effective 6 a.m. tomorrow morning.
“Last week’s storm hit the fuel network hard–and knocked out critical infrastructure needed to distribute gasoline,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. “Even as the region’s petroleum infrastructure slowly returns to normal, the gasoline supply remains a real problem for thousands of New York drivers. Earlier today, I signed an emergency order to alternate the days that drivers can purchase gas, which is the best way to cut down the lines and help customers buy gas faster.”
Here are the new rules:
- Vehicles with license plates ending in an even number or the number “0” can make purchases of motor fuel on even numbered days.
- Vehicles with license plates ending in an odd number can make purchases of motor fuel on odd numbered days.
- Vehicles with licenses plates ending in a letter or other character can make purchases on odd numbered days.
- Commercial vehicles, emergency vehicles, buses and paratransit vehicles, Medical Doctor (MD) plates and vehicles licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission are exempt.
At a brief press conference explaining the new restrictions, Mr. Bloomberg noted New Jersey has already implemented a similar plan, and Suffolk and Nassau counties in Long Island are expected to follow suit. |
Readings: Session 16
- Bumb, Balu L. and Carolos A. Baanante, “The Role of Fertilizer in Sustaining Food Security and Protecting the Environment to 2020,” (excerpts) International Food Policy Research Institute Discussion Paper #17, Sept. 1996.
- Rosset, Peter, Joseph Collins, and Frances Moore Lappe, “Lessons from the Green Revolution,: Tikkun Magazine, March 1, 2000.
- Khush, Gurdev, 3 slides from presentation at Tufts biotech conference, “Agricultural Biotechnology: The Road to Improved Nutrition and Increased Production?” Boston, MA, Nov. 1, 2001.
- Borlaug, Norman, 1 slide from “The Green Revolution Revisited and the Road Ahead,” Special 30th anniversary lecture, The Norwegian Nobel Institute, Oslo, Sept. 8, 2000.
- Davies,W. Paul, “An Historical Perspective from the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution,” Nutrition Reviews, Vol. 61, No. 6, 2003.
The Role of Fertilizer in Sustaining Food Security and Protecting the Environment in 2020
- Are nutrients derived from natural sources always environmentally friendly?
- According to the authors, how is fertilizer use important for meeting the projected global demand for food and preventing environmental degradation?
- What macroeconomic policies influence fertilizer use in developing countries?
- How do pricing policies for crops and fertilizers affect fertilizer use, agricultural production and environmental pollution?
- Should fertilizers be subsidized for the farmers in developing countries? What is the impact of such policies? What are the alternatives?
- Which are the two target groups for whom a proper credit policy should be developed in order to ensure adequate fertilizer usage in agriculture?
- What are the roles best suited for government and private industry for ensuring that fertilizer marketing and distribution are efficient?
- What are the two approaches for the withdrawal of the government from the activity of fertilizer marketing and distribution? What lessons can be drawn from the developing country experiences with respect to these two approaches?
- What are the advantages that a free trade regime for fertilizer sector would hold for the developing countries?
- What are the authors’ recommendations to enhance private participation in fertilizer production?
- What is the WHO recommendation for nitrate levels in drinking water?
- What are the environmental risks of fertilizer application in developing countries?
- Why is nitrate leaching not a problem in most developing countries?
- What policy recommendations do the authors’ suggest for internalizing the externality resulting from fertilizer production and use?
- What policies in the developing countries would help in increasing - Fertilizer use efficiency? - Energy use efficiency in fertilizer production?
Lessons from the Green Revolution
- Does increased food grain production essentially reduce hunger?
- What does the experience of Green Revolution ( GR) reveal, if one were to correlate per capita food availability and the number of hungry people in China, Latin America and South Asia separately?
- What are the reasons for existence of hunger despite the plentiful food production?
- Are GR technologies essentially scale neutral?
- What does comparison of yields and production obtained against the amount of fertilizer used per unit of land during the GR era show?
- Why do the authors argue that GR is not sustainable? What approach to agricultural development would they be most likely to support?
An Historical Perspective from the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution
- What are the important traits that plant breeders focused upon that led to the Green Revolution (GR)?
- What are the two phases of GR?
- The author states “the GR has helped to conserve environmentally sensitive regions by focusing intensive agriculture on the more productive land”. Do you agree?
- What traits have been most exploited in the genetically engineered (GE) crops worldwide?
- What is the trend of GE crop cultivation in the developing countries?
- What opportunities does GE hold for developing countries?
- What are the author’s recommendations for exploiting the potential of GE crops in the developing world?
- In which regions of the world will the demand for food increase in next decade?
- How is the food system model and goals that existed during the GR era changing at present?
- What are the author’s recommendations for meeting the increasing worldwide demand for food? |
A Mother: A Leader
Debra Coe (c) all rights reserved
The most interesting college class I have taken was "An Economic History of the United States." When I registered for the class I expected to study major economic decisions made by the government and how these affected the general economy. I was very surprised when our instructor, Dr. Pope, spent the semester emphasizing that the main influence on the economy was not government, but individual homes and the collective decisions made there. He explained that, especially in the United States, government can do a lot to try to influence individual decisions -- but they do still remain individual decisions. It is our individual decisions of seemingly small things such as whether to save money or spend it, and our power to vote, that cause individual decisions and attitudes to be those that shape our history.
We spent the semester researching the diaries and lives of individual people and tracing how their individual life styles and decisions changed America. I learned history is mainly lived and experienced by those forgotten and unknown. But because history is written mainly about those who left written records or did something spectacular that someone else wrote about, we often get a distorted view of who or what is important in affecting change in our world. For example, most history books site changes in government and laws as those things that changed history. Therefore when we want changes to take place in our country today we seem to look to government to change the laws and thus change the people. But what we seem not to understand is that lasting changes in the U.S. government and laws are the ones in which the change began first in the people. These governmental changes are reflections of what the people already felt and wanted.
Prohibition was a good example of this principle. The government did make the law, but to many of the people's attitudes and individual habits did not support it. The end result was that the 18th Amendment was repealed less than 15 years later. It has remained the only amendment to the Constitution to be repealed.
Another example was the American Revolution versus the French Revolution. In the American Revolution, the attitudes and thoughts of the people began to change before the first pilgrims even left Europe. They did not like government as it was. These ideas began with individual people and their own thinking. England tried to change this thinking by force, but all that government regulation with its strict enforcement, jailing people, etc. did not change the ideas of the individuals. Their ideas were passed on to their children and grandchildren. Generations were taught to have a strong hope for a new and better way of living and a more correct role of government power. These descendents worked toward their ideals and had faith that one day they would be able to have a the freedom they sought.
As these Europeans left their native continent and came to American, their new ideas of government and freedom came with them. In a new land, where the people were out of easy control of their governments, these early settlers experienced a freedom and ability to govern and control themselves that no other Europeans had experienced for centuries. With these freedoms came even more major changes in their ideas of the proper role of government and the importance of man taking responsibility for himself rather government making his choices for him. The end result was a successful revolution that set an example of government and ideals for the entire world. Many of our modern inventions that have improved our lives so much today are a direct result of the freedom created by these new ideas more than two centuries ago. One need only visit one of the former Eastern Block countries to see just how much progress has come to us because of our freedom.
By contrast, the French in the early 1800's also had great desires for change in their government. The American Revolution influenced their own willingness to revolt and demand changes. However, there was one major difference, the French did not have the same deep religious convictions nor had they experienced living under a free way of life. The necessary ideas, convictions, and deep understanding of how to achieve what they wanted were not there. The result was The Reign of Terror, and Napoleon coming to power. These people still expected government to make sure they were happy.
As with government, so it is with our entire history. To me, history books tell but a very small part of the story. It is important to realize that although women have always made up at least half of the human race and certainly no one would argue that human life could not have gone on without them, you would never know it by our history books. While women are surely the greatest casualty of traditionally written history, this certainly does not mean that we have not been some of the greatest (though silent) leaders in the changes that have taken place. If we were study the lives and teachings of mothers throughout history, we might find that history very much follows the teachings and thoughts of the majority of the mothers at the time.
Although we cannot easily go back and study the thoughts and teachings of mothers I sincerely believe my theory is correct because when one studies the affects of literature for example (and literature is people's ideas and thoughts written down) certainly you find that literature does change history because it does change thoughts and perspectives and thus the teachings of a people. If one follows the literature of the United States, the attitudes and habits of the people lag about 20 years behind their what is in their literature.
I firmly believe that the world is greatly shaped by mothers. We are the leaders that provide so many building blocks of our nation and our future. Even Hitler realized that he needed the mothers of the nation on his side, in order to gain the power he desired. He set up programs and institutions with the sole purpose of changing the thinking of mothers. Just because history books are not usually written about the important leadership roles mothers play, doesn't mean we have any less influence.
One of my favorite books is Horten Hatches an Egg by Dr. Suess. In this story, Mazie the lazy bird does not want to be tied down to her nest, so she convinces Horten the elephant to take her place. Horten, being a faithful elephant, sits on the nest even through very trying times. But then as luck would have it, Mazie that lazy bird appears just as the egg is hatching "the work was all done now and she wanted it back." But as the bird came out of the shell, everyone saw that it was an elephant bird. At this point Dr. Suess says, "And it should be, it should be, it should be like that." In this simple story, what came out of the egg was still a bird, the mother did still have some influence, but it was also very much an elephant. Just as William Ross Wallace said so many years ago, "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle Rules the World."
For most of history mothers have rocked that cradle. If we wish now to change the direction our world is taking, we need to realize that it will be done mainly through the teaching of today's children. As mothers we can have a great positive influence. One thing that has always puzzled me is how quick modern psychology is to blame emotional problems on parents, yet they look to government policy, instead of mothers to make positive changes.
Send mail to email@example.com |
RELIGION: A BANE OR A BOON? #opesays
Published:4 Jan, 2013
RELIGION: A BANE OR A BOON?
Religion is the credence in and reverence of a God or gods; it is a belief in a particular way of life. Nigeria is an heterogeneous state that comprises of several pluralities like ethnic diversity and religious variation. Each religion has its own perspective about life, politics, fashion and so many things that shape the personality of men. Their varied beliefs has had both negative and positive impact on the political stability and socioeconomic growth of the nation. Though religious leaders have tried to expunge polity from their religion, it has corrupted politics as it brings bias based on religious belief. This has over the years broken the rule of political correctness. Though religion has one way or the other claimed to be able to create a better man by crafting a just and corruption free men, I has only ended up in widening the gorge of regionalism that has been tearing us apart.
Religion in the Nigerian case has brought chaos, calamity and social-unrest; it now hides behind the peril of tribalism wrecking cancerous havoc to the marrow of the country. Apart from issue of poor leadership, the economic doldrums of this nation has been aided by the religious differences of the tribes that make up Nigeria. We have allowed our religion to be tainted by the smears of tribalism as we were made to believe either from birth or by chance that our religion is the right one and with every opportunity we seek to establish the superiority of our religion over that of others.
On a Friday, go on a tour round the mosques in your area, you will be amazed with the turnout of people fully clad in the Islamic way of dressing to worship Allah. On a Sunday, take a trip to all the churches in your area you’ll be astonished with the numbers of Christian devotees that turn up to worship their God. The only question that comes to mind is “Will the world be a more peaceful place if there was no religion?”.
Someone said “religion, fanaticism and favouritism have been politically employed to popularize the people and thereby sustaining unhealthy tension in Nigeria” (Restated in my own words). Karl Max also buttressed it by defining religion as the only opium that the masses hold true, and it has been used as a tool of political jogging and manipulation of the oppressed.
Religion has failed the nation times without number; standing aloof and watching the collapse, it has sped up the rate of decay of the threads of unity that hold this country together. We are now in a pitiful state where the way we are plying at top speed to end in a ditch. Religion has only exacerbated the sorry state of our nation.
Religion will be advantageous if all religious bodies lay emphasis on peaceful co-existence with one another. The Holy Bible and the Holy Quran preach peaceful existence among human beings on earth, as it is part of the criteria for a glorious afterlife. This nation needs people that love their fellow countrymen, people who will put others first. Religion can only help out if it makes its cause to be towards making a better world rather than limiting the scope to making a better person.
When politics is secularized by extruding it from the world of religion, there’s bound to be unity of political and economical purpose. That will be our starting point for political and socioeconomic development as the unity that arises amidst us will make us see and then together remove the clogs that are in the wheel of progress of this country. Let federalism be practiced in truth that is in the book with consensus of purpose, ideology and philosophy towards making our Nation great.
God bless Nigeria.
Ologbenla Adedeji Samuel |
Patricia A. Cassano of Cornell University reported, “The difference in
lung function between people who consumed above-average amounts of four
major antioxidants and those who consume lower-than average amounts
"was approximately equivalent to the difference between nonsmokers and
people who have smoked a pack [of cigarettes] a day for 10 years" (Hu
G, 1998). Therefore, take antioxidants and eat plenty of
carotenoid-rich carrots, tomatoes, winter squash, apricots, red peppers
etc. To deal with lung conditions, make a formula from one or more of
these categories, based of course, upon signs and symptoms.
• When the lungs are too dry, there will be symptoms of dry mouth, tongue and perhaps dry cough. Construct a formula by choosing from lung-nourishing herbs which soothe, such as wild cherry bark (Prunus species), raw rehmannia root, glehnia root (sha shen or Adenophora tetraphylla), ophiopogon root (mai men dong or O. japonicus), apricot seed (xing ren or Prunus armeniaca), licorice root, wild asparagus root, Irish moss (Chondrus crispus), slippery elm bark, and marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis).
• If the lungs are very weak, there will be symptoms of shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, inability to inhale and exhale fully, and an increased susceptibility to upper respiratory infections. Here it is important to strengthen the lung energy with herbs from both the blood nourishing and immune groups. Use herbs like as astragalus root, cordyceps mushroom, schizandra berries, amla fruit, ginseng root and American ginseng root. The standard Ayurvedic tonic chyavanaprasha is also very useful.
• For simple mild lung inflammation, use herbs such as boswellia gum, scute root or turmeric root.
• If there is hotter inflammation or infection in the lungs, there will be symptoms like fever, sore throat, red tongue with a yellow greasy coating, sticky sputum, and difficulty in breathing. Choose from herbs that reduce inflammation and/or fight infection - in addition to scute root, turmeric root, and boswellia gum, use chrysanthemum flowers, echinacea, tulsi, forsythia fruit, isatis root and/or leaves, andrographis leaf (A. paniculata), vasaca leaf (Adhatoda vasica), oregano leaf, honeysuckle flower (jin yin hua or L. japonica) morus bark (sang bai pi or M. alba) and coptis rhizome (huang lian or C. chinensis).
• If there is dampness and mucus in the lungs, there will be congestion, wheezing, a heavy sensation, cough, craving for hot drinks, and a thick greasy coating on the tongue. Herbs that reduce mucus in the lungs include pinellia tuber, garlic bulb, tangerine peel, bromelain, trichosanthes fruit (gou lou or T. kirilowii), osha root (Ligusticum porteri), vibhitaki fruit, yerba santa leaf (Eriodictyon californicum), she gan rhizome (Belamcanda chinensis) and fritillaria bulb (chuan bei mu or F. cirrhosa).
• If there is tension or spasm in the lungs, it needs to be relaxed. The premier TCM herb for this is ephedra (see cautions in the herbal encyclopedia sectin). In TAM it is vasaca leaf (Adhatoda vasica) and in Western herbology it is lobelia. Licorice root, apricot seed, aguru wood, fritillaria bulb, khella seed (Ammi visnaga) and fresh skunk cabbage root tincture (Dracontium foetida) are also of great use. All of these must be prescribed by a qualified medical herbalist. |
Introduction to College Preparation and College Counseling Course
It is the goal of the College Counseling program at OCO to help students find the colleges and universities that best suit their individual needs. This is a process that requires getting to know the individual students, understanding their personal goals and objectives, assessing their academic achievement and potential for growth, and understanding the priorities of the family.
We understand that applying to college is a turning point in every student's life. OCO’s staff of experienced College Counselors will walk each online college prep student through the college search and application process beginning in 9th grade and finishing with a decision in the spring of 12th grade. The College Counseling program has a deliberate focus that is appropriate for the age and maturity of each online college prep student and provides a thorough understanding of what is required to successfully navigate the admissions process in a timely fashion. The focus of study is as follows:
etting up for success (9th)
Understanding myself (10th)
Investigating my options (11th)
Taking charge of the process and finishing well (12th)
Our objective is to demystify the potentially intimidating college search and application process. Our counselors will teach online college prep students where they have an opportunity and responsibility to control the process and will train students to effectively exert that control. At the same time, we understand that this transition is a family decision, and we invite parents to work alongside of us to prepare online college prep students to make the transition from adolescence to adulthood -- the goal that college matriculation represents in our society today. |
It is demonstrated that the local absorption of an electromagnetic wave incident normally on a plasma can be obtained accurately by the geometrical optics approximation even in a region including the critical density provided that the electron density variation is moderate. The deviation from the WKB result with increasing density gradient is mapped out numerically for a linear profile in both the (isothermal well-ionized) plasma and the (constant collision frequency) ionosphere models; implications for a more general distribution are discussed.
If you can't find a tool you're looking for, please click the link at the top of the page to "Go to old article view". Alternatively, view our Knowledge Base articles for additional help. Your feedback is important to us, so please let us know if you have comments or ideas for improvement. |
Am I right?
Everyone loves puppies. If there’s one thing that everyone can get behind — PS4RS, Karen Peetz, Evan Ponter, Michael Mauti, etc. — it’s that puppies are some of the most adorable things in the world. It’s a universal phenomenon. I’ve never met anyone that doesn’t love them, and the soft feeling of a puppy can warm even the coldest hearts.
That’s why Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada has spearheaded the idea of the “puppy room” during its finals week. The idea is that the university will throw a bunch of cute little puppies in a room where students can come and hang out during finals week. It’s hard to fathom anything more brilliant.
Imagine Alumni Hall with hundreds of puppies scattered about playing with exhausted test takers. For many students, coming to college not only means missing their family but their pets too. Here’s a great opportunity to help eleviate that homesickness.
You failed your physics test? Who cares — a litter of furry puppies awaits you. The Canadians are way ahead of the game here.
Students, of course, are enamored by the idea. The Facebook post from the Dalhousie Student Union already has over 1,000 likes, 2,000 shares, and over 100 comments — including many comments that think the idea is too good to be true.
“We don’t mess around when it comes to dogs!” the Dalhousie Student Union said. “This is 100% for real.”
The event has been aptly described, “Yep, it’s a room full of puppies.” That’s all it needed to get most students excited.
“My major paper is due at 4 p.p on the 4th [of December]… I will beeline it to the Puppy Room,” wrote Dal student Jimmy Tennant to HuffPo.
“Just petting a dog will decrease your blood pressure and relieve anxiety. You can be affectionate with them and they’ll be affectionate back. They love attention,” student Audrey Giles told the Toronto Star.
The idea is organized and paid for by the office of student activities at Dalhousie. All of the puppies come from Therapeutic Paws Of Canada, which is a non-profit organization aimed at using animals to help bring emotional relief to people.
Seriously, what a fantastic idea. I’m looking at you (us?) UPUA. |
Ask OS X Daily: How Do I Force Open a File on Mac?
Reader Mathew Prairen asks a common question about forcibly opening files with an application on the Mac, and it has a remarkably simple answer:
“I have a few documents and files from my PC that Pages refuses to open, is there any way I can force Pages to open these files?”
As a matter of fact, yes, you can force any application to attempt to load just about any file. If you want to force open a file like this, you simply hold down the Command+Option keys while dragging the file to force onto the applications icon as stored in the Dock. Ideally, you’ll have launched the application already before trying this.
Whatever the application is will attempt to open whatever the file is. In some situations this will work just fine, forcing many image editors to open other image files generally works, as does text files into text editors, and word and text documents into a general text editor or page application, but attempting to force an image editor to load your perl script probably won’t work – at least in the way you expect it to.
Basically there is no guarantee the program will like the file you are forcing it to open, but the application and OS X will try anyway, and this can lead to some unusual results or the display of nonsensical characters, or even an error message indicating from the application that the file type is invalid. Due to this, if you’re going to attempt to force an application to open a file, try to stick within the general genre of that which the originating file came from.
Updated: 6/24/2014 – this is confirmed to work with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, 10.9, and OS X Mavericks, Yosemite |
Back to School Experts at Hopkins
Throughout the Johns Hopkins University, faculty members are engaged in research aimed at improving k-12 education. Here are few of the issues currently being studied.
Early intervention, tutoring: Developmental psychologist, Barbara Wasik has done extensive research on early intervention and tutoring and has developed an early learning program that focuses on developmentally appropriate curriculum from birth to kindergarten.
Summer slide: tracking the rate urban poor kids fall behind and more affluent kids gain academically during the summer months: Karl Alexander
reform: Robert Slavin, creator of a research-
based elementary school reform programs called Success For All
and Roots & Wings, successfully implemented in over 1,000 schools
Assessment of after-school programs: Toks Fashola
Effective homework and parent involvement: Joyce Epstein
Teacher education reform: Ralph Fessler
Academically gifted children - how to identify them and keep them academically engaged: Linda Brody, Carol Mills
Teaching children with disabilities: Michael Rosenberg (mild to moderate disabilities) Larry Larsen (severe disabilities)
Violent kids, training school counselors to work with troubled and delinquent adolescents: Fred Hanna, Mark Ginsberg
Girls and math: Carol Mills
Mexican immigrant and non-immigrant children: Why are they trailing academically? Lingxin Hao, Toks Fashola
Bilingual education: Toks Fashola
Title I vs. vouchers: What will happen to the public school system when Title I goes up for re-authorization in a Republican congress in 1999? : Robert Slavin, James McPartland
To arrange interviews with any of these researchers, contact Leslie Rice, in the Office of News and Information at 410-516- 7160, or email@example.com.
Go to Headlines@HopkinsHome Page |
The INS Sagardhwani (A 74) commissioned on 30 July 1994 is a research vessel with the Indian Navy.
The Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory uses this vessel to conduct research in various fields ranging from acoustic, geological, meteorological, chemical and physical oceanography in the eight labs of the ship. This ship is used to test the Advanced Torpedoes developed.
Displacement: 2050 tons full load.
Main Machinery: Two diesel engines with 3860 hp sustained. Also has two shafts and two auxiliary thrusters.
Maximum Speed: 16 knots.
Maximum Range: 6000 at 16 knots.
Complement: 80 sailors (10 officers) plus 16 scientists.
Radar: Navigation; One Racal Decca 1629 radar at I-band frequency. |
student resources page,
Return to Contents.
Although there is some variation, the word "Nahua" generally is used today for all of the speakers of Náhuatl, which itself is sometimes also called Nahua. (The word "Náhuatl" originally meant "person who speaks clearly.") The vast majority of the Nahua already lived in southern Mexico before the Aztecs arrived, although there were legendary accounts of some of the other named groups in the Valley of Mexico having come from the north, just as the Aztecs did. As the lingua franca of the Valley of Mexico and surrounding areas, Náhuatl also became the most important second language of non-Nahua areas that the Aztecs conquered. This was probably not due to official policy, but simply the tendency of people to learn languages that make a difference to them. When the Spanish arrived in Mexico, a critical task for them was to learn Náhuatl, and the prevalence of Náhuatl-based place names far outside of Náhuatl-speaking areas is modern testimony to the early Spanish use of Náhuatl and of Náhuatl-speaking translators.
Today the number of monolingual speakers of Náhuatl in Mexico is very small —probably about 1% of the population— but the language retains a certain prestige, and it is the object of revival efforts because of its proud heritage as the pre-Columbian lingua franca.
The people who moved south and established an empire dominating the Nahua —the Aztec empire— called themselves Mexícah (singular: Mexícatl). Modern writers routinely spell this "Mexica" (pronounced meh-SHEE-ka) and use it as the name of this group (or for any of its members). It is that name that is preserved in the modern word "Mexico" (literally, "place of the Mexica"). For early periods, the term "Mexica" easily contrasts with the names of the various other groups —mostly also Náhuatl speakers— whom the Mexica encountered, and who tended to name themselves after their locations. Some of those groups too had a tradition that they had migrated from further north.
As the Mexica conquered other groups (or pulled them willy-nilly into alliances), the whole empire could also be referred to as Mexica, even though in some sense it would have been appropriate to reserve the word Mexica to the core group of immigrants and their descendents who benefited from the incoming tribute.
The Spanish seem to have introduced the word "Aztecs" (Spanish: Aztecas). It is derived linguistically from the legendary homeland of the Mexica, a place called Áztlan ("place of herons"). Nobody knows where Áztlan may have been. Aztec tradition held that it was far to the north and very wet. Modern scholars suspect that it may have lain in the marshy delta of the San Pedro river in the modern state of Nayarit, perhaps near the modern town provocatively named Mexicaltitlan ("home of the Mexica") (Horcasitas 1979:17).
Many authors use the words "Aztec" and "Mexica" more or less interchangeably. In this essay, we shall usually use the word "Aztec" for the central participants in the system of tributary empire that the Mexica and their immediate allies imposed both upon themselves and upon allied and conquered territories, while the word "Mexica" will refer to the core group of people who migrated from the north and their descendents. Thus, other members of the Triple Alliance (see below) are Aztecs, although they are not strictly Mexica. The usage ignores intermarriage, which of course occurred continually, but it will do for present purposes. Because "Aztecs" refers to a political régime, it is no longer applicable after the fall of that government in 1521, although some Mexicans use it today to refer to the whole population of Mexico and its pre-Hispanic heritage(s).
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The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released its report, Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2011 on Thursday, and the statistic that jumped out is the rise in anti-LGBT murders, up 11%.
The report is a result of data collected from 16 anti-violence programs in 16 states across the country including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Vermont. Some of the findings:
- In 2011, NCAVP documented 30 anti-LGBTQH murders, the highest yearly total ever recorded by the coalition. This is an 11% increase from the 27 people murdered in 2010. This high murder rate continues a multi-year trend of increases in anti-LGBTQHmurders over the past three years of reporting.
- 87% of the 30 reported hate murder victims in 2011 were LGBTQH people of color. For a second year in a row, this reflects a disproportionate targeting of people of color for severe and deadly violence and is an increase over 2010 where 70% of the 27 reported hate murder victims were LGBTQH people of color.
- Transgender women made up 40% of the 30 reported hate murders in 2011, while representing only 10% of total hate violence survivors and victims. This was comparable to last year’s report where transgender women made up 44% of the 27 reported hate murders, reflecting a two-year trend toward disproportanate and severeviolence faced by transgender women.
- Youth and young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 years old were 2.41 times as likely to experience physical violence compared to LGBTQH people age 30 and older.
“Murders of LGBTQ people have increased over the last three years, indicating a pattern of escalating violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected people,” said Jake Finney from the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Community Center in Los Angeles, California. “Those most at risk for murder are transgender and gender non-conforming people, people of color, and gay men.”
The severity of the violence was worst against transgender women, people of color, and youth and young adults reporting.
LGBTQH people of color represented 87% of the murders with Black people representing 47% of hate violence murders, Latinos/as representing 33% of murders, and Asians representing 7% of murders. LGBTQH people of color only represented 49% of overall reports highlighting the disproportionate impact of severe violence on these communities, a trend that NCAVP has been specifically documenting over the past 3 years. In terms of gender identity non-transgender men represented 50% of murder victims, transgender women represented 40% of murder victims, non-transgender women represented 7% of murder victims, and gender non-conforming people represented 3% of murder victims. Transgender women were also disproportionately impacted by murder, only representing 10% of total hate violence survivors and victims. Non-transgender men represented 50% of total reports therefore the murder number of non-transgender men does not show a disproportionate impact of hate violence murders on this community. This statistic does highlight a critical need to create strategies to prevent violence against and support LGBTQH identified men who are hate violence survivors.
The report also listed policy recommendations to bring these numbers down in the future:
- Increase funding for LGBTQH anti-violence support and prevention.
- End police profiling and police violence against LGBTQH communities.
- End the root causes of anti-LGBTQH violence by reducing poverty against LGBTQHcommunities and systemic homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic discrimination in laws, policies, employment, public services, and education.
- End the homophobic, transphobic, and biphobic culture that fuels hate violence.
- Collect data and expand research on LGBTQH communities particularly data and research on LGBTQH communities’ experiences of violence. |
The Invisible Hand in Legal Theory
Harvard Law School
October 6, 2009
Harvard Public Law Working Paper No. 09-43
Theorists have offered invisible-hand justifications for a range of legal institutions, including the separation of powers, free speech, the adversary system of litigation, criminal procedure, the common law, and property rights. These arguments are largely localized, with few comparisons across contexts and no general account of how invisible-hand justifications work. This essay has two aims. The first is to identify general conditions under which an invisible-hand justification will succeed. The second is to identify several theoretical dilemmas that arise from the structure of invisible-hand justifications and that cut across local contexts. These are the dilemma of norms, which arises because norms of truth-seeking, ethical action or altruism can both promote and undermine the workings of the invisible hand; the dilemma of second best, which arises because partial compliance with the conditions for an invisible-hand justification can produce the worst of all possible worlds; and the dilemma of verification, which arises where theorists claim that an invisible-hand process functions as a Hayekian discovery procedure -- a claim that is empirical but pragmatically unverifiable.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 25
Keywords: invisible hand, Adam Smith, separation of powers, free speech, adversary system, common law, criminal procedure, property rights
Date posted: November 10, 2009
© 2015 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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CloudBees is a cloud platform providing repository, CI service (Jenkins) and server for your apps. So everything you need to develop, test and deploy. There are many options, e.g. repository can be Git or SVN, for server you can choose Jetty, Tomcat, Glassfish, JBoss, Wildfly etc. It is also possible to run standalone applications, which are provided with port number, so you can start your own server. And that’s the case we’ll cover here.
spray.io is Scala framework for web apps. It allows you to create standalone web-apps (starting their own server, spray-can) or somewhat limited .war ones (spray-servlet), which you can deploy on JEE server like Glassfish, JBoss etc. We are going to use standalone here.
You can clone the app from github Let’s take a quick look at it now.
Boot file is Scala
App, so it’s like java class with main method. It’s runnable. It creates
Service actor, which is handling all the HTTP requests. It also reads port number from
app.port system property and binds the service to the host and port.
app.port is provided by CloudBees, if you want to run the app locally, you need to set it e.g. by jvm command line
MyService trait, which handles routing to empty path only. Yes, the app is not very complicated ;)
build.gradle file is a bit more interesting. Let’s start from it’s end.
mainClassNameattribute is set to Scala App. This is the class that is going to be run when you run it locally from command line by
applicationDefaultJvmArgsis set to
-Dapp.port=8080and it’s also necessery for running locally from gradle. This way we set port which
Serviceis going to be bound to.
jar.archiveNameis a setting used to set generated .jar name. Without it it’s dependent on the project directory name.
You can run the application by issuing
gradlew run (make sure
gradlew file is executable). When it’s running, you can point your browser to http://localhost:8080 and you should see “Say hello to spray-routing on spray-can!” Nothing fancy, sorry.
There is also “cb” task definde for gradle. If you issue
gradlew cb, it builds zip file, with all the dependency .jars, and
szjug-sprayapp-1.0.jar in it’s root. This layout is necessary for CloudBees stand alone apps.
Deploy to CloudBees
First you need to create an account on CloudBees. If you have one, download CloudBees SDK - so you can run commands from your command line. On Mac, I prefer
brew install, but you are free to choose your way.
When installed, run
bees command. When run for the first time, it asks your login/password, so you don’t need to provide it every time you want to use
Build .zip we’ll deploy to the cloud. Go into the app directory (
szjug-sprayapp) and issue
gradlew cb command. This command not only creates the .zip file, it also prints .jars list useful to pass to bees command as classpath.
Deploy the application with the following command run from
bees app:deploy -a spray-can -t java -R class=pl.szjug.sprayapp.Boot -R classpath=spray-can-1.3.1.jar:spray-routing-1.3.1.jar:spray-testkit-1.3.1.jar:akka-actor_2.10-2.3.2.jar:spray-io-1.3.1.jar:spray-http-1.3.1.jar:spray-util-1.3.1.jar:scala-library-2.10.3.jar:spray-httpx-1.3.1.jar:shapeless_2.10-1.2.4.jar:akka-testkit_2.10-2.3.0.jar:config-1.2.0.jar:parboiled-scala_2.10-1.1.6.jar:mimepull-1.9.4.jar:parboiled-core-1.1.6.jar:szjug-sprayapp-1.0.jar build/distributions/szjug-sprayapp-1.0.zip
And here abbreviated version for readability:
bees app:deploy -a spray-can -t java -R class=pl.szjug.sprayapp.Boot -R classpath=...:szjug-sprayapp-1.0.jar build/distributions/szjug-sprayapp-1.0.zip
spray-can is an application name,
-t java is application type.
-R are CloudBees properties, like class to run and classpath to use. Files for classpath are helpfully printed when gradle runs
cb task, so you just need to copy & paste.
And that’s it! Our application is running on the CloudBees server. It’s accessible at the URL from CloudBees console.
Use CloudBees services
The app is deployed on CloudBees, but is that all? As I mentioned we could also use git repository and Jenkins. Let’s do it now.
Create new git repository on your CloudBees account. Choose “Repos” on the left, “Add Repository”… it’s all pretty straightforward.
Name it “szjug-app-repo” and remember it should be Git.
Next add this repository as remote one to your local git repo. On the repositories page on your CloudBees console there is very helpful cheetsheet about how to do it.
First add git remote repository. Let’s name it
git remote add cb ssh://firstname.lastname@example.org/pawelstawicki/szjug-app-repo.git
Then push your commits there:
git push cb master
Now you have your code on CloudBees.
CI build server (Jenkins)
It’s time to configure the app build on CI server. Go to “Builds”. This is where Jenkins lives. Create new “free-style” job.
Set your git repository to the job, so that Jenkins checks out always fresh code version. You’ll need the repository URL. You can take it from “Repos” page.
Set the URL here:
Next thing to set up is gradle task. Add next build step of type “Invoke gradle script”. Select “Use Gradle Wrapper” - this way you can use gradle version provided with the project. Set “cb” as the gradle task to run.
Well, that’s all you need to have the app built. But we want to deploy it, don’t we? Add post-build action “Deploy applications”. Enter Application ID (
spray-can in our case, region should change automatically). This way we tell Jenkins where to deploy. It also needs to know what to deploy. Enter
build/distributions/szjug-app-job-*.zip as “Application file”.
Because you deployed the application earlier from the command line, settings like application type, main class, classpath etc. are already there and you don’t need to provide it again.
It might also be useful to keep the zip file from each build, so we can archive it. Just add post-build action “Archive the artifacts” and set the same zip file.
Ok, that’s all for build configuration on Jenkins. Now you can hit “Build now” link and the build should be added to the queue. When it is finished, you can see the logs, status etc. But what’s more important, the application should be deployed and accessible to the whole world. You can now change something in it, hit “Build now” and after it’s finished, check if the changes are applied.
Probably you also noticed there is a test attached. You can run it by
gradlew test. It’s specs2 test, with trait
MyService so we have access to
Specs2RouteTest so we have access to spray.io testing facilities.
@RunWith(classOf[JUnitRunner]) is necessary to run tests in gradle.
Now when we have tests, we’d like to see tests results. That’s another post-build step in Jenkins. Press “Add post-build action” -> “Publish JUnit test result report”.
Gradle doesn’t put test results where maven does, so you’ll need to specify the location of report files.
When it’s done, next build should show test results.
Trigger build job
You now have build job able to build, test and deploy the application. However, this build is going to run only when you run it by hand. Let’s make it run every day, and after every change pushed to the repository.
So now you have everything necessary to develop an app. Git repository, continous integration build system, and infrastructure to deploy the app to (actually, also continously).
Think of your own app, and… happy devopsing ;) |
David Bourget (Western Ontario)
David Chalmers (ANU, NYU)
Rafael De Clercq
Jack Alan Reynolds
Learn more about PhilPapers
Idealistic Studies 37 (1):51-66 (2007)
The article tries to explain Wittgenstein’s thesis “death is not an event in life.” Death is neither a positive nor a negative fact, but a one-time event. Death is an event, which, not belonging to the world, constitutes the limit of all possible experience, and as such, it is inaccessible to any form of consciousness. Whileconstituting the end of the subject as a prerequisite of the world, death is also the final annihilation of existence as such. The above analysis shows that Wittgenstein is a transcendental idealist. According to him death is not an event in life because: (1) it is the death of the subject, and the transcendental subject does not belong to the world, (2) the transcendental subject is a condition of the world, so the death of the subject is the end of the world
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At least 633 rhinos have been killed in South Africa this year, a record toll as demand for their horns continues to surge on the black market in Asia, the government said Wednesday.
More than 60 percent of the slaughtered pachyderms were from the vast Kruger National Park, South Africa's largest wildlife reserve and the country's top safari destination.
Rangers a week ago predicted around 20 more animals will be killed before the end of the year in the park, which boasts 40 percent of the world's rhino population.
Only the black and white rhino species are found in Africa, and environmentalists claim the black rhino is becoming critically threatened, with less than 5,000 in the wild.
The number of rhinos poached in South Africa has climbed sharply from 13 in 2007 to 333 in 2010 and 448 last year.
The total number of arrests of suspects linked to rhino poaching this year stands at 266.
Rhinos are victims of a booming demand for their horns, which some people in Asia think have medicinal properties. The medical claim is widely discredited.
South Africa and Vietnam last week signed a deal to tackle the trade.
Explore further: Cuban, US scientists bond over big sharks |
William C. Lowe had a bold idea: IBM should develop a personal computer that could be mass marketed, expanding the company's reach beyond businesses and into people's homes.
That was in 1980. One year later, the IBM 5150 personal computer was selling out at stores for $1,565, not including a monitor.
Lowe, who was credited with fostering collaboration within the computer industry, died on Oct. 19 in Illinois of a heart attack, his daughter Michelle Marshall said. He was 72.
Marshall said she didn't realize the magnitude of what her father helped accomplish until she was an adult.
"I'm so incredibly proud of him ... he's touched everything," Marshall said Wednesday. "If he hadn't taken a risk and had the chutzpah he did to make it happen, it could have taken so many more years before everyone had a computer on their desktop."
Other companies were making PCs as early as the 1970s, but IBM was behind the curve. Lowe was a lab director when he convinced his bosses that he could assemble a team to build a personal computer in a year.
Lowe and his team were able to develop the IBM PC so quickly by adopting open architecture—using parts and software from outside vendors, including Microsoft, according to IBM's website.
Despite his accomplishments, Marshall said, her father didn't really learn how to use a PC until he left IBM and was working at Xerox.
"He was a slow adapter, but he understood the implication," she said.
A sports nut, her dad approached everything as a game. "He would tackle it; he was relentless," she said.
She said her father grew up poor in Pennsylvania and was the first person in his family to go to college.
Lowe joined IBM in 1962, when he finished college with a physics degree.
He went on to serve as an IBM vice president and president of its entry systems division, which oversaw the development and manufacturing of IBM's personal computers and other businesses. He left the company in 1988 to work for Xerox, and later became president of Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
Messages left for IBM spokespeople weren't returned.
Lowe also is survived by wife, Cristina Lowe, four other children—Julie Kremer, James Lowe, Gabriela Lowe and William Daniel Lowe—and 10 grandchildren.
Explore further: Mexico City proposes regulations for Uber |
University Bribes Students to Retake SAT
Baylor University's unethical ploy to game the college ranking system.
October 26, 2008 - 12:00 am
Competition between colleges for students is as tough as it ever was and with the economic downturn, it will definitely get tougher. But this seems ridiculous.
My friends at Ethics Newsline brought a story to my attention that is almost unbelievable. It turns out that Baylor University has been paying students who are already admitted and attending the school to retake the SAT. Just sitting in the room for the exam can win you a $300 textbook credit and raising your score by 50 points wins you $1,000 in scholarship money. Considering that SAT scores can easily vary by 50 points from sitting to sitting, this is a good bet for any incoming student.
Why would Baylor want its already-admitted kids to retake the SAT? The SAT is a major part of the US News & World Reports college ranking system. Baylor’s got a strategic plan called “Baylor 2012″ that evidently includes a cornerstone goal that it will do better on the US News rankings. They’re on their way, according to The Lariat, the student newspaper. Baylor’s average score SAT went from 1,200 to 1,210.
Baylor’s vice president for marketing, John Barry, first told the New York Times that there’s no problem because any other college could have done it too: “Every university wants to have great SAT scores. Every university wants to be perceived as having a high-quality class. We all wanted that. Were we happy our SAT scores went up? Yes. Did our students earn their scores? Yes they did.”
Some critics of standardized testing in general are pouncing on this because they say it reveals how evil they are. I don’t see it that way. The SAT is just a tool. So are the US News rankings. Baylor was misusing one tool to game the other — that doesn’t make the tools wrong, it makes Baylor wrong. Indeed, according to the influential Inside Higher Ed, Robert Morse (the U.S. News “ranking czar”) made clear that the magazine “disapproves of any educational policy designed solely to manipulate the ranking.”
This episode shows how careful leaders have to be when they set goals because staff throughout the organization might think that reaching the goal is the most important thing, not how you get there. In some areas, that can work. Schools? Not so much. |
Posted: 12/23/2013 16:11
The Credit Union Difference
Not-for-Profit Credit Unions Benefit All Consumers
Credit Unions Should Remain Tax Exempt
The Value of Credit Unions
Credit unions, as not-for-profit financial cooperatives, are fundamentally different from banks in many ways that provide significant benefits to consumers. Because of these differences, Congress has exempted credit unions from paying federal income taxes.
The banking industry is challenging the credit union tax exemption. Consumers need to understand the value of credit unions and the importance of the tax exemption.
How Are Credit Unions Different From Banks?
- Owned by their members
- Focused on serving consumers
- Not-for-profit cooperatives
- Must be eligible to join
- Earnings are returned to members
- Pay payroll, property, and sales taxes
- Owned by their stockholders
- Focused on generating profit
- For-profit businesses
- Anyone can be a customer
- Profits are distributed to stockholders
- Pay federal income taxes, although many smaller banks are exempt
How Do Consumers Benefit?
Credit unions provide benefits to their members through higher dividend rates, lower interest rates on loans, and reduced fees. Credit unions also benefit all consumers by providing healthy competition that drives bank rates lower.
Why are Credit Unions Tax Exempt?
Congress decided in 1937 to exempt credit unions from federal income tax because of their unique structure and role in the financial services industry. The tax exemption was reaffirmed by Congress in 1951 and again in 1998.
Credit unions provide a valuable alternative to the for-profit banking system, and continue to serve consumers who have no other access to financial services.
Could Credit Unions Lose Their Tax Exemption?
The banking industry is asking legislators to tax credit unions. They say the tax exemption gives credit unions an unfair advantage and hurts bank profits. If that were true, why are banks reporting year after year of record profits? Clearly, the credit union tax exemption has not affected bank profits and continues to help credit unions serve consumers well.
Why Should Credit Unions Remain Tax Exempt?
The facts that convinced Congress to originally grant credit unions their tax exemption remain true today. However, if credit unions lose their tax-exempt status, they will have to pass along their tax payments in higher fees, higher loan rates, and lower savings dividends to consumers, just like banks do. Ultimately, a tax on credit unions is a tax on consumers!
Educating Consumers About Credit Unions is Important!
It is vital to educate yourself and your family and friends about the credit union difference. Thank you for taking the time to read about this issue. Your credit union can provide additional information and assistance with your financial needs. |
And Do They So? - Poem by Henry Vaughan
'Etenim res creatoe exerto capite observantes
expectant revelationem Filiorum Dei.'
'For created things, watching with head erect,
await the revelation of the Sons of God.'
And do they so? Have they a sense
Of aught but influence?
Can they their heads lift, and expect,
And groan too? Why the elect
Can do no more; my volumes said
They were all dull, and dead;
They judged them senseless, and their state
Go, go, seal up thy looks,
And burn thy books.
I would I were a stone, or tree,
Or flower, by pedigree,
Or some poor highway herb, or spring
To flow, or bird to sing!
Then should I, tied to one sure state,
All day expect my date;
But I am sadly loose, and stray
A giddy blast each way;
O let me not thus range,
Thou canst not change!
Sometimes I sit with Thee and tarry
An hour or so, then vary;
Thy other creatures in this scene
Thee only aim and mean;
Some rise to seek Thee, and with heads
Erect, peep from their beds;
Others, whose birth is in the tomb,
And cannot quit the womb,
Sigh there, and groan for Thee,
O let me not do less! Shall they
Watch, while I sleep or play?
Shall I thy mercies still abuse
With fancies, friends, or news?
O brook it not! Thy blood is mine,
And my soul should be Thine;
O brook it not! why wilt Thou stop,
After whole showers, one drop?
Sure Thou wilt joy to see
Thy sheep with Thee.
Comments about And Do They So? by Henry Vaughan
Read this poem in other languages
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
Still I Rise
The Road Not Taken
If You Forget Me
Edgar Allan Poe
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
A Dream Within A Dream
Edgar Allan Poe |
Historia universal de la infamia manifests Borges's interest in performance: the ways in which the self is not a given, but is rather a role that we play. Sometimes we play no other role than the one we are given, which is why perhaps it seems so true to us, and why we easily confuse what is after all mere habit with some kind of abiding essence. At other times, however, characters find themselves faced with a decision: will they act this way or that. This is a dramatic choice between the different selves that they could potentially be. Perhaps infamy itself is precisely the result of some such decision, a deviation from an allotted role in favor of some other performance.
Almost all the stories in the collection revolve around some kind of imposture. Most obviously, "El impostor inverosímil Tom Castro" ("The Improbable Impostor Tom Castro"), which is based on the Tichborne Case, a nineteenth-century cause célèbre in which one Arthur Orton claimed to be the long-lost Sir Roger Tichborne, heir to the Tichborne Baronetcy. Borges observes that Orton's performance gained credibility from the fact that he was in so many ways so different from the person he claimed to be: where Tichborne had been slim, dark-haired, reserved, and precise, Orton was fat, fair-haired, outspoken, and uncouth. Borges's point is that presumably an impostor would try to copy at least some elements of the original he was mimicking; the very fact that there was no such attempt at impersonation seemed to prove that Orton must be the real thing. The best disguise is no disguise at all; in the best performance there is no distance between the role being played and the person playing it.
"El impostor inverosímil" features an eminence grise in the shape of Orton's accomplice Ebenezer Bogle, who plays the part of Tichborne's manservant. When Bogle dies, Orton quite literally loses the plot and ends up "giving lectures in which he would alternately declare his innocence and confess his guilt" (40; Complete Fictions 18). Borges calls Orton Tichborne's "ghost," presumably in that he shows up after the latter's death, like some kind of strange revenant. But it is surely equally true that Orton himself is haunted by Tichborne. By the end he has spent so longer playing the role that it's as though he's know quite sure who he is, and he will let the public decide: "many nights he would begin by defending himself and wind up admitting all, depending on the inclinations of his audience" (40; 18).
In "El asesino desinterado Bill Harrigan" ("The Disinterested Killer Bill Harrigan"), there is no third party: neither the eminence grise nor the ghost that compelled Orton's transformation. Or rather, there is but it is impersonal, mechanistic: New York tenement boy Harrigan turns himself into the cowboy out West who will be Billy the Kid by acting out melodramatic models provided by the theater. In turn, he will become an iconic part of the myths of the Wild West propagated by Hollywood.
Borges suggests that the History he is telling us is a series of "discontinuous images" that he compares a movie. But it is even better described as a series of scenes in the cinematic sense: briefer than a theater scene but more dynamic than any single image, the filmic scene is a situation in a single space defined by mise-en-scène, a dramatic confrontation, and the position of camera angles or lines of sight. Indeed, the scene is very often the basic unit of Borges's fiction. (In this collection, think particularly of "Hombre de la Esquina Rosada" ["Man on Pink Corner"] or the ending of "El tintorero enmascarado Hákim de Merv" ["Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv"].)
Here the key scene is the moment of transformation of Harrigan into Billy: a notorious Mexican gunfighter named Belisario Villagrán enters a crowded saloon that is outlined with cinematic precision and visuality ("their elbows on the bar, tired hard-muscled men drink a belligerent alcohol and flash stacks of silver coins marked with a serpent and an eagle" [64; 32]); everyone stops dead except for Harrigan, who fells him with a single shot and for no apparent reason. Again, the visual detail as the Mexican's body is slow to register the indignity: "The glass falls from Villagrán's hand; then the entire body follows" (65; 33). In that moment, Billy the Kid is born "and the shifty Bill Harrigan buried" (66; 33).
But even if it is Bill's "disinterested" (unreflective, habitual) killing that turns him into a legend, there is always a gap between that legend and his behavior. He may learn "to sit a horse straight" or "the vagabond art of cattle driving" and he may find himself attracted to "the guitars and brothels of Mexico" (66, 67; 33, 34), but a few tics from his East Coast days remain: "Something of the New York hoodlum lived on in the cowboy" (66; 33). The task of replacing one set of habits (or habitus) with another is never quite complete. But it is not as though Harrigan were the "real" thing and Billy the Kid a mere mask. Rather, it is that the new performance is informed by the old one. As always in Borges, there is never anything entirely new under the sun, even the scorching sun of the arid Western desert. |
Categories: Conferences | No Comments
Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m not a chemist. I always enjoyed chemistry at school – I’d even go as far as to say I was good at it – but in the end the lure of the living was just too strong and I opted to do a biology degree.
It turns out that not being a chemist is something I have in common with several of the Nobel Laureates here in Lindau. Some were awarded the Nobel prize in physiology and medicine, or in physics. Others’ pioneering chemistry work was an offshoot from a career in another scientific field. 2012 chemistry Nobel Brian Kobilka, who opened the first day of scientific lectures with a summary of his work on G-protein coupled receptors, explained he was a ‘new kid on the chemistry block’.
‘I’m a physicist, but hey no one’s perfect!’ quipped David Wineland at the beginning of his talk on quantum theory (to a murmur of agreement from the crowd). The next day Erwin Neher told us he ‘trained as a physicist, won a Nobel in physiology & medicine and I’m now speaking at a chemistry meeting.’
Three days in, I’ve heard from more than 20 Nobel laureates from across the whole spectrum of science, and there are many more still to come. (I won’t go into much detail here – keep an eye on the website for videos). I’m beginning to realise the extent to which the sciences are intermingled. As Jean-Marie Lehn neatly summed up in his talk: ‘Physics concerns the laws of the universe, and biology the rules of life. Chemistry builds a bridge between the two.’
I suppose it’s obvious that the boundaries between sciences are blurred – quantum theory relates to atoms, photons and particles – the very building blocks of chemistry. And often, the problems biologists and physiologists face must be tackled with chemistry. Kobilka used x-ray crystallography to visualise the molecular structures of GPCRs, cell membrane receptors that control the body’s responses to hormones and neurotransmitters.
But despite all this common ground, there’s still a fair amount of inter-subject tension in the world at large. When Kobilka (and colleague Robert Lefkowitz) were awarded the chemistry Nobel last year, some seemed genuinely annoyed it had been netted by molecular physiologists rather than ‘real’ chemists. Inter-science mudslinging is typical within universities – and starts at undergrad level.
The whole thing strikes me as baffling – surely scientists all want the same things, and should pool their expertise to fight the big battles (pathogen vs. drug, or man vs. the energy crisis) rather than bickering over chemistry vs. biology! This is one of the aims of the Lindau meeting, and the Nobel laureates themselves are a shining example of how cross-discipline collaborations can achieve great things. With any luck this will encourage participants to rise above the politics and point-scoring.
For some at least the message seems to be sinking in. Over the past few days I’ve met so many researchers here who are keen to learn from one another. When I asked one if he was here to see any of the Nobellists in particular, he said: ‘not really – I’m mostly here to meet new people, from different fields. In my area of work you don’t meet many people from other areas of science at conferences. I’m hoping to learn from this.’ |
What shall be done then my brother? Only this , we must cry day and night to cling to the Truth as His remnant Bride, the few in whom the Son of Man , when He comes, will find faith on the earth. The Bride embraces the Cross, she is a fearless witness, she loves the embrace of prayer , knows her position in Christ and knows it is by the sheer mercy and grace of God that she remains there . She has seen all too often and all too clearly the end of those branches which bear no fruit . She has wept as she has seen them wither, be broken off , and become fuel for the fire. She fears God intensely not because she fears condemnation but becauses she knows that apart from the complete weakness of death to her own will and utter dependence on Christ she will fall into the harlot's ways. She has read of the harlot women of old "Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister." (Ezekiel 23) , she has read of the Israelites and the golden calf,(Exodus 32), and Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19-40) . She rejoices in the correction of the Father becauses she knows it makes her more to be desired by the One she loves, Jesus the Savior of the World, and because it assures her that the Father loves her. She will embrace martyrdom for the Lord's sake if need be because she knows that her real life is in Christ and not in the earthly realm. She knows that there is no crown without a cross, and she accepts it not even to gain a crown for herself , but only that by so doing she may , in the tender mercies of her Father, cast it one day at the feet of the One she longs for with overwhelming anticipation. She rejoices in her salvation not even because she is saved from the lake of fire so much as because it brings the Father and Son glory . She says together with the two Moravian brothers " That the Lamb of God may see the reward of His suffering and be satisfied" . She would serve the Master even if He sent her to hell simply because she loves Him and because He is worthy of all service, praise , glory and honor.
Rev. 5:12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."
13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, " To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit both now and unto the end of the age,
in the love of the Father , the embrace of the Son, and in the mercy and concern of Holy Spirit |
- Part of a Book (5) (remove)
- Semantic form as interface (2007)
- The term interface had a remarkable career over the past several decades, motivated largely by its use in computer science. Although the concept of a "surface common to two areas" (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 1980) is intuitively clear enough, the range of its application is not very sharp and well defined, a "common surface" is open to a wide range of interpretations.
- Thematic roles – universal, particular, and idiosyncratic aspects (2006)
- Thematic Roles (or Theta-Roles) are theoretical constructs that account for a variety of well known empirical facts, which are more or less clearly delimited. In other words, Theta-Roles are not directly observable, but they do have empirical content that is open to empirical observation. The objective of the present paper is to sketch the nature and content of Theta-Roles, distinguishing their universal foundation as part of the language faculty, their language particular realization, which depends on the conditions of individual languages, and idiosyncratic properties, determined by specific information of individual lexical items.
- German reflexives as proper and improper arguments (2006)
- Reflexive pronouns as central anaphoric elements are subject to general principles determined by Universal Grammar and shared by all languages that use reflexives as part of their grammatical structure. In addition to these general conditions, there are language particular properties, which different languages can exhibit on the basis of different regulations. One variation of this sort is the particular role of Reflexives in German, which can show up as improper Arguments, which are subject to standard syntactic and morphological conditions, but do not represent an argument of the head they belong to. Hence the particular property is the effect of syntactic, morphological and semantic conditions. A simple illustration of the phenomena I will explore in this contribution is based on the following observation.
- Lexical information from a minimalist point of view (1997)
- Simplicity as a methodological orientation applies to linguistic theory just as to any other field of research: ‘Occam’s razor’ is the label for the basic heuristic maxim according to which an adequate analysis must ultimately be reduced to indispensible specifications. In this sense, conceptual economy has been a strict and stimulating guideline in the development of Generative Grammar from the very beginning. Halle’s (1959) argument discarding the level of taxonomic phonemics in order to unify two otherwise separate phonological processes is an early characteristic example; a more general notion is that of an evaluation metric introduced in Chomsky (1957, 1975), which relates the relative simplicity of alternative linguistic descriptions systematically to the quest for explanatory adequacy of the theory underlying the descriptions to be evaluated. Further proposals along these lines include the theory of markedness developed in Chomsky and Halle (1968), Kean (1975, 1981), and others, the notion of underspecification proposed e.g. in Archangeli (1984), Farkas (1990), the concept of default values and related notions. An important step promoting this general orientation was the idea of Principles and Parameters developed in Chomsky (1981, 1986), which reduced the notion of language particular rule systems to universal principles, subject merely to parametrization with restricted options, largely related to properties of particular lexical items. On this account, the notion of a simplicity metric is to be dispensed with, as competing analyses of relevant data are now supposed to be essentially excluded by the restrictive system of principles.
- The semantics of gradation (1989)
- The term 'gradation' is meant to cover a range of phenomena which for the time being I shall call quantitative evaluations regarding dimensions or features. I shall actually be looking into the principles governing the way gradation is expressed in language. The quantitative aspect of the adjectives of dimension occupies a key position which can be systematically explained and this aspect will be the crucial point of the discussion. I shall focus on the various grammatical forms of comparison: comparative, equative, superlative and some related constructions, and indications of measurement and adverbial indications of degree. |
Another right-wing Member of Parliament, Wyatt Roy, who at 23 is the youngest member, just endorsed marriage equality. Gay Star News reports:
‘I support the right of same-sex couples to have their loving and committed relationships recognized in state-sanctioned marriage,’ said 23-year-old Wyatt Roy, parliament’s youngest MP. However Roy is currently barred from voting for same-sex marriage legislation because Abbott is not allowing opposition Liberal-National coalition MPs a conscience vote on the matter. But Abbott and other Liberal politicians have suggested that they will discuss allowing a conscience vote in the party room after the general election on 14 September.
There could be another vote as soon as June:
Greens MP Adam Bandt is pushing for another vote on same-sex marriage on 6 June, but this has not been confirmed.
Will the marriage equality vote have a different outcome this time around? |
Sudan Lower House Votes Independence Declaration; FREEDOM ASKED BY SUDAN HOUSE
Dispatch of The Times, London. ();
December 20, 1955,
, Section , Page 1, Column , words
KHARTUM, the Sudan, Dec. 19 -- The House of Representatives of the Sudan unanimously adopted today a resolution declaring the country's independence. It requested the Governor General, Sir Knox Helm, to ask Britain and Egypt, the two condominium powers, to recognize the declaration forthwith.
December 20, 1955
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Trains Crawl Back Into Service After Kearny Bridge Fire
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Published: May 14, 2005
Transit workers restored train service between New York City and Newark in time for commuters to get to work yesterday after a fire shut down a critical railroad bridge in Kearny, N.J., the night before.
No one was hurt in the fire, which was ignited by a dangling electric wire, the authorities said. But a few hundred commuters were briefly stranded on the tracks in the Meadowlands of New Jersey after their westbound train became tangled with the faulty wire and lost power. Unaware that a fire was smoldering beneath the bridge they had just crossed, those riders sat in the dark as night fell, wondering what had caused the loud pop they had heard and the sparking some of them had seen.
Their train, the 6:54 p.m. departure from Pennsylvania Station bound for Dover, was the last one carrying passengers to cross Amtrak's Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River until dawn yesterday, said George D. Warrington, the executive director of New Jersey Transit.
The shutdown disrupted all traffic on the tracks between Manhattan and Secaucus, but Amtrak, which owns the tracks, partly repaired the damage overnight.
By yesterday morning, Amtrak trains and many New Jersey Transit trains were able to cross the 98-year-old bridge -- a swing model that pivots from the middle -- but they first had to stop, then crawl across at 5 miles per hour, stretching out the morning commuting.
To reduce some of the congestion that slowdown would have caused, New Jersey Transit diverted its Midtown Direct trains to Hoboken, where passengers could transfer at no extra cost to PATH trains or ferries across the Hudson River.
The Midtown Direct trains left from Hoboken on the way back last night, too. But Mr. Warrington said they would return to running in and out of New York this morning and would probably continue doing so next week. That decision hinges on whether Amtrak repair crews are able to replace signal cables that burned in the fire, he said. Until the signaling system is restored, engineers will have to stop and await an all-clear message before proceeding across the bridge.
''I'm optimistic that they will have this back for Sunday night or Monday morning,'' Mr. Warrington said.
Even if that repair takes longer, he said, he was relieved that the bridge, which he called ''an incredibly fragile and stressed link,'' could be used again so soon.
''My worst fear was a real catastrophe,'' he said. If the bridge had sustained structural damage, he added, ''the consequence could have been weeks, if not months, of chaos.''
There were moments of chaos aboard the Dover-bound train Thursday night as conductors conveyed to passengers that something unusual had happened as they passed over the bridge. They were startled by a noise overhead -- one called it a thud, another said it sounded like a transformer exploding and was loud enough to rouse those who had dozed off.
Mr. Warrington said the engineer, who was driving the train from a cab in the front, reported that he saw an electric wire sagging perilously low at the western end of the bridge. He tried to lower the pantograph, the arm that collects power from the wires and carries it to the engine. But the wire became tangled in the pantograph and ripped it from the roof, Mr. Warrington said.
Inside the cars, the lights went out and the air-conditioner stopped blowing as the train coasted to a stop, passengers recounted. It stood alone on a ramp to the tracks that branch westward toward Morris County until a passing train with three empty cars pulled up alongside.
Conductors directed passengers in the front of the disabled train to jump down to the track bed and climb aboard the adjacent substitute, all the while warning them, ''Don't touch the trains!'' for fear that someone would touch both at once and be electrocuted.
''I never have been caused to walk off a train in the middle of nowhere and walk between tracks and board another train where somebody needed to pull you up,'' said Carl Klapper, a financial manager who lives in Summit, N.J.
Mr. Klapper said yesterday that he did not know that there was any connection between the breakdown of his train and the fire that blazed for two hours that night. He was delayed just 45 minutes on his trip home, he said.
But, he added, ''going back this morning was a pain.'' He said he left home at 7:15 a.m., waited 30 minutes for a train to Hoboken, then hopped on a ferry to get across the river. The trip to his office in Midtown took two hours, twice as long as usual, and he was not looking forward to retracing the journey last night.
Mr. Warrington said he had watched a videotape of the events that led to the fire, captured by a security camera trained on the bridge. He said it showed the wire sparking shortly before two trains crossed the bridge, the second one being the Dover train.
New Jersey Transit engineers say they believe the wire, which carries 13,000 volts, became so hot that it threw off shards of molten metal that fell to the creosote-covered wooden fenders on a bulkhead at the base of the bridge, he said. That wood apparently smoldered, then caught fire, sending thick smoke and flames shooting up to the bridge.
Mr. Warrington said it was still not clear what caused the problem with the wire. Amtrak inspectors are investigating to determine a cause, he said.
Although Amtrak officials have long complained about having to defer maintenance on the railroad's tracks and wires, R. Clifford Black, an Amtrak spokesman in Washington, said it would be premature to blame a lack of maintenance for the fire.
''It's a chicken-and-egg question,'' Mr. Black said. ''We're not sure whether the wires failed first or whether a malfunctioning pantograph damaged them.''
Photo: Trains crossing the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River were limited to 5 miles per hour yesterday. (Photo by Dith Pran/The New York Times) |
- Original Owner
- Roby & Thompson
- Sail Number Masts
- Tonnage Old Style
- Final Location
- Middle Island, halfway between Presque Isle & Thunder Bay Island.
- Lake Huron.
- Final Date Month
- Final Date Day
- Final Date Year
- Final How
- Final Notes
- Bound Chicago, IL - Detroit, MI & Buffalo, NY, collided with brig J.J. AUDUBON halfway between Presque Isle, MI & Thunder Bay Island; both sank.
- 1996 Wreck discovered by Captain Ed Ellison.
History and Notes
- 1848, Mar 30 Launched for Maumee River trade.
- 1849 Enrolled Miami District, OH; 253.57 tons.
- 1849, Dec 4 Burned at Perrysburg, PA; cabin & interior damaged, hull OK.
- 1850 Enrolled Maumee City.
- 1853, Oct 10 Ashore Hog Island, Detroit River, MI; cargo grain.
- 1854, Oct 20 Collided with brig J.J. AUDUBON, Middle Island, MI, Lake Huron; both sank.
- Niagara Diver's Association
- Newspaper Clippings
- Erik Heyl, Early American Steamers
- David Swayze Shipwreck Database
- C. Patrick Labadie
- Unique ID |
I have tried different software solutions over a decade ago to help train wind calls, and I'm sure that they are helpful to some people. I found them frustrating and not very helpful, but I should probably go back and see if there are any current software solutions that will be helpful for training wind calls instead of just maintaining skills. The first part of reading the wind is learning how to estimate wind speed based on how it interacts with flags, trees, grass, mirage, etc.
|Wind Rosette chart from Flea, snipersparadise.com|
There are two common ways to predict wind drift. The first is to do the equation, d = w (t-t_0) which is not helpful. Deflection equals wind velocity multiplied by the quantity of time of flight actual minus time of flight in a vacuum (ie, constant muzzle velocity). So there is another equation that will "get you close" which is; Range [hundreds] x wind speed [mph] / constant = MOA adjustment. The problem with this formula is that the "constant" isn't a constant, it is actually a non-linear function in its own right. For 200 meters the constant is 10, for 800 meters the constant is 7, with an M855 bullet at 3100 fps. When going through the SDM train the trainer course, we were told, "use 10, it will get you close enough." Obviously this is just a simplification to get a tactical shooter on a torso sized target.
I'm a math geek, and I don't like these formulas because they are difficult to do in your head when you are behind the rifle trying to keep your front sight or cross hairs on target (red dot aiming points need not apply).
I used the JBM Ballistic trajectory calulator (simplified) to generate this chart. I set the zero range for 300 meters, and set the interval range for 50 meters. This is more than enough data for an SDM to use.
The wind data is set at 10 mph, and this is a good baseline. Got a 3 mph wind? Divide your number by 4 to get a 2.5 mph wind correction and use that. Got a 5 mph wind? divide by two and use that. See where I'm going? with simple mental math you can get pretty close, really quickly.
Now, if you don't want to do any mental math, or pull out your handy dandy calculator from your final firing position, you can do the math ahead of time to get a wind drift chart that is specific to your altitude, bullet choice, and muzzle velocity.
|Wind and Lead chart, courtesy of Flea, www.snipersparadise.com|
The chart to the left was generated using the same JBM ballistic calculator, but setting the wind speed to 1 mph (and this is using a standard M118LR load, not the M855 chart above).
If I do the same exercise for M855 at 3100 fps, and extend the columns for more than just 1 mph and multiply by the wind speed, I end up with something such as this. No math necessary, print and laminate, keep handy for when you are on the firing point and have done your wind speed and direction estimate. With a service rifle using stock sights, anything under 0.5 MOA is too small to account for (the sights are pretty rough). With competition irons, 0.25 MOA is the limit of precision. I don't know anyone who competes with a 0.125 MOA (1/8th MOA) scope, but they make them so I'm sure someone has them.
The chart above is for standard temp and atmospheric pressure. Obviously a change in atmospheric density (due to temperature, humidity or altitude changes means you need to make a chart for those conditions).
If you don't making 10 ballistic charts each with the exact windspeed from 1 to 10, you don't even have to do math, just type in the numbers on your spreadsheet. This is a "full value" chart (wind at 9 or 3), and it is easy to make a 0.866 and 0.707 chart simply by multiplying each value by .866 or .707 and labeling your chart as such.
So there it is, the easiest way to do the math for a wind correction is now, on your computer. Print out the 3 wind tables you need for your cartridge (full value, .866 value, .707 value, you could do a half value if you really wanted to). I guarantee you that you can flip through 4 laminated cards faster than you can plug an equation into a calculator.
What a wind chart can't give you is experience. And if you want to get experience, there are no shortcuts. If you don't shoot prairie dogs, compete in High Power or F-Class (or Palma), you are probably not building the experience necessary for being a good shot in the wind. |
In Response to “New Campaign Encourages Michigan Residents to Cut Down on Wasted Energy”
Written by Michael Vrtis, President of Realgy Energy Services in response to the Market Wired article “New Campaign Encourages Michigan Residents to Cut Down on Wasted Energy”
Public service reminders, are normally quite humble. Successful campaigns (forest fire awareness and anti-smoking) began as simple public service notices. Smokey the Bear in now part of our national consciousness and no one likes to be around smokers.
So it could be with energy. The new Michigan campaign seems so simple; energy is a cost than can be mitigated with insulation; use less to heat as leaks are found and eliminated and with more informed purchase plans.
It only takes math to figure it out; spend $100 and save $25 on energy the pay back on the $100 is 4 months.
Realgy offers lower cost ways to buy energy than the utility offers; it only takes math to figure out the savings; talk about NO DRAMA!
Stay warm and do so with math.
Check out the article in Market Wired: “New Campaign Encourages Michigan Residents to Cut Down on Wasted Energy” |
Like most African countries, in Benin you may find a variety of vegetarian dishes. Vegetarian salads are usually made of fresh vegetables or fruits, but there are also vegetarian dishes prepared with boiled vegetables which are normally served with different sauces. One of most popular Beninese vegetarian dishes is the famous combination of okra and greens. This salad is made with okra, chopped onion, water, greens like collards, kale and cassava; palm butter and chilly pepper.
Aloco is a popular side dish in Benin which contains red palm oil, ripe plantain bananas, salt, chopped onion, peeled and chopped tomatoes and chopped chilly pepper.
Boiled vegetables are an easy to make vegetarian dish. For this recipe you can use all sort of vegetables such as tomatoes, red or green peppers, onion; red, white or sweet potatoes, yams. The only thing you have to do is to boil the vegetables and then chop them in small cubes or slices. Another mode of preparing vegetarian dishes is using the ingredients from above and instead of boiling them you can mash them.
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George Mitchell, the gifted hard-driving cornet player on Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers recording sessions, deserves wider recognition and appreciation. As his nickname - Little Mitch - suggests, he was not a tall man, but he was among the giants of jazz.
He was born on March 8, 1899 in Louisville, Kentucky. At the age of 12, he took up the cornet and joined a local brass band. Mitchell moved to Chicago and from 1919 on was playing on the South Side with New Orleans jazzmen who had migrated north. He worked with pianist Tony Jackson and drummer Tubby Hall, did a stint on the road and returned to join the Carroll Dickerson Orchestra (1923-24). Later, Mitchell was to replace the legendary New Orleans trumpeter Freddie Keppard in Doc Cook's Orchestra. |
As Rachel Maddow reported this Wednesday, despite the Bush administration's best efforts to destroy every copy of internal memo from former State Department counselor Philip Zelikow, one copy survived and has been obtained by Wired Magazine and the national security archive at George Washington University, three years after filing a FIOA request.
Rachel delved into the politics on this, noting the hard move to the right by the Republican Party even since their nomination of John McCain who spoke out against torture during the last presidential election.
MADDOW: And, if the Republican Party were still the party of John McCain, this would open up a whole new can of political worms, because the Obama administration, remember, looked into Bush administration ordered torture and they decided not to prosecute any of it. They decided effectively that the Bush administration was operating on good faith when they ordered torture? They thought it was legal? Probably not. Actually, it turns out they had good reason to know it was not legal, so that means it was a crime. It was probably a war crime, not to put too fine a point on it.
And that is something that we are legally obligated to prosecute in this country. This reopens the whole question of the legal liability for torture that was administered by the previous administration. The Democratic Party will be split by this because the White House politically doesn't want to deal with it, even if it's wrong and even if they know it's wrong.
And the Republican Party still has to figure out who it is. Is the Republican Party still the party of John McCain, which has now the opportunity to out flank the President on a matter of principle here, where the White House knows what the right thing to do is, but they don't want to do it. Or, are the Republicans still the party of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, who think torture is okay? Gut check time.
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What role does spirituality and religion play in refugees' flights from their home country and during their resettlement in host countries?
The research question What role does spirituality and religion play in refugees' flights from their home country and during their resettlement in host countries? was explored through a mostly qualitative study that used a grounded theory approach. The research did this by allowing the voices of nineteen (in total) Melbourne-based adult refugees from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Iraq to be heard. These refugees were of Christian, Muslim and Animist backgrounds of varying religiosities. They fled, mostly between the 1990s and early 2000s, to settle in Australia. These voices are complemented by observations of Melbourne-based refugee settlement practitioners, religious leaders and academics.
The study found that for nearly all refugees their religiosity assisted or greatly assisted them during the refugee experience and during initial settlement in Melbourne. Further, half of the refugees reported a shift in their religiosity from home country chaos to settlement in Melbourne. Also, refugees' religiosity generally increased in the place of asylum, then weakened in Australia, but this level was still higher than that during the events which caused civil chaos in their home countries. Refugee support personnel also observed that refugees' religiosity increased in Melbourne.
In order to answer how different refugees were impacted the grounded study presents A Model of Religiosity and the Refugee Experience: Shifting Typologies at Each Stage of the Refugee Journey for the nineteen refugee participants. The study poses five variable constellations that affected the refugee's religiosity with these being: 1) Home-External, 2) Home-National, 3) Individual, 4) Flight and Asylum, and 5) Host Country. Each constellation has several factors. This study found three main religious responses (with variations within) to the refugee experience: 1) Refugee religious maintainers: (a) Intensified religious maintainers; 2) Refugee religious shifters: (a) Intensified religious shifters, (b) Religious switchers, (c) Religious questioners; and 3) Non-religious refugees.
As presented in the study and summarised in the description of the model, most religious refugees (religious maintainers, refugee switchers and refugee intensifiers - the majority in this study), both Christian and Muslim, appear to understand the refugee experience through their particular collective/individual religious meaning system (often unconsciously formed). The study found the refugees' particular religious meaning system often framed their experience: earth is temporary, heaven is permanent, the devil is present, it's God's/Allah's will. It also prescribed ways of coping via the extensive use of religious rituals at all stages of the refugee experience. Even refugee religious questioners used religious coping methods in times of need.
Several other theoretical findings emerged. For example, those religious refugees and some religious leaders who were interviewed appear to acculturate in multi-faith, secular Australia through their particular religious meaning systems. Findings also suggest collective and individual experience with the 'other' in their home country and asylum can be both positively and in some instances negatively transferred to Australia.
The study's conclusion and an appendix present various practical implications and recommendations for the immigration department, educational programs, and health and psychological support agencies in Australia and possibly beyond.
You can read more about this study here (and download a copy, PDF, 2MB) |
Home to one of Europe's oldest, most mysterious peoples, the Basque country spans across the southwestern corner of France and a broad portion of northern Spain. For years, many Basques immigrated to the New World, usually claiming the lonely, nomadic existence of sheepherders, tending massive flocks across the frigid mountains and windswept plains of the American West.
Today, throughout the West, a smattering of restaurants keeps frontier Basque food culture alive—primarily, in northern Nevada, southern Idaho, and California's Central Valley. Establishments such as The Star Hotel in Elko, Nev., and the Martin Hotel in Winnemucca, Nev., continue to serve classic Basque fare after a century or more of operation.
Basque food in America remains hearty and traditional, a testament to the difficult times new immigrants faced. Even now, Basque-American restaurants typically seat diners at long tables, often with people they don't know, while heaping portions are served family-style, course after satisfying course. Whether it's Boise or Bilbao, one thing's for certain: When Basque food is served, generosity at the table knows no bounds.
By Charles Smothermon. Recipes by Tara McElhose-Eiguren of the Basque Market in Boise, Idaho, and Charles Smothermon.
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Andonisio, Gina, Stephanie Enright, Lauren Hallman, and Jayme Judd
Drinking alcohol, used by some as a relaxer or reliever of stress, can cause greater effects than just a feeling of euphoria. The frequency in which individuals have been consuming alcohol has increased greatly throughout the last several years (Blazer, pg. 1162). When the occasional glass of wine, beer, or liquor leads to alcohol abuse detrimental effects to a person’s health can occur, especially in the oral cavity. Based on a United States survey it was shown that rates of periodontal disease and toothlessness in alcohol abusers were three times greater than the national average (Harris, pg. 1709). For the purpose of this study alcohol abuse is defined as those who “binge drink” or drink in excessive frequency (alcoholics), more than 14-34 drinks per week (Kongstad, pg. 1033). This review of the literature will examine how alcohol abuse can lead to increased caries rates, increased risk of periodontal disease, and formation of oral cancer. |
Welcome to the MCW Gene Editing Rat Resource Center!
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has awarded Howard Jacob, PhD and the Medical College of Wisconsin an R24 Resource grant to make ~200 genetically modified rat strains over the next five years. These models will be of interest and value to the mission of the NHLBI. The NHLBI promotes the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, and blood diseases through scientific discovery directed toward the causes of disease and translation of basic discoveries into clinical practice.
The rat strains will be made using several different gene editing technologies, making it feasible to genetically modify genes in rats in any desired background much faster than traditional technology. |
With the national deficit of the US government expected to rise to 10 trillion dollars in the next decade, impending financial crisis looms. In these uncertain times, learn how you can secure your financial future, invest wisely, and survive the new deficit economy.
Trying to stop a bad habit or start a good habit? You must listen to this interview I had with Dr. BJ Fogg of the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab. He explains that for any behavior to occur (good or bad), there must be a Trigger, Ability, and Motivation. If any one is missing, no behavior. Knowing this, you can manipulate (in a good way!) your environment to make changing behavior easier. So, if you’ve every tried to lose weight, exercise more, make more sales calls, etc., this interview is a goldmine!
“Getting Back to Normal: The Great Depression Recovery Toolkit” is a 4-part series, aimed at helping the millions of Americans who have been laid-off and are struggling to keep their heads above water both financially and emotionally. The goal of this toolkit is to help you get back to normal quickly as possible. Part 4: […]
“Getting Back to Normal: The Great Depression Recovery Toolkit” is a 4-part series, aimed at helping the millions of Americans who have been laid-off and are struggling to keep their heads above water both financially and emotionally. The goal of this toolkit is to help you get back to normal quickly as possible. Read an excerpt from our conversation below, then be sure to listen to the full “Getting Back to Normal” Bill O’Hanlon Interview to build a healthy mindset and regain the confidence you need for success.
Learn expert motivation from self-discipline strategist Rory Vaden, as he discusses his new book “Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success.”
New Flash! The 25 best companies to work for (as ranked by Fortune) have more than 56,000 available jobs. Get out there, get noticed, and get hired in 2012!
Are your friends making you fat? Learn from health, networking technologies, and social change expert Christ Cartter the influence your friends and social networks can have over your mental and physical well-being.
Discover your ultimate prescription for happiness with Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo—no medications or negative side effect required!
In the age of Facebook, Twitter, and Web 2.0, discover how social media can help you harness the power of word-of-mouth, the best form of marketing, and transform your business, brand, and passion.
Best-selling author and leadership expert Mark Murphy reveals the inadequacies behind traditional goal setting and offers a scientific solution for stimulating the brain to achieve immeasurable results and success. |
Each instance of successful ERM implementation is unique, and really depends on interpreting principles, not a fixed format. However, a sample risk management plan is typically a copy of the process steps from a standard, or a list showing the formal elements:
- Communicate and promote the program;
- Select an appropriate standard;
- Define the governance structure;
- Create policy to apply risk management steps to the business;
- Establish tools, resources and a training plan.
Although those steps come to mind, I don’t take a bureaucratic approach when I work with clients. I find people have often done their homework on the formalities, and instead need help to get the program started. Proving the risk process at the front end is a low-risk way to proceed. Let’s look at a particular case.
ERM Case Study: Camosun College
When Camosun College first called me, they were bound to implement ERM following instructions from the Board, had a project manager engaged to lead the effort, and had studied the ERM framework.
They asked: where do we start? I asked in turn: where are the most pressing challenges in your planning and operations? I wanted to identify a pilot group with whom we could try risk identification and assessment – whether at the department (operational) level or executive (strategic) level.
The project lead set up a session with the college president and the senior executive, and I facilitated the identification and assessment of risk for the college’s multi-year strategic plan. Our aim was to demonstrate the risk methodology to the executive group, and see what kind of results it would give.
We prepared the session with a fairly short, but carefully defined context paper. We reviewed the templates and criteria we would use. The project lead explained to me: ‘Edward, we like your templates, but we have changed some of the terminology to “Camosunize” them.’ I was glad, because this meant the risk management team was adapting the method to their own working culture.
The session was a team building exercise, because controversial matters found resolution, not arbitrarily, but based on their own criteria, such as strategic direction and professional values. It resulted in a comprehensive risk profile and an agreed risk mitigation blueprint, involving plans to build up certain programs, attenuate others, and take other pro-active administrative steps.
At that point, executive had no problem in mandating a roll-out to other administrative and academic departments, one-by-one, to test and improve the process gradually.
Camosun set up an exemplary Enterprise Risk Management regime within18 months. They liked the results and presented them to the Canadian Association of Community Colleges. The CFO Peter Lockie tells me he regularly gets calls to speak about Camosun’s ERM experience and share materials.
Principles of ERM Implementation
I started out by saying that successful ERM implementation depends on principles. Here are important tenets of program implementation that Camosun paid attention to:
- Gain senior executive support; not through lip service, but through active participation;
- Gain staff and participant support through encouraging ownership and adaptation of tools and language to suit the organizational culture;
- Demonstrate value: work with participants to prove how the new management practice (i.e., risk ID and assessment) solves critical business dilemmas, builds consensus and helps them get their jobs done;
- Resource the project adequately in order to support a phased implementation;
- Proceed incrementally, with a low-tech approach, and allow feedback and improvement – avoid a monolithic and wholesale imposition of new system;
- Integrate the new practice into existing planning and management regime as an improvement, not as an administrative burden.
Check a similar case involving the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA-AMSC).
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Tags: erm case study, risk framework, risk management plan example, risk methodology, risk process, sample risk management plan |
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Paper No' SERCDP0039: | Full paper
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Keywords: local labour markets; wages; consumer demand; human capital externalities
JEL Classification: J21; J24; J31; R23
Is hard copy/paper copy available? YES - Paper Copy Still In Print.
This Paper is published under the following series: SERC Discussion Papers
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Abstract:This paper examines the wage effects arising from changing local human capital in the labour market areas of Britain. Employing wage regressions, it is found that individuals’ wages are positively associated with changes in the employment shares of high-paid occupation workers in the British travel-to-work-areas for the late 1990s. I examine this positive association for different occupational groups (defined by pay) in order to disentangle between production function and consumer demand driven theoretical justifications. The former refer to production complementarities or wider productivity spillovers arising in areas with high shares of high-skill workers. According to the latter, the presence of a high income workforce in the economy boosts the demand for consumer services leading to an increase in low-pay, service related employment. As these services are non-traded, the increased demand for local low-paid services should be reflected in a wage premium for the relevant low-paid occupation employees in the areas with larger shares of high-paid workers. The wage impact is found to be stronger and significant for the bottom occupational quintile compared to the middle-occupational quintiles and using also sectoral controls the paper argues to provide some preliminary evidence for the existence of consumer demand effects. The empirical investigation addresses potential sources of biases controlling for time invariant unobserved area-specific characteristics and unobserved individual characteristics. Nevertheless, the paper points to a number of caveats of the analysis that warrant future research.
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Annie Donnell — 6 min. From the published story set in the late 1800s. Cora, a poor little girl, finds four chocolates in a bag. She gives them to old horse to encourage him to pull a load.
James Hurst, author of ‘The Scarlet Ibis’ — 10 min. A boy, through flashbacks, tells a dramatic tale of his feelings of guilt concerning the death of his little sister. Characters: the darling girl, her parents and the boy.
Mark Twain — 9 min. A dog is speaking, tells how he dragged a baby from a fire. But his master thought he was abusing the child and hit him with his cane and broke his leg.
From Ibsen’s play — 10 min. The scene in which Nora leaves her husband because he regards her nothing but a doll. The two characters.
From the devotional book ‘Beefin’ Up’ by Mark Littleton — 8 min. The man with the withered arm tells about his encounter with Jesus in the synagogue. A powerful reading for a male speaker.
Janet Dowhower Webster — 7 min. The Samaritan woman persuades her friends to go meet the man at the well who spoke to her with such discernment. Good directions.
From II Samuel, King James Version of the Holy Bible. King David has just received word of his son’s death in battle. And in spite of his son’s rebellion and attempt to overthrow him as king and usurp his place, David deeply mourns the death of his son.
From the play by William Callahan — 10 min. Set on death row, the warden, chaplain, and three prisoners. One prisoner, unjustly convicted, faces his execution. All the men consider whether they will ask God to be with them as they pass through the dark experience.
R.D. Fahey — 3 min. Reading taken from story by Eric Maria Remarque, very dramatic. Paul, a young German soldier home on leave, has been asked to speak to students at his former school. He tells of the ‘glory’ that is war and how at 19 years of age, he is no longer young.
Cora Jane Montgomery — 9 min. A young woman risks her life to return stolen child to his parents. Characters: a kidnapper, his girl accomplice, and a tiny boy.
Leota Hulse Black — 10 min. Stirring story of a young soldier and his father. Father hears angel wings while his son is dying on foreign soil.
Adaptation from the tragedy by Sophocles, greatest of Greek poets — 10 min. Antigone defies the decree of King Creon forbidding the burial of her brother. Her sister, Ismene, fearfully and unwillingly offers to help, but Antigone refuses her aid and buries him by herself, and as a result faces king’s wrath.
William Shakespeare — 10 min. Arrangement from the timeless tragedy. The death scenes of Antony and Cleopatra are protrayed here with all their drama and pathos. Several characters.
Kathryn Kimball — 9 min. A little violinist plays for his sick mother, and his music brings her back to a determination to live. He is heard also by a ‘tired old maker of violinists.’ Beautiful ending. |
How to update table in Hibernate
How to update table in Hibernate Hi, I have a table in database that has two fields in it. Student Name and ID, can anyone explain me how to update these tables in Hibernate.
Update table query in Hibernate
Joining Multiple table in Hibernate
Joining Multiple table in Hibernate Hi everyone,
I'm new to Hibernate (even in JAVA), and I'm having some doubt's about one thing. I created 2... (using System.out.println) the query results. I've been using (just for one table
creating table in hibernate
creating table in hibernate how to create table by the help of hibernate
There are 2 alternatives to create table in hibernate:
@Table(name = "TBLCOURSES")
public class Course
Retrieve Value from Table - Hibernate
Retrieve Value from Table Hai friend,
I need help, How can i retrieve values From database using hibernate in web Application. As I new to hibernate I couldn't find solution for this problem.. Can anyone help please..
Creating a temporary file
Java Temporary File - Temporary File Creation in Java... a temporary file, which
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In this section, you will learn how to create a temporary file. This will
perform with the help of createTempFile() method... temporary-file directory,
using the given prefix and suffix to generate its
Delete database Table through hibernate and Spring
Delete database Table through hibernate and Spring Hi,
I am using Spring,Hibernate and Tapestry to save and also fetch data simultaneously from... once without repetation,or Detete table after data is fetched.
delete row from a table using hibernate
delete row from a table using hibernate //code in java file
String hql="delete from CONTACT c where ID=6";
//error when executing above code
CONTACT is not mapped
Hibernate Criteria load all objects from table Hibernate Criteria load all objects from table - Learn how to load all... the data
from a table then you can easily use the Hibernate Criteria load all... the Hibernate Criteria Query to
fetch all data from a table. Read more
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TABLE TABLE Why doesn't <TABLE WIDTH="100%"> use the full browser width
Table How i generate table in showMessageDialog. I want that i creat a table and run in showMessageDialogeprint("cprint("code sample");ode sample
Table How i generate table in showMessageDialog. I want to creat a table and run in showMessageDialoge. Pl make a table programe which run..., JOptionpane, Integer.parseInt.
Please use only these above methods to make table
Table How I generate table in showMessageDialog.
Table How i generate table in JOptionpane.showMessageDialog... advance coding
but i want u make the table using JOptionpane.showMessageDialog, import.javax.swing
Thats my limit. Pl generata a table
table Hi..I have a list of links which links to a table in the same page.If I click first link the table is displayed at the top, likewise if i click the last link the table is displayed at the last,i dont know how to set
input from oracle table(my database table..)
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Table Why u dont understand sir?? I want to make a table program which generate a table on showMessageDialog. I have learnt these methods until now... methods to be used.
Write a table program which use only and only these above methods
Table How i create table on showMessageDialog using JOptionpane and Integer.parseInt.
No other method to use. Pl make a program which generate |
It’s a box.
Nothing very exciting. You might think.
Not really the sort of thing you would feature in a blog post.
Who wants to look at endless boxes?
Just look at where some of these boxes are heading - Sudan, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Afghanistan ...
And let me tell you a little about what's inside these boxes.
There’s everything from medicines, vaccines and life-saving nutritional supplements to school books, sanitation supplies and mosquito nets.
Many of these items can be bought in our local supermarket, like paracetamol, cotton wool and soap. But to others they are essential resources that they simply don’t have and desperately need.
I’ve seen the incredible difference the work of UNICEF can make to the lives of children in developing countries and I’ve been blown away by the commitment and dedication of their staff. Yet none of this work would be possible without supplies. None of it at all.
I travelled to Denmark with UNICEF to visit their supply division in Copenhagen, walking the exact same route Kate and William took the previous week although without the 50-odd press team.
I heard about their work, listened to the stories of the people they have helped, and heard about the children and families out there right now who still need our help. When I can put that into words I will.
In the meantime, here’s where I try to lend a hand and possibly mixed up a few boxes.
The supply division has a staff of just under 1000 representing 133 nationalities; so when there’s a crisis in China or in Pakistan or any country where English is not their mother-tongue, there’s someone on hand who knows the country and can speak the language and can help in those critical 48 hours when reports need to be gathered and essential supplies prepared for shipment.
The purpose of the trip was to hear about their Inspired Christmas gifts, which can make an amazing difference to children and families this festive season. The range includes a midwifery kit, weighing scales, a nursery-in-a-box, vaccines carriers, vaccines and essential nutrition, to name a handful. They are real, life-saving supplies delivered directly to vulnerable children around the world.
Visits like this really make me think and I always need a little time to gather my thoughts on returning home, so I’ll be saying more about the range in future posts.
As I was leaving the warehouse, this box caught my eye. Destination: Somalia.
Makes you think, doesn’t it? |
Posts Tagged ‘That’s All Right (Mama)’
Q: How do you get a drummer off of your front porch?
A: Pay for the pizza.
In a recent interview, Mick Jagger (who studied, one might remember, at the London School of Economics) observed that the financial lot of a recording artist has been pretty dodgy since the beginning of the 20th century. As the BBC reports:
“When the Stones started out they didn’t make any money out of records because record companies didn’t pay you,” he said. “Nobody got paid. I always wonder if Frank Sinatra got paid.
“Your royalty was so low. If you sold a million records you got a million pennies. It was all very nice, but not what you imagined you were going to get.”
However things changed as musicians became more adept at controlling their creations.
This came at about the time the Stones hit what many see as their peak, which included the 1972 release of the critically acclaimed Exile on Main Street.
Later the boom in music sales through the development of the compact disc bolstered the earnings of those on lucrative royalty deals.
“There was a small period from 1970 to 1997 where people did get paid and they got paid very handsomely,” Sir Mick said. “They did make money but now that period’s done. If you look at the history of recorded music from, say, 1900 to now, there was that period where artists did very well but the rest of the time they didn’t.”
So how does a musician fare these days? According to a recap in The Root… well, You Can’t Always Get What You Want:
Read the whole sad story at The Root.
As we reconsider taking out a loan to pay for that additional floor tom, we might recall that it was on this date in 1954 that Sun Records released the first single by Elvis Presley, “That’s All Right (Mama)”/”Blue Moon of Kentucky.”
The tracks were covers that clued early listeners to the influences that Presley would marry with such power as he rose to royalty: “That’s All Right” is a blues song by Arthur “Big Boy” Cruddup, while “Blue Moon of Kentucky” is a bluegrass ballad by Bill Monroe.
But that stardom was still in the distance; while Presley’s renditions became instant hits in Memphis, hometown of both Elvis and Sun, the 45 received mixed reviews in the rest of what would become Presley’s kingdom. |
Family Life in Russia
Family life in Russia has long been viewed as not only important, but vital for survival and support. Family life, for centuries, has been at the forefront of Russian life and culture. Even today, many families live in smaller dwellings with two to three generations sharing the space there. Women take traditional roles, but are usually required to work outside of the home to help the family financially. In their traditional roles, women are solely responsible for the household and raising the children. Under the communist regimes, women were actually encouraged to train in and occupy typical male-dominated labor positions. Women began to work in agriculture, construction, and in constructing and maintaining infrastructure (roadways and railways). Additionally, women were encouraged to work in the day care and nurse fields in order to ‘free’ them from the task of raising children. However, while the woman was now ‘free’ to work outside the home, the main responsibility of maintaining the home still fell on to the woman. Because of the proliferation of women in the workforce, a number of normally male-dominated fields (medicine, education, and the like) grew the number of women working in those fields. With the unemployment trend beginning in the 1990’s, however, the first workers to be cleared from the workplace were women.
While marriages emphasize the importance of the nuclear family, housing shortages and the high cost of housing force families to maintain the multi-generational family. Often, a grandparent living with a family will help to raise the children and cook meals. Generally speaking, close ties are maintained even between extended family members. One of the greatest contributing factors for the bond between relatives is that people have generally been unable to travel far distances, due to the geographic inhibitors. In order to maintain a network of family support and also financial support, the ties between family members has endured.
The birth rate in Russia is about 12 births per thousand people (estimated in 2009). The population density is just 8 people per square mile. With the size of the total land area, Russia is one of the most sparsely populated nations in the world. Children are born in a less ‘modern’ style than has been fashioned in the United States. Birthing traditions in Russia include the father staying out of the birthing room, and viewing their children through a glass window. It is still feared that outside contact with other people, including fathers, will bring germs to the infant. Some people still address babies as if they are able to understand dialogue, and frown upon normal baby behavior, including crying and grabbing. |
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”--Isaak Asimov
A true teacher does not teach anything in the sense of the word, has nothing to give to you, as new informations, rules, or beliefs. He helps to remove walls, they are separating yourself from the truth. We uncover and reveal that inner dimension, what helps you to get forward.
You can be a powerful catalyst for conscious evolution and play a role in one of the most exciting events of the millenium: the creation of a new society. Invest in you, for the benefit of all!
We want to investigate with students and practitioners of various practice areas to reintegrate the disconnected streams of current science to create a new learning space, to unfold the potentials in an integral way. Integrating different perspectives and cognitive areas. We want to create a learning environment that is guided by the scientific method in an emphatic, cooperative way, where each participant is a motivator for others. There is not any more a "teacher" in the common sense, the groups unite people, regardless of age, education, economic status or area of expertise and are self organizing systems.
The diverse crises we face on the planet today are cumulative result of the individual and collective minding practices through the ages. From the integral perspective of the global lens it becomes clear that the compounded effects of egomentalism have brought us to the current untenable and unsustainable world. But it also becomes clear that the cumulative effect of the awakening forces of consciousness is also growing in momentum as a counter-force to the fragmenting and disintegral forces of egocentric minding.
As an educational movement that operates under the assumption that knowledge is the most powerful tool we have to create lasting, relevant social change in the global community, there is hence nothing more critical than the quality of one's personal education and his/her ability to communicate such ideas effectively and constructively to others.
Integral Theory is often referred to as a "theory of everything", in that it allows us to see the patterns that connect all the various dimensions of our lives, offering the most comprehensive and fully integrated view of reality that we have ever seen. Which is important now more than ever--as our planet gets smaller, our problems get bigger and demand a new level of thinking and problem solving.
Being enthusiastic is a great state of excitement and leads to some extent to the fact that the brain runs a self-generated doping. So all those substances are produced which are used for all growth and remodelling of neuronal networks. It is that simple: the brain is developing in a way that the structures of this excitement are programmed, in a way of new neuronal wiring.
To be enthusiastic about something, it must be important for ourselves! This is the crux. As we get older we gain experience and make the world we live according to our expectations, we are increasingly at risk to get rigid. We are caught in routine. It is urgent at the time that we counteract this negative development. It's about to light the torch of enthusiasm for our own discovery and creativity. People who are inspired to look into something new from multiple perspectives, gaining comprehensive knowledge are encouraged to make new and different experiences than before.
- Problem Based Learning Projects;
- Experiential Learning;
- Students have primary control, instructors are "consultants";
- Focus is on the interactions and the process working together;
- Shared responsibility and authority;
- Enhancment of critical thinking abilities;
- last but not least, gaining professional competence in "their" area of interest!
Over and above that there will be developed an assessment and certification system of self evaluation not based on standardized tests. However these tests should reflect a certain level of vocational or scientific education. The project will be the foundation for a "different" world-centric scientific training in cooperation, at eye level and with enthusiasm. Not to make money, but to advance humanity. This is our very best shot to create a more peaceful and sustainable world, to awaken from the violent slumber of humanity’s adolescence, and to align ourselves with the future of evolution. |
Just like Isak Dinesen who wrote “I had a farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills” in Africa, I had a farm in the Kalamazoo River Valley in Michigan. Just as Dinesen could not forget her farm, neither can I forget mine.
Ours was a small farm, with wheat, oats and corn to be planted and harvested. And the staple of the farm, hay. Some hay was just grasses, but the crème de la crème were Alfalfa and clover. Every stand of hay was cut and raked out to dry. How we managed to get it mown and conditioned, teddered, raked, inverted, baled, and hauled still amazes me. The farmers were the best weather people ever—they could tell if they could or couldn’t cut hay due to the morning dew on the growing crop; and hopefully could tell when to quit the field in the afternoon when rains could come and wait for Mother Nature to favor them again. We understood the saying, “Make hay while the sun shines.”
A farm friend emailed me that he had baled 800 pound hay rolls last week; and another farmer did 1800 pound rolls—a total of 150 rolls to jockey into position to store out of the weather. The machines are amazing today. When I baled hay as a child and teenager, I sat in the hay dust and tied wires around the hay to form bales. The wires were sharp, and one bounce of the baler or mis-poke of the wire and I would be cut. Even through gloves. Today I can still trace the scars on my fingers and between them. But hay fed cattle and cattle were our biggest “crop.”
This past month huge 18-wheeler flat bed trucks have been coming through Santa Fe with their loads of hay. I can tell it is an early cutting, not as lush as future cuts, but it doesn’t matter. They come from Durango, Alamosa and north of Taos. Green gold. As I pull alongside a 16 wheeler on St. Francis, I am tempted to put out my hand and just feel the hay. I am sure I make the drivers nervous as I edge close to them. The aroma of that hay is like the aroma of green chilis roasting in Santa Fe in the late summer.
But it is much easier to be nostalgic about the farm now that the closest thing to my raising farm crops is my patch of millet by my front gate for the quail to eat. I am so proud that my friends carry on the traditions on the farm and with the automatic balers they should for a long time.
by PCH @Main |
I was reading Julie Morgenstern’s book Organizing From the Inside Out and I came to the realization that, although my home is quite organized, there were many changes I needed to make. I’ve always had the idea that ‘like’ needed to be grouped with ‘like’. Julie challenges this notion with her smart, but obvious suggestion of putting things away where you need to use them. Sounds simple enough, but when I thought about the daily tasks and activities that go on in my household, there was some rearranging I could do to speed up and simplify the process.
In most cases, grouping similar items together still holds true. However, this organizing principle falls apart when the items are an integral part of the day-to-day. For instance, most mornings I make a smoothie for breakfast. It requires quite a few ingredients (protein powder, chlorella, chia, hemp seeds, almond milk, frozen fruit, etc.), measuring cups, a blender, drinking cup and a straw. Every time I would make one, I’d dash around the kitchen gathering all the items up, wasting precious time. It finally dawned on me that if I kept everything grouped together as much as possible, it would make the process a whole lot simpler- duh!
I thought about other everyday tasks I could simplify. I placed a canister of assorted teas right beside the tea kettle instead of having them all in the pantry.
I put together a plastic tote filled with everything my son needs to do his homework instead of keeping most of the supplies in my office. Now he can grab it and take it to wherever he’s going to work. This means less distractions and more focus.
I added a roll of paper towel and my favorite all-purpose natural cleaner under each sink for quick morning clean-ups. Before I had to grab these items from the laundry room. (Now it’s a matter of getting everyone to use it!)
This is just a start to the rearranging I want to do. Although it was easy-peasy, it has already made a world of difference to our household’s day to day.
What could you move around in your home to simplify your life? |
A transsexual has won the right to have £8,000 breast implants – following a battle funded by £10,000 of legal aid.
Miranda Lee, 40, had gender realignment surgery costing £60,000 in 2009, paid for with NHS money.
The process was due to be completed with the breast augmentation, but she was then told the money would not be made available.
Miss Lee, who complained that she had been left ‘half man, half woman’, attempted suicide and has been on anti-depressants.
She decided to fight the decision and was granted legal aid in June.
Her case was heard by an NHS review panel last month, and it has now ruled in her favour.
The charity shop worker, from Southend, Essex, said she was delighted at the U-turn but wanted compensation for the stress of her ‘inhumane and insensitive’ treatment.
‘The way my case was handled was appalling,’ she said. ‘These people haven’t a care in the world about people. It’s all about money to them.’
Miss Lee, born Raymond Harwood, first felt she was the wrong sex when she was 16 but went on to marry three times and have two children.
Her last marriage ended in 2000 and in 2005 she went to her GP about gender realignment.
She began living as a woman in 2007 and had a series of operations at Charing Cross Hospital in London from July 2009, including having her male genitalia removed and her voice altered.
She was already receiving hormone therapy in the form of oestrogen to help her develop breasts but this was not working, meaning she needed implants.
The East of England Specialised Commissioning Group, which had paid for the sex change out of a £700million annual fund raised from contributions from the 13 primary care trusts in the region, refused to approve the procedure.
Although it pays for a range of care, it said breast augmentation as part of a sex change was not part of its remit... |
Chez Scheme Version 8 is a complete implementation of the language of the Revised6 Report on Scheme (R6RS), with numerous extensions. It sports a fast compiler that generates efficient native code for each processor upon which it runs. It is extensively tested and actively maintained and supported.
This book is a companion to The Scheme Programming Language, 4th Edition (TSPL4). While TSPL4 describes only standard R6RS features, this book describes Chez Scheme extensions. For the reader's convenience, the summary of forms and index at the back of this book contain entries from both books, with each entry from TSPL4 marked with a "t" in front of its page number. In the online version, the page numbers given in the summary of forms and index double as direct links into one of the documents or the other.
Additional documentation for Chez Scheme includes release notes, a manual page, and a number of published papers and articles that describe various aspects of the system's design and implementation.
In addition to supporting the wealth of new R6RS features, Chez Scheme Version 8 also supports several new extensions, including support for non-blocking I/O, new file and directory primitives, and a more efficient interactive top-level environment.
The threaded versions of Chez Scheme support native threads, allowing Scheme programs to take advantage of multiprocessor or multiple-core systems. Nonthreaded versions are also available and are slightly faster for single-threaded applications.
Chez Scheme's interactive programming system includes an expression editor that, like many shells, supports command-line editing, a history mechanism, and command completion. Unlike most shells that support command-line editing, the expression editor properly supports multiline expressions.
Chez Scheme Version 8 has been a long time coming. Adapting the system to support R6RS has been challenging, given our desire to maintain as much backward compatibility as possible, maintain or increase functionality, and maintain or increase reliability and performance. We hope that the result is worth the wait.
Thank you for using Chez Scheme.
R. Kent Dybvig /
Copyright © 2009 R. Kent Dybvig
Revised October 2011 for Chez Scheme Version 8.4
Cadence Research Systems / www.scheme.com
Cover illustration © 2010 Jean-Pierre Hébert
about this book / purchase this book in print form |
Learning programming languages.
In some job interviews, the candidate is asked “given a rating from 1 to 10, how do you rate yourself given that Bjarne Stroustrup is a 10?”
Here is a breakdown of that scale:-
0 No knowledge
1 Done a “Hello World” program from a magazine/web site article.
2 Novice/Tourist – relies on “phrase books” (e.g. O'Reilly's books).
3 Novice – less reliant on books.
4 Gaining confidence – books / man pages used for reference.
5 Average – knows the ins and outs of the language/topic.
6 Fluent – above average, becoming an expert.
8 Lead Programmer.
10 Guru. (e.g Bjarne Stroustrup for C++).
Am learning Perl – an old language but a good language to know when doing Systems Administration on Linux systems. At the moment I'm a 3, going on 4.
Role Playing Games.
Traveller books are my self-indulgence at the moment. I'm not running Traveller games at the moment but I hope to do so once I've eventually moved house...
Want to move house but its pretty much a work in progress.
Still working on the PC refurbishment project. Most people only know how to use a variant of Microsoft Windows. Am increasingly coming to the belief we should be using Ubuntu Linux instead of Microsoft Windows.
The Nintendo DSi's camera is being helpful as I can show people different parts of my life. The DSi itself is really good. I bought a second hand copy of “Travel Games for Dummies (Sudoku / Solitaire / Chess)” with practice modes and help as well as the games themselves. |
Look what we gave away during our January Expo!
Life with Lily- Adventures of Lily Lapp Series #1, 5 winners
The first of four charming novels that chronicle the gentle way of the Amish through the eyes of a young girl, Life with Lily gives children ages 8–12 a fascinating glimpse into the life of the Amish—and lots of fun and laughter along the way. It combines the real-life stories of growing up Amish from Mary Ann Kinsinger and the bestselling writing of Amish fiction and nonfiction author Suzanne Woods Fisher. With charming illustrations throughout, this series is sure to capture the hearts of readers young and old.
Spanish for You! Fiestas Curriculum Package, 1 winner
Spanish for You! Fiestas Curriculum Package is a self-study or class use Spanish curriculum for students grades 3-8. It is one of several Spanish for You! themed packages and provides a simple, fun, effective, and flexible way to begin learning Spanish. The theme of this package is Fiestas which means Celebrations. The package comes complete with a soft cover textbook, 3 lesson guides for grades 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8, self-checking worksheets for those grades, as well as an audio download of the entire book recorded by the author, an audio download of the entire book of a native speaker, and a set of illustrations for making flashcards and other activities. The scope and sequence of this package is for 24 weeks or longer depending on the pacing you choose.
Visit www.spanish-for-you.net for more information.
Heartfelt Discipline: Following God’s Path of Life to the Heart of Your Child, by Clay Clarkson, 2 winners
If you’re a parent, your children need you to discipline them. There’s no debate about that in Scripture. They, and God, are expecting you to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” But there is one thing open to debate… how to discipline your children. What does the Bible really say? Is there a divinely-designed method, a promise of parental success? Or is there a better way?
There’s no formula for childhood discipline. No laws, no rules. God has provided a “way” that is better. It’s the way of life, the biblical picture of the path we walk with God. It’s all about faith, relationship, Spirit, and heart. As a parent, you’re already on that path of life with your children. You can lead them with three key principles of discipline:
Direction—Guiding and showing them how to walk the path with God
Correction—Getting them back on the path when sin leads them off of it
Protection—Guarding them from temptations that could draw them away
In Heartfelt Discipline Clay Clarkson helps you understand what the Bible really says about childhood discipline. Drawing on twenty-eight years of parenting and his personal study of the Bible, Clay fully fleshes out God’s way of “path of life parenting.” It will change how you think about your responsibility to discipline your children. It will put you on the path to your child’s heart.
Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe, by Sally Clarkson and Sarah Mae, 2 winners
Desperate is a conversation between two moms: Sarah Mae, the young mom with three children in the trenches of motherhood needing encouragement and help; and Sally, the seasoned mom of four grown children able to offer personal counsel and help as a mature mentoring mom. In the pages of this book, you listen in on their mom-to-mom, heart-to-heart relationship.
Sarah Mae is a typical young, modern, active, connected mom, raising children in a culture that has changed radically in the past few decades. As a committed wife and mother, and an active mom blogger, there are too few hours in her day, and motherhood often gets the short shrift. Sally is an older mom who has raised four wholehearted children, all grown and following the Lord. She has a wealth of experience and biblical insight to offer moms through books, speaking, and Mom Heart Ministry. She enters Sarah Mae’s life as a mentor mom. Sarah Mae expresses the stresses and struggles common to so many young moms, giving voice to the challenges she experiences against the frailty of her own spirit as a woman. Sally comes alongside to respond to Sarah’s concerns as both a friend and mentor, offering wisdom born of experience, gentle admonition, and biblical encouragement. |
Middle school appeal notification letters will be available the week of June 8. If an appeal is granted, it replaces the original match. If the appeal is denied, the student remains at the school where he or she was originally matched.
Public school students will receive their letters from their elementary school. Private school students should visit their Family Welcome Center to obtain their letters.
If you are new to New York City, learn more about enrollment into NYC public schools
Fifth grade public school students must participate in Middle School Admissions. Each fall, all fifth graders currently enrolled in a New York City public elementary school receive customized middle school applications. The application will include all the middle schools to which each student is eligible to apply. To complete the application, students rank schools in preference order and return the application to their current school. Decision letters are available in the spring. Review the Middle School Admissions Checklist.
New York City’s nearly 200 charter schools give families additional public school options. Read the Charter School Directory to learn more about the charter schools in all five boroughs and how to apply.
Students with disabilities may apply to all schools and/or programs listed in their school district’s Middle School Directory, subject to the same admissions requirements as their general education peers. This includes all screened programs.
Students with an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that recommends a specialized District 75 program are not required to participate in the middle school admissions process if they wish to remain in a District 75 program. These students will learn their school placements in May or June. Read more about special education in NYC public schools.
Find middle school options available to you.
Learn about key dates and events this school year.
Sign up to receive email updates about middle school admissions.
Many of our resources and publications are available in 9 languages.
Learn about accessibility and view the list of functionally accessible schools.
If you have questions about Middle School Admissions, please call (718) 935-2398, email MS_Enrollment@schools.nyc.gov, or visit a Family Welcome Center. |
New York City's new system of teacher evaluation and development.
We're looking for great teachers, principals, administrators, executives, and more. Join us today.
The Office of Special Investigations investigates allegations of improper and unlawful behavior, including corporal punishment and verbal abuse against students, to help ensure a safe and secure learning environment for New York City’s students, staff members, and parents. All other allegations of misconduct should be reported to the Special Commissioner of Investigation at (212) 510-1500.
Reporting Corporal Punishment
Before submitting a complaint, please read Chancellor's Regulations A-420 and A-421, which describe the reporting requirements concerning the use of force upon a student for punishment purposes.
You can find links to Chancellor's Regulations A-420, A-421, and the Corporal Punishment Reporting Form on the right column of this Web page.
Questions regarding Title IX compliance should be referred to Jennifer Becker, Esq., Title IX Coordinator, 65 Court Street, Room 1102, Brooklyn, NY 11201, Tel: (718) 935-4287, Email: Title_IX_Inquiries@schools.nyc.gov. View the Department of Education’s Anti-Discrimination Policy here. |
At a vertebrate palaeontology workshop held in Maastricht in 1998, some colleagues and I sat in a bar, lamenting the fact that nobody cared about anatomy any more, and that funding bodies and academia in general were only interested in genetics. Given the poor to non-existent coverage that anatomy gets in many biology courses and textbooks, you might think that anatomy has had its day and that – as some molecular biologists told us in the 1980s and 90s – all the anatomical work worth doing had been published in the days of Owen and Huxley. Nothing could be further from the truth, and if you don’t believe this you only have to consider the fact that a thousand basic questions of everyday anatomy have never really been studied, let alone answered. As demonstrated at the Centre for Ecology and Evolution workshop ‘Modern Approaches to Functional Anatomy’ (held at the Natural History Museum in London on April 23rd), we are in the midst of a new anatomical revolution, and these are very, very exciting times…
Organised by John Hutchinson of the Royal Veterinary College (with help from the NHM’s Adrian Lister), the meeting combined new work on primates, dinosaurs, elephants and other tetrapods with contributions on fishes and insects. The application of new computational approaches was at the fore as a major theme. I was honoured and surprised when, during the opening welcome, John mentioned the bloggers who were in attendance: specifically Darren Naish of Tetrapod Zoology and Mike P. Taylor of SV-POW! Wow, what an accolade.
The talks opened with Robin Crompton’s plenary lecture on locomotor ecology and locomotor evolution. Primates can be distinguished from other mammals by way of their elongate hindlimbs and divergent big toes (still evident in humans, as demonstrated by a video of a person able to play the guitar with their feet), and the main locomotor dichotomy that we see in anthropoid primates – that between pronogrades and orthogrades – occurred round about 20 million years ago during the Early Miocene. But even many of the ‘key’ adaptations linked to locomotion are controlled by the life history of the individual: an excellent example being the bicondylar angle of the knee joint, the development of which is governed by the animal’s post-natal development (Shefelbine et al. 2002). Chimps forced for whatever reason to adopt a bipedal gait during growth have ended up being obligate bipeds: Oliver is the example most people have heard of, but there’s also Poko, a bipedal chimp who spent the first ten years of his life in a tall and narrow parrot cage and was never able to develop normal quadrupedal walking. The bent-hip, bent-knee walking (BHBK) practised occasionally by normal gorillas and chimps is less efficient (in terms of wattage per kilo) than the striding bipedality of modern humans, but orangutan bipedality is highly efficient and more so than that of humans. Orangutans can and do walk bipedally on the ground, but it’s mostly practised arboreally, yet rather than practising their bipedal gait on strong, robust branches, orangutans use bipedality to access small, flexible branches. They use the compliancy of such supports to their advantage, walking on them with a stiff-legged gait that is very reminiscent of what we do on the ground (Thorpe & Crompton 2006, Thorpe et al. 2007a, b: for data on arboreal bipedality in chimps see Stanford 2006). In view of the fact that pongines are basal relative to African hominids (which include us hominins), it is tempting to infer from this that hominid bipedality evolved in an arboreal context, and was later exapted for terrestriality [bipedally walking orangutan shown above; reconstructed bipedal Australopithecus below].
Why did primates evolve long hindlimbs and a grasping hallux (big toe) in the first place? Basal primates were small arboreal animals, well within the predation range of raptors and other predators (raptors might take as much as 20% of the annual birth population of some small extant primate species), so the impressive leaping allowed by long powerful hindlimbs and grasping feet probably had an important role in predator avoidance. Among Madagascan primates, Prof. Crompton suggested that the evolution of fossas (Cryptoprocta) might have driven the evolution of both large body size and diurnality in lemurs.
Modelling of australopithecines like Lucy now indicates that these primates were capable bipedal walkers (at least over short distances), and similar in their abilities to modern human children. This view matches new work on the famous Laetoli tracks, which were produced by australopithecines walking at a speed similar to that practised by modern humans. The Laetoli trackmakers had a clear medial arch, a hallux more divergent than that of modern humans, and also produced high-pressure areas of impact both at the heel at in the area of the metatarsal heads. That last point is significant because this can only be produced by erect walking, and not by BHBK walking. Even further down the hominid tree, frequent terrestrial bipedality was very probably practised by Orrorin and Australopithecus anamensis, both of which were denizens of fully wooded habitats (an observation indicating that hominid bipedality did not evolve as a result of the opening of woodland). As you might have gathered from this long write-up, this was a very data-heavy talk, and a great overview of primate locomotor evolution and ecology. Mary Blanchard, who you might remember from my brief congratulatory article from December 2007, is part of Prof. Crompton’s research group. The subject of primate anatomy, its evolution and diversity, and how we can study it, was to be revisited by several other speakers during the meeting.
Moving on, John Hutchinson discussed his work on dinosaur biomechanics, urging the importance of an integrated approach that incorporates work on living animals. A nice photo of a researcher about to vomit over a toilet bowl accompanied the message that there are so many unknowns that we’re likely to be wrong about most or all of our assumptions. But what we’re now learning about extant animals means that we’re approaching an ‘interpretative asymptote’ and are soon to have enough data to make more confident assertions about palaeobiomechanics. Sexy work on gigantic bipeds like Tyrannosaurus has gone hand in hand with an effort to better understand form and function in large ground-birds like ratites: two really important components of bipedal walking and running – the role of anti-gravity muscles and of limb posture – have been poorly studied and are poorly understood, so John and colleagues have been doing pioneering work on ostriches and chickens. For more on this sort of thing see Carrano & Hutchinson (2002), Hutchinson (2001a, b, 2002), Hutchinson & Garcia (2002) and Hutchinson & Gatesy (2000, 2006) [many available for free here]. New modelling on Cretaceous theropods like Microraptor and Velociraptor is underway, and eventually we should have enough models to reliably extrapolate biomechanical behaviour up and down the archosaur cladogram: John suggested that this technique be termed Quantitative Anatomical Phylogenetic Optimisation, or QAPO. Nice acronym [image below shows range of possible hindlimb postures in a model tyrannosaur (from Hutchinson & Gatesy 2006); image above is Luis Rey’s painting of running tyrannosaur and giant chicken…. it’s a long story].
Renate Weller spoke about the different three-dimensional imaging tools that are now available for anatomical work (and hence not so much about animals), but I was particularly impressed with and/or shocked by the fact that MRI scanners have such strong magnetic attractivity that they can literally pull big metal objects, like radiators and hospital trolleys, across the room, the results being both spectacular and expensive. Renate also spoke about her work in producing a 3D reconstruction of Eclipse (1764-1789), the famous British thoroughbred racehorse (he won every race he took part in, fathered over 320 foals at least, and is thought to have made a genetic contribution to over 80% of all modern thoroughbreds). Kept at the Natural History Museum for about a century, his mounted skeleton is now back at the Royal Veterinary College.
Going back to fossil taxa, Jenny Clack reviewed the new ideas and interpretations that she and her colleagues have developed about the famous Devonian tetrapod Ichthyostega, traditionally imagined as a rather nondescript salamander-like animal but now known to have been more bizarre than anyone ever thought [new reconstruction shown here, with Acanthostega too]. The polydactyly and paddle-like hindlimbs of Ichthyostega suggest both that pentadactyly was not primitive for tetrapods, and that basal forms like Ichthyostega were still predominantly aquatic. Less well known is that Ichthyostega has a somewhat differentiated vertebral column, with a short neck, weird tall neural spines in the pelvic region, and a tail which is proportionally shorter than long imagined (Ahlberg et al. 2005). The orientation of the zygapophyses in the ‘lumbar’ region suggest that some dorsoventral motion was possible, and that lateral flexion wasn’t really possible. Perhaps Ichthyostega worked something like a pinniped. Whatever, the new picture of this iconic animal is very different from the conventional one developed by Jarvik. Mike P. Taylor asked afterwards if the possibility of secondary adaptation to aquatic life has been considered for Ichthyostega: in fact it has (Henderson 1999), the main problem being that there are no known terrestrial ancestors for aquatic Ichthyostega.
More to come in part II, to be published tomorrow.
Refs – –
Ahlberg, P. E., Clack, J. A. & Blom, H. 2005. The axial skeleton of the Devonian tetrapod Ichthyostega. Nature 437, 137-140.
Henderson, D. M. 1999. Late Devonian amphibians as secondarily aquatic tetrapods. In Hoch, E. & Brantsen, A. K. (eds) Secondary Adaptation to Life in Water. University of Copenhagen, p. 18.
Hutchinson, J. R. 2001a. The evolution of pelvic osteology and soft tissues on the line to extant birds (Neornithes). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 131, 123-168.
– . 2001b. The evolution of femoral osteology and soft tissues on the line to extant birds (Neornithes). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 131, 169-197.
– . 2002. The evolution of hindlimb tendons and muscles on the line to crown-group birds. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A 133, 1051-1086.
– . & Garcia, M. 2002. Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner. Nature 415, 1018-1021.
– . & Gatesy, S. M. 2000. Adductors, abductors, and the evolution of archosaur locomotion. Paleobiology 26, 734-751.
– . & Gatesy, S. M. 2006. Beyond the bones. Nature 440, 292-294.
Shefelbine, S. J., Tardieu, C. & Carter, D. R. 2002. Development of the femoral bicondylar angle in hominid bipedalism. Bone 30, 765-770.
Stanford, C. B. 2006. Arboreal bipedalism in wild chimpanzees: implications for the evolution of hominid posture and locomotion. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 129, 225-231.
Thorpe, S. K. S. & Crompton, R. H. 2006. Orangutan positional behaviour and the nature of arboreal locomotion in Hominoidea. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 131, 384-401.
– ., Crompton, R. H., Alexander, R. McN. 2007a. Orangutans use compliant branches to lower the energetic cost of locomotion. Biology Letters doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0049 [free pdf, and others, here].
– ., Holder, R. L. & Crompton, R. H. 2007b. Origin of human bipedalism as an adaptation for locomotion on flexible branches. Science 316, 1328-1331. |
In the Spanish higher education system, students graduate with a first degree after 4 or 5 years. The first 2 or 3 years of undergraduate education comprise broad study of the chosen field (e.g., physics, law, or chemistry), followed by a further 2 years of more specialised study.
Spanish postgraduate students who intend to pursue a doctoral degree must first be admitted to a specific PhD programme in order to obtain the Advanced Studies Degree. There were 61,483 matriculations in 1999-2000 (48.6% men and 51.4% women) . The average age at the start of these studies is 23. Doctoral programmes are offered by the universities and other public research organizations and last for a minimum of 2 years.
All PhD students must complete a number of compulsory taught courses in their research area and undertake original research work that will contribute to the final thesis.
After completing these courses, the student spends a further 2 years exclusively carrying out the practical development of the thesis and preparing the manuscript and final dissertation. The doctoral program is designed to be completed within 4 years, which is the usual length of Spanish predoctoral grants. However, because research groups are often underfunded and because of other factors (such as the requirement to undertake research not directly related to the thesis), it is not uncommon for students to take longer. The average time to complete the doctorate is 4.3 years .
The main funding bodies are the Ministry of Science and Technology; the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport; the regional governments; and several universities and public research organizations. Other ministries and private foundations offer grants, too . Potential students apply to grant-awarding bodies directly, although there are grants(particularly postdoctoral grants) held by individual research groups, to which students should then apply. There is a wide variation in the level of stipend, depending on which body a student is funded by, ranging from 80,000 to 160,000 pts (about 480 to 950 euros) per month.
In 1997, there were only 6120 new doctorates . Recent studies estimate that in 1998 46% of students left doctoral grants , and in 2000 nearly 87% of Spanish doctoral students abandoned the programme before finishing the PhD. Why are these numbers so high? It seems that many students pursue doctoral studies simply to extend their knowledge (but without of aiming to obtain a doctoral degree) and that a portion of students leave in order to take up jobs with better financial rewards.
"Estadística Universitaria", VI Edición, Secretaría General del Consejo de Universidades, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Febrero, 2001. ( http://www.mecd.es/consejou/estadis/index.html).
"La formación de investigadores en el Plan Nacional de I+D: Una aproximación evaluativa", M. T. González de la Fe, M. Pérez Yruela y M. Fernández Esquinas, Gestión y análisis de políticas públicas 5-6, Enero-Agosto 1998. ( http://www.precarios.org/docs/I+D.doc)
http://www.precarios.org/docs/predoctorales.html, Information collected by the Spanish Young Researchers Federation (" Federación de Jóvenes Investigadores / Precarios" )
"Towards a European Research Area. Science, Technology and Innovation. Key Figures 2000", European Comission. ( http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/pdf/keyfiguresihp.pdf)
"Informe Universidad 2000", J. M. Bricall. Edited by the CRUE (Spanish Vicechancellors Conference), Madrid, Mars 2000 ( http://www.crue.org/informeuniv2000.htm). |
Depression is largely seen as a women’s heath issue and statistics back up this notion, showing that we are 70 percent more likely than men to get the blues. But new research shows this gender gap may cause signs of depression among men to be overlooked and result in them not getting the help they need.
For the study, British researchers asked more than 1,200 adults to read a short narrative about a person exhibiting symptoms of depression. Half the stories referred to a female character, while the other half involved a male character. Afterwards volunteers were asked if they thought the vignettes described someone who might have a mental health condition and how likely they were to suggest the person seek help for it. The Atlantic reports:
Participants were significantly more likely to assert that Jack wasn’t suffering from a mental disorder. Men, in particular, were more likely than women to come to this conclusion. On the other hand, men and women were equally likely to conclude that Kate had a mental disorder.
Respondents, particularly men, rated Kate’s case as significantly more distressing, difficult to treat, and deserving of sympathy than they did Jack’s case. And women were more likely than men to think that Jack’s story was distressing.
The findings reminded me of a Scope Q&A last year where my colleague spoke with patient advocate Mark Meier about how the belief that depression is a women’s issue gets in the way of men getting help and the need to raise awareness to overcome this mental health roadblock. |
Enterprise firewall protection: Where it stands, where it's headed
A comprehensive collection of articles, videos and more, hand-picked by our editors
A next-generation firewall (NGFW) is a hardware- or software-based network security system that is able to detect and block sophisticated attacks by enforcing security policies at the application level, as well as at the port and protocol level.
Next-generation firewalls integrate three key assets: enterprise firewall capabilities, an intrusion prevention system (IPS) and application control. Like the introduction of stateful inspection in first-generation firewalls, NGFWs bring additional context to the firewall’s decision-making process by providing it with the ability to understand the details of the Web application traffic passing through it and taking action to block traffic that might exploit vulnerabilities.
Next-generation firewalls combine the capabilities of traditional firewalls -- including packet filtering, network address translation (NAT), URL blocking and virtual private networks (VPNs) -- with Quality of Service (QoS) functionality and features not traditionally found in firewall products. These include intrusion prevention, SSL and SSH inspection, deep-packet inspection and reputation-based malware detection as well as application awareness. The application-specific capabilities are meant to thwart the growing number of application attacks taking place on layers 4-7 of the OSI network stack.
Continue Reading About next-generation firewall (NGFW)
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How to develop software the secure, Gary McGraw way
A comprehensive collection of articles, videos and more, hand-picked by our editors
Marcus Ranum: Do you think the emphasis on mega-frameworks like Google Toolkit, Ruby or (insert favorite Web2.0...
technology here) is going to improve the state of software security, make it worse, or be neutral? I'm really torn between writhing with discomfort at the idea of these large code-masses that are being used in lots of important places -- it's just too complicated to get it all right!
Gary McGraw: Both. The gigantic frameworks themselves can make analysis of a system that includes them a lot harder. If you think about automated static analysis for code review, the frameworks lead to a big 'whack-a-mole' game: The data flow goes in and pops back out in any number of surprising places. On the other hand, if you do the right thing from a static analysis perspective, you can sometimes pre-compute where the mole is going to pop back out and use that to your advantage. Frameworks can help with security too -- enterprises that create frameworks of their own, and apply those consistently for their developers have been having good luck. That's because the notion of standardization within a business is a good way of getting away from the bespoke (build it by hand slightly different each time) nature of software within an enterprise.
Marcus: So you think we're getting the main value out of code reuse? That's pretty much what the software engineering guys were saying would happen, back in the 1980s. Is it paying off?
Gary: I think in the case of code and particular bugs, yes. That's because the frameworks, in my mind, have more to do with code than with architecture.
Marcus: Can you elaborate on that a bit? It seems like architecture is always going to be fairly purpose-specific -- so, short of having a "framework for a Web banking app" that's basically COTS plus some tweaking required; programmers are pretty much doomed to have to build their code upward from basic building blocks. The building blocks get bigger and more powerful, so now they're fully rendered graphical interfaces, or a database for storing formatted objects, but the innovation has to always happen at the level of architecture or you're just producing "me too" applications. I don't see how you can make a framework that will prevent you from making business logic mistakes.
Gary: One of the other problems, which is one that Ross Anderson and others have pointed out for years, is the notion of trying to program "Satan's Computer." You can have all sorts of perfectly constructed components and put them together into a disaster of an insecure system. That's why we joke that the best software security in the world would involve taking away somebody's keyboard.
Marcus: You winced when I said "business logic mistakes" -- did I misspeak?
Gary: There are two kinds of defects in software that lead to security problems. One is bugs: did something stupid with printf( ) or made an 'off by one' error. Such bugs are localized in code and can be analyzed pretty easily: "Marcus needs to learn how to wield printf( )" or even "let's search our entire code-base for uses of printf( )." Then there are flaws: architectural problems that are not found in the code -- they're design issues.
Over the years, we've gotten quite good at finding bugs, but we're still not so good at finding flaws. Making the flaw-finding process automatable or at least cheap enough that it doesn't take experienced guys to find them is our current challenge. We've gotten so good at finding bugs that we forgot the split is about 50/50 between bugs and flaws. So, when we get excited because we've found and fixed a lot of bugs, what we've really done is gotten a better measure of how bad things really are. Let me give you a good example of a flaw that I've seen in real code, which we couldn't detect using bug-hunting techniques: forgot to authenticate user. You can do code reviews all day and you'll never catch that one.
Marcus: I know this is one of those "grey-bearded old programmer" questions, but what about the availability of code quality tools? It seems the newer stuff doesn't have much in the way of CASE (Computer Assisted Software Engineering -- remember that?) tools. Back in the '80s, we had these things called "debuggers" that don't appear to even exist for Web apps. I've written about some of my experiences working with SABER-C, a C language interpreter that used to do fantastic error-checking -- I used it as a checker, bug-squasher, and regression-testing tool. In fact, I still have an old SPARC with a copy of SABER-C that I keep in case I ever need to do any more C coding. These were tools some of us learned we couldn't live without -- but the Web2.0 generation seems comfortable with "hit reload and if it looks like it works, put it into production!" That's got to have an impact on security.
Gary: I agree, but it sort of depends on your environment. Some of the IDEs have some beautiful stuff built in, but usually you have to know the capabilities are there and to turn them on. But I agree with you, there's a bunch of stuff we built for understanding software long ago and ironically, the attackers are using it to greater advantage than the people who should be using it to understand the software they are building! A case in point that you brought up: debuggers. My favorite example, though, is coverage tools. If you talk to most QA people and say, "Hey, do you guys use coverage tools?" and they look at you like a cow at a new gate, "Whuut? Huh?" A coverage tool helps you determine which parts of code you're running during a test. So, it gives you some insight into how good your tests are. Coverage also turns out to be very helpful for attackers. Suppose you know that there's a certain potentially vulnerable system call way down there in the code (something like lstrcpy( ) in win32), your next job is to figure out how to create a control flow that will tickle that bug -- a coverage tool is super for doing that.
Marcus: What do you think about "fuzzing?" I was just at the RSA conference a couple weeks ago and there were products there that do Web application testing using that technique. I guess you point the box at a target and it tries to inject stuff into every Web form and see what happens, and so forth. Is this just another 'badness-o-meter' or does it tell you something useful about your security?
Gary: Fuzzing is a very interesting technology. You may not recall I wrote this tome on software engineering back in 1998 called Software Fault Injection -- it was all about providing some inputs and tweaking the input, then having observable conditions in your code, and seeing what happens. Fuzzing is kind of a subset of that. It's easier in some conditions than in others -- for example, it's pretty simple to fuzz the UNIX command line, because of how they're invoked. You can just vary command options and pipe unexpected stuff into the command's input or just send bits. It's also pretty easy to fuzz protocols, especially stateless network protocols of the HTTP variety. What's harder and way, way more interesting is applying fuzzing technology at the APIs of components or the APIs of big classes in your object-oriented code-pile. The thing is it takes some real knowledge to be able to build fuzzing capability at that level because you need to understand what the system will accept and build a sort of grammar to fuzz the API. That is an incredibly powerful technique and it turns out there are many product security organizations in enterprises that use that technique as part of their software security regimen.
Marcus: That reminds me of a wonderful talk at a USENIX back in the 1980s on errors in processors' math libraries. It turned out that the errors predictably come in close to edge-cases-- if you're in a 32-bit architecture you can guess that the mistakes will come around +/- 2^32 and 2/31. It's just like assuming that if you're collecting data from a network connection, you should probably be prepared to handle more than BUFSIZ worth of data in a single line, etc. Knowing where you make your mistakes and knowing how to avoid them is what separates the programmers you want working on your applications from the ones whose keyboards you want to take away.
Gary: In some sense that's related to fuzzing, but what you're really talking about is boundary condition testing and limit testing. If wielded properly, such testing brings an enlightened tester as close to a "security testing guy" as he or she can get.
Marcus: I think you've talked me around about the point of fuzzing, because I was feeling a little bit dismissive of those products when I first saw them.
Gary: Some kinds of fuzzing I share your skepticism about. If your Web application is falling prey to tests that are stupid, then you've got a bigger problem. If we automate a bunch of security tests and we run them against a piece of software and it finds problems, then we know one thing about that software -- it really sucks. That's a great thing to know, if you discover it in time before you ship! The problem is if you treat that same set of canned tests as a "security-meter" and, if you find no results of interest, saying, "Well it must be secure." Then you're crazy. That's why I coined the term "badness-o-meter."
Marcus: What's the current status of your work with The Building Security In Maturity Model (BSIMM)?
Gary: There are a bunch of large corporations in many different verticals that are trying to tackle the software security problem from an institutional perspective. The way they're trying to do that is by creating software security groups that have the authority, responsibility, and budget to solve the software security problem. They're taking a multiyear run at it, and the BSIMM is a study of 33 of those large enterprises' initiatives. We're not trying to make a prescriptive model of software security or a methodology like the Touchpoints, we're just describing what we see -- so there's a big difference between BSIMM and something like Microsoft's Security Development Lifecycle (SDL). The SDL purports to tell you how to do software security -- it's prescriptive. The BSIMM is just a descriptive measurement tool; it says, "Everybody does this -- do you?" It's just about observable facts.
Marcus: The implication, though, is that there's going to be some kind of recommendation. Isn't that what people are going to take away? People will jump from, "Everybody does this" to "Well, these guys are doing this, and their software's pretty good, so maybe that's what we should do, too!"
Gary: Maybe so. A lot of companies, like Microsoft, have learned a lot about doing software security at the enterprise level in the last 10 years, and it's worth seeing who's doing what and providing those data for you to use as you see fit. Sometimes very confused application security "experts" out there say, "Well, you don't really need a software security group, you know," but the BSIMM reveals that though maybe you don't need one, everybody who is doing this seriously has one. It's sort of a pile of facts for you to weigh against your possibly stupid opinions.
Marcus: Let's switch topics to something a bit more consumer-oriented. What about the "app stores" that are proliferating everywhere? I bought an iPad the other day because I like the idea of changing the software installation/purchase lifecycle from "here's a computer with everything preinstalled" to picking and choosing (and paying) for the code I want and having it more or less automatically maintained. It seems like a potentially big win with the "walled garden" model but there's a great looming question about keeping malware out of the walled garden. That seems to be a serious software security issue as well, no?
Gary: The problem with many of the app stores nowadays is that they do relatively little to identify "who wrote that stuff" and whether they were supposed to write it or if it's malicious. There's very little testing going on. In fact, I've heard some stories recently, including this one: There was an app in the Google Android app store that claimed to be a "Bank of America" online banking app, and it was not even written by or distributed by Bank of America. Of course, it still asked for your credentials…!
Marcus: I guess it also raises the issue of your software supply chain. Some of these apps are being contracted out by companies and aren't being developed in-house. So, I suppose you've got the potential that a business could push an app into an app store under its own name, and later discover that they had fed malware to all their customers. It seems to me that app stores are pushing some businesses into being software publishers and they haven't yet realized that. There's a big difference between having a website with possible security problems, and pushing possibly insecure or malicious code to your entire customer base.
Gary: I don't think this notion of "little apps in an app store" is going to miraculously solve the software quality problem or the software security problem.
Marcus: Darn. Isn't there some chance that the app store will be able to disable or revoke software that's determined to be bad? Perhaps there's some 'safety in numbers' we can still take advantage of.
Gary: I think in return for whatever slender advantage you might get that way, you're giving up a great deal of freedom to run what you like. I feel like the iPad device is a sort of castrated computer: It's good for displaying content, but it's not full-featured enough if you want to create content. So, what you will find emerging is the people who these lightweight systems appeal to tend to be consumers and/or powerpoint watching executives rather than content creators. That has implications for security, as well, since a creator is a more serious target than a consumer.
Marcus: Gary, as always, a pleasure! |
Julian Wright art and photograph collection, circa 1300-1950
- Wright, Julian C., collector.
- Physical description
- 5 linear feet (1 record container, 2 manuscript boxes, 4 print boxes, 1 map folder)
All materials are stored offsite. Request items 2 business days in advance. Maximum 5 items per day.
Manuscript Collection: request at Special Collections service desk
- In-library use M0722
- Art collection, including leaves from medieval manuscripts (some with illumination), early examples of typography, 18th and 19th century engravings, 19th century photograph albums, and 20th century illuminated manuscripts.
- Cruikshank, George, 1792-1878.
- Grandville, J. J., 1803-1847.
- Rennell, Phoebe.
- Art, Medieval.
- Art, Modern > 17th century.
- Art, Modern > 19th century.
- Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval.
- Medieval and Renaissance studies > 14th century > Belgium
- Medieval and Renaissance studies > 15th century.
- 14th century. CHR
- 15th century CHR > Belgium.
- Earliest possible date
- Latest possible date
- Gift of the estate of Julian C. Wright, 1979.
- American painter. |
By Jason Hanna and Evan Perez
The deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, was "likely preventable" based on known security shortfalls and prior warnings that the security situation there was deteriorating, the majority of the Senate Intelligence Committee concluded in a report released on Wednesday.
Separately, the findings also noted what the FBI had told the panel - that 15 people cooperating with its investigation had been killed in Benghazi, undercutting the investigation. It was not clear if the killings were related to the probe.
Moreover, it said that people linked with various al Qaeda-related groups in North Africa and elsewhere participated in the September 11, 2012, attack, but investigators haven't been able to determine whether any one group was in command.FULL STORY |
Ukraine-related market jitters didn't last long. While recent events in Ukraine represent a potentially significant threat to the geopolitical order, it took investors less than 48 hours to recover from their fears and bid stocks to new highs.
Does this suggest that events in Ukraine don't matter to markets? The short answer is no. However, investors are unlikely to respond to the events in Ukraine without a significant escalation in violence or clear evidence linking the events to the global economy, such as a disruption of oil or gas markets. Here are two interrelated reasons why.
- Significant liquidity from the Federal Reserve (Fed), along with the Bank of Japan, has suppressed market volatility in much of the developed world. While the market's reaction to the events in Ukraine was both modest and brief, it fits into a broader pattern. Since 2012, overall market volatility has been unusually low. Since the third round of Fed quantitative easing (QE3) was announced in September 2012, equity market volatility - as measured by the VIX Index - has averaged around 15.5, roughly 25% below its long-term average.
- Policy vs. geopolitics. Most peaks in volatility since the 2008-2009 financial crisis have been associated with economic policy issues in either Europe or the United States. Examples include the spring 2010 Eurozone crisis and the late summer 2011 U.S. debt ceiling showdown. During these two periods, volatility peaked in the mid 40s, a level not seen since. Conversely, investors have been less traumatized by what can be thought of as purely geopolitical events. For example, during the Arab Spring in early 2011, the VIX Index generally traded in the high teens. When North Korea detonated a nuclear device and threatened a pre-emptive strike in early 2013, volatility remained in the mid-teens.
It's worth noting that equity investors aren't the only ones dismissing the significance of events in Ukraine. Bond investors seem equally comfortable with the situation. Spreads on high-yield bonds, generally considered the most economically sensitive bond sector, finished February at their lowest level since before the financial crisis. In other words, bond investors are demanding only a very small yield premium for the added risk of high yield.
No one can predict how events in Ukraine will unfold. What is evident is that if current market volatility trends continue, markets are only likely to react strongly to events in Ukraine when and if violence escalates or the global economy becomes clearly impacted. However, with the Fed set to continue tapering, volatility may revert back to a more normal range. For a sign of when this may happen: watch the bond guys. If credit spreads start to widen, equity market volatility is likely to follow. If volatility reverts back to a more normal level and events escalate, markets are vulnerable. Little risk is currently priced into financial markets, as it's clear that investors aren't prepared for a major geopolitical confrontation. |
University of Minnesota-Duluth
Website Content Contributions
Bedrock Geology Mapping Exercise part of Cutting Edge:Geoscience in the Field:Activities
As a final exercise in a course on Geological Maps, students conduct a field mapping of a one square mile area over a weekend. Back in the classroom, students are introduced to ArcMAP and Illustrator, with which ...
Learn more about this review process. |
WordPress is an incredibly popular blogging platform. Few people realize that the software behind WordPress.com, which is a standalone WordPress with multisite enabled, is available for free, for anyone to make use of. WordPress Multisite is a special “mode” built into WordPress, which allows you to create a network of multiple websites, all running on a single installation of WordPress.
WordPress Multisite Administration is an easy-to-understand book filled with information, tips, and best practices to help you create and manage a blog network similar to http://wordpress.com/, by using WordPress Multisite.
WordPress Multisite Administration will take you through all the steps necessary to get WordPress Multisite installed and configured on your server. It covers everything from installation and initial configuration to customizations and some helpful troubleshooting tips.
You will also learn how to build your own blog directory that features the authors in your WordPress Multisite network. The blog directory is built by making use of WordPress child themes, an incredibly useful thing to know how to do.
You'll learn everything you need to know about running and maintaining a WordPress Multisite installation.
This is a simple, concise guide with a step-by-step approach, packed with screenshots and examples to set up and manage a network blog using WordPress
Who this book is for
WordPress Multisite Administration is ideal for anyone wanting to familiarize themselves with WordPress Multisite. You'll need to know the basics about WordPress, and having at least a broad understanding of HTML, CSS, and PHP will help, but isn't required. |
Putting all your eggs in a nice big basket. "During a search-and-destroy mission, U.S. Navy SEALs discover a large cache of munitions in one of more than 50 caves explored in the Zhawar Kili area. Used by al Qaeda and Taliban forces, the caves and above-ground complexes were subsequently destroyed through air strikes called in by the SEALs. Navy special operations forces were conducting missions in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo."
Politics being what they are these days, it strikes me that now is the time to repost this link on small unit logistics from 2008. And remember, if you're going to cache, don't make the mistake these mokes did.
Arguably the most significant, certainly the most spectacular, mission conducted by Task Force K-Bar occurred in January 2002 in a narrow canyon in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan, about 16 kilometers southwest of Khost and four kilometers from the Pakistani border. The place was called Zhawar Kili.Created by the mujahideen guerrillas fighting the Soviet Army during the Soviet-Afghanistan War (1978-92), Zhawar Kili was initially used as a training base. Because of its strategic location close to the Pakistani border, it soon expanded into a major base for supplies and combat operation planning as well. At its height during that war, it contained at least 11 major tunnels, some extending as far as 500 meters into the mountain, and facilities included a hotel, a mosque, arms depots, repair shops, a garage, a small hospital, a communications center, and a kitchen. Following the rise of the Taliban, intelligence determined that the canyon had subsequently become an al Qaeda base of operations. In 1998, U.S. cruise missiles had been launched against the complex in response to al Qaeda’s bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Though intelligence had determined that there were multiple targets of interest in Zhawar Kili, the extent of al Qaeda’s use of the canyon was unknown.
What happened to these huge caches stacked up, more or less conveniently, in one place? Why Navy SEALS found them and blew them up.
"A Navy SEAL observes munitions being destroyed. The SEALs discovered the munitions while conducting a Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE) mission in Eastern Afghanistan. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Tim Turner" |
Fox News political analyst and NPR correspondent Juan Williams has a must-read opinion piece in today’s Washington Post that addresses some of the problems faced in the black community today, like single-parenthood and failure to take advantage of the opportunities afforded to them thanks to civil rights leaders from the past . He writes:
With 50 percent of Hispanic children and nearly 70 percent of black children born to single women today these young people too often come from fractured families where there is little time for parenting. Their search for identity and a sense of direction is undermined by a twisted popular culture that focuses on the “bling-bling” of fast money associated with famous basketball players, rap artists, drug dealers and the idea that women are at their best when flaunting their sexuality and having babies.
In Washington, where a crime wave is tied to these troubled young souls, the city reacts with a curfew. It is a band-aid. The real question is how one does battle with the culture of failure that is poisoning young people — and do so without incurring the wrath of critics who say we are closing our eyes to existing racial injustice and are “blaming the victim.”
Recently Bill Cosby has once again run up against these critics. In 2004, on the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Cosby took on that culture of failure in a speech that was a true successor to W.E.B. DuBois’s 1903 declaration that breaking the color line of segregation would be the main historical challenge for 20th-century America. In a nation where it is getting tougher and tougher to afford a house, health insurance and a college education — in other words, to attain solid middle-class status — Cosby decried the excuses for opting out of the competition altogether.
Cosby said that the quarter of black Americans still living in poverty are failing to hold up their end of a deal with history when they don’t take advantage of the opportunities created by the Supreme Court’s Brown decision and the sacrifices of civil rights leaders from Martin Luther King Jr. to Thurgood Marshall and Malcolm X. Those leaders in the 1950s and ’60s opened doors by winning passage of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and fair housing laws. Their triumphs led to the nationwide rise in black political power on school boards and in city halls and Congress.
While I take exception to him referring to Malcolm X as a ‘civil rights leader’ (even though MX did eventually renounce the Nation of Islam and see the error of his ways – which was, as Larry Elder described it, “knowingly signing his own death warrant”), that doesn’t detract from Williams points.
From what I understand, this article provides a sneak peek as to what Williams book Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America–and What We Can Do About It is supposed to be about. I’d read some favorable comments on the book recently from some other conservative blogs, and had considered buying it based on those comments, but reading this opinion peace seals the deal for me. I’ll be picking up my copy this weekend.
I’ve often said that white convservatives can talk about problems in the black community all day long – and believe me, I’ve spent a fair amount of time at this blog talking about them. But the people who stand the real chance of making a difference in the black community are people of influence in the black community themselves who rise above race pimps like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to discuss real solutions to the problems that plague black people in America, many of them self-imposed and embellished by the likes of Jackson and Sharpton. If they are willing to endure the labels from the usual suspects – who use racial slurs like “Oreo” and “Uncle Tom” and “house slave” towards any black person who doesn’t toe the “white man is oppressing you” line – in an effort to inspire real, radical change in the black community, more power to ’em.
Hat tip: Betsy Newmark |
Who: Jeff Byers, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Class: CHEM0442, Advanced Organic Chemistry. This is a special topics course taken mostly by seniors, with some juniors, most of whom are chemistry or biochemistry majors.
Number of students: 9
Reason for using the technology: Most Senior Elective courses in the sciences culminate with some sort of final paper or project. This project typically involves each student writing a detailed review paper on an interesting and advanced topic of their choice. This is a worthwhile exercise, as each student learns an astonishing amount of detail on one specific topic. These papers do not, in any way, reflect the important collaborative nature of science. Jeff also believes that a senior elective course should also generate content of use to the entire chemistry community, unlike research papers which, after grading, rarely surface again.
Description : Each student was required to generate a new entry for Wikipedia, or substantially enhance an existing entry on any topic related to organic chemistry. The class as a whole brainstormed possible entries, which were then shared and expanded upon in class discussions before final choices of topic were made.
Learning objective: In addition to the benefits of “writing a paper”: Many of the publishing tools used to generate Wikipedia entries are the same as those used in paper-writing. The only major difference was that with Wikipedia, a substandard entry would be quickly eliminated, rather then grudgingly accepted with a poor grade. The students also learned elements of how the anonymous peer review system works.
Applicability to other courses: The students created entries which caught the attention of other editors in a positive way. One page was rated “A level” and of high importance, another was rated “C-level” and of modest low importance to the Chemistry Wikipedia project. The other pages were rated at the “start” level, except for one page which remains unrated. Since none of the students’ work has been wiped out, they have now made a real contribution to the chemistry literature as part of this course. The students loved the project, and still check their entries regularly for edits and comments.
Note: Jeff plans to develop a detailed rubric for assessment when he implements this exercise in Spring 2011.
Wikipedia encourages the use of Wikipedia in the classroom. See Wikipedia: School and University Projects for advice and resources. |
If you're starting up a new company, you're going to have to get familiar with the process of paying taxes on behalf of your new business to the government. The process of paying your tax obligations are similar to that of an individual but you may have additional details to consider when running a commercial entity. One point of confusion involves understanding the difference between income and sales tax.
Income tax is a separate issue from sales tax when you're running a small business. Income tax is the amount you pay on your total income from the business to the federal and state government. Sales tax is a percentage amount that your customers have to pay when they purchase certain items from your business. In turn, you as the business owner must pass the sales tax collected to the appropriate state or local tax authority.
Although just about every business besides nonprofits has to pay income tax, not every business will have an obligation to pay sales tax. Companies that sell tangible products to end users, or consumers, will most likely have to collect sales tax from them. Sales of services and items that a company purchases wholesale--assuming the buyer has a wholesale permit from the state--are not usually applicable to sales tax.
To determine income tax due for a business you must submit a business tax return with the federal and state government. The calculation includes detailed questions about your income and expenses over the tax year. Calculating sales tax is a simple matter of multiplying the total sale amount for a product by the sales tax rate, which is set by the state and locality where you operate the business. In Texas the state sales tax is 6.25 percent but you may also have to charge an additional percentage to account for local taxing authorities. In many states you have to file a sales tax return along with the payment.
When you run a small business you may need a business license and official registration to conduct business legally and pay your income tax (quarterly payments). It depends on your business type and the requirements of the state. To collect sales tax from customers you may need to apply for a sales tax permit. The permit allows the tax authority to identify your business and authorizes you to sell products in the state. In Texas, you need a permit from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Just like a small business owner might be eligible for certain tax credits when filing an income tax return, you may be able to take advantage of sales tax credits. For instance, if you pay your sales tax on time or early the state may offer you a discount on the total amount due. In Texas, you may be eligible to take a Timely Filing Discount. |
This cocktail shaking machine is based on a turn-of-the-century machine called an "Imperial Shaker," and was built as part of The Touring Pop-up Sideshow Saloon event organized by the Peerless Prodigies of P.T. Barnum (FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/127514174039598/ ). Technically, this machine uses a flywheel driven by a hand-crank, which pushes a 'crank-slider,' or pivoting piston. At the end of the crank-slider is a carriage where two cocktail shakers live. The elliptical motion produced by the crank-slider lends itself to mixing cocktails, where a simple up/down motion would not stir the ingredients as much. |
Claim: Video shows a girl pulling puppies from a bucket and throwing them into a river.
Example:[Collected via e-mail, January 2014]
Looking to see if this video is real or not.
It shows a girl pulling "puppies" out of a bucket, and throwing them into a river. Seems to be circulating around facebook, pretty fast.
Origins: This video of a girl (described as a "young Cruella De Vil") in a red hoodie plucking several whining puppies from a bucket and flinging them into a swift-moving river with apparent gusto while exclaiming "whee" prompted widespread outrage throughout the
international community when it first surfaced in mid-2010.
Through the efforts of both online investigators and local police officials, the girl shown in the video was eventually tracked down, identified, and questioned by police in the Bosnian city of Bugojno. Ultimately, though, because the girl was too young, Bosnian officials were precluded from publicly identifying or prosecuting her.
After the incident was publicized in the international media, a 75-year-old woman came forward and claimed that she had rescued five of the six puppies who had been flung into the water and put them up for adoption, but others disputed her claim:
It has also been reported that none of the puppies seen being thrown into the water died, and were in fact rescued by an old woman who allegedly found them along the shore. But animal rights activists don't buy it.
"This is outrageous," a PETA spokeswoman, Nadja Kutscher, said, according to a report in a German newspaper. "The puppies that the old woman was with were completely different ones to those thrown into the river in the video. The puppies would never have survived."
A video was posted to YouTube that purportedly offered an apology from the girl in question and presented the excuse that she had attempted to dispatch the puppies via drowning because they were ill:
Using just one still frame from the video, the apology reads: "My name is Katja Puschnik and I would like to appologize [sic] for my behavior. The puppies belong to my grandma and she told me to get rid off [sic] them because they were only 3 days and they were ill. They had parasites from their mother. I didn't knew [sic] exactly what to do so I thrown [sic] them in the river because it was a short death. I did not want to make them suffer. I am really sorry for this:("
There is no way of knowing whether this video is genuine. Or whether someone is trying to set up Puschnik for Web ridicule or worse.
This video continues to resurface from time to time along with calls for justice to be meted out against the girl in the red hoodie, but the time for that is long past: law enforcement authorities have already found and dealt with the girl as they believed appropriate under local law, so there is nothing more to be done about this case from a legal standpoint. |
“Hitch your wagon to a star:” the Kansas boom of 1887.
Chennell, Charles Luke
MetadataShow full item record
Chennell, Luke. (2007). “Hitch your wagon to a star:” the Kansas boom of 1887. In Proceedings : 3rd Annual Symposium : Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS : Wichita State University, p.51-52
Kansas experienced a major boom in the late 1880s that touched nearly every aspect of economic and social life in the state. Wichita, for instance, was the third fastest growing city in the nation barring none. Other Kansas towns across the state entertained grandiose notions of growth including industrial developments and agricultural bounty beyond compare. By late 1887 and early 1888, the boom had largely collapsed, leaving some destitute and setting the stage for the growth of Populism and other economic reforms.
Paper presented to the 3rd Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, April 27, 2007.
Research completed at the Department of History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
Families & Consumers FAQ
There are four basic steps to follow:
- Clean. Wash hands and surfaces often.
- Separate. Don’t cross-contaminate.
- Cook. Cook to proper temperatures.
- Chill. Refrigerate promptly.
Food safety experts recommend thawing foods in the refrigerator or the microwave oven, or putting the package in a watertight plastic bag, submerging the bag in cold water, and changing the water every 30 minutes. Changing the water ensures that the food is kept cold, an important factor for slowing bacterial growth that may occur on the outer thawed portions while the inner areas are still thawing.
When microwaving, follow package directions. Leave about 2 inches (about 5 centimeters) between the food and the inside surface of the microwave to allow heat to circulate. Smaller items will defrost more evenly than larger pieces of food. Foods defrosted in the microwave oven should be cooked immediately after thawing.
Do not thaw meat, poultry, and fish products on the counter or in the sink without cold water; bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature.
Cutting boards can harbor bacteria in cracks and grooves caused by knives. However, plastic, hard woods such as maple, or any other nonporous surface can be used safely with little effort. Here’s how:
- Choose a good surface. Select a board that can be cleaned easily, and that is smooth, durable, and nonabsorbent. Plastic is less porous than wood, making it less likely to harbor bacteria and easier to clean.
- Wash your board. Wash your cutting board with hot water, soap, and even a scrub brush to remove food and dirt particles.
- Sanitize your board. After washing it, sanitize your board in the dishwasher or by rinsing it in a diluted chlorine bleach solution of 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 gallon water. You can keep such a solution handy in a spray bottle near the sink.
Remember to always clean and sanitize your board after using it for raw meat, poultry, and seafood, and before using it for ready-to-eat foods.
- Return to FAQs |
Vandalism is any addition, removal, or change of content in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of Sonic News Network. Trolling is any attempt to disrupt the editing of the Sonic News Network in order to elicit emotional or heated responses from other users.
Trolling and vandalism are not necessarily the same, although there is often overlap and vandalism may be used for the purposes of trolling. In general, trolls are more interested in the attention they receive than the act of vandalism itself, meaning the most effective way of fighting trolls is to prevent them from getting this attention.
Note that terms like 'vandal' and 'troll' are subjective, as they rely on judgements as to the relevant users' motives. Vandalism and trolling are done out of malice; any edit made in good faith is not vandalism or trolling. Calling someone a troll or vandal when they have made only good faith edits is itself a form of trolling, and should be avoided. Also, one of the key ways of not feeding the trolls is to not call them trolls.
The following behaviours are typically associated with trolling. This list is not exhaustive, and some of the behaviours listed may actually be done in good faith. Editor judgement should be applied when assessing controversial edits.
- Adding profanity or obscenities to any page.
- Uploading inappropriate images.
- Modifying a template in a harmful or disruptive manner.
- Changing the names of pages to disruptive, irrelevant, or inappropriate names.
- Deliberately provoking other users to anger, perhaps through insults or persistent pestering, or otherwise being deliberately annoying for the sake of being obnoxious.
- Attacking the opinions of other users, often without justifying one's own opinions.
- Being unwilling to accept consensus or attempt to reach a compromise, which may lead to edit warring.
- Any other unconstructive or vandal-like behaviour despite repeated warnings and explanations why it is inappropriate.
What to do
Users must not feed the trolls on this wiki. Whenever a user reacts to those who provoke them, they are giving those who provoke them what they want. The more a user reacts, the more the troll will continue what they are doing. Conversely, if users do not react in over-the-top manners, then the trolls will move on.
On wikis, it is necessary to have some form of reaction to individuals such as vandals, as users must revert the damage done to pages. This, however, is a calm and limited reaction. For most users, the appropriate response to vandalism is
- Revert the vandalism, if you know how.
- Inform an administrator, giving the affected page and the username of the suspected vandal (but don't glorify the incident by saying how bad it was). (A list of administrators can be found here.)
- Nothing. The first two steps are all that's needed for an effective response to vandalism.
There are some things that users should not do in response to vandalism.
- Do not make blogs about instances of vandalism you have seen.
- Do not make pages that list vandals and trolls.
- Do not spread panic among users by telling lots of people about vandalism, even in an attempt to rally them against it.
- Most importantly, do not post insulting messages on a suspected vandal's talk page. Do not say that they will be banned. Do not accuse them of vandalism and do not call them trolls.
At all times, good faith users should maintain the calm and limit reactions by fixing the mess and then going back to what they are here for: contributing legitimate content and helping to make this wiki the number one source for all info about the official Sonic the Hedgehog series by Sega. |
Research during the past two years on sandy soils in Alabama has shown very little sensitivity to the herbicide chemistry saflufenacil. However, several reports in 2013 of stunting of soybeans on both sandy loam and silt loam soils indicates more work is needed, says Charlie Burmester, Auburn University Extension agronomist.
Saflufenacil is registered as a selective herbicide, developed for the control of broadleaf weeds by pre-plant and pre-emergence applications to several crops, including soybeans.
To test the sensitivity of soybean varieties to saflufenacil chemistry, 23 soybean varieties were planted into wheat stubble on July 10, on a silt loam soil at the Tennessee Valley Research and Extension Center in Belle Mina, Ala.
Soybean varieties were planted as one-row plots with two replications. A portion of the planted area had been treated the previous day with Sharpen (1.5 and 2 ounces per acre) and Verdict (5.0 and 7.5 ounces per acre) herbicides. These gave active ingredient pounds-peracre saflufenacil rates of 0.033 and 0.44 for Sharpen and corresponding rates of 0.022 and 0.033 for Verdict treatments. After soybeans were planted, the same rates of Sharpen and Verdict herbicides that were applied pre-plant were applied to the untreated plot area.
All herbicide treatments included Roundup Weather Max at 32 ounces per acre in all plots. Three Roundup Weather Max-only check plots were established on both ends and in the middle of the test area for ratings comparisons. Rainfall of 1.8 inches was recorded the night after planting.
Soybean injury ratings of 0 to 5 were taken on July 23, Aug. 2, and Aug. 15. The soybean ratings on July 23 indicated several soybean varieties had increased sensitivity to saflufenacil.
Sensitivity rating to saflufenacil increased at the Aug. 2 rating, especially for varieties that showed injury symptoms during the first rating, says Burmester. The Aug. 15 ratings indicated some recovery by certain varieties that previously had stunting and discoloration symptoms.
It must be noted, he says, that saflufenacil treatments were applied close to planting to produce saflufenacil injury symptoms, and this is not a recommended practice.
“However, eight soybean varieties still showed very low sensitivity to saflufenacil in this test. Four soybean varieties were rated with low sensitivity and three varieties were rated with medium sensitivity. A total of seven varieties were rated as having high sensitivity in this test to saflufenacil chemistry,” says Burmester.
While these test results will need to be verified in other studies, this data indicates a need for more screening of soybean varieties for their sensitivity to this chemistry in the future, he says. |
Coxcomb Plots and Spiecharts in R
I am not a great fan of pie charts since they are often used for the sake of it in circumstances where a chart is not needed at all! That said, I am willing to make an exception for “Coxcomb Plots” as pioneered by Florence Nightingale since they increase the data density on the plot and can enable comparisons across variables. Robin Lovelace has written a neat tutorial on how to create them in R, I think it’s well worth a look. He and I also recently posted this ggplot2 and spatial data tutorial, and we have more on the way! |
Brynjolson, Noni (2012) Community, Conflict, Difference: New Genre Public Art in Winnipeg. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
|PDF - Accepted Version |
Available under License Spectrum Terms of Access.
Since the late 1990s, the Crossing Communities Art Project in Winnipeg, Canada has created community-based art centred around collaboration and activism. The project began with exchanges of artwork between women in prison in Manitoba and women artists in Winnipeg. It developed into an organization where women in conflict with the law collaborated on artwork in a wide range of media, including photography, video, performances and urban interventions. This thesis investigates Crossing Communities as a form of new genre public art, and places it in context with other socially engaged art practices that emerged in the 1990s. Like many new genre public art projects, Crossing Communities grew out of feminist activism, community organizing, and a concern with site-specificity. It also exemplifies certain problematic aspects of new genre public art, including the formation of hierarchies between artists and non-artists, and the complicated negotiations that revolve around individual and collective authorship. These issues are examined in depth in this thesis, and are illuminated by interviews with participants, comparisons with other artwork, and a review of relevant literature. Social engagement has become a common theme in contemporary art, with relational aesthetics gaining particular prominence during the past decade. Much of this work hints at the possibility of social change, but remains tied to the notion of art as a sphere separate from society. In contrast, Crossing Communities stretches the boundaries between art and activism and opens up new ways of thinking about community, conflict and difference in Winnipeg’s public spaces.
|Divisions:||Concordia University > Faculty of Fine Arts > Art History|
|Item Type:||Thesis (Masters)|
|Date:||15 September 2012|
|Thesis Supervisor(s):||Hammond, Cynthia|
|Deposited By:||NONI BRYNJOLSON|
|Deposited On:||25 Oct 2012 12:09|
|Last Modified:||25 Oct 2012 12:09|
Repository Staff Only: item control page |
Prime numbers fascinated people for centuries and still do. This basic concept of an integer greater than 1 and divisible only by 1 and itself is so intriguing that some spent a big part of their career studying primes. Thanks to Euclid we know that there’s an infinite number of prime numbers, but we still don’t have any formula to produce the nth prime. So every time a new largest known prime is discovered it’s an exciting event in the scientific community. Now, I’m neither a scientist nor a mathematician—I’m just a guy who likes writing SQL queries—still, I’m fascinated with primes, as a hobby out of curiosity.
So how big is the largest known prime? At the date of this writing, the largest known prime is the Mersenne prime (meaning, it can be expressed in the form of 2^n - 1): 2^43112609 - 1, discovered Aug 23rd, 2008. That’s a truly extraordinarily large number. Expressed in decimal base, it has 12,978,189 digits. To get a perspective, let’s calculate how long the number would be if written in one line with an average font size. Say we can fit about 5 digits per centimeter (about 15 digits per inch). This would make the length of our number about 26 kilometers (about 16 miles)!
You probably wonder how such a large prime number was discovered. The discovery of this as well as several other Mersenne primes was made by the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) program. It’s a cooperative effort of a network of computers, each having an application installed locally, crunching prime numbers, and communicating with a central server that assigns the tasks. Anyone with a computer can join the effort; details in the GIMPS website.
I should add a disclaimer—as you can imagine, crunching potential prime numbers will fully utilize your CPUs. This program is configured to run by default with the lowest worker priority possible, meaning that if you run other tasks on the computer, they will get higher priority. Still, when crunching those potential primes your CPUs will be at full utilization. This means that you will probably be able to use your computer as an alternative to a small heater in the room, and it will be noticeable in your electricity bill. Also, if you’re energy green, and it’s more important for you to save the world than finding the next largest known prime, you would probably rather not run this program. ;)
I’m running this program on my home laptop. It’s an Alienware M15x with a Core i7 processor (Quad with Hyperthreading). So I have 8 logical CPUs, crunching 8 potentials for record breaking primes. Here’s a picture of my laptop at work (left of screen shows Task Manager with the 8 logical CPUs at 100 percent utilization, and right of screen is the Primes95 application at work on 8 potentials):
Hard to see, but the top right window says that the estimated finish time to check the 8 primes is Oct 14, 2010. Fingers crossed; hope to have good news to report in three months. |
I don't want to start a php process per user as there is no good way to send the chat messages between these php childs. So I thought about writing an own socket server in either PHP or node.js which should be able to handle more then 1000 connections (chat users). As a purely web developer (php) I'm not much familiar with sockets as I usually let web server care about connections. The chat messages won't be saved on disk nor in mysql but in RAM as an array or object for best speed.
As far as I know there is no way to handle multiple connections at the same time in a single php process (socket server), however you can accept a great amount of socket connections and process them successive in a loop (read and write; incoming message -> write to all socket connections). The problem is that there will most-likely be a lag with ~1000 users and mysql operations could slow the whole thing down which will then affect all users.
My question is: Can node.js handle a socket server with better performance? Node.js is event-based but I'm not sure if it can process multiple events at the same time (wouldn't that need multi-threading?) or if there is just an event queue. With an event queue it would be just like php: process user after user.
I could also spawn a php process per chat room (much less users) but afaik there are singlethreaded IRC servers which are also capable to handle thousands of users. (written in c++ or whatever) so maybe it's also possible in php.
I would prefer PHP over Node.js because then the project would be php-only and not a mixture of programming languages. However if Node can process connections simultaneously I'd probably choose it. |
I understand that database normalization is used to avoid duplicate/redundant data, and involves creating separate tables for certain things, but I'm not quite sure I understand what 1NF, 2NF and 3NF are. Can somebody explain the difference between, and how to convert between normal forms?
closed as not constructive by casperOne♦ Jan 24 '13 at 16:15
As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, visit the help center for guidance. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
1NF is the most basic of normal forms - each cell in a table must contain only one piece of information, and there can be no duplicate rows.
2NF and 3NF are all about being dependent on the primary key. Recall that a primary key can be made up of multiple columns. As Chris said in his response:
The data depends on the key [1NF], the whole key [2NF] and nothing but the key [3NF] (so help me Codd).
Say you have a table containing courses that are taken in a certain semester, and you have the following data:
This is not in 2NF, because the fourth column does not rely upon the entire key - but only a part of it. The course name is dependent on the Course's ID, but has nothing to do with which semester it's taken in. Thus, as you can see, we have duplicate information - several rows telling us that IT101 is programming, and IT102 is Databases. So we fix that by moving the course name into another table, where CourseID is the ENTIRE key.
Okay, so let's say we also add the name of the teacher of the course, and some details about them, into the RDBMS:
Now hopefully it should be obvious that TeacherName is dependent on TeacherID - so this is not in 3NF. To fix this, we do much the same as we did in 2NF - take the TeacherName field out of this table, and put it in its own, which has TeacherID as the key.
One important thing to remember is that if something is not in 1NF, it is not in 2NF or 3NF either. So each additional Normal Form requires everything that the lower normal forms had, plus some extra conditions, which must all be fulfilled.
I've never had a good memory for exact wording, but in my database class I think the professor always said something like:
Here's a quick, admittedly butchered response, but in a sentence:
1NF : Your table is organized as an unordered set of data, and there are no repeating columns.
2NF: You don't repeat data in one column of your table because of another column.
3NF: Every column in your table relates only to your table's key -- you would't have a column in a table that describes another column in your table which isn't the key.
For more detail, see wikipedia...
1NF: Only one value per column
2NF: All the non primary key columns in the table should depend on the entire primary key.
3NF: All the non primary key columns in the table should depend DIRECTLY on the entire primary key. |
This question already has an answer here:
- Multiple Video, Same Screen 3 answers
I need to show two different videos at the same time within my iOS app. One video needs to be playing in the top half of the screen, and a separate video needs to be playing on the bottom half of the screen. I don't need to have the stop/play/ffw/rew buttons enabled - just to show the videos playing. I have some of my own buttons to stop and start playback, which should affect both videos.
I tried using two MPMoviePlayerController views, but it will only allow one to be playing at any one time. I read that it's possible to have two playing in separate ViewControllers - if so, do I simply need to create two UIViewControllers and add them to the parent viewcontroller?
Thanks for your help guys! |
|Republic Executive Building|
|Chronological and political information|
- "The Appropriations Committee approached me with the idea of constructing a dome near the Senate Building that will also serve as a docking facility."
- ―Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, referring to the construction of the Republic Executive Building
The Republic Executive Building—also known as the Senate Office Building, Executive Annex Dome and Senate Annex—was a large, domed administration building that also functioned as a spaceport in Galactic City's Senate District on Coruscant. Sponsored by the Appropriations Committee and constructed several years before the Clone Wars, the Executive Building was the official residence and principle workplace of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the leader of the Galactic Senate of the Republic. Under the Galactic Empire, Palpatine resided in the Executive Building for a time as Emperor of the Galaxy before relocating to the much larger Imperial Palace.
- "I would have thought you at least wanted me to see your new office. Then I recalled what you said last time we spoke, about our not being seen together in public."
"The office is temporary. One more suited to the position is already in the planning stages."
- ―Dooku, and Chancellor Palpatine
In the midst of the Crisis on Naboo in 32 BBY, then-Senator Palpatine was disappointed in the Supreme Chancellor's office, believing that the head of state of the Galactic Republic required a workplace that better reflected his position as leader of the Senate. The view of Coruscant's cityscape from the Senate Building appealed to Palpatine, who had secretly plotted to replace Finis Valorum as chancellor, but the office itself was too small for his liking. Convinced that no amount of remodeling would satisfy his expectations, Palpatine envisioned the construction of a new building—an executive office building that would serve as the nerve center for his future regime.
Secretly, Palpatine's true identity was Darth Sidious, a Sith Lord affiliated with the Sith Order, an ancient cult of dark side Force-wielders committed to the downfall of the Jedi Order. Soon after Palpatine's election to the highest office in the state, the Appropriations Committee proposed to finance the construction of a new building that would serve as the executive branch's principle workplace, to which the Chancellor approved. Hence, the Republic Executive Building was created in the Senate District, adjacent to the Senate Building, and also served as a docking facility with several tiered hangar levels. In addition to its executive role, the new structure was an annex to the Senate's delegation offices, and also included private rooms and an office designed according to Palpatine's specifications. For more than a decade, Chancellor Palpatine resided in the Executive Building, all the while plotting to bring about the re-ascendancy of the Sith as rulers of the galaxy.
The last years of the Old RepublicEdit
At the height of the Separatist Crisis in 22 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine held several meetings with the Jedi High Council and Loyalist Committee in his office at the Executive Building, discussing options aimed at the preservation of the Galactic Republic. Around the same time, the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi sent a report to the Chancellor's office, in which he revealed his discovery of a secret droid army, built by the Separatists in preparation for a civil war. At the behest of Vice Chair Mas Amedda, Palpatine secured emergency powers with the Senate's majority support, and then activated a clone army in response to the Separatist Rebellion. As the Clone Wars erupted between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Chancellor spent much of his time in the Executive Building, where he coordinated many strategies with the Jedi whom he appointed as generals in the Grand Army of the Republic.
Early in the conflict, the bounty hunter Cad Bane led a team of mercenaries and assassins on a mission to rescue Ziro Desilijic Tiure, the incarcerated uncle of a Tatooine crime lord known as Jabba the Hutt. In order to achieve their objective, the bounty hunters infiltrated the Senate Building and took several senators hostage, killing numerous Senate Commandos in the process. They also disabled the power grid in the Republic Executive Building, causing the structure to initiate an automatic lock-down. Chancellor Palpatine, trapped in his office and unable to communicate with the outside world, was contacted by Bane and coerced into releasing Ziro in exchange for the senators' lives. A clone squad of Coruscant Guard shock troopers were deployed to the building for the Chancellor's protection, but the hunters ultimately escaped from Coruscant with Ziro.
As the Clone Wars progressed, a zillo beast—believed to be the last of a species long since considered extinct—was captured and transferred from Malastare to Coruscant on the orders of Chancellor Palpatine. Fascinated by the beast's armor-like skin that was impervious to lightsabers, Palpatine had it deposited in the Republic Science and Technical Center for further analysis. The creature escaped, however, and proceeded on a rampage through the city. Dozens of buildings path were damaged and many civilians were killed as the zillo beast tracked Palpatine to his office in the Republic Executive Building. The Chancellor attempted to escape in his H-2 executive shuttle, but the zillo beast caught the starship in its grip. A squadron of LAAT gunships, led by several members of the Jedi Council, arrived on the scene and promptly killed the beast with gas bombs containing Malastarian fuel that was toxic to the creature.
Shortly after the Battle of Coruscant in 19 BBY, the Jedi generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker escorted Chancellor Palpatine to the Executive Building's docking area where they met with Jedi Master Mace Windu and a retinue of Loyalist politicians. Meanwhile, on the lower levels, a clandestine organization of senators known as the Republic Group met with the smuggler Tobb Jadak in order to use his ship, the Stellar Envoy for a covert mission. Utilizing an encrypted device aboard the ship, the senators safely departed the Executive Building before a group of Coruscant Guard clone shock troopers could detain them.
In the days following of the Battle of Coruscant, Palpatine met with Skywalker in his office at the Executive Building and appointed the Jedi Knight as his personal representative on the Jedi High Council. The Council allowed the appointment to stand, but only for the purpose of using Skywalker to spy on the activities of the Chancellor, whose motives they had come to distrust. The Executive Building was also the site where the Delegation of 2000 made its existence known to the Chancellor. Composed of a group of senators who disagreed with the numerous amendments to the Constitution, the Delegation confronted Palpatine in his office with a petition of two thousand like-minded delegates that advocated for a peaceful conclusion to the war. The Chancellor assured them of his support for a restoration of democracy, although the vagueness of his intentions and dismissive attitude toward their questions left the Delegation of 2000 more concerned for the future of the Republic.
Showdown in the Executive BuildingEdit
- "I am the Senate."
"It's treason, then."
- ―Darth Sidious, and Mace Windu, seconds before their duel in the Executive Building
With the death of General Grievous at the Battle of Utapau, Master Windu and three of his fellow members on the Jedi Council—Agen Kolar, Kit Fisto and Saesee Tiin—left the Jedi Temple and headed to the Executive Building. Moments before their departure, Skywalker told Windu about his discovery of Palpatine's secret identity as Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith who engineered the Separatist Crisis and the Clone Wars. When the Jedi confronted the Chancellor in his private office, Sidious swiftly struck down three of the Masters and engaged Windu in a lightsaber duel, resulting in a showdown between the Jedi and Sith in the Republic Executive Building.
Mace Windu's death at the hands of Darth Sidious not only affected the fate of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, but also caused Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side of the Force. Driven by the premonition of his secret wife's death in childbirth and convinced that Sidious had the power to restore life, Skywalker attacked Windu in defense of the Chancellor, making him complicit in the Jedi Master's demise. Though remorseful for his actions, Skywalker relented to Sidious's offer and joined the Sith as the Dark Lord's new apprentice. As the newly-christened Darth Vader led the 501st Legion on a mission to purge the Jedi Temple of all inhabitants, Sidious remained in the Executive Building where he issued Order 66 to the clone soldiers dispersed throughout the galaxy, causing them to betray and murder their Jedi officers without question or debate.
Without the Jedi Order, Palpatine's opponents in the Senate were powerless to prevent his complete takeover of the state. In a speech that condemned the "Jedi Rebellion" and the inefficiencies of the Old Republic, Palpatine proclaimed the formation of the first Galactic Empire, ruled by himself as emperor.
In the months following the rise of the New Order, Emperor Palpatine no longer occupied the Executive Building. His official residence had been moved to the heavily-renovated Imperial Palace, formerly known as the Presidential Palace in the Old Republic. Despite the relocation, the Emperor still utilized his former office on occasion, mainly to meet with members of the Imperial Senate and other guests. The building also contained secret chambers for the purpose of interrogation via torture—an experience that Padawan Dama Montalvo endured at the hands of Darth Vader, who sought information on the whereabouts of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Erected within the Legislative Borough of the Senate District, the Republic Executive Building was built over the old foundations of the Coruscant Spaceport, a docking facility that existed during the Cold War. A massive dome, situated at the center of several broad thoroughfares, was the largest of several annexes in close vicinity to the Senate Building. Designed to complement the Great Rotunda, the Executive Building alleviated the cramped office conditions in the Senate Building caused by the increased number of seats doled out to new member worlds. Aside from its status as a political administration facility, the Executive Building contained several levels of hangar bays and landing pads for the official transports of government officials.
The Supreme Chancellor's offices were located in the higher levels of the building, from which Palpatine conducted meetings with the Loyalist Committee, delegation leaders and members of the Jedi High Council. Along the exterior of the building, enhanced security measures ensured the safety of the Chancellor from potential terrorist attacks and assassination attempts. In addition to the Chancellor's Suite, several prominent senators also had their own offices within the building, including Padmé Amidala of Naboo, Bail Organa of Alderaan, and Mee Deechi of Umbara.
The highest tier of the Executive Building's multi-level landing dock was reserved for senators and delegation leaders with offices in the building. Executive shuttles, speeders and gunships were contained in the docking area in order to accommodate guests, ranging from ambassadors to planetary rulers and members of the Jedi Order. Attendant droids, load lifters and pilot automatons were assigned to assist Republic officials on each level; larger vessels, such as diplomatic cruisers, star skiffs and light stock freighters could dock in the wider landing bays on the lower tiers. The main docking level deposited visitors into the cavernous, open-air atrium that led deep into the Executive Building's labyrinthine interior.
- Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
- Coruscant and the Core Worlds
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars: Complete Locations
Notes and ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
- ↑ Outbound Flight
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Darth Plagueis
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Hostage Crisis"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Zillo Beast"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back"
- ↑ Millennium Falcon
- ↑ Star Wars: Purge
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Star Wars: Complete Locations
- ↑ Star Wars: The Old Republic
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Senate Murders" |
Numbers in county started growing in late 2007
Mary Martin, 81, always worked jobs that paid modestly, including as a clerk for the Shell Company downtown and as a lecturer at the Oldest School House.
Her Social Security payments are small, but she's always managed to get by, until the past couple of months, when she ran out of savings.
So Martin, a diabetic and amputee, became one of an increasing number of St. Johns County residents requesting food stamps.
"Starving" forced her to it, she said.
"Lord knows that I have no money whatsoever other than my Social Security check, and that's not much," she said. |
Buying a Vote is Hard to Prove
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN/KMOX) – The recent passage of an expanded Illinois gambling bill, following years of failed attempts has raised questions about the role, if any, campaign contributions played in the way the vote turned out.
One political reform group reports, while money is a factor in political decisions, it’s not the only factor. A review of donations from the gambling industry to lawmakers shows campaign donations aren’t necessarily related.
David Morrison of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform says lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, collectively received hundreds of thousands of dollars from casinos, horse tracks and other interests. Morrison says lawmakers are wined and dined all the time but that doesn’t mean they’re paid to vote a certain way.
“One of the standard responses people says to me is, if you can’t take their money, drink their liquor, eat their food and vote against their bills then you don’t belong in this game.”
Morrison also says if a lot of money comes in from one lobbyist, representing one client, that doesn’t mean the contributions are tied to one piece of legislation. Morrison does admit, it looks bad when he or she takes money and votes for a bill the donor wanted
“We’re all trying to figure out why that money changed hands,” he says. “It’s entirely possible that many of these checks were not related to conversations about this particular bill at all, but about something else entirely.”
Morrison says there’s no mechanism to force donors to say why they’re donating money, and there likely never will be. |
If you’re a fan of kettlebell training then you know all about the new book out by Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline titled Easy Strength. The title may be a bit of a misnomer – it’s not suggesting that gaining in the gym is easy in anyway, more that the path that you should travel to get there is actually a lot less steep than you think.
The main premise of the book’s section on gaining strength is that somewhere between 60-70% is the prime area for strength gains long term. In fact, research on elite Russian lifters showed that their average intensity over time was almost exactly 70%!
I’m about to commit RKC heresy again as I say this, but what you’re about to read is dead true – endurance and strength are intimately linked.
Strength comes in many forms and only a couple are usually thought of as relatively similar.
Maximal strength – refers to the maximum amount of force production available (also can be termed absolute strength). Usually refers to a single effort, or One Repetition maximum (1RM). In classic strength literature all efforts are usually written as a percentage of the 1RM.
Relative strength – for me, this is probably my favorite of the types of strength. It refers to the maximum amount of weight lifted relative to body weight. If you ever watch elite lifters you will note that the smaller guys display far higher amounts of relative strength while the biggest guys, the heavy and super heavy weights, display higher levels of maximal strength. For fighters and other athletes relative strength is the Holy Grail – greater levels of strength at competition body weight bring greater performance.
General strength – believe it or not, there is actually a form named General Strength. Usually trained for in the 8-12 rep range it also leads to muscle hypertrophy and is perhaps best categorized by a body building style of training. There’s nothing wrong with body building and a certain amount of hypertrophy training can be useful for athletes during various stages of their careers as well as for older athletes to help maintain body composition. Senior RKC Dan John has written about it many times (such as this article here on T-Nation). The rep ranges work well for muscle gains, injury rehab and even motor patterning, although loads will differ as typical General Strength ranges are ~70% 1RM while patterning and rehab loads will be far lower on the scale.
Power – The one thing that I always scratch my head at is watching people work on power production. Power is a function of how much force can be produced as fast as possible. So while speed is an essential element, blunt maximal strength is also important. Working on only the speed element (typically via shock training methods such as plyometrics) will ultimately see only small gains in power production. To maximize power both maximal strength AND speed need to be addressed.
What you’ll see here is that these forms of strength are all short lived. They are all for a few seconds, at most ninety seconds if done slowly for hypertrophy work. But that isn’t where strength is finished. Many, wrongly, assume that once the first few seconds of anything are done that it is endurance that takes over. It is, but do you know what the correct term for endurance is?
Strength endurance – the ability to produce force for long periods of time. Consider how many times you’ve been running when your heart and lungs have given out versus how many times your legs either forced you to slow down due to lactic acid build up or cramps. In most cases outside of elite competition, where the pace may actually be too high for a competitor to continue from a cardiovascular viewpoint, it is the lack of strength that limits performance.
Now, in the last post I railed against the interesting contrast between Tim’s usual crash and burn style of training versus the comments of “Victor” who clearly has strength endurance in spades.
The interesting thing to me, and one that as a society we are all keen to side step, is that progress isn’t overnight, rather he speaks of it in terms of having built his base fitness over many, many years. Lance Armstrong was quoted as saying that training is for building the body, not breaking it down. And this is why Tim’s usual go, go, go, get injured mode won’t work. In the short term, if you have a training base in place already, you can see short term improvements in abilities – typically this is what most gym and magazine programs focus on, the short term improvement. Doesn’t the rest of the world know that you can solve all of your cares in only 6-8 weeks?
Where this starts to get really interesting for me personally is that within the Easy Strength framework there exists a way to participate in a single sport. By keeping the lifting within the third quadrant as opposed to the fourth there exists a very real way to gain sport specific strength while improving sport skill. The use of 70% high frequency lifting allows the body to stay fresh enough to gain sport skill and minimize muscle soreness that can often inhibit performance while at the same time offering enough stimulation to the muscle to improve.
So I’ve started to put together a plan that combines both – kettlebell training as well as endurance training, both at around the 70% mark. Given my upcoming 1000km ride (more soon on this) as well as my lack of riding this year I actually do need low intensity riding to reteach my body’s aerobic system how to operate strongly. Most people blast right through their aerobic ceiling in nearly all of their training and the only thing they’re really doing is teaching their body to suffer, to burn carbohydrate. Yet, at slightly lower speeds they would be teaching their aerobic system to function better which would vastly improve their eventual top speed as well as work capacity ( call this aerobic strength).
My plan involves following the Easy Strength template – a few exercises done near daily at loads of ~70% as well as rides done near daily at efforts of ~70%. While at first glance that is going to be a lot of volume, the key is that I will be doing this at lower intensities so I will recover quicker between sessions. The next post will show what exercises I plan to use, some strength test results as well as how I’m going to use Dan’s basic 40 Day formula for piecing together an aerobic training plan for the bike. If possible I’m going to do some power tests (and a MVO2 test if I can organize it) so I’ll have some metrics to track for later on. |
Dialing Instructions for placing long distance international telephone calls to Sudan from another country:
Get the lowest telephone call rate for Sudan, from the Telephone Call Charges Sheet
Dial the International Dial out code of your country (eg: from UK - 00)
+ City Area Code
+ Local number
If you wish to make a call from Sudan you will need to dial sudan-exit-code (eg: sudan-exit-code 44 for UK).
Please click here
for low international calling rates from Sudan.
The current date and time in Khartoum, Sudan can be found at Time in Khartoum
Sudan’s standard time is 2 Hours away from Greenwich Mean Time/ UTC.
Sudan does not utilise Daylight Time Saving. |
Conservation activists and outdoor enthusiasts organize daily hikes and highlight threats to roadless areas
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — Colorado outdoor enthusiasts are celebrating the second annual Great Outdoors Week (Aug. 20-28) with a series of fun hikes and educational events aimed at highlighting potential threats to cherished backcountry areas.
A fierce Washington, D.C. ideological battle over public lands management, as well as continued controversy over a proposed Colorado roadless rule, serve as a backdrop for the activities, with Representative Diana DeGette highlighting what she describes as a special interest-driven attack on protections for backcountry areas.
“Here in Colorado, while my constituents and I are working with the Forest Service to keep the best of our backcountry forests protected, some in Congress are pushing on behalf of special interests to take those protections away entirely,” said DeGette. “Coloradans depend on these areas for our drinking water, our outdoor economy and our cherished way of life, and they must be preserved.”
In July, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on H.R. 1581, introduced by House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California, which would take away protections for national forest lands and Wilderness Study Areas, opening up an area the size of Wyoming to large-scale development.
The House could vote on the bill this fall. Wyoming’s Sen. John Barrasso has introduced a companion bill, S. 1087. The measure is only one of multiple attempts by lawmakers in Washington, DC to undo fundamental environmental protections for clean air, clean water, endangered species and public lands.
“The bill is a double threat to Colorado’s national forest roadless areas,” explains Elise Jones, Executive Director of the Colorado Environmental Coalition. “Not only would it end existing protections provided to these treasured landscapes, it would also bar future action to safeguard them under either the Roadless Area Conservation Rule or the current state-based rulemaking underway by the Obama administration.”
Colorado conservation, sportsmen’s and outdoor industry groups have been critical of the latest roadless proposal for national forest lands in Colorado. The plan, still under review, includes a tier system that would give the most pristine lands the highest level of protection.
Management of lands in the lower roadless tiers would be more flexible, enabling officials to more easily permit certain activities, including fire mitigation projects.
Exactly which lands will be designated into the various tiers has not yet been finalized, but conservation groups and recreation enthusiasts are taking a pre-emptive approach to advocating for the most protection possible.
Conservation groups have also found some allies in the business community, with Charlie Berger, owner of Denver Beer Co., calling for strong protections.
“A quarter of Colorado’s headwaters originate in roadless areas. Colorado mountain water is not only good to drink; it’s good for business. Beer is 95 percent water and I cannot maintain a high-quality product without the availability of high quality water,” Berger said.
Colorado national forest roadless areas and other public lands also make a significant contribution to the state’s economy. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor recreation contributes over $10 billion annually to the state’s economy and supports 107,000 jobs in Colorado.
Craig Mackey, director of government affairs at the Outdoor Industry Association, encouraged residents and visitors to participate in some of this week’s events.
“People can have fun and show their support for saving these treasured places,” said Craig Mackey, director of government affairs at the Outdoor Industry Association.
”Our public lands in places like Pikes Peak or Hermosa Creek, provide some of the best outdoor recreation areas we have in the state, and Coloradans are enjoying their public lands even more today than they did ten or twenty years ago.”
Interested individuals can go to http://www.coloradodeservesmore.org to find out about the week’s activities in their area, and to learn how to support roadless area protection.
Filed under: camping, Colorado, Environment, forests, hiking, recreation, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news Tagged: | Colorado, conservation, Diana DeGette, Environment, hiking, Outdoor Industry Association, outdoors, public lands, Roadless area conservation, Summit County News, United States House Committee on Natural Resources, Wilderness study area |
A software tool for enabling resource availability for users, groups and
applications. It provides the ability to allocate and control major system
resources such as CPU, virtual memory, and number of processes. Solaris
Resource Manager software is the key enabler for server consolidation and
increased system resource utilization.
The Solaris Resource Manager (SRM) redefines the traditional model
where a critical application was hosted on a single system.
Server resources utilizing Solaris can be
controlled using methods similar to mainframe-class systems.
Multiple applications and groups receive a consistent level of
service on a single server. In fact, resources can be allocated to the
individual user. Resource utilization can actually increase because
unused capacity is dynamically allocated to active users and
applications. Systems can become easier to manage because system
administrators have the ability to set and enforce resource usage
policies. SRM software makes resource usage data
available for use into user-defined reports, accounting tools and
SRM includes the following features:
- Ability to control CPU, virtual
memory, number of processes, number of logins, and connect time
- Fair-share allocation: Dynamically allocate CPU resources
according to predefined policies
- Hierarchical control model: Map resources to groups within
applications and individual users within groups
- Policy-based resource administration: Ability to set resource
The following are targeted applications:
Server Consolidation: Consolidating enterprise application and database
yield environments where significant cost savings are generated and resource
utilization. Smaller servers can be consolidated to larger, more reliable
Web-site hosting: Hundreds of small web servers can be consolidated to
larger servers. Each customer receives the specific level of web resources
that they purchased from an ISP.
Site with large number of users: Where there are users with
different requirements, resources can be guaranteed for specified
levels of service.
Read More ... |
Also known as Bar-Daisan. A Gnostic Christian poet from the Syrian city-state of Edessa (now called Urfa, or Sanliurfa, in southern Turkey), possibly of the Valentinian lineage. Some scholars refer to him as "the last of the Gnostics" because he may have been the last major teacher to attempt to disseminate Gnosticism within the ordinary Christian community. Other scholars doubt whether he was a Gnostic at all. Certainly, Bardesanes was instrumental in the introduction of Christianity into the region of Edessa, and was considered heretical by the Christians who came after him.
Bardesanes was born in Edessa to Persian parents, and obtained an excellent Persian/Greek education at the court of Edessa. He was also tutored by a priest of the Syrian Goddess Atergatis, and became familiar with the various religious traditions of the Middle East and of India. When twenty-five years old, he heard the preaching of the bishop Hystapes and converted to Christianity. He soon converted his friend king Abgar IX of Edessa (179-216 e.v.), who established Bardesanian Christianity as the Edessan state religion. When Edessa was conquered by the Roman Emperor Caracalla in 216 e.v., Bardesanes fled to Armenia, where he continued his teachings.
As with most early heretics, most of what we know of the doctrines of Bardesanes comes from the writings of his enemies, notably Ephraim Syrus of Edessa. Bardesanes wrote 150 hymns in Syriac, only a few scraps of the words of these hymns survive, but Ephraim plagiarized the music of Bardesanes for his own hymns. One extant book, The Dialogue Concerning Fate, or, the Book of the Laws of Countries, was written by one of his disciples and purports to expound Bardesanes's doctrines regarding Free Will, Fortune, and Fate. According to what can be reconstructed of the teachings of Bardesanes, his system shows considerable influence from Gnosticism, including Hermeticism, and from Chaldean mythology and astrology. He believed in a Divine Mother as well as a Divine Father. His cosmology was based on a primal dualism of God and Darkness (Hylê), with the four elements (water, air, fire and light) suspended between them. The genesis of the world occurred when these elements, through a breach of the original order, became mingled with Darkness. Salvation was accomplished by the Gnosis of Christ (his Christ was docetic: a pure spirit in the apparent form of a man), which separated the pure elements once again from the Darkness, and allowed them to rise with the assistance of the Holy Spirit into the "Bridal Chamber." To Bardesanes, the separation of the soul from the body was a blessing, and the doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh was an absurd blasphemy.
Most modern scholars have abandoned the theory that Bardesanes was the author of that masterpiece of religious poetry, the "Hymn of the Pearl," also known as "The Hymn of the Soul" or "The Hymn of the Robe of Glory", which was included in the apocryphal Acts of Judas Thomas. However, G.R.S. Mead was a strong advocate of the theory that he was its author, and Mead was Crowley's primary source on Gnosticism. Regardless of its authorship, the "Hymn of the Pearl" contains some exceptionally lucid Gnostic allegory.
The Hymn tells the story of a Prince, who, as a Child, enjoyed the Wealth and Glories of his Royal Home in the East. His Parents, the King of Kings and the Queen of the East, then sent him on a Journey to Egypt, divesting him of his Robe of Glory and his Purple Mantle, and loading him with provisions. They promised him that if he would bring to them from Egypt the "Pearl that lies in the Sea, hard by the loud-breathing Serpent," that he would again wear his Robe of Glory and the Purple Mantle, and would be Heir to their Kingdom. He set forth on his Mission, travelling down through a series of Foreign Lands ruled by Tyrants, finally arriving in the Land of Egypt. He encamped next to the lodging of the Serpent, and assumed the garb of the Egyptians as a Disguise. He encountered a fellow countryman, who warned him against the trickery of the Egyptians. Nevertheless, the Egyptians gradually gained his confidence, and gave him of their Food to eat. Immediately upon eating the Food of the Egyptians, he fell into a waking Sleep, forgetting his Royal Origins and his Mission, and became a slave to the Egyptian King. His Parents perceived his trouble, and sent him a Magical Letter to remind him of his Origin and his Task, and of his Glorious Robe. The Letter flew to him like an Eagle, it alit beside him and spoke to him its Message. Recovering his memory, he succeeded in charming the Serpent to sleep by repeating to it the names of his Royal Family; and while it slept, he snatched away the Pearl. Immediately, he turned to the House of his Parents, leaving the filthy garments of the Egyptians behind him. The Letter which he had received from his Parents flew before him, guiding his way home through the Foreign Lands. Upon seeing his approach, his Parents sent Messengers to welcome him home, and to clothe him in his Glorious Robe of many colors, embroidered with the Image of his Father and bespangled with jewels, with its purple mantle to cover it. The Robe itself seemed to call out to him, and he took it joyously and wrapped it around himself. He then ascended to the Gate of the City, where he greeted his fellow Princes, and soon proceeded to the chamber of his Father, there to be received by him, to do him proper homage, and to present him with the Pearl.
This Gnostic hymn appeared later, slightly modified, as a Sufi teaching story titled "The King's Son", attributed to Amir Sultan, Sheikh of Bokhara, who taught in Istanbul and died in 1429 e.v.
Mead, G.R.S.; Fragments of a Faith Forgotten , University Books, NY
Mead, G.R.S.; "The Hymn of the Robe of Glory" in The Complete Echoes from the Gnosis [1906-1908], Chthonios Books, Hastings 1987
Jackson, Samuel McCauley (Ed. in Chief); The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI 1953
Laetscher, Lefferts A. (Ed. in Chief); The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, an Extension of the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI 1955
Rudolph, Kurt; Gnosis; Harper & Rowe, San Francisco, 1977
Shah, Idries; Tales of the Dervishes, Dutton, NY 1970
Originally published in Red Flame No. 2 -- Mystery of Mystery: A Primer of Thelemic Ecclesiastical Gnosticism by Tau Apiryon and Helena; Berkeley, CA 1995 e.v. |
During the 1940s, many of the lead actors in war pictures actually served in the military — none with more distinction than AUDIE MURPHY (1924 or 1925–1971), who won the Medal of Honor after single-handedly holding off a company of Germans for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France, then leading a counterattack while wounded. During his childhood, Murphy’s sharecropper father wasn’t around — so he left school and picked cotton… and used his skills with a rifle to put food on the table. His mother died when he was a teenager; after that, he enlisted in the Army — lying about his age to do so. Having been awarded every available U.S. military combat award for valor, Murphy then worked for two decades in Hollywood. He acted mostly in westerns, but notably played himself in the WWII film To Hell and Back (a move that will remind some of the fictional soldier Fredrick Zoller in Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds); a poem of Murphy’s was used in the film. After playing roles like Billy the Kid and Jesse James, not to mention the title role in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1958 adaptation of Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, his career waned. Despite money problems late in life, Murphy refused offers to appear in booze and cigarette ads: he wanted to remain a good role model. The warrior poet died in a private plane crash just before his 46th or 47th birthday.
READ MORE about members of the Postmodernist Generation (1924-33). |
Today, a man who wrote rot died.
Like most great authors of the past few hundred years, Edgar Rice Burroughs knew nothing about being an author. He was an average student through college, then failed his entrance exam to West Point and spent two years as an enlisted soldier in the 7th U.S. Cavalry. Thereafter, he drifted from job to job, including working for his father, then got married in 1900, and had three children. It wasn’t until 1911, when he was working for a wholesaler of pencil sharpeners that he found himself with a lot of downtime, which he filled by reading pulp fiction magazines. It gave Burroughs his epiphany: “…if people were paid for writing rot…I could write stories just as rotten,” he’d later explain. He submitted his first story to All-Story Magazine a year later, and earned a nice hunk of change for it. He immediately became a full-time writer.
Tarzan of the Apes was published within twelve months and was so popular that Burroughs would go on to write two dozen sequels, as well as see his characters in at least five movie versions. He also wrote a series of books about an adventurer to Mars named John Carter, adventures to lost islands and the interior of Earth, westerns, and historical romances. Many of his stories first appeared in the fiction magazines that thrived in those days (and paid authors for their work, unlike today’s online content creators). Burroughs set up a company to self-publish his own books in the early 1930s as well. Tarzana, California is named after the ranch he bought there, and there’s a crater on Mars named in his honor. He died on this day in 1950, after having quit fiction in the 40’s to serve as one of the oldest war correspondents covering WWII.
Writing is a behavior, not a title or job description. |
Jewels That Could Tell 400 Years of Historytags: jewels
PARIS — If jewels could only speak, what stories they could tell!
The peacock, a turban brooch with a golden beak and waves of diamond plumes, would reveal its sensual life. It left Paris with an Indian maharajah, moved on to the prince’s Spanish lady love, returned to the harem of his wives, had a later sojourn in America — and so much more, too indiscreet to tell.
And that is the tale of just one exceptional jewel that in 1905 left the historic store of Mellerio dits Meller on the Rue de la Paix....
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- A grandmother’s trove of Civil War photos goes to Library of Congress
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- Timothy V Johnson Named Head of Tamiment Library |